Walking Away For Jesus

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Once a world champion wrestler, now a champion for Christ. Once the Russian nightmare. Now the devil's worst nightmare in your tagteam partner cheetah call this time. Well want to welcome you back to another week of it's time to man up with the nightmare. Well, the devil's worst nightmare to cuticle often a question for you.

If God asked you to walk away from a 20 year career and do something completely different.

Would you do it will my guest today, Frank Mickens is a revivalist evangelist committed to taking the power of Jesus Christ. All over the world, the founder of faith fire served the Lord as a preacher and a worship leader and a prophetic voice for for the modern day boy do we need that Frank brings with him 20 years of experience in the television news industry, where he worked as an investigative reporter and anchor it in while he and I can certainly relate right there, but in in January 2020 the Lord clearly spoke to him, gave him a directive in and asked him if he would step away from that career and step into something completely new. Frank welcome into the studio walk at this time to man up. I can't believe I'm here in the cuticle off. Can't believe it. I've had to keep a lid on my on my no love for you for years, but your enthusiasm that a man you are professional wrestling fan. I was the heyday absolutely this thing. Error of the Nikita Cole off air of the junkyard dog here. I thought that I mean jail ID all that will so remember it well you know the great mood or wow yeah I know all those guys you see your your your bringing up some hearts. It's a pretty good day himself. All right, so the obvious question baby had an old really what I call old school fan so when you mentioned some great names did did you have a just curious, did you have a favorite like you know ultimate warrior came out like okay you know it was like a shot out of a cannon. When he showed up and yes I was a whole Cogan guy okay until ultimate warrior showed up and I will tell you as a child when he disappeared I was.

I was I was a bit traumatized. He was one of the heroes for me for that season of my life right and I mean yeah but he was probably you know it was whole cocoa cocoa and then went open warrior showed up. It was just all him yeah well and then there were certainly those you who remember that what we call the golden era of wrestling you know whether it's whole Cogan Rick flair might join me in the savage slim Jim remember wrestlemania when it was Elizabeth, and between hulking macho man all day was that was drama while you I mean that was the best.

Yeah, see you got some vivid memories of childhood memories of well that's always up fun for me because it's once what's fun for me now is to hear those stories united here in back that you I'm caught up in my thing right and I'm not in interacting with fans for the most part back that I mean they kept us fairly isolated it in away from the fan base of the wooden know the legends autograph signings and all sorts of things. Then like there is now and so it's fun for me. That's what I am kinda asking a couple of these questions.

It's fun for me to hear those kind of stories and hear from you. You know what you remember from those days and I am at the age now with the memories fading, but those those days were there were moments were on them just never forget what you know what else is fun though even on that note is there. There will be times like I recently met budget while copiers going. I guess that Lieut. Dan Forrest that Lieut. Gov. Dan Forrest and on my introduction. I mean, he was watching it wacko and I was like he was 12 again Mike and embarrass me say that, but for real is like is like he became 12 years old again and damages to take it right back there right, but as a kid. I'm watching this, something your internalizing the hero worship and you start wanting it for yourself right.

You know like wow I want to be appreciated like Nikita Cole off, you know, I mean, I know you are healed but at the same time you want to have people cheering for you. You want to have people knowing your name and all that kind of thing. So to know you. Now you know the person I think is a phenomenal testimony to the power of Jesus Christ in your humility, your devotion and commitment to spread the gospel message. I think it's phenomenal because you know the world would look at the cuticle off your story, your experiences, you traveled all over the place it in their how that's the that's the summit you like, dude, you got no idea yet.

Was fun but you know yeah oh yeah absolute will not.

Speaking of which, you know, effective part of my introduction you and I do have some similarities or or some commonalities you might say in in in this sense, in that you yourself had a 20 year career in television. Now you weren't in the squared circle as we affectionately call it you know I'm in wrestling against opponents like Rick flair and dusty road and staying in others, but but you had quite a career in in television. Can you far listeners just talk for a minute or two about that what you know is a no contact.

Her profession so yeah years had a different layer but yeah I think there were a lot of similarities because you know I wanted to be on ESPN. I wanted to be a sports journalism wanted to go network in Douala, Stephanie start small and you build your way up, but I got to a point in my career where I had been the main anchor cut in the triad area and none were Carolina and I was at the CBS affiliate there, I was the main anchor for almost a decade and so your ear in promotional but you know spots in your own billboards and you get free meals and people you know want to shake your hand and tell you how great you are and so there's that ego trip that you get, but also there is that the community aspect where people want you to be involved in things you have access to stuff that you wooden or nearly have access to and that I know the money was good and on my wife and have to work and so life was comfortable and then we left North Carolina got another job in a larger market in Indianapolis. You know it was a great job on paper. The money was good.

We were able to start planning for future we started thinking about okay if we really had you know the life that we've always wanted. What would that look like it would begin to dream about that and dream about traveling the world and all these kinds of things. These are the this is the American dream right you live in a brotherly build a new house, you know, basement and bedroom's glory was great and you still it wasn't and you you really I really say from my own experience.

I really had that moment where I had a collision between what I believe and what I lived and I've been in ministry not been an ordained minister since 2008 side been doing work in ministry for more than a decade while I was also in television okay and so I have used that in ways just to share about Jesus Christ and his saving grace in the truth of God and bring spiritual perspective to things that were going on and then went Indianapolis in virtually all that stopped and it got to a point where it was career career career career career. How high can you go how much can you make, you know, used, and you start conflating the gospel with your own kingdom. You start thinking, blessing, blessing, blessing, blessing, so if it's a blessing or if it's more money than it's a blessing you start getting into that that perversion of the truth in and we all know that Jesus as you seek the kingdom first. That's the whole point. So I had not been doing Manning there was a there is a collision between what I believe and when I was living in came home to that house that was virtually brand-new and asked my wife hey honey do you do you feel like were home. She thought about it for second she's like you know I don't and neither did I, and that started about it to win 1/2 three year prayer process were God gently started moving us away from this counterfeit life, counterfeit joy, right counterfeit. All the other thing. Yes, you bring up an interesting point, though, that that for those who are for those who are those who listing out there. So even though I don't talk about that in a moment how you know how you came to faith in Christ. But, but what you just said about you know the pursuit of loftier goals and in your career. It's I think sometimes easy for us to get sidetracked if you will and and lose the foundation that we have in our relationship with Jesus and success sometimes can do that candidate again and steer us off in the sense you might say the straight and narrow path or or least off of our focus on what's ultimately are really important, which is seeking first the kingdom of God. But that's an interesting voice of we have to we have to be cautious that were not pursuing success so much that that it hinders our walk with Jesus. Writer gets us off track but talk and talk about the permitted how how you came to faith in Christ of the element with that look like what you know is one of those people who I got baptized as a kid, I was baptized at age 8.

Back home in Jackson Mississippi and and it was because you know the gospel message was clear as day to me. I was a sinner. I needed a Savior in Jesus Christ was the only one that could check that box and what happened was I was never discipled. I never was involved in Bible study and so I basically spent the rest of my formative years after that basically do what I've always done being aware of course of what sin was. I had the Holy Spirit inside be convicted of sin, but I was like oh well, Jesus will forgive me anyway and saw, but later in life I was a 25 years old.

I'm never forget up to between the time I was eight and in 25 I had gotten involved in just a very poor idea of what relationship was sexual addiction had issues with alcohol.

I've been molested as a child, so there's emotional self-worth issues there and it started to play out in my personal life. You know out pretty much every night, a man about town because you know you're on TV so you get in clubs for free. You're getting free drinks in a and works at all in with the start of the him on and so here I am out there and and just enjoying it. Quote unquote and I got home one day in my wife was then my girlfriend. We had gotten back together were starting to reconnect and she gave me a copy of purpose driven life by Rick Warren and the first for our own few words were it's not about you and I got a few pages in and I was on the floor.

We being because I had become aware of the selfishness that I had been living in for virtually my entire life and it and I said to God, I said if you're real because again I had been discipled.

I hadn't been living for the Lord. I was a person that had fire insurance and I said I said if you're real I give you everything because I knew there's no there's no effort that I could extend that would make me who I knew I could become so I went back to my faith. And from that day forward I could say some stories about how God just just renovated my heart bro yeah along the Russian nightmare here for aggressive automotive buying a car is a nightmare for you, my friend Ryan Jimmy Johnson at Crescent automotive make it simple to find your preowned dream car, no hassle. The windshield pricing no matter where You Live Your Dream Dr., Crescent.com is all you know is right there with right place. Everybody You Should Dr., Crescent drain tile from the right number one thing this is Nicole. I want a lemon support for supporting my new show man on Saturday afternoon at 1230 on the truth that were well in again.

It is interesting. I'm glad you mentioned some of the struggles because a lot of times you know we we we I think we rather emphasize or highlight all all of the victories in life more more than the struggles of the challenges that gods brought a suit and that's not to say certainly it's not like were trying to put an overemphasis on on on one or the other but let people know let our listeners know let others know that hey I am walking a place of victory. But at the same time I've gone through a number of different struggles in order to get even more amount presently right what what would you say if there was one maybe one struggle that was bigger than another. Well, what's one success story, God help you over, a certain struggle for our listeners why think at the core of being a Christian is your identity in Christ and how he puts himself on you when you die to yourself and you accept him and you know you go back to Genesis were were the Lord.

No, he says he looked at us and created us in his image and and I think you could teach a four year seminary class on just that one Scripture and in Jesus's own words. You know, he was asked if you pay taxes. This is of course I did and then he asked his disciples, whose image is on that coin and he said his Caesar's and they said and then he said well render to Caesar what is Caesar surrendering to God what is God and Jesus was saying there that his images on us so we owe it back to him and when you think about God putting his image on us with that spiritual that's that's a treasure with in us that he's put on us that we've got a be aware of and there's confidence there. There's victory there and so even though what I might be going through doesn't agree with that. I can walk in and in say okay, you've already bought the victory for me, what is it I need to do to connect with that victory in my life and so you know to answer your question, I think, for a long time because I was molested as a young person and seven years old. Someone who called themselves my best friends, but wasn't an insult that just really wrecked my identity really struggle with self-worth really struggle, self-esteem became a people pleaser because I wanted to make people laugh. I wanted to make people comfortable, only to be everyone's friend because it made me feel important. It gave me self-worth instead of my worth coming from my relationship with Jesus Christ. And so when he renovated my heart. He began to teach me what he what it means when we say Jesus died on the cross for us. God's solace so valuable. We will spend the rest of eternity trying to figure that out right absolutely yeah and so beginning to allow that to minister to my spirit and didn't get into my heart and into my mind, I began to to start making different decisions because I began to see the value or at least as best as I could. The value that the Jesus sees in me that God sees in me, and I'm thinking well if Jesus did this for me and bought it for me.

Most certainly, I need to do what I can by faith to apprehend those promises.

And so I began to make different decisions and listen to different music. I remember the Lord told me to turn off cable. So here I am on television. Jan I would go home. No TV and love what I would do. I would love it. Read the Bible for our word. Yeah he gave me a hunger and thirst after righteousness.

It was when I just surrendered and made him Lord, because you know a lot of us. Let's just be honest, some of us we know he's our Savior, but we have not called a master fully submitted, holy, holy, surrendered fully healed.

I like what you said. I got my fire insurance, check that box I gave my heart to Jesus.

I got I've secured my salvation, but when it comes to really relinquishing every aspect of our lives, yielding every aspect we we all struggle with out right answer.

Something about the prodigal son to me. He was in the father's house. He's in the family. He decided he wanted to take his inheritance yeah and use it his way. He had to come to a knowing way to minute everything I need is back home why my doing it my way and that's that's what what we all do. Yeah some point we have to learn that absolutely so you you through your struggles using God bring in your identifying the certain things you struggled with. That's a key right to walk in and in and healing to have a heal heart we have to come to grips with what what we struggle with be willing to confess that I think some cases repent of that are asked forgiveness.

Maybe forgiveness from another right certain in order to receive that healing walk in the fullness that God has for us. You mentioned identity. II had a pulse open up a post on social media is a day or two ago.

Your identity is not what you do with your hands. But what you pursue with your hearts. When Mike Bickel says right and one of my favorite mentors and certainly I can relate to what you're talking about the 20 year career in television for yourself. It's funny because what what I got out of wrestling people asked me still do all do you still watch wrestling alike now actually I don't like like for real I go not hear enough about it from all of you that I don't have to actually watch it for myself but will that's that's pretty amazing. I want to get the transition to her get to what I opened up the show with you if God asked you to leave a 20 year career of something you're familiar with something you're comfortable with perhaps a tremendous salary insurance and all the benefits and perks in the big house and everything, but he asked you did to walk away from that, would you do it well you have a story because earlier this year, in January 2020 the Lord asked you, Frank, to walk away, you and your wife and that could pronounce her name is yes okay you Holly children three children three children. Alright, so here we are. You got a wife got three children, a solid 20 year career, and God says walk away.

How easy of a transition was that for you all say yes to God. It took years.

Let me let me go back to think about 2015. So this before we left and went Indianapolis.

I began to feel in my heart that I was called full-time ministry and I began to map it out. I went into prayer not wrote down some things were in my heart about evangelistic ministry and doing revivals and using entertainment venues to give people a place where they can come and hear the gospel message and doing things in the community and I had always written down. I thought it was go time and it wasn't in effect when one of my mentors showed up one day I asked him to pray for me in and see if it was the right timing. I had that much wisdom. At least becomes my house. He opens up a book he says hey I've never read this book before. Here in the book is a story about a guy who wanted to leave his career and the Lord said, nope you not called to do that he says I literally open the book to this page today and I was cut to the heart.

I was offended I was hurt because I was so excited about the idea put in a tent in my trunk and just go over. The Lord told me set up a tent in preaching. That's what I wanted to do and so fast forward I gave up that dream and I think it was a got living it. So it is a God dream, but I didn't learn timing so I just went wholeheartedly in the career and that's when I started saying okay will Lord if you want me to be a Christian voice and media.

That's what I'll be. And I go to network and so I'm my mind had shifted so it took years for him to get me back to where I was in 2015 so 2020. January is when we launched out into this adventure and it took what is at five, six years forgot to get through to me again. No, you are called to that so it was a process of me being broke in from my kingdom building to his kingdom building. That's good. So embracing his vision right embracing his vision and in the ministry is called faith. Fire worldwide revival ministries faith by some awful lot and in the introduction I said you're a revivalist but for those you may not know what a revivalist is our listeners all share with them what a revivalist that's what God's no call to love you looking for type in the Bible to Elijah would be revivalist you value comes to a nation that for years had been involved in idol worship. They called themselves the people of God, but their behavior there. Their hearts were far from him and he had to confront them yet to confront them with the truth but also confront them with the power of God and I believe that's our calling. I believe what God has called us to do is to awaken the church.

I think many of us would agree the church has seen people leave because of varieties of reasons, but a lot of it has to do with we were doing a lot of good teaching over not seeing a lot of impact for not seeing what we could be seen.

Your people.

When we talk about the great commission the great commission comes with signs and wonders. It comes with miracles right.

Jesus even said something won't believe unless they see miracles in some circles are teaching miracles don't happen anymore right or and so we are here to just go wherever God sends us and encourage the church to go back to the great commission. That's the simple message well and and what resonates in in hearing your story Frank is it any and your willingness to step away from a 20 year career as the word obedience OOB sin. I sometimes will will talk about in our mantle conferences in our man camps that Lex Luther and I facilitate how do we walk this out. This does this turn out well through radical remains in or around righteous obedience and in every time you say yes to God.

It gets easier to say yes, but every time you say no.

It also gets easier to say no and so I just I commend you on really and honestly I just your courage to to step out there and in just to be obedient to the call upon your life and and I know even as of you know, a former you much a performer of on my level of and in wrestling you to walk away from that career.

Not knowing what the Lord had for me at that point but 11 months later finding out. There was a call to ministry. My life is in the journey's been actually made some excited for you and for what the future holds for you and I know you are you are messy. We had lunch together. You were mentioning our last minute here that you were mentioning to me that the lawyers really spoke about taking that revivalist message around the world right yes sir yeah and I mean that has a couple layers. One is in person recall definitely overseas missions but indeed in the broadcast room some form or fashion. We believe were called to broadcast revival around the world and not just stirred up which show people some people got to see what I going on now that's awesome. Well, that is, the time was gone quickly is been great to have you in the in the studio today and Joe Puckett will quit talking people find you faith fire worldwide.org faith fire worldwide.org well. It is been such a joy and a pleasure to have you with us today (it is mutual. After I am.

I am thankful the Lord crossed our path together so well.

I want to share story with you is as I like to do from week to week. This came in from Terry Deaton actually off of twitter just a simple little message you sent me says great. When I checked my twitter and see your tweets there uplifting and at the same time make you think and reflect about what you are saying. So much so that I have to because I have to read it several times to take it all in with what you've written, uplifting plus reflection equals spirituality and so from Terry Deaton hey if you got a story or you got a message or somehow something you know I post on social media or something II say on this radio show are you know you can reach me through through coal off.org in and email me email me one of your stories and would love to share it on air sometime in and I just can't thank you enough for all of your loyal following your loyal support in I think back to all those days in wrestling and and certainly what I'm doing now and even Frank here in the studio with us today 20 year career in television, you know, and seemingly had had had it all while at the same time you know he had a revelation that you know what your career made a platform for you but now let's take all that experience in television in front of cameras and on microphones and now it's a raise you up as a revivalist and get your voice and your message. Your story of salvation.

Your story of healing the struggles that you've overcome, and let's get that message out to the world what you have a story and if you don't have a story. Today's the day to surrender your life to Jesus you know why because it is time to man up if you want to follow me on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook all social media just look up in the cubicle number one behind finding men. I would like to challenge each of you to consider spending five days with less live or die, pursuing the heart of ladies you're listening.

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