Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hey guys, welcome to
Word Up on this Saturday morning
.
We are here, another guest onthe show I've got Braxton
Sauster.
He is a football player athletefrom Pleasant Valley High
School and I've really gotten toknow him over the past year as
he's been involved with ourstudent ministry and all the
(00:34):
things just being a part of whatwe've been doing here at
Leatherwood.
But, most importantly, I'vebeen really excited to see how
God has used him and how he hasbegan to really step out on
faith and allow God to use hisinfluence, use his circle of
influence, and so we talk aboutthat a lot.
We all have a circle that wecan influence better than other
(00:58):
people, and so God has given youthat circle, and I can't reach
the circle that Braxton canreach.
Only he can.
We have to make the choice Arewe going to continue to live in
fear and to sit back and takethe easy road, or are we going
to step out and allow God to useus in that circle of influence?
(01:18):
Braxton, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you for being with usthis morning.
Howdy howdy, thank you forhaving me.
The podcast, thank you forbeing with us this morning.
Howdy howdy, thank you forhaving me, braxton, just share a
little bit about yourrelationship with Christ.
When did you come to know theLord?
What does that look like asyou've grown in your faith, kind
of how it started and where youare now?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
So I got saved in
July of 2023.
To I got saved in July of 2023.
I was on fire and I shared theword.
I was just reading my Bible andthen, as every Christian goes
through, you go through some dryspells where you're just like
(02:02):
man, what am I doing?
And I feel like I'm notreaching enough people.
I feel like I'm not doingenough.
And then you start questioningyourself and then you'll get
back on fire and recently wewent to D-NOW and that fire has
just I've got that fire and thefire stuck with me and I'm not
letting back and this is thefire that I needed and the fire
(02:23):
that will stay forever.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
That is really
exciting and that is how God
works.
You know, oftentimes we've beentalking one of our first quiet
times on this podcast.
Isaiah 59, 1 and 2, says thatGod's arm is not too weak to
save us, his ear not too deaf tohear.
And oftentimes when we lose thatfire, it's not because God's
not active, it's not becausehe's not there working.
(02:47):
It's because we abandon thatfellowship with him.
We're not in the word, we'renot invested in that
relationship, and so what you'reexperiencing is a new desire to
grow in your walk with him, tospend time with him, and when
you do that, whenever you getserious about your relationship
with Christ, he begins to workthrough you, and so one of the
(03:07):
most exciting things that I'veseen in your walk is right after
D-NOW this year.
Obviously, I saw a fire in youand several of the other guys
and y'all holding each otheraccountable, but then I left the
day after and I go to Africa,18 hours away on a plane, and
(03:28):
the first message I get wheneverI'm over there is from you
saying hey, I need you to callme, so just tell some of the
students kind of what you weredealing with at that point
whenever you reached out andsaid hey, I need you to call me.
What were you experiencingduring that time?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So, like Mikey said,
we were just out of D now and I
was completely on fire and I'myou to call me.
What were you experiencingduring that time?
So, like Mikey said, we werejust out of D now and I was
completely on fire and I'm goingto let everybody hear about it.
And so I texted one of myfriends from Pleasant Valley and
I just let him know that I wasthere for him and no matter what
happens like I'll be there, ifhe needs any prayer, just let me
know.
And we just left it at that.
(04:04):
A few hours later he ends uptexting me again and he said he
said he was scared, he didn'twant to Disappoint God, he
didn't want to let God down andhe didn't know how to go with it
.
From that I'm at anotherconversation that night with one
of the guys from our youthgroup and he was just on fire.
But he's had some past thingsrecently that he regrets and he
(04:27):
is I turn from, but he wants toshare the word with his friends.
But he wanted to show them thathe was changing and so I got to
talk with both of them guys andwith the guy from my school.
I just told him to give God ashot.
He's an almighty God, he's aforgiving God and he loves you.
(04:48):
And if you're just, if you'restuck and you don't know what to
do, give him a shot.
And that's what I told him.
I told him that straight up.
I was like you're scared, youdon't want to let him down.
Well, you never know if you'regoing to let him down and you're
not going to let him down.
You let yourself down with sin,but you're not going to let God
(05:08):
down.
As long as you stay with him,you're not letting him down.
And with the second guy fromthe youth group, I told him that
he's just got to be bold enoughand strong enough in his faith,
that he's just got to step outand be like guys.
I'm not doing this anymore.
That's not what I'm about.
I've completely turned awayfrom what I was doing and I'm
(05:28):
going for the Lord and y'all aregoing to hear about it.
I'm going to talk to y'allevery day about it and
eventually y'all are going tocatch along and y'all are going
to get this fire about me andabout the Lord.
And we're going to start arevival here at CareerTech and
we're just going to see how itgoes from there.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
That is super
exciting and that's what you
shared.
And if you remember back one ofthe first times that you
started talking to them, yousaid they got a lot of questions
and you were trying to processhow to help them, and I
immediately could tell from thequestions they were asking you
that they were truly unsure oftheir relationship with God.
(06:08):
They didn't know for sure thatthey had accepted him, that they
had put their true faith inthem, and I quickly told you hey
, you know what?
Don't you wait till I get back,don't you bring them to me,
don't you take them to anotherpastor.
This is an opportunity that Godhas placed in front of you.
You've got the fire, you'vealready opened the door and you
(06:30):
need to take the opportunity totell them exactly what you know
about how to come to know theLord and to lead them there.
And so talk about having thatopportunity to actually follow
through.
Maybe some of the—there's goingto be some students that are
listening to this they're scaredto take that next step.
They're scared to ask that hardquestion but how did you
(06:52):
overcome that fear?
What came from it?
And talk about the joy ingetting to see your friends come
to know Christ.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So out of D-NOW I was
just.
I was like I want everybody tohear about it.
So the next Wednesday, rightafter D-NOW, I invited so many
of my friends to come and aboutseven of them came to church and
we had a great time.
And afterwards I get a textfrom two of them and pretty much
(07:20):
they were both just sayingwhere do I go, where do I start?
And at the time I didn't knowthat it was meaning like they
wanted a relationship.
So I just told them where tostart in the Bible.
Well, I ended up calling Mikeyand Mikey told me that they
wanted a relationship.
So I just told them where tostart in the Bible.
Well, I ended up calling Mikeyand Mikey told me that they want
the Lord, they want to be safe,they just don't know how to do
it and that it was my job now toproceed and lead them to the
(07:43):
Lord.
So I text them that night and Itell them uh, meet me.
Uh, I told one of the guys mademe early, uh, before school on
on Thursday, and then one of theand the other guys to meet me
early before school on Thursday,and then the other guy to meet
me during fifth period.
And so me and the guy met earlyThursday morning and we started
talking and I told him straightup I said I'm not going to do a
(08:06):
shortcut or nothing.
If you die today, do you thinkyou would go to heaven?
And he said I don't know.
And I said have you go toheaven?
And he said I don't know.
And I said have you ever beensaved?
And he said no.
And I said well, do you want to?
And he said absolutely.
And the joy that he was justfilled with joy after he said
absolutely.
So I got to lead him throughprayer.
(08:26):
And it's not the prayer that wepray, it's not who we're
praying with, it's not theprayer that we pray, it's not
who we're praying with, it's notthe fancy words, it's if you
really truly believe in yourheart that the Lord died for you
, he saved you and he dideverything for you.
And that's what I told them.
(08:47):
It's nothing that you prayabout.
And so then the second guy wegot to do the same thing with
and we ended up having a reallylong conversation about it
afterwards and both of them cameto know Christ that day.
And it's just a moment that Iwon't forget.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
That takes me exactly
what you're talking about there
1 John 5, 11 through 13,.
The witness is this that Godhas given us eternal life, he
tells us at the end of thatscripture.
He says I have written this toyou who believe in the name of
the Son of God, in order thatyou may know that you have
(09:27):
eternal life.
You know what it's not about.
We get caught up in trying todo things the right way, in
trying to make sure we say theprayer right, that we check all
the boxes right, but all it tookwas you stepping out, showing
them the truth of God's Word,bringing them to the place that
they say, yes, I want to makeJesus the Lord of my life.
You know, when somebody comesup and asks me if I'm married, I
(09:49):
don't tell them hey, let me gocheck the courthouse and see if
that marriage certificate gotfiled.
I know the commitment that Imade to my wife that day and you
know what.
I didn't have to take thepaperwork and file it myself.
I know in my heart thecommitment that I made.
And so you have stepped out andyou've taken those guys and
(10:10):
you've.
You know what.
You may not have said it theway I would have said it.
You may not have prayed the wayI would have prayed, all of
that doesn't matter Did youbring them to the place that
they truly know that they made acommitment to God that day,
that they believe in him,they've received him into their
hearts and that they trulyrepent from the things that they
were doing and they realizethat, hey, today is a new day
(10:33):
and I'm walking with the Lord,and so that's awesome that you
overcame that and the joy yougot to experience something that
, I'm telling you, 90% of thechurch today has never
experienced, and that is leadinga friend to Christ, and so that
is super exciting.
So where do we go from here?
(10:56):
Like now that you've led yourfriends to the Lord and that's
been a couple of months agowhere do you go from here?
What are the next steps?
What are you doing now?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
So after that
happened, Jonah hopped and I was
just on fire and I kept sharingthe word.
That's one important thing.
You want to be in the word, toshare the word.
You don't want to share falseinformation that will lead
people away from the Lord.
Get in the word, have thatrelationship with God so you can
(11:24):
share the right information.
Where I've been at now is justgetting that information in, and
so where I've been at now isjust getting that information in
, and I recently finished Johnand I'm about to start Proverbs
here today and I'm kind of justworking on myself right now.
I'm working on where are me andthe Lord going to go?
(11:44):
Where do I take my next step?
I'm still sharing with myfriends.
I'm sharing with people.
I'm going out in Oxford andsharing with random people that
I don't even know, inviting themto church.
It's just there's a you got tostep out in your faith.
And Mikey said a great question,dear Indy, now what would you
(12:07):
do if you know you could neverfail with God?
And everybody was just likewe'd reach out more.
And Mikey said well, when youdo what the Lord tells you, then
you're not failing, You'redoing, you're obeying God.
So that's the main thing thatI'm trying to go off of.
If the Lord tells me to dosomething, then I'm going to do
it.
(12:27):
Obey the Lord.
It doesn't matter if you getturned away.
It doesn't matter if you getturned away.
It doesn't matter if they saythat I'm worshiping the wrong
God.
I know who I'm worshiping.
I'm worshiping the Almighty God.
He's all-powerful, all-loving,and my faith is strong enough to
not turn because of oneperson's opinion.
(12:48):
I'm going to plant that seedand keep going.
So that's where I'm at today.
I'm keeping my relationshipgoing with the Lord, getting
stronger in faith, and we'rejust going to keep doing it and
see where the Lord takes me.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Outstanding.
Braxton, I'm so proud of you.
Thank you for coming on today.
Guys, if you are from PleasantValley and you're listening to
this podcast for the first timeand you realize that, hey, I
have never made a true decisionto follow Christ, braxton is
available anytime, any day, toshare with you how you can make
(13:27):
him the Lord of your life, and Iknow that Braxton is willing to
pour into you.
So if you've got his phonenumber, call him.
If not, go find him during theday and he'll be glad to sit
down with you and show you, inGod's word, what God has done
through his life.
So thank you, guys, for joiningus today.
We love you and go and sharethe good news with somebody
(13:49):
today.
Quit sitting back, quit holdingit for yourself.
Get fired up and take that fireto others.
We'll see you back here nextMonday.
Love you, guys.