Josh Brake: Hey, what's
going on everybody?

Welcome back.

Um, excited to share some
updates and, uh, share a word.

I feel like the Lord put on my
heart, uh, this week, um, when

I was spending time with him.

Um, and, uh, I'll try my best to
communicate it and still kind of

rob, but love, I love just giving you
guys a little feel for, uh, how the

word speaks to me specifically, and.

Um, and, uh, just kind of what he's
saying right now in this season.

So, um, first off, updates.

I, I've really begun to, well lemme
start here just with a quick update.

We've, fundraising wise, we've raised,
um, a commitment of just under $450,000

and that number keeps increasing.

It's, uh, it's really remarkable.

Um.

I am, I'm humbled and I'm honored
by everybody's generosity.

Uh, that was the biggest question
going into all of this was, you know,

where big, the biggest insecurity for
my family personally, me and Abby,

was financially, uh, we would think,
worst case scenario, we have to sell

our house and move in with my parents.

You know, like that was a somewhat
legitimate conversation that we had.

I.

And we believed it was from the Lord
that we were supposed to go do this,

but we were leaving a stable job at
an established church to go and, and,

and take a leap of faith and trust
the Lord and his leadership to go

plant a church and start a new church.

Basically start a business.

Um, people have done it.

On, on a higher degree of difficulty than
us, but the fact remains, it's still a

leap of faith and we're still dependent
on the spirit to lead us through it.

And here we are in, you know,
March of 2025 and we're $50,000

away from our goal that we set.

And.

Even just saying that out
loud feels like surreal.

Um, so just really
grateful to God for that.

And thank you all for your generosity.

And as always, um, you know, I'm reminded
of Exodus 25 when, when God tells

Moses, go take a contribution so that
you can build a tabernacle, go to the

people and tell them to give so that
I can build a resting place for me.

Um, called the Tabernacle.

And so he goes, and then a couple chapters
later, he has to go back to the people of

Israel and say, okay guys, stop giving.

We have enough.

We have plenty.

We have enough for this project.

And God stirs the hearts of people
to give towards the work he's

he's doing and that has happened.

And if you are stirred to give
towards this work, um, go to

the website, Josh Break Church.

Um.

And you can donate and you can set up.

We're, right now we're asking for
a monthly commitment for at least

three years, just so we can have a
little bit of stability, um, with

like, kind of like a monthly income.

Uh, right now a lot of our funds, most of
our funds are upfront, uh, startup funds.

One like non-recurring gifts, or
at least one time, not one time.

'cause I think.

They might give more than once,
but non-recurring, uh, gifts.

And, and so now we're asking people
to give monthly for three years, um,

as a way of, uh, having a little bit
more stability over the next few years.

So, uh, yeah, if you're stirred to do
that by the Lord, then we would, um, love

to, love to partner with you in that way.

Um, uh, in other news, I am in the
process of branding and messaging with,

um, my communications and marketing.

I guess people, um, I have a friend
Parker, who's, uh, got a startup

marketing firm that's helping
us, uh, with communications and

facilitating conversations with I.

Design, uh, branding, uh, guys.

And so anyways, all that
to say it is exciting.

Had a meeting with them yesterday
and getting the ball roll rolling and

deciding on, uh, design direction.

Um, and then this is where really where
I really wanted to get to was I wanted to

talk about what I'm doing Monday mornings.

And so Monday mornings I've, I've
blocked out to be on UTDs campus.

To, uh, go up there and, and spend time
on campus doing work and, and doing

some admin stuff that I need to get
done for, for the, for breakthrough,

but also as a chance for being present.

Spiritually present on campus, praying
over the campus, having conversations

with students, sharing the gospel
if possible and when appropriate.

And this last Monday was my
first time doing that and I was

trying to be led by the spirit.

It was cool.

I felt like the Lord led me to
the student union on campus.

Just kind of heard him say, Hey, walk
through campus, go to the student union

and, and just, you know, hang out.

The student union's a hangout restaurant.

It's a place all students go
for meals, and it's a very,

very popular place on campus.

And so I go there and I
sit down the whole time.

I'm just kind of looking for someone
to bless someone to pray for,

something to do, uh, regarding that.

And, and I sit down and within
minutes, um, within minutes, a guy

sits down and he has headphones
on, and he's, he's just kind of, he

doesn't look like he's doing anything.

He, he just is, was, it seems like
he's wasting time before into the

next class trying to buy his time.

And I just, I'm like, well, that seems.

Pretty convenient.

So I walk up to him after arguing
with myself for about five minutes.

Uh, I finally walk up to him and,
uh, just say, Hey man, I'm new around

here, just trying to get to know
campus and Richardson and you know,

is this kind of a popular spot?

And he was like, yeah,
this is a popular spot.

And people come, students come hang out,
eat meals and stuff, ping pong pool.

I play some games and
I said, okay, awesome.

Well what, what, what year are you?

And so we just organically start having
a conversation and I, I mentioned that

I'm starting a church in the area and,
um, wondered if he had any religious

background and he said, yeah, I'm Muslim.

And I said, okay, tell me
about that you practice Islam.

Are you a practicing Muslim?

And he's like, yeah, yep, I am.

And he's in the middle of Ramadan.

And we were talking about fasting and
all the reasons that I do Ramadan.

And one thing led to another
and, and I eventually just said,

Hey man, do you know Jesus?

Have you ever heard of that name?

He's like, uh, yeah, I've heard the name.

We believe in Islam that he was
a great prophet before Muhammad.

And, um, I'm sparing you guys details.

And also, I don't remember exactly
how the conversation went, but I said,

okay, well we believe Jesus is God.

That he wasn't just a prophet,
he was God himself in the flesh.

And do you mind if I
share more about that?

And he's like, okay.

Um, and he was, I just sensed
an openness from this guy.

It was really cool.

And so I went in, I just shared the
gospel from creation till redemption.

I was, I told him about God, creating
everything and love and perfectly,

but we messed it up with sin and the
consequences of our sin is death.

Um, and so on and so forth.

I talked about Jesus, um, you know,
forgiving us by dying on a cross

that we can be right with God.

Um, and I said, have
you heard that before?

And he is like, no, I, I haven't
really heard that before.

And, and I was like, well,
what do you think about it?

And so then he asked a
really great question.

He asked about, what about
personal responsibility?

Like with my own sin, I just come to Jesus
and then I'm just absolved of my guilt.

Like, that doesn't make any sense.

And I said, okay, let's talk about that.

And so for any of you out there
listening, um, I think the spirit

equipped me in the moment, but there's
gonna be people who ask you about that.

Oh, is Jesus just a get outta jail free
card and you can go do what you want?

And, uh, so I, I, I answered.

I said, okay, well tell me like,
what are you, do you feel guilt?

And he was like, yeah, I do feel guilt.

I said, okay, what do
you feel guilty about?

And he said, well, I treated my
dad really poorly when I was a

kid, and I feel guilty about that.

I feel like I've been a really bad son.

And I said, okay.

Um, how is that doing?

Like what, or, I know what I
said is, what does Islam say

you should do with that guilt?

And he goes, well, um, use it
to motivate me to be better.

I said, okay, well how good
of a motivator is guilt?

And he was like, um, I
mean, it's pretty good.

Like I'm cleaning my room doing
the dishes, I'm doing things I used

to not do 'cause I feel guilty.

I said, okay, that makes sense.

I think guilt is a good motivator.

I said is what, is there a better one?

Is there a better motivator?

And he said, um, yeah, probably.

And I said, okay.

Like what?

And he said, well, love.

And I was like, that's right.

That's right.

Love is a better motivator.

So how do you get rid of the
guilt and get motivated by love?

And he's like, oh man, I
don't, he's like, I don't know.

I don't know how to do that.

And I said, well, listen,
his name is Wasif.

I said, Wasif, listen, here's
how you get rid of the guilt.

Jesus Christ died on the cross
to take the guilt from you.

He took the guilt on himself even though
he was perfect, because he loves you

and if you entrust your life to him,
not only does he take your guilt, but

he gives you his love, his heart, and
he transforms you so that your heart

is motivated by love, not by guilt,
and he's the only one that can do that.

Muhammad can't do that.

Allah can't do that.

Jesus Christ is God and he is
the only way truth in life.

What do you think about that?

And he said, I think I need to learn
more about Christianity because you've

taught me a lot and I didn't know this.

And I said, yeah, would you
be willing to meet up again?

Talk more about it.

And he was a little hesitant.

He said, well, I think I need to
do some more self-study first.

And I said, okay, yeah.

Well, do you have a bible?

And he goes, no, I don't.

And I thought, oh my
gosh, I think I have one.

Like I have my own Bible, but
I have another one for him.

I go to my backpack, which is like
a couple tables away, and I open

it and I turns out, I had with me a
small little booklet titled The Life

and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

I was like, this couldn't be more perfect.

I forgot it was in
there until that moment.

I'm like, oh, I have it.

And so I, I grabbed it for him and it's
just the gospels in chronological order.

And I wrote down there, I said,
Wasif, may God open your eyes

to the beauty of Jesus, Josh.

And I gave him my number and I handed
it to him and he said for me, I was

like, yeah, dude, that's for you.

Go study about Jesus and
I would love to text you.

Can I have your number?

And he was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So he gave me his number and um, I've
texted him, I texted him yesterday.

He hasn't responded to me yet.

Um, but he took the Bible and was,
seemed to be pretty happy about it.

And.

Um, I prayed for him and then he left.

And, uh, I went back to my
chair like, won't he do it?

Well, I'm, I'm over here worried
about, you know, who am I gonna talk

to and how am I gonna share the gospel?

And the Lord just bam, provided.

And as I was led by the spirit, um,
the Lord just showed up and opened

his, uh, heart to at least be open to
hearing a little bit of the gospel.

And he heard the full
gospel and now it's on him.

Right now, he's gotta respond to it.

But I really hope he texts me back.

So if you're praying for breakthrough,
pray for Wasif, that the Lord would

grab him and save him, and, um, open
his eyes to the beauty of Jesus.

And so then a couple minutes later,
another guy, same exact thing, sat down

with headphones, was kind of aimless,
didn't seem like he was doing stuff,

um, wasting time before the next class.

I was like, okay, I'm gonna go up again.

And I went up to him and.

Same stuff.

Uh, he was Hindu.

He, he is Hindu, he's not Islam or Muslim.

But I, um, I spent about 10, 15, 20
minutes talking to him, getting to

know him, sharing the gospel with
him, trying to figure out a way

the gospel applies to his heart.

And, uh, he was open, but,
um, less open than Wasif.

And, but he heard me out.

He heard the gospel and one of the
questions I asked him, and I would take

note of this too, if you're trying to.

Be good about witnessing to people.

Uh, I said, Hey, if the Jesus, I'm talking
about like the one who created everything,

who came to die on a cross because
he loves you and has a plan for you.

If that, if he's real and he is who
I'm saying he is, do you think he

would want to reveal himself to you?

And Sam was like, his name was Sam.

Sam was like, well, I, he was
like, he didn't want to admit

it, but he was like, yeah.

And I said, okay, well
then, well, we can ask that.

He would reveal himself to you
and there's no threat, right?

If he's real, he'll reveal himself.

If he's not, he won't.

And he's like, oh, okay.

Um, and so I prayed for him
and then he went to his class.

I actually made him late to class.

Um, but those were two
interactions right there.

I just felt the Lord in that.

And there was so much joy in
sharing that message with them.

And if anybody's like out there, like,
oh, I wanna do that, but I'm afraid.

Yeah.

So was I.

I mean, the, the beginning of that
day, I went to Starbucks to grab a cup

of coffee as I walked through campus
towards the student union, and there

was a guy in front of me and I felt
the Lord say, offer to buy us coffee.

I went up to him and I said,
Hey bro, do you mind if I

buy your coffee this morning?

I'd love to bless you with that.

And he goes, no, no, I'm okay.

And I was like, no, are, are you sure?

Man, come on, let buy your coffee.

Uh, and he was like, no, no, no, no.

I'm, I'm okay.

Just totally rejected me.

And I was like, okay,
all right, no problem.

And awkwardly stood behind
him as he paid for his coffee.

Uh, and as he's walking away, he
said, Hey, thanks, appreciate it, man.

I'm like, okay, yeah, maybe next time.

And he walked away.

And so I'm, I'm coming off that fresh
rejection and I go up to thinking,

I don't know how this is gonna go.

Um, I was scared too.

And, um, the spirit that is
in me is greater than he.

He was in the world and he led
me, and he will lead you too.

Just go up and say, Hey, can I bless you?

Can I pray for you today?

Or, Hey, what's your name?

I'm this, can I tell you about Jesus?

Like, there's no fear in it, guys.

Um, I know our flesh feels
fearful, but that's our flesh.

The Holy Spirit you have is bold.

Um, the Bible says the
righteous are bold as lions.

Uh, so.

Yeah, go after it, guys.

Get after it.

And, um, the two things that you can,
that I think apply to people that

you're gonna talk to, one is people
feel guilty and Jesus has absolved them

of their guilt by dying on a cross.

And he takes their guilt on
himself and gives them innocence,

purity, righteousness, love.

Uh, there's a great transfer that
happens on the cross and in evangelism.

I think what it seems like is the goal
is to find what does that person need

to transfer to Jesus on the cross?

And then what does Jesus
give them in return?

One of the things I told Wasif, I
said, Wasif, you are not a bad son.

Have you done bad things?

Yeah, you are not a bad son.

If you feel guilty,
that leads you to shame.

Shame says, I'm a bad son.

Conviction says I messed up.

But I know that I'm not, I I, my
identity is not in me messing up.

Uh, and I can find change and I,
I can change, I can find freedom

from this because of Jesus.

And so find when you're talking
to people about Jesus, find what,

what do they need to give to Jesus?

Surrender to him and then tell them
that it's good news to surrender.

'cause Jesus in return
gives them blank, right?

Uh, so think about the great
transfer that happens on the cross.

And then secondly, and um, uh, I don't
remember the second thing I was gonna say.

Maybe that was it.

So yeah, go with that.

A blessing today, guys, be bold.

The Bible says the
righteous are bold as lions.

Like I said, I.

So go be bold as lions
today, this week, this month.

Make a goal, say you're gonna
share the gospel with four people.

Just see what happens.

Um, and I look forward
to hearing testimonies.

I know I said I had a word
that I was gonna share with

you, but that'll be next time.

Um, I don't wanna keep you too long,
so, uh, stay tuned for the next episode

and I'll, I'll share a word of what
the Lord has spoken to me this week,

and, um, hopefully it'll bless you.

All right, guys.

Uh, love y'all.

Thanks for tuning in
and see you next time.