From Wandering to Walking | Alex Horton on God's Love and Faith

David W Ebel: Welcome to another episode of God Says Yes. My name is David Ebel and I'm your host. After fifty plus years of ministry, it is still my passion to reach people and encourage them where whatever chapter of their life they're in, whether they're doing well or whether they're struggling, whether they're having a great day or whether they they they're grieving or whether they're they're in great loss. We're here to provide support and encouragement and love them without without any kind of e expectations. No judgment here. This is just a chance to love people and to meet them where they are. And hopefully encourage them to to get busy and do even more with God and in God, with God in them. So that's why we're here. We're glad you're here to be part of it. I've got a neat brother that I've I've I've gotten to know and I'm real impressed for as young as he is, how God is working in his life, and I thought I'd bring him on so that you could get to know him too. His name is Alex Horton. And Alex is young in ministry but but not unwise. He's already gained some knowledge that I know people who've been practicing a lot longer who haven't figured it out yet. So I'm I'm grateful to have him here. So Alex, welcome. Glad you're here.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes, and thank you so much for having me. it's an honor and I'm looking forward to this conversation.

David W Ebel: So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah. so I am twenty two years old. and I've been doing this whole ministry thing for about a year and a half now. But it's just been such an incredible journey that I've grown so much and gained so much wisdom during

David W Ebel: Okay, so you as a job you right now you're working a job in security, I believe.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes, yes I am. I do security full time, I'm also a full time student, and I manage a full time ministry.

David W Ebel: Yeah, well, you don't get bored. And that's that's the c way I've always lived. I've always figured if I woke up tomorrow facing God, I wanted I didn't want him to point back and say, Why were you so lazy? Why didn't you do more for me?

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: So I I I've always done more because I didn't I didn't want to do less. I wanted to please him in everything I do.

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: And Paul was a tent maker and was not ashamed at all. And so have having a an income from a career, to be able to do ministry is a very appropriate way to serve.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: Believe me, I have done that. I have I have worked and served, and then I served and served, and then I worked and served, and served and served. each chapter of your life you do what's necessary. The only thing that doesn't change is the answer.

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: So we've got some simple questions we always ask every guest. And so I'd like to start with the first one. Who were you before you met Jesus?

Pastor Alex Horton: Oof. Well, I can give the simple answer of a sinner. no.

David W Ebel: Little more personable.

Pastor Alex Horton: But yes, a little more personable. it was lonely. I was living in you know a very isolated life. didn't feel like I had anybody with me. I could be in a room full of people and still feel alone. And I was caught up in sin, in ego, in pride, and just never really felt like I belonged. it was not a very enjoyable time.

David W Ebel: Yeah. I can appreciate that. There was days I felt like that as well. I think there's a lot of people who feel like that, whether they'll admit it or not. because we we as a culture wanna well, I'm fine and I got this together. I'm cool. And then at home they go, I lied because I'm not fine. And I and I don't even know where together is, but I don't want to be alone. So

Pastor Alex Horton: Especially

David W Ebel: lying, lying and pretending is better than being alone.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: That's what our culture teaches us.

Pastor Alex Horton: especially as men we're told, you know, men don't feel emotions. Men men don't do this. We are strong all of the time and you know that that taxes us quite heavily.

David W Ebel: Especially since it's not in the Bible for us to be like that.

Pastor Alex Horton: No, it's not. Not at all.

David W Ebel: And David was brave, but he also was a crybaby.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah. yeah. Absolutely.

David W Ebel: When you read Psalm when you read the books of book of Psalms, there's several times David is just crying his eyes out. That's not a man sucking it up, that's a man who's being honest with God. And

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: that's the life we're supposed to be living is honest with God.

Pastor Alex Horton: Absolutely.

David W Ebel: So then it came the moment when you've had the opportunity to meet God and Him become real to you. Can you tell us about that?

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes, so There are two times, really. the first time is more of hindsight, but I'll tell you the moment that it actually became real for me was I was actually writing the first sermon that I ever gave. And that was about love. I I had been offici I had been ordained so that I could officiate my brother's wedding, and then after that realized I don't know what this faith is, what it means. And so and so I I went to start researching and decided to give my first series the title of The Fundamentals of Faith. And so with that I started with love. I read Romans five eight. Which says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And that's when it hit me that this is not just a follow these rules and you're saved. It's a personal relationship.

David W Ebel: So your aha moment was and see and this this is what's interesting. There's a lot of people I know who who spend it send the thirty-five dollars and get an ordination so they can do a wedding. And they are no more ordained to preach than they are to to do brain surgery. But but yet for thirty-five bucks, anybody you you can get your dog ordained.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: I have a friend for the fun of it who had had his great He had a huge German shepherd. one of the biggest ones I've ever seen. And he had him or he had him ordained. And and what we said, why? He says, go tell him he's not. Get in his face and tell him he's not. So it was it was like the the running joke in the in the the hanging on the edge crowd of the church. The

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: ones who they were showing up, but they were making fun. So But the reality is that that if you walk in a car you walk in a garage, it doesn't make you a car. Walking in a church doesn't make you a believer. And the the piece of paper only means one thing. If if you are a sincere believer, it's there to recognize that. And so to to get it when you're not there is fraudulent. It's not it's that's unfair.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: But but God did Make sure you understood the difference.

Pastor Alex Horton: yes. And it was

David W Ebel: And so when it when it happened, what happened?

Pastor Alex Horton: Well, so I didn't even end up officiating his wedding. He went to a courthouse. which is just hilarious to see that God still used it. But after a while, after I had done more research and had that personal relationship really kindle, I realized that was not the proper way to do it. I could not just go in and become ordained like that. So I ended up actually stripping that ordination from myself and becoming ordained through a separate organization that actually required me to do some training. And so I did, somewhere in the ballpark of forty hours worth of training just for marriage ministry. And I got reordained, as it were, and that is how I have continued my ministry is through

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: proper training and understanding of the faith.

David W Ebel: And and even with that, that's the beginning of the journey toward being

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: or ordained in every way to be able to be a full rounded servant of God. It takes

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: a lifetime of preparation in every area of your life. And people a lot of times people don't think about it, but to serve everybody, you've got to know a little bit about everybody. So you've got to have knowledge on how to apply God's word to a lot great deal of people. That's why we it's easier to go to Bible college.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: By far than it is to do it the way you used to when I started, you could do it online, you could do it with a mentor, or you could do it in Bible school. Those were the ways in 1970, that was okay. Now try to do that and get left out of the park. Because well the the laws even have changed now, so it's you want the protection of the organ organization behind you. You don't want to do it on your own. But enough on that. The k the key is God changed you and made a real you out of out of the out of the cardboard figure.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: And so now that you've accepted him, how did it change your life?

Pastor Alex Horton: Ooh, it'd be faster to say how it didn't change my life, but but how did it change my life? Just in every way imaginable, it amplified everything. And

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: I say that in that way because it made the highs higher. It made my happiness more, my fulfillment more, but it also made the low points lower.

David W Ebel: Because

Pastor Alex Horton: Because I knew just how bad I am without him and how often I fail. I mean it's it's said in scripture all fall short of the glory of God, and it's a daily occurrence that we do so and especially in the beginning when I first was reading that I thought I'm not worthy of anything.

David W Ebel: I'm

Pastor Alex Horton: It's what Paul said

David W Ebel: still not.

Pastor Alex Horton: exactly. It's what Paul said that I am among the least in heaven. And I you know, I read that and I said, you know, Paul, you might know what you're talking about. But it's just

David W Ebel: Yeah.

Pastor Alex Horton: that connection that I felt the the belonging and then the service because there's truly no greater act in my mind than serving others.

David W Ebel: Well, Jesus told us to love each other like he loved us. And he did it sacrificially. He did it without thinking about his own benefit. So the biblical definition of love is to deny to deny yourself, to meet someone's needs without thinking about what it does to you, and to do it with love from God.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly. That's that's one that I've talked about extensively, is love, and people will debate that so much, and I've spoken to people about it, and it's not you'll hear me say I hate the English word love. I don't hate love, I hate the English word love. I much prefer the Greek. And when I say I love God, that is not the same as me saying I love pizza. So let me tell you, I really, really like pizza. But it's nowhere close to how I feel about God.

David W Ebel: huh.

Pastor Alex Horton: And that's one of those things where, it's that sacrificial love for others and for God. That I feel so deeply, and I suppose that's another way that. God changed my life is I didn't know love truly before I knew God.

David W Ebel: Amen. Nobody does. But there comes to a realization for you when it becomes real that way for you. That I well I would say I love you really, and that most of the time before Christ it was I'm really I I'm chemistry you.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: She was cute, I love you. or with parents, I love you because I was told to. And you raised me, so I love you because you raised me. You fed me, you clothed me, I love you. But that's not sacrificial.

Pastor Alex Horton: No.

David W Ebel: That's that that's just an an acknowledgement of an of an of an arrangement. But godly

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes. I'm

David W Ebel: love is is sacrificial. Let's meet your needs first. Even if it means I I have to do without, so you get your needs met.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: As God has loved me, I will love you.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly. I'm a bit ashamed to say, but up until I was maybe eight years old, my great grandma, who is absolutely an amazing woman, a very godly

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: woman, I would just say I love you out of habit, because that's what I was told. I didn't know w why do I say this besides I was told to. And that went until I was about eight years old when I realized, this is a woman who sacrificed so much for me. And Fia's not always going to be around, but she always loves me. And she's given so much. And that's perpetuated till now. What, fourteen years later? When a simple phone call from her, I will drop my plans to go help her.

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: Because She needs something, and I love her,

David W Ebel: Yes.

Pastor Alex Horton: and I'm going to help her.

David W Ebel: Exactly. And when you take that one step up, God who loves you, when you cry out to him, He He moves. He doesn't just go, mm-hmm. He through it through He is able to be everywhere at once, including in your heart and in your mind and in your need. And that's such a deep that's a deep thing.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: That's a I'm so grateful that God isn't something you get here.

Pastor Alex Horton: me too.

David W Ebel: Because my computer up here has got all kinds of stuff up there that the old computer thing was garbage in, garbage out.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yep.

David W Ebel: And when I think about the world in which I lived before I I met Jesus, it was nothing but garbage in. I didn't know anything else. But when I gave my life to Christ and started to fill myself with love and joy and peace and hope, fill myself by reading God's word and learning it, not just reading it, but learning it to learn it. I don't just read it, I absorb I want to absorb it.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: I want to take it with me. So when the book is sitting down, it's still in me. a a n a very wise old pastor told me that he says, look at your heart as a well, just a big old deep well, water running at the bottom, pure, pure water. Now, that water that you you want, you're thirsty. That you're gonna reach down in there and you're gonna get you're gonna solve your your problem with thirst. But if you if you begin to fill it with other things, because you want to keep them, eventually that water is not going to be pure. And when you reach in there, when things get hard, you reach in for water and you're going to get bitterness. You're going to get worry. You're going to get all those other things. Basically, out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. But what have you filled the well in your heart with?

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And that ch that changed my whole mindset because I could see where I that I would hold I would keep score for I would hold people accountable that they didn't even know I was holding them accountable. And and so my heart wasn't pure. My heart was filled with stuff. So when once I realized that and I asked God to forgive me, I'm grateful that He says, if you confess your sins, He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and of all the unright things you've done. I'm so glad that I can go to Him. As often as I need to and say, did it again. I

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: blew it. I'm sorry, and genuinely be sorry, and ask for help to not do it again.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And if I do mess it up, he's still gonna forgive me.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yep.

David W Ebel: He's like the good dad that that that has more forgiveness than you could ever dream. A good dad is patient. A

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: great dad is really patient. Then you got your heavenly father who is eternally patient. And I'm so glad because that's the kind of God I need. That's the kind of dad I need because I I eternally need to be forgiven. There's

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: stuff about me that I j the garbage in, garbage out thing. There's a little bit of residual sometimes that I thought I got rid of, but yep, it's still there. And I gotta I gotta go I gotta go back and get cleansed but with the love of God and the b the blood that Jesus shed. I gotta be clean again.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: But to do that, I got you know, it changes you. So t so tell us what you're doing now with your life.

Pastor Alex Horton: well I mean I I work security full time and I minister to people here. I talk to about faith all the time.

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: and then I'm going to school of course, just to learn more

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: because you should never stop learning. but

David W Ebel: How many hours how many hours are you working taking to school now?

Pastor Alex Horton: I am taking fifteen credit hours at school. so

David W Ebel: Excellent.

Pastor Alex Horton: so a full course load there, forty hour work week, and then the ministry, which we're actually expanding so much all the time. I put out, you know, somewhere in the ballpark of twenty eight things per week, give or take, where it's just all kinds of wisdom and the word and all of that and just ministering to these people. We're actually setting up an in-person opportunity to serve by giving to the homeless in the community. We're putting together some gift bags for the colder temperatures. Because you live in California where it's presumably very warm year round.

David W Ebel: Mm, somewhat.

Pastor Alex Horton: Somewhat.

David W Ebel: We have seasons, they're just not severe.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah, well I live in Nebraska where the weather is

David W Ebel: You y you

Pastor Alex Horton: pretty bipolar.

David W Ebel: Yeah.

Pastor Alex Horton: And so we're working on getting some gift bags of you know, some some homemade cookies just to kinda lighten the mood, some hand warmers and then Bibles to hand out to the homeless in the communities because

David W Ebel: Yeah.

Pastor Alex Horton: because they need the support and love too.

David W Ebel: We we used to put thick socks.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: And and we would we would tack a little thing to the sole of it, say, This is the sole of your sock. We're concerned about the sole of your height, your heart. And just tack that right on there. So that there'd be this gentle nudge.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah. I might have to steal that one.

David W Ebel: I would hope you would.

Pastor Alex Horton: I I very well might.

David W Ebel: See I'm from Detroit, we had wet we had seasons. I lived in

Pastor Alex Horton: yes.

David W Ebel: Chicago, we had seasons. Then we pastored in in northern Wisconsin for a year. Forty below zero with a hundred and ten below wind chill and then it got cold at night.

Pastor Alex Horton: Ooh, yeah, you're you're very familiar with cold then.

David W Ebel: Yeah, so so and I've ministered and all those different things as well as in the in the rural and the worm and the other. So we've had twenty nine addresses.

Pastor Alex Horton: How?

David W Ebel: So I can I get it. But the key is that people are are no different. People are just people. How how many layers they have to w wrap to keep warm changes. but who they are inside doesn't.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And that's why it's important to live for God, not just, go to job go to your job, come home, go to this, go to that. And then you

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: do your duty on church. Because if if church is just a duty, you missed it. It's

Pastor Alex Horton: Yep, you're if church is just something you show up for every week and then leave, you're you're doing it wrong, I'm sorry to say. It's a start, but you're not supposed to stop at the start line.

David W Ebel: No. No, and well Paul run the good race. If there's a race to be run, nobody gets to the end of that race by never not moving.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: So it's important to do these things, and that's why I wanted to know how how what you're doing with your with your life now. And I'd say you're you're you're you're using it well, and that's what God would want from all of us at every age, at every chapter, whether

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: you're at the young stage like you are or in your seventies like I am, you know, I I may be retired, but I'm reinspired. I I can't

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: do the same things that I used to. So the things I can do, I do those with all my heart is unto the Lord.

Pastor Alex Horton: Absolutely. The other thing that we've been doing, we I the the ministry, I suppose I should say, is publishing books. I know we'll talk about those more later, but one of the things that originally started the ministry was my lack of knowledge because I realized just how much I don't know.

David W Ebel: Uh-huh.

Pastor Alex Horton: And that is a very humbling experience. So one of the things that I wanted to do was make the Bible more accessible.

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: I partner with Crossway, the English Standard Version Bible. I just prefer it. I love it so much. It's so nice to read. And I've done study guides. so far two of them, working on number three, and I'm going through the gospels. But what I'll do is I'll sit down and I'll read through These sections of the Gospels and then write a commentary. Just a very short, simple, easy to read commentary that kind of explains what the section is talking about and something to go just a little bit deeper. Then some reflection questions in a note section.

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: And I've done that, we talked about this a little bit before. I've done that in print, so that there is I think it's between two. one or two dollars of royalties that gets kicked back to the ministry just to, you know, help with managing things going on. But the rest of it is just print cost. It's not for profit. But then the entire study guide is available for free download on our website.

David W Ebel: Exactly.

Pastor Alex Horton: Because I'm of a mind I hate Hate with a burning passion, and I will say hate is a strong word, it's the right word. I hate when people try to lock God's word behind a paywall. There's no place for that. I understand print cost, absolutely, I understand the cost of a ministry, trust me I do. I'm the one bankrolling it. But if you're going to sit there and say to somebody, well, in order to get into God's word, you really have to pay this amount of money. Then I'm sorry to say you're no better than the medieval church was when they were saying, well if you pay us this much, your sin will be forgiven. That's not how it works. It's never been how it works. We don't have salvation because we pay for it.

David W Ebel: No. Yeah, you're you're you happen to be going by the Bible rules, not the not the negotiable wor rules of this world.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes. It's it hurts my heart to see people turn away from God because of human deeds. And that's why that's why it's all online for free. The only one that's not is my personal memoir, but that's because it's not the Bible. It's just my life. And so that one, sure. But that also royalties gets kicked back to the ministry. I take no money from it because I want to see

David W Ebel: Your life it well, your life is your ministry. Your ministry is your life.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: I I that's how I've lived for a full time fifty years.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And another another ten since then.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah, it's

David W Ebel: So, God is able. He'll he'll meet our needs.

Pastor Alex Horton: Absolutely.

David W Ebel: So now now that we've talked about all those pieces to the puzzle, the next question is how if you're if there's someone struggling, they're going through stuff. And my word picture usually is sitting on the curb watching life go by, wishing they could get up and be a part of it again. If you you know, it doesn't matter how they got there, whether it's been done to them or done by them, whether it's situation Or it's some other thing, or maybe it's grief and trauma.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: Whatever the reason is, we've pulled back an at the at least some. And we know that we that God is good, but we're not so sure about man. So it's easier to pull back. But God can't do everything He wants to do when we're pulling back. Well what would you what would you share to someone who is struggling? How would how would you want them to know that God can take you from wherever you are and take you to where he'd love you to be.

Pastor Alex Horton: Great question. I love this question. I'm going to answer really quickly with one of my most hated Christian sayings. Christian sayings. And that is, as soon as you accept Christ in your life, life will get better. It's false. That's nonsense. The only way that life gets better is with people. the other one that I hate hearing is God will never give you something that you can't handle. That's false. You will have things that you can't handle by yourself. That's why we have the church.

David W Ebel: We that's where you have Jesus.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly. So if we don't have people in our corner, if we are failing, if we're struggling, find somebody. Find one person that you can trust that will pour into you and support you, just ask for help. It's not easy. It's never easy. Trust me, I know it's not easy to ask for help. I still to this day struggle to ask for help. But if you find somebody who cares genuinely cares. Find a pastor, find a priest if you need to. Find somebody in the church. Just say, hey, I'm really struggling and I need some help.

David W Ebel: That's the wisest thing someone can do. we needed a Jesus died so we could be forgiven and have a savior to save us from ourselves and our sins.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: you know, that does but that's not a one-time occurrence. Once that's done, then we have a family relationship with the perfect dad. And he expects us to come to him. He desires

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: us to depend on him. It doesn't make us g you know gullible little things sitting on doing nothing, it makes us wise because we know where the line is, what we can do and what we can't.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: And I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength does not mean I can do all things. It means I can do stuff because God opened the door and made the way and gives me the strength to do it. In spite of me. Not

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: because, not because of me for sure. But I think it's important that we we're we're transparent about that. That we need we need Him every day.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: Now, if you've gone to church. And it didn't work out because of people or stuff. I'm sorry, on behalf of the body of Christ, we have the church is really the emergency room of the body of Christ.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: Not everyone who walks in the ER is thrilled about it. Sometimes they're they're fighting mad and mean and spitting off on you too.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And w w when you go to church, people should be riff be healthy. They should be help doing it right, but they're not. We're all under we're all under construction. And there are people who are gonna do it wrong. And they make it hard for us to want to do it right.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: But we're not gonna serve man. We've already proved they're screw ups. We don't want to do it their way. What we want to do is find a new relationship with God, the one that that is based on trusting Him. And I gotta tell you, I've taken this all over the world and it works the same in every country. If you trust God and you ask His Son Jesus to forgive you and take the blood that He shed on the cross and wash away your sins, He's faithful and just to forgive you of all your sins and of all the unright things you've done. So you start with a clean slate. I remember as a little kid we had a blackboard. I read that's how old I am.

Pastor Alex Horton: Ooh. Ooh.

David W Ebel: And they had white chalk, and at the end of the day it was a gray board. It was it was no longer black, it was gray. And the biggest privilege you could do was to be picked to wash that blackboard and make it black again. That was the honor of honors. Remember I'm I was three foot tall. I was the smallest child in the school. You think they ever asked me to wash the blackboard? And that not happening.

Pastor Alex Horton: I'm gonna guess that they didn't.

David W Ebel: They I couldn't reach it. It was it would have been a joke. But you see, that's how it is with God. We can't We can't wash away their stuff. No matter even with help, we can't make it clean. But Jesus, when he shed his blood, was to wash away our sin, to wash away the stains, to wash away the dust and the dirt of life. And then when we our our hearts are open, then he through his the love of his Holy Spirit, he comes in to lead us and guide us and draw us to him. What a great honor.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: So y if you're stuck, how do you get unstuck?

Pastor Alex Horton: Phew. How do you get unstuck? Well

David W Ebel: Be real about it.

Pastor Alex Horton: It's a constant battle. I'll tell ya. It's it's like a glue trap. the reason being, you and I, unfortunately, are stuck in these bodies of ours, and they're made of flesh. And we have a constant battle between our flesh and our spirit, or our flesh and the Holy Spirit. But, you know, Jesus gave us some very wise words that were take up your cross daily and follow me. And that's what we have to do. Because it is a struggle. It's believe they call it a Sisyphusian task of you're going to keep yes,

David W Ebel: Translate that.

Pastor Alex Horton: so the the story the myth of Sisyphus. he was a a Greek man who gosh I forget what exactly he did, but he angered the gods, and because of that, when he was in Hades, he had to push a boulder up a hill, and he was told you can go back to life when the This boulder reaches the top of the hill, but they cursed the boulder so that every time it got close it would slip and fall. So he was stuck eternally rolling this boulder up the hill just for it to fall again. And so it's a daily thing. We push this boulder as far as we can, never reaching the top. And then we push the boulder the next day, and the next day. We pick up our cross daily and we carry it. And then we wake up the next day and we have to carry it again. And it's it's a thing of of true discipline, I will say, because it's not easy to deny yourself. There have been days even I feel just such a strong desire to go find sin, to go find comfort in the flesh, but I know that's not God's plan for me, and I have to deny that, which takes quite a bit of willpower. But and even sometimes I stumble and fall. But

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: Jesus told us it's not going to be easy.

David W Ebel: Well, there's a word called hopeless. And I like to think about that word. It's it's it doesn't mean there's no hope, it's less than hope. What we're try what God has called us to do is first to realize that we're we're pushing that boulder. The second thing is that we are not supposed to do it alone, casting all our cares on him, for he cares for us. When we can't do it, that's where we need a savior. When we can't do it, that's when we cry out to God. And then God gives us the strength to move forward. So it's not just pick up the cross and suffer. It's pick up the cross and do what you can until you can't do anymore. And then he helps

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: you pick it up again and move forward. So you do grow and you do get better and life gets better. It's not

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: Disney and it'll never be Disney. Anyone who tells you

Pastor Alex Horton: No.

David W Ebel: it's all utopian is either misunderstood or lying.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: But the reality of it is that God leaves never leaves us or forsakes us. He's with us every day all the time. So good days and bad, high points and low, he's n he never leaves us. I was born disabled. So I can't do what everybody else does. What does that mean? Nothing. It just means that I am in this house, this little body of flesh, and I am to serve him that way. And you have yours, and everybody else has theirs. And it doesn't matter what our limits are, what matters is. When we realize what our limits are, we go to the one who can give us help. We

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: go to the one who gives us h hope. And we and we ki we get up and we do it again. We do it because we love him. We don't do it because we're afraid of him. I'm more afraid of disappointing him than anything. I just don't want to

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah. The greatest

David W Ebel: let him down.

Pastor Alex Horton: the greatest fear that I have is getting to heaven and being told Depart from me for I never knew you. That is the single scariest thing that I could ever hear.

David W Ebel: But because you've given your life to Jesus and really meant it, your reservation is secure in heaven, so you'll the chances of you hearing that are a millisecond to none.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: So the reality is, it's it's a terrible thought, but because of Jesus it's not a thought you'll have to think.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: But that doesn't give us easy street.

Pastor Alex Horton: No, no.

David W Ebel: It just gives us strength to live every day, and to love every day, and to serve every day, and to do it gladly as God loves me, I love you.

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: So here you are, 22 years old, and you know some things already that some of the people I know in their 40s are just figuring out.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: That me that means God has a plan for your life. And He's not waiting till you He's not waiting for you to get to get older. He's he's investing in you now. But comes with that comes the responsibility. I

Pastor Alex Horton: It does.

David W Ebel: will will you serve me anyhow? And your answer is yes. And so people sitting on the side of the road, can they get up and get bit get busy?

Pastor Alex Horton: yeah. Absolutely.

David W Ebel: Is it hard to get busy?

Pastor Alex Horton: Well it's

David W Ebel: It's yes and no, isn't it?

Pastor Alex Horton: if you want to be busy, it's never hard to be busy. If you don't want to be busy, you will never be busy. That's the thing.

David W Ebel: Perfect answer. Perfect answer. Now for the the the the the treasured part of every interview is the golden nugget.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: This is the part where we ask you to tell us something that in the next week or so, as we think about what we've heard in this interview, that it was continue to speak to us so that it doesn't just end when we t we do the when the interview's done. It ends as we continue to apply it to our lives. What would you think a good nugget would be to leave with our friends?

Pastor Alex Horton: I think the best nugget that I could give it's not my own, it's somebody else's. But the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today. And to expand on that so it is at least a little bit mine. The best time to start a relationship with Christ was the second you were born, the second you could. The second best time is now. If you haven't had that relationship, if you've been hurt before by the church, just open that up. Pray. First Thessalonians five seventeen, pray continuously. Pray without ceasing, however you want to say that. Just talk to God. Just start that relationship or grow in that relationship because that's what God wants with you. It's never too late to start that relationship. It's never too late to maintain that relationship.

David W Ebel: And if somebody falls down doing it, what do you do?

Pastor Alex Horton: You get back up again. It's not easy. You might have a couple scrapes and bruises, but God's with you.

David W Ebel: You go back and you ask the Heavenly Father to forgive you. Then you forgive yourself.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: Because the enemy of God doesn't want you dead. He wants you beat up and on the side of the road. He wants you to fail so that you won't trust God.

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly.

David W Ebel: So the right answer is I don't think and I I don't take listen to lies. God saved me. Jesus shed his blood. So I'm getting up because God told me I can't.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: And no lies no lies or any doubts are gonna slow me down because God is greater than that.

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: So this been a really good interview. I'm grateful that you came on and spent the time with us.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah.

David W Ebel: I wanna mention the our you know, that you you've got books. You wanna

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes.

David W Ebel: s tell us about them, please?

Pastor Alex Horton: Yeah, absolutely. So I do have the memoir, but putting that aside, that's the least of the books that I have. The better ones are the series, the heart of. It's a series that I've been working on that I continue to work on, where I go through the books of the Bible and I do studies. These are those study guides that I was talking about. my recommendation to start is The Heart of Matthew. I go through the entire book of Matthew, a few verses at a time, and I do a short commentary, some reflection questions, and then some personal notes, so that you can get into it and better understand it. I talk about who

David W Ebel: Mm-hmm.

Pastor Alex Horton: Matthew was, why it was written, who it was written for. I do all of the commentaries. It's all in English standard version, so it's a word for word translation. Very I I have put a lot of time and effort into it and the same as you do for your podcast, if it wasn't excellent, I wouldn't do it.

David W Ebel: Okay, so so there's how many if we put to put it on the screen, that would be one. Is there a second room?

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes. The other is the Heart of Ephesians. That was the first one I ever did. It's a much shorter,

David W Ebel: Okay.

Pastor Alex Horton: but it goes through same thing who Paul was, who the Ephesians were, why it was written, and the entire book of Ephesians.

David W Ebel: Now I want you to tell us the name of your memoir.

Pastor Alex Horton: Yes, that is from wandering to walking, testimony of God's love, and it describes my life before God as wandering with no direction into accepting Christ and understanding him, and I am walking faithfully with him.

David W Ebel: How do we get these?

Pastor Alex Horton: Well, the easiest place to find them is Amazon. They're all there. Or if you go to my website or the ministry's website, theheart of what we believe dot org. it's on there under the books section. It's all there.

David W Ebel: Now you need to do me a favor and say that slow enough somebody grabbing a pencil can actually write it down. Can you say it nice and slow, please?

Pastor Alex Horton: Absolutely. Yes. That is going to be the heart of what we believe dot org or if it's easier THOWB dot org that will take you to the same place and you can find everything that you could possibly want to know about me there.

David W Ebel: And and even more what more about Jesus can be found there. Because

Pastor Alex Horton: Exactly. Yes.

David W Ebel: that's why we're both here. Now, as we get ready to close, I want to mention what our ministry does. we're called God Says Yes. We're we've we're a community of believers from all over the world. And the pod the podcast is interviewing people like yourself, pe people just like Alex who who have a story to tell. And they and and they tell it in a way that would be encouraging to someone watching. In addition, there is teaching. matter of fact, when you when Alex's episode is released, alongside it, you can on my on the website on the God Says Yes Podcast dot com website, you can download a a a Bible study for this one. that will give you deeper understanding of of what we just talked about. So that you don't just watch it, but for those who need to write it to get the to absorb it, that devotion will be right there and it's free. So the the last six or seven so far have them and all the ones in the future will have them. we've got my blogs are all mini mini sermons. And several of my sermons are actually in among the interviews. So and and my story, my my testimony, which is we call it David's story, is there. And if you want to s hear my story, you can see it there. But t to me the the the neatest thing is we've actually done something to give it away. We we created an area on the on the website that is about in in import how important it is to love people. In the top right corner is a dark little blue button on the top of the page. You click on it, it will take you to a place where you can there's hundreds of small little ill illustrations with about sc scripturally to encourage people. And they're free. You download then you put on your emails, you put on your posts, you put on your texts, and just encourage people. No strings, no negotiation, no cost. There's there's even a a chapter there for for the seasons so that For all the scriptural seasons, there's encouraging little things for every day during the holy times. And then finally, I'm a photographer, so we the we designed several of my pictures and put them into encouragement too. Again, everything, all of them, including the newest one, which is fifty-two weeks of church bulletin covers and tools. So little churches or or churches who have been going through the motions and It's not exciting anymore. Can have commercially quality developed front art for the p the cover and information and tools for inside of it so that every church of every size can be encouraged and and lifted up. And that's all free, all because it's we we're not looking for money. We're looking for hearts to be ins encouraged. And that's why we have it there. So we invite you to come and see God Says Yes podcast. dot com and and join. If you if you like what you see, put in your name and your email address and you'll get my twenty dollar book downloaded for free right then, along with the devotion that goes with it that I wrote just for this. So again, in every way we can we're loving people and we're doing it unselfishly because it's the only way to love. But it is time for us to to pray Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for the privilege of being here today. Alex and I have given our hearts to you and as a result we yield them to you now. We ask that you'd anoint everything that's been done and it was encourage the viewers and the listeners. That it would make a difference in their lives, that somehow whoever they are, this would speak to them and meet them just where they are. Sometimes we have people who are in their seniors that watch it. And sometimes we have young people. So having interviewees that are different ages but different stories is very valuable. So we pray that everything that was said and done will bring you glory and honor and praise. We ask that you minister to it and through it and make a difference in lives to the glory of God in Jesus' name. Amen.

Pastor Alex Horton: Amen.

David W Ebel: Now the final challenge is this. You want to know God? You really want to know him? Seek Him. You want to know him even better? Seek Jesus. Jesus said he was the way to God. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God the Father but through me. So that doesn't mean anybody can't come. Everybody can come. But Jesus is the gate and he opens that gate to you. Seek after God, Jesus is the key. Give your heart to him and he'll turn that key and open up a beautiful, eternal future for you and make a difference in your life for eternity. Seek after Jesus, he will be found. Till next time.