Impact in Your Neighborhood

Emeal Zwayne 1:04

I'm reading a book where the author was talking about impact in your neighborhood . He was talking about how they lived in a neighborhood where all the backyard , it was like in a circle around a lake and all the sliding glass doors were backed up to the lake so everyone could look into everyone else's house in the evenings as they're doing stuff . Hard to commit murder , no kidding . But he talked about how one neighbor was walking by and they just came up to him . They said you know what I just got to tell you when I see you and your family every day , because the point he was making was that his family does a lot of nothing . That was what he said .

Emeal Zwayne 1:44

We do a lot of nothing , which means they just hang out , they play games , they worship together , they read the word , they walk , they play outside . See them in each other's pajamas yeah , yeah , shorty pajamas . So anyway , so he goes . He said the neighbor comes up to him and he said you know what I just got to tell you ? When I see you outside with your family all the time , I just got to tell you , when I see you outside with your family all the time , which you are doing , what you guys do , I don't know what it is .

Emeal Zwayne 2:14

This is one of those easy moments .

Ray Comfort 2:18

But , it makes me think of God .

Emeal Zwayne 2:20

It makes me think of God . He says I don't know why that's awesome .

Ray Comfort 2:24

Did he weep when he said that , or was you weeping when you were thinking of thinking of that ?

Emeal Zwayne 2:27

I'm replaying it no , but it just hit me . It makes me think of God and guys . We can't underestimate how our lives , genuinely lived for the Lord in our neighborhood , can have a massive spiritual impact . Name this event Shlabungzu Balafanfifi the Olympics Shrabamba Ulu Palalabamba .

Oscar Navarro 3:00

Palalabamba .

Emeal Zwayne 3:02

Irbatunti Ilitisango Shlavazizi . Wow , Come on guys , Come on guys , Come on guys .

Ray Comfort 3:10

The Idiots Convention .

Emeal Zwayne 3:12

Graduation ceremonies .

Oscar Navarro 3:15

How were ?

Emeal Zwayne 3:16

we supposed to get that from that Oscar names and clapping Shabloomsy was a name .

Ray Comfort 3:23

That was so confusing .

Emeal Zwayne 3:25

Let me tell you there were names much worse than that at this last graduation ceremony .

Ray Comfort 3:28

I really enjoyed the graduation ceremony I went to .

Emeal Zwayne 3:32

Yeah , well , I went to my son Luke's graduation from college and someone has to . I mean this would be like you know , I don't know , discovering like the law of gravity , or discovering what I mean . This would be like , yeah , like the Internet being discovered , someone what I mean . This would be like , yeah , like the internet being discovered . Someone has to figure out a way to relieve people of the torment of sitting through like a 10 billion names yeah , right , you take your laptop and you do editing would . I was wondering , ray what were you ?

Emeal Zwayne 4:06

doing at the last graduation ceremony you were at Editing videos .

Ray Comfort 4:09

Yeah , down the back seat , yeah , and it made it bearable .

Emeal Zwayne 4:14

I really enjoyed the whole thing because my mind was occupied and I had my spy , who took a picture of Ray in a graduation ceremony , editing on his computer .

Mark Spence 4:22

Well , no one knew , oh , no one knew . It's right down the back .

Emeal Zwayne 4:24

Yeah , no one knew , especially since you had your ear pieces in with the strand going down .

Ray Comfort 4:28

It was one ear piece . They probably thought I was deaf .

Mark Spence 4:31

Oh , just one . Ray officiated a wedding and he was doing the same thing , just editing on his laptop .

Ray Comfort 4:36

Do you take ? Hang on a second . Do you take this ?

Emeal Zwayne 4:40

hang on as the couple's taking communion . He pulls it out as they're trying to light the candle . Yeah , no , as they're trying to light the candle , yeah , oh , no one asks me yeah , so it's torturous .

Oscar Navarro 4:53

Sidebar Long time listener who has awkward names .

Mark Spence 4:57

Would you ?

Oscar Navarro 4:57

write us and explain to us how much pain and suffering you experience when EZ makes fun of you .

Emeal Zwayne 5:05

And maybe he'll pay for your therapy . I'm sure there's someone out there named Dwalabanga Balazansusu Shlafitsi .

Oscar Navarro 5:12

Here comes the emails .

Emeal Zwayne 5:16

Seriously , though , guys , you must hate graduation ceremonies for the most part . I'm talking about when the names start going . We sat there for probably 45 minutes , and , of course , Because your son's last name is Zwayne .

Mark Spence 5:28

Oh , that's it . Jonathan's name was .

Ray Comfort 5:31

Comfort , we'll throw up the front .

Emeal Zwayne 5:33

Yeah , right , yeah , I can't remember if they did them in order of the last names or not . Whatever , in the final analysis , you end up sitting there because you're waiting for your graduates . You're going to go see them , just name after name after name .

Mark Spence 5:49

Like going to go see them , just name after name after name , like there's got to be a solution . Is there one mark ? I don't know , but I did see a viral video a couple weeks ago about a graduation where this person was absolutely destroying every single person's name , like john smith was like . It was so bad , I think I saw that .

Ray Comfort 6:07

I think . I saw that yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 6:08

That hurt . That makes me happy , so bad . No , what Cal State , fullerton , where Luke graduated , is . They pre-recorded the names and you can tell , and they had like a QR thing system with their thing so it like put them in the order .

Ray Comfort 6:22

You know what the problem is . You're getting used to double speed .

Oscar Navarro 6:29

Oh I think .

Ray Comfort 6:29

I think , yeah , Everyone's just running through it . I do everything double speed when I check videos .

Emeal Zwayne 6:32

Oh , I mean seriously , why even go ? Just record ? Record your graduate going on stage with their name and then everyone plays it at home . It's three seconds . You celebrate now and you're done .

Oscar Navarro 6:42

I will say our kids , because because one of our kids is in choir and the other one is in band and once my daughter's choir song is done , I'm out of there , You're done .

Emeal Zwayne 6:52

I'm not gonna wait two hours to watch your kids sing . Well , the thing is again , you're gonna wait for your graduate to meet them afterwards and take pictures , but anyway , it's torment and torture . I mean , are there certain events that you guys really love going to , that are hard for you , that you guys really loathe going to that are hard for you All of them .

Oscar Navarro 7:09

I was going to say , let's just take care of that .

Emeal Zwayne 7:11

Meetings , yeah or places .

Ray Comfort 7:13

Meetings in general .

Emeal Zwayne 7:14

Like DMV , oh , dmv .

Ray Comfort 7:16

The sloth .

Oscar Navarro 7:17

Hometown buffet .

Mark Spence 7:20

The DMV of restaurants Disneyland that was good . Really , mark , yeah , I can't do Disneyland it's so crowded . I love amusement . It really I can't do disneyland . Oh , it's so crowded , it's like amusement parks . It's like costco started having rides . You just you get behind someone . It's just like oh okay , you know .

Emeal Zwayne 7:37

Good point though , mark . I do have to say that the line waiting thing is insane . Uh , we went to . We went to knott's berry farm a while ago . We we have passes , kylie and I , but we went with some relatives , I think . Which for overseas listeners is like Disneyland down a little yeah , but we bought a fast pass kind of thing , you know where . You just don't wait in line .

Ray Comfort 8:01

They give you a motorbike . They give you a motorbike .

Emeal Zwayne 8:05

But the thing costs more than our annual pass . I think an annual pass at Kn knots like 120 bucks and this thing was like a hundred and something , but you know , there were relatives here from from , uh , you know , new Zealand and we wanted to bless them and so we did it . But I mean , it was , it was awesome there were crowds , but we just got on every ride , no lines .

Ray Comfort 8:23

Any dirty looks .

Emeal Zwayne 8:25

You know what ? Yeah , you know what . The dirty looks you get for in the airport is . There's this one service where they take you to the front of the line , and I've gotten it because you know , with traveling you can't miss things . Oh clear . Yeah , oh boy , you've gotten dirty looks , haven't you Every time I use clear .

Oscar Navarro 8:45

In fact , I'm not renewing it . Yeah , I didn't experienced it , I'm just not paying attention , yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 8:52

So , anyway , I hate doing the podcast . All right , friends , A cool , classy comment . This is from podcast at livingwaterscom , by the way , that's where you can send us your comments and thoughts and accusations . Hello , friends , they said they spelt it that way . By the way , Hello frowns , I wanted to say how encouraged I am by you guys , just from listening to your podcast and watching your videos . I have watched your videos for a while now and God has used them to show me how to properly share the gospel .

Emeal Zwayne 9:22

I'm 17 years old and I'm attending a public school , but that doesn't stop me from sharing it . Recently , I had a friend and a family friend pass away in a car crash . I prayed all through the night that the crash happened and the days after it that God would use my knowledge of the gospel of which the presentation of the gospel I gained from Living Waters to reach out to others , and he did . I witnessed to a couple of my baseball buddies a couple days later , as well as a whole congregation at a prayer group . I praise God through all of it that he gave not only me the strength to stand firm in my faith , but for my friends to have open hearts .

Emeal Zwayne 9:56

With all this said . Thank you , Ray , for showing me how to be bold in the faith . Thank you , Easy , for keeping the mood bright . Thank you , Mark , for giving me thoughts to ponder on while listening to the podcast , and thank you , Oscar , for the input and the thought provoking points you give as well . God used you to start a spark in me to use my life for Him . Praise the Lord . That's from Garrett Wiersma from Melba , Idaho .

Ray Comfort 10:21

God bless you , Garrett .

Emeal Zwayne 10:22

Garrett .

Emeal Zwayne 10:22

this is why we do what we do , and thanks for taking the time to write and let us know , and thanks for sharing the gospel Again . Guys , we talk about a lot of different topics , but the heartbeat behind our ministry is the gospel , and so when we get letters like this , this stirs us to keep doing more of this , because we want you guys out there activated . Just think if you didn't do that , Garrett , these people would not have heard the gospel . And so thanks for listening , Thanks for writing in and keep going . A radically revolutionary resource because this podcast is brought to you by God has a Wonderful Plan for your Life , Ray . I was thinking about this book , and when did you get the idea of Stephen being stoned on the front of the book with that title ?

Ray Comfort 11:06

It wasn't my idea . It was the Pharisees that did that . Oh , you didn't tell them to stone Stephen . No , no they just went straight ahead and stoned him . You told them to stone Stephen . You might like to blame it on me , but I had nothing to do with it . Blame it on the ring . Yeah , it was just obvious .

Emeal Zwayne 11:29

I mean he's the epitome of not a good time in the gospel . I have to admit I was telling the title of your book to someone the other day and I felt weird after I told them the title because they're thinking Ray's a seeker , sensitive guy . There's a little subtitle , I know , but I don't remember the subtitle .

Oscar Navarro 11:41

I do that all the time too . Yeah , like I can't just say the title , I have to explain the title Right .

Ray Comfort 11:49

So I'm like , yeah , raised by God has a wonderful plan for your life . And I'm like subtitle is the Myth of the Modern Message . Yeah , and then you explain that Stephen's being stoned to death on the front , and it wasn't fun .

Emeal Zwayne 11:55

So check it out , friends , you're going to love it . I mean , it really is a revolutionary book Very little , so , yeah . So make sure to check that out , along with the Evidence Study Bible and the Living Waters mug . All at , living Waters , don't come . Oh , I was trying to be normal Oscar . Yip Right Mug . Oh , the Yip Right Mug , it's coming , the Yip Right Mug . Just check , friends , you'll see if that's out . Collect them , get them all .

Ray Comfort 12:25

Get them all . Get all 50 and you get a free car , oh yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 12:29

All right friends

Building Relationships With Neighbors

Emeal Zwayne 12:31

. Today we're talking about how to be a spiritually effective neighbor . Won't you be my neighbor ?

Ray Comfort 12:38

What Ray Just leave the neighborhood , leave , leave , leave , leave .

Emeal Zwayne 12:47

You've got to explain that , the things you never forget . Yeah , mark Ray and I used to go to the courthouse across from our ministry and preach the gospel . And Ray was preaching one day and this guy was sitting there . He just kept saying leave . And did I say you sound like a cow ?

Ray Comfort 13:07

I think I did you . Did you sound like a cow he milked , did you ?

Emeal Zwayne 13:11

did you sound like ? A cow he milked her , but he kept doing it again and , again and again . Leave , oh , those days at the courthouse , man , those were man , those were the days .

Ray Comfort 13:25

Those were the days , my friend .

Emeal Zwayne 13:26

And it was the day when I said I can't believe we get to do this , that we got shut down .

Ray Comfort 13:30

That's why I said stop keep saying that Easy yeah , because , Ray's , it's your fault , Name it , claim it .

Emeal Zwayne 13:34

Yeah , ray's name . It claim it , guy superstitious Ray .

Ray Comfort 13:39

No , I threw a black cat over my shoulder on a Friday with some salt and it canceled what you said .

Emeal Zwayne 13:46

Yeah , so yeah , how to be a spiritually effective neighbor . It's kind of weird . You think about that . You live , you camp , basically in a permanent structure next to people . It's like your neighborhood is like a campground in a sense , and you got these people that you just live by and you see , and yet we live in a day and age where most of us , sadly , have hardly ever talked to our neighbors . And we are the light of the world , we are the salt of the earth and God has pre-appointed the boundaries of our habitation . You think about that . He has put us where we're at .

Ray Comfort 14:32

And we have the opportunity to be a witness and have impact . It's amazing how a barking dog can cause neighbor to talk to neighbor Right .

Emeal Zwayne 14:38

Unless there's a problem , then we're ready to talk , but just the opportunity to show warmth and kindness . The other day I was at home and I think this is a good thing to do . We're gonna talk about different ideas , but premeditating kindness . I think spur of the moment kindness is awesome , spontaneous kindness is awesome . But sometimes when you plan something , I think it can have substance to it . And so I remember one day pulling into my driveway and seeing one of my neighbors and they were . They were out there interacting with with their kid and they were throwing the baseball around . And they do that all the time . I see him out there doing playing basketball , throwing the you know the baseball around , and I've noted it in my mind the next time I see my neighbor I'm going to , I'm going to say something to him about it , and so the other day I saw him and I went over .

Emeal Zwayne 15:33

I said look , I just want to let you know how touched I am by what I see you doing out here with your kids all the time . That is that is so rare and I'm telling you they are blessed to have you as their father and I wanted to , you know , use that moment to like just it was genuine . I wasn't making it up . I really was moved and touched , but I thought this is a moment where I can have impact and build a bridge with my neighbor and love them . But he didn't speak English , so it was really weird .

Mark Spence 15:54

Yeah , he kept looking at me .

Emeal Zwayne 15:56

He kept looking at me and he pulled out his gun .

Ray Comfort 15:58

I want to tell you something . It wasn't premeditated . We noticed that Sue's washing machine , or our washing machine , was getting rusty , so we went to Home Depot and ordered another one , a brand new , modern one , which was wonderful , and it sounded like a 747 taking off because our washing machine is right at the kitchen and it was just awful Boom , boom , boom , boom , boom , boom .

Ray Comfort 16:21

Like I'm not exaggerating , it was just awful . The whole house kind of shook . So I went online and there was a lot of people on YouTube saying my washing machine is going boom , boom and they're making the noise , and then showing the noise , and I went back . So I went and bought another one and they said they'll bring it in a month and I thought what are we going to do with this first noisy washing machine ? Wait , you didn't return it . No , it was too late . What Couldn't return it ? So you had to buy two . Yeah , they would replace it with another model of the same thing . That's all they'd do , and I didn't want another one . What ? They would replace it , but it would be the same model .

Mark Spence 16:55

So gave it to the neighbors Savage yes , I did .

Emeal Zwayne 16:57

Savage .

Mark Spence 16:58

Yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 16:59

Hate your neighbor unlike yourself .

Ray Comfort 17:00

They use it a lot .

Emeal Zwayne 17:01

We can hear it , I was going to say wow , Ray , Thank you for the curse .

Ray Comfort 17:09

I did explain their washing machine . They do their washing out the back .

Emeal Zwayne 17:12

Oh , got it , so it can handle it . So they annoy their other neighbors .

Ray Comfort 17:15

Yes , drowns out the barking dog .

Emeal Zwayne 17:17

Yeah , yeah , but you know , that's something that's huge , Oscar , you what ?

Ray Comfort 17:22

their washing machine , yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 17:25

Ray , oscar , you've always been a great example of just being intentional . I think that's really the key word in light of what we're talking about today Intentionality , finding a pathway toward intentionality , because if we're not intentional , nothing ultimately gets done . But I know that's been a big deal for you and you've seen a lot of fruit from it , oscar . Yeah , we have .

Oscar Navarro 17:50

I think we're moved by as I read books and commentaries on what the early church looked like and how effective they were . As I've said before on this podcast , many episodes ago , I'm fascinated by the early church because they came in to a cultural setting that was so antithetical to gospel , or to Christian ethics and morality , and certainly to the gospel to gospel or to Christian ethics and morality , and certainly to the gospel . I mean , if we think our culture is antithetical or post-Christian , they would put our culture to shame in regards to their sexual ethics , their moral ethics , on and on we can go . And yet , in the midst of that , the early church exploded and grew rapidly . And so , to me , what were they doing ? What can we learn from them

Neighborhood Community and Gospel Witness

Oscar Navarro 18:31

?

Oscar Navarro 18:32

And one of the things is exactly what you're talking about , ez is the intentionality of your neighbor . I mean , you got to remember that they grew up in mostly small villages or areas of influence , and so there was no . You know , you didn't spend much time inside your home . Your home is where you slept , where you cooked and where you cleaned . There was no living room with a couch and a TV . There was no entertainment to keep you insulated , rather in order for you to be entertained in order for your mind to be stimulated , and 90% of your daily chores was outside rubbing elbows with your neighbor , and so the human that's a funny saying when you think about it . Rubbing elbows there you go , I just sit around and

Oscar Navarro 19:11

literally hey , I want to rub elbows with my neighbor .

Ray Comfort 19:14

Come over here .

Emeal Zwayne 19:16

Past time , john , bring your elbow , join us in here .

Oscar Navarro 19:21

But I think the Lord intended for us to do life in community with one another , and we've built this modern life to be isolated and alone , and , on that matter , loneliness is a new major issue for America . So many people , especially younger people , are reported feeling alone , like longing for meaningful relationships . And so for us to be witnesses , not only to proclaim the gospel , but to be witnesses of humility , of an integrity , of hospitality , of kindness , which is what you did . Easy to walk outside our front doors and to know the names of our neighbors . Like , can we just start there ? How many Americans don't know the names of their neighbors ? How many of your neighbors have you had in your home for a meal ? How often have you practiced hospitality ?

Oscar Navarro 20:20

Rosario Butterfield wrote a book . It's a great book and it's called the Gospel Comes With the House Key , and the point she made is that once we preach the gospel , the next step is to invite people into our homes and at our tables and make them a meal . The Lord means to use you in your right now , immediate neighborhood more than he intends to use you on social media . Here's more where my rant will end . So many people think to themselves oh , I want to be an effective witness , so I'm going to try to blow up a social media platform . They want to be known by somebody across the other side of the world and they don't even know their own neighbors .

Emeal Zwayne 20:58

Start with your neighbor , preach man . That's something I talk about all the time , even when it comes to the gospel and you know that's something I talk about all the time . I mean even when it comes to the gospel , ray . You know , people want to go and be missionaries in other parts of the world when they're not reaching their neighbors , when they're not a witness in their neighborhood , in their area .

Ray Comfort 21:16

You talked about it before the famous saying you don't have to cross the sea to be a missionary , you just have to see the cross . And I never forget that when Rachel I think she was 17 , she went with a missionary organization to Calcutta or India and then went up on a hill and prayed over the city , and I think you can do that here . You can pray over Calcutta on a map . Jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel . He preached the gospel . That's what the world needs to hear , and so whatever you said was really good and I've answered it .

Emeal Zwayne 21:47

That's how it goes . That's how it goes here . But no , yeah , it's so true in that we don't realize the value of small acts of kindness within our neighborhood . Look , as a ministry , we talk very much about not getting sucked into the friendship evangelism mindset for evangelism , which means that's all I do exclusively . But don't misunderstand us in saying that you're not to build friendships with those that are around you and those that you're around , like your neighbors and those that are in your circle of influence at work and family members and stuff like that . Of course , you don't just walk up and blast them and that's it . That's it , I'm done . No , you're building rapport , right , Ray ? Rapport that will give you that openness from them , because it's different than the stranger you walk up to on the street , wouldn't you say ?

Ray Comfort 22:44

Yeah , often we use eggs with our neighbors . Our chickens lay eggs , which is great .

Emeal Zwayne 22:49

You egg their house .

Ray Comfort 22:50

I throw them at them .

Oscar Navarro 22:51

You give them terrible washing machines and then you egg their homes .

Emeal Zwayne 22:54

I'm not sure I want to be your neighbor .

Ray Comfort 22:56

Ray .

Emeal Zwayne 22:58

I know yeah , we've got an empty neighborhood .

Ray Comfort 23:00

Yeah , but I love my neighbors . We've got also Jehovah's Witness on one side that aren't too friendly , but they're okay Catholics on the other side , hindu in front of us and Indonesian to one side .

Emeal Zwayne 23:12

So it's a Wait . What happened ? Why didn't you tell us about the atheists underneath your house ?

Ray Comfort 23:18

Atheists underneath the house , living under your floorboards .

Emeal Zwayne 23:26

Yeah , it's so good , and I think of Matthew 5 , 14 to 16 .

Ray Comfort 23:30

You see , I just love the way , when you've got nothing to say , you can fill it in with yeah , it's so good , Matthew 15 .

Emeal Zwayne 23:38

You're very gifted . Yeah , it's a spiritual gift Matthew 5 , 14 to 16 . You are the light of the world . A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden . Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket , but under a lampstand , and it gives light to all who are in the house . Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven . I mean , this is the right time to show off , in a sense , but you show off so that you point

Neighborly Hospitality and Gospel Witness

Emeal Zwayne 24:09

to the Lord .

Mark Spence 24:10

Yeah , if you want to be a spiritually effective neighbor , you need to be a physically effective neighbor . You need to be rich and good works . If you're making brownies , make brownies for the people across the street . If you're buying a plant for your house , why not buy another plant for your neighbor across the street ? If you're buying a plant for your house , why not buy another plant for your neighbor across the street ? Washing machine If you're buying one washing machine , buy a second washing machine . Yeah , being rich in good works is a great way to reach your neighbors . You know , people tend to park inside their garage and there's no waving , there's no interaction . That's a shame . You know , if you go to whitepagescom and you type in your own address , it'll give you the names and the addresses of all your neighbors . So Oscar was saying we don't even know the names of our neighbors . We've lived next to them for 15 years . Well , that's a great way to start . That's a great place to start .

Emeal Zwayne 24:58

If they have a dog White pages , white pages . Interesting Whitepagescom . They sound racist to me but it is .

Mark Spence 25:06

That's , in fact , how we learned all of our neighbors' names and stuff , and then we gave a little care package to every one of our neighbors . I remember when you did that Gift cards and stuff .

Emeal Zwayne 25:13

Yeah , I didn't know you could do that with White Pages , Mark yeah .

Mark Spence 25:17

It's called reverse lookup .

Emeal Zwayne 25:18

Oh , okay , you know , I mean , I knew the importance of this immediately . But whenever we've moved into a neighborhood , we'll go around , we'll meet all the neighbors , we'll introduce ourselves . Do you walk right outside and go ?

Oscar Navarro 25:35

hello friends , hello friends .

Emeal Zwayne 25:36

Yeah , I did . And then suddenly there were 20 for sale signs on my neighbor's lawns . But no , and we've tried to time it when we've moved into a new neighborhood around Christmas . So you know , and we've tried to time it when we've moved into a new neighborhood around Christmas . So then you know , hey , we're new in the neighborhood , just wanted to wish you Merry Christmas and we've written a letter with the gospel in it .

Ray Comfort 25:52

You try and time it to buy a house just before Christmas , yeah , yeah , yeah . All the time that's our Christmas gift to ourselves A new house every year , jingle bells , jingle bells , yeah , just to get the witness to neighbors , you buy a house and away you go this really hit Mark .

Emeal Zwayne 26:10

He's still a woman His realtor loves it yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 26:14

No , but I'm saying , you know , usually we'll wait until it gets close , even after moving to the neighborhood , and then we'll give them a gospel of John and , you know , a candy cane with it or whatever . But when we get their names , I just have a notes list and I put my neighbor's names with their address , and so I remember it . And so , because I don't know if you guys have sensed this , when I don't remember someone's name , I have a lack of confidence to approach them . I just feel weird . That's true .

Ray Comfort 26:47

Because you know you've got to . You know it's normal to use their name at some point in the conversation , but when you don't know it , but man , that's why I never talked to .

Emeal Zwayne 26:52

Ray , thingy is always a good substitute , thingy , thingy , but but and and you know , you guys know , when you say someone's name and they're not expecting you to , they lie to you . Whoa , you remembered my name , you know .

Oscar Navarro 27:02

So I try to do that with our servers .

Emeal Zwayne 27:04

I try to remember their names .

Ray Comfort 27:05

I do it with my wife .

Oscar Navarro 27:06

That's a good call .

Emeal Zwayne 27:07

Which one , your first wife , number four , 600 , 6 , 7,000 billion trillion .

Oscar Navarro 27:12

I think there's another . So there's being hospitable in regards to inviting them into your home , but then there's also a form of hospitality in which you can serve your neighborhood . So , like we like to throw block parties , halloween comes around and we have a huge potluck outside of our home where we invite everyone . There's hundreds of kids that come . We hand out tracks and candy and food . I'm always outside playing . Free food , free food .

Ray Comfort 27:37

Did you have any trouble with the city doing that ? We haven't no problem , that's great .

Oscar Navarro 27:42

No , really , why would they ?

Ray Comfort 27:42

have a problem with the city . You're supposed to have a permit when you have food . Well , we do a potluck Only if you sell , I think . I'm not sure .

Oscar Navarro 27:50

What yeah Food ? We also , you know , I'll go outside and play soccer with the kids .

Ray Comfort 27:58

Do you have a permit for that ? I don't have a permit for this is California .

Oscar Navarro 28:00

This is communism man .

Oscar Navarro 28:02

We want to see your breathing , I know really I volunteer to be a coach for my kids' sporting events and I see the way the Lord works . In the midst of all of that , I've had non-believing parents come up to me and be like , hey , my kid came back and said that you guys are Christian and you're praying , you're sharing man , that's so cool . He was really interested . We've actually never gotten somebody to be offended by it . We've only had parents inquire in a form of curiosity and thankfulness . One of them let me know how thankful they were that we pray before a meal because they don't do that in their home and they're like oh , I'm so glad my kid gets to see that side of . For him it's like , oh , it's neat , it's diverse , but for me it's the truth . But the point is is we try to have a form of hospitality to our neighbors , to invite them in to witness the gospel lived out and that's the point that you were making is friendship .

Oscar Navarro 29:03

Evangelism is holding back the gospel . Discipleship , evangelism is recognizing that the scriptures do not separate discipleship and evangelism . It's not like discipleship is for the saved and evangelism is for the non-believer . You will not see that divided in the scriptures . Evangelism and discipleship happen together . And so when I proclaim the gospel to my neighbor . The next thing I'm going to do is enter into a form of discipleship which puts on display the work of the gospel . They see me speak tenderly to my wife . They see me love and invest in my children and their children , and the hope is they would look at that and go , huh , I see the truth of what he is saying . Lived out in his life , oh man .

Emeal Zwayne 29:48

Yeah , the power of living the Christian life before unbelievers . You know , I was at In-N-Out the other day and I was sitting just sitting there , you know , minding my own business , eating my protein burger my four by four , by the way Wow .

Oscar Navarro 30:03

Four by four Four cheese too .

Emeal Zwayne 30:04

Well , when you don't eat breakfast and lunch , you're hungry . Yeah , four by four protein style .

Mark Spence 30:09

Are you on an OMAD diet right now ? I'm just on a no .

Emeal Zwayne 30:12

Well , what's OMAD ?

Mark Spence 30:14

One meal a day .

Emeal Zwayne 30:14

Oh , is that what it's called ? Yeah .

Mark Spence 30:16

I thought it was a , still hungryailed it . Yeah , I am .

Emeal Zwayne 30:28

I've heard it called intermittent fasting , so I only eat dinner , and so I was at In-N-Out with my 4x4 . What is a 4x4 ? It's a truck . It's four patties and four cheese , so you know . Like I said , one piece of meat , there's four . So you know double double .

Ray Comfort 30:43

You know , double double . This is a double double , double double . This is a four by four , this is a double double double , double , it's a four by four .

Emeal Zwayne 30:47

Yeah , but it's protein style , so it's no bread , it's just lettuce .

Ray Comfort 31:00

So it's wrapped in lettuce .

Emeal Zwayne 31:01

I'm like I'm picking every piece of cheese off the paper at the end the cheese paper .

Oscar Navarro 31:05

I love that .

Emeal Zwayne 31:06

So , anyway , I'm sitting there and this young boy and his sister sit at the table , and then , you know , the boy was on his phone , the girl was doing something , and then the brother he was probably 14 . The sister was probably 9 or 10 . And he looks over and he goes so how was your day today ? And I remember , just sitting there , I'm like whoa , it really really stood out to me . And in fact , before the boy sat down though , he looked at me and he goes hi , I'm like okay , something's up here . And then he sits there and he says his sister , and I go , I go man this how old was he 14 ? I go man this , how old was he 14 . Wow , and I remember .

Emeal Zwayne 31:44

I just immediately thought I bet this kid comes from a Christian home , I bet these parents brought this kid up . Well , so I'm sitting there eating and then I hear easy . And I look up and I see the mom , and it was Jen Danskin , Andy Smith's Really Jen Smith , that's her new name , andy Smith's wife . And these are people I've known . I used to be part of our church . She used to be my secretary . Yeah , they used to be at our church where we pastored , and I've known them , it was their kids and it was their kids , but I hadn't seen them in a long time . I didn't recognize them . I'm like what ? So it was a blessing to be able to tell her that and to Lord . And that's what you're talking about , oscar , in terms of our impact .

Emeal Zwayne 32:23

I'm reading a book where the author was talking about impact in your neighborhood and he was talking about how they lived in a neighborhood where all the backyard it was like in a circle around a lake and all the sliding glass doors were backed up to the lake so everyone could look into everyone else's house in the evenings as they're doing stuff . Hard to commit murder , yeah , okay , but he talked about how you know . One neighbor was walking by and they just came up to him . They said you know what I just got to tell you when I see you and your family every day ? Because the point he was making was that his family does a lot of nothing .

Emeal Zwayne 33:03

That was what he said . We do a lot of nothing , which means they just hang out , they play games , they worship together , they read the word , they walk , they play outside . See them in each other's pajamas yeah , yeah , shorty pajamas . So , anyway , he said the neighbor comes up to him and he said you know what I just got to tell you . When I see you outside with your family all the time , which you are doing , what you guys do , I don't know what it is this is one of those easy moments but it makes me think of god .

Emeal Zwayne 33:38

Wow , it makes me think of god . He says I don't know why that's awesome .

Ray Comfort 33:44

Weep when he said that , or was you weeping when you're thinking of thinking of God ?

Emeal Zwayne 33:47

I'm replaying it no , but it just hit me , you know like it makes me think of God and guys . We can't underestimate how our lives genuinely lived for the Lord in our neighborhood can have a massive spiritual impact . To be aware Amen .

Ray Comfort 34:03

Isn't it so sad that we're so ugly when we cry ?

Oscar Navarro 34:07

That's such a savage .

Ray Comfort 34:10

These poor people get on national television in a disaster . They get on TV first time in their life and they're blubbing . It's just .

Emeal Zwayne 34:17

That's the way , it is Ugly crying man .

Ray Comfort 34:20

But it's very moving , easy to show .

Emeal Zwayne 34:22

Yeah , no , but really I mean , that's what that passage is talking about , about being the light of the world , letting your light so shine . You know , especially again , don't let that be the exclusive thing you do . Go out and do declarational evangelism , share the gospel on the streets , build a relationship in 3.5 seconds , like Ray talked about . Mark is looking at .

Ray Comfort 34:44

I typed in ugly criers . An easy came up First . That was the first one on there .

Emeal Zwayne 34:50

Yeah .

Neighborly Outreach and Gospel Witness

Ray Comfort 34:52

I write for a well-known Christian organization once a month addressing pastors , and they just for this month . It was how can a pastor reach out to his neighbors this summer ? And I thought I haven't any idea . So I went to AI , which I often do , and said give me 10 different things . And boy , it was helpful . Yeah , it really was . It just gave me thoughts to leap off on .

Oscar Navarro 35:16

It was all recharge their batteries .

Ray Comfort 35:18

Yeah , but let me share some of them because it's like what you talked about you can shut your street off with a permit . I didn't realize you could do that . You could go to a local city and say I want to close the street off our street and have a fun , family fun thing and have barbecues for the family and free food and stuff like that . So all these different ideas . And you're going to have a picnic for the neighborhood . Invite all the neighbors to a picnic at the local park . And there are people in your church that volunteer to be a clown and have balloons with scripture on them and give out gospel tracts to all the people and free food .

Emeal Zwayne 35:52

Wow , you wouldn't even need a costume , Ray . I just started an outreach in my neighborhood to kids . I have a dummy called Charlie who would do that .

Mark Spence 36:05

Hey kids , this is Charlie here .

Emeal Zwayne 36:08

I was awful . Completely untrained Ray , you must have seriously been the worst ventriloquist .

Ray Comfort 36:12

Really bad . But the good thing is , when you got a mustache , you just grow it .

Emeal Zwayne 36:16

Grow it over your lips An extra two inches .

Ray Comfort 36:18

How many people mistake ?

Emeal Zwayne 36:19

And no one has any idea that you're able to do that . That would be a funny spoof for a ventriloquist .

Mark Spence 36:24

Yes , it would , those medical master and puppet we all had to wear .

Emeal Zwayne 36:29

How many people ?

Ray Comfort 36:30

thought you were the puppet , you blew it . You should have said dummy .

Emeal Zwayne 36:34

Yeah , what else right ?

Ray Comfort 36:35

That's your only idea , no there's about 10 of them , but I just don't want to bore you . It's really great thoughts .

Ray Comfort 36:42

Neighborhood block parties , family picnics , outdoor movie nights , Ooh yeah , and it's in a local park . You just get permission from the city , put up a big screen and invite the neighbor to a free movie . And it's a Christian movie , a quality movie . And you give out free food at the same , or free candy , whatever , and invites to the thing and a little start in prayer . So this is a Christian movie . You end up by saying , if you'd like to talk to spiritual things , were here for you .

Mark Spence 37:03

Like 180 . We could show 180 . Yeah , that'd be great For the kids Bring all your kids folks .

Emeal Zwayne 37:10

Yeah , there are . You know the saying where there's a will .

Ray Comfort 37:14

Fullyfreefilmscom has got a whole stack of free movies . Ooh yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 37:18

Yeah , we've had people you know do stuff . Where there's an event in their neighborhood , some kind of thing at a park or something , they'll go . They'll give out free water bottles with a tract .

Ray Comfort 37:27

With water in them , with water in them , not just the bottles .

Oscar Navarro 37:30

That's what I was doing wrong .

Emeal Zwayne 37:31

Yeah , and they'll . Sometimes , you know , they'll even get . I've heard of people that have gotten like special things . They wrap the bottle with that has a gospel on it . Yeah , you know . So there's so many inside one of our . Oh you know what ? I bet our Unterrible tract is waterproof . It probably is . That's an idea . Just the ink comes out . Yeah , how about actually putting the gospel in water in microscopic letter form and they drink the gospel ? I'm sure there's something like that out there . But , guys , look , there is a call upon our lives to recognize that we can really reach our neighbors and we could do it in a way that glorifies God . This is my concern . It's the justifying attitude of I'm just too busy or because they live so close , I'm worried about what they're going to say . It reminded me of the whole issue with the Good Samaritan . We call it the Good Samaritan , but I don't know if that's accurate .

Ray Comfort 38:35

It wasn't good . He merely did the basic requirements of the law .

Emeal Zwayne 38:38

Yeah , in Luke 10 , it says in verse 25 , and behold , a certain lawyer stood up and tested him saying teacher , what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? He said to him what is it written in the law ? What is your reading of it ? So he answered and said you shall love the Lord , your God , with all your heart , with all your soul , with all your strength , with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself . And he said to him you have answered rightly , do this and you will live . But he , wanting to justify himself , said to Jesus , and who is my neighbor and the heart of that is he didn't want to do it .

Ray Comfort 39:08

Well , the Living Bible brings out what that wanting to justify himself . The man wanted to justify his lack of love for some kinds of people Right Like the .

Emeal Zwayne 39:18

Samaritans . Yeah , so there was this sense of wanting to violate what was his duty , and that is to love all people , right , and of course , there were certain people they didn't want to show love toward . We know the Jews and the Samaritans had issues between them , and so Jesus intentionally uses this parable and what an amazing parable . We've talked about it before on the podcast , but this guy , who was supposed to be an enemy with that Jew , demonstrated toward him an overabundance of love . He cared for him , he took him in . He said hey , I'll pay now and I'll pay for anything else that you expend . We just miss this , we just kind of skip ahead . But you look at the fine details , and this is what Jesus is saying . I mean , if that's the standard , anything beneath it is a given .

Navigating Difficult Neighbor Relationships

Emeal Zwayne 40:18

And so , oscar , let me ask you this how do we deal , though , with difficult neighbors ? Because we all have those neighbors that are difficult , that maybe are cantankerous , or hey , stop parking your car in front of my house , or , you know , your kids are too noisy , shut your dog up .

Oscar Navarro 40:35

You know , stop giving me your loud washing machines .

Mark Spence 40:39

No , it's funny because I actually have a neighbor who is just like that and he kind of melted a little bit when we gave him the gift bag . But he's just like that where he gets really angry if you park in front of his house . He only parks in front of our house . That's the only place he parks is in front of our house and he gets upset if anybody parks in front of his house , which is with no cars in front of his house .

Ray Comfort 40:59

He's got Parkinson's .

Oscar Navarro 41:03

We , thankfully , don't really have that neighbor , although I do have two neighbors that are like in absolute odds with each other and they often come to me to complain about the other one .

Emeal Zwayne 41:13

Oh really , you're in the middle . Yeah , I'm in the middle , so you're the peacekeeper .

Oscar Navarro 41:16

I'm trying to be the peacekeeper but I think as Christians we should , as far as we are able to , to show love and kindness and understanding and grace to that neighbor . If I have a neighbor that doesn't want me to park in front of his house , I don't get that . That makes no sense to me . When I get home late from work and there's no other spot but that one spot missing and I can't park there , I'm going to bear that burden .

Oscar Navarro 41:45

I'm going to park around the block for him . I would , I would be that neighbor , I would love him . Uh , that you know . Be all things , to all men and to . To put others before yourselves is exactly that .

Oscar Navarro 41:59

Is it to love others more than you love yourself in those kinds of situations and I know that can be hard and frustrating , because it's not just someone you see every now and then , it's someone that you live next to . But isn't being a witness to the gospel that much more important than a witness to your own personal needs ?

Emeal Zwayne 42:16

Yeah , oh , huge , yeah , I mean yeah , and you go the extra mile . Yeah , with courtesy consideration . You know , we ended up extending our driveway or widening our driveway . There was , like you know , a dirt planter area , but we intentionally spent thousands of dollars and widened it so that we could park more of our cars on our driveway , so that we didn't have to park on a neighbor's houses . You know , because we don't , we don't get , we don't want to be a bother , we want to be a light for the gospel . You know it , gospel , it wasn't convenient for us to do that , but we did it out of love , and so let's just do something concrete , yeah , yeah , and so Foundational .

Oscar Navarro 43:04

Foundational .

Oscar Navarro 43:04

Yeah , yeah , so can I add to that or kind of change gears a little bit to what you're saying , which is , I think that also extends to our ideologies , because often I think we tend to avoid people that share different ideologies in us , and I'm thinking specifically about political ideologies where , like , oh well , my liberal neighbor and we tend to distance ourself , we think that they're further away from the gospel , we don't wanna deal with their different views of things , or the opposite is true , which is , our ideologies can often become a stumbling block to someone else's understanding of the gospel .

Oscar Navarro 43:42

And there's specifically a book called Political Visions and Illusions , written by David Koizis I'm probably mispronouncing his last name , but he does a great job of pointing out how often our political ideology becomes idolatrous , and he shows us how , whether you're a liberal or conservative or a libertarian , how every political language , how all of these political storylines have a creation , fall , redemption , consummation story to them , and how he says that ultimately , what we do is we treat our political opinions as these ideologies which become messianic in nature , and we grow in fervor over them , and often what happens is , what prevents us from being a good witness to the gospel is that we're more of a witness to policies and politicians than we are the Prince of Peace .

Oscar Navarro 44:37

And so , in the same way , where , like , if my neighbor was flying a Celtics flag , I wouldn't knock on his door and be like you know , I'm a Lakers fan Like that's probably not where I'm going to start , you know . And so we need to put aside things that are really important , things that we care deeply about , things that we should have strong conviction over , but those man-made things need to be put aside for the sake of the gospel .

Emeal Zwayne 45:00

Yeah , amen , oscar . It's so funny you said that you said Lakers and Celtics right .

Neighborly Acts of Kindness

Emeal Zwayne 45:08

When I was like , I just re did a reunion with two of my friends from 34 years ago . We grew up in the same neighborhood and one of them was in town . We all got together and I was telling one of them how , when I was a kid , I was a celtics fan . We had family in boston and so you know , my brother was . I was bandwagon , of course , but but I remember one year that the celtics won the championship against the Lakers .

Emeal Zwayne 45:26

You know their big rivalry in the eighties and I remember he got outside and my , my , my friend's uncle he was , you know , there in the neighborhood and he was a huge Lakers fan and I go , yeah , celtics , and he goes shut up . He was so mad he wanted to kill me . But it's funny you said that . But uh , but yeah me , but it's funny you said that , but uh , but yeah , you know , um , deciding to , to , to do those sorts of things . I mean , ray , for years you and sue have done that . Like you said , you gave that washing machine away , you've given eggs , you've , back in the day , you took care of your neighbor helen , elderly woman , didn't have anybody , and you guys stepped up and did that and were a witness to her .

Ray Comfort 46:04

Yeah , that was a pleasure . You know , I was just thinking of something that happened years ago . There's a neighbor right in front of me whom I love . His name's Mohan and Harjit . They're from India , they're Hindus , and I heard that he wasn't well . So I just went over to just give my thoughts for them , didn't want to go and visit him , I didn't even think of it , but they just invited me in the next thing .

Oscar Navarro 46:32

I was in his bedroom chatting with him .

Ray Comfort 46:33

He was so pleased that I came to visit him when he was sick and I don't think he ever forgot that . I mean , I didn't even plan to go in , I just got invited in , but it warmed my heart to think that happened .

Emeal Zwayne 46:38

It means a lot to people . You know , one of our neighbor's houses caught fire and Rachel was home and she saw what was going on and she , you know , ran out and you know , invited the neighbor in and you know , when the house was on fire , yeah , and they sat and had coffee and baked some good , and then they called 911 .

Emeal Zwayne 47:00

They were crocheting . No , but yeah , I mean , the ambulance came . But you know , after the ambulance came and everything , she just invited her into the house and just started to minister to her . Ambulance came and everything , she just invited her into the house and just started to minister to her and the lady , just you know , was overwhelmed and later came back with her daughter and her daughter's like thank you for taking care of my mom , you know . And and and again , other neighbors . One neighbor came out . He's filming it . Her house is on fire . He didn't say a word to her . He's like , yeah , you know , other neighbors were just like standing back and not even doing . And Rachel just ran over and , just you know , loved on her . So again , so many . I mean , your neighbor's house doesn't have to be on fire . I get to see someone going and lighting fires in their neighbor's house just to be able to reach them . Don't do that . How do you think your house caught fire ? Easy , oh , it was you , mark . Yeah , so anyway .

Emeal Zwayne 47:50

1 Peter , 2 , 15 to 17, . For this is the will of God that by doing good , you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free and not using liberty as a cloak for vice , but as bondservants of God . Honor all people , love the brotherhood , fear God , honor the King . I love that . Do good and those neighbors , all those stupid Christians and this and that put them to silence by doing good . Love them , no matter what they may do to you , and

Sharing the Gospel Online

Emeal Zwayne 48:16

seek to be a witness . Galatians 6.10, . Therefore , as we have opportunity , let us do good to all . Yes , especially to those who are of the household of faith , but to all , and let our light shine Amen .

Mark Spence 48:27

Amen .

Emeal Zwayne 48:28

Well , there you have it , friends . Another one Don't forget God has a wonderful plan for your life book , the Living Waters Mug , the Evidence Study Bible , all at livingwaterscom . And remember , podcast at livingwaterscom with your thoughts and go to our platforms where you listen and give us comments and likes and share it with others . Thank you for joining us , friends . We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast , the one podcast you can't wait but you did to turn off . That's so dumb .