Sharing Your Faith With Boldness

Satan knows that how you see yourself will determine how you behave yourself.

So if you can convince you as a believer that you're not a full-time minister, you're just an insurance salesman or you're just a realistic guy work just to stay at home mom or whatever he can convince you that that's how you but what David and I discovered is that we are full-time ministers. The minute you give your heart Jesus Christ your minister your own mission in your work is worship. When you recognize that you are in full-time ministry.

We think that where your place or how your paid determines the minister but it's not about that. It's about God's presence in your life and your passion for him to make you full-time minister right we will ask Jason Bannerman is our guest today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly also joining us.

David, his brother there here to offer encouragement on sharing your faith every day life. Thanks for joining us I'm John Fuller and is said host is focused president John one of my favorite image sharing his thoughts with the disciples is when he told them they would become fishers of men. Right is not a great he takes these fishermen and then makes them fishers of men. And that's what were all to be fishers of human beings.

You know, get the word out. Get the gospel out.

God wants us to use that connection to connect with lost people right and to introduce them to the Scripture to the Lord to salvation to eternal life, and it should be simple but sharing your faith in today's culture can be really difficult because there's a lot of people that don't agree with what we believe and the message of Christ can be confrontational sometimes and that's okay. Now we need to continue to affirm what Scripture says and that's were to talk about today's believers were called to overcome the fear of sharing the message of the gospel and when we respond in our humanness with anger. When people attack us so were going to give you some ideas on how you might be able to do that again. The Benham brothers are former professional baseball players and are now successful businessman and real estate entrepreneurs and a back in 2014. There TV show on Hg TV was canceled because they were really kinda targeted for their biblical values. David and Jason have written a book together called bold and broken, becoming the bridge between heaven and earth and will encourage you to get your copy when you call 800 a family of 800-232-6459. We can find out more in the episode notes David and Jason welcome back to Focus on the Family also has a very severe man. We are in your house last time. Now you're not how that latterly we were in your house you ate us out of house and home. Don't think it were to repay a terrible thunderstorm the rolled that was also a little hard for the exams. I remember it was awesome. Bang every threat you made knows I really did was underline every John made that was okay. This is a great but bold and broken obvious question why those two words.

Well, what we really believe it now in our culture is the time to stand boldly for the Lord.

But just as you guys know the story when Jonathan, you know, son of Saul was climbing up that that mountain and he was going to go attack the Philistine garrison. It was just Jonathan and his armor bearer right but if the Scripture says there cliffs on both sides and what David nursing is now is time to stand boldly for the Lord. But there's cliffs on both sides because boldness apart from brokenness makes you a bully writes of the cliff on one side you can become a bully and we know that feels like an angry and you want to bully people around, but where we see the culture really leaning, especially in the Christian world today is the cliff on the other side and that's brokenness apart from boldness that makes you a bystander so you can be a bystander or a bully. Those the two cliffs, but if you want to stand strong for Lord like Jonathan did when he climbed up that little mountain with his armor bearer went and took out 20 Philistines and took the boldness, it's boldness on the foundation of brokenness that then makes you a bridge that can connect heaven to earth that can connect God with the people who are disconnected sometimes can be hard to connect those Old Testament New Testament stories with modern life that I think if you just consider it, it's right there. It's very obvious what the Lord was asking them to do and I think what is asking us to do today John. Mention this issue with Hg TV you would sign a contract your underwear you to do a reality show what was now shown that and then let's get to the real question which is what transpired with Hg TV so I was a show about what the show was called flip it forward.

It was it was on the heels of Chip and Joanna gains his first season called fixer-upper they had signed us at the same time they signed Chip and Joanna and so then at that same time Jason and I were very vocal pro-life, we were very vocal about marriage and about the values of the Lord in terms of being business leaders in Charlotte and in this country and we were seeing just some of the things happening in culture. Some of the narratives that were being pushed and so Jason and I were very vocal about these things that we were in the middle of filming and we are five weeks into a 10 week film shoot we were just a few months away from airing the first season of flip it forward. We were flipping houses for for families and the executives came to us and they said listen, because we love you. Many of us believe, just like you do but we're getting now circled by activist organizations that are to target our advertisers and so we got we got a fire you so we can cancel culture seven years ago before it became a hat right yet so if we knew we Saul it sounds like the thought Mafia that circles the wagons and says you'll believe like us, and whether that's in the University whether it's in mainstream media. It's now in big business. It's like you have to think like us it in the thinking is not necessarily the battle. It's a true spiritual battle between light and darkness in you even started the episode by saying that the Lord took fishermen and made them fishers of men. And it's interesting in Scripture the way that they finished wasn't with a lower we often do that and that in the church today.

But God taught them how to fish with a light they would hang lanterns out over the boat at night and the fish would be attracted to the light and then they would cast their net and that's how the Lord wants us to fish today fish with light in Matthew 516 it says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. And so that's what happened to us in business with real estate by God's grace we were shining the light of true biblical values in the marketplace and we were selling 6 to 8000 houses a year, and 35 states and 35 state hundred offices and and people were getting saved. We were doing discipleship and supporting a lot of ministries and we were selling to every kind of human known to man. There was no discrimination like the narrative would I. Seiter.

None of that stuff and so then when Hg came and gave us a reality show. That's when all of the activist organizations were like oh my goodness you can give a platform to these guys, there is no chance were to target your advertisers, so we said Hg TV got bullied. It was an HDTV's decision.

They invested millions of dollars into us. They got bully to cancel us and so we became the first show that was officially canceled and we saw that seven years ago are now fast forward to today and God is really calling us to be a bridge and shine the light.

Even Brightwell hears that the question people may not know why did they want to cancel you. What was the big issue. Love that the two main issues were that were vocal pro-life and vocal pro-marriage so we we were getting a show right around the time when the Supreme Court was doing the whole arguments over do they redefine marriage or not. And so David and I would. I mean it was Apple and PayPal in Delta Air Lines.

All these businesses were coming out in favor of redefining marriage David R. Like okay Christian businessmen need to be speaking to. So we said hey don't redefine what God is already defined in one of the things that we said is that God's blessings are found within God's boundaries. And when we remove those boundaries. The blessings are replaced with burdens and it's not bigoted and intolerant to talk about the boundaries of God right. I mean I have so I have I have an owners manual in my brand-new Silverado pickup truck, which by the way, is much nicer than Jason's. It is not even close, and I look at it and it tells me in the glove box and when you open it up it says this is how you make the truck work. This is how it's going to last.

And it's not mean and intolerant of those engineers to tell me how is this thing gonna last. God has defined how we thrive and flourish as humans, and the gospel is all about flourishing yet. Here's the problem though part of the culture saying that's not a truck you have an SUV and you know that it's not a truck and so were to go with this idea of truth.

I mean, it's a truck what I own is a truck true going to the owner manual is been trampled in the streets. So you go look at the Scripture whether doing truth is prevalence rates you still stand for truth like David and I after going through this HDTV situation. We discovered perception is not reality. Truth is reality if I'm focused only on perception and worry about how I'm perceived him to miss the truth so we stand. We proclaim we do it in love and then people will have false perceptions about us. Now there is a scripture in the New Testament the says Blessed are you when people falsely accuse you. When you file a letter to believe things about you that aren't true. So the perceptions can be off but God knows your true and when you're in that position because you stood boldly God looks at us as I'm smiling really big on you right now let me ask this, the, the end of that story how did you respond to Hg TV just as an example of a good way to do it well. We specifically reached out to them and said look we we know that you got bullied into this. We know that's not what you want to be stemming Hg was crying on the phone when they talk to us and we told him we said there's a Goliath in this culture. It's a false ideology fueled by demonic agenda that's demanding silence from men and women of faith and we just want you guys to know that we have no intention of backing down. And from that point forward. We went on over about a three month period, 201 on one interviews and it was O'Reilly and Megan Kelly and Don on CNN and we got a chance to see what David must've felt like, you know.

Here he was, he was faithful when nobody was watching and will be home attendance sheet for his dad. And when that when the lion showed up to take one of the sheep. David took out the line when the bear showed up to take out the sheet. David took out the bear right if I got 100 sheep I'm anointed to be king one day and alliance shows up in bear shows up I'm going home with 98 dad will understand. I gotta stay out of flight because at that point David was already anointed be king but then David shows up.

He goes from shepherd to goober delivery guy right over eight since always delivering food and he's going to that end, and so he goes out there and he shows us what it looks like because he heard that Goliath and he faced his fear, and God shows that when you face your fear he'll take over the fight and boldness precedes the miraculous overhearing some great stuff from the hearts of David and Jason Benham and I were talking about the content in their book bold and broken, becoming the bridge between heaven and earth and will encourage you to get your copy just to give us a call 800 a family or stop by the episode notes for all the details. David, that's an example we had a national confrontation right with a cable show but every day people were living in the more normal encounters that we have a great story in the book about being on an airplane. Yes, this is more typical of what I would encounter is somebody who sees me reading the Bible or something like that and and they want to make a comment that what happens in your case is so Jason was sent by the window. I was sitting on the aisle. People were boarding the plane. Middle seat was open and this lady comes walking up and I had before she came walking upright, open my Bible. I just had it on my lap and I was knocking out some Bible reading and I was actually in it. I didn't I could zoned out didn't have a clue what was going on. I was in the Scripture, and I feel is tap on my shoulder excuse me sir, arms, and I'm in the middle seat. Oh yes ma'am I I hop up. I help her, you know she's moving into her seat. Help her with her bag. She sits down and gets adjusted. Put your seatbelt on and then looks over at me like I'm now reading again because I wanted to leave her alone and she looks over at me and she does.

I just want you to know that I believe nothing like you and I may did she say raising liberal feminist issues.

I'm a raging liberal feminist and I believe nothing like you and I was like I could feel my heart started beating and I like the way you're the big on the day I just wanted my personality and I'm in any agreement eight, which means I'm a challenger. If I get pushed I immediately go toward the pushing. I don't walk away I could say like it starts I don't think I tested.

So anyway, I felt my flesh kinda start like okay I'm literally to dismantle like this all happened in about .2 seconds I'm in a dismantle her worldview and show her how bright the Scripture is the Holy Spirit nudged me and just said minister to her heart.

Just that's just a very quick was an exact like that, but I knew so I just said was to tell me your name so she told me her name is will tell me about your family, and she starts telling about her family found out she has two boys and in her story one her boys is gripped with anxiety and I felt the Holy Spirit tell me ask her if you can read Psalm 139 to her and so I just simply said, do you mind if I just share Scripture with you and and read to you, in light of what you're telling me about your son, and she says okay yeah by this time you know were probably about eight minutes into the conversation. Jason is ugly face snoring on the wind giving is not really dating yet he was not anyway dreaming about unicorns or whatever. So I'm II open the Bible and I kinda leaned toward her to where she can see it and I began with my finger and I'm just showing him, going down the verses as I'm reading and when I got to you were knit together in your mother's womb right before before any of your days.

The Lord number two. He knew you he created you in the depths of the earth. All of a sudden her chin starts to quiver. Tears start to well in her eyes and then tears to start rolling down her cheeks and she said that she goes. I cannot believe I'm about to tell you this but all my life I've had this recurring dream that I'm in a hospital room and it was at the day of my birth. She said because I was adopted chichi because I was adopted my adoptive parents were there when I was born, she said, but at the day of my birth. I'm laying in the little incubator that the rolling out toward the elevator and I'm seeing people around me and I'm saying in my heart. Don't worry about me I'll take care of myself that's so I'm like wow Holy Spirit is working on her heart on just reading Scripture. Now she's telling she's like spilling all this out. She got right to the root of her feminism without me dissecting any of her worldview. She got right to the root of that feminism and and she goes and I've never read this kind of verse before and the next thing you know, I just her asking her questions and I'm saying listen, God has a purpose and a destiny.

He was there with you when you were born. He created you. Now, by this time she is just a mess, and she tells me she wants to surrender her life to the Lord. She needs prayer for her kids and all this other stuff, then I think Jason wakes up and I don't have a deal but I just say that is the what was important is that we live in a very hot culture right now and we have to be people that are bold. We also have to be people that are broken by broken we mean humble, we mean God is Artie dealt with our own stuff right.

I don't want someone to preach down at me.

I need someone to come alongside me, but also lead me to truth not to deny the truth and so watching this happen on the airplane. And then we get off the airplane. She says here's my email reach out and of course you know we we emailed her and it was just an amazing thing that this God wants to connect. He wants us to be a bridge for all of these hurting people and and I remember when Bill Marr was on HBO.

He called me and Jason nitwits.

He said we believe in a dumb book but we sent him an edible arrangement and invited him hey man, let's go have dinner and by the way, we have me on the show, you know, and then with HDTV. Still to this day for the last seven years. Every May 5, the day they fired us every single May 5, the executive staff gets edible arrangements from the Bennett brothers thanking them for believing in us thanking them for walking alongside of us because were happy warriors because we know the end of the book we know the insured point. That's what we have peace of mind. Jason let me let you finish that story of what happened with the well she did she give her heart to the one on the on the player.

She gave her heart to the Lord and then she reach back out to us as the guys Exeter with others. I know that you know our lives are going separate ways. I just want you guys know that that was that was a divine moment like I know that God had you guys there for that time, Jason. I don't want to pick on you, but you also have a plane experience about that but I will sing of a layer swing in a mess that is where all of us live when he let me pick on you and say you kinda miss that divine well yes and and I put the same story in the book on purpose because week we talked about how David's faithfulness and ministering to that woman. When God pricked his heart to speak to her that he went in and spoke to her in a very loving wife will.

I had a moment on a plane when I was sitting down. This was about maybe a year or two after David's situation in a young girl came and sat next to me and this David.

I had a long day. I would sit in the middle day was on the aisle and she was in the window and when did you get the line items you where my arm wrestle for that doesn't make sense. So she sat down and and David. I had a long day and she was a talker and she started talking and my head started pounding and I was like oh boy, but I felt the Holy Spirit say just listen. Just listen to her. But then, just before the door closed and the airplane. The flight attendant came up and said Mr. Benham, and because of submittal. She said the exit row is open up there, you can go sit up there and have really good status or whatever and and I said this is will I went and sat in the exit row and I fell asleep that entire plane ride and then we landed, she somehow got ahead of me and when I'm walking off the plane God is my witness.

She's standing waiting for me in in the airport at the end of the little I want you come out of that little entryway and she said well I hate that you didn't sit with me I had a lot to talk about and she turned around and walked off while and I was like, I'm so sorry that the Holy Spirit, I mean it. I felt so incredibly convicted.

Let God you told me to listen her. I was too tired. I failed the test. As I started praying like God bring somebody else to her like a cabdriver or somebody that will tell her about you because I failed miserable happens. That's the only does I had that experience as well.

So, as were all probably guilty of missing those opportunities.

Let me let me come back to something David that you mentioned. I always wrestle with Peter in the garden, you know, there he was strapping on the defend the summit. We all played sports and you know you love that concept of defending the son of God. Now to his defense. He wasn't filled with the spirit of God. Yet the Holy Spirit is not been given his walking out of his flesh and he did the things that really help me feel better about myself. You know you pulled out the sword.

I don't think he was going for the man's ear what guys think that at all. If you go first wrote and in the obviously the Lord rebuke them so that's not my kingdom. You know you live by the sword to die by the sword. All those things that come out of that and it does give me some comfort but it reminds me that our fleshly response to these worldly attacks usually is not what the Lord wants from us is not always. And I guess the question in all of that is to say how do we better respond in a spiritual context to my friend Dr. Barry Cory out of Viola is the president. He talked about him being firm and the metal soft on the edges, but it is difficult to walk that way sometimes I don't know if it's temperament yes or where were at in our own development with the Holy Spirit, our own sanctification process, but we tend to miss that Mark so often one of the things that Jesus said to Peter and he said it to James and John as well he needn't just tell him to pray he told him to keep watch was like keep watch and pray, and of course they did neither.

So one we've got to have an active prayer life were we really need to be spending that time, going deep in our prayers but to you.

Keep watch, which means looking and listening for God in all things, because if you're looking and listening for God in all things, then you're gonna recognize when God shows up, which also can recognize when the enemy shows up, discusses God and you'll know which weapon to grab if you're awake and your keeping watch and looking for lists and listening for God like that. See Peter didn't realize Jesus had to teach them to grab a spiritual weapon he was ready to fight a physical fight right right but he grabbed a physical weapon and this is why we say look boldness without the brokenness will make you a bully like Peter Peter in the garden was the bully because he was a broken. So what God had to do God had to walk them through. A brokenness where he realized I'm an idiot right and I think it encourages first recognizing your inner coward and then you allow the Holy Spirit to unleash your inner line, but don't unleash the lion if you don't realize your coward right so you are in the garden was a bully, but then later Peter in the courtyard was a bystander and all the sudden Peter was asked by a young girl want what you want him you know what you wanted entities ask again. He denies him three times now the sun was Peter. He's not a bully like the garden is a bystander and this is a court. This is where we find a lot of Christians in culture today is Peter in the courtyard. But what were saying is be Peter at Pentecost. That was the Peter who stood boldly who said you guys killed him. But listen, he hissed no he came in he gave the gospel and 3000 get saved.

That's Peter who became the bridge yeah this is a big question a lot of people feel that to be in full-time ministry is the right thing that you guys have done it in baseball when you were in the minor leagues, etc. try to get up to the big leagues now who made it there. One of you may got it right out of St. Louis so that I will. That's it. Arnold David actually was a tight end for the garden. Like you sit tight on the end of that bench. Brotherly banter. The point of that is you don't have to be. You are in full-time ministry. No matter what you're doing. Yes you and see. Satan knows that how you see yourself will determine how you behave yourself so he can convince you as a believer that you're not a full-time minister that you're just an insurance salesman or your ear just a real estate guy or you're just a stay at home mom or whatever and he can convince you of that.

And that's how you can act, but what David Nye discovered is that we are full-time ministers. The minute you give your heart to Jesus Christ your minister your own mission in your work is worship. When you recognize that you are in full-time ministry. We think that where you're placed or how your paid determines the minister but it's not about that. It's about God's presence in your life and your passion for him.

That makes you full-time minister right where you are well what so critical about people catching that is. Then we ignite the Lord ignites the church to be the church as a result of being on the pastor to do it right when it is our job. We are active participants. That's why we say we are the bridge like some people think. While I can't be the Britt know Jesus taught us to pray your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and other words and then how does he do that all through Scripture.

It's like Moses him to redeem my people bring heaven to earth. Now you go to Pharaoh.

No Peter and James and John and the disciples right. I am going to build my church. Now you build the church we connect, we become a bridge were active participants in the work of Christ on earth, which is why true consecration and purity. You know you don't become a bridge when you're gossiping about people you don't become a bridge when you're belligerent, mean and disrespectful right you don't become a bridge when you're living in pure life. That's what we talk about biblical consecration getting before the Lord, letting him prod you having accountability in your life so that we can be pure strong bridges to connect people to their creator. Definitely well. David and Jason them.

You guys have done a great job with bold and broken.

It's a concept that I believe and I wrote a book called refocus pretty much on that same theme.

You know how we have to be in the culture and I think the Lord is beckoning us to move in a a healthier spiritual direction. I thought that for the last decade or two, and this is the fork in the road that the church sees are we in the enemy environment or a POW, environment, meaning are we here to save those who are created in God's image and to introduce them to their creator. I fully believe that it's right there in second Timothy if you want to read it right in the end of the second chapter.

Second Timothy and that that's what it's about. So thank you for being with us. Thank you for I mean your enthusiasm's a little light that I love it and I hope people respond because this is exactly like I said the fork in the road. This is if the cultures and to put pressure on us and put us to put our back up against the wall.

First question for us to ask is okay Lord, what are you doing right, not what are they doing nothing's going to happen without God's hand allowing it to happen so that's the right question.

I think you have put together great response and a good answer for the Christians who are sincere those convictional Christians and say hey I want to look for the Lord. And this is a great pathway. Thanks for being with thanks thank you well follow up on this great conversation with the minimum brothers by getting a copy of their book bold and broken coming the bridge between heaven and earth course.

We have copies of that here at the ministry will send you that book when you make a donation of any amount to Focus on the Family is our way of saying thank you for supporting the work here the ministry, as we seek to strengthen families and equip Christians to be a light in our culture donate and get your copy of bold and broken when you call 800 K and the word family we can stop by the episode notes. We've got a link right here you missed any part of today's conversation with the benefits you can find the entire product test and a large collection of other great resources on the Focus on the Family Report on the app store or Google play will join us next time. As Carrie compactness offers a glimpse into the world of teen girls and the important role you play it really matters that we keep a pulse in their lives that there's a lot at stake. Teenagers are struggling and we don't have that relationship in place today have a sense that something is wrong and a mighty acting. Now they might come out as anger or something else that really trying to build that bridge to them so that they neither can come to us and we can show them God's love and help them get through the struggles are going to on behalf of Jim Daly in the entire team.

Thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family I'm John Fuller inviting you back once again help you and your family thrive in Christ