Fearless Faith - Scott Wert | College Leader Weekend

Fearless Faith - Scott Wert

In this talk, Scott Wert shares his personal testimony and the significance of following God in our own lives. He highlights the importance of regularly reading the Bible and spending time with God to align our thoughts and understand His purpose. Scott encourages taking risks and faithfully following God's guidance, even in uncertain situations. Additionally, he stresses the need to deepen our relationship with God and apply our faith by embracing others without judgment. Overall, this sermon urges listeners to be receptive to God's leading and live out their faith with a sense of devotion and love.

Transcript

Let's hear from Scott Wert.

Hey, guys, thanks for. Thanks for having me. And also want to say thanks too for engaging with those folks this morning. We came to pray, so I'm thankful you're willing to step out and let them pray for you. Maybe you guys do that a lot, but that can be kind of a different experience to just sit up there and not really share a prayer request.

Just kind of let these people trail these thoughts. And I stepped out. It's pretty cool.

Rick, share a little bit about me. I will say Rick and name both. I was thinking about them. I wrote fearless leaders, but I'd say more they're courageous leaders because I know they have fear. Things happen, they get scared, but they really are.

They push through, like just being. Knowing them and being connected to them for so many decades. I think one pivotal difference in their fact that they're willing to just take risks when they're scared, when things are scary. So it's pretty awesome. And Rick is taking a risk by letting me speak.

Doesn't know what I'm going to say, and it is the risk. I don't always know what I'm going to say, so forget my notes. I'm not the polished speaker. It sure is. But really, I'm going to kind of touch on three things tonight.

As time allows. I'm just going to kind of share a God story. Just what God's been doing in my life and why I'm in the season of life I am in right now. And then I'm going to share a little bit about what we can do as it relates to our relationship with Jesus, how we can know more, how we can walk with him, what that looks like. And then last thing is touch on how we can live at our faith in relationship with others.

And if we really aren't walking with Jesus, there's not a lot of living at our faith with others. So the two go together. That's why I'm touching this, too.

I know I spoke here a couple of years ago and honestly, I don't remember at all what I said. So if I repeat something, forgive me for that. I was trying to remember, but I had no idea maybe how many of you were here last time I spoke. Okay, not that many. That's probably good.

So I'm going to, like I said, start off just by sharing kind of a God story. And Rick and Amy might have heard pieces of this, but I'm pretty sure you guys even haven't really heard this whole thing kind of all together once. So might be trying to catch you up too.

Besides young life volunteer young life, even though young life staff a little bit, just vocationally. I've been in the flooring industry for about 1718 years, maybe actually longer now and then also in real estate, helping people buy into real estate for about almost 18 years, also doing that. So just as a vocation. So working for the swan manufacturer, I've been there, I don't know, five or six years, got a new boss who's the folk jerk, and I just ready for a change. But just anything, right you do in life, that's kind of a big thing like that, right?

Merit job change, moving. You're really seeking God on it. So trying to seek God on that. And I had a number of job offers, interviews, but I just felt like the Lord was like, no. So even if some are more money, I just was like, just kind of, kind of wait for the right thing.

So I was scrolling through LinkedIn one day, just kind of started looking at job stuff on there. And this company was job description. This company was kind of like highlighted to me, just like stuck out. And I felt like the Lord said, you're going to work there. I was like, it's weird.

What is this? I don't even know what this company is. And company called Streamlight. I was like, I think they make like flashlights. They make all kinds of different lighting stuff for industrial and law enforcement and different things.

I thought maybe they have one of the flashlights. That's why it stuck out to me. But felt know Lord said, you're going to work there. And I clicked on this thing, looked at the job description. There's a midwest regional sales manager position over the Midwest target country sales team in an industry I knew nothing about.

And on LinkedIn you can see sometimes it'll say how many applicants have applied for something. It was already in hundreds and the job had just been posted. So I was like, lord, how is that going to work? There's hundreds of people applying for this thing, not even part of this industry. I'm going to share some things as I'm sharing this up.

You're going to hear me say the Lord told me this. I feel like God said this. I just want you to know, preface, that's not how life is all the time for me. Don't think that I go through sometimes months and years and just not really hearing God on things and just kind of trying to feel my way through things, just so you guys know that. But there's also seasons or times when for whatever reason?

God's just being gracious and I'm hearing clearly and stuff. I'm like, man, I think, hey, lord, so I'm going to work there. How's that going to happen? And I hear God say, send a letter to the CEO of the company. Okay, that's different.

So I was like, okay. So I prayed about it. I put a letter together pretty quick, felt like this is what I should put in it and sent it off with a copy of my resume. And then I went in and applied for the job. I got his attention, and within, I don't know, a month or so, I kind of forgot about it.

I'd get a call from HR department and they're like, yeah, CEO got your letter. And it basically trickled down. He was like, call this guy. So start this interview process. This is back in 2019, like December, November, something like that.

2019. So this long interview process of many phone interviews, then flying me over this part of the country and sitting down with more people, national sales managers, directors, more interviews. And I could tell sitting with these people, they were only interviewing me because someone high up was like, you should talk to this guy. Because some of the people I interviewed with were very much like, I don't even know. They said, it's like, I don't even know why you're interviewing me.

You have no experience in this industry. You sent a letter like, okay. But through this process, even when I initially interviewed, not only did I hear the Lord say, going to work at this company, I heard God say, you're going to work here. You're going to basically get very far along in the interview process. You're going to be the second choice.

It's going to seem like it's not going to work out, and then it's going to work out. So I heard it all that clearly and that I went to my wife. This is before I even started interviewing with them. And I told my wife, I said, this is what I heard. I don't tell my wife or even a lot of people stuff I'm hearing.

But that was so clear. I was like, I'm going to tell someone because this is going to happen.

I told her, this is specifically what I heard. So like I said, I'll work there. I'll be second choice. It's going to seem like it's not going to work out. It's going to work out.

So I go through this whole interview process. It takes like five or six months. Just keeps going. And then finally get five or six months into it. They fly me out to their corporate headquarters, and there's three people they've narrowed it down to out of, like, 100,000 applicants.

I don't even know how many, and I'm one of them. So they fly me out. And you do more interviewing with executives and HR people and dinners, all kind of stuff. And then I've interviewed for a lot of jobs. I just have.

I had never been through an interview process. So in addition to all the interviewing, while I'm there, they send me off for testing. 7 hours just straight of IQ testing, personality at the center, personality testing, spatial reasoning, like social situations, all this stuff. I don't like tests. And then as part of that, they pull you out halfway through, and you have this long psychological evaluation with this psychiatrist.

In the middle of this testing, I started to think this company was like a front for the CIA, that intense. And it was like, I've never had a psychological evaluation, but it was like, literally they would ask me questions about myself, my family. What's your relationship with your mother like? And then all of a sudden, the psychiatrist, just out of nowhere go, how far is the earth from the sun? What's the boiling point of water?

What do you think of when I say the word carnival? And then she would go back asking me about stuff about myself, and then just ask these, how do you feel about packaging wheel? Like, just the weird. I'm not kidding. That was a question.

Stuff like that. So I was like. I felt like, okay, Lauren, I'm applying for this because you wanted me to. So I was kind of like, whatever.

I didn't even know if I wanted the job. I thought Oprah was pretty weird, so I was just going through it.

I really noticed. When I'm reading them go through this process, they fly me home. I get a call from the VP of the company maybe like a week and a half later, and he says, hey, you were actually second choice. Like, go figure, right? You're our second choice.

And he said, we really like you. But we went with this other candidate, this job. He said, we have the same job in the same area who's covering, like, nine states just in our industrial fire division in a different division, instead of our law enforcement division doing the same thing. He's like, would you be interested in going through the interview process for that? Seriously, it took six months.

And he's know, you won't have to do everything over again, but I want to fly you out. Know, I don't even know Michigan or somewhere. I don't remember. And he was like, sit down with this director and national sales manager in that division. So I was like, okay.

So I go and do that. I sit down with them, and it was the weirdest interview, right? You'd think they would know something about me, but you could tell. The national sales manager director was, like, frustrated that she was hitting me. It was like the VP was her boss, and then said, interview this guy.

She was just standoffish. She asked me about salary. I called her, and she just ended the interview right there. She's like, we're done. She's like, yeah, we don't pay that, and we're done.

And I was like, this is weird. That was all disclosed, like, six months ago. Anyway, so I'm like, okay. So I fly back home, and I'm like, okay. And you think when you hear the Lord say something, right, like what I initially heard, I'll be your second choice, and it'll seem like it's not going to work out.

It will. I can retrospect. I see that and see how things happen. But in the midst of it, I'm thinking, like, oh, man, lord, did I blow it? Is this really where you want me to work?

I know you do. I should just call them and tell them I'll work for less money. You got all that going on in my head. Like, I messed it up somehow, and I just felt like the Lord was like, just wait. And then another week and a half go by it.

Vp calls me, and she's like, hey, you got the job, and we're paying you what you want and whatever. So I'm like, okay. Wow. It just worked out like the Lord said. I don't even know why I'm working there.

I started that in July of 2019. We get to, like, january, February, and then Covid hit early 2020. Guys, remember that I had seven salespeople, United States. I was traveling, trying to figure out new industry and jobs. I was literally traveling all the time with these reps and trying to meet these large industrial customers, large companies.

And so all of a sudden, everything's, like, shut down. We're in travel bans. Can't go anywhere. And they're basically, like, work from your house and try to figure it out, which was a challenge. I basically start going stir crazy in my house.

I didn't realize I was wired like that as much as I am. But after a couple months, I'm like, this is insane. I can't do this. And I was still doing real estate. I was still helping some clients here and there a little bit.

So I get bored. And I get this idea in my head. I'm like, man, what can I do? I'm limited how I can work. And I start thinking I've got all this years and years of experience in the flooring industry.

I come up with this idea in my head of like, this idea of how I can generate leads in the flooring industry. I thought maybe I should take this lead generating idea, go to a large flooring company, tell them, and just ask for like a percentage of the leads I generate. Make a little extra money just because I'm bored. Why not try to come up with stuff to do the things over? So my father works for a large flooring company and we have a relationship that's like a business relationship in a way.

I haven't lived with my father since I was seven. We don't really have like a father son relationship from divorce stuff. It's really more, really, it's just more almost like a customer. I have a really good relationship. It's kind of weird.

But anyway, I call him, come with this idea and he's like, yeah, I'll tell the owner, this large, boring company, like one of the top 50 in the country. The owner is like, yeah, it's interesting. I'll set up a meeting with them, right? So I'm thinking I'll go in and pitch this idea. And I hear the Lord say, cancel the meeting, don't go.

Because if you go to this meeting, something is going to come of it. You can't say no to it. And I heard it real clear, so clear that I'm going to go and tell my wife, this is specifically what I heard. And she said, cancel me. So I call my dad back and I'm like, hey, you know what?

I'm going to cancel. I just was getting squirrely because I'm bored because of COVID It's really something I should do or pursue. He wasn't even going to be in the meeting, but he was like, it's me. What do you have to lose? You don't have to do anything.

Why cancel? Just go sit down. And I was pretty honored that he would even set this up for me, basically, and Sunday and cancel it. I hang up the phone and I hear God say, you just obeyed your earthly father or your heavenly father.

But I'll tell you, I think a lot of people think that. A lot of people say, if I just knew for sure what God wants me to do, I would do it. I am proof that something always happened. So I fail a lot of that so I go to this meeting, I give this little pitch, and in the process of doing that, the owner of this company says, hey, I don't want you just to generate leads. I want you to work for us.

This is awesome idea. I want you to work for us. I was like, no, I'm not interested in that. Whatever. I like my job, Covid.

Things going on and whatever. I left that, and then I didn't even try to follow up lead thing. And I was kind of like, lord, you said that something would come of it I couldn't say no to. And I was like, maybe God was just kind of warning me, like, hey, be on the lookout, because I'm like, I just said no. So I think we're good.

And I didn't pursue it. So that was probably in May or June. So in July, I get a call from. It's almost exactly the year that started this job. I get a call from my boss, and he says, hey, normally I do this in person, but with COVID we can't go anywhere.

He goes, I have to let you go today.

There's more than I can even. I don't want to take too much time to share that. But why? I thought something might come. That you go today.

It rocked me. I said, man, are you serious? Like, you let go in the middle of a pandemic. I said, why? And he goes, I don't know.

I can't tell you why. I don't know what to say. I'm like, what do you mean, man? How can you? I never lost a job before.

It rocked me when he said that, literally, I got physically dizzy because it was just hitting you so hard. And he said he had to let me go. It never happened to me. And it was scared. My biggest fear.

And I was like, what do you mean? You can't tell me why? He's like, I don't know what to say, man. I'm so sorry. I don't know what to tell you.

Like, well, who can tell? Like, I don't know. I castage arson, so totally rocked me. My wife didn't work. I'm the sole provider.

Not great with money. I was like, I'm going to be out of money really quick. And I'm like, I'm going to get me a job. During COVID this is when every company was shutting stuff down. So it's like, oh, my goodness.

I just ran to Jesus and just like, I know what else to do. I would walk a lot and pray and talk to him. So I'm walking. This is like the day I find out or the next morning, I don't remember. I'm walking with this other christian budy of mine, and I'm just, like, rocked and trying to process that, but I still felt like, man, there's got to be a plan here.

Like, I know God wanted me to work with that company. It's going to just be like, I believe my industry get fired. Like, it didn't make sense. I'm like, there has to be something going on here. And we had a vacation plan in, like, two weeks.

I was like, we're going to be out of money. I got to cancel this lake house rental, all this stuff. And so I'm walking with this guy, and I basically feel like the Lord's, like, saying, no, the vacation thing is still going to happen. And I'm like, I almost felt, like, guilty, right? One, I don't want to go on vacation.

I want to find a job. Two, I just like, you only go spend thousands of dollars when I don't have it. It sounds so weird. I even procrastinated, like, a couple of days calling and trying to cancel this vacation that was going to be, like two weeks because I felt like God was saying, like, something's going to happen here. And then nothing.

My wife's like, why aren't you calling them? I told her. Told her exactly what I heard. I end up calling them. I cancel this vacation, and the lady who we rent from this place, she's like, you know, I told her I lost my job.

Sorry, do this last minute. She goes, you know, she goes, why don't you just come up for free? Don't worry about paying for it, whatever. And I'm like, oh, my goodness, that rock. And then she's like, well, you know what?

Before we do that, let me put up my Airbnb for a couple of days, and if it doesn't rent, whatever. And I was so humbled that I didn't care. I didn't really want to go, but I was just humbled that she would even mention that. So I'm thinking, man, that must be what the Lord is talking about. Wow, that's amazing.

And so she calls back a couple of days later, and I promise her, here's the point. Calls back a couple of days later, and she's like, yeah, we ended up running out nearby really fast. I'm surprised. And she's like, yeah, sorry about that. I'm like, hey, thank you even for thinking of me like that.

I told my wife, she kind of got her hopes up. My kids aren't. They don't carry that much job. They're just like, I'm having a patient. They don't get it.

My wife kind of had this enclosure, like, christ and stuff face like, what?

I'm like, husband wife stuff. I'm like, who cares? I'm serious. But I'm like, come here. So I'm just like, lord, whatever.

Give this to you. Do whatever you want. So that same day, we get a call at, like, 09:00 that night, my wife is just confused and stressed. This whole thing. Some cousins of Ritz, most frugal people I know, actually.

They call us and they're like, hey, we got this check in the mail. Some kind of distant relative decided to start giving inheritance away before she died. Instead of waiting for she died, she sent us a check. And we feel like God wants us to pay for your vacation. And I'm like, we're like, what?

They're like, yeah, it's done. We're paying for it. I'm like, oh, my goodness, lord. Amazing.

And it worked out the way God worked this out, it was amazing. I worked out all the details, different place, blessing. But right after that happens, and the Lord says to me, you're not going. Staying home. So I told my wife, I'm like, yeah, I'm not supposed to go on this vacation.

My wife freaks out. You're embarrassing me in front of my family. They're paying for and all this stuff, and I can be kind of frustrating to live with because of these things, because I'll feel like God tells me something, and I was sure of it. He said, don't go. And then I tell my wife.

My wife goes to pulling the God card. God said not to go. She's pissed about it. And she's like, well, why'd God pay that? I don't know.

And I've done that with a number of things. I moved this out of my wife's dream house into a house we bought as a rental because I felt like the Lord said, move. And I found my wife, and she's like, what? Are you serious? Like, this is my dream house.

Why? And I'm like, you don't have to. I just feel like God wants us to be my disciples if we don't. And she's like, well, why would we move? And I was like, I have no idea.

I just feel like we're supposed to. I'm not easily married from that regard.

So she goes, I stay home, and a total blessing again. This is all within two weeks of losing my job while I'm at home, and I haven't applied for jobs or done anything, I felt like God was saying he's doing something here. So I get three job offers, basically watching one from the industry. I just left one from the flooring industry because that guy I met with earlier in the flooring company where I lost my job and sent me an offer, and then another one from someone outside the industry, and two of them would have replaced all my income, and the other one would have been more income that I made and that the one, this is outside both industries, and that guy wanted to give me a piece of the company he was spitting off from another company. And so I'm like, this is amazing.

How amazing is God? Three jobs to pick from all replace my income within two weeks. Like, I won't even have a lapse in a paycheck. And I hear the Lord say, turn them all again. Not the easiest person to marry.

Now I know why my wife is in Michigan, and I'm here, and I tell you, losing my job, that was one of the scariest things that happened to me. And second to being told to turn down three jobs that would give us income when I didn't know where any was going to come from. So I was, like, broken over it. And I remember I turned these three jobs down so hard. Just policy.

Thank you. No, thanks. And I don't even know why I'm turning them down. I really don't. I just feel like I'm supposed to.

And then I get on my knees, and I was like, okay, God, what is going on? What am I supposed to do? And I feel like the Lord says, start a flooring company. I'm like, start a flooring company. It wasn't what I want.

I don't want to start a flooring company. So feel like he said, start a flooring company. And he's like, call it father's flooring. I don't even know how to start a company. I don't have money.

So I'm like, okay. And I'm like, okay. I said, well, I said, God, I'm no longer unemployed. I'm going to look at it like I'm employed by you. So first I need a car because I lost my company car.

I had no car when I lost that job. So I was like, I got a car. I'm not going to have any money. You're my employer. Find me a car.

And how is this going to work? So I quickly start doing all this stuff. It's forming LlC and whatever I call my wife, thank God she's out of town. She said, well, what job did you take? None of them.

Turn them all down. So I told her, I think I'm supposed to start a blood company.

She handled it pretty good. Help to have the distance.

I'm like, a week or two. I don't know how much of this you guys have heard, but I'm, like, a week or two into this process, and the guy who from the flooring industry had offered me the job, right? Like, when that company made me the offer, his wife had shown up and whisked him away. I'm like, surprise 50th birthday party facers. The kids, we're going to Colorado or something.

He didn't know. Two days in the car, and so he's gone. So when I turned the job down, he wasn't even around. He didn't know. He finds out when he gets back, and he calls me, and he's like, why'd you turn my job down?

And I didn't know what to tell him, so I just told him the truth. He's a Christian, but I don't really know much about his faith. And I just said, I just feel like I'm supposed to, and here's what I'm supposed to do. He wants me coming to meet with him. He's like, just explain it to me more.

I sit down, and I explain it. Look, I said, I'm so humbled by your job offer. I said, I just feel like I'm supposed to start my own foreign company. I don't want to tell you. I just feel like, what's got me do?

So this guy's like, okay, well, he goes, give me, like, a week, and let's meet again. Okay. And really feel like I was supposed to move in that direction, but I was just kind of hanging out there and seeing what happens. So I go back and sit down with him, like, a week later, and he says, hey, I want to throw this out there to you. He said, I want to propose something.

You stay self employed. You told me kind of. I gave him an idea what kind of foreign company you want to do, and he said, you stay self employed. I'm going to pay your LLC this much money every month, and he's like, I'm going to give you all my resources. And instead of starting a coin company for yourself, he's like, start that for me.

Because it was a little different model than what he had. He said, start another company for me, and I'm going to pay this. And he offered a lot of money. A lot. And I didn't have peace about it.

I was like, oh, my goodness, I want to have peace about this really bad because I wanted to do it, but I was like, I just don't. And he's like, let's just meet with these executives in a couple of days. And we just kind of tell them what I'm thinking, see what they think. They go in, we meet these executives, they say they're looking like beers and headlights. Like, this is the dumbest idea we've ever heard.

That's what they're seriously thinking of. The owner, and a couple of them know what he's offering the painting. And I can tell they're like, that's stupid. We're not going to paint. So one of them is like, oh, yeah.

So when are we thinking about doing this, Scott? And I haven't said yes. Agreed to it. I didn't have peace about it. And the owner goes, oh, Scott, I'm sending you money.

You know? And I was then I didn't even know what to say. Money, a lot of money is just showing up in a business account. Like, I just formed. I didn't know what was going on.

So we go through this process, and I'm feeling like, man, I don't have peace about this, and I'm supposed to move in another direction. And I was like, okay, God, are you doing something here? I'm trying to seek counsel from people. So basically I said, you can think, you know what God wants you to do and not do it. I basically, for almost two years, struggled over this, procrastinated.

I was like, I shouldn't be doing this. I don't have peace. I kept, felt like, lord is moving me another direction. And I don't know if you guys are too young to know what the show friends is or if you've ever seen friends, but there's this friends episode where George Costanza decides to do the opposite of everything he would normally do, and then all these things start working out. So that's kind of what I tried to do.

I tried to sabotage myself, tried to quit, and every time I go in and try to quit, the owner of this company would be like, scott, I'm really happy with everything you're doing. You just want more money, give me more money. Everything I did, because my heart wasn't in this, it just kept working out better and better. It's like the weirdest thing. So it gets to the point, and I'll say it again to give you guys an idea.

The year I lost my job, because how God is. That company that let me go ended up, like, paying a bunch of money. They didn't even know why they were letting me go or couldn't give a reason in the year I lost my job, this is how God is. I mean, more money. I mean, $275,000 from what sworn companies pay me from.

I was like, that is so God here. I'm turning jobs down and moving in this area, and I had more money come in than I'd ever had in a year. In a year I lost a job. I'm like, that's just so God. Not.

That always works out like that, but again, you just don't know what he's going to do. I never could have fathomed that I was so scared of the opposite. But I end up feeling like I got to take this jump. And I procrastinated so long that I just stopped hearing God on anything. And I don't know, imagine if I believe this can be true, because I've done this many times.

If the Lord says to you, hey, go take this seed and throw it on the ground, and you procrastinate it, procrastinate. I don't know, kind of what I do, right? And then by the time you finally do it, it's no longer spring, it's middle winter, and you throw the seed and nothing happens. And there's a reason in the word that when the Lord tells Abraham and David and Moses to do something, the patriarchy did it immediately, right? I mean, the Lord says, do something.

Sometimes you wait so long, by the time you do it, God's like, hey, the time attacks. Tell a soldier to send the message that you shouldn't wait a year. You should go do it right away, or else it's not really relevant anymore. So I thought, man, God, I procrastinated this almost two years. Is the money coming in and stuff?

And God had gone silent. I thought, should I still just quit and try to do my own thing? I thought, I'm probably just throwing seed on, like, winter ground. Nothing's going to happen. So I was really scared.

Now I'm going to quit this job, all this money, try to do my own thing. It's all going to fail. All because I didn't listen. I didn't know. But I got to the point where I was, like, so grieved by it, I thought, you know what?

I'd rather just do it and fail, plummet into whatever thing comes my way and say, I never did it. So I decide I'm going to do it. I set a meeting with this owner. He was out of town. I was like thinking, I'm just going to quit.

I don't care what he said. I'm done. I'm done. Give me money.

I was scared out of my mind. And I really did feel like I was, like, just jumping out of the boat. I'm going to drown. So you know how these guys, this prayer you did today, where go and sit. These people probably don't tell them a lot.

They don't ask you much. Maybe besides your name. I don't know what they. I wasn't listening.

And then they just kind of pray. So they do that at my church. And I usually pray for people there. And I thought, there's a Sunday I was meeting with this owner. I was kind of like, lord, lord of the time.

For like six or nine months. I was like, it doesn't really matter what I hear. I'm putting this anyway, but I'm going to go to this thing. And so I go and I try to find some people that I don't know.

I want people to know me or know my situation or anything. I go and have these three guys pray for me. Even though I pray for people like that, I'm kind of a skeptic. I'm like, what kind of hoax and stuff are they going to come up with? I want to take it all and have it filter through my time with the Lord.

So I give no emotion, no expression. I'm the worst person to pray for because I'm just like. And they're sharing all these thoughts and I'm just like, I give them nothing. They probably think like, we're just striking out. This guy thinks we're crazy.

I just want to hear what they're going to say and not influence it in any way. Whatever. I have issues.

I go, I'm praying. The first guy, those guys, pretty young guy, and he goes, hey. So he goes, I feel like you're standing on the edge of a high dive right now. You feel like you got to jump. And he's like, want you to know, like, God's proud of you no matter what.

If you jump, that's good. He wants you to. If you don't, it's going to be okay. He's still going to be with you through that process. I feel like you're at this make this big scary jump decision, right?

And I'm thinking like, that resonates and I'm like, the next guy's like, hey, I actually saw the same thing. He said, but when you jump, he said, instead of going down, you went up and this plane comes by and takes you. And he's like, I feel like the Lord's saying if you take this leap, he's going to take you higher. It's not going to go the direction you think. And I'm like, okay, that'd be nice, but I'm showing nothing.

And then the last guy goes, hey, I don't know why he said, but I keep seeing this image of Jesus reaching down into the water from that perspective of Peter sinking, jesus reaching down, like, pull you out of water. I was like, oh, my goodness. I'm still showing nothing. But inside, I'm like, man, that's exactly like. That's how it felt.

Like I'm about to jump out of this boat. And I had, like, just before this, like, going to get prayer. I don't know if you guys. I don't know how many can see it. You've seen that picture where Jesus is from that perspective of reaching down the water.

I just put this on my phone before go get prayer. I left it in my car so they couldn't have seen it because I was like, lord, this is how I feel. I'm about to take this leap, and you got to grab me. So, man, it really resonated when the guy was like, that's what I see. And the Lord's going to grab you out of that.

Oh, my goodness. So, of course, I'm still showing nothing. And I'm like, okay, grace, just pray for me. And then I go get my car and process everything. So I do.

I go, and two days later, I sit down with the owner, and I'm like, I'm done. I said, I cannot. I don't want peace about this. I can't shake this feeling like I'm supposed to start my own flooring company. I said, I don't have to tell you.

And it was like this jacob Layman situation where Jacob, if you know that story, he couldn't leave. He wasn't intending to stay with Laban for all those years. Marry one and after marrying the other. And when he does end up leaving, Jacob leaves, right? He fears, like, Laban coming after the crushing, and he fears Esau, the brother he ran from originally crushing.

Well, that's what I was afraid of. This guy was a good guy and Christian, but the company and the owner even have a history of just crushing the competition. Like basically telling every manufacturer, if you sell this person, we're going to throw all your stuff out of our store. I was like, lord, I'm going to take this jump. I'm probably throwing steed on Wintergram and this guy's going to be so mad.

Can you start a company? I don't even know how I'm going to start one anyway, whatever. And I put it out there and his face gets real red when I tell him. And then it kind of drains and he's like, sits for a minute and he goes, I said, I'm sorry. And he goes, well, he goes, here's what I'm going to do.

He said, I understand that's what you want to do. You want to start your own company.

This makes no sense either. It has to be God. He said, I'm going to give you access to all of our products, my warehouse, and this is a large company. Like really large. Like one of the largest in the country.

My warehouse, my products, all of my cost, and my administration. And I'm going to do it for a very small load that was barely operating cost over its cost. And I'm like, what do you mean? He goes, you can use my warehouse, my admins, and you have access to everything, every product, everything I have, which is everything. And he goes, I'm going to give you my cost, and you only have to pay this over the cost.

So literally it made no sense because he's basically telling me, I know it's cost. Sell myself the product, my company, the product, barely over its cost. I'm like, you understand, I'm setting up another flooring company. And he's like, yeah, but you can do that. Mind boggling.

I can't even understand it. That was basically in May, and then by June, the Lord provided a warehouse, a building for me, a little showroom, offices, all this stuff. Now, it's been a little over a year doing this, starting my own company, it's still scary. I was just telling Rick, I got like a $64,000 tax credit of all this cost. Like, I basically owed like $150,000 of stuff.

Like, I'm just paying. And after paying all that, I'm like, I just realized this month, I'm like, I have amount of money in like a month or two. Like, I don't know. So I'm still see what God's doing. But I share that long story with you.

One, I know it's different than a lot of stuff you guys might hear, but I hope it kind of encouraged you a little bit because I am a screw up. And I am just trying to stumble through life and follow God the best I can. And it's not. Well, I'll tell you, but he is gracious and amazing, and he does amazing things that make, that we could not do on our own. I could not, if I put together my best plan, have orchestrated any of that, because in the midst of my procrastinating leaving, God still took that experience.

And I basically had like two years of paid training, more money than I knew it to do it. Learning the inside and out of one of the most successful foreign companies in the country, giving me huge kickstart on how to start and run a company. So again, a little different, but give you an idea, kind of context of my life and where I'm at right now. What I wanted to jump into and transition to here with you guys is this. Sorry, I had all these notes.

So this, how do we, in our own context, walk with Jesus and follow.

Know something I continue to reflect on for a number of years now is it's funny, like you guys, right? You're called leaders. So I say this kind of with a grain of salt, but I believe there really are no leaders in the kingdom of heaven. The more I thought about it, there really are. A leader in the kingdom of heaven is actually just a follower of Jesus.

Like, if you look at Noah, Abraham, David, Moses, even Jesus, the apostles, the ones we consider the biggest leaders in the faith, are actually the best followers of God. And so I say that because think about in that context. Take that away. Like something I reflect on. Man.

When I've been like man, I suck at a husband leading in a marriage, I struggle leading in a company. I do not have good natural leadership skill that I'm like, you know what I can do? What I want to do is just try to follow God. And God was like, I feel like the Lord. That's it.

Just follow God. If you want to be a leader in the kingdom and whether it's bringing the gospel to people, like pointing people toward Jesus, just follow God. Because not only that's what all the real leaders in the faith did, we call them leaders, but they're actually just amazing followers. But when people look at you, when the people you're ministering to and trying to love, like in these colleges or anywhere, your families, and they look at you, if you're going toward Jesus, that's what they're going to be looking at is God, because you're just going in that direction. And so they look at you, they're automatically going to be looking towards God.

So I just encourage you in that. Reflect on that kind of, remember, as I say, there really are no leaders in the kingdom of heaven, but followers. So then you ask, well, how do you follow God? How do we really follow God? Well, so I'll share a couple of things.

Not because I do it well, because I'm trying. I screwed up a ton in like 47. I mean, stop counting after, like 40. So I just know my body falls apart every year, seriously. But I'll see.

The one thing in my faith that I've done is I just won't give up. Because really, there's nothing else with Jesus. Where else am I going to go? Like, he is the answer to life. So I'm just going to keep going and going and not give up.

If you're going to follow someone, so think about it. If you're really going to follow someone, that's going to require your attention. You have to listen to anyone you're following. You're going to have to look, be like, where are they going? Right.

And you're going to have to know. You're going to have to know them, know what they're doing. You have to know what you're following. So just kind of lesson looking and knowing. So how do you do that?

I just tell you. I know you guys can probably be teaching me a lot more. I teach you. So I know you even know a lot of this. But just going back to basics, all I talk about hearing God and all this stuff.

I'm telling you, the best we hear, God is the word. It's the word of scripture, the word of God. You want to know how to follow God, you just got to be in the word. It has to be the foundation to everything. Jesus, literally, John one.

Right. Jesus says, like, I'm the word. The word is Jesus. He's the living word, right? The Bible says the word is living and active.

Where is that? Hebrews 412. It says in psalm one 9105, the word is a lamp to our feet. Right. So we're going to follow it.

Gives us a path of how to follow God. Lights our path, lets us know where to go. Two timothy, 316 through 17. The word is useful for instruction, correction, not only for other people. That's really for our own heart.

And then one of my favorite verses. How many of you guys want to know what God wants me to do? I can remember I still ask this, but especially, it felt like when I was in college and right out of college and high school, I felt like I was always saying God what is your will for me? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?

Right, God, what is your will? I just want to do what you want me to do. Well, the answer is Romans twelve two. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. Right.

Repent, turn toward God, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Why and how are you transformed by the renewing of your mind? Through the word. Washing yourself with the word. Right.

But what happens? So don't be conformed. Don't conform any longer than patterns world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will know, and it means be able to test and approve. You will know what God's will is, his good feasting and perfect will.

So you want to know what God's will is? Get in the word. Let him renew your mind, renew your heart. And you're going to know what his will is. You will not only how to follow him, but you'll start to know the character of God more.

And you'll start to be able to discern what decisions in your life better. And you go to him with that. So that's huge. This one, I'm not going to go into a lot, but I probably should. But basically take risk.

Like I was saying about Rick and Amy, they aren't fearless because they have fear, but they're courageous. Right. They're willing to take risks. That's what the word means, right? When James talks about your faith, your faith has to be complemented or linked with action.

Indeed. So you want to experience God, just step out and take risks. Like that story I just told, that long, long story I just told about where I met, what I've gone through, it required risk. If I hadn't turned jobs down, if I hadn't demanded quit, even though I failed and kept trying, there'd be no building of faith. I wouldn't experience what God has for me.

So how do you take risk? And one thing that's different now in my life and my mindset, I used to be scared. Oh, man. What if I want to tell this person about God? That I want to come off as hokey or I want to tell them about the Bible, that I feel like I'm going to sound all religious, like there was all this fear.

I think God wanted me to do something, but I was afraid to do it. And what's different is now I'm afraid not to do it because I'm afraid to miss what God has for me to miss a blessing, to miss an adventure. Like I'm more afraid not to follow God. I still struggle with it big time, but more afraid not to follow him and step out in something than I am to step out because I don't want to miss it. And that's how it should be, right?

We should be more afraid to miss what the Lord has for us than what somebody thinks of us, right? Or if we look stupid, we're supposed to be fools for Christ anyway. The Bible says so let's be fools. If you look stupid, you're wrong. You're wrong.

God was proud of you for just touching on this with the word. I'm very consistent at being consistent. That's my skill right there. So I said that jokingly. But I struggle with discipline, I struggle with consistency.

And I'll tell you what I've learned through that is think about this.

Which aroma would you rather be around? The PErSoN who showers for 10 minutes a day or the PErSon who showers for a whole hour and a half, but once a week or once a month they shower for 3 hours. When you get into the word and spend time with God and just read the word, you're literally washing your mind, your heart, your will. Literally. You are literally doing that.

He renews Your mind, transforms you. I'm not saying it's an amazing SpiriTUal ExperIeNCe EveRy time YOu're reading the word, but he's doing that. He shapes your mind.

It's better even if you're getting like what I do now is I keep a daily bible, one of those. I don't remember if it's by the date or the day, and I just try to read that. I still suck and Struggle with reading the thing every day, but it gives me a 1520 minutes reading stopping point. And I have found when I just do that consistently, even for 1015 20 minutes, it's washing, washing for me because I write down in my journal every date when I sit down so I can look and go, yes, been two weeks since I read the Bible. I find about my pattern is if I get about ten days without going through the word, I feel guilty.

I stink. As you are trying to bring the gospel to people. You don't want to stink, so get in the word. It's better to shower ten or 15 minutes a day than set for an hour, like once a week. You're going to stink.

You're going to stink if you're only getting in the word like once every other week, just even a little bit. It's huge. So just food for thought on that and then obviously, the other thing for your faith, spending time with God. You guys know this. Just get time with God.

You want to be like Jesus? Just hang out with him and forget how everyone else does that or is telling you to do. Guys are. Everyone's different. Don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Yes. Get in the word. Pray with God. Connect with God. When you guys connect with your friends, some of you probably play video games.

Some of you want to go hiking. Some of you want to watch a movie. Some of you just want to take a walk and talk with your friends. You connect differently. You're going to connect differently with God.

I like to take walks with God. I pray a lot. In the shower, in the car. I'm one of these weirdos that I drive around just with silence pretty much 90% of the time, and I'm in a car a lot. But that's just time.

I just talked to God, and I got a friend in the seat.

It doesn't matter how. I'm just saying, do it. Just hang out with them. Spend time with them like you would with a friend or with a counselor. Just pour it out to them.

I mean, it's huge. You want to be like Jesus. You want to renew your mind? Just hang out with them. And the other thing here is, seek God, right?

Let me just read you deuteronomy 429. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Matthew 622. Seek first his kingdom. And all the things, all these other things will be added to you.

All the worries. How am I going to get this done? How am I going to feed myself? How am I. All the other worries, just seek first his kingdom.

Hebrews eleven six. God rewards those who seek him. Proverbs, 1817. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. So, the reason I say this is that if you guys are like me at times or if you're like a lot of other people I know, and maybe you're not, but there's a lot of christians, ministers, leaders, union, young life leaders, and they feel like, man.

I sit down and try to read the Bible. I'm not getting much from it. Like, I pray to God, and I feel like I'm praying the wall. What about this person over here? I want to know God.

You feel like you're struggling with? I'm going to say start with seeking God. Like Matthew seven seven through eight. Ask, and it'll be given to you. Seek and you will find.

Knock and door be open for everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks finds the one who knocks. It'll be open. So I'm reading all this to you because God promises if you seek them, you'll find them. So you want to know God more? Just God.

I want to know you more. Help me. Help me and go after. That's why I'm proud of you guys. When you let people pray for you today, because believe it or not, just being willing to sit down and let these people pray for you.

It's a way to seek God. And again, the word has to be your foundation. I've gone a lot of places and been around a lot of people trying to seek God, and I'm skeptical of things. And I think you should be, because if you seek God without the word as your foundation, you're going to believe a bunch of false teachings and you're going to get railroaded into a bunch of nonsense. So let the word be your filter and seek him and keep going back to the word and let him show you what's true and what isn't.

Because I promise, if you guys, were you ever try to contemplate the universe? How big is space? Really think about that. When you think about even our galaxy and Milky Way and just countless stars there are, that's like a fraction, right? And it becomes, like mind boggling when you try to think about that.

Well, God created that.

What you know about God is seriously like a drop in the ocean and God's the ocean.

There's so much more than you can see and experience. And knowing God, it's mind boggling. He's the creator of the universe. We can't even fathom it. You can't fathom God.

So I'm saying it is amazing and exciting and so fun if you seek after God to know him more, because there's so much to know. It's mind blowing and it's awesome. It's fun. So just seek him.

You can do it endlessly, literally, even in heaven. We'll do that. So let's jump to this last thing. How do I live my faith out in relationship with others? So again, I think you guys could probably teach this to me better than I could teach it to you.

So really, all I'm going to do is I'm just sharing some things that when I look back and go, man, I wish when I was a young life leader, I had been more cognizant of some of these things. If I could go back. These are some things that I would do different. So first thing is, and I'm not saying anyone does this, but if you're going to build a relationship and bring the gospel, and you're a living gospel into those relationships, you won't be able to do it if you don't read your heart. This one.

So let's see. Don't judge. Okay? Now that doesn't mean don't have good judgment. You should have good judgment.

Okay? There's a big difference between not judging and thinking that just what everyone does is absolutely okay. And it's a good idea. That's all I'm saying. There's right and wrong and truth, but I'm saying don't judge.

Okay? Let God be the judge. Seek God, be righteous. Don't pass judgment on others. Share your truth in love.

So this is what helps me with not judging, okay? Because if you're in a car with me for like 5 minutes, I'm judging a lot of other people driving, and then I'm doing the same thing like 5 minutes later. But this is what helps me. So, Matthew seven, one through three. Jesus said, do not judge or you too will be judged.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Okay? So I want you to think about that. God just said he's going to judge us by the same measure we judge others.

I don't know about you guys, but I know we're all going to stand before God. You are. We're all going to leave this body and we're going to stand before God. And when I stand before God, I desperately want his grace, his mercy, his love, because I need it. And so as selfish as it is, it helps me to be like man.

Because when you judge someone else and you're critical in your mind about the person, you literally casting judgment on yourself. It says in proverbs like these people dug a pit to trap something else for them to fall into it, and they really were digging it for themselves. David says it again and again in Psalm. This is a biblical truth. It's like gravity that we're going to be judged by the measure we use to judge others.

It really is. So, man, what's exciting about that? It's exciting to me because I'm like man, Lord, let me be a man that administers grace and love, sows adventure and peace into people. Let me pour that into people because, man, I want you to pour it onto me, God. And he will stand before him.

So I say that if you're going to have a relationship, you got to rid yourself of a critical mind. And that's also toward yourself, honestly, because you judge yourself a lot. Like God is gracious with you. Yes, have good judgment, but don't listen to the voice of Satan. This also means the accuser and accuse yourself.

Right. He loves for you to think that accusing voice is just always you. It's not just you. Don't let him disguise his voice as your. We do that for ourselves, but there's things we don't understand that also influence that.

But I wish I thought about that because I love people, but I was critical a lot of times, even of other leaders, and I just get rid of that. This is another thing I wish had reflected on more. Just like the Bible says, we reap what we sow. Okay? I promise.

It's like gravity, meaning it is a spiritual wall. There is no way around it. Just like gravity. If you jump, you're going down. It's a physical law of earth.

You reap what you sow. It's like that. You're not going to throw apple seeds and get oranges. It's not going to happen. Right?

So here's the exciting part about this. I thought myself, man, because I feel like a lot of pressure by life, to be honest. I'd be like, oh, I reap what I sow. I'm like, I'm reaping what I sow. Screwed it up again.

I deserve it. That's really the context I was always just kind of having in my mind, right? But then it hit me and I'm like, man, if I reap what I sow, why don't I just sow what I want to reap?

Believe it or not, where that first started in my mind is this. So even you guys, we have this amazing body fellowship, leadership teams. You have friendships beyond what a lot of college students and high school students have a lot of feel alone. They don't have someone that can call and confided. Right?

But even that, even you guys all have that. Although there's still going to be times where some of you are feeling like, kind of on the outside or still kind of lonely or, man, I don't feel like I'm connected, as good a friends with this person as I want to be. You still struggle with that. And I can tell you, Rick and Amy, there's a blessing for them to give their lives in ministry in this way. But I can tell you, when you're working you're married.

You feel like that even more. You're like, okay, you want finding a friend over 40 when you're at that age. And so what hit me is I was like, I'm done. I'm done. Because a lot of adults and college people, you do that, meaning you feel needy.

It would be like if you're like, man, I really want apples. You kind of got your bucket. You feel needy. You want to fill your bucket up with apples, right? So we take this bucket and we're walking around and we're like, oh, here's one.

You're trying to get what you can from this person, that person. Almost subconsciously, you feel lonely and needy and you're struggling. I used to do that, and it always left me feeling like, man, I just can't find a church I connect with or friends I'm connecting with. And my wife really struggling with this. And I was like, I'm done.

You know what God was like, scott, just sow what you want to reap. Stop walking around with a bucket looking for apples. Start growing seed. And I did. And what happens?

All of a sudden, an orchard grows, and you're done being needy, looking for apples. And now they're everywhere. And now you can invite people in and they have that. So what I mean by that is knowing that I was going to share with you guys what I say is irrelevant. What matters is God's spirit, right?

And so I reached out. I do this when it was something important, and you guys are important. So I reached out to 21 people. I went to counting them after I did this. While I was thinking about this talk, and they're all over the world.

But you know how there's people, you're like, hey, man, will you pray for me? I will, right? It's like on social media, prayer hands. Yeah, whatever. But you know how there's some people, if you're like, hey, will you pray for me?

You think, like, they would probably really do it, right? So I went through and there happened to be 21 people. There's more. But I was 21. Good that I asked, pray for you guys.

Because I'm like, these people will really do it. They will get on their knees and they will be praying over you guys.

Like the people who showed up today, right? The pray for you.

There's a lot of people that want them to do that. Foreign to them.

Even this week, I was just thinking about something recent. I had a guy send me a message out of nowhere, a friend. I don't even hang out too much but he's like, hey, Scott, I'm praying for you. What can I pray for? And another guy call me and just be like, hey, man, I love you.

I'm praying for you. I'm so blessed by that. People are literally praying for me. Well, I'm going to tell you, the reason those people are my life now is because I've just sowed into people. I was like, I'm done trying to meet my needs.

I'm just going to sow. So if you want friendship, go sow friendship. If you want adventure, look how you can sow that in someone's life. If you want peace, forget about. Because we all want it, right?

But stop trying to get it and just go sow it into someone's life. And so I'm telling you, if you're doing ministry, it's huge. Forget, as crazy as it sounds, is like, man, if I can just get this guy over here and I could be just so into people, I could do that by serving them, loving them, like just sowing into them. I promise it takes time, just like it takes time. Jesus used that agriculture analogy.

I promise it'll happen. It's like gravity. You will reap what you sow. So go sow what you want to reap. Watch what happens in your life.

I am blessed and have a lot of people in my life that love God I can reach out to. But really, just because I sown into people with not looking for anything back, I'm just going to sow and let an orchard grow. That's where it's at. People don't get it. I'm telling you, they don't get it.

I try to explain this to other people and I'm like. They're like, I'm depressed and I'm lonely and I can't connect with anyone. And I'm like, stop trying to connect with them. Just to love people and watch what happens. They don't get it.

Maybe it doesn't make sense, I'm saying, but I promise you, it's God's promises you're going to reap. So just go. So what you want to read?

So another thing, I did this actually pretty well as a leader, but I wasn't really cognizant of what I was doing is pursue, pursue, pursue, pursue. Right? So in Genesis 39, Adam and Eve had sinned. We knew God was going to have with coming and walking in the Garden cooler today, right? But in Genesis three nine, God came after sin said, where are you?

He was still pursuing them. The whole reason Jesus came in the flesh was a rescue plan. He's pursuing us, like, pursue people on the campus, pursue them. In love, with a good motive, with a good heart. I don't go to a campus or workplace every day.

I'll tell you kind of what that looks like. So I tried to think of examples of how have I done that this week, last week and a half. So one example of that is actually my brother in law, rich brother. He's not an easy guy, to be honest, to connect with at a deep level. He's kind of a loner.

He just says he can't believe in God, what I do. I pursue him because I feel like the Lord pursues us. And that's like the father's heart is to pursue. So what is that? I'll tell you how I pursue him is he gets in this place where he feels guilt and shame and all these lies.

And he said he won't even want to talk. Like, I saw a call, but I know he's not going to call back most of the time because he doesn't want to call. He's got nothing to say but saw him. And I'll leave a message. Hey, man, just thinking of you.

Hope everything's going good. No pressure. Hit me up anytime you want, man. They just want to know I'm thinking of you. I'll shoot him a text message.

Hey, man, hope everything's going well. I'm here for you, buddy. You need anything, just give me a call anytime. And I will do that ten times without a response. And then he'll respond because he's feeling guilty.

Sorry, I'm ghosting you, man. I just. Not in a good spy. I just don't really want to talk, right. But I'll just do that and just pursue in a non judgmental way and just in love, like, just pursue, right?

You can do that with someone you're in a class with. Literally, how easy is it to shoot someone a Facebook message or old people, but shoot them a text or whatever and just be like, hey, man, I was thinking of you. I just want, you know, you're awesome. I'm happy, you know, you're in my life. Like, just pursuing them.

Like, God pursues us. Well, I'll tell you. And then just little things like that. I do that with a lot of people. That's way to sow into them, but it's just pursue them.

And I'll do that for decades with some people even, like, just me going after them, that they would know the Lord and just pursue them. And so I'll say another thing. I'm almost done here, guys. So I wish I was not afraid of when I was a leader, but I was. I was afraid to really share the word.

Not in the campaigners, not in a Bible study, but in conversation. I was like. I felt like if I said a Bible verse, that people would be like, it's weird. I don't know. I just felt fear about that.

Like, the one that I sound like I'm not meeting them where they're at or not connecting or not relevant. Doesn't want to sound religious or churchy or judgmental. All lies. Okay.

I would say, man, don't be afraid just to share the word and share truth. I'm not talking about standing in the street. It's nothing wrong with that and reading the Bible, but I'll give you an example.

I thought I could say it better than God could, right? I thought, I need to go in apologetics. I need to give these analogies and these things I've heard other speakers say, because I need to explain it without actually just sharing the word. I'm like, why do I think I can say it better than God? Why?

What's up with that? Right? Why don't I just share the word? Not those other things aren't bad, but I was afraid to share the word. So I thought of when this first hit me, and I was like, jesus is the word.

The word living and active. He says he's the one that calls people, that opens eyes and open hearts. Why am I afraid to invite him, his word into a conversation? So I had this friend, this jewish friend I worked with. He's really more like atheist, but he knew I was a Christian.

We were traveling together and staying at the same hotel and whatever, we're going to hang out, have dinner together. And so it came up, and he just wanted to talk about it and really wanted to argue about it, how I could believe in God. And I'm going into the best apologetic stuff I can think of and giving all these analogies, and it just becoming an argument. And I thought about that. I'm like, why not just sharing the word?

And I said, man, I ended up just stopping and saying, well, I said, I'm just telling you what the Bible says. It says that Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, the life, and no one comes to the father except for, okay, kind of just stop in the. And he's, okay, okay. He goes, well, if that's true, he goes, then why don't I get it? He goes, why don't I understand it?

Like, if all this is true, and Jesus really answered, he goes, why do you get it? Why don't I get it? Right? Instead of trying to explain all this, I thought, I'm just going to share some scripture again. And I said, well, send me in.

The Bible says this verse is in two corinthians four. Four. But I didn't tell them that, but telling you guys. I said, yeah, the Bible says that God of this age means Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they can't see the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who's the image of God. I mean, imagine just saying that to someone and think they're even going to understand it.

So I said that. And he's like, a lot of sense. I was like, what? I'm just saying, don't be afraid. Just share the word.

Just in conversation, you're going to explain why you believe something, you happen to think of a scripture about it. Just don't be afraid to say, well, I don't know. This is the Bible says, I believe it. Don't be afraid to share the word. I did that with another guy for.

I tried everything. He was a hard guy. He's been a friend for a long time, resisted God for a long time. A lot of problems and issues and trying to love him and hang out with him and all this stuff. And it was good.

It built relationship, but I just shared that with him. John 14 six. Jesus. He's like, why should I believe in God over Buddhism and Hinduism? He's like, why Jesus Christ of all?

Samantha probably just said that. Jesus, he said, I'm the way to truth and life and comes to the Father except for me. And it was like a light bulb went off in his head, which is just the Holy Spirit, but sharing the word. It's been a number of years and this guy's been on a journey. I'm going to read you.

I was trying to think of some recent things from the last week. Let me just read a text message. If you had known this guy.

Arrogant, tried to kill himself, tried to board his kid, drug dealer at one point, now very wealthy, successful life, just been through all kinds of stuff. Cute, just a big character and he's not an easy person to get through to. It's like a Walgreens guy, but the Holy Spirit you just love. I've been pursuing this guy just told you about pursuing and not being judgmental because he shared all those things. That's the thing.

You're not judgmental. Is God's a safe place for you, right? You believe God's a safe place for everyone? Well, you should be able to be that safe place without judging people. So he sent me this text here another week.

He says, I got to share something with you. Something happened yesterday, and I can only describe it. I can only describe it as miraculous. I've been thinking for a while that I had not fully surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. It was something that I had been pondering.

And last weekend I had my college reunion. And I think that God spoke to me. It wasn't audible, but something changed as I was telling my friends my story. I was overwhelmed with the sense of gratitude. Almost brought me to tears a few times.

I was driving back Sunday to get his son to something and take him to church, and there was a sense. Just started going to church, too. There was a sense of peace like nothing I ever felt. A feeling so strong that if a non believer felt it, they would immediately surrender the Lord. It makes me reading this.

I'm like, seriously, this guy writing this, he doesn't share stuff like this often or easily. It's blowing my mind because I'm like, it's the Holy Spirit. It's God pursuing this Guy. Oh, man. And he says, church?

Did you start going to actually hear the word? He says? Our pastor's sermon always speaks to me, but yesterday I felt like it was aimed directly at me. I was exhausted from the weekend, and I thought that the lack of sleep and the emotion of being where I was 25 years ago was a culprit, but it was not. This morning I woke up and the feeling was even stronger.

I took my son to camp and put on some praise music. Just insane. And the second line of the song says, since when has it possible ever stopped you? I believe that was God's voice that broke down as they drove to my office and apologized to God. Then the music said, you're not going to run out of miracles anytime soon.

I didn't know this guy was anything but slaughter, to be honest, so even know what band that is. Then I realized what happened. I have always believed in God to some degree. I've always trusted Jesus, but now fully, I've not fully put my life in his hands. And now I have the energy I had.

Today at work was crazy. Last week I quantified gold and said, I want 100 clients by the end of the year. Lofty, since the best we've had is 96, it seemed possible last week. Today seems not only doable but easy. A few years ago, it's impossible to stop trading.

It's impossible for a guy like me to run a multimillion dollar business, to bless and inspire people, to affirm people, to help them be the man that God has called me to be. This is all possible, yet it all happened. It was impossible that a fat, grown, angry loser who would grow into a father that strengthened fire. Impossible has never stopped me. God was speaking to me this whole time and finally started listening.

And energy I have right now is without a doubt the holy spirit. It is a euphoria I have never experienced.

It makes me emotional. Like, man, this is just Jesus. I know what happened. I thought I was living my life under Jesus, but I was not. I've been living yoke to our Lord and he led me to be the man I'm called to be.

He led me all those years. I was pulling in a different direction. What changed is I started talking to Jesus, walking toward Jesus, not away from him. Now I'm going to run towards him. And he said, thank you for changing my life, which I didn't, the Holy Spirit did.

But just pursuing, pursuing and pursuing somebody and just loving them. And like I said, to wrap this up, not being afraid to share the word, I don't worry about it anymore if I think God wants me to share something. So going back to my brother in law, Rip's brother, I just keep pursuing them. I was reading my Bible this week and this verse stuck out in numbers, the book of numbers of all places. It's actually more than just numbers in there.

And I read this verse and I felt like the Lord brought my brother in law to mine and said, this is going to be him. I'm going to do this with him. And I was like, how, Lord? Then the Lord brought me to this verse in psalms and read this scripture and said, this is how, right? So I don't feel like the Lord is just telling me that.

I felt like, okay, well, I'm supposed to tell him. So I pipe up that scripture and I send him a message. And I'm like, hey, man, I was just reading my Bible and I said, I felt like the Lord told me this scripture, this is going to be you. And I asked him, I'm like, well, how, Mike? I'm like, how is Mike?

How is that going to happen, God? And I said, mike? And this is what I heard is this other scripture. And I shared another scripture was basically about like, I can't even remember surrendering to God in a way that he's like a shelter over you. Anyway, he don't want to call me back, right?

But I'm like, I'm going to send him this. He has nothing I need. I don't really care what he thinks of me, to be honest. Right. And if you're going to pursue people and love people, they got nothing you need.

Without God, nobody has anything you need. They really don't just follow God. So I'm like, I don't care really. What do you think? So I'm just going to send him, you know, like I said, the power of just sharing the, like he calls and he's broken, he's crying over know, just because of the Holy Spirit and God and power and it's just, again, it's a way to pursuing them.

But don't be afraid to pursue people. Invite the Holy Spirit in that. And the last thing I've done that I wish I had, I prayed a lot, like as a leader, a high school leader. When I would pick a kid up that was a Christian, first thing we would do is when we get in the car, hey, man, let's pray. I did this on my own anyway, but I'm like, why not, mommy?

Let's do it out loud for him. So we got praying. Lord, bless this night. I pray you bring us around who you want us to be around, that we can love them, that we can share your truth with them. Just let us love people tonight for you, Jesus, and let people know about you.

Right? And I pray that every time I pick another, like a campaigner kid or a christian kid up, right. And then we'd go pick up some other kids who are trying to love. So I would do that stuff a lot. You know what I didn't do?

And just like, I was afraid to share the word. I was afraid to pray for people. Just pray for somebody, man. That's been one of the most significant things and most powerful ways to open the door, to share the gospel with people I have ever experienced as an adult. And I do it now because it's easy, it's fun, and it's so powerful.

I do it with strangers, even on the street, just because God just shows up. You're praying for people, not just with them. I do this a lot now and it's powerful.

Last night, again, I was trying to think of something recent, talking about pursuing people. I was taking a walk and I was praying. I was actually praying for you guys. And I heard the Lord say, call your brother in law, Mike, right? Pray for him.

I was like, okay, I don't know how you receive it, but I don't care. What. I care. Anyway, so I called him, and he happened to answer the phone because I don't know if it's because the wife shared with me the other day or not. Hey, man, how are you doing?

Blah, blah, blah. And he's like, I got to go with these people or whatever. And I said, hold on. I said, I'm going to pray for you before you go, right? He says he doesn't believe in God.

He can't believe in God. He doesn't want to push on him. When I pray for him, he can't stop crying on the phone. He can't even talk, just like he loses it.

But I'm just telling you, there's so much power in that. So what does that look like when you're in a relationship? So operate for real estate clients for boring people. So here's how you can do that one. Like a pain point.

When you're hanging out with people, if you're really building a relationship, which you are with people, you're going to get to know them and they're going to start telling you about problem with their family, struggling with the grade, something they're nervous about. Do you not hear that stuff from people when they're sharing their life? Right? Take that opportunity. A seriously encouraging.

Let me just pray for that real quick and just pray for them. Right? I do this, and I'm telling you, I don't worry about whether someone's even a believer or not. I wish I would have done this more as a leader, but I do it with people. I, in a way, need things from said real estate clients.

They'll share about something. Or I'm helping a real estate client because they're going through divorce. And after jumps in home, I'm like, hey, can I just pray for you real quick, man? I know you're going through some hard stuff.

Almost always people were like, actually, they usually say okay because they think what you mean is you're going to go home and pray for them. You're going to do it right there. I didn't do this. Like I said with strangers, gas station. I'm like, hey, can I pray for you?

And you're like, okay. And then you do it right there. They always say, yeah. So I'm like, okay, pray real quick. I just put my hand in the shoulder sometimes if I think they're comfortable with that, and then just pray for them.

And I'm telling you, what you're doing is you're inviting the holy spirit and Jesus into the situation, into their trouble, into the circumstance. You think people would react? I thought they would be weirded out. I don't know what I thought. I was fearful to do that.

And now it's the most powerful thing. You're bringing the gospel to people just by doing it. Just try it. Just watch what happens. A simple prayer, usually not long, just pray for them.

I wish I would have done that more. I would have realized earlier.

Just one more example of that.

I've been doing that now for years, just praying for people, strangers, but just people in relationship with. It's the most powerful thing doing for Jesus. But years ago, I don't know, four or five, six, I remember I was in Norway, went there to pray for people and share Jesus with people on the street of this ministry. And there's this woman, and she was doing some of the translating for us, and she was a nurse, and I did that with her and I just prayed for. And I started learning how to listen to God, kind of like people they were doing today.

So then sometimes I'll pray some things I'm hearing also, but not always pray for. So that woman ended up years later. So she ended up, I guess, leaving nursing. And somehow she ended up becoming a host of a christian program, like television program in Norway that broadcast out to all the norwegian countries. She reached out to me through social media, like a month and a half, two months ago and asked she could interview me live, just to give me the opportunity to share Jesus on this christian station that will be broadcasted to all these norwegian countries.

And I was like, yeah, it sounds so weird. She's asking me, right? I'm like, you know what I do for a living.

But the reason she had thought and asked, and I found out because when it was all live and then I would speak and she would translate it in other languages and then just go like that whole interview. But I found out through a prophet, she remembered that prayer, that prayer was so powerful to her, even after all these years. That was why she thought, like, I want to have this guy share, which is jesus. So I'm tony is so much power. It's kind of the last thing.

So did I keep under 2 hours like a prone anyway,