Barry Meguiar 00:00
Music. Welcome back to ignite here, my buddy Dallas home. We have been buddies, literally buddies, since september of 1970 Dallas, of course, was the crusade singer for David Wilkerson, and we’ve covered all that, of course, but then just his fame and demand for his own personal ministry led him into doing and he’s traveled the country ever since. And I have been in so many of those services and been convicted. You’ve gotten me saved again several times. We’re talking about sharing faith. That’s what this all about, folks and and how much fun it is. It is fun. And Dallas, I’ve been doing it all our lives, and we have so many stories. We’re going to get to some of those a minute. But you said something off camera, which struck a chord with me, because it’s like, how many did I miss? I try to take an inventory at the end of the day, it is, move everybody, every day closer to Jesus. That’s our goal. It’s not find one person today, not all the people you’re going to be with today that are on their way to hell. How do you pick one? Yeah, how do you pick the right one? Well, we don’t have time for that anyway. I mean, we need to move everyone, every day, closer to Jesus. And here’s something you may not realize. Do you know that most non Christians are non Christians because of Christians?
01:37
Well, tragically, yes, and I understand that,
Barry Meguiar 01:40
because we’re not sensitive, that everything we do and say is moving people closer, further away from God. You’re in full time ministry. We all are, right? And for the moment, you get up the morning, time you go to bed tonight, everything you say today, you can’t get away from this once I tell you this, you’re stuck. That’s right. Everything you do and say today is moving everyone watching you closer, further away from God. Yeah, that changes. What’s a life changing and a lot
Speaker 1 02:07
of times, you know, I hate to say this, but a lot of times, and like you, I’ve run into so many people through the years, and it just breaks my heart who have such a hardness and a resistance to the Lord of the things of the Lord, because someone represented him so badly, and often it was in a sharing the faith context. Oh, because they got in their face. They had a method, they had a plan. And it was so it was so unloving. We got trophy hunters out there. That’s what I call folks.
Barry Meguiar 02:39
I hear this. Hear this. It’s not an argument. You don’t cast your pearls before swine. You just, you just, you can’t force people into Christianity. It’s you said it earlier. It’s the Holy Spirit drawing them. Right? You may be at the very beginning of the Holy Spirit drawing them, or you may be down the line. We don’t know our business, the thought of the comment you made that that makes me laugh and sad at the same time, is this thing of, how many people do we miss? Yeah, I mean, some days I feel like a pinball machine. There’s four face sharing, I mean poignant life changing, space, sharing experiences in the span of two or three hours. Yeah, and I’m wondering, if I was more attentive, would that be happening every day of my life? Or was it that I just just God setting it up? That that? I don’t know, but I do suspect that God sets up. They are planned, are steps, are ordered. He he does plan these, these interruptions in our live, divine interruptions. And I wonder how many times I I miss it. I’m right there and I and I miss it, and I’m picturing God going hoive. I worked so hard. Yeah, that very just blew me off.
Speaker 1 04:04
Yeah, no, in the ultimate sovereignty of God, there are no accidents and there are no coincidences. He either is the God we claim him to be, and more importantly, who scripture claims him to be, we easily say God knows everything. Well, does he or doesn’t he? Well, absolutely, He’s God. So these, these things, are ordered of the Lord. He’s got a plan that is so specific, so minute, so moment by moment. And, you know, fortunately, he’s merciful and Grace gracious. And sometimes we miss it. And again, there’s no condemnation, but the loss is ours when we miss the opportunity, you know, because we miss an opportunity, God’s not going, oh boy, well, can’t help that person now, no, God loves that person, but we’ve missed the opportunity and the blessing and the I guess I would say the opportunity to store up another treasure in heaven, which isn’t an egotistical thing, because what we. Store up in heaven. We’re going to lay at the feet of Jesus. This is going to be our way of honoring him. You know, I wrote a praise letter, and I thought this was we’d send it out every other month, and I just got it mailed to myself this morning. I’m on my mailing list, so I can always check and make sure the grammar is okay and all that. But I ran across this line just before we started these podcasts, and I thought if people could get this in their head, it might help them a little bit. It just says, this is just a little paragraph out of it. We are all well aware of the many who perish daily all around the world due to war, famine, crime and disease. What if somehow there was a daily death toll posted that accounted for all who had perished without Christ? What if that list contained the locations of those who died? How many would have perished in astonishingly close proximity to where we live? What if there was a death toll we could a list we could look up on our computer. This many people died today, not just in the world, but in our own community, in our own neighborhood, this many and we’re aware of this. I mean, Linda and I, you know, couple years ago, as we got a little older, we started saying every time the phone rings, okay, who’s got cancer? Who died? Because as we get older, as we move along, more and more people are perishing. People are perishing all around us all the time. If that doesn’t, you know, incite us to do something, say something, be Jesus. I don’t know what will it’s just, it’s astonishing how much, and I’ll be real careful here. We talked about this the other day. I’m a church person. I believe every Christian should be in a good Bible teaching community of believers. Question, but I’ve traveled this country. I’ve been in 22 countries around the world. I’ve been in every denomination you can think of, literally, from Catholic to Quaker and everything in between. So it’s given me a pretty unique perspective on the church, little C, you know, and how it operates. We spend bazillions of dollars to get this the most degreed, intellectual pastor, the most talented worship leader, the most innovative programs, the greatest technology we’ve got all this going on, and we do so miserably poor in reaching the lost outside of the walls of our church. The church is not to be as I study scripture. Look at the New Testament Church model that was not an evangelistic soul saving station. Now, certainly, there were people who came in were invited by family, whatever, and they heard the the gospel, and they they came to faith in Christ. But the church’s job is to equip us, you and me, believers, build us up with the knowledge of the word, so that we, we have a concept, and then get out of the church and go make a difference for the kingdom of that’s
Barry Meguiar 07:42
not being done. It’s almost non existent today. And it’s the it’s not only one of the most it is the thing. It’s the only thing God calls calls us to do, and we’re not doing it. It’s crazy. Yeah,
Speaker 1 07:55
all the things we could discuss and debate again, theologically, Doc, a lot of issues in Scripture that are not real clear, things that Scripture is silent on, that we can only kind of guess at. There’s one thing that Scripture is absolutely not silent on, and at the very end, it’s like an exclamation point at the end of Christ ministry on earth. Oh, this one last thing, guys, disciples, I want you to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples. One translation says, when you look at the original language, it really reads a little better to say as you are going. In other words, it’s not a it’s not a command to geographically move from here to there. Now it might, it might entail that to go might mean across the ocean might mean across the street, across the table, across the hallway, but I like the I like the translation that and as you are going, in other words, in the course of your day, as you’re going, as you’re moving about, as you’re living your life, preach the gospel. Now that’s not a sermon. It’s not a homiletical presentation. It’s just share the truth of the good news. Someone said, the loudest sermon you’ll ever preach is your life lived for Jesus and then make disciples. That’s where we, especially in the church, fail miserably. We’re not replicating ourselves. We’re not discipling men and women, showing them, teaching them, exampleing to them. What does a Christian look like? What are Christian values? How do I respond to these areas of as
Barry Meguiar 09:22
you are going, folks, and that is as you’re going in your regular life. It’s not that you decide I gotta go on a missions trip, right? I mean, you may do that. You may you’re talking about every day as you’re going throughout your regular life. Breakfast this morning with your family, you know, interacting with your boss and your employees and your workers and meeting people at Starbucks, or it goes on and on as you are going realize you’re in full time ministry. Nothing secular for you, there’s nothing secular, right? And and even the Christians around. And you need ministering too. So it’s full time. I mean, this is, this is what it’s about, and it makes, like we say, every day is an adventure when you’re watching for it, and you receive more back than you’re giving. Yes, because, I mean, every time you walk away from that, and you’ve even had one experience, you know this, you’re probably talking about five years since you did it after it was so excited, we’re so excited. Well, then why don’t you do it every day? You can do this every day, and we’re running out of time. We need to be doing this every day. 80% of our population America are lost, and I know they’re doing crazy things, but they have an excuse. They’re lost, and they’re not going to church, and their only hope is you, right? Us, we’re their only hope. They have no hope. Apart from Christians loving on them, they have no hope. Right? Again, the opposite of love is is apathy. It’s not hate. It’s just that Jesus don’t care, right? God help us to care. Help us to move everybody every day. Of course, that’s what this thing is. Get ignited and start having some fun. Be like an explosion in your life.
Speaker 1 11:11
Well, I love the point you made. In fact, just in the last few days, as I was thinking about praying about, you know, doing this podcast, and what are we gonna talk about what’s important, what’s non essential. That was one of the main things I thought about, because I realized, especially after I quit touring, and I still take a few dates, but as far as touring, I just don’t do that anymore. I toured for 50 years, and God, just kind of closed that that season. By
Barry Meguiar 11:36
the way, your podcast, how do we get to your podcast, folks, he’s an incredible podcast. You’ve got to you’ve got to get enjoy. How do they find your podcast? Right quick. Oh, it’s
Speaker 1 11:47
Dallas, home.com. Is our website, and our podcast comes out every Wednesday. It’s called here. We are your favorite song, yes, and my daughter and I usually do it. We’ll have everything. We got some throwback videos back from the 70s, old videos that we throw in so it’s so it’s rich, it’s a lot of fun. It’s
Barry Meguiar 12:04
spirit, it’s ministry. It’ll bless you. Every podcast Dallas does leave your tears. I mean, true. It’s from the heart. It’s it’s Holy Spirit driven. So
Speaker 1 12:13
what you said about sharing the faith is not just, I think we’ve done damage to the whole concept of the statement sharing the faith, because that that has been often ill defined as, oh, that means you go on a witnessing campaign, or you pass out this piece of information, or you do this, and it’s only to the lost people. What I find myself is I probably am sharing my faith more with Christians or wounded Christians that I am non believers. It’s not up to me to sort out which comes across my plate. But as I’ve stopped touring, it became real obvious, probably in the last year especially, I’ll get a phone call, get a letter, I’ll get an email, I’ll run into someone just just a week ago, a gentleman, and I don’t know if he’s a Christian or not. We just met. We started to talk. He knew who I was, and he said, Would you be willing to just meet with me for lunch? He said, I’ve never been discipled. I’ve never had anybody just kind of walk me through the basics. And I said, Yeah, next time we get together, which we’ve got a date set up, let’s go grab lunch. Know, where that’ll lead? I don’t know, but I think he’s a believer, but he’s a wounded believer that that’s walking on, you know spiritual crutches. He just, he’s not real. He doesn’t have a firm foundation. And more and more, another another man called me not too long ago. Would you? Would you help me to understand how to teach scripture? How to be, how do you say it? How to be the man of God in my house? How do I, how do I share the Word of God with my family? I said, Absolutely, let’s just sit down. It’s so easy. It’s so practical. Don’t think you got to preach sermons just again. It’s just that sharing love on
Barry Meguiar 13:50
No, you’re my disciple by your love, not by your ready, not by your quote scripture, by your love. When God’s love flows through you, and I point out, the most prolific of all faith shares are new Christians, yes, and they don’t know Scripture. They have the love of God. He’s their first love. And the love of God is flowing through them, and they’re changing lives all around, not because of their expertise in quoting scripture or knowledge, just God’s love, speaking through them, supernaturally, speaking through them. I care, and I, you know, I mentioned our age, and we don’t feel old. I mean, we feel like we’re in our 50s, but, but our wiser change the point that we have four, four funerals in 10 days right now? What’s happening? But the fact the matter is that we need to make sure everybody’s in the right place, going the right direction. And I don’t have one regret of saying I should have talked to them about the Lord every once that happened. Oh, I knew I should have got back. I missed the that God nudged me and I didn’t do it. You? Yeah, and it breaks me. We have these opportunities every day, and I love what, what Peter said to the Thessalonians. He says, So what do I get out of it? I COVID, my words. So what do I get out of it, right? Well, I What would be my rewards? We hear about crowns and rewards. So, so he saw the people that he led to the Lord. He said, so what? So what do I get out of it? It’s you. It’s you. My crown. My rewards in heaven are those I led to Heaven, to Jesus Christ. That’s my reward. What will be your reward when you get to heaven? You want rewards, and get off the bench into the game and start having fun, and the rewards will be innumerable. You can’t stop it. It’s just it now and later, because right now, you’re going to be having the time of your life. Listen to us, and we’ve been through some
Speaker 1 15:54
stuff, both of us, yeah, well, and you said something a moment ago that triggered a thought. When we were brand new Christians, I say it this way, when we were brand new Christians, we did so many things. So right now that we’re educated, mature, been down the road, we do so many things go wrong. Initially, we had an unbridled passion. We didn’t care what people thought of us. We didn’t care what it cost. We had just fallen in love with the King of the universe. What do we care about? Anything else, and we just shared our testimony. We shared our faith unapologetically. Now, some people say, well, but you know, that’s just a testimony. The operative word there is just well, that’s just a testimony in the book of Revelation inspired by the Holy Spirit. John writes this, the enemy is overcome by two things. Number one, the blood of the Lamb. Yes, okay, what could possibly be on the same shelf, the same level as the blood of the Lamb? And he says, the word of our testimony? Yeah, amen. Never, ever, ever underestimate the power of a testimony. It’s not our ability to articulate. Now I try. I was good at grammar. When I speak, I try to speak intelligently. I try to articulate well, I try to use the English language, hopefully with some degree of mastery. But the packaging of the message. Paul said, I’m not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power, not my presentation of it inherent in the message of the gospel. And I don’t mean message as in just words, but the gospel that we preach, that we show, that we demonstrate, yes, that we speak, the power that is inherent in the message itself. Just share Jesus. Just share the Gospel. Share your faith. The power is inherent in that. I believe, when the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwells within us, which every true Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Romans, eight, nine. If you have not the Spirit of Christ, you don’t belong to Him. Now, if you turn that sentence around, if you have Jesus, you have His Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit’s resident within us. I believe that when the Holy Spirit of the only true living God is resident within a physical body, there’s a spillover effect. You can’t just contain it, like, oh yeah, he’s in there. But people know, even without your talking, people know there’s something different going on here. I knew that when I was a sinner, when I lost, there were people that were full of God’s Spirit, love and kindness, and it kind of drove me nuts sometimes, but that was the power of God, and we have that within us then when we can take and articulate that, and please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I believe we must be built on the foundation of the Word of God. Because, yes, it’s kindness, it’s joy, it’s exampleing out. But as you do this, there’s going to be conversations that ensue. There’s going to be questions that will be asked, specific questions we need to be able to give an account to be ready in season and out of season, as Paul said, always be prepared to respond. But when we just come up to people hit him over the head with the Bible, or we got some program or some method, it is, I would say, generally counterproductive. Oh, they just want to see Jesus. Everybody when they really know who Jesus is, everybody loves Jesus. How could you not love someone who’s the absolute embodiment of love, peace, joy, kindness. But they’ve, as we said earlier, they’ve been impacted so often by representatives of Christ who didn’t know how to show the show the love of Jesus. They had an agenda. They were Trophy Hunters. They wanted to rack up another notch on their pistols. You know, rich, it’s just so it’s so wrong. So, yeah,
Barry Meguiar 19:23
just it’s about God. Every day it is about God’s love. And it really is, you know, people say, hey, you know this, people are afraid to share their faith. They’re going to get persecuted, and all this stuff. I’ve been doing this since 1973 folks, it’s over 50 years. I’ve never been persecuted, not once. Now that’s going on around the world, but I’m talking to American Christians right now. You know people. They don’t get mad at you when you tell them God loves them absolutely. I don’t point out their sin. I go and I hug them and I let God know God loves them, and I walk. You do it in love. And a couple other quick thoughts, I am more and more being with successful younger, you know, 40s, young people, younger professional Christians that are moneyed, that are supporting great causes, that the thought of leading somebody to Jesus Christ has never entered their mind. They know what they’re doing to support this ministry and that and that ministry has given them a big room at the hotel or on that cruise ship, and they’re celebrating and with their language and their lifestyles all wrapped up into one, they’re feeling so good for doing something for God. And I’m reminded Jesus said to those that said, haven’t I done this in your name as a united part three, I don’t even know who you are. We that the church is being perverted at the highest levels by forgetting what it’s all about and it’s not about and we need to support all those things, of course. But if we’re doing all those things and not and not broken for sohos, we’ve missed the whole point of our existence. Dallas is not always when you’re at the mountaintop. In fact, I have a problem my you know, my biggest impediment is, oh, well, if I had Barry’s company and beautiful wife and cars and I’d be happy to why shouldn’t he be happy? Right? That hurts me. You know, when my most powerful testimony was when my daughter died, yes, when I was in the hospital, they gave me up for dad, they said I couldn’t make it, then my words had power, yes, and you’ve walked this. I mean, I lost Nicole. You love Nicole. We lost her, 49 years of age, a prolific faith share, yep, uh, you Linda was just she was talking about a saint man. And you two had fun together. Yeah, you enjoyed life. You laughed the Fauci of life, but boy, God walked you through the valley for a lot of years. Can you speak to that? And what the impact your lives, naturally, loving God to keep your joy, has had on other people?
Speaker 1 22:11
Yeah, my wife, my wife, Linda. We were married for 54 years. We dated for five years before that, so we knew and loved each other for almost 60 years. She’s the best she’s the best Christian I’ve ever known. She was beautiful outwardly, but even more beautiful inwardly. She battled breast cancer for 37 years. There’s no way she should have lived that long medically, but just by God’s grace, and she really enjoyed relatively good health through all that journey. But she had surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, more chemo, more surgery, more radiation, more scans, more needle pricks. And we could even count, I mean, she’s been through all of that, and always. I mean, right up till the end, had a smile on her face. True joy manifest from within. She’s an amazing woman. You know, I could tell story after story. I could go through all that, but this is the reality of life. Because you’re a Christian doesn’t by any means, mean that. Oh well, you’re not going to have any of the problems that other people do. I’ve never told people, give your life to Jesus and you won’t have any more problems. I’ve told people, give your life to Jesus, you’ll have some brand new problems. Brand new problems. Pick up your cross to go through the problems with you. God does his best work in our worst times that I’m convinced of. Say that again, say that best work in our worst times. He accomplishes his greatest purposes when we feel like we’re just at the bottom of the mountain. You know, life, we talk about mountaintop experiences before, occasionally, God gives us what we might call a mountaintop experience. I’ve been to the top of some mountains. I’m an outdoors person. I’ve been 14,000 feet and higher. It’s always exhilarating. But the reality is, there’s nothing going on up there. There are no elk walking around the top of the mountain. There are no deer up there at 14,000 feet, most of them are down in the valley. The tallest trees grow, the deepest valleys, the greater amount of wildlife is down low. Life is lived in the valley. And honestly, when we go through these times of loss and grief and struggle, the most intimate relationship we ever have with Christ is in the fellowship of His sufferings. It doesn’t get any more real than that. And yeah, that could be persecution, that can be physical things. It can be any number of things. But when we suffer, and God knows what he needs to do, sometimes we’re a little wimpy, you know, we say, well, you know, maybe God allows some of these things. But a good God would really, you know, in His mercy and grace, would never really cause any things to happen. I’d like to point you to isaiah 45 seven, where it says, this is the Lord speaking. I cause the light and I create the darkness. I. Make well being, and I cause calamity. I the Lord God, do all these things. Here again, we have this sovereign God. He will do whatever it takes to get our attention. And we know this from job. You know, here’s the most righteous man on the planet, receives God’s own endorsement. And what does God do? He takes away all his possessions, his 10 children, seven sons, three daughters lose their lives. They’re gone. He’s a physically afflicted. His wife shows up. Says, Honey just cursed God and died. But you know that made a state, but, but Job says, in faith, faith perfected by the sufferings. He says, I know my redeemer lives, and though you slay me. Kill me if you want, yet I will trust you. And I think God got up off his throne and went, Yes, and that’s what God’s up to in our lives. He brings us through some of these valley experiences. It’s all the testing of our faith. It’s bringing us into the closest realm of relationship with Jesus through the fellowship of His sufferings. And this, this life, you know, part of it’s just the older you get, but part of it is the more you understand the grace and the goodness of God, and you’ve walked with him further. This whole life is barely a blip on the radar screen. It’s just here and it’s gone make every moment count. And I look back and I go, I could have done so much more, but I can’t change that. But I can change what happens today when we shut this computer off? I’ve got a mission today as I go out, when I go get the oil changed on my car, which I’m going to do this afternoon, I’m going to look for the young lady that’s going to check me in, and she’s going to tell me if my car is ready or not. Is there any way that I can be a blessing to her? Is there any way that I can move her just a little bit closer to Jesus. I gotta stop get some groceries and things at the drugstore. I mean, it’s just so fun, apart from the responsibility and the call and all, it’s just fun every day. Now, you know what? I’m by myself. My wife is is in heaven. So hey, part of my adventure now is, like I said, I’ve always been a hunter. I love to hunt. Love the outdoors, love the fish, love the challenge. Now I’m hunting for souls. I’m tracking them down the aisles. I’m looking for opportunities. There we go, and it makes my day full and fun. Oh
Barry Meguiar 27:13
my Dallas, we’re out of time. I love you. Brother Rob. Do some more of these, but I would bring us back to Romans. 828, okay? All things yes, yes. The passing of Nicole, our daughter, the the passing of Linda, the bad things in our lives. All things, all things, work together for good, for those who love God and deliver His purpose, His purpose to seek to save the lost. You understand that, folks. But how does that work? How did, how did it work that all things work together for good? And Linda, 37 years,
27:46
yeah, and died.
Barry Meguiar 27:50
How was it my daughter, who went through Teen Challenge, had abuse problems, used those for God’s glory. Let more people the LORD than anybody I know, quite frankly, and we lost her. How? Where’s the good? We have no idea. The good do you know? Good to God is how many people are brought to him or entered into heaven because of those experiences, how many people have followed the ministry of Dallas and Linda home and have loved on them and prayed for them and with them, have witnessed their testimony and their joy to the very end. The Dallas standing up at that funeral were weeping below the Thanksgiving coming out of Dallas at the funeral, and I did it at Nicole’s funeral, 20,000 people watched Nicole’s celebration of life that’s good. A few more moments on Earth that is good, we’ll never know until we get to heaven how God has used the bad in our lives because of how we reacted to the bad, and praise God right on through it, and trust him through it. And that’s what life’s all about. That’s the message that you’re hearing from these two guys. He’s He’s a Texan. He loves to go hit and fish out there. I couldn’t shoot an animal. I’m a businessman. But we are one mind, because we serve one God and we have one purpose. It’s God’s purpose to seek to save the lost. That’s your purpose. Don’t forget that. See you next time. Yeah.
