Try Jesus Radio!

Welcome to If Not Forgot. Stories of Hopelessness That Turn to Hope. Here is your host, Mike Zwick.

Well, hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God with Mike Zwick, and I've got a very special guest here today. I've got my good friend Tony Jackson, and Tony Jackson is the gentleman who initially got me on the radio back in 2019. And Tony, we've been talking about doing a show and talking about doing a show, and here we are, man. Live and in color. Live and in.

There used to be a show called In Living Color. We are live. We are in color. And, you know, you actually had a scripture for today, and I thought it was really good because as Christians, we have to know the Lord. We really have to know the Lord.

And I don't usually do this, but you use the New New Living Translation.

So I've got 2 Peter. I use the King James, but I'll use it for you, man. 2 Peter chapter 1. And it says, this letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith that we have.

Have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ our God and Savior. May God give you more and more grace and more peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus. By his divine power, God has given us everything that we need for a godly life. Amen.

Amen. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And Tony, what does it mean to you to know Jesus? To know him is to not only love him, but to experience him.

So like when we are traveling on this journey as Christians, as believers, the fellowship comes with just relaxing and realizing that God is not only in charge, but he's sovereign and he has a purpose and a plan just for those that trust him and believe him. And we're walking in that grace and it just behooves me to no end that God is so good that he would allow us. Adopted sons in the fellowship of his spirit and his kingdom.

So there's so much more as we grow in his grace. And the thing that really gets me is like when we grow in his grace, It is multiplied. Do you get that, that it is multiplied through the knowledge of just knowing him?

So like when you need grace, but you don't know what you know, you don't get that benefit. It's not automatically. We got to take time out. And to realize that God's love is drawing us closer to him. And you can't know him unless you get closer.

So just knowing that. He's there with us, for us. And he loves us that much that he's gonna give us, but he wants us to know him. We're not coming just to get what he got. But if we get him, we got all that we need.

And that is so powerful and so good. I'm trying to calm down because I'm kind of excited about the love that's been given me. Because if you know where I come from, man, God has done a work that I can see and testify to his glory that he's a good God. He is a good God. And you know, Romans chapter 5, verse 8, it says, But God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And it says in Matthew chapter 7, verse 1, it says, To judge not so that you too may not be judged, because in the same way that you judge others, God will judge you. And sometimes I think now that God has kind of helped us to clean our lives up. We have to make sure that we're not looking down on other people. And so my mom used to tell me, she said, the only time that you should ever look down on somebody is when you're lifting them up or when you're helping them up. And Tony, I know you and I have kind of been through some stuff.

Amen. And we haven't always been where we are right now.

So it kind of gives us a heart to be able to help other people and to not see where people are right now, but where God can take them. Have you seen that? Yes, that's ongoing in this world that we're living in. And it's a fallen world. And it is so natural to.

gravitate toward that if you're not knowledgeable of what God has done in your life. And if you didn't know that and stuff, you would respond naturally. But the spiritual side of it is God has given us insight to his love through us.

So the world will never know God unless we express that humbly. Aware of his presence and the commandment that he has given us, have put into our hearts and our minds to continually walk by faith and not by sight.

So that's a part of the process. But God is so faithful by his spirit. And when we acknowledge that God got that love and grace for us to move out, we have more than enough to do what he called us for. He really does. And Anne is here and she's playing with the phone and stuff like that.

But, you know, the Bible says that unless you receive him like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. And so, you know, the Bible talks about in Hebrews chapter 11, it says, now faith.

Now, faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not seen. And so, yes, we've got to really follow the Lord and stuff like that. But when we first. Follow Jesus, we may not understand everything at all, or whatever. And you said when you were younger, you actually went through some tough times.

You didn't grow up in the church, right? Amen. It took me at the age of 24 years old. I didn't know nothing about Christ, didn't even have a clue. I always thought Jesus was a little baby in a manger until someone invited me to church.

And this man that is hanging on the cross in Christians always say, you know, they believe that.

So, like, I had to check that out for myself until two brothers. And so they played a big part in my life as far as Introducing me to Christ, the plan of salvation. At that stage and stuff, I accepted Christ because I know I needed help and I was definitely searching for more than what I had.

So, like, the journey's been long, it's been good.

Sometimes it's been upside down, but that's because of the Lord training, teaching, guiding, directing, using people, putting them in your path to allow you to be open to the plan of the kingdom, especially eternity, because there's a cost to be paid. If we don't know that God Is eternal and he has an eternal home for us.

So we want to be with that plan. I think that is really the best plan because, as we can see, as the world continually gets darker and darker, and we're going to be that light that he called us to be, that's a part of us growing in him. And it only comes through knowledge.

So, like, when we know. Better, we can do better.

So, the Lord is just lifting up those in these last days because it is so evident. that something is shifting, changing society. Everything is changing around us. Cause when I was growing up, this generation. was not same generation that I drew up in, grew up in.

So like it just takes the heart for us to be aware. and mindful of what's going on not only around us but in us. Because the Lord has a great plan for all this fallen world and he's gonna use his people to bring forth just like his disciples They are carrying and have carried the good news through centuries, even to this very moment. that we're living in.

So we got to be aware of saints. We do. We have to be aware. And, you know, I heard a story recently about a, we have to be clear when we're talking to people. You know, I heard a story recently.

There was a Christian comedian and they had him signing autographs one night. And when he was signing the autographs that night, he didn't know. He didn't know what was going to happen. He just thought he was going to sign his book or sign his autograph or whatever. And he said, There was a lady who asked him, they said, what is your favorite Bible verse?

And he said his favorite Bible verse was, you know, be still and know that I am God. Or taste and see that, taste and see that the Lord is good. And so it was supposed to be Psalm 34, 8, but he ended up putting Psalm 38, 7. And Psalm 38, 7, he didn't know what it was, but he thought he was putting taste and see that the Lord is good. He looked at Psalm 38, 7.

You know what it said, Tony? Come on. I have a hateful disease in my loins. That is too much.

So in other words, that was what people knew him for. And so when we're sharing the good news of Jesus, we have to have a very clear message. People have to know what we're talking about because really, I think a lot of people, are you saved? Are you saved?

Well, saved from what? You know, that we were all once sinners. The Bible says in Romans 3 and Romans 3, 23, it says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 6, 23, it says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Jesus said, Whoever believes in me shall have eternal life, but whoever does not believe in me, all the unbelievers, it says in the book of Revelation, will be condemned to hell.

And so we were all sinners on our way to hell, but Jesus found a way and Jesus saved us. But see, a lot of times, and I like what you said, Tony, it's from somebody coming up and somebody opening up their mouth.

Somebody had to talk to you about the Lord because if somebody never did that, you may never have heard the good news.

Now, was it Charlie Clemens or somebody else? But it was this Oh. Matter of fact, it was two young men. They came by the house in the apartment I was living in at that time. And I'm talking like I know them now.

Oh, like one of them. Has passed, but the other than stuff, I was just thinking the other day concerning how the Lord drew me and uh. It was through the fellowship of a church that I started attending. And I'm telling us. That was my roots St.

Peter's down in the basement. What's that? 12th And holling and stuff. But that was back in the day. But through that journey and stuff, I come to know Christ better because of the time that we.

Put into knowing him. And this is what this whole message is about: knowing, taking time out, not just praying. But knowing and understanding what God is bringing into the view of what he's doing.

So we just thank God for the journey itself, but he is the journey. As long as we keep our focus on him, and I was thinking about what you were saying earlier about the wages. of sin is death. And that's outrageous for you to think That you got to pay something, but it's already been paid through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We miss a lot when we're trying to do it through our flesh or, you know, undisciplined, you know, just thinking.

And I'm talking about those the very ones that think that they know him. And Christ says, I knew you not. Depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew you.

Imagine going through your whole life, doing the work of the Lord, doing all this other stuff. And then you finish up at the end of the day, and then Jesus says, depart from me. I never knew you. Yes. I mean, I can't even imagine that.

And it's like we were talking about this the other day about how we have, yes, we're supposed to do the right thing. Yes, we're supposed to fast. Yes, we're supposed to give to the poor. But if we're doing it just so that everybody else can see what we're doing, remember what Jesus said? He said, you don't have any reward in heaven.

You've got your reward right now. One of the things that I love about you, Tony, is that when you do these things, when you try to help people out, you do it quietly. On purpose, because that's his purpose. And like I was thinking about this when the Lord said, I never knew you. The whole thing is like they never knew him.

So if you turn that corner all the way around and stuff, that's the sad part to think that you know him. But if he don't know you, it works both ways. I'm saying, you never knew. And it's almost like I'm. Yeah, I'm not trying to be funny, but they got this commercial with Spectrum back in the day.

I never knew. Yeah, but I'm saying you can know him. You can know him for yourself and personally because that's his will and it's on purpose and stuff. We got to rest in, settle in, and to know that God is. all about his kingdom.

That's why Jesus came, one of the predominant factors that he showed us the heart of the Father.

Now, if you don't learn anything from this message at all and stuff, be open to start learning. Start being disciplined. Start being open to the very things that God have created you for. Don't miss out on your part. that God has already ordained.

even before the foundations of the world. God is, He's awesome and good, but you wouldn't know that by hearing that. You got to know that experientially. Through his word, especially prayer and stuff, it's not one side of where you just have all the words to say and God don't say nothing. Or he's saying everything and you just listening.

So it's a relationship. We invest into the kingdom, and God is so awesome about that. Yeah, and so, and Jesus said, He said, when you give alms to the poor, and we should be investing into the kingdom. If people are trying to share the gospel, share the good news of Jesus, and try to help out, you know, trying to get the gospel out there. We have an obligation to try to do that ourselves.

Now, we can't give everything to everybody, but we can all do something. You know, and there was this story years ago, and I heard this. is that there was a uh there was a young man And the young man was at the seashore and he was throwing seashells back into the sea. Have you heard this, Tony? No.

And he said, Yeah, the seashell, the seashells, starfish, starfish. I'm talking about starfish, not seashells. And so he started to throw these starfish back into the sea. And all of a sudden, this older man came up to him. And what the older man said was this: He says, What are you doing?

He said, There's no way that you're going to be able to make a difference to all of those starfish. There's thousands of them up on the sea. And the young man took a starfish and he threw it into the sea. And he said, I made a difference to that one, didn't I? Amen.

We can't help everybody. We can all help somebody. Is that right? Yes, and that kind of reminds me of. Oh, you know, the body of Christ, you know, we're individually part of a body, but it's the whole body with Christ being the head.

And as we all come up under his authority and stuff, we all play a part. There ain't no big I's and no little you's.

So you might as well just settle in on your part. Give God glory with a spirit of humility and working together. Don't come against people that you feel and think they're bigger than you or you putting them down and stuff. It's a unified effort that we come together to do what is pleasing. and right in his sight, in his plan and purpose for his kingdom.

That's right. And you know, one of the things that I've seen Tony and I've seen it with you You talk about knowing God and to know God. But one of the things that happens is that when you do know God and when you get to know Him personally as your Lord and Savior. I see a peace in you that a lot of people don't have. I see, you know, you have a joy.

You just, you know, you don't seem to worry about stuff the way that other people seem to worry about stuff. Do you think that knowing Jesus has changed that for you? Hey, He is our peace. And I'm telling when you think about peace, rest, trust these all These things are only come from knowing him.

Now, if you didn't know him, I can understand why people are jumping off the buildings, falling and crawling, trying to do the best that they can. But in reality and stuff, that's why he paid the price for you to be there and open to what he's doing through his love. And it's just amazing. It's amazing grace. And peace is being multiplied as you continually walk this journey.

And if you think about it, God is who he is. He's sovereign. He's in charge.

So when you give it to him, what you got to worry about? Just think about that peace that comes from just resting. And I'm talking, instead of being frantic. Every little thing just throws you off, you emotionally, uh, baggage, you're just carrying all of this stuff, and God doesn't say, just come unto me and I'll give you that rest. You can stop the laboring because the work is already done.

But if you didn't know your position or the authority or your identity, you don't even know who you are if you don't have that peace. And that's a guarantee. You could miss it if you wanted to because of his great love for Dying humanity, and he'll take this dog and turn it into light if we just come to him. We got to come. You cannot come and have peace, and it's just his peace.

And the world didn't give it, and you know, they can't take it away.

So, you know, you're confident in who you are because of who he is. We got to trust his integrity. Things are really getting going bad, but it's all coming together because of his plan. He'll use it all. He'll use it all.

Yeah, you know, Romans 8:28, it says that we know that all things work together for to those who love God and for them who are called according to his purpose. Here's the problem: if you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, Things are not going to all work together for your good. I mean, now, God may be drawing you, he may be calling you because the Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. If you're listening right now, you may not know Jesus. Maybe Jesus is trying to get your attention right now.

This peace that Tony talks about that he has, this hope that we have of eternal life, or that we're not going to die. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory? It's lost the victory over us when we have Jesus Christ. But if you don't know Jesus Christ, then you don't have that blessed assurance that we have as Christians.

You can have it. You can trust in Jesus right now. You can say, Lord, I just want to turn away from my sins. Jesus, I surrender my life to you. That's all you have to do.

Follow him. Follow him. It's not a one and done. It's not a, hey, one day you do. It's a wonderful thing because the longer I get to know Jesus, the closer I get to him, and the closer I see that he's drawing me.

The Bible says to draw near to God. Go ahead. And it says that he will draw nigh unto you. And so maybe the problem is if you're not spending time in prayer, if you're not spending time reading the word, if you're not spending time. Fellowship and fellowship with other Christians, maybe that could be some of your issues.

And you, do you go to a do you fellowship with other Christians, Tony? No doubt about it. We got to have the fellowship. That's what unites us. That's how we get our strength.

Iron sharpens iron. Stay close to the fire because. There is so much Uh, scoffers going on, just like in the days of Jesus and stuff. Yeah, we heard this, and I'm talking about there's an accountability. Here's the part that.

I think it's real vital for those that don't know him. There's a destination for those too. But if you're with Christ and stuff, that's the difference. That's the difference for you to make to know that Christ is not only for you, he's not against you. They are putting a whole lot of junk.

The darkness of the enemy is online. And we're looking at people, how they just look at Christ like it's a fairy tale. It's not even real. But all the time it says, if you know. The truth, and he is the truth, just like Paul is saying, what is truth?

A lot of people struggle with that because they don't know him. Of course, I guess I would do the same thing if I didn't know him, but you got to give yourself a chance to know him.

So, you know, with that being said and stuff, take time out. Nobody's that busy that you're going to spend eternity away from him when you got a chance to know him right now, especially if you're going to spend. In eternity with him, I think we should be getting to know as much as we can because it's going to be a long time for you even to know all that he really is. All we got is tidbits.

So, you know, take what you got and let God use that for you to share with somebody else, especially your loved ones and your dear ones, the ones that are not even. thinking about it. They are so temporarily looking at what's going to pass away. And it's definitely going to pass away. And it's fast fleeting.

Right before your eyes, you're here one minute. The Bible tells us that we're just a mist. And I'm telling you, eternity is too long to take a chance. Let us see if you're right. You're good if it's right.

But if you're not right, just think of the implications that you have just allowed yourself to not be with him throughout eternity. Amen. That is powerful to me. It is powerful. And, you know, he loves us enough to draw.

Us closer to him. And I've actually seen times where I thought God, I said, God, why is this happening? But then over the long term, I saw that God knew what he was doing the whole time. We've been through some tough times. No doubt about it.

No doubt about it. We've been through some tough times. Yes. And see, but through those tough times, God is good. God is good.

God is in control. And, you know, I've heard people say it, and I've seen it myself: when everything is going well, a lot of times we're not on our knees praying. When everything is going well, we're not begging to God for forgiveness. We're not looking in His word. We're not trying to get close to Him because, hey, we say we've got this, it's good.

I'm good. But see, the truth is, is that what happens is that what we do is when we trust Jesus, when we give our lives to the Lord, and when we go with Him, when we walk with Him. Go ahead. Remember that old song? And He walks with me in the garden and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own.

That's good. Yeah, it's like we have a fellowship. With Jesus, we have a fellowship with Jesus, and nobody can take that away. Yes, nobody can take it away from us. He is so good, He is so caring and loving towards us that He died on the cross.

Man, He was whipped, He was beaten, He couldn't even carry His cross. He was beaten so bad. And Tony, He did it for you, He did it for me. And if you're listening right now, Jesus did it for you. All you have to do is surrender your life to Him.

Are you too proud to do that? Are you too proud to do that? You know, pride can keep somebody out of heaven, Tony. No doubt about it. Enter To be honest and stuff, when that pride comes in, there's a sense of stubbornness, like you think you got a right.

Now, God gave you a will. He's not going to come against your will.

So that's on you to make that choice. But if you don't make that choice, It's almost kind of like Really said it kind of reminded me of Pharaoh, all of the plagues that he witnessed and. Was a part of. And then when he finally let him go, he hated that. He did it.

That he wants to go back and it's like a dog returning to his vomit. He wants to go back and get what he thought he lost. But Check this out, Saints. is just temporarily. All of this stuff we done read about, heard about, even experienced to some degree, it's only temporary.

Why we put so much emphasis on right here, right now, when there's so much more that we can assess because of who he is. The whole promise is that God got us even in this fallen Darkness and it's getting darker, but the thing is, and stuff well, you said God's got us, God got us, you know. It says somewhere, oh, it's in the Bible, yeah, if God be for us, who can, who can be against us, who will be against us? Because God, hey, the enemy is already defeated. But if you didn't know that, you'll think you got a battle, spiritual, what they call it, warfare.

Yeah, there's a battle going on, but the victory is already ours if you know who you are.

Now, people are going to struggle with that, and that's normally natural. But we're talking about supernatural. God has taken care of, He has given you everything that you need to live this life right here, right now. But if you didn't know that, you can't receive that. You got to know with confidence.

And there's a trust that comes with just living. For him, his purpose, his way, his thoughts are higher, especially his ways. We keep talking about your way. Highway. No, God is the best.

Father knows best, and He got us, and He's gonna keep us. No one can take us from His hand. God is that who He is, sovereign. And we just thank God for this moment that we can share with those that are looking and seeking because this world ain't looking for God, they're not even asking. They're not even knocking.

So like, you know, we got the good news and stuff.

So saints, let us come together. Don't give up on your loved ones, especially the prodigals. Not even looking at it. They think this is it, and it's all over with. But we know a different story.

We know who the real God is.

So we're just sharing and caring and knowing that God is who He says He is. He's able to do what He says He can do, and He can do it through you.

So don't surrender to your little pain and your emotions and. Seem like it's dictating to a lot because you don't know that you need to get yourself out of the way. It's not about you. Never will be about you. You don't have to, but you get to play a part in the lives of others.

You do. And you know, while you're talking about that, that's good, Tony. While you're talking about that, one of the things that I'm reminded of is when I started off selling insurance, there was a man named Peter Ferray. And what this man said, he said, Mike, he said, I noticed in my lifetime, he said, the times that the thing that was natural for me in my life. was to do what was best for me was to look out for myself He said, but I also noticed The times where I was the happiest was the times when I was thinking less of myself and more of others.

And that's where it says: but God commendeth his love toward us. And that while we were sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. He died for the ungodly. If you think you're not good enough to get into heaven, welcome to the club. Become a Christian because we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

The people that Jesus had a problem with were the people who thought that they were too good. Tony, I want to thank you for coming on today. We've run out of time, but you can check them out on Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. And what's the name of the station?

Now try Jesus Ministries. And it's on lightthethriad.com. Amen. Tony, thank you. Amen.

Thank you. All right, for my YouTube channel. If not for God with mighty wick Just like subscribe and hit that notification bell.

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