Count the Cost: Part 2

The Salvation Army you're listening to wonderful words of life will come back to wonderful words of life. Everyone we are glad that you're here and I am glad to introduce to you our friend and guess this series Capt. Jimmy Taylor. They drag me back again Jimmy it's good to have you back.

This is the eighth week of our series, the least of these, and we are truly grateful to Captains Robin Heather Dalbey for bringing us this series and sharing so much of their story. The series began on January 5, so if you've missed any episodes. Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcast or visit Salvation Army sound cast.org to get caught up in Jimmy will me talk about the least of these. We talked about the Salvation Army's work a little bit in Hagerstown where you are now in Atlanta were record these episodes, but can you kind of elaborate a little bit more about particularly what you're doing in Hagerstown. What is the Salvation Army's approach to the least of these in that community yet so in Hagerstown you cobbler this to one of the first episodes. The Salvation Army is located strategically in one of the worst areas of Hagerstown, Maryland or her that is called Little Baltimore where three state prisons that we have lots of issues with opioid addiction and heroin addiction. In these type of things and it's right on the street. The Salvation Army exists is actually the worst area for opioids and heroin and and so we struggle with how we work with these people that are constantly in their addiction. How do we work with people that were fighting, homelessness, and so the Salvation Army there is working a lot with trying to connect people with mental health problems to other organizations in partnership with the sub specifically is working with women and children in our shelter. We have 38 bed shelter and we are constantly full. We have a waiting list. A lot of times we people to come to the Salvation Army and will say you know I've stayed in my car until place opened up because it's the only place that can serve me and my daughter last August. People think of homeless people as as drugs or alcohol addicted people, but we had 21 children that were homeless. The state and our shelter in August and it was crazy. There is madhouse. But these are the people were doing life with more and more loving on. We have a soup kitchen that serves almost 200 meals a day that just are people that just need food for such huge food inequity in in Washington County, Maryland, and hence were really trying to reach into these lives again that soup soap salvation that what we can are doing to meet your individual needs and how do we pull you out of where you are and set your feet, and then give you the gospel to the love of Jesus in the midst of whatever you're finding yourself in absolutely the Salvation Army is all over the world and we really do have this that the whole idea to approaching people in need with practical opportunities to kinda pull up their bootstraps and get on with life. If you're looking for an opportunity to serve in your community. I pray that you reach out to the Salvation Army locally and see what they're doing and how you might be able to help and for those of you with resources that can help in what I mean by resources is money, time or talent.

All of the above are necessary to the Army's ministry without money we can afford to do what we do without time, and volunteers. We can't meet the needs of the people that come to us and so we need all the help we can get and then some Jimmy real quick for listeners. What is an annual budget just for Hagerstown alone. Maryland budgets $2.5 million.

That's one community where we serve so you know in the United States. We use the Salvation Army kettles and it's getting harder and harder to collect money from people because that's taking cash money and nobody carries cash anymore in the society. So were trying to do what we do in Jesus name. And we need help from people all over and in every way. So if you're someone that can do that. We pray that you reach out and if you're someone it's just enjoying the series. We pretty are being encouraged by it that you come back and join us next week on wonderful words of life.

Thanks for joining us again as we speak about the least of these out.

We've been talking about counting the cost. We talked about Mark chapter 5 were Jesus confronts a guy who is just absolutely possessed with demons who is driven into a cave literally into darkness. He brings freedom into that situation. We talked about counting the cost of that and how community plays a role in the situation in my own life I will never forget and it's not exactly Scripture. I really believe that it ties in the people in this scenario asked Jesus to leave after he killed the followers of Jesus know him and it was my responsibility to obey. For those of us that are Christ's followers that do profess to know Jesus and to live by the Scriptures their mandate that we would obey him, and that we would keep in step with his Holy Spirit times when we do beautiful times only down there at times we miss the boat when I was many years ago situation where I was living in Beaverhead and we were living incarnational election and that right next under any person so we had moved into one of the poorest postal codes in Canada and we lived amongst our neighbors and where they where the laundry we did our laundry and when he hung out. We hung out and he idealizes just to move into the neighborhood to know people and by sharing life and by the gospel that people could come to know the Lord did come to know the Lord was also very formative in who I am as an additional believer because there was lots of opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So to show practical love to those in need, to the least of these, and in many of her head. This terrible pizza place the pizza place where for a dollar you could get a slice of pizza.

Who knows how long it had been there just like 1/was 1/4 of a peak you really read at the ingredients found is a lot to say to rumors abound that the quality of the pizza. I remember there was this young man that I had been praying for and we seen every day and me one another and I knew his name was always praying for him to burn my heart for him and I believe that the Lord can easily intervene his life down this path he was on addiction and darkness and death and Stella had seen him not date down the street calling his name. After handing types like I am hungry and I think okay what God two dollars like we can go get pizza and soda and walking to this: while pizza place and all on the lam content not distracted me stop and talk to people and trying to buy drugs along the way.

In my mind you, he's not paying much attention that you know I got this the order of pizza and soda rightfully get to the place and I stand in front of the pizza had lived there long enough then to know I did not ask for the kind of pizza I wanted to ask for whatever is the freshest and naturally so that I've been trying to bring along is still right beside me. So I tell the guy what I want. I turned to look for my friends got. I can't find its way down my side behind the gentleman says he sees a man 57 seas on a slice and I think yes I'm sorry.

I'm looking for some family spend my time looking for a guy didn't want to be there in the first place. I didn't want my pizza so he left.

He was long gone and that being disappointing.

Sounds like I release my minister to this guy really is like is like it's a really good what I was doing that and as I walked away from the pizza place.

The Lord grabbed my heart you missed was trying to get started right ranging on other side behind you on the other side like oh my gosh I didn't even by Jesus pizza place can never find him and I will never forget that story because the Lord knew that my heart wise to do good, but it has to be more than has to be more than just to do good, our heart has to be to keep in step with God's Holy Spirit. If we want to know Jesus in those moments that our eyes would see our ears would hear and respond in the right way. The kingdom does come in those moments where we are close to him x-ray and sometimes by doing what we think is right in our own eyes we miss out on the opportunity to do what Jesus is doing because I think I mean the creator of the whole universe has much more perspective. He knows all things. He sees all things.

He knows what people need much more than I do right in counting the cost sometimes maybe counting the cost is to realize were I fall short. That's rainy that you know not again looking at the least of these folks that are not in obvious brokenness that were called to serve, but also maybe counting the cost. Looks like I need to acknowledge my own deficit. My own sin. In that scenario that's rainy and so counting the cost of ministry looks like, not just when somebody doesn't act the way I want them to their times. We have to recognize that we will fall short. Jesus went right and we went left and how do we handle those moments right and there's this thing of keeping in step with Jesus with his Holy Spirit. And if we want to be those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I think that begins with our heart being in the right condition in the right posture. So when the seeds are sown that not only I can take root produce that froufrou the last minute of Galatians, especially chapter 5. This idea there is life in the spirit in living life by the spirit like you live life to indulge my flash is always in these like horrible terrible ways that are like illegal and immoral. Sometimes it's just living life that is selfish, living life. It is stingy living life will have to always be right or have my own way and that's not the way of the spirit of God. In fact, if you want by the spirit we have the opportunity to say no to the desires of the flash and I would begin to grow the fruit of the spirit in our life, so that in those moments we have enough patients that when Jesus catches our attention and says actually I'm over here, so let this guy who does not want your pizza and turn your attention to what I'm doing in your midst, beautiful gift that Jesus gives us it's a way to redeem moments where we feel like utter ministry failures and I love that in the kingdom as we sit at the table with the least of these. And Jesus is present that no one has to be a failure. Join us next week as we continue to talk about this conversation and see how God is actually the one at work and we get to follow him. The Salvation Army's mission doing the most good. Helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and we would love to hear from you. Email us at radio@uss.salvationarmy.org or call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at PO Box 29972, Atlanta, GA 30359 when you contact us will send you our gift for this series is totally free for listeners like you, one per household, while supplies last. You can also subscribe to our show on iTunes or your favorite podcast store and be sure to give us a rating.

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