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
Son or Servant? Ending the Performance-Based Faith Trap
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Are you on a spiritual treadmill? For years, Austin Gardner has taught and led, yet he’s found himself struggling with the same question many of us face: Am I a son or a servant?
In this episode, Austin dives into the identity crisis that keeps many Christians in a state of burnout and resentment. Using the stories of Martha and Mary, the Prodigal Son’s older brother, and David’s peace in Psalm 23, Austin explains why God isn't looking for employees—He’s looking for children.
Learn how to shift your mindset from "earning merit" to "leading from rest," and discover why "Thank you" is the most important language you can speak.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Austin Gardner (00:00.872)
I wanted to interrupt the programming I've been doing with you telling you my story and add something else to my story. I think that it will make a big difference in your life. It's a pretty neat. question I come to you with is, and I really, I want to answer is why you can't earn God's love and why you ought to stop trying. see, we're in an identity crisis. we can't determine if we're a son.
or a servant and something will happen in your heart and in your mind the day you realize I'm a son, not a servant. You know who really had the servant attitude? There's a couple of stories in the Bible that are interesting, but the elder brother and the prodigal son story, he's angry with his dad. He said, you have no right to have a.
do a party for my brother. He hasn't served you like I've served you. I do all I'm supposed to do. I'm here and you don't ever treat me right. You don't give me, you don't give me a, you don't even give me a kid goat, but you're good to him. And so, and he uses a term about himself like I've served you like a slave dad. And so many of us have that attitude towards God. We don't mean to have it, but we end up having it.
And we begin to feel like we're on a treadmill with God. You know, you can't pray enough, you can't give enough, you can't serve enough. God's always disappointed in us. Most of us are like servants. We try to earn our keep, pay our way. But God isn't looking for employees, He's looking for children. That makes me always think of the funny story.
Martha and Mary and they're sitting there. Mary sits down and won't work. She's just sitting there and Jesus is teaching and Mary's listening and Martha, you thought about it, she is preparing food for what? 12, 13, 15, who knows how many men plus whoever else might have been there. Martha's working and boy, she's a good lady. She's the kind of lady you want in your church. You need it done, she's gonna take care of
Austin Gardner (02:24.575)
She's the one getting it done. And so finally she comes in and complains to Jesus. She says, look, I'm busting my backside and she ain't doing anything. And Jesus says, she chose the better part.
I'm like, on Jesus, if everybody sits down and nobody works, we're gonna be in a heap of trouble here. But there's the problem. Too many of us Christians are getting close to burnout and not enjoying peace. There's a breakthrough for you. The day you can begin to realize, and I am slowly realizing it, I don't come to you like some teacher that's had this down and got it all straight. I don't. I'm learning that I'm a son, not a servant.
There's this heavy burden of doing it's man centered. It's performance based. It is, if I do well, God loves me. And if I fail, well, I'm a loser. I've kind of felt like that much of my life to be blunt, honest with you, no matter how much I did right. Something always was wrong. I've never been perfect. Never done what I ought to do.
It just kept coming back to me. Boy, it just breaks my heart. I could be, I'm probably more like Martha, busy and stressed and resentful. Like the older brother, Martha is busy. Mary is resting at his feet. Mary has peace and Martha is about to burn out. you see,
If a servant, have you ever noticed how preachers talk about themselves, I'm a servant of the living God.
Austin Gardner (04:13.34)
And I know that we are servants of the Living God and you're going to say, well, some of the apostles call themselves servants. I know. But I think they first saw themselves as sons. John 3, 1, says, behold, what manner of love that he would call us his sons. And if you ever paid attention, if you're reading the book of Ephesians, I happen to be preaching through it right now as I talk to you. The first three chapters are nothing but how good God is.
The only command word in the first three chapters, y'all remember how good I am. That's it. you know, when you're a son or a daughter, you don't work to get into the family. You work because you're already in the family. There's nothing wrong with the work. And we're not saying don't work. It's just that I always want to measure up. I always want to be enough. I always want to do enough.
When you're a servant, you want to avoid punishment. You want to maybe even get a raise. We want something from God. I want God to be pleased with me. But I want to tell you, children are cherished. Children are cherished. You know that Psalm 23 changed my life. You know that. In Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd.
My shepherd provides, my shepherd leads, my shepherd restores. We just follow. And what's really funny is David had failed in every way you can possibly fail. David had failed in every way you can possibly fail. But he doesn't start out Psalm 23 groveling or begging. God doesn't start out giving conditions and laying down rules. It was simply, I know you're my shepherd and I know all this is true. So there's a
turn around, it can take place in your heart and in your life. You can stop calling yourself a failure and start believing that you're loved. I was out walking, I walk each day and I was out walking and I literally said, thank you for loving me.
Austin Gardner (06:28.806)
Thank you for loving me. Boy, that was a big step for me.
because I've always tried to be loved. I want to do lovable things. I want to be lovable, but he doesn't love me for that. He loves me because he is love and that's why he loves me. We got to get our identity right. Now, you know, if you're a child of your parents, you probably work, you probably clean your room, you probably cook some meals, probably wash the car, take out the garbage, but you're not a servant.
It's just what you do because you're in the family. And that's what we want to get a hold of today.
We want to grab that. want to grasp it. you're, you're, you're not a failure. You need to stop thinking about your failure. Six or 7,000 thoughts cross through your mind every day. Three quarters of them are negative. Stop thinking of your failure and start realizing you are loved as a son or a daughter. When you get your identity right, when you realize who you are, other things start falling in place. you know,
I can love better because I'm loved. I could share love because I am loved. God's been good to us all our lives. If we look back and think about it, God's been so good. So I want to challenge you something today. I want you to take five minutes and don't ask God for anything. Just say thank you. think thank you is the language of heaven. So let's thank him. Thank you for loving you.
Austin Gardner (08:07.991)
Thank you for making you his son or his daughter. Thank you for being with you in the hard times and the bad times. And every time it crosses your mind.
about being a servant, realize you're a son and lead from a place of rest. Get a hold of the fact that God is working in your life and He loves you and you don't have to work like that. You know, even when the prodigal son messed up, he threw a party and welcomed him home. But can you imagine how uncomfortable the older brother felt
And he felt that way because he saw himself as a servant. And that's not who you are. Now I spent a lot of time writing about all this on w Austin Gardner.com w Austin Gardner.com. I wish you'd go and look and take some time. want you to realize he loves you and you are his and that's how he sees you. Thank you so much for listening. If it's of any value to you.
It's a blessing to you share it with somebody. I pray God will use it in your life.
