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
From Strangers to Family: Embracing God's Love
summary
- In this episode, Austin Gardner delves into Ephesians 2:11 and emphasizes the importance of remembering our past before coming to faith in Jesus. He highlights that this remembrance is not about guilt but about gratitude for the transformation that Jesus brings into our lives. Gardner explains how, prior to Christ, we were without hope and without God, illustrating the barriers that existed between humanity and the divine. He paints a vivid picture of the temple's structure, showing how Jesus broke down these barriers, allowing everyone access to God through His sacrifice.
- Gardner further elaborates on the concept of peace, stating that Jesus is not just a feeling but a person who reconciles us to God. He reassures listeners that they are no longer strangers or foreigners but part of God's family, emphasizing the unconditional love and acceptance that comes through faith in Christ. The message culminates in a call to remember that it is God who seeks us out, reinforcing the idea that our relationship with Him is a gift, not something we earn through our actions.
keywords
Ephesians 2, Jesus, peace, reconciliation, faith, gratitude, God’s love, Christian message, spiritual growth, hope
takeaways
- Remembering is about gratitude, not guilt.
- Jesus opened the way for everyone to approach God.
- We are no longer strangers; we belong to God's family.
- Peace is not a feeling; it's a person—Jesus.
- God has always been the one seeking us.
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I wanted to call your attention to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 11 and a little bit further into that passage of scripture. It is a call to remember. Sometimes we forget what life was like before Jesus found us. Paul says, wherefore remember. We're not remembering about the guilt. We're not remembering to feel guilty about who we were. We're remembering to feel gratitude for what he's done. If you've been feeling distant from God or unworthy of his love, this passage is a reminder that it's all about Jesus. He brought us near. So we start by remembering where we were. And the Bible here gives it clearly, we were without Christ, without the Messiah. We were strangers. See, Israel had at least some access to truth and some access to who God was, but not us. We were without hope. We were without God in the world. So you want to kind of visualize the temple. You know, there's outside the temple, and then there's a court of the Gentiles, and then stepping further, there's a court of the women, and then the Jewish men, and then the priest, and then the Holy of Holies, where only one man could enter one time a year. And Jesus came and he ripped the veil in the temple from the top to the bottom. He opened the door for everyone to be able to approach God. No one is looking in anymore or has to. No one has to keep their distance from God. Because you see, Jesus, grace, opened the way, and we remember that. So we thank God. Thank God that Jesus changed the story. He brought us near. We were far off, but we are made nigh by the blood of Christ. He has opened the way, the door. It's not religion that brought me close. It's not morality. It's not my doing that did it. It was a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus. He, Jesus, has become our peace. The Bible says he is our peace. Not a feeling, but a person. See, Jesus removed the wall. The wall between Gentile and Jew, between sinner and God, it's all gone. We are justified by faith. We have peace with God. See, you're not at war with God anymore because he's not holding anything against you. He has already reconciled you to himself. He has reconciled everyone to himself. He has reconciled the world. He is not imputing their sins to them. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 19. God was in Christ, bringing the world back to himself, redeeming, reconciling the world, so that through him, through Jesus, by the Spirit, we can have access to the Father. It's not, we don't beg for God to listen to us. Don't say, God, please come listen to me. He's already listened to you. He's speaking freely with, you are speaking freely with your Father. You are no strangers. You're not foreigners. You belong. You're a part of the household of God. We're his family. We are loved and accepted and safe. We're his nation. We are citizens with our rights protected by his rule. We are together in Christ. We are his dwelling place. All of that made possible by Jesus. Remember, who deserves all the glory? Remember, it was Jesus. We're not climbing up to God. We're not making our way. We're not getting things right. We're accepting a free gift. Not by our works, but by his goodness. You see, you may feel a long ways away from God. You may feel like God doesn't love you. You may feel like he is far off from you, but the opposite is true. From the very beginning of time, it has always been the Father who came looking for us. Adam and Eve sinned, they hid. They put on masks, they faked, they covered up. You and I know that the Father went looking for them. And he said, Where are you, Adam? And he calls Adam, but he's not calling Adam to get Adam to come to him or because Adam called him. He's looking. And it's him that made the sacrifice. It's him that covered them with sin. It's God. And now even the law that would tell us that we're sinners and condemned has been taken care of in Jesus. So it was God coming to us to make peace. It was God bringing salvation to us. So I challenge you today to remember Jesus is our peace. Our peace is a person, and the person is Jesus. And I challenge you to know him. Thank you for listening. Share this with somebody if you would.
