Followed By Mercy

You Can't Outrun the Shepherd: How God's Love Transcends Our Failures

• W. Austin Gardner

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Ever felt like God's love is something you have to earn? In today's episode, Austin Gardner sits down with Robert Canfield for a conversation that might breathe fresh hope into your weary soul.

Together, they pull back the curtain on the exhausting cycle of performance-based religion—a cycle that leaves so many believers tired, ashamed, and feeling like God's love is always just out of reach. Robert shares powerful stories from his ministry, "Taking the Light," where radio broadcasts in Burkina Faso and Peru are reaching people who would never set foot in a church. You'll hear about a man who pedals his bicycle 45 minutes each way to be with God's people after discovering the gospel on the radio, and a former alcoholic now sharing truth with farmers across the fields, living proof that grace travels further than any of us can imagine.

Austin and Robert open Psalm 131, inviting listeners to let go of striving and rest in the quiet confidence of a soul that knows it is loved. They gently challenge the old, harmful story that God punishes wandering believers, and instead point to the relentless mercy of the Good Shepherd. As Austin puts it, "You can't outrun the Shepherd. He never leaves you because He never leaves us and never forsakes us."

Perhaps the most revolutionary truth in this conversation is how they reframe repentance not as a string of apologies or self-improvement plans, but as the honest, liberating moment when you surrender self-reliance and let Christ be enough for you. That's when Christianity shifts from striving to restful becoming.

Check out the promise Jesus gave in John 17:23: God loves you, right now, with the same love He has for Jesus Himself. Not because you performed, but because that's who He is.

If you're worn out, doubting God's love, or simply longing for something more genuine, this episode offers a gentle invitation to trade judgment for mercy and legalism for grace. Listen in and discover the freedom that comes when you finally believe you're already loved.

For more about Robert's ministry, visit takingthelight.com or email him at rcanfield@lighthouse-baptist.com.

Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Austin Gardner:

Okay, this is Austin Gardner, and I'd like to welcome you to the Followed by Mercy podcast. Today's a special day because I have here with us today Robert Canfield, a very good friend of mine, and we have just had a blast talking about the Word of God and I thought it'd help you, and so I'll introduce him in a second. Let him say some things. I got some questions for him, but we're going to be going to Psalm 131. It's a psalm that Robert was sharing with me and some other men we had breakfast with this morning and then talking on the phone with a friend, it's just been exciting to see what God's doing with it. So, robert, welcome to the podcast and thank you for being with me.

Robert Canfield:

Thanks, Jefe. Thanks for allowing me to be on here. It's a big honor.

Austin Gardner:

Well, tell everybody what's the name of your ministry and what are you doing.

Robert Canfield:

So I've got a ministry called Taking the Light Ministry. It's a ministry out of my home church up there in Dawsonville, lighthouse Baptist Church, and what we do is we are partnering with some wonderful missionaries, jason Rischel there in Burkina Faso and David Gardner, which you know a little bit, there in Peru, south America. I met him before, I think you have, I think you know him pretty good and they allow us to partner with them and we've taken over media equipment so we can record gospel preaching and Bible teaching messages in different languages. And we set up studios over there so the national pastors and the pastors there and the missionaries can use that as a means of getting into places and homes where the gospel is not prevalent. And so we help by providing radio funds to help put them out on radio broadcasting and we also help by we've fabricated our own little radio transmitters trying to get the gospel there in rural areas. And so we're trying to use men, media and material to see if we can't reach the world with the gospel in our generation.

Austin Gardner:

Okay, I think you have some wonderful stories you can tell. There was a fella in Africa, I believe yeah, would you tell?

Robert Canfield:

that story right quick, yeah. So Jason Rischel arrived in Bobbo delasso in 2019 and he started. Bobo delasso it's about six hours south of wagadougou, and where's wagadougou it's it's the country we're in burkina faso there in west africa?

Austin Gardner:

where would you find burkina faso if you looked on a map?

Robert Canfield:

if you're looking at it, it'd be close to the atlantic ocean, but it's not on the ocean, is it it on that?

Austin Gardner:

hump. That sticks out, it's on that.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, wherever that hump out is, it's just north of Ivory Coast and Togo and Benin and I think, parts of even Nigeria, right next to Niger, just south of Mali. It's a little landlocked country, but the people are pretty incredible there. All right, well, tell the story. Well, in 2019, jason went out there and he started a church. He's actually started several churches and God's using him greatly in the town of Bobo. It's got about a million people.

Robert Canfield:

Back in 2023, me and some men from my church we went out there and we set up a pretty state-of-the-art recording studio. They got three cameras, audio equipment and Jason had some preachers. It's not just radio, you're also using video, and Jason had some preachers. It's not just radio, you're also using video. Yeah, yeah, so they can put it out on the website, on websites, youtube, spotify, anything. That's any platform that we can. We're trying to use whatever we can to get the gospel out any type of media platform. And so what we did was, after we set up the studio, we helped the church. At my church, they actually helped pay for some of the broadcasting.

Robert Canfield:

Jason went out there and he found some radio stations secular stations that would allow him to play gospel preaching, and so he put out the gospel. And just a story that happened last year in Sector I think it was Sector 23, if I'm not mistaken there was a man that was listening to the radio station and he heard the gospel and he called the number and he requested to know more about Jesus. And a pastor of Jason's, a man named Augustine, went out there and gave him the gospel and Solomon actually accepted Lord as his savior. Well, this was in a sector that's about an hour away from Jason's church. Now you've done ministry in an urban setting. You know how you can go to a town but not even touch other parts of the town and it's almost like it's in a different city. It's almost like it's in a different country.

Austin Gardner:

Different world.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, and so what media has done is actually taken that gospel message and brought it into new places, and so they tried to start a Bible study. They weren't successful in that, not at that time. But the Lord still was doing something in Suleiman's heart, and so Suleiman decided he was going to ride his bicycle one way, 45 minutes on Sunday midweek service and whenever they had the service out there. And so we praise the Lord for what he's doing and using the radio ministry there in Burkina and God's using Jason in a great way. We're just glad that we can partner with such great men and men like Jason Rischel and men like David Gardner and all the national pastors there.

Austin Gardner:

We ought to get a story about David before we jump to Psalm 131.

Robert Canfield:

Well, for David. We'll talk about some of the things that were happening there in the rural areas. And so, 2024, we actually started taking the light, started working and partnering with David in the Peru Bible ministry. And, man, I tell you what it's like. God just keeps opening doors and it's not us trying to slam anything open, but it seems like God just keeps on bringing people into our pathway In the town called Pichumarca.

Robert Canfield:

I think it's the Providence right, is it the Providence or the region? You know that the province of Cusco it's about an hour away from Cusco, where the seven wonder of the world is Machu Picchu is there's a town called Picchu Marca and there's a man named Joel Choque. Joel actually got saved in the Peruvian Evangelical Church. Yep, he got saved. I believe it was in Arequipa. He was a drunk in the little town of Petromarca. He went to the big city to get work While he was hearing some music he thought it was a party went to the Peruvian evangelical church. He got saved. He got back with one of the churches and he said that he wanted to study for ministry. The guy at the Peruvian ministry, the Peruvian evangelical, said this is what his own testimony was, joel's testimony. The pastor says if you want to go to one of our seminaries, it'll fill your head, but you need to find one of those Baptists. They'll teach you how to do ministry. And so he went to Seminario Macedonia, there in Atiquipa, which I know you know a little bit, and he studied there for two years and he found his wife and got married. Anyways, his wife was, her dad was working in the copper mines and his wife said that if you don't leave the Bible college, leave this Bible college, dad's going to have you in the mine working a full-time job. If you really want to be in ministry, we have to leave Ataquipa. And so I think he finished his senior year somewhere there in Cusco in the Bible college, and he went back to Pichu Marca and he started a church back in 2020.

Robert Canfield:

And it was during the COVID time and he told a story that when everything shut down, his new church shut down and he was just questioning God why did you do this? What do I need to do? And he said I know it sounds weird, but it was like God told me that I need to get on the radio station. And, but it was like God told me that I need to get on the radio station, and so he was actually paying out of his own money to get on the radio station and he only could do it for so long. It's a very small little town, right, it's about 9,000 people and so he could only do it for so many months or a year or so, and he had to stop.

Robert Canfield:

Well, I don't know how the Lord brought us together, but somehow he brought, taking the Light, david and Joel and brought us together. And, like I said, one of the things we've done is we've made our own little radio transmitters and then last year we sent him a transmitter and now everybody in his town this is what he said during the morning when they go out to the fields, he says they'll tune in to his radio station. And me and David have driven up and down those roads and we've turned on the radio station. And I've drove, me and David have driven up and down those roads and we've turned on the radio station and it sounds clear, it makes clear sound and he has gospel preaching and Bible teaching messages and he actually preaches to the people out there in the fields.

Robert Canfield:

And I said he must've been a great preacher and he says no, I'm not that great of a preacher. He said I just tell them the time and they want to tune in and they want to listen. So I thought that was pretty cool how God's working through. Joel there in Pichu Maraca, in a town of 9,000 people, now has a church and we're trying to help him get into towns, into people's homes where they don't come to church. And you know it better than anybody else that people in the rural areas they're harder to change because they're steeped in the religion and they have all that pressure of family and everyone around them.

Austin Gardner:

You know there's, like so many people, that maybe we would reach for this podcast, followed by mercy, because they live in a performance-based religion. It is based on your performance as to how God loves you. Well, the truth is, god loves you and he chases you, he follows you, mercy follows you and he's after you, and everything we have is by grace, because he loves us and he comes for it, and that's the good news that Robert and David and Jason are sharing, and that is that salvation is a work of God, not a work of man, and so that's the most exciting thing that that could get to those people. What a wonderful truth. Now, today, first thing you did you brought this psalm up while we were at breakfast with some friends. Why don't you tell us why you brought the psalm up and what you got there?

Robert Canfield:

Well, I was studying last week and I was asked to speak to a group of men and I was thinking about the need that men have and I went perplexity and or AI and I asked the question what's the greatest need in men right now, in this generation? And it said the biggest issue that men have right now is is mental health, and I've heard people use that mental health and so I'm trying to figure out what in the world is mental health. I don't know anything about mental health and it talks about anxiety and stress and pressure, and I think it's a real truth that we have a lot of pressure and stress and anxiety in this day and age. As I was studying, this passage really caught my eye because I was doing another study for the life of David and I was trying to figure out what was going on in David's heart. And this verse of Psalms 131 caught my eye because David said my heart is not haughty.

Robert Canfield:

And as I began to study this, you want me to continue to go on and tell it. Just go through it, tell us a little bit about it, sure, and so it just caught my eye and it's talking about a haughty heart. And then verse two he talked about how he quieted himself and how he, his soul, was as a weaned child, and so it just really spoke to the need that there's a lot of people out there that are stressed, they have anxiety, that are just frustrated, that are going through the ringer, and this, this verse, speaks to the person so that they can have a soul that's as a weaned child, they can quiet themselves, they don't have to worry. In essence, that's what this passage is really saying.

Austin Gardner:

This psalm is saying so we were on the phone, or you were on the phone, with a friend of ours and this friend has been dealing with massive issues and problems. He got out of the path of following Jesus and he ran off into sin and he did a lot of things that embarrass him greatly today. And you know, I met with him last week, Earlier this week. I met with him and I told him I said you can't outrun the shepherd, You're followed by mercy. And I said so when you ran from the Lord and when you were out trying, you jumped the fence and you're out in the wild trying to live your own life. He didn't leave you because he never leaves us and he never forsakes us and you can't run from his presence. And so we discussed run from his presence and so we discussed how God loved him. God loved him just as much when he was sinning as he did when he was doing right. Amen, Because God doesn't love you based on what you're doing. We're taking a break from Psalm 23, but this is the same lesson that we get in Psalm 23, isn't it? Yes, it is. And so God loves you not based on what you do, God loves you based on who he is, and the two truths I think that have to become the lens to everything that you look at.

Austin Gardner:

God is love. Now, that means that when you say love, you're saying God, it's a God thing. And when you say God, you're saying God it's a God thing. And when you say God, you're saying love. And so when you're God and you love, when you love, you don't hate. When you love, you don't fear. Amen. Perfect love casts out fear. It's the opposite. When you're light, God is light, throws out darkness. Love throws out hate and fear. He's light and throws out darkness. He's truth and throws out lies. What do you think you got anything? Give me some more like that.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, so like when we talk about love. I think when we realize someone loves us, there's acceptance there. Oh yeah, we're accepted in the beloved. Yeah. And then with that acceptance comes a peace, by the way.

Austin Gardner:

Why are we accepted? That's good, but why are we accepted? Because of who he is, because of who he is not because of who I am.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, and that's what I mean in that passage. I was reading through what's his name? Spurgeon, and his treasury of Scripture knowledge there for the Psalms, and he relates back to how David says his heart's not haughty and he says it's funny when Jesus was here, matthew 11, I believe it's verse 29,. The Scripture says hold on, I'm popping it up. He says this. He says well, I was popping it up the word haughty there. He's not proud, it's lifted up, it's exalting oneself.

Austin Gardner:

Right, exactly.

Robert Canfield:

So Matthew 11, 29,. Jesus says take my yoke upon you. And he says learn of me. He wants us to learn who he is. Learn of me. And then he says this, for I am meek, this is God speaking this. Learn who he is, learn of me. And then he says this For I am meek, this is God speaking. This is who God is. He is meek, he has power and he is under control. And he says this, and lowly in heart.

Austin Gardner:

Now somebody's going to start questioning, saying that's not God, that's Jesus. But can I remind you, when Robert says that Jesus is God, well, that's a Bible truth.

Robert Canfield:

I don't know how you can be saved not thinking Jesus is God.

Austin Gardner:

Jesus is God, and when you say Jesus on earth, you're seeing God in heaven.

Robert Canfield:

Amen.

Austin Gardner:

And somebody along the way. Performance-based religion has made you see God as a mean and harsh father who's angry, and Jesus is somebody sweet and the opposite. That is not the Bible. Jesus said if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. So what would you say to our friend we were talking with? What would you say from this passage?

Robert Canfield:

Well, I would say, go back to that verse 29. He says I am meek and lowly in heart, and this is what he says, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. And so, like when you learn of Jesus and you learn of who he is, you see that he is power under control. Let's go back to accepted.

Austin Gardner:

Yeah, you said we're accepted. We used to work to be accepted, now we rest.

Robert Canfield:

We used to think that we would work to be accepted. Come on. But like I mean, if we really want to talk about what repentance is, it's changing one's mind. And what am I changing my mind? That I'm letting go of my works and resting in what he's done and who he is. I mean, that's how we have eternal life and believing that he is the Son of God and the Christ. Is that not what the end of John says? These things are written unto you that you might have life eternal right, and that knowing that Jesus is the son of God and Christ. I know I'm paraphrasing this, but that's the truth in realizing who Jesus is. He is God that came down to the earth and he's done everything that we need.

Robert Canfield:

And when we talk about real repentance, repentance is me when Peter preaches the message in Acts 2, and then they were pricked to the heart. They say what do we do? He says repent and be baptized. Isn't that what he says in Acts 2? Is it verse 38? Am I getting it? Verse 38. And so what is the repentance of? What is it? What work were they doing that they needed to stop? Well, he said in the verse before it he says that Jesus, that same Jesus, god had made him both Lord and Christ, and they didn't think that.

Austin Gardner:

They didn't think that Jesus was Lord and Christ In repentance. They had to have a radical change of mind.

Robert Canfield:

That said, I know we rejected Jesus, yeah, but now we accept Jesus, we realized that he was the one the scripture talked about.

Austin Gardner:

And they trusted him yeah, and that's what you need to see are talked about. And they trusted him. Yeah, and that's what you need to see. Too much has been made about you repenting and like, like you got to do works and you got to change and you got to. You got to keep saying you're sorry over and over, but the truth of the matter is repentance is simply giving up on you, exactly.

Robert Canfield:

And taking Jesus and it's realizing. It's realizing who Jesus is and what he's done, and that's what that's where the Christian life starts, that's where it continues on, that's the faith that we keep going and we grow in the knowledge of grace and Lord. I mean, we grow in knowing him and as we get closer to him, then we figure out what he likes and his likes. We didn't adapt to our likes and his wants or our wants. It just uh, it's a great relationship, and so when we do that, then there's rest. It's a great relationship, and so when we do that, then there's rest.

Robert Canfield:

I believe there's rest and knowing who he is and what he's done, and us just saying okay, you're at work in our lives, we don't have to work, I don't have to strive. He said learn of me, I am meek and lowly. He says take on my yoke, this is the bondage. I'm with you. And he says learn of me. And then you have rest for your souls, because his yoke it's easy and his burden's light. But with the feeling of I have to do, do, do, do, you just never know if you're accepted or not.

Austin Gardner:

That's a hard place to be, and I think I have lived most of my life. You know, I have tried to preach the good news. I've tried to preach that God loves you and Jesus died for you. But somewhere in my background was so much performance-based religion that I always ended up with what you need to do. And what you need to do is accept the gift. You see, the wages of sin is death, not the wages of God, not something God's given you. Sin gives you. That. Sin's what destroys you.

Austin Gardner:

Our friend that jumped the fence and ran away and got hurt. God didn't do that to him. God went running after him. No, he didn't. And God's behind him, picking him up and putting him on his shoulders and loving him. And by no means is he breaking his legs. Such a stupid thing. So many preachers you know there's like I'm going to go find my sheep that ran away and break its legs. What do you do that for? So it'll die. So you got to pay a vet bill. What kind of where did that nonsense come from? No farmer believes that. I have researched it too. You can't find that either.

Robert Canfield:

My brother's got sheep and he tries to keep those things. He loves them. I have reconnected with my friends that are farmers.

Austin Gardner:

They know their sheep, they know their livestock, they care about them, and they're not like Middle Eastern shepherds that slept with them out in the field. No, yeah, they're the ones that. Yeah, and in Bible days they were even closer to them than they are now, and so I want you to know you're followed by mercy. I want you to know that God loves you and he's there. So I, okay, you want to wrap up. What else would you say to our friend out of our discussion today?

Robert Canfield:

Out of this discussion. I don't know, I didn't even hit Psalms 131, but what I say to my friend is that that, um, what I say to my friend is that the Christian walk is learning who Jesus is, and the more you know him, the more you're going to be like him. The more you think on him, the more you love him and realize what he's done for you, and the more you learn of him, the more your soul is going to have rest.

Austin Gardner:

I love having you on here just to chew the fat with you, and I know people are just overhearing us but John 17, 3 says that this is eternal life to know the Father and to know His Son, jesus Christ. And so eternal life's not something I'm waiting to get, it's something we have and I really like. I think it's verse 23. Jesus is praying to the Father. He says I want them to know that you love them like you love me. Did you know? If you're listening to this, you are followed by mercy, so much that, no matter whether you're running from God right now and you're off in a lost field, or whether you're serving God as a Mother Teresa of missionaries, the God of heaven loves you, not because of what you're doing, but because of who he is, and he loves you like he loves Jesus In the same way. He looked at Jesus, and what thrilled my heart about that when I looked at it, jesus, and what thrilled my heart about that when I looked at it was you know he says that to Jesus when he's been 30 years a carpenter. He hasn't done any miracles, he hasn't raised any from the dead, he hasn't preached any sermons, he hasn't even been down to be tempted by the devil. Yet and the father said you are my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased, and so, if you're listening right now, you've trusted Jesus as your savior. I want you to know he loves you and you are his beloved and he loves you just as like and just as much as Jesus.

Austin Gardner:

And one more thing before Robert can jump in and say whatever, I want you to know, if you've not trusted him, he still loves you. That way, he loves you. You see, god was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing, not taking into account their sins. God loves you, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing. God loves you. Jesus already died for you. He's the Savior of all men. Salvation of all is paid for by Jesus, especially those that believe. You can look those verses up, check me out, go ahead. We're closing Any closing things you want to say. I'm going to ask you a couple more questions so people can locate you.

Robert Canfield:

But other than that, you got any more to add. Today I have nothing more to add. I think that what helps me the most is increasing my knowledge with Him and finding other believers that know that too and encourage me to have a close walk with the Lord. I think a lot of believers they encourage Christians and it's because what they do, it's what they've been taught to fulfill a list or do the do's and don'ts, and so many people just forget about the relationship. It is a relationship and ever since I've met you and ever since I've been around, you've always encouraged me to love Jesus.

Austin Gardner:

You know, I've been married for 52 years. Next month. You know, betty and I have never had any rules. No, no, you haven't. You don't have rules. You have a relationship. Now I want to please her, she wants to please me, but none of it's based on a set of rules. And somehow you get into performance-based religion and all of a sudden it becomes I need rules to please God. No, you don't. When you accept that relationship and you just trust Him, what a difference that makes. But, robert, why don't you tell them where could they locate your ministry online?

Robert Canfield:

Well, if you want to go on our website that's takingthelightcom you can find out stuff there, so that's spelled just like it sounds.

Robert Canfield:

Taking the Light takingthelight. com. We have our website up there and if you want to follow us on Facebook, you can go to Taking the Light and we have a page up there and we like to put up videos. Often we show what God's doing through the ministry. You can follow that through there and Instagram. Or if you want to email me, my email That'srcanfield@ lighthouse-baptist. com. That's lighthouse-baptistcom, and that's my email address and I'd love to hear more from you.

Austin Gardner:

Well, I want to thank you, robert, for being with us today, and those of you listening. Today. This has been a conversation just because Robert and I were having breakfast with some friends and Robert was on the phone with another friend and I just wanted you to share some of the blessings I got, listening to the sweet grace of the Holy Spirit spill out of Robert's lips as he spoke to our friend and I want you to know you're loved. I want you to know that you are followed by mercy. God bless you.

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