Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 13. I will then introduce you to my special guest for the day, Johnny North. Johnny is currently teaching a Sunday school class at Gulf to Bay Church in Crystal River, Florida. He was saved at the age of 29 and begin the long journey to where he is today.
[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: 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.
[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them.
[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. This is Proverbs 13 beginning in verse 1.
[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: A righteous man hates lying, but a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_00]: There is one who makes himself rich yet has nothing, and one who makes himself poor yet has great riches.
[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The ransom of a man's life is his riches, but the poor does not hear rebuke.
[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well advised is wisdom.
[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.
[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life.
[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: The law of the wise is a fount of life to turn one away from the snares of death.
[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.
[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly.
[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful ambassador brings health.
[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honored.
[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.
[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous good shall be repaid.
[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, and for lack of justice there is waste.
[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends, today I have a special treat for you.
[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I have Johnny North and Johnny is the Sunday School leader of the church that I'm presently going to.
[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Johnny, this is such an honor to have you on.
[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I really appreciate you taking the time.
[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, the honor's all mine, Bill.
[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's good.
[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we just finished Proverbs 13 and I know three or four verses stick out to me, but which one spoke to you today, Johnny, that you'd like to share?
[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_02]: It's hard just to pick out any one or two verses out of the whole chapter 13.
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, as I read all of Proverbs, when I look at it and think about it and pray about it, it is God speaking to me as his kid.
[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_02]: But I've got to point out verse five and six, and it talks about lying.
[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_02]: One of the great problems that I've always had with others is the line because one lie leads to another and another and another.
[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So if God's going to go and instruct me or you and not doing that, then I have an obligation for my kids and my son, my grandkids to tell them the same thing.
[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Because if you don't tell them the truth, society is going to tell them a lie.
[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_02]: That in itself is a terrible thing for a man to do and leadership of his family, which that's what you and I are called to do.
[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And it says that a righteous man hates lying but a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_02]: A righteous guards him who away is blameless.
[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_02]: You never have to back up if you tell the truth.
[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Now sometimes the truth might get you in a little bit of trouble, but it's the truth.
[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_02]: So what does it say? The truth is set you free.
[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And I believe that with my heart.
[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, you hit on a good point and I'm going to go to Proverbs six and Proverbs six talks about the seven things that the Lord hates.
[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And one of them is lying.
[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: A matter of fact, he doesn't just mention it once.
[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: He talks about it.
[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: He talks about it twice.
[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: He talks about, you know, a false report and, you know, and God hates lying.
[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, Johnny, I think you really mentioned this is that some people are so used to lying.
[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_00]: It's just become a part of who they are.
[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And many times I think that they have gotten so used to lying, they don't even realize that they are lying.
[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: What are your thoughts on that?
[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely. I've come in contact with matter of fact inside of my own family and members of my own family would lie like it was the truth.
[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And God's Word says that at the end of days, what's going to happen, what's good is evil. Evil is good.
[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And so from their perspective, they've done it so long, so much, they don't understand the difference in the two.
[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And they're willing to live that lie out no matter what.
[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_02]: So telling the truth is absolutely what we should instruct our family and our children to do.
[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_02]: That's why God instructed us in His Word that way.
[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, Johnny, one of the things that I wanted to have you on for is I really feel that we are like hindered spirits.
[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think we understand the importance of being a teacher.
[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Now that is the gift that God has given me as I'm a teacher.
[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: My second gift is I'm an encourager of people.
[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And my third one is I'm an evangelist to the core.
[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I understand the importance of winning souls.
[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And I believe those three are equally important in your life.
[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, would you expound on that a little bit? How important is teaching to you?
[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely. It's very important to me.
[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I was saved at 29 and I started my journey.
[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I attended a small group and some very talented, well, they knew the scripture well and God taught me through them.
[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But the experiences of life has showed me, you know, how the scripture actually applies to our life.
[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And so you don't know until you know.
[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_02]: You don't go through it. You don't understand it.
[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And I believe that and I believe I can be a better witness if I've already experienced some of that.
[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Now being a teacher, I know that we're held like you and I are held to a different level.
[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_02]: That we have got to explain the truth.
[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_02]: The truth is in God's word.
[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_02]: The outside of the world, the society today doesn't understand the truth
[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and they're willing to accept a lie and we know where that all comes from.
[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_02]: It comes from Satan himself and he's the author of all of that.
[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_02]: So who are we going to listen to? The lives of Satan or God's word, the truth.
[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I believe that we, you and I as we teach God's word, my prayer always, always before I teach is God help me not to make an error.
[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Help me to not make a judgment. Help me to only say your words the way you want me to say them
[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and how and when that's supposed to happen because I believe God's timing is absolutely perfect.
[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_02]: So something you or I might be teaching in a class setting could be very specific for the one person that's sitting there that needs to hear that truth.
[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and I'm going to make reference when you say that it is scriptural.
[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_00]: We're talking about the book of James chapter 3 verse 1 and it says,
[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank goodness not many of us are teachers for we will be held to a higher account
[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and there may be some people listening today and if you are in a position of authority,
[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_00]: whether it's a pastor or a teacher or even if you're like in a job and you have people under the you that look to you
[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: and we just need to be.
[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. I think you mentioned it well what you said would made sense but since we have such an accountability.
[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I think we need like you said to pray and I think whenever you enter a situation,
[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_00]: pray to God that he would give you the right words that we would have discernment of who we should speak with and who we don't speak with.
[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The Bible tells us Johnny we are to preach the gospel to all creatures.
[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I like that in Mark because I think it kind of tells me we should speak to animals and I kind of think we practice what we say.
[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I've always enjoyed that to all creatures and not men, but that's so good and Johnny you're such a good teacher.
[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I want to go back and what eventually got you to the point where you were not happy with your life
[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_00]: and you needed to make a change what caused you to come to Jesus.
[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I really would like to hear that story.
[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, that's that is I mean it can be long-winded for sure, Bill, but at 29 years of age up until then I'd already I'd already went to school.
[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_02]: I've been off in a war and come back and all the craziness of life itself plus the work stuff really kind of worked my head and worked my heart.
[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_02]: So I was married, had one child and a little lady down the street.
[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Bless her heart every Sunday she'd knock on the door.
[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Can Becky go to church today with me?
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So that was God starting whether I realized it or not I do today but that's how God started my journey.
[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And over a period of time it didn't happen immediately for sure.
[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But over a period of time my wife started to go.
[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_02]: She got involved in a small group or a Sunday school class because we're of the age that's what we call it.
[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And slowly but surely she started going I could sense a change in her.
[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So I said something's there and so the invitation to go to a Christmas party of that Sunday school class was the key.
[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_02]: So God used that but there was a lot of people in there.
[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Matter of fact some of them was my high school teachers and my coaches.
[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_02]: My baseball coach was sitting there and his wife.
[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_02]: So I knew people already and then some of my peers that I graduated with was in there.
[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_02]: So that was the journey and the start.
[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It didn't happen overnight.
[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Over a period of time going to class and going to church and listening to God's word and finally on a certain Sunday.
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_02]: I knew something was different when I got up that day.
[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_02]: So we go to church and in this church it had a balcony.
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I'd never sat in the balcony that Sunday we did.
[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_02]: So when the pastor was finished I had no clue what he said.
[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But the song says just as I am.
[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_02]: That was it.
[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_00]: You know when you talk about just as I am you know Judy and I went to go see Billy Graham years ago in Tampa and Billy Graham was always known.
[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That was his call every single one of his meetings he would say just as I am when he gave the invitation for people to come forward.
[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's very moving if you've never seen Billy Graham when you see hundreds of people get out of their seat and move forward.
[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_00]: It's you know there's something about a transformation.
[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You know Paul tells us in Romans 12 one that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And basically Johnny it says you know we are no longer our own but we have been bought at a price.
[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And when I sit there and think of what Jesus did on Calvary for us and he sat there and gave his life knowing full well.
[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: He had never done anything wrong.
[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't deserve it.
[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And yet he was willing to do that for mankind because he loved you and he loved me.
[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_00]: How important is that to you?
[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And is that the most important decision you've ever made receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And please tell the audience why.
[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Well I'll back it up from the end and go backwards.
[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_02]: The answer is absolutely it is.
[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_02]: It's the biggest decision I ever made.
[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And it is one I've never regretted.
[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_02]: God loved me enough to take me just the way I was at.
[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Not, not, clean me up and then I'll come.
[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_02]: He took me where I was all the nastiness and everything about me.
[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_02]: All the things that I had done in the past he was willing to forgive me because he paid the price for me that I found out later is studying scripture and eventually teaching myself.
[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I found out exactly what that really meant.
[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And early on, I, you know, it changed my heart immediately when I accepted Christ that day.
[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I couldn't talk.
[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_02]: All I could do was cry.
[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_00]: That's really good.
[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and you know everybody has a different story, Johnny.
[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And the thing about it is, if you've never experienced what it's like to have that emotional moment and really come to the realization that Jesus actually loves me.
[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And when you think of the nature of God, a lot of people, Johnny, think about the God of the Old Testament, a God of judgment, a God with frown on his face and being like just me.
[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And cruel.
[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But when you come to the realization of probably the most famous verse in the entire Bible, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
[00:16:06] [SPEAKER_00]: It's just awesome.
[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_00]: It actually gives you goosebumps when you think about it.
[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: How much he truly loved me.
[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Johnny, how did that change your life?
[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: When you do that, you said you didn't change overnight.
[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_00]: But slowly but surely if you would kind of take us through that journey, that you had to do something that you knew you had to take a stand and begin to do what God has called you to do.
[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I knew that Bill, I knew there was a lot of things that I had to change.
[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And God was going to help me change that.
[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Now, you know, very slowly he took things out of my life like drinking very slowly over a period of time smoking chewing tobacco, which I dearly quite frankly I loved playing being a ball player.
[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I spit with the best of it.
[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But slowly but surely, but then a bigger part of that wasn't that it was the heart change to look at people different than I've never seen them before.
[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_02]: To look at them that that person is lost, but God's loved them because that was me and he loved me before.
[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_02]: He knew me before every time he knew all of the stuff about me and he still loved me enough to save me.
[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So everybody is there doing the same thing.
[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_02]: So I have to look at everybody and I'm going to attempt to do that with his help to look at everybody.
[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_02]: They're worthy of being saved.
[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And so the nastiness is out there.
[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_02]: People are still going to make bad decisions, which I did.
[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's a journey and it will not end until I pass from this earth into heaven or the rapture happens and he comes and gets me and says, OK, come on home.
[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_02]: So when that happens, I know I'm free from all of this anymore.
[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But until that day there is a battle going on inside of us outside of us every single day.
[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_02]: That's why he says put on your armor.
[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_02]: I believe that in that battle and that's one of the instructions that I've tried to share with my sons.
[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to load up because the battle is on.
[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_02]: You don't put that armor on.
[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_02]: You don't know God's word.
[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_02]: You can't fight the battle.
[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_02]: You use his word as a sword.
[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I'm going to go over the couple of scriptures here and I want to make sure that anyone listening today understands this fully.
[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_00]: In 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9, it says that God is not slack when it comes to slackness, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's the first thing, Johnny.
[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I really want to get across because a lot of people just have this mistaken notion of God and who he is and he's out to get them.
[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00]: But God did give everyone a free choice and that's the one thing I really want to get across.
[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends, it is up to you and it is up to me.
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_00]: It is the decision that everyone will have to make one day on their own.
[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And you cannot get into heaven because your grandparents are Christians or your parents are Christians or your spouse is a Christian.
[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_00]: You have to make that decision personally.
[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_00]: You have to do that.
[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_00]: The other one I wanted to mention is Romans chapter 8 verse 6.
[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And Romans chapter 8 verse 6, it says to be carnally minded is death.
[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_00]: But to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Johnny, if you would explain the importance of that verse in your life and how you live your life adhering to that verse.
[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Well being carnally would be all the stuff that's around me today.
[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_02]: This stuff doesn't belong to me.
[00:20:02] [SPEAKER_02]: None of it.
[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's taken me a lifetime seems like to understand that in a bigger context.
[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Everything belongs to God and as soon as I understood that, and I'll take us all the way back to the tithing side of it.
[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And a preacher was preaching on tithing which they do and some people said that's all they ever preach on.
[00:20:25] [SPEAKER_02]: But that's not true.
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_02]: But God spoke to my heart so this is not your urgent mind.
[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_02]: You're withholding.
[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_02]: You're stealing from me.
[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And God broke my heart about that.
[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I changed.
[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's been a continual change.
[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Everything that he's blessed us with is his.
[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_02]: He lets us be stewards and stewards for a period of time.
[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_02]: But what are you doing with what he's giving you to be a steward of?
[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to bury it in the ground like some have done.
[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to do that.
[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I want to give it.
[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_02]: So the part of the giving cycle for me is a lot of that.
[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_02]: The society and carnal people will say, well yeah you get and you hold.
[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_02]: But no, that's not what the spiritual side says.
[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_02]: God says give.
[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_02]: It's his give it.
[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And if he loves a cheerful giver.
[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And so anytime that I get the opportunity to bless someone else which my wife and I pray every day.
[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_02]: God allow us to bless somebody this day.
[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Because every day is a new day.
[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_02]: We don't know who it's going to be or what it's going to be.
[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_02]: It could be a kind word.
[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_02]: It could be a buy a meal.
[00:21:31] [SPEAKER_02]: It could be give money.
[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_02]: We never know.
[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_02]: But God requires you to do certain things with what he's blessed you with already.
[00:21:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Quit holding on to the stuff.
[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you bring up such a good point.
[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And I believe it's in chapter 20 of Acts verse 35.
[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And it says it is more blessed to give them to receive.
[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends, if that is not your nature.
[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_00]: If that sounds foreign to you.
[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I offer this suggestion.
[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Give it a try.
[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_00]: You know in Malachi chapter four it says prove me.
[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, prove me.
[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You know you cannot out give God.
[00:22:13] [SPEAKER_00]: If that is your heart.
[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_00]: If that is your nature, things are going to come back to you.
[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_00]: It says that in Luke, I believe it's chapter six verse 37 38.
[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_00]: It says it will be given good measure.
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Press down shall men give into your bosom.
[00:22:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It will come back Johnny.
[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know that is one thing that really holds a lot of people back from living the type of life that God wants them to live.
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Your thoughts on that?
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And you know society and the way that Satan has his kingdom set up on this earth right now.
[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_02]: It's all about what I can get and what I can hold on to.
[00:22:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And never think about the other guy at all.
[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But that is the opposite of God.
[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And we know that's the truth.
[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And ever since the beginning Satan has tried to counter every bit of that.
[00:23:03] [SPEAKER_02]: So he has a world today set up that way.
[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_02]: But God's word says, the opposite of that.
[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Be a cheerful giver.
[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Give it away.
[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Find a way to be able to help somebody else in need.
[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_02]: You know he wants to bless us.
[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And we are blessed by just the point of giving it itself.
[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Not looking for a return other than I've done what God asked me to do.
[00:23:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And my heart is full.
[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_02]: So every time that we get an opportunity to do that, we ought to seize it, do it.
[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And just thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to do so.
[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_00]: You know I'm going to go to 1 Peter chapter 5.
[00:23:41] [SPEAKER_00]: There's so much in 1 Peter chapter 5.
[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And really the whole book of 1 Peter.
[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_00]: It's five chapters wonderfully, wonderfully written.
[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And of course Peter had denied Jesus three times.
[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_00]: If you are not really that much into the church and Christianity.
[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_00]: That's how a lot of people know Peter.
[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Is that he denied Jesus three times.
[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But Jesus is such a gentleman.
[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_00]: When he was on that shore of Galilee, he enabled Peter to rekindle that fire that he once had.
[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And he asked Peter three times, do you love me?
[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you love me?
[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you love me?
[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And a lot of people, Johnny when they read that chapter and they're saying, well why does he say it three times?
[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_00]: He's doing it three times to reenact what it was that Peter did when he denied Jesus three times.
[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_00]: He allowed Peter to come back into his good graces.
[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a wonderful story.
[00:24:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And Peter was such a pillar of the church.
[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00]: But in chapter 5, first of all, in verse 8 it says that your adversary, the devil,
[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_00]: seeks like a roaring lion whom he may devour.
[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, but before that it says, clothe yourself in humility.
[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And then it says about, well in James it says submit yourselves therefore to God.
[00:25:25] [SPEAKER_00]: But in Peter it just reminds us that God resists the proud.
[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And pride is such an evil thing Johnny.
[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know that before we're Christians, pride is something we take root of.
[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_00]: We hold on to it.
[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_00]: We want that pride because we know we're right.
[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And only when you come to the realization of you're not God, God is God, you're not.
[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And once we begin to humble ourselves and come to the realization a lot of people are smarter than me,
[00:26:03] [SPEAKER_00]: have better ideas than me.
[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_00]: They have a lot more to offer than I do.
[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Once you get to that position, I like what Paul says.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Because he says when I am weak, then I am strong.
[00:26:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And my gosh Johnny if you have pride you can never say that statement.
[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_00]: But how did God bring you to your needs and you knew you had to get rid of that pride
[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_00]: when you were young prior to knowing God?
[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Well you know it's, you know when you're going through early on because I grew up in the Vietnam era.
[00:26:42] [SPEAKER_02]: So I was selected.
[00:26:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't volunteer but I was selected to go.
[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_02]: But after these many years I looked back at it and say you know if it hadn't been for God, but God,
[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_02]: then I wouldn't be here today.
[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_02]: I'd be gone many, many times over.
[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_02]: You know God has taken me even when I didn't realize it.
[00:27:05] [SPEAKER_02]: He was watching after me.
[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_02]: And he was protecting me.
[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_02]: You know you brought up on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus was cooking the fish for the boys.
[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_02]: We had an opportunity to be there.
[00:27:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And oh did it make perfect sense when we're standing there.
[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_02]: This is where Jesus is talking to the boys.
[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And Peter specifically.
[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Now I love the idea because we're standing there.
[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_02]: It's hard not to get emotional about it.
[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Because it's so real.
[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_02]: He told Peter what he was going to do, what he was going to do, prior to him doing it.
[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_02]: But then he loved him enough that he didn't leave him alone.
[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what he did with me.
[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_02]: He loved me before I knew him and he didn't leave me alone.
[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_02]: He provided a way but at some point I had to make a choice.
[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm so very thankful at 29 I made that choice.
[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_02]: So could have gone the other way.
[00:28:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Very easy.
[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Pride and big time.
[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_02]: You know I was working, thought I was all this at the other.
[00:28:13] [SPEAKER_02]: But no I was the least of these.
[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_02]: And unlike Paul the very best I had was filthy rags.
[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_02]: So I didn't have anything.
[00:28:21] [SPEAKER_02]: You know I just, I'm an old cracker kid from Florida.
[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't have nothing.
[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_02]: You know it all belongs to him but I didn't realize it at this time.
[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I thought I was all about everything.
[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm the best, I'm the best everywhere.
[00:28:33] [SPEAKER_02]: I can do all that and I can do nothing without him.
[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So but again a lifetime of journey because there's been a lot of ups,
[00:28:42] [SPEAKER_02]: a lot of downs, a lot of mistakes and he loves me no matter what.
[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Always does.
[00:28:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And he paid the price for my sense of way in advance knowing I was going to screw it up time and time again
[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_02]: but like Peter he gave me three shots at the end.
[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Do you love me, feed machine?
[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And he did, you know he said it twice.
[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_02]: They're saying pretty much the same words but the other one was if you love me feed my lambs.
[00:29:08] [SPEAKER_02]: So lambs in sheep.
[00:29:09] [SPEAKER_02]: So he used that and Peter would have known exactly what he was talking about.
[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_02]: When we were standing on that shore I understood exactly what he was talking about.
[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_00]: You know and I'm going to go to Judas Iscariot because Jesus had grace for Judas as well.
[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And when you're in the Garden of Gethsemane and Judas you know he had told his betrayers that what he's going to do
[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_00]: is he's going to kiss the person that they are to arrest.
[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And when he came into the garden and Jesus saw him he said friend why are you here?
[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_00]: In other words he gave Judas a chance to escape and to renege on what he had done.
[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And yet Judas did not take advantage of that like Peter did.
[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
[00:30:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's why Judas ended up the way that he did.
[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_00]: He ended up hanging himself and you know that's a terrible story.
[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_00]: But the fact is God loves everyone listening to this podcast today.
[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And I can't really overestimate that.
[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I can't overstate it because until you come to that realization and Johnny you hit on this earlier
[00:30:25] [SPEAKER_00]: and you talks about heart because a lot of people hear the Word of God
[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and it gets in their head but until it gets in your heart you will not be changed.
[00:30:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Your thoughts on that?
[00:30:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And then you have to go to the book of James to really understand parts of that
[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_02]: because out of salvation you don't get saved by doing a bunch of things.
[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_02]: You get saved by the grace of God.
[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That's a free gift given to you.
[00:30:57] [SPEAKER_02]: But out of that salvation is going to come things that God is going to want you to do
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and then you need to be receptive to that.
[00:31:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So everyone has that opportunity.
[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Don't pass it up.
[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_02]: We've been telling our kids, our grandkids, our great grandkids
[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_02]: we've been telling I mean my wife's sister is in her 90s.
[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_02]: She's not saved but she's going to get an opportunity to hear
[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_02]: something that she's probably never even thought about too much
[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_02]: so we're going to get that opportunity to share that with her.
[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_02]: It's never ever too late.
[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So we can't just give up on the people because God didn't do it.
[00:31:34] [SPEAKER_00]: No. He never gives up and there's always an opportunity
[00:31:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and Johnny I still think when you listen to Jesus
[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and he went back to his hometown and he had been away for a while
[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_00]: and when he went back to his hometown
[00:31:50] [SPEAKER_00]: he could not make much effect because of their unbelief
[00:31:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and when he came back they resented him
[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_00]: because they sat there and said we know you.
[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_00]: We know you. Don't come in here trying to tell us what to do
[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_00]: and who you are and he could do no mighty works
[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_00]: because of their unbelief.
[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Johnny you have been through something that many people fear
[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and they just don't look forward to
[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_00]: but you had a spouse die
[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and you know you talked about having a long marriage
[00:32:33] [SPEAKER_00]: if you would just briefly share how you overcame that
[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and some of the circumstances of that happening.
[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Well that was a great story.
[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't mind sharing that with anybody.
[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Was it painful? Oh you betcha.
[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_02]: My wife and I were married for 46 years.
[00:32:52] [SPEAKER_02]: We grew up in the faith together
[00:32:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and God used her and my daughter and then me
[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_02]: and we grew up going to church and studying and learning
[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and going through life together for all those years.
[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_02]: You know and we got to the retirement from the outside
[00:33:10] [SPEAKER_02]: and we thought okay we've arrived here we go.
[00:33:15] [SPEAKER_02]: We get arrived and all of a sudden
[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_02]: an ugly thing called cancer shows up
[00:33:18] [SPEAKER_02]: right in the middle of us being in a retirement age
[00:33:22] [SPEAKER_02]: and everything is good.
[00:33:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Didn't mean that we were going to retire from teaching
[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_02]: or working for God at all
[00:33:28] [SPEAKER_02]: but from the outside world we were going to retire from that.
[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_02]: So after six and a half years struggle
[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_02]: of a lot of pain to witness that
[00:33:38] [SPEAKER_02]: and come alongside to try to help the best you can
[00:33:41] [SPEAKER_02]: to see her pass.
[00:33:43] [SPEAKER_02]: It hurt me so bad
[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_02]: and quite frankly I was mad.
[00:33:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I was mad at God.
[00:33:49] [SPEAKER_02]: I thought how can you do that to me?
[00:33:52] [SPEAKER_02]: How dare you do that?
[00:33:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And I was thinking to myself
[00:33:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and not anybody else but me.
[00:33:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Well he let me just kind of slumber along for a little while
[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_02]: and mulligripped like all of us do
[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_02]: but he gave me a movement in my heart
[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_02]: in my mind to move me out of a place
[00:34:10] [SPEAKER_02]: that I had lived all my life.
[00:34:12] [SPEAKER_02]: I knew people.
[00:34:13] [SPEAKER_02]: I knew everybody in town.
[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_02]: My church everything
[00:34:17] [SPEAKER_02]: and moved me from Central Florida
[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_02]: to the coast over here where we are today
[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_02]: and for about seven months, eight months I guess
[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_02]: you know I continued to be mad
[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_02]: and then I had Christian brothers
[00:34:32] [SPEAKER_02]: that come alongside and they would be there with me
[00:34:35] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know we'd go out to eat
[00:34:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and fish and do things like that
[00:34:38] [SPEAKER_02]: but finally sitting on the dock one day
[00:34:40] [SPEAKER_02]: just sitting there I could hear God tell me
[00:34:44] [SPEAKER_02]: okay that's about enough
[00:34:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I've got something for you to do.
[00:34:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_02]: That gave me the idea and the understanding
[00:34:57] [SPEAKER_02]: I need to be back in church somewhere
[00:34:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I need to be back in fellowship with the church
[00:35:01] [SPEAKER_02]: with the people so
[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I tried different churches
[00:35:05] [SPEAKER_02]: and I finally wound up with the one that you and I attend today
[00:35:10] [SPEAKER_02]: and immediately when I walked in and sat down
[00:35:12] [SPEAKER_02]: I went oh my goodness
[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't know how much I missed this
[00:35:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't know how much I missed all that
[00:35:19] [SPEAKER_02]: I've been mulligripping for over seven, eight months
[00:35:22] [SPEAKER_02]: and I have wasted all that time
[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_02]: my wife's in heaven
[00:35:26] [SPEAKER_02]: did I pray for her healing?
[00:35:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
[00:35:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, either going to heal here
[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_02]: or in heaven she got healed
[00:35:34] [SPEAKER_02]: so my prayers were answered
[00:35:36] [SPEAKER_02]: but it took a while
[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_02]: so I started going to a small group
[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_02]: and then slowly got involved in the church activities
[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_02]: and different things that God had me to do
[00:35:46] [SPEAKER_02]: and just so happens
[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_02]: God in His wisdom
[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_02]: granted me another Saint
[00:35:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I went back to a previous church
[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_02]: and at that location
[00:35:56] [SPEAKER_02]: He used to have a class there
[00:35:58] [SPEAKER_02]: and one of the members of that class
[00:36:00] [SPEAKER_02]: was good friends with my wife
[00:36:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Never in a million years
[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_02]: would I thought about another marriage
[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_02]: never even dreamed of that
[00:36:07] [SPEAKER_02]: but God knew better
[00:36:09] [SPEAKER_02]: He knew I needed a spouse
[00:36:10] [SPEAKER_02]: it says in the very beginning
[00:36:12] [SPEAKER_02]: it's not good for man to be alone
[00:36:14] [SPEAKER_02]: He knew that
[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_02]: He knew I needed it
[00:36:16] [SPEAKER_02]: so He provided a mate for me
[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_02]: which we are equally yoked
[00:36:21] [SPEAKER_02]: she's a teacher
[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_02]: she's out of the word
[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_02]: we don't have a disagreement about God's word at all
[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_02]: we read every day
[00:36:29] [SPEAKER_02]: we pray every day together
[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_02]: and that's something I think a lot of families
[00:36:33] [SPEAKER_02]: really should really focus on and look at
[00:36:36] [SPEAKER_02]: so many of them don't do that
[00:36:38] [SPEAKER_02]: they're too busy to do that
[00:36:40] [SPEAKER_02]: and they might be bashful about it
[00:36:42] [SPEAKER_02]: but God bringing that person back in my life
[00:36:45] [SPEAKER_02]: helped me to refocus
[00:36:47] [SPEAKER_02]: and I think that's what Peter needed to do
[00:36:49] [SPEAKER_02]: refocus
[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_02]: so the refocus started
[00:36:52] [SPEAKER_02]: and He had us to get involved in this church
[00:36:56] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know the rest of the story after that
[00:36:58] [SPEAKER_02]: it has been a great, great ride
[00:37:01] [SPEAKER_02]: if it ends tomorrow
[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_02]: okay, whatever God's will is
[00:37:04] [SPEAKER_02]: we want to be about it
[00:37:06] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you bring up a good point
[00:37:09] [SPEAKER_00]: but I would like to speak to anyone
[00:37:12] [SPEAKER_00]: who has lost a spouse
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_00]: and you know, Johnny is such a testimony
[00:37:17] [SPEAKER_00]: but I do want to go to the Gospel of John chapter 10 verse 10
[00:37:22] [SPEAKER_00]: because I need to bring this up
[00:37:24] [SPEAKER_00]: and it says
[00:37:25] [SPEAKER_00]: but the thief cometh but to steal
[00:37:28] [SPEAKER_00]: to kill and to destroy
[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_00]: but I have come that they may have life
[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and have it more abundantly
[00:37:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and friends I know it's very easy
[00:37:37] [SPEAKER_00]: when something bad in your life happens
[00:37:40] [SPEAKER_00]: to blame God
[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_00]: many people blame God
[00:37:43] [SPEAKER_00]: many people are not in church today
[00:37:45] [SPEAKER_00]: because of something that has happened in their life
[00:37:49] [SPEAKER_00]: and they're still
[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_00]: they're angry at God
[00:37:52] [SPEAKER_00]: they're upset with God
[00:37:54] [SPEAKER_00]: but God is not the cause of that, Johnny
[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_00]: we have an adversary out there, the devil
[00:38:01] [SPEAKER_00]: and in our present world he's still there
[00:38:04] [SPEAKER_00]: a matter of fact he's still there until
[00:38:07] [SPEAKER_00]: the 12th chapter of Revelation
[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_00]: in the end time
[00:38:11] [SPEAKER_00]: there will be a time when Satan will be cast out
[00:38:15] [SPEAKER_00]: and at that time his demise will come to an end
[00:38:21] [SPEAKER_00]: so we know how the story ends
[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_00]: but right now he's very real
[00:38:25] [SPEAKER_00]: and he is a cause for many people to be concerned
[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Johnny, we don't have to be concerned
[00:38:32] [SPEAKER_00]: because we know where we're at
[00:38:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and it's such a good position to be in
[00:38:38] [SPEAKER_00]: we no longer have to fear death, Johnny
[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_00]: and if you would
[00:38:42] [SPEAKER_00]: speak to the audience about that
[00:38:44] [SPEAKER_00]: that once you know where you are going
[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_00]: death is no longer something to fear
[00:38:51] [SPEAKER_02]: let me take you back to
[00:38:53] [SPEAKER_02]: and this is going back in time again
[00:38:56] [SPEAKER_02]: because when I started in Vietnam
[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_02]: early on there was a lot of fear involved
[00:39:01] [SPEAKER_02]: that's a physical fear and rightfully so
[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_02]: but eventually the numbness of it
[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_02]: kind of took over
[00:39:09] [SPEAKER_02]: and so the unit that I was with
[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_02]: said it don't mean nothing
[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_02]: and so that was the words that we would say
[00:39:17] [SPEAKER_02]: so we could get up and keep moving
[00:39:19] [SPEAKER_02]: because if not it would just overwhelm you
[00:39:21] [SPEAKER_02]: and it would tear you up
[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_02]: not until I got saved
[00:39:24] [SPEAKER_02]: and then in the journey of afterwards
[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_02]: of sanctification process that I've been under since
[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_02]: in 40-some odd years
[00:39:32] [SPEAKER_02]: do I understand more about that?
[00:39:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't have to fear
[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't have to fear a saint
[00:39:38] [SPEAKER_02]: he tells me to put on my armor
[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_02]: break out the sword
[00:39:41] [SPEAKER_02]: I can do battle
[00:39:42] [SPEAKER_02]: and I got my god on my side
[00:39:44] [SPEAKER_02]: he is my strong right hand
[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_02]: so I don't have to worry about it anymore
[00:39:48] [SPEAKER_02]: so the fear of dying
[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_02]: wasn't there then
[00:39:52] [SPEAKER_02]: but it changed later afterwards
[00:39:55] [SPEAKER_02]: for quite a few years
[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_02]: but then I don't have to fear anymore about it
[00:40:00] [SPEAKER_02]: I know where I'm going
[00:40:01] [SPEAKER_02]: my wife knows where she's going
[00:40:03] [SPEAKER_02]: anyone who accepts Jesus as our savior
[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_02]: has to understand they have a place in heaven
[00:40:09] [SPEAKER_02]: and they don't have to fear death
[00:40:11] [SPEAKER_02]: death just a blink of an eye
[00:40:13] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're there
[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_00]: you know and that's so good
[00:40:17] [SPEAKER_00]: because immediately
[00:40:19] [SPEAKER_00]: when you breathe your last on earth
[00:40:21] [SPEAKER_00]: you will be in the presence of the Lord
[00:40:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and it's so comforting to know that
[00:40:25] [SPEAKER_00]: but Johnny we're coming to a close here
[00:40:28] [SPEAKER_00]: what I'd like to do is give you two or three minutes
[00:40:31] [SPEAKER_00]: and if you would share
[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_00]: how much God has changed your life
[00:40:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and why anyone right now on the fence
[00:40:42] [SPEAKER_00]: never having made that decision
[00:40:44] [SPEAKER_00]: how would you speak to them
[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_00]: and tell them the importance
[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_00]: of making that decision
[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Bill it would take hours and days
[00:40:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and months and even years to explain it all
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know that I'm good enough to even do that
[00:41:01] [SPEAKER_02]: but what I will tell you is that
[00:41:03] [SPEAKER_02]: you know it takes a loving God
[00:41:06] [SPEAKER_02]: to show you
[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_02]: even in our infirmities
[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_02]: and our problems I had to find that out myself
[00:41:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and each person is different
[00:41:17] [SPEAKER_02]: but the God is not different
[00:41:19] [SPEAKER_02]: he's the same God today, tomorrow and forever
[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_02]: so his word is truth
[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_02]: it's the only truth I know out there
[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_02]: because most of society in this world today is a lie
[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_02]: you know there's going to come a day
[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_02]: whether you want to admit it or not
[00:41:34] [SPEAKER_02]: there's going to come a day
[00:41:35] [SPEAKER_02]: you're not going to be on this earth
[00:41:38] [SPEAKER_02]: well it's always when you go on a mission
[00:41:41] [SPEAKER_02]: you're always explaining to them the best way
[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're not trying to scare people
[00:41:45] [SPEAKER_02]: but trying to tell them the truth
[00:41:47] [SPEAKER_02]: you're either going to go one place or the other
[00:41:49] [SPEAKER_02]: there's only two, there's not an in-between
[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_02]: you're either going to heaven or you're going to hell
[00:41:54] [SPEAKER_02]: so you don't want to be terse with them
[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_02]: and try to scare them into it
[00:41:59] [SPEAKER_02]: but you want to share with them what it means to you
[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and the best way to do that is talk about what God has done in your life
[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_02]: my life
[00:42:06] [SPEAKER_02]: and so when I share things
[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_02]: anybody
[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't care who it is, a person on the street
[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_02]: it's all about what God has done for me
[00:42:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and that he can do the same for them
[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_02]: this is a God that loves you
[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_02]: and so he commands us
[00:42:22] [SPEAKER_02]: to love who, love God and then love our neighbor
[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_02]: and everybody out there is a neighbor
[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_02]: at one time I got a chance to preach to a
[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_02]: small group of people under a tree
[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_02]: in Tanzania
[00:42:34] [SPEAKER_02]: and they told me I was going to have to preach that day
[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and I couldn't take it for a thing
[00:42:37] [SPEAKER_02]: my mom went totally blank except for that
[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_02]: so I broke open scripture and I went to Matthew
[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_02]: and I said you know
[00:42:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and that was the message of the day
[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_02]: God loves me
[00:42:48] [SPEAKER_02]: loves him
[00:42:49] [SPEAKER_02]: he wants me to love him
[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_02]: and he wants to love my neighbor
[00:42:52] [SPEAKER_02]: and my neighbor is the people
[00:42:54] [SPEAKER_02]: thousands of miles away
[00:42:56] [SPEAKER_02]: and that was impactful
[00:42:57] [SPEAKER_02]: so if you do that
[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_02]: I think you will make an impact
[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and you never know that you're putting a seed out
[00:43:04] [SPEAKER_02]: that God wanted you to plant
[00:43:05] [SPEAKER_02]: and he's going to water it
[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_02]: and see what happens afterwards
[00:43:09] [SPEAKER_00]: you know and I can't help but go to John chapter 13
[00:43:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and John chapter 13
[00:43:15] [SPEAKER_00]: is when Jesus humbled himself
[00:43:18] [SPEAKER_00]: and that he knows his time is near
[00:43:21] [SPEAKER_00]: this is right after the Last Supper
[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and he gets some water in a basin
[00:43:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and he washes the feet of his disciples
[00:43:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and he tells them he said
[00:43:31] [SPEAKER_00]: what I'm doing now
[00:43:33] [SPEAKER_00]: you do not know
[00:43:34] [SPEAKER_00]: but you will soon
[00:43:36] [SPEAKER_00]: and he says I have set the example for you
[00:43:41] [SPEAKER_00]: as I have done to you
[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_00]: you are to do other people
[00:43:45] [SPEAKER_00]: and later in that chapter he says
[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_00]: this is my new commandment
[00:43:50] [SPEAKER_00]: that you love one another
[00:43:52] [SPEAKER_00]: as I have loved you
[00:43:55] [SPEAKER_00]: no longer how you know your neighbor
[00:43:58] [SPEAKER_00]: because if you don't like yourself
[00:44:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and Johnny a lot of people don't
[00:44:01] [SPEAKER_00]: they don't
[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_00]: but this verse tells us
[00:44:05] [SPEAKER_00]: that even if we don't like ourselves
[00:44:07] [SPEAKER_00]: we still are to love people
[00:44:10] [SPEAKER_00]: your thoughts on that before we close
[00:44:11] [SPEAKER_02]: well you know I was thinking about Paul
[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_02]: you know we're studying Paul in our class
[00:44:18] [SPEAKER_02]: but Paul in the last days of his life
[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_02]: on this earth
[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_02]: he spent it in a prison
[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_02]: which people don't understand
[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_02]: how ugly that really was
[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_02]: but Paul says all things are the game
[00:44:32] [SPEAKER_02]: he said I've done all of this
[00:44:33] [SPEAKER_02]: and it is not me but it is Christ
[00:44:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and he was willing to do that
[00:44:38] [SPEAKER_02]: I love the idea when Paul was chained up
[00:44:41] [SPEAKER_02]: but he had an audience
[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_02]: he had a congregation sitting in front of him
[00:44:45] [SPEAKER_02]: and he could preach the gospel
[00:44:46] [SPEAKER_02]: and they can't get away from him
[00:44:48] [SPEAKER_02]: so I like that idea
[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_02]: a lot of people are going to turn you off
[00:44:52] [SPEAKER_02]: they're going to turn away from you
[00:44:54] [SPEAKER_02]: thinking you're a Bible thumper
[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_02]: or all about that
[00:44:57] [SPEAKER_02]: but that's not the truth
[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_02]: loving people is a big key for all of us
[00:45:02] [SPEAKER_02]: and he commanded us to do it
[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_02]: but how do we do that each day
[00:45:04] [SPEAKER_02]: again Lord help me to know how to bless
[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_02]: and bless somebody this day
[00:45:10] [SPEAKER_02]: so if that's your walk
[00:45:11] [SPEAKER_02]: that's what I would encourage all of us to look at
[00:45:14] [SPEAKER_02]: how to bless somebody
[00:45:16] [SPEAKER_00]: well Johnny you know we have so much more to talk about
[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_00]: and I will have you on again
[00:45:21] [SPEAKER_00]: but what I'd like to do is if you would
[00:45:24] [SPEAKER_00]: give the invitation
[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and usher people into the kingdom
[00:45:28] [SPEAKER_00]: for those people who still are lost out there
[00:45:32] [SPEAKER_02]: well as as Bill closes out
[00:45:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I think the idea is that
[00:45:37] [SPEAKER_02]: God wants you to come just as you are
[00:45:39] [SPEAKER_02]: he's not asking you to clean yourself up at all
[00:45:42] [SPEAKER_02]: he says come with all your ugliness
[00:45:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and he's going to love you
[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_02]: and he's going to forgive you
[00:45:48] [SPEAKER_02]: and he's going to start changing that heart
[00:45:50] [SPEAKER_02]: and then slowly in your journey
[00:45:52] [SPEAKER_02]: you're going to find a difference
[00:45:54] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're going to think different
[00:45:55] [SPEAKER_02]: you're going to act different
[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_02]: you're going to even look a little bit different
[00:45:59] [SPEAKER_02]: not saying we get better looking
[00:46:01] [SPEAKER_02]: but you know he loves us enough
[00:46:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and don't wait
[00:46:06] [SPEAKER_02]: because you never know
[00:46:07] [SPEAKER_02]: when the last second is the last second
[00:46:09] [SPEAKER_02]: because there's a time clock on all of us
[00:46:12] [SPEAKER_02]: he started there was a time clock
[00:46:14] [SPEAKER_02]: when you were born
[00:46:15] [SPEAKER_02]: there's one when you're going to pass
[00:46:17] [SPEAKER_02]: don't wait until the last second
[00:46:19] [SPEAKER_02]: go oh I should have
[00:46:20] [SPEAKER_02]: it's never too late
[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_02]: even in the last second
[00:46:23] [SPEAKER_02]: but God's so loved all of us
[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_02]: that he wants you to come
[00:46:26] [SPEAKER_02]: and he wants to be your God
[00:46:28] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're his children
[00:46:30] [SPEAKER_02]: so accept him as your savior
[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_02]: it's easy to do
[00:46:34] [SPEAKER_02]: you just admit you're a sinner
[00:46:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're saved by what? grace
[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_02]: grace being unmerited favor
[00:46:40] [SPEAKER_02]: than what he did on the cross with his son
[00:46:42] [SPEAKER_02]: if you accept that
[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know you're a sinner
[00:46:45] [SPEAKER_02]: and you're asked him to come into your life
[00:46:47] [SPEAKER_02]: to save you
[00:46:48] [SPEAKER_02]: he will start that miraculous change
[00:46:51] [SPEAKER_02]: over time
[00:46:51] [SPEAKER_02]: and again don't expect this wonderful thing
[00:46:55] [SPEAKER_02]: to happen
[00:46:56] [SPEAKER_02]: and all things got cleaned up
[00:46:57] [SPEAKER_02]: because I'll assure you in my life it did
[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_02]: it was a process
[00:47:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and it's called sanctification
[00:47:04] [SPEAKER_02]: but accept him today
[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_02]: don't wait until tomorrow
[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_02]: you're not sure about tomorrow
[00:47:08] [SPEAKER_02]: so today is the day
[00:47:11] [SPEAKER_02]: that it says in God's word
[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_02]: today is the day of salvation
[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_02]: for someone
[00:47:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I pray every Sunday
[00:47:17] [SPEAKER_02]: and Bill knows that before we close our class
[00:47:20] [SPEAKER_02]: and before we go to the sanctuary
[00:47:22] [SPEAKER_02]: and our pastor, our shepherd,
[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_02]: preaches a word
[00:47:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I pray for that
[00:47:26] [SPEAKER_02]: every week
[00:47:28] [SPEAKER_02]: today is the day of salvation
[00:47:30] [SPEAKER_02]: so we're preferably considering that
[00:47:33] [SPEAKER_02]: someone listened to the podcast
[00:47:35] [SPEAKER_02]: that Bill has today
[00:47:36] [SPEAKER_02]: that this is the day of salvation for you
[00:47:39] [SPEAKER_02]: that you hear God speaking to you
[00:47:42] [SPEAKER_02]: come just as you are
[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and I'll save you
[00:47:45] [SPEAKER_02]: and you'll be my child
[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_02]: to live with me forever and ever
[00:47:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow, Johnny, thank you so much
[00:47:52] [SPEAKER_00]: it's been an honor having you on
[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_00]: so much wisdom dispensed
[00:47:56] [SPEAKER_00]: and that's what this podcast is about
[00:47:59] [SPEAKER_00]: is about wisdom
[00:48:00] [SPEAKER_00]: it's about people coming
[00:48:01] [SPEAKER_00]: to the knowledge of who Jesus is
[00:48:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and really to follow
[00:48:06] [SPEAKER_00]: the call of God
[00:48:07] [SPEAKER_00]: that he has placed on everyone listening today
[00:48:11] [SPEAKER_00]: so I'm going to close with a blessing
[00:48:13] [SPEAKER_00]: now may the Lord bless you and keep you
[00:48:17] [SPEAKER_00]: the Lord make his face shine upon you
[00:48:20] [SPEAKER_00]: and be gracious to you
[00:48:21] [SPEAKER_00]: the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
[00:48:24] [SPEAKER_00]: and give you peace
[00:48:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends, please join me again tomorrow
[00:48:28] [SPEAKER_00]: as we further explore wisdom today