SPEAKER_01: All right, everybody.
SPEAKER_01: Welcome.
SPEAKER_01: It is so good to see you this week.
SPEAKER_01: Uh tonight I'm gonna do things a little bit different.
SPEAKER_01: Normally I start out with a story or some sort of illustration that kind of sets the stage for where we're going tonight.
SPEAKER_01: Uh tonight we have something a little bit different at the end that we're going to need time for.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just gonna jump in if that's all right with you guys.
SPEAKER_01: So is that alright?
SPEAKER_01: Do I have permission to do that?
SPEAKER_01: Great.
SPEAKER_01: I'm doing it anyways.
SPEAKER_01: So perfect.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew, sorry, not Matthew, Mark chapter five.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna start in verse one.
SPEAKER_01: As you're flipping there, uh recently we have been in our ambassador, or sorry, not our ambassador series, our not ashamed series.
SPEAKER_01: And so these last few weeks we've been talking about what does it look like to live out and share your faith, to share the gospel, to share the story of what God has done in your life so that other people can experience that same thing.
SPEAKER_01: And last week we were in 2 Corinthians and we talked about the truth that Christ has brought us back into a relationship with God, the relationship we were made for, the very thing that we'll spend our whole life searching for, chasing after all these other things, when in reality it's a relationship with the God who made us.
SPEAKER_01: And because he's brought us back to him, we're now ambassadors, meaning we're representatives of Jesus and the world around us.
SPEAKER_01: This week we're talking about the power of a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: A testimony is your story of faith, how you came to know Jesus and follow him.
SPEAKER_01: And not everybody in this room has one, and that's okay.
SPEAKER_01: I am more than happy that you are here, and and I just want you to listen to the beauty of what it what it might sound like to have one of those and to make that decision.
SPEAKER_01: But we're gonna start with a story that talks about the very power of a testimony that I thought would be a good way to illustrate it.
SPEAKER_01: So, Mark chapter five, we're gonna be verse one.
SPEAKER_01: They went across the lake to the region of the Garosenes, and when Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.
SPEAKER_01: This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been chained hand in foot, and he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet.
SPEAKER_01: No one was strong enough to subdue him.
SPEAKER_01: Night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
SPEAKER_01: Would you pray with me?
SPEAKER_01: Father, we thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_01: We believe that in this word is life, uh, in this word is encouragement, correction, rebuke, teaching, training.
SPEAKER_01: It's good for all of those things, Lord, and I pray that you would uh would you that you would show up, God, that that through the power of your Holy Spirit, you would change us tonight through the teaching of your word, that we would leave here different, looking more like you, Jesus, uh, being more full of joy, peace, love, patience, kindness.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, God, that you would change us tonight as we encounter and study your word.
SPEAKER_01: Father, we love you, we praise you, we pray all these things in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And everybody said, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just gonna explain what I just read to you, okay?
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus has been teaching all day before this point.
SPEAKER_01: He's been teaching out of a boat on the side of a lake in Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, night's rolling around, they're wrapping up, and he says, All right, boys, let's pack it up, we're gonna go to the other side.
SPEAKER_01: And so they do, they pack it up and they start to sail to the other side of the lake, and the Sea of Galilee, it's really a lake, is known for storms popping up out of nowhere.
SPEAKER_01: And so they're in the boat, they're sailing across the Sea of Galilee, and all of a sudden, like stuff starts going crazy, like waves are crashing in the boat.
SPEAKER_01: Does anybody get like seasick or doesn't like the ocean?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you would not be having fun on this cruise, right?
SPEAKER_01: This is carnival, not rural Caribbean.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's not fun, and things are going chaotic.
SPEAKER_01: And to the point where the professional fishermen who are in the boat are starting to freak out, right?
SPEAKER_01: It's like if you've ever been on an airplane and they say, hey, you don't need to worry until the flight attendants start to worry.
SPEAKER_01: And if the flight attendants start to worry, you're probably gonna meet Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's over, like as long as they're good, everything's good.
SPEAKER_01: The the professionals are freaking out here.
SPEAKER_01: And so they wake up Jesus and they're like, Hey, Jesus, uh, we're about to die.
SPEAKER_01: Could you do literally anything about the situation other than sleep?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus wakes up, looks at the storm, looks at the clouds, and basically says, chill.
SPEAKER_01: That's the Garrett translation.
SPEAKER_01: And the storm does, it completely ceases, it stops.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you guys, but if you go out in Dallas right now and tell a tornado to chill, you're gonna die.
SPEAKER_01: That's just how that situation's gonna end.
SPEAKER_01: But not Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He he he does this, and all the people on the boat, they just start to talk to each other and ask themselves this question of who in the world is this?
SPEAKER_01: Which is a really fair question in that scenario, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like, who am I in a boat with that just told a storm to stop?
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is actually about to answer that question.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so they get to the other side, and immediately a man possessed by demons, and I say demons on purpose, runs up to meet him.
SPEAKER_01: And what we learn about this guy is that uh he's been living in a graveyard, which is pretty weird, right?
SPEAKER_01: And and we also learn in Luke's account of this that uh he is naked, like like super naked, like no clothes, like free as a bird, like super weird, right?
SPEAKER_01: Not only that, but we learn that he has some sort of super strength that comes from this demonic possession because the people have been trying to chain him down with ropes and chains, and they can't.
SPEAKER_01: He keeps breaking out of them.
SPEAKER_01: And then you're like, well, why in the world are they trying to chain him down?
SPEAKER_01: And this is where the story actually gets sad.
SPEAKER_01: It's because these demons clearly want to hurt this dude.
SPEAKER_01: Because they're leading him to cut himself with rocks and to scream and to be driven out of the city to the point where they eventually, that's why he's in the graveyard because the people kicked him out of the city, because they were afraid of him.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you put yourself in the disciples' shoes, like you land in this graveyard, and the first thing you see is a butt-necked man sprinting at you at full speed while screaming.
SPEAKER_01: Don't picture that, you don't want that mental image, but just imagine being a disciple, and that's what's happening.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but I'm immediately, if I'm one of the disciples, I'm like, hey, I am giving whoever the travel agent on this thing was a zero-star review on Yelp.
SPEAKER_01: Like very strongly worded.
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is not, we just survived Hurricane Katrina on the lake, and now I've got Screamy over here just sprinting at me.
SPEAKER_01: Like they're freaking out.
SPEAKER_01: But what we see is that it's actually, you know, we can we can joke about the ridiculousness of this scenario, but it's actually really sad that this guy is miserable.
SPEAKER_01: He he's desperate.
SPEAKER_01: There's no sense of hope for him.
SPEAKER_01: He's an outcast, he's been kicked out of the city.
SPEAKER_01: All of his family, all of his friends, they're ashamed to know him, they're scared to be around him.
SPEAKER_01: And you would think that he looks at life and says, There is no hope.
SPEAKER_01: This is never going to get better, I'm never gonna be free from this.
SPEAKER_01: And here's where the story gets real because a lot of you walked in here tonight in that same way.
SPEAKER_01: Now you might not be possessed by demons, but you look at the addiction that you've tried to stop for years and years and years of your life that you don't even remember when you started.
SPEAKER_01: Or you think about the way that you hate your body and how it looks in a mirror, or you think about the way that you can't stop thinking fearful and anxious thoughts, and you look at how uh you're just feeling isolated and alone, and you say, There is no hope.
SPEAKER_01: This is never going to get better.
SPEAKER_01: But thankfully this story doesn't end with that hopeless state, because in chapter uh five, back to verse six, this is what happens.
SPEAKER_01: When he saw Jesus from a distance, this is the man possessed with demons, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him, and he shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the most high God?
SPEAKER_01: In God's name, don't torture me.
SPEAKER_01: For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this man, you impure spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus asked him, What is your name?
SPEAKER_01: My name is Legion, he replied, for we are many.
SPEAKER_01: And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
SPEAKER_01: And a large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside, and the demons begged Jesus, Send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them.
SPEAKER_01: And he gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs.
SPEAKER_01: The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
SPEAKER_01: Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside.
SPEAKER_01: And the people went out to see what had happened.
SPEAKER_01: And when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, dressed and in his right mind, and they were in, or they were afraid.
SPEAKER_01: And so this guy runs up to Jesus and immediately he falls face down.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus commands, hey, demons, come out of this man.
SPEAKER_01: And we actually learn that he says that later, because first you hear what the demons say to Jesus, but then the text actually says that Jesus had already called out these demons.
SPEAKER_01: And so they understand who they're dealing with.
SPEAKER_01: That's why they use the title, Jesus, Son of the Most High God.
SPEAKER_01: You don't hear a lot of people at this point in the Gospel of Mark using that title because they hadn't realized, like, there had not been the revelation that, oh, this is the Messiah, like you're still figuring out who this dude is.
SPEAKER_01: But these demons know, right?
SPEAKER_01: They know the end of the story.
SPEAKER_01: And so the commentators go back and forth on why would they use this title?
SPEAKER_01: Some people say they're trying to blow Jesus' cover, that they want to mess up the plan for redemption, because ultimately the timing is all set up for him to die on the cross for the sins of the world, and they're trying to mess that up.
SPEAKER_01: Other people believe that there was this superstition in the day when you call the name of a being or a person out, it signified some sort of authority you had over them.
SPEAKER_01: Point of the story is these demons were resisting, and it clearly doesn't go well for them.
SPEAKER_01: Because then Jesus actually says, Hey, you tell me what your name is.
SPEAKER_01: He's son.
SPEAKER_01: Like he flips it on them, right?
SPEAKER_01: And so that the demons they say legion.
SPEAKER_01: And it's this Roman army term that means there's a lot of them.
SPEAKER_01: And they're they're desperate at this point.
SPEAKER_01: They're begging Jesus, don't torment us, don't send us out.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus eventually sends them into a herd of pigs that runs off a cliff.
SPEAKER_01: And the people who watch this, they freak out and they go run and they tell everybody when they come back, they see this guy who had been possessed, sitting down, fully clothed, and in his right mind.
SPEAKER_01: And so I bring you back to the story earlier that this man seemed hopeless.
SPEAKER_01: He was possessed by an army of demons, cutting himself, hurting himself, an outcast from everybody who loved and cared about him, or everybody that he loved and cared about, with with just like, nothing's ever going to get better.
SPEAKER_01: My life is broken, it's over.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus showed up, and Jesus had authority over the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: Every spiritual power is nothing compared to the glory and the might of the Son of God.
SPEAKER_01: And in a moment, Jesus set this man free of all the darkness, all the pain, and all the shame that had weighed onto him for years and years and years.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus came and saved this man and set him free.
SPEAKER_01: And he can and will do the same for you if you place your faith in him.
SPEAKER_01: But what you see is not only that he saved him from this demonic possession, he actually changed his direction.
SPEAKER_01: And so we're going to pick back up in verse 16.
SPEAKER_01: Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs as well.
SPEAKER_01: And then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
SPEAKER_01: And as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus did not let him, but said, Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.
SPEAKER_01: And so the man went away and began to tell in the Decopolis how much Jesus had done for him.
SPEAKER_01: And all the people were amazed.
SPEAKER_01: And so back to the pig farmers, they were still freaked out.
SPEAKER_01: They're like, Hey, um what you did back there, Chief, that was awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01: Like the him running around, you know, with the whole nose closed thing, like it made it hard to go on a walk with the kids because you have to cover their eyes, and it's just not ideal.
SPEAKER_01: And then like the screaming was getting kind of loud, it was getting kind of annoying.
SPEAKER_01: Like, just we're trying to listen to music, trying to pray, like like the sheep are a nut.
SPEAKER_01: But the pigs were kind of expensive, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Like that was kind of our whole like source of income.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and they're all gone now.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and insurance is probably not going to cover that because the whole demon thing.
SPEAKER_01: So just wanted to run an idea past you.
SPEAKER_01: Like, have you ever thought about just leaving and never coming back?
SPEAKER_01: Because that sounds like a great idea right now, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And and Jesus is kind, he's compassionate, he understands, and he's like, hey, that's fine.
SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll leave.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't want me, I'll I'll go.
SPEAKER_01: That's all right.
SPEAKER_01: But as he's leaving, this guy comes up and he begs to go with him, which is kind of heartbreaking.
SPEAKER_01: Because think about it.
SPEAKER_01: This guy has only ever known for who knows how long this demonic possession.
SPEAKER_01: And then a guy shows up, sets him free, and then's like, Deuces, I'd be freaking out.
SPEAKER_01: I'd be like, Yeah, let me go with you.
SPEAKER_01: Like, I've never known anything but awful until you show up.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just want to be at your feet.
SPEAKER_01: And if we're a believer, is that our posture towards Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Like, Jesus, you saved me, you set me free.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want anything else but you.
SPEAKER_01: But then you hear Jesus' answer and he's like, No.
SPEAKER_01: And you're like, What?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: Like, like that's weird.
SPEAKER_01: Like, is this some like, hey, you can't sit with us saying, like, hey, we already printed the merch, it says Jesus and the twelve disciples, not the thirteen.
SPEAKER_01: It just doesn't work, it doesn't roll off the tongue.
SPEAKER_01: No, that Jesus tells him this because they are primarily in Gentile territory.
SPEAKER_01: And Gentiles are what we would consider unreached.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't, they weren't Jewish, they didn't have the word of God, they worshipped pagan gods, all sorts of horrible child sacrifice, these terrible traditions and things.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and they they were they were unreached.
SPEAKER_01: This is this is foreign territory for for Jesus and his Jewish followers.
SPEAKER_01: And Mark makes clear in this gospel that he writes, that the gospel of Mark that we're reading, that Jesus' ministry was supposed to spread beyond just Israel, that it was going to reach the Gentiles and ultimately the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_01: And so this guy had a unique opportunity to spread the news about Jesus because all of these people in this Gentile town knew who he used to be.
SPEAKER_01: And so they couldn't deny the power that had changed him into something completely new.
SPEAKER_01: Because they seen the old him.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're gonna come up to him and be like, hey, love it.
SPEAKER_01: Like the whole putting on clothes thing is huge for the program, by the way.
SPEAKER_01: Love that.
SPEAKER_01: But like, let me ask you a question what changed?
SPEAKER_01: Because, bro, you were a dumpster fire, and now you're just normal.
SPEAKER_01: Like, what happened?
SPEAKER_01: And this guy would have the opportunity to say Jesus showed up.
SPEAKER_01: That that's what happened.
SPEAKER_01: There was a man who came and he set me free, and let me tell you about him.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the thing Mark highlights that reason that Jesus gives him.
SPEAKER_01: He could have just said Jesus said no and then moved on.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said no for a specific reason, and Mark includes it because he wants us, his readers, in Bernie, Texas in 2026, to see that the same principle applies to anybody whose life has been changed by Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: John writes in Revelation 12, 11 that the saints, which are believers, triumphed over Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, we said testimony is your story of how you came to place your faith in Jesus, how he saved you.
SPEAKER_01: And so your testimony has power.
SPEAKER_01: And you might say, well, it's it's easy if you have that kind of story, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like I wasn't running around demon-possessed, I didn't have to live this life of drinking and drugs and all these crazy things.
SPEAKER_01: Like I grew up in a Christian home and I got saved here.
SPEAKER_01: And but here that here's the thing, guys, and I really want you to see this because I think this is one of the biggest obstacles for you guys in Bernie, because we're blessed to have a very vibrant church in town, and a lot of you have great, godly families.
SPEAKER_01: But even if your story is what you would consider a boring testimony, praise God.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that my kids would have the most boring testimony in the world.
SPEAKER_01: I got saved when I was six.
SPEAKER_01: I followed Jesus, and my parents raised me to do that, and then we went off and we got married to somebody who loves Jesus and we had kids and raised them to love Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Like, like I pray for a boring testimony.
SPEAKER_01: But no matter what your testimony is, God has given it power because it's the power of how he brought you from death to life.
SPEAKER_01: It's a miracle.
SPEAKER_01: All salvation is a miracle.
SPEAKER_01: And everybody who's been saved by Jesus has a story.
SPEAKER_01: You might have noticed it, but when I broke down that text, I broke it into three chunks.
SPEAKER_01: The guy before he met Jesus, how Jesus meet him and saved met him and saved him, and then his life after Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You can break every single one of your stories down into that exact same framework.
SPEAKER_01: And just because it's not crazy doesn't mean it's any more or less important.
SPEAKER_01: Because here's the thing: the the details are not the emphasis of your testimony, right?
SPEAKER_01: Even if you do have a crazy testimony, the point is not let me brag about all the horrible stuff I did BC and then like sprinkle some Jesus on it at the end.
SPEAKER_01: The testimony is, man, I was a mess, and that's true of every single one of us, whether you grew up in a bar or you grew up in church, and then Jesus met me, and my life changed.
SPEAKER_01: I have a peace, I have a love, I have a joy that I can't explain other than something that that man had was what I've been looking for my entire life.
SPEAKER_01: And every single one of you have that story, and then you have a life afterwards.
SPEAKER_01: It's not perfect, there's ups and there's downs, it's bumpy.
SPEAKER_01: But nothing is the same from the moment you follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so, as a bit of a case study, I actually want to prove that your stories have power by inviting one of our students up to have a short conversation about her.
SPEAKER_01: So y'all give Faith upped in a hand as she comes and joins us.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, you already have your mic.
SPEAKER_01: Great.
SPEAKER_01: So Faith uh is a student here at FBC, and she has been coming here for goodness about five years now, right?
SPEAKER_01: Probably five.
SPEAKER_01: Five.
SPEAKER_01: Here, let me take this off so I'm not like holding a laptop iPad in my lap awkwardly.
SPEAKER_01: Um and so we don't have a ton of time, and so we're not gonna, you know, it won't be as long as our QA's and things we've done in the past few weeks.
SPEAKER_01: But I really just wanted to ask you a little bit about your story.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and and really in that three-section format that we kind of talked about.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you don't mind sharing a little bit, like what was your life like before Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to go back to like, well, I was born in this hospital and all the things, but what did it kind of look like before?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I would say it felt very empty.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I could feel that I was searching for something and um just uncertainty.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know where I was going with my life.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't have any purpose, and I was very fearful, especially of what others around me would think.
SPEAKER_00: And yeah.
SPEAKER_00: So I'd say those were kind of some words to sum it up.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and I remember you having a lot of of questions as well, right?
SPEAKER_01: And questions about faith, questions about the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: How did you kind of handle those early on?
SPEAKER_00: So I kind of just decided I was gonna try and figure it out on my own and um try to figure them out, and then I would eventually maybe come to Jesus or think about that later.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I felt like there was the world had a lot to offer me.
SPEAKER_00: And if I came to Jesus, I would be like chained down or something like that.
SPEAKER_00: But obviously not how I feel now.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: But but I appreciate that honestly because for a lot of us in this room, you know, even those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, like that experience of of feeling anxious about the future, feeling anxious about what people think about us, uh, and then and yeah, if we're honest, like, man, like am I gonna miss out from following Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Like, I think that's something I I know I experienced before I came to Jesus, all of those.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure many people in this room either have or are.
SPEAKER_01: And so then let me ask you, how did you come to place your faith in Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Like, like what did that experience, how did how did you start to really see that corner get turned?
SPEAKER_01: What what did that look like for you?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um, like I said, I I I well I grew up in a uh Christian family, and I always knew about Jesus, but um it wasn't until I was about 11 when I um had this dream, and in God's word it talks about how one day he will come back for his um his children.
SPEAKER_00: And so since I had kind of already known about that, I had a dream, and in my dream it was kind of like how I'd imagined it, and I ended up being like before the throne of God, and um just realizing that I didn't know when he was coming back, and my maybe could not always be a maybe, eventually would turn into a no.
SPEAKER_00: And that kind of ended up coming up again in camp a couple years later, where you were asking me and you're like, Well, you you're saying you have questions.
SPEAKER_00: So you walked me like through the gospel and you're like, Do you know that?
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yes, and then you're like, Well, the rest you can figure out with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Um I probably said it nicer than that, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you definitely said it nicer than that.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, that's just my um but anyways, just realizing that I did not need to be perfect before I came to Jesus, and I could figure the rest of my questions out with him.
SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, I I don't know if that answers your question.
SPEAKER_01: No, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for sharing that.
SPEAKER_01: I um I love your honesty too, of like, yeah, I do have questions.
SPEAKER_01: And to hear your story of like, and and I can I walked through a lot of this with you, Christine did as well, other leaders, um, of like, all right, like like let's figure out what these questions are.
SPEAKER_01: And and I know there at the beginning, like you said, all right, here, let me let me list them out.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, all right, these questions aren't bad.
SPEAKER_01: This isn't something you need to run from.
SPEAKER_01: But then we talked about, all right, like, let's find answers then.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: And slowly we were able to work through those and answer those.
SPEAKER_01: And uh, I know you eventually came to that moment where we did have that conversation.
SPEAKER_01: I can remember it to this day.
SPEAKER_01: We were walking to the cafeteria at Glorieta, it was really hot and the air was thin, so I couldn't, I had to like gas air every three steps.
SPEAKER_01: And um it kind of came in that moment of like, all right, what are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: And so I know you kind of shared a little bit, so maybe this is just asking the same question over again, but maybe a little more on like at that moment where you're like, all right, I clearly have a decision to make.
SPEAKER_01: What was the thing that finally the Lord just light bulb?
SPEAKER_01: We're like, all right, I'm gonna do this.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think just like in my mind, I was like, I I don't know enough.
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, after you walked me through that, then I was like, okay, maybe I do know enough.
SPEAKER_00: Um and then I would say just I guess realizing that I could surrender and I could trust God, that was the final, like the final moment.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And it it didn't end up being exactly how I imagined it.
SPEAKER_00: I feel like God kind of pushed me to like ending up having a full like breakdown in tears, and then that led me to um talking to one of my leaders.
SPEAKER_00: It was good tears.
SPEAKER_01: Good tears.
SPEAKER_00: Good tears.
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I I remember we talked about that too of like like knowledge is not a bad thing, but eventually there there becomes this moment of like, hey, God's not asking you, like you alluded to, to clean yourself up or to make yourself uh acceptable to him.
SPEAKER_01: Um rather, what makes you acceptable to him is what Jesus did for you on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: And and what's being asked is not to know enough or to run fast enough or to jump high enough or earn enough or whatever, but to just simply surrender.
SPEAKER_01: And I remember that moment when that finally clicked, and just to get to celebrate with you was just so incredibly beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And so now to to move forward, right?
SPEAKER_01: So you get saved at camp.
SPEAKER_01: Um, what was life going forward?
SPEAKER_01: Like what did life look like after that moment of all right, I'm finally gonna surrender, I'm gonna give my life to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: What did it look like?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um I would say I'm Definitely not as scared.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still, I still mess up.
SPEAKER_00: I still have fears.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but now I have um the creator of the universe with me.
SPEAKER_00: Um and so now I would say I have peace.
SPEAKER_00: Um and then I want to go and share the hope that I've found and share about what God's done for me.
SPEAKER_00: And it's definitely not something that I do easily.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is definitely not my um normal.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not usually on stage, but I I know that I um can and I want to share what God has done.
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, and and one of the ways that you've done that, and I know you're you're not gonna brag on yourself, so I'll I'll mention it and throw it out there, but but you've been blessed to go on some mission trips, right?
SPEAKER_01: And so what kind of set your heart towards missions and and not just like uh local service projects, but like international missions?
SPEAKER_01: Not I don't say just like those are lesser than, but but these are these are scary experiences.
SPEAKER_01: Like this is these are big steps of faith that um take a lot of courage and take a very special calling.
SPEAKER_01: So what kind of drew your heart to that?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um I would say just hearing about, like you were saying, the unreached earlier, um, which just people groups that don't have a certain amount of believers to where they're considered unreached.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then knowing that I have the opportunity to go and I just need to say yes.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then another thing is as I continue to grow in my relationship, I know I said before I met Jesus I felt empty, but now as I continue to grow in my relationship, whether it's just reading my Bible or going and serving, sharing um my story or books from the Bible, stuff like that, I feel filled after that.
SPEAKER_00: I um I don't feel empty anymore, and it brings me a lot of joy.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Well, praise God for that.
SPEAKER_01: And and I know we're gonna kind of land this plane here in a second.
SPEAKER_01: And so again, thank you so much for sharing.
SPEAKER_01: If you were to say, All right, faith three years ago, four years ago is in the audience tonight, what what is one thing you you would want to tell younger you, or or maybe more generally, somebody who finds themselves in your shoes of, hey, I have questions, or maybe someone on the other side who's like, Hey, I've experienced life change in Jesus, but I don't know what to to go from here.
SPEAKER_01: Uh what what would you say somebody in your shoes from three years ago?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I think someone in my shoes from like or like me three years ago, um, I would say that you don't have to have it all together and you should seek.
SPEAKER_00: And um I love the Bible verse somewhere in Matthew.
SPEAKER_00: Don't know the exact reference, but it says seek and you will find.
SPEAKER_00: Um and like I I have seeked and I have found.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I would say seek and um and then someone who's a new believer that's looking for um like the next step, I would say find a good community and then just pray about it, see where God's calling you and be open, don't get stuck on one thing, constantly go back to God.
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Well, guys, we give God all the glory here at FBC, but we do love to honor people.
SPEAKER_01: And so would you all honor Faith for sharing her story and doing such an incredible job.
SPEAKER_01: I know it takes a lot of courage to get up here and talk and and to share, and and you did such an incredible job.
SPEAKER_01: And so thank you so much, Faith.
SPEAKER_01: We're so proud of you.
SPEAKER_01: Um we're about to go to small groups here in a second.
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm gonna pray for us, but we do have one thing that I want y'all to do.
SPEAKER_01: As we leave, there's a little table right in front of the doors, and on that table is a card uh that says 15-second testimony on it.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and everybody can grab one, but I know again, some of you aren't believers.
SPEAKER_01: Again, we're so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_01: Don't feel pressured to fill that out.
SPEAKER_01: We're not grilling you, we're not quizzing you.
SPEAKER_01: This is a tool that we want for those of you who have made a decision to follow Jesus to actually write down what we call your 15-second testimony.
SPEAKER_01: So it's basically what Faith just shared about her life in a very condensed format.
SPEAKER_01: It's to say, hey, before my life or before Jesus, there was a time in my life when I was, I'll share with you mine.
SPEAKER_01: I was addicted, I was hopeless, and I was depressed.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus met me and gave me peace, gave me hope, and gave me a future.
SPEAKER_01: And since then, I I have had uh meaning and joy in my life, and I have seen peace like I've never known.
SPEAKER_01: And that's a 15-second testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It's my life before Jesus, how I met him, and then my life afterwards.
SPEAKER_01: And so on that paper, we're gonna challenge you tonight in small groups.
SPEAKER_01: If you're a believer, I want you to fill that out.
SPEAKER_01: And and don't just fill it out like buzzword answers.
SPEAKER_01: Like sit down and think about it, pray about it.
SPEAKER_01: And if you do that and you commit it to memory, anytime you're at a restaurant, you are stuck on an airplane with someone, like you have an opportunity in conversation to be like, hey, can I tell you a little bit about my life?
SPEAKER_01: Like, uh, or if somebody says, Hey, I'm struggling with anxiety, and that's something you've struggled with too.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, that's awesome, man.
SPEAKER_01: There was once a time in my life when I had anxiety, and then the Lord came and showed me that He is true peace.
SPEAKER_01: And ever since then, I haven't been fearful, I haven't been worried.
SPEAKER_01: That's 15-second testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Every single one of us can do it.
SPEAKER_01: And so as we leave here, I want you to grab one of those cards.
SPEAKER_01: Leaders, if you'll grab a few extra, just maybe you can come out towards the end, because I'm sure some people forget or lose one.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I don't want, like, let's not run to the kitchen and grab water and all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to groups so we have time for discussion.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I want you to think through that and pray through that because that's a great tool to have to share your faith.
SPEAKER_01: We're ambassadors for Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, our testimony has power.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, and and I'll wrap up here, but I just want to leave you with this like every single one of you are called to make disciples, and every single one of you are where you are for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Like, God might have you as the person who shares the gospel with your mom or your dad or your grandma or your grandpa or your coach or your teacher, or that guy on your team who you hear the stories about every Friday and Saturday night, and you think he is too far gone.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, even the Lord, can't save him.
SPEAKER_01: Man, the gospel's for everyone.
SPEAKER_01: And he might have you in that place because he wants you to be the one to bring it to that person.
SPEAKER_01: And so are we prepared?
SPEAKER_01: And then think about the other side, like to look back and one day have people who you meet in heaven who can tell you, hey, I'm here because God used you in my life.
SPEAKER_01: Like that's something that gives our life, like we talked about last week, deep meaning.
SPEAKER_01: It's why I'm up here.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you guys know this, but people don't get into youth ministry to get rich.
SPEAKER_01: This is not the famous, I will never end up in Hollywood, right?
SPEAKER_01: None of your leaders are here because we're compensating them.
SPEAKER_01: They're here because they love to be there and they they love you guys.
SPEAKER_01: And they want to be able to do that for y'all so that y'all can go and do that for someone else.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna pray for us again, Faith.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for doing such an incredible job.
SPEAKER_01: Let's honor her one more time.