Announcer: 0:01

It's time now to get the hell out of your life. A weekly broadcast with real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope. Today's show will encourage, inspire and empower you to face life's challenges with a bold confidence and renewed hope. Now let's join our host, ron Myers. The Provider.

Ron Meyers: 0:23

Hello friends, it is so good to be with you today. You know, some of the great experiences that I have had in my life have been outside on the streets talking with individuals about life, about God, about their goals, their plans in life, because there's something about outdoors that there's no inhibitions. People just seem to open up and talk. And today you're going to hear a conversation I had with Greg Greg Peyton in the streets of Ocean Springs, mississippi. I went out, sat down at a picnic bench and Greg, i knew from the gym, decided that he would allow me to ask him a few questions about his new journey with Christ. Here we go, hey listeners, i'm out on the streets, i'm in Ocean Springs, mississippi, and I've got a gentleman. Greg, i think I met you about a month ago. You were going in the gym and you were all excited because you were going to get baptized, not here locally, but going all the way to California. I wanted to find out about that. But first let's tell the listeners a little bit about you. Who are you?

Greg Payton: 1:44

I'm Greg Peyton. I'm a new believer in Christ. I'm a new follower of Jesus Christ and my Lord and Savior. I've accepted Him in my life and I'm very excited. I'm looking forward to what comes next in my life.

Ron Meyers: 1:59

Well, I know you were excited going to California. Why all the way to California?

Greg Payton: 2:03

Well, originally I wanted to go to Jerusalem. Everything I do, i usually want to do it big. All of my hobbies, i go all the way. I'm somebody that goes all the way. I figured, if I do that with everything else, go all the way with Jesus as well. I was going to go to Jerusalem and I figured, well, that would take a while to plan and I would end up going alone. My friends weren't ready to do that. But he told me about Baptized SoCal and I watched Jesus' Revolution movie and I was like, yes, that'll be awesome.

Ron Meyers: 2:37

The Jesus' Revolution movie. I rented out a theater and I gave away tickets. I know exactly what I'm going to do, what you're talking about. I thought when I watched that I would love to go there and get baptized. So that's where you went.

Greg Payton: 2:53

Yes, we, it was about four thousand one hundred of us there that day or more, and It was that pirates Cove and it was amazing, it was a blessing.

Ron Meyers: 3:06

So you said that you were ready to give your life to Jesus. Why did you want to give your life to Jesus? What was going on in your life that you wanted to change?

Greg Payton: 3:15

Well, I had this void in my heart and I never knew what it was That was missing. For my life I made Money more than more money than I can ever dream of making. I've had friends, every hobby I wanted to do I was able to do travel all over the world and still something was missing. I thought maybe it was relationships. It wasn't. I've tried that and And something was missing on the inside and I didn't know what it was.

Greg Payton: 3:44

And one day I watched This play called Jesus on Amazon and it's by South Sight and Sound Theater. I noticed as soon as I started watching it that it was something I need to see, so I kept watching it. I stuck it out. Before you know it, i was just crying at the end of it. I was actually at work watching it and I was a little embarrassed because I was crying there at work in in front of my co-workers. But Honestly, after they're watching that, i thought to myself How can Jesus go through all of this for us And I'm not giving him the time of day? and that was the boy that was missing in my life.

Ron Meyers: 4:24

Wow, what a great story I Can tell when I see you at the gym. You're happy You've got a joy I am.

Greg Payton: 4:33

I'm a lot happier. I I realized that that's what it was I was missing. My entire life had started changing ever since that day. It's a feeling that once you feel it, it's indescribable and it's just pure love it. And now, where did you grow up? I grew up in Elizabeth, new Jersey. I was born here in Mississippi. My mom and dad met in the military and At a young age I had a broken home and my me and my mom. We moved to New Jersey, elizabeth, new Jersey. And what made me actually move here as an adult was Good friend of mine who's basically like a brother to me. He I was really struggling with a bunch of things and a really bad place in my life And he invited me to come here to Mississippi, do you have the joy of the Lord inside you?

Greg Payton: 5:27

Yes, i definitely have the joy. My life is not any Bit boring because I've turned my life to Christ. Actually, just you can include Jesus and everything you do, and one of my hobbies was riding motorcycles. Just get with some friends and pray with each other and include God. Just talk to him and Bring him with you because he's always with you, every minute of every day. He's there.

Ron Meyers: 5:53

What's the biggest things that has changed for you personally Since you accepted Christ?

Greg Payton: 5:59

my biggest thing that has changed, i would have to say, just all of my old habits. Like I used to use a lot of profanity, i don't do that anymore things that are of this world. I guess, having your eyes open to the devil's traps because there's distractions and traps that obviously the devil doesn't want us to, you know get closer to God and to learn the truth. So he's gonna try to stop us every chance we get. But now That I can see the truth, i understand this and I can try to help others, and Definitely myself, not to fall in each trap.

Ron Meyers: 6:37

The truth will set you free. Greg, there is somebody listening that is just skeptical of us Christians. You know they think, wow, that's some cold, that's some bunch of weirdos out there. But what would you tell the sinning, the the non-believer listening right now?

Greg Payton: 6:54

If there's something that's missing in your life, that's what it could be. It could be Jesus, and there's nothing to Lose here from you trying it like if you try this you're not gonna make your life any worse than what it can be right now. You know, give it a try and There's no harm done if you try and if it doesn't work out of us not for you then you've lost nothing. But if you do talk to God and turn your life to him I mean, if we die today and If we had gave our life to Christ, then we get to go to heaven. But if we die and there's nothing then and we're just in an eternal sleep, then we still had a good life. We met so many people, we were seeing people get saved, we watch. We had so much joy in our life and stayed out of these bad places in life, and there's no harm to that.

Ron Meyers: 7:46

You know, you remind me so much, greg, of my story and I spent so many years of chasing dollars and Recognition and I was very good at it. But the more money I made, the bigger the void, the bigger the whole. And I tell people that was 23 years ago And I look back and I'm doing things now I never knew I could do and the things that I thought I was going to do I'm not doing them at all. So what are you up to? What's the goals in your life? at least short-term goals?

Greg Payton: 8:18

Well, my short-term goals? obviously I want to evangelize. I want to get out here and teach people the truth and show them the truth and show them that Jesus is life and that I. I just asked the Holy Spirit when I leave my house to just highlight somebody for me. If someone needs me, i Don't just to use me, to use me to tell them What they need to hear that day, to help them out. Everyone's not going to be saved and that's just something that you know. We just have to pray about it because they have to say they have to make that choice themselves. God gave us free will and they have to make that choice themselves.

Ron Meyers: 9:00

The name of this show, greg, is called get the hell out of your life. So how do you get the hell out of your life?

Greg Payton: 9:09

I had a lot of hell in my life, that's for sure. It's not easy breaking your addictions and old habits. And also, one thing to tell others is it's just because you get your life on the right path and you become saved doesn't mean your struggles stop. That's not true. Like we are all still struggling. It's a daily struggle. Like you're not alone. We struggle. We just pray about it and talk to other brothers and sisters in Christ and go to them for help. But it's a constant struggle. The devil's. He works 24-7. He's not sleeping. He's going to keep coming after us, trying to attack us to get us off our path. And we have to stay firm on this foundation that we take. Have you ever?

Ron Meyers: 9:57

had the thought in your head am I really saved? Can God really use me?

Greg Payton: 10:04

Well, glad you asked, because the day of my baptism I had this thought in my head that that didn't happen, like I wasn't saved, god didn't forgive me.

Greg Payton: 10:19

So I kept thinking that thought and the guy who actually baptized me was baptizing hundreds and thousands of people, right there behind me, following me out of the water, and he knew I needed a word and he was obedient to the Holy Spirit and he came up to me and he's like yes, it's, you're forgiven. And I wasn't saying that out loud, i was just thinking it And you know, because I was thinking it's impossible to be forgiven for everything I've done in my life. And you are, no matter what you've done in your life, you are forgiven and God still loves you and he loves you the same today, tomorrow, you know, since before you were born, he loves you the exact same. He's not going to love me anymore for saving souls, like he loves us the same. So, yes, the devil tries to come in and say you're not forgiven and to keep us down. Is that thought in your head? But that's all it is And you just have to, you know, put your faith in God and know that he is forgiven and that's in his word.

Ron Meyers: 11:20

There's a lot of people walking around now with guilt and condemnation, and I'm glad you brought up the forgiveness, because one thing that isn't talked about enough is that when we come to the cross, that we are totally forgiven I mean past, present and future So God can have us go out and do what he needs us to do without guilt, without condemnation, and we then become ourselves. We become the person he created us to be. You've got the microphone. You're talking to someone. Okay, this is evangelism 101. Greg Peyton on the streets of Ocean Springs, mississippi.

Greg Payton: 11:57

Well, i haven't evangelized yet, but I'm praying about it and I'm working on it. But you know, when I came to God, i was broken. I was broken, i was empty, I was depressed, anxiety, stressed out. I've always felt less, like I'm never great at anything, like I would never amount to be anything, and I didn't know that that was all the devil's work And because God did not create us to feel like that And I had to just submit and give my life to Christ. And once I did that, he showed me, like, how important I am in life and the things that I'm going to do.

Greg Payton: 12:42

And even today, you know, sometimes I still have doubts, you know, and I'd go and I pray about it Because, like I said, the struggles never stop, the devil's always working And you have to put your faith in God. And you know, just like you said, before I sat down I was worried about the ants. Well, i got to have faith that these ants aren't going to bite me, you know, and it's like you have to just really put your faith in God. And it's not easy And that's why you have so many people that you can talk to, whether it be in church or other brothers and sisters in Christ, you got to get plugged in because you can't make that decision and not have somewhere to fall back on. That's very important.

Greg Payton: 13:29

I noticed that I hope, like you know, i haven't not that I know of, i haven't saved any souls yet for the kingdom, but I hope one day just one of the ants will you know, and that will be a blessing. That, if God sees, if he shows me that this happened, that's a blessing for God to do that. But if I don't see it and it happens and it's still, i'm happy regardless. I'm planting seeds and watering seeds And if God allows me to see my blessing happen where I did save someone, then I'd be so excited, thank you.

Ron Meyers: 14:04

Thank you for sharing your story. Do you have a Facebook?

Greg Payton: 14:07

or if people want to send you an email or if you want to talk to me, if you need prayer or you need help, feel free to reach out to me on Facebook or my email. Even my email is Peyton P-A-Y-T-O-N-908 at gmailcom. I would love to help anybody that needs help. Anyone who's struggling like just let me know you're struggling, you're not alone. The devil likes to make you feel like you're alone in this world, that you're the only one going through this, that your life is the worst, like no And you'd need.

Greg Payton: 14:42

Sometimes it's something else attached to you that's making you feel this way, and not knowing that can make you feel so miserable, like we're just, you know, isolated and don't want to go out. Like at one point in time in my life I didn't want to go outside, i didn't want to go inside stores, i didn't want to see my family. I've missed the years of my life without seeing my family and friends. Like you're not alone, and my heart goes out to whoever is feeling like this And I hope that you at least try, you know, to speak to someone about it and get you plugged in.

Ron Meyers: 15:16

Sometimes people don't want to go to a church. They don't want to talk to a guy with a degree and a suit and tie on, But a regular guy like you. I think, Greg, you would be awesome to talk to someone. That email was PeytonP-A-Y-T-O-N-908 at gmailcom.

Greg Payton: 15:34

I just want to let you guys know I am still new in my journey. I am new. I'm learning every day. I do not, i have not read the entire Bible yet, i'm just really new. I'll say about five months in and I'm reading my Bible daily. Now I'm praying daily. I made a prayer room in one of my closets now. So you know like prayer is where we fight the devil. That's how we fight, because God's going to do our fighting. We just have to pray for what we need And just yes, if I can help anybody, please reach out. I have several things that have helped me that I can maybe pass on to you. And, like I said, you don't have to be worried about not knowing as much as someone knows, or that's going to happen. You're never going to know everything. You're never going to be perfect. There's only one perfect and that's Jesus. Like I'm not perfect, but I can help you.

Ron Meyers: 16:29

Amen. It's beautiful folks. If you could see Greg's face and his sincere desire. Sometimes has a new person out there. Those are the best ones to talk to, because you know what. They're just going to be open and transparent and they're not no condemnation, no judgment, just someone to talk to. So his number or his email PAYTON908 at gmailcom. Greg, thanks for taking time for visiting with me today on the hot streets of Ocean Springs, mississippi.

Greg Payton: 17:02

Yes, sir, mr Ron, Anytime, thank you.

Announcer: 17:07

Glory to God. You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 3: 17:18

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Ron Meyers: 18:22

I don't think there's anyone alive that doesn't need somebody something to show them the way, the way to go. We all have a choice. We can choose the Wizard of Oz. We can choose the trees, the moon, the sun. Now, for me, i choose Jesus.

Ron Meyers: 18:43

I have spent the last 20-some years doing the things that I absolutely believed that I was created to do here on Earth, but I only could find the way by asking Jesus the truth, the way in the life. And he said alright, ron, hey, let's follow your path, let's follow your destiny. Now was there a big change? A little bit, not so much in the talent, skills and abilities. I was still using the things God had given me, but now my focus was to be more positive, to have more of a productive life and to share my faith. And the best part of sharing my faith is finding others like Greg on the street and just let them share their faith. You know, if more of us would just have a conversation with people I don't care if it's at the laundromat, it's at a bar, it's at a shopping market we should never be quiet about Jesus. If we have a relationship with him Now, we don't have to be judgemental, we don't have to sit there and try to preach to people Isn't sharing our story and our faith enough? Because if Jesus is who he says he is and the Holy Spirit resides in us, then when we give somebody hope or encouragement or just show them the love of Christ by listening to them, won't something happen there? Won't they see our sincerity and belief? like Greg in the park, he could have stopped anyone that day and had a conversation with them and they would have all said at least one thing That boy's got some passion, he's got some passion.

Ron Meyers: 20:53

I wonder sometimes what's happened to the church. People don't come to church. In fact, churches are losing attendance. They're not Now if there was a passionate church service going on where we were really taught and educated about the finished works of Christ, the grace that Jesus plus nothing, nothing, no additives, is all we need in life for an abundant life, a forgiven life, a life with no guilt and condemnation. Do you know what stops most of the people that I talk to from achieving their dreams and goal? Fear, condemnation, shame. They don't think they deserve it. That's not the gospel message.

Ron Meyers: 21:42

If you've heard anything that doesn't want to make you go, do life in a more fun, more optimistic way, knowing that, hey, i'm going to go and pursue the dreams and the talents that I have. You know, we become almost a very complacent church from my perspective. Well, we go to church, but that's just really about it. We don't affect the culture, we don't affect our neighborhood, our community or anything, because we're just kind of a quiet person until it comes to Sunday. But Jesus is a relationship, and it isn't so much that the evangelism is a goal for me. It isn't because my goal is to share other people's story, but the evangelism is born out of that.

Ron Meyers: 22:42

If we have a passion for God and we should if we don't have a passion, if we don't really understand why we believe what we believe, then what's the point of even going to church or even believing in Jesus? See, that's what happened to me that I just was hearing a lot of rules and regulations in churches, that I had to do something for God to accept me or to open doors for me, and that I was blocking prayer if I had sin in my life. And when I found out that was not true, that Christ is with me, he's for me, i'm totally forgiven, and that he wants to be my life coach, teacher and mentor, i had a whole new perspective. I thought of this show I had a dream of I don't mean a real live dream, but I just had that vision of creating a show where other people would share their stories. Now, if I was living a life of guilt, shame, condemnation, not thought I was worthy of doing anything for the Lord, i sure would have never thought of doing that. I would have said I can't go on the radio, i can't go put podcasts all over the world, i can't do that.

Ron Meyers: 24:03

But with Jesus, he gives us the confidence to do the things we need to do. People aren't happy today, i believe, for one reason because they aren't doing the life that they want to do. Oh, I know they have the happy face and they say all the right words and they shake hands, but it's quietly. They don't tell anyone They're not happy. It wasn't what they signed up for and that is exactly true. You didn't sign up for the life you have. Jesus didn't sign up for the life that you're living and he's wondering how long is it going to take you to get busy and get living, to understand that he's with you, he's for you? and right now you and Jesus could go and do the things that you need to do in your life that not only fulfill you but you share the gospel, the expression of Jesus, through everything you do. You could do that with you and him alone, period. Never walking in a church, never opening up the Bible, nothing, because he gives you everything.

Ron Meyers: 25:11

Now, this is all scriptural. This isn't Ron making this up. That's what he wants. He wants an intimate personal relationship with you. Until you fully have that I believe this until you fully have it, You will not understand the thing I'm saying. But when you get it, when you get it, you're ruined for life because you feel something that you wonder my God, why did it take me so long to feel this way? that really I am loved, that I do matter to this world? Now that's what Jesus does, and only he can. No man, no denomination, no rules, no regulations never can give you what he is desiring to give you a life of peace, purpose and passion. Today is the day to have a conversation with Jesus.

Announcer: 28:34

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