Well . . . hi everyone . . . and welcome to our first episode of Ignite with Barry Meguiar.
I’m a Car Guy and a businessman. You might have seen our TV Show Car Crazy that ran for 18 years and aired globally on Discovery Networks. I’m currently on over 870 Christian RADIO Stations every day talking about sharing your faith.
I’ve also served as the leader of lay ministries for a major denomination, I’ve been honored by the National Religious Broadcasters Association with their Billy Graham Award as well by Moody Bible with their Annual 1886 Legacy Award.
More importantly, I’ve been having the time of my life sharing my faith every day, for over 40 years, and enjoying all the blessings that come to those who do that.
If you’re like most Christians, you have no idea how easy and how much fun it is to share your faith. You’ve never experienced the incredible joy that comes from knowing God just spoke through you to move someone closer to Him. I have to tell you! There’s no other way to enjoy that kind of intimacy with God!
That’s why I’m doing these Podcasts! The sole purpose of these Podcasts is to Ignite Christians, like you, to Ignite America with Revival, one person at a time . . . and at the same time – ignite yourself!
Most Christians know there’s something missing in their lives and have no idea what it is. Here’s a clue! It’s not about finding your purpose. It’s about living for God’s Purpose . . . to seek and save the lost – to move everyone, every day closer to Jesus.
These Podcasts will tell you how you can start doing that immediately without any training. It’s that easy. And as soon as you start, you’ll start living in God’s Promise, in Romans 8:28, to make everything in your life work for good. It doesn’t get any better than that.
We’re fortunate to have Dr. Doug Petersen, an Oxford Scholar, Certifying Statistics that are supported by 3 or more major studies. That makes them rock-solid accurate and you can find them on our IgniteAmerica.com Website. Just look for “Certified Statistics”.
The numbers tell the story! Only 20% of our population was still attending church regularly in 2020 Pre-COVID. And 30% of those have not listened to one sermon since COVID began. An estimated 60,000 churches will close in the next 3 years and less than 6% of our population still holds a Biblical World View. According to every statistic available, we’re a Post Christian Nation. And that’s why we’re In this mess.
Here’s the Good News! Over 80% of the un-churched know the world is out of control, would like to believe there’s a God who can fix it, are looking for someone to tell them, and already have at least one Christian in their life that they trust. We could ignite America with Revival in 30 days if we wanted to. The fields are white for harvest.
Everyone knows the closer you are to God as a nation or an individual, people are more peaceful, joyful, and loving. The farther you get away from God, the further away you get from being peaceful, loving, and joyful. That’s where America is today and you can explain that to everyone your with – without offending anyone! Believe it or not, that’s sharing your faith!
The root cause of our problems is not a Republican vs Democrat issue, Liberal vs Conservative, or a white vs black issue. It’s a God issue! In 1960, 70% of our population were regular church attenders, we could leave our doors unlocked, kids could play outside after dark, we had friendships across the aisles in our halls of Government and we were literally ‘One Nation Under God’. All of our discord will dissipate if we simply turn our hearts back to God.
Here’s the Bad News! The laborers are few. Less than 1% of us are intentionally sharing our faith on a daily basis. The problem is not the un-churched. They’re lost in darkness! How are they going to know God loves them unless someone tells them? No one’s telling them! You see, we’re the problem . . . those of us who know God and refuse to share him with anyone. God Help Us! We have to change that!
And it’s so easy. You can start this very moment. No training required. Jesus said they will know that you’re His Disciple by your love. Not by your training or eloquence of speech.
Just love on people to love on people – without any agenda. When you love on people, I mean genuinely love on people, they’ll eventually tell you their deepest hurts and the Holy Spirit will speak through you to heal those hurts.
No preparation is required except to seek God with all your mind, all your strength, all your heart, and all your soul. When you do that, you can’t keep from sharing Him . . . because all of us talk about the things we love and are passionate about. If you’re not sharing your faith, the letter to the Church at Ephesus explains that you’ve left your First Love – and you’re no longer doing your First Work – sharing your faith. And to that God says “Repent”.
I believe Romans 8:28 is the second most important and least understood verse in the Bible. John 3:16 explains how you get to Heaven. Romans 8:28 explains that He’ll make everything in your life work for good, from now until you get to Heaven, when you love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength AND IF you live your life for His Purpose – to seek and save the lost . . . to move everyone, every day closer to Jesus.
I bet you didn’t know that! That sharing your faith opens the door to God’s Promise to make everything in your life work for good. That’s the end of worry!
When Karen and I were first married, we gave sacrificially and volunteered for everything in church . . . and still had no joy . . . until we met Herb Ellingwood who was a faith-sharing machine and the happiest man we’d ever met. We were jealous over his joy, wanted it for ourselves, and began sharing our faith.
A couple of months later, we realized that our lives were full of joy. Then we discovered John 15:11 that says when we bear fruit, when we share our faith and bare more Christians, His Joy will remain with us and our joy will remain full. And for Karen and me, our joy has been full ever since. It actually works! For 40 year’s it worked throughout all the trials in our lives.
One of the most asked questions Karen and I get is why were always so full of joy. This is why! And you can get in on it – immediately!
We have 40 years of faith-sharing experiences that we’ll be sharing with you on these podcasts, as well as the experiences of the famous and not-so-famous who are having the same kind of experiences.
I hate to be a downer, but you’re already in full-time ministry. If you’re a Christian, everything you say and do is already moving people closer or further away from God . . . down to the smallest detail . . . perhaps most importantly in the smallest detail.
When people see you, as a Christian, doing things that dishonor God, you’re moving them away from God. And that’s so easy to do without even knowing it. We’ll be giving those kinds of examples as well.
On the plus side, Isaiah 43:10 says Thus saith the Lord! I appointed you as my witness so that you will believe. Did you get that? So that you will believe. That’s because your faith soars every time you experience God orchestrating your steps and speaking through you to a complete stranger. And once you experience that kind of high, you’ll be hooked and you’ll start having the time of your life for the rest of your life.
Hey! I’m a layman just like you. And I never offend anyone because of my faith! I’m a man of many passions! I’ve spent a lifetime building my business that I love more than ever. I’m passionate about cars and boats and sports and great meals and going places and being with friends and so much more. But I also know that all of that pales in comparison with the importance of getting as many people as possible into Heaven before it’s too late.
There’s a million ways to live my life in ways that bring glory to God without offending anyone. And when I do that, He makes my days even better – down to the smallest detail. It’s amazing!
I’ll leave you with this thought – that will be evident throughout all of our podcasts. ‘Follow the Nudge/Live in the FOG!
All of us know what ‘The Nudge’ is . . . when the Holy Spirit nudges you to call someone you know who is hurting or to ask someone you’re talking to with if they would like you to pray for them, or to take time you don’t have to encourage someone. We always have excuses for not following God’s Nudge. But that’s all they are – Excuses!
But when you follow the nudge, you’ll live in the FOG. You’ll live in the ‘Favor of God’. You’ll live in the Promise of Romans 8:28 that says All things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who live for His Purpose . . . to seek and save the lost . . . to move everyone, every day closer to God.
There are so many great Podcasts, but none like this one – that will lead you into an intimacy with God that cannot be experienced any other way. Your prayer life and Bible study will come to life with purpose and words will start coming out of your mouth that you know have come from God, your faith will explode and your life will never be the same.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for our next episode!
Bye for now!
