I Love to Tell the Story...

I love to tell the story is a message about something we all do without even thinking about it we tell stories. Stories from our childhood, stories from work, stories about the things that shaped us. But somewhere along the way, many believers stopped telling the most important story of all: the story of Jesus.
In this episode, Anthony shares a personal reflection on how storytelling shaped his life, how an old hymn stirred his heart again, and why the Gospel should never become “old news” to us. Through Scripture, real‑life examples, and practical encouragement, you’ll be reminded that the world needs to hear the story only you can tell the story of what Jesus has done in your life.
If you’ve ever struggled with sharing your faith, felt unqualified, or wondered whether your story even matters, this episode will speak directly to you. The Gospel is still good news. And it’s still worth telling.
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hey, welcome back to On the Road with Pastor Anthony. And I am your host, Pastor Anthony, and I'm super glad that you are here. Hey, before we get started, please consider subscribing to the podcast on your favorite platform if you have not done so. Um, and also hit the little bell so that you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you hear, give us a thumbs up, share the podcast with your friends, and by joining us each week, you will discover practical ways to live out your faith and to connect others as we share Jesus in life one mile at a time. You know, growing up, I used to love sitting around listening to the older family members telling stories. You know how it is, they talk about things they lived through, the trouble they got into, and the silly stuff that they did, and the moments that shaped them. And as a kid, I could sit there for hours just soaking it all in. But now I have noticed something, well, kind of funny. I've become one of those storytellers. So I guess I'm officially getting old. I catch myself telling stories from my own life, things I've experienced, you know, lessons I've learned, you know, even some of the goofy things I've done. And I've also been turned into one of those uh man, I remember back before they built that, that was nothing but just you know, woods. And we used to go four-wheeling up there, they yeah, that kind of stuff. And I'm like, oh man, I've become my grandparents. So I think it's pretty funny, but you know, we do that. Yeah, but in all honesty, I mean, I love to tell those stories, and I think that we all do. There's something inside of us that enjoys sharing the stories that made us who we are. But this week, I was thinking about a different kind of story, and that's what inspired today's message. I kept thinking about that old hymn, and many of us grew up singing. I love to tell the story. Yeah, I don't want to quote the whole song, but I you know, just a few words, you know, because I'm sure it'll be playing in your head. You know, it says, I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story because I know tis true, and it satisfies my longings, as nothing else will do. I love to tell the story, twill be my theme and glory. I love to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. You know, this is an old hymn. Many of us grew up singing this. I love to tell the story. I mean, you probably just kind of sung along with it in your head. They're just, you know, they're kind of humming along, and now it's probably gonna be stuck in your mind the rest of the day, and that's okay. It's a song about joyfully sharing the gospel, about never getting tired of telling people what Jesus has done. But here's the question that hit me this week we love to sing the song, but do we actually love to tell the story? It's easy to sing it in church, and it's harder to speak it in real life, you know, at work, the store. People who may not understand your faith. You know, there was a a lady I was driving school bus here recently, and uh there was a lady that was getting her uh child off the bus, and I heard her uh she was using you know Jesus' name in vain. And when she said to JC, you know, it's like oh Jesus, you know, and uh and I was like, Yeah, I know, isn't he great? Yeah, but and it kind of just stopped her and stunned her for a moment. She looked at me, but then I think she kind of got the picture. But get her to think about, you know, yep, Jesus is awesome, he is fantastic, he loves your, you know, loves us all. And so I kind of think you know, want us to think about it this way. Who is brave enough to admit that they sing in their shower? You know, I can't see you, but you know who you are. I yeah, and I'm raising my hand. I I I am one of those. You know, especially when we're alone. I mean, it's like we're on tour. But you know, if someone's in the house and then you know, that moment that someone walks by the door or opens some bathroom door suddenly, I mean, you're as quiet as a church mouse. We're brave when no one's listening. But when people show up, we're whispering, might be just in our head. But if we are children of God, we shouldn't love to tell the story. Safe people must speak up. Yeah, I said it. Save people must speak up, especially today in the world in which we live. So I want to go ahead and uh start us out with some prayer and ask God's blessing upon our episode today. Let's pray together. Father God, Lord, I love to tell the story. It was definitely an inspiration by you. And uh, Father, it's a song that we've sung and heard for for you know years and years and years. And uh maybe there's someone here that hasn't heard that song and now they want to go look it up. But Lord, you know, we need to love to tell the story, you know, 24-7. You know, anytime we get an opportunity. And Father, that's today's message, and we ask that you challenge us and teach us, open our hearts and minds, and and just uh move us forward, Lord, as we uh dive into your word today and learn. So, Father, we love you and we thank you for all you do, and just again bless our time together in Jesus' name and amen. Psalm 107 verse 2 says, Let the Lord or let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. So if God has redeemed you, he expects you to well say so. The psalmist doesn't say let the redeemed of the Lord think so, or let the redeemed of the Lord feel so. He says, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Just kind of want to let that soak in just a second. You know, redemption naturally produces a response. When God pulls you out of the darkness, out of bondage, out of the enemy's grip, you know, silence doesn't make sense anymore. Imagine someone winning the lottery and not telling anyone. I mean, no celebration, no excitement, just going to work every day like nothing's ever happened. That's ridiculous, but you know, because I mean everybody, I mean it'd be on Twitter and Facepace and all that kind of stuff. Pastor in your head could swim or spin. But spiritually, when we think about that, that's what some believers do. Yeah, we receive the greatest gift of all, better than anything else. I mean, we're talking eternal life, forgiveness of our sins, freedom. You know, Jesus says whom Son says free is free indeed. And when we're saved, that's exactly what he does. He sets us free from our sin and from you know eternal separation from him. And we keep that quiet. I think about, you know, if you had you know, we could use cancer for example, or any kind of you know, terminal illness. Imagine having the cure for that and not sharing it. Well, that's kind of the same thing when we're quiet, when we have a story to tell about what Jesus did for us. It's you know, eternal separation from God, that unsaved person, you know, that's a terminal illness that is far exceeds anything that we can think of here on earth. And we know, and if you are a child of God, if you have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, you have the cure. So that people don't have to deal with the consequences of not knowing Jesus. We can't keep quiet. Scripture shows us that God never intended salvation to be a private possession, he intended it to be public, a public proclamation. Jesus didn't just save his save the disciples, he prepared them to speak. I mean, that's what he tells us in Matthew 28, and and again in Acts 8.1.8. But in John 16, he tells them, It is to your advantage that I go away, and if I go away, I will send a helper to you. Jesus knew that we couldn't speak boldly on our own. He knew fear would shut our mouths, he knew the pressure would silence us. So he promised the Holy Spirit once we are saved, the helper, the one who would empower them, you know, the disciples and us when they feel you know weak or unsure or unqualified. You know, because I've had many people tell me that, you know, it's like, well, I don't know what to say. Tell them your story. But Jesus goes even further in Matthew 10, 19 and 20, he says, Do not worry about what you will say, for it will not be you who speak, or it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your father speaking through you. You know, salvation gives us something to say, the spirit gives us the power to say it. In other words, God doesn't just give you a story, he gives you the strength to tell it. And if we look back at that Psalm 107, 2 tells us what to do, tell the story, your story of what Jesus has done in your life and in the time we should be preparing the gospel or we should be sharing the gospel message. You know, just you know, when you first get saved, you're not gonna know everything, you're just gonna know what happened when you got saved. You know, we just did that episode here a little back. When did Jesus become more than a name to you? That's what you tell. But you know, as you grow and the time continues on, you should be reading your Bible, you should be involved in church, and and you should be preparing yourself to understand what the gospel is and to be able to present that to others. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be prepared to give an answer of the hope that we have, which is in Christ Jesus. Not sure if that's word for word, but you know, it's close. But that's what we should be doing is preparing ourselves to share the gospel message. And it starts with telling your story and then tell his. And so when you put those together, you get this truth. Yeah, because we're told Jesus tells us how we're to do it through the spirit. So when you put those things together, you get this truth. You don't have to fear the moment, you don't have to rehearse the perfect speech, you don't have to worry about messing it up. If you belong to Jesus, the spirit inside of you is ready to speak through you. And I will tell you that, you know, because a lot of people get intimidated. Well, what if I get a question I don't know the answer to? So what? You know, I've been doing ministry a long time, and there's still questions I don't have the answer to. But what you do do is uh tell them, say, you know what, I'm really not sure, but I'll find out and I'll get the answer and I'll get back to you and then make sure that you do that because that will speak volumes. But knowing that, you know, for the basics, you know, if someone it's it's a moment, uh a Jesus appointment, if it were, you know, as it were, uh something that you need to speak, the spirit inside of you is ready to speak through you. You know, sometimes I believe those questions that stump us and we're not really sure. I think it's a you know, just like that growth, you know, to kind of nudge us forward a little bit, you know, so we so we dig deep and try to find the answer to that. But when the spirit speaks to you, I mean, you know, you'll know because you might be like, Well, I don't even remember what the world I even said, but some, you know, if then it was what they needed to hear, thank you, Jesus. And so it's not just an encouragement to us, you know, thinking about the spirit helping us speak, but it's a promise. Thinking about speaking up, well, that will lead us to stand out. Yeah, we were called to stand out and not blend in. We are called to stand out and not blend in. I mean, that's really important. You know, it's why I said it twice. We are not I say it again. So it really sticks. We are not called, or we were called to stand out and not blend in. Matthew 5, 14 through 16 says, You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden, nor do they put or nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to the whole to all who are in the house. I can't speak today. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. You know, Jesus doesn't say try to be the light, he doesn't say, well, you know, work on it. And when you get there, let me know. He didn't say become, you know, work on becoming the light. He says you are the light. Why? Well, because the spirit's blending in or is living inside of us. Light doesn't blend in, it stands out. You know, Jesus didn't call us to be spiritual chameleons, he called us to shine. And when we say yes to Jesus, we don't enter into a witness protection program. Yeah, when Jesus preached this in a sermon on the mount, his audience understood exactly what he meant. A city built on a hill in ancient Israel was visible for miles. Travelers used to or use those lights to navigate at night. You can't hide a city even if you tried. And when you really think about how a light works, I mean, you can walk into a pitch black room, I mean, with no windows, no lights, no nothing, and shut the door, you can't even see your hand in front of your face. But immediately you turn that light on, the darkness flee it's gone. I mean, it's it can't stick around, it's gotta go. And that's us, and that's what Jesus is saying. If you belong to me, hiding isn't an option. Light doesn't blend in, it stands out. Jesus didn't call us to blend in, he didn't call us to be those chameleons, he called us to shine, and that's what Jesus is saying about your life. Your presence should make a difference, your faith should be noticeable, your walk with God should be visible. Not because you're trying to be impressive, but because light can't help but shine. You know, it's a powerful example of this. Jesus set the pattern through his own baptism. You know, and baptism is not a private ritual, it is a public declaration before others. Hey, you're telling everybody, hey, I belong to Jesus, I'm not ashamed, I am not hiding. Here I am, right here. All everybody look, you know, look at this. I'm following Jesus' example. You know, there was a story about a little child who asked her dad. Uh, he asked the question, Daddy, how tall was Jesus? And the dad said, Well, I'm not exactly sure. Why do you ask? And the child said, Because if Jesus lives in me or in me, and he's taller than me, wouldn't he stick out? Absolutely. That's the whole message right there. If Jesus is in you, he should be sticking out of your life. People should see him in your words, in your actions, and your reactions, your compassion, your patience. You know, um an old pastor friend of mine used to say that we may be the only Bible that anyone ever reads. You know, some people try to say, Well, I'm not really outgoing, or I'm not bold, or I'm not really a talker. But standing out has nothing to do with personality, has everything to do with the passion. When something matters to you, you want to talk about it. When something changes you, it shows. When something burns inside of you, it comes out, and that leads us straight into the third point. Because Jesus doesn't just call us to shine, He calls or He gives us something inside that makes us shine. The gospel should burn within us. Jeremiah 29 or verse 9 says, Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name, but if his word was in my heart, but his word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding back holding it back, and I could not. I love that. Jeremiah describes the word of God as a fire burning inside of him, not a warm feeling, not a gentle nudge, but a fire shut up in his bones. And he says he tried to stay silent, but the message was too powerful to contain, and that's what happens when the gospel truly gets inside of a believer. It creates a holy pressure, a spiritual urgency, a burning desire to speak. This isn't just about you know a personality or being naturally bold, it's about passion, a fire that God Himself ignites. And when God's truth grips your heart, the silence becomes uncomfortable. Speaking becomes the natural overflow of what's happening inside of you. I can tell you there, uh it's been a while back, and uh, I don't even remember what was going on in the situation or something, but it was just like uh I hadn't been in church for a while. Or, you know, of course, I mean I listened to stuff and I kind of read. And you know, I was really busy on the road. I hadn't been around a lot of people, and you know what they're talking about here in Jeremiah, it was just like, you know, if I didn't start talking about Jesus, if I didn't get around some people that you know, with the light same like-minded, I was going to explode. I mean, it was just like I got you can't you can't keep it contained, you've got to let it out. You know, it's I can't describe it, but if you've experienced it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And that's where you know Jeremiah, he wasn't bold because he was confident or extroverted, he wasn't outspoken because he had a strong personality. He spoke because he couldn't speak, if that makes sense. That's where the spirit lives in this helps. That's the gospel, that's what it does, it transforms you from the inside out, it stirs something in your spirit and ignites something in your heart. Jeremiah said it if I tried to hold it in, but uh I tried to hold it in, but I could not. That's the fire of God's word, it's living and active, it's working inside a person, and that fire isn't something that we produce on our own, it's fueled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus prepared his disciples for for this when he told them in John 16 that he was sending the helper because he knew you know that they couldn't do it on their own, and he knew he was getting ready to go back to the Father. And so that's always been the plan. Yeah, God created there, you know, there was everything was created, the plan was formed. You know, we went through, and then Jesus was coming, that was all part of the plan, and then he's preparing the church, you know, for the church age. You know, he was going to go back, and so he's like, I All right, you know, Jesus, God in human form, could only be in one place at one time. But when he left, that's why he talks about you know uh him going back was better because greater things they could do because of that, and that's because the spirit was coming, going to live in all of the believers. And so God was everywhere at all times, you know, doing his mission. You know, not that God needs us because he's everywhere all the time, he knows everything, you know, from present to future, he knows how it's all gonna work out. I read the end of the Bible. I know what it says, it says we win in the end, got or God wins, and we get to be a part of it. And you know, so but it's just like it's but I mean it ought to be an honor that we get to be called and used by God to deliver a message of salvation to those around, to be able to share that of what God has done for us. And again, that's why I love that you know, when Jesus is talking about there in Matthew 10, you know, talking about the Spirit, He would, you know, that the Father would speak through them. You know, I have experienced this with myself, you know, experienced this myself. I was counseling someone after and after we got through talking and hung up, and and you know, I remember the moment, I remember the the conversation, but I can't remember the words that I spoke. I can't remember everything that I said to them. And I remember my wife looking at me, she's like, There might have been more pride of you in my life, and I'm like, thanks, babe, it wasn't me. But that was because the spirit stepped in and used me to speak the words to that person I was talking to to help them in the need that they had. You know, I was present, I was willing and available, and the helper did exactly what Jesus said he would do. And that's the fire that Jeremiah also talked about. That's the boldness Jesus promised. That's the supernatural empowerment that turns ordinary believers into powerful witnesses. This fire shows up in everyday moments, too, when a coworker opens up about their struggles, when a family member asks you why you're so calm during chaos. I had uh, I don't know if I've ever shared this story with you all, but back in um 2009, um, my half-brother was you know pretty strung out on drugs and um and took the uh the life of my cousin, our cousin. And I remember sitting at my aunt's house and uh we were going through some stuff and I've been sharing some scripture, and our senior pastor, of course, he'd been there and you know talked about some things in that prayer. But over the next few days we were there quite a bit being with her, and my mom and them was just you know, they were just together because they were both hurting of what had happened. And uh, and there was people who asked me, it was like, how can you be so positive and and you know, upbeat, you know, calm during this, I mean, because this is something that just ripped her family, you know, just I mean, you're talking about a devastating blow. And I was like, it's the power of God, it's a God thing. And that's you know, how we gotta think about it when we're when we're going through whatever, when we're you know, faced with the you know, the time to to discuss Jesus with someone, is the Holy Spirit has our back. God promises He never leave us or forsake us. You know, people's gonna notice there's something different about you. You know, I've had people you know talking to me and they're like, I'm not really sure why I'm telling you this. It's like, you know, it's that stranger is and so you tell them you're gonna pray for them, and and it's just like the words come, you know, be able to tell them without rehearsing, without planning, those words just come out, and you've helped people, and you've you know, shared the gospel message, you've impacted their life, and I guarantee you there's gonna be people that's impacted your that you've come in contact with, that you've shared something with, you've you know uh patted them on the back because they're hurting, or tell them you're gonna pray for them, or said a kind word, you know, something along those lines, shared the gospel message with them. They're going to remember it. So something, you know, there's people that's got you know very eloquent speakers. I'm not one of those guys. I'm just a guy that's just called by Christ to share a message, and I want to do it to the best of my ability that honors him. So don't think just you're like, well, I'm not really gifted in that area. You just gotta be willing. And not because you know you're eloquent, but it's because you're available. It's not because you're bold, but it's because the spirit is burning inside of you. A fire that never burns is a fire that never existed. A faith that never speaks is a faith that never stirred, was never you know, that was never stirred. A gospel that never moves you is a gospel that never reached you. When Jesus truly changes you, when He you know, you become fully surrendered, and He comes in, He saves you. Something inside of you comes alive, something wakes up, something burns, and that fire is meant to shine, not stay hidden. It's about passion, a fire that God Himself puts inside of you. And that's exactly what we see in the early church. Ordinary people who simply couldn't be quiet. You know, when we look at the early church, you know, in Acts, you know, you can go all the way through Acts, and I tell people many times that you know the church that Acts doesn't end in chapter 28. You know, the church of today is Acts 29, and I think a lot of them is failing miserably, but that's another story for another or another episode for another day, and that is actually coming pretty soon. But we look at Acts 4.20. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. This is me saying that you know they have to tell what they've seen and they heard, what they've experienced with Jesus, what they have experienced with hanging out with the apostles. Um they um they got us they gotta speak it. Then again, we look at Acts 4.13. It says, now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus. Right there's a perfect example. I fed into that like Peter and John, you know, uneducated, untrained men, you know. But you know, I always but God, I always love it when God butts him because that's the reason why I am where I am, and uh in the calling that I've accepted, you know, and joyfully, you know, I wanted to serve my Lord, and this is the way that I'm doing it. And it's just so awesome. But I like that. And so they had realized that they had been with Jesus, so their actions and what they spoke spoke louder, you know, probably just the way they they hung, you know, handled themselves was speaking volumes, and they knew that they had been with Jesus. The early church is one of the clearest pictures of what happens when the gospel message becomes a fire inside of someone. These weren't trained speakers, polished communicators, or you know, YouTubers or influential leaders, they weren't any of that, TikTokers. They were fishermen, tax collectors, truck divers, ordinary men, you know, taxi cab drivers, waitress, you know, any of that. You can go on and on. They're just ordinary men and women, but when something happened to them, they simply couldn't couldn't keep to themselves. In Acts 420, Peter and John boldly declare, we cannot help speaking about what you know we have seen and heard. They can't, it's like we can't help it. We just I mean, it's it's gonna explode if we don't. We got to tell people. They weren't trying to be dramatic, they were describing the spiritual reality. When you truly encounter Jesus, silence becomes impossible, the message becomes too real, too powerful, too life-changing to keep inside. And that's you know, that's what makes this more even more remarkable is the context. That John, uh Peter and John have been threatened by religious leaders who'd crucify Jesus. They were told, hey, be quiet, stop preaching this Jesus dude. I mean, stop it, stop teaching, stop speaking in the name of Jesus. If you know what's good for you, you better stop it. But instead of backing down, I love it. They said, we can't help it. I mean, there's nothing we can do about it. You know, Jesus, yeah, we see in scripture too, it's like if they were quiet, that the rocks are gonna cry out. They they didn't, you know, this was just like too powerful. This is something we have to share. This that's the language of overflow, it's not an obligation. They weren't speaking because they were forced to, they were speaking because they were filled with the spirit. Again, and that I love you know, going back to Acts 4.13 again, says the leaders were astonished because they recognized one thing that these men had been with Jesus. That was their qualification, that was their credential, that was the source of their boldness, and it's still true today. You don't need a degree to be a witness, you don't need a title, you don't need a platform, you know, you don't need a microphone. It helps, but you don't need it. You just need to have been with Jesus. And when you've walked with him, when you've experienced his grace, when you've seen his faithfulness, when you have felt his presence, it shows. People can tell. Your life becomes evidence, your story becomes testimony, your transformation becomes a message all by itself. I promise you, you can go, you could go back and talk to some of my friends uh that still know me today, but knew me before I was saved, and before I was, you know, back in church and and truly allowed God to start transforming my life. And they will tell you there's been a huge change in that boy. And I guarantee it, they could tell you some stories of me. Some of them would probably embarrass me now because you know, looking back, it's just like, well, what in the world was I thinking? But that's where that transformation becomes a message all by itself. The early church didn't speak because they were confident, they spoke because they were convinced they truly believed in who Jesus was, the message that he brought, and where he was, you know, the whole bit. There's a practical picture of this that everyone understands. Or, well, maybe not everyone, but those of us that become a grandparent for the first time, you know, or even a parent, you don't need a class on how to talk about your grandbaby or your child. You know, they don't need a seminar on boldness on telling stories about their kids or their grandkids. They will show you pictures before you even ask. And you know, if you look on Facebook, I mean, you they're everywhere TikTok, Instagram. I mean, they want to share everything about your grandkids and their kids. I mean, you know, they had the first Eric today. Look at this picture. You know, it's everywhere. Because, and why do they do this? Because love overflows into conversation. The early church wasn't trying to be evangelists, they were simply in love with Jesus, and that love always finds a way into words. They weren't trying to impress anyone, they were expressing what they had experienced. This is why the early church grew so rapidly, and I think this is one of the reasons why the church is in decline nowadays, because we have stopped speaking the gospel. But the early church, you know, because of their willingness to speak, they grew so rapidly. And not because they had a strategy, they didn't have a board meeting, you know, coming up with you know, 16 to 911ers, you know, programs that they could do to grow the church. It was simple, it was spirit-empowered, sincerity. Not because they had all these programs, not because they had, but it was because they had the passion, it wasn't because they had influence, because most of them probably didn't even know half the people that was coming through there. It was because they had intimacy with Jesus, and that's what they were sharing. And the same spirit-filled life that filled them fills us today. The same fire that burned in them burns in us, the same boldness that carried them carries us. You know, the scripture tells us not to quench the spirit, and that means don't you know try to shut it up because eventually it's going to it's gonna come out, it's gonna show, and you're not gonna be able to keep quiet, and their story then becomes our example, not to admire from a distance, but to you know imitate with our own lives. And when we look at the early church, we see ordinary people who couldn't stay quiet about Jesus, and that's the beautiful truth that the same spirit who filled them fills us today. You know, Jesus told his disciples in Acts 1.8, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, you know, everywhere. And that word witnesses isn't complicated, it doesn't mean expert, it doesn't mean theologian, doesn't mean professional speaker. A witness is someone who simply tells what they seen and they heard. Jesus didn't say you might be my witnesses or try to be my witnesses, he said you will be my witnesses. The spirit gives us the power, the courage, the clarity to speak when we feel weak or unqualified. And that's why the early church was unstoppable. Not because they were strong, but because the spirit was strong in them. Paul echoes this theme, this same boldness in Romans 1.16 when he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, which we talked about in the last episode. Yeah, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. Notice Paul doesn't say we are the power. He says, Yeah, we're not he, man. I have the power. No, it says the gospel is the power. Pressure isn't on us to impress people or persuade people. The power is in the message, not the messenger. But I guess you could look at it, you know, the messenger is God using us speaking, you know, if you want to look at that way. But our job is to simply open our mouths. God's job is to change hearts. You know, I heard the old adage, you know, prepare the root, prepare the field and pray for rain. You know, we plant the seeds and God will water it and and you know, and do the thing. And He will He will get a hold of the people. You know, some people you witness to, you may not ever know how it ever turns out. You know, they could actually end up, you know, serving Christ and I mean, just you know, going just being missionaries. I mean, and we may not ever know it until this side of heaven. When we understand that God has a plan and he's using us for that, first of all, you know, just honor us. Thank you, Lord, for using me. And when we know that he's got our bikes and when he's going to use the spirit to speak to us and help us get through that, that's when fear loses its grip, shame loses its voice, silence loses its power because we don't speak because we're confident in ourselves, we speak because we're confident in the gospel. You know, I used to have some students that uh that was talking about, well, some of their friends, you know, uh get upset with me if I speak, you know, by Jesus and you know, put me down and and all that, and I'm like, listen, you just do what God has told you to do, you share the gospel message, and if they pick on you or make fun of you, they're not doing that to you. They're rejecting Christ. And then that's a whole different ball of wax that they're gonna have to deal with on their own with Jesus. You don't have to do anything. Scripture says share it, and if they reject it, you dust off your feet and move on. But Jesus gives us another picture in Luke 8 39 when he tells the delivered man to go home and tell how much God has done for you. And that's evangelism. You know, that's one of my strongest suits, you know, spiritual gifts. And that's the simplest form, your story inside his story. You don't have to know every verse, you don't have to answer every question, you don't have to be a Bible scholar or theologian. You just have to tell what God has done for you. Tell how he saved you, tell how he changed you, tell how he carried you and how he forgave you and how he met you in your darkest moment. You know, people may argue with you, they may argue with your theology, but they can't argue with your testimony. Your story is evidence, and it Peter ties it all together in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9, when he says, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who has called you out of the darkness and into his marvelous light. Peter is reminding us that we weren't just saved from something, we were saved for something. We were saved to proclaim, saved to shine, saved to speak, to tell the story of the one who brought us out of darkness into a marvelous light. God didn't redeem you to be silent, He redeemed you to be a light in a dark world, a witness in a quiet world, a voice in a hurting world. You know, and the benefit is we go into heaven, we get to spend eternity with him. But until then we have work to do here. So here's the challenge: don't just love to tell your story, love to tell his, don't just sing the hymn, but live the hymn. Don't just carry the gospel, share it. You know, I knew a guy that used to carry a Bible with him everywhere he went. Never seen him open it. And you know, and I went to some places with him, he'd be carrying it around. So I don't know if he was just waiting for somebody to approach him or or what, but I you know, I never seen him open it. So I mean, you know, we can carry it around, but if we're not sharing it, then what's the point of carrying it? Again, that statement I made earlier, you may be the only Bible that someone ever reads. You may be the only sermon that someone ever hears, and you may be the only glimpse of Jesus someone ever sees. And the good news is this you don't speak alone, the Spirit it speaks through you. The gospel works through you, He shines through you. You were saved to tell the story. So go tell it. Go tell it. Let's pray together. Father God, go on again. We just come to you. I love to tell the story, and that should be our theme every day that we wake up as look for opportunities to tell others about you, to tell our testimonies, and to see lives changed, you know, by the work of the spirit and by what you can do. And Lord, I mean, when we think about you using us for a part of your plan, I mean that ought to put a huge smile on our face and just let us praise out and then thank you, Lord, for using me. You know, keep using me, put me where you need me. Put the people in front of me that need to hear the message. That should be our daily prayer. You know, start a Bible study at your job. You know, I don't know, something. Share scripture every day on Facebook and Twitter and Instagrams and and all an X and all just start sharing scripture. Start sharing your message, you know, something positive. Of you know, in this dark world because we have so much negativity that's coming at us, and Father, we see so many things coming at us, we see uh youth that are taking their lives, and Father, this world is just hurting, and Lord, the church is being quiet, and we need to this that spirit needs to explode out of all of us and just spread the gospel everywhere, the message of hope. Message is there's something better than this life to ignite us, Father, challenge us to to do that and to tell the story, not just sing about it and then try to keep quiet. Father, we love you and we thank you for all that you do in our lives and what you're going to do because of this message. Lord, again, use us. As you know, we heard in from Samuel, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. That's my prayer for each and one of us that are listening to this today. Lord, thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. 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