Friendship That Leads to Jesus

Well, I don't want to go to hell. You know, I want to be saved, but what do I do? I mean, it's like 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 said, I don't know what to do. I said, you know, and she said, you'll know when you're ready. Welcome to the Ignite with Barry McGuire 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. I hear a genuine darling in these gals. I just want to stay 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 that this is a, this is an incredible story. So you want to start and then kind of come together darling. I mean, you have this, you were praying before your Christian. You're being asked by people for you to pray for them and you weren't even a Christian. Is that right? Yes, I was delivering food to the needy and apartment complex for disabled people and a woman asked me to pray for her. And I said, of course, I'll pray for you. I'm like, right now in my car and I call Jenny and I said, Jenny, 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's just, it's slowly our relationship just kind of hard work. It works with each of us sovereignly in different ways. Absolutely. It was very tender and very slow. That drove you to Jenny because you had, you knew where to go from prayer. Right. I 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. So 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, needy or whatever. And I'd go, darling, well, darling, she's my muscle. She truly is my muscle. I 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 lift out. She literally, she was watching the whole time she's watching as. She's watching your love. She's watching me. And then she's watching, okay, we'll stop and we'll pray for somebody. And she's watching. Oh, yeah. And I'm still not saved yet. Yeah. And I didn't, I literally, I think maybe, 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 and action. Yes. And I told her one day we were driving together for a choice for Todd's 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? Why does he want me? Yeah. And he 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 put about my head. But at the time, you know, I still was in the Christian, but I go through the act of, you know, I believe Jesus is. But I wasn't, as she would say, there's no change in heart. Yeah, there, I wasn't there yet. This went on for like three years and we'd go to outreach 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 safe. But what do I do? I mean, is this like 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 said, 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 off and off and off 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 want it to go and be safe. Amazing how God works. And I'm sitting there right there in the front row. I'm like, get this over with. I want to be saved. Jenny 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 says she just had this feeling in her heart that I was going to go up there and be safe today. Well, I'm standing there. I can't, I'm shaking. And my legs are wobbling and stuff. And I thought I was going to fall to the ground. I thought people 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 God's voice. In my ears. When it was over, I turned around. And I'm like, oh, my God. And everything. Because without her, without her, I took three years, like I said. Yeah. But I was blessed to have her be a part of that at that moment. Wow. Because it's once in a lifetime moment that it all purged his timing. It was perfect. Oh, I couldn't ask, you know, Jesus helped me anymore. Let 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 going to come. Service starts. You got the seat for them. They're all saying you're looking back, trying to figure out they don't come. They're going to come the next time. 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 can get mad at God. It's God's timing. Yes. It's God's timing. You can't do anything about that. Don't feel like you got to get saved today. 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. Yeah. Yeah. We have to do the same thing. There was many times that she would call me and say, are you coming to church night? Maybe. I'll get a try. Oh. And so she's like, okay, well, that's great. And she never pushed. And see, you're the model. You're really a model for what they're talking about. So to me, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. Because I would still be the non-believer. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And at the end of the day, you know what? I want to go to heaven. I want that paradise. Yeah. And believing in God and helping other people and bringing them in, like you said, planting seed. Yeah. 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. Everyone should have that experience. Well, absolutely, absolutely. Folks, you've got to get out of this. You've got to get in on this. If I can do it, and you've got to do it. You guys are so special. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.