Building Belief One Brick at a Time Part 2

Hey, this is Jim Graham from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explore relationship instead of religion every week. 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 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. Praise God, listeners. We are back here with Man Talk Radio Podcast, and we want to continue our conversation this week with Pastor Lee, Roy, Moreno, Arte. He's been a blessing, and if you heard last week's message, if you heard it, you were blessed.

If you heard it, go back and listen again, because you'll truly be blessed. So this week, these guys are so busy. They're always doing something for the Lord. They have inspired me, I know, as a pastor, just to do more service work. So this week, we're going to be talking to Pastor Lee Roy about the vision that God gave him in Mexico and the church that they've started in Mexico, and I'm telling you, you do not want to miss this, because it's a blessing.

It is absolutely a blessing. So welcome again, Pastor Lee Roy. Thank you, Pastor.

So talking about Mexico, God began to give us a vision for missions at the church, and on my dad's heart, Mexico has always been in his heart, especially the hometown where he's at, Santana Hidalgo. It's a small town, very Catholic-based. Really, there is no Christian church, or there wasn't no Christian evangelical church in that town. The pastors in the past who had tried to establish a church in that location were either run out of town, some of them were even stoned, dragged out of the town.

That's how intense the gospel, they didn't accept the gospel. Going back to 13 years ago, we had a cousin that lived in that town that he had left in bad terms. If I'm not mistaken, he had beaten someone out of drunkenness, and I think they had stabbed someone at the same time. Very violent. So he came to the US. He's like, you know what, I need to get out of here. So he comes to our house, and sure enough, my dad, being the pastor that he is, begins to minister to him and led him to Christ. The guy gets radically saved.

I'm narrating this because it's so big. So he goes back to his hometown. People began to see something different in his life, and they're like, this is not the same guy who left.

This is a whole totally different guy. So that begins to happen in that town, right? And we began to feel the need, hey God, we've been praying for this for a while, because my dad's been praying at least, I want to say, 10 years at least for a church to be planted in Mexico, in Santa Anadolio. So fast-forwarding, after a lot of prayer, a lot of fasting, we go back, and we had tried to buy a property to start building or doing something there. Everybody knew my dad's intentions of trying to establish a church, so nobody would sell him property.

Or if they would, they would sell it super expensive because they knew no one was going to pay for that amount. So we have this, we have a guy out of the blue call us, an old friend of my dad's from the town, and he's in Atlanta, Georgia, and he's going through some kind of financial need. And he's like, hey, he calls my dad, he's like, hey, I got a property next, very central to where you're at. He's like, and I heard you've been looking to buy a property.

If you can get me the cash by this weekend, we'll make a deal. Wow. Tell you. That is incredible. So my dad sells whatever he needs to sell again, gets the cash ready, makes a deal with the guy.

Wow. He sells it into the ministry again, right? And then so the property is bought, and it's for the church. We're excited. We're like, God, you open a door. We're going to go inspect the property.

And we're going to go ahead and do all the legal paperwork. So my dad goes to Mexico. He's in Mexico. And as he's in Mexico, another lady comes up to him and says, pastor, I need you to come. I need you to come pray.

I want to show you. We just, we just built a new property and we want you to come pray for this property. So my dad goes and he kind of gets to the property. He sees it's kind of weird because it's a square building, but no bathroom, no rooms, just an empty square building.

My dad's sitting there. He's like, this is the strangest house I've ever seen. And sure enough, the lady comes to him and says, look, pastor, we know you just bought a property for the, for the church. He's like, but we've been, the lady built the property with her own money without letting nobody know what she was doing.

Because of course the opposition is intense. Exactly. So she had a bunch of people from the church, from the, from the town building this property and nobody knew it was a church. See, and, and I attribute that to, to God when, when Rahab hid the spies, hid the spies. Nobody knew. Nobody knew, you know. Yeah. Oh, this is so good.

This is so good. So, so she, she calls my dad and she says, hey, uh, I want to give you the keys to this property. And you believe that we'd never touched the building. We never spent money on the building.

We never, you know, whenever built it, never nothing. She says, I'm giving you the keys, gave us a building complete. I mean, it's not, it's not, it was a crazy building, but it was a building for the church. And, um, she's like, put whoever you want to pastor this property.

So we look at my cousin and we tell him you're going to be the pastor. Nobody else in town, um, had the testimony that this guy had, you know, 13 years, steady, fast on the Lord, seeking the presence of God, uh, treating people with respect, you know, uh, not bashing people with the Bible, leading by example. And I believe that's what became effective in that town because there had been many pastors would came, you know, Bible thumping, I guess you call them like that, right? Trying to hit people in the head with the Bible and all you got to change and all that.

And of course the people would get mad, you know, they found, they found them offensive. So they ran them out of town. But this guy, he led by example and he would win them over. And that influence that he had, and he's like, he was a mechanic as well. So everybody came and worked, they worked on their cars, you know? So he, the influence he had led us began to start a church because there was no other way we could have started a church if it wasn't for him. So, uh, he began to kind of like, he was, he's like, no, there's more educated.

There's more people who are more educated than I am to get you an idea. His name is Ignacio Martinez. And, um, he was illiterate. He couldn't read.

He could not read. And he told my daddy, he said, I can't even read. So how am I supposed to preach to the people? And my dad said, God has called you to be a pastor.

Get out of here. God's going to use you one way or another. God is going to use you and you're going to be used by God and God's going to grow this church in Santana. And, um, you know, my mom, she always had this verse of Philippians, you know, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And she told him, she's like, Hey, you can do all things through Christ. He's going to strengthen you. And, um, and we began to work on them and say, Hey, God is calling you.

God is, you know, you're, you're gonna, you're gonna leave people to Christ. And, uh, he began to, he began to have faith and he began to be used by God in a powerful way, you know, and, uh, his wife would read him the Bible and that's how he would make his messages to preach on Sunday morning. So, you know, God began to use them and God began to give them an influence in that town that, um, we had a lot of opposition, a lot of opposition, you know, uh, and while that building was given to us, the first mission trip that we took three years ago to that location was to, to get the church set up, you know, paint the walls, you know, set it up, bring chairs, projectors, all that. And, um, instantly the church began to grow instantly, 10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80. We just came back, uh, two months ago from there, almost a hundred people already in a town where the gospel was not permitted in a place where the gospel was like, you know, it was not accepted basically. And, um, now three years later, the other property that we're, we're gonna, we're about to have two properties in that town.

The next property is super huge. That's what we've been working on these past three years. And even the same way we've been praying for finances, God provide the finances. This is your vision. So you got to provide, there's a saying that says that, right? When God, God gives you a vision, he'll give you the provision, right?

Exactly. So, uh, and, uh, we began to pray for that. God, God, you know, provide financially, this is your church. You, you gotta open doors.

You gotta, you gotta figure out, you gotta figure out where the money's coming from. You know, I'm, I'm reminded, and I believe it's, and I'm quoting from memory now, Job 25 and 28 that says, if you decree a thing, God will bring that thing to pass. And that's what he told, said in the book of Job, you know? And so when I'm hearing that, these verses are just coming to me of how you guys are just stepping out on faith. Yeah.

And I'll tell you, I'm moved by this. Yeah. It's been a process, uh, praying for it, saying, God, we need certain amount of money for the roof, certain amount of money for the brick, certain amount of money for the foundation. Uh, we need certain amount of money for the plumbing, you know, toilets, the seats, all this stuff. And every time that we've prayed about it, God has provided supernaturally one way or another. And so this building is being built, basically paid off already.

Wow. I mean, there's nothing that we're doing that's on credit. Everything is, as we, as we, as we build, everything's being paid.

Everything's being paid. And, um, you know, that's, that's God. Yes, indeed. That's God.

I mean, uh, and he's the whole way. Uh, I'm sure we're going to get more into details about certain things, you know, using people that are non-believers to bless the church in Mexico. That's, that's been intense. And you know, when you were talking about the opposition, again, the verses just come, I'm just reminded in Nehemiah, you know, when Nehemiah had this desire, he had his, his heart was pressed to want to rebuild the wall. And every time he came up against opposition and we, and you believers out there, I know you're familiar with the, with the account, but he came up with opposition and, and God prepared him. He said, okay, what are we going to do is while, while you guys are building, we're going to have some folks over here with some swords.

So you're going to keep watch while you build. And, and when they finished building the wall, I'm reminded, I think it's verse, uh, chapter either four or five of Nehemiah, it said that they rejoice with musical instruments. They just begin to sing and they just begin to praise God. Amen. And so as you were talking, all this is just going through my mind and I'm just so excited because see saints of God, God does miracles. He wants people to know that he never left blessing people who bless him.

Yeah. Amen. Cause, cause he, we're commanded bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And all that is within me bless his Holy name. So we're commanded to bless the Lord. We're coming up on a break, but if you guys are not smiling, jumping, doing somersaults, if you kick now I would do somersault, but I'll break my back, you know, but, but if you guys are not out there rejoicing in God on what you hearing, then continue to listen because you, your soul and spirit is going to get stirred up.

We'll be back right after this. TAWCMM would love to have you join their community of men for breakfast every first and third Friday of every month. They have Bible discussions and fellowship after the best breakfast in town. The meeting location is at their gracious host church, first Christian church in Kernersville, 1130 North Main Street in Kernersville.

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Call 336-885-1987. Darrell Bock Yes, indeed. All right now, we're back with Man Talk Radio Podcast and we're speaking here with Pastor Leroy Moreno and I'm telling you, I'm blessed y'all.

I don't know about you, but I am blessed and we are both highly favored in here. Now, you all know the account of what happened to the children of Israel when God told them to go in there and take the land. You know, you had individuals who said, we can't do this. But then there's some who said, only two who said, yes, we can. When he sent the 10 spies in, they said, yes, we can. God had that area prepared by the people who live there.

Yeah, Canaanites, all kind of ites were in there. And they prepared this land and God said, you're just going to go in there. You're not going to do any tilling. You're not going to do any building.

You're not going to do any planting because they have already did it for you. So now saints, you about to hear something from Pastor Leroy. I tell you, on the break, he just blew my mind on this. On how individuals just came who didn't know God and started giving and giving to the cause. Now, you got to keep, remember now what he said last week, that this was an area who people who hated the gospel.

Go ahead, Pastor. So, you know, we get to a point where we start tilling the land, getting the property ready. And there's a lot of people who weren't happy with that.

But God began to use some people from the town who weren't believers to bless the ministry. And there was a particular guy who owned a bunch of heavy duty equipment. And my dad was kind of, we're building literally inside of a mountain, like on the side of a mountain.

So there's a lot of dirt, a lot of rock that needs to be removed. And the guy says, hey, I like the vision of what you're doing here. He says, and I'm all for you. Take my equipment, use whatever you need. And all you got to worry about is paying the diesel and the equipment.

I mean, that's easily would have been three to $5,000 easy that he would have got in his pocket. But he said, hey, you know what? I like the vision, you know? And my dad began to explain to certain people about the vision and what they're doing in Mexico. So what they're doing is that we got a commercial kitchen on the first floor, commercial kitchen. And in the commercial kitchen, they're going to start feeding the elderly of the town. So it's going to be running 24 seven, you know, just food, hot meal for the elderly. And then they also, they started building apartments on the side of the church.

So that's, if they need a place to stay, they can stay, no charge, take a shower, receive a hot meal. Praise God. And they began to, they began to build this and a lot of people, you know, they're getting behind it. They're like, Hey, let's, let's, let's support, you know, and God's began to open doors with people who normally wouldn't have, wouldn't have let this happen.

They're, they're, they're letting it happen, you know? And that's all God, that's all God. God has placed us in favor with people there. And, you know, and, and, and only God can do that.

Only God can do that. And, and, and they've been using people who don't go to church, who don't believe, but I believe slowly, God is working in their lives as well, you know, and God's gonna do something in their lives and we're believing for that. So God began to bless that way, you know, providing financially, certain doors being open for the, for the construction to continue. Fast forward to today, we're about 90% finished, three years.

90% finish. I mean, the buildings, 250 people can fit in a place where no gospel was permitted. That's crazy. It is, you know, 250 people can fit in the church. Now we have two churches because the other church is still running. And so now we're going to have a commercial kitchen on the first floor with apartments. We just, we were there three months, two months ago and 90% of the building's already finished. We're probably thinking maybe by January we're done, that building's going to be finished. And we'll probably invite all of y'all to come out there. Amen.

Come out there for the opening. But you know, it's, it's amazing what God has done. And this past year was a tough year for us because the pastor, Pastor Ignacio, he passed away. You know, it wasn't COVID related, but he had cancer in the lungs.

And that for us was a huge huge hit because we weren't expecting it as well. You know, it was, it was out of nowhere, but God began to lift up his son to take over the church, you know, and, and, and out of nowhere, you know, the pastor is, is struggling with his health for the past two months and the doctor's negative news, you know, he's just not going to make it. Cancer has advanced too much. And we began to pray about it and believe in God and God, you know what you're doing. We may not understand it, but God knows. And God, God does not let anything happen without purpose.

You know, Ecclesiastes talks about that everything is beautiful in its own time. And we may not be able to see the scope of what's going on, but God has the big picture. You know, and, and although we may not understand it, we may not see what's going on in front of us, but with God's big vision, he knows what's good for us. And he talks about that those who love the Lord, everything is good for them.

Everything will work out for the better for them, you know? So we began to believe that and say, Hey, God, we don't understand what's going on with this, but you know, and you know, what's best for your church. And sure enough, I don't know where his son begins to take over the church. He says, pastor, he called us. He said, pastor, don't worry, whatever you need. I'm going to be moving the church forward, trying to, you know, get everything going like my dad was, was doing. And that was another miracle in itself, the pastor's family.

I guess we got, we got a little bit of time to talk about him, right? So the pastor, you know, pastor Ignacio, as I was talking about, he was, he was illiterate, right? He couldn't read, but his family had not converted. They were really, really dedicated to, to, to Catholic beliefs.

Right. And his wife was very involved in the Catholic church, very involved in the Catholic church. So, you know, the pastor's shop is down the hill and then the Catholic church is up the hill in another direction. So he would be, he would be on the bottom of the hill and he would see his wife come through to the Catholic church and he would always pray. He said, God, that woman's going to, she's going to convert. My whole family is going to be from her. So he made a bold prayer and he's told God, he's like, God, I need my whole family to come to Christ.

And I'm going to, I need it to happen in a month. If not, I have to give up ministry because I want to be a good testimony. And God honored that prayer. It's crazy.

Wow. Within the course of a month, his whole family gets converted and they come to Christ and they get radically saved. And they, they began to, to help him out in ministry and everything. And his son picks up the ministry, picks up the ministry, radically changed, radically on fire for God, picks up the ministry, you know, and, and that, that, that was God.

I mean, that was God. And it happened at the right moment at the right time, you know, and, um, his whole family converted. They all served the Lord and they're all involved in the church. You know, they're all involved in the church. Even, even after he's passed away, he's left the legacy with his family testimony and the, the, the image of what God can do with the man who, who was in drunkenness, who was full of rage.

A man that many people said, you know, this guy is never going to change. And God takes his life, turns it around radically and becomes a pastor in this town, a small town that you could probably walk it in 30 minutes from edge to edge. But in this small town, people are changing. People are believing people are beginning to radically be set on fire for God, you know, and, and, and we just, we see the, the legacy that he's left behind, you know, and, and even in his funeral, God used his funeral to minister to a hundreds of people that came from all over the towns. Cause like every 30 minutes, there's a town and I want to say at least 10 different towns came to his funeral because people would come by his shop and he would work on their stuff and they might be from 10 towns, you know, five or six towns away, but they knew him. And when he passed away, they came and the gospel was being spread.

It was like, it was a beautiful picture because in this town where you couldn't publicly preach the gospel and an open corner, I want to say maybe three to 400 people were there and the gospel was being broadcast just, you know, in his, in his funeral service. You believe that. Saints, are you listening Saints? Are you listening? See, see, as pastor Leroy was talking, my mind went back to the scriptures again.

Yeah. Philippian jailer, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou shalt be saved, but he didn't stop there and your household. So when, when you, when you said that about one month, my mind went back to the scripture. God, again, again, fulfilling the promise because of the life that he lived. So what kind of legacy saints are you, are you leaving out there? See, see pastor Leroy was talking about the legacy of a man whom God had just brought up basically from rock bottom and brought him up. His life was a beacon of light for those who knew him because as pastor Leroy said, he was, you know, they would come by, he would work on things for him, but see, that's what you need to be thinking about.

Men, women, all of you who are listening right there, this is what you need to be thinking about. You need to be thinking about what type of legacy are you leaving your children and the ones with whom you're coming in contact with. You see, because, because how are you going to be remembered when you first leave here? You know, I look back at a lot of the fathers of theology and history when we go back and we're still talking about some of these guys today, you know, we're still talking about them. And so when I think about the life that they live, the things that they did, and the fact that we're still talking about them, still quoting things that they quoted to the congregation, I'm saying that is a legacy because what it does is even though you're no longer in this body, the gospel message is still being preached.

And I'm still listening to men who are on the radio, who have passed away 20, 25 years ago, still on TV, still on the radio, and their legacy is still going. So don't tell me that you can't do anything for God. The legacy in which you leave will determine what your reward is once you get to heaven.

Because what you do down here will determine what you get up there. Oh, I'm excited now. I'm excited. We got to go right now.

I'm so excited. We want to thank you, Pastor Leroy, for joining us here, you know, sitting in for Roy, who's out. But we want to thank God. And so we want to just say, Lord, in Jesus' name, we just thank you for this opportunity that you've given us. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for the wisdom. Thank you for the instruction, God. Thank you for the testimony. I pray someone be blessed in Jesus' name.

Amen. 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. This is the Truth Network.