Christian life coach John Red joins us to talk about experiencing joy and hope
>> Don Hawkins: Coming up on Encouragement Live, many people today, even Christians, are living life in the negative case. But Christian life coach John Red joins us to talk about experiencing lives of joy and hope on a pre recorded edition of Encouragement Live. Welcome to Encouragement Live, providing biblically based encouragement and insight on a wide range of practical life issues. Now here's your host, Don Hawkins, author of Master Discipleship Today. Thank you, Steve, and thank you friend, for joining us. As from studios located in First Christian Church of Wylie, Texas, Encouragement Communications presents Encouragement Live. Our mission is to provide biblically based encouragement and insight on a wide range of topics. As I mentioned at the top of the show, this program is pre recorded so we'll not be taking phone calls. John Red is back with me tonight. He is a life coach, Christian life coach and also the founder of Renewal Ministries. John, always great to have you on.
>> John Red: Hey Don, it's good to be here.
>> Don Hawkins: Always a joy. And John holds a BS degree in health education. He's a licensed minister, also a certified intrinsic coach. John, talk about what life coaching is and why you're so passionate about using this tool.
>> John Red: You know, Don, the, the beauty of coaching is this it just helps us to help others and it's all about serving the needs of the other persons. so the way I'd like to say it is it's us coming alongside, finding out what's in somebody to help them get to where they want to go.
>> Don Hawkins: A lot of it involves listening, right? Lots of listening, lots of listening and asking, cultivating questions, drawing people out. You know, I think Jesus was probably the ultimate life, if you could put it that way.
>> John Red: Right.
>> Don Hawkins: The way he listened, the way he asked people questions. I just working through the gospels and looking at the questions that he asked people, just an amazing thing.
John: We want to talk tonight about how Christians can experience hope in Christ
And John, we want to talk tonight about, how we can experience a joyful life filled with hope in Christ. And yet so many people today, even Christians are, as it were, living in the negative case.
>> John Red: Yeah. You know, and I think we are so bombarded with negative information, social media, the media, those kind of things. And you know, for the most part, Don, I think Christians, even Christians, have a tendency to live their lives based on their circumstances, you know, versus the joy of the Lord that's written out in the word of God.
>> Don Hawkins: Very important iced tea, whatever works for you. And in the hot August weather. And John, the reason I'm away tonight is I'm marrying off a granddaughter.
>> John Red: Oh, it's amazing.
>> Don Hawkins: Don't.
>> John Red: Celebration.
>> Don Hawkins: Yes, it is very special. And congratulations To Rebecca and Simon and very happy to be a part of that wedding, ceremony. Probably by now we're will be well into the festivities. But so again, as I say, we're not taking telephone calls, but we have a very important topic tonight.
John Red is the founder of Renewal Ministries helping struggling pastors
Maybe, life has been a little negative for you and you've been struggling with that has been, just hasn't gone well for you. And we hope that what John Red and I have to share with you tonight will be of help. As I mentioned, John is the founder of Renewal Ministries. And John, give us a little thumbnail sketch about what you're doing.
>> John Red: you know, it's such a blessing to be part of this. we founded this in 2009 and actually God founded it obviously. But we come alongside pastors and ministry leaders to do exactly. What we're talking about tonight is to encourage them to be part of their lives, to walk along through the kind of rocky roads of life. They need somebody to come alongside them.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, pastors do sort of have a rocky road in a lot of ways. Ways they, they have to deal with problems. They have to sometimes deal with financial issues, budget issues and sometimes people get unhappy with them and, and sometimes pastors get run out of town. If you're a pastor tonight, we want to be of encouragement to you. Absolutely. And whatever your role in life, a joyful life filled with hope in Christ. renewalministries.org is the web address to learn more about that. And we'll be right back on Encouragement live.
>> John Red: We're over 100 years old.
>> Don Hawkins: Dallas Theological Seminary President Dr. Mark Yarborough on the seminary's motto, Teach truth, love.
>> John Red: Well, that is what we do. That's our slogan that we use. Obviously it's preach the word for all of us. We are called to teach truth and live it out.
>> Don Hawkins: To learn more about how Dallas Theological Seminary can equip you for biblically based Christian service, visit DTS Edu. That's DTS Edu.
>> Dr. Rex Rogers: I was so high and I was so drunk that I couldn't walk. I couldn't even stand up. I collapsed in my garage. And then I awoke two days later in the hospital. I heard about Teen Challenge. I came here and this place has shown me that it truly does care. That's when everything changed.
>> Toni King: At Adult and Teen Challenge we provide hope and healing for a new drug free future. And you can find the center nearest you at 8:55 and addiction or teenchallengeusa.org Freedom from addiction starts here.
John Red works with the Hope Speaks clinic and we appreciate their sponsorship
>> Don Hawkins: This is Encouragement Live, but it is a pre recorded edition of the program. I'm Don Hawkins and with me tonight is Christian life coach John Red. John works with the Hope Speaks clinic and we appreciate their sponsorship and involvement in the ministry. John, let's take just a moment. Tell me about Hope Speaks and the kind of services they provide.
>> John Red: I'd love to. You know, Hope Speaks is such a well balanced buffet of services if you will. Everything from the medical needs, the emotional needs through some counseling and also life coaching. So there's the gamut of opportunity to be serving our clients and our patients there. Dr. Tom Shoaff. You know Dr. Sho very well. Oh yeah, he he's the the owner, the leader of that organization and he has such a heart to serve the holistic needs of individuals.
>> Don Hawkins: He was mentored by the late great Dr. Frank Minrith, close, close friends. And Dr. Minrith and I did a ton of radio together over the years and I've appreciated Tom and his Christian perspective on the whole area of counseling and medical counseling and that type thing. So Hope Speaks do would be the website, ah, or the phone number. 972-669-1733. I've memorized that number down through the years. 972-669-1730. Now they are probably not there on Saturday night, but I'm sure you can leave a message or make a note of the number and give them a call. And John, you especially want to give credit to somebody who helped to put together the material we're working through tonight.
>> John Red: Thanks Don. Yes, a friend of mine, Pastor Ron Eldredge in Alabama, he sort of has, but he also has a ministry much like ours called Redemption Ministry and he works with pastors as we do. So that's how we sort of got connected. But hey Ron, thank you so much for having this outline and sharing it with us.
>> Don Hawkins: And we have listeners in Alabama over American Family Radio and also over WLJR in Birmingham, my hometown. And so always thankful to know that we have some connection back there.
John Red: Jesus and Gospel writers speak about the subject of joy frequently
Now you've suggested that Jesus and the Gospel writers speak about the subject of joy, pretty frequently, maybe over and over again. Tell us about that.
>> John Red: They do. It doesn't take long to jump into scripture and find out that Jesus is talking about himself. He talks about that he came, that we would have life and how abundantly an abundant life is a life full of joy. He says, I'm coming to you. These things I speak in the world that you May be full of joy fulfilled in themselves.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And I think the fulfillment idea of joy, you know, sometimes people experience just a little fleeting glimpse of joy and maybe we should make a distinction between joy and happiness. How would you delineate or distinguish?
>> John Red: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, the way I, I see it and there's different definitions obviously, but happiness is, is what you find in your circumstances.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. Ah, what happens to you Happen. Happiness. They kind of related.
>> John Red: Yeah, absolutely. But joy, joy's internal.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And, and it's amazing the joy that God can give us. Another verse, John 15:11. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you. There's where it comes from. And your joy may be full. And I don't think we can experience the fullness of joy, John, unless his joy is in us.
>> John Red: absolutely.
>> Don Hawkins: John Red is with me tonight on the program and we'll talk about how you can have his joy in you and how your joy can be full. Not taking phone call. The program is pre recorded but thank you for joining us and we'll continue with encouragement live after these words. Crossflix A complete multimedia platform at your fingertips featuring faith based shows for the entire family. Plus an amazing library of interactive online Bible courses such as Revealing the secrets of the Hebrew Bible.
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>> Don Hawkins: You can order the maze of medicare@tonysays.com that's T O N I tonysays.com we're back on encouragement. Live with John Red. I'm Don Hawkins. John is a Christian life coach, founder of Renewal Ministries, also works with the Hope Speaks Clinic, and their website is hopespeaks.com if you'd like to connect with them for life coaching, for Christian counseling, for medical management, those kinds of things, they have all of that available. Great, great organization.
Unless a person has come to place their trust in Jesus Christ, how can joy
John, when we went to the break, we were talking about, the verse in John 15:11 where Jesus said, I want my joy to be in you and your joy to be full. But unless a person has come to place their trust in Jesus Christ, how can they experience his joy in them?
>> John Red: You know, Don, honestly, I don't think you can. I think you have to accept Jesus for who he is as Savior and Lord of your life, and then receive what the truth is he says about himself and what other, scriptures say about him as well.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, and this may be a good point for us just to pause and say if you've not yet come to the place in your life where you've made it absolutely clear and are assured that you have trusted Christ as your Savior and Lord. Like to give you four words to think about. The first one is the word sin. The Bible makes it clear that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In Romans 3:23, in John, in Romans 6:23, we're told the penalty for sin is death, the wages of sin. And then Romans 5:8 gives us the third word, sins, penalty paid. God commends his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Which leaves us one more word. So trust. And I think of John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him or trusts in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Now, you and I, right now, both of us, while we're recording this program, are trusting a couple of seats to hold us up. Now, when you walked in the room, I noticed you did not look for an engineering study on the chair you're sitting in. you didn't ask me if the chair had ever collapsed with anybody in it. You just simply sat down and trusted in that chair. Isn't that sort of an example of how we're to trust in the Lord Jesus.
>> John Red: It is, you know, we observe what scripture says, we take what scripture says to our heart, and then we live it out.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And that's the bottom line tonight. my prayer for you, friend, if you've not yet trusted Christ as your savior, you can pray a prayer like this. Lord Jesus, I admit that I'm a sinner. I can't save myself. And right this moment, Lord, I'm placing my trust in you as my savior and my Lord, believing that you died for me and rose again. And John, I believe if a person does that, they are well on the road to being able to experience that fullness of joy.
>> John Red: Absolutely. That's what this whole show is about. To share the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
>> Don Hawkins: Now, one of the question then comes in, comes down to the fact, how do we live in his joy with a chaotic world surrounding us all the time in life, as you and I were talking about, the head of the show, is really chaotic.
>> John Red: It is. You know, one of the first things I would say is be careful what you put in your. In your mind.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah.
>> John Red: there's a lot of stuff out there that's just not edifying, not encouraging. But this is really where the rubber meets the road is what you just prayed. If we believe in Jesus, we know the scripture and we can even quote them. But, you know, sometimes, Don, even when we know those things.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah.
>> John Red: When things go sideways, things don't go the way we want, we can certainly allow those things to throw us into the pit.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, it's interesting, John, Jesus said to his disciples in John 13, if you know these things, you are happy or blessed if you do them. In other words, it's not a question of us just knowing or agreeing to certain facts, like the Holy Spirit living within us. And that's, to me, one of the keys if we are going to experience joy. You know, it's interesting, in Galatians 5, we read the fruit of the Spirit, and the first one on the list is love. And you might expect that because Jesus said, by this will all men know that you're my disciples, if you have love for one another. But the second one is joy, our topic for the evening. So the Holy Spirit talk about his role in helping us experience joy.
>> John Red: You know, that it's so, Don, I can't share enough about this. The Holy Spirit is the one that convicts us, but also one that's our helper. He's our comforter. He's the one that leads us as we understand and we read scripture to get out of the scripture, exactly what the Lord has for us. And as we're reading scriptures tonight, which we will read a lot, and we want people to understand those things if the Holy Spirit is the one that puts them in your heart.
Let's talk about how to transition from a negative mindset to a life of joy
>> Don Hawkins: Now let's talk about how to make a transition from a negative mindset to a life of joy and hope. Because I can't help thinking that maybe we have some folks tonight, they've trusted Christ as savior, they've walked with him, they're faithful in church, but they just have that negative mindset and they'd like to move out of that. So what do we do?
>> John Red: Absolutely. I think the first thing we need to do is just to recognize where do we, where have we put our joy in? What have we put our hopes in? And spoiler alert, it's only in one. But the world system says that joy is going to be found in our success, our jobs, our family relationships, all those things or our circumstances. And there's also some that are, and we know, somewhat short lived, alcohol, drugs, sex, those things that we try to find our joy in, but they're not empowered by the Holy Spirit.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And if we're not finding our joy in God through Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit living in us, we're going to be looking somewhere else and that's going to be, like going down a dead end road. It is.
>> John Red: And there's a thousand different things that we could find our joy in we could try to find our joy in.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, it's interesting, the Bible talks about, Moses did not choose to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. That's in Hebrews 11. And it seems to me that sometimes we get a little pleasure and we get a little fun and we get a little, you know, but that's not really joy, it's not lasting. And pretty soon what happens then when things hit the fan? You get a bad diagnosis, maybe the marriage begins to crumble, rebellious children, job dissatisfaction, maybe even losing our job. Right.
>> John Red: You know, these are all really tough life circumstances and they're all real life circumstances. But it's during those times that we really need to be intentional about keeping our eye on the heart and our rock. Yeah, Jesus is our hope and our rock and our helper.
>> Don Hawkins: There's our focus, keeping it on the Lord.
John, one of the bad things that can happen is when a close friend betrays you
Now John, one of the bad things that can happen is when a close friend, betrays you. And you know, sometimes that happened. The Bible even Talks about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> John Red: In Luke 6, it says, Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you. And I read that, I go, wait a minute, blessed are you. But it talks about this when they revile you, they spurn you, spur you. But rejoice, Rejoice in day, leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. To me, though, that's a hard thing to get our arms around. You know, we're so into. We want instant reward here on earth. That's sort of. And the society preaches that message and throws it at us, you know, delayed gratification. John, what you're talking about is serious and really painful rejection, which I don't think is easy to deal with, even for a godly Christian.
>> John Red: Absolutely not. You know, it's. That's the point, Don. when we have to trust the truth of God's word, above what we feel, Jesus isn't telling us that. It's if. When people hurt us, it's when they hate us, when they reject us. And we shouldn't be looking out for people to come after us or do things wrong to us. But if our hope or happiness, our joy is in anyone but Christ, we're going to be disappointed. The fact is, all people sometime are going to let us down.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah.
>> John Red: You know, and our only true hope is in Christ.
>> Don Hawkins: And he's reconciled everything to himself, overcome everything that has or might come against us. Even death.
>> John Red: Yes.
>> Don Hawkins: And the, reality is the Bible says every one of us will face death at some point. And, I just conducted a funeral about a week ago. A dear godly lady. She had a lot of people in her family who had not come to Christ. And it was great to be able to say to them, if this dear lady were able to stand up here and tell you what you need to do in light of her passing, she would tell you that you need to trust Christ before you walk out of this building. And we want to remind you tonight, friend, if you've not done that, the way to prepare for death and the way to prepare for joy in life is to trust Christ absolutely. Now, John, it sounds like part of the way to live with joy and hope is to anticipate that troubles were going to come and prepare for them. I think about the last person in John 16, where Jesus, the last verse, I guess I should say. In John 16, Jesus said, In this world you will have trouble, but take courage. I have overcome the world.
>> John Red: You know, I find such great comfort in that. Because he's not trying to paint a rosy picture for us. He's telling us the reality of the world. The things that are going to happen are not all going to be pleasurable. But, he's overcome all that.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, that's a wonderful thought for us to keep in mind that he has overcome the world. He is our victory. And, Jesus was preparing the disciples for what was laying ahead of them. And I believe that throughout the Word of God, we find scriptures that direct us to the Lord Jesus as our hope. And, I think of Second Corinthians, chapter four, John, one of my favorite passages where, Paul, in two different statements in verse one, and again about verse 15 or 16, he says, we must never give up. I think sometimes there's a real tendency. Years ago, I had the privilege of writing a book, having it published. It was my first solo book, Never Give Up. And, I, to be real honest, I set out to write that book because I wanted to encourage other people who felt like giving up, because I'd never felt like giving up. And that's a little arrogant, you know, to feel that way. Well, guess what happened? God allowed some circumstances into my life where, again, you mentioned earlier, sometimes some of your best friends will betray you, and sometimes things in life will fall apart on top of you. And. And that's sort of what happened. And I found myself in a totally different place. But as a result of that, I was able to repurpose and refocus that book. And it's, it's wound up helping a lot of people. It's called Never Give Up. You might find a copy on Amazon or ebay or one of those places.
Use Scripture to fortify yourself during times of trouble, Don says
And, John, let's talk about some additional scriptures that may help us in terms of being able to, fortify ourselves, maintain joy and hope.
>> John Red: And that's a great word, Don. It's fortify. It's to build up. If we know Scripture, we build up those truths in our heart, in our mind. And so, listeners, I really want to encourage you, grab a notepad. You don't have to write down all the verse quote, but write down, write the reference down. Because these are the things that are going to come to you when you're in those times of trouble. The Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs to it and is safe. That's Proverbs 18:10.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, before you go on from Proverbs 18:10, I just want to think about the image of that, a strong tower. You know, they had a lot of warfare back in biblical days in the Old Testament, and sometimes they'd want to find a shelter when the other army was coming, a place where they would be safe. And boy, does that tell us the strong tower is the Lord his name Is the place where we go?
>> John Red: Absolutely.
>> Don Hawkins: Now Proverbs 18:10 was the first reference you need to write down, and John is going to give us a number of others when we come back from this break. Remember, tonight's program is pre recorded. We're not taking phone calls, but we're glad you've joined us for the program.
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Don Hawkins: A joyful life is one filled with hope in Christ
>> Don Hawkins: Welcome back to Encouragement Live. Our toll free number is 855-586-life. Here again is your host, Don Hawkins, author of Master Discipleship Today with a reminder that tonight's program is pre recorded. So if you call that number, we probably will not be answering. But John Rhedt is in the studio with me and we're talking about how to experience a life of joy and hope and, and many times we struggle with that. But a joyful life is one filled with hope in Christ. John, you were sharing some scripture references with us and, and the first One was Proverbs 18:10. The righteous. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is saved. Write down the reference now. And what's the next one you have?
>> John Red: John, Psalms 18:2. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge. It's my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. And Don, I love this. The descriptors of God in this and how it is again where we go to. He's a strong tower, he's a rock. He's solid. He's never changing. It's just, it's those things that we need to hang onto that are truly our hope.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And it's amazing the similarity between Psalm 18:2 and Proverbs 18:10. The picture of the Lord again is a place to run to when life is falling apart. And he will help us keep it together. he is the rock, he's the foundation, the refuge, the shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold. Love those words. Now, what about the New Testament? Do we have any encouragement from there?
>> John Red: Absolutely. M. You know, there's the one that we just spoke to a while ago. I've said these things to you, says Jesus, that you may have peace in the world. You're going to have tribulation. But take heart, I've overcome the world. That's John 16:33 that we mentioned a while ago.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. Hopefully you've written those down. You want to go back and meditate on those and think about them. Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 18:2, John 16:33. And John, before we move on to talk about some Additional, issues here.
John: How important would you consider meditating on Scripture
I want to talk about meditating on Scripture. how important would you consider meditating on Scripture? How do you do it?
>> John Red: Yeah, that's always the good. The big question is how to do it. First of all, you have to be in the Word.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah.
>> John Red: First of all, you have to read the Word. You have to crack open that, that, that Bible and you have to look into it and. But Don, this is me personally. I'll read scripture and ask the Holy Spirit, reveal to me what you're wanting me to get to know, to know you better. And as I read it. And the Holy Spirit will always do a download. Always do a download.
>> Don Hawkins: He will always give us something that we can chew on, that we can walk and light up. And he always wants us to apply it. He doesn't just want us to learn it. Now, one of the things I found helpful is to memorize scripture. I mentioned Dr. Frank Minrith earlier. He and I worked together on the radio and at the clinic. And, we came up with something we call Dynamic Scriptural Therapy. Isn't that a nice fancy 50 cent term? You know what it is? It's memorizing scripture. And Frank came up with a title, Dynamic Scriptural Therapy. Dynamic because it's moving. The word is According to Hebrews 4:12, the word is living and powerful. Sharper than a two edged sword pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow. And this is the key is a discerner of the thoughts and motives of the heart.
>> John Red: Yes.
>> Don Hawkins: And so God's Word cuts into us and changes us and transformed us. Now these have been great verses that we've been talking about. But John, sometimes we struggle with how to apply these promises. And sometimes we're having rather miserable experiences. How do we apply the wonderful promises to the miserable experiences?
>> John Red: And I'm sure there may be listeners right now that are going through something. And as we mentioned a while ago, if you're not already a believer and you're hearing this abundant joy and Lord being the rock, your tower, your stronghold to go to, please don't wait another second. Accept what the Lord has for you. And that's, that's all of these things. And so you ask the question, how do we apply these? In the first part is trusting in Christ. Christ is the living word. And you just mentioned about meditating on the Word, meditating on Scripture. When we do that, we're meditating on Christ. And that's what just so powerful.
>> Don Hawkins: Oh, it is, it's just downright incredible the power that the word of God can give us in our lives, to overcome sin. Earlier today, I was teaching a men's Bible study, and we were dealing with overcoming temptation. In fact, I preached on that out of Proverbs last Sunday. And Proverbs has a lot of ways that it's very practical and touches our lives and tells us what we need to do and not do in the power of the Spirit of God. But, it's amazing to me how the scripture makes a difference. David wrote in Psalm 119, your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against God. And, that's such an important thing. We're trusting the written word, Christ, the living word, relying on a relationship with him. And then you quoted earlier, John 16:24, ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
>> John Red: Absolutely.
>> Don Hawkins: Any other verses from that part of the scripture?
>> John Red: You know, there, there are, there's just. There's so many, both, both Old and New Testament, you know, that have so many good, scriptures. Let me look at a note here. I had, I don't want to give them all to you. Don't you have to look up some of them themselves? But, you know, these things I've spoken to you, when I mentioned a while ago, right, in John 15:11, that you may have joy and your joy may be full. I'm coming to you. These things I speak in the world, that you may have my joy fulfilled in them. Those like as you were saying, commit those to meditate and memorize. Then they will be stored up in your heart.
>> Don Hawkins: Yes. And when they get stored up in your heart, they're going to keep you from sin. They're going to keep you from discouragement. Huh? They're going to give you that joy, huh? And the peace of God that passes understanding. You know, I think of John 14:27, Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not allow your hearts to be troubled. Neither let them be afraid. John 14:27. Write that reference down. years ago, John, I was writing a book with Dr. Frank Minerith, Dr. Bob Hempfeld, and Dr. Paul Meyer. That book was titled Love is a Choice. Now, it sounds like, from what the material we've, pulled together for this program, that joy and hope involve choices too.
>> John Red: Absolutely, they do. And it's incredible that our choices that we make, there are definitely two options. There's God's way and there's everything else. And if we want to really pursue fulfillment in any other way than God, it's going to be ultimately, disastrous.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And we certainly don't want that disaster. So we need to choose to go God's way. No question. Right now we've titled this program, this radio show Encouragement Live. And our mission is to provide biblically based encouragement and insight. talk about how encouragement can play a part in this pursuit of joy and hope.
John: I just feel like the Lord wants me to pray for these truckers
>> John Red: Well, you know, Don, as you and I talk, there's something that happens. There's this encouragement that happens as we're sitting here together. We begin to smile more, we begin to laugh, we begin to feel our spirits literally lifted up.
>> John Red: That's what we're supposed to do, is to walk alongside each other to help carry one another's burdens. Not take them on, but help carry them. And, and Second Corinthians 1, 2, 4. Blessed be God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our affliction. Here's a key so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
>> Don Hawkins: 1M of my favorite passages in scripture, John, the word for comfort there is literally the Greek word encouragement, encouragement, parakaleo, the word for called alongside to help. You're very familiar with it. And ten times in these four or five verses that word is found. It's also translated consolation a couple of verses later. But what he's saying is that God, comes alongside us to help us in our trouble so that we can turn around and help others. Absolutely. And it's been encouraging for me for you to come in here and share this program on joy and hope. And I know it's an encouragement to those truck drivers out there listening on Lonesome Road Radio, by the way, that we just started, broadcasting with them a few weeks ago and been a real joy. They have over 8 million truckers that listen to Lonesome Road Radio and they catch us every Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening. And guys on the road are blessed. And of course our program typically airs live on Saturdays from 7:05 to 8 on American Family Radio and Life Changing Radio and number of other networks and stations around the country. but wherever you listen, maybe you're listening on the worship channel.org we want you to experience the joy and the hope that the Lord has for you. That's our goal, by the way, we do, Put these programs on as a podcast so that people can download them later. We have a website, encouragementlive.org and Brad Smith art, who does our website, just upgraded or updated that and added some of the new programs recently. And this one will be up there soon. You'll be able to listen.
>> John Red: Hey Don, can I jump in real quick?
>> Don Hawkins: You sure can.
>> John Red: You know, you talk about all these truckers that are out there, I just feel like the Lord wants me to pray for them.
>> Don Hawkins: I think that would be a wonderful thing. John, would you do that right now?
>> John Red: And so I, know folks, you're going to be hearing this as a recorded program, but the word of God, the passion and the prayer of the Lord is always and forever. So I just gotta thank you for these men and women out on the road that are taking the time in their, in their duties to bring goods to us. Lord, we recognize that without them, many of the things that we would want would not ever come to us. So God, I pray for their protection. Lord God, I pray for a hedge of protection and for angel traveling angels to go with them. Lord, I pray that everywhere they go they are uplifted. I pray that when they walk into a truck stop that the light of Christ shines through them. Lord God, I pray that they would be, as we just talked about, that encouragement to others. God, I pray that their testimony would be strong and be strengthened. Lord God and I thank you that you bless them and keep them in Jesus name. Amen.
>> Don Hawkins: Amen. And we do appreciate Lonesome Road Radio, Roger Barkley and his team. What a blessing. And American Family Radio, Jonathan Coker and all of the great team there. We're so grateful for all of you. And John, I want to mention your ministry again. Renewal Ministries and R E N E W E L L. Is that correct?
>> John Red: You have it.
>> Don Hawkins: Doc ministries.org yes sir. If you are a pastor, maybe you're going through a hard time, you reach out to john@renewlministries.org John and I will be back with the final episode in tonight's Encouragement Live program.
Chuck Woodruff offers practical financial advice to people of all ages
>> Toni King: Do you have an extra car taking up valuable space in your driveway? Let encouragement live. Take it off your hands. It's easy, free, and best of all, tax deductible. Get your driveway back and keep Encouragement Live rolling so more people can bridge the gap between their faith and everyday life. Mention Encouragement live when you call 855-500-RIDE. That's 855 or encouragementlive.org what do Chuck.
>> Don Hawkins: Swindoll, David Jeremiah and Erwin Lutzer have in common. They all train to preach God's Word at Dallas Theological Seminary. And you can train at DTS too. If you've been called to preach or teach God's Word, find a degree or course that's right for you on one of our campuses or online at dts. Eduardo Dallas Theological Seminary where they teach truth and love well. Visit dts Edu the older people grow.
>> Jane: The more important it is that they have savings that are not at risk in the stock market.
>> Don Hawkins: Here's an important warning from Roxanne Endermuhle of his faithful stewards.com I've seen many.
>> Jane: People in their 50s that have all their savings still in a 401k or some other market based account that is fully at risk of loss.
>> Don Hawkins: Roxanne and her team offer practical financial counsel to people from all age groups.
>> Jane: It could be that they need to start saving for the future in retirement. Or maybe they've already done those things and they just need to be good managers of what God's given them and get their money to where it can grow well but won't be at risk of loss in the stock market. Or maybe they need to get a will or a trust in place to protect their family from the cost and stresses of probate.
>> Don Hawkins: You can schedule a free and confidential time to talk with Roxanne at her website hisfaithful stewards.com just follow the links on the website to set a good time to talk. Or you may call the office to set a a time that's his faithful stewards.com we're back for the final segment of this pre recorded edition of Encouragement Live.
John Red: A joyful life is a life filled with hope in Christ
John Red is with me and we are talking about, the experience of joy and hope in Christ. A joyful life is a life filled with hope in Christ. And what a great thought that is for us even when we're involved in the struggles of life. Now John, we need to go back and revisit the subject of how the Gospel writers speak to the subject of joy over and over again. what are some of the statements that Jesus gave us?
>> John Red: You know, first of all he said come to me. he encourages us to come to him all who labor and heavy laden. If you're under a burden, I m will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly and you will find rest for your souls, because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, experiencing rest these days is such a challenge you know, because, so many people I talk to have trouble sleeping at night. You know, maybe it's a bad mattress, or maybe it's just they're anxious or, you know, maybe some kind of a sleep disorder. But whatever it is, if you're not getting that rest, that can be so debilitating. And the Lord says, you may be laboring, you may be under a heavy load, but I can give you rest, but you have to take my yoke and learn from me. And I think the lesson he's getting at is that gentleness, that lowliness. somebody has expressed joy as Jesus first, others second, yourself last. J o y Jesus others yourself. And I think maybe that's what Jesus was getting at, and I think that's a very good thing. Give us another verse there.
>> John Red: Yeah, you know, it's. So, can I go back to this one real quick? The part he says, come to me, and he's drawing us to him. And I think that's one of the keys, is we have to recognize that Jesus wants us to come to him, to get from him, what he has for us. another verse here said, do not seek what you are to eat what you to drink, nor be worried. for all the nations of the world, seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek the kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
You know, anxiety is such a big thing in our world today
>> Don Hawkins: You know, anxiety is such a big thing in our world today. we are anxious. We're worried about the future. We're worried about having enough money. And that whole passage in Matthew, chapter six, six, dealt with a lot of those issues. And I remember earlier in that passage, Jesus said, no man can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money. And so he says here, you're worried about what to eat and drink. That's your basic necessities. And your Father knows you need them. He's going to provide them. Let me tell you a little story, about how God provided even today. I woke up this morning, went to make coffee, and my son had sent me a text message. And he's, staying with us right now, going through transition in his life. And, he needed to make a medical appointment and needed to have a significant sum of money for that. And he said, dad, can you front me that money for a few days? And guess what? I looked at the cupboard, and the cupboard was bare. Didn't have money in my personal account, didn't have money in the ministry account. And I thought, how am I going to do that? And so I'm sitting there trying to figure it out. And then it occurred to me, why worry, when you can pray? Uh-huh. And so I prayed, lord, what do I do? And I felt prompted. You have not looked in your ministry account and somebody had put twice as much money in, and someone I didn't even know, had done that overnight. And so I was able to front print that money and, was able to take care of another bill or two and just, you know, again, our God provides those needs. Our Father knows that we have need of those.
>> John Red: Yes.
>> Don Hawkins: Now, joy and hope are coming in the Gospels. What about the rest of the New Testament?
>> John Red: Absolutely. You know, you just talked about anxiety and there's a great scripture about do not be anxious about anything. Yeah, but in everything what you just said, prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses our understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And that peace, it's like, People ask sometimes, well, how do you have peace in this chaotic situation? Yeah, well, it's a peace that passes understanding.
>> Don Hawkins: Yes, it is.
>> John Red: So it's that peace we have because Christ is in our heart and we're looking to him and we're asking him, like you did for the provision.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. It's just amazing how God is able to do that. And again, he doesn't always promise, okay, I'm going to do exactly what you want when you want it. But he says, I will give you peace, and that will guard. There's that picture again, you know, the strong tower from the Old Testament. We run into the strong tower and we're protected there. He says he will guard our hearts and our mind. You know, sometimes our mind racing, we can't sleep at night. We're struggling with those things. And then I think about Romans 8. 1. What a wonderful verse. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You know, so many times maybe we've done something in the past and we just can't get it out of our minds. How could God possibly forgive me? How could I forgive myself? And here he says, if you're in Christ Jesus Jesus, there is nothing that will ever condemn you. And that's in Romans 8, verse 1. I think there's another verse in Romans 8 that's pretty popular too.
>> John Red: I think you're probably talking about Romans 8.
>> Don Hawkins: 28. I am.
>> John Red: God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him.
>> Don Hawkins: What a wonderful promise that is. Hope you're writing these references down, folks.
John: God gives us the guidance that we need. Don't lean on your own understanding
Folks, another verse that we could mention earlier from Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20, where it says that God is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all that we ask or even imagine. Ephesians 3:20. Let me just recap. Those of you writing these verses down, make sure you have these. Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 20, Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7. Those are the verses that talk about substituting prayer for anxious thoughts. And, then Romans 8:1. No condemnation in Christ. Romans 8:28. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him. John, there's some other great verses we could look at here that we need to add to our collection and encourage folks to meditate on these verses. To chew on them.
>> John Red: Yes.
>> Don Hawkins: You know, I think of the picture of meditating. I think about a cow chewing its cud.
>> John Red: Right.
>> Don Hawkins: Because that's really the picture. You know, we take God's word in, as you say, we have to take it in first, but then we want to bring it up and think about it and chew on it and think about it and chew on it and just let it. We're hiding it in our hearts is what we're doing. What about Philippians 4. 13?
>> John Red: I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me.
>> Don Hawkins: Wow, that is an incredible promise there. Philippians 4:13. Well, John, what about the Old Testament? Do we find any verses there that help us to understand and experience joy and hope?
>> John Red: Yeah. one of my favorites is Proverbs 3, 5, 6. It's going back to this. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. And, Don, I love that. Yeah, because it's a plan that's laid out for us. We trust him, don't lean on what we think is right. Acknowledge him and he will help us.
>> Don Hawkins: He's our gps. He's our internal guidance system. and, if you ever do any flying, you want to be sure that that aircraft has a good internal guidance system so that it will take you to the right airport. I remember years ago, I was at Back to the Bible, and I was on a plane with Woodrow Crowell. And we'd been delayed for many hours. About 2 o' clock in the morning, and our plane was landing somewhere in North Carolina. And back in those days, United Airlines had headphones that you could plug in and listen to the pilots. You remember those days? They don't do that much anymore. But Back then they did. And I remembered hearing, the pilot as they are, on their final approach, or at least it seemed like. And he said, would you flash the lights? I'm not sure we have you in sight. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, it's two o' clock in the morning. These guys are exhausted. They can't see the airport. And then just a minute or two later, he says, okay, got it. Now we can see you. We're on the right path. And I thought, thank you, Lord. He gives us the guidance that we need. And that is a great passage of scripture.
>> John Red: You know, Don, it's interesting just driving here today. You talk about this. I have come to trust, your gps.
>> Don Hawkins: My gps?
>> John Red: Google Maps.
>> Don Hawkins: Yep.
>> John Red: And today I got to where I thought I was going to be perfectly. I've been here several times.
>> Don Hawkins: Sure. Yeah.
>> John Red: So I turned it off.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah.
>> John Red: Well, guess what? There was a detour.
>> Don Hawkins: There was a detour. And the detour confused things.
>> John Red: But because I was trying, I thought, I have this. I got this. But when we turn off our gps, the God's protection system. Yeah, his provision system, we think we can do it ourselves. That's when we get all up on the detail.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And even Google Maps is not infallible. My son was out doing doordash one night, and, he wound up taking a road to nowhere and got stuck in a mud hole. Google Maps routed him down the wrong road. All right. Psalm 37:4 is one of my favorite verses. Tell us what it says.
>> John Red: Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. And I'd like to add verse five to that. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. You know, sometimes we're wondering, when are we going to see something come to pass? We're trusting God for a promise. Lord, can you meet this need? Can you somehow help us with this situation?
John Red: Two men in prison ask God to give them relief
And it's just amazing when we commit that to the Lord. the picture, that is a heavy load, a backpack, and you're rolling it off yourself onto somebody else.
>> John Red: Absolutely.
>> Don Hawkins: Now, John, there's an example of, a couple of men who are in a really miserable situation. Both of them ask God to give them relief. Now, you have an interesting twist of, the way things turned out, Right?
>> John Red: Right. So there's two men in prison, right? Peter. Peter and John the Baptist. We know the stories of those. Most people prayed for both of them. What happened to them? Well, Peter was delivered. But what happened to John?
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, he was beheaded, lost his head.
>> John Red: Lost his head. Now we think that maybe Peter got the better end of the deal. But which one was delivered best?
>> Don Hawkins: Don I would have to say John the Baptist went straight to heaven. Didn't pass go, didn't collect. You pay $200.
>> John Red: Yep.
>> Don Hawkins: Yeah. So whatever turns out. I think that's your point. M. Whatever the circumstances are, if God blesses you and rewards you and liberates you in this life like Peter, that's a blessing, right? But if God chooses to take you on to heaven, that's even better. To live as Christ, to die is gain. John Red, thank you so much for being a part of the program.
>> John Red: Thank you.
>> Don Hawkins: Thank you. What a great topic for us. A joyful life filled with the hope in Christ. Let me remind you. Renewellministries.org and hopespeaks.com Good night from Encouragement Live.
