Time to Refuel

This is Andy Thomas from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we discover what it means to be a wholehearted man. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just 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.

On the other side of that wall, Pastor Jonathan Falwell, what is happening here, man? Well, we're doing a conference. We've been doing this every year for decades. My dad started it way back in the 70s, and we continue it today, our Refuel Conference, where we just invite pastors from all across the world to come.

It's completely free. We don't charge any of them to be here, and it literally is just an opportunity for us to encourage and to speak into the lives of leaders that oftentimes it's a lonely place to be when you're in ministry. And, you know, you're ministering to so many, and oftentimes you lose sight of and you forget the fact that you also need to be ministered to. And so we have the opportunity of just encouraging them, spend a couple of days. You know, they don't pay a thing to be here.

We cover all the expenses. And, you know, we have some of the great speakers from around the world. We have two from England, one from Australia, you know, Alistair McGrath, of course, from from England and Gary Habermas and Sam Chan and lots of others who are just speaking into the lives of these these leaders to to let them know what they do is important and what they do is vital in our nature and our in our in our nation, our culture today, obviously more than ever, and to make sure that we recognize we appreciate you and keep doing what God has called you to do. Amen.

There's churches all over the country, all over the world through the church planning network here. And so a lot of these pastors come here to get kind of refueled, literally, and that's the name of this conference. What's your word, your challenge to folks? It's tough to get it's tough out there. I mean, we got we can't even know we don't know what genders are anymore.

Right. And we've got churches that are kind of going woke and going broke and shutting down. And we've we've drifted from the gospel. Well, Pastor Jonathan, what is your heart?

What are you what are you trying to call people to do? What's your word of encouragement to so many out there who are struggling just to get up there, get in the pulpit, open God's word, just be faithful to the gospel? You know, honestly, faithfulness, that's the word you just used it. And that is the word because, again, everything in our culture is trying to keep us from being on mission in what God calls us to be, whether you're a pastor or whether or not. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you are on mission. God has called you Ephesians chapter two, verse 10 says that you are God's masterpiece, created a new in Christ Jesus to do the works that he prepared for you before time began. And so all of us are called into ministry, some vocational, some in other ways, you know, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our schools. And so we have to be faithful because the world is trying to pull us away from continuing to stand up for truth. And that's what this conference really is focusing on as defending truth, but offering hope. Because when we know we stand on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he's the way, the truth and the life.

No man comes to the Father except through him. That is the ultimate picture of hope that the world is looking for hope. The world is looking. They're looking for answers.

They're looking for something that can give them and the encouragement they need to make it through the day. And we sit here and we've got the answers. It's in our hands and it's in our hearts. And basically the message is like, how dare we not, Romans 1 16, not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. We have to stand firm. We have to stand on truth. But we've got to stand truth in love. First Corinthians chapter 16 tells us like everything that we do, we must do in love. Romans chapter 14, verse one. Like, hey, even when the weaker brother, the person who's coming, who is walking in doubt that we don't rebuff them, we don't push them away.

We wrap our arms around them and let them know that we love them, that God loves them and that God's got a better plan. Well, Pastor Jonathan Falwell, now let's get a quick Jonathan Falwell update. Now, you and I are kind of sons of the pioneers.

Way back when our dads were in our, my granddad was involved in putting your dad on the radio. You know, Liberty University. God's blessed. Thomas Road Baptist Church right here. We're in the church and this amazing event's happening here.

But can you give us a little bit of like what all you're up to? Because now you've taken on a new role with the university. God's kind of blessing. And it's neat to see there's that godly tradition continuing that your dad, you know, he cast a vision to train leaders, champions for Christ. Talk about what you're doing now as chancellor and all this stuff. Well, you know, obviously still serving as pastor here at Thomas Road Baptist Church. Been here now for seven, 17 years serving in that role.

Another 12 or 13 years before that in different roles. Now serving as the chancellor at Liberty University, which is the world's largest Christian university. Hundred and thirty thousand plus students that right now are studying around the world.

Sixteen thousand right here on the campus. And the mission of our institution, while academically we want to be excellent, athletically we want to be excellent, facilities we want to be excellent. We want to be excellent in everything that we do. But ultimately our mission and the one thing that drives us each and every day is that we want to train champions for Christ. Whatever career path they take, whatever vocation they walk into as they leave this place, that's great. We want to make sure they're prepared to do it better than anyone else. But they're going to go out and recognize that while they do what they do, ultimately what they really are doing is they're being a representative of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And so that's what we're doing. And that's, you know, it's my heart. It was my dad's heart. Our new president here at Liberty, Don D. Costin is here. It's his heart.

It's his passion. But we are on the right track. We're doing the right stuff. We're going the right direction. And that direction is the direction that this place started on 52 years ago to train champions for Christ who will change the world. Praise God. I just shook hands with a pastor, Chris, who is one of the first, his dad was one of the first church planters up in the DC area when your dad, he was in the first class at Liberty when your dad started school. And now his son is planting up in that area.

Amazing. And there's still 2.5 billion people on our planet who've never heard the gospel. And out of here and out of places like this, there's this reverberation of let's share the truth. And you shot a video, our friend Jesse, who someone needs to get him excited about the Lord. I mean, you know, he just needs to get on fire for God. He needs to get the Holy Spirit or something.

I'm just kidding. You know, Jesse, he overwhelms you with the gospel. He's excited. He's in the airport. He stole the mic in an airport and was sharing the gospel with all the people.

He's doing these kind of things. But these little share the truth cards and you shot a cute little video, a cool little video telling people, you know, to just share the gospel everywhere you go. It's not that hard. It's not rocket science.

What's your challenge on that? Like, people are lost. They're going to hell.

We have the answer right here. Like you said earlier, in our hands, we have the Word of God, like the shoes of the gospel. Give us a challenge as we get out of here on the importance of sharing the truth. Yeah, you know, a lot of people are worried. They're fearful to share the gospel with people because they're afraid. Like, I don't know what to say. I don't know how I'm going to do that.

I don't know what, you know, what will they think about me? But honestly, really, the best story you can tell is not a story you heard from a pastor. It's not a story you read in a book.

It's not a story that you have to go to seminary to receive. It's really the story of what God has done in your life. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a new creation. All the old has passed away and everything is made new.

God has transformed you into a new creation. And as a result of that, you have the best story to possibly share with anyone in the world about what God has done in your life. And so you don't have to wonder about what to say and how do I say it and what do I, you know, what words do I use? Just tell your gospel story. Tell them what God has done for you. And if you tell people what God has done for you, the encouragement that he has brought, the encouragement that his word gives, the encouragement that the gospel gives for eternity. Like, just share, like, what it means to you and how it's changed your life. Like, that's something that people want to know.

They want to hear. So you don't have to, like, be some, again, some, you know, pastor or go to seminary and get a degree. You just simply need to share, hey, this is what God has done for me.

I love it. Pastor Jonathan Falwell, listen to him on the radio. 93.7 FM, 101.5 FM Roanoke, 93.7 in Lynchburg. Every morning at 7.30, whenever I'm coming up Liberty Mountain, I turn that station on.

I heard as far as Chatham coming in this morning and love hearing you on the radio. Of course, you're on all over the country, radio, TV, other places, and you can visit this church. So many folks have been at my daughter's baptized right like through there somewhere.

There's some water somewhere through that wall. And that's where she was dunked by Pastor Jonathan and came up, you know, public profession of faith. She hadn't been baptized yet. So thank you for what you're doing, pastor. And how can we pray for you?

Let it give everyone listening. You're out there on the front lines. How can we pray for you and your family, your kids, your grandkids?

Well, you know, the same prayer request I would have would be probably what everyone listening to this has. And that's a hate for faithfulness, for encouragement, for strength to keep on keeping on. We live in a tough time when the world is trying to slow us down. The world's trying to shut us up and recognizing that. We know we live is Second Timothy, chapter three and chapter four. Tell us, hey, things are going to get bad. But it doesn't matter because at the end of the day, we know we know who wins. And so just faithfulness to the word of God, faithfulness to the gospel and encouraged to keep on keeping on.