Prepared For the Moment

WEBVTT100:00:00.010 --> 00:00:03.390How can you believe in someone that didn't exist?200:00:03.590 --> 00:00:04.650I don't see the evidence.300:00:04.770 --> 00:00:07.430I don't see anything like that about God ever existing.400:00:08.350 --> 00:00:11.890And I can tell this person was educated, that he's heard things, and he told me about his professors in500:00:11.890 --> 00:00:13.250college and what he went through.600:00:13.290 --> 00:00:18.070He was raised to not believe in God, and he has this whole experience in life not believing in God.700:00:18.750 --> 00:00:23.310What this person didn't realize is that the last five years, God has been preparing me and giving me books800:00:23.310 --> 00:00:27.010and learning about the testaments of our faith and what we believe and why we believe it.900:00:27.730 --> 00:00:35.270Welcome to the Ignite with Barry Meguiar podcast, where Barry's book and passion for spreading God's love are guaranteed to1000:00:35.270 --> 00:00:36.490ignite your life.1100:00:36.910 --> 00:00:40.650Now, listen in and prepare to have your life ignited.1200:00:42.510 --> 00:00:44.090Hi, so my name is Jason Wallace.1300:00:44.750 --> 00:00:49.770I do commercial refrigeration for a living, and if you don't know what that is, it's just anything that's cold1400:00:49.770 --> 00:00:50.770or frozen in supermarkets.1500:00:51.010 --> 00:00:51.990That's what I work on.1600:00:52.490 --> 00:00:58.030You know, I've had a lot of experience over my life, my young life, but one of my best experiences1700:00:58.030 --> 00:01:01.450sharing the faith, sharing the gospel with someone I just met just on the street.1800:01:02.010 --> 00:01:04.069So, you know, I was just out at an outreach.1900:01:04.430 --> 00:01:06.190I wasn't expecting to share the gospel with anybody.2000:01:06.690 --> 00:01:08.150My job was to watch the kids.2100:01:08.230 --> 00:01:08.730We had youth.2200:01:08.930 --> 00:01:09.930My job was to watch the kids.2300:01:10.030 --> 00:01:12.530Wasn't to preach, wasn't to pray, wasn't doing anything like that.2400:01:12.550 --> 00:01:13.330It was to watch the kids.2500:01:13.450 --> 00:01:14.610So it was break time.2600:01:14.670 --> 00:01:15.250We were cleaning up.2700:01:15.330 --> 00:01:18.670You know, I was walking back to my truck, and this young guy comes up to me.2800:01:18.710 --> 00:01:19.650He's like, hey, what happened here?2900:01:19.670 --> 00:01:20.550What are you guys doing here?3000:01:20.810 --> 00:01:22.450And, you know, we had an event for the church.3100:01:22.510 --> 00:01:23.590He's like, what kind of church?3200:01:23.630 --> 00:01:28.710I'm like, we're a Christian church, and I saw my opportunity to present the gospel, but this guy did not3300:01:28.710 --> 00:01:30.090want anything to do with the gospel.3400:01:30.470 --> 00:01:31.610He's like, you believe in God?3500:01:31.670 --> 00:01:32.710And I'm like, I do.3600:01:32.870 --> 00:01:33.690I do believe in God.3700:01:33.750 --> 00:01:34.290I believe in Jesus.3800:01:34.410 --> 00:01:35.350I believe he was a real person.3900:01:35.830 --> 00:01:39.830And this person got real defensive immediately, and he said, there is no God.4000:01:40.110 --> 00:01:43.210How can you believe in someone that didn't exist?4100:01:43.350 --> 00:01:44.450I don't see the evidence.4200:01:44.530 --> 00:01:50.150I don't see anything like that about God ever existing, and I could tell this person was educated, that he's4300:01:50.150 --> 00:01:53.050heard things, and he told me about his professors in college, and what he went through.4400:01:53.050 --> 00:01:57.890He was raised to not believe in God, and he has his whole experience in life not believing in God.4500:01:58.530 --> 00:02:02.810But what this person didn't realize is that the last five years, God has been preparing me, and giving me4600:02:02.810 --> 00:02:07.530books, and learning about the testaments of our faith, and what we believe, and why we believe it, how Jesus4700:02:07.530 --> 00:02:11.230was a real person, how he existed, how he died, and how he was the son of God, and he4800:02:11.230 --> 00:02:12.030was God incarnate.4900:02:12.330 --> 00:02:17.550And we went through these different conversations of the evidence of God in creation, of the universe, of the fine5000:02:17.550 --> 00:02:17.830-tuning.5100:02:18.310 --> 00:02:22.250We got really deep into our conversation about how God does exist.5200:02:22.790 --> 00:02:25.970At the end of this conversation, this young man said, you know what?5300:02:26.210 --> 00:02:28.070You've been nothing but kind and compassionate to me.5400:02:28.450 --> 00:02:32.390I've met other people who shared their faith, and they condemned me immediately, but you weren't that person.5500:02:32.870 --> 00:02:33.590You were different.5600:02:33.990 --> 00:02:35.230You showed me kindness and compassion.5700:02:35.490 --> 00:02:36.430You heard my story.5800:02:36.810 --> 00:02:37.930You treated me like a person.5900:02:38.450 --> 00:02:41.670You didn't see me as just somebody walking down the street who hates God.6000:02:41.790 --> 00:02:43.990You saw somebody that needs help.6100:02:44.390 --> 00:02:45.450And he said, I need help.6200:02:46.170 --> 00:02:48.110I hate God, and I don't even believe in him.6300:02:48.110 --> 00:02:48.970How does that even work?6400:02:49.490 --> 00:02:50.350Can you help me?6500:02:50.350 --> 00:02:52.050And I said, I can't help you.6600:02:52.630 --> 00:02:55.030I'm just one person, but I know somebody who can help you.6700:02:55.410 --> 00:02:56.210He's my best friend.6800:02:56.390 --> 00:02:57.370He's Jesus Christ.6900:02:57.630 --> 00:02:58.410Can I pray for you?7000:02:58.850 --> 00:03:00.230And we prayed right there in the street.7100:03:00.910 --> 00:03:04.110And this young man said, you know, I have a lot of things I'm dealing with, but you know what?7200:03:04.390 --> 00:03:05.190Can you help me?7300:03:05.270 --> 00:03:06.330Can you give me some books to read?7400:03:06.510 --> 00:03:10.070So I gave him some of the books I'd read the last five years that I didn't know God was7500:03:10.070 --> 00:03:10.730preparing me for.7600:03:10.910 --> 00:03:14.690I didn't know why God put on me five years ago, five years before that, why I need to read7700:03:14.690 --> 00:03:17.170these books on what we believe and go deep in my faith.7800:03:17.730 --> 00:03:19.210But I realized in that day, that was it.7900:03:19.710 --> 00:03:21.450And this young man, we still keep in touch every day.8000:03:21.510 --> 00:03:23.010And he eventually gave his heart to the Lord.8100:03:23.090 --> 00:03:27.790It took years because he had to go with what he was raised as and what he was just learned8200:03:27.790 --> 00:03:31.630on the street until he finally opened his heart to God and the Holy Spirit moved in this young man's8300:03:31.630 --> 00:03:32.910life and he gave his life to Christ.8400:03:34.010 --> 00:03:36.070And that to me is why I do this.8500:03:36.590 --> 00:03:39.730I mean, I don't do it for the praise.8600:03:39.850 --> 00:03:41.010I don't do it for the glory of myself.8700:03:41.090 --> 00:03:45.090I do it because I believe in Jesus Christ because he saved me and he saved this young man.8800:03:45.450 --> 00:03:47.470And I wasn't expecting to preach that day.8900:03:47.510 --> 00:03:50.490I wasn't expecting to share the gospel and really get deep in my faith.9000:03:51.130 --> 00:03:52.430But isn't that how it usually goes?9100:03:52.870 --> 00:03:57.790When you least expect it, that person who never believed in God comes at you and says, why do you9200:03:57.790 --> 00:03:58.370believe in that?9300:03:59.050 --> 00:04:03.610And you're maybe not ready, you're not prepared, but God prepared me and God wants to prepare you too.9400:04:04.250 --> 00:04:06.690So I can't tell you how exciting it is.9500:04:06.810 --> 00:04:09.550You probably see me sweating because I'm excited to talk about the faith.9600:04:09.770 --> 00:04:11.950I love talking about Jesus and I love it.9700:04:12.030 --> 00:04:12.790He died for me.9800:04:13.350 --> 00:04:14.450I owe him my life.9900:04:14.950 --> 00:04:17.769Actually on the same day this event was over, that's where I met my wife.10000:04:17.769 --> 00:04:21.970I wasn't expecting to preach or meet my wife on the same day, but I did it because Jesus called10100:04:21.970 --> 00:04:25.450me to be an amazing person of God because I love him.10200:04:25.930 --> 00:04:26.710And that's my story.10300:04:27.550 --> 00:04:30.230If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know.10400:04:30.590 --> 00:04:34.930And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review to help us reach more listeners.10500:04:35.570 --> 00:04:38.470Remember, sharing your faith ignites your faith.10600:04:39.070 --> 00:04:42.150See you next time on the Ignite with Barry Meguiar podcast.