LIGHT Without Limit!

Well, the low friends took both again. It is Christmas week 2020. And boy, I think we're glad to get to Christmas. Wow, we, what a few months, what a year this has been. And I haven't been with you on a podcast for several months. And so I'm glad to be back. As we come to the end of this year, I have a friend that I want you to meet that I think will just give us a real impetus to think about what we want for next year. But I want to just share some thoughts from Pastor Meredith's Tim Keller in New York City. Tim Keller is well known in certain circles for his thoughtful ideas regarding life and scripture and all of that. And he has a little book called Hidden Christmas, the surprising truth behind the birth of Christ. And before we meet our guest, I want you to meet Tim Keller writing about Christmas. And he, he starts by quoting the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ. Isaiah 9 reads like this, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. It goes on to say for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called a wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace of the greatness of his government and peace. There will be no end. Then Keller goes on to say, one of the first indications of Christmas season is the appearance of lights. Lights on trees, candles and windows, radiance everywhere. The Christmas lights of New York City where he lives, delight even blasey residents. Everything seems to be wrapped in millions and millions of stars. This is appropriate because December 25 follows the darkest time of the year in the Mediterranean world in Europe where Christmas celebrations took shape. But the lights are not just decorative. They are symbolic. It goes on to say a couple of things about the darkness of the world. And if we ever got the darkness piece in my lifetime, the year 2020 has been it. Listen to how he writes about it. No matter what you want to do in a room, you have to first turn on the light, or you can't see to do anything else. Christmas contains many spiritual truths, but it will be hard to grasp the others unless we grasp this one first. That is that the world is a dark place. And we will never find our way or see reality unless Jesus is our light. So how is the world dark killer says? In the Bible, the word darkness refers to both evil and ignorance. It means first that the world is filled with evil and untold suffering. Look at what was happening at the time of the birth of Jesus. Violence, injustice, abuse of power, homelessness, refugees fleeing, oppression, families ripped apart, and bottomless grief. Sounds killer says exactly like today. So that having been said, I'm so excited to have a special friend and colleague and guest with me today that you'll meet in just a few minutes. But I want to read you this post Christmas podcast. Just the comments that Luke makes about the place and the circumstance of Jesus birth. Luke 2. In those days, he's a Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Crenius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth and Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house in line of David. He went at her register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her first born a son. She wrapped him in cloths, placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. And of course, that's the story of Jesus of Nazareth. That's where it starts. My friend is with me today. I've known now for almost a dozen years. I met him when he was in his early 20s. Now you're an older dude. You're like 35, right, Josh? Yes, sir. So this is Josh Richardson. He is an entrepreneur. Do you call yourself a serial entrepreneur? Like you like starting stuff? Yeah, I guess. But you like sales? Yes, I love sales. So I just love people. Okay. You love people? Yes. That's good. Let's just go back and say, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Where were you born? Fort Collins, Colorado. What year? 1985. What month? March. March 30th. Are you serious? I'm a Mark's guy. Hey, there you go. I'm a sad Patrick's day. That was a good month. The years are a little farther apart. So this piece that I said just now about, are you a serial entrepreneur or and you have responded by saying, I love people. Have you always loved people? Like when you were nine, did you love people? Absolutely. Really? Yeah. Just everybody has a unique story and is on a unique journey and finding out about that story and journey and coming alongside them and giving them a nugget of encouragement or giving them even just the smile or a handshake. But you didn't know that when you were nine? No, but it developed over time. When you're nine, when you're younger or however age, you get a good smile out of somebody, you know, it's good. When did you know? Because I have seen you over these years. I'd say, you know, Josh, he can sell anything to anybody. He just has that way about him. When did you know you could persuade people or because that's what sales is, right? This is persuasion. I guess, you know, funny enough, growing up with my parents, when I'd get in a, you know, you call it, you know, little father, son, mother, son, little battles. When I could hold my own and a little snit with my parents, I was like, oh, maybe I got the gift of gab. This is good. How old were you when you first recognized that? Pretty young, which wasn't my parents weren't fond of. But you know, further on in my journey, I could really tell getting involved in business that, wow, this is really a gift that I've been given, you know, the gift of communication and the passion for people. Really that combination, really, really the gift of gab and the love of people really thrived. You went to elementary school and middle school and high school year? Yes. So you went there for Collins. Some was public or was it all, was it all private Christian? I went to private Christian through, through elementary and then I went to public junior high, public high school. And you knew about Jesus, like with this part I just read, you knew about that early on, right? Yes. Thankfully, I was actually saved in promise keepers in the 90s. Save at promise keepers. Yeah, I accepted Jesus into my heart. Okay. And my grandpa on my dad's side was actually a pastor. Oh, and my dad and my mom obviously raised me with biblical values and talking about, you know, Jesus all the time. And that was a big key part in my household and my upbringing. You went to like Boulder, University of Colorado with McCartney. One of those things, really? Yeah. Promise keepers there. Oh, yeah. With the light. Yeah. Full on. Wow. Yep. Well, that's a deal. Yep. And my uncle, my uncle actually at the time worked for promise keepers. I see. And so we, I was up there in a booth with my dad. Since my uncle worked there, we got this awesome seat up in a booth. Of course he did. Yeah. And I was young, you know, and I will never forget they did a call. And they said, whoever wants to accept Jesus in their heart, you need to come forward. And I looked at my dad and I said, I want to do this. Wow. And my dad and I remember walking, leaving the booth and we walked it took forever and we walked all the way down all the way to the field. Wow. And I accept the Lord of my heart then. I have a friend I went to DC in 93 and I met a guy who later became chief of staff to the attorney general of the United States. And he, he had a friend who was a speechwriter for a senator and so forth. And they went to a promise keepers at Robert Kennedy field in DC. And that moment came when they gave the call and the, and my friend, the chief of staff guy turned to his friend and said, I think we better do this. Wow. You know, and they were in our 20s, 30s, whatever. And they stood up and went forward like, how old were you when that happened? I think it was the 90s. I think I'm not even sure. We were trying to figure out when it was. But it was early, like, yeah, young, yeah, like junior higher before. So everything since then been been pretty good and pretty. I think I know the answer to this. That's why I teed it up that way. You know, I was telling you earlier, you know, I wear my testimony like a badge of honor. Now, now, you know, I've gone through some real rough things in my life and my journey has been very up and down. You know, I've turned from the Lord and discovered really what darkness and loneliness and and what, quote unquote, the other side looks like, you know, I've tasted that and it's nothing to be fooled around with and it's not somewhere you want to go. So early on when I when I met you, if you use back, you were based in Hong Kong. Yes, sir. Yep. You were doing what? I was working for a family, family businesses, autobox. You're starting. I was starting our Asia Pacific office that we got 14 countries up and running over there. So I was traveling, you know, every week to typically a different country, one out of the 14 countries, all throughout Asia Pacific, India, Australia, just building teams, building distributors. How old are you? I moved to Hong Kong on my 26th birthday. Good grief. Yeah. I remember asking you a while later, I don't know how many years later it would be. Not very many years saying, why did you leave Hong Kong? I mean, now you're single. You're 26. You're in Hong Kong. Yeah. You got some bucks. You're doing all these things, building teams. Yeah. And I asked you, why, why did you leave Hong Kong? And your response to me at that time, and you can elaborate this if you want, was that if I stayed there, I would have lost my soul. Yeah. And probably my life. You know, for me, I just really, I'd flat out. I'd turn from the Lord, you know, I really got into partying and there was a piece of, you know, addiction and loneliness and, you know, I won't get too into the details. But yeah, I mean, it was, it was a very dark time and it was a very lonely time. And, you know, a lot of the things that were giving me joy were instantaneous and temporary. Sure. And that really started to run out and I really felt so lonely and empty. But what was really a really interesting piece about that time in my life was going back to when I was saved and asked the Lord to come into my heart when I was young. The Holy Spirit continued to pursue me in very odd and interesting ways throughout the darkest time in my life. Like what? You know, I attended the National Prayer Records with you. And I had sat at, you know, my seat got taken when I was at the National Prayer Breakfast at this big dinner and it's very a song. It's not good to have your seat stolen at the and it's very regulated. You have a specific seat. You know, it's a big deal. Yeah. Yeah. And so when my seat got taken, I said, well, I guess I better just find a new seat. And so I was living in Asia. And so I found, you know, there was a table of some men from Asia. And so I just decided, hey, I'll sit down and, you know, I love people. So, hey, how are you guys? And I sat down and it ended up being Koji. And Koji was a, was a fellow who's a wonderful follower of Jesus who lives in Japan and led small groups in the parliament, Japanese diets and all that. Yeah. And so those Koji who said it was Koji and his whole team. Yeah. And so I'm sitting there and he, we began to all just talk and discuss. So fast forward, he begins to send me handwritten letters about Jesus and my faith and invites me to the National Prayer Breakfast in Japan. So my, some of my darkest times, he invited me to step out and really get fed through their National Prayer Breakfast in Japan, which was an incredible experience that I'll always be grateful for. There was that and then a time where a random guy asked me to go to a church in Hong Kong and I attended and that fed me for a little bit. And it was interesting. I'm very hard headed as a person. Yeah. And so I would get, you know, the Holy Spirit would pull me in and then I would drift right away. And I would, he would pull me in and I would drift again. But he continued to pursue me and pursue me and pursue me never, he never gave up on me, which I will forever eternally be grateful for. And now you're 35 years old. Yes, sir. So it's nine years post Hong Kong debut. Yes. And you have now been married to a wonderful lady by the name of Candace. Yes. And that's been two years, year, two year, two and a half years, two and a half years, two and a half years and I married way up. Yeah. I didn't want to say that for all these people. But just, hey, we're speaking truth here. Well, and all the guys listen to this, understand it. And you have a new young lady at your house. Yes, we do. Her name is Gwen. Gwen. Her full name is Gweneth. Gweneth. But we call her Gwen. Gwen Marie Richardson. And I love it because my mother's name, Lord be with her and happened. She was a Gwendolyn. But they called her Gwen and Gwene. And when I heard you were naming that little girl, Gweneeth and you're going to call her Gwen. That was so, you know, it doesn't take much to get an old dude wrapped up. And we call her Gwene. Yes. I love that. So I'm sitting across from you in my living room by this fireplace. And you have in your hand a book that you have been responsible in this last year for publishing, republishing however you want to say it. And talk to me about that because I want to, I want the folks listening to understand that even though the world can be a challenging and dark place, there are things that bring light and what you hold in your hand is one of those. So talk to me about that. Well, what the book is, is it is a gospel harmony. It's the gospels rearranged and put into chronological order, including part of acts. This was an interesting piece for me, this book originally when we went to the National Prayer Breakfast, your friend Doug Co gave me a copy. And interestingly enough, as we just talked about Hong Kong, he gave me a copy of this book that was called The Life of Jesus. And it was a gospel harmony. And it's small, can fit in your pocket. It's just a little, what is it? Four by, like a four by six car. Yeah, exactly four by six can fit your back pocket. It's got some leather cover on it. You bet. You bet. And it's easy to read. Yeah. I was lost. I was in a dark place. And for me, picking up a 2000 page Bible was overwhelming, right? I didn't know where to start. I didn't know where to dive in. It was very overwhelming. So this book was an incredible resource. And yet another way that the Holy Spirit pursued me throughout those times. So fast forward when I'm back here in the US, I've rededicated my life to the Lord. I'm walking with Jesus working, doing everything I can to really become a disciple of the Lord. And I came and we were meeting with a couple pastors here in your family room, actually. And one of the pastors asked you said, hey, that black book that all of us had that that dug and you had given many people, it's an incredible witnessing tool. And it's an incredible resource for believers to have just to have a quick reference and always carry around with you, just have the gospels with you. And you said, I'm sorry, but no longer, you know, Doug is gone to be with Jesus. And he was the one who was printing the books. I think it was out of print, I think. Yeah, yeah, we're out. And to date, since then, and I mean, until now, I have never in my life felt anything like that in my gut and in my body. It was the craziest feeling from the Holy Spirit in my body. And I knew right away that I was supposed to make and print these books. I'm like, I have no experience with any of this. Like, how is this even going to happen? You and your brother own a body armor company. Yeah. I'm like, I have no idea about these books. And I'm not a huge reader. I thought one of the only books I read very few books and the only one that I consistently reads the Bible. And I have a huge passion for Bibles. I collect very old Bibles. So I love the word. I didn't know that. I don't really collect it. Ancient Bibles. Really? Yes. Yeah. Okay, I learned something new right here on the podcast. Yeah, yeah, you bet you. So it was an interesting call that night. And then next few nights, I actually had dreams about it, which I've never had dreams like this. I've never even said this about anything else in my life. And so I said, okay, well, we're going to do it. And I called you and we got into negotiations and worked with the Bible League in Dallas. They were very gracious and incredible organization. And so we got the text and then we worked with in India and got printing. And you know, it's interesting about the vision of this that I was given and that really ties into my testimony is this book is very premium. I'm a product guy. We manufacture products for people. I wanted to really create something that's premium. When somebody gets it, there's there's value, you know, to to the person who receives it. And also from a target audience perspective, our target audience is non-believers, people critical of the faith, people who are lost who some people would say are beyond reaching. I think that we created a product where those people can receive this book and treasure it. Nobody will throw it away because it's too nice. Yeah, right. It's too nice. It ain't cheap. Yeah, it's it's nice. We also made it very approachable. How do we circumvent the walls that have been built by either people critical of the faith, critical of Jesus and Nazareth, critical of religion. So what we did is we actually made it just look like a high end moscan. It just looks like a moscan, a really nice leather moscan. So the non-believer feels comfortable opening it up and reading it on a plane. You know, I mean, you and I, we've been on a plane. You know, you open up your 2000 page Bible. You know, sometimes you get some interesting looks. And so what's great about this is they can they can really feel comfortable opening it up and reading it anywhere. And we wanted to make it accessible. We wanted to be very strategic in the design of the book and be able to navigate beyond the walls to be able to plant that seed of Jesus in somebody's heart and let the Holy Spirit water in time. And it's also one last thing I'll say is this is not a replacement for the Bible. This is a tool to really be an entry point into reading the word and a relationship with the Lord and it and it is scripture. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And all of us have been non-believer. So we get that. Yes. We get how that how that works. Well, if if somebody wanted to get one of these or 20 of these in the back, it's got this website. Yes. That says plus nothing. And the the idea Doug had this line. He would say, you know, Jesus plus Boy Scouts is good. Jesus plus Lutherans are, you know, what a Baptist with any group named the group rotary whatever said it's good. It's not revolutionary. Jesus plus nothing is revolutionary. That's where you got that that sort of title, isn't it? So plus nothing dot com. Yeah. And plus nothing is spelled out plus nothing dot com. And it's one word. Yes, one word. Yep. You can jump on there, read a little bit about the book. Our goal in what has been called what we've been called to do is provide these 100% free charge free 100% no shipping. No nothing. Nothing is free. It costs somebody. Yeah. Well, it costs somebody, but not the person who needs it. That's the goal. This this sounds like Jesus. He's free to you, but it costs him. Yes. Exactly. You're spot on. Wow. So you can jump on the website. It says free books 100% no strings attached. And really what we do is we supply books. You can choose if you want three books or seven books or 12 books, or there's actually a tab on there for people with established networks, which is, you know, it could be any number of, you know, organization, transmission and business anybody. And we are actually searching out. Our goal is to get this gospel to as many people as need it as possible. We started with 150,000 copies. I checked this morning. We've shipped out over 42,000 in the last three weeks. You know, I just placed another order last week for 600,000 more copies. So one of one of your mantras, I think I'm right in this is go big or go home. Oh yeah, 100%. What's what's the okay. Here we go. What's the dream for the first phase of this kind of enterprise of getting this up? Yep. So many copies. We're going to do 10 million copies for the first phase. A Martian negotiations and plans for additional languages. We're looking at Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. We have had wonderful success getting these into multiple different countries in the Middle East, into South America, Europe. We've had just a Lord is having insane favor on this. And it has nothing to do with me. The second to last page in this book is Soledig Gloria, which is all the glory to God. And so this is not me. It's not anybody who's helped this with me, which Dick, you've been an incredible resource. And I can't thank you enough, an incredible friend and partner and mentor in this project. All the glory to God. I mean, we're just here to get the gospel out because especially in this time, in this year, there's so many people who many of the surface things that people were grasping onto have gone away. And people are going, you know, what really matters? You know, finally, people are really being faced with that question. And the timing from a year and a half ago, when everything was great, right? Yeah, you know what I mean? God's timing is perfect. And so this book rolling out has been really is really making an impact. And we'd be honored if your listeners would jump on the website. Just give us your information. We'll send you however many you want. We'd love to communicate with you. If you have any questions, you know, just email us. We would be huge honor. You know, when a person has the opportunity to meet someone who feels like they have a calling to whatever, whatever it is, you know, calling by whatever name, you know, people who are artists or who build things or there's something about being around folks who have a calling that is invigorating. When you find someone who has a calling to do something that has forever impact, that's just so profound and exciting. When I think of Hong Kong nine years ago, and I think of this moment in time and what's happened in you and now through you and your colleagues and others, it's just an exciting thing. And Robert Frost was a poet, past poet, many people have read him over the years and it's not scripture, but it carries an idea in it that speaks to the sense of future that I hear when I hear you speak. And since this is winter time and we're just a few days after Christmas, but teeing up for 2021, I want to read this if you and you may not be a reader, but I like reading this stuff. Stopping by woods on a snowy evening. Whose woods these are? I think I know. His house is in the village though. He will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year. And we're recording this, actually, on what is going to be the darkest evening of the year. And it's going to be the first time in 800 years that the planets of Jupiter and Saturn, I think, are coming into what astronomers call conjunction. And so in about 35 minutes on the horizon to the southwest of Fort Collins, you will be able to see what they have called the Christmas star since the 1200s. And it's been 800 years since it's been this close. So when he get done here, we'll go out and take a beat. But anyway, so the darkest evening of the year, that frost didn't write that. I just threw that in right there. He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake. The only other sounds the sweep of easy wind and downy flake. And here's the part that where I see you. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep. Josh Richardson, thank you for coming and being a part of this last podcast of 2020 of known stories to make sense of it all. And it's sort of the first podcast of 2021. I can't think of a better way to start a new year than with your amazing spirit and vision and dream and candor and faithfulness to do what you feel you've been called to do. So thanks a million for being here. Thank you, sir. Thank you for being a mentor and a champion for the kingdom. And it's a huge honor. Thank you very much. Well, we're honored to have you here and please give our love to Candace and a hug to Gwen. You know it. Absolutely. And happy new year to you. And to you. And to all of our listeners. God bless.