Friendship That Leads to Jesus

00:00 - Speaker 1Well, I don't want to go to hell. You know, I want to be saved. But what do I do? I mean, is this a class I need to go through or what you know? And she's like no, you just need to say the prayer and ask for forgiveness. And I'm like okay. And I called her one time and I says I don't know what to do. I said you know. And she said you'll know when you're ready? 00:25 - Speaker 2Welcome to the Ignite with Barry Meguiar podcast, where Barry's book and passion for spreading God's love are guaranteed to ignite your life. Now listen in and prepare to have your life ignited. 00:40 - Speaker 3I'm here with Jenni and Darlene and these gals. I just want to say off camera, I just want to get to know you better. You have so many stories, so you have this wonderful lady right beside you here. This is an incredible story. You want to start and then kind of come together. Darlene, you were praying before you were a Christian. You were being asked by people for you to pray for them, and you weren't even a Christian. 01:05 - Speaker 1Is that right? Yes, I was delivering food to the needy in an apartment complex for disabled people and a woman asked me to pray for her and I said, of course I'll pray for you. And I'm like, I ran out to my car and I called Jenni and I said Jenni, how do you pray for someone? I got a crash course really quick. I went in and before I knew it, other people were asking me can you pray for me? And you're not saved. I'm not saved, no, and so you know it. 01:36 - Speaker 3Just it slowly our relationship just kind of grew. God works with each of us sovereignly in different ways. 01:42 - Speaker 1It was very tender and very slow. 01:44 - Speaker 3That drove you to Jenni, because you knew where to go for prayer, for coaching on prayer. 01:49 - Speaker 1Right. Well, I had worked with her because we played Santa Claus and Miss Claus and so I had been asked to go to the church. So we went and did Santa Claus and I got to know her and she had invited me to church. But she was never pushy and it took me three years of our relationship. 02:07 - Speaker 4So I'd go help her. And then I'd be going and taking furniture to people's houses and trying to help people you know that are poor or needy or whatever. And I'd go Darlene well, Darlene, she's my muscle, she truly is my muscle. I'd call her up. I'm hauling some furniture and I need help lifting this couch. I can't do it myself. So she'd come out, she'd help me, we'd lift couch. She literally she was watching the whole time. She's watching as. 02:32 - Speaker 3She's watching your love. 02:33 - Speaker 4She's watching me and then she's watching. Okay, we'll stop and we'll pray for somebody, and she's watching. 02:38 - Speaker 3Oh yeah. 02:40 - Speaker 4And I'm still not saved yet. And I didn't. I literally, I think maybe in the three years, maybe twice, I might have invited her to church, it was all about the friendship, yeah, but she saw your love in action. Yes, and I told her one day. We were driving together for a Toys for Tots thing and I told her. I said you know, God is hard after you, he wants you, he sees your heart to serve, but you're not there yet and I said why? 03:08 - Speaker 1Why does he want me? Yeah, so we would just go and kind of go to different places. She would invite me and I'd stand and watch her pray for people and of course I'd close my eyes and bow my head, but at the time, you know, I still wasn't a Christian. But I go through the act of. You know, I believe Jesus, but I wasn't as she would say there was no change of heart. 03:33Yeah, I wasn't there yet. And so, um, this went on for like three years and we'd go to outreaches and stuff with her and bless people. And I'm like, why are you doing all this? And it's to bring people closer to God, and bottom line. And I'm like, well, I don't want to go to hell. You know, I want to be saved, but what do I do? I mean, is this a class I need to go through or what? 04:00you know, and she's like no, you just need to say the prayer and ask for forgiveness. And I'm like, okay, and I called her one time and I says I don't know what to do. I said you know, and she said you'll know when you're ready. So I went to church and I had gone off and on and off and on at the church and never really committed myself, and so I told her I says I'm going to go to church. I went and got safe that day. The pastor. He said I had no idea that you were ready and I said neither did I. I said but I could not wait for you to have that sermon over, wow, I said because I wanted to go and be saved and 04:46amazing how God works and I'm sitting there right there in the front row. I'm like Get this over with. 04:53 - Speaker 2I want to be saved. 04:54 - Speaker 1Jenni was over at the children's church and she said that she handed the mic to the other woman and she came into the church and she said she just had this feeling in her heart that I was going to go up there and be saved today. Well, I'm standing there, I'm shaking and my legs are wobbling and stuff. 05:15Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to fall to the ground holding me and she comes up and puts her hand on my shoulder and starts praying in my ear. I had no clue. It was her no clue and I could not. I couldn't hear. I couldn't hear her voice. All I heard was fod's voice in my ears. When it was over, I turned around and I'm like oh, my God, my whatnot and everything, because without her, without her, it took three years, like I said, but I was blessed to have her be a part of that at that moment, because it's a once in a lifetime moment. God just made it all happen, made it all perfect. 05:57 - Speaker 3His timing. 05:59 - Speaker 1It was perfect. I couldn't ask Jesus to help me anymore. 06:03 - Speaker 3Let me just say this to you, and I've done it a million times you pray for somebody, you invite them to church. They say they're gonna come. Service starts, you got the seat for them. You see, when they're all singing, you're looking back trying to figure out when they don't come, they're gonna come the next time and they don't come. Or you share with them and they're so close, but then they you know it can get so frustrating and you can just give up on them and you get mad at God. It's God's timing, yes, it's God's timing. You. It's God's timing. You can't do anything about that. Don't feel like you've got to get her saved today. No, God's working, but it's a circuitous route. They go, you know, and they may go way over here sometime. Yeah, and God, just, he just keeps loving us and we have to do the same thing. 06:52 - Speaker 1Yeah, we have to do the same thing. Yeah, there was, we have to do the same thing. There was many times that she would call me and say are you coming to church tonight? Uh, maybe I'll give it a try. 07:05 - Speaker 3Oh, and so she's like, okay, well, that's great, and she never pushed. And see, you're the model. 07:07 - Speaker 1You're really a model for what we're talking about so to me, I wouldn't be where I'm at today, because I would still be today, because I would still be the non-believer. Oh yeah, and at the end of the day, you know what? I want? To go to heaven. I want that paradise and believing in God and helping other people and bringing them in. Like you said, planting the seed and letting you know water it a little bit, don't let it go dry. It's an experience that you really need to have. 07:43 - Speaker 3Everyone should have that experience of being saved, absolutely, absolutely, folks, you gotta get in on this, you gotta get in on this. 07:52 - Speaker 1If I can do it, anybody can do it. 07:56 - Speaker 3You guys are so special. Thank you, Thank you. This is a very precious time. God bless you all. 08:00 - Speaker 4You too. 08:02 - Speaker 2If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review to help us reach more listeners. Remember sharing your faith ignites your faith. See you next time on the Ignite with Barry Meguiar podcast.