0:00

Hey, thanks a lot for listening to this program,

0:02

Chris Fabry Live. Want to let you know

0:05

that in the program, you're going to hear music

0:07

that we've had to edit out

0:09

for copyright reasons

0:11

and restrictions. We cannot play those

0:13

songs for you. So thank you for understanding.

0:23

A song I heard for the first time

0:25

an email, a conversation

0:27

with a friend a few months ago, and a single

0:30

vote for the NFL's Most Valuable

0:32

player all made me think, we

0:34

need to change our topic today

0:36

and we're going to do it. Welcome, friend to

0:38

the radio, backyard fence and

0:40

a conversation from the heart to the heart for

0:42

the heart. Once you hear a song.

0:45

And then I have a question for you about the

0:47

hound of Heaven and how far he

0:49

went to hunt you down. How long

0:51

did he circle your block? How long

0:53

did he knock at your door before

0:55

you let him in? Someone needs to hear

0:57

the encouragement of your story today,

1:00

and you're going to get the chance to tell it on this edition

1:02

of Chris Fabry Live. Let's get going. First, thank

1:04

you to Ryan McConnell doing all things

1:06

technical. Tricia is our producer to

1:08

hear is in the chair today. Claire Gordon will

1:10

be answering your calls. And since

1:12

it's Friday, that means it's time for the

1:15

fabulous February Friday. Sigh. Here's what

1:17

it does. Number one, we oxygenate your blood.

1:19

Number two, we get your endorphins going.

1:21

Three we raise your serotonin. In level

1:23

four, we promote lymphatic drainage.

1:25

In five we stimulate your parasympathetic

1:28

system. That's why we call it the five lung

1:30

languages. We also stimulate

1:32

your vagus nerve. And don't forget what it does

1:34

to cortisol dissipation. Taking

1:36

four seconds of air through your nose right now. Hold

1:38

it for seconds. And then as you

1:40

release that air through your mouth,

1:42

push on the left side of your ribcage

1:45

to get rid of all that bad carbon dioxide.

1:47

Today we present a football. Sigh.

1:49

Have you heard? They're playing a game this weekend.

1:52

It's the Friday before Valentine's

1:54

Day. Sigh it's the day before

1:56

National Make a Friend Day, February 11th.

1:59

Did you know that it's a week and a half to

2:01

Presidents Day? Sigh. And

2:03

please give a long. The phone company

2:05

still hasn't fixed my line. Sigh.

2:07

But in all fairness, it's not their fault.

2:09

It's what's considered an act of God for

2:12

all things like that. And more. Give

2:14

a full throated sigh. The fabulous favorite

2:16

Friday Sighs, brought to you by my pals at the

2:18

phone company and the pack rats who

2:20

chewed through the main trunk line and lived to

2:22

squeak about it. And the two Michaels

2:24

who will join us on Monday. All rights reserved.

2:26

Void were prohibited. Okay,

2:29

you should be able to deduce from the contents

2:31

of the fabulous favorite Friday. Sigh

2:33

that today's program is not live.

2:36

This is the best out broadcast from last

2:38

February. That's how we began the program

2:40

on a Friday in February, just

2:43

before a big football game and

2:45

Valentine's Day. So the first

2:47

order of business for me is to

2:49

tell you, don't call our number today.

2:52

If you hear dated information

2:54

which you are going to hear in this program,

2:56

disregard it and listen

2:59

for the heart of what you're about

3:01

to hear. When I looked at the

3:03

the program title, just

3:05

like that, something happened inside.

3:07

There was a feeling that this topic,

3:09

this excursion under the sea of

3:11

confabulation, this

3:13

chance that we took last year,

3:15

it hit a nerve, at least for me.

3:18

And I think it will for you as well.

3:21

Let's see what happens as we jump back

3:23

into the conversation for

3:25

a Friday in February 2023.

3:28

I heard something yesterday and it moved me so much

3:30

and it can't get out of my head, and

3:33

I played it for other people and it did the same

3:35

thing for them. And something

3:37

inside said, Play Bonnie, play Bonnie's

3:39

song. A couple that with what happened

3:41

last week with Shane and Shane, when

3:43

Phoebe called and told

3:46

them what a song they sang

3:48

meant to her after the loss of her

3:50

son and factor in the

3:52

situation in Turkey, the devastation

3:55

of the earthquake, the loss of life, the thousands

3:57

and thousands. And then here's this

3:59

headline ten day old baby rescued

4:02

with its mother from the rubble in

4:04

Turkey's Hatay province, 90

4:07

hours after powerful earthquake earthquake

4:09

struck the region. By

4:11

the way, if you go to the website, we have a

4:14

disaster relief link.

4:16

Go to Chris Fabry live org and

4:18

at the top you'll see this real creative

4:20

title Disaster Relief. So

4:23

you can't miss it. I also

4:25

saw there was one

4:27

NFL team member

4:30

who got a vote for Most Valuable Player,

4:32

and he's not a player that influenced

4:34

me to because all of these things deal with

4:36

some form of rescue. And

4:39

maybe today you are the rescuer. And

4:42

you're going to identify with Olivia. Or

4:46

perhaps, you know, an Olivia

4:49

and you have been praying for her

4:51

or for him, Olivia Zand.

4:55

Zandy is the fictional character

4:57

in a song that won a Grammy this past

4:59

Sunday Song of the year. I didn't watch

5:01

the Grammys, did you? My

5:03

guess is a small percentage of those who

5:06

are listening right now watch that.

5:09

An equally small number have probably

5:11

heard Bonnie's song. I

5:14

certainly hadn't. A lot of young

5:16

people who watched were tweeting Who's Bonnie?

5:19

And you may ask, with all

5:21

the great music that Christians are creating,

5:24

why are you playing a secular song by

5:26

a secular artist like Bonnie

5:28

Raitt? I

5:30

think you'll understand when you hear it. There's

5:33

one line in here that grabbed me by

5:35

the heart and wouldn't let go

5:38

and should have listen for it, Bonnie sings. They

5:40

say Jesus brings you peace

5:42

and grace. Well,

5:44

he ain't found me yet. And

5:47

she sings it in that smoky voice

5:50

of a 73 year old. With

5:52

that, I've been around the block a time or two. Swagger

5:55

that I've struggled with, regret

5:58

and addiction and more kind

6:00

of voice. If

6:02

you can echo those words. Jesus

6:04

ain't found me yet. I want you to listen.

6:07

He might be closer than you think. And

6:10

if Jesus found you

6:12

and didn't give up on you. I

6:15

want to give you a chance to tell your story of when

6:17

he knocked and you let him in. So

6:20

do me a favor. Take a minute. Stop

6:22

what you're doing. Lean

6:24

a little closer and listen to

6:26

every word that Bonnie Raitt sings

6:29

in this song. Just like that.

6:32

The best art songs,

6:34

poems, novels, stories,

6:37

films, the best art moves us inside

6:39

in a way we can't explain. And

6:43

I want to let you respond to Bonnie's song.

6:45

If you heard it for the first time.

6:47

My what I had to do is go back and listen

6:49

to it again. Wait a minute. What happened to her? She

6:52

lost her. So this fella.

6:55

Here's the number (877) 548-3675.

7:00

Tell me what it did to you inside.

7:02

When you. Especially when you heard that

7:04

turn that she took.

7:07

You know about Jesus and the and the

7:09

grace. And then

7:11

I want to. I want to hear from somebody.

7:14

I want you to tell me what your. I had to let

7:16

him in. Story is how

7:18

did the grace of God find

7:20

you? How long

7:22

did it take? How far did God

7:24

have to go in order to track

7:26

you down? And in the lyrics

7:29

it says, I've been trying

7:31

to try. And a I've been trying

7:33

to find you. How

7:35

far did God have to go and what

7:38

caused you to finally open the door?

7:40

I think there's a lot of people who

7:43

believe. Because

7:46

of the regrets and the struggles of the past.

7:49

And Olivia in in Olivia's case,

7:51

it's because she looked away and

7:53

something bad happened. We don't know what it is.

7:56

Something bad happened that caused

7:58

her son to die,

8:00

and then she gave the gift of his

8:02

heart to this other fellow. Uh,

8:05

this is not autobiographical. Bonnie

8:08

Raitt said that she saw this

8:11

video of someone that this actually

8:13

happened to, and she wanted to capture that

8:15

in a song, and I think she did it.

8:18

I think she did it. What about you?

8:21

How do you respond to

8:23

that song you just heard? This

8:25

is the best of conversation from

8:27

last February on Chris

8:29

Fabry live. Sort of a frown. Lines not

8:31

open. You can answer on our Facebook

8:33

page if you'd like to, but I

8:35

want you to keep listening to the stories that

8:37

we're about to hear and

8:40

the grace we're about to uncover. Straight ahead

8:42

on Moody Radio. This

8:51

is Chris Mayberry live on Moody Radio. Thanks a lot

8:53

for joining us today at the Radio Backyard Fence. It's

8:55

kind of a rescue day. I mentioned

8:57

this NFL story. Uh,

8:59

one person got one vote

9:01

for most valuable player, I

9:03

think Patrick Mahomes one. He'll

9:06

be playing on Sunday. The.

9:08

The one person who got one vote was

9:10

Bill's assistant athletic trainer, Danny

9:13

Killington. I just loved

9:15

this. He received

9:17

one fifth place vote

9:19

for Most Valuable Player because

9:22

of his work on the field.

9:24

The game of the bills against

9:26

the Bengals when he did CPR

9:29

on DeMar Hamlin after

9:31

DeMar suffered a cardiac arrest

9:33

on the field. And it was, they've tracked

9:35

her down. Susie Colbert cast the vote

9:39

for him. And I thought, yeah,

9:41

that's it. So so really I'm talking

9:43

about rescue today

9:46

in a in a way. And

9:48

first I want you just to respond to the song

9:51

by Bonnie Raitt. Bridget

9:53

is calling from Florida. Hi, Bridget. Go

9:55

right ahead. What do you want to say?

9:57

Hi. I just so happen.

9:59

I, um, got

10:01

off work a little earlier than usual, and I got

10:03

in my car and drove off,

10:06

and I heard the song,

10:08

and I hadn't heard it, hadn't seen the plays

10:10

and hadn't heard it. And I had to pull

10:12

over because it literally

10:15

brought me to tears, because it

10:17

just the one thing that

10:19

resonated with me was in

10:21

the song, and hearing it was just the

10:23

grace of God, that God's

10:25

grace is sufficient and

10:27

that he provides these

10:30

times and things that happened

10:32

in our lives just for us to

10:34

know that He is God and He is good

10:36

and his grace is so

10:38

gracious. And

10:41

I'm just there. I'm just thankful for

10:43

that moment. He's there.

10:44

Yeah.

10:45

And he's he's running after both

10:47

of us, Bridget. And and he's running

10:49

after, you know, that person who's, I'd

10:52

say the the person who's been run from

10:54

God for a long time. He's running after you, but he's

10:56

also running after somebody who has

10:59

who has tasted of that,

11:01

you know, of of his

11:03

goodness and his grace and mercy,

11:06

and now you feel like you're outside

11:08

of it. You can't because you've you've

11:11

made a big mistake in your life or done whatever.

11:13

And you have so much regret and you feel like, well,

11:15

God can't love me now. And

11:18

he does. Absolutely.

11:19

Absolutely. I work with young people every

11:22

day. And, um,

11:24

hearing this, it is just

11:26

enough to say, you know, keep doing

11:28

it. Keep encouraging

11:31

them. You know, sometimes your

11:33

word, your you know, your hug,

11:35

your high, you know, something

11:37

so simple that we think is simple

11:39

can mean so much and can touch the

11:42

heart of someone for God.

11:44

And you know it can be an everlasting

11:47

gift for them.

11:48

Yes, Bridget, that's exactly

11:51

it.

11:52

That was timely.

11:53

I think of that when Jesus told the parable

11:56

of the the widow and

11:58

the unjust judge.

12:01

And and I think it's Luke who says,

12:03

and he told this parable

12:06

to to teach them that they

12:08

ought to always pray and not give

12:10

up. So if there's somebody that you've

12:12

been praying for for a long time, don't

12:15

stop, don't you don't

12:17

know when they're going to respond.

12:20

It's not up to you to make them respond.

12:22

It's up to you to just be faithful. Bridget. You

12:24

be faithful where you are. Uh,

12:27

Dale is in Tennessee. Dale,

12:29

why did you call today?

12:31

I became a Christian at a very young age

12:33

and. Needless

12:35

to say, that didn't always go

12:38

through in my life. I spent a lot

12:40

of years running from God, even knowing

12:42

he was there and, you know, knowing his presence,

12:45

feeling his presence, but still

12:47

rebellion against him and

12:49

running my life for myself. And that turned

12:51

into, you know, I had a pornography

12:54

addiction for a while, and I was an alcoholic

12:56

for over 25 years and just

12:58

a monster, basically, to my wife and my kids

13:01

and through it all, God. I

13:03

mean, without God and I

13:05

wouldn't be where I am today. And

13:08

because of his relentless love and pursuit

13:10

of me, he's seen me

13:12

through all of that. And he grace me and he

13:14

blessed me. To be

13:17

able to. Not only. Fully

13:20

give my life to him. Unconditionally,

13:24

but he grace me and he blessed me with my wife

13:26

and my girls that are still in my

13:28

life and still. Accepting

13:31

me, loving me. And, you know,

13:33

now we're on a new path, and it's.

13:36

I don't. It's my life has

13:38

been a whirlwind and I've

13:40

messed up so much. I just want to be

13:43

maybe a reassuring or an encouraging voice

13:45

to people that feel like they're too far

13:47

gone, that they

13:49

can't. They don't deserve

13:51

anything. You know what I mean? And it's God's

13:54

relentless love. He will continue to

13:56

pursue and he will be

13:59

everyone through. And

14:01

all we have to do is just ask him to help

14:04

open up our hearts, because

14:06

he will change lives. I'm living proof of

14:08

it. So that's.

14:10

Ah, thank you, thank

14:12

you, thank you, thank you for

14:15

just the vulnerability and

14:17

the the truth that you spoke

14:20

there from your own heart and life

14:22

and the long, you know, wrapped

14:24

up with this, that and the other thing.

14:27

Dale. God bless you, friend. I'm

14:29

glad you called in. And that is hopeful

14:32

to anybody who's in the

14:34

in the midst of the struggle. There

14:36

is. Clarence Schuller was on with

14:38

us yesterday, and he was talking about depression

14:40

and anxiety. And

14:43

the very last part

14:45

of the song that we just played

14:47

says, I've spent so long in

14:49

darkness. I

14:52

never thought the night would end.

14:55

But somehow grace

14:57

is found me. And

15:00

I had to let him in and,

15:04

uh, read a proverb each

15:06

day. Today's the 10th, read Proverbs

15:08

ten. And I was struck for the first

15:10

time. I hadn't seen this how many

15:12

times the word life is

15:14

used? Uh. Got

15:16

out my yellow marker. The mouth of the

15:18

righteous is a fountain of life.

15:21

The labor of the righteous leads

15:23

to life. The

15:26

one who follows instruction is on the path

15:28

to life. The

15:30

fear of the Lord prolongs

15:32

life. And you just see this again.

15:35

Jesus came to give life and

15:37

give it abundantly. I want you to have. God

15:39

wants you to have life. You're struggling

15:41

with alcohol. I saw a

15:43

report to about, uh, about

15:46

gambling addiction and how,

15:48

because it's proliferating. It's not just

15:50

at the casino. You can do it anywhere. Now,

15:53

churches need to be thinking about how

15:55

are we going to deal with the

15:58

gambling addiction that is going to be

16:00

fomenting in, in the,

16:02

in our world? What are you going to do

16:04

with that? How are we going to help reach

16:06

out and help? There is life

16:08

that is here and there's imitation

16:11

that wants you. You know, the enemy

16:13

just loves to imitate life.

16:16

And what you're hearing from Dale is,

16:18

I was going down this road. And

16:22

God grabbed the hold of me. And now I'm going to

16:24

different. And it's it's changing everybody

16:26

around me. I don't know what happened

16:28

to Olivia's. And after that

16:30

song, you know, your mind

16:32

can only figure out. But she

16:34

I she had to be a different

16:37

person after that fellow walked

16:39

in and knocked on her door and she let

16:41

him in. Uh, Matt

16:43

is in Michigan. Matt, why did

16:45

you call today?

16:48

Well, I just, uh, caught right

16:50

when you started, uh, Bonnie Raitt song,

16:52

and. Beautiful

16:54

song. First time I've ever heard it. And whether

16:56

I hear that or I hear another testimony.

16:59

Um, you know, any song of God's

17:01

grace that's. I've been a Christ follower

17:03

for 16 years and really

17:05

easy to fall into the complacency as the

17:07

years go on. But God rescued me

17:09

from, uh, just a horrendous lifestyle

17:12

of, uh, drinking,

17:14

drug addiction, sexual immorality.

17:16

And I know that's not a unique

17:18

situation, but what really blows my mind

17:21

is now got me back in a ministry,

17:23

working with guys that are in the same position

17:26

that I was 15, 20 years

17:28

ago. So I would have never

17:30

imagined, you know,

17:33

back in 2001, 2005

17:36

area that my life would even be

17:38

somewhat stable. And in fact, my addiction

17:40

was so bad that I actually attempted to take my

17:42

own life in 2001.

17:45

And then in 2002, I was in a drunk

17:47

driving accident. It was a single car accident.

17:49

There's no reason other than God's grace that I'm even

17:51

alive, let alone functional.

17:54

And so those two things,

17:56

but then also to put me in a ministry

17:58

where I'm now working with men that have substance

18:01

issues, uh, incarceration.

18:03

Um, I had an unplanned pregnancy. I also have

18:05

a beautiful teenage daughter out

18:08

of that unplanned pregnancy. Now, her mom and

18:10

I were never together, so I was a single dad.

18:12

And now working with guys like that, it just

18:14

it just blows my mind. Even yesterday,

18:16

um, speaking at an event, talking

18:18

about God's grace. And

18:22

I think the farther I get into my walk,

18:24

I don't think I become complacent. I

18:26

think it just drives me more because

18:29

every day that grace is just more

18:31

magnified in my life.

18:32

Yes. Do you identify

18:35

with what I just said about the whole life

18:37

thing, then that what

18:39

you had back then, you were struggling,

18:41

you were searching for something that would satisfy

18:44

and you didn't have it? It sounds

18:46

like today, you know your life is

18:48

not happily ever after, but,

18:51

you know, you see the sun coming up and you're

18:53

grateful and you're thankful for things.

18:56

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think the passion,

18:59

um, you

19:01

know, I mean, I know we use Romans 828

19:03

a lot, but he truly is taking

19:05

all of those horrible experiences

19:07

that I have and, you know,

19:10

the pain and the the trauma

19:12

and all these things that I had in my childhood.

19:14

And now he's using it for ministry.

19:17

And I think when you're able to

19:19

speak with and I'm not just speaking for myself,

19:21

but anybody that's been radically changed by

19:23

Christ, you know, you speak with

19:25

such a passion and a genuineness

19:28

that, uh, people, um, identify

19:30

with that, especially people that are still looking

19:32

for that. And. You know,

19:34

um, you're able to share the gospel in a different

19:36

way and just say, listen, I'm speaking from

19:38

from personal experience and,

19:41

uh, build off of that.

19:43

Yes. Bingo. And

19:45

I want to get to that at some point.

19:47

And you've you've. That's a perfect entree.

19:50

Matt, thank you for taking the time to call us

19:52

today. That's a the perfect entree

19:54

to what I wanted to talk about

19:56

at some point. And and that's

19:59

another aspect of this I, I

20:01

encountered an email

20:03

from it was actually Doug

20:05

Hutch Kraft, Ron's son,

20:07

who sent this email out about

20:10

rescue, um,

20:12

outreach magazine. Jonathan

20:14

Sproul, who's co-editor

20:16

there, interviewed Ron. And

20:19

Ron said, when I was four years old, my six

20:21

month old baby brother died mysteriously

20:23

overnight from some hard or liver or

20:25

kidney disease, and my parent didn't even know

20:27

the cause. My dad was a machinist

20:30

on the South Side of Chicago, but

20:32

he still had money to gamble and smoke and

20:34

drink. My dad and his grief took me to

20:36

Sunday school and he didn't go in.

20:39

He just sat in the car and read his paper,

20:41

sat in his machinist clothes and smoked

20:43

his cigarettes and waited until I came out every

20:45

week. I loved it, and eventually I came

20:47

out and I told him. I asked Jesus into

20:49

my heart. I don't think he knew what

20:51

to do with that, but eventually

20:53

he came in because

20:56

he was invited by the men's class Sunday

20:58

school teacher who didn't wait for him to

21:00

come in. He left the doors

21:02

of the church. And

21:04

finally went out to the man in the car

21:06

and invited my dad in. A

21:09

few months later, my dad gave his heart to Christ.

21:12

My mom did after that and I

21:14

got a new mom and dad. So

21:17

Ron says, we were lost.

21:20

And I looked back and I realized my dad

21:23

might have stayed lost, except for somebody who got

21:25

outside the walls. It

21:27

wasn't far outside the walls, but

21:29

he didn't wait for my dad to come in.

21:32

So when we come back from a break, you're

21:34

going to hear a story from

21:36

Ron Craft that I think will encourage

21:38

you, and I hope you'll listen

21:41

through that lens of,

21:43

do I have somebody in my life

21:46

who is an Olivia who's

21:48

kept a door closed, and

21:50

I'm praying for that open door.

21:52

Listen, with that in your heart

21:54

as we continue. This is the best

21:57

broadcast of Chris Fabry live

21:59

online. Chris Fabry live. Org.

22:16

This is Chris Mayberry live on Moody Radio. Thanks

22:18

a lot for tuning in today. On

22:20

this Friday that is recorded.

22:23

We've gone back to a program that

22:25

we did in February of last

22:27

year. First, try to see

22:30

the second Friday in February, right

22:32

before a big football game, right before

22:35

Valentine's Day. And

22:37

I played this song by Bonnie Raitt.

22:39

So I want you to hear a little bit more of it,

22:41

you know, and I said, at this

22:44

point in the program, Bonnie's

22:46

music, uh,

22:48

you know, she she's kind of politically motivated.

22:51

She's kind of left of center with her

22:53

music. I can kind of guess how she votes

22:56

or what she thinks about social issues.

22:59

And you can't listen to the song that we

23:01

play today and not think about

23:03

the unborn. And

23:06

this is the time of day, the time of

23:08

the program that I usually mention clarinet.

23:10

And I'm going to do it again because

23:12

they have a free 40 day

23:14

devotional of

23:17

unborn lives saved

23:19

and parents lives transformed.

23:22

That's why they call themselves

23:24

pro abundant life. It's not just

23:26

save the life, save that heartbeat of

23:28

that little baby until it comes out of the womb.

23:30

And then we move on to the next. It's

23:33

the pregnant mother. It's

23:35

the father of the child.

23:38

Sometimes pushing the mother

23:40

toward abortion, because that's how

23:42

they can see the pregnancy

23:44

decision line that clarinet hosts.

23:47

There are just so many stories,

23:49

and this devotional, 40

23:51

day devotional I know is

23:53

going to encourage you. There's an awful lot

23:56

of discouraging stuff that goes on with

23:59

the issue of life these days. Get

24:01

some encouragement. Go through this devotional.

24:03

It's absolutely free. Click

24:05

the green cabinet button at Chris

24:07

Fabry live.org. Go

24:10

to Chris Fabry Live org, click

24:12

the green connect button and download

24:14

your free 40 day devotional

24:17

today as

24:19

we continue with the program from last year.

24:22

Our next caller responding to that

24:24

song is Jay.

24:27

Hi. Um. Well,

24:30

when I heard this song, it just.

24:32

It just took me back.

24:35

Um. To some

24:37

things that happened in my past after

24:39

losing my own son. When

24:42

she said that, it kind of resonated

24:45

with me because it was

24:47

when I knew. At

24:50

the end of my journey of

24:52

grief and everything that I've gone

24:54

through after losing him,

24:57

it just it just took

24:59

me to that place within myself

25:01

where salvation started.

25:04

And and grace was just.

25:07

Given me to the extent

25:09

that I understood how much the father loved

25:11

me, instead of how much I felt

25:14

like something had happened

25:16

that should not have happened. Because

25:18

I used to go around saying that God

25:20

so loved the world that he gave his only begotten

25:23

son. But why did he take mine? Yes,

25:26

but I it it came full

25:28

circle for me at some point in my

25:30

life. And I remember that

25:33

listening to this song and

25:36

it's just it's just, um, God's grace

25:38

and his love and his mercy is amazing. I

25:40

just wanted to share that with the audience.

25:43

You. It sounds like you

25:45

are still bathing in that

25:47

grace. You're swimming in the,

25:51

uh, the depths of it. Because

25:53

in the song, Bonnie Raitt sings. And

25:55

just like that, your life can change.

25:58

If I hadn't looked away, my boy

26:00

might still be with me now. He'd be 25

26:02

today. Um, and

26:05

it sounds like you went to the the

26:07

into the darkness of that grief.

26:09

But God was there.

26:11

His grace and his mercy, uh,

26:14

ran after you.

26:17

He met me there. He

26:20

met me in that dark place. And,

26:23

um, it was just an awesome experience.

26:25

It's an experience that I'll never,

26:27

ever forget. But listening

26:29

to her song just kind of took

26:32

me there, and I just had to say

26:34

thank you, Jesus, because I remember and

26:37

I'll never forget. And I share my

26:39

I share this with others. And,

26:42

um, you know, it's so.

26:45

Well, I want you to know, as you listen

26:47

today, if that's you

26:49

and your Olivia or

26:51

your Jay, and you were you

26:54

are where she was right now, whether it's

26:56

grief or addiction or

26:59

whatever it is, it's going on in your life

27:01

and you're feeling this thing that's resonate

27:03

and deep down inside it

27:05

is that it is real life.

27:08

And the grace of God is is

27:10

real and is abundant.

27:13

You know, it

27:15

is also available to

27:17

you. He wants to invade

27:20

your life. He wants to change you from the inside

27:22

out. Because Christianity is not just, oh,

27:25

I get to do, you know, some good

27:27

things to make me a better person.

27:29

No, it's it's you're going

27:31

from death to life because

27:34

of what Jesus offers you.

27:36

And that even though I don't think Bonnie

27:38

necessarily meant that in her song,

27:40

as she's writing it, it God's

27:43

grace and his mercy floods

27:46

even those who don't

27:48

understand it. And maybe Bonnie does

27:50

is short shrift heard here today,

27:52

but maybe she understands it. You know, she she

27:54

had planned that out, but whether she

27:56

did or not, it's true. Um,

27:59

Walter is in Florida. Walter,

28:01

why did you call today?

28:04

The reason I called you today was that.

28:07

For the first 39 years of my life,

28:10

I never knew love. I

28:12

had been married five times and

28:15

I had sex with over 200 women.

28:18

I didn't know what the word love even meant.

28:20

Uh, my father was an alcoholic. Beat

28:23

me all the time and never told me he love me.

28:25

So I went all that time without knowing it.

28:27

And then one day, I went in to save

28:30

a lot, uh, a

28:32

store, and I found two IDs

28:34

and $680 in the.

28:37

And I threw the IDs away, and

28:39

I kept the money, and I needed to

28:41

have six teeth pulled out. And

28:45

I took the money and went down to the

28:47

doctor's office. Scared to

28:49

death of needles. I hated them the whole time

28:51

I was in the military. I tried to avoid the needles

28:53

altogether. So I sit down

28:55

in the doctor's office, showed her my mouth, and

28:57

the nurse said, that's exact amount

28:59

of money that I had found. So

29:02

I said okay. So she

29:04

left and the doctor was supposed to come out. So

29:06

I looked up in the sky and I said, okay,

29:09

God, if you're listening, I need

29:11

to get these six teeth pulled out with no pain

29:13

whatsoever. And I'll be the biggest Jesus

29:15

freak you ever met in your entire life. And

29:18

the doctor came in and looked at my mouth and

29:20

he said. Um.

29:24

I'm not going to use a needle. I'm going to use an air

29:26

gun. And I said, wow,

29:28

he must have been listening when I was talking to God.

29:31

And I, uh,

29:33

he left and came back, and then he

29:35

used the air gun. Then

29:37

he came back and touched the insides of my mouth

29:40

all around. The inside of my mouth didn't

29:42

do anything whatsoever. So

29:44

he left. And then the nurse came in

29:46

and the nurse said, here's a prescription

29:48

for the pain. And I said, yeah,

29:51

she said, you can go. I said, I ain't pulled my teeth

29:53

yet. She said, yes, he has. I

29:55

run my tongue over my gums and

29:57

they were gone. And I said, I'm going to have to go to church

30:00

this Sunday. And

30:02

I've been going to church ever since.

30:05

And from that point forward, I'm

30:07

an ex-cop and I do a prison

30:09

ministry. And on the average,

30:11

I lead in the streets

30:13

over 12 people a day to the Lord.

30:16

I love Walter, I got to ask you. I got to stop

30:19

you right there. Let me ask you this. You. But you

30:21

started this by saying

30:23

you didn't know. Love all

30:25

those you talked about your dad, you talked

30:27

about your history, you know,

30:30

with with women, etc., etc..

30:32

It sounds like now

30:34

you know what love really is

30:37

that's changed inside of you. Is that

30:39

true?

30:41

It's true. Because love is not cigarettes.

30:44

Love is not pornography. Love

30:46

is not sex. Love is 24

30:48

hours a day, seven days a week

30:50

with the most wonderful man in the entire

30:53

world.

30:54

And he came to do

30:56

what you could not do for yourself.

30:58

Walter, you know all that sin and

31:00

everything that you just mentioned back there,

31:02

you couldn't outdo that. You can

31:04

wipe that away. That was there. That

31:06

was your you're guilty. And

31:08

because of his righteous life

31:11

and because he paid the debt

31:13

for you, he puts his

31:16

righteousness on you. So it's not just,

31:18

you know, you get into heaven by the skin of your

31:20

teeth. It's you get a place at the table,

31:22

you get the robe, you get the ring.

31:25

Because of what he did for

31:27

you. You are there because of

31:29

what he accomplished for

31:31

you. Walter, thank you

31:34

for calling in here today. And if that's

31:36

where you are in your searching

31:38

for that, I'm looking for real

31:40

love in all the wrong places.

31:42

There's another country song used to say.

31:46

This is the right place in the

31:48

heart of God. Is him

31:50

looking for you. Let

31:52

me take one more call, Walter. Thank you.

31:55

Deborah, that song touched

31:57

your heart for a little bit different

31:59

reason. Tell me about it.

32:02

Yes. My son passed away

32:04

December 13th. This, uh,

32:08

uh, that, uh, 2022.

32:10

Uh, so it's still very wrong. And

32:12

I've been praising God,

32:15

uh, even though I don't

32:17

know why. Uh, but he

32:20

was an organ donor. His wife

32:22

touched me so much because

32:25

he gave life through

32:27

his, uh, kindness.

32:30

He was a giver, but he gave life

32:32

to a man in Georgia who

32:34

got his heart. And he has

32:36

five children. I know seven

32:39

children. And I

32:41

am just so blessed by that song,

32:44

because I've been having a hard

32:46

day, and just hearing that song

32:50

just really blessed me.

32:52

I am so glad.

32:53

It made me to realize that he

32:55

may have gave life to someone

32:58

who he he he

33:00

saved someone to live his

33:03

life.

33:04

Well. And here's the other.

33:05

Thing of that.

33:06

Song.

33:07

Yes, Deborah, here's the other.

33:08

Thing in the song. I will read the line

33:11

to you that Bonnie Raitt wrote,

33:13

and I want you to I want you to receive

33:16

this. Okay? It says,

33:19

um, I've

33:22

spent years just trying to find you so I

33:24

could finally let you know it was your

33:26

son's heart that saved me.

33:29

And a life you gave us

33:31

both. So you

33:33

gave your son life,

33:36

and then you gave.

33:38

You were part of giving that man

33:41

you're talking about in Georgia. You're part of giving

33:43

him life to.

33:46

Yes, it just blessed

33:48

me because I've been saying, Why God,

33:50

I trust you, God, but I

33:53

be carrying me through this

33:55

because I don't understand why you took

33:57

him at this age. And, um,

34:00

but I'm thankful. Um, I

34:02

trust God. I just trust

34:04

him through it all.

34:06

I'm so glad you got through, Deborah. And I'm so glad

34:08

that you heard that today. Uh,

34:11

and I'm glad you were encouraged.

34:13

And and here's the thing. For

34:15

those who, if you know somebody

34:17

who's far away or who's been running,

34:21

um, look at the in in the,

34:23

in the, in the story and the song.

34:26

Look at how much time goes

34:28

by to process

34:31

and to go into the darkness

34:33

and to that, that

34:35

Olivia was allowed to go before

34:37

the knock on the door. So

34:39

I don't want to rush anything that God

34:42

is doing in somebody's heart who

34:44

is running away and is processing

34:46

all of this grief

34:49

or struggle or anger. We talked

34:51

with Clarence yesterday, Doctor

34:53

Schuller, about the the

34:55

anger that he had about some of the

34:57

things of the triggers in his past.

34:59

I don't want to short circuit that

35:03

route because that is a part of the

35:05

story. But when we

35:07

come back, I want you to hear we had

35:09

an off the air conversation with

35:11

Ron Kraft about this

35:13

very thing, about those

35:16

who are concerned about somebody else.

35:18

And you've been praying and praying and praying.

35:21

I want you to hear that straight ahead.

35:23

This is Chris Mabry live on Moody

35:25

Radio. Thanks

35:40

for joining us at the Radio Backyard. First I want

35:42

to play something from Ron Hutch. This

35:44

was recorded for a

35:47

back fence post. For

35:49

those of you who give a gift each month, the Chris

35:51

Fabry Live, you become partners with us.

35:54

We record videos. Sometimes

35:56

it's just me, sometimes it's I

35:58

go in the backyard and I'll show you our cat, or

36:01

we're actually getting ready to get a couple of

36:03

goats. Or at least that's what Andrea says. We're getting

36:06

a couple of goats, so I'll show you my goats at

36:08

one point. Uh, some things

36:10

that are parked across the street that I can't figure out

36:12

what they are. But every now and

36:14

then, a guest will stay with us

36:16

and we'll record a little bit more.

36:18

And I want to play this from Ron.

36:21

But parenthetically, if you want

36:23

to support what we're doing here, if

36:25

you appreciate the spiritual

36:27

encouragement, the nourishment, and

36:29

you want a gift, give a gift any size.

36:32

Each month you become a back fence partner.

36:34

And you get that video that I send out

36:36

each week, as well as a signed

36:38

copy of The Promise of Jesse Woods and a whole lot

36:40

more. So go to Chris Fabry live

36:43

org. Scroll down. You'll see how you can be

36:45

a back fence partner with us right there.

36:47

We need your help in March and it'd

36:49

be great to hear from you today.

36:51

Remember, if you're a back fence

36:54

partner with us. You get access

36:56

to the gift that we send out each

36:58

month to anyone who gives this

37:00

month. Great book. Glenn

37:02

Marshall's memorizing Scripture.

37:05

I think it'll help go to Chris Fabry

37:07

live. Org or

37:09

call 86695

37:12

Fabri. So Ron

37:14

Hutch Kraft stayed after a program

37:16

we did with him last year and he

37:18

told this story.

37:20

You know, we went as a family

37:22

on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which

37:24

is called the graveyard of the Atlantic Beach.

37:26

Thousands of shipwrecks there over the centuries.

37:29

And we saw a life saving station

37:31

there. It's one of the last that's

37:34

there. It's not functioning as one. But

37:36

all along the maritime coast,

37:38

they had these life saving stations every seven

37:40

miles, and you'd have a seven man crew,

37:43

and they would see

37:45

that there was a boat in distress, or hear

37:47

that there was a boat going down and lives

37:49

at stake, and they'd go down to the beach

37:51

and they'd get in a little boat. And

37:53

who knew if they would come back even they'd

37:55

go into the storm, they'd go into the

37:57

surf, and they

38:00

became some of the greatest heroes

38:02

in American history, saving thousands

38:04

and thousands of lives that otherwise

38:06

would have gone down at sea. But when I

38:09

went there, I was like, I just saw a

38:11

picture of the mission of

38:13

Jesus on this planet. That's

38:15

what he did. He didn't wait for us

38:17

to come to his meeting. He

38:19

went into the surf. He went into the storm.

38:22

He went to the cross to

38:24

pay the price to rescue us. In fact,

38:26

his personal mission statement can

38:29

be translated from the Greek. This way

38:31

the Son of Man came to

38:33

look for and rescue

38:35

those who were dying. That

38:37

was you. That was me. And

38:40

so now it becomes our mission

38:42

to go into the surf, not wait for

38:44

them to come to our deal. They probably

38:47

never will. No one ever came to the door

38:49

of the life saving station, knocked on the

38:51

door and said, hello, I'm drowning. Can you help me?

38:53

In every case, they

38:55

had to go into the place where the

38:57

dying person was. Well, every

39:00

Christian, every listener, every believer

39:03

is right now in

39:05

the life of somebody who doesn't know Jesus.

39:08

And consequently, you

39:10

are the best possible messenger to

39:13

them. It's not going to be some professional

39:15

God salesman that reaches

39:17

them. It's going to be

39:19

an every day. You say, well, I'm just ordinary.

39:22

That's why you're qualified.

39:24

That's who people listen to. They

39:26

listen to ordinary people because they're ordinary

39:29

people. And so we

39:31

are our mission is not just

39:33

to witness or do evangelism

39:35

or whatever. Those are all good. That's

39:38

nice. I see it in the scriptures

39:40

described as rescue. How about

39:42

this statement snatch others

39:44

from the fire. And

39:46

save them. There is

39:48

a rescue verse. Rescue

39:50

those who are being led away to death

39:53

and hold back those who are staggering

39:55

towards slaughter. This

39:57

is life or death business. That's why

40:00

I call it rescue. That's why Scripture

40:02

describes it as rescue. This

40:04

isn't a matter of changing beliefs or

40:06

you just dumping your beliefs on somebody else.

40:09

This is their eternity at stake with

40:11

the information I have locked up

40:13

in my heart.

40:15

I wanted you to hear those words of Ron

40:18

Kraft, to hear his story,

40:21

so that you would be encouraged

40:23

not to give up on the person

40:25

you know who needs to open

40:28

the door. Ron wrote a book,

40:31

A Life That Matters. We talked about it a

40:33

couple of months ago. You

40:35

can't make that choice for the other person.

40:38

Your job is to be faithful with

40:40

the message, the truth about the rescue

40:42

mission that Jesus came on

40:45

for you, for me, and for that

40:47

other person. And then you

40:49

pray and you stay in that person's

40:51

life as much as you can, and

40:53

you ask God to do the work that only

40:55

he can do in the heart.

40:59

I just a year after we

41:01

aired that program. I'm just

41:03

glad for the space to have conversations

41:06

like this, to play a

41:08

song like that, that will stir

41:11

you, that will get you thinking in a way

41:13

on a Friday as you're heading into a weekend.

41:16

I hope it's done that for you.

41:18

I received an email

41:21

after the program that day

41:23

and it gave me an awful lot of encouragement.

41:25

Let me read it to you. Chris. Today

41:27

was a day that I had so many ordinary

41:30

things that needed to be done.

41:32

But as you shared and helped others

41:35

share in light of Bonnie Raitt

41:37

song, I couldn't

41:39

not listen to your show. Thanks

41:42

for sharing things of eternal value.

41:45

My housework and chores

41:47

can wait. God bless you.

41:49

Well, the truth is you could probably do them at the

41:52

same time. A lot of those. But there

41:54

are some things that bring you up short

41:56

that make you sit down and just think

41:58

deeply. That's what we hope happens

42:00

every time you turn on the radio of

42:02

Moody Radio, of any program, any song

42:04

that you hear, and especially

42:07

the conversations that I get to have at the

42:09

back fence. I can't thank you

42:11

enough for listening, for participating,

42:13

and for coming back on Monday and

42:15

hearing another live conversation

42:18

between some friends at the back

42:20

fence. Thank you so much for your support.

42:22

If you haven't gone to the website, do that today.

42:24

Chris Fabry live.org.

42:27

You can click cabinet there and

42:29

you can also support us there and

42:31

a whole lot more. Chris Fabry live.

42:34

Org thanks.

42:36

And a tip of the hat to Bonnie Raitt for her

42:38

words today. And thank you for and

42:41

Chris Fabry lives a production of Moody Radio,

42:43

a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.