Benny DiChiara Audio

Speaker: [00:00:00] The Missional Life Podcast, inspiring Kingdom-minded believers around the world to live the mission of God in their lives.

Dan: alright. Welcome back to Mr. Life Podcast. Today we're joined again by Benny deShar, the front man of the Christian Rock Band. Empowered bending his band are fresh off the release of the new ep Salt. A record with a bold message straight out of Matthew five about being the salt of the Earth.

Produced by Dov Award winner, Mikey Howard, this project is more than music. It's a call to mission, Benny's story of resilience, faith, and purpose continues to inspire, and we're excited to hear how God is moving through this new season. Benny, welcome back to the show.

Amanda: Welcome.

Benny: That's right, thanks. And so blessed to be here and, and see you guys again.

It's been a bit, so this will be fun,

Dan: man. We are so excited. And when we saw this new album come out, we said we gotta talk to this guy. And so [00:01:00] let's just jump right into it. You just released SALT this year? Yeah, this summer. Tell us a little bit more about the heart behind that album, and why did you Land on Salt as the central theme of the new album?

Benny: Well, thanks for that, Dan. So, and, and much like you guys, when you're doing your podcast, everything goes into it. I know you guys pray over everything as well as I do when I'm writing and stuff. So this goes back a year ago, we were in Kentucky for the IUs Music Festival and there was a hurricane that sat over Kentucky.

I don't know if y'all remember that, just spun up for days and days. So the whole thing gets hurricane out, right? So I'm like well, and then the following weekend we had a show with Mikey and seventh time down later. So we were on a nine day run, and the, the guy who owns I this says, what are you doing tomorrow?

And I'm like, I'm bringing Mick my drummer to the airport in Lexington. He's gotta fly home. And he says, well, why don't y'all come to church [00:02:00] and support the evangelist that was there? And it, and I'm like, sure. We'll come to church. So I told the guys, looks like we're going to church boys. What? Wait. And so we went.

And so we get in there and y'all, it is, it's built in the eight, late 18 hundreds and it's on Stone Foundations and it's a little shotgun looking all wooden steeple, right? And every, and so we, we walk in and he's like, I'd like you to do a song. And I'm like, okay. So we went in and he says, would you do a song?

So we did Daddy's song because that's the song I wrote about my dad when he passed. So we did that. And the Evangelist Adam Field, if you've never heard of him, go look him up. Phenomenal young guy. If he, if he preached what he preached that day to every single church in the world, the entire world would be pre-saved again before Jesus came.

I mean, just truth and on fire. This, that another. So at the end of [00:03:00] his message, he says. Everybody in here, whoever needs prayer today, we want you to come down in the middle aisle. So there's probably 60 something people in church, right? From four years old to 84, every single person. But one left a seat and the one was an elderly lady who couldn't matriculate really well.

So he's got a line to the back of the church and he looks at me and he goes, pastor Benny, get your boys. We need to pray. So I told the guys, I said, looks like we're praying. So we all go up, we're praying over all of these people who came down. One lady who came down, had a brain, had brain surgery, and, and Pastor Adam, he's saying he's the evangelist.

And he says, have you met Benny De Shera? And I'm like, don't you do it, Adam, don't, don't. And he goes, he had a traumatic brain injury like 10, almost 10 years ago. I'm like, Adam, like, no. And apparently God's voice was louder to him than mine [00:04:00] was to him, right? He goes, he goes, pastor Benning, she's all yours.

So next thing you know, like I'm praying over her and her husband who wound up being the caretaker for her, much like my wife did through my brain injury incident, right? And do, I'm breaking, I'm broken, and they're broken. And just, it was, it was a, it was a moment. So we pray the whole church and then we go sit down and hear his message, which was incredible again.

And he says, at the end of it, he says, do you and the band need prayer for anything? And I'm like, absolutely. We're a band of guys. We just, the fact that we're a band of guys means, but we're a band too, so please do so. He prays over us. Then the pastor Travis, who is there, he says, pastor Travis, take over.

So the pastor of the church starts taking over and as he is praying over us. He breaks into prophecy. So he, he splits off from prayer into prophecy. And for those of us who [00:05:00] are rooted, we pick that up pretty easily. Yeah. For those of us who think we're rooted or who are not rooted, get that, think we are or are not it, it's not as clear a definition.

Right. And as he goes on there and he says, since you walked in here, the Lord has been screaming to me, salt. These guys are salt. And he says, he says, and, and God wants you to know what it means. So I'm like, I'm, we're all on our knees and a group. We're already crying so this is gonna get ugly. And so it we're, he goes, the S is for safety.

You are operating under the safety of Jesus Christ. He knows what you're doing for him, with him and him through you. You're under his safety. And guys, how many times as believers do we forget that as we move in the mission that God gave us, he's got us covered [00:06:00] from the enemy.

Amanda: Yeah.

Benny: Regardless of what happens in your life, he has us covered under his safety.

So I'm like, and he says, the A is anointed and your lyrics are anointed. You guys, you guys are anointed. The L is for legit. And I was like, oh, okay. And he's like, you don't take his name out of your lyrics when you sing your songs that he's given you. There's no doubt who it is that you're singing about.

And I'm like, amen to that. Right. And he says, and the T is timing. So you've been operating under his timing, but your time is coming due for your listeners. Let's talk about the timing thing, right? Mm. T you've been operating under his timing, but your time is coming due. I founded Empowered the Band in 1996.

In 1996. Wow. There has been [00:07:00] much action since 2019 when Mikey first produced three days, then Yahweh Nii, now salt radio stations are grabbing it and, and, and people are calling to book us for like events and all these type things. And I've got friends who go, y'all are blowing up right now. And I'm like, time out 1997.

And you're like, what does that mean? I'm like, that's when I started this thing. Hmm. So let's talk about that timing thing, right? Yeah.

Amanda: Yeah.

Benny: We would not see the blessings of what God is doing with us musically. Nor us visiting doing it, we would not ever see that. If at some point this is gonna sound very direct, what I'm about to say to you.

If at some point I decided, well, Lord, I know you told me to do this thing, but I don't see the fruit. I don't see any results happening. I see different guys coming in and out of the band. [00:08:00] I see. I don't see what the mission was. I don't see the fruits of the mission. Had I done that, then I replace my, replaced him with me.

It's almost like the ultimate thou shalt have no other gods before me. Well, I'm sorry, Lord. I just made myself Lord over you because I don't think you're doing your job telling me that I'm supposed to get what I'm supposed to get. When you said I was gonna get it. And how many people do we talk to, that feel that way?

I tell my kids all the time, and my wife, I'm like, babe, feelings kill. Feelings. Kill. Don't text, write call, talk to anybody when you're under feelings, because inevitably you've not dialed down and given it to the Lord. So he can come through you to say what needs to be said. And that's how people get in trouble, right?

Because they just jump in and they, they do this, but they don't do this. Mm-hmm. [00:09:00] So, so the timing thing all these years later, are we excited? We're it's a, it's, you don't know. Okay. Lemme say it this way. When you operate and you see yourself operating, boy this is speaking, this is a word for you, two guys for real when you operate and what the Lord has for you.

What his purpose for you is. There is a joy that we wish 1% of people could experience. Wow. Right? Because we are able to move in the fire of the Holy Spirit and we really, look, we really, I'm speaking for all three of us, but I won't do that now. Like, okay, just me. I don't care. And it's not to sound like I don't care, but I don't care what other people think because they don't hold the same position as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who's put on our hearts, do this for [00:10:00] me, if that makes sense.

Yeah. So timing's irrelevant because it truly is his timing. Just if he's given you a message, do not quit for any reason and do not give up because. He's got, if every hair on our head is numbered, well me less. But if every, all of that, if he knows everything about us, I, I personally feel like if God's the Alpha Omega, he's a, he knows all these things.

He knew in 1995 that one day I will have had enough and I was gonna give my life to him completely and know what it meant to be saved and know what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. It was, I knew Jesus. I knew who he was. I did not know him in my life. I know that ran long, sorry. But just, just, I'm so, I passionate about it right now because he's saying to engage, he's saying to engage and, and use your mouth, like speak words.

People need to hear. Time is short. My son [00:11:00] is coming back soon. Get in it. Get in it.

Amanda: Man. Yeah. Wow.

Dan: Listeners, Benny just dropped so much gold there. Yeah, that man. Let me share some of the things that I caught here and it's just, yeah. So amazing how, first of all, timing, because timing is, especially in our culture, we expect everything to happen super quick.

We expect everything to just be instantaneous. We expect that, the Lord is just gonna move according to our timing. And the truth is that we're on His timing, not on our timing. If it's taking longer than it should, or you think it should. Man, don't get discouraged because, God's working something.

I was thinking about salt and I love that acronym, but I thought you were gonna go the direction about the flavors and things, but salt also preserves. And so salt lasts a long time. And so if we are salt of the earth, we need to last a long time in the midst of the things that God has for us.

And so that's such a powerful, [00:12:00] powerful testimony. And so, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I love that you can look back at your life and say, man, you're blowing up and No, no, no, no. I've been at this since 1996, and I'm just really curious and I wanna come back to some of the things that.

You shared. But I wanna make sure that we highlight 90, 96 is when you started doing this, but 95, I think is a really important time for you in your life. And you actually have a song that you redid on this album. And I was listening to this morning when I was running on the, treadmill at the gym.

I love how it's this anthem and I love how you have this song that's really an anthem. And I want you to share about that and some of the backstory, because I feel like when you're writing this song and when you're singing this song, it's like you're singing this anthem recalling what the Lord did in your life.

And so we'd love to hear more about that song.

Benny: Yeah. Yeah. 1995, it's my testimony set to music. So it, we released it originally in 2012, and it was a lot. It was just me and a baby grand piano. That was it. It was rah, rah, rah. But I wanted something [00:13:00] with the band where it. Told a better message. So I'm talking with Mikey and he is like, yeah, we can do a thing with that.

Let's reprise it and we're going to release it. I was, I was chuckling when you were talking about being salt and all that kind of stuff. I just, this'll help explain 1995 when we're on stage A, if you do not feel the love of Jesus coming over the footlights, we should quit and just be a wedding band.

Seriously, because we're missing our calling. Right? That's my own personal belief. For, for 1995, the, that was such a time for me. I, I heard, you know, are you saved? You know, people go up to you, Hey, are you saved? And I'm like, here we go with that again. That's what's in my mind, right? And I'm like, Hey, I know about you.

People just know and just, I was just tuned out, right? Because I grew up in organized religion and had no idea. About growing up with a spiritual connection to the one. Right. So, [00:14:00] so that's where that song came out. I mean, just bad divorce, crazy stuff and business that I had gone through. Just everything piled up, piled up, piled up, piled up to one point a lady was talking to me about coming to her church and I said, and she says, you would love the music 'cause you had a rock band.

When I had hair, it was, it was like, Amanda's. And so it's, you know, now not, and so, so I was like, I'm gonna come. So y'all, I'm gonna be straight up honest with you on your podcast. I lied to Miss Linda for like a month and a half of Sundays. I didn't see you on Sunday. I was like, I was busy and I wasn't busy, but I, I just, I was so weirded out about the concept of going into something that I feel I did not know.

Then I just faked her out. Right? Then I go to a business meeting and I hear all these millionaire businessmen, and the first thing they're saying is, if, if not for [00:15:00] Jesus, none of this in my life is possible. And I'm like, oh, time up. 'cause I've never heard that from successful people before. I've always heard, look what I built.

And so with that, I, the Holy Spirit just started working on me and he says, man, I've been waiting for you for a long time. You've been sitting in the dragster and the light's about to change green and I just need you to go. So I've learned that when God says move, we should do four things, right? MOVE.

That's all we're supposed to do. So I'm like, I'm gonna go. So she calls me that morning, she says, Hey listen, I'm about to come pick you up for church 'cause I know you've been lying. I said, yes, I have, but I'm coming. And she says, we'll meet you at the front door. Me and Mr. Max, we're gonna meet you at the front door.

I'm like, great. So I'm driving down the road, man, I hope this is relatable to one of your listeners. I'm driving down the road in my car and I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm speaking things I [00:16:00] heard from these businessmen in a meeting I'm demanding seven times back. Everything Satan never stole for me. I don't know where that came from, but I heard it.

Right? And so I'm repeating these things that spoke to my spirit so hard, right? And I, and, and I'm crying and I look down. I'm doing like 78 and a 35. So that's statute of limitations. This was in 95. So wait a minute. And so all of that's going on, right? And then I hear a voice, Dan, I hear a voice in, the voice is sitting right here and says, what are you doing?

You, you, what are you, where are you going? This isn't you. You were raised Lutheran, you were an altar boy. You know, you wore a smock and the whole thing and did the ca, that that's you. This, what do you, what do you do? And that's the very first time y'all, I absolutely knew what the voice of the devil sounded like.

Yeah. Wow. And I got fired up about it and I'm like, oh, whoa, you're about to lose me [00:17:00] today. That's what this is about. And I'm speaking stuff I, that wasn't what I heard. I'm just speaking stuff. So I know that was a Holy Spirit. So I go in, get to church, she's got a smile from here to here. She doesn't care.

I've been lying for a month and a half. I go sit with them. Altar call comes up, I go down with the other eight people. 'cause a very small church back then. Pastor Dino puts his hand on my head. He's praying in the spirit. Out comes this term in Italian that I was taught as a kid. And I'm like, because that's not supposed to happen.

Except for me, and I felt like it was a direct line to me. And the line in Italian, he said, was, I love you very much. What do you, what do you, I mean, what do you, what do you do with that? You know? So I did, I, I went prone, dude, I was broken. There was four men, four grown men I've never met in my life surrounding me, praying me up.

And they were, they were crying harder than I was. And it, and it was, and it [00:18:00] was, I mean, it was, it was the closest that one could, if you've not given your life to Jesus, I'm just telling you to try it. Just, just, just don't give in. Give yourself. Mm-hmm. There's a difference, right? Giving in makes you feel like you lost something.

Giving yourself means you've gained something. So my life has never been the same ever since. So when we do 1995, man, I hope people get that. So our introduction on stage is sometimes you have to know how all this started. That's my intro to it, and that's what we do.

Dan: Earlier you shared about walking into this church and how one of your friends had said, hey. Let's go to church. And you said, Hey, I guess we're going to church. And, you did. And then you hear this other story. They said, Hey, come to church with us. I think it's so important that we recognize the invitations in our lives.

I think it'ss so important that the Lord is constantly inviting us, we've gotta make sure that we have our eyes open to see those [00:19:00] opportunities, to see the invitation that the Lord, he's constantly inviting us . You talk about missed opportunity, things like that, we may miss it.

We may miss one of his invitations, but he's gonna keep inviting. He's gonna keep on saying, come with me. Let's go to church. Let me introduce you to people that are gonna tell you about my son. And I just love how you heard those invitations each time, and you were sensitive to that and you went, and then that this time that you were sharing about your band, going to the church.

And at the end they called you up and said, Hey, pastor Benny, come on up here. You're gonna pray. You go. You were available. And I think that's so important for us all to remind ourselves of being available to the Lord. We may not feel like we're ready. We may not have, prayed and fasted it up to be on the prayer team that day, or whatever it is.

Yeah, but when that invitation comes, we're ready and we respond and the Lord works through us, and then that's it. You know, honestly, when as the Lord works through us, at the end, you receive, as we position ourselves, as we're obedient to those opportunities, and we step into those things, those doors that, that the Lord opens for us, man, we can [00:20:00] also receive.

And you receive that word, and that became the word of your album. And I'm sure that that acronym to be safe and to be anointed and to be legit and to the right time, those are things that you probably go back to even now, that you remind yourself of when you get up on stage or when you're getting ready to do something, you remind yourself of that.

I think that's just such a powerful thing of being available and then also stepping in to what the Lord has for us each time. We talked about with the one song. I'm a musician myself. I'm a little bit passive.

I'm a pacifist. You have this one song about. Punching somebody punching the devil tell us the story about punching the devil.

Benny: Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks Dan for that. So, so, wow. Where do I even begin? So, back to the salt thing that we're talking about, right?

Sure. I just did a short on Instagram the other day and on Facebook the other day talking about salt. Right. And, and I was the, the point of it was be careful who you allow into your circle. Mm. [00:21:00] Yeah. Because salt and sugar looks the same. Wow. That's good. Both white, both granular, right.

But salt is coarse. It has longevity. It's the word. Right. Be the salt of the world. Be the light of the world. Right. Sugar is fake. It's sweet. It, it, it satisfies what it, it's like guess what y'all, Jesus loves you regardless. Keep doing what you're doing. Wow. It's fine. You know what y'all, Jesus loves everybody.

It doesn't matter if you say you're sorry and you keep doing it, it's okay. Jesus loves you. And so how dumbed down has ministry in the church and whatever in general been for sugar? So Satan is the master confectioner. He's running around the world right now and he's throwing out all kind of sugar and it's white and everybody's like, oh look, we're good.

What? It's [00:22:00] not salt you,

Dan: you know, I just wanna jump in just really quick. I don't usually do this, but, to highlight your point, salt preserves, but sugar rots

Benny: Yep.

Dan: If I have sugar on my teeth, it rots my teeth out. That's right. And so I just wanna make sure as we're making that distinction, that we understand that one, that what the Lord says we are.

That's right. It preserves. That's right. And it gives life and it maintains life. And the other man, it causes decay. It causes rotten things. That's right. And so as you talk about the enemy going around and throwing sugar, he's throwing decay, he's throwing rotten things all over the place, isn't he?

Benny: He is. Dan, that's a good, that's a good call right there, man. People need to write down what you just said because That's exactly right. So, so, and the devil, if you are saved, he's coming for you. Not that he's gonna, he knows where you, where you are. He knows you're chosen. He knows you have entrance into the kingdom, but he wants you to check the rear view a lot.

Mm-hmm. Oh, remember when this happened? Bing. Rear view mirror. So my suggestion would take that [00:23:00] rear view and rip it off. Throw it away and keep your eyes forward on what God has for you, because the devil's trying to sidetrack you. If you're a Christian, if you're on the fence, if you're on the fence about being saved, guess what?

You're not because the, the, the devil owns the fence and he also owns the other side. So sometimes just sometimes he'll attack you, not directly, but indirectly through people, places, events that you know and are surrounding you. So without getting into too much personally, leading up to the writing of this album, I had not just, not just an evil attack through my family, through one of my kids.

Not just evil coming at me, but demonic stuff. Wow. Mm. I'm talking. Demonic stuff. As a parent, you, you just like, you're like, how? [00:24:00] Because that's not who we are or what, what, what? But the devil will get ahold of somebody. And so as, as I was going through that, I wanted to be very, very, I'm gonna be real.

Okay? I wanted to be very, very Sicilian and handle business the way that a very, very Sicilian would handle it. It's like, bro, I was about to have a backslide moment. I'm just being real. I'm like, woo. And I'm like, I'm getting in the truck and I'm rolling, right? And then, and then, and then all of a sudden God got ahold of me and he says, hold up, hold up.

Like, time out to you. Hold up. I've established you. In my ways with everything you're doing for me, do not diminish what I've established in you for what you're doing for me. By flying off the Sicilian handle and going to take care of it. Vengeance is mine. You need to point [00:25:00] everybody involved back to me.

Dan: Wow.

Benny: As a dad, that is the hardest thing, one of the hardest things you'll ever do. But for Jesus, if you do not have Jesus in your life, you're going, Sicilian just you are. And then, and then you're gonna deal with the fallout afterwards. Yeah. It's true. If you have Jesus and he's got it, remember we're under his safety, right?

So I'm like, I was like. Yes, Lord. And it, and then, so I had a, I had a talk afterwards and I was like I was like, dude, so

I wanted to go ilian on you, but I didn't 'cause God said no. So I wanted to throw you over the rail in the courthouse too. Really did just watch that happen. It would've been great in a worldly sense. That would've been great, but for Jesus, and what did we do? And he goes, you and the [00:26:00] guys you came with prayed over me in the courthouse.

I said, yes, we did. So you got the very best version of Jesus that you could get from me, considering the circumstances. However, if something like this goes down again, you're also gonna get a version of Jesus from. But I'll be wielding a whip and flipping tables. Do I make myself clear? It will not be the same.

It will not go down to same. I will come at you. Jesus. When he drove him out with the whip and he flipped tables in the temple, what was, that was righteous anger. Right? It wasn't, he wasn't this big mean dude. And besides a wimpy version to Jesus would never have the strength to flip a table. My Jesus was ripped.

Y'all. He was a carpenter growing up. Anyway, so I digress. Yeah, but I'm like, that's where I'm, that's how it's gonna be. You're on notice. Thus sayeth the Lord. And now there's an understanding. Where are we in the world [00:27:00] when we don't? So I was like, you know what? I was talking with the guy. I'm like, I, I just, I just wanna throw punch the devil, man.

Just, I'm like, not in a nice way either. I wanted to reach in and grab his esophagus and just pull it out the front. And people are like, oh, that's horrible. Right? How can you be a Christian and say that? I'm like, do you understand who I'm talking about doing it to? Mm-hmm. Guess what? He has no problem doing it to you in your life.

Why should you care a bit what he feels that you're coming after him? Because there's gonna come a day when us with the army of angels are gonna put it on him, and he knows that's coming. So I'm just pre speaking it. I'm saying, I'm like, Ugh. So that's where throat punch a devil came through, and it's, it's just all the things that Satan can say into your life or do into your life.

For your listeners and your viewers, understand that you have the King [00:28:00] of Kings and the Lord of Lords who is not behind you, but in front of you to defend you and protect you from what the devil is trying to distract you from or trying to invade your life with. When David rolled up on Goliath, he didn't go and say, man, I really hope this works right?

No, he had enthusiasm, which means in the Greek God within me, and he scooped up some rocks, bam, and he hits him and everybody says, that's a great story. He hit Goliath in the head and Goliath fell and I said, wait a minute. Don't skip it. Don't skip it, don't skip it, because then David at 16 took Goliath sword, which is probably as tall as him.

And he cuts his head off. And why did he cut his head off so he could grab him by the hare? And he drags him up the mountain to the king who was unwilling to go fight Goliath. 'cause he was scared. And the army. And he goes, is this the punk you were talking about? Look what the Lord [00:29:00] has done. Mm-hmm. Then all of Israel's army gets fired up and they go down after the Palestinians, right?

I mean, not the Palestinians, but goes, goes, goes after, right? And, and just takes out the whole army. The Philistine army just takes the Philistine army out, right? But they had to have a 16-year-old who said, I have more faith in what God is saying to me than what you're saying to me to go and do it. And then he says, guess what?

I need proof of death, POD. So boom. And he takes the head and he brings it to the king and he says, is this the guy? Which explained that, I think that's the first time that the King of Israel knew that David was in fact the successor to his throne. Hmm, because David followed the word of God and not the word or the fear of men.

False evidence appearing real. That's what the army was going through. He didn't follow that. He went out. And so that song has a little, not a little energy. That song's got some energy to y'all. I'm looking at the camera [00:30:00] at my back wall and I see a cross at the bottom. That's just crazy. Thank you Jesus for that.

So, so look right off my shoulder, like right there. Anyway, so I'm like, like visions, right? That's how he talks to me. Sorry. But that's the, that's the course for that song. Why should you let Sat come against you in any kind of way when we serve the one true king who's got legions of angels ready to defend us on our behalf?

And that's where that song came from. So a lot of energy, but if that doesn't get you fired up for Jesus hearing that song, you know, you, you probably need an energy drink or something. Just saying, get a Gatorade.

Dan: Yeah. I just was thinking it's such a funny song because, as Christians we wanna be peacemakers, and I'm kind of setting that up, because I'm a musician, I play peaceful piano music.

Oh yeah, yeah. But when I see a song like Punch the Devil in the Room, it's like, yeah, I wanna, I'm like the guy that watches [00:31:00] Rocky and I don't have that fight in me necessarily. I can't do that. But man, when I see other people do it, yeah, it inspires me.

But I'm thinking, that's truly how we all need to. Live in the spiritual realm. Yeah, yeah. That we need to be those Rockies. We need to be taken it to the enemy. That's right. That's right's. The enemy, like you said earlier, he wouldn't hesitate to take it to us. He wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing back and more that he says the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

And he's trying, he's looking for anybody he can do it to. Yeah. And you know what, we as Christians have been playing defense for way too long and it's time, like you were saying, that, we take it to the end of it, that we go looking for, you know what I mean? Is, and, I love that. You brought up David in that story because David doesn't just go out there as a confident dude that's just killed a bear and killed a lion.

He goes in the confidence of his covenant with the Lord. He goes in the confidence of what God did for him and what he knew to be true about the Lord. And he acted on that. We as new covenant believers can even go [00:32:00] more in the authority of what Jesus has already done for us.

That's right. And we have that authority that he's already endowed us with and given us because of his death and resurrection. That's right. And so, the truth is that we should all be going out there and looking for every opportunity to throw, punch the devil right.

Benny: In a heartbeat.

All caps. Just all caps and just, and just do it. It's just Christianity in general has been sort of wimpy fi I think this is me personally, just in the church. In the church on the streets. Don't rustle feathers. Don't, don't, you know, don't make people think a certain way about you and everything. I liken it to this and that was a good word again.

Damn, you're on fire today, dude. You got a little flame though, and it's awesome. Just, I'm just, I'm just saying for me, the way I liken it to is when I got saved was kind of like when Jesus came into the world. Mm. Little [00:33:00] baby, little Meek couldn't really speak for himself yet and we're talking about Jesus Christ or Roar, right?

But he was an infant. He couldn't speak yet. Anything like that. And so when you hear that, that's kind of, it kind of relates it, I kind of get related to like when I was first saved, 'cause I was a sponge, much like a young child sponge, just soaking everything. Jesus grows up through his life, all the way up through his death in his resurrection.

If we believe that John 14, six, if there's a Willy Wonka ticket to heaven, folks, it's written in, read, and that's it. I am to choose the life in a way. No one enters into the kingdom, but through me, right? So he's given us the key. It's a relationship with him. So in his early life, meek and my baby, kind of like as a new baby Christian, right?

But now that we're seasoned in our faith and God says things to us, and so we operate in that [00:34:00] and we move in what he is telling us, listen y'all, I'm sure he'll agree because you know the story when he comes back a second time. Nor he will not be an infant, he will not be mild. He will not be his. He will have a double-edged sword protruding from his mouth.

He's coming back as a warrior to take Satan out,

right? I mean, just, just come on. And so, so the niceties, the niceties of being nice and calm about what all that's history. When Jesus comes back, it's, it's, it's on man, it's good. The world is going to just lose their mind, literally lose their minds. And for us, it's important to stay rooted because we already know the end of the story.

So as much as he's gonna come back with passion for taking everything away, the devil's try to, that we can do the same thing while we're here. But then the bigger [00:35:00] part of it is we should point other people to that same truth with a capital T. Point people to that truth. Yeah.

Dan: Man, the whole time you're talking, I'm squeezing fists and kind of moving in here for, punches and, I was just thinking man, what the enemy, like you talked about when, as you were driving in that church that day

Benny: mm-hmm.

Dan: You said that was the time you became familiar with the enemy's voice,

Benny: with his

Dan: voice and you knew that that was a lie. You knew that was gonna hold you back from something. You didn't know exactly what it was gonna happen, but you knew something was gonna happen.

Benny: Yeah.

And you

Dan: knew that voice. Even though you didn't really know the Lord at that point, very well. Or you maybe knew some something, but you knew that voice and you knew it was a lie. You were talking about the esophagus in the throat, like, somebody gets hit the throat, they're not gonna be talking too much.

Honestly, when we hear that voice, we need to just turn around and strike it. And you know what you were talking about helping other people. Yeah. Sometimes if your friend or your, son or your daughter or whoever it is, man, they start hearing that voice and start believing and starting to listening and start obeying that voice, man, we need to start [00:36:00] going and start throwing some punches,

The Lord describes himself as a defender, right? Yeah. And so part of our job is to defend, the widow, the poor, defend the people that the Lord has given us in our lives. That's right. And you know what? Part of that isn't necessarily being passive.

It's being aggressive. It's starting to throw some punches and being on the offense instead of on the defense. Yeah. And so I just think that's such an encouragement and a calling up for all of us that are the, global church to step into an offensive position Yeah. Versus a defensive position.

That's right. Because that's right. We've been playing defense for way too long, way too, too long. That is not the position that Lord has for us. He says the gates of hell will not prevail. That's an offensive position, right.

Benny: If you do the defensive position, you're the servant who dug a hole and hid what the master gave him.

Dan: Yes, that's true. I don't wanna

Benny: be that guy. I have enough to answer for when I get up there. Right. So I don't need to pile on. So I'm like, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna do that.

I'm gonna take what he is given me and go and put it out there. Just as a side note [00:37:00] to just. As a side note, this is what God's doing with that particular throat punch attack, satanic attack through my family that is turning around there are there, there have been reaches back out to the Lord, involved with everybody who was involved with that within the family.

And I said, well, that's fantastic because you're becoming rooted again. So you're a tree, yet I see no fruit.

I need to see heavy laden branches with fruit where your branches can't even stay up. They're just drooping. And then I'll know visually and spiritually note that you're back. And so God's working on that whole situation. He told me he had it, and guess what He in fact does. And if I'm a believer, I either believe that or I don't.

And I believe that. But much like when Jesus comes back, you know, there's gonna be a reckoning if I have to come back as well. What did I just link myself to [00:38:00] him? I did because he's my savior, so I can do that. Wow.

Dan: There's five songs on the album, I believe. Yeah. What are you hoping that the listener most takes away from having an experience and listening to this album?

What are you hoping that they take away? Most

Benny: great question. Mikey. Mikey and I co-wrote the cut on it called People of God. I look at what's happening in the world today,

the evil that's pervasive in it. That, and, and, and. And people are like, why would God allow that to happen? I'm like, God gives everybody free will. So whoever's creating this, whoever's creating all of this evil in the world, they're doing it out of their own evil free will. You either have, you either have heavenly goodwill, you have evil, good or evil.

It's good or evil. It's good or evil. And everybody's like, is it really that simple? How do you say that? I said, 'cause there was a guy named [00:39:00] Lucifer, that's why. And he was the dude in heaven, the dude the most gorgeous, the, the, the most aligned to the most created being. He was the most, he was the light, right?

Everybody thinks he's a red dude with a horn, like a little horn tail and horns. And no brother was gorgeous, right? And so, but the first sin of. Any time was when he replaced God with himself because God gave the angels free will as well. And so your, your, your free will is to follow me and glorify me.

We're gonna build this big heavenly room, and then the devil that eler says, Hmm, I think I could be you, or, where's mine? And that's why he's cast down. But then get this while in heaven. And people forget this. While in heaven, he subjugates a third of the angels to agree with him. How evil is that? Now I would, [00:40:00] I would love to think y'all, that if I'm in heaven and I'm serving God, I've got it made in the shade.

Right? Why, when I wanna depart from that, except for an ego or pride in the center of the word, pride is the letter I, right? And that, and so he gets cast down for it. So that's where it all started. That was like the first original sin in my eyes is what Lucifer says, Lord, I'm better than you. And I think, and he says, you know what?

Boop, he need to go live down there. And now he's had this rain and the reason that he's throwing things around for everybody is because he knows his time is short right now. Mm-hmm. So when Mikey and I put together people of God, I mean like the first verse is like, is like, it's also crazy. The world today, I've gotta say, people are believing the world's deceiving.

So we have to pray. I mean, that's the first two short going in and it kind of [00:41:00] sums up everything that's going on in the world, right? The world is crazy. And if you're not focused on Jesus, you'll get sucked into that. But as believers, we know that we should come together and we've got to pray because the only thing that's gonna fix what's going on in the world right now.

Is Jesus. And then in the chorus, the chorus is we are the people of God. We won't back down. We'll always get up right. Bringing a slingshot to a sword fight. We'll sleep in a cave with lions all night. It, it's just verbally affirming who we are. Not, not okay. Time out. Not who we are, whose we are. Mm.

Because you can get caught up. You can get caught up in, you can get caught up. That's where that salt sugar thing comes in. Right. If you think you know who you are, you'll lean into that sugar in a heartbeat. 'cause it makes you feel good. Oh, Amanda said something sweet about me. I must be fantastic, right?

And all that [00:42:00] stuff. But, but if we know whose we are, we can stand up to what's coming. We can take that sugar packet coming at us and just block it. Because we're the salt of the earth. We're out there today. And so, so hopefully with this entire record salt, not one song on it is titled Salt, yet every song on it is in fact salt.

So my prayer is, is whoever hears it, they get that. My prayer is that whoever sees this podcast that we do or hears this podcast that we do, they see and or get that. And they say, how can you as an artist come out and say these things? And it's because the Lord God Almighty put them in my spirit. I'm lined up with him.

I know whose I am, not who I think I am. And I never wanna be an artist like that. Don't you know who I [00:43:00] think I am? I never wanna be that guy, but I want people to say, talk to me some more about Jesus. 'cause what you were singing or saying was like. Ugh, that's victory right there. That's victory. Because now people are seeking the kingdom of God.

They're seeking a relationship with Jesus rather than just knowing his name. That's my prayer.

Dan: Yeah. Wow. That's amazing that they

Benny: mm-hmm.

Dan: Understand whose they are. That's such a powerful distinction because there could be a lot of carnality in that, right? A lot. Yeah. And honestly, right above my head, is it the mission alive and live the mission?

And I think when we were kind of talking about this kind of slogan, if you will live the mission, it's like, man, in our American culture, we might think live your mission. That sounds really cool, doesn't it? Like live your mission, isn't it? Live your mission.

But it's a coffee

Benny: mug.

Dan: But the truth is, we wanna live the mission. It's a singular thing. We [00:44:00] all have the same mission. It's to help people encounter Jesus and, share Jesus with the world. That's right. My mission, your mission sounds a lot. It's a little bit more me focused, but the mission man that's a lot more focused on one thing, and we hope that one thing is Jesus.

And so I just am so thankful and so encouraged by your message that man, we just hope that they understand who they are, and that they begin to walk in that in a whole different light and that they begin to, move on the offense and they begin to, take hold of what the Lord, died to give them.

Benny: Yeah.

Dan: Yeah. Such a powerful thing.

Benny: Yeah, just the Holy Spirit's been over this entire project and it's just, it's him speaking through us saying, here's little things for you to know. Go with that. But listen, allow me in to your life. Allow me to direct you through your life.

But also if you allow me to direct you in your life, I need you to allow yourself to follow me in [00:45:00] what I'm directing you in your life. And that's when you know whose you are. 'cause you're willing to give up yourself entirely for him, because that's who's we are. That's who we belong to. But the ality you were talking about is like, well, you know, that was a nice, I got, I got like a little fuzzy feeling and I think it was the Lord.

So I got a fuzzy feeling and it's gonna be fantastic. But what is, what is that? It's sugar. It's not so, so, so the, the parallels of what you're saying against what we're talking about, just as shortly as I knew the Holy Spirit was in the creation of this record, I know that his hand is over this interview that we're doing today.

And, and, and my prayer is that, again, if it's one person who sees this or hears this and they turn themselves over to whose they are, we've had a very, very [00:46:00] kingdom successful visit today. Right. That's it. It's really that easy. It's not rocket science.

Amanda: Yeah. And even going back to being on the offense versus being on the defense, it's so important.

I was thinking about this, there's a spectrum that we think about often where. You're either arrogant or you're shy.

Benny: Right.

Amanda: And the Lord was actually just showing me a picture the other day that really, as believers we don't even belong on that spectrum.

Like we need to just get off of that and lay down on the altar of giving our lives to him every day and saying yes to him every day. And that is the truth of humility. As you said earlier, I don't care what anyone says.

Benny: Right.

Amanda: I care about the voice of the Lord and of course wise counsel that will speak truth to us each when we need it,

that's right. We all need that strong community that's gonna point us back to the word of God, and God doesn't leave us without protection. You said the [00:47:00] S stands for safe. Again, if we weren't supposed to be in battle and be activated. There wouldn't be any talk of an armor of God.

That's right. Ephesians. With the salt. We gotta stop keeping it in the barrels as believers. Each of us in the ways that we're called to has to, just know what we have, know who's we are. Like you said, that's so good. Sometimes we downplay how big the Holy Spirit is.

He is part of the trinity.

Benny: That's right. That's right. So

Amanda: the same God that is sitting on the throne in heaven with Jesus at the right hand is in each of us as believers, each one of

Benny: us

Amanda: knowing that gives us the confidence to share whatever it is God wants us to speak.

Benny: That's right.

Amanda: Based on his word to be the salt.

Benny: That's right. That's so well said. And, and just, and so heartfelt. And that's how. You can tell that came from Jesus through you. Right. [00:48:00] So when we're performing, when they hear this, I want them to feel, if you have feelings, feel Jesus, because he's, he's speaking to you directly. So, so man, my prayers are, my prayers are not only over what he does with us, with the record, but, you know, ever since the first time we ever met and we were, you know, bartering over moon pies and such, it is just, I was like, you guys have been, you guys have been in my heart.

It was a, it was a fantastic visit. I'm, I'm blessed that we could do it again, but my prayer is over you as you're down in beliefs. Right. And God has you there for a specific purpose, and you're, and all you did was say, sure, I'll go. And that's, that's, that's all he requires of us. Right. Will you go, yeah, sure.

I'll go. Different platforms, same message, different platforms, same King of Kings, different platforms, [00:49:00] same purpose. Yeah.

Dan: And so before we we're gonna be honoring of your time and before we kind of mount into the fun question round here for a couple minutes.

Sure. I think this is for a lot of people too that are in similar situations. I wanna speak to you Benny, the T the timing.

Benny: Yeah.

Dan: The T for timing and salt, you were just saying how things are, moving and changing.

But when I think about salt, I think about as the seasoning, right? Right. And this is a season for you, but I just wanna encourage you that you are seasoned you said earlier, you're not the youngest musician. You're not an old musician either, but you are seasoned and you have credibility.

Salt endures, right? Yeah. And things endure. And so I just wanna encourage you that you are seasoned and that you are in the place, that you're in the timing. That the Lord has for you and the world, particularly in the music industry. We need seasoned voices out there.

We don't need immature voices. We don't need sugary sweet voices that will tell us exactly what our ears wanna hear, [00:50:00] because the Bible talks about that we need seasoned voices that will speak salt, that will speak life and speak the things that will preserve us. That will save us. Really. Yeah.

And so I just wanna encourage you, and I thank you for being faithful to be using the gift that God has had. You've been through a lot. We didn't even get a chance to, go through some of your story of losing your dad through to cancer and to traumatic brain injury and how the Lord brought you through that, because the Lord was speaking through about this album, but I just am so thankful that a seasoned voice is out there on the road.

Proclaiming and reminding people and encouraging people to know whose they are. And so we just wanna thank you for being faithful to what the Lord has called you to. And so, amen. Thank you for that

Benny: word. I mean, I'll receive that all day long. Thank you for that. And, and it is just, it's an emboldenment, right?

And so now I'm about to go, where's my, where's my sword? I'm just, I'm looking for the sword. 'cause when we hang up, I gotta go find something to slay. So it's gonna be like, it's gonna be like [00:51:00] that,

Dan: So you're saying like things are going pretty well. Doors are opening. That's exciting.

And so, yeah, we got some fun questions. Okay. The empowered man. You guys are all going on tour. You're hopping on the bus, but the bus can only be stocked with one snack item. What's it gonna be?

Benny: Okay, so Sorry Mikey Howard, I'm saying this. So the first record we do. He comes into studio and he says, I brought you some sneaky snacky kind of thing from Kentucky.

So I'm like, what is it? So it's called a late one, right? And a LE, the number eight one. And it's a, it's a it's a oh, what do you call it? Like a ginger, a kind of thing, but it doesn't have a whole lot of bite to it or whatever. So he says, try this, it's gonna change your life. So I'm laughing 'cause that's one of our lines, right?

Everything's gonna change your life. So we're drinking this stuff and the guys are like, oh. And so there is not a time we are without a late ones, right? So we have a, when [00:52:00] we're traveling, they're with us, we have practices and I don't have any, 'cause they're hard to find down here. And the guys are bumped out and they're like, what have you done?

Where's the elite ones? I'm like, y'all need to get a grip, man. Just eat something. So it's, it's that. So not even a snack thing, not like a moon pie. I mean, it's a, it's like a soft drink, but it's incredible. So, yeah, so, so there's, it's the official drink of empowered now, so there's that. Alright,

Dan: next one.

Okay. You guys are changing genre, changing whole spaces here. Okay? Taking one of your songs and one of your song titles from any of your albums, okay? Is now going to be the title of a book. What song is it gonna be?

Benny: Yahweh Niecy. The last record before this new one in the Greek, in the Hebrew. The Lord is my banner. So not only would I title it, Yahweh Niecy. In the English. Underneath that would be the subtitle, the Lord is my banner. If you [00:53:00] wanna move out in faith, if you wanna move out strong and all that. And it is just the Lord is my banner because the banner, the, the standard bearer when they went to battle in the biblical days was located where?

At the front of the army. If the banner went left, the army went left, the banner went right, right. So no matter which way the banner, which is Jesus goes, that's where we're going. So that would be the title of the book,

Dan: Be. That's such a seasoned answer. I always kind of going Braveheart of like punch the devil in the throat.

Ain't nothing wrong with that either,

Benny: you know, ain't nothing wrong with that. You know, freedom. Hey, think about that. William Wallace screams freedom. That was the chant in our head when we got saved. Right? Because we receive freedom from the world. We receive freedom from being lied to by Satan. So that's a good, that's a good way.

Yeah. I went, I took a, you went, you took the left exit. I took the right one.

Dan: I You gave the more mature answer. So [00:54:00] I think a man has got the last one for you.

Amanda: All right. So if you could do a rock remix of any old hymn, which one would you choose?

Benny: A rock remix of. Like a secular tune

Amanda: of any old hymn.

Benny: Oh, any old hymn.

Oh, any old hymn. Oh, oh. Rock of Ages. Ooh. Ooh. Think about that one. Cliff for cliff for me, which means we'd have to do it in trouble. Cliff, there's all kinds of stuff. Yeah. Rock of ages. That would be. You know, there's been some secular bands who have done that as a title, but not the way we would do it. So that would be, man, that was, you've done planted a seed Girl.

That's awesome. That's awesome. You're not planted a seed. You know, we have to give you a nod on that one. That's good.

Amanda: We'll be looking for that in a future album. Yeah.

Benny: Right, right. We're working on a new one right now, a new song, my guitarist that I is called Jesus is Coming. So, so even though we have things ever since this [00:55:00] last album, God is just loading ideas before we go and do shows.

He's given me visions of on stage, and I'm saying things in these dreams that I would never think to say myself. And I, I just notice a Holy Spirit saying this, that, for this and, and, and just, unless you've, unless you've. Unless you've experienced that, that sounds like a crazy thing. But I'm living crazy, so it's great.

I'm living crazy.

Dan: For the listener that's listened here and they're like, I just gotta learn more about 'em. How can our listeners connect with you, Benny? How can they follow your path? How can they hear and, just connect with you socially?

Benny: Yeah, I appreciate it. So our website is, is pretty easy. It's rocking without a G, so R-O-C-K-I-N, the number four. Jesus. So rocking for jesus.com and you can see everything about it says a little bio page. There's some music on there, some photos, some videos, all that type [00:56:00] thing. We are on YouTube under Empowered Official, oh, we're streaming on 150 different streaming platforms right now.

Especially with the new ones of Spotify, apple. I mean, we're ev we're even on Napster. I mean, come on. So that's going way back. So all that kind of stuff. So it's easily available and, and our heart is, honestly, our heart is just whoever hears these things, it's an easy way for people to help support us and kind of get the music and, and the you know, the expansion out there.

But much more important than that is, I hope it expands their faith walk and that it expands their relationship with Jesus. Because if we do that numbers, none of that stuff matters except that having gained another one. So I'll leave it at that.

Dan: Benny Lead singer of Empower, the album Salt listeners will have that in the show notes for you.

Man, what an honor to have you on the show again. Yeah. Thank you so much Again, [00:57:00] it's so amazing to see how the Lord's working in and through you and the band. Just the doors that he's opening for you we're encouraged by that. And we just look forward to hearing how the Lord continues to move and just bless so many people through the music that he creates through you.

Thank you, Ben. Yeah.

Benny: Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

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