717. Richard Denson Shares His Personal Testimony - December 31, 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.

[00:00:22] Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you give everyone ears to hear and a heart to receive everything you have in store for them in this particular podcast. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:00:38] This is Proverb 31 beginning in verse 1.

[00:01:08] Let us pray for princes intoxicating drink, lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

[00:01:30] Open your mouth for the speechless in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

[00:01:43] Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her, so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

[00:02:00] She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships. She brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maid's servants.

[00:02:20] She considers a few months. She considers a field, and buys it. She considers a field and buys it. From her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms.

[00:02:31] She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.

[00:02:44] She extends her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet.

[00:02:59] She makes tapestry for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

[00:03:10] She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing.

[00:03:20] She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.

[00:03:30] She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

[00:03:36] Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her.

[00:03:44] Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing,

[00:03:53] but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands,

[00:04:01] and let her own works praise her in the gates.

[00:04:06] Friends, I have a special treat for you today.

[00:04:09] I have Richard Denson, and Richard has recently come on staff at Gulf to Lake Church in Crystal River, Florida.

[00:04:16] He is the youth pastor, and I believe that Gulf to Lake Church hit a home run when they hired Richard.

[00:04:25] Richard is a mighty man of God, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy his testimony.

[00:04:31] Richard, we just went over Proverbs 31, one of the most powerful proverbs that Solomon wrote,

[00:04:37] and this is well known as the virtuous wife.

[00:04:41] But Richard, which verse spoke to you today that you'd like to share with the audience, and please tell us why.

[00:04:48] Well, first of all, thank you, Bill, for letting me be a part of this and to share this time with you.

[00:04:53] For me, myself, I look at verse 10, and it says,

[00:05:00] An excellent wife who can find she is far more precious than jewels.

[00:05:04] And I look at my own wife.

[00:05:06] I've been married for 12 years.

[00:05:08] May 19, 2012 was our wedding day.

[00:05:13] I made a pact to always remember that.

[00:05:16] You see all the time gentlemen who forget their anniversary date.

[00:05:19] I was like, I'm not going to be that guy.

[00:05:22] But when I look at verse 10, it says,

[00:05:25] An excellent wife who can find.

[00:05:28] And I find that when I look at one of the biggest things the enemy attacks is first marriage and then family.

[00:05:35] Because if he can attack those and cause division and then eventually destruction of it,

[00:05:44] he can ruin or mess up something that God created for his glory and also for the continuation of the faith throughout the world.

[00:05:57] And so when we sit there and we look and see an excellent wife who can find.

[00:06:00] She is far more precious than jewels.

[00:06:02] I have to look at my own wife.

[00:06:05] Like I said, I've been married for 12 years.

[00:06:08] I look at all the things that we've been through.

[00:06:11] All of the ups and downs.

[00:06:14] The joys.

[00:06:15] The sorrows.

[00:06:17] The nights of praying and rejoicing.

[00:06:19] But also the nights of tears.

[00:06:21] And one of the things that I look at when I look at my wife, she always reminds me of who I am in Christ.

[00:06:32] And what I've been called to be as a father, a man himself, but also a pastor as well.

[00:06:40] And all three of those privileges that God and his grace has allowed me to be, she does a fantastic job of reminding me who I am in those.

[00:06:51] Because I mean, I'll be honest in ministry.

[00:06:54] I've been in youth ministry for 14 years.

[00:06:56] And there have been days where I sit there and I'm like, I am absolutely terrible at this.

[00:07:00] God, why would you use me?

[00:07:02] Why would you love me?

[00:07:02] Why would you allow me to take your sacred word that changes lives, that renews the mind and the heart and transforms those that are dead to life?

[00:07:14] And you would use me, one who is broken.

[00:07:17] And just it's, I can't, when I read that verse, I think of my wife.

[00:07:24] Well, that's really good.

[00:07:26] I'm going to go ahead and stop you and refer back to Proverbs 18.22, which we just referred to prior to coming on.

[00:07:32] And it says, he who finds a wife finds a treasure.

[00:07:37] That is in the New Living Translation.

[00:07:39] But, you know, Richard, a lot of people stop there.

[00:07:42] But what it says after that, it says, and he obtains favor from the Lord.

[00:07:48] And anyone listening today, if you are not married, and keep that in mind for those people who think, well, I don't really want to get married.

[00:07:57] Richard, it's vital that we get married because even in the very, very beginning in Genesis chapter 2, it says, man is not meant to be alone.

[00:08:07] So that is not what God desires of anyone, but also that he obtains favor from the Lord.

[00:08:15] So if you find a wife, you're going to have favor.

[00:08:20] And Richard, in this world we live in today, favor is very important.

[00:08:26] What are your thoughts about that?

[00:08:28] Well, I would first off wholeheartedly agree as the writer of Proverbs talks about, you know, finding a wife finds a good thing, obtains favor from the Lord.

[00:08:37] But when I look at marriage itself, we see the first one, the first one ever in Genesis chapter 2 where God takes Adam's rib and forms Eve.

[00:08:47] And we see this beautiful union that God sits there and says, hey, this is an example for you.

[00:08:55] Because like we said, man is not designed to be alone.

[00:08:59] And he gives Eve that opportunity to be that helpmate.

[00:09:05] And this is one of those things I want to preface because when we hear that word helpmate, somehow we see, especially in our culture, we sit there and we hear helpmates.

[00:09:16] So there must be some sort of level of importance.

[00:09:18] And when we look at this, God himself looks at man and woman both as vital, both as important, both as intentionally designed by him for different roles, but also mainly for the glorification of God.

[00:09:36] And, you know, when I sit there and I hear finds a wife finds a good thing.

[00:09:41] And I mentioned to you this a little bit earlier when we talk about our culture and how through several different avenues, whether it has to do with just belittling marriage, homosexuality, transgenderism,

[00:09:57] all of these things that we find that are very real in our culture are not just mere things that were created.

[00:10:05] They're actually attacks on the biblical marriage that God designed, you know.

[00:10:11] And so that's one of the things that we look at definitely through that.

[00:10:14] But also, I mean, when he talks about obtaining favor from the Lord, I mean, going back to my marriage with my wife,

[00:10:21] there are things that I've, seasons that I've gone through in my life that I would not have made it through without my wife.

[00:10:29] You know, and obviously God and his grace, if you're not married right now and you're not married yet,

[00:10:34] I mean, God and his grace is going to get you through those seasons.

[00:10:36] But there's also those things where God says, hey, I've given you your wife to walk with you.

[00:10:42] You know, because in his sovereignty, in his knowledge, he knows each one of us individually and us being able to sit there and say,

[00:10:49] I know what you, how you are, what you think, how you feel, what you're going to feel.

[00:10:53] But I've also given you your wife to walk with you through that, to walk with you in those moments where, you know,

[00:11:01] you're worrying and you are holding on to something and you're not giving it over to the Lord.

[00:11:05] And your wife comes up and says, why are you worrying about that?

[00:11:08] Why are you holding on to that?

[00:11:10] And obviously vice versa, you know.

[00:11:12] And that's why for me, me and my wife worked so well with that.

[00:11:17] And I believe it's God ordained.

[00:11:19] I mean, God sat there and when we were pursuing marriage, we sat there and we were like,

[00:11:26] God, is this something that you want?

[00:11:29] Is this going to bring you glory?

[00:11:31] Is this the woman that you want me to grow old together, to raise children together, to, you know, pastor with?

[00:11:38] I mean, and so when I look at that, obtaining that favor from the Lord, I know I can speak from my own testimony for God's glory that, yes,

[00:11:47] you do obtain favor from the Lord if you seek out a wife.

[00:11:52] You know, and that's the whole thing also is looking for a wife, not looking for a woman, looking for a wife.

[00:12:00] So, well, that's really good.

[00:12:03] I'm going to, you know, go ahead and pause right now because, Richard, some people listening today may not know exactly who you are.

[00:12:11] I'd like to take a step back to your early childhood.

[00:12:15] And if you would, just give us a few details, your most, you know, moments that you really, really think about because now you're 38 years old.

[00:12:26] And, you know, childhood's a long time ago.

[00:12:28] So, I mean, what are some of your fondest memories that you would like to share with the audience?

[00:12:34] Well, I'll give you the abridged version of my life.

[00:12:38] I am the oldest of four.

[00:12:39] I have two brothers and a sister.

[00:12:42] We grew up in a Christian home in Mississippi.

[00:12:48] We were in church every Sunday.

[00:12:50] Every time the doors were open, we were in church.

[00:12:53] My mom taught Sunday school for 35, 40 years.

[00:12:58] My dad has been a worship pastor just until recently when he retired.

[00:13:02] He actually retired earlier this year.

[00:13:06] And for me, you know, I grew up knowing the Bible because it was so in front of us.

[00:13:14] I mean, the movies we watched, the discussions that we had in, you know, around the table.

[00:13:22] My dad was one that he read the Bible to us every night.

[00:13:25] And I won't lie, there were nights, you know, we were reading through Leviticus and I was like, this is horrible.

[00:13:32] You know, but I was young, you know.

[00:13:34] But I remember the fact that he would read the scripture every single night.

[00:13:39] You know, even if it was, you know, Leviticus 20 or something like that.

[00:13:44] But I grew up knowing God's word.

[00:13:49] However, there's a difference between knowing God's word and being right with God.

[00:13:57] You know, I'm going to stop you right there because you bring up such a good point.

[00:14:01] And when you say knowing God's word and for those people who are not all that familiar with reading scripture.

[00:14:08] And I know many people or at least a few people listening to today may be a little bit intimidated by the sheer size of the Bible.

[00:14:18] And you haven't gotten into a habit of opening that book.

[00:14:23] And you sit there and look at a book that sometimes can be over 3,000 pages long.

[00:14:29] And it's very, very intimidating.

[00:14:32] But Richard, I like the point you brought up is that when you read the Bible, it cannot be read like a regular book.

[00:14:41] It is alive.

[00:14:43] It is literally breathing.

[00:14:46] And you cannot read it as a novel.

[00:14:49] You actually need to pray to the Holy Spirit.

[00:14:53] And I often say this on my daily podcast is pray before you read the Bible.

[00:14:59] Holy Spirit, give me revelation as to what I am hearing and what I am reading today.

[00:15:07] Let me understand what your word is telling me.

[00:15:11] Your thoughts on that, Richard?

[00:15:12] And a word I like to use when I think about that because I wholeheartedly agree.

[00:15:18] I mean, yes, the whole Scripture is a metanarrative about Christ and the redemptive plan through Christ that God placed long before the foundations of the earth.

[00:15:28] But the word I like to use is illuminate, is to light up.

[00:15:32] And when we pray to the Holy Spirit to ask us to illuminate the Scripture.

[00:15:37] Because, you know, we've all been at those points where we sit there and we read the Scripture like just a story.

[00:15:47] And then we close it and it's over.

[00:15:49] It's done with.

[00:15:50] Or, you know, when I was in school, you read it as a textbook.

[00:15:54] You know, but 2 Timothy 3.16 says, you know, all Scripture is God breathed.

[00:16:00] And you mentioned to it earlier that it is alive.

[00:16:04] Hebrews talks about it's alive and it cuts deep to the marrow of man.

[00:16:09] And that's because it is not just a whole bunch of man-made texts.

[00:16:14] It is a supernatural collection of God's work.

[00:16:19] And we have all of that together.

[00:16:21] Praise God, you know.

[00:16:23] But when we look at that, it's not something that just us in our flesh can read and actually comprehend.

[00:16:30] Because Paul says that our flesh and the Spirit, which is inside of us if we are believers, are constantly against each other.

[00:16:38] I use this analogy with my students.

[00:16:39] And so I have them all say, all right, how many of you guys are Gator fans?

[00:16:43] And they'll raise their hand.

[00:16:44] How many of you guys are Noel fans?

[00:16:46] You know, and they'll raise their hand.

[00:16:47] And I said, how many, do you guys, do these two fan bases like each other?

[00:16:52] And they're like, no, absolutely not.

[00:16:54] You're right, because one will not have anything to do with the other unless it's defeating the other.

[00:16:59] And that's the same thing with the Spirit and the flesh.

[00:17:01] The flesh will never do something that is, you know, glorifying to God.

[00:17:05] But also the Spirit is never going to call us to do something that glorifies the flesh.

[00:17:11] And so for us, we cannot read and understand the Scripture and actually hear from God unless we are surrendering to Christ in that moment

[00:17:21] and asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate or light up the Scripture so we can understand it.

[00:17:25] Because the reality is you can read the same passage over and over and over again.

[00:17:29] And the Holy Spirit will give you something at one point.

[00:17:31] But then you can read that same passage six months later and it's something totally different.

[00:17:38] But I think that goes to just encourage the fact that God in His omniscience,

[00:17:46] the fact that He gives us 66 books, 1189 chapters of His redemption story,

[00:17:53] we can't even contain all of that.

[00:17:57] But God in His mercy gives us little snippets every single time we read.

[00:18:03] You know, and I think that's one of the biggest things is, you know, Paul says,

[00:18:07] submit to the Spirit, walk in the Spirit.

[00:18:10] And that is how we're able to not just read words on a page,

[00:18:15] but literally hear from God's Word.

[00:18:18] And a little side note, you know, one of the questions I've gotten often,

[00:18:22] especially with my students recently, is how do I know the will of God?

[00:18:25] You know the will of God when you know the Word of God.

[00:18:28] And the reason why that's so key is because when you know God's Word,

[00:18:33] you already know the parameters of God's will,

[00:18:36] because God's will will never contradict God's Word.

[00:18:38] And so when you sit there and you look at this,

[00:18:42] when you look and say, well, what's God's will for my life?

[00:18:45] Well, what about God saying, why don't you just be a faithful dad today?

[00:18:50] Why don't you be a faithful pastor today?

[00:18:53] Why don't you be a faithful friend today?

[00:18:55] And when I look at that, and I use this analogy with my,

[00:18:59] this passage with my students a lot, is when Peter walked on the water.

[00:19:06] Because Jesus is walking on the water, and Peter sees him,

[00:19:10] and he says, Jesus, if it's you, let me come to you.

[00:19:13] Now here's the thing.

[00:19:14] Peter could have very easily said that, and then Jesus says, come on,

[00:19:18] and he could have sat there and stayed in the boat,

[00:19:20] which is unfortunately what a lot of us as believers do.

[00:19:23] We want to sit there and say, okay, Jesus, I want to see how you get out of the boat,

[00:19:27] how many steps I'm going to take to you,

[00:19:29] what wave is going to come and hit me,

[00:19:31] what lightning is going to happen, and we want to see the entire thing.

[00:19:34] Jesus said, look, you don't walk by sight, you walk by faith.

[00:19:39] And so Peter takes that one step out of the boat,

[00:19:41] that's when we sit there and say, I'm going to be faithful in this moment.

[00:19:46] I'm going to be faithful in this day.

[00:19:47] I'm going to be faithful in this situation.

[00:19:50] And the thing is, Scripture says, he who is faithful with little,

[00:19:53] he will be faithful with much.

[00:19:55] And so for us, you know, how about we sit there and say,

[00:20:00] God, I have your word.

[00:20:02] I don't understand it right now.

[00:20:03] I don't understand this passage.

[00:20:05] You know what I mean?

[00:20:06] There's things in Hebrews and other books that I sit there and I'm like,

[00:20:09] God, I've been to school.

[00:20:11] I've been taught.

[00:20:12] I've sat under amazing teachers, but I don't understand this.

[00:20:15] But here's the thing.

[00:20:16] I'm being faithful to try to grow in you.

[00:20:18] And that's what it boils down to is saying, Holy Spirit,

[00:20:24] you are so much more vast than my limited mind can comprehend.

[00:20:31] Help me see.

[00:20:32] Help me see.

[00:20:33] You know, and I think that's just, that's what I would hold to as far as

[00:20:37] the importance of looking at the Scripture and saying, be faithful to read.

[00:20:41] Just be faithful to read it.

[00:20:42] Be faithful to trust in what the Holy Spirit is going to reveal to you and

[00:20:47] illuminate for you.

[00:20:48] You know, I'm going to go to Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.

[00:20:53] And, you know, most people listening to this know those things.

[00:20:57] It says, trust in the Lord with all your heart.

[00:21:00] Lean not on your own understanding.

[00:21:03] In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

[00:21:08] That, Richard, the bottom line is we need to put our trust in God.

[00:21:13] Every moment of every day.

[00:21:16] Because whenever we have decisions to make, if we don't see God,

[00:21:21] a lot of times we're going to fall flat on our face.

[00:21:23] Jesus told us in the Gospel of John,

[00:21:26] I do nothing that I don't see my Father in heaven doing.

[00:21:30] I don't say anything that I don't hear him saying.

[00:21:33] Jesus was the perfect manifestation of God in the flesh.

[00:21:38] Now, he came to earth fully God and fully human.

[00:21:42] But in the book of Philippians, it says that he laid down his garments.

[00:21:47] He basically became a human being.

[00:21:51] And he lived his entire life on earth as a man.

[00:21:55] That means that he was tempted in all areas, as are we.

[00:22:00] And yet he never gave in to the temptation of sin.

[00:22:04] One of the most powerful revelations that you can have.

[00:22:09] Many people just simply don't grasp that true concept.

[00:22:13] But Richard, what I'd like to do is, if you would,

[00:22:16] tell us about when you were saved,

[00:22:18] and is that the most important decision you've ever made in your life?

[00:22:23] Well, short answer, yes.

[00:22:25] It absolutely is.

[00:22:27] It was more important than the fact of me getting married,

[00:22:31] going into the ministry, having my children.

[00:22:36] All of the major decisions that you would say are cornerstone decisions of your life

[00:22:41] that make up the foundation of your life.

[00:22:45] And this is not to belittle them, pale in comparison to that.

[00:22:48] Because the reality is outside of our relationship with Christ,

[00:22:52] we're just, unfortunately, and this is going to sound harsh,

[00:22:56] but we're wasting time.

[00:23:00] You know, because when you sit there and you step back

[00:23:04] and you look at Jesus' life and all of the apostles and the disciples

[00:23:10] and all the followers of Christ throughout the entire life,

[00:23:14] you know, one of the unifying things you'll hear from all of them

[00:23:18] was, yes, it was worth it.

[00:23:22] Yes, it was worth being persecuted.

[00:23:24] Yes, it was worth being ridiculed.

[00:23:26] Yes, it was worth losing this.

[00:23:30] Yes, it was worth...

[00:23:31] One of my favorite hymns by Horatio Spafford,

[00:23:35] it's called It Is Well With My Soul.

[00:23:37] And, you know, I'm not going to go into this whole history,

[00:23:39] but basically he had one, for me personally,

[00:23:45] this may be just because of the season I'm in,

[00:23:47] where he ends up losing his wife and all of his children

[00:23:49] and all of the things that go on

[00:23:51] because he stayed behind to take care of some business

[00:23:55] before he went to meet his family.

[00:23:57] They ended up drowning, all of them.

[00:24:00] And he penned the words to a famous hymn,

[00:24:06] It Is Well.

[00:24:08] And he goes back, and if you listen to the lyrics of those verses,

[00:24:15] at the very end of them, each one of them,

[00:24:17] one having to do with whatever happens in his life,

[00:24:20] the second one, my sin, talking about his own personal sin,

[00:24:24] and then the last one talking about the fact that Jesus has returned,

[00:24:27] the same words at the end,

[00:24:30] it is well with my soul.

[00:24:32] And it's not because of anything that he could have done during those seasons.

[00:24:38] It was because of the consistency and the character of Christ in his life

[00:24:42] that carried him through those seasons.

[00:24:46] So for the first part of your two-part question,

[00:24:51] yes, it is the most important decision you'll ever make.

[00:24:55] For me, I surrendered my life when I was six years old.

[00:25:01] It was March 7, 1992.

[00:25:03] And you say, well, how do you know that?

[00:25:05] My mom actually gave me this to me when I graduated high school.

[00:25:10] She wrote down the day that I gave my life to Christ,

[00:25:14] and it was her journal that she kept

[00:25:19] when she would write down major events in my life.

[00:25:24] Now, we know that you don't just pray a prayer and that's it.

[00:25:30] That's not biblical salvation.

[00:25:32] That is not anything at all.

[00:25:34] I mean, all you're really doing,

[00:25:35] if you're just praying a prayer and thinking you're good,

[00:25:38] honestly, you've bought a lie.

[00:25:39] Why?

[00:25:40] Because the scripture says faith rises in us,

[00:25:44] and we come to that place where the words of the scripture

[00:25:49] do not just become words on a page,

[00:25:52] but they become life to us.

[00:25:55] When Ephesians 2, 4, and 5,

[00:25:57] where it talks about you were dead in your trespasses,

[00:25:59] you weren't just a bad person,

[00:26:01] you weren't just a dying person,

[00:26:04] we are dead in our sins.

[00:26:07] But then, later on in that verse,

[00:26:09] it talks you've been raised to new life in Christ.

[00:26:12] And so for us, as we think about that,

[00:26:18] and for me, yes, I was raised to new life,

[00:26:22] but I was also from 6 to about, I would say, 22.

[00:26:29] All the things of the world

[00:26:31] and all the influences and all of that

[00:26:33] still played a huge role in my testimony towards that

[00:26:37] because there were a couple seasons

[00:26:40] where I was living two separate lives.

[00:26:44] I was walking.

[00:26:47] I went to church Wednesday, Sunday,

[00:26:50] and at house I was living like a Christian,

[00:26:53] but then on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday,

[00:26:55] I was not.

[00:26:56] And it was one of those things where,

[00:26:59] and the scripture talks about this,

[00:27:00] where the spirit was so quenched in my heart

[00:27:04] because I relied solely on my knowledge

[00:27:09] of the Word of God.

[00:27:12] But I was not living it out.

[00:27:14] I was not loving Christ

[00:27:18] because what, you know,

[00:27:19] Jesus even says,

[00:27:20] you will know they love me if they obey me.

[00:27:24] You know, because we pursue Christ's likeness,

[00:27:26] we pursue holiness,

[00:27:27] and when we do that,

[00:27:29] then comes obedience.

[00:27:31] We pursue that intimacy with God,

[00:27:33] then we find obedience coming.

[00:27:34] And I think that was during that season

[00:27:37] from, you know,

[00:27:39] obviously it changed based on, you know,

[00:27:41] the years and different things came up,

[00:27:43] but during that season,

[00:27:47] the Lord never let me go.

[00:27:50] The sanctification process may not have been

[00:27:53] as fast as, you know,

[00:27:55] maybe somebody would want,

[00:27:56] but the thing is it's a process,

[00:27:57] and I'm not the one who guided the process.

[00:27:59] You know,

[00:28:00] there was still a praying mom

[00:28:01] and a praying dad,

[00:28:03] and the Lord sent pastor after pastor

[00:28:06] after friend,

[00:28:07] after Sunday school teacher,

[00:28:08] after people that kept pouring into me

[00:28:10] even when I was making very poor choices.

[00:28:16] So, but that would be the thing,

[00:28:19] was it wasn't about until,

[00:28:22] I would say it was my senior year in high school,

[00:28:26] where the Lord really was like,

[00:28:28] okay, we're done with this.

[00:28:30] We're done with this whole flippity-flop stuff.

[00:28:34] And it was,

[00:28:37] when I left,

[00:28:38] it was the summer,

[00:28:40] and I remember just being broken.

[00:28:45] I mean,

[00:28:45] we're talking like Psalm 51 broken,

[00:28:50] where I sat there and I was like,

[00:28:51] Lord,

[00:28:52] what am I doing?

[00:28:53] What has been going on?

[00:28:54] Why is all of this happening?

[00:28:57] And, you know,

[00:28:58] there was,

[00:28:59] there was,

[00:29:00] there was brokenness,

[00:29:01] but there was also repentance.

[00:29:04] You know,

[00:29:04] I'm going to go ahead and stop you right there.

[00:29:06] You know,

[00:29:07] you just made reference to Psalm 51,

[00:29:09] and that may not hold much significance

[00:29:11] to many people listening to this podcast today.

[00:29:14] But Psalm 51 is King David's psalm of repentance.

[00:29:19] When he is grieved by what he has done,

[00:29:23] he has killed his general, Uriah.

[00:29:28] He's had him murdered.

[00:29:30] And then he went and took his wife,

[00:29:33] Bathsheba,

[00:29:34] had an adulterous relationship with him.

[00:29:37] And David's plea in Psalm 51 says,

[00:29:41] create in me a clean heart,

[00:29:45] oh God.

[00:29:46] What an awesome picture.

[00:29:48] We always remember King David.

[00:29:51] We know him as a man after God's own heart.

[00:29:54] And Richard,

[00:29:55] we will get into this later,

[00:29:57] but this is it.

[00:29:59] This is the end.

[00:30:00] I told you it's going to be short,

[00:30:02] and it is.

[00:30:02] So what I'd like for you to do is,

[00:30:05] we'll pick up next time.

[00:30:06] What I'd really kind of like to do next time

[00:30:08] is go into a little bit of why you came.

[00:30:14] To Gulf to Lake Church.

[00:30:16] Basically how you began in ministry,

[00:30:18] how you were called by God into the ministry.

[00:30:22] Because Richard,

[00:30:24] if you're worth your grain and salt in the ministry,

[00:30:27] you can never view it as a regular job.

[00:30:30] You simply can't.

[00:30:31] It has to be a calling.

[00:30:33] God has to call you into the ministry.

[00:30:36] I'd like to hear more about that next time.

[00:30:38] But if you would,

[00:30:39] just simply take a couple minutes,

[00:30:41] and you said the most important decision you ever made

[00:30:44] was receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

[00:30:47] This is an opportunity.

[00:30:49] Spend two minutes.

[00:30:50] Talk about that importance,

[00:30:52] how it changed your life,

[00:30:54] and then lead the audience in a quick prayer.

[00:30:58] Well, I guess the biggest thing that I would hold to,

[00:31:02] going back to Ephesians 2,

[00:31:04] is a new life in Christ.

[00:31:06] And not just a new life,

[00:31:09] but the fulfillment that we find in Christ.

[00:31:13] For me, you know,

[00:31:15] I spent so many years trying to find that fulfillment,

[00:31:21] that which only God could fulfill,

[00:31:25] and life in Christ could fulfill.

[00:31:28] And I don't say that to say

[00:31:30] that it was about finding fulfillment.

[00:31:33] But when I found Christ,

[00:31:36] and that became enough,

[00:31:39] Jesus was enough.

[00:31:41] You know, and my life was not about me anymore.

[00:31:45] And here's the thing.

[00:31:46] I'm happy about that.

[00:31:49] Because when I sit there and I find out

[00:31:51] that it's not about me,

[00:31:52] it's about bringing glory to Him.

[00:31:55] There's a verse in Romans that talks about

[00:31:59] that, you know,

[00:32:01] when we do the things that glorify God,

[00:32:04] it actually is for our benefit.

[00:32:06] You know?

[00:32:07] Because when we bring glory to God,

[00:32:09] Him alone,

[00:32:11] we step back and say,

[00:32:13] you know what?

[00:32:15] I may have lost that.

[00:32:16] I may have given that away.

[00:32:18] I may have sacrificed that.

[00:32:20] But being right with God,

[00:32:22] there is no other thing that can compare.

[00:32:27] There is no other thing that can compare

[00:32:29] to a new life in Christ,

[00:32:33] sharing His Word.

[00:32:34] And I'll give you an example,

[00:32:38] if I may.

[00:32:38] I may go past two minutes,

[00:32:39] forgive me.

[00:32:42] When I was in high school,

[00:32:43] I had a friend,

[00:32:45] his name was Matt Stilwell,

[00:32:46] and Matt and I had played basketball together

[00:32:49] for years,

[00:32:50] just, you know,

[00:32:51] on the court,

[00:32:53] or outside the school.

[00:32:54] And we had played for years and years and years.

[00:32:57] And we had this thing called senior lunch.

[00:33:00] And what it was,

[00:33:01] was the seniors were allowed to leave campus

[00:33:03] for a couple hours and go eat lunch,

[00:33:05] and they'd come back.

[00:33:06] A very bold,

[00:33:07] bold move by the school.

[00:33:09] But I was,

[00:33:12] excuse me,

[00:33:13] had planned to go with my buddies

[00:33:15] and go.

[00:33:16] Well,

[00:33:17] my buddies left me that day.

[00:33:18] And so,

[00:33:20] I was really upset.

[00:33:21] And so I ended up,

[00:33:23] I was like,

[00:33:23] well,

[00:33:24] I'm not going to class,

[00:33:25] but there really wasn't any other place for me to go.

[00:33:27] So I went to the library.

[00:33:28] And you're like,

[00:33:29] the library?

[00:33:29] Why?

[00:33:30] Because what I could do is,

[00:33:32] and I'm going to age myself here,

[00:33:33] I took my CD player,

[00:33:34] my portable CD player,

[00:33:36] and sat down,

[00:33:37] and I was actually just reading my Bible.

[00:33:38] I was really mad,

[00:33:39] but I was just reading my Bible.

[00:33:42] And Matt walks in,

[00:33:44] and Matt had sat down,

[00:33:47] and he was reading a textbook,

[00:33:49] and all of a sudden,

[00:33:49] the Holy Spirit goes,

[00:33:51] go talk to him.

[00:33:53] Now again,

[00:33:54] I was mad.

[00:33:55] I had wanted nothing to do

[00:33:57] with what God wanted me to do at that moment,

[00:34:01] because I didn't get what I wanted

[00:34:03] at that moment.

[00:34:04] And so for a couple minutes,

[00:34:07] me and God wrestled,

[00:34:09] and then,

[00:34:11] it's funny because I was listening

[00:34:12] to a song by Mercy Me,

[00:34:14] and the lyrics of the song were,

[00:34:16] here I go again,

[00:34:18] talking about things

[00:34:19] that will not live past today.

[00:34:23] And the Holy Spirit was like,

[00:34:26] that's your relationship with him.

[00:34:29] Because the content of our relationship

[00:34:31] was basketball,

[00:34:32] sports,

[00:34:33] and things like that,

[00:34:34] but the reality is,

[00:34:36] none of those things last past today.

[00:34:39] And so,

[00:34:40] at the time,

[00:34:41] reluctantly,

[00:34:42] I was like,

[00:34:42] alright, fine, Lord.

[00:34:44] And so I went over there,

[00:34:46] and I started talking to him,

[00:34:47] you know,

[00:34:48] small talk first,

[00:34:49] then we started talking about

[00:34:51] church,

[00:34:52] then we started talking about

[00:34:53] the actual gospel itself.

[00:34:56] and I can remember that,

[00:34:58] the sheer joy of sharing,

[00:35:02] it was almost like my frustration

[00:35:03] and my bitterness towards my friend

[00:35:05] turned to joy,

[00:35:06] just like that,

[00:35:08] in the twinkling of an eye,

[00:35:09] I guess you could say.

[00:35:10] And I sit there,

[00:35:11] and at the end of the conversation,

[00:35:14] he came up to me,

[00:35:15] or he,

[00:35:15] you know,

[00:35:16] said,

[00:35:16] you know,

[00:35:17] I've never actually heard

[00:35:18] the gospel fully told to me.

[00:35:21] You know,

[00:35:22] and I could not tell you,

[00:35:24] like I said,

[00:35:26] the sheer joy of being faithful

[00:35:29] to the one that I call

[00:35:31] boss,

[00:35:32] master,

[00:35:32] king of my life.

[00:35:34] And that,

[00:35:35] and at that moment,

[00:35:36] you,

[00:35:37] you couldn't have,

[00:35:38] you could have given me

[00:35:39] ten million dollars

[00:35:40] and I said no.

[00:35:42] You know?

[00:35:45] So,

[00:35:45] for that being said,

[00:35:47] I mean,

[00:35:48] a new life in Christ,

[00:35:50] doing things for the kingdom

[00:35:51] that will not fade away,

[00:35:53] that do not,

[00:35:54] you know,

[00:35:55] do not rust,

[00:35:56] and moths can't come destroy,

[00:35:57] all of these things,

[00:35:59] we find

[00:36:01] there's nothing in life

[00:36:03] that this life can offer

[00:36:04] that will ever compare.

[00:36:05] It will give you,

[00:36:05] it will give you

[00:36:06] a cheap imitation.

[00:36:07] But at the end of the day,

[00:36:09] everything that we do

[00:36:11] as a believer

[00:36:12] is for God's glory

[00:36:13] to magnify Christ

[00:36:15] and to edify the saints.

[00:36:17] So,

[00:36:18] but,

[00:36:19] thank you so much,

[00:36:20] Bill,

[00:36:20] for having me on.

[00:36:21] Let me,

[00:36:22] let me,

[00:36:22] let me pray for us

[00:36:24] if you don't mind.

[00:36:25] Father,

[00:36:25] I thank you

[00:36:26] for this day.

[00:36:27] I thank you so much

[00:36:28] for your love.

[00:36:30] I thank you for another day

[00:36:31] that your mercies are made new.

[00:36:33] I thank you for this time.

[00:36:34] Father,

[00:36:35] I pray for every single person

[00:36:36] that's here listening.

[00:36:38] I pray that they've been encouraged,

[00:36:39] that they have been

[00:36:42] just uplifted

[00:36:43] because of the content

[00:36:45] that was talked about today.

[00:36:46] And we wanted you

[00:36:47] to be glorified.

[00:36:48] I want Christ

[00:36:48] to be magnified.

[00:36:50] Lord,

[00:36:50] thank you again

[00:36:51] for just your word,

[00:36:53] how true it is,

[00:36:54] how it changes lives,

[00:36:56] how it has changed my life.

[00:36:58] Father,

[00:36:59] I praise you.

[00:36:59] I praise you

[00:37:00] because you are worthy

[00:37:01] of all of the praise

[00:37:03] and all the glory

[00:37:04] and the honor.

[00:37:05] We ask this in Jesus' name.

[00:37:07] Amen.

[00:37:08] Amen.

[00:37:09] Well,

[00:37:09] Richard,

[00:37:09] thank you so much.

[00:37:10] And,

[00:37:10] you know,

[00:37:11] one of the reasons

[00:37:12] I had you on

[00:37:13] is their passion

[00:37:13] and your love for God.

[00:37:15] But if there's anyone

[00:37:16] listening today

[00:37:17] and,

[00:37:18] you know,

[00:37:19] if you repeated that prayer,

[00:37:20] you are now

[00:37:21] a bona fide member

[00:37:22] of the family of God.

[00:37:24] I want to welcome

[00:37:25] you to the kingdom.

[00:37:26] So,

[00:37:26] Richard,

[00:37:27] we'll be back together again

[00:37:28] about five or six months.

[00:37:30] But what I'd like to do

[00:37:31] is close with a blessing.

[00:37:33] Now,

[00:37:34] may the Lord bless you

[00:37:35] and keep you.

[00:37:36] The Lord make his face

[00:37:37] shine upon you

[00:37:38] and be gracious to you.

[00:37:40] The Lord lift up

[00:37:41] his countenance upon you

[00:37:43] and give you peace.

[00:37:45] Friends,

[00:37:46] please join me again tomorrow

[00:37:47] as we further explore

[00:37:49] wisdom today.