Interview with Beau Gallagher - 2302

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Jesus worthy. Revelation twelve, verse eleven. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Welcome to by the word of their testimony. And here is your host, Casey Kirka. Hello and welcome. So glad you could join on the program today. We have a special guest with us here in the studio. This is Bo Gallagher. [00:01:00] Speaker B: That's it. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Thank you so much for coming to share. [00:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah, no worries. Yeah, it's good to be here. [00:01:06] Speaker A: Yeah, very good. Very good indeed. I think I saw you for the first time. We didn't actually talk the other week, but for the first time the other week, I saw you and you were at church and being welcomed into membership. [00:01:18] Speaker B: Yes. [00:01:18] Speaker A: By profession of faith, which was very inspiring to see that as you were agreeing to all of those things. [00:01:25] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a big day for me. Yeah, it was just as good as my baptism, I would guess. But I felt like I was home. I felt like, yes, I've got a church and I'm settled now. I can start my own ministry to some degree. Yeah, it was a good day. [00:01:42] Speaker A: Beautiful. Yeah. You felt the sense of the family and support all around you. [00:01:47] Speaker B: Yes, it is a good church for that, too, and that's something I prayed on for a while about, is having that kind of family kind of church. Yes. I'm very happy with that. [00:01:59] Speaker A: That's good. So that's a real blessing for you in your life at the moment. So tell me a little bit more then, and tell our listeners as well a bit more about where you come from. Where were you born? Are you Australian, for example? [00:02:13] Speaker B: Yes, I'm australian. I was born in Bankstown, in the middle of. Yeah, in the middle of Sydney, I should say. Yeah, I've kind of been there all my life. I grew up in Chester Hill, which is like South Granville, in between Parramatta and Bankstown, but, yeah, in Bankstown hospital. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Wow. So that's where you started out and most of your life you've lived in that area? [00:02:46] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely the majority of it. I haven't been there for a while, but, yes, the majority has been in a Sydney and western Sydney kind of area. [00:02:58] Speaker A: Okay, so tell me then, a little bit about what was home like for you. I know you mentioned about being baptized before and all of these things. When you were brought up, were you brought up in a christian environment? [00:03:12] Speaker B: No, it wasn't a christian environment. I gather my idea of God was more likely in line with a Catholic God. And earlier on, or in primary school, we still had scripture classes then, and we still kind of had the cane then, too. So we had that sort of army Catholic kind of pastor that would sort of portray that kind of energy to a God. And the doctrine was weird, too. I found no peace in Jesus with that kind of doctrine from an early age because of the hell message and how much that was kind of drilled into what we were taught at. [00:04:05] Speaker A: So I guess what I'm hearing you saying is that perhaps because of those influences, the picture of God that you had as a child was one that was quite stern and harsh. Would that be right? [00:04:14] Speaker B: It was one that I couldn't reach this God, yes. And I felt like there was no way of repenting to anything because it sounded like a really cruel God that I didn't want to know. To get to know the real God eventually has been a total blessing. [00:04:41] Speaker A: Yeah. And quite a transforming journey for you because you've switched from thinking that God is distant, perhaps harsh, maybe cruel, especially with the idea of hell coming into it. And you wouldn't have been attracted to follow a God like that, would you? [00:04:58] Speaker B: No. Yeah, it's a funny message. It was a weird message to try and teach year ones and twos and up to year fives and things like that. It was a funny doctrine to put on kids at home. My mum grew up in went to a Catholic college too, with the nuns and that, and she didn't want to talk about it. So that's how bad it was for her at college. She won't even go there about what the nuns done to her. That image of God was just something I didn't find comfort in at all. [00:05:43] Speaker A: Yeah. So that was your childhood sort of experience, primary school experience, conception of God. What happened when you came to say your teenage years? Did anything change then? [00:05:58] Speaker B: When I got to u seven, at that stage, I was hanging around the wrong people. Of course. I didn't feel safe at home, so I felt safe with a peer group and unfortunately, it was the wrong kind of peer group. But I did have a friend that is an Adventist and he planted a seed in me of a different God. That was quite surprising, actually. And yeah, he's still in my life today, but that's a story we'll get into. But he planted that seed early, which was bible based. He taught me in the subtle steps, taught me how God really is through the Bible and exactly what that meant. It was the only kind of denomination I had that actually explained them things to me about what that Bible actually means. There was no other denomination any time in my life that could explain anything to me about the Bible. So, yeah, that was a blessing from year seven upwards. [00:07:18] Speaker A: Wow. So that was like a little part of something new in your life where God was drawing you to a different understanding of himself. [00:07:26] Speaker B: Yes. And that seed flourished into something awesome. [00:07:31] Speaker A: Wow. So take me through that process. Like, you had that seed. How long did it take for that to flourish? Was that a while? Was that sitting dormant for a bit or did it just bit by bit start to grow? What did it look like in your life? [00:07:47] Speaker B: It probably took up until like 2007, until I started going, until I first went to an Adventist church and started actually getting in depth with prophecy and stuff like that. And then logically understanding that God is real through that prophecy and that sort of changed everything by that stage. To understand logically that there's evidence that you can't dispute through prophecy, it's pretty compelling. Yeah. That I hope to share to other people eventually when I learn how to teach that myself. But God's awesome like that. He's given us a message through prophecy that you can't dispute if you understand it. [00:08:41] Speaker A: So how did you come from whatever setting you were in high school, you had the seed planted. How did you come to the point where you came into a church and learned all about prophecy and were amazed and grew in your knowledge of there? Was there anything, any circumstances or any stepping stones along the way in that period that led you to this place of seeking more? [00:09:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Like how I was saying about having the wrong influences. I'll tell you my dark story now. Home life was, I just didn't feel safe at home. Mum and dad tried their best in their own way. My brother was horrible, but he was a cruel kid. He's a bit older than me, but he took a lot out of me and he'll be the first to admit that now. It's not like I'm saying anything that is going to out of line to him. He took that on later on in life. He's kind of my biggest supporter now. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Wow. [00:09:53] Speaker B: I led into drugs and things quite early. Like, I was smoking cigarettes when I was ten because I thought that's what you did when you grew up, because mum and dad smoked like chimneys and I just thought you smoked when you grow up, you grew up. But I started at ten and I was selling speed and stuff at like 16, at strip clubs and on heroin by 17. But I've been trying to get off this stuff from my early, from my late teens, just trying to get off all this stuff for years and being institutionalized and in mental hospitals, like, five rehabs. By the time I was 24, I met my son's mum in a rehab. And she's doing good now. She's like a doctor now, but she hasn't got Jesus. It's been one rocky journey, to say the least. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Definitely. So you'd come from quite a patch where it sounds like you knew that you didn't want to be in that place. But it was a big struggle to come out of that. What did that look like for you? Moving into a new place, away from that space of drugs and that whole environment? [00:11:26] Speaker B: When I was trying to do it my way or someone else's way, it just didn't work. It just felt like I was banging my head against the same brick wall for years and years and years. It led me into jail as well, but through my mental health, got me there. I wanted to end my life. Like, I had to end up having another relationship in Melbourne. And she was very abusive, physically and mentally abusive. And it was just an awkward place to be when you're in your thirty s and you're dealing with a woman that wants to hurt you. I guess I had to leave her. And when I left her, I come back. She lived in Melbourne, but I didn't know anyone there, so I couldn't go and reach out to anyone for help or anything. I had to leave her and I had to leave the state to do it. [00:12:40] Speaker A: Wow. That was a huge step for you. [00:12:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a huge step. But I had a son with her, and so I've left another child and in an awkward kind of situation, and I didn't handle that very well at all. Yeah. So I ended up breaking into a chemist to try and kill myself, taking all this medication, and ended up in a coma and woke up under police guard in hospital, like, three days later. And they threw me straight into maximum security jail. It's a horrible place to be when I didn't want to be here. And then I got thrown in the worst place you could possibly be. It was interesting time. [00:13:42] Speaker A: So that would have been a huge lot of, like, those circumstances would have been a huge thing to process for you, because you were trying to move away from a circumstance that you had mixed feelings about anyway. You wanted to be there for your child, but you had this relationship that was really troubling. Trying to move away from that and the way you went about that wasn't really helpful in the end. And you now found yourself in an even more restrictive sort of environment. [00:14:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:16] Speaker A: What was going through your mind at that stage, once you found yourself in the prison. [00:14:22] Speaker B: I wish I had God in there. I was going to church in jail, okay. I don't wish it on my worst enemy. It's a horrible place. Some people actually like it. I don't know why they like it. I gather they're just career criminals. But when you lose all freedom, when you're getting your meal kicked in by the people that work there, picking up your meal off the ground every day just to eat and stuff, it was just very degrading. And I got beaten up really bad in there too, just because I didn't have a sugar bag or something, and I got made an example of over just a teaspoon of sugar. [00:15:17] Speaker A: Wow. [00:15:22] Speaker B: A lot of people find God in jail, and I gather I went back to him, but I went back to him for the wrong reasons. I went back just for just a bit of safety and just to get out of cell. It wasn't a relationship. I didn't turn to him for comfort in a really bad situation. I gather. I'm confessing that to him now to some degree, which is good. I feel that was a missed opportunity or, like, an opportunity he wanted me to take at the time, I guess. [00:15:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you think that your response in that situation where you didn't turn to God in that time of need, do you think that had anything to do with the picture of God that you had in your mind from childhood? [00:16:15] Speaker B: No, because the seed was planted at school about, like, adventism I knew was where I wanted to go anyway. I just knew that they were the remnant church by that stage, I gather I was still rebelling to some degree with God, just, like, thinking I can't even have a relationship, and I was either rebelling or running from him. I'll gather both. I was still in that kind of headspace where I didn't know where to go still. I spent my 40th in jail. Every milestone age I've had, like, when I was 18, I was in a rehab. When I was 21, I was in a rehab. When I was 40, I was in jail. It just got monotonous. This is me trying to do it my way, where it led me, without God, without relying on him for everything which you need to do. It's just like my life now is so different. Where my strength comes from is so more grounded. Thank God for everything he gives you. [00:17:43] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So all through this time, since you were in the early days of high school, when you had the seed planted that you talked about from an adventist friend, it sounds like you've been through this real rough journey all the way along, but through it all, in the back of your mind, you know, where that seed was planted is where the truth was and where you needed to head. Would that be correct? [00:18:06] Speaker B: Definitely. [00:18:07] Speaker A: That was that presence in your life all the way through that, you knew that you somehow need to get back to there. [00:18:16] Speaker B: All of a sudden, there's a God I can talk to, and all of a sudden there's a relate, there's a loving relationship, a God that's running to you with a cloak of salvation and doesn't want to let you go. This is such a different message. It's like the opposite message. It's hard to explain that, like going from God, thinking that they've put you here just to torture, and then a God into a God that wants to, that's just been fighting all along to get your back. [00:18:53] Speaker A: It's total different motive, isn't it? [00:18:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:56] Speaker A: And a transforming picture of God when you see that contrast. Yes, it's amazing. And the love that is shown when you think that God is actually there because he wants to help you, he wants to bring you to a better place. [00:19:12] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:12] Speaker A: It's an amazing thing to be able to grasp that. So you were in this place in prison, you had mixed feelings, felt like you were sort of rebelling, running away from God. You're in there because of some poorer choices. Where to next? Where did your life journey go from here? And how did it come around to the point of actually seeking that truth, seeking to understand and come closer to that seed that was planted back when you were in high school? [00:19:48] Speaker B: Well, still, me being stubborn as I am, it took Nellie to me dying a miserable, lonely death. Before I went to jail, I was happy to die. And then after jail I was thinking, I'm going to die now because I'll go back a little bit. My health was declining quite a bit after jail. I had to do twelve months of parole at my dad's house. So I was looking after him a bit and doing my parole thing. But my health was declining quite rapidly and I started drinking again. And I developed this pancreatitis, which was like the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. And it was quite bad. So they'll tossing up whether to take it out and all this stuff. And I was in the hospital for a week and they put this ketamine in me. Just makes you for a whole week. And I got over that. And then a year down the track, through that, I developed this diabetes, which is like a type one diabetes because my pancreas, they said, was pretty much ruined, so it couldn't produce insulin. So I ended up developing this type one diabetes. Since I've been smoking since I was ten, all of a sudden I started to coughing up blood and I was like 120 kilos, really overweight and I couldn't even walk 10 meters without thinking I was going to have a heart attack and coughing up blood. This got me really concerned because my mum died of pancreatic cancer at that stage, like twelve years before, and she had the same kind of symptoms, me having pancreatitis and then now coughing up blood. It just felt like I'm going to die like my mum. [00:22:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:10] Speaker B: It just took that. It just felt like God's telling me to choose him or you're just going to die alone and miserable. That's where I had to go to. [00:22:24] Speaker A: Wow. So it took all of those circumstances, plus your health being totally out of hand. Well, to get you to the headspace of, yeah, I'm going to die alone or I'm going to have to seek God. Yeah, I'm so in that moment, obviously, you made a choice and where did that take you? [00:22:51] Speaker B: I can remember this day. I had this feeling of doom. I didn't even want to tell dad I was sick because I didn't want to worry him because I just remember it's coughing up blood in the morning and I'm just going, what am I doing? That whole day? I'm just thinking, what am I doing? What am I going to do? What do I want? I just started having them deep thoughts again that I sort of blocked out for years. Then I prayed like I never prayed in my life. I just got on my knees and I haven't got on my knees for years and just said to God. [00:23:34] Speaker A: Just. [00:23:34] Speaker B: Give me a fighting chance. That's all I asked him, just give me a fight and chance. [00:23:38] Speaker A: Give me. [00:23:38] Speaker B: Because. Yeah. [00:23:39] Speaker A: Wow. [00:23:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:40] Speaker A: That was your prayer? [00:23:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:41] Speaker A: But that was right from the heart in that situation. [00:23:45] Speaker B: Yeah, very much so. [00:23:47] Speaker A: Wow. And what happened after that? How did that change things? [00:23:52] Speaker B: Everything changed and God just went, okay, let's do this. If this didn't happen to me, I would not believe this stuff. And I'll gather this while I'm here telling the story to some degree. So my friend that planted the seed rings me up out of the blue. I haven't talked to him for ages and his name is Peter. I'll give him a shout out and he's like, what's the matter? You sound down. I said, well, mate, I don't think I'm going to be here for much longer. And, yeah, I was crying and stuff, and he's like, oh, yes, you are. And he goes, all right. He goes, bo, can you just do what I tell you to do? And I said, man, yeah, I've chosen this. I'll do exactly what you're telling me to do. And so he brought me this, like, $500 juicer. And he's like, going, just put whatever. He didn't want to go too hard on me about ingredients and that, but he just says, just get some vegetables and fruit and just eat, or just drink this for, like a week. I'm going to pray. You pray for yourself. And I'll contact through the day and just sort of nurture me for that week. Yes, man. Within a week, I did not need insulin. [00:25:28] Speaker A: Is that right? [00:25:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:30] Speaker A: And you had type one diabetes and you did not need insulin? [00:25:33] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:33] Speaker A: That's amazing. [00:25:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I still got the book. I'm writing in the book going, because my sugars were going low when I was. So I thought, oh, I'm going to have to pull back, like, a lot of insulin here. So within a few days, I ended up only. I took out all my daily insulin, which I have with meals, and I just had the long lasting one that I have at night, and even that was too much. So now I'm saying, what's going on? What do you mean, I don't need insulin? Like, God, you just heal me like that. And, yeah, he did. I've been going to doctors, the doctor that, or the specialist that told me I was a diabetic, that told me I was a type one and initially diagnosed me, done her test with me and only see her every six months. So this came up. I'm jumping ahead a bit here, and she says, I'm not a diabetic anymore. And it's the same specialist like that. Yeah, I'm not a diabetic now because apparently my pancreas healed itself and it's not supposed to do that either. [00:26:54] Speaker A: No, especially for type one. Usually they say those little eyelets that are producing the insulin, once they die, that's it, there's no more. [00:27:05] Speaker B: So now my pancreas has miraculously healed itself. And that's all they could tell me. They couldn't deny it either. And they've been broken and prodding me for my. They were broken and prodding me for my coughing up the blood. They couldn't find anything wrong with that. Like all of a sudden, that stopped. [00:27:24] Speaker A: Oh, really? [00:27:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:25] Speaker A: So that was cleared up. This is by the end of that week, is that right? [00:27:28] Speaker B: Yeah, a little bit later with the. Because actually, no, the blood coughing stopped instantly, but the test were two weeks later. That's all. [00:27:43] Speaker A: Okay, I see, yeah. So by two weeks later, you had it verified, but you had already experienced a change in your symptoms. [00:27:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:50] Speaker A: Wow. [00:27:51] Speaker B: But then within a month, I've stopped cigarettes or God just took them off me because I've been trying to get off cigarettes all my life and God just says, just do it my way. Just don't go on any nicotine replacements or nothing and just pray. And I haven't had any urge. This one's a big one for me because I never thought I'd quit cigarettes. [00:28:18] Speaker A: Never such a stronghold in your life. [00:28:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I was like my mum, like her kind of addiction kind of ways. And she couldn't quit too. And she pretty much died of that with the pancreatic cancer. She had lung cancer as well. To not have the urge at all to smoke anymore is a miracle in itself. Yeah, it is. And then within that month, I stopped drinking. And also within that month, I stopped taking all my medication. I don't need any of my medications. I was on like a list of 13 regular medications, like more than my dad. [00:29:00] Speaker A: Wow. [00:29:01] Speaker B: And one of them was called cerequal. It's like antipsychotic. I was on 2200 milligrams of it. It's a huge dose. And I've been on that pretty much all my adult life. Don't need that. Or antidepressants. I've been on them since I was 16. Don't need that anymore. My heart medication, like blood pressure and cholesterol medication, don't need that anymore because of me diet. So, yeah, everything is gone. [00:29:40] Speaker A: Wow. So you had the week of juicing? [00:29:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:29:43] Speaker A: Then did you have a diet change. [00:29:45] Speaker B: After that as well? Yeah, I stopped eating meat because I was just a carnival all my life as well. So now I'm trying to be a full vegan. I'm still working on the vegan thing, but I'm fully vegetarian now. And that helps so much, even. [00:30:12] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So within a space of, at the most, two or three weeks or something, you've seen all of these huge changes. You've been able to drop your medications, you miraculously now don't have type one diabetes, you're feeling better, you've got yourself onto a better diet. So much has happened. [00:30:35] Speaker B: Yeah. In three months short time. In three months, I lost 40 kilos. [00:30:40] Speaker A: Okay. I was wondering about your weight as well that three months, 40 kilo. [00:30:45] Speaker B: That's very bad. [00:30:48] Speaker A: That's fantastic. Wow. And you would have felt a lot better after that. I'm guessing your energy levels improved, is that right? [00:30:55] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Now I'm trying to jog. Ten K's a day. I'm putting that in my day now. I'll do a 4K walk on the beach in the morning and spend that with God. It's so good. And recently praying with my church brothers and sister sisters at like 530 in the morning. It's the best way to start your day with God and with your church brothers and sisters. [00:31:24] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:31:25] Speaker B: It's just such a better life. [00:31:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:30] Speaker B: Just walking four k's in the morning and trying to do another four in the afternoon and another little one at night, it's worked wonders. Exercise. [00:31:42] Speaker A: So just to dwell a little bit more about this point where you had all of these big changes really quickly, you prayed the prayer, God, just give me a fighting chance. And it sounds like he came through fighting hard for you. [00:31:56] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:31:57] Speaker A: Healing and restoring and re giving you a new lease in life with your health, which was really weighing you down at the time and what was going on. Once you've had a few weeks or a month or two of this and you're seeing all of these changes, what's going on in your mind between you and God? [00:32:19] Speaker B: I've been on fire since then. It hasn't gone out even a little bit. Like, yeah, he's. He's just blessed me so much. Like, like, yeah, it hasn't changed. Like, I got baptized within a month and a half, like, or on the 20 eigth of December. I was baptized last year. That's the first thing I wanted to do. I said, baptize me now, Lord. [00:32:48] Speaker A: So as in you were baptized within a month and a half after you had this change with your whole life being transformed. Wow. [00:32:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:57] Speaker A: So you wanted to just give your life to God just like that. You're all in for it. [00:33:02] Speaker B: What else am I going to do? Like, he healed me for a reason. I can't go back to my, like, my life's dead. Like, I was. I was on the verge of dying anyway. So the way I look at it is that God healed me because this is his life anyway. Do it with me. What? He will just sign me up for anything to do with the Lord. I'm in on it. That's what I'm trying to do, is just fill my day with as much things as I can do for him because of everything he's done for me. [00:33:35] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. He's given you a new lease in life, really, hasn't he? Yeah. And so where you mentioned earlier in our discussion here about prophecy, did you learn about the prophecy and everything after your health experience or was that something before? [00:33:55] Speaker B: Well, I used to go to Cabramata Church, Adventist church in 2008 and nine, and I was doing a bit of Bible study then. That's when I first went to an Adventist church. [00:34:05] Speaker A: Okay. [00:34:05] Speaker B: And then fell off. But that's when I first learning study. And you know Walter Vait? Yeah, he's on total onslaught series. Yes, I went through all that. It took a while to go through all that. And I've been watching them kind of videos for years. If I feel like it's just something I always went back to is that kind of sermon just to work out how the world's really run and Bible prophecy and how that all works and stuff like that. I'm actually re studying now about Daniel, so I'm starting again with my understanding with different eyes, of course. Yes. So after being baptized, I thought I would start again with that stuff. [00:34:51] Speaker A: Nice. And keep growing in that understanding. Okay. So from your experience leading up to this point where you had this dramatic health change, you had a long period of time by the sounds where you were feeding a little bit on truth, you were turning to it, but it still had a deeper work to do in your heart. You still had to get to that point where you were going to totally surrender and give everything to God. But you'd had this period where you were still learning, you were still growing, you were still having an understanding of the truth and the things in the Bible that were bringing some conviction. But it was a journey to come to that point of really just giving God everything. Is that about right? That's what your experience was? [00:35:36] Speaker B: Exactly right. Because, yeah, I couldn't surrender, fully surrender. And I knew I had to do that to some degree. This is the enemy talking too. But when I've been smoking and doing all these things, and then I just feel like I hypocrite what was going on in my head for a long period of time. I wish it didn't have to go to me. Nellie dying to fully surrender, but praise the Lord, that happened anyway. [00:36:18] Speaker A: So because you knew better, it was really weighing on you for a long time about you needed to be in a different space, you needed to be changing this. You need to be giving up smoking and all of this kind of thing. [00:36:30] Speaker B: Yeah, but the thing was I was just trying to rely on my power to do things, and it just didn't work. I just didn't understand that principle fully about handing things over to God and what that really means. Not like I've heard that a million times and I've saying, come on, God, I'm handing this over to you. But to really hand all these things over is something I gave her. It's new. I've got a better understanding of that now. [00:37:04] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Because it's working. [00:37:06] Speaker A: Yeah. When you gave the reins to God, boy, he got you going, didn't he? Really took over and did amazing stuff in your life, didn't he? Which is so inspiring. And I think you bring up a really important point there about surrender, because sometimes it can be quite a struggle for us human beings to come to that point of really giving everything over to God. Because pride and the thoughts of, I can do this, or, yeah, I can handle that, or I can make that, or I can follow through with that lifestyle change and I'll be okay. And then sooner or later, you fall flat and realize that you don't have as much willpower or ability to carry through. So I think that your experience is really a powerful lesson for every one of us to be reminded that it really is God's power in us that makes a huge difference. It's not what we can do. [00:38:02] Speaker B: It's got nothing to do with us, really. We're just a vessel. [00:38:05] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:38:06] Speaker B: Yeah. If God fills you with his spirit, then anything's possible. But it's his power that does it. It's got nothing to do. We're just a vessel in that process. [00:38:19] Speaker A: Yeah, that's very true. And that is certainly something that's very relevant for us all and something which I think everyone goes through slightly different journey. [00:38:33] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. [00:38:34] Speaker A: For how this comes about. But isn't it wonderful how I like the picture you shared earlier about God with his cloak of salvation. He's running after every one of us, and he's not letting go until he's given every one of us a full chance. And he certainly did that with you. I mean, you had this truth being in your life all of these years, but God was still just pushing and making his presence stay with you until you came to the point where you were going to fully let him take over. [00:39:07] Speaker B: Because we can't understand the love that God has. Being an artist, that's the thing that really resonates with me about how much as an earthling, the kind of love that he has, like, one that's sprinting after you and just tackling you and give him the best of everything to go on his journey. We take that one step and he takes the rest. [00:39:43] Speaker A: You would really resonate with the Bible story about the prodigal son. [00:39:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's where I got it from. [00:39:49] Speaker A: Yeah, that picture is very much similar. [00:39:51] Speaker B: Yeah, it's exactly it. [00:39:53] Speaker A: About God really seeking after us. Even if we have gone into the, I guess, depths of the degradation of this world, God is still seeking after every one of us. And that really gives everyone courage because it doesn't matter where you are in life, God isn't going to give up on you. And while ever you have an inclination to seek him, he'll be there for you, ready for you to turn to him. So that's quite an amazing thought and picture to have now in your mind about God. Very different from that distant, burning hell God that you had first been exposed to. This is like a total new picture for you. [00:40:39] Speaker B: Completely. Yeah, exactly. I gathered us by design, but yeah, it is completely different. [00:40:43] Speaker A: Definitely. Yeah, absolutely. We're going to just hold the story there for a little bit. We're going to come back after the break to just talk a bit more about where your life is now and what it's like for you now living with God in your life in a much fuller extent. So we're going to take a little break so our listeners can hear how to get in contact with us. And when we will come back, we will learn a little bit more from your story. [00:41:10] Speaker B: Awesome. [00:41:11] Speaker A: Stay tuned. Thank you for joining us. On by, by, by by by the word of their testimony, more information about today's program, or if you have any questions, please contact three ABN Australia Radio by phoning 024-97-3456 or you can send an email to radio three ABN australia.org au. You can also contact us on our three ABN Australia radio Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you. Welcome back to by, by, by, by, by, by by by by the word of their testimony with Bo Gallagher here in the studio. Thank you so much for coming in today and sharing your story. [00:41:56] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. [00:41:57] Speaker A: Yes, we've been talking all about how you came to really fully surrender every part of your life to Christ. And we've been through a whole journey of, from your childhood pictures of God through to some seeds being planted in your primary early high school years, and then a whole up and down journey of a large portion of your life where even though you had some seeds of truth planted, you were still doing a lot of things which didn't really follow through with the light from the seeds. [00:42:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:31] Speaker A: But God wasn't giving up on you. He was hanging in there for you for the whole journey. And it came down to a health crisis where you were thinking you were going to die because your health was falling apart. And in that moment, you said to God, give me a fighting chance. [00:42:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:49] Speaker A: And God came through for you big time and healed you. Really didn't. [00:42:55] Speaker B: Sure did. [00:42:56] Speaker A: He healed you on so many fronts as you were, of course, doing some lifestyle changes, moving a diet, getting out, exercising and all of these things. God brought amazing healing for you. And since then, you have never been the same in your health, but you've never been the same also spiritually. And so tell me a little bit more about what things are like for you now with yourself and God. Now that you came to that point where you just handed everything over to God and said, God, we need to do something together now. So, yeah, tell me a bit about what is in your life now that you've never experienced before because of this closer connection with God. [00:43:36] Speaker B: Well, it's funny you say that because while you're saying that, I'm just thinking, well, one of the big ones is when the spirit's moving in, you feel horrible when you're not using all the time you can for God. Something I prayed about this morning, too. When the worldly things like even your phone and things like that get in the way, it presses on your heart a lot more. Yeah. It's just the spirit working in you to convict you of, just to get closer to God's character. And it's not just all the time I gave her. That's the spiritual battle as well that I'm not used to. I guess that I'm just working out now, too. But it gives me the opportunity to know exactly where I'm going wrong. Because even how small it can seem to other people, it's not small to me anymore. If I'm wasting a day of opportunity to do something for the Lord, I feel horrible about it and I need to pray about it, let alone. But it's even like if I look at something on Facebook for too long, even that makes me feel a little bit guilty and stuff. So them kind of convictions I kind of like because it keeps me strongly focused on where God wants me to be. And that's just the kind of person I am anyway. God just use me, all of me. I'm glad he's convicted me like this because it's kind of how I want to be anyway. It's like he knows my heart anyway, and he knows it's the only way I can feel like I can learn to. Is to have even things that seem small convict really pressing on my heart. [00:45:57] Speaker A: So your conscience has become so much more sensitive. [00:46:01] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. [00:46:03] Speaker A: And sensitive to the Holy Spirit prompting you of what things? To just how to guide your life. Because obviously you've got still so fresh in your mind everything God has done for you in rescuing you from a serious health condition and everything. And now the Holy Spirit is just guiding you in just everyday situations as to how to use those precious moments that he's given you for the best, really, and for serving and growing in your relationship as well with him, all of these things. [00:46:40] Speaker B: Because he knows how it's important, because it's like taking a bit of fruit from the tree. It doesn't seem big to big, but look what happened with it. [00:46:53] Speaker A: That's true. The Garden of Eden story. Yeah. [00:46:57] Speaker B: Like, people that read the Bible for the first time just probably think, well, what's the big deal? But when you bring it to yourself personally, it's such a big deal. Or it is for me. If I start letting these little things be okay, then slowly, or probably even quickly, the bigger ones will start to feel okay. So, yeah, I'm so grateful for the spirit to press on me so sensitively, to some degree. My life's just been so different. I'm so grateful for what God has done in my life and the people he's put in my life now and what I'm doing now and helping zooming people that got the same kind of things as I had, like with depression. I'm so grateful for the church he's put me in because they've been so encouraging and they found ways to use me from where I've come from already. I can't believe it's only been like nearly six months. [00:48:22] Speaker A: Wow. And it sounds like you've got a new sense of purpose in your life that from your experience, you can even help other people going through similar struggles, similar health struggles and different conditions, and you're able to make a difference and encourage them. [00:48:39] Speaker B: Well, they can't not deny me, because people that have been searching for God, but have been to jail and have been on drugs, and there's so many of these people out there now, and a lot of them, I'm sure a lot of them are searching and feel like there's no way out because that's where I felt. I thought, there's no way God can. Even God couldn't get me out of this and he's like, of course I can. Here you go. But so many people that were like me and maybe that's my ministry. I think that's where God's going to be putting me, to show people that were like me that it's such a better option out there. And that's our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. [00:49:43] Speaker A: Absolutely. For people to have the message that there is hope in their situation, that even though they might feel trapped in, the sky above them is black and there's no way to get out that you have from experience, you know that God will come through for them and if they can only just grasp that and reach out to him, God will have his hand ready to pull them up. [00:50:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:09] Speaker A: It's a powerful opportunity that you have to share your story and to encourage people in that situation because you can understand why people get depressed in those situations. [00:50:22] Speaker B: So many people depressed now and anxious, and it's a horrible debility that's kind of been my whole life is like depression and cycles and panic attacks. Thank God for the rest he's given me now I can pass on that and help other people get the same rest because it has to be why he's healed me. [00:50:56] Speaker A: Wow. So you feel today a lot more rest and peace in your mind, in your heart, in your soul. [00:51:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:51:06] Speaker A: Like nothing else that this world can offer. [00:51:08] Speaker B: No, there's absolutely nothing this world can offer. Can give you the same peace know Jesus and God has given. Yeah, nothing at all. [00:51:21] Speaker A: Wow. So that would be worth so much to you when you've known such a different experience the previous portion of your life, and now you experience something that nothing in this world has ever given you before and Jesus has given you this, it's no wonder that this really inspires you every day, puts a smile on your face. It has given you a new lease in life. Amazing transformation, isn't it? [00:51:52] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. Like I said before, I wouldn't believe it if it didn't happen to me, but hopefully other people can take my word for it and get something out of this. Because like I said, God sealed me for a reason and maybe it's just to tell this story and he can do what he wants with me, but, yeah, thank God for the opportunity to even talk about this stuff. [00:52:19] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So if you were going to say to anyone who's listening some things that you know from your life that you have learned which have helped you or which you think some people who may go through or may be going through similar experiences that you have gone through. What kind of lessons have you learned that you think would be really helpful for people to understand? [00:52:45] Speaker B: Yeah, look, honestly, the first thing I'll do is change your diet and get some exercise, especially around mental health. And if you're struggling with drug addiction and stuff as well, even you need to start changing patterns in your life and stuff like that. But the only thing that's going to do that is God, I'm sorry to tell you, and God will either get you there in a humble way if you don't just accept him now. It took me to nearly die to just give in to God. There was a stat that someone from my class told me in high school about our year recently, and there was like 40% of the people in our year died of mental illness or drug addiction. And that's a big statistic. That's huge. Some people don't get this opportunity, so, yeah, please take it before you become one of them. 40%, and that's a huge number. That was when I was in school. I'm sure it's worse now. Yeah, it's not getting any better, guys. And the world's going crazy now more than ever before. The peace I have now doesn't really match where the world's at. So if you want this peace, come to Jesus. This is the only option for you to get this kind of total serenity and healing of any kind. [00:54:40] Speaker A: Yeah, well, as it says in the Bible, he gives a peace that passes understanding. You can't even understand it. You just have to experience it to know it. And, yeah, I like what you have to share there. You've said anyone in a similar situation that you've come from, if you look at changing your lifestyle, but do it with God's strength, let God to come in to help you because the battle is too hard otherwise. You've known from your experience, trying on your own strength doesn't work. So having God on board and letting him into your life can make a huge difference. And he will give the peace that passes. Understanding the peace, which nothing in this world can possibly come close to, that is such an important lesson and such an important message for us to know and have in this world. So thank you so much for sharing. Thank you so much for coming on the program today on, by the word of their testimony. Thank you. It's been a privilege to have you with us and we really appreciate it. [00:55:45] Speaker B: Thanks for the opportunity. It's an important message to get out. [00:55:48] Speaker A: Absolutely. You've been listening to Bo Gallagher. Share his testimony. You know, a person's testimony is evidence that God is real and that he cares about us. And so I encourage any one of you have a testimony to share about what God has done in your life. Share it with someone today. It will uplift them. And you'll be encouraged, too, as you realize that God can use you to make a difference in this world and to make a difference for his kingdom. I am your host, Casey Bakirka. And until next time, may God richly bless you, Jesus. You've been listening to a production of three ABN Australia radio. [00:56:52] Speaker C: At the 2012 London Olympics. American runner Manteo Mitchell was running the first leg of the four by 400 meters relay when he heard a pop and he felt serious pain. He said, I felt like somebody snapped my leg in half. His leg broke his left fibula, a bone in the lower leg. Yet he kept running. There was a relay, see, his teammates were counting on him. And there was a medal to be won in the final. His team went on to win the heat, incredibly, in the fastest time ever run in the opening round of the men's four x 400 meters relay at the Olympic Games. He said that for the rest of the race, he said to himself over and over, faith, focus, finish. The leg got more painful with every stride he took, but he said he wanted to do his duty and finish the race. It reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 314, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Now, in that phrase, Paul uses imagery from the athletic games of his day. Those words press towards refer to an athlete who runs as fast as he or she can towards the finish line. And the prize he refers to alludes to the prize an athlete would win for finishing first. Now, in the next verse, Paul said, we're to have the same attitude pressing toward the mark, striving towards the finish line, throwing ourselves into this race as it could be described. Of course, we're not to strive in our own strength, but we are to lean on Jesus and allow his spirit to work in us. And the truth is, sometimes you meet with obstacles. Manteo Mitchell met with a broken leg. We might meet with failure or disappointment or discouragement. But if a guy can run 200 meters on a broken leg, which led to the United States ultimately winning a silver medal, perhaps we can find the strength in Jesus to press on. I'm John Bradshaw. Let's live today by every word.