Gone Fishin'

This is Darren Kuhn with the masculine journey podcast research the ancient paths to find ways that God brings light into a dark world and help set men free from the struggles that we all face on a day-to-day basis. Your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is good Truth Network welcome to if not for God.

Stories of hopelessness that turn to hope. Your host Mike Zwick welcome to if not for God and know my got another quote forth this morning and so you know I love these always think about this, things this was about greatness.

So in order to be great. What has to happen.

Well, in order to be great you have to you have to do something in and in the quote get to that second the quote that we were to start out with. I was in the start out with was Theodore Roosevelt. Oh, that's a good and only slightly want yeah yeah you had talked about that.

I think you had said that Lebron James had actually alluded to that after so he maybe missed a shot in a big game and but that the quote is this it says is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out house how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly to heirs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds. Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end of the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails at, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. And in one of the things that we were talking about before the show. Robbie was actually going fishing and you do with the first sermon that I ever saw at the lambs chapel was by a guy who wasn't even the preacher. I didn't know it but I think he was the middle school teacher or something like that and he came in and he actually told a story about going fishing and in one of the things that he said he started off he said sometimes you go fishing you don't catch anything. One of the stories are one of the people that I always think about and it's one of the most heartbreaking stories to me on my own dad because here I am on the radio every week about talking to people about Jesus. Pray with people doing all the stuff and one of the pleat people who is the closest to me.

My dad, I I I have tried and tried and tried and told him the good news and told him the gospel and in he's just not interested in. So sometimes you go fishing you'll catch sometimes you go fishing. Robbie and you catch something you and I have a friend Nestor.

We I store. I met him at Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce meeting and I started inviting him to a Bible study and the first time I one of the first few times I invited them to the Bible study in a secure Nestor. Here's a Bible for you and he said okay and we were talking and he was about to get out of my car and he set out I got this over here at some trash with her back here.

I got this over here at some trash.

Oh, this Bible right here that you gave me. It's trash thrown in the back city of it seemed like the it seemed like I was unsuccessful. But God would still God was still working on Nestor and I kept inviting them I kept inviting and one day I had my friend Scott Briggs, ever, and we said Nestor. At some point you have to make a decision you have to either decide to follow Jesus, or cannot, and he says guys I want to choose to follow Jesus and we actually brought him to the Burlington revival last night and he was involved in an stuff like that so sometimes you go fishing and you catch something, but if you don't go fishing with you and catching nothing. Is that right Rob thought about it for years. It was really beautiful thing that really is beautiful to me in fisherman that the Jesus was, by all means pick the bunch of fishermen (they were that boat on more than one occasion in the fellowship among fishermen. It is something that I'm really looking forward to going fishing with Peter's mom James at some point, but I remember my dad took me fishing in one of those go to. My dad loved that Teddy Roosevelt quote so much that that he added in a newspaper article that he is in his rolltop desk which was really his special desk and and so when he was sitting there at his desk whenever he would be. Rudy was reminded of that quote my dad did dare some things pretty pretty big things but so I love that will never forget the time he took me where we drove from New Mexico from Albuquerque.

We drove all the way up to southern Colorado to go fishing at this lake and as we are waiting for the boat to come. There is this little body of water is all shallow, things didn't look like there could be efficient in the million unit and my dad throws his line over there wallowing on the boat and like that you like to catch anything on their feet for three on one thing for sure son, you're not gonna it and you know it did in his own way he was quoting Teddy Roosevelt because, you know, if you don't cast you know your your your certainly you got the new no chance of catching the fish and and oh by the way, I I've noticed this in other people, but people that are all the time casting in other not catch a lot of fish you because you gotta leave the bait in the water.

Otherwise, you know, it is at and so if you if you pulled the Bible out of the backseat now because you've I've heard the rest of that story here, and I think it would be really good for a listers to go yet he through the Bible in the backseat. But there was another day when you were even at the Bible study. My right and he showed up. Yeah there was another day when he when I wasn't even in the Bible study, and he showed up in, and I remember talking to him afterwards and he said Mike he said you don't even have to asked me to come anymore. He says I want to come to the Bible study but talk about if not for God, I mean you know.

If not, forgot me to the point where he through the Bible, the backseat. I mean if it had not been for God intervening in that situation.

I really don't know nothing would happen.

I mean, here's another Michael Jordan quote he says I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career I've lost almost 300 games.

26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.

I failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed because I wonder if you're listening if there something that you wanted to do. Maybe there's there. Somebody wanted to talk about Jesus and you just said well it's socially awkward, or it may, it may make me feel uncomfortable and hate will be honest with you we don't know the outcome you don't know the result. We don't know what's can happen, but I know that if you don't tell them we know what that result right which gets me new you know something I think is just absolutely critical because Jesus was pretty clear on this notion, apart from me you can do nothing at and so prayers like a gigantic play huge component of this particular type of fishing at and so a lot of times you do not.

I don't know what to say and in a lot of people say or have you been a salesman your life. There's time for you don't know what to say. Well yeah well I'll take you back to Johnny Hendrick story, which you know I've been praying and praying for salvation praying and praying and praying God, you know, bring you back ill from this, so that I can tell him about you and there's a lot of praying that went on while he wakes up one morning in the hospital having been given some time in life and I realized oh I better do what I said I was at Joyce because you will give up, but I didn't know what to say so is like.

I went off in a solitary place really Mike and I pray God, what do I say to Johnny.

He such a proud man. We can never get beneath an inch of depth. The eat and he won't talk about things like this. So how do I get there with you know I promised I would tell you about it until about you, Jesus.

But how do I do that in all of Jesus just kind of flipped this thought into my mind. I'll never ever forget it because it changed everything. He said Robbie John is a car salesman. Yeah, and that's all he needed to say to me because immediately I knew immediately. I knew what to say but I know what to say until he flitted at it on my ears. If I can help you track my thinking being a car salesman for 40 years and trying salesman and it was a course in 40 so if your car salesman you have no idea how many people have backed out on deals and you on in your life. I mean when somebody backs and you probably know what it feels like as you give salesman what it feels like when somebody tells you they're going to do it in but that when it comes the time to sign the paper him the money or whatever. Then they back out right right there there there is a of a friend of mine, Dan Selleck and you can yeah and we use to eight. I would sell on air purifiers for a short period of time and we were talking and and I said Casa sedan. I said something happened today acid somebody said they were to do something and they didn't do it and he looks at me and guess Mike you need to tell me somebody told you to do something so there's a saying that we would have in our business and it was the saying was a deal is a deal and so to a car salesman. The fact that you said you were going to do something from Johnny standpoint had appointed great honor you know because I'm in a be better than that I've said I was gonna do a deal is a deal that's right. And so I walked in the Johnny's hospital room and said Johnny I made a deal with God and he's like Robbie had a deal that you make with God and see is to a car salesman than any other bill yeah and and I said well I promised him that if he would give you more time because he'd been in this coma from pancreatic cancer. I promised him if you would give you more time that I would either introduce you to Jesus for help you to get to know them better and Johnny typical Davie County fashion man of few words as a cult is brown menacingly.

He said well you better get to it now and that's the deal that from my perspective, this is all Jesus. Like, if not for God is exactly what it is I did not know what to say. I knew I needed to because it was the deal. I mean, I made the deal with God, but I do know how to fill fulfill my deal until he heap. He popped in the my mind this is this is the way you relate to Johnny Hendrick and we did get to it.

And guess what happened when I wasn't there. Yeah right I got to talk to about Lazarus and you know how on the fourth day he rose and all that stuff and Johnny remember that he been in a coma for four days yet because his sister brought a gator CD that was called for days like right in time and she sticks it into the CD player price and he realizes that that Lazarus was him and he accepts Christ and calls over another friend of mine who was a pastor that the told cards with us at one point time desired and while it is in between churches. Jimmy Lancaster and Jimmy had prayed with them to receive Christ. When I came over the next day was like Johnny get a tell Robbie what's happened okay and often thought how cool was it the Johnny didn't wait for me to come the next day okay because I was coming next and he didn't want to he eat, he knew I did live in Davie County so he called Jimmy would come over right away and pray women and I was just thankful and so many different ways that it happened but God did. God did it right. If and you know I had a relationship with Johnny for about three weeks he passed away, but that three weeks I've had a friendship with Johnny for six or seven years.

It was shallow, but those last three weeks of his life that that relationship was DP was her brother and it was a completely different thing.

He thought about things differently than he thought before and I got to actually see what God does is he transforms and sold right there a few weeks before their death. Yet you and that's and if not for God of the one of the one of the verses that I was looking at was second Timothy four in its first five and it says to do the work of an evangelist, but what I what I started to think about is one of the fears that I think a lot of people have Robbie is when they first.

If they haven't gone out and share their faith. Whatever the first thing that they're gonna do or look at is to say, I don't how to do this. I've never done this before. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm gonna mess it up and I'm here to tell you you're probably right. When you first start God to rob you views you sold cars for a long time and I and I I've got I got to sell insurance for a long time in for many years I wanted to. I had it with something in my spirit that and we had this conversation where I said I would be the number one salesperson in the whole country that I think finally was 2011.

The guy called me up. He said Mike you're the number one salesperson. The whole countryside. The but if you could go back to 2003 and 2004 when I was a brand-new salesman selling books, door to door for the southwestern company and you could've watched me all man I still get it. I really wasn't any good at all.

I didn't know what I was doing, but there was a quote by Les Brown that I thought of it and we talked about this a little bit before and how was I salesman open to share with you, but I'm glad you saved and and and and what Les Brown said was, he said you don't have to be great to get started but you have to get started to become great. And so what I did was I I blew it again and again I messed up. I didn't know what I was doing.

I forgot my lines. II mean I I did everything wrong that you could think of doing, but what I did was I just didn't give up. I didn't give up because I I believe that I had faith that if eventually if I kept on going and I kept on selling. I kept on working at my craft and I read hundreds and hundreds of sales books. Robbie and I looked at videos online and I pray God help me to sell. I remember reading a book by a guy named W. Clement Stone, and I love that yes and in his book in one of the things that he said when he first started selling was God help me sell God help me suck it so I would go out during the day. It's a God, help me sell it though. Eventually I II got through it and and I figured it out.

And God help me to do it but it wasn't without first messing up and in so if you're listening today and you're thinking about sharing your faith in you statement Goss I I really don't how to do this or you know Roddy, Robbie and Mike and Stu. You guys are really good at this and you guys coming will did did you ever struggle when you first started her but I would sell them on the radio know you name it numbing. With struggle but I love the quote about that we have not because we ask God and and in the thing you know is I was listening to your story is your asking God along the way and in and I love what Jesus said another place versus don't worry what you're going to say when you're before the Sanhedrin and all it did because I'm to give you the words well again you gonna start but then while you're going it. It helps like help me help me help me lighten give me the words help me to see him and often you'll find yourself in a conversation.

I do with an unbeliever and you realize that it's the point of conflict where there something going on that it apparently is a moment and if we can at that point pause in your spirit and say Jesus where we go where. Where would you like to go from here. What what's often which are defined, is this your story right. It's going to be because it says and asked right that you can receive power from on high. Three.

My witness Moyer witness to what to your story. What he did for you, how you got free from this particular center. However, you got back in your marriage or how you know you eat, you got this friendship back or whatever it was in your life that was actually your point of conversion where you felt like I will know I was about to commit suicide, which story is that you know whenever we can go into a conversation you and you and you say and you boast about your own weakness like man I was there I was struggling like crazy and when I was in that situation, Jesus meant the world to me and it sounded like yeah yeah the one at one of the things that I that I was thinking about what you set the talk of a story. What is the of the other day I went into my sink upstairs and I was about to start washing my hands or something in. I looked in there and I said oh there's there's a little bit of dirt in my sink and I wonder how this got here and I talked my wife and I said hey hon, there's some stuff in my sink right here and she says yeah that some crap and I said yeah I know there's some some dirt or whatever and she goes know that some crap younger son Christian weaving teaching him to go potty and he doesn't always do it. So she said yes. She said I he went potty in his pants that I rinsed out his underwear in your sink and it was interesting though because I thought about it, this was a good illustration for today because what happened was, was my sink was clogged up. Anyways was nasty had all the stuff. So what I did was I cleaned the sink out the stuff that was in there and I also got some stuff in there at night. I got the saying cleaned out. Maybe if you're listening today your thinking will. God can't use me because I've got all of this crap in my life. Nobody's gonna listen to me because I I have a past and who would want to listen to me or Robbie. Maybe people would want to listen to you because you have a past because they can relate to you that right that I brings up another one of my favorite quotes actually came out about beyond my Christian junkyard died on them. I show. He had struggled with some drug addiction and stuff like that and he is being asked to teach Sunday school, and what he said was, and I'll never ever forget it. I just came rolling off his tongue like you know like you said this is what I thought made me disqualified, made me uniquely qualified and and and there you go like, and in the point is in second Corinthians chapter 1 God says you know the God of all comfort comforts us that we would comfort others with the comfort that we were company with which sounds confusing, but the bottom line is he was healed from drugs and so he is a unique, phenomenally powerful, gifted person to speak to somebody that has those issues so teenagers that whatever face a ghost of it is a perfect thing for him, but the count continue along those lines, and the importance of second Corinthians chapter 1 that first event is called I was doing a conference with Association of Christian counselors in Nashville Tennessee and I was given the challenge of Robbie we want you to interview 100 counselors over the weekend, which was three days is 30 interviews a day okay and so naturally I wanted to do good interview, so I prayed as I got give me something that would help me to go deep quickly with these interviews that they would be worthwhile and just give me some and so we should just quote second Corinthians chapter 1 the second so every week, but it was the delis were counselors, not Christian counselors.

I would say hey Mike if you ever heard you know that the first was almost out of my mouth and the interview was innocent. Corinthians chapter 1 verses the God of all comfort comforts us so that we can comfort others of the company conference with. How does that work out in your life like since your marriage counselor dig was or some issue with marriage and all my gosh out you.

You heard the stories.

This one girl.

She was on the 800 number for abortion hotline. I while in her husband is sitting right there and she is I've never told anybody this telethon there and she comes out with her own abortion story that nobody knew but see God and comfort her and now she wants to be on the one 800 number of of of abortion hotline and so what I realized is like man I was cured from cancer. Yummy people of been in my past.

Since then, that had cancer or right after I got crushed by the Jeep I was called to go help out at you now pray with a guy that had been crushed in a motorcycle accident is like a similar accident like I can't tell you how many times God is put people in my path that had exactly the thick deal and and and and your called into that situation will your past is critical to your witness. The one of the the probably my favorite passage or one of my favorite passages and in all of Scripture is Luke 18.

Chapter 9 it says also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess in the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying God be merciful to me a sinner, he says. I tell you the truth, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted in that passage right there.

Jesus is saying it's okay not to be okay. It's okay not to be okay. Thank the truth is, were all not okay and were not alone and you know the way I like to look at it is that in that you've got waxing your cracks as a visiting people laugh at me for saying that but the idea is we try to hover hi big, the cracks in armor with all this wax that is just melt's just bask but only the all the light only shines through the cracks. If you're if that's the bowl right this cover in the light in a light shines the brightest through the cracks. And though in the end, and that's where you really, really, really can shine is where God is healed that place. It's really broken. That's right. And in the old song it says I hear the Savior say that I strength indeed is small child of weakness, watch and pray find me thine all in all Jesus paid it all, all to him I sin had left a crimson stain, he washed white as snow and if you've never said yes to Jesus today. I just want to invite you to pray with me right now, Lord, the Scripture says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Maybe you're sitting there in your thinking. I've done too much that I God. Jesus said any and all sin that means you're centering right now.

Just pray Lord Jesus forgive me of my sentence.

Help me to let go of my past Lord. I choose to follow all the days of my life. Jesus this is the Truth Network