Life with The Holy Spirit

Kingdom Pursuits, where you hear from ordinary people instilled with an extraordinary passion. Together, we explore the stories of men and women who take what they love and let God turn their passion into Kingdom Pursuits.

Now, live from the Truth Booth, your host, Robbie Dilmore. Oh, it's going to be a fun day on Kingdom Pursuits. I can tell you that ahead of time. As I know, I've got my good friend, Mike Zwick. He is the host of If Not For God.

If Not For God. A dear friend and always a man, if not for God in his life so many ways. And right along in those same lines, we have author Janet Williams with us. And she is the author of Life with the Holy Spirit. How fun is that?

So welcome, Janet. Welcome. Thank you. And so, Life with the Holy Spirit, give us the short story of what is that book? It's a book about having the Holy Spirit inside of you, making all your decisions easy.

And he's not the author of confusion. and this book will help navigate so many obstacles in your life. But what life puts in front of you, making all your decisions more easier. We need this kind of guidance from the Holy Spirit. you couldn't be more right Janet you couldn't be more right I appreciate that so much I'm so grateful that you've come on with us today and you know I love the whole topic of life Mike as you might imagine so speaking of life we'll just get the shenanigans out of the way early so speaking of life yeah there you go Now it's time to wait to night again Yes it is, and Janet, I know that you're a little bit new to the show, so you may not know.

We usually start out with something a little fun and light, and then we can get into something more drastic like Life with the Holy Spirit.

So, we have to ask a few dad jokes, and that's just what I get to do.

So if life gives you melons, Nick or Andy or Mike, whoever thinks, if life gives you melons, what do you have? Oh, man. Punch. I don't know. Melonate.

Melonate. Melancholy, yeah. All those might work, but really, it's probably dyslexia. You've misspelled lemons. Oh, man.

you liked that didn't you Mike I was trying to figure it out this was a little bad taste but I'm not afraid of a bad taste joke as long as it doesn't taste too bad anyway Netflix is soon releasing an extremely realistic documentary series about the life that's where the word life comes in of Abraham Lincoln the finale is what what would the finale oh no Does it go out with a bang? It does go out with a bang. That's part of what it does. It does go out with a bang, but you know what, Randy? Randy, you got this one?

It was shot before a live audience. Oh, man. That was pretty good taste. I like that.

Okay, okay.

Now, this is my actual personal favorite of these lists, and I'll see if any of you can get it.

So 3,025 years from today, life will be either really good or really bad. You know why? Why is that? You got any ideas, Nick? 3,025 years from today.

Wait a minute. Randy has it. Randy has it. It can be sweet or sour. He's got it.

Go ahead, Randy. 50. Yeah, he's right. It's 50-50. 50.

You got to do the math It's 50-50 So you know at the end of those shenanigans We would actually have a riddle for you to call in and win today I'm excited about your calls And so get ready to dial 866-348-7884 And tell us When Peter jumped out of the boat What lifesaver did he swim to? it's you know sort of a life-saving joke so when peter jumped out of the boat what life saver did he swim to and if you can answer that call us 866-348-7884 and nick tell them what they'll win absolutely yes you'll be winning a prize from our kingdom pursuits prize well yes sir we have a whole bunch of prize just filling out of our prize vault. We have books. We have wonderful books like Janet's book, you know, Life with the Holy Spirit. You know, some of my favorites are the Gospel Backscratcher with the, you know, different colored beads and you can scratch somebody's back, share the gospel.

And Narcan, is it Narcan? Narcan, yeah. I know you mean, yeah, Narcan, yeah. Yeah, we had a wonderful... We did.

What is going on here at the Truth Network?

Well, we had a wonderful guy that was ministering to people that, you know, they want to make sure that if, you know, somebody had overdosed on some opiate, you'd be prepared. That's right. And if you're down there ministering in the tunnels or whatever, you may need some Narcan. You never know. Or, you know, if some child touches it, no fentanyl or whatever.

I understand you can immediately have a tragedy.

So you may want to have a handy little Narcan on your sand. In case it's lights out. We have it here in the truth, in the Kingdom Pursuits Prize Vault. Yes, absolutely.

So, Mike. What's up? I love the story, and I don't know if our listeners know it. If not for God, by the way, comes on right after the show at 12 o'clock. The story of the title of your show.

Yes.

So you asked me, Mike, what do you want your show to be? And I spoke to my friend Chuck Reisch. He's now in over New Mexico. and he said, Mike, he said, what do you want it to be? And I said, well, Robbie Dillmore said the Michael's Wick show.

And he told me something. It was really profound. He said, nobody knows Michael's Wick. I said, okay, thanks a lot. Is there anything else you want to tell me that's good?

He said, you have to come up with a show that people will want to listen to or something that's catchy. And so I prayed about it. And we were at the church one Sunday morning, and Brian Biggers was preaching. He's now at, I think it's Grace Chapel in Burlington. but he said he started talking about a chapter in Psalms, and I forget if it's either Psalms 127 or Psalms 124, but he kept saying, if it had not been for the Lord, if it had not been for the Lord, if it had not been for the Lord, and finally I sat there and I said, it's if not for God.

And so I told you, and you said, if not for God with Mike Zwick.

So you added the extra little part, but ever since then, man, it's been if not for God, and it's been amazing. yeah and as soon as he told me the title of the show it was like oh my goodness that's so wonderful but you know to me janet that's kind of life with the holy spirit right and i know that yes for you how did how did it come about that you wrote this book god god i mean why did it at first At first, I wasn't going to write. I wasn't thinking about it. Then my editor called me and asked me do I want to write a book. And I'm like, I'm about to say no, and it's like God came to my head and said, yes, you will write a book.

And that's how she wrote, because I listened to him.

So I wrote the book. And the way it was written, it was written to teach everybody about the Holy Spirit, about how we need him every day. Right, right. Every day for God. And so where did you start?

I'm curious. Like, you're going to write this book on the Holy Spirit. Where did he begin to take you when you went to write the book?

Well, for one, I mean, I listen real good to my pastors. And some of the things I learned from church I put in the book because it was so inspiring And then when I got hurt when I got hurt it was like the Holy Spirit was with me all the way Yeah, we're going to find out. We've got to go to a break, Janet. I'm sorry to interrupt you. You're listening to The Truth Network and truthnetwork.com.

Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. And I'm personally shocked that nobody's called in to say when Peter jumped out of the boat, what lifesaver did he swim to? Which, by the way, you can call 866-348-7884. 866-34-TRUTH, when Peter jumped out of the boat, what lifesaver did he swim to? But we're so blessed today to have with us Mike Zwick, the host of If Not For God, which comes on, by the way, right after encouraging prayer at 12 o'clock.

And then we have Janet Williams, who is the author of Life With The Holy Spirit. And right before the break, Janet, you were talking about when you got hurt. How did you get hurt? What was behind that? I was involved in a car accident.

And my fiance, he died. But with the Holy Spirit helping to do that, the EMC, they brought me back. You know, the Holy Spirit helped him bring me back because I was there too. And I was in the coma for three months. months and when I got when I came out I asked God in my own in my mind I said go take me to therapy I will go to therapy you know and about a week later a therapy case and asked me what hospital do I want to go to?

That's a new audience. And she said either Tulane or Turo. I said Turo. And from there I was there for like a whole year. How long ago was that, Janet?

Wow, so you have been living with that for, I guess, 34 years. 32 years. Wow. And so, yeah. And then, obviously, if anybody had understand life with the Holy Spirit, you would have a very unique view on that as you're walking through this and trying to figure out.

And obviously, you lost to love your life when you're fiancé, right? And at the same time, you lost the ability to speak and a lot of stuff. and in a coma all that time. Did you have close family, or who came alongside you during that time? My family was there for me.

Everybody was there. I have a close-knit family. They were there, and they just walked me through it, you know, and helped me. and they had to learn how to help me, you know, like get on a bed or anything. They had to help me.

So they had to come to therapy with me to help me. Right, right. So what was your faith like before the accident? um to tell you the truth my faith wasn't my faith wasn't as big as it is now um because it was like i would like go to church on the weekends i'm not a weekend on the holidays i would like go to church on a holiday like Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving. And, you know, that was it.

But, you know, all I wanted to do was work, work, work. Yeah. What's his best? And unfortunately, we find out about stuff like that, but it's kind of an if-not-for-God moment, right, Mike? I mean, that's...

Yeah. Oh, it sure is. And while you're talking about that, Janet, it's Janet, right? Right. You know, I was reminded November the 1st of 2011, something had actually happened to me where I was driving over in German to North Carolina and I had finished up selling insurance for the day and I met a preacher and he said, I still believe that God heals today.

And he was telling me about some stuff that happened. And I drove up the street. It was, I believe it was on Flat Shoals Road and I'm going off of memory here, but I was driving and all of a sudden I was listen to Charles Stanley on the Truth Network. And I was at the bottom of a hill and I was about to go to the top of the hill. And all of a sudden I heard a voice and it said, put your seatbelt on.

And, uh, that was just about to put it on. And then I heard another voice and the other voice said, what, you don't trust God. And, uh, I said, no, I'm going to put my seatbelt on. And, uh, so then I put my seatbelt on and I went to the top of the hill and I flew off of the road at whatever miles an hour I was going, and I went straight into a tree. I went straight into a tree.

And the tree split the car right up to the windshield. And I walked out without a scratch, thank God. And the state trooper who came, he said, if you didn't have your seatbelt on, he said, we'd be flying you over to Baptist Hospital on a helicopter. Oh, I'm sure. At best, right?

If not for God. And yet there's the moment and things like that. And that's the beauty of, again, as you listen to Janet's testimony and you think about her book, right? Here's somebody that's had some real life experiences. And yet God, if not for God, right, he came in and then walked her through it to the point that she's actually now written this book.

And so, you know, Mike comes with different, actually, guests every week where we hear these stories of if not for God. But I'm very curious, whenever we go into a project like doing a radio show, Mike, or in your case, doing a book, God shows you something that you did not see coming. Like, oh, oh. And so part of the journey of writing a book, Janet, is your own journey. What did God show you?

He just told me I was going to write a book. And it was something I always wanted to do, but I never got around to it. But it was something in the back of my head. And then my sister asked me, do I want to write a book? I'm like, yeah.

And that's where I saw writing changes. I got another book called changes. That was my first book. And now this is my third book right here. This is your third book?

Yeah. Well, you know, the Bible says in Romans chapter one, it says that man is without excuse. And so if Janet is over here writing her third book after an accident like that, where she can hardly even talk, that those of us who can do everything, we can speak fine, we can walk fine, run fine, all this, that we're without excuse. And I always realize that, Lord, if there's any more that I can do for you, God, I want to do as much as I can do. And one of the Bible verses, Robbie, that I never forgot, it was Colossians 3.23, and it says, whatever you do, do it as if you're doing it for Jesus Christ.

And so what I see with you, Janet, is that no matter what you're doing, you're giving it your all, and you want to do your best for Jesus, and I commend you for that. Yeah, yeah. And so what was the name of your first book? Changes. Changes?

Yep. And so this was a biography of me. And so when your editor said for you to write the book on the Holy Spirit, he was needing another book from you. No. He didn't come up with the title, Guardian.

Okay. And yeah. And changes, I came up with that one. My first book, I came up with that title. Because that a biography of me that changes I went through From my childhood all the way up to now That beautiful So changes and then what the second book Asking for Jesus' Help.

The things you should do for Jesus. Asking for Jesus' Help? Actions for Jesus' Health. We all need that. Yeah.

And so what is that book kind of about? Actions for Jesus. It's a book about things that we should be doing. But mainly we don't need to do anything for Jesus because he's going to do it all for us. He just wants you to believe.

That's all he wants. I understand. That's beautiful. Yes.

And so, Mike, as you were on the radio for some time now, you've come back after what? Were you off for about a year? Yeah, about a year, year and a half, yeah. And so I'm curious, like, what is God?

Well, from one thing, I know that God was very clear with you. He wanted you back on the air. He did, and I kept fighting it, you know. And, you know, I kept fighting it, and I had some other stuff going on. And, you know, I knew it was a little bit of a financial commitment, but I also realized that if the Lord is calling you to do something, if the Lord is telling you to do something, it's almost like Jonah, right?

he was supposed to go preach to Nineveh and tell them that judgment was going to come. And he fought it every step that he could, but God kept pursuing him. And then I think one day, I finally got so sick, I could barely even get up out of bed. And I was laying on the couch, and I felt God was telling me, you need to try the radio. And I called you up, Robbie, and you said, well, it's funny.

We just had a slot open up. I think you said masculine journey. Right. They were going to Greenville. yeah and and if not for god and the rest is history man yeah there's something about jonah we're gonna get into a little of that more of janet's story and i'm still shocked that nobody knows what when peter jumped out of the boat you remember in john chapter what is it 27 where he jumps out of the boat who's he swimming for 866-348-7000 Little Michael over here Googled it.

You're listening to The Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. And so blessed to have Janet Williams with us today. She's the author of Life for the Holy Spirit. And Mike Zwick, if not for God, his radio show comes on right after Encouraging Prayer, which follows Kingdom Pursuits.

You know, it'll be on at 12 o'clock. We're looking forward to that. And right before the break, Mike was explaining, you know, how God, and I remember him calling me, goes, Robbie, I feel so sick. I've been sick for two days. God's just putting it on my heart that I got to get back on the radio.

I'm like, that's interesting. That's interesting. And I don't know if you've ever seen this before, Michael. I find it fascinating. I do a podcast with a rabbi out of Jerusalem.

It's called Robbie and the Rabbi.

Okay. I like that name, by the way. It is. It's a fun podcast to do. And I love the way he described Jonah chapter two.

I'll never forget. He goes, he said, Robbie, if you were in the belly of a fish, I just think of it, you're in the belly of the fish for three days.

Now, three days, right? Are you picturing this? You're in this fish's stomach for three days. You got seaweed wrapped around your legs. It doesn't probably smell too wonderful in there.

You're thinking that you're getting, you know, the acid is burning your skin. It's just not a fun place to be.

Now, when you look through this prayer, and I just look through it again because he asked this question. What would be your request from God if you had been in the belly of this fish? the request that you probably would have, you will not find in his prayer. Get me out of here. Yes.

Yes.

I mean, when you think about it, would that be your prayer? Get me out of here. But when you think through this, that God called Mike Zwick to do, if not for God, he called Janet Williams to write Life with the Holy Spirit. and he called Jonah, but Jonah slammed the phone down. He didn't just hang up.

He slammed the phone down and said, I want to talk to you. But all of a sudden, when you look in Jonah chapter 2, he's trying to get the phone back. Like, God, remember me down here in the belly? Because essentially, if you think about it, once we are back in communication, mission accomplished. right whether we're in the belly of the fish at this point in time whether whatever's going on in your life you're still sick whatever it is if you are completely in relationship with god then in his presence is fullness of joy it is right and our pleasures forevermore like mission accomplished you're there absolutely and robbie i'm reminded of a true story one time that i heard about it It was a Carolina Panthers player who got injured and he could no longer play football.

And because of his injury, it led him to the place where he got saved and he got a salvation. And then he was talking to a local preacher out of Durham, North Carolina. And he said, I'm really upset that I can't play football anymore. And him and this preacher started to sit down and they started to talk. And the preacher said, OK, I understand that you don't want to that.

You can't play football anymore. And that's that's that's got to be tough for you. He said, but at the same time, he said, if it never would have been for this injury, and if you still would have been playing football, you may never have gotten to be saved. He said, what was more important? You playing football for a few years and then fading out?

He said, or you spending eternity in heaven. And the football player said, yeah, you're right. Right. It's mission accomplished, right? You get to pick up the phone and never hang up if you so choose.

And so getting back to your book, Life with the Holy Spirit, Janet, when you think about the people that are going to read that book, what are you excited that they're going to find out? I really need them to see finally living out their faith by demonstrating the change in their life due to their actions. It's about being a light in the world, showing love, kindness, and all the fruits of the Spirit. It's about sharing the good news of Jesus with us living a life with honor of God. And so you've got some in there about witnessing, apparently.

Yeah. yeah and that'd be pretty cool we get to heaven and there's going to be people there that they read your book and they witnessed and then there's going to be people like anton michael just the other day you oh yeah we're instrumental you know god used you in in a series of events in antoine's life and yeah well there there's something uh in the new testament that jesus talked about and he said there was a woman she was an old widow and she basically had no power and the judge he said he didn't fear god and he didn't fear man said but this judge this woman kept bugging and bugging and bugging this judge to get her justice that's the that's the the persistent widow michael's wizard zwick version that there you go mcv that's the mcv there you the mike's wick version there you go he'd bug her and he'd bug her.

Well, I would tell you the real version, but the kids are on the iPad right now.

So I brought them to the studio. No, I actually love it because I think that's exactly what he did. Because, and I love the word that they used and King James made me look it up, importunity, is the word that they actually used. Because of her importunity, what is that? That means you bug him and you bug him and you bug him.

Right, right. But eventually, because this woman kept bugging the judge, he said, I don't fear God, I don't fear a man, but to get this woman off of my back, I'm going to make sure that she gets justice. And then Jesus says, how much more you who are children of God, how much more, if you petition the God of heaven for your prayers or for what you're asking him for, how much more will he give you? And Jesus went on to say, he said, if, if a father, like I've got my two kids here, I've got and who's going to be four on Monday, happy birthday, Ann. And I've got Michael who's eight, But if they ask me for something if they ask me for a piece of fish Jesus said what am I going to do Give him a stone It says how much greater will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him And Robbie you and I have both been in sales One of the things one of the greatest parts of the sale or one of the most common parts of the sale that some salespeople miss is you have to ask for the sale.

You have to ask, well, how much more important is it for us to ask our father in heaven for the things that we feel like we need or for the things to further his kingdom?

Now, in the book of James, it says, sometimes we ask and we ask amiss because we're asking so we can spend it on our own pleasures. We want that new Lamborghini or their new Ferrari, not to further the kingdom of God, but so other people can look at us. And that's not the purpose at all. But if we're doing the right things and we're doing them for the right reasons, even if it's witnessing to somebody, right? You're witnessing so that you can go out and say, oh man, I was involved in saving 10 people today, whatever.

It's still, that's no different than the Ferrari if it's done with those. Absolutely. And like your friend, Fred Hagee, I never knew you guys had a business deal going on. Was it Jeep Cherokee? He had a...

He owned University Jeep Eagle before Bob Neal bought it. Yeah. Yeah. He owned the place, but he goes out and he shares the gospel. He wrote a book on how to share the gospel.

But what he says every time is he says, we're going to pray before we go out. And I remember Ray Comfort, you and I were interviewing him one time on my show years ago. And before we did the show, he said, Mike, he says, do you want to try to do this on our own? Or do you want the help of the Holy Spirit? And I said, I want the help of the Holy Spirit.

And he said, well, let's pray. It starts with prayer. Yeah. And I love that. I absolutely love it.

So what are the thoughts you have, Janet?

Well, really, I would really need to go. But really, I think my book would be a good teaching tool for everybody that reads it. Yeah, obviously it was a mission that you felt God put on your heart, and here's the fruit of that. And then obviously you've got a publisher, and so is the book out now? Yes, so.

It's at Amazon. Right. And actually, if you go to KingdomPursuits.com, you're going to see the book and the link. And what a beautiful woman. I saw your picture.

You're a beautiful woman. And it's all there at KingdomPursuits.com. And of course, Mike Zwick's show will be on shortly. We've got one more segment of Kingdom Pursuits.

So hang on. We'll be right back with a whole lot more of the MZV version of the Bible. I'm excited about that. you're listening to the truth network and truth network.com welcome back to kingdom pursuits where we hear how god takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom having fun today with my good friend mike zwick and his radio show, If Not For God, coming up at 12 o'clock. And Janet Williams, she is the author of Life with the Holy Spirit, which is now at Amazon Books.

It's also at kingdompursuits.com. And I got to ask, like Mike, you got so many good shows lined up. What's coming up today? We've got Stu Epperson, the owner of The Truth Network, coming on. And we're talking about staying hungry, man.

Staying hungry. And it kind of came from Arnold Schwarzenegger or something that I saw on Netflix a while back. And he said, the reason why I had the success that I had was because I was always hungry. And he said, I always stayed hungry. And there was another part of that where he said, the thing about always being hungry is that you're never satisfied.

And so I do believe that there is, the Bible talks about both. It talks about, you know, wanting to pursue the great things of the Lord. It talks about, you know, wanting to, you know, I hate to say it this way, but, you know, you know, working hard to promote the kingdom, to further the kingdom. And it says that we will be rewarded for that in heaven. The Bible also talks about being satisfied.

And the Bible says, and I believe it's the book of Proverbs, it says that the eyes of man are never satisfied. And so we have to be content. We have to be content with what we have. I know the Apostle Paul talks about that in Philippians chapter 4, and everybody says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Well, a lot of people don't realize this right before that. He's saying, hey, I've been in jail. I've had a lot, and I've had a little. I've learned to be content in everything that I've gotten. And then he says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

And that is not the Michael's Wick version. yeah it's still the michaels wick version it's just actually in line with the king james but it's all good you know it's it's it's it's a it's a beautiful thing and when i think about um you know that idea of staying hungry you know obviously jesus is one of the beatitudes right blessed are those hunger and thirst it's a matter of hungering for the right thing right it's for righteousness. And that's, you know, I like people that give the Mike Zwick version of that word, which is a right relationship, which actually leads to righteousness. But if you've got a right relationship with God, that is going to make you hungry to serve. It's going to make you hungry to find things that are going to be like that.

And so we just have a few minutes left. Janet, How about you? What are you hungry for at this point? I'm hungry for everybody to read my book. Good.

Just read. Yeah. That's what I'm hungry for. That's beautiful. And so, yeah, I got to admit that, you know, when authors get a chance to know that you read their book and enjoyed it, you can go on Amazon and rate the book.

Even if you read it, whatever, you can tell Janet, whatever your thoughts are, you know, the best thing to do is just go online, buy it, read it, and then you can turn around and comment on Amazon. It's an amazing thing, an amazing encouragement for folks out there who took the step and wrote their book, as the case may be. Same thing, right? How encouraging is it to you, Michael, when you hear from a listener? Oh, I love to hear from a listener.

actually got a random phone call from Reidsville, North Carolina and said, are you Mike Zwick? And I said, yes, I didn't know. Did I do something or whatever? But he said, I just, I heard your show that you did and I really enjoyed it. And, uh, you know, Janet, I like the fact that you're doing, you seem to be doing the right things for the right reasons.

And I was reminded there was a guy, I think his name was Moynihan and he started Domino's pizza. And he said years ago, he said that he had realized he had climbed the ladder of success. and then he realized that the ladder was hanging against the wrong wall. And so then he tried to start to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and he realized that if you're climbing that ladder, that is the right ladder to climb. Jacob's ladder.

There's a ladder like that. It's Jacob's ladder. It's absolutely beautiful. And so, again, Michael, what other – so how about – have you got some other shows lined up that you're really excited about that are coming up? Yeah, man.

Well, we pretty much, it's been so far pretty much every Friday I've been doing Truth Talk Live. And there's nothing written in stone about that.

So, you know, no guarantee. But I really enjoy that. And we have some good listeners. You can go to the podcast app for this and follow this show. You have a podcast, Kingdom Pursuits, right?

They can get it on Apple.

So you'll be able to hear this show and others as well. Truth Talk Live. I would follow that with Stu Epperson on the podcast app. You can hear us sometimes there. And then if you want to follow, if not for God with Mike Zwick on the podcast app, you can there.

If you want to follow me on Facebook, it's Michael Zwick. I think I've got 13,000 followers.

So there's going to be a bunch of Michael Zwick's, believe it or not. And then you can follow me on TikTok, Michael Zwick 4007. I think we've got 42,000 followers there.

So if you get a little bit more, maybe we'll get to 51. But yeah, man, that's not the reason we do it. But it does make us feel good to know that we have an opportunity to be able to speak into the lives of people. And Robbie, I know that you and Janet surely appreciate that as well.

Well, thank you, Janet, so much for being on with us today. Thank you, Michael. And again, thank you, listeners, because without you, it wouldn't be the same. And so we're so grateful for you.

Now you've got a wonderful lineup coming up. You've got encouraging prayer. And I can tell you that that's going to be about forgiveness. that's coming up about praying to forgive. That's right after this.

And then followed by Mike Zwick, if not for God, with Stu Epperson as described. And then it's time to man up with Nikita Koloff.

So much truth coming at you on the Truth Network. Thanks for listening.