Doing Things God's Way Part 1

This is Robbie Dilmore from the Christian Car Guy and Kingdom Pursuit, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build a kingdom. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it and share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. Welcome, ManTalk listeners. We are back again. And, you know, before we got Roy on the phone, how you doing, Roy? Doing great, Will. Doing great. I hope you're doing super tonight.

I am, sir, by the grace of Almighty God. You know, before we start, I know last week we lost a very dear friend. And we're just going to call. His name was Roger, and we lost him. And so I just thought today, Roy, we would just dedicate the show to Roger and his family. Thank you, Will.

I was ironically, I thought it would be really cool. And you and I hadn't even spoken about this, but thank you for doing that. And I would also like to propose that one night you and I just do a show talking about the work relationship of a guy like Roger and how God has blessed us to be a part of that. Amen. Amen. Talking about that whole thing on one of our shows. Praise God.

Amen. So tonight, though, we're going to talk about something that I think everybody has encountered in their life. They have made or thought they came up with a right decision. And then they find out that that decision that they made was a mistake. So now the question is, is how did we get ourself there? In other words, what led us to saying yes to something? And then we found out later, hmm, that wasn't the best way or the best approach which had the best outcome for me. So that's what we're going to talk about today, Roy.

And it's ironic, I think, because, you know, when I think about myself, I think about this situation. It was probably back in, oh, I'm going to say 2012, 2013. It's whenever my daughter, she was getting ready to graduate from High Point University, and she did a internship, a summer internship, at James Madison University up there in Virginia.

And that's a beautiful campus, by the way. And so we dropped her off. Back then, I had a Mazda Tribute. And of course, it looked like the Ford Escape, almost the same.

Yeah, almost the same body style. And so we got in the car and we drove up and we dropped her off. And of course, this was perhaps the first time she was really away from home. And I think I felt more sad than my wife did at the time because, you know, it's like our baby won't be here with us, you know, that type thing.

And so we dropped her off, you know, she moved into the dorm and everything, and then we were on our way back. And all of a sudden, we were probably about maybe 15 or 20 miles from Greensboro, and a red indicator light came on the car. And it was like, wow, what is this? And so, you know, there it was.

And so what I'm thinking is, you know, the indicator light is just an indicator to let you know that you have a problem or a potential problem is coming. See, that's the way that I looked at it. Instead of saying this particular life, when it came on, is something you need to do. And so I didn't do anything.

I said, well, I'm going to, you know, tackle that issue later on. And I didn't do anything in the whole summer. The whole summer Roy passed. The whole summer. Oh, no. Yeah, whole summer.

I didn't do a thing. And then it was it was like time to go get her. And so we all jumped in the car.

And of course, by that time, the light had gone off. And so we jump in the car. And so here we go. We're down the highway again and we get up there and we pick her up and we're on the way back. And so we say, hey, let's just stop and grab a bite to eat at the local restaurant.

So we parked the car, went in, had a great meal, came back out, put the key in the ignition. Nothing, Roy. Nothing. So it's like my wife said, turn again, turn again. So I put it in there. Nothing. And so. Everyone in that car, this is the thing, every soul that was in that car, my son, my daughter and my wife, they were all looking to me to do something.

You know, and and I felt it was like so much pressure. And of course, they didn't know about the light, you know, previously. They didn't know about the light. So I didn't say anything.

I didn't say anything to anybody about the light. But, you know, so all of a sudden, I you know, they were looking to me and I'm going, Lord, I do not know what to do. I do not know what to do. Tell me.

Show me. And so through that, I started and I said to myself, you know, this this thing about this car is real peculiar. And I don't want to tell my family I don't know what to do. And so I got out the car and I said, Lord, I just was pleading to the Lord, Lord, please, Lord, please, Lord, please. I didn't have any words to say, but Lord, please. And so I started walking up the hill from where the restaurant was. And I got to the main highway, looked down the road and there was an auto zone. And I said, there's hope.

There's hope. So I waved to my wife. I said, I'm walking down here.

She said, why was she couldn't hear me? And so I'm walking down the highway. I'm heading to that auto zone. And you got to keep in mind now it's Sunday afternoon. And typically businesses are closed Sunday afternoon.

Yeah. But this auto zone was open. And so I walked down there and I told the guy, hey, I'm out of town. My car won't start. He said, well, you know, bring it up here. And I said, I can't because it won't start. And so he said, it sounds like the battery. And so he said, now, I don't supposed to do this, but I'm gonna do it anyway. So he gave me a one of those mini like starters, you know, like a little battery.

And yeah. And so he said, take this. I don't supposed to do this, but take this. Now, he didn't know if I was going to run off with the thing or not. And so I took it, put it on the battery terminals. Turn the ignition car started up. I, I zeroed in on the auto zone, got in the car and we went down there, checked everything out. And it was the battery.

Oh, my. Yeah, it was the battery. And so that's that time when I should have responded. When the light came on, I should have responded in doing something, but I put it off. And I'm not talking about one day, one week, a month.

I'm talking about the whole summer, Roy, the whole summer. And so that was. Yeah, that was my experience, I think, and things that I thought that I knew I could delay. And and thank the Lord, it didn't cost me more, you know, than I anticipated, because I.

More than likely, if I would have continued to drive the car, something else would have gone wrong as a result of, you know, not take care of the problem. So that that taught me a whole lot of things. So we we when we come back from the break that we're going to talk about a situation that you have. And if you've been thinking about that time when you, Roy, have thought you knew it all and all of a sudden God said, because maybe we delayed something, maybe we procrastinated something, maybe there was a different direction that we had to go, you know. And so I'm I'm dying to hear what you have to say on that. So happy, happy to share. Maybe most of my decisions have been.

So so give us a little preview. Yeah, I guess one of the most probably the most monumental things would be the adoption by my wife in 2009, had come home from a trip to Krasnore, North Carolina, which for those of you know anything about North Carolina, Krasnore. There's a children's school there which they handle orphans and those who have been removed from their homes due to social abuse, physical abuse or mental abuse in the homes. And so my wife had come back in the fall of 2009 and said, hey, I think we need to adopt. And I said, Lisa, I don't think now's the time I just got laid off.

It was during the 08-09 crash, you remember that really bad. I said, now's not the time. Well, I didn't care about it before I said now's not the time. I was just looking at my my earthly situation and that there was no regular income coming in and things weren't looking real promising at that moment in time, just because of the nature of the country and the status of the country at the time.

And so that's kind of what we'll talk about when we come back from break. But that's a little bit of a lead in to to my doing before asking God what to do. I thought I had the answer. And of course, he worked it out anyway because we know what he does for the things that for those who love him, even though they aren't in his will and things bad don't go quite the way we want them to.

Right. And, you know, that's what he says in James Chapter one, you know, in verses two through five, he said, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations. And, you know, I went and dug out my old Greek lexicon and looked up that word in Greek trials in this particular passage. And it's Parasmus. And it has to do with it's like a fish, you know, that's swimming by. And all of a sudden you got this guy. He throws this net and, you know, and all of a sudden the fish get caught in the net. So that that that counted all joy when you fall into these trials.

So it's like something that is unseen. You're not anticipating it happening. But when it do happen, it's sudden and it has a great impact, you know, depending on how you you let it affect you. So we're coming up on this break right now, Roy. But think about those trials, folks, because I know you got them. I got them as long as we're living. We got trials and the trials are going to continue to come. But don't let them overtake you.

Don't let them bring you down because God is able. So when we come back from this break, we're going to hear what Roy has to say. A hard stop at eight o'clock.

First time visitors eat for free. Join your host, Will Hardy and Roy Jones, Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Amen. Amen. We are back again. Man talk radio and we're talking about doing things God's way, not our way.

But we have and we have a tendency to do more our way than God's way. So, Roy, tell us about that situation. You were telling us about the adoption and going down that line. So finish off.

Yeah, thank you, Will. Interesting in that, when I mentioned that layoff, the life verses that came to hold true for me and be closest to the heart during that time period, which was 09 to basically the early 2013. So it was about a four year journey. Whereas, indeed, James 2 through 5.

And so a great scripture selection for this show, Will. So it was absolutely timely. And then your question about was there a time in our life when we thought we knew something and found out we were mistaken. Well, in my mind, what I didn't say about that, telling my wife that now wasn't the time, I just didn't think we were supposed to adopt, period.

My wife was led to it, but I wasn't sure at that point and didn't really feel it, but she felt it. And that was the fall of 2009, where I rode the clock forward another three years into January 2012. And I was still, at that point, I was self-employed doing consulting work and some other odds and ends to make ends meet to provide for my family. And in that moment in January, I was sitting in my home office.

Contract situation just changed with one of my customers. And I said, Father, have we missed doing something that you have asked, or have I missed, specifically doing something that you've asked us to do? It was as if he was waiting on me to call on him. As soon as I said that prayer, he impressed upon my heart, you have not finished the adoption journey. Which, now keep in mind, that was three years earlier when I had just basically told my wife it wasn't the time. I didn't pray to God about whether or not it was the time. I just told her it wasn't time.

So therein I thought I knew what I was doing, right? So when I said that, when he impressed upon my heart in that moment, I picked up the phone and called my wife. And I said, hey, I need to chat with you if you just want to say whatever. And I said, well, we need to finish this adoption journey.

And she started laughing, and I said, what's so funny? And she said, well, I was just praying to God last week, and told him, he was going to have to speak to you about this. I wasn't going to bring it up, because I was unemployed at the time.

I was self-employed, but sometimes that can look like the unemployed. But, you know, therein, God spoke on my heart. I went back and talked to Lisa, and then we started that adoption journey in January of 2012. And folks, just want to share with you how God works. At the same time, he moved on my heart that we were supposed to adopt, and got me back in the game.

And I wasn't sure if it was an Abraham-Isaac moment where he was just checking for obedience, and then he was going to take us to the edge and say, okay, you've been obedient, you don't need to fall through this. But what was happening at the same time he was impressing and speaking to Lisa and I in January of 2012, is a little girl by the name of Alina was being told that she was being put up for adoption. And this was after she had lost her mother just a couple years earlier to cancer, her adoptive mother, I should say, because she was from Ukraine originally, so please keep her in your prayers, as her home country is in the middle of a storm right now, as you all know. So she had a family that was supposed to adopt her. They sent her to a cross north for some school and time period to work on some things. And rather than bring her back home, when it was time for her to go home, after she graduated the program, she told her she was being put up for adoption, and that was January of 2012. We met her, Will, five months later on our anniversary, my and Lisa's wedding anniversary. Five months later, it took several months to go through all the qualifications and all that stuff they have to do. And she later moved in with us two months later, and she's been with us ever since as our adopted daughter, truly adopted daughter, legally adopted daughter, and just doing absolutely wonderful. But the point there is that I didn't ask God to begin with.

I thought I had the answer. So who knows what he had planned for me in 2009 when Lisa was being moved on it. But he took my lack of seeking his guidance in 2009 to my heartfelt seeking his guidance in 2012 to providing a permanent family and home for a young lady who had no one, absolutely no one. So the disobedience of not seeking God's guidance first, and then him making good use of that when I did seek his guidance. And Will, throughout that whole three or four year journey there, James 1, 2 through 5 were indeed our anchor, specifically my anchor scriptures, because there were times that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to take it anymore. But each time that I got to that point, I would find joy in knowing that my Heavenly Father would come through and have me covered, no matter what it looked like in front of me.

You know, and that truly is a blessing, and I'm sure that there is many listeners out there who can also resonate with, you know, what you went through as some of them may have adopted children within their family. But I like that verse because it says, let patience have its perfect work. And trials, just like I think any other temptation or sin that attempts us to go in that direction, it will bring us to Christ or it will push us away from Christ, depending on how we respond. But, you know, the verse that kind of stuck with me back when I saw that little red light go off was, if any of you lack wisdom, and Lord knows I lack wisdom. I mean, it was like, where is wisdom?

I need some wisdom right now. Because, you know, the light, it's just like God give you a warning before the big boom happens. You know, so He always brings a warning. You know, He always warns us. And so that was my warning. My warning was, the light is telling you something, investigate. And of course, I went through that procrastination, and all of a sudden it put me down out in the middle of nowhere, and it's like, see, I told you so. Yeah, it's like, Sonny, the light just disappeared.

My mother said, the car said, okay, you're not going to pay attention, I'll fix you. Exactly, it's like now, it's like now what, you know? Now you will listen.

You have no choice now. And then He says, if you lack wisdom, just ask it of God, and He will give it to everyone liberally. In other words, freely. He'll give it to us freely, and He'll give it to us without approach. And make sure when you do ask, you must believe and not doubt, Scripture tells us. Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, right, blown and tossed by the wind. And see, and that, oh, go ahead, I'm sorry, Roy.

No, no, go right here, Will. No, because I was going to say, that I think should give us an indication that we, when we believe something, we have to continue to stay steadfast, even if we don't see it happen right away. And you know, we talked about this when it came to prayer, and you know, in a few shows back. Just because you don't see it happen right away does not mean God is not working behind the scenes. And that's the beauty of what God does for us, you know. So very true, and Will, the same holds true for biblical standards, right?

You can't move left or right because you truly are like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by whatever opinion you hear. So folks, I think that also holds true for us, that we have to hold to our biblical standards. And you know, I think that's why, that's why the church, you know, as a collective body of believers around the world, I think that's where the enemy is now, is bringing his fiery darts. You know, it's because the church is compromising, and we're not holding true to sound doctrine. You know, I was reminded in Colossians chapter 2, I believe it is, in verse 8, when God blessed through the Apostle Paul to say to the Colossi Christians, don't be deceived through man's philosophy and vain deceit.

According to the traditions of men and the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. And see, Roy, that verse says exactly what you and I just said. See, when, when the church starts wavering, then the members within that body starts wavering. And then we have an unsteady church. And now we are prone for the enemy to come in. And now through all of this other stuff that he attempts to throw at us, we end up with clinging to man's philosophy and his vain deceits and his traditions, instead of clinging to Christ, the unmovable rock. That's good, Will.

Very good. Amen. You know, I was reading a little bit ahead here and a little bit further down in James, and we were talking about temptations and the church's tendency to do what they're doing within society is basically weakening their position into society, right? Basically saying, you know, they're trying to be the world to the church, trying to be more a part of the world rather than just being in the world and not being out of the world. But in verse 14, Will, it says, let's see here, sorry, but each person, if you substitute person here and you put it, but each church is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed, when they move away from the standards of God, right? Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full-grown gives birth to death. So that's what we're seeing with our churches. I think they're giving way to the desires, the worldly desires, in that they want to be a part of the world rather than be ostracized by standing on their standards. You know, it's almost like the church is being part and parcel.

Yep. Because it's like, well, we want to accept everyone into the church, and we want to love everyone that comes into the church, but what about the things that individuals bring into the church? You know, and those things may not be seen, you know, right away, and it might take time, but an individual may come in with a different philosophy or some tradition, and now all of a sudden, this tradition, philosophy, or opinion that they're holding to as truth, now it's affecting or watering down the things that are coming from the pulpit.

So behind the scenes, you have this conflict that's going on. Right. You know, I'm again reminded of how God blessed through the Apostle Paul and Acts, and we're not going to get there today, Roy, but we're going to share that on next time. And I'm so glad, I think, to know that when God gives us something that He intends and will carry that thing out.

We got about 10 seconds. You got anything else, Roy? Father, we thank you for our friendship with Roger, and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of his life. God bless you. 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.