Check it. Check it. Check it. Check it. It's a unique It's why he CEO and I'm here with the lovely amazing official mr. Mako. What's going on? None none you know my dad walk on man.  It's Nina Loretta's in the building We got it we got to get into your business man We know we we know a little bit about you. It's okay. It's okay. Get your chair, right? You got a lot to work with there. We've seen it when you come in In the trunk junk in the trunk she come in So just go ahead and give me a spiel man We want to know about your background Who you are we want to know the essence of who Nina Loretta is right?  I'm from Winsborough, Louisiana. Oh, I was born in Monterey, Louisiana Raising wins, bro. It's like it's the country like you gotta tell me I just went through that other night That's one from you know born right what a Louisiana accent. I don't get an accent. I hear it In the country, but I don't know I um I used to write poetry growing up.  I was 12 So like me and my other little cousin she was 10 and my other cousins 11 We got this group what you can YouTube and everything we had this group called three YG three young girls so we were just um Little rappers in the city we came up quick in the city like most popular girls in the city So it got to the point where we used to fight every weekend every show we had to fight like it was bad bad We was some bad kids Like that's how I started rapping.  Yeah I was bad bro.  She kicked that I would say my mama had four kids I was the only girl and she couldn't handle me So it's like she let me go stay with a family member and that family member couldn't That family man couldn't really handle me too. So I was I was in the street. You are the oldest.   Do you think that you just like your mama? Be real. I'm not like her No, she's a whole another level than what Different right. Yeah. So where was your dad at this time? My dad was around my dad was like one of them quietly back there. So I had my mom was like one of them wants to Put you on child support. You ain't seeing your kids Tell us your daddy don't want to see you but you knew you knew your dad I used to go around. Yeah, like when I when I start staying on my cousin when I was 12 That's when I when I moved out with my cousin. I got pregnant at 15 So when I got pregnant, I went to stay with my dad in my grandma's son. Okay, that's cool That that's good that you know, he actually helped you at that time Yeah, my dad actually helps right now with my kids like big big help like whatever he didn't do with me He making up for it right now. Did you build your relationship with your mom? We good you good. That's good So when did you okay? So fast forward 12 you doing the music you said 15 You got pregnant. When did you really start taking the music seriously? Because you know being pregnant 15 doing did you finish school? no, so When I got pregnant when I was 15 I had my baby and I was still going to school. But like I said, we was in this rap group We was like I ain't a lot of most popular little kids in the city So we had to fight a lot. So it got to the point where we start fighting with weapons Like knives and stuff and it got bad to the point where used to happen at school So my mama sent me to a boot camp when I was 16 going on 17 So she took me out of school and something to that boot camp and I got my GED at that boot camp military camp in Shreveport But did you ever stab somebody? I actually so I had a fight one time and After we finished fighting. It's funny because I'm cool with mr. Hit that hole now, but stab that No, no, no While we was fighting his song was playing And I pushed off me and I started doing this dance They trying to run to the car and I reach up in the window and I start stabbing up the seats trying to stab them But they move it to the side, but I'm actually trying to get to them. I am so you say mr. Hit that turns you up turn me up All by yourself This little group call three yg me and my cousin's it was just us three we used to 14 15 at the time No, she said she was 16 at this time. No, she had to go to boot camp at 16. No, it was before I got pregnant Oh, yeah about 14 15. They was younger than me. That was like a year younger than me. Yeah, we you can go You too was we got a fight on you to jump in people Yeah Luzanna always So when you think about Louisiana man, and it would you can you see yourself staying there living there again? I have to ask that because most of the time being from somewhere else myself It's like damn man It's gonna be hard to go back because the resources are different and the way people move is different No, I will honestly say My life is my best years have been out of Louisiana. Really? Yeah, it's like when I left my life just start going Damn, so you how are you when you left Louisiana? 24 Now I had just signed the boosty so I was I was out there So when you okay, you don't just sign the boost here Okay, then most niggas come on here. They try to pull and move I just know now. It was a process. Okay, yeah Tell me the process to how you even be met boosty became Even in his sight to say almost sign Nina Loretta So I had this song called who is you and it was it was already going up and like my city and stuff And we he was on the radio and everything so it was it was getting me pretty popular. So We actually went out there with boosty was We went to his house and I played some of my music for and it's funny because when I played the music for I'm kind of shy So I'm just sitting in the back in the studio Everybody in there his whole little click this is birthday.    I'm just sitting there in the back.  They like come to the club with us So we went to the club them for the birthday and I just been rocking with her. I had started rocking with him since Wow, so that when did he how did he approach the fact of a I want to sign you? It really wasn't even approached like I said he said come come um come come out with us I went out with them and I just started being there all the time like every week I was staying in Louisiana at the time so I'm coming to Atlanta all the time all the time all the time and like Within a month of me just going to show the stuff with them. We sign a contract That's what I was trying to see. Get a contract printed up and we sign the contract and that's cool Okay, uh, and are you still under that contract now? No, my contract expired. How hard does that happen? Like oh because it had a it had a limit on it.  Let's be real have they did anything have yeah, yeah when y'all guys Well after you signed was it a thing where you guys went up together? What do you feel like I would say after I signed I went up in a way where like I'm not gonna like I would say being with badass entertainment. It helped my name It helped me grow a fan base like my followers went up my fan base went up a little bit But as far as them doing anything for me as far as promotion marketing boom boom boom It was like I was put on the shelf and like Everybody felt like damn she hard like why why ain't nobody doing even when I did drop it was like Why ain't nobody pushing you harder boom boom with is like the same time We had labels trying to work, but My management was boosting them. They weren't just going for anything So it was a lot of you know deals turned down and it was a lot of I don't want to work with you until you Out this deal with boosty. Why do you why do and and why do you think? These things were happening like they were when you was with boost. Do you think that? Well, you know why because basically he was turning down certain things that he didn't want you to be a part of But do you feel like some of those decisions was right for your your career? It was boosty directly turned because you know It's a team but still it was like, um I wouldn't even say it was that because I'm not even a lot a lot of people I don't I don't know if they call it's a black ball in boosty But I didn't have a lot of people like Important people like we not even working with you until you out of that with boosty Like don't even call until you out of there with boosty We want to work with you but until you out that paperwork of boosty. No No, just but when you got out of paperwork at this cap Is he nigga doing anything you out the paperwork now? What are you at? What are you niggas at? Nigga live It'll be learned that what they do they'll set up and tell tell you something because it's easier to I know it's like I stopped dropping like I literally stopped drop because it was like I saw some of it It's like I don't know it's just like But if they waiting on you what it? Yeah I could say a lot of people waiting now for me to start like I'm just now getting into the point where I'm finna start Consistently dropping boom boom. I literally ain't dropped nothing on my own yet except for that little Mic check, but it's like I don't want to sign anything Okay, but listen to me hear hear me well man like like is it really Distribution is great, you know, but is it really a thing where? Do you think you ought to be a team up around you first and study because Yeah, because these niggas ain't really just doing a whole lot no more on these deals like they used to be You got so much you direct to consumers so much now that that you can be I was just talking to res the show about this how You know being independent is a little bit different grind, but it's doable He was in a deal a big deal, of course and and end up, you know after he got out of it Or after he left away from that situation He started looking at the course of building up his infrastructure himself because of the fact that like you say you got a lot of recognition people know you Right, so you dope everybody know you don't hell.  I need to just really build myself up and and that's what I'm saying It's like I don't want to just like I can go To a label and be like sign me with this right now But I want to build myself up to the point where I'm I can go into a label I I know I'm worth moat like no I'm not I can't even afford to sign anything right now. I was in a deal for three and a half years and I was just there Yeah, but what what are you expecting from a label because when you went into this? I know it was just like I'm happy to be signed at the time I'm not gonna lie. It's like boosted boosted still is like right still is my favorite rapper And at the time it's like this is my favorite rapper. I can literally say every boosted song word for word. I'm gonna go I'm I'm signing it. So it's like I'm excited and at this time thinking like I You know, but I can't really blame because you know at the same time he an artist And he's an artist that has signed a lot of artists. So it's like Everything's a learning experience. It's a it's just a learning still. He's still my dog. I still go around him I mean, I don't know what I'm looking from from you is your next label that comes along and say they want to sign Nina Loretta What is it that you're gonna say? Okay, if you can't do this and guarantee me this this and this and this Then I can't do it like what exactly are you looking for that as a guarantee I'm not I'm not even sure right now. That's why I said I'm trying to work on myself and build my team Because like I said every you can't really make it without a team and my team was badass So it's like I've been around badass for all these years. So now it's like I got a built Another team. So it's like that's all I'm focused on right now. I'm not really focused on. I got you. I got you Yeah, it's like It's just a different grind. You could do about what you want to do girl. Yeah You can do about you today society with this thing right here. You could do what the hell you want to do Not literally and and and I think people don't really realize the power in what you can do with this thing That the phone is powerful. I'm being real media And social media is powerful and even the deal thing like with the numbers I'm hearing with people just social media Based wise it over exceeds a deal sometimes. I'm not playing. No, I do.  Why don't you get so far into it? So I think that would be my suggestion to you is to just be fly And go high. Yeah So You know like like uh, what's your who's your favorite top three artists of all time dead or live in the general Mia X for show you right with Mia X like that. That's my inspiration You met her. I never met. I would go to the You know, I know My partner I actually didn't hear one time and asked her can I remix one of her songs? She never replied. Yeah Yeah, well they do that sometimes, you know, she probably didn't see it. That's how they play it You're gonna see this No, I sent it to I didn't hear the fast forward this whole tour. Yeah, I want to remix that. I'm signing Okay. All right. I'ma send this to I'ma clip it. I'm saying man Give with me. It's my girl Nina Loretta want to do What is I'm signing and kill it. I'ma kill it Man and he and can she do a cameo in the in the if it's hard pray to god If it's hard if it's if it's hard enough wish you do a cameo in the video Man, I'll work on that motherfucker for months who I let it not just be hard It's gonna be hard I'll definitely be sending it to him. I would love to see something like that. Yeah So, well, how did you what makes her your number one? Like, like, how did you get into? Because I always used to watch no lemur my stepdaddy when I was like in Elementary he had this DVD We're like, oh, you know, they had the videos on the DVDs back then and we used to have this no limit thing And you know, me and X was the only female in the group So I knew all her verses. Boom. I just you start listening. She was gangsta at the same time like she was never I don't know. She just had this niggas bad. I don't know. I just like her I don't know. I just like her the biggest mama me The biggest mama me Yeah, we love our people man. She wanted them ones, man I'm trying to I'm gonna work up my way to get on the show k.l. We almost had it. We just we didn't end up doing Yeah, I heard she got like a full restaurant. She does. She does. That's that's one of the things that we want We highlight and k.l.c. Some krig he got he he's a shelf as well K.l.c. The one to do all the beats the one that's my partner. So I'm telling you It was here in Dallas for a minute. It was here Real talk and and I don't know where it's at now, but I'll find out for you Yeah, I will find out and I will get that the message you just gave is going to I can promise you won't have to wait no damn more We'll ask her but you know the thing I can honestly say man is jumping out The window or standing on the ledge In order to get things accomplished, you know, I'm saying the thing you were just doing This is the way it goes nowadays social media is powerful if you give it the credit it deserves So when you say stuff, you can make these kind of moves you couldn't do this back in the days So we got to fully take advantage of it, right? Yeah for sure man. So, um, just uh, how did you end up Getting with young nation and doing that Y'all think y'all bad or something I think we have been following each other for like a year You reach out to them or they reach out to you now they hit me up like, uh, we have been in the DM's like Oh, we're gonna link up and do a song which I ain't gonna lie In my DM's is probably the everybody in Dallas who rap let's link up and do a song and we ain't linked up yet but anyway, they Um, we've been linked.  It's so funny and they're gonna laugh when they see this The first day I came through We hit a we hit a dab And it was my first time hitting the dab I started tripping I started tripping. I ain't know them at the time. This is my first time meeting I was like, man, I don't think I'll get something to eat. I'm gonna go the wing stop I live Crazy Now she put the red cross Came in and left. Yeah, I came back the next day though.  We made it like in two hours in this year Man, how that how the how the reviews being for you on that?   Yeah, it's time. I'm gonna come in. I'm gonna come with it But it was so easy. It was like we can do this this easy, you know, we can keep them coming Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's important to keep them coming and I always been a young nation fan So, you know, so you say you did something with little Ronnie too I love little Ronnie. He's been on here like he's the hardest a lot of times Talented is very talented on the radio right there. I get real serious about that one. Yeah, that's bad I don't play about that one. We just dropped the bad motherfucker though. When did you drop it? Like three days ago. How's it going? I didn't put no promotion. I kind of just dropped it out the blue Really? She thinks she's Beyonce now. Yo, watch out. Watch yourself.  His work ethic is it work at the good as hell I got him a lot. His his his his process of his rapping process is it's amazing So you gonna drop a 16 today?  Yeah. Hey, how can I lose for the grind down my fool Talk to nigga. I just want the money. He can keep the bags in the shoes Sorry, my life drug dealers. He the plug. He a thug nigga. Nina brown. He the boss nigga Call the shots. He the top nigga. I stuff Johnny dang. God on his teeth.  Let's go Waste work on my fool with it. Bag it up. Let the crew flip it real bougie But I'm hood with it.  It's me over.    We had boss talk one on one. She'll sign us. She just signed the paper You know I'm saying I already I get them every time. I got a bunch of artists Say man, so how do you feel like when you when you run down through there with the rapper You've been doing this for a while man like a lot of people a lot of a lot of young ladies Going up they aspire to be like you wish they could have signed a Boosie to badass Wish they could have had had grew up and been in a group when they was 14 15 Like like how do you feel about just all your accomplishments man? I mean I feel like I feel like just keep going like one thing I learned though is never stop stay consistent stay consistent Don't ever ever ever stop But you know I had I ain't gonna lie.  Well, then a lot of these ladies the streets to pay for their rap Yeah, they they they do with the And most of them in jail right now. That's true. That's true. That's real talk Yeah, so it's like It's it's crazy because it's kind of hard like being a woman. You're beautiful You're going to these studios trying to do this music around these niggas. How's you how's you moving out here? You know, I'm just I don't lie though. I'm beautiful But it's like everybody who know me know I'm I act just like a niggas.  So it's like But you know, how many girls are sitting that seat that can't decide for can't figure it out because niggas coming at them Big now. I don't see I didn't learn like that. I'm not gonna lie though. That's one of the things who kind of pushed me back from rapping Even when I was signed. That's why I wasn't even trying to drop because I ain't gonna lie I didn't have my manager hit me up Constantly needing to send some music send some music. What are you doing with the music with the music with the music?  It's fake.  They look at artists and they they get it They get the wrong image. They think it's a perfect life until you meet them. You like them There's not the person I thought I was you know, there's not the person I thought you would but you said this is a lot of fake stuff so um because you have a lot of younger kids who are watching and Aspiring to be you aspiring to be you know that celebrity and not knowing what really entails What was that thing that you came across that you like that made you feel like like this is a fake like I can't deal with this I mean just a lot Just give one thing the one thing that you can talk about Just one thing so that that so it would open their eyes to the like, okay I need to look out for that because you came back into this business So it didn't just discourage you one thing I can say is a lot of people For females for female artists coming up You're gonna have a lot of people Telling you what they can do for you and how they want to work with you and they're gonna lead you on And they're gonna sell you these dreams whole time. They just want to mess with you They ain't got nothing for you whole time. They probably just a middleman.  Yeah How do you just decipher the difference? How do you I've been I've been doing this so long It's like I know it's like I know now.  I want to let you go I'll put you on that. They let me go though. It's like my contract. It's hard to put you on the lifetime contract You want to go?   So it's like his art is really growing with him He has some issues with one his artist signing leaving and signing a different deal on the back I understand this boost. He never had a label. He don't know what he probably he don't He probably didn't know what the hell he was doing. He probably just died like y'all for the start I'm mad at me. We're cutting up. He's really political But he's so he's so cool. It's just like you want to have that noise. He's going but at the same time He's still growing as a he's still learning how to have a label So it's like you can't even follow him for not knowing how to run it or whatever the case may be Yeah, but in today's society where a lot of artists are trying to remain independent We're not scientific label. Is that something that you just be like, okay Let me try this independent thing see if I can make this up. That's what I'm trying to do Yeah, but it's like I'm trying to get in there. Yeah, I'm trying to build that team. You got to be cut before the team You got the shirt on already I don't know. I'm I'm signing everybody over here and I don't know what I'm doing just like boosted nigga. We got to learn the guilt Me and boosted got the same thing going nigga. We're gonna figure it out.  We're gonna go out right No, we gotta wait. She might not work like that. Let me tell you some she might not work like that If we start a label like I'm gonna push especially we would never sign somebody that we don't We're gonna put you through the You can have the talent, but you don't have the drive.  We're gonna go to the studio.  Come on.     I want to ask you something. It's kind of off base, but just family Family how important is family to you?  So like we moved back to little, um Winsborough, Louisiana. We were standing in New Orleans. She know that was going through what the but how does that affect you as a mother? See it really just made me want to want to be better than her because I was I was treated like I was Sometimes I used to think like do my mama hate me or something like why she you know That's why I was so reckless like even in school in the streets I used to always want to fight fight fight fight fight fight.  I was like a bully for no reason because I was always really pretty But like I was one of them people who didn't realize I didn't even realize how pretty I was so I was like So I have to have my first baby to where I was like growing as a woman because I used to Act like a little boy like I want to dress like a little boy and everything But I was always really pretty but I didn't I didn't used to do my hair None of that but when I started seeing how pretty I'm well, I'm like then I'm I'm really I'm hitting me so yeah I know how it is when you see yourself like that I'm here That's how even to this day like people look at me and they think I'm so bougie But I'm so humble because I grew up like not even knowing I was I was I grew up not even thinking to myself like I'm really this pretty So I've never been no bougie stuck up think I'm better nobody.  She boozy. She looked mean No, no, the funny thing about life, you know, um When you talk about your mom and how you felt have you ever came to her as you got older now and say mom You know, why why did you treat me like that? Why I wasn't raised on emotion? So I don't know how to talk to people even today like with my friendships relationships I don't I'm not good with showing emotions or Sitting down and having a conversation like I I just go cold on you Like I stop talking to people completely start talking to you for a week before I express my feelings So, you know, it helps healing though Yeah, if you do because then you know what we don't realize that the reason why sometimes a person is the way how they are It could have been her parents her mom treated her a certain way So she don't know how to be anything better, but but exactly what she was right So but you won't know unless you ask Oh, I say I say keep thugging it Damn that She can pass it on to her kids. Let me tell you something God's gonna God can change everything but but at the end of the day, it's gonna have to be hub bumping her head Over and over until you know what I'm saying till she figure it out But I I understand she got a guards up is what she's saying And I you know, so at the end of the day to take a real gamma man to come through that thing You know to get a guards down. Are you in a relationship? I'm married. Yeah, he is What I actually draw my ring off to get Size because he was complaining because it kept falling. He's all over her social media. Really? He's actually in federal prison right now. Oh, I thought he was out So actually he had turned this up in last year in august to do six months He got out in february right and in april the feds got him again. I didn't know he'd been in nursing Wow And when is he supposed to he hadn't even got sentenced yet? How hard is that on you as a wife? It's kind of hard because it's like damn. He just got out. He was out like a month Y'all had fun that month I was like We didn't get to go no, we didn't get to do nothing. It was a month like in his chill mode in this month So really he wasn't even doing nothing. I don't know. He was wrong place wrong time And you know when you just got out and you you the person you is they watching you are of course, of course It just kind of you know that so he got you just got again. You got to keep God first You got a family man and kids missing their daddy It's going down. It's life.  I mean you gotta be good with that You can't cool No, I could cook a little bit. What's what's your favorite dish? I wish I could um, I ain't gonna lie for some reason. My favorite food is spaghetti That's so damn easy Every time I tell somebody that though, they think I'm crazy. They be like, you from Louisiana. You do voodoo. No way! My, I got a partner that told me don't be eating them girls spaghetti. He actually in the building right now. He actually in the building right now. My partner told me don't eat no more girls spaghetti. For real. I get you. He said, but no, yeah, yeah, he told me don't do it. So I ain't, I don't do it. You don't tell him. He just forget it. I complain. He's my spaghetti. I complain. That's a white girl, so you don't forget it. No, he knows spaghetti for nothing. He should count on us to get him out of it. No, no, no. Been 20 years. Yeah, he should count on us to get him out of it. Y'all married. No, we've been married a long time, man. So thank you for coming on show, but you didn't give us your top three artists of all time. You gave us one, and that was me, right? Next one is tattooed on my leg, right? Who is it? Y'all, I can't even see your tattoo.  Look at y'all, there he is right there!  Oh, that's so funny, because that's a picture I got on my leg. Oh, wow.  What a guy. Man, I see him when I get up, but man, that's crazy.  That's the hardest. I don't try to get a new age artist. Oh, really? Of all time? Young thug. You see, he got Rico charged right now.  But it's state, as Melvin Forman say, I have, you know, it's state. She can't think of the way. Give it up. Give a Beyonce. Damn, Miss B. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's go. What's her name? Shantae, Shantae.  She hard, and she underrated. I feel like she got a black ball. And that's the only reason she can get the recognition. You're talking about Roxanne, Shantae? Roxanne, Shantae. That's her. She was a little more. She had little movies. Did you hear that Big Mama song? Oh. She was young, yeah. She was not the hardest, yes. She was one of the first women lyricists like that. She's so hard. You looked, how did you run into her? How did you look up? You just looking. I ain't gonna lie, it was the movie. After I watched the movie, I started just listening. And you know, I actually listened to lyrics. You know, a lot of people probably didn't just go back and just listen to it, but I actually listened. I'm like, what is this motherfucker? This was off the head. Off the dome, just going in. Man. I remember them days too. I'm an old nigga, so I was like, damn. And I got this thing where I become obsessed with people.  I'm like, this motherfucker, cold. Like, how is she not, she didn't get the recognition. She underrated, she underrated. But then she came out early, though. And you know, it was a male dominated deal at the time when she came out. I think she dissed everybody, though. I think that's it. Don't you? She would be nigga rappers. Well, she dissed Queen Latifah. She dissed every female rapper that was out back then. That's what messed her up. Yeah. She dissed them. Well, I listened to that. Yeah! You didn't hear that diss. Yeah, she did. You heard it right. Oh my God. Man, that light is the one, though. She messed up that none. You can chow chow chow round as well. I'm going with light, nigga.  Yeah, man. So, hey, man, we appreciate you coming on the show, man. How can people get a hold to you? Instagram, Nina Loretta, Twitter, Nina Loretta, Facebook, Nina Loretta, all my streaming, Nina Loretta. Everything, Nina Loretta. Man, we love you, man. You know what I'm saying? I love that girl.  I'm coming through.  I'm coming through. I'm going to have my lashes on next time. Yeah, I was just about to say that, too. I was trying not to be late. I said I'm not going to even disappoint them. You don't need no lashes coming in. Coming in is over. Just whatever. You family. It's all natural. You, too, nigga, why are you trying to... Okay, she just let me know what you doing. Oh, oh, it's going to be a matter. I'm not coming that day. I do it, too. I'm not coming that day. Hell, no, I know what's going on. Check it, man. Hey, man, it's been another great segment of Boss Talk 101.  And we out.


Acts chapter 11 by reading verses 1 through 3. Luke writes the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God and when Peter came up to Jerusalem those of the circumcision contended with him saying you went in to uncircumcised men and you ate with them. Now as we were looking in chapter 10 let me remind you so we can move into chapter 11 together. Peter had been told to go to the home of a man by the name of Cornelius. He was a Roman centurion and so when he went to the home of Cornelius Cornelius and his household were prepared and came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Now word is traveled from this place Caesarea which is on the northwest coast of Israel. It's traveled south and it's come to the region in the south that is called Judea. Now by this time many churches had already been birthed. You see the apostles, many of the apostles were still residing in Jerusalem and there were believers that were growing in numbers in that region. Through the evangelistic efforts of the believers churches had been planted so we saw that in chapter 9 verse 31 when it says the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit it increased in numbers. Now they would have already heard that the Samaritans had received the Word of God. As it says in chapter 8 of Acts verse 14 it says the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God and they sent Peter and John to Samaria. So these people in the south have already heard word that the Samaritans had come to faith in Christ. Now the Samaritans being saved would have been very difficult for them as Jews to accept but they did it. You see in general Samaritans were regarded as Jews who had a corrupted religious faith. Their conversion would have been somewhat easier for Jews to accept but now they're hearing that the Gentiles are also receiving the Word of God and that would have been much more difficult for them. You see Gentiles would not have been easily accepted because they were regarded as pagans. They had no part of God's promises. They were actually called without God and without hope in the world. You see that in Ephesians 2 12 but Word has come that Gentiles are also receiving the Word of God and that's a stumbling block to Jews because they're being saved without following the Jewish faith. They aren't receiving circumcision. They're not being immersed in a baptism, a sort of baptism. They're not committing to follow the Law of Moses. Instead all they're doing is receiving the Word of God. Now when he speaks about the fact that the Gentiles had received that word received means to welcome to associate with. So when it says that Gentiles had received the Word of God it speaks of the fact that they were welcoming by faith God's Word and as a result they were being saved. That helps us to realize that salvation is not automatic. It actually takes personal faith to possess. It's something you by faith receive. Many years ago I was part of a fellowship. It was a church that was in Downing. It was not Calvary Chapel of Downing. It was a different church and I used to go to the young adult studies there so that tells you how long ago that would have been. So I used to go to their young adult studies and I hosted, my family hosted a young adult's gathering at the house and I was in the front room and I was talking to one of the young ladies who was attending that particular church and had done so since she was around 12 years of age and so she was now around 18 or 19. I forget how old she was but she was part of the choir and she went on trips with the church. She did a lot of things and all and she'd been there for many years. Her friends were there in the church and I remember I was in the front room speaking to her and I asked her a simple question. I said to her, when did you get saved? When were you saved? And she says, I'm not. I said, you're not saved? I said, but you sing in the choir.  I said, and you're not saved? And she goes, no, I don't regard myself as being saved. I said, oh, and so I spoke to her a little bit and shared the gospel with her. I said, why haven't you come to faith in Christ? And she said, well, in all these years, nobody's ever shared the gospel with me. So I did. I shared the gospel with her. I said, look at this is the basis of what Jesus says and these are the things he's done on your behalf and at the end of sharing with her, I said, would you like to get saved? Would you like to receive Christ? And she said, yes, I would. And I remember very well, just bowing our heads together and her praying and receiving Christ. I asked her afterwards. I said, why hasn't any of your friends, haven't any of your friends ever shared with you? She said, they all assumed that I was a Christian because I came to church. They all assumed I was a believer because I went on these trips. They all believed that I was a believer because I hung out with them. And I said, and yet nobody ever really asked you whether you were saved. And she said, no. So you cannot assume that just because somebody goes to a church or is even involved that they're actually Christians, they had to receive the word of God. They had to believe and trust in Christ. So the word received the word is using connection to salvation. Now remember on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter had preached and he preached what is called an evangelistic message. An evangelistic message is a message with the intent of drawing people to a decision to receive Christ. And he preached an evangelistic message. Acts 241 says those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. So he preached in order that they would hear and receive later on. The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Thessalonica. And in 1st Thessalonians 2 verse 13, this is what he said. He said, we also thank God continually because when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it. Not as the word of men, but as it actually is the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. So there's the receiving. It's the word of God. It works in you because you believe. And so what's happening is they're hearing that Gentiles are being saved and people are speaking concern in it. You know, in the church world, word travels fast. We have telephone and we have television and we have telechristian. It travels fast. Now we have examples how the word travels just by reading our Bibles. Romans 1.8 says Paul as Paul was writing to the Romans, Paul said to them, your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. In Colossians in chapter 1, verse 4, Paul said, we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people. When he wrote to Philemon in verse 4, he said, I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Word travels fast. So Paul speaking to the Romans Colossians and to Philemon is saying, I'm hearing good things. But other kinds of things are also heard because in 1 Corinthians 111, he said this. He said, some members of Chloe's household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. So word travels fast, whether for good or for ill. Well, in this case, the work of grace has not gone unnoticed. Word has traveled. It's gone south to Jerusalem. And there are those who are hearing this and they're concerned about it because it's countering their traditional religious approach. You see, normally converts would have been circumcised. They'd have been immersed. They would then make a vow to observe the law of Moses. And what we're having here are Gentiles who are uncircumcised. They're regarded as unclean and other without God in the world. Now, normally many Jews would have nothing to do with Gentiles. Even Peter had felt this way about them and was very open about it. We saw it in chapter 10, verse 28, when he was speaking to Cornelius, this Roman, this Gentile, Peter had said to him, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. We don't have relationships with you. You see, Peter has been in Samaria. He's been in places called Joppa and Lidda up in Caesarea. God is moving mightily through him. And what is happening is word is beginning to travel and God is using him and the word is traveling. God had used him to heal a paralyzed man named Aeneas. God had used him to raise Tabitha from the dead and in Acts 942 it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed on the Lord. Now word is spread. A Gentile and his household have come to faith in Christ. And the fact that Peter ministered to Gentiles is creating a real problem. And word of what has been happening is traveling south and now he's coming back. He's returning to Jerusalem. Notice verse two. It says when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him saying you went in to uncircumcise men and eight with them. They're very upset. Now notice it speaks of those of the circumcision. Those of the circumcision speaks of Jews who had been saved. And these people weren't with Peter in Caesarea when he had preached to Cornelius. So these people were continuing to believe that the law of Moses was supposed to be followed. There are also Pharisees who've been converted to faith in Christ and they continued holding to various laws. In Acts 15 in verse five it says some of the believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said the Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses. So they're being stumbled by what appears to be a lack of respect for the law and in a galact. Now again, up until this time Jewish customs were normally followed. Believers were still meeting in synagogues. They were still worshiping at the temple. There were many Jews who had believed but they didn't break from the religious traditions. You see it says in verse three when it says you went to went into uncircumcised men and eight with them. To them salvation for Gentiles it would it would include observing the law of Moses. It's an outrage that you're actually eating with Gentiles. You see to eat with them was to fellowship with them and be identified with them. In Mark's Gospel chapter two verse 16 it says when the scribes and Pharisees saw him saw Jesus eat with publicans and sinners they said to his disciples. How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners? You see what that is is that's a picture of more than simply having a meal. For them there was the chance of him having become religiously unclean because he's with unclean people and the Jews wouldn't do that. They wouldn't they wouldn't have that relationship because eating with somebody was much more than simply something you did. It was something that spoke of you as a person. Eating was something that is more like a communion. It's a community kind of because you're sharing bread. You're sharing food and and some of you know this in the Jewish culture they have they have what we would regard to what I would regard to and many of us would regard as you know like our salsa and our chips. They have hummus and they have bread and they dip the bread in hummus. It's good. It's all right but when you're dipping your bread with somebody you think about it for a minute. You take in the bread and you're dipping it eating it. What if you double dip? Well your saliva is being mixed in with the hummus. That'll gross you out before lunch and but that's what's happening. You know when Marie and I go and we go to a Mexican restaurant she says don't double dip. I don't listen. Why would I? Why? Because we're very careful who we share saliva with to say it in a nice way. Have you ever gone to the table next to yours and they have salsa there? You don't know them but they still have salsa and you say oh I notice you didn't finish your salsa. Do you mind if I could have it? You don't. Why not? Why not?  Do you mind it? Why don't we do that? It's interesting but it shows something about us because we're very aware of who we share our meals with. It's the same thing except on a religious basis. The Jews would not share in that way because it made them unclean. They would not eat with the Gentile because Gentiles were richly unclean. So for them to say your master is eating with Gentiles is a great break with religious custom and faith and for Cornelius and the Apostle share a meal while it caused them to be greatly upset and that's what they're saying in verse three when they say you went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them. How gross is that? And so verse 14 I'm going to read to verse four. I'm going to read to verse 14. Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning saying I was in the city of Joppa Prane and in a trance I saw a vision an object descending like a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners and it came to me and I observed it intently and considered. I saw four-footed animals of the earth wild beasts creeping things and birds of the air and I heard a voice saying to me rise Peter kill and eat but I said not so Lord for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth but the voice answered me again from heaven what God is cleansed you must not call common now this was done three times and all were drawn up again into heaven at that very moment three men stood before the house where I was having been sent to me from Caesarea then the spirit told me to go with them doubting nothing moreover these six brethren accompanied me and we entered the man's house and he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house who said to him send men to Joppa and call for Simon whose surname is Peter notice verse 14 who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved now how did he deal with their cultural and religious opinions concerning Gentiles notice with me he gave an orderly explanation of how it all came about he didn't react in pride he didn't say who are you to question me I'm an apostle he didn't tell them to be quiet settled down he didn't belittle them for asking and he didn't rebuke them for doing so what he did is he gave an account of how it all came about now in chapter 10 verse 6 the angel had told Cornelius Peter would tell them what they must do and we saw that when when Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius that he was waiting they were all waiting in chapter 10 verse 33 they said to him we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God and so what we see here is when they're saying we're here to hear all the things commanded you and he gives us more insight when it says in verse 14 of chapter 11 who will tell you words by which you and your all your household will be saved all things commanded them by God was how they could be saved and so he answers the question of what they must do as well as what was commanded he had given them the gospel and the gospel is intended for both Jew and Gentile that's the point that's being made here in Romans 116 it says I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes first to the Jew and then to the Gentile so the gospel message is not intended just for the Jewish people alone but it's intended for the world and so notice at verse 15 how he continues he says I as I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us at the beginning so as he was preaching they were listening and they were receiving his message they were applying faith to it and we had seen in chapter 10 when he was sharing he had given the gospel he had declared that Jesus is anointed by the spirit with power he emphasized that Jesus went about doing good he said that Jesus delivered and healed people he went on to say that Jesus was put to death but he was resurrected and then he concluded by promising forgiveness of sins to anyone who trusts in Christ now as he was preaching God had convicted them and as he was teaching them and they were hearing all things that were commanded by God and how to be saved they received Christ they had assembled to hear all the words of God and that's how they got saved in Romans 10 17 faith comes by hearing hearing by the word of God so here's an emphasis for us it's the preaching of and receiving of the gospel that results in salvation God's word brings salvation I think that the church needs to be reminded of that today the church in general throughout the United States perhaps even into the world it's it's not the great music it's not the persuasive speech it's not the great personality it's not the insights into what's going on right here and right now it's the preaching of the gospel in 1st Corinthians 2 1 through 5 Paul said it like this he said and so it was with me brothers and sisters when I came to you I didn't come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with the demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on God's power I didn't come speaking well I didn't come intellectually I didn't come in any way other than proclaiming to you the simple faith of Christ because we've learned and he knew that if somebody can argue me using logic and all argue me into a kind of belief in what they're saying then somebody else can come and argue me out of it but if the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin righteousness and judgment if the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and I receive that no man is going to argue me out of that because God is the one who convicted me and that's what's taking place he said then even as he was speaking notice verse 15 they were baptized by the Spirit now remember on Pentecost the Jews had been baptized by the Holy Spirit and that's how the church was born but he's saying Gentiles have received the same gift of grace and it astonished all those who are with Peter and again the work of the Spirit was explained by the word of God remember to understand what happened on Pentecost he needed to quote from the prophet Joel and so in verse 16 he goes on to say I remembered the word of the Lord how he said John indeed baptized with water you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and so it's the Holy Spirit who brought to his memory that which Jesus had said now Jesus had said the Spirit would bring to our remembrance his words in in John 14 26 he said the helper the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you one of the most amazing and wonderful things that happens in my life and I'm certain that it happens in all of ours is that there are times when I'm asked a question or something and my mind a scripture is brought to mind at that moment something will be said and I'll remember a scripture I was speaking to somebody not that long ago and he had asked a question and and I and as we're speaking I said well in the book of Acts chapter 17 it says this and he looks at me and he says you always answered the questions with the scripture and it's the Holy Spirit who reminds me of it it's the Spirit who brings to your remembrance it's not like I was reading Acts 17 that day but the question related to something you find in scripture and that's what happens guys and I hope you've discovered that sometimes you don't open your mouth because you're afraid to look stupid you won't open your mouth because you think it's the job of somebody else to do that but in fact you've become a treasury of the word of God and as you read the word of God God places his word in you and then gives you opportunity to express it and so as the apostle Peter is speaking about I remembered well that's the work of the Holy Spirit so it goes on in verse 17 and he says if therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who was I that I could withstand God that's very reasonable isn't it God has revealed his intent to save Gentiles and who am I to argue with him so if you have an argument your your argument is really with God now Peter had already argued with God remember God had said rise up Peter slay and eat and he said not so Lord he already had his argument and God already want him over so he's simply saying you need to do basically what I've done and notice again God gave them verse 17 the same gift the gift of the Spirit so the Spirit is given as a gift of grace it isn't received through human effort in Acts 238 Peter said to them repent be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit I can still remember when I prayed that the Lord would baptize me in the Holy Spirit it wasn't at work of effort on my part it was a request in faith where I said God fill me and empower me with your Holy Spirit why because it's the gift of the Spirit it's not something you bargain for it's not something you work for it's something that he freely gives when you desire to receive it somebody once said God promised it Christ purchased it the word reveals it thousands have experienced it now this gift is for those who would by faith receive what God has given them so we need to receive this empowering of the Holy Spirit and I've had people ask me what is it that has caused you to be able to walk with the Lord as long as you have and my immediate answer is very simple it's the same thing as it is for you what is it it's a power of the Holy Spirit it's a power of the Holy Spirit as a new believer I was told I was encouraged to seek God to do it daily was I always very good at that no was a real disciplined not necessarily did I become disciplined yes did I continue serving the Lord and seeking him yes and that's what contributes to the years you can walk with the Lord and be faithful to him and so you seek the Lord in Acts 532 Peter said the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey him and one way to obey him is to ask that the Spirit might work in you now as they're listening notice verse 18 when they heard these things they became silent and they glorified God saying then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life I like the way that's presented to us notice again they became silent it hit them hard as he's speaking to them and notice they're they're contending they're angry excuse me angry it says in verse 2 when Peter came up to Jerusalem those of the circumcision contended with him and said you went into uncircumcised men and ate with him they were contentious they were angry over it they were arguing with them and yet they're hearing these things now and they become silent so it hits them like a ton of bricks we used to say and after a moment of silence just taking it in the result was a they glorified the praise God verse 18 God has granted repentance to the Gentiles now that's us overwhelmingly in this church we do have Jewish believers who come to faith in Christ but the majority of us overwhelmingly would be called the Gentiles so I thank God that we were granted the grace to enter in also so what happens here is the believers living in Jerusalem came to the same conclusion as did Peter the door of heaven has been opened up to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ so in Galatians 3 28 there is neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus you have this this this wall of separation has been done away with and now we as a believer in Christ whether we came up as a Jew or whether we've always been a Gentile doesn't really matter we are now one in Jesus Christ and that's what Peter had taught in Acts 10 34 and 35 it reads Peter opened his mouth and said in truth I perceive that God shows no partiality but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him which gives to us a memory of John 3 16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life Jesus Christ died on the cross not just for the Jew but for the Jew and the Gentile he died so that we might be set free and and Peter came to an understanding of that I perceive this in truth God has done this we're one in Christ and so what has happened here is they have repented and then they've received life you see you don't have eternal life if you haven't first repented so they heard this gospel they believed in what it was saying they repented and they received the life that was given to them through faith in Jesus Christ God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life now verse 19 those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Tunisia Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word to no one but the Jews only but some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene who when they had come to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists preaching the Lord Jesus and and the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord and so notice in verses 19 through 21 it starts by saying those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen remember in chapter 8 verse 1 after Stephen had been martyred we're told that a great persecution arose against the church of Jerusalem now at that time with this great persecution and and they were also being forbidden by religious authorities to speak in the name of Christ the question is at this point did the Christian stop speaking out of fear of being persecuted did Christians become quiet because they're being told not to talk the answer to that question is obviously no what they did is they took the message out of Jerusalem and into the world you see the Lord had already said you shall preach this gospel throughout the whole world he had already said you're going to receive power after the Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem but he said Judea he's Samaria out of most parts of the earth so God's plan all along was for them to take the gospel out and as we already saw chapter 8 what had happened is the church had become settling in Jerusalem and so it was through the persecution that prompted them to follow through with what they were supposed to do in the first place it was like their timing you cannot sit here safely so as we saw the the apostles remained in Jerusalem but others had gotten up and began to take the word of God out and the word was going out and the way that that Jesus had commanded in mark 16 verse 15 he had said go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature so it's not to remain here so as mentioned before persecution arose they had to remain in Jerusalem but when persecution began they left they they took with them the word of God and the gospel began to be spread from Jerusalem it went into Judea there was an Ethiopian eunuch we saw him how that he was on his way back to Ethiopia after worshiping in Jerusalem Philip the evangelist had spent time with him brought him to faith in Christ and the Ethiopian who was a Jewish convert went back and brought the gospel to the people of Ethiopia but the apostle Peter had also gone into Samaria after Philip had had preached the gospel and many had gotten saved and so Cornelius now and the Gentiles are being touched by this gospel and so instead of stifling the message they were more intent on sharing it and once again they began first by speaking to the Jews now many times when you see or hear of or perhaps you were part of the the Jesus movement that that occurred in the late 60s early 70s that really made quite an impact and all of that you may think that that it was all fun and all good and easy and it wasn't uh not everybody was interested in what happened to these hippie kids people did even church people even at that time were opposed to us preaching the gospel who are you you're unqualified would you know you know and and literally I can say the truth when I say we really didn't know much I was lost now I'm found I was blind now I see I was deaf now I hear I was dead now I'm alive that's pretty much all you know how do you how much do you know when you're first saved other than those basic things I was lost now I'm found I have the joy of the spirit God is working in my life yeah yeah but did you go to seminary no I haven't gone there then what gives you the right we heard that not only were they saying that to us but they also said cut your hair and put on shoes and and you know they told the women shave your armpits I mean it was really legalistic the hippie women used to braid their armpit here but that's that's another story I'm just teasing I should have said should not have said that but I did forgive me but sometimes we might fantasize and think that that was yeah just every no not everybody was listening there was resistance there were people who were opposed and all we knew was we were supposed to tell people that's what we knew how are we going to be equipped to give out the word we were taught so you go to bible studies and what we did is we're nest we I didn't necessarily take notes I would simply listen and memorize what's being said and the things that that stuck to my heart were the things that I would go out and share and I did that for some time I would receive teaching and I would absorb it and then I would share what I was taught and we would see people who were interested but not everybody was and after I went in the military I had a chance to share on on many occasions when I got out of the military and I started going to school and all to to grow in my understanding I started going to colleges where they weren't Christian colleges and I was taught open your mouth and the lord will will fill it and so when given opportunity I would share did I did I have as much understanding of the word you know 50 years ago as I do now no but what I had I gave because we were we were taught that Christians are kind of like somebody who was starving who found a place to eat and we're telling our friends where they can get a good meal and that's what it was so we would say I really can't tell you all I just know these things but it's kind of like the woman of the well when she said to the men come in and hear a man who has told me all that I've ever done can can this be Messiah that's how we were we were young believers see many people only see the the raw Reese's we'll see in the Calvaries or or the Macintoshes or whomever and you think of well they they always had large works that's not true they were just men who were on fire for God and God was giving them opportunity to share the same was true with me and people like me we were just people who wanted others to know we were beggars who found a meal that we could share with other people that's what it was we didn't think I didn't think I had to have a doctrine in theology I just knew that if I am true to the word and leave it like that that God has a way of doing what he does because his word is true and his spirit is alive and if I'm obedient he honors his word that makes sense to me and that's how it worked and so during that day the persecution arises they were supposed to have gone out anyway and now they're going out and the word is traveling even as Jesus commanded that it should it's going through Jerusalem from Jerusalem into Judea into Samaria it's now reaching up and hitting in Ethiopia and it's going up the coast and and a Gentile is hearing it and God's word is beginning to expand and that's happening because these people had been persecuted and they scattered now again verse 19 says at first they spoke only to Jews well in verse 20 but some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene who when they had come to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists preaching the Lord Jesus now this is a natural direction that that they would take these men of Cyprus and Cyrene were Greek speaking Jews so they began preaching the gospel to those who were referred to as Hellenists in this place called Antioch Syria now often the Hellenist the word Hellenist speaks of Jews who were culturally Greek and spoke the Greek language in this case it appears that some of the Jews felt called to speak to Greeks so God has made it clear that the message is going to include the Gentiles it shows us that Gentiles in other places are also coming to Jesus and what's happening we'll close with verse 21 the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord again they were listening and they're turning to Christ and receiving him as Lord sometimes we may be afraid to speak in the name of Jesus and this is where faith in God and belief in his message comes in I've shared this before I was in a secular class it was a literature class my instructor a lady had a master's and two phd's and me high school graduate barely I think they released me just to get me out of the school I graduated with and I'm not lying with the d-minus average I didn't go to class the last half of the year I only went on occasion I was busy doing other things at lunchtime and then I wouldn't come back and I barely graduated I had I believe a d-minus average close to close to f so I'm no intellectual that's the point I'm making so I'm there in a class and my teacher has these graduate degrees and I'm I'm really intimidated and so I speak to a friend of mine his name is Nicky and I said Nick I'm really intimidated by this literature professor it's secular college and she's so brilliant and he says I'll bet you she's never read the bible I said she's a literature professor he goes ask her I said okay again I'm two and a half years old three years old in the lord so after class I wait around and approach her and I said you know when you've read the book of Job and she looks at me now this is again a professor of literature a couple of doctorates she says I've never read that book I said really gotcha and I started sharing with her out of the book of Job and you will be surprised and again I'm three years old what do I know I've just given her what I know I had another professor at Cal Poly when I went to Cal Poly he was a professor over marriage and family I took a marriage and family class and I wrote a paper on the place of a husband in the home there were no books back in the early 70s that I could find that had any kind of spiritual role for the husband so I wrote on the spiritual role of the husband and I took it out of Ephesians five and then he wrote I got an A on the paper which I was really happy with but he wrote in red pencil I have never heard this before it was the gospel and how the word of God works in a family so after class I walked him to his car and I shared with him the gospel see it is it's not that hard a lot of times people think oh I can't do that yes you can it's the enemy who's whispering in your ear you're too stupid well guess what God isn't and his word is true and there's a famine in the land for the word of God and you you will be surprised in Luke 21 15 I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist share the word you will be blessed to see that now remember when you're faithful to him the Lord is with you notice verse 21 the hand of the Lord was with them a great number believed the gospel was being preached effectively white because God was with them in Psalm 98 verse 1 oh sing to the Lord a new song for he has done wonderful things his right hand and his holy arm have gained the victory for him again the Jesus movement was not centered on one person Chuck Smith or anybody like that God used many people to take the gospel to the unsafe world and many both young and old were turned on to the living Christ because we would share about him you see one of the things that will stifle the work is when we begin to give credit to the man and not the message we honor people being faithful but we give glory to the God who brings the fruit because real ministry is never based on externals if you want to be used by Jesus then the hand of the Lord needs to be with you remember these words and we'll close with these last thoughts in Exodus 33 13 through 15 the Moses was saying this he said I pray if I have found grace in your sight show me now your way that I may know you and that I might I may find grace in your sight and consider that this nation is your people and God said my presence will go with you and I will give you rest and then he said to him if your presence does not go with us do not bring us up from here many times in this door right here and in other doors that I've pastored churches in this church in different locations I've stood at the door before I go out and I've said this is a natural prayer it's this quick if you don't go with me I don't want to go if you don't go with me I don't want to go I don't want to preach in my own power I don't want to preach in my own wisdom and I don't want to preach in my own experience I want to preach in your power and when you have that kind of attitude God will use you why because you don't take glory from him you give it to him and that's the key God's hand was with them a great number believed and they turned to the Lord many were drawn to Jesus because he was being lifted up and a great number believed in him and they were converted to faith in him that is the heart of proper ministry that Jesus Christ gets all the glory and when he is lifted up he will draw all men unto himself keep that in mind because you're going to be given opportunities even when you just leave perhaps today sometime throughout this week you're going to be given opportunities to take what you've learned and to put it into practice don't be afraid to do so you will be blessed when you see God show up when you honor him just make sure you honor him


After we've gathered the natural gas from various wellheads and perhaps brought them to a common point in a gathering system, the next thing that we want to do is kind of twofold. Number one, we want to purify the gas because the gas that goes into the pipeline system has to be about 98% methane with a lot of contaminants removed from that. But additionally, the processing plants allow us an opportunity to extract natural gas liquids, which add to the overall value chain and the actual revenue that can be derived from natural gas. Here's just a picture of a processing plant up in Colorado. You can see this is one of the more complex ones. Now, the basic operations of natural gas processing plants, the first step is to remove the heavy hydrocarbons. Anything that has a specific gravity greater than methane is considered a heavy hydrocarbon. If you think about it, the raw stream coming out of natural gas well is going to have a lot of liquid in it, and the liquid happens to be, for the most part, these natural gas liquids. And so we can't have things like propane or butane ending up in someone's hot water heater. Likewise, in natural gas-fired power plants, they cannot end up with any of these volatile fuels inside a boiler. They literally can have an explosion that occurs there. Now, the other side of this, of course, is that we want these heavy hydrocarbons. They are marketable in the form of ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, and natural gasoline. Simple processes with a processing plant, things like condensation. This is just you vary the pressure and temperature of the gas stream itself. And then you can knock out the natural gas liquid. So for instance, when you heat something up and cool it off, liquids will drop out. If you put something under high pressure and then you reduce the pressure dramatically, liquids will also drop out of the gas stream. Some of the towers that we'll talk about, they have oils in there which can actually absorb some of these light hydrocarbons and those then get funneled off. And then fractionation is where we actually take the various liquids that may be combined and break them down into their individual fractions, thereby forming what we call purity products, things like purity ethane or purity propane, which means the majority of that liquid is actually that hydrocarbon. We want to purify the gas stream as well. Every natural gas pipeline company has certain standards that you can find on their website within their tariff. Under their statement of operating conditions, you will see that they have certain limitations on things like water, H2S or hydrogen sulfide, which is a corrosive. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen, they simply take up space in the pipeline. So they have no heating value and they just do literally waste space in the pipeline. You'd rather be pushing 98% methane than to have a high percentage of carbon dioxide or nitrogen for that matter. So some of the processes would be nitrogen rejection, literally nitrogen is taken out of the gas stream, glycol absorption. Now, you know, this is ethylene glycol. It's essentially antifreeze and it's heated up and it could be heated up beyond the boiling point of water. So in essence, the gas stream run through a glycol absorption unit would burn the water off. So you reduce the water content in the natural gas stream. And then also, if there's a decent or a higher level of sulfur than should be in the natural gas stream, they have what's known as an amine treater that will remove that as well. So now we've purified the gas stream, the processing plant. Essentially, we should be left with 98% methane to put into the transmission pipeline at what we call the residue point or outlet of the processing plant. Some of just the general types of processing plants, we have simple separator tower type plants. Literally the natural gas flows through the bottom and because methane is lighter than the other heavy hydrocarbons, it will rise to the top of the column and then be basically recirculated through the plant. Then you've got what we call bubble trays on each level. And as the gas flow goes through there, the heavier hydrocarbons will settle back down on these trays depending on their specific gravities. And then again, they are piped off into tanks for storage. As I mentioned earlier, you're going to vary pressure and temperature with reciprocating compressors, refrigeration units and so-called reboilers. The reboilers are going to heat up the gas stream. Obviously, the refrigeration units are going to cool it down. And the entire time you're pushing the gas through the processing plant using compressors. So again, raise the temperature of the gas, cool it off rapidly, we'll get condensation and natural gas liquids will knock out of the stream. Then we have the next step up and these are the more sophisticated processing plants, cryogenic or what we call cryo plants. In this case, you're going to cycle the gas through refrigerants using turbine expanders. Turbine expanders are the type of compressors I was talking about that are jet engines. They're turbine engines. Again, this idea is to cool it down, expand the stream using a turbine compressor and then when you cool it down, again, you knock out natural gas liquids through the process of condensation. The idea here though is to circulate this gas through the plant several times until essentially it's been wrung out and you can extract as much NGL as possible. That's what's called the recovery percentage of the natural gas liquids out of the gas stream. Here's an overall schematic and you can see here you've got some basic, you start at the well head, the oil gas separator that I had in the photo under the natural gas value chain, condensate separator. That's the heavier liquids that are, they are traded in the marketplace similar to oil because they have a lot of crude oil properties. The dehydration will knock the water out. The next tower takes out the contaminants, the hydrogen sulfide, the CO2, nitrogen extraction will knock out the nitrogen. A demethanizer tower literally takes the methane out. You can see when it comes off the top of the demethanizer tower, it's dry gas and it goes to the pipeline at the residue part of the processing plant. And then the final stage is what's called the fraction and all these liquids then are broken down into their individual components. Ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, the pentanes, which are C5s, and then your natural gas allines. And just a quick diagram here based on EIA information that shows the rise in natural gas liquids production over the last several years. Here's some pictures of the upper left, the small processing plant, and on the lower right a much larger one. One more thing that we kind of want to talk about here in regards to the processing plants is that processing plants themselves use some of the natural gas to run their compressors, but also when you squeeze the natural gas liquids out, you are squeezing out hydrocarbons, you are squeezing out BTU value, heating value. And so the amount of gas that you put in in terms of gas, natural gas, is not going to be the same as what you take out in the form of natural gas, not necessarily natural gas liquids. So you can kind of see here we call this plant volume reduction. The volume of BTUs or the volume of natural gas that comes out on the residue side of a plant is not the same amount that goes in on the inlet side of the gas. Now these are some of the ways that producers and midstream or processing companies put together their contracts. One of the most popular ones is a POP or percent of proceeds contract. This is a type of revenue sharing. And so what happens is the midstream processing company goes ahead and markets the natural gas, and they find markets for the natural gas liquids, and then they share in that revenue with the producer. So the producer gets a percent of the netback pricing of the residual gas and the liquid's sales less whatever the midstream company is charging for their processing fees and fuel. So for instance we have contracts that might be $90.10 or $85.15, under $90.10 the producer receives 90% of the revenue, the net revenue, and the midstream company receives 10%. Now there are other producers who prefer to go ahead and market their own natural gas, and what they want then is what's known as a keep hold agreement. That means that they want the same amount of BTUs that they gave the midstream company on the residue side. And they're going to market it so there's no revenue sharing, and they're going to pay the midstream company some fees for the actual processing.


IT services is a $1 trillion global business, but that large base of spending is highly diverse. Not only are IT services geographically dispersed and often local in nature, but also different types of services customers purchase very different services. At a high level, these include things like support services, professional services, managing technology, consulting, training, education, even the outsourcing of entire IT operations. Software as a service is a new category. Peel the onion layers however of services and what you find is customers often require very specific activities that are unique to their organizational needs. Increasingly, the lines between business and IT services are being blurred as the notion of an IT project is morphing into more of a business driven initiative that is enabled by technology. Organizations are in fact demanding more business focus comes from their IT service suppliers. As for example, they will be launching revenue generating entities based on cloud technologies or they attempt to monetize big data or even transform their IT organizations from a pure cost center to more of a revenue enabler. How is the services business evolving? How are the mega technology trends impacting customer needs for services and what does the future of services look like? Hello everybody, this is Dave Vellante of wikibon.org and we'll address these and other questions with our guest today, Howard Elias, a CUBE alum and the president and chief operating officer of EMC's global services business. Howard, welcome. Well thanks, great to be with you. Good to see you again and now, let's start off with some news. We're going to talk about these big high level trends. Absolutely. But you have some news you've announced previously in this Utah facility, in the United States of America or Utah and you're officially opening it this week. Yeah, I'll be out there in the next couple of days. So why Utah? Why not Bangalore? Why Utah? Well actually, this is our newest global support center. We actually have support centers here in Hopkinson in Ireland, in Bangalore, as well as in different places in Asia including China. And this is just our newest global support center we're opening up really to cover off increasing customer needs. While we do follow this on support and we support and continue to grow in all of our geographies around the world, that includes here in the US. And so we're investing back here in the US really to make sure we have local time zone support. There's some linguistic capability in Utah which is great for our South American customers of both Spanish and Portuguese. And then increasingly we're seeing more and more US based customers wanting US soil, US citizen support. Not just the federal government interestingly but other US based companies as well. So you mentioned follow the sun. You hear that a lot. Yeah we do. So what does that mean? And it sounds pretty like a simple concept but talk about that a little bit. Yeah it does sound simple, very hard to execute though. And what this really is is what we really refer to as continuous support for the customer. And the ability to continue to work a case real time. So let's say a customer has an issue in one geography. We'll start in that geography during the local business day. But if for whatever reason the problem isn't resolved or in many cases the customer wants us to continue to monitor the resolution. It might be a performance issue. It might be a host integration issue. We'll go ahead and seamlessly hand off to the next support center during their day time zone. And that way it allows us to continuously utilize the business day of our support centers around the world but still take care of the customer and get that case resolved through complete closure. Now you mentioned Latin America customers. You're supporting them out of Utah. So you'll have local or Spanish speaking. Absolutely. Portuguese presumably for. Spanish and Portuguese both. Great linguistic capability. And also Utah is relatively roughly in the time zone within a couple of hours of all the South America markets. A very fast growing market for us. And this really supplements, we've added a lot of e-services capability as well over time. So all of our chat and customer forum and more and more documentation is localized. But we now want to back that up with local language support when they do have to talk to a live human being. So specifically what activities are going to take place in the Utah facility? It really is the full gamut of our support capability. So it's taking first call, triaging the issue, getting it to the right subject matter expert, integrating that then with all of our other customer support activities. So our e-services platform, connection into engineering, all of the log analysis, escalation management, all the way through to the closure of the case. Now how many people roughly? Well we've committed to hire up to 500 people over the next couple of years and we'll well on track to making that happen. Now I know some other technology vendors. Cisco for example has a presence there and there may be others. Do you feel like there's a good base of skill sets there already? Are you trying to train them up? Or what sort of? Absolutely we're very excited about the great skills, IT skills that we're seeing in the area. That was one of the selection criteria among others. We looked at a competitive business infrastructure, great IT skills, the local US citizen, US soil, linguistic support that we talked about and just great sort of cost of living and a great place to live and a great place to work. So all of those came together but first and foremost, it started with great IT skills, great colleges, great universities and people really wanting to live and work there with those IT skills. Good powder. Now you also, Howard, mentioned that not just federal customers are demanding some local presence, it's others. I mean people like financial services, are they pushing you for that? We're seeing it out of the telecommunications industry, the financial services industry. As regulations continue to develop and more and more companies want to think about where they're actually managing their data. Cloud is wonderful and as you know EMC is a huge proponent and thought leader in cloud but it's also thinking through where and how you manage customer data and more and more customers we're seeing this internationally as well. German customers want to manage their customer data in Germany. So that's fine. We can help them build those cloud services in Germany. Well, no different here in the US. Do you think that's psychological? Is it more compliance or regulation? I think it's a combination, right? It's philosophical, it's psychological but in some industries and then certainly when you talk about public sector and federal government, it's actual law. Will customers pay a premium for that or do you just have to figure out the cost on your end? I think it's just a necessary cost to doing business going forward. Yeah, okay. So the justification for you is obviously it makes you more competitive. You gain market share, happier customers. And we're doing all of those. Yeah, okay. Now we've had Tony Colish on the cube for how we're talking about support services in particular. Absolutely. He runs that business for you. How have support services changed in the last several years? Yeah, it's a great question. And we really have this notion of support anytime, anywhere and any way the customer wants to consume it, right? So this is really part of that growing capability that we're building worldwide. Whether the customer wants to come in by phone, which by the way is now less than 50% and getting much, much less over time. Folks want to come in off the web. They want to come in off their mobile devices. They want to utilize a chat. They want to actually collaborate with other customers to actually solve problems and innovate solutions. So it's really this notion of any way, any time that a customer wants to come and interact with us, we want to be able to supply that capability to them. And so this notion of anytime, anywhere, any access method is really increasingly take hold. And this is now the mantra of Tony and his team. It's interesting, I mean, I'm older. I like being on the phone, but I think young people, like you say, want to chat. They want to use email.  Mine just texts me. Right, they text me. That's the way, if you want to get a hold of your kids, you text them. That's exactly right. Now, another one of your managers that we've had on theCUBE is Tom Roloff. Absolutely. And people used to think of EMC as really supporting disk drives to 10, 20 years ago. Clearly in talking to folks like Tom, that's changing. I almost see it as the tip of the spear as consulting. You're having a lot more CIO interactions. Talk about how EMC global services has changed in the last five or seven years. Tremendously. You know, we talked about Tony and his team and really first and foremost is delivering the industry's best TCE. And you know, job one for us is always take care of our customers, deliver that best customer experience. And we continue to get accolades for that and our acknowledge as an industry leader there. But to your point, we really have evolved over the years to provide the full gamut of capability that our customers are looking for. So Tom, as you know, runs our consulting business. So we provide a set of advisory and consulting services to help the strategy piece up front, help customers assess their environment, understand their business requirements, their challenges, their objectives, their aspirations, and then translate that into a roadmap. What steps do we need to take on the journey to cloud? Steps along virtualization, big data, trust, security. So we've built a whole series of advisory services. Then of course we have ML, crack hour in her business, the implementation business, but it also includes a managed services business and a residency business. So the way to really think about this is EMC global services now really provides that full life cycle of services to a customer. From advisory services to implementation, operations, whether it's managed or through residency, and then the great service and support. Another thing you're going to be seeing increasingly is then the ability to not only for us to do this directly, but with and through partners. So we're really enabling our partner ecosystem to deliver this value to customers as well. All right, let's talk about that because Joe, I listened to the calls and followed EMC for a number of years and you and Joe have always said we're not going to compete with our partners. That's right. But that sounds good, but it's not an easy thing to do. Look, in reality it's always a fine line. Yeah, so talk about that fine line, Matt. No problem competing with IBM and HP, right? Of course not. Go hard after them. But you've got a number of other services partners. Where do they pick up and where do you leave off? You know, it's a great question and I always say water finds its own level. We are first and foremost a technology company. I say that as the head of services. Joe and the rest of the leadership say that as well. Services to us is an enabling capability helping our customers and our partners maximize the value out of the use that they get from our technology. That is what our services offerings are all about. Some customers want to have that capability directly. Others want to work with a set of key partners. And what we're seeing increasingly by the way is more and more partners want to rely on us for much of this infrastructure component and then they can add value above that. Applications, business process, workflow, delivering IT as a service. So water finds its own level. The best way that this works is where it meets with the customer. First of all, the customer chooses number one and then our account teams work directly with the customer and the partner ecosystem to do what's best. There is not enough total capacity to help customers deliver cloud, virtualization, big data, trust and security. And so working together and collaboratively is the best way. There's a situation where there's more demand and supply that's plenty to go around for you in the ecosystem. And okay, now take VCE for example. And when VCE was launched, you were heavily involved in that. And communicated it, I know, to the analyst community. And now VCE has really become a product. It brings a lot of services along with it. And talk a little bit about that transformation. And same thing happens there. Now here's a case where we've said, look, customers, some customers want to continue to buy Alucard and they'll either integrate themselves, they'll have EMC integrate, they'll have a partner integrate. Others have said, you know, a converged infrastructure offering is the best. Let's buy it prefix. And so the recipe is already done. And in fact, it's already been baked. And so we deliver now this product called the VBlock, the converged infrastructure. It is taken off phenomenally. And to your point, the services, again, there are strategic upfront advisory services in many cases that are necessary with the customer. Certainly implementation services and support services. All VCE absolutely works with parents and partners. They've got enabling capability themselves, but then it's the customer choice. But a key thing we have done is enabled VCE to deliver that seamless support. They are that one throat to choke. Anytime there's an issue or a challenge with a VBlock installation, customer calls VCE, they handle that case, even as they come back to the parents and they'll work with many of the support centers that we've just talked about here today. We just did a study in Wikibon just looking at the converged opportunity and it's enormous. And it's like a $400 billion TAM, I mean it's huge. And the interesting thing to us was while VCE is doing well, there aren't a lot of pre-engineered solutions out there. There's you guys, there's Oracle Exadata and everybody else is really more reference architectures. But what we found is the reference architecture to your earlier point about some partners want to do it themselves, the reference architecture business is enormous. And so talk about that a little bit. How do you see that shaping out and what does it mean for services? Yeah, it's very interesting. We actually started life in VCE as a reference architecture and found that customers said, you know, that's odd and interesting but it's still a lot of work. So more and more customers did want that pre-engineered integrated product. But to your point, what we're now seeing, especially in the mid-market and lower end, both customers and partners want a bit more flexibility. The great thing about Vblock is you can have it in any color you want as long as it's black, right? And you get the benefits associated with that because it is engineered, it is integrated, it does work in the use cases we've tested and it's supportable as a product. But more and more customers and use cases demand a bit more flexibility. So we do see the need for reference architectures as well. You will see EMC play in that space even bigger than we already have. We have our EMC proven solutions that we work with today but we're going to work with our partner ecosystem on developing even more broad based reference architectures and then the services need to go along with that. And again, it's going to be about us enabling our partners with the reference architecture and those enabling services. The interesting thing to me about the whole VCE initiative is it really drives VMware and further into the ecosystem. And it's a play that EMC has on the server business because you don't directly compete. We don't participate in the value chain of the server but we do through VMware to your point. And there are more virtual servers now than physical servers and that drags along storage, it drags along partner revenue for guys like Cisco and it obviously drags along services. Okay, so let's talk about a little bit about, I want to come back to the Utah facility. So this week you're out there, you got the governor coming in. We do on Wednesday and we have a big, you must be excited about that. Brand opening celebration, state and local officials including the governor, absolutely. And the local employers will be there. Absolutely, we're going to do, we have a whole sequence of events. We have town hall meetings, we have customer events, partner activity and then the actual grand opening event with the governor and local officials will be Wednesday morning. Now, how will you measure the success of an initiative like this? What are the kinds of things you look at? Well, we really have a whole set of KPIs as you would expect, right? So in terms of the productivity, the service levels, both transactional and loyalty surveys that we do. At the end of the day, it's all about the voice of the customer, though. Did the customer get what they paid for? Did they get what they deserve? And did we meet and or exceed the expectations of the customer? And we've been in operation now for a couple of months and the talent that we've seen, the energy, the passion and all of the KPIs that we're already measuring are way ahead of schedule. So we're very, very excited about the start of Utah. So my last question, Howard, is let's look ahead to the future. Services has changed so much. Now you've got cloud, big data, transformation, big theme at EMC World Trust is another theme. How do you see services changing in the next five to 10 years? Well, we're going to continue to evolve in the set of offerings that we provide to the marketplace. Our portfolio will continue to grow. Our capability and capacity will continue to grow. One of the things that we are working on, in fact, this year is frankly simplifying that interface to the customer and even to the EMC field because go back to the conversation. You know, we were one thing five or seven years ago today, a very broad and rich portfolio of services throughout that life cycle. So for us, we want to simplify and in fact amplify the capability that we bring to the customer. And we want to do that not only directly but through the partner ecosystem. So look for, especially in 2012, simplifying and amplifying the capabilities we bring to the marketplace and doing more enablement with and through partners. So services is where the rubber meets the road. When you talk to customers, you ask them why they buy product, price, it all comes down to at least half of the value comes down to services. This guy's team makes it happen. Howard, thanks very much for spending some time with us and good luck with the launch and the rest of the year. Thanks, good catching up with you. Take care.