Plays On Word Radio
An in-depth look at the Word of God, the Plays On Word community, and the Plays - with original music - we perform, that are based on the Word of God. New episodes drop Fridays at 7AM EST! To find out how Plays On Word Theater can perform 'LIVE on YOUR STAGE' and to support this missionary & podcast visit: https://playsonword.org/
Plays On Word Radio
Ep 185: Proof God Loves You Is Not A Feeling (Part 1)
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"Worship can reach where arguments cannot. Today, Pastor Tom Jencsik shares his journey from religion to a personal faith, exploring assurance in Christ, biblical identity, worship, and why the cross remains our confidence. What truth about your identity in Christ encourages you most?"
We talk about how worship can move faith from familiar to real, and how Jesus meets us with assurance when our feelings wobble. Pastor Tom shares his journey from a lifelong Catholic background to a moment in worship that changed everything, then we trace what it means to live as who God says we are.
• East Gate Calvary Fellowship and why the name points to Scripture and Jesus’ return
• A testimony shaped by worship rather than an altar call moment
• Why assurance grows when we look at the cross instead of our moods
• Communion as a regular reset back to Jesus’ finished work
• Identity in Christ through clear biblical statements about who we are
• Plays on the Word Theater and why typology helps people see Jesus in the whole Bible
• Hope and steady purpose in a world full of conflict and noise
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East Gate Calvary Fellowship: https://eastgatecalvary.org/
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Created For Good Works
SPEAKER_02Lord, you know.
SPEAKER_03You're now listening to play what is the best.
SPEAKER_02That because he is who he is and who he said he is, we are who he said we are. That's the that's that is the beautiful thing, right? And what is that? We're created in the image of God, his workmanship, we're created in Christ Jesus for what Ted? For good works. We're fellow hey, here's here's here's here's even the better part of all this. We're fellow across. We're more we're more than a thousand.
SPEAKER_00Thank you
Meet Pastor Teddy And Tom
SPEAKER_00for joining us on this excursion today. Let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Keddy Jr., the founder of Plays on the Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to Plays on Word Radio. Tom Jensik, my man, brother. Going way, we go way back, man. And yeah. Now I have a question for you.
SPEAKER_02It's it Hey, don't don't make it too difficult. I'm a pastor.
SPEAKER_03I know. I I'm so uh you you I first met you at Jersey Shore.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Jersey Shore Calvary Chapel back in the day, man. But you know, that's that's where that's where you first met. And I was like, who's who is this dude up front, man? That's when they're leading worship. This guy's got his hands raised in the air, just boy, he's praising God all out, man. This guy, what is good, who's this dude? And then I then I mentioned, I was like, Oh, I like this guy, man. He's on fire for the Lord, and it was you. Praise the Lord, and now you're pastoring Calvary Chapel Berkeley or Calvary Chapel Eastgate, or give me the what's here's what it is.
Why Eastgate Calvary Fellowship
SPEAKER_02Here's what it is. It's yeah, all right, it's or you want to call it official name, Eastgate Calvary Fellowship.
SPEAKER_03The Zentite.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so right, exactly. Yeah, and obviously we're not affiliated yet, but that's obviously the plan going forward. Yeah, as far as what I see, anyway, with the Lord leading us, but that's what we are right now, Eastgate Calvary Fellowship. So I think you've gone through the same similar scenario, right? Yep. So that's where we are, really.
SPEAKER_03Basically, you are a Calvary Chapel, but you you're just waiting on the official affiliation, but it but that doesn't that's not what really make that doesn't make you a church. No, no, you know, you're already, I know you know, everybody else that that went through it as well, they were already Calvary Chapels. You know what I mean? It's just let's let's put the exclamation point on it with the official.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean the the slight history of it is I'm sure you know, is it was prior to us coming down here, it was Calvary Chapel Berkeley, like you said in the beginning of the conversation. And then as we you know went through that, and this is what it evolved to, and then the Lord put it on my heart to just say, Okay, you know, we're we're another ministry, and what do you want to show us, Lord? And I just put on my heart that East Gate, because I always think of that East Gate of looking straight ahead into Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus on the top of the Mount of Olives, looking straight into Jerusalem. That's how he's coming in, man. Yeah, so I'm like all right. I'm gonna Lord, I'm gonna put East Gate here in Berkeley so you can come straight to us.
SPEAKER_03Amen. I love it, I love it, man. I love it, and that's that's kind of unique. I don't know if there's I I haven't seen too many other churches with that name, with that concept, because you know, I understanding the concept, the east when the tabernacle, when it moved throughout the wilderness, it was oriented the same way. The the east gate was the entrance gate, right? It didn't matter where they were located, it was always oriented the same way, man, north, south, east, west, and the gate, the way to get in was on the east. Yeah, and that's how the Lord's coming in, man. When when he comes back, that's how he's coming in, man.
SPEAKER_02I mean, you can go right into even with that. I looked at and Zechariah, we can go right down to the triumphal entry, right? Where some some believe that he went through that. Was it that specific gate? We don't know, but it was probably somewhere. Yeah, probably most likely. So yeah, so it goes back into the script, old testament as well as as you know, the new testament. So I think you know, it's hard to you say, well, what's our name? What's our name? And again, like you said, I mean, a church, what is a church? A church is the people, right? It's God's people. So the name is the name. So you got you gotta have you gotta have an identifier, and that's what I believe right now for us.
SPEAKER_03I love it, man. I absolutely love it. And you know, if it we'll put the link and all the connection social stuff, we'll put that in the show notes so that anybody wants to check it out. If I because we had and we have a bunch of people that listen that are in the New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania area that absolutely, you know, I encourage you to go visit. So I I have a question before we get started,
A Testimony Born In Worship
SPEAKER_03though. Really, so I s what attracted me to you in the first place was how you worship the Lord, man, how you're all all about praise. How how did you come to meet this Jesus? How did this how did this happen, man?
SPEAKER_02You know, it it's obviously we all have our own journey, right? And when you put all those journeys together, man, it's it's just magnificent. Magnificent to hear people's testimony. And for me, it was just kind of a a walk in in the secular life of trying to be successful. And that didn't work. It it worked as far as who I thought I was, and then when that all came together at a point where something's missing here, something's not right. And that's when I went to I was a Catholic, raised Catholic all my life. I knew, by the way, I knew I knew Jesus, who Jesus was when I was about, I mean, eight years old, seven years old. I went to church. I kept going. My my mother and father were you know Catholics and they believed in their faith and was always go to church. But obviously, in somewhere in my ear, I think it was my early 30s, again, I was at that point, and uh someone said go to a Bible-believing church, which I did. And I sat there and I was like, Man, I never heard, and you you've heard these stories before, right? Like I've never heard this before. I've never heard and it it really wasn't, it was a Bible-believing church, but it wasn't Calvin Chapel yet. But when I first and you can now you can understand, I'll explain to you how I got my heart is where it is as far as how I praise the Lord. Is I was listening to worship. I was I didn't I didn't hear worship music like this before. So I went by the way, I went kicking its screaming for a few weeks. I did. I I don't want to go to church. This is crazy. These people are not these people, so then this, yeah, these people. Now we're these people, but uh ultimately it was a worship song. The worship song started really, and then one day, you know, it wasn't for me an altar call. And by the way, altar crow, that's great, fine. But for me personally, and I tell people this all the time, you know, it's a personal journey, yeah. And for me personally, it was a worship song that just all of a sudden it just cut to my heart, and I would just started tears started coming out of my my being. And then from that point on, it was I didn't understand it at first, but I kept going back to church and wanted to say, okay, now it's a different, now there's something different. Why I'm going, and I didn't again, I truly didn't understand it was the Holy Spirit now in me, sealed with the Holy Spirit that was now leading and guiding me on whatever level that was at that time. And then from that point on, Ted, like I said, it's been I've I've always worship has always been very deeply embedded in my heart when I come to when I even when I come to open the scriptures, when I come to to church, when I'm with anybody, it's always why are we worshiping, first of all, worshiping the Lord. And that's always kind of been deep, like I said, uh look, God knows each one of us, right? He knows all about us, he knows we're all of our our traits and the things that make us tick. And I think he used what makes me tick to proclaim his word. And and being that what that is is enthusiasm, exhortation, all the things that I love, and that all comes from worship. And that that's that's kind of really in a nutshell. I mean, I can go on and on about it because there's so many stories along with that, which we all have, but that moment and that that I started to realize because it was a funny story is a few weeks later I went to some conference and I the guy the pastor asked for an altar call and I raised my hand. And then I think it was uh I think it was Debbie came up to me later on. She goes, You don't have to raise your hand, you already you already came to Lord Jesus. Yeah, yeah. So that was kind of that that was kind of an interesting moment that I keep in the back of my because when people say, Do I really get I mean, am I really saved? When I raise my hand, that's all right, right. But anyway, that's that's kind of really where it all comes from.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Wow, for me, yeah. And I've I many stories are like that, man. Some people have just this this lightning flash moment, then there's some people that have this boiling boiling pot that just takes it's boiling. It's oh look, the water's boiling. I didn't I don't know when it started boiling, but but it's boiling, and yeah, you know, and that's but and you know, you say, uh, do you believe? Yeah, I believe it. And how how long have you? I don't know. I just for a while I've been I believe this. I don't there was I can't point to a single time or time stamp, but you know, I know a lot of people like that.
SPEAKER_02You know, you know what the interesting thing for me, and I tell the people this also, is it's never left me. That's never left me that that heart, that desire. Hey, I have I gone through the desert, have I gone through you know peaks and valleys? Apps, absolutely 100%. But through those peaks and valleys, I knew that where I could go and where and and that was always to the altar, right? Go to the altar and worship the Lord. And yeah, it got me through, and it keeps getting me through.
SPEAKER_03My buddy Billy Doolittle used to say, he used to say, I know that I know that I know. And can't nobody can't anybody tell me to do that. I know that I know that I know. It's embedded so deep within
Assurance Found At The Cross
SPEAKER_03me. And there are a lot of people that don't they don't live with the ensure the assurance that that God actually first of all loves them or could love could even love them, and they don't have this, they don't they don't realize they have a sh this this assurance that in Christ, man, is the safest place to be, man. There's it's God is not waiting to drop a hammer on somebody. You can you know how you can tell that you look at his actions, man. I've said this a million times. I said you can tell you can tell a lot about a person by how they act and what they do, you can tell what they do, and what he did to keep us out of an eternity with without him, you know, to keep us from hell, what he did to keep us with him for all eternity in heaven, demonstrates a love that we can't completely grasp. And and for us to constantly question, oh, I don't know if God loves me. I don't think I don't think he loves it. All you have to do is look at the cross, man. The cross is the ultimate example that he where he says, I love you, drop the mic, no more needs to be said. Amen. Does God love me? Does God love me? Look at the cross. Look what he look at look at the length he went to to keep first of all to get you, and second of all, to keep you. So stop with the nonsense about God doesn't love me. You might not feel it, but that's coming from the enemy.
SPEAKER_02You know, that's why, you know what, Ted? That's why I love communion every month. That's why I love communion because it always brings, and I tell the congregation this all the time, it goes always go back to the cross. Yeah, back to the cross. And Jesus says, remember. And well when I when he says that, I always believe that he's probably looking around at his up there in the upper room, and he's going, Are these guys gonna really even are they really grasping what I'm what I'm saying here? They probably weren't. They probably weren't, right? Until probably until Pentecost. And he says, I hope they remember. And that's kind of even like us, like in our lives, that you know, you leave you you give this life of ministry over to Jesus, and you pray that people remember who you were. Not not the not the world, the way the world wants to define this, but that you were that representative. And I always say, I always say that the communion look at the cross, look at what he's done for us. You know, Jesus is exactly who he said he was. Hallelujah. Is exactly who he says he was, Jesus. And I ran across this the other day. And you know this already, and you know these scriptures, you know, all these scriptures in this description. He's the way, the truth, and the life, right? He's the Messiah, the Son of God. These are the things we remember, the Son of God, He is God, and this that because He is who He is and who He said He is, we are who He said we are. That's that is the beautiful thing, yes, right? And what is that? We're created in the image of God, His workmanship, we're created in Christ Jesus for what, Ted? For good works. That's it. Yeah, we're fellow. Hey, here's here's here's here's even the better part of all this. We're fellow heirs. Come on, we're more, we're more than conquerors, we're gods. Then this one, you'll love this one. We're God's temple, and brother, and for anyone listening out there, we're chosen in him before the foundation of the world. What a beautiful statement! Amen. And we're the light of the world, right? We're the light of the world in this world right now, with all the darkness around us trying to creep in, we bring that light of Christ, partakers of the divine, of the divine nature of Christ in us, and and and when it comes down to it, like you said, but we're fearfully and wonderfully made. And and that, and you know what? I say this, Ted, you know, talk about worship, those scriptures that you where all that comes from, yeah, that they scream, those, those scriptures scream of who we are, right? And because you know, you know why? And guess what? You know, you don't have to be a super theologian or a calm Bible commentator because those words are straightforward and they're from they're they're they're implanted in your heart through the Holy Spirit, it Jesus in us. But that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
SPEAKER_03Amen to that, man. Amen.
New York Roots And Jersey Speed
SPEAKER_03Hey, I now I have a I have a question. Uh I hear I hear a slight North Jersey or Staten Island or maybe maybe Brooklyn. I can't tell. Well, give me tell me where's his accent.
SPEAKER_02Where I was born in Manhattan, in Bell, by the way, that if anybody knows about New York City and hospitals in New York City, they'll get this right away. My mother gave birth to me at Bellevue Hospital. Bellevue, okay. Yeah, all right, and that's New Yorker. Yeah, New Yorker on the east side. Okay, and my that's where my parents came from. And I I was there until I was probably 11 years old in the East Village. By the way, when I referenced that Bellevue, uh, I was born that that it's most infamous for that's where they bring psychotic patients to you know for psych psychiatric care.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02But anyway, but that's where I'm from. That's where I'm from. That's where my parents are from. And you know, that that that by the way, it never leaves you. No, it's all it's always there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I can hear it. So in certain words, I'm like, yeah, I I I hear I hear the accent. And I'm like, I don't think I've ever asked them exactly where it's not hard accent, it's very slight. Certain words like long island people, they say long island with a G long Island. Long Island.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Long Island, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Now Nutley, Nutley, New Jersey is a totally different place in the in the universe. I don't know what kind of accent that is, man. They Nutley, New Jersey, they have their their own things going on.
SPEAKER_02I used to when I I used to travel a lot, and people that's like you just did. As soon as you open your mouth, wherever you go in this country, they go, Oh, where are you? Why why are you talking so fast? Why are you just you just say, Well, you know, that's where I'm from, you know? Yeah, and I'm they go, Oh, yeah, you're from New Jersey. New Jersey, yeah. I don't know if anybody talks like that, but yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I I I've had resorted to apologizing to a lot of people. Yeah, I'm I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Uh, you know, the people that are probably cutting everybody off down here in North Carolina are probably from New Jersey. It's not their fault, they're just conditioned to drive a certain way. Yeah, and it's like, come on now, it's a 55 mile per hour zone. You that means go 60. Come on, get out the way.
Scripture Comes Alive Through Theater
SPEAKER_03So but you were at some of the very first plays we did, the verse, the first Pete plays. Yeah. First time we did Pete, and when we did Genesis Joe, I think, at when we did it over at Cornerstone, I think that might have been. Yes, yes, it was Genesis. That was the second time we ever did any any play, man. That was the second Genesis Joe we've ever done. And what I was so blessed about, I remember like it was yesterday, you came up to me, and you know, not everybody got the near the end where Joe he describes this vision or dream that God gave him, and it and it points to Christ and the parallels between Joseph and Christ. But you were the yeah, you caught that, and that blessed me. I was like, you were like, man, I so appreciated the uh the the parallels to Jesus, man. That's what I really appreciated. Yes, and that was a that was a blessing to me. It it just confirmed to me that I was that the the Lord put me on the right path there to do that.
SPEAKER_02Well, how many years ago? How many years ago?
SPEAKER_03Oh that was that was 2014, man. Yeah, wow. Yeah. And I had I had a guy come up to me, tell me it, you know, I love this guy, but he well meeting, but I think he was completely wrong. He's like, you don't have to, you don't have to editorialize at the end of it, you know, you don't have to, you don't have to do the editorial. You know how many people have been blessed and never made the connections between Joseph and Jesus? And after the play, they go, Oh my god, I can't believe this. Joseph points to Jesus. I can't I never I never realized that. And so this guy, this guy who told me that, he was well meaning, but he was dead wrong. And I'm glad I listened to the spirit and kept it in.
SPEAKER_02It really, I mean, you that yeah, and look, I always think it this way. If you I tell people you read if you want everybody always says when they get saved, read the book of John. Uh okay, or read so well, that's where most people try to lead people. Go to the book of John, right? You're not gonna go wrong, but but I always say, you know, read the book of John, but you gotta go start in the beginning with Genesis, yeah, especially chapters one through 11. That's the foundation of all things, yeah. And then from that point on, with the life, like you just said, of Joseph and seeing all those things, the typologies of you know, like you just said, the mirroring of Jesus, and it's just it's magnificent. It's just how things, you know what it is, it's how these things all connect to each other from every the first verse of the Bible to the last birth verse of the Bible, they're all connected, and who are they connected to? Jesus, that's it, Jesus Christ, and that's the beautiful thing, and that's why I love what you do because you kind of put portray that picture in a way of with the gifts that God's given you, yeah. But I think sometimes it's good for people that have never heard, because they can picture, look at something and go, you you you can ignite something in their heart that makes them want to maybe hey, I'm gonna check this book of Genesis out, or I'm gonna check this book of Peter. But I think that's what's the beautiful part about you know, doing the type of uh ministry that you do. And uh you and Katie, you and Katie.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_02But it's but it you know, the the the the part that people don't realize is that it's a lot of it's it's not just oh, you know, I'm gifted and I can do all this and I'm great. It no, it's a lot of it's a lot of putting your heart and soul into places that you've probably never been to before, and then God saying, Hey, let's go, man, you can do this, you know. And that's that's the beautiful part of it.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_02When when you get that that feeling, right? That feeling that you know, like the fresh feeling. You know, it's a beautiful and and I love that because each time you do that performance, it's a fresh feeling. Probably for you, and it is for people there that are sitting there. And I would encourage any any person that knows about them your ministry that. They they should at least make an attempt if you're in the area to go and witness this scripture come alive. It's a beautiful thing. It really is. That's another great part of that, your ministry.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's vital. It's vital.
SPEAKER_03You were at some of the very first man I remember vividly. I mean, when we did Jersey Shore, we did Pete. And we did Genesis Joe. Those were, I think that was like the third time we did Genesis Joe, and like the second time we did Pete was at Jersey Shore. Jersey Shore. I remember you were there, man. And I really appreciated that. And subsequently, you've come to the bunch after. We've even we did one outside in the park for you. That was awesome.
SPEAKER_01That was awesome. That was an outreach there, Dino. That was great, man. That was great.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. How did that work? That was um uh just an outreach for the church. We came and did it, and you were just reaching out to the and people from the area just came and we did it in the in like the band shell section of the veterans park, yeah. And we had a time of worship and praise before, I believe. Yeah, your daughter-in-law sang, right? She sang, yeah, and we had. I'm trying to remember that who else? I don't know if Roy played or not. Roy and Greg, maybe I don't remember. I'm trying to remember. I'm coming back.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I can't remember either.
SPEAKER_03But it was good, man. That was fun. And and uh there were a couple people I think that gave their life to the Lord, at least, at least prayed, you know. Like I said, it's not a magic prayer. I don't it's people put too much in that prayer, but uh it's a I think it's a good first step of turning towards, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02I'd rather have them do it yet than not do it. Yeah, absolutely, brother. 100%.
SPEAKER_03You know, so and now how about the how about the peep play? I think I have some pictures with you with the net or something, with me and you in the net, but uh anything specific about the peep play? We talked about Genesis Joe, but the Pete play. You you saw that early on, too, man.
SPEAKER_02Here's what I remember about the Pete play. You have to say something. I gotta say something. I I said this. That's me. That's me. That's me. Amen. Amen. Just some of the obviously some of the dialogue, and we know the scriptures and the way you portray those scriptures. It's like I think almost every one of us can see when we see Peter and we hear those script and we sell and that performance, you you do see yourself in it. You go, if that's if that's one of God's main men, right? Maybe I can be that. There's hope.
SPEAKER_03There's hope for me, man. Well, yeah, the scriptures are there to give us hope, bro. The scriptures, thank God for the for the knuckleheads in the scripture, because it gives us hope.
Hope And Light In Dark Times
SPEAKER_02But you know what? Hope is abounding right now. It has to be, and especially, you know, in in the world we're in right now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02My gosh. Yeah, if you don't if you don't have hope. I mean, that's what I see with all the lots of things that are going on in the world right now, and people are scratching their heads, and even sometimes Christians against Christians with going again, and you just sit there and you go, stop. We know what's what's going on here. We where where is our you we have hope. Our hope is not in this world. We know, hey, look, we know the plan, we know what God has put forth going going ahead. So that's what I'm saying is I'm relating this now to hope. That's our hope. To keep going, in other words, to keep going, to keep going when you don't feel like it, and when all the things of the world come upon you, and you sit there and go, What's the point? Well, the point is Jesus in me, and now I I want to bring that hope to a lost and dying world, yeah. And I'll tell you what, you know what? The world is in real precarious place right now, yeah. And we're we are the light of that world holding things together because of who we are in Christ. And I think you know, for you to keep going on in that ministry and keep bringing that light to wherever God leads you, you encourage.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we I just recently saw a stat that said there are more there's more wars and conflicts right now at this period of time than there have been since World War II. There's there's more than there were during World War II, there's more conflicts around the world happening than there were, and that that was World War II. Yeah, and so yeah, it's some people make the argument world war three is actually underway right now, but you know, it's who knows. Well, we do know the end from the from the beginning. We don't have all the details, but we do know the end. We know that God wins, which is which is good, and we're we're with God. We're with him, we're on his side.
SPEAKER_02He wins. He wins, he does win.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Amen. Well, that's
Closing Prayer And Where To Find Us
SPEAKER_03all the time we have for today. Uh, but we will continue this next week, God willing, if he tarries. Until then, the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and keep you.
SPEAKER_00This program was made possible by the Playzone Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at PlazonWord.org.
