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Friends And Family
Conversations from the studios of God's Way Radio in Miami, FL.
WAYG-LP | 104.7FM
Friends And Family
CBMC Spotlight with Omar Aleman, Jose Casas, Cesar De La Rosa
Meet our guests, Cesar De La Rosa, Omar Aleman, and Pastor Jose Casas, whose journeys of faith offer powerful insights into living a life devoted to Jesus. Pastor Jose recounts his transformation from a successful yet spiritually empty life in construction and real estate to one devoted to God. Meanwhile, Omar takes us through his transition from being a federal agent, with a hidden Christian faith, to openly embracing his walk with Christ after a pivotal experience during the Panama invasion.
Explore how aligning business and life decisions with biblical principles can bring a profound sense of peace and fulfillment. Our discussion highlights the essence of spiritual richness that far surpasses material wealth, emphasizing the incredible blessings that come from selfless giving and living in full surrender to divine guidance. Drawing from biblical teachings and personal experiences, our guests share the importance of maintaining contentment under all circumstances, and how our time is a more valuable commodity than money, urging us to live purposefully.
Finally, we tackle the challenges of integrating faith into the workplace, sharing stories of how careers can serve as ministries. With insights from the Christian Businessmen's Connection (CBMC), discover how to balance success with spiritual and family priorities. Pastor Jose and Omar offer compelling narratives about servant leadership, counseling clients, and shining a light in professional settings, illustrating how a Christian presence can reach those who might never step inside a church. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on the role of faith in every facet of life, from personal relationships to professional endeavors.
You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's Way Radio exclusive where we introduce you to some amazing people. In John, chapter 15, verse 15, jesus says I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's our aim that God would be made known to you. Stay with us until the end of our conversation for more information on this program and other unique offerings from God's Way Radio.
Speaker 2:Good afternoon God's Way Radio family. I have a little different setup here today because we are full in the studio with guests, and it's a blessing. You know, if you listen very carefully to God's Way Radio, you will hear our business sponsors, our supporters throughout the day. And one of them is CBMC, christian Businessmen's Connection. And if you've heard them on the radio, you know they want to just equip men, equip men in the workforce to represent the Lord and to just be witnesses to Christ, and so we're so thankful for their support.
Speaker 2:And one of the gentlemen that helps lead that ministry, steve Solomon. He said man, I got three guys. They're good guys, they're godly guys. I think it will be a wonderful time with them in the studio. And I said I think so too. Some of them. You may know their voice from different places Calvary Chapel, maybe Ask a Cop. You know it's amazing how the Lord has these men, has us all at the same table. It's amazing. So only God could do it. So, gentlemen, I'd like to start over here and just give you a moment to introduce yourself, please.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, pastor Joey. Good afternoon to God's Way Radio listeners and thank you for this invitation, and my name is Cesar De La Rosa and I'm very blessed and very grateful to be part of this panel.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you very much. It's a privilege to be surrounded by these wonderful guys. My name is Omar Aleman and it is a privilege to be part of this group.
Speaker 5:Good afternoon, dear family. This is Pastor Jose Casas for Calvary, miami, here, just honored to be here with this group of fellows this afternoon. Awesome.
Speaker 2:You know, just to start off with a bit of humor, you know, I said steve called me and or texted me. He said, hey, these are the guys. I said, man, I haven't been able to get jose in the studio, so if you could do it, man, I know it's the lord, so it's the lord jose. You know, one of the things I want to talk about and just hear from you guys is just your personal testimony, because, uh, you know, that's really the the main thing, if not the only thing sometimes, that really binds us all together, that brings us together is is salvation by the lord. So how'd you come to know the lord jose?
Speaker 5:uh, the lord has done so much in my life. Uh, so I was sharing more omar to whom much is given. Much is required In just my testimony. To be brief, me and my wife Belkis, we were married for 10 years. After 10 years of marriage, our marriage failed. We were separated and divorced for a period of almost two years and Belkis took the time of those two years to pray for this crazy old guy. And after interceding for me for a long period of time, the Lord, just a harvest crusade, just opened my eyes and then I surrendered my life to Him and it seemed like I was going at 100 miles per hour for the enemy and the Lord just picked me up and turned me over to go 100 miles for Him.
Speaker 2:Amen. You know, where were you at in your work life? Were you working construction? Were you already doing real estate? Where were you at in that moment when God got your heart? I?
Speaker 5:was a mechanical engineer for eight years. Then I started a development company in building houses and apartment units and during that period of time, you know, we did very well financially and then, after we had everything that this world could offer, we were bankrupt spiritually. And that's when the Lord actually allowed for us to go through this difficult time in our lives and, you know, and that's when me and Belkis got separated and divorced.
Speaker 2:So when the Lord got a hold of your heart, you were already, you know, growing in the business realm. You said construction, developer, yeah, developer, yeah, interesting.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, I spent all those years. Belkis was a real estate broker, so it seemed like we were a team. I would build the apartment units, the houses, and then she would sell them. So we were good as a team, but then in our own personal life it was falling apart.
Speaker 2:Very interesting and we might come back to that. Omar, again, I know it's hard because we've heard a lot of it on on Ask a Cop, one of the podcasts that we do. But briefly, just how Jesus got ahold of your heart.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was born and reared in Cuba, came to the United States, ended up with a scholarship to play ball at Florida State. Couldn't make it to the Yankees, ended up as a federal agent, worked a lot of undercover, never understood what the Lord was all about. I came to the Lord reluctantly quote unquote in 1983, became an undercover Christian by sitting in the back of the church and pretending to be a Christian just on Sundays. And then I went on. The Panama invasion arrested Noriega the dictator, and at that time, even though that I was a Christian I never shared. And that day I realized that both him and I were prisoners. He was a prisoner of justice, I was a prisoner from God and I decided that day to share my testimony with him. And since then things have changed, because I am no longer afraid of sharing my testimony, because if I can do it in that international stage, I can do it anywhere. So God took the fear.
Speaker 2:In fact, I was more afraid of being a Christian than I was ever afraid of being in undercover.
Speaker 7:Wow.
Speaker 4:Wow.
Speaker 2:You know I mean so much there, so much there. You went from being undercover to saying man, how can I do this? You know how can I continue to be undercover and taking advantage of that opportunity? And again we'll come back to this. But after your career in law enforcement, did you engage in other business ventures as well?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I opened a company called Aleman Associates. We did a lot of security Super Bowl security. We were very successful. And then, about 10 years ago, jesus offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. He said to me I want you to sell me your company and I want you to be a subsidiary of Jesus and Associates. And he put me in the insurance department. I said, well, I know nothing about insurance. He says, yes, all I want you to sell is death insurance. What's death insurance? Make sure that people understand that the most important thing in their life is where they're going to go after they die.
Speaker 7:Amen.
Speaker 4:So I am an insurance salesman for Jesus Associates and I sell death insurance. I like it, I like it.
Speaker 2:You got to find a way to get their attention.
Speaker 2:Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. We have somebody actually on the line already, so we'll take this call, and it just reminds me I was going to actually give the phone number. We're live here in the studio, november the 25th. I'm about to go to this call, so hang tight for me. But if you're listening live on November the 25th, I encourage you to call or text and be a part of our conversation, be a part of the program today. You might have a question, you might have a word of encouragement, something that these guys say you. You might have a word of encouragement, something that these guys say you might say hey, can you elaborate on that? You can call or text us here in the studio, 786-313-315. Good afternoon, thank you for calling.
Speaker 6:You're live on God's Way Radio. Well, you guys know me from Doral and Sweetwater. It's good to hear you guys in the voice. Man, what?
Speaker 2:a blessing. Good to hear you Looking forward to what you want to share.
Speaker 6:A couple of things. I want to share that happy Thanksgiving to everyone that's listening in Miami, wherever you're at man. The Thanksgiving. Don't forget, man. Share the gospel when you're eating at the table, praying for the food. You know, do that and I just want to share barely. How do you know when you're leaving a place? You're called by the. How do you know? How do you know you? You got to come from Miami to San P or I'm out right now how do you?
Speaker 6:know that from the Lord. The word in the scripture. Read the word in the scriptures. Yeah well, god will confirm you, or maybe through a Sunday service, wednesday night service, but you got to be connected to the word if you're not connected to the word and you're not reading. Don't expect, or where is god? He's there.
Speaker 2:Open the book amen, good encouragement, thank you. Thank you, my brother and I have a feeling that's going to come back around in our conversation. You know a lot of these decisions that these guys made, the, the risks or you would say the steps of faith, even in business and in their career, I'm sure it was led by the word of fellowship with the lord, seeking the lord.
Speaker 6:So, my brother, I thank you for calling and, uh, it's always good to hear from you, okay yeah, we're praying for each other man praying for carrie chapel here at uh at uh uh, san peterburg, and that we go forward, thank you.
Speaker 2:god bless you. Thank you, you know. You know, I love it. I love it. If you're listening and you're thinking, man, st Petersburg, how is this guy listening? Well, we have an app. It's free on your iPhone or your Android phone. We also have the website where you can listen godswayradiocom. But, cesar, I didn't forget about you, your testimony of coming to jesus.
Speaker 3:Uh, please, oh, thank you. Thank you, pastor joey, of course. Um, even though I grew up in a christian family, it was in 2004, 20 years ago, where I hit rock bottom. Uh, I used to be very proud and I thought that I was very successful, and at that moment, in that year, 2004, I hit rock bottom. So the many things that I thought was power was not there. And the first thing that I want to share about that is the persistence and persevere of a family member that it was keep inviting me, keep talking to me, with that patient, with that love, that at that moment he hit me and he invited me to church. I the invitation. It was a Calvary Chapel, part of the family, and that day I accepted Jesus and it changed my life.
Speaker 3:It changed my life, especially at the level that I was in the middle of a big crisis in my personal and business, and since then it has been a completely game changer.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And in that particular church I met my at that time was not my girlfriend, it was at that time was my girlfriend I'm sorry, lisette and we married.
Speaker 5:Awesome.
Speaker 3:And since then I am a changed man, Amen. Thanks to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:And that's it. You know, no, hey, that's not it, that's all of it. That's the work of the Lord, that's the power of the Lord. You know it sounds like and correct me if I'm wrong, and this is kind of where I want to go next. You know, it sounds like even in your career, even in the money, even in the success, it's not enough. You know, if there's anybody listening that that you think, oh, they did Christian businessman connection, oh, I'm gonna get the secret. How to make a million dollars in a year with the Bible, jesus, no, no, no. You know, the first thing we want to look at is man, how. That can't be the, the focus. That can't be in its wrong place. And Cesar, just continuing with what you mentioned, you said you had it, but it wasn't all that you thought it was. Can you elaborate on how it?
Speaker 3:wasn't enough. Well, you mentioned a point that is clever and is that God has a connection with each person, and sometimes we get discouraged when we share with family members, when we share with friends, but we need to understand that God has mercy with us and we have to do the same, because the moment that you less expect it, that person will say yes and that will change the life of a family. It changed the life of daughters, sons, and it will impact many aspects of a particular life. So you asked me to elaborate. I can tell you that, with that decision and knowing the Lord, the Word of God and reading the Word of God, every person will have a personal connection, and even people that are listening to us right now, that maybe they are in the middle of a palmetto, or maybe they are in a shopping center, or maybe they are at work. You never will experience the power of God connecting with you. It's special, it's priceless and it's especially the gift and the blessing of Jesus Christ is amazing.
Speaker 4:And that's why the CBMC, the Christian Businessman Connection, is so important. The first word is Christ, christian. The last word is connection.
Speaker 7:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So we first connect to Christ and then we come to the middle, the businessman part. So we first have to connect to Christ before we can connect our business life.
Speaker 7:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And that's why it's called the Christian Businessman Connection. Yeah, absolutely life. Yeah, and that's why it's called the christian businessman connection.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, omar. Even from from your story, from your testimony, um, you must have had a good position in a sense. Right, you were high up there to be the one to pick up noriega, but when christ really got a hold of your heart, I imagine, imagine that that dimmed a little bit, that wasn't so important anymore, that wasn't so relevant anymore. Can you take us back to that time?
Speaker 4:Yeah, at the time I thought I'd worked for the Department of Justice. Because I was working for the Department of Justice but I basically was working for myself because I basically, because I could work undercover, I could do whatever I wanted quote unquote. But the thing that's really helped my life is this whole idea of working for Jesus and Associates. Today I find myself as a employee of Jesus.
Speaker 4:My question to anybody that's listening if you truly, truly, truly believe that Jesus is your boss, how would you comport yourself with the general public, with the people around you, with your family? If you truly believe he is your boss and he truly is your boss and I think it's very important I went from thinking that I was my boss and every time I did that, I ended up in turmoil. It doesn't mean that I don't have bad things in my life happen, boy, the peace that comes from working for working for jesus and, as I was telling jose, the reason why I have peace today is because I had one huge problem, joey I was going to hell. Yeah, okay, the biggest problem I have has been solved okay so, therefore, everything else is fixable.
Speaker 4:So the the other stuff nothing personal, it's not minutiae, but at the most it's like okay, it's a challenge, but the problem has been solved.
Speaker 2:You know, again, that's such a big deal and whoever wants to jump in on this thought, I mean. You know, pastor Zach says it all the time. The senior pastor at Calvary Chapel, miami, heary chapel, miami, says man, if you trust god for eternity, you know why don't we trust him for the smaller things?
Speaker 5:you know? I mean again, have you guys seen that? Give me some feedback here. Yeah, when we find ourselves even that we have drank from all the cisterns of this world, at the end of it we're going to be completely bankrupt, and all of us have experienced that at some point or others in our lives.
Speaker 5:And when I was telling Omar, as we were talking over lunch, that when you spend some time wrestling with the Lord, jesus Christ, and what direction he wants to take you and the things that he wants to do not only in you but through you, in your life, and that takes a full surrendering to the God of the universe, then the Lord can use your life to do a work through you, through the people that you come in contact with, because when it comes to finances and money, you can have it all, and and there was a point in our lives that we had everything that we could want when it came to the things of the world and we were completely bankrupt spiritually and.
Speaker 5:And so you realize that there has to be more to life than, uh, just monetarily gains and possessions and riches. And and we have to make sure because the enemy is subtle, uh, he gives. But I was telling omar that he gives, but then he collects an interest that we cannot afford to pay. And then that's when you find yourself, when you allow the enemy to give you and give you and you don't have the right priorities, then at the end of it you're going to find yourself that you're completely bankrupt spiritually.
Speaker 4:Now I also found, in terms of of that, that god gives us so much. One of the things that I found is, the more that I am willing to give, the more that comes into my coffers that I have no idea where it came from. How many times do we say, well, let's just give on faith. We give on faith and all of a sudden I look at my bank account or I look at it, it's actually more in there than I thought there was and it wasn't. It's not by happenstance. The more we we can't out give God, obviously, but the more we give lovingly and in faith, the more he gives us, not only financially. But let me say this to you the greatest issue I have in my life is not money. I can make more money. My problem is time. Today is the last day of my life. I have no guarantee I'm going to be here in the morning.
Speaker 5:The question for me today is what am I going to do with the rest of my life, which is today, yeah, and can you put a price tag on the peace that surpasses all understanding? Everybody desires peace in their lives, and you can only find that peace when you allow Jesus Christ to reign in your life. And then it's a gift from the Lord to have that peace. Not that the circumstances are going to be good, because happiness comes when things are going your way, but peace, this unspeakable peace that the Lord gives you is no matter what you're going through in life, you're at rest, you don't feel anxious, you don't have stress, and that's what the Lord offers that a lot of times we don't receive it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, If you just tuned in in, we have three guests here in the studio. They're brothers in christ. They they've been with us in one way or another before and we actually did get a text. We got a text. It says also listening from saint petersburg, florida. You all have been truly a blessing. So that's funny, family. If you're listening, it sounds like we have more people in saint petersburg than miami. So so, Miami, you better start texting or calling. Let us know you're out there. But I expect that this is going to end up on our friends and family podcast as well. It's just going so well and there's going to be so much wisdom and so much blessing that's shared. I hope to get it online. So if you're listening live November, the 25th text, or call us now to be part of the program, and if you're listening later on the podcast, you can always reach out to us at the studio for anything that you might need. The studio phone number, whether you're listening live or listening later, is 786-313-3115.
Speaker 2:You know, gentlemen, one of the things I wanted to ask about and again as it relates to the Lord right is the highs and lows you've experienced, even in career and business. You know how God has brought you through those Because, remember, the scripture says, Paul, I've learned to be content in all things. Right, and it's funny because people think you know it's said many different ways, but oh, you know, if I only had this more, you know, I would be happy or content. And some people that have a lot said, oh, I wish I could scale it back a little and I would be happy and content. You know, really never content without the Lord. But the point being that the scripture says you know, I've learned to be content in all things, whether in little or in much. So can you take us through a little bit of the highs and lows of your business or career life and how God has brought you through?
Speaker 3:In answering to what you just said, pastor Joey, one thing that Pastor Casa just mentioned about the devil and the attack in terms of businessman and being a businessman and the business marketplace. The devil is a liar and he will always sell you a bunch of lies for you to be following those things that are never sustainable and that are never going to be good for you, but it will lead you to destruction, and one of the things about CBMC is that intention to build the business the way God wants you to build the business.
Speaker 3:As a matter of fact, there is a concept that I want to share that I saw once.
Speaker 3:Our brother, steve Solomon, shared with us that I found it very powerful and it's the reaching a businessman right where he is, to help him become the man God designed him to be. That is very powerful because we got so much negative and powerful forces that wants to attack us, that wants to tell us what we need but we really don't need, because we just need Jesus Christ but we really don't need because we just need Jesus Christ. And the emphasis that CBMC does is that connection, build it rightly build into the Word of God and through that connection, the powerful forces that God can unleash for us.
Speaker 2:That's one of the things I love about Christian businessmen's connection, cbmc, and one of the things I love about Christian Businessmen's Connection CBMC and one of the things I love about having you men here today. We need Christian men, faithful, strong Christian men, out in the workforce, out in the world, out in the marketplace. If not, not everybody can just be at church 24-7. That's not the point. I said it to a group of guys and then, omar, we'll go to you talking about those highs and lows in business and career. But I said it to a group of guys and I said it and I said, wait, is that right? It just sounded so extreme. But I said, hey, if you don't have any unsaved friends or non-Christian friends, you're doing something wrong. Go find some non-Christians.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's an interesting thing. I hear this all the time. Joey is a wonderful Christian guy. Everybody loves him.
Speaker 2:Oh boy.
Speaker 4:Well, if everybody loves Joey, he's an undercover Christian. Okay, because if you truly are going to be out there doing things for Christ, expect feedback that's very negative. Uh duff, telling on what our brother just said. The problem with me at the highlight of my career was that I was a victim of identity theft. Um, when I became an undercover agent with dea and I ended up the high echelons of the traffic, I became omar azam. I changed my name and I changed my personality and I became for personality and I became, for all practical purposes, a criminal and for many, many years Satan used that and I became Omar Azaim.
Speaker 4:The greatest gift in terms of coming down to earth was getting my personality back, and it's taken me a long time to find myself, because as we go along through life, we leave pieces. I'm still trying to recover the pieces I lost along the way and it's really, it's really a sad thing to see in now. Today, as I am omar aleman, I realize that now, finally, the greatest gift I have is to be myself, my job. In life, I used to have these highs and lows. What I want now is a spiritual flatline, and a spiritual flatline means that loving contentment that God gives us. When things are good, we're good. When things are bad, we're still good, because we are in the will of God. We are in spiritual contentment and not that manic, depressive life that that the satan offers us every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you know it's interesting if I were to summarize part of what you said. It was like your career high was your spiritual low without a doubt and it's, it's interesting for anyone listening, jose, again, any highs or lows in in business or in finances or in ventures that you've had, that stick out how the lord has brought you through yeah, the uh, the lord, even for me, uh, you know the way that, um, he used me uh, uh for the last 20 years as a full-time pastor and full-time business owners.
Speaker 5:Is is cool because I got to be a pastor in the church without walls and that's in the business realm. Uh, and people uh, through that I came in contact with. Even in the time of covid, when everything was shut down, the lord was bringing me people, people still need grass?
Speaker 5:yeah, they, they. They need plants, they need all that stuff. But, um, they need, they need jesus, amen. So, in the sense, people, every day during those 29 years that I was here in Miami running the business, people brought me each day hundreds of people. And then the Lord used the business to build up a bridge for me to bring the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those people that desperately needed Jesus Christ. So people, they knew that I was a Christian man.
Speaker 5:I did as a Christian man did business that I let my yes be yes and my noes be no. If I couldn't do something, I would tell them I couldn't do it. And if I did something, I did it with the excellence of Jesus Christ, as a Christian business owner. But at the same time, people knew here in Miami-Dade County that, as a Christian businessman, when they were going through a difficult time, they didn't call me to do business with plants and sod and soil and stuff. They called me for me to pray with them as they were dealing with cancer, as they were going into surgery, as they were going on the verge of divorce.
Speaker 5:And so the Lord used the business to do counseling to people that didn't know used the business to do counseling to people that didn't know. So, the Lord, even in the business realm a lot of people that I talk to and I get to pray over them they come and they always complain to me about where they're at in their business and what they do for work because they're the only Christians. And I always tell them you got the best job in the planet because if you're the only Christian in your workplace, then you can be a small little light that shines really so bright. So don't think, because you are alone in a place, that you're the only Christian, god is going to use you tremendously in the business world, in in the church, that most of those people will never come to church, but those people are going to come to you to receive instructions from the lord amen, amen.
Speaker 2:Oh man, so so much, so much. I want to follow up on there. I have notes here, I have a text here. It says our family has been super, uh, super blessed by mr casas as both a pastor and a business owner, and I know a lot of the story behind that comment. But thank you for texting an encouragement to Jose, I hope, if you want to say anything to them. I don't know if you can see the name.
Speaker 5:It's Miss Tiffany, yeah yeah, the Lord used my place of business even to bless other churches for so many years and so many clients that I got to go into their houses Just not to do a service for them but also to encourage them. I remember going one time to do a delivery for a landscaper. Um, he had like a tumor on the side of his face and he was I. I got there early in the morning, he was already drunk and I got to lay hands on him and uh, and that day he invited the lord jesus christ. I went to do a delivery, but the delivery that I did it wasn't of sod, mulch and dirt, but it was a delivery. But the delivery that I did, it wasn't of sod, mulch and dirt, but it was a delivery of the gospel unto salvation. And so many people people that have gone to jail, they call me, people that their kids committed suicide, and the Lord used the business to bring comfort to their lives. So the Lord used the workplace to glorify himself.
Speaker 2:You know we'll come back to a lot of that, but something that comes to mind and, omar, you kind of touched on it. Well, you didn't touch on it, you said it plainly hey, if you're out there representing Christ, you're going to get pushback, you know. But I think you know it's interesting, I've seen both. So a little story from when I was working in a restaurant and hopefully this will get you guys thinking of a similar story from your own life. I was working in a restaurant and this was it's funny I got saved when I was a teenager. This was the first job that I came into as a Christian. So I got saved at the last place and then I, you know, when they met me, I was a believer already at this new job, at this new restaurant.
Speaker 2:Long story short, I was carrying a big tray full of food, a couple hundred dollars worth of food, big party, big table. I dropped it, dropped the whole thing on the floor, spilled some on a guest and I broke a statue, a very expensive statue in the restaurant, broke its thumb off, the statue I remember it was the thumbless statue. And so I'm there cleaning and I'm already saying I'm out of here, I'm fired, I'm some kid I was 17, 18 at the time. They're going to get rid of me, replace me. It cost us whatever $100 it was.
Speaker 2:And I'm there cleaning and the general manager this was the lead manager at the restaurant he kneels down beside me, he's cleaning up. He said, hey, you know, if this was any other person, they'd be fired, right. I said yes, sir. He said finish cleaning and get back to work. I said yes, sir, and so I got to think that part of that was my testimony, my work ethic, the Lord's favor and grace, because obviously it's not all me, but I think it could go either way, or we've had both experiences in life where, as you live for Christ, it's a it's, it's something that attracts people, something that blesses people, and sometimes you get that pushback. So I wonder if any of those stories come to mind for you, men, where it's it's been something that's attractive, it's been something that's, I guess you could say, given you success in the workplace and business, if that's a way to phrase it, or if a story of actually it quote unquote hurt me in the business realm when I stood up for Christ.
Speaker 4:One of the things that I think is so important for us as Christians in the workplace is to use prayer, prayer, as one of the biggest weapons we have. And let me tell you why. I don't care if you're the worst heathen in the world. If you're known in your business as a praying man, you will be surprised if you go to anybody that is going through problems, medical issues with the family and they don't believe in the lord. If you say to them, can I pray for you, they will come to you. And it's an thing we have to be known as people, first of all, that walk the walk and talk the talk. That's very important.
Speaker 4:But then to be prayer warriors and not to pray in front of people all the time but people know in your company that when they have an issue they're willing to pray. You talk about Muslims. I've yet to meet a Muslim where you go to them and say, can I pray for your family? You ask the most hardcore Muslim if you can pray for them and they will say, sure, that's amazing. So the whole idea of prayer in the workplace to be an unselfish and a humble prayer warrior because you will attract people that in that company will not come to you unless something's going on yeah and guess what?
Speaker 2:you're the guy they're gonna go to yeah, yeah, um, jose or caesar, anything come to mind where either you living for christ and standing up for christ benefited you in the business and work realm, or a story that comes to mind where it it really didn't help, but you did it anyway.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you. If I may say one point that in my life has been powerful, is that the Word of God from.
Speaker 3:Genesis to Revelation is a book that equips you for life and for business. It's a powerful force, because you just mentioned about lows and highs. The word of God will sustain you and will give you the strength through the moments that you believe that you're in the lows. The Lord is the shepherd, I'm sorry. The Lord is my shepherd. I should not want that. Is a powerful message in the word of God. But if you see the life of Joseph, because of the jealousy of their brothers and what happened through him and now becoming the most powerful man, basically in Egypt, but also Daniel and if you see the different aspects of their lives, that that sustain you, that no matter what comes our way, yeah, it will be bad moments, it will be good moments, yeah, but the word of god will sustain you you know, it's amazing that you bring up those two biblical narratives because you think about it right and I love the, the context right.
Speaker 2:If you look at it from the practical, joseph is like what do you say? Cfo, coo, you knowO of the nation, in a sense. And then Daniel, same thing, I mean the king's right-hand man, in a sense. And then even them, when they stood up for God, they suffered for it. But then, especially Daniel, he says wow, your God has saved you. Oh, my goodness, and it's a testimony, we have somebody on the line. Let's welcome them. You're live on God's Way Radio. Where are you calling us from?
Speaker 7:Calling from the FIU area to South Miami Heights.
Speaker 2:FIU area. Man, we know you have a connection with CBMC as well. Man, let me just give you the line to ask or share what you wanted to share. But, man, let me just give you the line to ask or share what you wanted to share.
Speaker 7:I just thought of a Bible verse with, as I hear, the men talking and agreeing right, the prayer question is just such a great way to introduce God into the picture in any moment. But the word is in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 15, and it says For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other, the aroma of life leading to life. And so, yeah, we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other, the aroma of life leading to life. And so, yeah, we will have enemies. We will have maybe some, but that's man. There's so many that are just ready to receive right, the fields, man, they're ready for harvest. So God has us in specific places and he puts those words to that person that needs to hear it. Man, that's life you're just bringing to that moment. So, uh, so just thought about that bible verse concerning those comments great verse yeah, that's that.
Speaker 5:That's great. Uh, the the cool thing is this um, even in the in the business room, when, when you have opposition and usually the greatest opposition is when you do a job for somebody and then they don't pay you and they owe you money.
Speaker 5:How are you going to react? And then, as a business owner for 30 years 29 years there was hundreds of thousands of dollars that were all to me and they were not paid. And I remember one time, on the 67th property, a guy owe me a tremendous amount of money, that we were starting the business and we desperately needed that money to pay bills. And we did this job for this guy, so we did it correctly and we did it on a professional way, but the guy chose not to pay us. So Pastor Rask did the Wednesday night service and then I tell Belkis, hey, we got to go to this guy's house and she said, uh-oh, is it the old Jose or is it the new and improved Jose? So I said we got to drive.
Speaker 5:So we drove to the guy's house at 10 o'clock at night and I knocked on his door. When he said who is it? And I told him my name, they didn't know whether to call the cops or what to do. So they finally opened the door and I told them I came here not to do you any harm. I just came here because the Lord compelled me to come here to tell you that you don't owe me no money, as this day forward the money that you owe me. The Lord Jesus Christ has wiped that slate. Clean the money now that you owe. You owe it to the Lord Jesus Christ, so if you want to pay it, you pay it to him, and I was able to walk out of there with clean hands before the Lord and with clean hands before my enemies.
Speaker 5:So, as a business owner, where it counts is when people owe you money, when people wronged you, when people backstabbed you. As a Christian business owner, do you act like everybody else. Do you get lawyers involved, Do you get people involved to go after them and destroy them, or you say and you trust by faith, that where God guides, God provides. And as a testimony unto that event afterwards, the Lord provided more work than I could take in the sense, because what I was all to me, the Lord blessed it.
Speaker 5:And not everything in life you can measure with monetarily blessings. There's blessings that come with it. Whether your kids marry somebody that is a Christian, whether your grandkids, they wake up in the morning and they pray as we partake of our meals. So the Lord wants to instill on us blessings. But people always think that, OK, if I give this unto the Lord, I expect to receive monetarily gains as a result of it. So we have to make sure that we don't count our blessings always to be monetarily. Blessings there are measured by this world by spiritual blessings. There are blessed blessings that come from heaven.
Speaker 4:So we got to keep our spiritual glasses on this, this, this dovetails into the subject of forgiveness. Yes, um, many, many years ago, when I was in, in the middle of my being a federal agent, a deacon at the church I attended was an informant for the government and, and to make a long story short, as a result of false information, I was suspended from my job, wow, and I was prepared to be indicted. I think, yeah, all right, I think you were. And I was driving down the parallel between Coral Way and Byrd Road and I'm saying to the Lord Lord, a fellow deacon would do this to me. This is horrible. You need to go get him. You need to really make him pay, and I'll never forget this.
Speaker 4:He said to me in such a clear voice, even though he doesn't talk to me, but I can feel him. He said, omar, I will take care of him. What he did to you was awful. And then, because you're just as big a sinner as he is, I will take care of you afterwards. Hmm, and I said to the Lord as I got to Byrd Road please do not touch him. Because I recognized that I could not afford to pay the price of what I had done. So therefore, I forgave, because I recognize how much had been forgiven for me, and forgiveness is part of dovetailing of what Pastor Jose just talked about.
Speaker 2:Blessed are those who are merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. I love that, you know. I love that encounter you had with the Lord. You know, like you said, I didn't hear his voice, but I felt his voice, I knew he was talking to me and you know God talks to us how we need to hear him. You know the Bible's the Bible. You know that's written, but when he speaks to your heart, you know I love when God, especially with men, you know we're here and this is kind of like brought to you by Christian Businessmen's Connection. They're a sponsor of the radio, they're a dear partner in ministry and man, especially men, sometimes god needs to talk to us tough, you know, and so oh yeah, okay, I'll come, I'll come to you after and oh yeah, god talks like that sometimes I was scared to death because I was, so I said yeah.
Speaker 4:When he said to me oh yeah, I'll get him, I was so happy. And then one second later he said but then if I go up to him, I gotta come after you. And I said oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't do anything to him, because I recognize I was probably worse than the guy who did that to me um, we have a text here, man, great stuff, you know, and this always happens.
Speaker 2:Not always. This often happens. We get rolling and then you look at the clock and we're almost short on time in a sense Family. If you're listening, let me give you a few pieces of information. We're getting into the 16 minutes left mark here.
Speaker 2:This is Refresh live on God's Way Radio. We're live every single weekday 3.30 to 4.30 pm, and if you're listening November the 25th, you're listening live. And if you're listening after the fact, you're still getting some good stuff and you did right by downloading or streaming this. But if you're listening live, you can participate by texting or calling 786-313-3115. Whether it's a question, a word of encouragement, you want to ask them to elaborate on something? Whatever it is, you can participate. I'm going to read this text exactly how it has come in, and I think that any one of you could chime in on this and hopefully all of you will have something to say. I would like for you to ask them if, at any time, they felt that success and having everything right became a distraction that took them away from God and their family priority. If so, how do they recognize when this is happening and how do they recognize that their priorities are compromised?
Speaker 5:Wow.
Speaker 2:Good question.
Speaker 5:That's an awesome question. For me, I have the main thing that we have to have in life to make sure that we have our priorities set in order in our homes, because if we don't have the right priorities set in our home, then we're is to have God to be the priority above everything that happens in my life. The second priority is my wife, and that includes my kids, my grandkids and all. And then it comes to the workplace workplace, because if I have all those things, if I'm, if I don't provide for my house, I'm worse than an infidel, so then I'm not qualified to do ministry. But once I get the first three in order, then the fourth one is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Um, when it comes and and that's I'm talking about me personally, because other people might say the priority of God, and then the wife and then the workplace is, if they work for a church as a full staff pastor, then that's the priority changes because the workplace is serving the Lord Jesus Christ. So three and four are together.
Speaker 5:But when you do well in the business realm and the Lord provides, we got to make sure that we don't abhor and we don't think that the Lord is blessing only for me, because one of the things that the Lord provides for you is to bless the kingdom of God. And then we have to make sure that our left hand doesn't let the right hand know what it's doing, in the sense that we don't boast on what the Lord is doing financially within our lives to bring negative attention to me and myself. So in the sense, is the Lord through finances to have money to run a church? It takes money to turn on the electricity, to have the stuff that we need to do in church. So it costs money and a lot of people. They don't take priority when it comes to the giving back to the Lord. So the tithing principle is just a principle of the minimal.
Speaker 2:Right. The tithing just give 10%. I was just thinking, but a lot of people.
Speaker 5:They think that that's the standard. No, if the Lord has given to you abundantly, you can tithe, but then you can sponsor somebody on a mission trip, then you can give to somebody that can't go to the couples retreat, then you can bless. Or if there is a church project without you being told, you give. And here at Calvary, the way we do it is where God guides, god provides, god is not broke. We don't have to beg for bread, we don't have to ask for money, because the lord provides for us and has blessed us. But for the monetarily, uh, uh, you know, blessing you have to make sure that you don't focus only on the, on the stuff that is monetarily that you can, uh, just give back to the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2:You know it's funny. A quick comment on that. I was thinking about the same thing. When you talk about tithing, you know people say, oh, I've heard this comment, I don't know how many people say this anymore. Oh, you know, that's so legalistic. Why do I have to give 10%? So if you want to be legalistic, you got to give 10% here. 10% here, the first fruits here. That's legalistic. This is the minimum. This is jesus using the print. Like you just said. I'm repeating what you said the principle of tithing to teach us about generosity as a christian. But I still have the, the question, up here. I don't know if you guys can see it from there. I'd love to get a little bit of input from the the rest of you men. Basically it's you know, have you ever found yourself compromising family and, uh, you know, for the sake of success and how you dealt with that and how you see that, how you catch that. I'm just summarizing the question.
Speaker 3:Yes, the answer is yes, definitely, and it's a major distraction. Whatever you believe that you're very successful, it's a total distraction and it's a lie. The same way we lost Paradise, we are losing in a business world when you think that you're very successful and you're just thinking about the dollar. In my particular case, it took me to go rock bottom to realize that it was a lie. To have that encounter with Jesus and through him, my life changed. And I remember that that very same week that I gave my life to Jesus.
Speaker 3:The following Monday, I remember like now that I was driving and I didn't have enough money for gas. Wow, and I stopped in the Blue Lagoon area and I got stuck and it was me calling a friend that came to rescue me. So at that moment I remember that I prayed and something that Omar mentioned the powerful weapon that we have in praying. I pray and I pray and I pray and with that friend I got the gas. Then we'll have coffee, then we talk. I share with him about church. He went to church. We built a deeper relationship. That same week that I felt, wow, I really don't have any hope, but I pray. And I remember that by Thursday I was working again under a management of a new company that I got a job. I got my biggest sale in that whole year.
Speaker 7:God just needed to show you and teach you.
Speaker 3:And I just remember praying in the middle of that situation waiting in the car, that surrender, that surrendering to the Lord.
Speaker 4:Sharing the success with your family is very important. There was a disconnect with me because I was very, very successful but I didn't share that success with my wife and my child. As a result, they were just add-ons and we need to. Whatever success, whether spiritual or in the business world, it must be shared success. Let me give you an example. When I was undercover and my name was Omar Azam and I was a big shot undercover guy, on Friday evening I would come home as Omar Azam flying my own private jet, and I would come home and my wife would say to me change the diaper and mow the lawn. And I would look at her and say do you know who you're talking? I don't do that. I'm on mars, I don't do that kind of stuff. In other words, there was a complete, complete disconnect between the success I was having yeah and you know what I would not share yeah
Speaker 2:my success because we become like it's mine, and and and I and that's also a safety net, and I just remind you guys that we have people of all ages listening. But it's mine and that's also a safety net, and I just remind you guys that we have people of all ages listening, but it's still a topic that needs to be busierious. When you don't share your success at home, there might be a lady at work that you're sharing success with your secretary. And again, I'm trying to be serious. This is not a funny matter at all and we have kids of all ages listening. But guys, guys tell me about how important it is to not have a separate work home life, that that could be dangerous as well. Men that have been in the business world talk to me.
Speaker 5:yeah, um, even, uh, for us, uh, for many years, um, a I'm talking after I got saved, me and belkis got back uh, it was cool because we got to work together as husband and wife and then we worked together for a season and then she moved on. But after I got home from work then she always asked me hey, how was work, what happened, how was everything? And I kind of didn't want to talk about it because I spent the whole day at work. And I kind of didn't want to talk about it because I spent the whole day at work and now I had to relive all the stuff that I went through the day with her.
Speaker 5:But I always after, you know, I got saved I make sure that I talk to my wife about all this stuff that I do, you know, at work. I brought it home and we got to talk about all this stuff. It wasn't just I have my work life and then my personal life, you know, and then even with my son, junior worked with me for many years. So in the sense, my work life it became part of the family life too. So everything worked together as one awesome for me for me.
Speaker 4:It took me a long time, a long time to really recognize, understand and put into practice the fact that we're one flesh husband and wife I never.
Speaker 4:I never quite understood that, because I was never able to love another human being as much as I loved myself is when I recognized that I could do that with the person God gave me, that gave me that freedom to be open and say you know, I didn't make it here, I screwed up there. And to have that kind of intimacy is not a bedroom intimacy. Intimacy is a spiritual intimacy.
Speaker 6:Amen.
Speaker 4:And I had intimacy all of my life until I understood that I am one flesh and that he put our marriage together. I'm incapable of marrying my wife. I know that God put us together and you know what. That's what makes it so much easier for me to be more transparent, because I never have been a transparent guy.
Speaker 2:Very, very good stuff. Anything on that topic In my particular case going to the Word.
Speaker 3:It hit me when God says my Word will not return void. And listening to Pastor Cass and Omar, I remember that prior to me giving my life to Jesus, I probably made three or four times more but I was not able to show anything. And once I gave my life to Jesus I was able to save in things that before I was making more money, but now I was making the right money, but I was under god's economy yeah, and everything was we mentioned that earlier, yeah, yeah and blessed, and blessed, and that hit me, and it has hit me even to today that I can't explain myself how that happened yeah, only
Speaker 2:yeah, knowing that through the world and it ties right back to the question, because it's what does the bible say? Walk in the light, whether it's finances, whether it's how you're doing the deal, whether it's you know what. You're spending the money on what. When everything's in the light, then you're in the light with your spouse, you're in the light at church. You're just walking in the light. There's nothing to hide.
Speaker 2:Guys, with just minutes left, you know, and again, I mean this, I mean this seriously. Maybe you'll tell me, joey, that's the wrong question. You haven't heard anything. We've said all the whole hour. But you know, I tried to write it down to make it clear. You know. You know I joked at the beginning.
Speaker 2:Oh, people think this is going to be the secret to a million dollar, happy, successful life. Not exactly, but this is what I want to ask you guys. I think most men they would say this I, but this is what I want to ask you guys. I think most men they would say this I want to be successful, I want to make money, I want to have retirement, I want to leave something for my kids and I want to do it without compromising on Jesus. I want to do it while having Jesus as the priority. Guys, are there any principles, are there any lessons that you could share with a man listening that says I do want to be successful and I do want to be successful and I do want to honor the Lord. I want to do both.
Speaker 5:To me since I got saved, one of the priorities in my life.
Speaker 5:I want to leave a legacy of godliness to my family and to people that come in contact with me, not necessarily a high priority on finances, but that I taught and I trained up my kids and my grandkids in the way that they should go in their walk with the Lord.
Speaker 5:And yeah, it tells us, you know in the word for us to leave, you know, a legacy to our kids and our grandkids. You know, when it comes to finances, but the thing is that if you want to be successful in anything that you do, you got to have good work habits. You know you got to have a discipline in your life. You got to know how to manage your money. Well, a lot of people even I see it in the Christian, in churches that people, when it comes to priorities and managing money, they don't do a good job. They waste a lot of money on stuff that is nonsense and then when it comes to the important things of life, then they don't have the resources available. So for them to be disciplined with their monies, with their finances, and be disciplined in work habits, because if you don't got good work habits, you're never going to be successful.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 4:I want to pass it to Cesar, but I want to mention something. If you guys have enjoyed hearing what Pastor Jose is going to say. I really enjoyed hearing what Pastor Jose is going to say. Yes, yes, he is going to be our guest speaker at the CBMC West Doral Lunch on December 3rd at the 97th Air Squadron Restaurant, beginning at 1230.
Speaker 2:And the beauty of it.
Speaker 4:We just got the appetizer Right and the beauty of it is that I'm going to be interviewing him, which means I only have two or three questions, because you know what's going to happen with.
Speaker 1:Pastor Jose.
Speaker 4:He's got a goal and a diet drive and I really love it. But for you guys, december 3rd lunch, cbmc 97th Air Squadron, pastor Jose Casas, I pass it on to Cesar.
Speaker 2:Before we do. Before we do and I want to come back to you because I want your two cents on this as well what is the best way to get that information again? Or to sign up, or is there a direct website? Should they contact us at god's radio?
Speaker 4:yeah, they can. They can contact you or they can go to cbmc south florida, cbmc south florida, and there they can register for the lunch. Perfect.
Speaker 2:Perfect. Thank you, caesar.
Speaker 3:Thank you. That question, joy, is very, very important because that's what I mentioned earlier that as businessmen, as people in business, we got so many forces attacking us and pushing us and so many lies from the devil in terms of being successful or not. And the Word of God has a message. It says in Matthew 6.33, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient, for the day is in its own trouble. We got so many issues and challenges. Put God first. Face those challenges. One day will be maybe that you are victorious One day. Maybe you're not, but you got the force that will sustain you and will get you through the finish line.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm so thankful you shared that verse and I'm so thankful. I'm just so thankful because and I hope this comes across clearly Hopefully it hits different, hopefully it hits with a new freshness. It's not just a pastor, it's not just hearing it at church, it's hearing it from successful businessmen. The same scripture, the same principle. Omar, I want to hear your answer to that question, but also I want to leave time, so, whatever order you want to do it in, I realize we've been thanking CBMC, we've been giving them a shout out, but we really haven't said too much what it is and how people can get connected. So if you could give a couple minutes to that and a couple minutes to your answer.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the Christian businessman connection has been around for a hundred years In South Florida in the last 20 some years there's only a one trick pony, one place, which is the downtown tower club, and we had a lunch there. But right now we have spread in many areas. We have three lunches, like we're going to have with Jose, but we also have cigar nights where guys can go in and actually talk about their businesses and the walk of Christ. But we also have discipleship Operation Timothy where we disciple folks in terms of spiritual issues. We also have programs for young professionals, we have programs for seasoned executives and we have Connect Three to connect men to men.
Speaker 4:So CBMC is not just going to a lunch. We network at a lunch. But that's the beginning of what we do at CBMC. So, for instance, jose is going to be meeting some people on December 3rd that may be interested in going a little further in discipleship, because the whole idea is to build workplace ambassadors. That's what we're all is workplace ambassadors. We're trying to build disciples. We're trying to go from nonbelievers to believers, to disciples, and you cannot become a disciple by going to build disciples. We're trying to go from non-believers to believers, to disciples, and you cannot become a disciple by going to a lunch, but the longest journey begins with the first step, and that first step oftentimes is either a cigar night or a lunch, like our brother Jose.
Speaker 4:And the other question was I'm an old?
Speaker 2:man, I don't remember what you asked me. You know the question is the big one, right? Hey, I want to be successful. I don't remember what you asked me. You know the question is the big one, right? Hey, I want to be successful, I want to make money, I want to do it all. I want to honor the Lord. I don't want to compromise on the Lord. You guys have done it. How do I do it? You know a man that's listening, that he wants to. You know, which I think is a desire most men have successful in finance and family without compromising on the Lord. What principle, what lesson do you have for them?
Speaker 4:For me it's before you become successful in the workplace, you have to become successful at home. It does you no good to be successful in the workplace. So therefore, where do you train to be successful in the workplace? You train to be a successful leader at home. In other words, you become a servant leader with your wife and children and then you take that to the workplace, become a servant leader there, and in time God will take that and make you a successful businessman. But don't put the cart before the horse. Where do you learn to be a servant leader With the ones you love, with the people God gave you?
Speaker 2:Guys, gentlemen, I can't thank you enough for coming by today. I can't, if he's listening, Steve. Thank you for bringing us all together in a sense. Thank you CBMC for their support of God's Way Radio and their partnership, and this gospel ministry. Again, gentlemen, thank you. God bless you all. Thank you, this has been God's Way Radio and if you want more, you can find us online godswayradiocom. If you're listening live, this is going to be on the Friends and Family podcast. If you've listened on the podcast, keep scrolling through. There are tons of conversations and interviews like this. Until next time, grace and peace.
Speaker 1:We hope you enjoyed Friends and Familyique conversations recorded and produced in our studios, where you get a chance to hear what God is doing in people's lives. Jesus tells us in John 15, verse 15 I have called you friends For all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. So that's why we love to share these exclusive interviews with you. Our hope is that through their stories God will be made known to you, but you can only find them here on God's Way Radio. Just check godswayradiocom for our full program schedule.