Followed By Mercy
The Followed By Mercy Podcast
Real Grace, Honest Hope
You might notice a new name and a fresh look, but the heart behind this podcast is the same. After years as the World Evangelism Podcast, I sensed God leading me to a deeper, more personal path centered on His relentless mercy and the kind of honest hope that can reach into every hurting place. That’s why this show is now called Followed By Mercy Podcast. The format may shift, and the tone may be a bit more personal, but my mission hasn’t changed: I still believe the world desperately needs to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. You are welcome here if you’ve been with me from the beginning or just found us now.
What if God’s love is more personal, stubborn, and relentless than you ever imagined?
Welcome to The Followed By Mercy Podcast, where we get honest about pain, hope, and the kind of grace that finds you right where you are, five days a week. This isn’t about religious performance or church routines. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt worn out, unseen, or unsure if they belong in the story of God’s love. Every conversation is rooted in this reality: God loves you right now, just as you are, and He isn’t giving up on you.
Here’s what you’ll find in every episode:
Experience God’s Relentless Love
Every show starts by reminding you that the Shepherd knows your name, cares about your story, and isn’t offended by your failures or questions. This is personal—it’s about God’s unwavering affection for you.
Find Your Place in His Heart
Once you grasp how fiercely you’re loved, sharing that love with others doesn’t feel forced. It becomes the most natural thing in the world. Real grace overflows.
Prayer That Changes You
We pray together—not just for the world “out there,” but for the battles and hopes you’re carrying right now. These prayers are honest, rooted in Scripture, and meant for hearts that need a gentle touch from the Shepherd.
Discover Your Unique Role
Whether you’re called to go, give, serve, or show kindness in your corner of the world, God’s mercy meets you where you are. You’re not just a bystander. You are His beloved, invited into the story He’s writing.
When life knocks the wind out of you, this is a place to catch your breath. You’ll hear the encouragement that meets you on your hardest days, and your honest questions will be welcomed. No pretending, no heavy-handed advice—just the reminder that your Shepherd is right there with you, walking every step with you, even when you feel like giving up.
Why does this matter? Because some days, it feels like nobody sees you or cares what you’re going through. But the truth is, you have a Shepherd who never takes His eyes off you, lets you slip through the cracks, and never gives up on you. That kind of love can put you back on your feet, and it might be the hope someone else is waiting to see in you, too.
If you’re longing for more than just religious talk—if you want to know you’re not alone and that God’s mercy is following you all the way home, you’re in the right place. Whether you listen in the car, on a walk, or in a quiet moment, let every episode remind you: God’s mercy is after you right now, ready to bring real grace and honest hope.
Subscribe today and join a community to discover what happens when loved people become loving people. The journey’s just beginning, and there’s a place for you here.
Followed By Mercy
From Eden to Eternity: God's Desire to Be With Us
Dwelling With God. The Heartbeat of Scripture
What if the central theme of the Bible isn’t rules, rituals, or religious performance, but God’s relentless desire to be with His people? In this final message on Psalm 23, we explore the breathtaking truth behind David’s words, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
From evening walks in Eden to the tabernacle in the wilderness, from Jesus “pitching His tent” among us to the Spirit living inside believers today, we trace the storyline of a God who keeps moving closer. With over 200 passages declaring His desire to dwell with us, this isn’t a side note—it’s the Bible’s heartbeat.
Discover why God’s presence is not a reward for good behavior, but His passionate pursuit from the beginning of time. Learn why you’re not working to get Him to like you. He already does. And see how this truth can set you free from religious striving into a life of resting in His love.
Whether you feel far from God or simply long for a deeper connection, this episode is a reminder that He has never stopped pursuing you. His goal has always been an impossible closeness in your everyday life, in your mess, your joy, and your pain.
Come and see the beauty of dwelling with the God who has always wanted to dwell with you.
Check out https://waustingardner.substack.com/
https://followedbymercy.beehiiv.com
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I want to welcome you back to, followed by Mercy, our podcast as we look at God. You know, as the Lord began dealing with my heart and my life, with what I'm going through, to help me realize I want the rest of my life to be spent getting to know my Father and sharing all I learn and all I know about Him. And so I come to you today with one of the last things that we'll do on Psalm 23. And some of you may be ready for that, but it'll be a hard thing for me to let go of it. I'll just tell you that it has changed my life radically and I believe it'll do that for you if you will honestly meditate in it on a regular basis.
Austin Gardner:The Bible says in Psalm 23, 6, and I will dwell in the house of the lord forever. And uh, that sounds like david is, you know, made a full turn. It, uh, it is that he now realizes, because he's going back to meditating, that the lord is his shepherd and he knows that he is in the place of the Lord, where the Lord is the Lord's with him. For us. The Lord is now in us, he abides in us, he lives in us, we are his temple. I'm alive, but not I, but Christ living in me. And the life which I am living, I'm living by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I really love the way David arrives at what God has always wanted. You see, the beautiful thing that we see about our Father, about our shepherd, is that he wants to dwell with his people. It's a beautiful truth. You see, god is a relational God. It's the beating heart of God's story. With humanity Ready, god wants you.
Austin Gardner:The Bible isn't just about covenants and commandments and history. It's about presence. It's about a God who does not leave but walks with us. He didn't leave us, he didn't make us to leave us. God is not content to rule from a fire. Instead, he insists on impossible closeness. From Genesis to Revelation.
Austin Gardner:That's the story of the Bible God's desire to be with us In the Garden of Eden. He didn't just create and leave. He walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening Genesis 3.8. Even that captures a sweet tenderness. The creator of the universe chose to spend time with the people he formed with his hands. It's not formal, it's personal, it's a relationship.
Austin Gardner:And then you know, before I leave that thought. I want to remind you that when that relationship was broken out of the stubborn pride and rebellion of the man, it wasn't the man who wanted that relationship back, it was God. He came, he said, adam, where are you? And he found Adam. Of course, he knew everything, he knew where he was, and then he talks with him and he's the one that makes arrangements. He's the one that sacrifices to make the payment, to take sin on the animal, which will be a picture all through the Bible. It was God who restored the relationship. It was God who restored the relationship. It was God who made a promise. I'm going to fix all of this. From the very beginning of time, he's already had a plan.
Austin Gardner:And then, if you go through your Bible, you come to Enoch and in Genesis 5, and I find that to be one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible he is so much in love with his people and Enoch is his man that's willing to talk to him and they walk together. A human being and the great God of eternity, the Creator, are taking time to walk together and God wants that included in the Bible. So you can see it. He had that relationship with Adam and Eve. In the cool of the evening he walked with them. These aren't independent events. They're a hint at what God wants. And God and Enoch are walking together. And it's like I heard an old preacher say when I was a boy. God says Enoch, we're closer to my house than we are yours, why don't you just come on home? And he took him home to be with him. What a wonderful story. It was God who led his people into slavery.
Austin Gardner:And then he said I want a tabernacle. And listen to what he said in Exodus 25, 8, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them, that I may dwell among them. God said I want to dwell among them, not above them, not beyond them, among them. In 1 Kings 6, 13, he said I will dwell among, I will dwell among the children of Israel. I will dwell. I'm not forsaking my people. In Leviticus 26, 11, he said I will set my tabernacle among you. He said I will not despise, reject or separate myself. My soul shall not abhor. In Exodus 29, 45, I will dwell among the people.
Austin Gardner:See, god has this desire to dwell among us. He told them, actually, I want you to keep the camp clean because I'm going to walk among you Because God wanted to be with them. He wanted them to keep the camp clean. It was his desire. Let that sink in. God desires to dwell with us. He doesn't just put up with us, he doesn't just supervise us, he doesn't just judge us. He wants to be with us. That's what he said when he said Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. His name shall be Emmanuel. God with us. Not just a name, god's entire mission.
Austin Gardner:You get to the New Testament, jesus, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That word dwelt means he pitched his tent, he tabernacled. He didn't just show up, he moved in, he wrapped himself in human skin, he walked the dusty roads with us and he didn't come alone. Jesus said if a man love you, keep my commandments and my Father will love him and we will come and make our abode with him. Oh, wow, check that out.
Austin Gardner:God has this burning desire from Eden. We see it. We see it in the tabernacle and now it's walking around in sandals. Jesus and Mary were told call him Emmanuel, god with us. The Holy Spirit makes it personal. God has said I will dwell among them and walk in them. I will be their God. They will be my people. 2 Corinthians 6, 16. In Ephesians 2, 22, he says you have built together a habitation for God, a place for God to live. The presence of God was moved from the tabernacle to the temple, to the human heart. We are now the living sanctuary.
Austin Gardner:The final chapters of the Bible are not goodbye but a culmination. They declare the climax of all history. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them. They shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. That's what we're talking about. That's what we're building towards. From Eden to the new Jerusalem, god's been moving closer and closer. He's healing the distance. He's restoring the relationship. Did you know? God wants to be with you. I need you to understand that, and I don't care how far away you've wandered, I don't care if you've eaten the fruit and you're being kicked out of the garden. He's looking for you. He wants you. I don't care if you're the prodigal son and run away, or the lost sheep that jumped the fence and ran away. He wants you. The number doesn't lie In the Bible he uses the word tabernacle 130 times.
Austin Gardner:The concept of God dwelling with us in the scriptures is found in over 200 scriptures, not a footnote, a storyline. So what are we going to do with it? We think Christianity is about trying harder and being better. But the heart of it is you're not trying to get God to like you. He already does. You're not trying to get God to like you. He already does. You're not trying to abide with him when you go to heaven. He already does right now, in your messy house, in your commute, in your heartbreak, in your boredom.
Austin Gardner:The invitation is open. It's not a summons to religion, it's a call to relationship. God's presence is not a perk, it's a call to relationship. God's presence is not a perk, it's the whole point of scripture. So he ends Psalm 23 with I will dwell in the house of the Lord. That's not just what he wants to happen, it's a confident declaration. The shepherd, who walks with you through valleys and walks beside still waters with you, isn't going anywhere. His plan was always to dwell not just near us but with us. And in the New Testament we find out in us, from the garden to the wilderness, to the stable, from Pentecost to the final trumpet. The story never changes. God with us, god in us, god among us Now.
Austin Gardner:I read that and I'm just thrilled when I see what David says. He says and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. That means that I have been in his presence. I now realize it. I've gotten out of my cave and out of my pit and out of my pity party and I am back into full understanding and fellowship with a God that loves me. Now do you understand that he loves you. He cares about you right now, right where you are, the life you're living. He loves you. So if you don't know him today, he loves you and all you have to do is open your eyes and accept the gift. He's paid it all. And if you're a believer, no more struggling. And if you're a believer, no more struggling, no more striving to try to get God to like you. He already does. He is very happy with you. He loves you. Jesus died for you. So put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and what he did for you and find out, get back, get back, involved with him, develop that relationship.
