Word UP with Webb
Daily Devotion for Teens and Students
Word UP with Webb
Braxton's Journey: From Football Player to Soul-Winner
Braxton Salster, a high school football player, shares his journey of finding faith and using his influence to lead friends to Christ despite his fears and doubts.
• Saved in July 2023, Braxton experienced spiritual highs followed by questioning periods
• After attending D-NOW, his faith reignited with a permanent fire
• Reached out to friends offering support and prayer, creating opportunities for deeper conversations
• Boldly asked direct questions about their relationship with God rather than using shortcuts
• Led two friends to Christ by helping them understand salvation comes through genuine belief
• Now focusing on deepening his own biblical knowledge by reading through John and Proverbs
• Inviting people to church and sharing his faith even with strangers in Oxford
• Living by the principle that obeying God means you can never fail
Quit sitting back, quit holding it for yourself. Get fired up and take that fire to others.
Hey guys, welcome to Word Up on this Saturday morning. We are here, another guest on the show I've got Braxton Sauster. He is a football player athlete from Pleasant Valley High School and I've really gotten to know him over the past year as he's been involved with our student ministry and all the things just being a part of what we've been doing here at Leatherwood. But, most importantly, I've been really excited to see how God has used him and how he has began to really step out on faith and allow God to use his influence, use his circle of influence, and so we talk about that a lot. We all have a circle that we can influence better than other people, and so God has given you that circle, and I can't reach the circle that Braxton can reach. Only he can. We have to make the choice Are we going to continue to live in fear and to sit back and take the easy road, or are we going to step out and allow God to use us in that circle of influence?
Speaker 1:Braxton, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for being with us this morning. Howdy howdy, thank you for having me. The podcast, thank you for being with us this morning. Howdy howdy, thank you for having me, braxton, just share a little bit about your relationship with Christ. When did you come to know the Lord? What does that look like as you've grown in your faith, kind of how it started and where you are now?
Speaker 2:So I got saved in July of 2023. To I got saved in July of 2023. I was on fire and I shared the word. I was just reading my Bible and then, as every Christian goes through, you go through some dry spells where you're just like man, what am I doing? And I feel like I'm not reaching enough people. I feel like I'm not doing enough. And then you start questioning yourself and then you'll get back on fire and recently we went to D-NOW and that fire has just I've got that fire and the fire stuck with me and I'm not letting back and this is the fire that I needed and the fire that will stay forever.
Speaker 1:That is really exciting and that is how God works.
Speaker 1:You know, oftentimes we've been talking one of our first quiet times on this podcast.
Speaker 1:Isaiah 59, 1 and 2, says that God's arm is not too weak to save us, his ear not too deaf to hear.
Speaker 1:And oftentimes when we lose that fire, it's not because God's not active, it's not because he's not there working. It's because we abandon that fellowship with him. We're not in the word, we're not invested in that relationship, and so what you're experiencing is a new desire to grow in your walk with him, to spend time with him, and when you do that, whenever you get serious about your relationship with Christ, he begins to work through you, and so one of the most exciting things that I've seen in your walk is right after D-NOW this year. Obviously, I saw a fire in you and several of the other guys and y'all holding each other accountable, but then I left the day after and I go to Africa, 18 hours away on a plane, and the first message I get whenever I'm over there is from you saying hey, I need you to call me, so just tell some of the students kind of what you were dealing with at that point whenever you reached out and said hey, I need you to call me. What were you experiencing during that time?
Speaker 2:So, like Mikey said, we were just out of D now and I was completely on fire and I'm you to call me. What were you experiencing during that time? So, like Mikey said, we were just out of D now and I was completely on fire and I'm going to let everybody hear about it. And so I texted one of my friends from Pleasant Valley and I just let him know that I was there for him and no matter what happens like I'll be there, if he needs any prayer, just let me know. And we just left it at that. A few hours later he ends up texting me again and he said he said he was scared, he didn't want to Disappoint God, he didn't want to let God down and he didn't know how to go with it.
Speaker 2:From that I'm at another conversation that night with one of the guys from our youth group and he was just on fire. But he's had some past things recently that he regrets and he is I turn from, but he wants to share the word with his friends. But he wanted to show them that he was changing and so I got to talk with both of them guys and with the guy from my school. I just told him to give God a shot. He's an almighty God, he's a forgiving God and he loves you. And if you're just, if you're stuck and you don't know what to do, give him a shot.
Speaker 2:And that's what I told him. I told him that straight up. I was like you're scared, you don't want to let him down. Well, you never know if you're going to let him down and you're not going to let him down. You let yourself down with sin, but you're not going to let God down. As long as you stay with him, you're not letting him down. And with the second guy from the youth group, I told him that he's just got to be bold enough and strong enough in his faith, that he's just got to step out and be like guys. I'm not doing this anymore. That's not what I'm about. I've completely turned away from what I was doing and I'm going for the Lord and y'all are going to hear about it. I'm going to talk to y'all every day about it and eventually y'all are going to catch along and y'all are going to get this fire about me and about the Lord. And we're going to start a revival here at CareerTech and we're just going to see how it goes from there.
Speaker 1:That is super exciting and that's what you shared. And if you remember back one of the first times that you started talking to them, you said they got a lot of questions and you were trying to process how to help them, and I immediately could tell from the questions they were asking you that they were truly unsure of their relationship with God. They didn't know for sure that they had accepted him, that they had put their true faith in them, and I quickly told you hey, you know what? Don't you wait till I get back, don't you bring them to me, don't you take them to another pastor.
Speaker 1:This is an opportunity that God has placed in front of you. You've got the fire, you've already opened the door and you need to take the opportunity to tell them exactly what you know about how to come to know the Lord and to lead them there. And so talk about having that opportunity to actually follow through. Maybe some of the—there's going to be some students that are listening to this they're scared to take that next step. They're scared to ask that hard question but how did you overcome that fear? What came from it? And talk about the joy in getting to see your friends come to know Christ.
Speaker 2:So out of D-NOW I was just. I was like I want everybody to hear about it. So the next Wednesday, right after D-NOW, I invited so many of my friends to come and about seven of them came to church and we had a great time. And afterwards I get a text from two of them and pretty much they were both just saying where do I go, where do I start? And at the time I didn't know that it was meaning like they wanted a relationship. So I just told them where to start in the Bible.
Speaker 2:Well, I ended up calling Mikey and Mikey told me that they wanted a relationship. So I just told them where to start in the Bible. Well, I ended up calling Mikey and Mikey told me that they want the Lord, they want to be safe, they just don't know how to do it and that it was my job now to proceed and lead them to the Lord. So I text them that night and I tell them uh, meet me. Uh, I told one of the guys made me early, uh, before school on on Thursday, and then one of the and the other guys to meet me early before school on Thursday, and then the other guy to meet me during fifth period. And so me and the guy met early Thursday morning and we started talking and I told him straight up I said I'm not going to do a shortcut or nothing.
Speaker 2:If you die today, do you think you would go to heaven? And he said I don't know. And I said have you go to heaven? And he said I don't know. And I said have you ever been saved? And he said no. And I said well, do you want to? And he said absolutely. And the joy that he was just filled with joy after he said absolutely. So I got to lead him through prayer. And it's not the prayer that we pray, it's not who we're praying with, it's not the prayer that we pray, it's not who we're praying with, it's not the fancy words, it's if you really truly believe in your heart that the Lord died for you, he saved you and he did everything for you. And that's what I told them. It's nothing that you pray about. And so then the second guy we got to do the same thing with and we ended up having a really long conversation about it afterwards and both of them came to know Christ that day. And it's just a moment that I won't forget.
Speaker 1:That takes me exactly what you're talking about there 1 John 5, 11 through 13,. The witness is this that God has given us eternal life, he tells us at the end of that scripture. He says I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. You know what it's not about. We get caught up in trying to do things the right way, in trying to make sure we say the prayer right, that we check all the boxes right, but all it took was you stepping out, showing them the truth of God's Word, bringing them to the place that they say, yes, I want to make Jesus the Lord of my life. You know, when somebody comes up and asks me if I'm married, I don't tell them hey, let me go check the courthouse and see if that marriage certificate got filed. I know the commitment that I made to my wife that day and you know what. I didn't have to take the paperwork and file it myself. I know in my heart the commitment that I made.
Speaker 1:And so you have stepped out and you've taken those guys and you've. You know what. You may not have said it the way I would have said it. You may not have prayed the way I would have prayed, all of that doesn't matter Did you bring them to the place that they truly know that they made a commitment to God that day, that they believe in him, they've received him into their hearts and that they truly repent from the things that they were doing and they realize that, hey, today is a new day and I'm walking with the Lord, and so that's awesome that you overcame that and the joy you got to experience something that, I'm telling you, 90% of the church today has never experienced, and that is leading a friend to Christ, and so that is super exciting. So where do we go from here? Like now that you've led your friends to the Lord and that's been a couple of months ago where do you go from here? What are the next steps? What are you doing now?
Speaker 2:So after that happened, Jonah hopped and I was just on fire and I kept sharing the word. That's one important thing. You want to be in the word, to share the word. You don't want to share false information that will lead people away from the Lord. Get in the word, have that relationship with God so you can share the right information. Where I've been at now is just getting that information in, and so where I've been at now is just getting that information in, and I recently finished John and I'm about to start Proverbs here today and I'm kind of just working on myself right now.
Speaker 2:I'm working on where are me and the Lord going to go? Where do I take my next step? I'm still sharing with my friends. I'm sharing with people. I'm going out in Oxford and sharing with random people that I don't even know, inviting them to church. It's just there's a you got to step out in your faith.
Speaker 2:And Mikey said a great question, dear Indy, now what would you do if you know you could never fail with God? And everybody was just like we'd reach out more. And Mikey said well, when you do what the Lord tells you, then you're not failing, You're doing, you're obeying God. So that's the main thing that I'm trying to go off of. If the Lord tells me to do something, then I'm going to do it. Obey the Lord. It doesn't matter if you get turned away. It doesn't matter if you get turned away. It doesn't matter if they say that I'm worshiping the wrong God. I know who I'm worshiping. I'm worshiping the Almighty God. He's all-powerful, all-loving, and my faith is strong enough to not turn because of one person's opinion. I'm going to plant that seed and keep going. So that's where I'm at today. I'm keeping my relationship going with the Lord, getting stronger in faith, and we're just going to keep doing it and see where the Lord takes me.
Speaker 1:Outstanding. Braxton, I'm so proud of you. Thank you for coming on today. Guys, if you are from Pleasant Valley and you're listening to this podcast for the first time and you realize that, hey, I have never made a true decision to follow Christ, braxton is available anytime, any day, to share with you how you can make him the Lord of your life, and I know that Braxton is willing to pour into you. So if you've got his phone number, call him. If not, go find him during the day and he'll be glad to sit down with you and show you, in God's word, what God has done through his life. So thank you, guys, for joining us today. We love you and go and share the good news with somebody today. Quit sitting back, quit holding it for yourself. Get fired up and take that fire to others. We'll see you back here next Monday. Love you, guys.