 watching the show so we don't gotta tell him there's a lot they already know it's in the woods we say and everything we do the treasure that we chase it's all the living proof rises every time we're so glad that you're with us I'm to make Jesus famous well it is and you know what you just heard Sean being coming up on hope today the story behind this emerging Christian artist who learned the power of surrender I love that Sydney had a chance to sit down with Sean be when he stopped by our studios to hear about his journey and I was using his gifts to bring hope and inspiration to the next generation I love that there's a power in music and when you see someone that's committed to the Lord and truly like ready to take that next step to use those gifts to make a difference in people's lives it's a thrilling thing yeah it's so thrilling and the truth is that God has put such unique gifts inside of you to he has literally put greatness inside of you because he gave you his holy spirit to empower you and today we just through these conversations through the music we want you to be reminded of who you are in Christ there's so much work to be done in this world and how cool is it on that God has called us like a little old us to go out and be light in a dark world somebody hasn't called me little for a long time a little old us just little us just were the bringers of the light of God into into this world it's a dark world and you know with Palm Sunday coming up you know we're entering that holy week and you know that the palms will be you know the the kids in some churches they give away a little palm Anna and or they make a palm and in Sunday school or something think about everybody laying those palms down welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem it's only a week later people were crying for his crucifixion yeah it's very true they were making Jesus famous on Palm Sunday and yet then they got some deception some lies things got twisted in their mind about who Jesus was and then suddenly they took him down off of that high place that they put him and they crucified him and so today just remember who Christ is in your life and as we move into the story of the crucifixion Jesus's death and his life like what an amazing revelation and truth for us that Jesus took on all of our shame all of our sin all that ugly stuff that we humans carry and he took it to the grave and Jesus rose back up victorious and left all that stuff in the grave so that we too can rise back up good Easter preaching there coming right up after a quick break the music and story of emerging Christian artist Sean be we'll be right back when Laura called our 24 7 prayer line she had so much fear that she didn't want to leave her house she had lost her husband of 54 years just six months earlier Laura was flipping through TV stations when she came across cornerstone television she felt compelled to call one of our prayer partners talked listened and prayed with her for 45 minutes at the end Laura said how much the ministry had helped relieve her fear praise God for how He's using CTVN when you give you become part of what He's doing this month when you give we'll send wild expectance is our way of saying thank you this book will inspire you to live your life as God intended to give and request your copy visit us online at ctvn.org slash donate or call us at 888-665-4483 hope happens here. Our next guest is a former youth pastor from Denver who is now one of the featured artists on the Winter Jam 2023 tour. Sean B creates Christ centered music in hopes of inspiring the next generation and Sean B we are so glad to have you back with us it is such a joy super happy to be here with you guys is great. Yeah so you are such a light right now in Christian music so tell us a little bit about your journey and how God called you because at one point you were in ministry as a pastor then out into music. Wow so the time that I was blessed to be you know a pastor in ministry that was just an incredible time and I believe that God even now in the music side of thing is still giving all of that season purpose just the way that those two things have tied in together has been incredible but yeah before this I was able to do next-gen leadership so I was over children's ministry I was in middle school ministry as a youth ministry so just kind of all of the facets and then I even got to you know give an occasional message on a Sunday and so that experience was really cool because it reminded me and it just really drove into my heart that ministry is the purpose of our life you know our life is to reach people it's to encourage people it's to you know help people change their life and come to see that you know Jesus is the one that changes the life and so when I had that open opportunity to step in and do music I just thought wow I literally can do everything that I've been doing now on a bigger platform to you know too many more people and so when God called me into that I was just like yeah let's let's go let's go all the way so yeah but the way that I got there anyway it was it was really cool because I had always wanted to do music and just the opportunity never really showed up I took a leap of faith one time I went out to visit Nashville Tennessee and I just I had a couple of meetings and my current management team we rock entertainment they said hey you know we may be interested in working with you but you know we'll see what you know do you live here no you don't live here yet okay well you know that might help and so I called my wife that night I'm like hey you know we have an opportunity possibly like it's not for sure but there might be an open door here we'd have to move out here and I'm worried about what she's gonna say I'm thinking she's not gonna be down for this her first response literally she didn't say anything else she said okay I'll start packing and I was like come on alright let's go so about about month and a half after that we were living in Tennessee and just kind of it was this interesting moment where you know we're in the car we're driving and I'm like God we like all that we have is right here we left everything that we had and we're just like doing this where we feel that you call this to move and so and I just felt this like overwhelming calmness though have got telling me hey I love that you just said all you have is right here because I'm right here and like this is all you need you know if you if you have obedience I'm gonna take care of the rest and he has incredibly taken care of the rest from that point on he surely has and he's taking on a remarkable journey and I just love that you said that you had such calm and peace it's like when his peace is with you you know you're going the right way and one thing Shonda you have something a phrase that you have like it's you know it's stand free we didn't come this far just to come this far so can you break down that for us what that means and also how that ties into your personal story yeah so we didn't come this far just to come this far that means that God gives purpose to everything that you've been through you know even the time that you lived without him God can take the most broken story and give it meaning and give it purpose if we allow him to step into that story that's the biggest part of it you know and at that point when God takes over every wrong thing you've ever done every lesson that you've had to learn everything that's ever happened to you now has purpose because you can take what's happened and you can apply it not only to your life but you can tell other people hey this is the person that I was this is what I've been through is what I've seen but this is where I am now and let me tell you why it's because of what Jesus did when he stepped into my life and so now your story is not just about you but it's about the things that God did through you and your life is no longer just for you but your life is a living example to people who come behind you to say like wow okay I can learn from that and so if your story can you know save somebody else's story help change and help make help somebody else make the right decision make go a different path than you did then there's purpose in all of that and so we didn't come this far just to come this far means that you know just like I said God will use everything if we allow him to nothing is for nothing when God's in the story you know so tell us about your story like what like what was that pathway and that Jesus had to step in because I with all of us like there's a moment where we come to the end of ourselves and we surrender so tell us a little bit about your story yeah so so for me I just got so I got so tied up in trying to shine for myself that was that was the biggest thing and you know for a long time it would just bring so much anxiety and I would just stress I'm like how do people see me I want to be seen as like this really cool you know I want everybody to like me and it all mattered you know it was just like it was dying for people's acceptance and it was really what it came back down to is realizing like I didn't know where my identity was at the time I didn't know who I was and so I found my identity in the amount of people that thought good things about me or you know like or just that kind of thing and so it was such a battle of you know now that I look back knowing that it was just like pride that was overwhelming like telling me hey you need you need to be like this you need to be like this and so I got so caught in trying to shine for myself right and it wasn't until I come across this Bible verse Matthew 5 16 says in the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good work and glorify your father in heaven and that verse changed everything for me because I was wondering why like why am I trying so hard and just feeling so so empty why why do I need people to like me why do I need all of this and you know that verse just hit me because it's like well dude you're doing everything for the wrong reason you know you're doing everything for yourself to elevate yourself to make people see you and that's not our calling you know our calling is to do those things to glorify God and so that's when God taught me hey your life is not about the things that you do but it's about the things that I'm going to do through you and so when people see you they're actually going to see me and so that changed everything because it really it took the pressure off and it took the anxiety off because I'm like you know what that's that's right like it doesn't really it doesn't really matter what everybody thinks of me I should be more concerned with what people think of the God that I say that I represent and so that helped me handle life with more grace with more humility it helped me treat people better it helped me treat honestly treat people the way that you know I believe that you know God would want us to treat them it just changed the whole perspective of of life and the way that I lived and so it was that that time in my life for sure that I was just like you know what all right God take all of this from me I'm going to give you all of this and everything that I do it's it's a prayer that I found that I still pray today before everything I prayed it before this interview is you know God go before me be with me and stay after me you know just just prepare the way be with me is you know shine through me you know when I speak through me sing through me smile through me let people see you when they see me and then to be after me is just you know remain wherever we were like let this mean something more than an interview let you know let what's said here let what's done here let it stay and make an impact that's going to last more than just today and so that that whole journey kind of brought me to that point of saying like all right this isn't about me anymore this is it's about what God's going to do through me I love what you're just sharing Sean because so many I think we don't want to admit it that we struggle with pride we struggle with people pleasing but when we lay it always surrender and I love what you said you prayed even before you're talking like I'm talking and just the music you do but it's just like God like go before me and to be with me and he is truly is with you Sean thank you so much for just sharing your story and opening up today I know it's truly touch the hearts of our viewers today thank you for having this great opportunity it's a wonderful opportunity and so stay tuned because don't go away because right now we are going to go into Sean B song step into my story take a look at a story of Jesus stepping into our story right there's an intersection that happens there's a place where God meets us if we've come to know him and if you haven't come to know him God wants that intersection once that place in your life where he steps into your story and all of a sudden things begin to change and we begin to understand the reason for which we live the reason for which we were created is to serve him and use our gifts use our talents to magnify the Lord just like Sean B is doing there we have a scripture for you today it's Matthew 5 verse 16 it says this in the same way let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven and tell me about letting your light shine before others right yeah so this light so that we have inside of us I mean what does it mean when Jesus says let your light well gosh I mean first of all the fact that Jesus has given us his holy spirit to live inside of us would we think about the greatness of our God and that Jesus is allowing all of that to live in us that is our light that we are to radiate out into this earth and I just really appreciated our guest today because he he spoke with such authenticity and humility that really can reflect the journey that many of us go through where we start to unravel like what are the gifts and talents that God has given me we start practicing them and getting more confident sometimes we can be more focused on ourselves when really it's all about focusing on others and letting Jesus shine through us Tom well yeah you know he's so clearly using those gifts you know but we'll have gifts you have gifts you know we think you think well Tom I can't preach I can't sing well look we've all been there doubting our gifts and doubting what what we have the ability to do but if you give those things to God he all of a sudden begins to show that it's like oh people discover gifts inside themselves they didn't know they had and you know maybe you have a gift of service where you can just bless somebody because you know how to fix their car or you know how to you know give them a bake them a pie give them a meal something to bless them if they're going through a hard time those are all gifts that we man when we use those all of a sudden we see that our life has been that those gifts have been put inside of us for a reason yes we can bless our family yes we can you know make our own home but then we can give out those things and you know and I think of I'm thinking about just when he said step into you know our story I'm thinking about the the prodigal son I just want to take a moment and say has Jesus stepped into your story there's a story of the prodigal son where he went away from his father he took the money that was his inherit and something that he should not have done and he went and he and he took that out and he just wasted it he spent it in riotous living the Bible says and you know he then he came to the end of himself he didn't have any more money didn't have any more friends didn't have any place to go have you ever been there have you been there where it seems like everything has fallen apart and you're by yourself well he knew that you know and here he was trying to get any job he could he was hungry and he said in my father's house you know there's at least food maybe I could go back to my father maybe I could go back there and just be a hired person it won't be the same as before he won't love me like before he won't care for me I won't be a son anymore like before but at least I'll have a roof over my head and I'll have a place to sleep and food to eat so he thought I'll go back well you know the story don't you the father saw him from a far off why did he see him because he was looking for him he would wanted to see his son return he was broken-hearted that's God for you today if you don't know God that's God for you today he is looking for you if you're in that place of brokenness that I wanted to tell you that the father is looking for you and he ran through the town something that dignified men didn't do in those days ran through the town and he went to this son that everybody knew had broken his heart everybody knew had turned his back on him he went and he said and he saw his son and he hugged them and he wept on it kissed his neck and the son said I've sinned against you and God maybe I could be a hired hand and you know what the father didn't even hear that he just was glad that his son returned and he brought him back in he said let's celebrate kill the fatted calf put a ring on his finger put shoes on his feet put a robe on him he restored him back to his sonship that's you today too if you've never had a relationship with Jesus Christ or maybe you like the prodigal son you wasted it and you've want to come back to God just come back to him today Anna anyone can return right now yeah anyone can return to Jesus his arms are always open waiting for you to restore you like Tom said Jesus is ready to restore you back to who he created you to be I love this talk about story that we're inviting God into our story but guess what God's the one that wrote your story like it says in Psalm 139 that every day of your life was written before one of them came to be I mean think about that you have a God that loves you so much like he wanted you on this earth he designed you he wrote this whole story for you to live out and then when we are born the angels celebrate and then we go on to live this life and well there's detours and there's things that break us and there's things that we have to figure out and we might feel like well we're not really that masterpiece that God made me to be but see that's why Jesus had to go to the cross because he knew that this world was full of sin and that we needed a savior we needed a redeemer to put us back together again and show us who we are show us the plans that he has for us like we're actually living right in God's story in this world of our story is not about us at all it is about what God is doing in this world so today if the enemy has you feeling hopeless like there's just there's no hope for me like I've done too many bad things nope Jesus forgiveness is so much greater than any sin that you have done he's ready to take you out of those ashes and put the crown of beauty on your head to clothe you in robes of salvation and garments of righteousness to give you joy in place of your morning to take you out of your grief and give you a new start again so remember that we would love to hear what you've been going through we would love to pray with you and speak the hope of God's truth into your life our prayer partners are here 24 seven you can call 888-665-4483 and the cool thing is you will get a live actual person on the other end of the line that loves you and wants to minister to your heart so what are you going to do with what we've heard Sean be say with what Anna and I have said God's knocking on the door this door on your heart he's knocking open that door and let him step into your life let him step into the story that he's writing for you God loves you he cares about you he has plans and purposes for you but part of it depends on us open the door of your life say Lord come into my life be my Savior and Lord or Lord I've fallen away I've spent my money the wrong way I've spent my life the wrong way I want you in my life he's gonna run to you right now