Episode 1644
Natural Disasters and the End Times – TS Wright
Natural Disasters and the End Times TS Wright
Pastor Bob Thibodeau engages in a profound discussion with Scott Wright, an authority on biblical prophecy, about the escalating frequency and intensity of natural disasters and their potential correlation with the end times as foretold in scripture. They delve into significant questions surrounding contemporary events, such as whether the recent earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires are divine signs of impending judgment, echoing Jesus' warnings in Matthew 24. Wright posits that the increasing acceptance of sin within society may be eliciting these calamities as divine wake-up calls, urging believers to reassess their spiritual commitments and engage in a deeper discipleship. The dialogue emphasizes the critical importance of understanding the prophetic significance of current events while also highlighting the need for Christian communities to foster genuine discipleship and preparedness in the face of these challenges. As they navigate the serious implications of these discussions, they remind listeners to remain vigilant and spiritually equipped for the times ahead.
Takeaways:
- Pastor Bob Thibodeau emphasizes the increasing frequency of natural disasters as potential signs of biblical prophecy being fulfilled, urging listeners to reflect on their spiritual readiness.
- Scott Wright discusses the alarming rise in natural disasters over the past three decades, suggesting that these events could serve as divine warnings of the approaching end times.
- A significant point raised is the notion that societal acceptance of sin may be contributing to the increase in natural disasters, aligning with biblical interpretations of divine judgment.
- The conversation explores the idea that modern distractions and a desensitized public may lead to a lack of awareness regarding spiritual truths and the significance of current events.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: twwright@ghnglobal.net
Book: “God Centered Concept Journal: Making God’s Word My Ways.” - on Amazon
Podcast: The God Centered Concept
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Transcript
Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast with Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker A:Pastor Bob conducts personal interviews with Christian influencers from around the globe, helping Christian authors, recording artists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, non profit leaders, and yes, pastors and ministry leaders to get the word out about what they are doing to impact the world with the gospel.
Speaker A:Our podcast has been rated in the top 1/2% of all podcasts in the world by ListenNotes.com so you know your message will be heard.
Speaker A:Now here is your host with today's interview, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker B:Hello everyone everywhere.
Speaker B:Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.
Speaker B:Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast.
Speaker B:Today we are so blessed you are joining us.
Speaker B:You know, with the earthquakes and the wildfires and the hurricanes increasing in frequency and intensity, many people are asking, are we witnessing the birth pains that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24?
Speaker B:Could these disasters actually be divine warnings of the end times about to hit us?
Speaker B:Well today we welcome back our good friend Scott Wright, author of the God Centered Concept journal, host of the God Centered Concept podcast.
Speaker B:He's an expert on biblical prophecy and today he's here to help us understand the connection between increasing natural disasters and the end times as depicted in scripture.
Speaker B:Are all these disasters we're witnessing right now leading up to biblical end times?
Speaker B:Let's find out.
Speaker B:Help me welcome back the program our good friend, Scott Wright.
Speaker B:Scott, it is a blessing to have you back with us again today, buddy.
Speaker C:Hey, it's great to be here and looking forward to another fun, fruitful discussion.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Well, let's begin with this.
Speaker B:The Bible describes earthquakes and famines and pestilences as warnings.
Speaker B:Are we seeing a pattern today that matches biblical prophecy more closely than in past generations?
Speaker B:Like Jesus mentioned birth pains in Matthew 24.
Speaker C:Well, I think if we just, you could just study the effect and the amount of natural disasters over the last say 30 years and compare it to before that.
Speaker C:And while there's always been natural disasters, the increase of them has steadily grown at alarming rates to the point that it seems like scientists want to blame it on global warming and that it's a man made issue.
Speaker C:So I don't mean to laugh at that and to the, not, not to try to get into the scientific side of this, but I think God is trying to get our attention and I think he, he says it in his word that he's going to use those things as a way of warning.
Speaker C:He's used that before.
Speaker C:All, you know, he's always used that.
Speaker C:Natural disasters have been a wake up call sometimes A way to move things along.
Speaker C:Because God doesn't see it like we do and, and believe it or not, we, we think of it as this way.
Speaker C:We think that something that hurts people, we think of it in way and we should, is being hard and not good.
Speaker C:But God has the right to remove people.
Speaker C:He does.
Speaker C:And he does it because of our sinfulness.
Speaker C:And so these increase in natural disasters, I do believe are because of an increase of sin.
Speaker C:Not that there's not always been sin, but it's that sin is now accepted as.
Speaker C:Okay, yeah, we've gotten to a point.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:I mean, it's, you know, people are glorifying sin and that is a very dangerous thing to do.
Speaker C:When you glorify sin, that is going to always bring about God's.
Speaker C:It's going to make him jealous and you're going to bring about God's anger.
Speaker C:I mean, you can, that can be done individually, you can do that collectively.
Speaker C:And we're seeing that collectively across the world.
Speaker C:And I believe it or not, I think this emergence of technology and our reliance upon turning our lives over completely to technology and not to God is bringing that on.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:You know, and when, you know, the big argument, you know, all these innocent people are being hurt by these natural disasters, you know, they're losing their livelihoods, their homes or businesses, their families, people are dying, you know, righteous God would not be doing a merciful God would not be doing that.
Speaker B:Well, thoughts on that.
Speaker C:First of all, I think we can study from Genesis all the way through revelation that while God is merciful and God is patient, there's also a timeline.
Speaker C:God also put a timeline on human beings 120 years.
Speaker C:And he doesn't see our physical death the way we see it.
Speaker C:Matter of fact, he gives us the picture that's why he sent Jesus his son to die, is that he gives us the picture that this is not the ultimate life, it's the life with him that's the ultimate life.
Speaker C:Paul talks about in Philippians, chapter three, where our citizenship lies.
Speaker C:Once we receive Christ, it's in heaven.
Speaker C:And so what we have to realize is that our life here is temporary regardless.
Speaker C:Natural disasters, no natural disasters, and it's done.
Speaker C:And it's that way because of our sinfulness.
Speaker C:And so God has a plan to deal with sinfulness.
Speaker C:And his wrath is the reason that we die because we have rebelled against Him.
Speaker C:But he also gives us a way out through his Son Jesus, and through the blood of Jesus.
Speaker C:And we are, that's our hope.
Speaker C:That's, that's what glorifies that we glorify him and then he gives us a glorious body in return for when we go and be with him.
Speaker C:Y.
Speaker C:I mean, so, you know, to think that, that God is not being merciful.
Speaker C:I want to ask this question.
Speaker C:I always flip this question around.
Speaker C:Okay, you've lived this life for long enough now.
Speaker C:Is this really all there is?
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker C:I mean, that's the question I asked somebody.
Speaker C:What else is there?
Speaker B:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker C:I mean, is this it?
Speaker C:Is this all I get?
Speaker C:I mean, just, just from a purely selfish standpoint, this is it.
Speaker C:That would be the question.
Speaker C:So I've had to actually take people to that level to think about it.
Speaker C:I said, if this is all there is, I'm disappointed and you should be too.
Speaker C:I would hope there's something better than this life.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:Please tell me that there is.
Speaker B:Some argue that, that natural disasters have always existed.
Speaker B:So why do you believe that today's events are uniquely tied to end times prophecy?
Speaker C:Well, I think there's a few things that, that wrap, that I wrap in that.
Speaker C:Number one, the frequency.
Speaker C:And it's also the fact that we're just becoming desensitized to it.
Speaker C:It happens so often.
Speaker C:It's just like, okay, you know, there's earthquakes here and earthquakes there.
Speaker C:I mean, it's to the point that we can't even keep up with it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, I don't even know all the natural disasters that happened.
Speaker C:You know, when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, when a natural disaster happened, it was a monumental event.
Speaker C:It didn't matter where it happened when it was a big disaster.
Speaker C:Now.
Speaker C:Okay, it's like it happened.
Speaker C:I mean, it's just more and more frequent.
Speaker C:On top of that, the fact that scientists are explaining it away by trying to deny God his due on this and basically try to have some kind of a scientific man made explanation like they try to do with everything else and to take you away from God.
Speaker C:You know, God created the earth.
Speaker C:God created all the parts of the earth and he created the earth to cleanse itself.
Speaker C:And natural disasters is a way that, that happens.
Speaker C:Well, guess what?
Speaker C:He also can cause them and we're seeing a higher frequency of them.
Speaker C:And just that it's just, to me it's just another piece, another part of the chess puzzle, you know, the whole chest board.
Speaker C:It's, it's one other piece and it's another way that signifies the fact that we are approaching some, some kind of a massive shift and that Massive shift is basically the book of revelation playing out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:You know, as you're talking about that, it really started with Katrina.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because Katrina was in the news for months.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I mean the devastation in New Orleans and that was in the news for months.
Speaker B:And when Tampa and all that got hit last year, it was in the news for four or five days.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:North Carolina.
Speaker B:Yeah, North Carolina, Tennessee, all that.
Speaker B:Four or five a week, you know.
Speaker B:Oh, every now and then, you know, they'll go do a follow up report.
Speaker B:Oh, nothing's changed.
Speaker B:It's still a mess, you know, I mean, but when New Orleans was hit, I mean, man, that was, you know, I mean that was almost every news cycle, you know.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker B:But we've gotten be, you know, oh, oh golly, somebody won the World Series.
Speaker B:Let's go talk about that for three or four days now instead of these disasters, you know, stuff like that.
Speaker B:Our attention span, how can I say this, Lord?
Speaker B:Maybe the increase, intensity and increase in, in the number of disasters we're seeing is because our attention span is so short.
Speaker B:He's got to keep repeating what he's saying.
Speaker B:You know, maybe that's the problem.
Speaker B:We're not listening.
Speaker B:So he's repeating what he's saying.
Speaker B:By setting these disasters to catch our attention, we get you thinking about it.
Speaker C:We live for the message of the moment.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's what human beings are listening for now.
Speaker C:It's the message of the moment.
Speaker C:There's no longevity to anything.
Speaker C:I mean it's, I mean even technology.
Speaker C:What, what's now the end thing will be gone in three weeks.
Speaker C:There'll be something new and it's that exponential growth.
Speaker C:What's, here's what's happened.
Speaker C:You know, the, we are so flooded with information now.
Speaker C:It's like what did, what did, what was really, you know, I think about the enemy's plan.
Speaker C:I always try to think about what is the enemy's strategy here that can try to reel us in and get us away from God.
Speaker C:Well, for so long it was hiding information.
Speaker C:I mean, people couldn't even read.
Speaker C:Learn to read and write, you know, other than the aristocracy and clergy and you know, that, that level, those level of people.
Speaker C:But then the printing press comes along.
Speaker C:Well, the enemy had to shift gears and he said, oh, actually this is better.
Speaker C:What I'll do is I'll take the message of the gospel and throw it in there.
Speaker C:But it's like I'm going to do exactly what the Japanese did right before Pearl Harbor.
Speaker C:I'm just Going to flood the airwaves with everything.
Speaker C:And now there'll be 10,000 different types of gospels they can go out there and listen to.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, it's people, you know, live your own truth.
Speaker C:I mean, it's like there's a hundred thousand truths out there now.
Speaker C:And the gospel is to them is just one of them.
Speaker C:You know, I see bumper stickers all the time that have all these religious symbols and he says coexist and, and it's like Christianity is just one.
Speaker C:It's like one way.
Speaker C:The problem is, is Jesus did not allow us to think that way.
Speaker C:When he said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.
Speaker C:He basically sliced everything else off.
Speaker C:I mean, that was like, nope, this is it.
Speaker C:This is the only way.
Speaker B:That is so intolerant.
Speaker C:You know, I heard a lady say something the other day that, that, that really resonated with me.
Speaker C:And I've said some things that are similar to this, but I like the way she said it.
Speaker C:And she goes, she said no person who has ever stood face to face with God in judgment ever thought at that moment thought that somebody talked about hell too much.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:That's good.
Speaker C:Let's just, let's just be real.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, if, if we're not going to say the truth, we have a problem.
Speaker C:If there's not a standard of truth, we have a problem.
Speaker C:And the, and the issue is, is there's no more standards.
Speaker C:There's no standard anymore.
Speaker C:We just define our own standards all the time.
Speaker C:When we get to that point, that is dangerous.
Speaker C:And I believe that God is using a lot of things, including these natural disasters, to get people to realize that he has a standard and that's how he's getting our attention, to make us pay attention to that standard.
Speaker C:And people aren't listening.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:What role do man made crises like economic collapse, wars, what role does all that play alongside the natural disasters in signaling the end times are here?
Speaker C:Well, I think what happens is that anytime those things happen, we try to look to a higher power to help us.
Speaker C:That's what people do, you know, and if you think about all the different crises over the years, the church has usually been.
Speaker C:Churches have, as you and I were talking about before the podcast, have been there to help.
Speaker C:So usually to aid or there's been certain types of organizations that would step in and help, and they were usually Christian affiliated organizations.
Speaker C: , but we just saw a crisis in: Speaker C:It was the first time that I ever seen that.
Speaker C:And the government stepped in and became the higher power.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And that was Covid.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker C:And it was the most dangerous thing I've ever seen.
Speaker C:I've.
Speaker C:And I study history as much as anything is.
Speaker C:I study history.
Speaker C:That's what I do.
Speaker C:I mean I'm a biblical scholar that compares the history.
Speaker C:Really what I am is a Christian culturalist slash disciple maker.
Speaker C:I mean that's what, that's what I do.
Speaker C:And as I look at that and I look at our culture and I compare those to the cultures of the past and I compare how people, their perspective of all these pieces are.
Speaker C:I had never seen the people of the United States and just Western civilization turn to government like it did then.
Speaker C: we, we had the Crisis in the: Speaker C:But even Franklin Roosevelt, like on D day for instance, what does he do right before their landing?
Speaker C:He leads the nation in a.
Speaker C:In prayer.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:But 9 11, 911 we had a prayer on the steps of the Capitol led by members of Congress.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:But where was it this time?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And what do they do?
Speaker B:Because the churches wanted to get together and hold prayer meetings.
Speaker B:No, no assemblies.
Speaker B:You can't meet no church now, you.
Speaker C:Know, and it just.
Speaker C:And, and we haven't fully recovered from that by the way.
Speaker B:Oh, not at all.
Speaker C:I mean churches are still empty.
Speaker C:I will tell you.
Speaker C:Yes, exactly.
Speaker C:And it happened to businesses and it happened to churches as well.
Speaker C:Is that we are seeing people leave the church in droves.
Speaker C:It is alarming and it is a sign.
Speaker C:And, and, and I keep saying this.
Speaker C:I believe there's one more great revival and that's going to be it.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:And it's going to be short lived.
Speaker C:I mean it's going to make the church of Philadelphia, the church age of Philadelphia look long compared to what this is going to be.
Speaker C:It's going to be a quick hit and it's going to be gone.
Speaker C:It's going to be a one hit wonder, so, so to speak.
Speaker C:But I believe it's going to happen.
Speaker C:I believe that the, the environment is being painted for it to happen because people are confused right now.
Speaker C:I think people are living in a total state of confusion just as a culture, not only our culture, but just the cultures around the world where there's no foundational ground.
Speaker C:We got wars happening.
Speaker C:People are uncertain.
Speaker C:There's just a lack of stability.
Speaker C:And we just saw a revolution in America with the last election.
Speaker C:It was a total revolt.
Speaker C:That's what you Saw, it's just, we don't do it with guns.
Speaker C:We do it with a boat and so.
Speaker C:And our voice.
Speaker C:But I also think America's unsure of itself right now.
Speaker C:I think the world's unsure of itself.
Speaker C:And I think these natural disasters are just a piece of God or piece that God uses also to test people.
Speaker C:He does it to get your attention, but I also think he tests people.
Speaker C:And that test is this.
Speaker C:What do you turn to when things go right?
Speaker C:And what do you think turn to when things go wrong?
Speaker C:And he's testing that.
Speaker C:I think he's testing it because it's like you said in 9 11, they prayed.
Speaker C:Yeah, guess what?
Speaker C:That's slowly but surely dissolved.
Speaker B:I mean, George Patton had his chaplain write a prayer for good weather so he can go kill the Germans.
Speaker B:And God answered it.
Speaker C:And God answered it.
Speaker C:Got good weather, so he was able to finish the job.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:But, you know, I mean, that's great.
Speaker C:That's awesome.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But if you think through all those things, I mean, when crises happened or were about to happen, people were praying.
Speaker C:Is that really happening anymore?
Speaker C:You know, I saw a program, and I think this is also another part of the thing that alarms me is I saw a program where they were doing a analysis of these Sunday communities that were basically doing the same things that you do in church.
Speaker C:But they don't preach about God.
Speaker C:There's no Bible, there's no God.
Speaker C:It's just a community message.
Speaker C:It's a place of gathering and singing, and then that's it.
Speaker C:And then they go home.
Speaker B:But that.
Speaker B:That's what we see in a lot of churches today, too.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, hey, you know, who was it?
Speaker C:It was Jen Symbol, Jim Cymbala.
Speaker C:Somebody asked him one time about getting prayer back into schools.
Speaker C:He said, I'd like to get prayer back into the churches.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:I mean, he's not wrong about that.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:You know, the church itself has become a social club, basically.
Speaker C:It has.
Speaker C:I mean, in.
Speaker C:So, you know, I do just.
Speaker C:I do a discipleship.
Speaker C:I got two discipleship groups that I.
Speaker C:I lead.
Speaker C:And we.
Speaker C:To see the people who are committed and to not.
Speaker C:And see the people who aren't.
Speaker C:There's a lot more that aren't than that are.
Speaker C:I think.
Speaker C:Yeah, we get.
Speaker C:You get a lot of people wanting to be in the group, but they never show up, you know, or they're there for a couple of times.
Speaker C:They're not committed to growth and they're not Committed to walking with Christ.
Speaker C:They're committed to if it's convenient for them.
Speaker C:You know, people are addicted to their convenience and comforts.
Speaker C:And I think what natural disasters do is they get you out of those comfort zones.
Speaker C:They force you to.
Speaker C:You don't have a choice.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, that's true.
Speaker B:That's true.
Speaker B:Scott, for those watching these events unfold, what should believers be doing right now to prepare spiritually and practically for what's ahead?
Speaker C:Well, first of all, it's.
Speaker C:A lot of people need to do what I call an internal scrub.
Speaker C:I call it internal scrubbing.
Speaker C:They need a cleansing.
Speaker C:And that cleansing is this, is that you need to have a discipleship plan.
Speaker C:You need to be growing with the Lord.
Speaker C:It's not just praying and reading your Bible, but how are you growing?
Speaker C:How are you sharing your faith?
Speaker C:You know, we teach it our elements of our discipleship plan, which I'm.
Speaker C:I'll be finished with the second book, literally, as we're speaking here now.
Speaker C:And on this day, I'm finishing the last lesson of the second discipleship book.
Speaker C:And you know what?
Speaker C:We have four standards.
Speaker C:And so those standards matter.
Speaker C:And it's a growth process that allows us to share our faith.
Speaker C:If we're not growing to a point to have the confidence to share our faith, something's wrong.
Speaker C:Look, the model, you know, and you and I were talking about.
Speaker C:You're.
Speaker C:You're teaching the red letters.
Speaker C:Well, guess what?
Speaker C:You know, teaching the red letters.
Speaker C:Jesus modeled.
Speaker C:He gave us a model to follow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:When, you know, camps, Crusade for Christ.
Speaker C:Win them.
Speaker C:It's winning.
Speaker C:Win them to the faith or win them to Christ.
Speaker C:Build them up in the faith and send them out.
Speaker C:I mean, that's.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker C:We should be growing in that way.
Speaker C:And so that way we can achieve and do the callings that God puts on our hearts.
Speaker C:But you can't do that if you don't have a focus of discipleship.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Discipleship is the key to this, and the church has completely lost that.
Speaker C:Which is why, part of the reason I think the church is losing its membership.
Speaker C:People don't just want to show up for Bible studies.
Speaker C:They want to know there's a purpose.
Speaker C:They want to know that there's a growth plan.
Speaker B:And now that always just upset me when I'd be going to a church and said, we're going to have a discipleship class.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Really, all it was was a Bible study.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker B:That's all it was, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:When I was at Bible school and they had their discipleship segment.
Speaker B:You're out on the streets, buddy.
Speaker B:They go over this now go do it exactly back.
Speaker B:Tell us what happened.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Next time that happens, you find yourself in that city, this is what you need to do.
Speaker B:Go back out and do it again.
Speaker B:The whole session.
Speaker B:This, you know, the six week semester or whatever it was, we were on.
Speaker C:The street and I've done that.
Speaker C:I've.
Speaker C:I remember walking around campus talking to people about their faith when I was doing student ministry and when I was in college, I was doing student ministry at the same time.
Speaker C:And we did.
Speaker C:I remember going up on my dorm floor and inviting people into my dorm.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Faith.
Speaker C:And we set up a discipleship growth plan and we literally had a once a week class in my dorm room.
Speaker C:So we were doing that.
Speaker C:I mean, I remember going into a party house.
Speaker C:I did this at a party house.
Speaker C:And it got to the point, it was funny.
Speaker C:They had their Thursday night party and then Friday morning I'd come in and absolve them of their sins.
Speaker C:But what, you know what, there were some guys that they changed over that year.
Speaker C:I remember doing that and someone moved out the following year.
Speaker C:They gave up that lifestyle.
Speaker C:And, and so the Lord just kept putting.
Speaker C:I could feel the Lord put my heart, just keep going.
Speaker C:The guy that was directing me, he just said, just keep doing it.
Speaker C:And we saw success there.
Speaker C:So there's been, that's why I say.
Speaker B:The, the churches nowadays, it seems like if it's not a social club, it's a, you know, punch my time clock card here, you know, so I can say, yeah, I did what I needed to do today, you know, exactly.
Speaker B:They go in here, you know, prayer, two songs, prayer offering, short message, don't go over 22 minutes, Pastor, and then you're done, you know, and then watch your football game, get drunk, whatever you wanted to do, you know, and hey, you know, I'm good.
Speaker B:Yeah, I went to church.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:But there's nothing else.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, you know, you might have, what was, we'll say before the pandemic was a 1,000 seat church, might have, you know, 200 in it on a Sunday now, you know, and what used to be a Sunday night was, you know, 2, 300 is probably 50 and you know, give up Wednesday night Bible study.
Speaker B:It's the same three people over and over again, stuff like that.
Speaker B:I mean, that's what we're seeing.
Speaker B:And, and a lot of that goes back to, you know, the pandemic.
Speaker B:And they got used to not going to church, you know, all that stuff.
Speaker B:But it also comes back to what we're talking about is, you know, it's a sign of the fallen away that Jesus talked about.
Speaker B:So it brings back to what we're talking about.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:And I, you know, and on a, a couple of practical steps that people could take, you know, obviously I gave the big picture of discipleship.
Speaker C:But you know what?
Speaker C:Start praying that God will bring people in your life that you can share your faith with.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And you need to pray and then when God does that, you need to pray for their hearts to become fertile so that the seeds of the gospel and God's truth can stay taken, grow deep roots into that person.
Speaker C:We, we need to be praying that and, and we need to be asking God to, to provide people for us to witness to, to disciple.
Speaker C:But we need to learn how to disciple ourselves.
Speaker C:You know.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker C:You and I hit on this.
Speaker C:Paul trained for approximately three years before he went out ministering.
Speaker B:He did.
Speaker C:And that's what discipleship is, is training.
Speaker C:And we have, what I'm doing is I have put together a 40 lesson discipleship plan.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:That people can follow and know how to share their faith and have confidence in that.
Speaker C:I would never encourage somebody who has no experience with this and has not been trained to go out and share their faith.
Speaker C:They're going to become discouraged very fast.
Speaker C:But yeah, it's like you did, you know, you went to, you took, you had other classes first and then when you hit that class, you were already almost there.
Speaker C:Then they get, they started teaching you technique.
Speaker C:Technique's easy.
Speaker C:I'm going to just say this technique is not hard.
Speaker C:It really isn't.
Speaker C:I can teach somebody to share their faith and 20 minutes.
Speaker C:What I can't do is give you the heart that will be resilient when you face adversity doing it.
Speaker C:That's the part I'm telling you.
Speaker C:It takes longer to get somebody to that point than it does to actually share their faith.
Speaker C:The sharing the faith part, when you get to the point where you have that resilience and that confidence and that heart and your eyes fixed on it, the technique's easy.
Speaker C:That's simple.
Speaker C:You know, the only thing I would tell people, if you're going into foreign countries where the languages are different and the customs are different, you need, you probably need some, you need some international training then, you know, and there's inter international ministries that'll train you to go do that.
Speaker C:You need to do that before you, you go in.
Speaker C:But sharing our faith in our culture, I mean honestly, you can probably learn that in 6 to 12 months.
Speaker C:We, we, we will.
Speaker C:Our goal is to get you there, you know, and if there's churches listening to this, I mean, feel free to contact me.
Speaker C:I will come in and I will help you set up a plan to get your congregation out sharing their faith.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:And that's what they.
Speaker C:Building discipleship teams.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, guess what?
Speaker B:If you, if you hit the streets and bring people in, your church just grew.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:I mean, think about it.
Speaker C:The whole idea we were talking about the red letter, right?
Speaker C:Well, what is the red letter?
Speaker C:The red letter is that Jesus gave us a model to follow.
Speaker C:And the model was multiplication.
Speaker C:It truly was.
Speaker C:He started with 12 dudes.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Females, rooted in there.
Speaker C:That they also started sharing their faith and that all.
Speaker C:It just grew.
Speaker C:And look what it grew into.
Speaker C:It was just 12 and they.
Speaker C:And found their few and then they went and found their few.
Speaker C:Well, the next thing you know, the Roman Empire is completely taken over by it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Within a few hundred years.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker C:And so, you know, multiplication works and we need.
Speaker C:Churches need discipleship plans.
Speaker C:Yeah, people need discipleship.
Speaker C:And it's, that's what we're writing about.
Speaker C:That's what we're teaching.
Speaker C:Like I said, I've got two books, I've got two more that I'm going to finish and we will have a four series discipleship plan of 40 lessons that you can take people through in one year.
Speaker C:One year.
Speaker B:Scott, as usual, this is so interesting.
Speaker B:So if someone has a question or they want to reach out, get more information on this discipleship program.
Speaker B:Purchase your journal.
Speaker B:How can they do that?
Speaker B:How can someone get in touch with you?
Speaker C:You bet.
Speaker C: t's GCC, God Centered Concept: Speaker C:i will tell you we will be changing that as we're right now getting our new domain names for our YouTube channel.
Speaker C:All that stuff's being put together.
Speaker C:So we're, we're getting ready to launch.
Speaker C:The next time I'm on this podcast, hopefully I can announce the new web, the new address, email address I can use and, and all those things.
Speaker C:But we're, we're just about there.
Speaker C:What we really need right now is we need, we just need a little bit of an infusion of cash so we can get certain things paid for so we can get things launched.
Speaker C:Unfortunately, it takes money to do all this.
Speaker B:Yeah, it does.
Speaker C:You know, and I'm not, hey, I'm not a wealthy person, so I'm a, you know, I've been a public school teacher.
Speaker C:We don't, you know, there's a reason it takes 28 years to retire.
Speaker C:So if you're gonna, you know, if you're gonn do that, it, you know, it takes 20, 30 years to do that.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But we're hoping to take this thing full time and, and get this thing rolling.
Speaker C:We, not only the podcast, but I actually want to take the podcast on the road.
Speaker C:We've got a lot of plans.
Speaker C:We've, we've put together an entire, I guess almost a business plan, if you will, a ministry plan.
Speaker C:Now we need to, now we just need the infusion of cash to make it happen.
Speaker C:So that's where we're at.
Speaker B:Well, I'll put all this information down the show notes below.
Speaker B:Amen, folks.
Speaker B:The signs are all around us.
Speaker C:Amen.
Speaker B:Earthquakes, wildfires, storms happening with greater intensity and frequency than ever before.
Speaker B:And these aren't just random events.
Speaker B:For believers, they could be the very warnings Jesus spoke of.
Speaker B:Are you paying attention?
Speaker B:That's the question.
Speaker B:Now's the time to wake up, stay alert, and prepare for his soon return.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Scott, I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule.
Speaker B:Come join us again today, brother.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to the next one.
Speaker C:Hey, it's always great, you know, I'm always ready to be back.
Speaker C:I wish we could do this every day.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:One day we will.
Speaker B:Amen, folks.
Speaker B:That's all the time we have for today for Scott Wright.
Speaker B:Mazzella's Pastor Bob, I reminded you to be blessed in all that you do.
Speaker A:Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast.
Speaker A:Please subscribe to our podcast so you can be notified when another episode is published.
Speaker A: interviews and: Speaker A:To share their messages with the world, please visit our website@www.podcastersforchrist.com that web address again is www.podcastersforchrist.com.
Speaker A:for more information, until next time, be blessed in all that you do.
