592. Tim Swartz shares his personal testimony July 9, 2024

[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs. What's open in prayer? Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today.

[00:00:28] Lord, I pray that you give them ears to hear and a heart to receive everything you have in store for them today. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. This is Proverbs 9, beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:43] Wisdom has built her house. She has huned out her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her meat. She has mixed her wine. She has also furnished her table.

[00:00:57] She has sent out her maidens. She cries out from the highest places of the city. Whoever is simple let him turn in here, as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, come eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

[00:01:18] For sake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding. He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

[00:01:35] Do not correct a scoffer, less he hate you, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser.

[00:01:50] Teach a just man and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

[00:02:04] For by me your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself and if you scoff, you will bear it alone.

[00:02:21] A foolish woman is clamorous, she is simple and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house on a seat by the highest places of the city to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way.

[00:02:39] Whoever is simple let him turn in here and ask for him who lacks understanding. She says to him, stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant but he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.

[00:03:04] Friends, I have a special treat today. I have Tim Swartz and Tim is on staff at Carous Bible College. Tim I'd like to thank you for coming on. I really appreciate you taking the time.

[00:03:16] Thank you Bill. I appreciate the invitation and I really appreciate what you're doing here, giving people the opportunity to testify for the Lord and have some ministry in the work.

[00:03:28] Well, thanks Tim. I appreciate that and we just finished Proverbs 9 and Proverbs 9 only has 18 verses and yet there's so much power packed into this one Proverbs. Tim if you would just share with us which verse you'd like to share with the audience today.

[00:03:46] Well I first and most like to say what a great chapter this is. I was forced because you asked me to pick a verse out of here to really delve into this chapter and it's very rich in talking about wisdom how wisdom has prepared herself for us how she's made herself ready and wants us to partake of wisdom.

[00:04:11] And what an issue it is because wisdom provides life and the foolish, the temptors who seducers us into foolishness only ends in death. And that is so critical.

[00:04:26] It reminds me of John 1010 where the Eve comes to steal fuel and destroy that Jesus said, I have come they may have life and have it abundantly.

[00:04:37] So I think a key verse in here for me was verse 10 because it gives us the root for the beginning of wisdom and that just let me read it if you would.

[00:04:51] He says the fear at least I'm reading from the new King James says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

[00:04:59] And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and it's dealing with three things here wisdom knowledge and understanding which is repeated throughout the book of Proverbs.

[00:05:15] I guess I'm going to get wisdom. A bubble you get get wisdom and she get along with that get understanding let's say I think that was chapter. I don't want to take time to look over here.

[00:05:34] In regards to verse 10 the first thing is it talks about here and of course we can perceive here as being afraid, but that's not what it's referring to here.

[00:05:46] I'm just talking about reverence and awe of God and understanding that and it's actually the root word for in Psalms 13914 where we as believers in creation of God are referred to as being fearlessly and wonderfully made.

[00:06:09] So in God's eyes we are awesome too because we are made in his image and because he loves us so that's what makes us fearful, knowing comparing ourselves to God who is who requires awe because of just me.

[00:06:34] He is without beginning without any is greater ball things. So hearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom so if we don't have that, if we don't know God if we don't know the Lord if he's not part of our lives we don't have relationship with them.

[00:06:52] We're not even going to begin the journey of wisdom and then it goes on to say let's see and the knowledge of them and that's relationship.

[00:07:01] So the knowledge of God is having a relationship is the beginning of understanding and without understanding we don't really have any comprehension of what it is where we're being perfeged to in the wisdom of God.

[00:07:19] And lastly let me just say this one last thing is that in James 15. James tells of the author tells us that if we seek wisdom, if we lack wisdom we won't wish them and we just ask God and it gives it to us little bit.

[00:07:39] So if we have that revelation of who God is and we have a relationship with them and we know how important the wisdom is and only have to do as ask.

[00:07:51] Well you got that right Tim and you know in proper one in verse 7 it says the fear of the Lord's the beginning of knowledge.

[00:08:01] So it is a progression we start with knowledge and that leads us to understanding and eventually if we walk in that path with understanding eventually wisdom will come. But Solomon makes it very clear that that is what God's intention for all of us is to acquire wisdom.

[00:08:21] I still like the first chapter, first Kings chapter 3 where you know God met Solomon in a vision. It was like a dream and Solomon asked God for wisdom and God was well pleased with him and thank you for bringing that up James chapter 1 because I make reference to

[00:08:43] that a lot on this podcast but Tim if you would many people may not know who you are listening today just share with us a little bit about your life and you know you're pretty much like me, you know you've seen a good deal of your life.

[00:08:59] So just share with us your early childhood and your fondest memories grown up. Well I grew up in a Christian believing family and went to church regularly and loved it all.

[00:09:14] In fact the one point in my youth, I wanted to be a minister I would see this man standing up reading the word of God and he had the robes on at that time.

[00:09:25] The pastor was not called a pastor I think at that time he just minister a reverend. He was reverend cobbling and he was an awesome man, white hair and this beautiful robe and I thought this man knows God. I want to know God.

[00:09:42] However, all the time I wanted to youth meetings and everything that revolved around our teaching. I really did get into the work. I just was not. I was it was for me. I'd pick up the Bible which my mother made sure I had several copies.

[00:10:01] But I just didn't understand that I would read it and it was like reading another language. So even though I loved it Lord and really felt that this was important by the time I hit my teenage years and I went to high school and became philosophical.

[00:10:24] If you will, hence started investigating other ways of thinking, other religions, like well wait a minute. There's all this other world out there. And by the time I got to college I had totally lost my connection with the Lord.

[00:10:38] I wouldn't say that I was atheist but I certainly didn't hold Christianity and highest team. And I felt disappointed. There were some things that happened that really made me feel abandoned, disenchanted and in some ways you didn't like to.

[00:11:01] So I turned other things and I wondered in the wilderness for 40 years. And I listened to some of your podcasts and you asked one of your guests, like what is the most important decision you think in your life?

[00:11:15] And of course those of us who are believers that's when we decided to receive Christ into our life. But I felt what's the most important decision I make in my life?

[00:11:26] And I'll go back a little earlier than my salvation to responding to my now-wide at that time we were married. But she said, I'm going to this meeting. You can come with me if you want to or not. She doesn't have that.

[00:11:40] She was a believer and that was okay with me because at this point my life was sort of 54 and being married for the second time. And a lot of things that happened in my life.

[00:11:55] And I was looking for something that I had not found in those 40 years of wondering in wilderness. And I was even willing to go back and look at Christian. That's all that's what I'm saying.

[00:12:08] But I was open for the first time in many years and I had gone to different churches, but when my soon to be wife asked me to go to this meeting I said, yeah sure.

[00:12:20] I knew she was going through some Christian organization of the end. Well, it was a Sunday morning and we went to this church. It was in Cleveland, Ohio at that time. And I went to my wife, now-wife, is from Taiwan. And her native tongue is Mandarin Chinese.

[00:12:43] We went to a church that had at large Chinese speaking meeting. But they also had one for the minority of us who were English speaking. So she and I of course went to the English being meaning, and there were about 30 people there.

[00:12:57] They're gathered around circle. We were seeing these hymns. There was a sweet sister playing the piano. And I was seeing these hymns and I don't know if it was the first or the second hymn. But by that time I just started reading. I knew it was always spirit.

[00:13:15] Well, I didn't know that time was always spirit. But I knew there was something spiritual about it that the God was working in me and by the end of the meeting as well. I had given my life to work. I hadn't prayed at prayer at that time.

[00:13:28] But from the time we left that meeting, I had given my life to the Lord because I said, yes, I've got to meet. Now I had prayed prayers because I hadn't prayed at that time saying yes, I received you notice my Savior.

[00:13:42] I prayed multiple times after that just to make sure worked. But that began a whole new era in my life which has been life truly as it says in Proverbs 9 verse 10. This is the life. This is the beginning of life and I really was.

[00:14:05] I finally knew the Lord and what a difference that made in my life. My hope perspective and what I did. Well, that's so good, Tim. So let me clarify you were 54 years old when this happened and you gave your heart to Jesus.

[00:14:19] You know, the Bible tells us, Tim, that when you do receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, all things have passed away and behold all things have become new. But Tim, you know, our lives don't change overnight.

[00:14:34] You know, now we are a spirit being in our spirit automatically changes and becomes exactly like the spirit that dwells in Jesus and raised him from the dead.

[00:14:47] So we have all kinds of power in our spirit but it's this solar realm, Tim, that we have to work on. And it takes time to go through that. So if you would take us through your journey in that and how quickly did your life begin to change?

[00:15:06] My life changed immediately because I started reading the Bible like, if it wasn't that day, it was like the next day. Because I would just so hungry for the word and that's what transforms us. That's what really changes our solar life.

[00:15:24] Yes, your right, our spirit is as one teacher tells us, all the well will be spirit when we're born again. It might be a young will be spirit that needs to be fed but our soul has much transformation to go through.

[00:15:38] So I started reading the word and that period in my life was pretty dynamic because not only did I get born again but within like a six week period. I got remarried. I was diagnosed with cancer until I had five to seven years to live optimistically.

[00:16:02] They told me that time if I followed their prescribed method of treatment and at this point it, I hadn't learned about the healing power of God. But I knew intrinsically that God didn't see me just to die and go to heaven.

[00:16:22] I knew there was something more, I was not afraid. I did not feel like, well it's going to end and I was sad. I just knew that God's had something more. So I just eventually, I was disabled and work. I was going through different kinds of treatment.

[00:16:40] I gave up on the calipatic treatments of radiation and they wanted to do start doing chemo. I said no, I'm not doing this. And despite their warnings and actually making these kind of waivers, they're not a fault when I die. I'm sure.

[00:17:00] So I started doing naturopatic treatment and then, and that was very helpful. But I kept coming back every time. And then my wife and I were living in Seattle area. At that time, went to a John G. Lake Pirm and these people were wonderful.

[00:17:18] My wife wasn't suffering from any illness but she just looked to go and get pre-forged. It was just that kind of environment. So eventually somebody there gave me a pile of CDs from Antoine, who I incurred. And then I started going through those and wow.

[00:17:37] Of course they were all on healing. I think there were 10 of them and I just devoured those. And went to the website and we can assume more of the free materials, praise God for the partners who support that kind of free material.

[00:17:53] And then I started taking courses online. I told my, I got to go there. I'm going to get pre-forged healing school. I want to get, I just want to get saturated with the word and understanding. So I came here for nine months and that was about,

[00:18:11] I'm over 10 years ago. So now I went to school and started working in the AVL department. So because my wife then started coming to school and we moved here, our whole household. And eventually that led to a longer term of employment with cares. Well, that's good.

[00:18:37] You know, Chamele I'm going to go to your wife. Okay. I believe that the most important decision we ever make is receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

[00:18:48] But I believe the second most important decision we make is our choice of who we choose to spend our life with.

[00:18:56] So my question to you is were you at the stage where you actually prayed to God and made sure that she is who God wanted you to be with this particular time? No, I can't see that I did.

[00:19:10] But let me explain this because I believe the Lord brought her in my tap. Because as I said, I was seeking, I was looking through different religions and I won't go into all that detail. But when I first met my wife, she's from Taiwan and I said,

[00:19:34] Hey, she's probably a Buddhist. She's got some real insight into this whole spirit world. She must know because I had doubled in Buddhism to some extent and it didn't inspire me a whole lot. But I figured it must be something that is pretty old.

[00:19:49] And when I met her and okay, non-murly going to find somebody who's got because she was such a sweet, wonderful person. There was something about her that drew me besides her just being beautiful that it's like this person has got something.

[00:20:07] So I figured maybe it had to do this Buddhist religion. Then I found out she was a Christian, a bummer and it's a high-remissed that again. But of course that did persuade me at all.

[00:20:20] In fact, the more I found out about her Christian life, the more I was drawn to her. She's got something and this may not be missed before. And maybe I'll find it through her and I did.

[00:20:35] The Lord just led me to him through her and my relationship with her. Well, that's so good. I'm going to go to John's Gospel because if there's anyone listening today and you can identify with him,

[00:20:48] you can identify with various different religions and trying to just find the right way. And John chapter four verse six, John is very clear. It says these are the actual words of Jesus and he says, I am the way, the truth and the life.

[00:21:08] No man comes to the Father but by me. And that puts aside every other religion, any other thing that you guys are thinking of. Jesus makes it very clear he is the only way. There's another verse in scripture that says, Only by his name can we be saved.

[00:21:30] So we need to put all this foolishness aside and especially in the world we live in today, Tim. You know, we are being bombarded with all kinds of stuff from Washington. They're trying to take God out of our world today and every aspect of our life.

[00:21:49] And they're trying to think, you know, just think, you know, instead of being real, they are trying to get our minds about possibilities of things. But let's just look at the words of Jesus.

[00:22:05] So Tim, what did you realize when you came to that conclusion that Jesus is the only way? How did your life then begin to change? Well, as I did alluded to briefly that I had such an insatiable hunger for the word and only that comes from God.

[00:22:28] That's the Holy Spirit trying to speak to us. And he knew how open I was and just wanted to pour his word into me. So I, I want to every training, I listen to every conference that I could online.

[00:22:42] And I started going to this is called a 10-month labor, a church where we're going to have this train for youth and old people were a lot of excuse me, more mature people like myself were allowed to attend.

[00:22:55] So I went to that and just as though I were one of the young people attending. So about, I would say, a month or less into that and this would right after being saved.

[00:23:10] I got down on my knees beside my bed which I hadn't done since I was eight years old in Hiram 54. And I said to the Lord, there is ensured, I mean this one is pure.

[00:23:26] I hadn't prepared this or I just fell in my knees and I said, Lord, thank you so much for saving me. My life is yours now, you've revealed yourself to me everything I've done up to this point has been a disaster.

[00:23:41] So I give my life to you and whatever you want me to do no matter what. No, and I met this or my heart. This is like, where every you direct me, whatever you tell me to do that's what I'm going to do.

[00:23:55] And I heard the Lord speak to me, not only. But in fact, I thought it was not a good voice, but I heard the Lord speaking to my heart. And I've never this clear and precise just about audibly. And he said, teach the children Jesus, Lord, and that.

[00:24:18] So I'm going to go to the book of Jeremiah chapter 29 Tim and a lot of people know verse 11, but I'm going to go in the verses 12 and 13 as well.

[00:24:31] And I just look at verse 11, it says, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and the hope.

[00:24:45] And friends, I'm here to tell you every one listening today, God has a plan for your life.

[00:24:52] And if you are kind of confused right now and you're kind of going through life, and you don't really feel you have any purpose in your life, I'm going to tell you you can find it.

[00:25:04] If you seek Jesus and find him, but let's go to verse 12, it says, then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you.

[00:25:17] And Tim, you just made reference to that. You seek Tim and basically you found him, but I really like verse 13 it says, and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

[00:25:33] I will be found by you says the Lord and I will bring you back from your captivity. And friends, that work captivity can mean anything it basically means that you were lost, but now you have been found.

[00:25:50] So Tim, go into your ministry. What happened after that? How did you end up at Caras Bible College? And I want you to share basically all God has done with you since you first gave your heart to Jesus.

[00:26:06] Well, I didn't quite, even though I was an hammer that I heard from God. So I was so excited.

[00:26:15] I didn't even really think about what he told me to do, it's just like God spoke to me. I was just like in another dimension or a couple of weeks at least.

[00:26:25] But then I started thinking about, well, okay, how do I do this? Who are the children? Are they children of Israel? Where are all children of God? Are they little kids? How am I going to teach him? I just started reading the Bible.

[00:26:40] So my first ever was, as I said, pursue the Bible and digesting it as much as I could. Then the next step was, well, that makes me and I go into children's ministry.

[00:26:54] Now, I try that and a few different churches and as sweet as it was, as precious as children are that, it's like, no, it's not my calling.

[00:27:03] And then I go to a point where it's like, why did you wait so long to say, you know, here I'm wasted all this time. I could have been serving you from a youth.

[00:27:17] Because I saw many young people who were just dynamic enough on fire for the Lord and had such a wonderful future. And I apologize later, but I was wanting to get in when it was like almost blaming him.

[00:27:31] And then I realized it's like, wait a minute. I look back on my life. And like the times that I had made different changes in the path of my unsafe life, even though I was being poor destruction as the Polish dude.

[00:27:50] But God had other plans and he was preparing me for the time. What I had been doing over that time, I spent about 30 years in video production film and video. And I had done a lot of work for PBS. I worked on a children series for quite a while.

[00:28:11] I wanted somewhere in the middle of that career. I just had this strong desire to get into instructional media. Public television is sort of educational, but instructional was very different.

[00:28:25] And I liked it because it looked very boring and I thought, wow, there's all these wonderful things I can do to make an interesting and fun and nobody cares. So I have a free palette.

[00:28:36] I could do whatever they want, whatever I wanted. And if it was good, they'd say, yeah, do more. And that's exactly what happened. So I really had a great experience there still not say.

[00:28:47] And after I realized that working in the children's church was not my calling, I realized that God had prepared me with my training and media over the years to use that as a tool to teach.

[00:29:07] And I really felt it was for children because of the way he told me to teach the children Jesus, well, that's a wonderful thought.

[00:29:17] But that also relates very closely to the children's on. And as my born again sister who prayed along with my mother for 40 years that I would get saved.

[00:29:29] But also often helps me to get revelation from what I'm experienced or whatever. And she said, you know, it's just me this is from the children's song. It's got to be for children and that resonated with my spirit.

[00:29:42] So that I made a focus on what my ministry was to be and how I was pursued.

[00:29:49] And what got I called me to do. So he let's see, I told you I had gone to the carous and this was about 2013 when I'd actually decided to come to the carous and there were two things as I said, I want to get healed.

[00:30:07] I want to get prayed for. And here I am, 2021 years later after my diagnosis that they gave me for seven years and healed, full in the river.

[00:30:19] And doing what they're called me to do when I was so I wanted to find out more precisely like, okay, how am I going to do this? Well, in 2013 when I came here from my first year of school, I incorporated my ministry as children's ministry workshop.

[00:30:35] And started planning out how we're going to do that. And at this point, I have a couple books that are called Bible lines because of Lord had the giving me combinations of verses three or four verses that had a line of thought in the Bible. So these are Bible lines.

[00:30:55] And what do I do? Well, eventually it's like, I'm going to do work books for children and teach them the word of God. And hopefully develop a relationship that it starts with knowing the word and having an experience of God.

[00:31:10] And I missed that. And the more I realized that was a key to my aviation from the Lord. I'm going to help other kids to not have to go through that and wander through the wilderness for 40 years.

[00:31:27] They can get into the promised land in three days. So I really focused, that was one thing. And I started creating video segments of 15 minutes programs that I put on YouTube.

[00:31:40] And serving YouTube channel website and eventually Andrew put videos on gospel to TV. And I'm looking now at creating season two of the way Jesus is the way the truth, the life of the verses for 16 John for 16 as you 146 as you had referred to.

[00:32:07] So that was really that was pretty fulfilling. And I had been working in went from the Avial Department after a year I became the coordinator for the media school at that time at Carous and then really finish my second year completely before I started working as a coordinator.

[00:32:31] So I would teach in media school in the morning and I got a night school in the second year never made 30 or really want to go to ministry school.

[00:32:40] But never made it. And just went full speed into media schools wonderful seed and rents were to listen awesome director and just gave me a lot of freedom to great things sort of having students work into a film production.

[00:32:55] And just about that time, Elizabeth Neuron and Robert Neuron had started to take over seven years into my media school tenure and they had taken over the career of our program.

[00:33:11] And they wanted to combine media school and create a large to have something even bigger and greater. So I met with Elizabeth and she said, what do you think of this and it's great.

[00:33:23] And she is such a visionary and she has such a relationship with all these spirit that it's like, yeah, you say so it's got to be good.

[00:33:33] And it looked wonderful that she portrayed with like very dynamic. But she asked me she said, what is on your heart? What do you want to do?

[00:33:45] And I then revealed everything about children's ministry that I'm doing on the side. And she said, let's make this a part of your job because that's my heart to she has a group it's amazing.

[00:33:58] And because her heart for children and if you heard some of the retest money can understand why her heart for children is really aligned with mine as well.

[00:34:09] So we're a couple years into it and it's taken we are turning a big ship you know takes time to turn a large ship in the ocean so, but we have started this year.

[00:34:22] And one of the tracks in the new film and production school is for children's content. So we create curriculum as well as productions with children and I see this grant of apartments and we're getting students with the same heart and it's growing and it's just un-extracted.

[00:34:48] Well, that's so good and you know, Tim I'm a teacher by trade and you know you mentioned that that you want to be a teacher. You know I'm going to go to James chapter three verse one because James chapter three verse one talks about the importance.

[00:35:02] That if you're a teacher you will be held to a higher account and what that means is we need to be careful when people look to us for leadership and guidance.

[00:35:15] Because God is going to hold us accountable so we need to make sure that we only tell them the truth and lead them in guide them really.

[00:35:24] Basically we can go back to Proverbs 226 train up a child in the way he should go and that is what James is making reference to as well. So if you would talk about that dynamic and the importance of making sure using integrity in your leadership qualities.

[00:35:43] Well, the key to all of that is the foundation in the word and constantly going back to the word as well as seeking the Holy Spirit for guidance. It sounds simple but it is work and work that bears much fruit.

[00:35:58] So when this is a great verse I look forward to 226 train up a child in the way he should go. So train up who see talking to. Well at that time family unit was the key to everything and he's talking to parents.

[00:36:17] There's the number one key element. Parents many parents don't understand that it's their responsibility for the spiritual development of their child. So any of the children's churches great but one day a week is not enough, right? But so they have to know and many parents don't understand that.

[00:36:39] And if they do it's like, well how do I do that and then I'm so on how to do that but if they also need resources.

[00:36:46] So parents are huge focus of what we're doing in the film production school with the children's track so it's not just all about the children it's about parents who they see.

[00:36:57] This is train up a child on the way he should go and when he is old you're not apart from me. Well how do you do that? So I would go to do to run a 6 versus 6 and 7 and they say,

[00:37:13] and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. They shall, let me read this to you. So I don't miss a word.

[00:37:28] You shall teach them diligently to your children so do your children kind of confirms that it's the parents doing so they have to teach the children diligently.

[00:37:37] So that's one key. They have to be diligent, not just drop off at children's search but how else do they be diligent? You shall talk to them when you sit in your house when you walk by the way when you lie down, when you rise up.

[00:37:55] So that's pretty much night and day inside outside everywhere you go the word has to be constant being a communication between the children and their parents. How are they going to know? They looked at children, especially young children as your life is dependent on your parents.

[00:38:19] Whether you eat, whether you sleep, whether you're protected everything comes from them so children are conditioned to look to their parents. Most important thing outside of these physical needs the parents can do is to give them a relationship with God through his work.

[00:38:39] So I think that is a key so we not only want to train children but we want to train up the parents as well and children of all ages have different needs, children are smart they get it. They're close to the Lord.

[00:38:58] The Lord formed them in the mother's womb all of us each one of us and the Lord has a plan as you said before they were born God had a plan for each one of us.

[00:39:09] So children it seems come into this world from a direct relationship with God, all we're because he knows them and when they come into this world they need to stay connected and they are.

[00:39:24] Children are very connected to their youth, their innocence, their openness to faith, the tell a child something and it's like okay that must be true you told me I believe.

[00:39:39] And that's why it's so critical as you said that we are faithful to tell you the truth because in Matthew 18, I think it's round verse five.

[00:39:52] It says if you cause one of these little ones to stumble it would be better than you have a meal stone hung around your neck and dropped into the sea. That's pretty bad at that particular time that was written that was very serious.

[00:40:07] So if that's better than leading at child to stumble who believes in the Lord by it's got to be pretty bad. So we have that huge responsibility. So as parents we need to know and be able to train up the children as teachers outside of family.

[00:40:26] It's a huge responsibility. So I take it very seriously. I had been teaching film and video production for before I was saved. I was teaching at least 12 or 14 years at Penn State University and then I came here teaching for another six or seven years and that was good.

[00:40:51] So I had some teaching skills but the teach people about the word. I take them much more seriously and the students that I'm working with now who are helping them to develop curriculum for the children's productions we do. They have the same heart.

[00:41:11] They know how important it is. Wonderful work of students. And I'm kind of going on with it. It's it's hard to end because things are just kind of getting started right now in the soul and never of children's producing children's content along with productions.

[00:41:30] So we have a lot of things that we're already working on. Very excited about it. And I do wish that I were 30 years old again because it was 20 years ago that I was saved.

[00:41:44] So I'm not young man but you know God can take whatever we do and multiply it just like the most efficient. So I'm confident that he can make the most out of anything that we do at any time.

[00:41:58] Well, Tim, you know, I'm going to go and I'm going to make reference to what you said because you know a lot of us feel like time is wasted.

[00:42:08] And Tim, you know, we often hear a number of teachers go over this and they say preparation time is never wasted time. And Tim, I'm the same way as you. I mean, I've been a teacher for many years but I've done different things.

[00:42:24] You know, I've tried selling cars. I've been tried sales. I tried all kinds of stuff. I was actually executive store manager at Walgreens for a period of time. But I mean, I've been in retail have done all things but frankly, I think Tim.

[00:42:37] You know, God brings us where we're supposed to be at the right time and as long as you're seeking him and just going in whatever step he takes you.

[00:42:47] Eventually his plan for you will be revealed and sometimes things change and your, you know, his plan may change as you move forward. But Tim, I don't like living my life with regrets.

[00:43:01] You know, I know my wife asked me some times she goes, don't you wish you were 20 years old again and my answer to that is no. I think, you know, forget about the things that are passed.

[00:43:12] Paul tells us that in one of his letters but keep your eyes focused on the future. There's a person, Robert says, don't look to the left or to the right.

[00:43:21] But gaze forward, you know, we all have a race, Tim that we are called to run and just stay in your lane. Forget about the past. The past has gone. You can't change it.

[00:43:35] And I know a lot of people dwell on the past and a lot of people just can never move forward because they're so stuck on the past. They never get out of that. Tim, what I'd like for you to do now is just share a little bit.

[00:43:50] I want your opinion of this because I know there are some people listening today and they may never have taken that step. But what would you say to somebody, why God and having God in your life?

[00:44:05] Having the revelation of who Jesus truly is, what would you tell them why they should become a Christian? The subject, brother. Let's see. First of all, you're very right. You can't dwell on the past because it just becomes an anchor. We're in the creations once we're born again.

[00:44:32] So if you have, I'd say for people who have even a feeling of opposition to hearing about what God has to say and there is one God. We can look in many directions but we're not going to find him unless we look through Jesus.

[00:44:57] And once we open our heart, if we're truly seeking, we have to have an open mind. And if we have an open mind, that means we have to turn our heart at some point in that discovery process. We hear about who Jesus is and what He's done.

[00:45:16] You know, this person is really God but set aside his deity to become a human being, willingly gave himself to be a human. Without his supernatural powers, yes he did supernatural things, but it was because he looked to the Father.

[00:45:40] So what the Father did, heard what the Father had to say and he was filled with a Holy Spirit. We can do all those same things. You can have this light.

[00:45:53] Not only did He come to be a model for us as how to live a God-rehuman life that He came to pay the price for us since no other reason. No other organization, no other prophet has come to do that.

[00:46:12] He came to die for us in our place because God says that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding blood. And that means that because life is in the blood we have to give up our life.

[00:46:32] Now Jesus, our life is we can shed our blood and that would be a price for our sins. But Jesus, that means we're dead. Jesus came as the sinless lamb of God to be the ultimate one-time sacrifice. He paid the price for us all.

[00:46:50] He was just believed into Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, our old man dies, our old life dies. We are born with a new life we're born again. And we are brought into the kingdom of God because of what only Jesus was able to do.

[00:47:12] So we have a whole new life which is an old thing surpassed the way of your whole things are new again. Not that we forget about the past because we live there. But we look at those things in a new life.

[00:47:28] We see light, we look through the wisdom of God and that is light for new creation or new life has a new hope. And it's not only in this life but it's eternal.

[00:47:46] Without Christ we have eternal damnation because we have sinned and we can only pay for those sins with our life. I wonder if it's over. But what Jesus is like, we have a new life for eternal life of God.

[00:48:03] And that alone just to realize this life is not all there is. This life is a brief, all-sitred state. And instant. In terms of eternity, where are we going to spend eternity? Can I think that's the key?

[00:48:20] As we're looking, those of us who have been the past decided to look at different religions, different philosophies, different ways of life. There is only one way she said, all those other ways will lead to the life of God.

[00:48:38] And we can be happy to read to a death that's eternally without God. If we give our heart to the Lord, we have eternal life in the kingdom of God which is life. We love joy, peace and things that we can't imagine.

[00:48:57] God said that let me see if I can bring this back now. One of my favorite passages is in Ephesians 2. Of course, we've all seen in Paul and Tord of War. Even Paul talked about some things in the beginning of Ephesians 2,

[00:49:15] where are you in this like Paul and you that kind of life? But he said, at the end of that huge body said, God, the rich and mercy hears the key because of the great love with which he loved us.

[00:49:31] While we were yet dead in our fences made us alive together with Christ. Like grace we had been saved. Races up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly in Christ.

[00:49:48] And he made display in the ages that come their riches of his grace and kindness. That's his whole reason. He loves us and he wants to just display us as like, there's so much I love you. He's all great. Free turnity, right?

[00:50:06] And by grace we have been saved through faith. And this, not of ourselves, this salvation is a gift of God. Right? Not of works. So nobody can boast us like, well we burn this ourselves. We can't burn it by our works. But we are, we are his masterpieces.

[00:50:27] Word at the Greek word is poem. I love most translations say, workmanship. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. So we aren't saying, by good works but we are created for good works. That he prepared for us that we would walk in.

[00:50:48] I mean that's a gospel right there. That's so good Tim. If you would just go ahead and lead us in a prayer for those who yet have to enter the kingdom of God. Father, we just turn our hearts to you and we praise you.

[00:51:04] And thank you for your great love for us. We cannot imagine it will take eternity for us to realize your great love. So if you have any needs in your life, they can be met in Christ Jesus. So I would say, Father, just turn their hearts to you.

[00:51:23] We veal yourself to them. And I would say, Lord Jesus, let us just give our lives to you. We re-appamp the verse in, we turn our hearts to you. We make you Lord of our life and we want to be born again in the midst of Christ Jesus.

[00:51:42] We praise you Lord and thank you for all the help done. And we give you the glory which is a great day. Wow, if anyone said that prayer, please reach out to me on my Facebook page, Bill Kelly, KEL, L-E-Y.

[00:51:57] And if you have any specific questions about anything you heard on today's podcast, please reach out to me on Messenger. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make us say, shine upon you and be gracious to you.

[00:52:12] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Friends, please join me again tomorrow. As we further expand, wisdom.