Hope In A Time Of Crisis

This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Man Talk, brought to you by TAWCMN, talking and walking Christian men's ministry, where they're devoted to breaking down the walls of race and denomination, and challenging men to take their God-assigned role. Here's our hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Welcome to Man Talk Radio Podcast. This is Roy Jones. I'm the white guy.

And I'm Will Hardy, the black guy. We so appreciate you joining us. First of all, let's recognize we know it's an extremely difficult time on everyone right now.

This is not just within our area, but globally that people are going through a very difficult time. We've asked Dr. Pete Kunkel to join us. He's my pastor personally, but what a great man of God, and we're going to have him on the show with us today to talk about hope, because when you get locked up in four walls and you're limited to your freedoms and you can't do the things you normally do, sometimes you lose sight that there is hope and the sun is at the end of the tunnel if you just keep your focus on that. And so we're going to let Dr. Kunkel share with us a little bit today. And Will, it's so good to see you. It seems like forever since we don't see each other on the daytime anymore.

It's like I haven't seen you forever. I know it's this virtual meeting and all these other things we haven't to go through because of this COVID-19. It does put different perspective on things.

And when people have cabin fever and things like that, and they want to get out, they want to be able to do some things. And so they have a tendency, I think, to focus more on those things rather than the hope that Christ had instilled in us. And I'm talking about the born again believers, because it's so easy, I think, to transition from the way we were working to looking at the situation to say, is there any hope that this thing is going to end? Yeah, like it's never going to go anywhere.

But it's going to end. And so we got Dr. Pete on the line today to talk about hope. And you know, Roy, when you were talking about what we're going to talk about, and you sent me that message and link to FCC ministries, and I had an opportunity to listen to Dr. Pete's message on hope, and it was very inspiring. So Dr. Pete, we appreciate you being here on today to talk about hope. Well, thank you, Will. It is my privilege to be on and just share with you all. One of the things that has astounded me, Roy and Will, is the hopelessness that a lot of Christians have.

And it wasn't something that I was expecting. You know, Jesus, even though he was going to the cross and to Calvary, was not hopeless, because he knew his mission, he knew his goal, he knew that there was eternity in the balance. And I think sometimes we forget about the end game here, that it's not just this life, but it's our eternal life. And you know, Jesus teaches so much about not worrying and putting our trust in him and relying upon him. But so many times, I see people turn inward rather than outward toward God, and trusting him and taking hold of him and allowing him to do great things. I believe that there's going to be a great revival in our country.

I honestly believe that. As I look at people, you know, they've always taken, or we have, myself, and I think everyone, has taken church for granted. And it was always going to be there that, you know, you could go when you wanted to. If you wanted to go to a sporting event, church would be there when you got back. If you wanted to do this, church would be there. And people have seen a whole different side of the church, and how necessary it is, and how it plays such a major role in many Christians' lives.

And I was talking to a group of ladies from our church. They're called So to So Ministries. And they've been making masks, cloth masks, for people all over, and they just sent 150 to Stuart, Virginia, to a food pantry where most of the people are very, very poor and can't afford a mask. And a gentleman came, and he provided a safe for all those masks, for all those people, so that they could be safe. And what he did was generated hope into the lives of people. You know, Jesus said, if God could take care of the lilies of the field, and he can take care of the birds, can't he take care of you? And I think when our faith has really been put to the test, it really kind of shows who we are, and where we're at in our relationship with Christ. And my prayer for every single follower of Christ is that they grow through this experience. I heard a long time ago that God never wastes a hurt, and he hasn't wasted this on us. He wanted to teach us some very valuable lessons that, in reality, we can't do life without him.

We have no hope outside of him. There was a gentleman, we're feeding people with our food truck four and five days a week, and a gentleman drove up, and I said, where do you go to church? And he said, I don't. And I said, would you mind if I asked you why you don't go to church? And he said, well, to tell you the truth, when I was 34 years old, and this guy's probably in his late 70s, he said, I nearly drowned, and I didn't have any fear of dying.

And therefore, I don't believe in God, and I don't need a God. And I said, may I share something with you? And he said, sure. I said, you know, there's a difference between jumping off a roof at 70 stories and saying, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. But there comes a place where it's the end, and it's the pavement. And that's true of your life. You know, I've heard a lot of people say, I'm not afraid of death, but they are when they finally get to it, especially if they're not in Christ. You know, for me, my hope is in Christ and Christ alone. And if I die, I go to heaven.

And, you know, if all of that were a fallacy, and I didn't go to heaven, I've had a wonderful life. But I know, I am assured that he has prepared a place for me, and that where he is, there I may be also. And I trust him in that. And you have to ask yourself, if you're wrong, what are you willing to pay for your stubbornness and not following the call of Christ? It's the one thing that he really asks us to do. And that's why I have hope today. I know COVID-19 is going to end, and I'm saddened by all the people who have lost their lives through this and all the people who have been ill. But if we're followers of Jesus and we believe in him, we put our hope in him, then we will not be defeated, and we will never see defeat.

We'll be victors from now until the end. You know, what's interesting, Pastor Pete, when you talked about the guy and he said, I nearly drowned. But see, but he didn't drown. See, that's the thing. You didn't drown, so your hope should be in the one who saved you from being drowned.

Because he could have very well drowned, but he didn't. So, you know, it's just like being pregnant and almost being pregnant. Well, you know, that exact, yeah, which the second doesn't exist, right? So you either are or you aren't.

That's correct. Well, what's funny about that, or ironic, is that that very thing happened to me, but I was following Christ. And I had not had my wake-up call, as many of you know, in 2005 that came.

But it was just a few years before that, actually, in 2003. And I got caught in the riptide. And I was with a guy that was about three or four inches taller than I was. And we were side by side, and I got pulled in, and he didn't.

He didn't even realize I was in trouble. And I was on my last breath, because I was doing exactly what you're not supposed to do. I was trying to swim in.

I'd never studied about it, never been taught about it. So I was fighting against the current. And I had gone under, and I said, Lord, please save me. I said, I've still got three kids to get raised.

And I said, now's not the time. And the next wave that came over top of me broke hard enough, and I gave it all I had to get my feet on the sand underneath the water, and was able to come and walk out of it. So I'm on the other side of that cliff, Pete. And God did save me. And I went back, and I bet I shared with 100 people no less than over the next few months about how God had saved me through that journey. You know the truth, Roy, is that so many people think they can save themselves. And he just spoke it. And, you know, he still took the food from the church, and he's been there about every night, and we've had great conversations with him.

And I've been able to share some other things with him. And I don't know that it will convert him, but I wanted him to know that you cannot save yourself. You may have saved yourself from drowning, but you will not save yourself from what eternity will bring. You'll either be with God, or you'll be without him. And the most horrifying, hopeless situation of life would go into eternity without God. Amen. And, you know, every time that a person rejects Christ, they're rolling the dice, you know, on their life. That's right.

Literally, they're rolling the dice. And the thing about it is, is there's much more to this life than just what we're experiencing now. I recall in the message, Pastor Pete, you said hope is outside of yourself.

And then you gave Romans 5, 5. Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And, you know, that resonated with me in a mighty way because we are not people who do not have hope. We are not hopeless. We are hopeful in knowing that one day when we depart this life, we're going to be in the presence of the Lord. Amen.

Absolutely. And that's so reassurance to the ones who know God that, you know, as you stated, that we should learn from this. And when we learn from this, we'll come out on the other side, not only victorious, but our faith and hope and trust in God should be strengthened because of what we experience.

And I'm with you on that revival. I believe when we come out of this that, you know, people will start to see, especially those who may have been close to family members who may not have made it, you know, through this virus. So having that assurance and having that hope in Jesus Christ, it says a lot.

It does. And just what Pastor said, and you will, the harvest is ripe. It really is, I think it's, in my lifetime, it's the closest we've ever been to a global revival.

I've never, in my lifetime, can't recall anything that's put everybody back on their heels and caused them to think introspectively and just to start to think about where they're at and where they're going and while this is happening. So Pastor Pete, it's so good to have you with us. We're getting ready to take a break here in just a couple of moments. Folks, we just want to say thanks to one of our sponsors, Dr. Jeff Fricke. You'll be hearing about him here momentarily. And thanks to First Christian Church, who sponsors our Friday morning breakfast.

This is the first and third Fridays of each month, which you'll hear about here shortly as well. We'll be back in just a moment. We'll be back in just a moment.

Welcome back to Man Talk Radio. And we're talking about hope today, Roy, with Pastor Pete, First Christian Church in Kernersville. And you know, when we, right before we went on break, you know, we were talking about, you know, Roy, you talked a little bit about your story and how, you know, you were on the other side of being pulled under by that riptide and current. But, you know, I wanted to go back to Pastor Pete's message that he gave three points, I think, that really hit home when it came to hope. And the first one was hope liberates, that hope sets you free. He said it releases us from our past failures. So Pastor Pete, I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit on that.

Yes. So many people can't let go of their past. And, you know, if you're always looking back, you can never go forward. And that's one of the greatest mistakes of Christians, they really feel that their past has a hold on them, and it can't be let go. And Jesus says, just let go. Hand it over to Him. He can take your burdens.

He can take your weight. And allowing ourselves the freedom to do that, because there's power in the blood of Christ to do it. He says, I will take your sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west, and remember them no more. And we as people don't have the capability of forgetting a lot of times.

You know, our mind captures every thought. But God can forget. And God can forgive when we come to Him and humbly repent and say, Lord, I'm sorry for what I've done.

He will remove that from us, and we never have to go back to it. We can just continue to move forward and reach out. And I think that's why people are hopeless, is because they're always going back, as Jesus said, a dog to his vomit.

That's a horrible picture. But it really depicts what it's like when we are forgiven of something and we go back to it. It's like drugs that hold us, sexual sin that holds people, they just keep going back rather than moving forward and not turning around and looking back. So that's really what we were talking about. And you know, when you were referring to that particular point, you talked about Philippians 3.13.

I do not count myself to be apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead. And I think that in itself sums up that point that you were bringing out, because we do have a tendency to carry this excess baggage on our lives and just carry it through. And it's weighing us down, whereas we should have cast this on the Lord.

Yeah, that's a good wheel. And I think, and Pastor can confirm this, but I think sometimes Christians are the worst at not forgiving at times when something's happened to them, but especially at not forgetting. And I don't know, and Pete, you and I have talked about this in the past, and I've seen Pete with an amazing, forgiving heart in situations where people just don't think sometimes about what they say or what they do. And when you lead a congregation, you've got all these people that are looking for you to be perfect when we know you can't be perfect. But Pete has demonstrated that and been a great example of what that forgiveness and forgetting means.

And I think, Pete, maybe you could share a little bit, because I know there's a lot of believers that are listening today, and maybe even quite a few non-believers. How does a person really get through that when they need to forgive, and we know that we need to forgive because Christ has forgiven us. But how do you really get away from the forgetting part, or get to the forgetting part, to where you can release it and be at peace that it's all okay? Well, you know, not forgiving is like bitterness. And bitterness can take deep root into your spirit and into your soul and to destroy you. But it doesn't affect the other people. You know, I always tell people that being bitter is like drinking poison and hope that it affects someone else.

The poison is to you. God wants you to forgive so that you can be free, so that you can move forward. If you hold on to it, then it just binds you like a chain and keeps you where you're at rather than where God wants to take you to. And getting Christians to see that and understand it is so important. You know, that word, straining forward, in the Greek language there in Philippians, it is such a powerful word because it means it takes some endurance, and it takes stretching out beyond yourself and reaching out to God. You can't do it by yourself. There's nothing, we can't save ourselves, we can't sometimes even forgive ourselves without the grace of God being in the midst of our lives and in our hearts.

So we have to trust Him. And I think through, I don't know if you all knew, but the week that COVID began and they started closing down the hospitals, and I had a severe attack on my gallbladder, and I had to go to the hospital while Kathy couldn't go in with me. And I went through the testing, and a doctor came in and said, We're going to have to do emergency surgery, this thing is big and it may rupture. And I didn't have anybody with me. There were no preachers, nobody.

And I get down to the surgical area, and there's a nurse in there, and she looks at me, and you know, they have a mask on and a hat, and she said, Deet, how are you? And it was one of the members from our church. And it just gave me such peace.

And I didn't think God was there, but it was wonderful to see a friendly face. And one thing that you can do for people during this, what is hopeless time for some people, is to help be hope for them too. To take a moment and pray for them, to call them, to share.

I know that we're supposed to keep distance, social distance, but it won't keep you from writing a letter, it won't keep you from making a phone call, or texting to them, saying a word of encouragement. When people get that, it changes their demeanor. It gives us strength to continue to move forward. That's so good, Pete. And folks, if you just mirror back on that, it gives hope.

It encourages people. And you know, I know all of us have been on the end of having a bad day, and all of a sudden that text comes in, or somebody picks up the phone and calls you, and says, hey, I was just nudged to call you. Well, that nudging most likely was from the Holy Spirit to let you know you need to reach out to your brother or your sister.

And just be that light in that moment, because you never know, will you? And I've talked about this, and I think, Pete, I know you've heard our story before. I can't tell you how many times that's happened. I know each of y'all have done it. And all of a sudden, you didn't know why you were doing it, and it didn't make any sense to make the call, because you may not have talked to that person quite some time, but after you made the call, God revealed it to you that that person was in a great need, either emotionally or physically or just lonely.

You just never know. And you know, Roy, when you're talking about how do you move to that forgetting, and I think that's the hardest piece, because the flesh wants to hold on to that. And you know, I've talked to many, many hundreds of married couples in counseling sessions, and I've been asked that same question, and the answer that I give the individual who's asking the question is that the person who you have maybe been unfaithful to, they may have been unfaithful to you, and you don't want to forget what happened because your flesh don't want to forget. You can forgive them, but forgetting what happened, they have to now build that element of trust back to the person that they committed that sin against.

And when they start demonstrating that, yes, now I can see through your actions that you now want to be faithful and to be with me until death do us part, then I think that demonstrates to that person that now this individual has crossed over to that point of not only forgiving, but now forgetting, because they've demonstrated that trust. So it's a very, very difficult thing to do, but it is possible for us to do it. But our flesh is in the way. It's at war. And we always talk about Ephesians 6-12, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, and that's exactly what it is.

It's against those powers that are invisible that's affecting the physical and the visible realm. Very good. Well, Pete, what's been the most amazing thing that you've seen through this COVID-19 journey? Oh, man, I've seen it. Sunday I went to the Crossing, and my son-in-law preaches there, and they had a baptism Sunday. A young lady came and she wanted to be a follower of Jesus, and her mom and dad, and then there were only like eight or nine other people in the whole building. And she was baptized, of course it was live-streamed, and everybody could see it.

And the few people that were in there were cheering and clapping. And when I saw her come out, I think she's 13 or 12 years old, somewhere in there, that look on her face was, I'm found in Christ. I found my hope in Him.

I love Him. And she wanted to bear that witness to her parents and to the others who were in there. And we did a dedication of her 12 to 13 years ago, and I did her dedication when she was born as a baby. So it was quite a thing to see her make these steps and convict her life now to follow Jesus and to be a follower of Christ for the rest of her life. That was one of the coolest things. Even through all of this, you can't do this, you can't do this, but nobody can stop God from doing what He wants to do.

Nobody. Well, that's exactly right. When God puts us in motion, we've got to follow, and we never know where that's going to land. And what an amazing story.

And I know for those parents, they have to be extremely, extremely proud. You know, one of the things we want to just encourage you folks, if you're listening today and you haven't made a decision to follow Christ, all you need to do is just admit being a sinner, recognize that Jesus' blood covered you and took care of that sin. He died on the cross and rose on the third day. And if you'll accept Him into your heart and turn away and repent from your sins, you can start following Christ and He'll take it from there. But make sure you get into a body of fellowship with other believers. If you don't have a church, reach out to, well, we've got Dr. Kunkel on the phone with us today. First Christian Church, we'd love to have you come visit in Kernersville, North Carolina. And if you want to hear more of that message on Hope, go to www.fccministries.com and listen to the rest of Dr. Pete's message.

And I guarantee you, you will be blessed from it because I was. Well, folks, I think it's important to tell you that Dr. Kunkel is on vacation today. He was kind enough to join us for the show, and we wish him many more minutes because I'm sure there's not a lot of hours of rest on his vacation. And Pete, thank you so much. We love you. We love you, Pete. We love you guys, Will. All right. Take care, Roy. Thank you, sir. God bless you, sir.

Yeah, me too. As we wrap up today's show, be assured that TAWCMM, Talking and Walking Christian Men's Ministry, is building a community of men that are Christ followers with the desire to be servant leaders in their homes, communities, churches, and work environments. Check out our website for upcoming events and regularly scheduled meetings. Drop us a note for topics that you would like to have us visit in the future. Thank you for joining us on Man Talk today. Visit us at www.tawcmm.com. Men walking the talk.