Guest Speaker Q&A from session 3: full transcript and answers

▶ 0:00 I thought this is a good question uh especially for you guys. How do you know when to stop helping someone in need or how it was crossed out here? But I think it’s a good question. How do you know when to stop helping the people in need? When to stop help? Go ahead. That’s kind of a tricky question. Um because I think that help just looks different throughout all seasons. And so sometimes we have to pull back from someone that’s not growing, that’s rejecting the Lord. We realize that we’re enabling, but we still help by prayer. Like we remember to call their name out before the Lord.

▶ 0:51 So um in everything though, you have to be led by the Holy Spirit. Um Tony and I have a lot of experience in pouring ourselves out and pouring ourselves out in situations that God never told us to pour ourselves out in. Um it is one of the most difficult things that I’ve experienced in my life when you pour yourself out and pour yourself out and then there’s rejection. And one of my prayers to the Lord is I pray all the time, Lord, please help me love each person that you set before me like it’s the first time I’ve ever loved in your name. Because it’s so easy to get weary and to get tired, especially trying to find the balance of being led by the Holy Spirit, doing the right thing.

▶ 1:49 I don’t think any one person can tell you how to do that. That’s why the Bible says you have to have your house in order first. When you get your house in order with the Lord, you have a relationship with him. You’re already obeying him. You’re already doing what he said. You can hear the voice of the Lord. And you know when the Lord’s leading to do you leading you to do something. Does that make sense? Amen. Well, it like she said, we have found ourselves in a lot of positions because we just want to help everybody and we want to want to do everything for everybody we can and all those things, but you know, it’s hard for me to give a a a straight answer on this, but I can tell you this, like there’s not one answer. And the reason being is because there’s so many different factors that we see in the lives of people when they come to that place of making peace with rebellion.

▶ 2:47 Now think about that statement. When you’re at a place that you’re making peace with rebellion to God, we’re come to the place that I have to imply the scripture that says, “Go ahead and hand them over to Satan now so that they can be saved. It says it. It says it. And so we get to this place in in in in loving people and you realize that you’re not going any farther with this person because they’re rejecting what you’re giving them. And you have to withdraw and let them go back where they came from. Mama Lynn calls it going back around the mountain. Sometimes you have to turn them loose and let them go do what it is they want to do and find out that that’s they’re not who they think they are. And then they usually come back going, “Okay, you were right. Please help me again.” And so hopefully that answer,.

▶ 3:44 Okay, in my life, in my experience, this is how I would say it. A tree can have sap suckers. Sapsuckers do not produce fruit. Sap suckers take away from the fruit producing tree. And when you spend enough time with people and there’s no fruit, they’re just consuming your time, you got to cut them off because it’s going to affect you, the tree that’s really producing fruit. All right.

▶ 4:41 So, these are questions from the the audience that people handed up just sharing. Uh, I think we already know the answer to this question. Do you believe all churches should do community outreach, homeless outreach? I think we got that answer today. But if you want to reiterate or summit homeless community. Well there is not a lot of homeless people where we live although there is some okay and we have brought in some homeless people okay and and I don’t want to label homeless people with this because there is a lot of them out there but I can tell you in my experience everyone that we’ve ever brought Okay, they come in and they So, let I’m gonna use you two for a minute.

▶ 5:33 Okay, so if I come up to you and you’re on the streets and I give you $2 and you’re going, “Thank you so much. I’m going to be able to buy me a candy bar and a drink. I’m not going to be starving anymore.” And I give you 20 and you’re like, “I needed 25.” Come, come. Y yeah, y’all just track with me for a minute. So, we’ve got a humble heart here that is going, I am so grateful for you. And another one that’s in this place that I’m I’m more needy than you are and and what you did wasn’t good enough. Right. Right. Exactly. And so, we see this very often with some of the worst down and outest people in the world. They are more entitled than people that and I’m not saying that’s across the board. Please don’t let me label everybody like this. But but if the Lord is this way and if I’m that way, I can’t help but think that when I’m appreciative and I return my worship back to him and I’m grateful for what he does for me that he does more for me.

▶ 6:33 It’s common sense, right? But some of the worst people that we’ve brought in far as worst in their lifestyle turn out to be the most rebellious, too. But yes, I believe we should outreach. But some I better be careful what I say to you because you know there’s always a way out. I would like to tell you that people don’t get there on purpose. I get it. They they they they they make bad choices and they end up there. But also if you want to get out there is a way to get out there. God always makes a way. He causes wra does it not cause he he he he even in our rebellion God still causes us to be able to breathe and it to rain on us right still giving you another opportunity so outreach I think that’s a no-brainer I just preach the house down on that amen have you ever been to a bar a cult I can’t read this word location area to help bring people to God.

▶ 7:40 If so, how do they take hearing the word bar occult? Oh, I can’t do this. Bar occult. Bar occult. I don’t know. Okay. All right. Do you have a page of questions here? Do you want to hit and brought him out to a church meeting right out of the bar many times. Am I right, Mr. Barn? Yes.

▶ 8:32 Soldiers, I would say, “You don’t belong here. Come follow me. Get them saved. Fill with the Holy Ghost.” Hallelujah. Can you imagine the pastor, founder, and director of Freedom House going in a bar, the talk, the chatter, and the garbage that would come from it. Okay. So, I’m not saying that uh it’s wrong to do that. Some people have a job. You weren’t me. But I have no business in the bar. Amen. You going to say? All right. Okay. So, we’re going to play this uh video and if you guys can turn your attention. Sorry. So this is a slideshow of