The Testimony Podcast
The Testimony Podcast is a collection of true stories of life transformation. Each week a new topic is discussed, complete with scripture, testimony, and prayer for the listener.
The Testimony Podcast
7. The Voice Of The Shepherd: A Prodigal Story
In this deeply moving episode, Bryan is joined by special guests Connor Rynning and his wife Annie for a raw and redemptive conversation about wandering far and being called home. Connor's powerful testimony is a story of rebellion, brokenness, and ultimately, the relentless love of God.
Connor shares his journey from pride, addiction, and spiritual numbness to a moment of radical transformation. Through heartbreak, loss, and searching in all the wrong places, Connor eventually heard the Shepherd’s voice calling him back.
Matthew 18:12 – “Does he not leave the ninety-nine... and go in search of the one that went astray?”
📺 Be sure to check out Bryan's new YouTube channel: Simplicity in the Journey for more testimonies, teaching, and encouragement.
Connect with Bryan at thetestimonypodcast.com
Youtube: @simplicityinthejourney
Welcome to the Testimony Podcast. My name is Bryan. What a fantastic episode we have today. We have got my friend Connor and his wife Annie. You want to say hello? Hey, what's going on? We are talking about the prodigals today. The sheep that are lost, that are wandering, that are alone, that need to hear the voice of the shepherd. And in fact, that's today's episode title. And it is the voice of the shepherd, a prodigal story. And I have got a fantastic story on the hook today for everyone to listen to out there. Thank you so much for joining us. And we're really excited to be broadcasting Hey, what's going on
Speaker 01:everybody? My name is Connor Rynning. I'm originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, and I'm now living in Oklahoma City with my wonderful wife, Annie, who's sitting to the left of me. I met Bryan, I want to say like two months ago. at a thing called the jesus gathering my father-in-law met him and was like man this guy's got something on him he's like you got to go talk to him all right let's see what happens and uh well here i am sitting today in this room with him recording this and uh we've been fellowshipping a lot i'm just really excited about all the things that are going on in our community
Speaker 02:Yeah, God is so good. We're really experiencing a lot of personal revival, community revival, some amazing times of fellowship together here in Oklahoma City. Just a lot of things happening in the body of Christ right now, some unification that's happening. I know my last podcast was talking about unity in the body of Christ. We're actually seeing it start to happen all around us. We're seeing these amazing home groups gathered together. They're sort of interweaving and kind of intermingling, and the body of Christ is really starting to flow and function. And I pray that that is a across the country, across the world, wherever this is being listened to. And I'm just really, really blessed by what I'm seeing happen in the body of Christ. One of the reasons that I've taken some time off from the testimony podcast, in case you're wondering, for all of my faithful listeners out there, is I actually started a YouTube channel with my wife and my family. And so I'm going to give a quick shout out to the YouTube channel. It is called Simplicity in the Journey. So go ahead and look for Simplicity in the Journey on YouTube. Connect with me there. Check out my videos. Go ahead and like, subscribe and share and comment on those videos as well. If you've been a longtime testimony podcast listener, but this is the first time that you're reaching out, go ahead and subscribe to the channel because we're going to have some great content coming up. We're going to be right back, nose to the grindstone with the testimony podcast. It's still a passion of mine, but I wait until the perfect testimony to record. And when I hear it, I have to get it recorded. And so I have brought Connor here to talk about his story. And I know that he wants to open up with a scripture first. So I'm going to let him get that I just wanted to open up with
Speaker 01:Matthew 18, 12. What do you think if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? So that scripture to me is really, it's my story and it's a lot of people's stories in the body of Christ. And so when I was younger, my father had gotten saved when I was maybe 12 years old. There was a lot of turmoil in my family before then, a lot of fighting, a lot of things that happened. just really weren't great to witness as a young man. It kind of shapes how you think about your father. It shapes how you see your father. My father had made the choice to follow Christ. And just one day, you know, he came home and he was like, yeah, I follow Jesus now. And I'm a different man. And to me, it felt really superficial in the moment. And I was like, I don't really believe this. Uh, why, why now are you just better than everyone else? You know, that was kind of how I was thinking. So, um, he would always bring me to Bible studies and, um, there was everyone there, you know, speaking in tongues and all this other stuff. And I'm like, I have no idea what's going on, but I just don't buy it. Um, and when I was maybe 13, I, I gave my life to the Lord, but in that moment, it really meant nothing to me. Um, I was just doing it really to please my dad. And as time went on, my father's faith really grew stronger and stronger and I just drifted further and further and further away from all of it. I was always really prideful in everything that I did. I always couldn't really be wrong when it came to certain things. I just believed what I did and I was gonna do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it and I really felt no convictions over anything that was going on in my life um so it had been probably you know 15 years of me doing that um and I was this was 2023 um I had just lost a lot of weight and um I was kind of feeling myself and um I was just really off doing a lot of stupid things and just doing really a lot of like cocaine. I was drinking a lot. I just never really could figure out why nothing would go my way. Just putting all of my faith really in myself and just getting so frustrated when I couldn't figure out why my life was the way it was. So, um, things took a pretty drastic turn when I had met this girl and I was definitely in deep lust in this situation. And, um, I had gotten her pregnant, she got an abortion and that just totally, uh, rocked my world. Um, I just felt horrible about the whole thing. And, um, I kept me up at night, um, I was just depressed. I was drinking to the point where I would get in my truck and I would think in my head, man, I really wouldn't mind if I just crashed right now and died. Just nothing could really console my soul. It was just like deep torment in my heart all the time. And I just remember it was just eating me up and eating me up and eating me up. And one day I just called my dad, and I just confessed it to him. And I was so nervous. I was like, man, he's going to rip me a new one. But I got the complete opposite reaction, actually. He just told me, son, I love you, and everything's going to be okay. And that was probably... I didn't know it at the time, but that was the first time I really felt the love of the father through, um, through my dad. Like I felt like God's love for me through my father speaking that. And, um, I just remember like it silenced the storm almost immediately. Um, so after all that had happened, um, I was still drinking heavily and I was also, um, doing a lot of like mushrooms and stuff like that to try to get spiritual, I guess you could call it. I don't know if that's really what I was. I mean, that's for sure what I was looking for, but I was looking for it still in the wrong place. Um, and at the time I was, um, I was a chef for my dad's business and every year, um, the Jesus gathering would come to Boston and they would put on a, um, a tent revival. And my dad, um, had met he's now actually my father-in-law crazy um but my dad was friends with um the guy who puts it on his name is john rutkay um and my uncle ken was also friends with him and this other guy matt whalen um and so they started coming to boston and i would go every year and i would cook for it that would be like the good thing i did for the year you know uh
Speaker 02:your penance yeah for your life of sin
Speaker 01:yeah
Speaker 02:You know, and before you continue on really quick, as you were talking and you were talking about your father and like how receiving your father's love in that moment, like God loving you through your father, like gave you some peace in that initial moment. And you kind of hadn't processed that you're experiencing God reaching out through your father. You know, I was reminded of the scripture in 1 Peter 4, 8, and it says, love covers a multitude of sins. And like, here you are lost in all of your sin and all of your shame and all of your helplessness and God's love reaching through. Like you felt, you felt a covering of your sin momentarily, you know, because we, you know, in order for our sins to be covered completely, we have to, you know, obviously accept Jesus Christ and be set free, but you're, you're feeling comforted because your, your sins felt covered in that moment by God's love. And you felt that. And like, I just wanted to, encourage anyone out there listening, if you're connecting with Connor's story because you're lost in that sin, God loves you. He's not mad at you. He wants to cover you with His love right now. And I just believe by the Spirit that you're feeling a tangible comfort come upon you, like, you're feeling the comfort that Connor felt from his father. Cause you're, you're hearing the love of, of the father through this podcast right now. So anyways, I had to interrupt you there. Sorry to interrupt your story, but no, I mean, that was,
Speaker 01:that's totally my prayer for this whole entire thing is that people realize. So what, what I really realized through all this, I'll get to the whole part of it, but I just want to sum it up right now quickly, um, was, um, there was nothing that i could have ever done to fix my problems and um i basically just toiled and toiled and toiled and spiraled and just kept spiraling until i was radically saved by god and it it just really takes one one touch really from the father I believe to open your heart to the reality of Jesus came and died for our sins. And it's not just for one person. He didn't do it just for me. He's doing it for anyone who's hearing this that needs to hear that. That he died for you as well. That you don't need to put on a worldly act for the people around you for them to love you. Cause that's something I really struggled with was if, uh, you know, I always had in the back of my head, I always kind of knew God was real, but I never, uh, had the, um, I was just afraid. I was afraid of man. I was afraid, uh, I'd lose all my friends. I was afraid people would think I was weird. Um, and I was just totally deceived by the devil through all that. Um, so back to the story, um, so i'm cooking once a year at this thing and uh now my he's now my father-in-law but he's in the back and i'm in the kitchen and he's throwing body blows at me you know just prophesying to me um just telling me over and over you know what are you doing why aren't you following jesus why are you wasting your time he's like there's uh just you're just wasting your time and um i never really listened to him i would just be like yeah all right buddy You know, why don't you go tell someone else who cares? And, um, it took, so it was the third year and I had met this guy. He lives in Oklahoma now. Um, and he didn't even talk to me about Jesus. He just had a bro conversation with me. He was just talking to me about bow hunting, um, and just outdoor stuff like that. And at the time, um, I was totally obsessed with Yellowstone, and I wanted to be a cowboy.
Speaker 02:Don't we all? I used to love spaghetti westerns back in the day, like Clint Eastwood movies. That was me.
Speaker 01:So I was super into that, and he's just like, yeah, man, why don't you come out here, and you should bow hunt with me. We can go do all this cool stuff. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, sounds good. I got to go, though, because I'm actually about to go to a party. I'm going to go drink. My sister had met his wife. I think two years prior to us meeting in San Diego at a Jesus gathering. And his wife reached out to my sister or my sister reached out to his wife. I can't remember which one it was credit to whoever it was. She sent my sister, his number and my sister sent it to me and said, Hey Connor, I feel like you need to reach out to him. Just talk to him about bow hunting or whatever. So I was like, okay, yeah, sure. I'll do that. Just some random guy. He was very random, yes. I had met him for five minutes. And I don't know. It's just something about him. I trusted him.
Speaker 02:So just reach out to this random guy that lives in a different state. Yes. See if you can fly out and meet up with him.
Speaker 01:Yes. Okay. Just trying to follow you. Yes, that is what happened. So, yeah. So I get this random guy's phone number from Oklahoma. And I'm living in Massachusetts at the time. And I text him. I'm like, hey, Rob, it's Connor from Boston. Would you still want to bow hunt with me? And I didn't have a bow. I had never bow hunted before. He didn't bow hunt either. I learned this later. But he's like, yeah, man. He's like, get a plane ticket. Come on out. And I was like, okay. You know what? This feels really crazy. But for some reason, it feels really right. So I just bought a plane ticket and the next day I saw my dad at work and I was like, Hey dad, I was like, man, you should come bow hunt with me. Like that'd be so cool. Father, son going bow hunting. Like not a lot of people can do that. Yeah. My dad's like, no, I'm not going to do that. He doesn't hunt either. He doesn't own a bow. And the next day he comes into work and he goes, you know what, Connor, I'm going to come with you. dude, that's so cool. Yeah. That's awesome. What a good dad. Yeah. So shout out dad, if you're listening. Yeah. Shout out Bob. Um, and I was so stoked. And I remember my boss who, um, he looked at me and he goes, Connor, you know, a lot of people would kill for a father like that. And I was like, wow, you know, it really put it into perspective for me. Um, and, um, so we got these plans to go. My dad told me, um, after all, everything went down, but he wasn't going to go. But that night the Lord had spoken to him and said, you need to be in Oklahoma cause this is where your son's going to surrender to me. Wow. So my father, um, in total faith and what he had heard, uh, the Lord say just bought a bow and a plane ticket and he's trusting me to meet this random guy in Oklahoma. So that's where the adventure starts. Um, There's like a couple of weeks before and I'm still doing the same old things. I'm drinking. It was strange. I was smoking a lot of pot, but I had felt conviction over it and I wasn't sure what it was. I would just feel really guilty about it. And I was like, man, I just don't like this anymore. But
Speaker 02:it's like you started feeling God's conviction, you know, the drawing of the Lord, the, kind of realization of your sin, the emptiness that you were feeling. And it was like a drawing that was happening. It's really interesting because you're talking about going bow hunting and like, you know, your dad having to buy a bow. And I was reminded of Psalm 38. It says, Oh Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath for your arrows have sunk into me and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation. There's no health in my bones because of my sin for my iniquities have gone over my head like a heavy burden. They're too heavy for me. And it's like, that's like what you were experiencing. Yeah. It's really good.
Speaker 01:Yeah. It was a hundred percent that we're leaving to go. And this was kind of my last hurrah. I remember I had eaten a pot gummy on the plane. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, naturally. I had to do one more bad thing. And I'm sitting next to my dad, and I'm like, man, why am I doing this? I felt pretty guilty about it, but it was what it was. We get to Oklahoma, probably 3 in the morning, and it's pitch black out. I can't really see anything. I see a bunch of cowboy statues, and I'm like, all right, where am I at? Yeah, I must be in Oklahoma.
Unknown:Yeah.
Speaker 01:So we get to our hotel. It's probably 2 in the morning, and we're supposed to meet up with this guy I've known for five minutes. Were you like, why are there cars? I thought they were all horses. Yeah, I was very confused by that. This is not at all what I expected. Yeah, I was like, I want my money back. So... I'm supposed to meet up with this guy. I'm kind of nervous. I'm like the random stranger that you flew out to meet. I'm like, okay. Um, you know, please don't let me get murdered. Um, traffic. I got to Oregon stolen. I got two guys with me, so it can't be that bad. You know, if he tries to get us, we'll get them, you know? Yeah. That's my thought. Um, so we wake up at like probably four in the morning, so two hours of sleep and we go to meet him at a Walmart parking lot.
Speaker 02:Okay.
Unknown:Um,
Speaker 01:And it was probably zero degrees, if not colder, outside. And I'm just really wondering, what am I doing here? Like, really, what am I doing here? Am I here to bow hunt, or why am I here? This question was really rising in me. And he was about two hours late to meeting up with us. Shout out, Rob. Oh, nice. Way to be two hours late, Rob. Yeah. Shout out. He's working on it. We love him. Yeah. Sure do. And I know where you, I know where you live now. So it makes me a little more mad that you were two hours late, but it's besides the point. Cause you said what? He's like five minutes away from where you're supposed to be. Yeah.
Speaker 02:Five, five minutes.
Speaker 01:Yeah. So, so we meet up, he takes us out to this land and I'm like just enthralled with the place. I'm like, man, this is beautiful. Super stoked. It stunk because it was super cold. We sat out there for a little while. Nothing really happened. And then the next day, that's really when the fireworks started going off. So we get up super early again. Rob was going to be late. So he just told us to meet him out there. So we're out there and I'm sitting in this blind by myself. In the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. And that question came back up. It's like, you know, why am I here? What am I doing here? And I just remember in that moment, all the birds started chirping. Everything was just loud in my ears, vibrant, beautiful noise. And like this piece just like fell over my whole entire body and my being. And I was like, whoa. It's like, what is this? Like, this is, I've never felt like this much peace before in my life. And then Rob showed up and a bunch of deer to start flying around the place and my heart's pumping. And I really only knew like one worship song by heart. And, you know, it's starting to dawn on me that God had something to do with me being there. you know?
Speaker 02:Yeah.
Speaker 01:So I start singing this song and it's, our God is an awesome God. And I'm just singing that in my head for, I'm not joking, probably two hours straight, um, just over and over and over and over. And finally, um, I see three deer up on this hill and, um, like the first thing that popped in my head, you know, not really being a believer or anything like that, but I was just like, oh, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. The trinity of deer appeared. So I'm watching them come in, and they get close enough where I draw my bow back, and I'm just sitting there, and my heart is pounding through my chest. And they weren't like big deer, but you know if you know, when you see a deer for the first time in your hunting, it's like, whoa. It blows your mind how excited you can get. Um, so they got close enough and I shot and I missed, it went right under its belly. And, uh, I ran out to go check my arrows. See, Hey, maybe I did hit it. Maybe there's blood. Um, I didn't hit it. And I guess I've never hunted before. So I didn't know what to do. You're not supposed to do that. So if you miss, don't go chase after your arrow. Um, learn from his mistake. So they all left and I'm kind of disappointed. I'm like, I don't know when I'm going to get this opportunity again. But I remember my dad being like, it's okay. I think there's something else in store for today. And I was like, all right, whatever. So a little preface to what I'm about to say. The week before we went out there, I was talking to my sisters, and I was like, man, I just wish a dog would show up and I could just take it. And this will make sense. Yeah. And my sister's like, yeah, that'd be pretty cool. I just want
Speaker 02:to steal a dog.
Speaker 01:I didn't steal. So we come out of the woods. It's like negative 10. It got colder. Kept getting colder, of course. And I opened the door to get in the truck to leave. And I looked down and there's just this little dog laying at my feet. And I was like, what? I'm like, this guy needs help. So I picked him up. I put him in the truck. I went and got him like a bunch of donuts or something. I brought him to the shelter, but I knew that dog was mine. But looking back on that moment now, what I see is God was painting a picture of me coming to his feet and surrendering just like the dog did. He was sick. He was hurting. He was lost. And he just needed someone to love him. And, um, that was just, it's just a powerful picture that God painted with that dog. Um, so we had to bring him to the shelter and I went onto the shelter and I was like, Hey, listen, like, uh, whatever you do, do not kill this dog. Like I promise you, I will be back and I will get this dog. And they were like, yeah, yeah, get out of here. They actually started threatening me. with legal stuff saying I was lying about where I got the dog and all this weird stuff. But that's besides the point. But he did not steal the dog, people.
Speaker 02:I didn't steal the dog. The dog showed up and it collapsed at his feet like we need to collapse at the feet of Jesus. Yes.
Speaker 01:So weird enough, her dad had heard that me and my dad and my uncle were going to be in town And they were scouting a location for the Jesus gathering. So it all worked out that like 10 of the best evangelists I know were in town when I was there. What a coincidence. And they were happening to have a worship and prayer night. Wow. So my dad's like, hey, they invited us to come over. And I'm like, well, I'm here, right? Can't go anywhere. Might as well
Speaker 02:go. Um, and let me just hear from Annie really quick. So like when this is all going on, like what do you know of Connor and what, what is your kind of experience at this point?
Speaker 00:Um, we were just friends at that point. So he, um, a little backstory. We met that Jesus gathering in Boston, um, couple of months prior to him coming to
Speaker 02:Oklahoma. Okay. The one where he, he texted. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That random guy, Rob was there. Okay.
Speaker 00:Yeah. So I met him there and, um, I knew of him before I met him because I was really good friends with his two sisters and I was, I loved his parents. I just had never met him. Um,
Speaker 02:had you heard stories about him?
Speaker 00:I heard that his dad approached my dad and was like, uh, Hey, yeah. So Annie and Connor's probably me.
Speaker 02:Really? Okay. All right.
Speaker 00:Yeah. And my dad's response at the time was absolutely not.
Speaker 02:Yeah.
Speaker 00:So I was there in Boston and I remember my, I remember seeing Connor. I'm like, Oh, that's Connor. Okay. Well, interesting.
Unknown:Um,
Speaker 00:And my dad was like, Annie, go introduce yourself. Like he's just get back there. And I just was so nervous. I'm like,
Speaker 01:Oh, very nervous.
Speaker 00:I don't remember what I said, but we maybe talked for 20 seconds and I just word vomited the whole time.
Speaker 01:Yeah. She scared me. That's so funny. I can, I can recount what she said. She looked me in the eyes and goes, would you ever move to Oklahoma city? And I was like,
Speaker 00:Okay. It's making it sound way more creepy. Why would
Speaker 01:you say that? It's like, what? And I think I said, no.
Speaker 02:Yeah.
Speaker 01:You said we're moving a
Speaker 02:little fast. I just
Speaker 01:met
Speaker 00:you.
Speaker 01:No, it was a little prophetic there. Yeah. Cool.
Speaker 00:Well, so yeah, he, we ended up following each other on social media and he had messaged me and was like, Hey, yeah, I'm going to come out there to Oklahoma to go bow hunting. I was like, what the heck? That's so random. Um, okay. Who are you coming with? And he was like my dad and my uncle Ken. And so I called up my dad. I'm like, Hey, like they're coming out here. Like, why don't you plan a trip out here? And that led to my dad calling a whole lot of other people, the troops and
Speaker 02:the divine setup was on.
Speaker 00:Yeah.
Speaker 02:Okay. So fast forward. So you're, you're In the room, you show up with all the evangelists and the worship night and it's all kicking off. What's happening in your brain?
Speaker 01:So I am thinking, whoa, this is really weird. To be honest, that was my thought. I was like, whoa, this is weird, but it's not weird. It was probably just the evil things inside of me trying to make me. And I started settling in and the worship music starts getting more intense and more intense. And I start kind of singing along and getting into it. And then this girl just bursts out at the top of her lungs, just belting, our God is an awesome God. And I mean, I guess the song just got like remixed by Phil Wickham, but at that point in time, nobody was singing this song. Yeah. So I was, my mind was blown by that. And, um, it was cool before it was cool. Yeah. And it just showed, I was like, Whoa, my God knows exactly what I'm thinking. You know, like he's making it known to me that he knows what I'm thinking. Yeah. This random stranger.
Speaker 02:Yeah. That song was for you
Speaker 01:and it came out of her, her heart. Yeah. Um, so in that moment I knew that Jesus was real, that he loved me. I got down on my knees and I gave my life to the Lord right then and there. I got baptized in the Holy Spirit. They immediately brought me to Marco. Marco is my brother-in-law. They brought me to his house and they baptized me in his hot tub. Nice. So I could not get away.
Speaker 00:Keep it in the family. Yeah.
Speaker 02:Go
Speaker 01:to Marco's hot tub.
Speaker 00:Quick.
Speaker 01:That's not something you hear every day. Yeah. And Rob capped it all off. He read the parable of the lost sheep to me. And it just hit me so hard that I was truly so lost. And I tried everything, every way. to try and console myself, make my life work the way I wanted it to. I tried everything but follow Jesus. And as soon as I said yes to Jesus, he started just pouring out into my life, just absolutely pouring out into my life and just redeemed everything that I had lost. He redeemed everything so much time that was stolen by the enemy um and he's just been so faithful through the whole entire thing so as soon as i got saved the lord spoke to me quite frankly and told me to move to oklahoma city wow um and i was like okay through annie No, I'm just kidding. I had nothing to do with that. So I'm like, okay, Lord, if this is you, I need witness. So I went to my parents' house church. I mean, as soon as I got home, I was going to church Wednesday and twice on Sundays. I was just going crazy for the Lord. And I went to this house church and I think six people, had a word for me that they saw me riding horses in the Midwest and doing the Lord's work in the Midwest somewhere. So that's amazing. I said, okay, I'm like a week into this, but sure, let's do it. So I told everyone I knew I'm moving to Oklahoma city. They're like, what's your plan? I was like, I don't have one. My plan is whatever God wants for me. Um, and I just never strayed from that. Um, I just kept seeking him and seeking him. Um, I never even made a plan. I just remember it was about two weeks before I was supposed to leave and I had nowhere to live. And, um, I was just praying and praying and praying and I'm like, God, I know you want me to do this. I just need you to show me where to go. Um, And then my wife, she's now my wife, but she wasn't then, texted me and she said, Connor, why don't you live at Marco's house? And I was like, he's got a hot tub. I was like, that's not bad. I was like, are you sure? And then he invited me to live at his house. Wow. So Rob actually flew up from Oklahoma City. Me and him stayed tight. We still are very tight to this day. He's my brother. He flew up and we... We're driving down together, and we just decided that we were going to let God lead us this whole entire trip. So we didn't plan our route whatsoever. We just got really quiet and asked the Lord where to go and what to do. And he led us to some really amazing places throughout the country. It was incredible. One of the places he told us to go... was um called blue river kentucky which i was like okay god if this is real i'll find it on the maps uh and it was so we get all the way out there and we're in the middle of appalachia driving around kind of looking around like okay god did you really tell us to come here um and i'm just looking for something and then i look on my right and i see a civil war battlefield and he had been showing us uh civil war battlefields all up and down the shenandoah valley I kind of feel like what he was showing us was maybe just the status of the body of Christ. I think in the time leading up to now, and still really right now that the body's kind of at a civil war, to be honest, there's all these denominations fighting about who's right when that's really not the point. The point is that Jesus Christ came and died for us. And, um, we're to follow him and not any denomination. Um, but so we pull into this place and, I look to my right and there's a 15 foot tall statue of Abraham Lincoln. And I'm like, Oh my gosh. Okay. In the middle of nowhere. Yeah. So, um, what he was speaking to me about that was the story of Abraham when he leaves home and he, he tells him to go where he tells him to basically. And he, just follows the Lord's voice to the land of the promise and the promised land, the land of milk and honey and all that. Yeah. So it was just really cool confirmation to see. And, um, it was just an amazing trip. And now I'm here in Oklahoma city. Uh, I met the love of my life. She's her name is Annie. Shout out Annie.
Speaker 00:Hey,
Speaker 02:um, just want to interrupt you really quick. So, um, You talked about the parable of the lost sheep, right? That's what Rob read out loud. And that concept of the lost sheep, I mean, it's everywhere in the Bible. It's not, sometimes we kind of like parcel it out and we think, oh, like that's just one story in the gospels, but it's in like Matthew 10, Matthew 15, Psalm 119, Jeremiah 50, Luke 15, Matthew 18, Zechariah 10, Ezekiel 34. I And it basically, like in Ezekiel, for example, Ezekiel 34, 12, it says, as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep and I will rescue them. And like, this is back in the Old Testament, prophesying that there's one that's going to come, a shepherd that's going to seek out the ones that are lost and he's going to save them and find them wherever they're at, right? And if you guys remember back in testimony podcast numero uno, my testimony that I shared, I mean, that's my story too, right? I was encountered in the wilderness very much like Connor was. He had an experience where God was moving on him, spoke to him through song, brought a dog to his feet, showed him a picture of his state and needing to come and surrender, and then brought a multitude around him and basically grabbed a hold of him and saved him. And that's very much like what happened to me. I got grabbed a hold of and rescued. But sometimes we have a tendency to be like, oh yeah, he's the good shepherd that seeks out and finds the lost sheep and grabs the sheep and saves them. And then they put a period at the end of that sentence. But it's actually the sheep is restored to the fold so that then they can listen to the shepherd's voice and be led. And I love how you launched right into a week later, you're being led by the Spirit. You're being led by the voice of God. Because you said yes in surrender, you recognized him as the shepherd who saves us. And at that point in time, you said, yes, you're the shepherd that I follow now. And there's a lot of people out there that are content to be saved. They're content to be rescued. And then they go, oh, thanks so much. I got my ticket. And now I'm just going to live however I want. I'm going to be kind of just waiting it out till either Jesus comes back or I die. And they don't really realize that the shepherd is constantly talking to us and wanting us to come because he's got a plan for us, right? Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 01:So one of the biggest scriptures that I always lean on is Jeremiah 29, 11. You know, for the Lord knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper, plans not to harm you, plans for your welfare. I don't know if I got that dead on or not. Give you hope in the future. Hope in the future. And like, that's very much the story that he wants to write for everybody. Yeah. And, and, The story, too, to me of the Bible is just a grand adventure of following the Lord and doing His will. It always sticks out to me when I see people that have faith and love Jesus, but they're not really doing much. They're kind of just sitting around, and that's totally not... what the Lord has for us. My walk with God has been a constant adventure. You know, it's been fun. It's been the most fun I've ever had in my life. I actually, I said this to someone not too long ago, but my life really didn't start until the day I said yes to God.
Speaker 02:Amen. Yep, 100%.
Speaker 01:That's exactly what happened to me too. And it just felt like all those years I wasted... were just burned away, really. All the guilt I had, all the shame, all that just burned away. And there was just one thing on my mind was how do I seek the Lord? And how do I continue to move forward in what He has for me? And I just want to encourage anyone that's stuck right now in the mundaneness of life to... to ask God, what is the bigger picture you have for me? Because I can promise you it's not sitting in a church pew saying your Hail Marys and going home and turning on the TV. He has so much more for all of us. And it's really, me and Brian were talking about this earlier this week, maybe last week, but it's a radical obedience that God's calling out of us. He can do so much with yes, but he can't do really anything with a no. He needs your willingness. He needs your heart. He needs total surrender on your end. And it's not the easiest thing in the world to walk out. It's really not. It's actually very hard. But the Bible tells us that the way to heaven is a thin, narrow gate. It's not easy to get through. And that's for a reason, because God wants us sold out for Him. He wants our hearts sold out to Him and Him only.
Speaker 02:Yeah, as you're talking, it's kind of reminding me of when I first... gave my life over to Christ, I was, um, I was hit with the reality of the gospel and the reality of what he's, what he's made available and the salvation and the freedom that he offers. And I was like, so overwhelmed with the truth of who God was like, like the first week, um, after I got saved and baptized, I like, I started telling the gospel to everyone who would listen. I talked to pretty much everyone that worked with me. And there was one guy that I was a little bit nervous to share with. And, uh, I actually had a dream the night before that I was sharing the gospel with him, and then he pulled out a gun and killed me. And I remember talking with Amy, and I was just so nervous about going to work that day because we woke up in the middle of the night, and I'm like, I feel like I could die tomorrow. I feel like God maybe warned me that I was going to get shot or something. And I remember deciding in that moment that I was going to die to myself, and I was going to die... to the worry about death. And so I wrote a note on my kitchen counter and I left it and I said, I knew what was going to happen to me today and I chose to go to work anyway. And I left it on my kitchen counter and we drove to work and we were running a little bit late and my wife and I were driving down the interstate and there was a vehicle that was parked out in a parking lot. It was outside of a brewery and there was a guy who was kind of out and he was leaning over looking at the ground and And he looked like he was thrown up. And I was like, well, it's a little early for like some guy to be thrown up outside a brewery. That's a little weird. And so I just had this little inclination in my head, like, I wonder if I should stop and go talk to him. And the moment that I had that thought, our car radio, as we're driving in a crescendo of voices all came together and it went, ah, stop like queen, you know, like all that crazy voices. And then the radio cut off and I it like startled me. And I said, we need to turn around. We need to turn around. The Lord is telling us to turn around. So, you know, keep in mind that like I had a dream. I died. I'm on my way to my death sentence. And then the Lord stops me halfway. And I tell Amy to do U-turn. We pull into the parking lot and I get out. And the guy is getting out of the side of his car as his wife is trying to get into the driver's seat. And she's like, he doesn't want to talk to anybody. We're good. He doesn't want to talk. But as she's saying, he doesn't want to talk. He's getting out and walking over to me. And come to find out that he was a Christian and he got a phone call as he was driving down the road and took the call that his brother died. And his brother was a strong believer too. And he pulled over on the side of the road and he was crying and weeping and screaming at the top of his lungs. God, I trusted you. I believe that you are real, but why did you let my brother die? I don't believe. I won't believe unless you send somebody right now to tell me. And as he's screaming out of the top of his lungs, God told me through a car radio to turn around. And I told him, I had a knowing, I said, your brother is with Jesus right now. And your cries were answered. He sent me here right now to tell you that he loves you, that he's not done with you, that he's going to plan a purpose for you. And the guy grabbed me in a big bear hug and he started crying on my shoulder. And he told me, I'll remember this till the day I die. And this was right before I was about to go and die, right? So the Lord gave me that. And I was driving to work the rest of the way, just kind of almost in silence and in awe. And I said, if that's the way I go out, then that's the only way I want to live from now on. Like that is the perfect way to end this whole life. And so I remember... I got in the room with the guy I was a little nervous to share with that I had dreams about. He wasn't a bad guy. He just had a scary dream, right? And so I share the gospel with him, and I tell him about my testimony, but I use the parable of the lost sheep and the good shepherd. And I get down to that part in the dream where he kills me. And now I'm stringing the story out a little bit longer. I'm trying to get a few more breaths in.
Unknown:Yeah.
Speaker 02:And then I kind of like, okay, I don't, I don't have anything else to say. So I kind of just stopped and I just braced for it, man. And I really truly believe that I was going to die. Um, and instead of pulling out a gun, he sits back and he goes, you know what? And he was an atheist and he goes, I've never told anybody this story, but like after you told me that wild story, I feel fine telling you. Cause you know, it's not that crazy after hearing that. And, uh, he goes, when I was 12 years old, I was walking down the street and And I was taken up out of my body and I was hovering above like the earth. And he said, this being came over to me and said, ask me anything. And he said to the being, what's the meaning of life? And the being said to be a shepherd. Wow. And he was instantly back in his body and he goes, you know what? I've never looked into Christianity and I've actually never heard the story about Jesus being a good shepherd. But the moment that you told me about that, it connected with that moment that I had when I was 12 that I've never told anybody about. And he said, thank you, stood up, walked out of my office. And I didn't die, but that was the moment that I resigned my job and I died to myself and decided I was going to be spirit led from then on and only listen to the Lord and where he tells me to go. But in that moment, I realized that when we're saved as a sheep and we begin to follow the shepherd and we become many shepherds for others. And so we actually, in step with the shepherd, lose our identity as a sheep and we become walking with the shepherd and so much like him that we lead the others behind us in. And that's what he's called you to. And in a radical, quick way, over a short amount of time, He's raised you up to be a shepherd of others. And even this podcast is your start because there's people that are listening right now that are in the same exact place. They're lost. They're broken. They're empty. They need help. They're like a busted and bruised dog. They need the feet of Jesus Christ. And they need to hear a testimony of someone who's walked it out and surrendered and the power that exists on the other side. And so you carry that. And I'm going to let you kind of share your final thoughts or whatever. And then I want you to pray. I'm in that manner for the people listening that that might be lost or maybe the people that are stuck in religion, stuck in, in the powerlessness and they're kind of just a sheet maybe stuck in the, in the, in the pen.
Speaker 01:So to speak. Amen. Amen. I guess what I want to leave everyone with is no matter what you are telling yourself every day, No matter how good your life looks on the outside, I want you to take a deep look at your heart. I want you to ask yourself, am I really doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing these things? Am I doing it? to fit in? Am I doing it because I'm afraid of who people really might think I am? Am I doing it because I don't know any better? But really take a look at yourself and ask yourself, is this really what I want my life to look like? Or is there something more out there for me? Because I can promise you, that when I said yes to Jesus and I put both of my feet in the water and when I started floating away, I was taken in immediately by the strongest current I've ever felt in my life that has pushed me into some of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in my life. Some of the sweetest moments I've ever had in my life The biggest desires of my heart have been fulfilled. And I know that there's so much more. Literally anything is possible with our Lord Jesus Christ. Put down all the fear you have of losing what you perceive that you have right now because I promise you, you have nothing if you don't have Jesus in your heart. You are literally losing nothing but the world and the world dies. But God is eternal, and so is our salvation. Father, we just lift up all of the lost people right now that are listening to this podcast. Father, we ask that you just come down, God, and you just bear your arm of witness to them. Lord, we just ask for your favor. over those who are lost, God, that you wouldn't allow them to continue to tumble, that you would pick them up like you picked me up, God. God, we just humbly ask you, Lord, to just start revealing yourself to people that need your love. God, if you have to drag some of these people out of the holes they're in, Lord, I just pray that you drag them out God, I just know how good you are. I've seen your goodness in my own life. God, I just pray for your goodness over everybody right now that's listening to this podcast that needs it. You are so good, Lord. You are so, so good. And you pulled me out of the riptide right when I needed you to. And Lord, I just... i just see someone right now in the riptide they're flailing their arms and they're scared and they don't know what to do and they're just begging for help lord and i just see you putting your hand down and pulling them out i just pray whoever that is that the lord pulls you out of that and he just brings you ashore He gives you a crown and a robe and a ring on your finger. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Speaker 02:I hear right now there's someone out there named Kathy. Kathy, you've been dealing with depression. The Lord is setting you free right now, right where you are. At his feet, the Son is setting you free. Who the Son sets free is free indeed. Let all of that wash off of you. There's freedom in the mighty name of Jesus. I hear Caleb. Caleb, you've been dealing with severe illness. It's in your lungs. Receive the healing touch of God right now over your lungs. I believe by faith you're being set free right now. Anyone dealing with the spirit of suicide, thinking of taking their own life, that power is broken. In the mighty name of Jesus, you don't struggle with it anymore. And right now we just thank the Lord For this podcast, for Connor's testimony, for Annie joining us, Lord, we just thank you so much for this powerful testimony to set people free. We bless each and every one of you as you listen. Yeah, we're just so excited to be able to record that and push it out. Feel free to go on to the testimonypodcast.com and share your testimony of how this impacted you, if this ministered to you. There's a form you can fill out on there. We've received amazing testimonies from people being set free, pulling over on the side of the road and actually feeling tangibly the power of God coming upon them and setting them free. I encourage you to submit those testimonies, submit those words of encouragement for Connor, for Annie, if this ministered to you in any way. Join us for the next testimony podcast. Thanks, Connor and Annie, for joining us.
Speaker 01:Thanks for having us on.