Danny Rios shares his heart about discipleship, and the start of All In Church.
Transcript
Santiago Leon
Welcome to the Insta Bible Podcast, where we share devotions and, and inspiring words that God leads us in. And we have had a couple episodes before the previous episode like previous episodes at the con, called the Bebo cast. But now we’re going to call the Insta Bible podcast pretty excited about this new venture new launch will have a few episodes a month. But today we have a special guest that I met through one of my good friends. JOHN Dennis, if you guys ever looked him up, he’s hard to find on Google. Mature we got Mr. Danny Rios on the line and I met him in Orlando at the Jesus image conference, Jesus 19 I mean, Well, welcome to the show, Danny.
Danny Rios
Absolutely. Thank you. Glad to be on
Santiago Leon
Danny keto. The audience a little bit about yourself, what do you do and how do you make money?
Danny Rios
Well, I’m actually a night operations manager at Lowe’s home improvement. been there for about five years now?
Santiago Leon
And can you tell us you know, you’re walking the Lord, how long have you been a Christian?
Danny Rios
For? I’ve been following Christ for six years. But I gave my life to Christ right around 18 years old.
Santiago Leon
18 years old. That’s That’s incredible. What was your life before Christ?
Danny Rios
Well, I’ll have to go back to when I first gave my life to Christ, right around 18 years old. In my bedroom, I’m just flicking through channels and looking for something to watch. And I come to a channel and I hear a pastor preaching the Word of God. And what he was preaching was really speaking right to my heart right to my situation. And I made the decision right there after the service. He said, Just reach your hand out and say this prayer after me. And so I began to reach my hand out and prayed to the Lord and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And I had a real encounter with God in that moment where I felt the physical presence of the Holy Spirit all over me. I was bawling in tears. And so it was an encounter with God in that moment, I knew he was real and I was making the decision. You know, the Bible says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. So that day, I confess Jesus as Lord and I believe in my heart and I will save that moment.
Santiago Leon
Amen, amen. We’ve I met Danny at the Jesus 19 conference, which is a yearly conference in Orlando, headed by the Jesus image ministries by Michael Colin idols and Jessica Cooley. I knows Danny, tell me your experiences past that this past December at the Jesus conference.
Danny Rios
The conference was amazing. Went to the conference, Jesus 2018 conference and, and it was truly amazing. I haven’t that was the first time me going to the conference, I believe they’ve been putting on this conference for since 2016. Or before, but my first time was 18. And it was nothing like I’ve experienced before, gathering with so many hungry believers who were truly crying out to God and, and were ready to receive and pour their hearts out to the Lord. It was just an amazing gathering with some of the most anointed, pastors, evangelists, fivefold ministers in the world. So it was great. I received a lot actually, in 2018. at that conference, during a Randy Clark teaching, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire and I began to speak in tongues. So it was the first time I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. So it was it was a very memorable moment and it was actually changed my walk the course. My walk. So when you get baptized with the Holy Spirit, there is a power that comes with it to be a witness. And so I’ve experienced a lot more witnessing in my walk than I did prior. Can you
Santiago Leon
tell the audience what is baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Danny Rios
So the Bible says that, back when john the baptist came, and he was preparing the way for the Lord, He says that I baptize and water but there is one who will come after me, who will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. And so there is a water baptism and there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus baptize us with. So when you begin to get baptized in the Holy Spirit, there’s a Holy Spirit in filling where there’s an overflow and there’s a power that comes back in the in the early church in the book of Acts. When Jesus revealed himself to the disciples, He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. So they win. And in that moment when the Holy Spirit came, it rested on each of their heads as a tongue of fire and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in tongues. So there was a power that came upon them. Then they went to the streets and proclaim the Word of God boldly, according to the Word of God. So as the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you will have a boldness to preach the Word of God and that’s kind of what I’ve experienced in my walk since being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Santiago Leon
And then and and I grew, I really do agree with Danny because it really changes a lot of perspective. of your course of your walk, you become filled, you become empowered, the right word to it and it changes everything you know, it is I definitely really recommend it. You know, if you have Yet it’s nothing scary. It’s a beautiful thing. Morton, absolutely. Danny Keith, tell us Can you share what is God speaking to you in your heart? We okay.
Danny Rios
Yeah, absolutely. So my walk is looked a little different. Um since then since since the Jesus 2018 since you know, these last three years of my life have been a little more deeper and seeking the word of the Lord and knowing what it looks like to follow Christ according to His Word. I’ve been following Christ six years now, prior to being given my life to Christ at 18 years old, I have to go back to bring context to what I’m about to share. So when I gave my life to Christ, around 18 years old, I gave my life to Christ. I had an encounter, I was saved, but I didn’t. I wasn’t raised, knowing who Christ was. I wasn’t my family wasn’t religious. I didn’t have friends who wouldn’t go to church so I didn’t have anyone to show me what that looks like and to get plugged plugged into the local church. So I basically went back to my life and live my life for 15 plus years, until I came to a place in my life where I was hurting and crying out and needed the Lord’s help. I actually went down a dark path and and got actually got separated from the daughter, my daughter’s mother and and turned to drugs and was went into drugs and just a different path that that that led me to a dead end. And I cried out to the Lord and I decided my brother just decided, you know what, come over here moved to Florida, I moved to Florida. He began to take me to his church get plugged into the local church plugged into his small group, and I begin to start to learn what it usually looks like to follow Christ once I got plugged into a church. And a small group. But then there was three years of, of going from small group and church services. And then I moved, and I went to another church and through through my different seasons of my life, I was getting bits and pieces, but I didn’t have a picture of what it looked like. So basically, um, now these last three years, I’ve come to learn so much and connected with a with a pastor who really has a heart for discipleship. And what I was lacking in my earlier walk when I did give my life to Christ at 18 years old was discipleship, someone to come alongside of me and walk with me and show me what that walk looks like with the Lord, and kind of show me and guide me along the path. Three years, so I met this pastor at this church that I’m attending, and he’s big on discipleship. And so the focus is discipleship and going one to one. I think he shared with me the statistics of people being discipled from the pulpit are 10% the statistics of people being discipled in a small group setting are 25%. But the statistics of a person being discipled in a one to one setting is 65%. So there’s a lot of lot more discipleship that goes on. I’m not one to one setting. So fast forward. Here I am learning what it looks like holy spirit is teaching me through the Scriptures. And so we are actually going to plant be planting a church in Easter land, Easter, Lando focused on one to one discipleship, each one will know what it looks like to be a disciple and make a disciple. And so everyone that comes into the church will know what it looks like to be a disciple and make a disciple everyone will have a Paul that’s mentoring them. Everyone will have a Timothy that they’re mentoring. So there’s a picture that we can paint when it comes to discipleship, according to the Word of God, and it’s in Matthew 2819, and 20. He says, Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I’ve commanded you to do. And lo, I will be with you to the very end of age. So the commission that Jesus gave us, the Great Commission is to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us to do. So we have to know all the commandments Jesus gave and be willing to disciple others and teach them on a one to one basis where they have a true understanding of the Scripture and they can begin to apply it in their lives. So with this pastor that we will be planning a Church and Easter Lando and he has come up with a list of all the commandments Jesus gave. And we do one to one discipleship with those that we are discipling. And every member that comes into the church will know all the commandments Jesus gave on a one to one basis, we meet with them at least once a week. And we go over the commandments, maybe two a week, three a week, however long it takes for them to have an understanding of all the commands Jesus gave, and then they can pursue live in the mountain has in their lives. So that’s where I’m at in this moment. And about a month or so we will be planting a church in East Orlando and it will be called all in church.
Santiago Leon
All in church. Wow. That’s, that’s incredible. Now, you’ll be launching it when again,
Danny Rios
probably within within the month. We’ve been having pretty much meetings and and actually scouting some different locations. So probably within the month we have a couple places in mind. So probably within a month Lord, Lord willing
Santiago Leon
and you guys will begin as a house church correct?
Danny Rios
No, no actually we’re actually already doing the for the last seven weeks have been meeting in the home praying seeking the Lord and and he’s been given teachings on discipleship and the commands of Jesus. And so this church that we will be possibly opening within this month is going to be a location.
Santiago Leon
And of course you know you spoke about discipleship one on one, what goes into like what entails and discipleship.
Danny Rios
So, first we have to know what it means to be a disciple and we have to go back to The very beginning in Genesis, to know our identity and why we were created. And in Genesis 126, God said, Let us let us Father, Son, Holy Spirit, make man in our image, according to our likeness, not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness. So we have to remember that God created us in His image, and his likeness, in his spiritual personality. So we have to be perfected and know that we are created for his image not to physically look like him, but to have the characteristics of God which is found in Jesus Christ. So we have to know the characters of Christ, which I can list a couple of them just really quick love, purity, holiness, righteousness, forgiveness, humility, obedience, compassion, we have to know the characteristics of question Christ and begin to pursue those character ethics in our lives. Now when we received the Holy Spirit, we have fruit of that spirit which is love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. So, we have to go back to see that we were created in his image. And what we’re supposed to look like is Jesus Christ on earth. What we’re supposed to be putting out is the fruit of the Spirit. What we’re supposed to be pursuing is the characters of Christ, love, purity, holiness, we have to know his character, and begin to pursue that character in our lives. And that’s become a disciple when you look like Christ in your walk. It’s a it’s not just a confession of faith. It’s an expression of faith. And so, when we begin to look at since we’re created in his image when we begin to care These characteristics in our lives that’s carrying the image of God. So you have to know what you’re going after have a picture of what it is that you’re supposed to embody spiritually, and, and and in the likeness of Christ. The other thing is, you have to know what it’s going to cost you to follow Christ. If you don’t know what it costs to follow Christ, you’ll never give up what it takes to follow him. So knowing painting a picture of what it costs to follow Christ, that He is before everything. And what that means is that you can paint it and two commandments. He says, He says, all of the law and the prophets, hang on these two commandments, to love God with all your heart, your mind, your soul and your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. So you seen all of the law of the Old Testament hangs on this.
Santiago Leon
Now is discipleship for You are Christians or is it for everyone, beginner, intermediate, or events?
Danny Rios
discipleship is for every every person, every person who wants to receive Christ, into their heart and into their life as their Lord and Savior. It’s it’s you have to bring somebody in and see, the Bible says, How can they hear unless someone preaches. So it’s the person who decides to accept Christ. You bring them in, and you teach them paint a picture of what it looks like, this is what we’re after we’re after. This is what Christ God has called us to be. He’s created us in His image, and the image is found in Jesus Christ. And so we’re going to embody who Christ is and all of his character, his characteristics. And so we bring in two new believers showing them that painting that picture and then kind of letting them know that listen, these are the two greatest commandments to loving God with all your heart which is in a relationship with him. loving him first with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit and then loving your neighbor as yourselves. So we teach, whether that’s a new believer, or a believer who just hasn’t had a clear picture of what it means to follow Christ. Remember?
Santiago Leon
Yeah, go ahead. No, go ahead finish I thought,
Danny Rios
well, what Remember that? In my walk, I went to several different churches and the lack of discipleship and intentionality. And someone being a pause in my life. I got bits and pieces from different churches, different groups, and there wasn’t like a full picture painted, of what it truly looks like and what I should be going after. Why is that?
Santiago Leon
Danny? Why aren’t churches discipling the flock is there is it? Is it because of a numbers thing? Like what do you think are the reasons
Danny Rios
why I believe that that I’m an MC marrinson and my walk, it’s that they are teaching the Word of God. But there’s just not enough on a Sunday. The way church is set up now is the preaching and the teaching comes from the Sunday service. And there’s not enough time and a half hour service or 45 minutes to be intentional enough as you need to be to know where each individual in the congregation is spiritually, and walk with them down that path. It’s like I said, we can go back to the 10% that are being discipled. from the pulpit. There needs to be more one to one discipleship and teaching. And I think the structure of the church today is that we’re trying to disciple the congregation from the pulpit. And there’s like, there’s only so many scriptures that can be preached, and there’s not enough there’s like a lot of sermon series. So you have a little bit of information and different information, but there’s no picture of like when I come to Christ, what is my goal and what am I going after more What can I apply in my life? What is this new life that Christ has given me? And what does it look like? So, painting a picture of what it looks like and how I can apply it right now and not wait 1015 years of receiving different different words from different sources without having a clear picture that I can go after right now.
Santiago Leon
Quite I, I really agree with you. That seems like especially in mega churches, you kind of lose that touch that personal touch, obviously, you know, there’s some other systems with small groups and everything but, you know, discipleship is kind of is the word for in the correct word.
Danny Rios
For music,
Santiago Leon
no, I’m a little bit foreign, a little bit distant. It’s not used as much in churches anymore.
Danny Rios
Yeah, I think I think we have to understand that the Great Commission and the Great Commission is to Teach is to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. And in order to do that, think of what it would, what kind of time and what kind of attention you would have to pay on a disciple, that someone your disciple, and to teach them that. So I think that the structure of the church is just not set up. And they’re not intentional enough to do that, in some of the churches I’ve been part of. I think that if if we began to do
Danny Rios
I think here’s, here’s that, here’s the answer to it right here. It’s the scripture that that’s in Ephesians 411. So that is not my perspective. I don’t want to bring my perspective but I want to bring the truth of the Word. So in Ephesians, 411, through 13, it says now these are the gifts Christ gave the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith, and have knowledge of and have the knowledge of God’s Son, that we will be mature in the Lord measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ, which is to look like Christ. So it says that Christ is given the fivefold ministers to equip the saints, to equip God’s people, for the work of the ministry. So the work of the ministry comes from the body of Christ comes from the saints comes from God’s people. They’re just there to equip the people to do the work of the ministry. And so they come to the fullness and standard of Christ to look like Christ. So it is us that have to do the work of the ministry. They’re just trying to equip you to do the work of the ministry. I think we’ve come to a place in the church where we were expecting the pastors to do the work of the ministry when it’s us. as disciples and followers of Christ, to do the work of the ministry, to tell others and preach the Word of God, to be a witness, to paint a picture of what it means to look, to follow Christ and to look like him.
Santiago Leon
Amen. Wow, that’s very powerful. And it’s right. It doesn’t all have to be on the shoulders of a pastor. It can happen within the body of Christ within the church. You know, this guy that’s been going for the past year, hey, you can disciple this guy. Things like that is all a team effort. So that’s something that you know, to very much think about, Danny, this is a portion of the podcast where we pray for people. We pray for salvation, healings. Can you pray for people out there that who are looking for the truth who are looking for Jesus and also pray for healings, people that needs to be delivered from cancer or bad back or things like that. Pray out there. And yeah,
Danny Rios
go ahead. Absolutely. So Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. And we thank You, Jesus that you died on the cross for our sins, but to give us the life and to restore the life that was lost from the garden, so I just thank you for coming for saving us for delivering us, redeeming us and giving us new life. I pray, Lord, that you would give this revelation. And through each person that confesses you Jesus Christ is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised them from God raised you Jesus from the dead, that they will be saved. So every person that makes that decision today, Lord, that’s listening that may happen to listen to this podcast. May they make that decision right there from where they are. They don’t have to go to church to make the decision. They can make the decision right where they are. So we just pray that every person would be moved by the Holy Spirit. To accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Lord, we pray for every individual that has been in the church or has been a Christian for a while now and just doesn’t know and doesn’t have a picture of what it means to follow you, Jesus, that they would begin to seek discipleship, Lord, that they would go and begin to seek elders in the church and say, I need to know what it looks like to follow Christ. I need to know what it looks like to look like Christ. I need to know exactly what it means to love Christ with all my heart, mind, soul and strength and love my neighbor as myself. So I just pray Lord, right now that each person that’s been walking this walk as a Christian, but is yet to come to know and to come to look like you Jesus and their walk, Lord, I pray that they would be discipled Lord, they would get plugged into a local church, they would get plugged into a life group Lord, where they can be discipled that People would come to invest in their life and disciple them on a one to one basis so they can be guided just as Paul guided Timothy in the scriptures. We all need a Paul in our lives and a Timothy in our lives. So I just pray this for every listener, every person that will come to listen to this podcast. Lord, I pray right now for every person that needs healing that needs a breakthrough Lord, that is struggling Lord with a report that the doctor has given them. I pray right now, Jesus, that you would heal them right now, by your Holy Spirit, you would touch them, you would move on their behalf, Lord, that You already paid for our sickness on the cross so it no longer belongs to us, and that we would walk in that revelation that by your stripes, we are healed. I thank you, Lord, I praise you for I thank you for every healing that’s taking place. I thank you, Lord, that we walk in that authority to cast out demons to lay sick my hands on the sick to Lord raise the dead. I pray that that is the authority that we walk in as the body of Christ and as disciples of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank you for every healing that’s taking place right now, Lord, and I just pray that Lord, the body of Christ would rise up to be the unblemished holy blameless without progress proach church that you’ve called it to be in Jesus name,
Santiago Leon
amen in Jesus name, Lord and yeah you out there saying that, you know, if you’re looking for the truth, Jesus is the way yeah and and if you have any healing, to report please do. Please, direct message us on Insta Bible you either through Twitter or through Facebook message us and that will it will like to read it here, here on the on the Insta Bible podcasts for future episodes. And that’s what we do we just share life and the word and also pray for people during this podcast. Danny, what is The best way to reach you online to gain more information about yourself and also on the church plant coming up.
Danny Rios
Okay, so the new church plants going to be called all in church. reason it’s called all in is because we will be all then for Jesus just like he is all going through us. We will be in the East Orlando area with an intention to reach the students and UCF and win them to the Lord. Each person will be loved, cared for equipped Shepherd trained in what it means to look like Christ, walk like Christ, and do the work of the ministry. And so you can reach out to me on my Facebook page, Danny Rios or you can email me at Daniel rivers 39 at gmail.com
Santiago Leon
Danny rivers 39 at gmail. com and you could follow us on Insta Bible app, one on Twitter. Bible app, one or go on to Facebook is the Bible app. And you can download the app as well if you want to have daily devotions on the every day, so that so that you can read and be encouraged. And of course, visit us on the inside Bible app. com for more information we have post and we have we also store all the blogs out there this podcast will be transcribed. So you’ll be able to read or maybe just recent snippets of what Danny was telling us today during the podcast and also please don’t forget to rate and review this is a brand new podcast so give five stars you know, we’re just beginning and something great is going to happen and and thank God for it all glory to God. Well, Danny Rios, um, any closing words?
Danny Rios
You know, I just encourage every person to to really fully surrender to the Lord and and know what that that looks like. So, we are here to help others to help others and what that looks like, according to Scripture. So, I pray that each every every person would just get connected to the church and, and begin to plug in and truly surrender to Jesus Christ and all of their lives in every area of their lives. So,
Santiago Leon
definitely, and if you’re alando, check out all in church starting very soon, within this month, and definitely East Orlando, right near UCF. So glad that God is moving in Orlando. It used to be just a place for Disney, but maybe it might be a place for ministry. So we’ll see how it goes. Well, Danny, thanks for coming on to the inside Bible podcast.
Danny Rios
Absolutely. Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai