What I Want

Hello, thanks for watching. I've titled this video, What I Want. This is what

I want, and this is really all I want, and this is why I have a podcast. This is really all

I'm looking for. I just want people to consider what I have to say.

And really, this is part of ministry. You're preaching, you're teaching, you're making application from God's word, and you just want the people to consider what you have to say.

But all too often, what happens, people will just dismiss what you have to say, or they just shoot back with whatever they're thinking.

And if you're in a conversation, as soon as you're done talking, they don't want to consider what you're saying.

They just shoot back with, you know, well, what about this, or you did that, or you said this. So, that's not really helpful.

So, this is what I want. I just want people to consider what I have to say. I think this is a biblical concept.

2 Timothy 2, verse 7. Here's what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy. Consider what

I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. That's what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy.

And that's what I'm saying to you, or my podcast audience. And I know a lot of people who watch and listen.

They are very supportive. And my church, I have the best church. Our church is the best church.

They are very supportive. And I hear about other pastors getting all sorts of grief from the congregation.

And, you know, people complaining. There's, oh man, there's just not enough grace in your sermons, or whatever.

And there's people just griping and complaining about everything the pastor says and does.

I don't have that problem. My congregation is the best congregation. It really is.

So, thank you to them and to people who do support me. And, you know, watch a video or a podcast and you hit thumbs up.

And it's okay if you hit thumbs down. Matter of fact, I'll tell you what. If you hit thumbs down, if you want to hit thumbs down, how about this?

Do it twice. Okay? So, that's totally fine. But all I want is for people to consider what

I have to say. And then think about it. Meditate upon it. Pray about it. That's all

I can really ask. So, this is the title of this video.

Or if I turn it into a Testing the Spirits podcast, I don't know. Either way, this is what

I want. I just want people to consider what I have to say. I don't want to say

I've earned the right or anything like that. Because everyone has the right to speak up.

You know, I'm not up here. Well, I'm a pastor. So, I'm up here and other people are down here.

No. You know what? There's a lot of pastors who... Man. They're way off base. Matter of fact,

I think there are some laymen who are much more reliable than a lot of pastors I know. So, I'm not speaking with some level of authority and I'm up here.

No. You know, I just assume be down here. That way I have nowhere to go but up. Right? It's like Martin Luther.

And I know not everyone likes or agrees with Martin Luther. But, you know, he confronted the

Pope because he had God's Word. And what was the statement that Luther made?

You know, a simple layman armed with the Word of God has just as much authority as popes and councils.

Because we recognize that God's Word is the authority. But still, at the same time, as a pastor,

I do know a little bit about the Word of God. And I'm trying to make application.

And, yeah, this is really all I want. I just want people to consider what

I have to say. But still, after all these years, people are still...

Some people. Not everyone. But some people still are just very quick to dismiss what

I'm saying. Which is kind of frustrating because I think I have somewhat of a good track record.

Let me just go back. Just... And I'm speaking more to the people who are more of the critics and are dismissing what

I have to say. Because I do speak out on issues. I got a call from a church member yesterday.

And he just wanted to call me and say thank you. Thank you for speaking up about things that nobody else is addressing.

And nobody else is talking about. You know, locally. Or, you know, even nationally. There's very few.

Of all the tens of thousands of pastors out there, there's very few who actually address some of these issues head on.

There's a lot on YouTube, obviously. But of all the pastors in the U .S., most are not doing that.

So, I'm just very appreciative of the people who are supportive of what

I'm trying to do. And what other pastors and laymen are doing with testing the spirits and discernment and work like that.

Making application of God's word when it comes to difficult issues. But to those people who are still dismissing what

I'm saying. And they watch my videos anyways. And they are clicking thumbs down. Like I said, click thumbs down twice and that's totally fine.

But here's why I think maybe you could consider...

Let me just make my best argument. And you've heard this before, some of you. But about 10 years ago, there was a church in the area.

Largest Baptist church in the area. Pastor of that church was going woke.

He was going liberal. And it was going pro -LGB and all the rest.

And I saw it. It was plain as day. And I told people, right? Some of you have heard this story before.

And I told people. And they said, oh no, no, no. Mike, you're wrong. That's not true.

This pastor is solid. This church is solid. And well, as of this moment, all of those people who told me

I was wrong. As of this moment, they would all recognize that I wasn't wrong.

Have any of them acknowledged that, apologized? That's not what I'm looking for. I don't want an apology.

I don't... You know, the I told you so's is not what it's about. All I want is you to consider what

I'm saying from now on. Because I was right about that. Everyone told me I was wrong. But I turned out to be right.

And then the next time, it happened a couple years later. There was this other guy, a former pastor, who was just teaching rank heresy.

It was... He was like a neon billboard. You know, blinking. Heresy, heresy, heresy.

It was the most obvious example of heresy I have literally ever seen in my life.

Anywhere. You know, locally or worldwide. It doesn't matter. It was so obvious. And yet, when

I brought it up at a pastor's meeting in front of 14 other pastors,

I was told, Mike, you're wrong. No, he's a good brother. You're wrong.

And, yeah. Again, today, everyone knows that I wasn't wrong.

So, I was right then. I was right the next time. Let's throw in one other event.

Remember 2020? Yeah, 2020 when the lockdown started. Okay, everyone needs to shut down their church.

I didn't shut down my church. There were three of us pastors in the area. Three churches in the area that didn't shut down.

We were all told we were wrong. I was wrong to keep it open. I was wrong to hold services.

You're putting people at risk. And it's like, well, if they want to stay home, they can stay home. But I'm not going to tell people they can't worship

God. That ain't right. Oh, what you're doing is wrong, Mike. Well, I stayed open.

And I told them. I'm like, you don't see what's going on here. We're being lied to.

The government is using this. And they have this other agenda here. And, oh, yeah.

The rolling of the eyes. Oh, is he a conspiracy theorist? And again, you know, we didn't close our church down.

Other churches, they did close down for months and months. For that year, 2020, it was me and these two other pastors.

We had a pastors meeting at the time. The three of us continued to meet in the spring and into the summer.

While all the other pastors were sheltering in place, we were continuing to meet.

And we were the bad guys because we didn't close down our church. And even when some of these other churches, even though they closed down for months and months, even when they started to reopen like a little bit, you had to call an elder and get an appointment and get assigned seating like you were in third grade.

I mean, they treated people like they were children. But, again, we said no.

And we thought we're being lied to. There's something else going on. But, again, I was wrong.

These two other pastors were wrong. We were terrible. Fast forward to today, 2024, in November.

All those people who said we were wrong would now say, yeah, we were being lied to.

And it's like, you know, how many times do

I have to be told, no, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, before you at least consider maybe, maybe

I'm right. Again, I'm not expecting people to agree with me. I'm not expecting people to think that I'm always right.

Matter of fact, if somebody thought I was always right, that he, Mike can do no wrong.

Nobody thinks that, okay? Because I'm human, I'm fallible. If somebody did say that,

I would think they're flattering me and they're just not being honest. So I'm not expecting anyone to always agree with me.

But, again, what's the title of this video? What I Want.

All I want is for people to consider what I have to say.

You know, I think I deserve that. I think any person deserves that.

Unless somebody is just a known liar. Unless somebody cries wolf so many times they've totally discredited themselves.

I think every human being deserves to be heard. I think you deserve.

I think everyone deserves to be heard that people would at least listen to what we say and consider.

How do you like it when you speak up and people just totally dismiss what you're saying? Yeah, you don't like that.

It almost devalues you as a human being when people just totally refuse to listen to anything you have to say.

One more example. Going back to one of these previous examples of that guy who was teaching heresy.

Well, he had a cult and there was this other guy that was being promoted by all these different churches.

His ministry was being promoted by these different churches. And I told one of the people promoting him.

I said, this guy's attending this cult. You know, this other guy from this church, worship lead, he's attending this cult.

And him and his wife defend this cult. And this guy doesn't believe in this basic teaching of Christianity.

And, oh no, Mike's wrong. Same old thing. Totally dismissed what

I had to say. I'm wrong. Well, we got together and we had a talk.

And what came out of that? This guy basically acknowledged that he didn't believe in this basic doctrine of Christianity.

And him and his wife defended the cult. Just like I said. But, again, I was wrong.

And even though I was basically proved right in that meeting, the other guy was like, well,

I don't agree with everything they're saying. But, you know, he's a brother. They're all good brothers.

And just, yeah, it is frustrating. But, again, why am

I doing this video? I just want to be clear. I'm not looking for everyone to agree with me.

I do not have any thoughts that people just have to listen to what

I have to say. That is not what this is about. People disagree with me all the time.

I disagree with other people all the time. That's life. Get over it. That's totally fine.

God's word is the authority. No one has to conform to what I say. We all, though, should conform to what

God says. So, if me or you or anyone else is upholding the word of God and saying, thus saith the

Lord, and we're making application to, you know, a real -life situation, people should listen to God's word.

And, really, again, all I want this. I think you get the idea of what I'm trying to say. But this is all

I want. 2 Timothy 2, verse 7. The apostle Paul says to Timothy, Consider what

I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. My friends, and to a few of my critics who watch my videos anyways.

But, you know, this is really all that I want. I just want people to consider, at least consider, what

I'm saying. That's it. Alright, thanks for watching. And until next time, may the