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 promoter.

Rick Osborne’s Global Kids Ministry Story

Ron Meyers 0:21

Hello, my friends. It is so good to be with you today. My name is Ron Myers, and this is Get the Hell Out of Your Life. Real stories, real struggles, and real hope. I love my job sharing stories of faith and grace. And today's title is called What Happens When Jesus Becomes Your Teacher? You're going to hear some things today that, well, you probably have never heard before. You know, most people know the historical Jesus, the stories, they know the religion, and they know the traditions like Christmas and Easter. That used to be me. But something happened when COVID came. COVID closed the churches, but I still wanted to visit with Jesus, so I began a direct dialogue with Jesus. And friends, it's the most incredible thing that ever happened to me. And today I know Jesus as my teacher, my mentor, my friend, my king and savior. He is my life, he is my oxygen, he is my future. He knows my dreams, he knows my insecurities, and he knows my weaknesses. Jesus said, I am the vine and you are the branches. Now the branch doesn't struggle to produce life, it simply stays connected to the vine. Today I'm sitting down with best-selling author Rick Osborne, a man whose work has helped children around the world discover hope through the gospel. His message has been translated into more than 120 languages. Reaching kids in places where sharing the faith can be very difficult. But what Rick shares in this conversation goes far beyond children's ministry. It's a bold and simple conviction. Every believer has equal access to Jesus as teacher. Rick spent years allowing Scripture to become a living classroom, inviting Jesus to teach him directly. And what he discovered is something available to every believer. Guidance when you need direction, peace when panic tries to take over, and quiet courage when God asks you to take a step of faith. So if you have ever felt like faith is something you are supposed to perform, or you have wondered if Jesus really speaks in everyday life, today's conversation may change how you see everything. Let's jump in. Well, listeners, walking through the National Religious Broadcasting Convention, I met this dynamic man that loves Jesus as much as I do, and that's a lot.

Rick Osborne 2:57

His name's Rick Osborne. Hi, Rick. How are you? I'm doing great. It's good to be here at the NRB. And it was great to run into you. Well, you and I have something in common. We love Jesus.

Ron Meyers 3:06

Absolutely. And I have a podcast called Get the Hell Out of Your Life, where I interview people that share their God stories. And from what I understand, you have a pretty good God story, and then you've written books that have sold millions of copies. So, Rick Osborne, what's your story?

Rick Osborne 3:23

Well, yeah, I've my books have sold, I've had over written over, written or co-written over 60 books, and they've sold over 10 million copies worldwide. And that's just the ones that have sold, not the ones that have. I did a book a lot of people know called The Most Important Story. I helped create that and produce that. Samaritan's Purse uses out. It goes out with the children's shoe box kind of thing. Operation. Operation Blessing, yes. So the material that goes out with that all around the world. So I think it's now a hundred million copies have gone out around the world in 120 different languages and dialects. So that's it. All because God placed an idea in your heart. Well, and because again, and then like someone came alongside you, Samaritan's purse, to help you. Exactly. It wasn't Samaritan's purse, but it was eventually Samaritan's purse. Oh, eventually. Eventually Samaritan's purse. And the key was, and what you're saying, the key was knowing Jesus. The key is knowing Jesus because you you wake up every morning and that's your connection. That's who you are with. That's who you're in. That's who's in you. That's what your life becomes all about. It isn't Jesus, isn't it? And I like to say it this way, it's not a life burger with a side of Jesus fries. It's Christ in me and me in Christ. It's every part of life is with him and walking with him.

Ron Meyers 4:39

I say it's we need oxygen to breathe. Jesus is my oxygen. And when I do life with Jesus, it's amazing some of the things that happen in my life, the thoughts I get, the people I run into. And I believe that if more people did life with Jesus on a daily minute basis instead of once a week in a building, they'd find a whole lot of different things in their life.

Rick Osborne 5:03

What do you think? Well, that's exactly it. And that's how that happened. That book that that documented has millions and millions of children that have given their lives to Jesus around the world. That happened because I was up talking to Jesus and he gave me that idea. Well, what's the idea? What's the book? Well, the idea was a booklet with really good artwork. Back then, that was a while ago. Back then, you know, the Iron Curtain was coming down and everybody was rushing to get Bibles into every country in the world and you know, to Russia and everything like that. And my thing was, who's doing something for the kids? That's what was on my heart. I had young kids, and who was doing something for the kids? And what as that was in my heart, I knew the Lord put that, and I started praying about it. And I saw this booklet, this booklet that would tell the gospel story around the world. And we worked with organizations in a way to tell that and write that and show the like the animated kind of pictures in a way that no one culturally we want to offend anybody. Like there was one scene at first where the Bible was on the floor, and I said, No, you don't do that. You don't do holy books on the floor for some countries, right? So we had that all changed. And when that booklet was finished, and that was a it was a gift. I mean, we did that for like I had a production company, we did that as a gift to go out to the children of the world. And that thing, when it it first hit, it just went crazy. I remember getting the call. I was locked up in a room trying to write another book in a hotel room because I needed some time away just to get that thing done. And I got the phone call about that because they were also putting it in the underground churches, giving them the files so that they could print it and do parties and stuff like that among the kids. And I got this call, and I think it was something like one of the first calls I got about this, that they had done this party, and I won't name the name of the country, but in this communist country, they'd done this street party during one of their regular festivals and stuff like that. And just that first time around, a hundred, more than a hundred thousand children had given their lives to Christ. Wow. And it's like I remember weeping in my hotel room, just thanking the Lord I was able to share in something like that, that so many more people would come to know Jesus.

Equal Access To Jesus’ Voice

Ron Meyers 7:10

You know, I thank God for a convention like this. You're from British Columbia, Canada, I'm from Mississippi. We would never meet each other unless it's at a convention like this. Now, there are people listening to this podcast, this radio show now that they wish they could have that intimacy with Jesus we talk about. They wish they could come up, or they pray maybe, that they could come up with a book idea. What would you tell someone that is skeptic about Jesus and says, well, that Rick, he was just, God liked him more than he does me. What would you tell that person?

Rick Osborne 7:43

And I get that all the time. It's like, well, Rick, you're a pastor. Rick, you're a teacher, Rick, you know, you know, you run a Bible school. You're, well, well, of course, God does that with you. No, that's not it. That's not it. If you're a pastor or you're a teacher, it doesn't matter what title you have, you are still a child of the living God. You are a person who walks with and in Christ Jesus. All it means is if I'm a teacher, I'm supposed to do it first, then turn around and show you how to do it. He's not giving me a special relationship with him. You cannot get a more special relationship with Jesus than you already have. Amen. And so it's our job as teachers, whether we have a podcast or a school or whatever, or we write books, it's our job as teachers to point people to Jesus. So you can hear Jesus' voice because he said you can. You have a passion for Jesus.

Ron Meyers 8:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He doesn't show. It shows. So for someone out there that doesn't know you, and they say, Well, who is Jesus to you, Rick?

Rick Osborne 8:43

What would you tell them? Everything.

Ron Meyers 8:45

Everything.

A Decade Of Jesus Teaching Scripture

Rick Osborne 8:45

Everything. I'm gonna back up and tell you a story, okay? Okay. Do I have time for a little story here? Yes, absolutely. Okay. And this will show you the heart of this. About 15 years ago, I had millions of books sold all around the world. I was on all of the, you know, the Christian radio shows and TV shows and all of that kind of stuff. And I had a vision. I was just spending my normal time in prayer, and I had a vision. And Jesus, in a vision, walked into the room, and he very nonchalantly, calmly, you would think that that happened. You know, Jesus would act like I'm doing something special here. Well, I found out he wasn't, and that's why he acted that way. Very calmly. He said, I'm gonna start teaching you personally and directly from my word from this day forward. And it started that day. So my wife had a name for me because this lasted for 10 years. She called me Weepy Boy because she says I wept for 10 years. Because literally, and I want to make this really clear, he never taught me anything without teaching me from his word. And what he taught me, one of the first things he taught me, is the Bible says that Jesus wants to do this with every one of his kids. You and I were talking earlier on, Ron, about how sometimes we've gotta, you know, we've got to, you know, make sure that we get everybody churched and, you know, well brought up and all of this kind of stuff. Every single one of his children, you've got Jesus in you and with you. He said he would never leave you. Leave you, never forsake you. He wants to actually, you can open the word of God, and I teach people how to do this now. You can open the word of God and acknowledge Jesus, your teacher, with you. Remember, he said, call no one else teacher. You remember he said that? Oh, yeah. And he said to the disciples, the 12, we sometimes say it would be better if we were walking with Jesus, if we weren't the disciples. Jesus said the opposite of the disciples. He said, It's better for you if I go away, because then he can disciple us 24-7 from the inside. And so what he taught me was he wants to do this with all of us.

Ron Meyers 10:32

You know, you've said something there that I've been saying for the last couple years, but I don't say it to many people because, you know, they think I'm a little nutty, but you are exactly right. He wants to tutor us personally because he is the way, the life, and the truth. Who better to give us the truth than Jesus through his word and through his inspiration and encouragement? I tell people that the one thing Jesus wants to do, I think more than anything, to all of his children, he wants to minister to us. He wants to love the hell out of our life. Amen. He wants us to become who he created us to be. The Bible said that he knew what we would do before we were ever in our mother's womb. So doesn't that mean he's got a plan? But if we listen to the world and we listen to all these teachers, then we want to do, okay, that's a good idea. I'll do that. Well, the things that I do now are not because I have to do it, I want to do it. And that's what that personal relationship does. It makes you, you know, give from the heart, a love from the heart, pursue Jesus from the heart. Does any of that make sense?

Rick Osborne 11:39

Absolutely. He he's in us to change us from within. We were born in Adam, like it says in Romans, but now we're in Christ. We have a different nature, and he is our nature. He is the one that we're one with, Christ and us, us in Christ. This is an amazing journey that we've been called on. Wow. So when everybody realizes, and this is what I teach people now, when everyone realizes that the height and the depth and the the length that Jesus wants to go to to be every part, be center with every with you in and re in a relationship with you in every part of your life. When you get that, your whole life changes because you're not walking around thinking, well, oh, I need to talk to Jesus, I'll get to church or I'll do that tomorrow morning. No, you're walking around with the living resurrected Jesus in you. Exactly.

Ron Meyers 12:26

Because what happens if you wake up at two o'clock in the morning with a panic attack or fear and you hear a noise outside, you know, you're gonna call 911. Well, you probably should do that, but I call out to Jesus right away, Lord, give me some peace. Help me get through this. What's going on, Lord? Let me see. And I think if we just treated Jesus as our friend, he's our mentor, he's our teacher, he's our life, he's our peace, he's our shield of our armor of God, is it through him? Everything we need is through him. But I've never heard this preached to me in a church. I talk to people like you and I. How come we found this out and we experienced this? We're not some weirdos, we're not from another planet. Why don't we hear this more in church?

Visions And Guidance Beyond America

Rick Osborne 13:08

I I think that this is the thing, this is the thing that that the Lord is doing in the church now. The whole idea of discipleship, the whole idea that we've made disciples of churches, we've made disciples of denominations, we've made discipleships. We we talk about having mentors and everything like that, and we look to man, but Jesus said, Jesus said that I want to be your teacher. Like even us, like ourselves that are called as teachers, we're small tea teachers. He's the big tea teacher. Our job is to point, point everyone to him and show how they can walk in reality with him, to see visions with him, to see him, to walk with him. Here's something most people don't know. People talk about Paul, right? Paul said again and again and again, I'm not special. You look at what I'm doing and follow Jesus as I'm following Jesus. In other words, he didn't say, I'm an apostle, you can't experience what I experience, right? Right. So, and if you look at all of the recorded, especially in the book of Acts, if you look at all of the times that he was led by God in one way or the other, the Holy Spirit led him, and angel talked to him and everything like that. You know what the number one way Paul was led? Mentioned five times in the Bible, not just one in it at his salvation, Jesus appearing to him, Jesus standing beside him, Jesus appearing to him in vision, Jesus talking to him. The number one way recorded in scripture that Paul walked with God was Jesus walked with him.

Ron Meyers 14:28

You know, I was talking to an evangelist that's overseas, I don't know, about six months ago, and he told me that over in the countries that are predominantly Muslim, that a lot of Muslims, record, record amounts, are coming to Jesus because they saw a vision. Almost kind of like Paul. Why are you perse persecuting me? And they just, because they love Jesus as in a Muslim faith, but they just don't think he was the Son of God. Well, you know, when Jesus shows you up in your life as a vision, he changed a lot of their minds. And this missionary told me that, Ron, you don't hear this in the United States, but there are a lot of Muslims that are converting to Christianity, and Jesus is going to do anything he needs to do, is need to get our attention, to get a relationship with him.

Rick Osborne 15:15

Absolutely. Anias. Yeah. In in the in in the book of Acts. He was the one who was sent to Paul to go and get his eyesight back and to get him filled with the Spirit, right? So he was sent to Paul. And you read the recording of that, okay? Anias, it says a disciple. It doesn't say an apostle, a preacher, a teacher, a pastor. It says a disciple. And it says that Jesus came to him and started talking to him. And if you read the way that Luke recorded that, right, in the book of Acts, it's just normal. He's just talking to him. Talk to him, no, and and and and Anah says, but Jesus, isn't he the guy that's persecuting the Christians and dragging them away and stuff like that? And Jesus basically ignores that and says, No, no, you need to go and see him and tell him what all of what he's gonna suffer. You read that. Luke, who wrote it as a historian, did not put any pizzazz on that because it was normal.

Ron Meyers 16:04

It was normal.

Prayer And Freedom From Striving

Rick Osborne 16:05

Anias didn't didn't put any any, had no like, oh, I'm seeing Jesus, I'm gonna fall. Nothing. It's just normal. And what we need to do as Christians is we've gotten this idea that Jesus is somewhere far away, that he ascended and one day he will come back. He ascended, he'll come back, but it said right in Mark chapter 16, verse 20, it said right there that they said goodbye to Jesus. He said, you know, go lay hands on the sick and all that kind of stuff. And then it said right away there, verse 20, it says, and they started going, preaching the kingdom, the Lord working with them, the Lord working with them, showing, confirming the word with signs, wonders, and miracles following. So he went physically, but he came, that's why, that's why the Holy Spirit's called the Spirit of Christ. Because he came back in us through the Holy Spirit to disciple us, to walk with us, to share with us. I got I've got it, I gotta talk. This gets so exciting. You get excited talking about it, don't you? Well, I love it. If you if you have this kind of experience with Jesus, and then when you know you're weeping for 10 years and he shows you all the way along the way, it's not because I was special. It was because he he needs all of his children to know this. That'll get you excited that every single one of us can walk that way, that every single one of us can wake up in the morning. You're all your listeners can wake up in the morning and they can say, Jesus, I'm here. And they can start expecting him to talk to them.

Ron Meyers 17:26

That's a good segue. I want you to share some hope with somebody listening right now. Maybe they don't believe in Jesus, they've got tired of church. You can talk to them now. They need some hope, they need some encouragement.

Rick Osborne 17:39

Rick, what would you tell them? I would I would tell them so many people are offended with religion. And in some cases, Christianity has been made into a religion. It's it's been the relationship has been taken out of it. But when God created man, he created us to be sons and daughters. He created us for relationship, he created us to be one with him. And in Christ, we're returned to that. We're not returned to church. Church is the building where we're supposed to gather to encourage each other in this relationship. This relationship is the essence of what we were created to be. And no one, no one who enters into a relationship with Jesus Christ and has their sins forgiven and understands that he's right here with you and he wants to guide you in every part of your life, no one will have a need to lose their hope ever, ever again. This is, this is it, all you have to do is cry out, just say, Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I I just want to experience what Rick and Ron are talking about. I want this to happen in my life. Amen. And just invite him in and say, I want my life to, I want you to be my mentor. I want you to be the one that's showing me where to go and what to do. I want to have ideas like you gave Rick. I want that to happen in my life. And as soon as you ask that, you are you are you are embarking on a journey that is going to blow you away.

Ron Meyers 18:56

Blow you away. Absolutely, absolutely. Boy, Rick, what a what an incredible conversation with you. Before we go, I want to ask you a couple things. First, the title of the show is called Get the Hell Out of Your Life. So I'm gonna ask you, Rick Osborne, how do you get the hell out of your life?

Rick Osborne 19:11

You keep your eyes focused on Jesus. Amen. The Bible, before Jesus left, he said, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. All author, all the word there in the Greek is pasta, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. That means somebody doesn't have any.

unknown 19:26

Oh yeah.

Rick Osborne 19:28

Somebody we usually picture with horns. He doesn't have any, but you have Christ in you. So if the enemy is trying to get into your life, all you need to say is use the name of Jesus. You just need to say, you have no right here. Jesus, you've got, and this is a powerful, Jesus is in you, you're in Jesus. Devil has no more right to touch you than he does Jesus. You just say, get out in Jesus' name.

Ron Meyers 19:50

Get out in Jesus' name. One last thing before we go. Will you close us out in prayer? Will you pray for my listeners?

Rick Osborne 19:57

Absolutely. That'd be an honor. Thank you. Father, just for everybody who's listening and will listen to this podcast, Father, I thank you for them. And I thank you that you hold every single one of them in your hand. You've known them since before they were born. You have a plan for them. I thank you that those who have not received you and started to ask you what your plan is, that they would do that now by accepting Jesus into their heart. And I say, I'll say in the name of Jesus, any any kind of force or evil that's trying to hold them back, you let them go in Jesus' name. And Father, those Christians that are listening, I ask you that you would give them a sense of you holding them in your hand and that, Jesus, you would start to disciple them and teach them and love them and show yourself to them in very real ways from this minute forward. And I thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Ron Meyers 20:52

Wow. What a powerful conversation with Rick. One of the things that stood out to me the most was how Rick describes Scripture as a living classroom where the indwelling of Jesus Himself becomes our teacher. That's a very powerful statement. And that is a game changer. Because when you experience Jesus, you begin to find out that Jesus is your teacher, your mentor, your friend, your king, and your savior. You also find out that he's your life, he's your oxygen, he's your future. And when you begin to see Jesus that way, faith stops feeling like pressure and starts feeling like connection. Rick also shares stories of the gospel spreading across cultures with humility and respect. It's a powerful reminder that when we are led by the Spirit of the Lord, doors open, opportunities come our way, we become the hands and feet of Jesus. And this is the most important takeaway of my conversation with Rick. Jesus didn't come to start a religion. He came to bring us into a relationship where He leads our lives. When I return, some action steps so that you can start having Jesus teach you.

Announcer 22:15

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

Speaker 5 22:24

Jesus, Jesus. What do you think of when you hear that name? Jesus, Jesus. Love, life, hope, joy, joy, peace, friend, companion, confidence. The God of the universe lives. He lives in the form of a man. That man is Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him shall have eternal life. Jesus. When you open that door, your life will change. Forever. It came that the world may have life and may have it more abundantly. Ask Jesus into your heart and discover what living is all about.

Speaker 2 23:17

Call 1-888-NEED Him. Today's refreshing word is from John chapter 15, verse 7. Jesus said, If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Ron Meyers 23:36

How do you get the hell out of your life? Get on your knees and cry out to the Lord.

Announcer 23:42

How to get the hell out of your life? Well, yeah, replace it with Jesus. We gotta be born again, born of the Spirit, and that's by trusting Jesus Christ, turning from our sins and trusting Jesus. How do you get the hell out of your life? Oh gosh.

Share The Show And Support

Ron Meyers 23:53

Jesus. Jesus, Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Turn to Jesus. As I close out today's show, I want to ask you a question that I ask believers quite often. If you knew beyond a shadow of doubt that you were forgiven, past, present, and future, and you knew that you were completely secure with Jesus, that he would never leave you, never forsake you, and never kick you out of the family, how would your life change? Every time I ask that question, people pause and say something very honest. They say, Well, I think I could finally relax with Jesus instead of always trying to perform for him. And friends, that's where some people struggle. Because we live in a merit-based world. You've heard the saying, No pain, no gain. Work hard for that promotion. You have to earn the reward, and the big one, prove yourself. From the time we're young, we're taught that everything valuable must be earned. So when people hear about grace, that forgiveness is a gift from God, they sometimes struggle to believe it because their entire lives have been built on working hard and succeeding. But the gospel is not about proving yourself, it's about receiving what Jesus already finished. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus completed the work of salvation, and we have access to God through Jesus. We are not striving for acceptance, we are living from acceptance. And when that truth finally settles into your heart, fear begins to fade, pressure begins to lift, and your relationship with Jesus becomes what it was always meant to be: a connection, a friendship, a vine and branch relationship where life flows naturally. Here's some action steps this week to help you get that mindset of Jesus being your teacher. Number one, start your coffee with Jesus each day with one sentence. Jesus, teach me today, and then expect him to lead from within. Number two, open scriptures expecting guidance, not grind. Read for direction, not mere data. His spirit illumes truth as you go. Number three, think vine and branch, not self-powered. Your role isn't to manufacture life, but to express the life you already share with Jesus. Number four, trade striving for trust. You're not earning love, you're learning to live inside the love you already have. And number five, talk to Jesus as your indwelling mentor and friend and companion. He's with you and in you at every moment to counsel and to comfort. Friends, when you understand what Jesus wants to do with you, you can chill, you can relax, and you can trust him with your life. And then you finally discover that freedom that helps you get and keep the hell out of your life. Thanks for listening. I will be back next week with another Grace Field episode of Get the Hell Out of Your Life available wherever you listen to podcasting. If this episode encouraged you, please share with someone who needs hope. Until next time, this Ron Myers Reminding You, let Jesus be your teacher.

Announcer 27:29

Today's show was produced by Ron Myers Ministries, a listener-supported ministry. For a copy of today's broadcast, please visit our website, thepromoter.org. And would you prayerfully consider making a tax deductible donation so that we may continue to share stories of God's amazing grace with the world? And join us next week for another broadcast of Get the Hell Out of Your Life. Real people, sharing real struggles, and offering real hope.