Never Too Far Gone. How Jesus Restores Even Our Biggest Failures (Feat. Jeremy Hatcher) - EP 121

Have you ever felt like you have gone too far for God to reach you or that your mistakes have defined your future? In this powerful episode of the Welcome with the Savior podcast, we explore the incredible journey of redemption and how to reclaim your true identity in Christ even after hitting rock bottom.

Host John Merrill Kirkman welcomes Jeremy Hatcher to share his raw and honest testimony of falling from a life of ministry into the depths of addiction and homelessness. Jeremy discusses how small compromises in our thinking can lead to a total walk away from faith, but more importantly, he highlights how Jesus relentlessly pursues us just as He pursued Peter after his denial. This conversation is a beautiful reminder that no matter how shattered your life may feel, God is ready to rush in and make everything new the moment we open our hearts to Him.

We dive deep into the importance of finding your worth in Jesus rather than in titles, roles, or worldly success. Jeremy shares his experience of hitting rock bottom, his life-changing encounter in a rehab center room, and the vital role that mentorship plays in long-term spiritual growth. Whether you are struggling to find your way back to God or looking for the courage to share your faith with others through street ministry, this episode offers hope, direction, and the reminder that you are never truly alone.

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Chapters
0:00 Intro / Finding your identity in Christ
3:30 Falling away / How compromise leads to disobedience
7:15 The brass serpent / Lessons on looking to God for healing
10:45 Peter’s restoration / Comparing the three denials to the three calls of love
14:30 Identity vs Titles / Why your worth is not your position
18:15 The danger of pride / Learning to stay grounded in ministry
21:45 Hitting rock bottom / The suicide attempt and total brokenness
24:30 The turning point / An encounter with God in rehab
27:15 The road of recovery / Physical and spiritual battles
30:30 Spiritual fathers / The importance of having a mentor
34:00 The Great Commission / Making disciples and building a legacy
36:45 Street ministry / Divine appointments and answering prayers
38:10 Removing the mask / A closing prayer for the broken

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#faith #redemption #testimony #jesus #recovery

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

If we can understand our identity and who we are in Christ, that's why in Galatians 2.20 it says, uh, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And so when we can understand that when we give our life to him, he actually comes in and resides in us, and that becomes our identity. All the old things are passed away, everything is made new. And man, I just feel like if we can get that in, if we can just get the reality of that, um, it can it can change our lives, and we can become even more dedicated to him than we were in the past.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Welcome everybody to this week's episode. Welcome with the Savior Podcast. I'm your host, John Merrill Kirkman, and I want you to know first and foremost, you're awesome. And today we're talking about redemption, coming back to Christ when we made mistakes. And whether we've made big mistakes or, you know, or little mistakes repeated over and over and over, sometimes we hit that spot where we just don't feel worthy of Jesus Christ. We don't feel worthy of his love, his value of us, and we start to wonder, you know, have I gone too far? And I brought on Jeremy Hatcher, aka the Smoke Signal Podcast. And uh Jeremy's an expert at falling off the bridge. Uh sorry. No, he's a he's an expert at coming back to Jesus because he had a mighty fall. And I I'm laughing with you because I know you can laugh about it now in your job and you can celebrate where you're at right now, Jeremy, because you've um you've you've found the savior's love again. And so tell us real quick about your fall and and just what led to your fall. Because you were you were heavy into ministry, and then you just kind of went through that rough, rough pass where life was unfair and you fell. Tell us about that little journey.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Well, um, it it it uh it started uh uh kind of getting my feelings hurt by some people in church. Um, and I began to get a little bitter, and um then uh I guess the way I could sum it up is it started with a little bit of compromise in uh my thinking, and then it um then it turned into disobedience, and then it turned from just totally walking away from the faith. Um, you know, it did revolve around drugs and alcohol, uh costed me everything, and um, I just made a lot of really bad decisions and uh you know blamed God, which you know was really silly now that I think about it and look at it now. But um I think that you know, as a Christian, anybody that's followed Christ for any amount of time can get to the point where you begin to question your faith, you know. And um, I was raised in church, and so there was a lot of things I believed, but when when it got really tough and the fire got really turned up, I started kind of questioning myself on why I believed those things and um kind of realized that um, you know, um our relationship with Christ is something that we have to uh pursue every day, and uh the moment that we stop that and that we start allowing just a little seed of compromise to come in, uh that will eventually turn into all out sin. And once that happens, then we just miss the mark and we begin uh to be separated, you know, from Christ.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

It really reminds me of the story I was reading this week in the you know in the old testament about the brass serpent. It's just a few verses long, but the they became very critical of each other, each other and complaining, critical of Moses, and and uh like to the point where like let's get a new leader. We don't need this guy. Wine, wine, wine. And we know that that happened a lot, but it is like it kept them from looking, even to the point where when they got bit, they couldn't look to the brass sermon and find healing. It was like, What? How do you do that man? And uh, so how long was your how was long you you know, you get bit by the poison. Sometimes we have that experience, we just make these mistakes. How long was your journey uh you know away from Christ, so to speak, with the jugger, drug and alcohol journeys?

SPEAKER_02 4:30

So it was right out about five years. Um and um in the beginning, um, I actually went through a um a lot of time where I felt like God was trying to call me back and deal with my sin, but um I I pretty much uh just you know walked away from it. You know, I I hear the term lose your salvation sometimes, and I kind of look at that like you know, we set our keys down and lose our keys, right? Like we forget where we put them. Uh in my case, I willingly walked away from it all just out of anger and disobedience. So it wasn't like you know, uh something I lost in the sense of couldn't couldn't uh remember where I placed it. I walked away and I and I turned away from it, and um it costed me everything. I mean, literally uh within seconds of losing my life, so uh due to a suicide attempt. But um, you know, uh God is always God is always faithful, and uh, you know, you were you were talking about Moses and and and the golden snake, you know. I liken my story a lot to Peter, the disciple, because um, you know, he denied Christ three times. And but the beauty of it is, is you know, uh, when Christ raised from the dead, Peter was one of the first people he went over. He actually walked over 70 miles to find him. So he pursued Peter, he chased after him, and then in a very loving way, just like Jesus does, is he asked him three times, Do you love me? So for every time Peter denied him, he brought it back and said, Peter, do you love me? So he restored Peter's relationship and then also restored him back to ministry. And um, I mean, I mean, you know, thousands of people were one to the Lord because of Peter. And then Peter even took a stand and gave his life for Christ. So um, you know, Jesus, man, he restores us, and you know, I would just say if you're out there watching this and you know, you've fallen away from Christ, man, he's chasing after you and he's he's pursuing you, and he loves you, and you have not gone too far, and um there's always redemption.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

I love how you made the connection between the three denials and then the three, do you love me? Nobody's ever made that connection before. That's that's sweet, but I do like that. And what sometimes you know, people um they try to soften Peter's denial, and I and for me, I I don't, I don't, they're like, Oh, Peter's too powerful, he could not have done that. He was probably told by Jesus to do that, or something like that. They'll come up with stuff like that. And I'm I'm not trying to be rude to those people, but here's my thought we have the people in this world that excuse me, forgive me. We we all make mistakes. We've all been there and in that moment denied Christ. We've let's just be honest, we've been there, right? But then Jesus calls us back and he shows up, do you love me? And he'll give us more opportunities to show our love. What I love is contrasting the Peter who denied Christ with the Peter of the book of Acts, who's like, man, I'm gonna bring it.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

No, I'm not no, I'll stand before you, Mr. King, or whatever that guy's name is, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:59

He's like, Yeah, and you know what's interesting too? Like, like I like I really think some of it, so much of it revolves around identity and who we are in Christ. Because if you notice, you know, if you study Peter's life, um, there was times even you know early on following Jesus, um, and then even when Jesus was being arrested, and he pulled out his sword and you know, he he cut the soldiers' ears off or ear off. It's interesting that sometimes through scripture, Jesus actually referred to him as Simon, like like trying to point out, hey, that that's your old identity. When Peter came back, he actually calls him Peter. He says, Peter, do you love me? Like he was pulling back that identity of who he really was in Christ. And you know, I think that's I just think that's so powerful. Um, you know, even like with uh the the woman with the issue of blood, right? Yeah, like you know, her identity was the woman of with the issue of blood. Like in the scriptures, she's not even given a name, she's referred to as the woman with the issue of blood, right? But when she chases after Jesus and she pursues him and she touches his garment and is heeled, Jesus literally turns around and calls her daughter, like right there on the spot, he changes her identity. And man, that is so powerful. If we can understand our identity and who we are in Christ, that's why in Galatians 2.20 it says, uh, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And so when we can understand that when we give our life to him, he actually comes in and resides in us, and that becomes our identity. All the old things are passed away, everything is made new. And man, I just feel like if we can get that in, if we can just get the reality of that, um, it can it can change our lives, and we can become even more dedicated to him than we were in the past. And that's what I'm finding with people that have stories similar to mine. They get plugged back in, man, and it's like you know, it's like when your cell phone is dead and you plug it back in, man. God, God will restore you, and it's not always about having to prove yourself again, or you know, it's not like he makes you start all over necessarily. Um, a lot of times he just he brings you back in and says, son or daughter, um let's keep going, man. Let's let's let's keep uh going into the kingdom and being busy about the father's business.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Yeah, I like you know what is you should talk about this identity thing. I look, I think back to my life and I just feel like that's been a struggle for for decades, you know. I I feel like uh the teenage years, Satan really attacks everybody's identity, and sometimes it gets shaped. And and I grew up with the identity of you suck, white boy, you're trash. You know, yeah. And forgive me for using the racial slur, but no, you know, that's what it was, and and and it usually was um, you know, I was referred to that, and and so it was it's just sometimes it is sometimes I find myself even in my older years, and sometimes I find myself doing things to maybe increase my worth or my identity, you know, it's already been established. And but but it's such a real issue that keeps coming back. I feel like that can keep coming back and back and back, and and I just wonder, you know, you've had such a transformation, and you people may have labeled you druggy, homeless, whatever, you know, because you said you went through some homeless stuff. I don't know if you said it live or before the show, but um you know, and then divorce. I mean, these labels get put upon us, right? What what's helped you to maintain that identity or are you you going through that battle too sometimes?

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Well, so you know, um, I'm glad you asked that because looking back uh before my falling away, um I started struggling with the idea of identity even then. And looking back on it now, that's where it that's where it started because you know, people started, you know, uh calling me pastor, um, you know, calling me street minister. So my identity began to revolve around that, um, instead of my identity being in Christ. And so um, you know, I think that was um, I think that turned into pride, and I think that can happen in ministry very easily, you know. I mean, it got to the point where you know I could be somewhere getting ready to do ministry and say, oh, I'm I'm thirsty, and you know, five people want to bring me a uh bottle of water. And so I started looking at myself, oh well, I'm not Jeremy, I'm not uh the representation of Christ, I'm pastor, you know, and uh so I I think pride came in, and and that was kind of the beginning of it all. Um, and so I I think now, you know, my focus is different, and that just you know uh my identity is found in in Christ and Christ alone. Everything else I do is a byproduct. Um, you know, I'm not the smoke signal podcast, um, I'm not the street preacher, um, I'm not the guy that goes into the hospital and prays for sick people. Uh, those are all byproducts of what God allows me to do and doors that He opens for me, but my identity is found solely in Jesus Christ. And, you know, um I think once we understand identity, then we begin to walk in power and anointing. So when Jesus said, all power and all authority has been given to me, if we can take that and realize that Christ lives in us, then we actually carry that uh that power and that authority and and that identity, and that's what can shift the whole uh the presence of a room when we walk into it, you know. And um I I think that really that's foundational of who we are in Christ, and that if we can just you know take that idea of identity and walking in that, um man, God can use us in like strong and mighty ways, things that are that are outside of our norm or um or what we can even do.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

That's beautiful, brother. And I'm just loving that, and I I love how you you have all these others, and even though they're positives, you're like, my identity is Christ. My identity is Christ. That's really man, I needed to hear that, you know, because it it I I am one who sometimes gets caught up in trying to do as much good as I can because I feel like when Christ, the the the more I have Christ in my heart, the more or or the more I feel close to him, the more that love just radiates out towards other people. You know, I'm not content just sitting here in my house doing nothing. I I like, man, I just gotta tell everybody about how much I love Jesus Christ. But sometimes, you know, the labels start coming out that are positive. You know, podcasters do this, this, and this, and this. But in reality, I love the focus that you have, brother. It's like my my identity is in Jesus Christ. And I I don't know, man, it when when I just talk about him, there's something powerful. And when I when I try to dedicate every uh conversation, not I mean, how do I say this? Not every conversation needs to be about Jesus Christ. I mean, we have life to live, but like if I'm in church and I'm asked to teach or speak, it's gonna be about him. And if I'm given a topic, it's gonna tie to him. Because if the branch is cut off from the roots of the tree, it's gonna die. So if I talk if I talk about repentance and I don't talk about Jesus Christ, it's a dead branch, man. It's a dead branch. So let's go back to your story a little bit. This redemption, right? Coming back to Christ. What what fueled you getting back and and overcoming this drug addiction? What was what was the fuel for you?

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Well, you know, you know, the the thing is is man, I I was completely broken. I mean, you know, I had heard about people hitting rock bottom, and even on some levels, thought I knew what that was, but um, you know, you know, the only way I can explain it is like if you just imagine a you know holding a pane of glass from your window and just dropping it on the cement and it shattering into a million pieces. I mean, you know, I lost my job, I lost my place to live, I lost my family. Um, you know, I mean, I I lost the ministry, obviously. Um, I'm I mean, I was broken beyond repair. I mean, I did not want to be alive. I literally tried to take my own life, and um, you know, um uh for me, it just got to a point where, you know, um because of my upbringing and you know, because you know, I'd had a relationship with God in the past, I just that that kept coming back to me. I mean, I I feel like uh just like with Peter, what we were talking, Jesus pursued him. I feel like that it my most broken point when my life literally meant nothing, not only to me, but also in the eyes of other people that I thought loved me. Um uh he he was he was the one he was the one uh person I like to refer to him as a person. Um, even though he's God, I like to refer to him as a person because he is a person. We're we're made in God's image. So I mean, you know, um, but man, he chased he chased after me, man. And like, I mean, when his presence filled that room, I was all by myself, man. I didn't have a friend to come in and pray with me. I didn't have a pastor I could call. I mean, I had no access to the phone, social media, even a Bible, man. Um, and um, man, as soon, I mean, it at the moment that I opened my heart up to him, he just flooded in, man. Tell me about that. Where were you at? What was going on? I was actually inside of so I was at a rehab, uh a drug rehabilitation center. Um, I was all alone in a room all by myself, um, you know, trying to write in a journal and crying so bad that my tears were literally falling on the paper I was trying to write on, and I couldn't even see. And um, man, God's presence just engulfed that room, man. And um, you know, um really unless you've experienced God on that level, it really there's no way to articulate what it's like um to make it understandable. Um, but that's what happened, man. God just God just rushed in, you know. And I've talked with people since then that have even um at rehab facilities, because I do get to go in there and uh give my story sometimes. And um uh one thing I've experienced is that you know, um if if you honestly just say, God, if if you're really there, if if you really exist, just reveal yourself to me. I mean, man, just that open heart he man, he'll do it. I mean, he'll do it. It could be through dreams, it could be sending people your way to talk to you. Um, but um, you know, um, I know you know yourself. Once you get into God's presence, man, it's just undeniable. Like there's there's no way to uh to deny it. And then I think you can take it a step forward. Um I like to mention this, but uh, you know, uh for those of us that have kids, you know, there's there's times when those children are little and they chase you around the house, right? And they can't catch you because you're faster and you're quicker and you're more agile and your reflexes are better and all those things. But what happens is that in their pursuit, um, they catch your heart and you begin to be having fun with it. And so there comes a moment where you purposely stop and turn around and you let them catch you and you have that embrace, dude. God does the same exact thing with us. If we pursue him and we chase after him, there will be many moments where he stops and he allows us to catch him, bro. And when that happens, man, our life is completely changed in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

I love that. Like Christ is just uh what a what a fun imagery you created there for us. That's so awesome. So how was your recovery? I mean, did it like happen quick or did you uh you know, once you had that experience with the savior and the rehab, did it kind of fuel your recovery or was it still an up and down journey for a few years?

SPEAKER_02 21:11

No, um it well, um not years. Um, so um I did uh about 90 days at the first rehab. Um, you know, when I went in, you know, they told me but because of the drugs I was on that uh it would be about a three maybe five day uh uh deal of going through withdrawals and stuff. Uh that was not true. I went through probably 60 days of like physical withdrawals, getting sick. Um, a lot of it was a spiritual battle. Uh during that time, uh, because of the drugs I was on, um, you know, uh there comes a point like when you run out of drugs and you go into this panic that you just have to get more. And so I was actually not only going through withdrawals, but would sometimes have dreams at night I was getting high, and then I would wake up and have. That same feeling, like I had just ran out. So uh when that would happen, I just put my cares on God and said, God, look, I can't do this by myself. Like everything in my flesh wants to climb this fence, get out of here, and go get high. But I've given my life to you, I've committed to you, and Lord, I just I need your help with that. So um I did my 90 days there, got clean. Uh the withdrawals had had stopped for the most part. Um, but you know, one of the I guess I'll say downsides of rehab is that they put me on a lot of medication and to basically replace the drugs I was on with new drugs. Um, so uh which um looking back now, you know, um probably wasn't the best thing for me. So um I left that rehab and uh people in my family that had kind of uh had started building my relationship back with my youngest son, and um uh uh him and his brother and and then my brother uh really wanted me to go to another rehab. So um I left Texas and went to Florida, uh to Fort Lauderdale and went to another uh rehab. And uh while I was there, I was able to get my first Bible and I was able to just start like dissecting scriptures, uh reading a lot of the word, um, and then on the weekends, um they were they would allow us to go to church in a group. So I started doing that, started getting really, really fed. Um, so at that point is really when I started like dedicating my life um to get back in uh back to get back into full relationship with him. Um I left there and I went to a halfway house or what some refer to as a sober living, and uh started working on uh trying to get a job and you know piecing my life back together. Um so I did all that, and um, during that time I started attending a church with my mom and I got really plugged in, made some really good friends and and brothers that could, you know, speak into my life. And um, but I started feeling the pull to get back into ministry, you know. I I knew God had called me for a higher purpose than just sitting in a chair at church, and um, and I wanted to tell my story, and so uh God laid on my heart to go back to the church that I'd been at before. And man, it was super embarrassing. Um, I you know, in in a lot of ways, I didn't want to do it because people knew my story, but I humbled myself and said, I'm gonna be obedient to you know what God's told me to do. So that's what I did, and I reconnected with the pastors, and you know, they they walked me through some stuff. Um, one very important thing that I would recommend to anybody, if you want to really follow God and and get to learn his heart, find someone that's been in the faith longer than you, um, that um that is another person that can really teach you and uh and love on you and pray with you and walk you through some things. Um, so I asked a man to be my mentor, and man, it has changed my life. He's he's really become my best friend, and um, he's the one that's you know helped pull uh for me to get back into ministry as well.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

And so um all those things have happened now, and um, so what are some of the things that he's done for you to help you return to Christ and continue that growth process? What that that really helped you?

SPEAKER_02 25:34

So we spend quite a bit of time together um on the phone, um uh usually at least once a week. Uh, we're studying a uh book together that uh is about identity. Um, and he's really walked with me a lot through the whole idea of identity and who we are in Christ. Um, and it's been really foundational. And um, you know, he's uh he's just really poured into me and then even opened the doors for me to uh mentor some other people now. So it's kind of like taking taking what he's taught me and then you know using it with other people too. And um, it's good to have uh, you know, uh someone you can look at as a spiritual dad. And uh when my dad died, I realized that um a lot of even my foundational Christian faith, um, I had keyed into my dad in kind of an unhealthy way. So my dad wasn't perfect. I mean, I want to honor him, I definitely don't want to bring dishonor to him, but you know, he had his own stuff he dealt with, and I think that in some ways I tied that in to my heavenly father and kind of looked at my heavenly father like, well, maybe he's flawed too, you know. Um, instead of looking at my earthly father and realizing that you know, we should be representing God, like like when people look at us, they should see him. And so, um, you know, I've just I strive to be a godly father, and um, you know, I have some teenagers in my life that I work with, and um, you know, when they when they look at me, I want them to see what a godly father should be like, and so um that's what my mentor has done for me in a lot of ways, and so I try to do that with others now, and so uh I would just say, you know, um uh get get plugged in, you know. I hope that answered your question.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

I feel like I may have got off of the question a little bit. So I think I think that level of ministering really helps to grow faith in other people. If if we had that kind of minister in our life, or you know, or if we could pair people up who are struggling in their faith or beginning, like you said, coming back to their faith, if we could plug them in to somebody who's willing to minister to them and spend time with them. And it says a lot about you too, because you were too you were willing to take that time because not everybody, you know, it's it's you know, like, yeah, I'll be your mentor, but yeah, I don't really want to talk to you, you know. So it's like, what are you asking for? And are you really is somebody willing to offer that and fulfill that? And so the fact that you both matched up in that you were willing to spend, say, an hour a week and talk about you know your faith and your journey and to you know read a book together and grow your faith. I mean that's phenomenal. And uh I feel like that's what it really is gonna take for faith to explode in the world in the last days, is like people who are willing to minister one-on-one and and to look at people like the way the savior did, you know, he cared about one by one and was willing to stop for the woman taking in adultery, willing to stop for the woman with the issue of blood, and to minister in those moments tenderly and quietly. So that's just a beautiful message.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

And I appreciate that, man. And you know, really it goes back to uh, you know, you you you know, uh uh the Great Commission. I'm going off memory, so excuse me. But I believe it's Matthew 28, 19. But it basically says go into the world and make disciples of all men. And so, you know, uh church is limited on some ways, like like church is really good about going in and getting in God's presence and you know getting some direction from the pastor, but uh, but but really what we're called to do, and you know, uh, really we're all if you're a follower of Christ, you're called into doing ministry, and that all starts by making yourself available and going and making disciples, man. Pick you one or two people that you can invest in and um and that want to be invested in, and and then invest in them and turn them into disciples, you know. Um, because I because you know, I've got a I've got one person that I feel like God told me to invest in, and you know, I tried to and they didn't want it, they didn't want to be invested in. You know, I got plenty to do, like I'm not bored, I don't sit around the house looking for stuff to do, you know. I'm like, look, man, you know, God's put you on my heart, I'll invest in you, but I ain't gonna chase you down, you know, and so yeah, I mean, you know, so um, you know, I would say that you know, the Bible talks about planting seed and and what kind of ground you plant seed on. And so, you know, I would say find you those peoples you can disciple that are good ground and man invest wholeheartedly, and then the ones that aren't so much good ground, you know, you you may have to move on. Love them, definitely love them and make yourself available when they need you. But you know, make disciples, man. Go go out there and and and teach them how to pray and how to have a relationship and you know, um, how to read the word, how to study the word, and um because then what happens, those people get fired up for God, man, and then they go out and want to make disciples. And to me, that's the that's really uh sorry, I just had an alarm go off. Uh, really, that's uh to me, that's the some that's the symbol of a of a true Christian, is someone that goes out and makes disciples, and because then those disciples go out and make disciples, and they go out and make disciples, and long after you're gone, you've built a legacy of of the word being spread.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

And that's how we change the world right there. So tell us a little bit about your your street ministry. That sounds kind of fun and adventurous. Tell us a little bit, yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

So it's yeah, yeah. So uh what we usually do is uh um uh I'll take a person out with me, sometimes two or three. Um, we uh we spend some time in prayer before we hit the streets, and um uh many times I'll just ask God, hey, give me a picture of somebody in my mind. Uh, you know, if I'm out there on the street and God points somebody out, uh, give me the exact words to say. Um, I'll tell you a quick story of something that happened just the other night. Um, I um I was out on the streets. Um, I was actually one street over from where I tried to take my own life and um ran into a group of three teenagers and um started telling them my story. I I started it, I like starting off by saying, hey man, if God could answer any prayer for you in your life right now, what would it be? And man, people always have something. And um so um, you know, one of the girls had uh told me I think she was searching for a job or something. I I don't remember right now, but um I prayed for her, I started telling them my story, and as soon as I tried as soon as I told them that I had tried to commit commit suicide one street over, God automatically dropped in my heart that one of those girls was thinking about killing herself and that she was dealing with depression. So I so I mentioned it, Jorah. I just said, hey, God's showing me that you've been thinking about taking your own life and you're dealing with depression. And man, she just started crying, man. The tears started flowing, and her friend next to her started crying and was like, How did you know that? I'm like, I didn't know that. God knew that, and he chose this moment right here to meet with you. Like, this is actually a divine appointment where I mean it's like Jesus himself stepped down from heaven to meet you right now. Uh, all three of them gave their hearts to God, and so um that again, that was not me. That's just making myself available to be used by God, and so those things happen all the time when I'm out on the streets, man. God, God'll God'll put people in your path and um, you know, many times show you things uh about their lives and just lead you with the with the right words to say, you know, you just have to make yourself available.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

I love your setup, man. Uh, just before you go, pray, put somebody on my heart, give me the words to say in that moment, and just be listening to that, and then being brave enough to say that word when it comes to you. That was that was a really wonderful example of what you're demonstrating there.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

That that gets me excited, man. I need to go do some street ministry today. Hey man, hey man, do it, man. Come down to Texas, bro. I'll take you out, man. Let's go do some street ministry, man.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Um we don't need to wait for a formal call. We're already called. We got the call. The call is to talk about him and lead others to Christ. And yeah, we gotta be, we you know, we gotta fit in society and we gotta go to our jobs, and we gotta be there's gotta be appropriate times and all that. But man, what you're talking about today speaks to my heart. That Christ is inviting us back, he's gonna pursue us, he's gonna relentlessly seek us, he's gonna give us chances. Peter fell, and Peter came back mightier than ever. And and I think he can use our mistakes to help us come back mightier than ever. Christ is an temptive God, he's a God who seeks us, a God who loves us, who God for yearns for us to be close to him. And then maybe from one more thing to take is you know, is to offer to mentor people, to minister to people one-on-one, that hey, uh, I I'm available. I'd love to help you grow your faith, or maybe we could grow our faith together and um and and reach newer hearts of faith in Jesus Christ. And uh, you know, I was thinking today about the masks that we sometimes put on. You got all these superheroes with masks, you got Bat Batman, uh all these Spider-Man, and all these guys wear masks, and and sometimes the masks that we put on are the mask of I got it all together. Um I'm doing perfect, you know. I don't have any pain in my life, I don't have any hurt in my life, and we hide what is hurting with a mask, and sometimes we even hide that mask or wear that mask with God and come try to come across like we've got it all figured out, we don't need any help. I got this myself. Now, that is the American way. I've got this, I can do this, right? Pull yourself out by the bootstraps, but the scriptures invite us to walk with the savior, and with him we can conquer. With him we succeed. It's not alone, it's not alone we have to do these things. And if we if we pull the mask off and get real with God, and I think that's what you did in that rehab center, you got real finally, and I think that moment God's like, I've been waiting for you this whole time uh to get real, and now I can tell you real, let me change your life. And it took you on a journey, and so you know, my friends out there let's stop putting on the mask, let's get real and let's most of all get real with the savior and walk with him. Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. Thanks for Jeremy representing representing smoke signals and and bringing your fire for Jesus Christ. Hey, if if the savior can change Jeremy's life, amen. He can change your life today. Amen. Have a great day, everybody, and enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

Hey, would you mind if I pray for everyone before we close out? Amen. I've never had anybody do that. Jeremy, pray for us, brother. Dear Heavenly Father, I just uh uh Lord, first of all, I speak uh life into my brother here. I speak life into this podcast, Lord. I pray that you grow it, Father. I pray that, Lord, this podcast goes all over the world, and that the people that are broken, hurt, searching, Lord, uh missing something in their life, that Lord, they uh come across this. And Lord, I pray when that happens, that your presence, the presence of the Holy Spirit just engulfs wherever they're at. And Lord, they begin to uh feel your presence, even if it's the first time. Father, I pray that people that watch this and that are encouraged, Lord, they go out, they make disciples, Lord, and that uh they teach others about you. And Father, I just ask that anyone that's watching this, that's wearing one of those masks, that they take off that mask and realize that their identity is found in you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen, brother.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

Hey, to all our friends out there. You're awesome, you're amazing. Enjoy your walk with the Savior this week. Have a great day, everybody.