Avodah Talk w/ Matt Walton
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Avodah Talk w/ Matt Walton
Work As Worship: How Faith Reshaped One Entrepreneur's Life
Raw unedited conversation between Josh and Matt! Sometimes the best conversation happen before the camera rolls. This is unedited and starts in the middle of the conversation but we have you enjoy it.
Ever wondered what happens when rock bottom collides with divine purpose? Matt Walton's story will shake your understanding of transformation and entrepreneurship to its core.
Matt opens up about his journey from addiction-fueled chaos to purpose-driven business leadership through his platform, Avoda Talk. With raw honesty, he recounts living a double life—running a successful design-build company creating high-end projects worth hundreds of thousands while simultaneously surrounded by drugs and destructive behaviors. The turning point? A surrender that changed everything about his life, business approach, and understanding of purpose.
"Work is not a drag that came after the fall—work is a blessing," Matt explains, challenging conventional thinking about the separation between faith and business. This perspective shift forms the foundation of Avoda, which teaches that business itself can be ministry when approached with excellence and proper intention. Matt articulates this seamlessly: "Our work is our worship, our worship is our service, our service is our work."
What makes this conversation truly powerful is Matt's vulnerability in sharing how his transformation unfolded. Within 60 days of his spiritual awakening, he experienced complete freedom from addiction and began walking in what he describes as "authority and power that I can't even describe." He draws powerful parallels between his experience and the biblical story of King Uzziah, offering a sobering warning about how pride becomes the limiting factor for many successful entrepreneurs. "Our pride is the very thing that will cap us out from being who God created us to be. It will either destroy us or limit who we can actually be."
Whether you're wrestling with finding deeper meaning in your work or simply fascinated by stories of radical transformation, this episode delivers profound insights about integrating faith principles into business leadership. Listen now and discover how surrendering to something greater might be the key to unlocking your full entrepreneurial potential.
What's up, guys? This is Matt with Avoda Talk, or the real Matt Walton. This is your hub for all things. Kingdom business business as ministry, business strategy. My goal is to provide as much value, minute by minute, each podcast that you listen to, so let's get to it. Work, and it's this drag and it came after the fall and when, in reality, no work is a blessing. Dude, god gave us the ground that has diamonds and gold in it for us to mine these things and explore these things and to do so much incredible things. So that's what a voter is is the purpose of this is helping people understand that, whether you're a believer or not, that your business is your ministry and you should, we should have the attitude of excellency and we should do everything with excellency because we, our work is our worship, our worship is our service, our service is our work. Like there's no differentiator between any of those and so they just. So that's where I vote. I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it. Are you as equally religious and is that a family thing? I didn't know if maybe, like you, found God and when you were away, or so I. Or just curious, how that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I mean, I mean I grew up with in a, in church, ok, but we had to unchurch ourselves once we grew up. We're not about so like that's religion, and I'm not about religion. I'm about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:So it's not like hey go into my church, sing my songs and join my programs.
Speaker 1:That's my thing I don't. I'm not a religion guy, but I believe in just a relationship with Jesus man. That's that's what we're all about, so, um, so, when I got out, I well, I got out when I was like 24, but when I got out, dude, I climbed the ranks pretty quickly at a company that I was working for to to where I bought how bought a house, had multiple cars, dirt bike, that kind of deal. Actually bought a house right next door to my wife, my future wife and um, her and her mom and her sister were outside washing the car, and so me, being I, show up with my buddies driving my car with dirt bikes in the back and stuff, yeah all right, this is sweet.
Speaker 1:So, um, that house turned out to be dude, a dope dealer prostitute haven. So I spent the next seven years with, like, with, with more dope than you can possibly imagine, um, and with more crazy stuff going on in there than I than I care to share. And when I was, I had been up for days to keep my. I had a business. At this point too, I had a. I had a design build business where I was doing like very high end backyard spaces, where I was designing them and building them. Um, and building hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of projects, you know like single projects. That costs, you know, 300 grand in the backyard.
Speaker 1:So, while I was doing all that nonsense, so um I uh it's a tough gig to keep that all together.
Speaker 1:So I ended up, man got got ended up in, and there's a scripture that talks about how Jesus left the 99 and pursued the one. And there was one that got away and so he left the 99 to go grab that one. And that was what I was, that one, you know. So so Jesus chased me down and um, and I gave I had avoided it, avoided it, avoided it Cause I didn't have anybody in my life that did. Nobody talked about Christ in that way, nobody talked about, nobody lived a life that was saying they serve Jesus.
Speaker 1:In a way that I wanted to mimic, it was like okay, are you in prison Like you? Why are you no different than anybody else? So, um, like, okay, why are you in prison like you? Why are you no different than anybody else? So, um, the one that was different though this is gonna sound weird was Tim Tebow. You know, I don't know the guy, but seeing him I'm like dude, that guy's got something that I want.
Speaker 1:And so, um, I ended up man, and had been up for like 12 days. At this point, um told my, told my wife, my, she wasn't my wife at the time, she was living with me. And um, she, she's a nurse and end up, gave my life to the Lord that night, um, and surrendered everything over to him and fell asleep Somehow. Woke up the next day I was being watched by the police and um and uh. So I had a mentor that, while I was being watched or followed, had police sitting outside my house, um, I house. I would literally hop in the car and go talk to a mentor of mine and just go over there and to get away and to be in a safe place. And when I gave my life to the Lord, I let everybody know, let my family know, everybody know.
Speaker 1:And, dude, everything changed. At that point, dude, I quit using. It took me about 60 days after that to quit using. And then finally, I be like. I woke up one day I hadn't been able to smell the air, see the blue skies, hear birds chirp since I was nine. You know, I was that kid, always in trouble, suspended from school.
Speaker 2:You, know always all those things.
Speaker 1:So, um, when I gave my life to the Lord man it was, it was um, um, I changed everything I was consuming and literally everything that I was consuming from, like, tv, music, everything, and I, I, I like switched podcasts with, like you know, guys that were talking about kingdom business stuff or Christian business stuff. I switched YouTube with preaching. I switched, you know, hardcore rap with Christian rap, like that kind of deal, you know. And uh, and then 60 days goes by, man, and I woke up one day and I was free from everything. I was free and I was walking in this authority and power that I can't even describe, and then, from there, had the opportunity to.
Speaker 1:I started being invited on podcast, had the opportunity to buy this business. Um, I brought my mom and dad in on the business, my wife in on the business, brought my sister in on the business. Um, because of everything that they have done, we're at a point now to where I've got to get other people in there because we're kind of outgrowing it and so so it's just, it's just, I wouldn't be here without this relationship, and so I'm not one of those guys that's like, do we have to view Dude? It's like, no man, if I don't live a life that makes somebody question it and and be like what does that guy got? You know I'm doing something wrong, man, and so, um, I talk about a lot because it's just my life yeah and I love the lord man.
Speaker 1:If it wasn't for him, man, I wouldn't be here that's incredible.
Speaker 2:That's a beautiful story. Yeah, wow, this is the bible. Huh, that's it. Now is this like your? You always keep bible it is man.
Speaker 1:I take it with me everywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I used to.
Speaker 2:Can I touch it and look at?
Speaker 1:it Absolutely Okay. It used to be guns and drugs with me everywhere. Now I take that with me everywhere. You won't find me at a lunch or dinner without it Really yeah, wow.
Speaker 2:And you feel free, huh, dude it's-. What do you feel free, huh? What do you feel restricted and restrained by?
Speaker 1:Let me, ask that Do I feel like me, my mind, myself? I feel I always was my own worst enemy dude. I obsessed over everything, and since giving my life to the Lord, dude. Galatians 5.1 talks about this. It says for freedom, christ came to set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and never submit again to the yoke of slavery. And those yokes of slavery can be dude our pride, our ego, addictions, our own obsessive thoughts. And what Jesus does is he comes in and he frees you from all of that and he actually exploits the incredible traits about you. He removes the negative traits about you and replaces them with these incredible things, to where you can be an enhanced version of yourself, not because of the things that you do, but because of him.
Speaker 1:There's a king. His name is King Uriah. I'm going to mispronounce his name. It's in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles. It's a true story, dude. You can look him up. So he was named King at 16 years old. When he was named King at 16, he was literally handed the kingdom of Judah and within that he reigned for 52 years. The Bible talks about how, when he was at his biggest dude, this is this is this is what's really cool is when he was at his, his, biggest, I'm going to read.
Speaker 2:You found it that fast. I'm going to read this too.
Speaker 1:So it says here. So now he went out and warred against the Philistines this is talking about all his accolades and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabna. I want to make sure I read this. He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done, he continued to seek God in the days of Zechari. Okay, now this is where he gets in. I won't read all of this because it's a lot, but God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians and against the Minyanites.
Speaker 1:The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, uzziah built towers in Jerusalem, at the corner gate and at the valley gate and at the corner buttress, and fortified them. He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. Moreover, uzziah had an army ready for battle, which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, prepared by Jeel the scribe and Messiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's officers. The total number of heads of the household of the valiant warriors was 2,600. Under their direction was an elite army of 307,500 who could wage war with the great power to help the king against the enemy. Uzziah prepared all the army shields. He funded the whole kingdom. The economy was prospering in ways that it never was. He was building buildings and towers, funding armies and everything.
Speaker 1:Then it says this. It says his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the Lord, his God. For he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of the incense, and that was wrong, because that was reserved at that time for the priest. So the priest came in and confronted him and he was adamant. He went against the Lord right there. He was afflicted with leprosy right there and he lived with leprosy for the rest of his life and he actually lost his kingdom. His son took over the kingdom. So that right there tells me that's a big warning for businessmen, businesswomen, human beings that our pride is the very thing that will cap us out from being who God created us to be, it will either destroy us or it will limit who we can actually be.
Speaker 1:And whenever we allow God to come into our lives and we surrender everything over to Him and say God, remove this from me, remove my ego and pride from me, god starts to take us through this process of sanctification is what we call it to where he starts to strip you of things, and it's kind of like a sailboat. There's this thing called jibing to where, if you're going to the left on a sailboat and you find out you're going the wrong way and you're going to have to, and you may be like headed towards beautiful pastures, things are going well, no storms, but you find out you need to be going that way. Well, you have to turn the deal. It where you have to turn the deal, it's literally called jibing, and the sailboat slams over to the side. You feel out of control for a while until the wind catches back on Sure.
Speaker 1:And this is what happens when we give our life to the Lord. He starts to strip us, he starts to make things a little bit more uncomfortable, because what the Old Testament talks about is God prospered his people. He prospered his people so much they were running towns, man doing so many incredible things In the New Testament, they were being beheaded. They were being brutally murdered. Because this man, jesus, came down, claimed to be God, and because of his claim to be God, that he and the father were one, they ended up and brutally murdered him. And which was all part of prophecy. There was over 700 prophecies that were prophesied 700 plus years before Jesus ever entered this earth, and when he did and went through that whole process, he died. He took God, unleashed on him the wrath that was meant for the rest of humanity, on his son, so that we, if we choose to believe in him, can spend eternity with God.
Speaker 2:So people ask like how come Getting a full education here?
Speaker 1:Why would? This is the last thing, but why would God send me to hell? And it's like he doesn't Like, we have an opportunity.
Speaker 2:It's just I've asked that question a hundred times, so I'm engaged on this one.
Speaker 1:So it's like he doesn't just like he doesn't send anybody to heaven either. He gives us an opportunity because of what his son, jesus, did on that cross. He took all of our sin and took it all on that cross. He died. He rose again. This has been proven outside of the Bible by over 500 people that saw that he revealed himself to post resurrection and again and through that, all these prophecies were fulfilled and so, um. So we have the ability to either give our lives to come into alignment with that and if we do, then we get to have a relationship with God, freedom, all these things that are just that I can't even describe outside of just words or we can reject it, and then, if we choose to reject it, then that's where you know we won't have the opportunity to spend eternity with God. So it's your choice. God gives us a choice. Are you going to accept the free gift that God extends to us or are you going to deny it?
Speaker 1:And the Bible talks about you know there's the majority of people that talk like I do Ain't going to make it. It literally talks about many, many, and that word many means like it literally if you trace that back to the Greek or the Aramaic. It means the majority. You trace that back to the Greek or the Aramaic it means the majority. And so that means 51 plus percent of people that claim to know and serve Jesus Christ won't actually inherit the kingdom of God. And how we know is when you gave your life to the Lord, did things transform in your life? Do you have a real recognition for your sin and your need for the grace of God? Are you exhibiting the fruits of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control? And if you are, and you you have a reverend for who God is, then then that's signs that you have accepted, believed and are living out what God instructs us to live out here, and and only at that point. And so yeah.
Speaker 2:Bro, you could be a, a pastor or a priest or whatever you call that. I don't know. That's. Yeah, that's incredible. Thank you, I mean sincerely. I'm an open book with this stuff. I don't have any judgment around it, awesome. So I always love hearing about it and just hearing other people's perspective. But yeah, that was impressive, well done. How and this? You just started reading this when you were, I mean, bro. You found that in two seconds and then you can rattle this stuff off like you have it fully memorized. How long does it take to like create that relationship?
Speaker 1:I guess, in using your terms, so I've uh, I mean, it's been five years Wow.
Speaker 2:I would have thought that was your whole life. No, it's been five years. That's incredible.
Speaker 1:So it's just studying. It's like this morning, dude, I woke up a little bit after four, went on a two and a half mile run, went on a 15 minute walk and I got another almost mile out of that walk. During that time I'm praying and thanking God, man, and just going through that, just that relationship, just like you and I are talking right now. I talked to God. Most people don't think God still speaks. And, dude, my story is dude.
Speaker 1:I heard all growing up man God only speaks through his word. If he's speaking to you, you're hearing, not hearing from God. No, god will speak to you before you ever give your life over to him. And he was telling me hey, matt, when you're done doing those drugs, I'm ready, I'll be ready, man. And we got some incredible things to do and I just kept it. I kept avoiding it because people always told me you're going to be a pastor and I'm like, no, I don't want to be a pastor. How funny that I know that God had called me to be a pastor in the marketplace and so, and called me to buy businesses, sell businesses, grow businesses, but, most importantly, develop human beings and teach them these principles so that we can see human beings thrive and it also be a zone where dude, if you choose not to believe I'm, I don't, I'm dude, it does not matter, it's not going to affect our relationship. Man paul, it's not anything like that. I can't stand it whenever people do that, because that's not Jesus man.
Speaker 1:This was dining with all the everybody that we're talking about. So, yeah, that's that's so. I'll finish it off with saying this God spoke to me then and he still speaks to me now. That's the reason why everything happened here. All the systems, processes, people, manuals, everything was a direct result of God giving me a vision. That vision I told you about that ecosystem.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dude, I was out of body experience, saw this flying over Vegas. Everything was dark, except for my factories in the middle and those nonprofits that I was talking about and the living facilities, and I could see it plain as day, dude. So God will speak to you, he will tell you things and through that he gives, he starts to work through things within you whether maybe you have forgiveness that needs to happen, maybe your identity is not proper, maybe you have offense, whatever it is, and he starts to strip those things from you and gives you a brand new identity. And so God's given me an identity of like. Dude, you're a world changer, and so it's like okay, that that's.
Speaker 1:That's the calling that God has on my life is to be a world changer, and so my thing is is I want to be around the like. God's given me a love for business, like I absolutely love it. I every little bitty detail about it, man. I wake up in the morning time ready to get after it. You know, it's hard for me to go to sleep at nighttime because I'm thinking and building things. So, um, that's from the Lord, because I believe God's called me to be around men like yourself, men that are doing hundreds of millions, billions of dollars worth of revenue, um, and to have these kinds of conversations.
Speaker 2:Incredible, my goodness. We haven't even gotten into the podcast.
Speaker 2:you should be recording that whole, thing, okay, yeah, yeah cool, right, you cut that up, that you, that you guys, have to put a lot of energy on your social. I mean, this is such a and if you're giving x amount even more. If I could, I could give any advice. I would. I I don't know what your guys' highest and best uses are, but let's assume that, um, that your highest and best use, which would be marketing, in my opinion, you would just be in charge of marketing. So it's not that you move up to sales or something I don't know. Again, I'm speaking out of turn here, but let's say that you go to sales and then you bring in a social media company that can do that. You could sub out.
Speaker 2:I would encourage you to stay as the manager, as the manager of that, uh, subcontracted person, because it becomes a, a full-time job. Like for me to like have to do this. Like you were, like I just want you to come on podcast. I'm like, well, you got to text this person, this person that they get to get me to get there, and you know, and if, imagine if it was me. And then it's like I got to look at my calendar, I got to call this person and see if I could. Oh, you know, like I want to be able to just wake up and it onto the market and I don't even think about like none of that.
Speaker 1:That's where. That's where we're headed. And yeah, thank you for saying that, because that's you need someone to manage that person. Exactly.
Speaker 2:It's not just bringing that person in.
Speaker 1:And that's where we've talked about that. We've actually. She, actually I was in Boise, idaho, meeting with a media company, um, to bring them on, and she met with a guy named Jake who did all this stuff for North Las Vegas fire department. That grew them from nothing to where they're at now. He, he does commercials for like tar, like Sony. He's video though, but he's he's a videographer, so he can come in actually bring the drone and the professional footage. She could manage it, and you know, and then, and then we could post the content create the content out.
Speaker 1:Um, that's the goal. I mean. Eventually, it's like I was inspired by you, with with you and Luis, and I'm like whenever I saw that in action and I don't even know all the details of it I was like, yeah, yeah, cause I saw it. I'm like, listen, we're, we're going to do something very similar to that as well. So I I just I just hired I'm big on finding niche experts to do things Does that make if? That makes any sense? So if I have a, if I'm looking at this thing and I'm saying, okay, well, I need um, you know, I could dude, I could dive into marketing and and do all the things and delegate it out to five or six different people and do all that, but that takes me away from doing everything else.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying. That's a you yes Task, not a you task. Don't do that yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this company, they're called Wizard of Ads. They're the reason why you know who Rolex is. There's a reason why you know who A1 Garage is. They're the reason why you know who Ghetto is, the flashlight, Um. So I just hired them and I have a 30 day out with them. And then Louise texted me the other day about about, you know, talking about that stuff, and so I'm like, okay, so I'm continuing to interview people because I would love to piece it together or delegate it out to to them and then and then do it a little bit different model than that right there growing the brand and doing all the things.
Speaker 2:So to be clear, yeah, a really good implementer, the yes, yeah, I mean because the visionary, I'm a visionary in my space. Uh, it's important that I'm, like, surrounded by executors. Yeah, because it's like the second, I have a thought and a vision. I'm onto the next thought and vision, you know, um, but anyway, uh, well, I wouldn't let those other guys go talk to Luis, cause we only do videography and social media. Okay, you know. So if there's other value that they're bringing to the table, I don't want to not get that service that I think could be of value to you. Um, but Luis speaks that language, but I just think you have an incredible product that would explode, and then you behind it like, yeah, you, guys have something special here, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, man.
Speaker 2:And yeah, thank you, thank you, congrats. Okay, what do you got? Let's go, let's do it.