1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,640 Welcome to the God's Goodness podcast, where our mission is to encourage and highlight God's 2 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:18,560 Goodness and modern-day miracles. We are your hosts, Josh and Shelly Hankins. Today we have a 3 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,640 little bit of a rainy day, so you might hear rain in the background, but it's going to be amazing 4 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:29,440 because we are having a fireside chat with Pastor Rick Cardell. He's back with us for a second chat, 5 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:36,000 and he is going to be sharing some more stories of what God has done over the years through him, 6 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,320 and it's just amazing. You're going to love it, and with that we'll have him open us up with an 7 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:51,600 opening prayer. Oh, our extraordinary God, our loving Father, our Savior, blessed Holy Spirit, 8 00:00:51,600 --> 00:01:02,080 we thank you for being here with us and opening the hearts and ears and the eyes of the understanding 9 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:10,080 of all those that are listening. We look to you to order our conversations a right and to 10 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:18,320 cause your word to pierce in a loving, gentle, healing way into the hearts of our hearers. 11 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:26,800 We ask it in the name of Jesus, amen and amen. Amen. Thank you. At where would you like to start 12 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:37,040 today? Well, I'd like to start with the charismatic renewal experience that I had years ago, 13 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:45,200 after I was saved, being raised Roman Catholic, like I had mentioned in the last time we got 14 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:52,560 together. That's what I knew the most, but God uses us all and everything that we've learned and 15 00:01:52,560 --> 00:02:01,600 lived, and in His great wisdom, He grows us right where we are. So being a newborn again Roman Catholic, 16 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:09,680 my quest was to get everyone I could to know Jesus. One day I was in a religious article 17 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:17,040 store in the Penn Circle, Indy's Liberty, and a lady named Ellen worked there and we got to talking. 18 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:24,720 She invited me to a Catholic Pentecostal prayer meeting at Sacred Heart Church in Shadyside. 19 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:34,240 Well, Catholic I knew, but what was Pentecostal? She said that I'd love it. She said a priest and 20 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:43,440 a nun lead it, and I prayed and God spoke to my heart go. How the prayer group actually got 21 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:51,120 started was when someone who had been badly burned was healed in answer to the prayers of a few people 22 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:59,120 who got together to seriously pray. And that's the story that I was told, but it was a small group 23 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:05,200 and the young woman who played the guitar and led the singing had received the infilling of the Holy 24 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:14,400 Spirit. To my knowledge, she was the only one who said that she prayed in tongues. Being as this was 25 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:22,640 something mysterious to me and she did not do it during the meeting, I questioned her. I said that 26 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:29,600 I would like to hear somebody speak in tongues, but I thought I might be scared by it. She explained 27 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:36,480 with great confidence, peace, and gladness that it was something beautiful and ministered peace. 28 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:44,160 It was a sign of God's nearness and presence with us. So she began to play her guitar and 29 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:50,800 sing in other tongues. She was right. What a blessing it was. And that was the first time 30 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:58,640 that I had ever heard anybody speak in tongues. During this time, the 1970s, there was a great 31 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:06,240 charismatic renewal that actually began at Duquesne University and spread all over Pittsburgh 32 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:13,840 and the world. There was a front page cover story in the Sunday Roto magazine telling this 33 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:23,120 phenomenon of glosalalia, which is speaking in other tongues. Prayer meetings were springing up 34 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:30,880 everywhere and God strategically raised me up new friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, 35 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:38,880 who like me were hungry for God and everything that he offered. Pastor Ray Patterson from the 36 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:45,440 Oakmont Baptist Church received the infilling of the Holy Spirit and it transformed his church. 37 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:54,560 He was a solid, sold out, Pentecostal Baptist that the Lord used to teach and disciple multitudes 38 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:01,680 of people. There were a bunch of us young adults who fellowshiped together and we called ourselves 39 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:09,920 the God Squad. Some of us hitchhiked everywhere or took public transportation to be on every prayer 40 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:16,880 meeting we heard about. Home prayer meetings, meetings at St. Peter's Catholic Church in New 41 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:23,600 Kensington, Sacred Heart and Shady Side, St. Francis Hospital, Church of the Brethren in 42 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:29,920 Squirrel Hill, Oakmont Baptist Church and the Charismatic Conferences at Duquesne University. 43 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:37,840 Well, one day a couple of us were on our way somewhere hitchhiking in Oakland when a van of 44 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:47,040 Harry Christianists picked us up. It was very hot and they really smelled a body odor. We tried to 45 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:54,240 witness to them but they kept on chanting. By this time we had been filled with the Holy Spirit 46 00:05:54,240 --> 00:06:02,560 and so we loudly prayed in tongues until our ride was over. It was so funny. I don't know if they 47 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:09,680 knew what was going on but God sure did. My friends and I had many daily experiences involving God's 48 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:16,240 presence with us and you know it continues to this day, every day with Jesus, sweeter than the day 49 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:24,400 before. We were determined to let God use us however he wished. One brother, Paul Kress, 50 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:31,600 and I teamed up and under the training of the nuns at St. Francis Hospital, one of whom was 51 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:39,360 Sister Margaret Rose, went room to room visiting patients and praying for them. People got saved 52 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:48,240 and healed. Praise God. This was a great training for my pastoral care ministry today. It is encouraging 53 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:58,320 to allow ourselves to be Christ's hands extended to help others. Are you listener? Letting God use 54 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:05,120 you in practical ways every day? God works miracles in the normal events of each day. 55 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:11,120 Look for them and be a part of them because God is eager to use you. 56 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:19,040 2 Chronicles 16, 9 says, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth 57 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:26,480 to show himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. 58 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:32,720 When you're a willing vessel you get to see the most amazing things and then after it you're like, 59 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:43,040 wow, that was really cool. So you went from Roman Catholic to believing in Christ in a different 60 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:53,040 way to tongues, to healings. You've seen healings through that. How wild of a roller coaster was 61 00:07:53,040 --> 00:08:03,040 that for you to go from such a sedentary Roman Catholic kind of background to a moving faith, 62 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:13,680 to a moving God, to a moving miracle wielding Jesus? Well, to me it was gradual in that it 63 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:21,280 happened. It's like you're picking up speed and not knowing it. You're going at a faster pace, 64 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:34,560 but it's like normal for you. But people would see the difference in us and you're like electrified 65 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:43,600 by your faith in Christ because you want everybody to know Jesus the way that you've come to know him. 66 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:49,440 Yes, for sure. Enough to start a podcast. There you go. 67 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:55,840 I was hearing so many stories of God working miracles today that I'm like, people have to 68 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:01,600 hear this. I can't keep it to myself because they would be encouraged too. We definitely need 69 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,960 encouragement these days. Our witness says one of the most powerful things that there is. The 70 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:12,400 Bible says that we in Revelation we defeat the devil by the blood of the Lamb by the word of our 71 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:21,760 testimony. I encourage people to share everything Christ is doing in your life. I also encourage 72 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:30,640 all you listeners to keep a log or a journal or whatever and take time to think about how God 73 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:38,400 worked in your life for the day and write it down because it really helps to go back and review 74 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:46,560 those things. Wow, does it stir up your faith? That's what David did. He got in tough spots. 75 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:54,000 He would remind himself of how God always got him through. I started to note in my phone with things 76 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:03,600 like that to look back on. Let me tell you more about this great outpouring. The Bible says 77 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:10,160 let everything that have breath praise the Lord. Life is so exciting walking with Jesus 78 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:17,760 every moment of the day and I remember one evening going by myself from Oakmont, Pennsylvania to the 79 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:25,200 St. Francis Hospital meeting. I hitchhiked for a while. I walked a lot. By the time I got to the 80 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:32,320 prayer meeting they were actually in the closing moments. As we stood there in a circle, 81 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:41,040 God gave me a word of knowledge. That's a word, something that you have no way of knowing, 82 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:50,320 but God reveals it to you to be a blessing somehow. So God gave me a word of knowledge that 83 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:57,440 a leg was being healed. One lady said she knew that was for a relative of hers who was supposed 84 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:04,640 to be there that night but had not showed up. Some of us went into a room off to the side and 85 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:11,360 suddenly the lady came rushing in with a relative who had just arrived. God's timing. 86 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:20,080 And hey, did she ever have a leg problem? Her leg was so much shorter than the other that she wore 87 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:28,480 a platform shoe that had been made especially for her. God said he was healing a leg so we decided 88 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:37,680 to go for it. She sat down, took off her shoe, and I took her foot in my hands and prayed a simple 89 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:45,600 prayer asking God to do this miracle. Suddenly the power of God did it. He lengthened her leg 90 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:53,200 right there in front of us. That must have been a slight dizzy. It was, but when it happens it's like 91 00:11:54,400 --> 00:12:01,920 wow, but this just happened. We were thrilled and awed and the young lady had to go home, 92 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:10,080 barefoot, hallelujah. The meetings at Russ Bixler's Church of the Brethren in the 93 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:16,720 Squirrel Hill area during this outpouring of Holy Spirit was filled with blessings and the 94 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:23,120 expectancy was always high. You know, if you didn't get there early you actually could not get in. 95 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:31,920 Even if you had to stand as you got in, you just leaned against the wall or shifted your weight 96 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:39,600 but mostly you were caught up in the singing, the praising, the tongues, the interpretation, 97 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:47,840 the prophecies, the testimonies, the pure joy of gathering together with other people in Jesus' name. 98 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:55,840 People from almost every denomination were there. They would pray for the sick or people would get 99 00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:02,000 healed through a word of knowledge, one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12. 100 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:09,280 They would always invite people to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. And if anyone 101 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:15,440 wanted the baptism or the infilling of the Holy Spirit, they'd take you into another room and pray 102 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:23,360 for you personally. One night I took advantage of the opportunity and went for prayer. A man came 103 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:29,520 over to me, laid his hands on my head, then he said, you're already filled with the Holy Spirit, 104 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:36,160 you're trying too hard to speak in tongues. Trying too hard I thought. I didn't even know 105 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:44,880 it was to try. You know, we have these preconceived ideas. I thought that God would overpower me and 106 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:50,240 I would suddenly find myself speaking in another language. I thought God would make it all happen. 107 00:13:51,040 --> 00:14:03,440 I sure didn't know. I did want to lay to say some sounds but I thought that God was one that forced 108 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:11,920 it out of you and that you had to feel something. So I didn't want to do anything wrong and wasn't 109 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:18,000 I supposed to have some kind of glorious feeling or something, you know, which I didn't have. 110 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:27,440 I wish someone would have instructed me in this matter and that's why today I always inform people 111 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:34,960 of how you put yourself in a position and what your cooperation with God in the matter is. 112 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:47,280 Well, the devil, planet, a thought in my mind that any sounds that I may have wanted to make or utter 113 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:52,880 that they were only words from the Latin mass I had been raised Catholic, okay, 114 00:14:52,880 --> 00:15:01,600 that I had heard growing up. So I didn't attempt to speak them. When I went home to my room all 115 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:08,800 alone, I said, God, I want everything that you have for me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. 116 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:17,920 Let me speak in tongues. Then I made a sound. I had this thought, you know, what harm is there in 117 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:27,520 muttering a sound? And so it was like a syllable. I just said a sound. And then I found myself saying 118 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:35,840 other utterances. And I knew by the witness of the Holy Spirit in my heart that I had received. 119 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:44,320 I, some people do, but I didn't have any kind of ecstatic sense of the supernatural power of God, 120 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:53,120 but I knew beyond a shout of a doubt that what I had received was real. In Acts 2, 16 and 17, 121 00:15:54,080 --> 00:16:01,600 this is how Peter explained the unfilling of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost. This is that which was 122 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:10,560 spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out 123 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:17,920 of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men 124 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:26,320 shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Listener, have you received this wonderful 125 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:34,960 experience that is God's will for every born again believer? If not, you can. What would be 126 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:45,600 your best advice, giving that you felt so lost because you you weren't instructed in how to have 127 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:51,200 this heavenly language? What would be your best advice to those that are struggling now that 128 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:58,160 that are at the cusp that they believe but are afraid to have an utterance for whatever reason, 129 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:02,960 that they're saying gibberish, that they're self-doubting, that that's not God speaking through, 130 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:07,920 what would be your best advice to give someone? Well, I'd say a couple things. First of all, 131 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:14,960 talk to other people about their experiences, how they receive, because so many of us are similar. 132 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:23,440 Another thing is realize that you can't even speak in English if you don't use your voice and your 133 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:30,800 tongue. So how can you speak in another language if you don't? It's a cooperative thing. We are 134 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:37,680 God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And even when we accepted Jesus, 135 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:47,360 we had to believe in our heart and say with our mouth. So your mouth, your words are always involved 136 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:54,640 in your faith. The kingdom is voice activated, they say. It actually is. It actually is. And it was so. 137 00:17:54,640 --> 00:18:00,880 I've told people when those things in the restrooms and that came out, 138 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:10,160 motion activated, faucets and paper towels, I said, well, that's like it is with faith things. 139 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:19,200 Faith without corresponding actions is dead. Your words have to speak it forth. It helps to 140 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:28,240 envision it. God's given us this wonderful mind that is sanctified with his word. And that's where 141 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:36,400 he shows us pictures, visions and things like that. And we can paint a picture with God's words, 142 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:44,960 you know, and envision it, believe it. The Bible does say without a vision, the people perish, 143 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:53,600 right? So if you don't have a picture of it in your heart, in your spirit, then how can you 144 00:18:53,600 --> 00:19:01,360 look forward to it happening? So it reminds me of that one story. It's a very brief story of two 145 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:08,080 farmers that prayed for rain. But one farmer actually planted seeds. So which farmer had greater faith? 146 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:14,160 The one that planted the seeds, because he knew he had faith that that rain would water his crops, 147 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:19,680 that he would have a crop come in. So he planted for it. And so, you know, it keep being when he 148 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,800 said that you have to have that faith. You have to have works towards it. You have to move toward 149 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:30,880 what you believe. And so I think that's a pretty important message for everyone of us. 150 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:38,720 When I first came to this church, Pastor Robert Owen, a great man of God was a pastor. He shared 151 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:46,160 his experience with us as a young Welsh boy over in Wales. He said he was sitting up in the balcony 152 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:53,360 and heard a message about receiving the Holy Ghost. And he said, okay, God, I want this. 153 00:19:54,320 --> 00:20:01,680 And it says in the Acts that when the Holy Spirit came, they, the people began to speak 154 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:08,800 in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So by faith, going to speak, 155 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:16,640 and he began to speak for sounds. And sure enough, there's something it's like priming a pump. 156 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:21,920 You get something on your, coming out of your mouth almost went into tongues. 157 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:29,760 And then it comes up out of your spirit. It's wonderful. It's powerful. 158 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:38,160 And it's yet it's so natural and normal for a Spirit-filled Christian because I spend 159 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:46,400 most of my day throughout my day. I'm praying in tongues, you know, I'm cutting my grass. And for 160 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:53,440 hours, I'm just out there speaking in tongues. And when we do that, the Bible says that we are 161 00:20:53,440 --> 00:21:00,320 building ourselves up on our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. And it also says to 162 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:07,280 be filled or be being filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in songs and hymns and 163 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:16,160 spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts unto the Lord. So it's our responsibility 164 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:23,280 to walk into things of God. He gives us the ability. And it's just like when if you want to be used 165 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:30,000 in healing, you got to step out and pray for people who need healing. For us, you can't, 166 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:35,840 it's like the farmer you talked about. You can't see any results. We've seen many miracles with 167 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:42,160 healing. We've heard many miracles with healing. And I'm a big proponent of you have to try, right? 168 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,640 So if you don't try, you know, like Wayne Gretzky would say, you miss 100% of the shots you don't 169 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:53,200 take. So who's going to be healed if you don't pray? Nobody, nobody. But if you pray and they're 170 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:58,160 healed, awesome, if they're not awesome, because you still pray, you still have been a connection. 171 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:03,360 And God says, Hey, not yet. Yeah, right. And, you know, we get so bent up when we see 172 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:11,760 in action that we assume it's us. We assume that we did something wrong. We assume and it causes, 173 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:19,120 I think a lot of us to have a limp. And I think we forget that God is the authority that our faith, 174 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:24,080 the faith of the person you're praying for, is immaterial compared to the power of God. 175 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:30,320 God doesn't need our faith. He enjoys it. He enjoys watching us. He enjoys feeling our faith. He 176 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:36,240 enjoys us coming to him with that faith. He doesn't need it to work. That's not what gives him power. 177 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:42,720 He had that power already. And so I think we need to keep that in perspective that sometimes our faith 178 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:47,920 isn't as strong as it should be, but it doesn't, it should not keep us from praying, right? And 179 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:56,240 praying for more faith. And when you step out to do something, that's when the power is released, 180 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:04,560 not before, sometimes maybe before. But, you know, when you need it, if you step out, 181 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:12,480 it's like plugging in our steps of faith or like plugging in to the power of God that is in us. 182 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:19,280 Can I share another experience? Okay, this happened during those years. And I'm so glad, 183 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:27,120 like I encourage people write things down because when you write them down, you always have them 184 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:36,240 to go back to. And I encourage people write a book about your experiences. Anybody can write a book. 185 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:45,680 Anybody can write a book. So I call this account the Crooked Creek Experience. 186 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:54,560 There was another young man, well, I had been saved for a year, I guess a year, and there was 187 00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:02,560 this outpouring all over the place, like I said. And there was this young man who had gotten saved 188 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:11,920 in our time and filled with the Holy Spirit. And he was a carrot red, curly, afro white man 189 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:22,480 with a beard. His name was David. David was the son of the Presbyterian minister in our time. Uh-oh. 190 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:30,880 And his mother was a teacher. David was a very independent thinker who endeavored to follow the 191 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:38,720 Lord down any exciting path. His family had a trailer located a good distance away at a place 192 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:45,760 called Crooked Creek. Well, David invited me to join him for a week of prayer and fellowship and 193 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:53,920 fasting as we were led. It seemed good to me. So his mother drove us up in their car and left us 194 00:24:54,640 --> 00:25:03,440 until the week was over. We read our Bibles, we prayed, we talked, laughed. One morning as I 195 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:11,920 awoke, the Lord said to me, I want you to go to Ford City today. Ford City, I've been there a few 196 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:17,440 times with some of the prayer group from Mount St. Peter's Church, but I was always a passenger in 197 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:24,000 the backseat, never paying any attention on how to get there since someone else was always driving. 198 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:34,560 How was I to get there? Were we anywhere near Ford City? Okay, God, I'll go. But you'll have 199 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:43,200 to show me how to get there. As I walked outside to tell David, he said to me, I know the Lord told 200 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:53,360 me you're going to Ford City today. Oh, God works. They had a little kayak type boat and David somehow 201 00:25:53,360 --> 00:26:02,000 hooked a motor to it. And he said the Lord told him to take me up the creek to the river, then 202 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:11,760 motor up the river until we saw a man on the shore. He would give me directions. So we set out on this 203 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:20,720 adventure. Sure enough, up a ways we saw a man and David left me off and drove away in the boat. 204 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:28,720 Talk about faith. Okay, I asked the man if he could tell me how to get to Ford City. He said to go 205 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:38,560 up over this embankment through this yard and there was Ford City. Wow. Yeah, this is God. When I got 206 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:44,800 to the street, I thought, no, no, Lord, where should I go? And he said, go into the grocery store 207 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:52,960 across the street. So lo and behold, I ran into a lady from that prayer group that I'd only been to 208 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:58,880 a few times. She told me how to get to the church and that there was a prayer meeting that evening. 209 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:07,600 It was great. And during the meeting, I saw two visions. One was of Lot's wife, when she looked 210 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:15,760 back and became a pillar of salt. The Lord said, never look back. Never look back. If you do, 211 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:22,400 you too, in a sense, will be like a pillar of salt and not able to go forward. The second vision 212 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:31,680 was of Noah's Ark with the words written, trust and obey. Trust and obey. No matter what man may say, 213 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:39,120 do what I say. Trust and obey. So I shared these words with the group to encourage them in the Lord. 214 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:44,720 And at the end of the meeting, a couple came to me saying that they didn't always come to that 215 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:51,680 meeting, but the Holy Spirit told them to come and take a young man to a certain place afterwards. 216 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:59,360 I shared my story of how I got there, but I sure was depending on God to get me back. Well, 217 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:06,880 I went with this couple who drove me away and then into a woods. They showed me a railroad 218 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:15,200 trestle saying that somewhere over that trestle were a couple of trailers. They drove away and 219 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:23,200 left me. When I carefully began walking over the trestle, then went over the water, a scripture came 220 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:32,080 to me. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And you know, I just said that over 221 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:42,400 and over. And then I looked down at my feet and guiding me was a bluish white light. The word 222 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:49,440 truly led me over the trestle and through the woods and right to the trailer. Can you trust God? 223 00:28:50,400 --> 00:29:00,080 Absolutely. Implicitly. It's pretty incredible. Like there's a lot of incredible in that leg in 224 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:08,080 your crooked creek story. I can relate. I've been in the backseat of a car before when people 225 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:12,480 are going places and I said, all right, let's go. I don't know what that is. I was looking at the 226 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:20,880 window. I was looking at the fall leaves. I have no idea what road we're on. And for you to get 227 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:29,280 instead of just driving there, that you take a modified kayak because somebody else had a vision 228 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:35,280 that you were going to go that way and meet somebody on a bank. And you did. And this person 229 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:41,760 basically said, it's right behind you. Forty is right here. It's right here. You're here. Welcome 230 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:46,880 here. And then the Lord tells you to go to a grocery store where you meet someone that's familiar 231 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:52,880 to you and tells you about the Bible study. At the Bible study, you meet a couple that would 232 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:58,400 normally not be there that you got to share your story with. And then they lead you to 233 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:05,040 lead you. It's incredible after incredible after incredible after incredible. That's a powerful 234 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:14,880 message of how God guides us. And I love that at the end, it seemed that you were a little uncertain 235 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,520 with even with everything that's happened, right? Because you had the scripture come to mind and 236 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:24,720 you're saying the scripture over and over and over again. And then when you look down, you see the 237 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:31,600 Lord is a lamp unto your feet. Exactly. Right. You see it. And I'm guessing that that helped 238 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:37,520 alleviate any other doubts you had for that evening. Absolutely. Completely. I think you're 239 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:44,800 like, that's it. I'm done Lord. I'm done doubting. How incredible. That's such an enriching story. 240 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:51,120 I feel really blessed hearing that. It's not often that we get to have physical, tangible things 241 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:57,520 occur to us from the Lord. Right. We get the word, we get maybe something from someone else that got 242 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,840 placed in someone's heart. We hear a song on the radio. I was like, Oh man, like this is for me. 243 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:06,880 It's speaking to me, but very rarely do we have these moments where our feet are glowing as we're 244 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:11,120 walking. And to me, that's a very tangible evidence that God works in our lives. You know, 245 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:16,240 watching someone be healed, watching a leg be lengthened in front of you. That's a very tangible 246 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:24,880 experience. And, you know, obviously speaking in tongues, I think the other two, the healing and 247 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:32,640 the glowing of the feet are harder for us to deny than speaking in tongues because there's still that 248 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:38,720 air of like, am I doing it right? You know, and if I don't know what I'm saying, right? I think 249 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,880 I'm giving up my heart is in the right place. I'm giving God everything I have, but I don't know 250 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:49,360 what it is coming out. Right. But with the others, it's clear. God is working. It's clear. There is 251 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:54,400 no doubt. There is no room for doubt. And, you know, unless you have that burning fire inside of 252 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:59,360 you when you speak, like, which is not forever, not everybody has that that moment. There are 253 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:05,760 very few things that God does that are visible for us. And I think it takes such tremendous faith 254 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:10,720 that he knows we don't need to live off of faith completely that he's willing to reveal himself 255 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:16,640 for us. He's like, yes, you believe. So here you go. Those of us that have still struggled with 256 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:22,960 our faith journeys, he gets us not as concrete like that so that we can work on our faith on our 257 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:30,800 own. I think this is such a powerful motivator for us as believers. There is a place that we can get 258 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:38,080 to where God is tangible, right? That he operates in this world, not just beyond, but in this world, 259 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:42,640 right in front of us. And all we have to do is pay attention. All you had to do was look down 260 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:48,960 to see it. We just have to see where he is. But you had that word on your heart. So you could, 261 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:53,760 the Holy Spirit could remind you of that too. Right. Somewhere along the line, I had put it in there. 262 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,920 And each, like this didn't all happen at once. You had to take one step at a time to see, 263 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:04,720 okay, what's next? All right, I did that. What's next? But you were that willing vessel. And then 264 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:10,240 you got to see the tangible miracles, modern day miracles. That's so neat. 265 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:16,480 Imagine how you'd have been stopped if you'd have balked at the first one. I need you to 266 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:22,880 have a fort city. I don't think so. I wouldn't be here sitting today sharing it. Right. And at any 267 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:29,200 point in that journey, if you just said, Lord, that's just too crazy. I can't. Can you imagine 268 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:36,080 how different things would be if at any point you hesitated? You were blessed. Others were blessed 269 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:42,480 by your obedience. I hope that encourages other people to be obedient. That when they hear the 270 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:48,000 Lord telling them to do something, they do it instead of making excuses. Instead of finding out a 271 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:53,840 way or trying to tell God, who by the way already knows everything, a reason why you can't do something 272 00:33:53,840 --> 00:34:01,040 to just do it. Right. Yeah. It's through faith and obedience that we inherit the promises of God, 273 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:09,600 that we walk in the promises of God, His provision, everything. The Holy Spirit is so 274 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:17,440 vitally important in our walk with God. Yeah. I would hazard to say that it would be impossible 275 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:23,920 for us to have an experience with Jesus if it was not for the Holy Spirit intervening in our lives. 276 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:28,480 It would be completely impossible to recognize who God is or the sovereignty of God without the 277 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:35,760 Holy Spirit being a part of us. I have time to tell you another quick story. Okay. Sharing the Holy 278 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:43,920 Spirit. Perfect. Okay. The things of the Spirit filled life are new and they're fresh every day. 279 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:50,080 Being a Roman Catholic, I wanted others in our church to discover what God has freely given. 280 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:56,880 I was very attentive to every reading of scripture in the church services at the Catholic Church. 281 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:06,560 The gospel, once you know it, seems so simple. Why weren't people at St. Irenaeus Church getting it? 282 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:15,280 I thought. Religious tradition was like a turning wheel in a hamster cage. There was a lot of 283 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:23,360 repetitious movement, but nobody was going anywhere. One night, I read a gospel tract and had a 284 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:29,760 question about it. So I knocked on the rectory. That's where the priest lived, the door, and was 285 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:36,880 invited in. The priest was meeting with a man who was a very fast talker and they evidently were in 286 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:44,160 need of a CCD, Comfort Attorney of Christian Doctor and teacher for the sixth or seventh grade boys. 287 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:51,680 And I had asked him a question that I had in this tract that I had read in this tract and 288 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:59,600 he just kind of changed the subject. He never got an answer to it. He said, 289 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:06,160 how would you like to teach the sixth and seventh grade boys CCD? I was honored and I accepted the 290 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:15,680 challenge. I always taught them, though, the Bible and what the good news of salvation was. 291 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:22,160 During this time, I was required to go with our CCD coordinator, lovely lady who lived down the 292 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:29,760 street from me, Irene Rybecky, once a week to a teacher's class. Irene also was a saved and 293 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:38,880 spirit-filled believer. Well, a priest and a very skinny, sickly woman who had emphysema and smoked 294 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:46,320 habitually and coughed incessantly taught the class. They certainly didn't seem to know Jesus 295 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:53,760 the way that we did. They thought nothing of using a cuss word now and then and we sure tried to get 296 00:36:53,760 --> 00:37:04,000 through to them. One day before Irene picked me up to take me to the class, the Lord said that I was 297 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:10,000 going to teach the class that night and I was to share about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. 298 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:18,000 When I told Irene, she got real nervous. She told me she didn't think that would be a good idea and 299 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:27,280 I better not. When we got to the class with the others, father, so and so, and the sick lady never 300 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:36,880 showed up. So the stage was set, the door was open and I proceeded to take charge of the class by 301 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:44,560 engaging the class in conversation about the Holy Spirit. Irene and I shared our experiences and a 302 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:50,880 couple of people received the baptism in the Holy Spirit just like God said. Well, we never saw the 303 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:58,880 priest again. Unfortunately, it turned out he ran off with a well-known older godly man's wife who 304 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:07,120 was beautiful and younger than her husband. I only tell this because not everyone who is in a place 305 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:16,080 of authority necessarily knows the Lord, will know them by their fruits and hopefully these 306 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:23,840 individuals repent it and they, that they too, I pray, receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 307 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:34,400 But the Holy Spirit, how he leads us and their adventures, every day adventures in God. 308 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:40,640 You never know what you're going to get, but you know it's going to be good. Yeah, I always say 309 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:48,960 God is always up to something good, always. Well, you know, he takes what the enemy meant for evil 310 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:55,840 and uses it for his good. Right. It's the only language he knows is good and so he can make 311 00:38:55,840 --> 00:39:03,040 your worst day good. Right. That Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14, you know. For I know the thoughts and 312 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:09,760 plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans only for good, not for evil, always to bring you to an 313 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:15,840 unexpected end. When you seek me and search for me with all your heart, I will be found of you 314 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:24,960 and I will turn away your captivity. I think a lot of us get stuck in our moments and we forget. 315 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:32,640 I know not my wife and I because we've gone through some things with God knows. We know, 316 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:38,880 we shared it in other podcasts, but we went through without any incident. We went through without 317 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:45,040 losing faith. We went through without going at each other or treating each other as an enemy to each 318 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:52,000 other. We went through things that some people would crippled by the fear of and he delivered us. 319 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:57,280 We went through 27 and a half months of unemployment, no income at all. And we always had what we 320 00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:01,520 needed when we needed it. Sometimes it was in that five day grace period of like, hey, you got to 321 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:06,880 pay it or you're not, but it was always, always, always, always we had it through happenstance, 322 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:12,640 through, hey, would you be willing to paint this? Sure. I should have written down how all the weird 323 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:18,560 ways that money came. And it was just like one thing worked together with another as woven together. 324 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:24,560 And it was just amazing that I wish I would have written everything down. And so now can bring 325 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:29,840 it all back to you. Oh yeah, I'm sure. Bring it all back. I'm thinking of the time I got. I worked 326 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:34,000 at a Walmart for two weeks and there was a lawsuit that I knew nothing about and all of a sudden I 327 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:38,960 had 400, yeah, two weeks. Yeah, I hated it. They did not treat their employees well. They were not 328 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:45,040 looking to better themselves. They were looking for servitude. And anyway, I got $410 from a lawsuit. 329 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:50,640 I knew nothing about three years after I worked there. You know, and here we go. How are we going 330 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:56,880 to do this mailbox money? Thank you, Jesus. Right. And so now when we have things that happen, like, 331 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,600 you know, when I lose my job and I go get another one, nobody's worried. Nobody's upset. 332 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:07,600 Right. I look at it. This is a vacation. I'm going to have some time off. I'm going to enjoy my time 333 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:13,360 off. I'm going to enjoy my unfettered time that I can do things. I can go out with my son and 334 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:18,240 walk the neighborhood and talk about where God made this and God did this. Like this was a beautiful 335 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:25,920 time. Beautiful time. That's in everything you thanks because it's God's will for us to give 336 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:32,560 thanks in every situation. And when we do that, things don't get cluttered with the fears and 337 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:38,960 the unbeliefs and the doubts because our mind has stayed on him. And we trust in him. He keeps us in 338 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:45,120 perfect peace. I had the mindset that I don't know what he's going to do with me tomorrow. 339 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:50,400 But I know what he did with me yesterday. Right. And I know that he is faithful. And he holds 340 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:56,240 tomorrow. That's right. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what tomorrow holds so long as he's in it 341 00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:02,080 with me. I don't care what tomorrow has. I don't care about the pain that could possibly be because 342 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:08,480 I know that I have him. And I wish more people had that, that more Christians had that stance. 343 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:14,880 I've met many a fearful Christian and I thought, how can this be? I'm very blessed 344 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:21,120 to have gone through the things. I know my wife is blessed to have gone through hardships because 345 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:25,680 it has only gone as closer to God. Yeah, you definitely have to look for the good in it. Even 346 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:32,080 a red light. Like, oh, I have time to do some more makeup or time to pray for somebody. You know, 347 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:37,440 just look for the good in that time. Like you could be avoiding an accident because of that red 348 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:44,320 light. It might be making you late. But what's the good from it? You know, I actually shared with 349 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:51,360 one of my coworkers the other day, she had shared with me a story about how she followed the GPS to 350 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:58,320 get to Children's Hospital with a patient in the back that was not doing well. And she knew to go a 351 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:02,160 different way, but GPS had her go another that said it would save her extra amount of time because 352 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:11,040 of traffic. And she followed the GPS instead. And she felt bad that she didn't go the right, the one 353 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:17,120 way. Even though the one way was so clogged that it said 54 minutes and she got there in 26 minutes, 354 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:23,120 right? And she felt bad that she didn't do what she thought she had to do. And I shared with her 355 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:28,800 that maybe she was being saved from something that she's not a believer from something that she 356 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:36,960 didn't know was down the road. The very next day, she was late for work. She woke up late on accident, 357 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:43,040 came to work only to find out that her partner that day, paramedic, had a doctor's appointment. So 358 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:47,520 her being early would have been pointless. And so I got to share as like, it sounds like someone's 359 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:53,200 trying to prove something to you, right? You clearly needed the rest and all things work out for his 360 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:57,760 good. Right. And I got to be able to share that with her like, not everything at surface level, 361 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:02,960 what you think it is. Sometimes you're spared things because you're supposed to be spared things. 362 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:08,480 And so it really made her think and something else happened that day that it's not coming to 363 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:14,000 memory right now that I was like, remember, right? I got to throw that in there again is like, look 364 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:20,800 at this. And so there's been a lot of positive reinforcement with that. Good. I love these stories 365 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:28,560 and bringing God's goodness to the world. It's my jam. It certainly is the name of your podcast. 366 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:33,680 Yes, God's goodness. Now, if you'd like to come along and partner with us and help us with our 367 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:39,600 podcast, expense, audio expenses, we have a fundraising campaign in giftsandgo.com. And if 368 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:43,760 you look up God's goodness podcast, you'll find us there. And there's other ways to give if you 369 00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:49,680 reach out to me. We do other ways too. So if you're more comfortable with those, we can work that out. 370 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:54,960 And we would greatly appreciate all the help and prayers. And also if you were blessed by this 371 00:44:54,960 --> 00:45:00,000 or any of our episodes, we ask that you send it along to a friend. And also if you rate it, 372 00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:06,080 the algorithm can push it out to more people and more people can be encouraged. So we help. We 373 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:26,400 ask that you do that as well. And with that, we'll talk to you next time.