Followed By Mercy
The Followed By Mercy Podcast
Real Grace, Honest Hope
You might notice a new name and a fresh look, but the heart behind this podcast is the same. After years as the World Evangelism Podcast, I sensed God leading me to a deeper, more personal path centered on His relentless mercy and the kind of honest hope that can reach into every hurting place. That’s why this show is now called Followed By Mercy Podcast. The format may shift, and the tone may be a bit more personal, but my mission hasn’t changed: I still believe the world desperately needs to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. You are welcome here if you’ve been with me from the beginning or just found us now.
What if God’s love is more personal, stubborn, and relentless than you ever imagined?
Welcome to The Followed By Mercy Podcast, where we get honest about pain, hope, and the kind of grace that finds you right where you are, five days a week. This isn’t about religious performance or church routines. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt worn out, unseen, or unsure if they belong in the story of God’s love. Every conversation is rooted in this reality: God loves you right now, just as you are, and He isn’t giving up on you.
Here’s what you’ll find in every episode:
Experience God’s Relentless Love
Every show starts by reminding you that the Shepherd knows your name, cares about your story, and isn’t offended by your failures or questions. This is personal—it’s about God’s unwavering affection for you.
Find Your Place in His Heart
Once you grasp how fiercely you’re loved, sharing that love with others doesn’t feel forced. It becomes the most natural thing in the world. Real grace overflows.
Prayer That Changes You
We pray together—not just for the world “out there,” but for the battles and hopes you’re carrying right now. These prayers are honest, rooted in Scripture, and meant for hearts that need a gentle touch from the Shepherd.
Discover Your Unique Role
Whether you’re called to go, give, serve, or show kindness in your corner of the world, God’s mercy meets you where you are. You’re not just a bystander. You are His beloved, invited into the story He’s writing.
When life knocks the wind out of you, this is a place to catch your breath. You’ll hear the encouragement that meets you on your hardest days, and your honest questions will be welcomed. No pretending, no heavy-handed advice—just the reminder that your Shepherd is right there with you, walking every step with you, even when you feel like giving up.
Why does this matter? Because some days, it feels like nobody sees you or cares what you’re going through. But the truth is, you have a Shepherd who never takes His eyes off you, lets you slip through the cracks, and never gives up on you. That kind of love can put you back on your feet, and it might be the hope someone else is waiting to see in you, too.
If you’re longing for more than just religious talk—if you want to know you’re not alone and that God’s mercy is following you all the way home, you’re in the right place. Whether you listen in the car, on a walk, or in a quiet moment, let every episode remind you: God’s mercy is after you right now, ready to bring real grace and honest hope.
Subscribe today and join a community to discover what happens when loved people become loving people. The journey’s just beginning, and there’s a place for you here.
Followed By Mercy
Bold Access, Shared Promise: Ephesians 3 Explained
summary
In this episode, Austin Gardner delves into Ephesians, particularly focusing on the themes of grace and the ministry given to the Apostle Paul. He emphasizes that salvation is a gift from God, not based on human works, and highlights the importance of understanding our roles in ministry as servants to others. Gardner shares how Paul, despite being imprisoned, viewed his situation positively, seeing himself as a 'prisoner of Jesus Christ' rather than a victim. This perspective encourages listeners to recognize their purpose in serving God and others, regardless of their circumstances.
Gardner further explores the concept of boldness and access to God through faith in Jesus Christ. He reassures listeners that they can approach God with confidence, sharing their hearts openly without fear. He illustrates this idea with personal anecdotes, emphasizing that even in moments of weakness, believers can rely on the strength of Jesus' faith. The episode concludes with a call to trust in God's presence and to communicate openly with Him, encouraging listeners to expect great things from their relationship with God.
keywords
Ephesians, grace, Apostle Paul, ministry, boldness, access to God, faith, confidence, Christian encouragement
takeaways
- It is all grace; God is doing everything.
- We have a ministry to help others, not for ourselves.
- You can speak to God with boldness and confidence.
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I am so excited to come to you today talking to you about Ephesians. And I'm in Ephesians chapter 3, and I am loving what we're seeing. I hope you know and understand by now that it is all grace. It is all God doing everything. And he wants that made clear. Fact is Ephesians 1, down through Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10, he makes it very clear and he sums it up when he says, For, based on everything I've said before, by grace are you saved. It's not about your works. I don't want you bragging because you are my work. I did the work and I saved you. And then he goes on to tell us how he is going to use the Apostle Paul to bring the Gentiles and the Jews together to form the church, which will become the most exciting way of getting the gospel to the world that you can imagine. Because God wants the world to know that He loves them, that Jesus died for them, that sins are already paid, that He is the Savior of the world, especially those that believe, and that He has already paid the sin debt. It's done. It only has to be received as a gift, and that's where we are. Then I got over here to Ephesians chapter 2, finish it in chapter 3. Paul is excited because he has been given a ministry. And it says how that by revelation, it says, if you had heard the dispensation of the grace which is given to me to you, God gave Paul a ministry that was meant to help other people. And that's why you and I have a ministry. It's because God wants us to help other people. The beautiful thing is, Paul is writing this exciting, encouraging letter from prison. But when he does that, he says in chapter 3 and verse 1, for this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, the prisoner of Jesus Christ. He's not whining about his situation. He is not seeing himself as a victim. He's not seeing himself as beat up and put in place. He is seeing himself as the prisoner of Jesus. I do this because I love him. I do this because he's done so much for me, and I see it as exciting. Then he says, I'm doing it for you Gentiles. You see, God gave the ministry of reaching the Jews to Peter, the ministry of the Jewish people, and he gave to Paul the ministry of reaching the Gentiles. Of course, others are involved in it too, but that's the main thing. So he said, You have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me, to you, where God gave me a ministry to serve you. And everybody listening to this ought to have in mind that if you are in the ministry, God gave you the ministry, not for you. It's really not about you, it's about him and about serving him and what he would have you to know. And so God is uh saying, I want you to understand that God is at work. And in verse 6, he said, Gentiles are fellow heirs, put into the same body, and we are partakers in the promise of Christ by his gospel. I was so blessed last night as I heard my son David preaching from Galatians chapter 3, one of the best messages I've ever heard. He is a great preacher, but the passage was greater, and he made it greater. He clarified it, and we saw Jesus for who he is. And Paul didn't think he was the minister to the Gentiles because of anything about him. He thought it was true because he considered himself the least of the apostles. He was undeserving of the ministry that God gave him. But the Lord wants to show the devil, the principalities and the powers, the manifold wisdom of God, how God is bringing everything together, like he said in Ephesians chapter 1, from things in heaven to things on earth, he's bringing them all together according to the eternal purpose in Christ. But here's what I want to talk to you about today. This was my thought for you to take with you today. It's talking about in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's where everything is found in Christ Jesus. Nothing's found in my works, nothing's found in what I do. It's all found in Him. But it says in verse 12, are you ready? In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Well, I couldn't help it. I had to look that up. I had to spend some time on that. And do you know what when it says we have boldness? He is saying you can speak from your heart. You don't have to hide anything. You don't have to be afraid. And your dad's going to love you no matter what you do, huh? Especially when he's the God of heaven. And he says, hey, in Jesus, you can walk into God and say whatever you're feeling. Say whatever you're thinking. You don't have to be embarrassed. You don't have to hide it. You can come in boldness. And then he said, access, access. That means we have the privilege of entering. You don't have to knock on the door. You don't have to ask if you can go in. Fact is, we don't have time to go into it in today's podcast, but he already lives in you. He is living in you right now. I was been having a little bit of a rough time with some of the Addison's diseases where I don't have adrenal glands, and it kind of messes me up. And sometimes it puts me in the fright or flight mode, and I'm just like panicking. I got to get out of here. It's a physiological, not emotional thing. I have to get the meds right. If I get the meds right, it does better. And I was out walking with the Lord and I just talked to him from my heart. I thought, Lord, if I can't be of use to you, I don't even want to be here. I was able to say what I wanted to say because he listens to me. I have access to him, and I can go by confidence, with confidence. I think maybe the most shocking part of the verse is found in this, with confidence, which is that we can boldly go in, we can bravely go in, we are secure, and we can go in based on faith. But here's what it says the faith of Him. Sometimes my faith is very weak. Sometimes I don't have what it takes to want to trust God and to step in. Sometimes I really get messed up, and sometimes I have attitudes, and sometimes my weakness takes over. I don't have to worry about that. I don't have to worry about that. I would come into his place with confidence by the faith of him, of Jesus. Because you see, Jesus does have entrance, and it is about him, and he can and he will. And so you can. So I don't know where you are today, and I don't know what you're dealing with because everybody's dealing with problems. But none of us are victims. God has us here for a purpose, and he's going to use that and work in our lives. But it also says very clearly here that we can enter with boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Jesus Christ. He has complete interest. Jesus is God, and so you have access. And I want you to know today that you have full access. Speak to your Father, talk to him, tell him what's going on, trust him, believe him, look for him to do things, expect great things. Know this that though your faith is weak, the faith of Jesus is never weak. You know, it's kind of like when uh the dad is going to walk across the highway or downtown streets. The son that's young, the young son, may be afraid and scared to take the steps, but if he can trust his daddy, he can take the steps. And his daddy takes him by the hand and walks him across the street, and he goes in the faith of his father. His dad knows he can do it. The boy doesn't know he can. And you don't know you can get into the presence of God, but Jesus knows he can, and you have access in Christ Jesus. I hope and pray that today you enjoy the presence of our God. God bless every one of you. If it's at all any blessing to you and help, I ask you to share it with somebody else. Thank you and God bless you.
