Tony Wilkins is a church planter based out of Orlando Church. Tony has planted several churches in the past and grew up in a missionary home. He shares a devotion of stepping out in Faith when God opens doors.
Transcript
Santiago Leon
Good morning and Hello and welcome everyone to the instant Bible cast, where we share God’s word and, and acknowledge his presence. Today’s verse of the day is but in your hearts revere crisis, Lord, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. First Peter 315. You can see that on the instant Bible app, which you can download on the Apple App Store. Today we have a guest all the way from Orlando. After Tony Wilkens I met him through another gentleman name, which we had him last week. Mr. Danny Rios and Tony, welcome to the Insta Bible cast.
Tony Wilkins
Yes, yes. It’s my pleasure to be with you all.
Santiago Leon
Tony, can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself?
Tony Wilkins
Yes, yes. So my real name’s Antonio, Tony’s that nickname. I was born in Mexico. And they wouldn’t allow Tony as a name back then, because for Mexico, that’s just a nickname. And so my parents were happy to name me, Antonio. They have been a kid with a foreign name. My parents are from California. And they’re, they’re missionaries. They started in Mexico, lived there for three years. Then we moved to Brazil, in 1965, where I lived for about 36 years.
Santiago Leon
So why did you move to Brazil?
Tony Wilkins
Well, I didn’t have a choice. I was only eight, nine months old and my parents were moving so they, they felt called to Brazil from the start. And so from Mexico, they actually went to their original call, which was Brazil.
Santiago Leon
So that’s why and how long has your family been in ministry?
Tony Wilkins
Wow, they started. They got married in 1962 and we’re in ministry. mmediately. So they got married and went straight to Mexico to be missionaries. And tell me your journey from Brazil to
Santiago Leon
Orlando.
Tony Wilkins
Okay, so in Brazil, we grew up there I went, came back to Bible College briefly up here when back in 1986, met the girl My life got married in 1989 had two kids still have them. And they we came back in 2004 after planning two churches ourselves in Brazil, and we came to help another church that was getting started in South Florida. We helped him for just about four years we helped another church that was Getting Started in West Palm Beach. And then the last eight and a half years we’ve been in Orlando.
Santiago Leon
Incredible. Yes, I do remember you, you. You lived in West Palm Beach, right? That’s correct. And of course, I read your bio, and people were telling me that you’ve had experience in church planting. can tell us a little bit about that.
Tony Wilkins
Yes, yes. So we I grew up watching my father plant churches, which what he did in Brazil, and that when our time came around, I was around 30 or so I felt that it was time to start the same legacy. And we started a church on the opposite side of town, which is a town the size of Orlando. So about an hour drive from where my folks had their church and we started our first church in cootie Chiba, which is the capital of the state of Botswana in Brazil. There, we planted a second church and form grasa which is about an hour and 15 minutes away. So,
Santiago Leon
yeah, which, you know, part of the missionary life is is is definitely a part of doing church plan. I know that people go to you know, when they go pioneer, they go to a foreign land, which is very biblical, like Brazil or going to Florida, for example, or going Mexicali Mexico, and things like that. But definitely I also have had experience in church planting I’ve helped out three church plants Am I in the past 10 years and spring grades? It’s a big ministry definitely seen the growth and seeing the, the changes throughout But anyways, um, we’re gonna pray and then we’ll kick it off to Tony to share what is God’s speaking to in his heart. Lord, we thank You, Lord for today. Lord, we pray that you speak to us today that this podcast This message through Tony, Lord and we pray that people will be blessed touched and healed. In Jesus name. Amen.
Tony Wilkins
Amen. Amen. So, yes, just something God, just fresh, fresh word that I received from yesterday, till today so I’m still hash hashing it attaching it out here to my own self, but I woke up with a dream yesterday. And it had to do with a person that I admired very much back in the days when I was in high school. He was my youth pastor when we spent a year on furlough in Portland, Oregon. His name’s Wendell Smith, he’s Judah Smith’s father. Judah Smith is a well known speaker. He was a great youth pastor and is taken over his father’s church since his father deceased. So I had windows Smith as my youth pastor Dan, we and the young adults he was our pastor. They’re also important He was also my Bible College, one of my colleagues, Bible college professors there. And just a man of excellence everything he did he preached with excellence he everything about him you could just say this is a royal, kingly or Prince type person who just excellent in everything I saw him Do I go, Wow, wouldn’t it be great to someday be like him or be close to him and, and, well, it happened that in this dream. Somehow I was taken back in time or so that he was visiting the same town I was in and he says, Hey, Tony, so good to see when this Hangout this we’re going out for lunch or something and got my car here. There’s a couple of cars going. And so I I was elated that he invited me and I go, yeah, we have history together. I probably have more history than anybody. Else that He’s inviting here. But all these people want to go and start piling in his car and I go, I’ll let them go, I’ll go on the second car. And as we were, I was looking at the second car, all these other people were piling in and I go, Well, well, this this is, you know, be humble that people, you know, if they want let them go first. And all of a sudden, both cars left and I was left behind. And so that was kind of like a wake up I go, why did I drink this, you know, and then I remembered how in the past I used to think of, you know, that you, you got to prefer others and you do and, and, and, and so forth. But I kind of felt God was saying when a blessing has your name, you grab it, you lay hold of it. And just because Sometimes you want to be nice, you want to please people you want to show humility or whatever. That’s not always what God’s expecting. And so for me, it was like, don’t go back to the old ways where you used to kind of live in that mentality, and usually with a low self esteem. It says, I have God’s like God was saying, I have promises for you. And I need you to. If they have your name on it, grab it. Don’t worry about people just take what I give to you, but you have to grab it. And so that was interesting, because when you start reading in the New Testament, like when Jesus breathes on his disciples, He says, receive the Holy Spirit. And I was teaching at a garden counter a few weeks ago for church and this son, and I went to study this word in the Greek receive and I noticed that it says, it’s not a passive receiving like you open your hand and somebody places something on your hand. But actually, it’s a verse that means you take hold of you grab, you hold firmly, you, it takes an action of you taking something from someone else’s hand, it like you’re taking something laying hold of it. And I go, hey, there’s a pattern here. And it’s not just that verse is the Greek word for receive. It’s not a pastor receiving. And so a lot of us many times, God has promises or blessings, and they have your name on it. And so you come with an open hand. And God has His open hand with the blessing on it as well. But nothing happens because God’s waiting for you to grab it. And you’re waiting for him to flop it on your hands. You know, just lay it on your hands and it’s not going to happen. He wants you to take hold and, and so you see this pattern in the Bible that one God wants to bless people. He says, Hey, the land is yours. take possession. And that means that they might have adversity and they probably will. They don’t have to take out the giants, but the land is theirs. And so many times there’s this, we fall into this trap of thinking that if it’s God or you’re you’re single, you’re looking to get married, then God will make her appear. God will throw her on, you know, my lap in my lap or whatever the the blessing is that you’re looking for. And I found out it’s, it doesn’t work that way most of the time. In fact, for those that are single looking for a bride, the Bible says in Proverbs 1822, that he that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. Somebody has to go out looking to find God’s not gonna necessarily find it. He wants you to take responsibility and ownership, he’ll confirm you with peace. In your heart. This is the right one or not, but you have to knock on the door. If you don’t knock on the door, it won’t open and God wants you to have the satisfaction of having chosen something rather than having to put up with a wife that he sent your way you choose it and you have the privilege of feeling like you it was a decision you made. And so I think there’s a principle that God’s trying to remind me and all of us that there’s blessings with your name on it. But it requires you to not be passive, not try to please people. Other people may want your blessing as well. And so you have to understand that there is principles in the Bible that says that, for example, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, but the violent take it by force. In other words, what is your inheritance? What is your possession, you have to take a step and take ownership of it. If maybe you’re praying for healing, maybe you’re praying for being free, set free and living a holy life. Well, those are things that you, if it has your name on it, and God says that’s yours, then you can’t be passive about it, you have to be proactive, you have to say, I’ll take it, I lay hold of this. And so that was just something just real fresh that I’m giving in a very short time here. But what is the blessing that God wants to give you? How many opportunities have you not taken, because you were too nice. You were too humble, but a wrong type of humility. And actually, it becomes a crutch or an excuse in many ways. So God wants us to understand, somebody said that the true definition of humility is not thinking above what who you are or greater than who you are. But it also means not thinking any less than who you really are. And I was a person that used to see myself as less than who I was, and when I understood That anytime that you change the definition of who God says you are, you’re being proud, whether you’re making yourself greater than what he says, or whether you’re making yourself less, sir than what he says, you’re you’re you’re falling into pride. And when I understood that, that low self esteem for me was actually a prideful thoughts because God didn’t see me as less. I repented because I know that God resists the proud and I didn’t want to be resistance ignored, I won’t I renounced this pride of my life and, and being timid and being shy, kind of started disappearing once I took hold of who he said I was. And so it has to do with your self esteem. It has to do with the blessings God’s God wants to lay in your hands, but you have to grab what’s yours, you have to take ownership. And that pleases God when you take ownership. It’s like me giving you a present and it’s all wrapped up. But if you don’t open it, you, you’ll find the person that gave it to you. If you never take a look what’s inside the wrapping, you’re offending the person that gave it to you. So God has blessings to give us. He has our name on it, but he needs you to unwrap it and then put it on. So that’s a quick short word here. I’m not sure how we’re doing for time here, but I try to put it in a nutshell.
Santiago Leon
No, no, no, this is very good. This is something that I’ve been thinking about praying about and meditating on. I’ve seen people that I see you know, God, you know, giving you the tools giving you the blessing but not taking it. It could be because of fear because it could be because of pride. Or they’re just I don’t know, it’s maybe some confusion, you know, maybe some days next spiritual warfare. They’re battling in their heart. It could be a something in the past some fear in the past, they did something in their family, or friends that did to them, so they don’t take that that Next step, and and for myself as well. I mean, I pray and every day and then I, I mean, like, whenever I see a, a on you say a opening, I try to take it as much as like, I know, this is a guy, let me go for it. But there are times in the past where I look back like I didn’t take that. I didn’t take it for some reason, you know? Um, Tony, can you pray for those people that, that, that who are looking for that blessing that are looking for that open window, that open door and pray for them to be courageous?
Tony Wilkins
Definitely, yes, yes, yes. So let’s do that. So Father, we thank you because you always quickness with your word. You see us bound and you want to set us free and the way you set us free is to give your word that truth that unlocks whatever is is keeping us bound and it sets us free because it corrects our thinking. And we’re most of us are bound in our thinking, even those that carry infirmities, as your Word says, and third john verse two it says, I brother and I pray that you prosper in everything and and and be in good health even as your soul prospers and are so has to do with our mind our will our emotions, and many times our mind and emotions, they’re, they’re warped, they’re hurt and and we don’t process things. It’s hard to agree with you, God and what who you say we are and what we can be and have. And today, Father, we want to renounce any wrong thinking, in a belittling of ourselves or distortion of who you say we are. We renounce that kind of thinking, to start believing everything you say. So when you say that we are perfect we we can be holy, we can be righteous in Christ Jesus, we are all those things and we’re not we We put on Christ which means we dress up and those things he says we are because Jesus is that and and we put on your thinking father and I pray that you help us to not be stuck with fear like my brother said, or, or whatever other excuse that keeps us from achieving the blessing you have with our name on it. And so Father, we ask you for forgiveness if we insisted in our thinking, and we asked you that, that you remove it, if we renounce father, any thoughts that does not agree with your thoughts. You have good phosphorus. You have good plans for us good future God and we want to agree with your plans and your future. And so Father, we thank you that you sent forth your word and you heal them. Father, your word comes in a heals it delivers it frees us, and right now, whoever it needs to be set free from wrong path, thought patterns, in the name of Jesus, we declare them set free. We do clarity of thoughts now aligning themselves to the Word of God. And their feelings coming into alignment as well. Their mind, their will, their emotions, they come into agreement with what God has spoken from heaven, his verde because what stands and so we come in alignment and we receive the benefit of freedom of blessing that promises and have abundant life.
Santiago Leon
So I bless my brethren in Jesus name, amen. Let’s keep praying. Let’s pray for the sick let’s pray for people that are dealing with the corona virus. People that are dealing with anxiety because of the corona virus. Yeah, so Tony, please pray for those people in need going through this so called pandemic even though we’re not there yet, but pray for the for those that are need with this small crisis.
Tony Wilkins
Yes, and I will pray for that but just a little thought for witnessing we were doing we witness every weekend on Sundays from three to five at Waterford lakes. All and we were telling people that hey, there’s an antidote for the corona virus. There’s a special pill here that’s really effective, and that people were listening and it says it’s called the gospel. And, and people would laugh because it the gospel has actually what we preach is the good news. And it isn’t just healed the corona virus as a heals them all and more dangerous viruses called the sin virus. And so Father in the name of Jesus for those that are going through father the fear and anxiety of this Corona virus. Father, we thank you that we have the truth we have the antidote, your Word says father, one, two or three agree in your name, things will be done so we don’t have to fear or what the enemy dishes out our way. We can say Jesus in us is greater than whatever is in the world. Greater is He and so we can speak to infirmity and we speak law to anyone now that’s bound in the first Whatever it be, whether it’s cancer, whether it’s a cold weather, whatever it be in the mighty name of Jesus, we command sickness to loosen its grip, and to obey the Lord Jesus we command now sickness to go, spirit of affliction and pain go, we declare in the name of Jesus, that every person is being set free. And we thank You Father, that he who does whom the sun sets free is free indeed, we speak healing. We speak now father alignment to your word, Father, as it is in heaven. Father were our heavenly bodies. Father, our spiritual man, Father is healthy, so be it on Earth. We speak health to our bodies here on Earth, and the mighty name of Jesus and we give your father all the praise and the glory for the healing that we grab ahold of. In Jesus name.
Santiago Leon
Amen. Amen. And, and, and, and if anyone’s viewing or listening to this, if you have any testimonial, any miracle that’s happened because of this podcast or or maybe outside of this podcast, Don’t Don’t forget to dm us on twitter on Insta Bible app one. We’d love to hear and share those testimonies in our future shows and things like that. But yeah, we are a strong believer in healing, also salvation and miracles and we pray that that the power of God will touch you wherever you’re at if you’re listening on the phone, or on your desktop or even on your Apple TV device. But, but Tony, very much, very thankful. Can you share the audience? What is the best way to reach you?
Tony Wilkins
Oh, okay. Yes. As it stands now, we’re in the process we have we just started a church read is still in its early formation. So we’re still working on a website and so forth. So you can reach me. The church is called all in church here in Orlando. And we’re looking to reach the UCF students in the Valencia his his campuses and even Full Sail that region there to reach the Still assessor go. But you can reach me at Tony de wilkins@hotmail.com so that’s to NY D for David will consult together wi lk ins@hotmail.com also you can reach me at my phone if you want to text me is 305-785-0069 again is 305-785-0069
Santiago Leon
and that is definitely in South Florida number 305 from Miami fan recognizable. Tell us a little bit about your new church plan team one is launch and how can people find more information about it?
Tony Wilkins
Beautiful. Yes. So we actually start meeting as the first week of January with the leadership team we met for two months, more or less, and then we start taking action to go out and since we’re mainly looking to reach the loss, we started in the evangelistic small group. So we meet every Sunday at three PM, outside of the patio, in front of zazz as most restaurants out there in Waterford lakes mall. And so we’ll sing a little bit we’ll give a word of inspiration then we go out and buy with with the team. We break up in twos and threes and we witness and God is God has been healed healing and people are been praying, be there been they’ve been praying to receive the Lord. And as soon as we land, the place that’s a little more permanent. We’ll be able to have regular services as well.
Santiago Leon
And you could contact Tony at Tony wilkins@hotmail.com right? Yeah, Tony D will Connie t Wilkens and of course, you can follow us it’s the Bible app.com or it’s the Bible app one on Twitter or the instant Bible app on Instagram and definitely like to hear your stories, your your input intake and we could definitely you know for drain information about Tony and everything else and he’s from the Orlando area, which is about three and a half hours away from me Orlando a lot of big things are happening there. I gotta be honest with you a lot of big ministries. Orlando still has a small field. I mean, like that small town feel for me. That’s correct. But it’s gonna be a big town eventually is was looking like, Tony, any closing words to close off this podcast?
Tony Wilkins
We just want to encourage you don’t keep waiting. If it has your name on it, grab it.
Santiago Leon
Hey, man, that’s a great message, especially for young people. Yes, I see a lot of young people just you know, they’re free to take that next step. They think that even that, that half step, which is really easy. I can do this, but it’s not a huge mountain guy will help you he’ll He will make things easier for you. Just you just got to take that step of faith. Well, Tony, I appreciate you coming on to the it’s the Bible podcast.
Tony Wilkins
Yes. My pleasure.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai