Grace That Is Greater Than All We Do: Michael Jr. and Jordan Matthews
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There is no better feeling than the moment you discover you are a part of something bigger than yourself—when you know God is there with a plan for you, and you realize that you have been soaked in His grace since the beginning of time. Comedian Michael Jr. had that moment after using his last few dollars to get to New Jersey to perform a show with iconic comedians George Wallace and Jerry Seinfeld. After performing, the manager invited Michael to church with him. Dejected about being completely broke and unable to get back to New York, Michael was gifted $200 and a napkin with a church address on it. That was a turning point, pushing Michael to read the Bible and use his gift of creating laughter to help spread the gospel. NFL player Jordan Matthews was trying desperately to navigate a performance-based world, but he was getting caught up in the highs and lows. Longing for consistency, Jordan looked to other guys in the NFL who had built a foundation of faith that allowed them to be okay no matter their circumstances. That’s when Jordan found Jesus, and began to walk in true relationship with Christ.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling®: The Story of Easter
Past interview: Trevor Brazile
Upcoming interview: Mica Paris
Interview Quotes:
“All these people I never even knew before gave me all this love because I gave them a part of me.” - Michael Jr.
“It's just super exciting to be able to see this and notice and feel it—that heaven is real, that God gave me this gift not to serve me, not so I can do a bunch of shows and get a bunch of people and just laugh. It's so much more to do than just laughter. Comedy is the vehicle. It is not a destination.“ - Michael Jr.
“I know I'm called to help people understand their purpose.” - Michael Jr.
“I want to make laughter common in uncommon places.” - Michael Jr.
“Everything [humans make is], 100-percent, always going to be performance-based. If you don't meet this criteria, you're out, you're done.” - Jordan Matthews
“I realized that those pages in the Word, they weren't just words on a page. Those things meant something.” - Jordan Matthews
“And I was like, ‘Look, Lord, I know I haven’t been doing this thing right. I know that I'm probably still going to mess up at times, but I know this whole thing is about You. And I can't save myself, so it's up to You to do it, and I feel that happening right now.’” - Jordan Matthews
“I know that I have a foundation that I can stand on and a relationship that can't be taken away, no matter my performance. And that's something that's very freeing.” - Jordan Matthews
“I just felt like the gospel was able to give me perspective. I don't serve a God who sat on a throne and didn't know what suffering was. He came down, and He did the work, and He suffered. If He can go through that for me, I can go through this for somebody else.” - Jordan Matthews
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Laughter is the tangible evidence of hope, like no matter where a person is, if they could |
| 0:06.8 | just laugh, then you know that there's hope, but more importantly, they know it too. |
| 0:12.0 | And from that position, I can now deposit some words of encouragement and maybe even some |
| 0:16.9 | tactical plans on what they can do to get to and stay at a better place. |
| 0:22.6 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. |
| 0:25.1 | As we look to whether we're making a difference with our lives or in the lives of others around |
| 0:28.9 | us, we can tend to measure ourselves based on our performance, whether we're reaching |
| 0:33.2 | for accolades in our careers, or comparing ourselves with others on social media, in |
| 0:37.9 | Ephesians we're told, for, by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that, not |
| 0:42.8 | of yourselves. |
| 0:43.8 | No matter what we achieve or don't achieve, God's grace is given to us all the same, and |
| 0:48.6 | at the end of the day, our performance can only get us so far. |
| 0:52.4 | Our guests today spend a lot of time performing for others, one on a stage and the other on |
| 0:57.0 | the football field. |
| 0:58.2 | We're talking to comedian Michael Jr., an NFL player, Jordan Matthews. |
| 1:06.2 | Known as one of today's most gifted comedians, Michael Jr. believes that laughter can bring |
| 1:10.8 | understanding, and he takes being funny very seriously. |
| 1:14.4 | Though he's had the opportunity to perform on the same stages as legends like Jerry Seinfeld, |
| 1:18.6 | George Wallace, Chris Rock, and others, he now tours the country using comedy to inspire |
| 1:23.4 | audiences to activate their purpose and live a life fulfilled. |
| 1:27.6 | Michael's mission is to make laughter commonplace in uncommon places, such as homeless shelters |
| 1:32.9 | and prisons. |
... |
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