Emmy Moore
Appearances
Saved Not Soft
Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
which is what Paul wrote about.
Saved Not Soft
Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Same cycle.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Hmm.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Right.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Right.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's like literally everything's just found in the scriptures, boy. Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God is really God. Like, that's just... He's big.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I was about to say, I've never done that. I was like, it's definitely like a country thing. Maybe on a ride, actually. Yeah. Spitting gum out. Oh, yeah. And then watching how long it'll fall. Yeah. On like, drop a dune or something. I'm dropping to Miss Grace.
Saved Not Soft
Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
No, I love you so much. I love you too. This is such a good combo. I can't wait to watch it back. No, yeah.
Saved Not Soft
Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
All right.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Spiritual Oppression, Battling Anxiety and Obedience w Clarissa Rojas | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
hello hello everyone and welcome back to saved not soft what's going on everybody y'all i'm so excited i say that every episode but it is because i'm really excited and today is gonna be such a special episode first before i get into who's sitting here to the very right of me If you don't know who I am, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of Save Not Self podcast.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, and look at me acting stupid. Yeah. Like, it's... I admit it. I accept it. I was wrong. I know I was so wrong. You know, I've repented so many times after that. But let me tell you where I got clocked. So about two months later. So this was a really fast turnaround. I'm praying over like secular music because it just starts. One day just starts rubbing me wrong.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It was just one day where it just starts rubbing me wrong. And I'm like, oh.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
uh god i'm gonna pray about this because you know i still like my my future and my metro booming and bryson tiller and all this stuff and then um i was like i don't know lord and i was in san francisco so again the bay area and i was listening to a basement podcast with tim ross and jackie hill perry oh wow and they were talking about secular music and so
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Jackie O'Perry was talking about her struggles of listening to Beyonce while she was still a Christian, like supporting Beyonce while she was still Christian. Oh, wow. It's always like this. See, transparency. Right. And I was like, this resonates with me because that's how I feel about future. But here's the thing. I think future way worse than Beyonce. Because...
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
future be up there future is like diabolical very toxic and so very toxic and i was just like okay like i'm resonating with her and she was she was sharing her testimony and she just kind of gave a challenge to everybody she was like if you listen to secular music if you listen to artists that are not godly i would just encourage you to take a secular music fast for about 30 days and she said i bet you'll never listen to secular music ever again and
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so that kind of caught my attention. I was like, okay, maybe. And then Tim Ross says this right after Jackie Hill Perry says that. He says, yeah, I totally agree with that. He's like, you know, if you listen to secular artists, take a fast for 30 days. I bet you won't listen to it again. He's like, I don't even care if the artist is future. Whoo!
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Which is crazy that it's been that low. Yeah. Because we've talked every single day for the past four to five years. Yes. So it doesn't even feel like this is our fourth. Long distance best friends. Yes. Like Callie all the way to New York.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Oh, I remember exactly where I was when he said that. And I was like, oh, that was Jesus talking to me. Like that was God telling me like, hey, I had to say the name. I had to send you these people. And now you've got to change your life around. And so this is about like two and a half, possibly three years ago. And from that day, I have not listened to a single future song since. Glory.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
wow and on top of that i did the 30-day secular music fast and i haven't listened to secular music since then wow which also let me say there's a difference between secular music and profane music because profane is exactly what the future was yeah about to do this to the girl that's that's all him yeah um but secular music could be anything that just basically doesn't glorify god or speaks about god have a
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's very perfect. Happy birthday to you.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's secular, yeah. So there is a difference. I mean, I've listened to like Happy Joyful songs, but I've never listened to a song that has openly been debaucherous since then. And so, yeah, just mini testimony. Thank God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
we don't listen to him no more but sometimes when i think about it i'll pray for future instead if i get tempted i'll pray for him i know that sounds really interesting but i'll literally pray for future yeah because i'm like i used to love him so much when i was in the world and i think as a christian i should love him more yeah now you know if he gives his life to christ yeah the praise was being sent by emmy yeah no because if i would get tempted i was like oh let me just like pray for him right now yeah and i would
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Born and raised. And I'm Callie in the middle of the...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, Jesus fills every single ounce of emptiness in your heart and he's satisfying. I think that's one thing I always admire Jesus of is, yes, you're fulfilling, but you're also simultaneously satisfying. And you stick with me. You don't leave and you don't just check in and out. You stay with me and you fulfill me in every single need.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think people could chase all the platforms and all the fame and all the money and all the Instagram followers and all the opportunities. But without that foundation, you're building something off of sand and you're always going to sink to the bottom.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
but the gorgeous part of that is is that sometimes God will let you hit rock bottom so you figure out that he's the rock yep and so that sand could be grace for a little bit because God will let you okay build that house on that sand to fall right back down to the bottom yep uh one quote that I heard that changed kind of my perception of the beauty of the bottom I guess is a man who stays on the floor can never fall from that position mmm
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So if I'm on the ground, if I'm already, if my face is on the ground, if my hands is on the ground, if everything is already at the altar laid flat, nothing can fall from there. It's already at the bottom. It's already at the bottom. And so I think that's where a lot of,
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, I think there's like two sides to that because there's a part of that because people will get excited and then position themselves as ministers. But simultaneously, I think it's good when like certain celebrities or influencers come to Christ and they're like, hey, like this is my life because God is getting all the glory. Amen. But I think when that excitement...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
then transfers into like a ministering. It's like people are going to take you seriously now. So now you're held to a higher standard according to James 3, right? Because you're taking on the position as a minister or as a pastor or someone who's speaking to all the masses.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So it's figuring out that balance of, okay, if I have a platform, I can share that Jesus has changed my life and I could share that, you know, I'm new to the faith and I'm really excited without that bleeding into an expectancy of me to preach.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I think that prematurity comes from people who are excited about the faith but don't know the difference between sharing and ministering.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But everything's pretty close where I'm at. Yeah, yeah. Versus if I was in, like, L.A., it takes you 30 minutes just to get to a grocery store because of all the traffic. So it is, like, completely different cultures. But we always say that kind of we're yin and yang.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, there needs to be a grace for that. And the space of grace is somewhat also up to you if you're creating a space for that. And I think that's something I've even omitted on this page too, is that I went into this space off of excitement. There was a call. I fasted and prayed for about six months, but a lot of it was also fueled by excitement as well. I knew God has always called me to...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
a ministry like this into a podcast i've known that but because i stepped into it maybe too soon is that god had to put me through accelerated fire and sometimes people don't make it out they don't they don't make it out and by the grace of god i did i like that accelerated fire yeah is i went through accelerated fire so god was like okay because you kind of stepped into this and we can't really reverse this is
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
all the things that i would be teaching you in the secret space in a span of like three years we're gonna switch that to three months so it's like because of my excitement i chose the timing of it and your growth was like fast fast and you know that because you met me before the podcast like there was things like i let down where it's like oh like there's people who have been in the faith for like 10 years and they still even haven't touched it your revelations and like how you know the word like when i say like you're one of
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I don't know. It is weird because, like, whenever I was in high school, like, I wasn't a super good student. You know? How was your grades? No, my grades were, like, all right. But I wasn't good of a student to where, like...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
testing was my jam and i would go home and do all these flash cards like i did i did really good in school based off of what i already knew i never studied i hate studying i was like i hate this i was like i feel like i should just know it it was just like i felt like it was a lot of wasted time yeah um but something about the word of god excites me to study it and excites me uh to say it's your love for him you want to know him more right i've also been blessed with a really good memory like i remember stuff all the way down to where i was like probably two or three years old
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Wow. I know that sounds insane.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Literally. And sometimes it's funny because I'll be at church and people are like, wow, Emmy, you pray so well. I'm like, bro, you do not know my bestie.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, no, we really thank God. And I think something when we always talk about each other and our friendship is we prayed each other into our lives. Mm-hmm.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Can you actually share more about that? Because, well, just to give context, Amoy started a podcast on her own
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
uh well by the time this post like a few months ago and that was like a huge lie for a long time is you don't know enough etc etc so my question is how do people share the gospel and beat the lies of the enemy that they don't know enough that they're not smart enough articulate enough to spread the good news of jesus christ i feel like for me one thing that god said to me was that your testimony is all you need
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It reminds me of Abraham. He's like, God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
oh i'm sorry not abraham moses where he's like when he had the stutter yeah he's like god like can you bring like can you have aaron do it like i don't want to do it and god's like i've given you that tongue in the mouth like i've given you your speech i've given you your mouth i've given you that tongue and that voice that's inside of you he's like bro i've given you this voice so it's not even yours in the first place yeah same thing with gideon right yeah the same exact thing is just like i'm a nobody like i come from the weakest clan like who am i weakest tribe the weakest
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
my strength alone it's not by the words that come out of my mouth but it's about the spirit that's inside of me like you're unqualifying yourself can I actually tell you something to encourage you I just felt this on my spirit you wanna know what that reminds me of reminds me of David because here's the thing when Samuel came to anoint David David David was out in the flocks with the sheep.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He was out in the fields. He was working. He wasn't even being considered. But here you have all the sons of Jesse who are highly qualified. They have the height. They have the age. They have the strengths and abilities. They had everything. And David was like... Not you. Well, actually, he looks at the first son and he's like, this guy's perfect. And God's like, it's not him, though.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So they had all the qualifications that you're speaking of. Like, you know what? They would be a great podcaster or a great minister or a great person to spread the word of God. But God was like, I want that young boy out in the field. And you want to know what David had that all those other brothers did not? A heart for God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I believe what I just heard come out of your mouth is that, hey, I may not have all the qualifications that my siblings may have, but I have a heart for God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. Even when it comes to the law and keeping the commandments and all these things, I feel like there's so many qualifications and all these things of, this is how you get perfection.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But the more you understand the law and God and all these things, I think people are like, oh, this drives me away because I'll never measure up and I'm just going to put it all down or I'm going to turn super religious and go forth all these things so I can be perfect in God. But actually, those things should be like a ruler of like... It's just showing you that you're never going to measure up.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Never. But not in a way that should discourage you from the faith, but in a way that encourages you of, I'm actually in need of a Savior. So all these things of the stutter, or God, I don't have the platform, or God, I don't have the following, or God, I don't have all the nice cameras or the lighting or whatever it may be, or I don't have the voice or I don't have the looks, whatever it may be.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God's like, you don't need any of that because you're never going to measure up. Right. It actually has less to do with us. And it's like the rules are there and the guidelines are there so Jesus can fit all those spots. Not so we can fill them. So the rules and the qualifications shouldn't be a discouragement. It should be an encouragement that everywhere where you lack, God is way stronger.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I would even...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
go as far to say that the places i'm strong in i still lack yeah because they're filled with me so i would actually prefer lacking in everything yeah so that god can get all the glory yeah because if it's all about me it's like it's done in vain it's like i don't want it done over me or about me i want it all done for jesus and for who god is like paul says he boasts in his weaknesses because in his weaknesses the power of lord of god is being made manifest through him
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, it makes you needy of this presence. I know people are probably like, what is DPD? Right. I was just going to say that. So this is like one of the things me and you clicked on very early in our relationship. The first. That's one of the first things. It's the first thing. I think it was the first thing of like, oh, you actually deal with that. Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I thought I was the only one who dealt with it. And I would over explain it to other people. And they're like, what the heck? So I'll share my side and then you can share your side. Yeah. I know how my DPDR started. I think a lot of it was from anxiety. So what DPDR is, it's the personalization derealization disorder. It's a form of an anxiety disorder.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So whenever I was younger, I got anxiety with GAD, which is general anxiety disorder, and then PAD, panic attack disorder. So I was filled with so much anxiety. That was fueled from a lot of suicidal ideation, bullying at school, whether if it was just not physical, excuse me, psychological or verbal abuse that turned me to a lot of anxiety. And then over time, that turned into DBTR.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And DBTR, depersonalization, derealization disorder, the psychological effects is almost as if you're consumed by so much anxiety and fear that you do not feel real. Like everything around you feels doesn't feel like a reality. It's very scary. And it's very scary.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like you question yourself and your existence and sometimes you'll look at your hands and they don't look real and like all that stuff.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Right, right, right. Like in a simulation and you know, I think sometimes you would even feel really immortal and immune at times and i could tell you how the dbdr started in my life it was being fully transparent after i started smoking same and that's actually a huge part a huge side effect yeah of smoking weed and marijuana yeah is dbdr Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it causes real psychological damage because once you kind of get in that psychological high, your brain doesn't know how to chemically fully get out of it. And so it has this PTSD response to keep going back to it. Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Wait, why was you doing jumping jacks?
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
A friend. Yeah. But it's, it's wild though, because that was my same prayer point is there was a lot of things that I was going through where I was like, God, I feel absolutely insane. And I don't know who to talk to about this because I don't want to, I don't know. I think people are going to think I'm crazy if I were to ever say anything like this.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because OCD, I hate when people think that OCD is like being cleanly. Like OCD is obsession compulsion disorder. So I don't think a lot of my viewers know this. I love psychology. I've been to a lot of therapy and I've read a lot of books. And so like behavioral science and how the brain chemistry works is like a huge hobby of mine. But that kind of sounds like OCD.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like you were obsessed with OCD. if this happens here, it's going to happen again. Yes. Because OCD is also another form of anxiety and it's a compulsion and obsession of, if I come here, if I do the same exact thing, the same exact thing is going to happen again. Uh, but that's just a lie from the pits of hell, you know? But, uh,
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
yeah i think the dbdr outside and it's really frustrating when you're like dang i stopped all of this and it's tormenting and robbing my life which just shows that when you open a door and you invite a party of a whole bunch of stuff in you know it's gonna take a lot to clean up the mess and when i first experienced my dbdr uh it was a lot like that as well as i didn't experience it as uh
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
much in the smoking weed phase it was like right after but i'm still smoking nicotine i believed a lot of my brain got i was smoking nicotine too i was smoking nicotine worse than weed though oh that wasn't me you were smoking you were smoking weed more than nicotine i was smoking more nicotine more than uh weed yeah and yo the nicotine i'm actually convinced to this day and i i'd reverse the cards as much as i can uh that i lost a lot of brain cells due to smoking nicotine
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
don't laugh but i'm so for real you can't get them back yeah but i was like this is restored he restored restored your brain yes he did in jesus name amen put your hand on me amen restoration amen but um yeah no so i believe that but i do believe that spoken nigga team played a lot into my brain chemistry and then also marrying into the psychological effects of
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
smoking marijuana um but i remember the first day it happened i didn't get out of it for about a solid year oh my god every single day so i had it for about i would say four months the dvdr every single day and had six months of panic attacks So for six months, and there's people who were in my life when this was happening. This is like 2019, 2020, right before we met because I had red hair.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There were people in my life during this time. I had about three panic attacks a day. Panic attacks that made me feel like I was going to die. It was absolutely insane. Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and uh to where i felt like i needed to go to the hospital and all this stuff and then um experienced a little bit a little bit of dbdr after that but um i got baptized and after i got baptized and fully surrendered unto the lord it was like a lot of that washed away and of course temptations are gonna still come up here and there because even jesus was tempted yeah so it's like those temptations will come up but it's up to us if we're gonna handle it right because all satan can do is leverage your flesh yeah and so he's gonna look at the spots in your life where oh
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I kept it to myself that I would pray out to God in my secret space and also in my heart. Lord, just send me someone who would understand. And so we came into each other's lives at the most pivotal point. And I will never forget when we had that conversation of...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
She struggles with this. She's been through this before. Let me leverage this and see if she's going to cave in. And so that's more so been what happens now of the temptation of me giving into my old behaviors and my old psychological patterns.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. I think COVID also played a lot into my psychological behavior because after COVID, I would say before COVID, I was super extroverted. Now I'm super, I think it's an introvert when you're both, you're both an extrovert and an introvert. I don't know if that's the right terminology, but it's where you're like both, you kind of pick and choose. I believe it is, yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
yeah but i became completely introverted and then was like wait no but i'm naturally extroverted so then i was like kind of struggling with my identity a little bit keep in mind i'm like 1920 during this time so it is kind of weird and then i kind of turned into this mixture of both but um that's when a lot of like the dbdr and stuff was happening was around covid and um obviously a lot of stuff
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And emotionally what's happening too, because I just came to Christ. I lost a lot on the way. My friends are changing. My family dynamic is crazy. I'm reading the Bible and then COVID is happening. I'm also coming to social media.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
hey this is me and you're like this is me and i'm like oh we actually struggle with the same exact thing even weird stuff like down to the core of there's even some things where i'm just feeling a certain way and i start to explain myself and you'll finish my sentence i'm like oh you just get it you just get it just complete the sentence
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
yeah and i think like that age like the transition of your teens into your 20s is a very pivotal transition and i think it's one that kind of sets the tone of what battle and cup of suffering you're gonna have for almost the rest of your life and even when i talk to my mom because my mom's now in christ like she remembers amen we gotta
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And this podcast is to let you know you're heard, seen, and loved through Christ. Okay. Yada, yada, yada, yada. That is basically the pivotal message of this entire podcast. And Jesus at the core gets all the glory. Amen. Today, I have a very special guest here with me today. And I feel like this is kind of a cycle of guests I've been having on my pause. We had Clarissa three to four episodes ago.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
no mommy for real right um yeah no but she even remarks back to times where she first started struggling with things it was in her early 20s yeah and she still struggles with those same things too these days or like you could even just talk to people who are older it's like yeah i started kind of transitioning into adulthood you know and it's because you're starting a new season of life it's like you had 20 almost 20 18 20 years of being a child and then it's one day you're expected to be an adult and so there's a
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that was another area where in the beginning of our relationship and our friendship, that was another area where we really touched on.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The biggest areas is having that lack of a father figure, that affection, that attention. The only difference between our stories is that you lost your father. My father is still alive. We just don't have a relationship. But still, that void is equal in a lot of senses. Yeah, it's absence at the core. Yeah. And I think there's a...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There's a grieving that comes with that absence that's very hard to navigate. And I think the most difficult part about having an absence of a father figure and being neglected by a father figure is, how should I phrase this?
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That, it's more so we see, cool seeing God as a king and as authority, but we don't know how to see him as a father. And father is the highest attribute that God is at. Even when Jesus tells the disciples to pray, he's like, this is how you should pray. Our father who art in heaven. You dress him as father first. You dress him as father first.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Jesus could have instructed the disciples to say our king. Our lord. Our lord. Our friend. El Shaddai. Jireh. He could have said anything. But he said our father. And so God's highest calling is to be a father. And so I believe the biggest attack
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on all human beings is for sure for fathers and men and fatherhood because fatherhood i believe is a high representation of who god is yeah the father of the house the head of the household yeah the head of if you rank a household the head of the household is usually the man yeah is the father
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But I'm laughing at the fact you thought I didn't know that.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
My side of the story is my dad was my superhero up until high school, and then I got completely betrayed. And so it was navigating this weird of like, I know what it's like for a father to be there, but I know what it's like for a father to leave. And so it messed up my mind coming to God as a father. And even...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
unconsciously rejecting God as a father sometimes because I didn't want to deal with this false reality that he could leave me. So my problem was more so abandonment. And what if... Rejection. And rejection. And what if what I bring to the table isn't enough? What if you don't like all of me? And what if you're going to leave? And I think it's like this just distorted...
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fatherhood from from one experience that i had because i know what it's like to be loved and seen and heard but god what if one day you decide to just cut all of that off yeah and i can't judge god to the same standard that fathers here on the earth that man that man has made or or performed in their character and i think um seeing god also as a father
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Two has, and this may sound crazy, has also shown me how great of a dad my dad was. So I think the more I put off seeing God as a father. Yeah, hallelujah. I think the more I put off seeing God as a father, the more resentment I grew towards my earthly father because I wasn't embracing what fatherhood should look like.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so the closer I got to seeing God as a father and seeing how beautiful it is to have that relationship with the Lord, I started to see areas in my earthly father where I was like, wow, that's amazing. And that actually replicated God and I didn't know it. And of course, there's certain circumstances or areas where it is what it is and there's not much you can do about it.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Right. And actually, that was a pivotal point that led me to forgiveness is going to God as a father and then seeing the grace of fatherhood onto all these men all across the world and even people in my own life, whether it was my own stepdad or my earthly father or my uncles, whoever it may be. And it just kind of showed me this grace of fatherhood that heals a lot of my spirit and it
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
reminded me that the burden of perfection doesn't fall on man it just falls on the lord and so that forgiveness came a lot when god showed me i had an altar of perfectionism from men and that altar of perfectionism led to really high standards it led to a lot of anxiety that's good and a So I would be bitter towards men who couldn't match up to my perception of what good was.
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And so I would go through all these relationships and talking stages and I would give all these requirements. And the moment a guy would fall short on one or I was holding these standards really high over them, they would just kind of dip out of it. And this obviously happened about like three years ago.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God ended up showing me that those high standards came as a result of trauma the way I was treated from then. Wow. And so I had to crucify the altar I made of perfection, not only that I put on other men, but mostly on myself. And once I was able to destroy that altar, I was able to accept humans for what they are and meet people where they're at and be patient and loving and sharpening.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So we thank God, yeah. Yeah, I think also that remembrance and knowing that you're not alone and having a physical friend show you, hey, I understand and I empathize with you and I'm here with you gives a bigger testament to God. Yeah. Because if a human could understand me, how much more could God understand me?
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think that's even why I'm in such a good relationship now is because that... But it's because that altar was ruined. And I gave it over to God and was no longer an idol in my life anymore. Yeah.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and um they begin to love me truly love me i begin to see so many different father figures in my life um as well as god as well as the true father um yeah so it just just ain't god yeah it's refreshing to see it in the flesh too of like oh like this is an avoid i'm just missing and i'm never going to be able to experience because i'm an adult like god still graces me because i think that's like some worries that people have is you know it's too late
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My childhood is gone. But it's like we're children of the faith. God actually encourages us, Jesus actually does, for us to have childlike faith. Childlike faith. And so if we're called to have childlike faith, we're supposed to seek God as a father and always know that we're always going to be babies to him. We're always going to be little girls or boys to him, right?
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I believe our friendship has always just reminded me of like, wow, there is somebody else with a similar story, if not maybe the same exact story as me. Because simultaneously, there's a God who understands and deals with these types of situations.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And super side note, still on the childlike faith thing. Yeah. God, give me grace to say this. Wait, what are you about to say? Because I think people will take... This is off topic, but on topic. Okay. So when people will talk about childlike faith, I think one thing that really irritates me when people talk about... You know where I'm going. You know where I'm going.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
When people talk about childlike faith and they quite literally act like a toddler. Yeah. Like there's an immaturity. Yeah. Like there's like a, oh my gosh, that's my dad in the sky. Yeah, that's my daddy. Daddy in the sky. Yeah. And it's like...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
that's actually a lack of reverence for god or like when it's like valentine's day and everyone thinks that jesus is their boyfriend i'm i'm sorry i don't agree with that like or it's just yeah it's just like it's like child it's just like it's not childlike and a biblical childlike but it's immature immature yeah and it's underdeveloped and it's actually a lack of reverence and i think that's an area where people are like yeah i have childlike faith but then these are people who are you're a
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There's a difference of having childlike faith. Because when it talks about childlike faith, it's magnifying an innocence that a child has. It's magnifying a trust that a child has. Because obviously your mother has been in your life. So whenever you were younger and your mom were to say, hey, boy, don't touch the stove because it's hot. Would you touch the stove? No.
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No, because you trust your mom and you know that it's hot. So it's like the same thing when it comes to us being children of God is if God's saying, hey, I mean... don't pick up the cigarette or don't pick up the drink. I'm going to listen to him because I trust him and he's my father.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So it's kind of those same attributes of how we submit under God as children, not necessarily being a freaking toddler and being like, hey, Daddy God, give me my freaking milk, my sky milk. It's like, no, it's not like that, you know, and it's no hate to anybody who... But you got to grow up. Yeah, there has to be a shift Theologically knowing what childlike faith is.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And going on this road not alone is so refreshing because we could sharpen each other and support one another in ways that maybe not other people could. You are truly my iron.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I think that's honestly the problem with people operating in this childlike immaturity, toddlerish faith, is that there's a lack of biblical literacy. And you don't know what the word childlike actually means. And so that leads into a perversion of the scriptures, which makes you act like a toddler. But being childlike is actually just trusting with God. And it's a submission process.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the heart posture as well, too.
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Absolutely. And not just this, oh, I'm going to act like a toddler. and say all these things you know it's like um you know it comes a point to where there is a maturity in the faith that's why first corinthians is it 10 13 it's 10 and it says uh i was once a man or when i was once a man i put the ways of childish like things behind me oh how's it go it was like uh i was a boy now a man
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I put childlike things behind me. It's like in order to pursue a maturity and a righteousness, it's like there has to be a moment where you're no longer a girl. You're a woman. You've got to put that girl identity aside. But simultaneously still be a child. And I think, like I said, that's the heart. That's like staying in that relational aspect with God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, I think also childlike faith too is asking a lot of questions as well. I think children are very curious. Curious, yeah, that's good. So I believe like a lot of my childlike behaviors with God is me asking a lot of questions and being curious.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God honors that because I feel like God would honor me asking questions more than me not saying or asking anything at all because it piques an interest.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and uh yeah so there's a lot of attributes of what having childlike faith looks like that doesn't necessarily mean a verbal or cognitive change or distinction whatever maybe but yeah that was like super off topic but i was like wait while we're on the childlike faith topic i would love to just air that out because i've seen some stuff on tiktok or instagram where i'm like this is embarrassing
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
people grown adults acting like they're babies for god yeah to grow up this is kind of enough with the breast milk yeah you need to start eating solids yeah i don't like me to go steak i like some steak and chicken good medium well you don't want to know what that remind me of today we just got told because this is your bro i know we were so loud in church today with the gluten
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Do you want to tell me the type of diet you're on? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not that I... Okay, so I'm dairy-free and gluten-free right now because I'm getting married in three months. So I'm like, I got to be snatched and look the best. And not even just look. I have to feel the best. You want to feel healthy. Yeah, because gluten and dairy really... Inflammation. Yes, it causes a lot. It really...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like, I'm like, out of all the things. Bro, we were cracking up so bad. I was like, no, like, you know, mine is a dietary preference. But, you know, people are celiac. So...
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. I think there's a lot of aspects about you, too, where I'm just like, just keep them there. Just keep them here. Don't let them just stay in New York. Keep them here. And I feel like every time I hang out with you, or even if we're on the phone, just as simple as that, it's just more like, there's so much I just received from you. And it's honestly, a lot of the time, super unconscious.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm not going into all of our conversations like, what can I get from Amoy? I'm like, it just naturally flows. The Holy Spirit just begins to flow. Yeah. Yeah. And there's like an impartation that like you have because God has graced you with the responsibility to like sharpen me and same vice versa.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
No, thank God. And the fact that we're on completely different opposite sides of the country and have still been able to come together. It's a blessing. Yeah. And I'm blessed that I was your first flight.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yes. I also think too, like something just when we're around each other too, is that you're so comfortable. Really? Like you're just comfy. Like kind of how like the Holy Spirit is a comforter. It's like you comfort me. Not like, oh, it's comfortable. We can stay where we're at. Just more so like there's a comfort and there's a nurturing that comes in our friendship.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like we are even making this joke like while she was here is like, bro, like yesterday we disassociated for like five hours and it was great. I'm like, I feel like a roommate. Yeah. She was downstairs in the guest bedroom. I was upstairs.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. But it was really nice because it's like, obviously we spend a lot of time with one another, but we know how to honor each
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
that secret space and alone time with one another and give each other time because sometimes like people come over i'll go over places and there's like we have to do all these things but it's like there's there's such a comfort of like i could be in my bed like taking a nap but i'm comfortable knowing that you're downstairs like even just your presence like fills the aroma of my house thank god yeah even being able to wake up in this home because i've been in situations where i'll be at friends houses and i don't even feel comfortable spending time with god yeah like i'm whispering like
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I heard you because my office is right next door to the schedule because she was staying in the guest bedroom for a little bit. And my office is next door. And so I'll pray in my office. And yeah, I heard you for a bit. And then I turned up my music because I was like, God, I don't want to interrupt her secret space. I hope she don't interrupt mine. So I'm just going to blast this music as well.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We're going to tune each other out. I was getting your present. And what was crazy, Imani was downstairs doing the same thing, too.
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Yeah, no, because I'm getting her on the pod. One day, I want to get all of the bridal squad down.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I think what was so beautiful was like at the end of the batch. This was supposed to be what we were going to do on the first night or sorry, second night. So I'm really indecisive. And I'm also really extra. So when it came to the bridal theme, really, I was like, okay. I like the Princess Diaries theme, but I also want to go horseback riding. I love the country and Joshua Tree.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
you were my iron that was actually plugged in because i believe there's some people because i think because i think there are some people who i thought was an iron to my life but they had no heat to them so they couldn't actually iron me out and keep me from making creases again and so you were actually an iron in my life that was plugged into an outlet and that outlet was the lord and um i didn't even think about this till right now i remember the first time you actually straightened me out wait wait wait
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But then I also love Pilates. So I was like, why don't we just do all of them? Everything. Call it like a princess week. And so that's literally what we did. But we were supposed to do a worship night the second night because we did five days. It was a whole trip. It was a lot, y'all. And I planned it for about four to five months ago.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
every day there was something i had a full full-on itinerary itinerary excuse me of like everything but um we were supposed to have a worship night the second night and i well none of us can play instruments i mean the only person who really sings and is a worship leader is amani but i wanted her to receive and not feel led to like yeah yeah yeah
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felt with the responsibility of like oh i gotta lead to do all these things okay for all those who are watching this is literally you see the execution y'all do y'all see the execution like literally had a whole she does not come to play about like four yeah we were prepared yeah so everybody was super prepared but i'm a super type a person anyways so then uh we asked i asked one of my friends adriana who leads that circuit writer music to come down
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
in lead but she was still going to be on tour for carry the love and so it was going to work out the second night we're like oh dang it what how is that going to work and all these things but ended up working out the last night and her coming out to joshua tree because she's in la so it's only like a two-hour drive yeah it ended up being amazing it was amazing I was just bawling the whole time.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We had a salvation. We had one of my best friends who came to Christ. And then also just so much intimacy. Which was something that I was lacking. Yeah. It was something I needed.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
it was so sweet and I would actually recommend like if y'all are watching this and you have like those friends like you don't need to like counter the presence of God or have a miraculous thing happen when you go to a service or a worship night it's like you could cultivate that space in your own home in your bedroom in your bedroom in your bedroom and sure it could be around all your friends singing a worship song but you could do it on your own because the spirit quite literally resides in us is inside of us yeah yeah yeah no it's good
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I feel like we hit a lot of good stuff. And the conversation did not go in any direction. We did not plan for this at all. Yeah, literally. And that was so good. And it was such a heart message. You just tell like the word has just truly just been embedded into our hearts.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm like, this probably isn't going to be the last time you're on. So of course, they better get used to you.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
yeah i hear that right catch that no hallelujah but yeah thank you guys for watching and just listening into this conversation we just pray that god has great graced you and blessed you through this conversation and that our testimonies have really spoken to you just showing that god is good and that the glory of god is still evident it's still here it's never too late and you guys already know like all the announcements they're down in the description again
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah. So, yeah, but we love you guys so much. Thank you guys for listening. May God receive all the glory. You want to know something I didn't think of right now? What? So I think we should end out and bless everyone who's watching out in prayer. Amen. And then we'll end it there. Amen. I'm going to let you start. Me pray? Yeah, and I'll finish it.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
so no one knows this like i haven't told anybody this so there was something i was struggling with in the beginning of my walk that a lot of people would criticize me on and i was never receptive to it you look confused but i'm gonna tell you yeah and i was never receptive to it because the heart behind of what these people were saying was to wound me but you came to me so gently wow and the topic was modesty um
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
In Jesus' name. Thank you, Lord. We thank you, Jesus. We lift you up high. We exalt you. We revere you, Lord. We see you as holy and worthy, God. God, I thank you for leading each and every single person to this episode, God, to hear and receive your voice, God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God, even if it was just 10 people, God, we trust that every single one of those people who are listening to this episode, it was meant for them. It was meant to minister to their spirits, God. God, we just give you this platform, God. We give you everything that we are.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God, we just decree and declare that your word, your message penetrates the hearts and the flesh of those who want to receive you, Lord. Yes, Lord. And that we stay like a man always on his face, on the floor, God. That we never fall from that position, Jesus. God, I ask for you to assist those who are making the transition into Christ. And God, that you assist those navigating friendships.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God, I even decree and declare that the mantle of our friendship passes down onto those who are listening to this episode, God. That there is a releasing and that there is anointing and that there is a grace for
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to find a godly friendship that sharpens that person towards the glory of god not idolatry not dependence on one another but a dependence on christ god god enter in and usher in godly friendships that are being used solely for the kingdom of god and for the sharpening and for the loving and the compassionate uh uh acceleration and edification of your body lord so we Thank you, Jesus.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We thank you that you're here. We thank you that you blessed this conversation. We thank you that it was such a great conversation, Lord. And we just decree and declare that the captives are set free through this. And it's not because of me and Amoy's word. It's because of your word. You're worthy. And it's you. It's not us. It's all you, God. So we give you all the credit.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we are humbled to give you all the credit because it's only you who's worthy or deserving of all of it. So we thank you that you're kind. We thank you that you're intentional. We thank you that you're a father. You're such a good dad.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
you're such a good dad give us a good childlike faith and open our eyes to see you as a father a good heavenly father and remind us to stay close to your spirit close to your will and never be departed from us lord thank you that you don't forsake us or leave us and you will never abandon us instead you stay close you remain inside of us and you call us to not walk weary to not be afraid to pursue righteousness and holiness
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that if we walk in the way of the Lord, you will make our path straight. So I thank you that you are worthy of trusting and you are worthy of being submitted to, Lord. We give you everything that we have. This is all you, Jesus. We love you. We praise you. We thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. We bless y'all. We love you guys. God bless you guys.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we trust that God has done his thing here. Amen. And so my last encouragement to anybody who's watching is if you heard anything from this episode that deeply resonated with you, run back to the heart of the Father with it. It doesn't stay here. The point of this podcast is we may have said something that ministers to your heart. Your job is to take that to the feet of God.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
um i remember that conversation so when i first met amoy i was still posting instagram photos and tiktoks not wearing the nicest clothes it's okay it's all good you we've all been there we all been there i've been there i've been there we've all been there And I had a lot of people in my comment sections because I was just coming to Christ.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
This is just a platform. yep we're just tools and we're just vessels like god is ultimately going to show you exactly what you need and where you need him so that's my last encouragement because i felt it on my spirit but until then guys we love you so much bye guys and we'll see you next time bye
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I was brand new, and I'm still learning all these things. Yeah, and there's grace to learn. And this is before my podcast starts, like way before. And there's a grace to learn these things and to go down that road and et cetera. And I remember every time someone would comment to me about modesty or... You need to wear this in order to be a Christian.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It made me want to rebel more and not even be like, screw you. I can wear whatever I want. All these things and completely be in rebellion and opposition. And so I remember we were on FaceTime one day and you prayed over the situation, over the conversation. We just prayed. And he said, Emmy, I'm going to bring something to you because I love you and I say this in love. Mm-hmm.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I brought on my other bestie, Miss Amoye Hassan. Hey, girl.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
what you are wearing is not representing how much Jesus loves you. It wasn't like, hey, you're doing this and it's wrong. It's, hey, this isn't mimicking the love of God. And the image. And that made me look at it differently. And then also the relatability that she had as well. She sent me like 20 pictures.
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Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
right and you told me you were like i'm sending this to you because i also want you to know i've been there before and i don't want you want you to think i'm a hypocrite and honestly that's what drove me into rebellion in the first place was because all the people who are commenting under my stuff i go to the profile picture and you're wearing a sports bra or you're wearing a bathing suit or you're wearing something also immodest and it's like why are you telling me oh you're a christian and you're wearing this and you're modest and you're wearing the same thing
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so it would really irritate me. And so that reliability of, you know, I used to dress this way, but once the Lord started to convict my heart of this isn't glorifying the kingdom, I started to change the way that I dress. And you spoke to my heart because you came with such gentleness. It reminds me of Galatians 6, where it says, brothers and sisters...
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
judge one another gently restore one another gently and i think people think oh i could judge and i could restore but they don't know the characteristic that comes with that word which is gently i think one of the things when it comes to gentleness is also being very transparent yes that's something that i vocalize a lot um in your walk with christ because you have a
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's something we've been talking about for years.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it limits you and repel shame. Hmm. Because Psalms 34 or 5 says that those who look to the Lord, their faces are radiant and they're never filled with shame. Because your face is quite literally fully lit up.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so what happened in that moment is that when you came to sharpen me, you just shifted my perspective and my direction to where I was no longer covered by shadows, but I was looking in the all-shining grace and glory of God. Yeah. And when you see things in a God perspective and you have people who lead you to that position, your heart is then able to be developed and transformed.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I was like, oh, this is the first time where it actually convicted me because God's love entered the chat. It wasn't his anger or his wrath.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And people will also judge you when they're dealing with the same thing. Yeah. So people will call you out on modesty or people will call you out on whatever it could be, sexual immorality, clubbing, socializing, whatever it may be. And they're doing the same exact thing. So I think that accountability.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Take the log out of your eye before you try to remove a speck out of somebody else's. And I think that's an important part of accountability. And you're one of the only people in my life who's actually held with that responsibility to hold me accountable because you're close enough to the tree to see the fruit. I'm laughing. Remember the Future concert? Oh, God.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We thank God. So Amoya is from New York and she's down right now because I just had my bachelorette. Freaking spectacular. The best.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I wasn't really mad. I think you were, you were more mad because you saw I was walking wrongly. Yeah. I was like, I don't give a dang what she's saying. I'm still going to show up to this video. Yes. Okay, wait, let me first explain the future thing.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because people, if people don't know me, they're not going to understand this conviction I have around future and rap music, my relationship and stuff. And so, okay, basically, ever since I was a little girl, I've always been listening to rap music. My dad gave me an iPod shuffle and had Dr. Dre that 2001 album all throughout it.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So whenever I was six, seven years old, I've always been listening to rap music. So as I'm growing older, I'm listening to more and more and more. And then I hear that layup by Future. Oh my gosh. I think I heard that in middle school. And I was like, I love this dude. I love how he sounds. I love the beats. Beethoven, all of it, right?
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So through middle school, all the way to high school and even college years, I wasn't in college, but those same years, I was a huge Future fan.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and even when i first came to christ i was a future fan probably two years in me being into christ and so you met me the first year of me being into christ yeah and this is like the second year uh when i decided oh man this just i hate that i did this because you try to warn me and i'm like now i'm here testifying about it so yeah here's my here's my lick back i guess um but i decided so stupid um
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I decided to go to a Future concert by myself in Oakland. And if y'all are not from California and you do not know where Oakland is, that's probably the worst place for a girl like me to go.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's all I got to say. It was the best thing ever. No. And so she's been staying here with me. All the girls went back home, but she stayed here for an extra few days. And so we were like, you know, definitely got to get a podcast in. And so we're here and it's so great because this is the fourth time we've been in person.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, I drove by myself. I went by myself. It was in Oakland. Like, what's one of like... What's the worst city in New York?
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
under the bronx i mean there's places in brooklyn like you got like the ville crown heights yeah so i would say because i would argue that the worst place in all of cali is like stockton area like up in the bay yeah and i would say i would say that oakland is like the neighbor of that so um that's where i was by myself too and you know i was pretty settled on going to this concert and
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I told her. And she was not having it. As you should. Because now that I've moved past it, I'm like, dang.
Saved Not Soft
Modesty, DPDR, and Conviction ft Amoyea Hassan | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Crazy disobedient. Crazy disobedient. And so much happened too. So I go to this concert. whoop-dee-dee, whoop-dee-doo, and then... And you had a following at this moment, too.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Hello, hello everyone and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. Hello everyone. That was like a note I held. Soft. Man, God is good all the time. Amen, amen. Who's ready for today? Because I am ready for today's episode. And just being completely transparent, this has been a topic that the Lord has been putting on my heart probably the past... two years that's been really just thick in my spirit.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
believe that God is real and believe in the existence of God, but lack obedience in God. And I think that's one of the more toxic traits that we're seeing in American Christianity is that there's a far outweigh of people who believe they believe in Jesus Christ and they believe they're getting saved, but they don't live a lifestyle that matches up with what Jesus commands.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It doesn't align with his teachings. It doesn't align with where he commands us to be obedient. And it doesn't align with the scriptures and with what Christianity defines itself as a whole. And so faith without works is dead. We know that because James talks about that. Paul talks about that. Faith without works is dead and works is evidence of your faith.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Works isn't just, Hey, if, if I just work my way to the top, I'm going to get saved because works is also by itself, just in vain. If you work without faith, then none of it matters. First Corinthians 13 talks about that. Like if I'm, if I'm prophesying, if I'm doing all the things of God, but if I do not have love, then all of it is meaningless.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So it's having a faith that isn't just, oh, I feel this way, but it's partnered with action. And so that's how we're saved, by grace, which is what God does. And then faith is our response to God's grace to us. Amen. And so Matthew 7, 21 through 23 says,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
which is one of the Bible verses that people say that they're most scared of, is not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons in your name before many miracles?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers." So that shows us that even though you may do all of these things and you're doing all the works, if you lack love, if you lack faith, if you lack putting your trust in the Lord, then it's done in vain because you could be doing all these things for Jesus and you could put God's name over anything all day.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But what really boils it down is that if you're not truly doing something for the sake of the kingdom of God, of how he's instructed and how he's called you to obey the then it's done in vain because you're only working off of your perception of who God is and not who he actually reveals and claims himself to be. Amen?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so the lukewarmness that we're experiencing in America and the spiritual blindness of what we're experiencing is people not accepting and seeing the full picture and this real deceit that people are believing of, oh, if I just say I believe in Jesus, then I believe in Jesus. And there's a huge percentage of people who think that they are Christian.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
A lot of people, a part of the American population that believe that they're Christian, but they are not. And that is not a person judging another person's salvation. That is simply just observing fruits from a tree because a Christian is not just someone who says, I believe in the name of Jesus.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And what is Saved Not Soft? Saved Not Soft is a podcast dedicated to let people know that they are heard, seen, and loved by God. And also knowing and understanding that this road to Christianity, it is not an easy walk forward. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus ever proclaim or promise for Christianity to be easy.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's someone who acts in the obedience of his teachings, not just, oh, I believe in his name and I'm good. We're going to get into that a little later.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But I want to talk about the difference between America and foreign countries because I believe a lot of people's faith would be shaken and tested and stretched if people went outside of the walls of America and saw the persecution and the way that people live who are Christian outside of the walls of America.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so what that looks like is the past year, I had a great opportunity to go to Indonesia and also to go to Canada. Canada is like a sister. She's right up here. But Indonesia, that's on the opposite side of the whole entire world. So I saw two different nations who is experiencing Jesus Christ differently. I went to Canada in April.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And on the last day of me preaching at a conference there, I was sitting in a hotel and I was eating breakfast before I had to catch my flight with my now fiancee. And as we're eating breakfast, we're seeing a protest happening outside. And I'm like, man, what's going on? And we're seeing all these people protesting and I can't really hear what they're saying.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then a few moments later, I see a man walking with this crowd and he's carrying a huge cross. And it confused me because I was like, what? What is it that we are witnessing right now? And so then I pull out my phone and I'm kind of trying to search what's happening in Canada.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And basically what was happening, and I believe it's still happening during this time, is that Canada was, and maybe still is, is experiencing backlash and a conflict to where people are not able to exercise free religious speech anymore. And so because of that, proclaiming the gospel and evangelizing is something that has the opportunity to be taken away from Canada. And so I didn't know that.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so whenever I went there and I saw these people advocating to spread the gospel, it was insane because we've never seen anything like that in America here. And so that was one of the things where I was like, man, it really opened my eyes of how in different nations, people are really persecuted for their faith and for believing in Jesus.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we're almost privileged in a sense to experience and see Jesus and have this overexposure of him here in America. But yet we deny his power because we think that we know him because we see him so much. But it's like, you just know his face and you know the name, but you don't know the nature.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Whenever I went to Indonesia in June, I had the amazing pleasure and opportunity to take 18 women to Bali in Indonesia to disciple them. And with that came a lot of months and weeks of preparation spiritually of how to operate in this terrain in Indonesia. Because in Indonesia, 85% of the population is Hindu. And then we have 5% of the population identify as Christian.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so Indonesia is actually pretty open-minded to accepting all religions and beliefs. And I believe that also has to tie a little bit into Hinduism because Hinduism is very open-minded. Basically what Hindus believe is they believe in one God, but they believe that that one God can manifest in millions of forms. So they believe that there is one true authentic God,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If anything, there's a lot of things that come in the midst of Christianity, and this podcast is catered to help you navigate that, whether if it's really hard or more easier at times, if it's joy or suffering. This podcast is supposed to help and assist you through the spirit of God with your daily lives and how to be a better steward and a better child of God. And that's simply that.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But there's not just one essence and one being of that God that it can manifest in statues. It can manifest in people. It can manifest in birds and monkeys and animals. And so obviously as Christians, that's what we don't believe. We believe that there is a Father, Son, and a Holy Spirit. And so I was coming into a terrain to where I had to... know and exercise what the other side believed.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so as we're in Indonesia and as I'm ministering and working with these women and talking to other local people and understanding the Christians that experience persecution and a separation in Indonesia, it's far more different than what we experience here in America. And it is such a huge difference. And we have to understand that.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we have to be aware of that because it's almost as if Americans are not grateful for the faith that is, that is so easily accessible to us. But there are people all over the world who are quite literally fighting for their faith and people who have to worship and read a Bible, whether if it's underground or secretly or away, like, like,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Obtaining the gospel here in America is a privilege and it's something we should take advantage of. And yet it's being used as a pretty image that we could put on t-shirts and on hats. And it's like these people who are creating merchandise with Jesus and all these things, it's like almost there's this
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
prostitution of the image of Jesus to where people are so apathetic and dead in spirit to where they're walking around thinking that they're saved because they know who Jesus is and they've seen his face everywhere, but they have no relationship and they have no revelation of the scriptures. And because of that, people are walking around thinking that they're saved, but they're really not.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And this isn't supposed to be a harsh message and tell you, Oh, you were not saved and you're not going to see Jesus Christ because This is a message actually urgently telling you that you need to die to your expectation of who you think God is and run to the scriptures and let him reveal himself to you of who he actually is.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because the last thing you want to do is believe for your whole entire life that you believe in the one and only sovereign God and you ended up being wrong. God reveals himself through the scriptures. So if we're failing to come to what's easily accessible to us and if we're denying the power of God,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
it's like what why are we doing all these things in the first place it's like you say that you're christian but then won't do anything to pursue the relationship instead you just prostitute the image of jesus christ instead of accepting everything of who he is and that just comes through humility and seeking him intentionally not just claiming him in your instagram bio but claiming him because jesus is lord not an image and not a name he is lord and
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that's the thing. We have to understand that Jesus is Lord. He's not just an image. Jesus is ultimately Lord. He reigns. And I think that's one of the biggest and deepest problems of American Christianity is they believe Jesus is powerful and they believe Jesus is God, but is he Lord? Is Jesus Lord to you? Does he reign? Is he the number one on your priority list?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So let's pray. And then we're going to get into our topic for today. Amen. So dear Heavenly Father, I just thank you and praise you, God. God, I thank you for this message that you've burned on the inside of me, God. God, before all things, God, I just lay myself down in humility, God, for I'm not better than anybody else. Neither is anybody watching, God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Is he on the throne of everything in your entire life? And I'm going to go back to my original point that I was first making about seeing people outside of the US and why is it
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Well, this was just kind of the questions I was thinking and just had for a really long time, especially, you know, going out internationally and having a lot of friends and close people who work in the mission fields and go out literally for their entirety of their lives to spread the gospel.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's like, why is it that we don't see miracles being broken out in America, but the same people who are praying in America then go to Kenya and all of a sudden they wipe out a whole urgent care and everybody is able to go home through prayer. It's like, why aren't we seeing that same impact here in America?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the answer is, is because America does not have enough faith to induce and to cultivate this miraculous power because of a lack of faith. And it's funny because the American nation where you think 68% of this nation is Christian, you would think that there would be more spiritual outpour and more miracles taking place. But the statistic doesn't match.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The statistic doesn't match the real, true, authentic amount of faith that's actually being poured out. And I got this from Matthew 13, 54 through 58. And And it says in the context of it is that Jesus was coming back to his hometown Nazareth. And it says coming to his hometown, he began teaching people in their synagogue and they were amazed.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Where did this man get this wisdom in these miraculous powers? They asked, isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary? And aren't his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas are all of his sisters with us. But Jesus said to them, So what does this show us?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because the people of Nazareth grew up with Jesus and they had an overexposure and an over familiarity with Jesus that actually limited their faith that they had in him because they weren't losing their perception of who they thought Jesus was. They saw him as a carpenter. They saw him as Mary's son. They saw him as a son of another carpenter.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And they couldn't believe that Jesus was Lord because they grew up on their expectation of who they thought Jesus was. And so whenever Jesus started performing all these miracles, signs and wonders, Jesus wanted to do the same things in Nazareth.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But because they had a lack of belief and they couldn't let go of their own understanding of who they thought Jesus was, their lack of faith limited them. Jesus performing miracle signs and wonders because ultimately they lacked faith and they lacked faith because they thought they knew Jesus, but they actually didn't.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So you wonder why all these miraculous things aren't being taken and broken out here in America. I'm not saying that none of them do because man, I've seen some stuff that's absolutely unexplainable on the roots and in the terrain of America, but, But that's been cultivated by people of God who are consulting and contending with God with true authentic faith.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But it's like we're seeing all these avenues where miracles should be breaking out, but they're not because there's a lack of faith that's over America because they think they know who God is, but they actually don't.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We are all on the same page, pursuing one God and one spirit, God. God, I just rid the spirit of offense in Jesus' mighty name, Father.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And like how I said, you know who God is by seeing who he is through scripture, by having a relationship and cultivating a relationship with him, by spending time on worship and thanksgiving and fasting. And it's like people are just relying on their own understanding. And that's what we're supposed to die to. Not knowing Jesus is what produces a lack of faith.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think one of the scary, more scary verses, I think we talk about Matthew 7 of, look, God, we prophesy and do all these things in your name. And he says, well, I do not know you've done all these things. but I do not know you, you do not know me. So depart from me, you evildoers. We think that's a scary passage. Another scary passage is 2 Timothy 24 through 26.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It says, and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed. So the first part of this passage, it shows us our job as the Lord's servant. It's to not be quarrelsome, but to be kind to everybody, able to teach and not resentful. And whenever we do face opponents, we're supposed to instruct them gently and
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And just decree and declare that in any areas where the audience could be conflicted or convicted or feeling guilty and shameful in some areas, God, God, I just ask that your spirit remains in every area where there's guilt or shame or condemnation being infiltrated by the devil, God. I just ask that you send it to the pits of hell in Jesus' mighty name, God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Now we get to the next part of the scripture where this is actually scary. If you are in the unknown spaces and you think you know God, but you actually don't. It says, in the hope that God will grant them repentance. So what does this mean? An instruction has to be given, which is what's happening in this episode.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
An instruction is being given in the hopes that God will grant whoever is listening repentance, leading you to the knowledge of truth, right? So what does that tell us? When you don't have a revelation of the knowledge of truth, scripture says in verse 26, that you will not come to your senses and you will stay in the trap of the devil who has taken you captive to do his will.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That is what happens when you are not receptive to the true authentic gospel. Not only are you ensnared by the trap of the devil, but because you don't know who Jesus is, you're actually being prostituted by saying himself to do his will.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the sick part is that you don't even know it because you think you're focusing and surrendering your life to God just by believing his name, but you're not carrying your cross. Therefore, because you're not operating in the obedience and the teachings of Christ, Satan is actually able to use you as a vessel to do the works of evil because you don't know who God is. Do we understand?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So a lack of God is a lack of knowing God also comes from a lack of faith. And from those things married together comes from you actually being used as a vessel by the enemy himself to carry out his will. And here's the thing about the enemy. The enemy does not give an absolute dang if you know the rules to the game. The enemy does not care if you know the rules to the game. The enemy is a liar.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He is a cheater. He is a thief. John 10, 10 tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan does not care if you know the plays to the game.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So if you don't know, if you're in the unknown and you don't have that provision and the protection and the wisdom of Jesus Christ, Satan is absolutely going to rob you and most likely going to use you as an accessory for his plots and plans, right?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So we can't be in a position to let the enemy use us as open vessels to do the works of evil when God has called us to do the works of good by accepting his spirit and by accepting his truth, which is what second Timothy proves is that whenever you accept the true teachings of Jesus Christ and whenever you accept the instructions of what the gospels and what
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
scriptures reveal itself to be it's in the hope that it will grant a repentance aka a turning back from your wicked ways in your deceitful thinking and turning back to the heart into the mindset of god which then leads you to a knowledge of truth and then from that truth you will come to your senses aka you will get snapped out of delusion and you will escape the trap of the devil and so you can't come to your senses if you're not receiving the true revelation of who christ is
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's it. And this isn't to be harsh. This is literally describing what is happening here in America because people are walking around thinking that they know Jesus Christ, but they're being used as vessels to fulfill Satan's will, whether if it's in religiousness, hyper-religiousness, or if it's in ignorance and passivity and apathy. And we must die to this.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
One of the bigger things I want to talk about is America's corrupted belief system. And I kind of touched about this a little, but I'm going to dedicate this whole segment to what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and how we should carry it out. And not my opinion, but what God himself says and what the scriptures say, not your version. We have to die to that expectation.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God, I ask that you open up our hearts, you open up our minds, and you allow us the wisdom that you are speaking to us to settle in our hearts, God. God, we ask for the spirit of wisdom. And God, your word says, ask and it shall be given unto you. And so, God, we are asking for wisdom. We're asking for correction. We're asking for healthy rebuke.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We have to throw off all offense and we have to listen to what God is telling us through the scriptures and through his word. Y'all, I'm giving Bible all day. This is not me. This is God. And so there's a difference between Well, when we talk about America's corrupted belief system, there's a difference between believing in the name of Jesus and the believing in his nature.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so what does it mean to be a Christian? Let's just address terms very quickly. What it means to be a Christian, a biblical Christian, the biblical definition of a Christian is someone who follows Jesus, believes in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, and then lives a life in obedience according to Jesus's teachings. into the teachings of scripture.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That is biblically what the definition of a Christian is. It's not just believing in the name of God, but it's believing that he has died and resurrected for the forgiveness of our sins and then to live accordingly to what he has taught through the scriptures. And so the Bible says in Matthew 10, 38 through 39, it says, whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Whoever finds their life will lose it. And whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. And then Luke 14, 27, which kind of mirrors that passage is, and whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. A disciple is a representative of Jesus Christ to carry out his works.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's why when it says go and make disciples of all nations to go proclaim and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, to go and make disciples, it's to go make advocates of the gospel and of the good news. And so when we see that in order to be a disciple, in order to be a Christian, there's something that needs to be partaken in this process, which is the segment of carrying up your cross.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so there's people who think that they're saved and there's people who know the name of Jesus, but they're not picking up their cross and following him. What it means to believe in Jesus is not just to believe in his name, but to believe in him so much that you're picking up your old life and carrying it to a destination of death for it to be crucified.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus, that means all your desires that you have that's opposing to the will of God, those are things that you are not supposed to be indulgent in. You're not supposed to be iniquity, which means repetitive sin. If you know you're not supposed to have sex and you keep having sex, that's not pleasing God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you know you're not supposed to smoke and to keep smoking because you're taking advantage of God's grace, that's not pleasing God. If you're gossiping over and over and over again, iniquitably, that's not pleasing God. If you're spending all your money on things that don't matter, that's not pleasing God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you're not being a good steward or servant, if you're dishonoring your parents and you know it, like that does not please God. So it's like, putting your flesh behind and putting it on a cross and carrying it to the destination of death. That's what it means to be a living sacrifice.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God, we know that you do not condemn us because your word says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, God. So we know that you don't condemn us. Instead, you love us, Father, that you have a compassion for us, God. Let your compassion be the overall tone of this message, Father. And God, let this message seep to the bottom of the hearts of the viewers, Father.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's you're literally taking everything about you of your flesh that wants to conquer and come against the spirit of God. and putting it on an altar for it to be sacrificed. That's literally what it is. Like make yourself holy and pleasing to God, not perfect because no one on this earth will ever strive or be perfect. Jesus was the only embodiment of a human who could ever carry out perfection.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So it's not perfection. It's progression. God is not asking for perfection because if we were perfect or if we had the opportunity to obtain some sort of perfection, then him sending Jesus Christ in the first place would make absolutely no sense. Perfection is found in righteousness and justification is found through Jesus Christ, not through our own works, not through our own strength.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's through confiding in the cross. And so the best thing that we could do as Christians is take captive of every single thought, pretension, imagination, and, and, and lower it, take it captive next to anything that is trying to exalt itself next to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's taking it captive so it doesn't overrule the authority and the throne of God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like to be a disciple literally means to be disciplined and die. And it's like people are walking around, they're like, oh, I'm Christian, but you haven't died to your flesh, which is actually the most crucial part to you being a Christian. And so knowing that your cross is, has a destination of death is crucial to you walking out the Christian lifestyle because it's not a self-righteous gospel.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's a self-denial or it's not even like a self-discovering gospel that we believe in. It's a self-denial gospel. We are denying everything of what our sin and flesh is producing. And we're saying no to that and pursuing the things of God. It's not leaning on your own understanding, but instead it's, It's surrendering the things to the Lord and we're saved by grace through faith.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So what does that mean? I think people believe in God's grace, but they don't understand that God's grace has to be partnered with the faith of which we profess. So when Ephesians 2, 8 through 9 says we are saved by grace through faith, that means that as Christians, God has saved us by his grace. What is grace? Grace is undeserved favor and admiration, right?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So God loves us and has compassion for us, not because we deserve it or earn it, but simply because he just wants to. God wants to love us. And that's what's beautiful about the faith. And so where faith comes in, Hebrews 11 one tells us that faith is not what we see. It's what we don't see. It's confidence in what we hope for. So faith is confidence in what God says and what God says.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
which is based off of truth and trusting in the Lord. Faith is belief and trust in everything of who God says he is, the true authentic God, not the God that you make up in your head, but of who God says he is. And faith, which we know also through scripture, is faith. Faith without works is dead.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So in order for you to have faith, which then partners with grace, you have to have faith that is also accompanied by works because works is the evidence of your faith. Works doesn't earn you to faith. Instead, works is the overflow of your faith. So what does that practically look like? So because I believe in Jesus Christ,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And let us just receive your spirit. And God, let's also just kill every expectation we may have of you that is not true, God. God, we accept you authentically for who you claim to be, not who we think you are, but who you claim to be in the scriptures, Father. Not our version of you, but who you say to be, God. We love that part of you.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Even though it can be really easy for me to be upset with people who have done me wrong and people who have persecuted me and came against me and whatever it may be. It would be really easy for me to snap on them, cuss them out, whatever that may be.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But because I love the Lord, the love of God then overflows into the works of showing compassion and grace, even when I don't want to, or even when it comes to serving. You know, someone may have faith in Jesus Christ, but then they don't want to serve a church. They don't want to serve other people. They're almost apathetic towards others.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But when you have the true authentic love of God, that then overflows into you wanting to serve. Because whenever you become an heir of Christ, which Romans 8 supports this, When we get adopted by Christ and we're now under sonship of God, we now inherit everything that God has, whether if it's his glory and sufferings.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we have to understand that whenever you truly say yes to God and who he really is, there is an inheritance you receive because God is now melting you into his heart. And so faith without works is dead. Works is the evidence of your faith. And that faith right there is what partners with grace, which then leads to salvation. Do we understand?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I want to read to you guys a few statistics that are actually scary about American Christianity. Just so... Because I think a lot of you may be thinking, oh, Amy, this may not be a big topic. You know, there's a lot of people I know who are Christian. And I don't think this is that big of a topic and something that needs to be addressed.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
statistically statistics say that 68% of the U S nation is Christian, but the spirit of God and the word of God would say otherwise. I'm just going to read a few statistics that are spiritually very scary and just highlights the spiritual blindness that America is facing here today. So a study was done in March of 2024 that supported that 68% of the United States were Christian and
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That means that two out of the three people that you meet each and every single day should be Christian. Now, we just went to the term of what Christian is. What it means to be a Christian, it means to believe in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it also means to live accordingly and to be obedient to the teachings of Christ. So it was a two-step process.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's believing in the name and the nature, and it's also carrying it out through obedience. That's biblically what it means to be a Christian. So when we hear that 68% of the U.S. nation are active practicing Christians, that tells me that two out of three people should be devoted Christians. That just tells me that half of the people you know should be on fire for God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But we don't see that here in America, don't we? So it's showing us that these statistics in essence are actually wrong in some areas.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It actually just shows us that the belief system in America is actually corrupted because people are saying that they're Christian, but they don't actually know what it entails because they believe being Christian is believing in the name of Jesus, but no one is actually picking up their cross. Next statistic, 30% of the US regularly goes to church. So just mirror that real quick.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So 68% of the U.S. claims to go to church, or 68% of America claims to be Christian, and then 30% of U.S. claims to go to church. So that means that there's a 38% of quote unquote Christians who do not attend church at all. So these are people who attend church on Easter Sunday, whether if it's Christmas or whatever it may be.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
We love all of who you are, the true, authentic, genuine Jehovah Jireh that is you, oh God. And so we love you and we serve you and we can't wait to hear what you have to say. In jesus mighty name we pray and seal this prayer.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
These are not people who actively plug themselves into community, which is an essential part of actively being in the faith and practicing Christianity. Another statistic, 30% of churchgoers read their Bibles outside of service. So what does that show us? So let's take 30% of the US regularly goes to church. Okay. So let's take that 30%. Let's take, now it's going to go into a hundred percent.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So the 30% of the, of, of the, of people in America go to church. So let's just take people in the church. 30% of those people read their Bible outside of service. Okay. So we have 70% of people who are in church today who don't read their Bibles outside of service.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So that shows us that faith is being cultivated by the leaders of the church and people are dependent of their faith upon the leaders on the church and not necessarily seeking a faith for themselves. That's terrifying because the reason as to why we believe what we believe is because it's, it's aligned with the scriptures.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like even whenever God was, was leading Joshua into the promised land, he says, meditate on the word day and night. Do not fall from it. Like the word of God, like in the beginning, the word was with God and the word was God, like understanding the word of God is pivotal to your spiritual walk.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So when I read that 30% of church goers only read their Bible outside of service, that's insane to me because that just shows me that 70 people are 70% of people and of quote unquote Christians are showing up to church as a, as a checking off the box thing. That's insane to me. And then I, We said 30% of church goers read the Bible outside of service.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then one out of five regular church attendees have never read their Bible. One out of five church attendees have never read their Bible. How is it that we're a 68% Christian nation and one out of five people in church have never read scripture on their own in their entire lives? Does that sound like Christianity?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I wish y'all could go outside of the nation and you could see how devoted people outside of America are to Jesus Christ. They are devoted through scripture reading, through prayer, through fasting, through obedience.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Amen So, where do I start there's I feel like there's Different avenues and areas where I could start this conversation I first want to open up the tone of this episode That it should all be done in compassion and this episode and What is about to be said is not done with the intention to put people's hearts down or to judge what your walk with Christ is.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we're just seeing the spiritually dead cultivation of Christianity here in America because people believe that they're saved by believing in a name, but not exercising God's nature. And so just to break down these statistics, how many people are in the US? I'm going to give you numbers now. 334.9 million people currently reside in the US.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
68% of the US actively claims themselves to be Christian. So this is 235,474,186 people, roughly. then 30% of the U.S. are churchgoers. So that is roughly 100 million people, 470,000, or I don't know how to say that number, but you know what I'm saying, 100 million, 470,000 people go to church. So that already shows us that 68% of the U.S., that number,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
claims themselves to be Christians, and then 30% actually go to church. So that shows us that there's roughly like an 135 million people difference of people who claim Christianity and people who go to church. That's terrifying to hear. And then the next part, 30% of church goers who read, or 30% of church, excuse me, 30% of church goers read their Bible outside of service.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So that is 30 million, 141,000 people. So what does that show us? That show us that about 70 million churchgoers don't even depend on the word of God. That only 30 million of the 100 million people who are going to church read their Bible. And what do the other 70 million people do? They just show up to church, raise a hand, and then they're done for their week.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like carrying up your cross daily, just not on a Sunday. And it's like, we have this corrupted version of what we think, of what we think, Christianity is, but we've Americanized it because we've overexposed and prostituted the face in the name of Jesus to where we're actually putting ourselves in spiritual despair because we're failing to come to repentance in truth. That's it.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And this is terrifying. And then also one out of five church people who have never read their Bible, that's roughly 20 million people who actively go to church regularly and have never read their Bible. So why are you going to church? Why are you going to church? So that means, like I said, roughly 70 million people of churchgoers don't depend on the word of God.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So what that actually means is out of everybody who goes to church, reads the Bible, serves, actively supports, that's roughly about 30 million people. 30 million people out of the 235 million people. You want to know what percentage that is?
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That means that about 9% of the US devote their lives to God through the accumulation of Bible studying, church attendance, and active participation of being a disciple. So the real true statistic isn't 68% of the nation is Christian. It's roughly probably about 9%.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But because there is a corrupted definition of what it means to be a Christian, people are actually operating in spiritual blindness and have devoted falsely and superficially because they don't understand what it actually means to be a Christian. And a lot of that also has to do with the discipleship problem that's happening in American churches. I'd even write this down.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
As a leader, and I'm only saying this because, you know, I've never been a pastor, obviously. I've never been a pastor. I've never known what it's like to be an elder or host over a church. I do know what the Bible says, though. As a leader, it is your job and responsibility to disciple who you're shepherding.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so a lot of these problems of people being discipled properly starts from the headship in these churches. If these pastors are not discipling properly and reaching people to share the authenticity and the conviction of God's word so it can transform them into the things of God, If they are not doing that, then it is done in vain. Then these people are just showing up for tithes and offerings.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
They're being used as a support system to keep the church building. And it's being done in vain because people are not discipling properly. And that ultimately falls on the headship that falls on the pastors of this church. It falls onto pastors and apostles and prophets, evangelists and teachers of the church who are not operating in the spirit of God, excuse me,
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I'm only making this a preface just because I've spoken a part of this message already online and a lot of people who were convicted took it as you think you're holier than thou and you are judging my relationship with Christ when nobody is doing that. If the spirit of the Lord convicts you, he convicts you. You can't blame the messenger because this is the message of the Lord.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
uh correctly because they're looking to make a profit for themselves and not for god and so i think a lot of the reason as to why people say that they believe in god but they don't actually align with what god says means and they are not actually aligning of what god actually says of what it means to be a christian A lot of it could be off of self-deception, sure.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But then another part is based off of what these American teachers and pastors have been teaching to the pulpit. And what they've been teaching is that you could say the name of Jesus and you'll be fine. But the Bible does not support that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, if you say the name of Jesus alone, you'll be saved. It's a declaration. It's an awareness.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's an acceptance followed by obedience and not necessarily perfection. It's progression. Amen. And so, man, it's really wild to think about that.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Out of all the people in the US, America claims it's 68%, but realistically, when you boil down to Bible studying, church attendance, active participation of being a disciple, that percentage quickly boils down to roughly about 9%, which sounds a lot more accurate if you truly are an on-fire devoted Christian who lives on a day-to-day basis.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And speaking from someone who has even had people in their lives or friends and they say, oh, well, I'm Christian. It's like I speak Bible and I speak thing and it just goes one ear and out the other because they actually don't know Jesus. They know his name, but they don't know who he actually is.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's like, it's almost like hearing something about someone your whole entire life and then you think you know them. So like, who's like a celebrity I could think of like on the top of my mind that isn't controversial. Like, I'm going to say, let's take, let's take like Leonardo DiCaprio. That's like the first one that came to my mind.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So people could watch all of Leonardo DiCaprio's movies, right? And they could read all about his autobiography. They could watch, you know, his videos and all these things. But if they lack to have a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio, they actually don't know who the heck Leonardo DiCaprio is because your perception is deceiving if you're not fully pursuing a relationship.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so that's the same thing with people who are pursuing God. People are pursuing God based off of what they know and not based off of what they're actually experiencing relationally with Christ. And so I want to talk about what it means to believe in God and how we could declare our belief system.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I believe this is finally the time where the Lord has really sat me down and gave me instruction of how to correctly articulate and come forth with this topic, essentially. And so, yeah, we're just going to get into what the Lord has to say, y'all. And today, if you did not read the title of this podcast, it's Exposing American Christianity.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I said this on TikTok, I think about like five months ago, and I think it reached the wrong side. I think it reached the Christians that were actually, the Christians that were super offended by what the Bible says to believe. I'm just going to let scripture speak for itself and then we'll talk. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But if someone will say, you have faith, I have deeds, show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. So that show us that it shows us that our belief system isn't just a proclamation, but it's also an action that's being accompanied by your faith.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
right so what it means to truly believe in jesus and if you feel like you fall into that 68 and you don't fall into that nine my biggest urge onto you is that you have every opportunity to turn towards the truth and pursue jesus christ for who he actually is the question is are you actually willing to do that because what that means isn't just oh i believe in you jesus but it's actually obeying his his teachings and carrying out the deeds of what it means to be a christian
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I literally accumulated everything by scripture because it is the truth of God. And I believe this is probably one of the more urgent episodes I've ever made in my entire life. And I had to be very strategic and tedious of how this message was going to come across because if it didn't come in a loving and a compassionate manner, then
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so the question is more so not do you believe in Jesus, but are you willing to actually do the things of God? That's it. Are you willing? Are you willing to accept Christ as Lord? Are you willing to change? Are you willing to repent? Are you willing to turn away from evil?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's like we're seeing this spiritual apathy and this inconsistency over and over and over again because people are failing to understand and see what true biblical faith in Christianity really is. And so I want to go to the next to the next verse, because people will say they believe in the name of Jesus and believe that's enough.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But the Bible says in James 2, 19, it says, you believe that there was one God. Good. Even the demons believe that and shudder. So here's my question. Is your belief system better than a demon? No. Because you just believing in one true and sovereign God alone is not going to be enough if it is not accompanied by repentance and obedience. Demons believe in the name of Jesus.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Demons believe that there is one and only God. And so the question that I have for America is, is your belief system better than a demon's belief system? Because a demon believes in the existence of God. And we see statistics that 68% of the U.S.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
believes in Jesus Christ, but we're actually seeing a true authentic number of 9% being executed through biblical teaching, through walking out their lives in obedience and church attendance and the other... roughly 60, 50, 59% are people who are walking around spiritually dead on the inside, acting as if they're living because they're in a state of not knowing.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And as an American and as a leader in ministry, I would be doing America a disservice by not addressing that America is stuck in a spiritual apathy and blindness. And this could be resolved if America just repents. If America is honest about we actually do not know Jesus.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And if America actually turned back to the scriptures and discover God for who he actually is and not worshiping an unknown God because they want to focus on their version of who they think Jesus is and not live by who Jesus actually claims himself to be. So is your belief system better than a demon? Because the demons believe and they shudder. Do you? Do you? That is my question.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
This isn't condemnation. This isn't me trying to tell you if you're really saved because only you and God know that. This is what the Bible says and this is what no one in America is teaching. And so humbly, I have, and I could even just cry because I'm so passionate.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I have known people throughout the course of my entire life who have think that they're right standing with God, but they are a walking cemetery on the inside. Like we cannot teach.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
people that they are with God when they are really not and we have to accurately teach doctrine because people are not receiving Jesus they are not you go outside of these four walls of America and people are on their face desperate for God and then you come into here and then there's images being images of God being mocked and misused and and prostituted and and used and
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
while also staying, holding onto the truth and not folding by the truth, it could have had the potential to get received improperly. But I will say this, if you're coming into this episode looking for every avenue to receive offense and guilt and shame, you're going to find it.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
for debaucherous reasons. And people laugh. It's like, there's people really outside America being persecuted for their faith. And it's like, because we have one understanding of what we think Christianity is, it's deceiving us to do the will of the enemy. And it's almost as if like Satan's just laughing upon all America.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because we've fallen for his trap because people are apathetic to the name of Jesus Christ and they don't actually want him. Like they don't actually want Jesus. I can stand confidently. Like I want Jesus so much to where I had to sit down and deliver this message, regardless how crucial and harsh it may have sound. Like this is the will of God and it burdens me and it hurts the inside of me.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I see people falling into spiritual corruption time after time after time because people don't know who Jesus is. And then the heads of the churches and et cetera aren't teaching true discipleship. And it's like, it's not just a feeling, it's an action. And we're walking around spiritually dead. And something has to happen because who knows what's going to happen next.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we don't even know if we're running out of time. Like tomorrow is not promised. We do not know anything. It's like surrender on to God, repent, seek him for who he really is and not just your version. Because it's not just a, oh, I believe in the name of Jesus. That's not what gets you saved. It's exercising what he has commanded you to do with love and compassion right behind it.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's being fueled by the love and compassion that you have for God. If you, this is my question. If you love God so much, why will you not obey him? You love God so much, but when you see something in the Bible that you don't like, you won't listen to it. Oh, but you love God and you think that you're saved, but you won't listen to what he says.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's almost as if America is committing adultery on God and sleeping with the world. You're claiming to love God. You're claiming to have a covenant with him. But on Monday through Saturday, you're sleeping with the world and its desires. Don't you think Satan's laughing? Because I do.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I think Satan is absolutely having a fit over the deception that America is believing because they believe they're married to God, but their actions say otherwise because they are being penetrated by the world. And that's that. And you could take it how it is. This is what the spirit of God says.
Saved Not Soft
American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And if there was any of the old prophets like Isaiah or Zachariah or Abodiah, whoever it may be, they would have said the same exact thing because they've already said it. Like nothing is new under the sun. We have to be a better people. We have to be a better people to see and search the things of God and be true, real, authentic Christians.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And this is urgent because people are walking around thinking that they're saved when they're actually not. And only the spirit of the Lord can help them.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
but it's our responsibility to teach accordingly and correctly and not to infiltrate this false doctrine, which is accumulating this spiritual sickness and disease that is happening in the spirits, hearts, and minds of Americans all over the nation. And so my last point, which is, what does it mean to become worthy of Jesus?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so whenever I was praying, that was kind of like the biggest, even on camera and in private was God, please allow your people to not hear this message in the spirit of offense. So children of God, I'm asking you to please hear this with an open mind and an open heart and listen to the spirit of God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because the last thing I want people to believe is that, man, I have to become perfect. I have to change my life completely overnight in order for me to be with God. And just from a testimonial point, whenever I believed that God was true and that God loved me and that he wanted to save me, did I stop partying, smoking, and drinking the next day? No.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But I started getting convicted from partying, drinking, and smoking the next day I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. And so it's a sanctification process of you getting saved through all the tragedies and the desires and lusts of the world that God is pulling you out of. And that takes time and there's patience. But what makes you worthy of Jesus, it's not your works.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's not operating out of your own strength and accumulating a salvation for your own. To be worthy of Jesus is just to see Jesus as worthy. I think of the parable of the wedding banquet and God sends out, well, the master is celebrating his son's wedding. And so he sends out invitations to the whole city and he says, hey, my son is having a wedding banquet.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Come, you do not need to bring anything. Just come sit, celebrate and eat. And it says that the people received the invitation, but instead of coming to the banquet, they went about their own business. And so this mirrors the kingdom of God because God is sending an invitation out to everybody to just join the feast. And in order for you to inherit the feast, you just want the feast.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you want to be in right standing with God, you're just going to have to want God. What makes you worthy of Jesus is seeing Jesus as worthy. That's what the kingdom of God is like. You become worthy of Jesus once you truly believe that Jesus is worthy of it all. That's it. It's not how much can I tithe? How much can I offer? How quick can I get over this sin? It's do you see Jesus as worthy?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And are you doing everything in your strength right now because you believe he is worthy? And that was my original point. It's practicing Christianity and you can't enjoy playing the game if you never showed up to practice, right? So it's denying yourself and becoming a willing sacrifice for God. And my biggest and biggest like encouragement and urge is just repent. Seek the heart of God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Come into his presence and apologize. Ask him to reveal to you where you're spiritually dead on the inside. Areas where you could have been deceived. what salvation actually looks like, how your faith could be increased, how you could put your trust in him, how you could pray more and fast more and go into church and et cetera.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And more importantly, I pray to God, this has been my prayer, that this episode encourages people in America who have strong faith to proclaim the same message all across, whether if it's at your workspace, whether if it's at your church, whether if it's in your friend group, that is the goal is for this word to not just stay here on Save Not Soft, but for God's word to spread and reach every crevice and corner of the nation.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like there are opportunities for you to return back to the heart of God. If you are still breathing, you still have a chance to reconcile back with God. You breathing is a testament of him not being done with you just yet. So know that God has compassion upon you just by allowing you to breathe and to experience breath alone.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And you have the chance right now to repent to him and to turn to him and and receive him of everything of who He truly is and not just your own perception Amen, that's really all i'm bringing to you guys today and uh, another main encouragement is to seek this on your own This isn't your salvation isn't based off of what your pastor just tells you because whenever you grow up and you see the face of god It's not going to be you your pastor and god.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's going to be just you and god. It's also not going to be Me, Emmy, you, and God. It's going to be you. So how much do you know God? How much are you personally devoted to God? How much do you have a personal relationship with God? Not just, oh, I believe in his name, but are you actually devoted to him? Do you have a relationship with him?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Are you carrying out the covenant of what you agreed to? Or are you just lying to yourself? And I think if we were just all a little more honest, we'd be making a lot more progression in American Christianity and hop out of spiritual blindness. Amen. So that's that. Announcements really quick. Well, actually, I feel led to pray. I just feel led to pray and then I'll go into announcements.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Father God, I just pray over your people right now, Father. I ask that this word convicts them only by the Holy Spirit, God, not by man. God, I just ask that you convict your people right That, God, you lift up the scales up and off of their eyes, God, and you reveal your glory, God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God, I ask for the crucifixion to not just be something that's normal and something that we fail to empathize with, God. God, let the crucifixion be something that we meditate on and weep. Let us weep over the crucifixion. Let us weep over what you have done for us, Father. God, let us become knowledgeable and full of wisdom of what it means to accept you, God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Interrupt every area of our lives, God, and meet us with a compassion. Meet us with a grace. Encourage us to repentance. Remove the scales of our eyes. Bring us to the knowledge of truth, God, so we're no longer entrapped by the devil to do his works, God. We will not be open vessels for Satan, Father. Instead, we are open vessels for you. Work through us. Remind us that it's not perfection.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's progression, God. And we are a people who is willing to progress in the things of you, God. We are willing, Father. We are willing, God. And even if a person wants to be willing and they feel like they're not, extend their willingness. Extend their unbelief. Help your people with their unbelief. Help America, God. Help America with their belief system.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Reveal yourself, God, for who you truly are. And God, I ask for the leaders of the Church of America, God, that they no longer operate in selfishness and self-righteousness, God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God, I ask that the leaders that are in America, that are truly discipling correctly and pursuing people towards the things of God, not for self-gain, but for the kingdom of God, continue to exalt them and use their voices to reach people all across this nation, Father. I pray for this nation. I pray for the leaders of this nation. And God, I ask that you're exalted above all things, Father.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Thank you for using me as a vessel and speak to your children. I say this prayer in Jesus' name, amen.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
few announcements um down below if you've been saved through this podcast or if you need prayer there are two links to help you down below and then if you feel led to tithe by any means there's also another link down below and then uh there's two tithe links down below one which is towards this ministry and if you feel led to donate um to malik and i's union That's also down there.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I really don't care if y'all give money. It's literally just an opportunity um to give if you feel led to if you don't prayers is the number one thing that means the most to me because like messages like this have to be
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
covered in prayer and i know that god ultimately protects me but the prayers of his people is truly what i admire the most there's just resources if you guys want it and then if you want to save if you want to shop save not shop safe not soft merchandise it's also down below but besides that that's basically that uh but yeah go pursue the things of god and be encouraged that god wants to see you and he wants to know you
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so when we talk about exposing American Christianity, there's a few things where I feel the disappointment of the Lord and the correction of God that we must imply in order to be good stewards.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Children of God and people who are in America, I think the saddest thing we're seeing in American Christianity today is that there are people walking around swearing up and down that they are saved by God and they are not. I need you to listen to me today because eternity is on the line.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I'm going to talk about a few attributes to America's spiritual blindness and the corruption in our belief system and how it is then bleeding into our relationship with Christ, which is birthing a deception. And when I talk about American Christianity and exposing certain problems, I went to Canada and spoke at a conference last year and
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And one of the questions that one of the head of the church, one of the prophets of the church asked me, he said, what do you believe is the leading problem of Christianity in America? And immediately I knew the answer. I stood back and I thought on it, but I said, ultimately the leading problem in America is that we have a terrible discipleship course.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like there is terrible discipleship breaking out. We have a huge discipleship issue. to go and make disciples of all nations. It's like people understand and recognize the name Jesus, but what does it actually mean to pick up your cross and carry it? And what it means to be discipled is to be trained up and corrected and taught according to the word of God.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's almost as if people are believing in the name of Jesus, but they're not executing what he's saying. Therefore, we're superficial disciples because the American church is not discipling correctly.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so this is kind of like the posture of where I'm coming from is we have to kill our expectation of our version of who we think God is and go to the scriptures and accept everything of who Jesus Christ and God claims himself to be through what the word of God says. Not our own perception, not what we've learned in America, but what the Bible says. Amen.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the biggest thing I'm going to encourage in this episode is to just stick around and listen and to pray and listen to the Spirit. Do not listen to me and what Emmy has to say. I'm not on Emmy's side. I am on God's side. And there's just some things as an American and as someone who has their foot in ministry, just some things that have been hard.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The spiritual blindness and the spiritual apathy that is over America is making the people of God walk around almost as tombstones without even knowing it. You're living on the outside, but you're spiritually dead on the inside. And it's because you don't understand biblical texts. You don't understand the God that you serve.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we're almost throwing out this passivity as if it's okay because you just have to say the name and you'll make it into the heaven gates. But nowhere in the Bible does it claim that believing in the name of Jesus not accompanied by action is what gets you saved. The word says in Ephesians 2, 8 through 9, it says, "...for we are saved by grace through faith."
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so faith also requires works that aren't necessarily perfect, but they're progressing. Perfection comes from Jesus Christ. It doesn't come for ourselves. So we can't preach a superficial gospel that is not truly saving people. And so I want to talk about faith.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
where the root of spiritual blindness is coming from as it's reigning over America and the two causes of that, I believe there's one aspect of it, which is just overexposure. America's spiritual blindness comes from an overexposure, which is then partnered with passivity and apathy of Jesus Christ.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's almost as if the name of Jesus Christ is said so much and it's on everybody's Instagram posts in America. And you got the Instagram bio with Psalms 119, 109 or 105, or you got John 3, 16 or Philippians 4, 13. And people are proclaiming that they know Jesus and they know the name, but nobody actually knows the scriptures or the attributes of God and let alone lack of relationship with
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so the spiritual blindness that's happening in America is due ultimately to the false idolization and worshiping that the American people has been giving to their version of who they think God is. The spiritual blindness isn't a, oh, we're serving our God and Jesus Christ, which I see on Instagram. And I've heard the Bible verses before. And I know who he is because I've seen him before.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There's a spiritual blindness because people are serving a version of who they think God is and not who he actually is. When we talk about...
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
spiritual blindness and about worshiping a false god that can fall on two different types of spectrums it could fall from a ignorance and a passivity and an apathy for god or religiousness and selfishness and self-righteousness and i think these two areas of america christianity Right. Right. Even when it comes from like church hurt, right?
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Church hurt stems from people who are operating in religiousness and operating in a self-righteousness and then cultivating what they believe about God, even though it's not rooted in compassion or in a relationship. And it's turning into a perverted belief system that they're infiltrating on a body of Christ that doesn't know how to receive God. from the church and how to go back to scripture.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
observed, not only within the walls of ministry, but also for those who claim themselves to be Christians. And so if you're willing to grow with one with Christ, I believe that you're going to receive this message and it's going to change your life. And if you allow God to minister to your heart. God can change your life for the better.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
They just received the hurt and now they have a totally terrible perception of who God is for the rest of their lives because there are people in these churches and in these ministries who are operating as a Pharisee. And so there's that side of it of religiousness and hyper-religiousism
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And another aspect to where it's apathy, it's a lack of interest, and it's ignorance that people are a part of because they say, oh, I know these things about God, but they don't know anything of what scripture says. They have ignorance. this version of who God is and they worship that.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And they're like, oh, well, and this is when they bring in all sorts of witchcraft and don't even know it and operating in the spirit of error because they don't understand what the truth is and what scripture says. So there's these two sides of the pendulum of people who are operating in a religiousness and then people who are operating from almost like this whimsical and ignorant faith
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
by just believing in the name of Jesus, but never his nature. And I was reading in 2 Timothy 3, 5, where it says there's a form of godliness that the people of God experience, but deny its power. And they deny its power because there's a lack of relationship. So these religious people who are in the American church and they're exercising all these things that are not actually biblically sound,
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's because they have a touch of godliness. Like they're understanding the God that has ruled and made and rests upon us. But there's like a lack of godliness simultaneously because you're denying the power of Jesus Christ. Instead, you're accepting the power for yourself, which is why church hurt is so adamant and hurtful because all the power and authority that should be given onto God...
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Man is trying to take the responsibility of that authority and power onto himself. And so that creates a lot of perversion because all these people are wanting a false power. And it's almost as if they think they say the name of Jesus. There is this humility, but it's a superficial humility because instead of having God get all the glory, it's like you're trying to be on the same pedestal as him.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that's not exaltation.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so anyone who's been through the church and has gotten hurt and has had religious trauma, whatever it may be, I would just encourage you to look at what the scriptures say and not from your perception of your trauma, but look in search for the compassion of God, not from what these religious Pharisaic people in modern day Christianity are saying, but what the scriptures actually say.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because God, before he ever throws a judgment upon sin or has wrath against sin, his number one role is to have compassion for you. And I think it's knowing that is like God's compassion for you will never lower because of his wrath for sin, right? And it's empathizing with that and understanding that and knowing that.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that's my biggest encouragement is to just listen to this episode with an open heart and open mind and more so not towards me or like the words that I'm saying, but through the spirit of God, which he's going to reveal through this podcast. Amen. And so let's pray. Before we pray, though, actually, let me tell you who I am. I'm Emmy Moore. I am the host of Saved Not Soft.
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But you go to some churches and these religious leaders will say, oh, well, God is never going to love you ever again because of what you did. Or you need to give this much money to me because I have what God wants me to tell you. And you have, like, it's a lot of manipulation. It's playing with your finances. It's playing with your mind. And all these almost...
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American Christianity (Addressing Lukewarmness) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Sure, in some senses, it could be occult practices. They're not aligned with the word of God. They're perversive. And it's perverse because we even see in scripture how the enemy takes the word of God and perverts it. And that's the same thing of what these religious people are doing just to gain some sense of power, right? And then there's this other side of people who...
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. What's going on, everybody? Hope you're having a great day. Y'all, rising, shining, rising, crying. Good morning, good afternoon, y'all. New episode of Saved Not Soft, and... I'm let me look at my phone. I'm 99 days from becoming a wife. That's how I'm feeling today. I hit my first two digit countdown today. So I'm feeling very exciting.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So whenever I read this word, I'm reading the word as if God is saying it himself, since this word is inspired by him. And so I am going into prayer and I'm going into this time of Bible studying of I'm not going to read this Bible in this book to fill my own agenda and personal personal needs because
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If anything, I'm going to expand this space for God to come in and minister to me and tell me what he wants and what his will is and not me trying to take what his will is and revert it and stretch it and warp it into what I think his will should be. Does that make sense? Are we catching what I'm throwing? And so when I pray, there's three things I pray for whenever I'm reading the Bible.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Super simple, which usually whenever I read the Bible, I'll pray longer. But in the very beginning, these were the three things. In the beginning, these were the three things I prayed for before studying my Bible. The first thing, I prayed not coming to the Bible with any preconceived ideas. So right before I open up this word and I'm about to study it, I say, Lord, I come to your book.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Safe Not Soft is a podcast to let you know that you are heard, loved, and seen by God. And this path and this way of life is not easy. It's actually really hard. This is why the Bible says that the way to eternal life is narrow. It's not broad. And a lot of the times we like to take the broad way of life, but it's narrow to get through the gates of heaven. And so this
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I come to this Bible, Lord, and I take off any false doctrine. I take off any false motive that I may have. And God, I even just take off any sort of mindset that is trying to pervert your will to fit my standards and my needs and my wants. I release that onto you. And I decree and declare that whatever your word says, it is yours and it is your will.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I will not allow my flesh and my understanding to come in the middle of that. So that's usually, I mean, I've real life prayed right now, but that was just, that's something I pray is God, I'm not going to allow my will to bleed into yours. And I think that's essential when it comes into praying and reading the word of God is
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
This is what happens when a lot of people read the Bible is they'll read the Bible and their will will bleed into God's will. So they're starting to read the scriptures and they're thinking, okay, I already have this preconceived idea of what I think is righteous, what I think is holy, what I think God's will is.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I'm going to read the scriptures and form and mold this and construct this into what I think is holy and righteous and what aligns with my understanding of But the thing is, is when we release our understanding and when we release the pressure of knowing it all and actually being the judge and holding that weight and that tension and we allow the scripture to testify for itself.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
we actually get to see and witness the will of God. And a lot of people aren't understanding what the will of God is and they're not actually breaking free from the chains that they're in because they're starting to read this book and they're trying to satisfy and fulfill a need that they have in their hearts, but it's not ordained by what God's will is.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And word says, and that's a spiritually dangerous place to be in when you're reading a book for the sake of fulfilling your own sanity and your pleasure and your will and what you think God or how you think God should act and how he should be. Let the scriptures testify for itself. It says it all. All here. Amen.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we have to read the Bible knowing that there is a will, there is a way, and there's a truth. And I have to make every effort in my human bone and body to pursue that truth instead of my truth. I have to pursue the real truth, which is found in the scriptures. Amen. So that is the number one thing I pray for is God, loosen my understanding.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I give you all control and any other preconceived idea I may have coming into reading your word. I'll read it in Jesus' mighty name and I'll send it to the peace of hell. Amen. The second thing I pray for, I pray for understanding because the Bible is massively hard to understand, especially, I mean, I can even just flip to a random page. Let's go to Okay, let's go there. Psalms 39 verse 1.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I said I will guard my ways lest I sin with my tongue. I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle. Okay, pause. What do you mean I'm going to restrain my mouth with a muzzle? What are we talking about? So when I go into the word of God, because some people will do this too. People are like, oh, I don't know how to read the Bible.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
They'll turn to a random page and they'll be like, surely God wants to take me to whatever random page I turn to, which sometimes that does happen. I'm not knocking that. But like for an example, I'll turn to Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 9. When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the ambitions of those nations.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There shall not be found among anyone who may... If you don't know how to read the Bible, this is going to make no sense to you. Does this make sense? So we have to pray for an understanding.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
god help me to understand the scriptures which we're also going to talk about in the rest of this video in the rest of this podcast of how to understand and observe biblical text so but pray for understanding pray that god imparts wisdom and understanding into your mind okay and then the last thing number three pray for scripture to reveal itself and not a self agenda kind of like the first one any self agenda you may have for the scriptures throw it to the side in jesus name but those are the three things
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Podcast is catered to navigating what that looks like and how to enter the kingdom gates and how to live a life of Jesus that's not compromising, to where you're not compromising your faith and you're not compromising your love of Jesus for the things of the world that are so temporary versus things that are eternal and lovely and amazing, which is where Jesus is. Amen.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I pray for is God. I pray to not come with any preconceived ideas. I pray for understanding and I put away all self-agenda and decree and declare that your will and your word is going to come to life in Jesus name. And so that is prayer. We got past the first one. We got four more to go. Okay, second one is observation.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So a lot of people don't know how to read the Bible because they're like, oh man, there's just so much going on. I don't know what's happening. A huge answer that something that can really help you in your Bible studying and you're like, man, I don't know all these questions and I don't know how to read the Bible because I'm I don't understand what's going on.
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The more questions you prompt, the more questions are going to be answered. So a lot of people don't know what the Bible says because they're not actually asking questions on where they're confused. So let's take the book of Hosea for an example. Who the heck is Hosea? Hosea was a prophet in Israel, one of the most obedient ones. Okay, what was his mission? Why does he have a book?
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How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He has a book because God gave him a really intentional mission. God requests in a mission to marry a prostitute. Well, why did he marry a prostitute? He married a prostitute because God wanted to show Hosea what it was like for God's loyalty towards Israel, even though Israel was unfaithful to God. So Hosea was a living parable of that. And God wanted to teach something through the prophet Hosea.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Well, what was Israel doing? Israel was giving their bodies and self-sacrificing to Baal. And they were also giving the
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
their allegiance to Assyria and like all these things right so this is and I know that's like really deep but and that has nothing to do with what we're talking about today but it's like if you don't understand a text probably don't understand the text because they're not asking questions and you're not making any effort to get the questions answered Do you get what I'm saying?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So a really easy way to understand the Bible that you're reading is to ask questions because people will go to a random page and they're like, oh, my gosh, what does this mean? But you're not actually making an effort to answer those questions. So after you pray, you observe. Oh, my gosh. Excuse me. So there's an observation process, right?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So there's a few things we want to keep in mind when it comes to this tab of observation. So there's two things called exegesis and eisenjesus. So exegesis is exact scripture and eisenjesus is reading our opinions into the passage, which was I was kind of talking about earlier. about not coming to scripture with a self-agenda and et cetera.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
When it comes to observation, we have to put those things to the side and we have to exegete the scripture. We have to read the scripture for what it is, exact scripture. And so the two questions we have to ask is, what is the... authorial intent and what is the timeless truth that is tied to this scripture, right?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because every book of the Bible, even when it comes to a lot of the letters that Paul wrote, we could even take like Ephesus for an example. Like In Ephesians, when Paul was writing to Ephesus, you may read a verse and be like, oh man, like this applies directly to me. And it can because there's a timeless truth.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But simultaneously, we have to know the context of the author and what he was saying to the people because it was applying to that people, to that certain type of people. And so whenever we observe Bible texts, we have to ask, what is the location? What are the characters? And what's the date and time period? Because that reveals a lot of what's happening in the scriptures.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so, yeah, you guys, today, super hyped, super excited. This is a topic of conversation where a lot of people have asked me, whether if it's on TikTok or Instagram or whatever it may be of me, how do I read my Bible? And I thought I would sit down and dedicate an entire episode to this.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
for an example today i learned something that was like wow i never even knew that we were talking about uh john 10 10 i was watching i wasn't watching i was listening because i was doing so many wedding invitations i was just putting on a sermon in the back so the word was being imparted into me some way and philip anthony michael was talking about um he was talking about hold on philip anthony michael philip anthony mitchell
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's Mitch. Caleb, is it Mitchell? It's Mitchell. Did it? I'm pretty certain it's Philip Anthony Mitchell. But I think I said Michael. My brain was like, wait, that felt wrong. But am I right? It is Mitchell. Philip Anthony Mitchell. There we go. But yeah, Philip Anthony Mitchell. He said something during one of his services on 2019.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And he said that, you know, John 1010 says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. And we associate that with the devil. But in the context of that passage, it's actually talking about false prophets. I never knew that.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So context, time, date and period and characters mean everything because understanding the context, the time period, where it's being said, how it's being said, quite literally dictates the entire verse. And so that's really important. So that was one thing where I was like, wow, that I did not know that was the context of
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
of what was being said granted there's probably so many things in the bible i still don't understand and that is gonna blow my mind and i'm excited for it to keep coming but that was one thing that was like wow that was really insane so anyways observation is all about asking questions break down each verse and ask even the ones that you think is super unimportant so i'm gonna take you through
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm mentoring one of my girls and I took her to Ephesians and I took her to Ephesians and we started to read and there was one word that stumped her. And I was like, okay, so a question you could ask is, what does this word mean? She's like, yeah, because I don't know what that means. And I was like, yeah, I might.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
feel like a dumb question of like oh i don't understand this word but you have to ask those questions so it gives you a better idea of the context and also understanding that the bible is written in three languages and that's hebrew aramaic and greek and so depending on what chapter you're reading and what book you're reading the language might shift and change so in the old testament where i believe
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
it's Deuteronomy and Genesis usually all the translations of the word submit is translated into the Hebrew definition means to like acknowledge and so we think like submission is like surrender but submission is actually acknowledgement and so that was like one thing that really changed my perception reading the Old Testament of like oh what submission looks like it's not just like
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
oh surrendering because there's a word for surrendering it's surrender but submission was an acknowledging and a reverence and an awe for god right and so stuff like that where you understand the original language to where you go back on certain ones to be like oh that's what it actually means and that's how i could actually see what's happening in the scripture does that make sense and so asking those questions is super important so let's break it down poima
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
First one, prayer. So you're praying. You're going into the word with open mind, open heart, open spirit. You rid off all fear and anxiety and pride and all self agendas and motives. Then you go into observation. You're asking all these questions. So usually what I do is after I pray, I'll read the scripture and then all the questions that I have, I'll write them down.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I was thinking about doing a TikTok video or just like a regular YouTube video, but I thought it would be better to just sit down and really explain to you guys how to read the Bible, how to study. This is what I teach all the people that I disciple. And actually, this is the exact method that was taught to me. And the moment I started to apply all of these things, my...
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Okay, this is the step we're staying on. I'll write down all the questions and then we get to the next step, which is interpretation. Interpretation is you answering all the questions that you just wrote down. That's it. You just answer what you ask. But this is probably one of the most crucial parts of this entire process because this is the part you have to get right.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
You have to get this part right because you can ask all the questions and you can pray and you can read the scriptures. But if you do not interpret it correctly, correctly, then that's not going to work. Like you have to get this part right, because this part is super crucial to how you receive what the Bible is testifying about itself.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I'm going to give two reliable sources that I really, really love. I'm going to give you my number one source that I love reading, and it's Desiring God by John Piper. I love Desiring God. I think John Piper is a brilliant theologian. I love, I actually watch a lot of his old sermons.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There's been a few of his sermons that have like changed my life personally, but all of his teachings and he even has like a podcast and I mean, there's multitudes of stuff, but Desiring God is a study guide and it's really great. It's not like Blue Letter Bible or Enduring Word, which I do love Enduring Word. That's my second recommendation. But it's not that structure.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's article based, but it's really theologically present and sound. And so Desiring God is a tool that I really, really like. And then the second one is I love Enduring Word. I love Enduring Word so, so much. Enduring Word is great. It Love it very much.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then also another, which I feel like people think I like plug this as like an ad all the time, which is like, you know, sometimes I do, but I actually do love the Bible reading app tool Haven. It's, um, AI informative and it's kind of intertwined with, um,
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
like a bible reading tool so if there's some things where i kind of need like a direct answer kind of like a ai assistant that's where i'll go and then i'll use what i get from that take it to my trusted resources and kind of confirm it through that does that make sense and so yeah just make sure you get that part right of the interpretation okay then the fourth concepts the fourth step which is an important one that i think a lot of people miss and that a
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
is meditation, which I might've lost a lot of people of like,
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
meditation like it means this witchcraft like what do you mean meditate and all this stuff and it's like i think people think meditation is like a whoop they do like it's yoga and um um like it's not it like meditation is not witchcraft meditation is not witchcraft meditation is intentional deep thinking and even jesus went away and meditated and thought earnestly
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
What it means to meditate is that you're just thinking and you're giving your space to think and to process and for your brain to just do its thing. And a lot of people miss out on what God is saying and they don't remember what God is saying because they're spiritually downloading so much, but they're not giving themselves a space for that seed to be watered.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so what happens is when a lot of people start reading the Bible or actually I'll take a better example. You go to church every single Sunday and somehow everything that you're learning every single Sunday never actually registers and sits in your spirit. It's because you're receiving all these words of knowledge.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
studying journey, the way that I've studied and received the word of God has accelerated and has inclined so much that I would not be a good leader if I did not share this with you guys. So if you do not know how to read your Bible and you're wanting to learn, today is the day you're going to find out. Amen. And we're going to talk through it.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
You're sitting down, you're going through the Bible study, you're taking all the notes, but yet two days later, you forget the message that was preached on Sunday. It's because you're not cultivating a space for you to receive what's what the word is ministering to you.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I believe that if we implemented a space to think and to resonate and to receive and soak in the things of God and to soak in scripture, we're actually going to be able to carry God's word within our hearts. And so the reason as to why a lot of people don't carry God's word within their hearts is because their hearts is already absorbed with something else already.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
A super quick analogy is I think of a sponge. I even think when I'm washing the dishes when I don't want to put it through a dishwasher. In order for you to wring out the sponge, you have to wring everything out so it could pick up more moisture, more soap, so you could go out and wash it.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so you're going to be less receptive and less absorbent if you have moisture taking up all the spaces that God wants to go soak in. And so you have to wring out all those places that's taking up your busyness, your thoughts, your mindset, your time. You have to wring all of that out so you have a space to absorb what the word is ministering to you.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so no wonder why you're leaving church services so empty. It's because you're going in already filled with something else.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
receive the word of god when you let go of all these other things that is taking up your mind your space and your time and so this is an essential part to bible study because you can know all the scriptures you can know a a a to z like on sunday of like oh i know this story but has it ministered to you and has it hit your heart because the whole point of i'll get to this let me pause it i'm going too ahead of myself but
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
is you never want wisdom to just remain up here. If wisdom just stays in your mind, it's not wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. So everything that we receive up here, so it starts with the prayer, right? Inviting the Holy Spirit into your studying time. Then it comes with observation.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
OK, I'm thinking, what are the questions that I need a prompt and what are the things I'm needing to answer, which is the interpretation. Then it comes to the meditation. So I'm I'm thinking about these things.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm asking all these questions and I'm going to trust Lord and I'm going to create space for that knowledge to drop down into my heart and become wisdom and let it resonate with my spirit and not just be something that I learned on a Wednesday or on a Sunday, but something that actually has the ability to change my life because your word is quite literally transformative.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think it's at the end of the day, developing a love for God's word. That space for meditation gives you space to love God and what he's saying. Because you could go to the word,
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
all the time but if it's not dropping down to your heart it's religion any any biblical literacy that's apart from a pure heart is religiosity and so we prevent being religious when we allow knowledge and the things that we're asking to drop down into our hearts and then to become actions which is my last and final part which um actually don't i want to go into that real quick yeah
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm going to just really give you some testimonials and go into depth of how important biblical literacy is and how we must read our Bibles and study the word of God. Amen. So let's pray and we're going to get straight into everything. Amen. So dear Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you, God. Lord, I just thank you for your word. I thank you for your word that never shakes.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Yeah, we'll talk about that because I kind of wanted to talk about meditation too. Like it's not just about emptying yourself. It's filling yourself. And also this is the last thing I'll say about meditation is that meditation needs to be met with some sort of Holy Spirit conviction.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
is whenever you are sitting and you're resonating with the word of God, give space for the Holy Spirit to convict you. And conviction does not mean condemnation. Conviction, hear me again, does not mean condemnation.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Just because you're giving space for the Holy Spirit to convict your heart doesn't mean that you're giving space for self-condemnation in all these areas where guilt and shame is coming into the picture. Create a space for the Holy Spirit to convict to because transformation sprouts from conviction. It's the seed of conviction that leads to a life of transformation.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But you get that in a place of rest, in a place of meditation and deep thinking and resonating and soaking in with the Word of God. Okay, cool. Last thing, application. So application is just literally taking everything that you just learned. So you prayed, you observed the text, you asked all the questions, you interpreted it, you meditated it, and now... You're acting it out.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Now you're walking out in the things that you just learned. So if I just read about, I mean, we talked about this when I had my podcast with Amoye, when she called me out on modesty, she called me out on modesty. She gave me a whole bunch of worry of what the word of God said. I went back, meditated on it. And after I meditated on it, I let the Holy Spirit convict me.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I started to walk different because the word quite literally transformed me. And I was like, Yeah, I can't go back now. Like I got to walk different. I got to I got to like have a different like pip to my step, you know.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so that's where I started to move a little different because I was like, man, because I had that conviction and because God met me in that place of that deep, intimate thinking, I'm able to walk it out in wisdom. So wisdom is application and knowledge. A lot of people think wisdom is a thing that's just up here. No, that's just head knowledge.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
When everything is just stuck up here, that's just a place of you knowing things, but not to where it drops down into your heart. So wisdom being the application of knowledge. is understanding that you first start off with all these questions and you read the Bible and you're reading all the parables and you understand all the Levitical laws and whatever it may be.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so you may have all that head knowledge, but if it doesn't drop down to your heart, it's religiosity. But the thing is, if it doesn't drop down to your heart, there is expectation for it to drop down to your heart and come out of your hands. So I kind of see this cycle when it comes to Bible reading and our relationship with the Bible is,
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It first starts off with a head knowledge of, okay, I, or actually it starts off with inviting the Holy Spirit. So I'm inviting the Holy Spirit to minister to me and I'm inviting Jesus to actually speak to me and for his word to be transformative. And so from that, from reading his text comes a head knowledge. I'm asking the questions, I'm interpreting the scriptures.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then from that, when I rest in the word and in the revelation, it drops down to my heart. And that revelation should convict and transform my spirit and the inner dwelling of me. And it should change me and shift me and transform me. And because of that, that's going to flow out in my actions, right? And so it's this process of head, heart, Head, heart, hands.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's the goal of all Bible scripture reading is that you read a scripture that resonates with your mind and there's a knowledge, but it's not a knowledge that just stays in your head. It's a knowledge that drops down to your heart, which then becomes wisdom and then flows out of your hands, which then is wisdom. and evidence, I would say, of faith.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I thank you for a word that never compromises, Lord. Lord, I thank you that your word has been here from the very beginning, Father, and that your word is what holds us. It's what grounds us to your heart and to the presence of you, Father.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we have to know the structure and this tool is so important because if we're reading the scriptures just to get head knowledge, then what is the point, you know? The Bible says faith without works is dead. Works is the evidence of your faith. How do you get those works?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
You start reading the scriptures and not only do you act off of the scriptures based off of what you know, but also of how you're convicted and how the Holy Spirit resides within you and how that also flows into your actions. And so basically the application process is to just apply what you've learned. If God showed you something amazing today, Your responsibility is to walk differently.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like, I think the worst position to be in spiritually is when you're reading scripture and when you're reading all these things in what the Lord has said. And you're like, okay, I'm just not going to do that. You know, like, it convicted my heart, but...
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Oh kind of sounds kind of sounds a little hard as I know like you got to get past yourself and you have to trust that This book is in a wall of barriers and it's not a rule book that is trying to incarcerate you If anything this this is a book that is trying to set you free from the chains of sin And if we come in with a different perspective and if we pray allowing the holy spirit to reveal What is true and authentic and real about the scriptures that we read about we're going to understand and empathize with that more.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Amen and so my biggest last note to take away from this is this book is quite literally the words of god and if you treat it that way you're going to take a lot more serious a lot of i say this in a lot of episodes but if you're crying out to god and you're like god i just want to hear you speak god i want to hear what you're saying but you have not opened up your bible to
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
then you really don't want to hear what he has to say because this is a book catered to what God actually has to say. And so if you're crying out, God, I need a sign. God, I need a word. But you've got a closed Bible under your bed collecting dust. Do you really think his voice is worthy?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
god i just decree and declare that all the knowledge and the wisdom that's poured out in this podcast today it is completely received and absorbed in our hearts lord that we are able to just absorb every single ounce of wisdom and every word of knowledge lord and that god this cultivates and starts a new hunger in our spirits to pursue your word to be excited to study and to come more curious and ask more questions
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so let us be a generation and let us be a people of God that finds his word worthy to listen to and to read. And not our prayer life to just be a monologue, but a dialogue between us and the Lord to where we're not just venting out how we feel or what we think, but cultivating and creating a space for God to speak because God is worthy.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so ultimately, the goal to Bible reading isn't just head knowledge, but it's seeing God's voice and his word as worthy and as beautiful and as accepting. And this isn't my will. This isn't my truth. This is God's truth. It doesn't matter what I think. What does God have to say? Because ultimately, this is what stands strong always at the end of the day.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
This is the thing that never fails, that never curves, that never falls off. This is a firm foundation. And the more that you tie yourself to this foundation, and you let go of your own understanding, the more you're going to stay firm in that foundation of biblical truth and literacy. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so that's kind of like my crash course of how to have a intimate prayer life, um, Bible study, not really prayer life. I'm like, I feel like I could do a more in depth video and podcast about how to have a intimate prayer life. But when it comes to Bible studying, um, I mean, I feel like I just gave you guys a cheat code, but I feel like everybody should know this.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so my request for you guys, if you listen to this episode, is apply what you just heard. If you're like, dang, I don't know how to read my Bible and you heard all of this, try it. Please try it. please try it because God wants us to be a biblical, a biblically literate people. Um, statistics say that one out of five regular church goers have never read their Bible.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Don't be a part of that statistic. And also statistics also say that 30% of all church goers read their Bible outside of church. So don't be a part of that 70% statistic. Um, Let's be a people who pursues the word of God, not just on Sundays, not just on Wednesdays, not when we're reading a podcast, but outside of everything.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But I also have to be a wise of enough leader being like, dang, I would be doing an injustice of not sharing with people everything. how to read the Bible. Because again, the goal isn't your attendance to this podcast. That is never the goal. The goal is to set the captives free. This podcast is used as a tool. It's not used as a supplement or a transplant. It's used as a tool. So That's that.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
This podcast means nothing. This podcast would mean nothing if you're just listening to me all the time, that you're not opening that word with the Lord. Because at the end of the day, I'm not standing next to you when we see Abba. I'm not going to be there next to you. It's going to be just me and him, right? And so we have to consecrate ourselves and make that space. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So yeah, that's really all y'all. That's really it that I got today. But yeah, that's really it. So again, read the Bible for yourselves. Take this, resonate with it, soak it all in and try it and make every effort to read his word. Amen. You already know the announcements. All the links are down below. If you feel led to tithe towards this ministry, there's links down below. Merch came out too.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So if that's something you're interested in, you can click the link down below. I think merch probably came out maybe two episodes before.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
this um yeah i did because our scheduling um but merch is out when we filmed the other two episodes i didn't know the merch was going to be out by then but it is out now and if it's sold out emmy congratulations in advance great job um but i mean i don't i don't know um we're just gonna declare that that is the case so the ministry can still be funded so we could help more people amen
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Which that's another thing too, if you read on the website, over 80% of all funds go directly back into the ministry, which then pours out into other ministries. So the other day, Save Not Soft donated about a thousand, what was the exact number? It's like $1,200 just to like a missionary for her to be funded out in, I don't even want to say the city wrong, but out in South Africa, Africa.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God, your word says, ask, and it shall be answered. Knock, and the door shall open, Father God. So we're just decreeing and declaring that today that you fill our minds and spirits with curiosity, Lord, so we can grow a deeper understanding for your word, Father, and that, God, there is a biblical literacy that is placed upon us, Lord.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
um to minister and spread the gospel and so save not soft contributes to a lot of missionaries it contributes to a lot of non-profits into a lot of church homes to expand and build the kingdom of god and so when you buy from save not soft podcast.com um 80 of those funds are going directly back into the people and back into those communities and then obviously back into the ministry when it comes to like lights and setup and etc just being super transparent i don't take a cut um i really don't take anything at all because i don't
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
read it amen so everything comes back into the ministry just so you guys know but uh little fun facts if you guys don't read the website amen so yeah that's really it you guys and um yeah i think that's it but i love you guys have a great rest of the week and talk to you soon okay bye you guys
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Lord, I thank you that Hebrews 4, 7, 12, I actually think, I believe it says that the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates between Christ the soul and the spirit, God. I thank you that the word of God separates from what is fleshly and what is spiritual, Lord.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I thank you that the word of God is a weapon and it's a sword and it's the only piece of the armor of God that is penetrative and that is a sword and that is a weapon, Lord. So Lord, we just give you reverence of your word and we declare our fear of you. We declare our awe of your word and what you have to say, God. And we take this word and we take this Bible seriously, Lord.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Life is becoming a wife. Life is becoming a little bit too real.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So, Lord, let it speak to us. And God, let everything that is said today complement what the Bible says and your will, your way, Lord. God, I decree and declare that I speak in confidence, that I do not slur my speech, Father, that God, you sharpen my tongue, that you give me the wisdom to speak and that, God, this is not a podcast about anymore. This is a podcast about Jesus Christ, Lord.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So God, tear down every false motive. Take down any ounce of pride, even in our hearts, God. God, thank you, Jesus. God, I even ask in the mighty name of Jesus to the believer who is on the other side of the screen or on the other side of this phone, who is listening to this episode, thinking that they know it all. I ask that you humble them, Father.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I ask that you humble them and I ask that they come like a brand new clean sponge, ready to soak in everything that you're wanting to teach us, God. So God, we put away all pride. We put away all self-understanding and we put away all ignorance, Lord.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we come as if we're brand new because we just want to learn from what you have to say and not indoctrinate, bring our own doctrine into the midst of what your truth is, Lord. So we put everything to the side and we come with bare hands, ready to receive you, Lord. We Thank you. We praise you and let your love be evident above all else. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen, you guys.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
malik and i solidified where we're staying furniture is coming in furniture is going out it's going bye-bye and it's kind of one of those seasons where it's so interesting because i'm going through the motions i'm clocking in and out on my cricket making wedding invitations and all these decals and etc and then i'm moving and then i'm doing all these things and it's like oh wow like i'm doing all these things but i think there's like a lack
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Man, I'm really excited about this because this is one of the first things I learned when I first became Christian, which is really exciting. Because when you first become Christian, you're learning all these things about the Lord and how he's loving and gracious and merciful and all these things which are amazing.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then when it comes down for you to actually sit down and read your Bible, you're like, wow. What does this say? I don't understand what any of this means. And when it came to me, I guess my relationship with the Bible really started in 2020. I became a believer in mid, late, excuse me, 2019.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And then later in 2020, early in 2021, that's when I actually started reading the word for the first time. And I went to the Passion Conference in Atlanta, which is actually where I met my soon-to-be husband. But I went with a group of actually really great friends that I still have to this day. And we went to Passion.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I remember that conference really just sparked something in my spirit to read my word. And I never read my Bible before. leading up to that conference. That was like the first time I've read scripture. And I remember the first scripture I actually got and understood was John 1, 1. And the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. Right.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we're in the beginning was the word and word was with God and the word was God. Amen. There we go. And so that was the first revelation that I got on my own reading the Bible of like, wow, in the beginning, the word Jesus was quite literally dwelling with God and the word was God. And that was the first time I was like, well, the Bible is living and it's active and it spoke to me.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And, you know, how did I get there? And how did I continue going to a place of Bible study and coming out of my closet, biblically literate, which is great. And I think one of the things that I really appreciate and that I love is that there's a, um, And just from what I hear from you guys is that there I try, which I try to be as much as I can.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I try to be as biblical, biblically literate and theologically sound as much as I as as as much as I possibly can. And I love the Bible. I love the word. I love theology. And so I'm always in the word and I love learning so much about it. And, um, I kind of hear all the time of like, Emmy, like, how'd you get in your word? How do you know all these Bible verses on the top of your head?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And how does this come so custom to you? And I think I just developed such a real love for the word of God that it has never really departed from me.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But when I first got that revelation of John 1, 1, I was like, man, I still want to have this feeling and I want to continue searching and seeking the word of God like this and let the word speak to me and just figure out more about Jesus and his heart.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And when I started to get mentorship, one of the pastors that was mentoring me during the time gave me a really great structure of how to Bible study. And this is what I've been using for the past three years of me reading my Bible. And so I wanted to sit here and share with you guys today, because even when I mentor and I disciple young women, this is one of the first things I teach them.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I wanted to bring this to you guys today as if it's like a one-on-one discipleship class. Amen. So you don't have to rely on my podcast for a revelation. You could go and find that revelation for yourself. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Which, by the way, if you're only getting spiritual revelations through a podcast, that should give you more of a reason to step away from the podcast and go into the Bible yourself. Podcasts and sermons, watching them on YouTube shouldn't be the main place where you're seeking revelations from the Lord. Where you should be seeking the most revelations from God is in your secret space.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
of an awareness of like oh this is actually happening and this is actually becoming true it's insane it's absolutely insane um this season and I don't even think this episode is gonna come out on the 99th day because I'm feeling it today obviously but Yeah, I'm rambling. But hey, you guys, just talking and kind of giving y'all a little too much. But that's where my head's at. And I'm excited.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And whenever you're in your alone consecrated time with the Lord and we'll go to these podcasts and we'll go to these sermons and we'll do all these things and we'll be like, man, like this is surely where God is speaking. And it's like that same revelation that fell upon your pastor, he got that in a secret space. And you could get that same word if you were also in your secret space. Amen?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because God speaks to all of us. God dwells amongst all of us. And so I think if we rely on all these other things to give us a revelation that only God could give, I think we would be more quick to run to our prayer closets more than to a sermon on YouTube.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I've been there too, where if something tragic is happening in my life, the first thing I want to is a sermon on YouTube or a podcast or my favorite evangelist. But over the past few years, when I've learned how to read this Bible, I actually know where to turn now, but it's because I learned how to read it. So yeah. Let's let's get into it today.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I'm going to teach you guys a structure of how to Bible study, which is also well, there's there were two structures that I wrote, but I'm not going to go over the first one because I wrote two structures of how to. put together a sermon and how to articulate the word of God, which I think we'll do a different day, but how to read and study the Bible.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you've been to seminary or if you've been under some sort of discipleship, you've probably heard of this structure, which is called POIMA. It's P-O-I-M-A, and that's prayer. It's observation, interpretation, meditation, and application. And when you combine all of these characteristics together, you're going to find really effective results in your Bible studying. And so first one being prayer.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I'm going to go by each of these one by one. Again, it's poema, prayer, observation, interpretation, meditation, and application. Prayer, observation, interpretation, meditation, application. You can write it down. I highly advise you to take notes during this podcast. So the first one is prayer. Why is prayer so important when it comes to reading the word of God?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So every time, just to give you a visual, right before I'm about to read the word each and every single day, the first thing I do is pray. And there's a few things that I pray. Of course, I could have my generic prayers like adoration and love and gratitude and thankfulness and then petitioning requests and then also consulting with God. And so there's a lot of layers to prayer.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But when it comes to specifically Bible study, I will pray a certain way for the scriptures to come to life, if that makes sense. And usually why...
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
prayer or why prayer is so important in the first place is because prayer is you having a conversation with the lord right and something that we have to understand about prayer is that prayer is not a monologue it's a dialogue a lot of people will treat prayer like it's a one person one sentence thing so a lot of people come to the prayer closet or pray right before they go to sleep and they'll say thank you god for this day thank you for breath in my lungs thank you that you bless me and my family god i hope to get this job tomorrow love you tons
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Hugs and kisses. Good night. And that's a monologue type of prayer life is people will just talk and yippity yap on their on their own. And they won't give space for God to come in and join the conversation with them. So prayer isn't just a space for you to monologue. It's a place of dialogue where it's a communicative structure. It's a structured space.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
communication not just between one person and one person only but between another party which is the lord so when we pray we have to cultivate space for god to speak because why are we coming to the table when all we have to say is this and that and this and that and the most eternal and ever wise father is sitting on the other side of that table and we're not giving him room to speak and that god happens to be perfect and on your side and on your team
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God is good. And I'm excited to be filming. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to talk about Jesus and the topic we have today, which the topic we're talking about today is one I'm really, really, really exciting for. But first, if you do not know me, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of this podcast. And what is Save Not Soft?
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So if we're not letting God have any say on anything, how are we inviting him into our lives? And so it's understanding that prayer isn't just a place of you venting. It's a place of you conversating. Prayer is highly relational and it's also highly intimate. It's not just a, I'm going to vent all my problems and God, here it is.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I'm going to lay this on you and I'm going to come back and expect all this to be taken care of. It's not a place for you to vent. It's a place for you to be relational with the Lord. It's a place for you to grow intimacy with the Lord. And I actually believe that a lot of growth spiritually comes from mature prayer.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And you become very mature in prayer when you intentionally seek the heart of God and you're intentional in that intimacy that you're spending with that time with him. You're intentional with the intimacy that you're spending with him. There we go.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we miss the mark spiritually when it comes to Bible reading and all these things is because we're not positioning ourselves spiritually to receive him, even if it's just conversational, right? First, prompting it with prayer because prayer gives access for God to speak. So this is the thing about the Word of God.
Saved Not Soft
How to Read Your Bible | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I quite literally read this book as if this is God's literal words coming out of his mouth. Even though, you know, you read the letters like Paul, it's Paul's perspective and preference and he's writing it. But every author of this book has been inspired by God and it's theologically backed up as so.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
hello hello everyone and welcome back to saved not soft what's going on everyone hope everyone has had an amazing amazing amazing amazing week i've had a great week god has been so good as usual we already know the zeal Um, yeah, God is so good through every circumstance. I've just, honestly, a lot of my time with the Lord has been very intimate and sweet.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
carried the same spirit of of neglect of abandonment of of of narcissism of selfishness and pride and a huge part of me wanted to be loved seen and heard to where I almost forced myself upon people who didn't even want me in the first place
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And whenever I was single, I was like chasing after this validation and acceptance from man and didn't understand that God was the one who gave me that full identity and validation that I needed. And I was still a Christian struggling with this, like a woman on fire for God, even having a whole podcast like going through this.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God was still trying to show me in each and every single area of how I needed to fully rely on him and maximize my singleness season. And so then after this encounter that I have with Jesus and he gives me this vision, I then start to just let go of everything. And God told me that he didn't want me to date anybody until he said that it was time.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I didn't date anyone for almost a whole entire year. And it was very peaceful with God. I felt the peace of God surrounds me. It wasn't a challenge. The only thing was that at first it was just kind of like, oh, what do I do? So it resulted a lot of my time that I would have talking to boys was to then cultivate my time more into scripture and spending time with community.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But becoming an actual physical bride has taught me a lot about the reconciliation of, of God and how God wants to restore his bride and not just anymore, but also anybody who's on the other side of the screen, he's looking to restore his relationship with you and becoming one with you.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I was refocusing a lot of my attention in places where I am truly heard, seen, and loved by God and not by all these random boys on Instagram who live in different states that I'm probably never going to meet in the first place. And so it was just a lot of that. And it was really peaceful with God to know that
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I was spending just some alone time with him and that through this season, he was going to provide just through him. And whenever God was ready to give me my husband, he was ready for it.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And coming from a woman who didn't have a real relationship ever, the thought of like actually being in a healthy relationship right now, that's feels almost perfect is not something I had on my 2023, 2024 bingo card. And let alone that I was getting married in 2025. That is not on the bingo card at that one either. Um, So God can change your circumstance in a moment.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I just want to give, I just want to cultivate faith. And I want to let y'all know that the sooner you let it go, the sooner God can work.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So the sooner you are to let go of the truth, as a matter of fact, that you're trying to be heard, seen and loved by all these men and all these boys and seeking your validation and acceptance and attention by all these eyes of men who don't care about you in the first place. the sooner you let that go, the sooner God can maximize your singleness season.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because the truth of the matter is, is that this time you have right now as a single woman or as a single man, you will never get this time back in your entire life if you are called to marry somebody.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So allow God to maximize your singleness season by sacrificing the attention that you want from man and instead turn your attention towards what God wants to give you through this season because it's one season that you're only going to have. So embrace it. So whenever I let go of the wanting and the
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
the deep sulking and the empathizing with these men and people who truly never empathize with me or showed intentionality towards me. I saw God move tremendously in my life because I was no longer looking for acceptance from man, but acceptance from Christ. I love Galatians 1.10 because it says, am I now trying to seek approval from man?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because if I was trying to seek approval from man that I would not be a true servant of christ And I understood that because I was idolizing all these relationships and trying to seek validation And all these men that I was not being a true servant to god because my focus was on people Rather than the one who created these people which is god almighty. Amen and so
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like the Bible talks about how whenever we accept Jesus Christ as Lord, like we're literally becoming one with him because there's a covenant that that takes place, a covenant that's similar to the covenant of marriage. It's two flesh becoming one, just like how whenever we say yes to Christ, it's two spirits coming one.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
After God took me out of the season of dating and dating and dating, I then had to kind of look at the spirit of abandonment in the eye and deal with that. Because I think we could talk about being single and talking to people and how tedious and exhausting it is in the talking stage and going in and out of relationships and losing your trust and you're talking to people and then they abandon you.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and they betray you, and they tell you one thing, or they're leading you on, and they tell you, oh, well, I like you, and you're so pretty, but then they don't want to build a future with you, and it's like, well, I thought you said you liked me, I thought you said that I was pretty, I thought you said that, you know, you like every single attribute about me, but you don't want to date me, makes no sense, and a lot of the times was because they were insecure, or not confident, and they actually didn't know who they were, and instead of actually them dealing with that, they took it out on the person that was trying to pursue them, it's so exhausting, and way before I,
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I just feel like the Lord wants me to talk about this. So one of the things before I go into this next topic of like abandonment and neglect and like discerning that and how God really took me through that route and conquering that is one
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
one of the things that Malik did that meant a lot to me in the beginning stages of us talking because talking stages are exhausting me and Malik met as friends so we weren't we weren't like talking like oh I like you you like me in the beginning of us speaking to one another it was very friendly Malik and I's relationship was built off of a foundation of a friendship um
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
What I loved about Malik the most when we first started talking, even though it wasn't romantic, is that three days in to me and Malik talking consecutively, he immediately communicated his intentions towards me. On the third day, he sent me a voicemail memo and he said, hey, I know we've been talking for three days straight and I know that, you know, God's not calling me today.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He's not calling you today. And also I just got out of a relationship. I just want to let you know that I have no intentions to lead you on. And I have every intention to build a relationship with you. And then at the end, he says, but if something happens, it happens, which has indicated to me that he likes me, but just, we just weren't going into a talking stage.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But what I admired about Malik is that Malik was not trying to waste my time. And that was the first time somebody did that for me. So where we were talking for three days straight and he said, Hey, I know what this looks like. And I'm going to tell you what it isn't. I'm looking to build a friendship with you. If a relationship comes out of it, cool.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But this is my intentions right now because I don't want to have any avenue to where I could possibly lead you on, even if it isn't my intention. And so a lot of men like fail to just address that. I think even women need to be better about asking those intentions when they're pursuing men. if they're kingdom or not. Even if you're in the world, I think you should ask for intentions.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we get to be in perfection and in the full righteousness and justification of God simply because we accept him and we embrace what he did on the cross for us. And I think that's super important. I think sometimes we miss that and try to carry all these works and things on our own when it's just meditation on the cross and it's accepting what Jesus Christ has already done and
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like, what is your intentions of speaking to me? Do you want a friendship? Do you want to cultivate a friendship? Or are you looking to build something with me? Are you looking to date? What is it? And you don't have to go super deep. It's just kind of like, what is your goal? Are you ready for a relationship?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because if you're not, then we shouldn't talk and flirt and play with each other's feelings just to leave the other person in the dirt. And I think we would make a lot more mature decisions and we would be in a lot more mature relationships if people were just more honest and if people were just more confrontational towards what they really needed in the season.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I think people have the desire to have a partner. But the truth of the matter is, is that baby girl and baby boy, you are not ready for a relationship because you don't know who the heck you are. You're insecure. You have a lack of confidence and you have no stability or providence for yourself. And your walk with God is right here.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I believe if we were a lot more honest with ourselves, we would have a lot more mature relationships and we would have a lot more faster cultivated relationships instead of wasting everybody's time. Because at the end of the day, not only are you playing that person, you're mostly playing yourself. Amen. And so whenever I got out of the stage of, hey, I'm going to try to pursue all these men.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So this is before meeting Malik, but after cutting off all these people and getting out of this dating stage and pursuing.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
pure singleness with God, I had to look at the spirit of abandonment in the eye because I realized the reason as to why I was going to all these men was because there was a real legitimate hole in my spirit that wanted to be filled with attention and filled by being seen by other people.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There was a loudness and an extra part of me that would go to extreme lengths just to be heard, seen, and loved by a man. to where I didn't embrace that God heard love and saw me. And so my singleness season of just with God was me acknowledging that God loves and sees and cares about me. And what got in the way of that was the spirit of abandonment,
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I've talked about this multitude of times on this podcast is that any of the Bible characters I relate to the most, it is my boy Joseph in the beginning of Genesis. What I love about the story of Joseph and why I relate to it so much is because I understand what it means to have the closest people to you who were called and made to love you
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
abandon the love that they were supposed to exercise towards you and instead exercise betrayal and abandonment and tear off your clothes and throw you into a pit and sell you into a reality that you never signed up for and what you didn't believe God had for you. And even just like Joseph had a dream.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And out of the excitement of his dream, people were jealous and envy, and they wanted power for themselves. And because of that, they crushed his dream and instead wanted to gain a power and a self-righteousness for themselves. And I've dealt with that spirit of abandonment and of false power and of neglection and betrayal. And it's probably one of the hardest things and one of the most
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It doesn't give us an excuse to be iniquative or to be in sin. Instead, it pushes us to the warm welcome of grace and of mercy, which God offers. Amen. And as I have been in my little bridal era, something that's been really fun, because I feel like I teach a lot, and I am going to teach. I'm not saying I'm not teaching this episode, but just kind of give you guys where God has me right now, is...
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
most pivotal areas where I would like fall and feel all of the shame and guilt and neglection. And during this time, this is when I started to study the story of Joseph and got really deep into what happened, where can I relate to this character, and where do I see God through all of this?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I think if someone were to just read the story of Joseph, they would think, how the heck did God get the glory from this story? Joseph was the youngest of all of his brothers and he was favored by his father and he had a dream that God had given him.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And whenever he expressed it onto his family, instead of his family embracing what God has told them, they instead threw him into a pit, threatened to kill him. But instead of killing him, they threw him into slavery to the Egyptians. And then from that, Joseph goes to Egypt. He's a slave for a number of years and
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He then gets wrongly accused of committing something that he didn't commit because the woman of the person he was serving, Potiphar, she had made an accusation towards Joseph that he had taken advantage of her when he didn't, and they threw him in jail of something that he didn't do. From that, he had a dream about two people who were in the jail with him, and whenever they left,
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He said, have favor on me and what I've told you and tell Pharaoh to bring me out of this jail cell. They completely forgot about him. And then from that, one day they were just like, oh, yeah, there's this guy in the jail cell that gave us this dream. And he could probably help you, Pharaoh, with what you're going through right now. Then Pharaoh takes him out of there.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's just decades and decades and decades of Joseph being abandoned and neglected and left behind. He was left out. He was abandoned by his own family. He was abandoned by his coworkers, the people that he was serving under, people who were called to help and support him. He was abandoned and completely neglected.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we look at him being in jail and going through slavery and all these things, and we could see it. It's like, man, those are really harsh times. I believe simultaneously God used those moments for mercy so Joseph wasn't carrying a wrath and an unforgiveness for what God was about to do next. And so Joseph spent a lot of time being in the presence of abandonment and neglect.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And instead of leaning on his own understanding, he had to lean on the understanding of God. Why do you think God gave him the vision before he took him through the consequences and through the trials and tribulations? Like, why do you think God gives us the vision before the bad stuff happens? It's because he has to give us an anchor to hold on to.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There has to be something anchored into our faith that And God will often give us promises. So whenever we go through our trials and tribulations, we could hold that promise close to us. And so Joseph was given a promise by God. And I wonder how many times throughout this story he's thinking, man, I don't know how God is going to show up for me in this instance.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we see at the end of the story, there was a famine that broke out. That was actually as to why Joseph got promoted a second in hand of all of Egypt is because he was discerning from God how to take care of this famine and all these things because God was speaking to him through dreams.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And through this famine, it brought his father and all of his brothers to the feet of Egypt to get resources. And that's when Joseph finally revealed himself and his brothers were terrified because they'd known what they had done to him. And we go to the end of the story. And even though Joseph went through all these trials and tribulations, he's experienced abandonment, neglect, massive betrayal.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He says, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. And the biggest thing about rejection that we fail to realize is that rejection is actually God's redirection.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So when you get rejected from a man or from a woman or from a talking stage or a situation, that rejection actually cultivates a redirection of where God's actually trying to push you. And because Joseph was abandoned and neglected and rejected by his own family, God used that to redirect him to use him divinely for the purpose of God.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that's why whenever Joseph saw his brothers, he says, it's not you who has brought me here. It was the hands of God himself. And God used y'all to get me to a point to where I'm now the second in command of all of Egypt and to where I have rebelled.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I've turned my pain into purpose and I've overcome the spirit of abandonment and neglect and betrayal because God did exactly what he told me whenever I was a little boy that I was going to rule and do all these things and he had to take me through this to get me here.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So there was rejoicing and a gladness that happened because Joseph understood that his struggle took him exactly where God needed him to go. And whenever we get rejected by somebody or we're rejected by the person we were talking to for months and putting all of our intentionality and thought and emotions into, the moment they reject you, do not take it as, oh, they reject me.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There's something wrong with me. I'm going to accept the spirit of abandonment and betrayal. Instead, take pleasure in it because God is actually using that situation to show you that there's something better. If you thought that person that you were talking to was so good, just imagine who God has called you to for your divine destiny partner. It's not gonna be who this person was.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's going to be somebody better. If God has called you to marriage, And he's not calling you to this person. It just means that he has someone better for you. So don't take it as, oh man, I got rejected and I'm never going to find anybody again. And I'm going to be single for the rest of my life. No, take it instead as God is redirecting me to my spouse.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because every time I go through a decoy, I'm getting closer to the real thing. And also another thing about relationships in the talking stages before you find your true spouse is Before God sends you your true destiny partner, you will always come across a decoy.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I believe that there's people who God presents to us who have the ability to be your partner, but because of disobedience and their inability to fulfill their duty or a job to be a confiding partner, they drop the ball and then that obligation and responsibility and I guess role is is an offer to somebody else.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I believe a lot of the men that I used to date had attributes that were really good, but they had a lot of attributes that were terrible. And I was meditating on so much of the good ones that I was just kind of excusing all these bad behaviors that were never ever being accounted for. And so it's knowing, okay, God, what is the decoy and what is the real decoy?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
thing because god will always send the counter or not god but the counterfeit will always be sent before god sends the real thing i believe that god also allows that to happen because he wants to sharpen our discernment amen and you could you could figure out who is of god and who's just a decoy by just testing them by the fruits of the spirit Is this person bringing you closer to Christ?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's number one. Is this person bringing you closer to Christ? Or are they making you go straight further from Christ? Does this person cultivate the fruits of the Spirit? Do they serve? Are they a person who is worthy to lead you? If you're a man and you're speaking to a woman, is this a woman who's willing to submit? Does this person...
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Bye. That's like so crazy to me. So I'm ordering like cute little like veils and like hair clips and like attire and like pajamas and pillowcases and like socks and things that like say Mrs. Brookings on it.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
are they able to bounce back from really hard situations what is the most traumatic thing that has happened to them and how do they combat it like these are all things that you need to know as someone you're pursuing if you're looking for eternity with someone amen and so i empathize with those who have been abandoned and neglected especially like giving your all in relationships because i have been there that used to be my testimony for a long time
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And by the grace of God, because I embraced my singleness season, God brought me up and out of these atrocious abandoning cycles and brought me in to a relationship that is so satisfying. Y'all, when I tell you my relationship with Malik is so satisfying, it's satisfying because it's by God. It's ordained by God. And it's satisfying because we're both obedient to the things of God.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And when I was pursuing all these men, it was a one-sided street to where I was just the one pursuing the things of God. The other person wasn't pursuing the things of God. It was just me. And I was trying to carry the torch. I was trying to lead them. And I had to die to that expectation of I'm not the leader, right?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
As someone who used to be a hyper-masculine woman, or as someone who used to be a hyper-individual type of woman, I will be the first to tell you that you trying to play the leadership role and you trying to lead a man who was called to lead you will never work out relationally. You cannot lead a man in a relationship, okay? This is where becoming equally yoked becomes so important.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I believe our culture kind of like emphasizes this like hyper feminism of like, oh, I need to lead and I need to be a girl boss. And I got to do all these things in order to be important to where it's like you're robbing the role of the man. Like I've never been able to be feminine in my entire life until I met Malik because I met someone who was stronger than me.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And what I didn't realize is that whenever I was dating all these past people, they were actually men that were emotionally and mentally a lot weaker than me. And so whenever I met Malik, man, Malik has an emotional and mental intelligence that is so admirable.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that was the first that is and will be the only person and only man in my entire life that doesn't allow me to override or conquer what he has to say. Like Malik has never stooped down for a moment for me to override and try to take his role. When I tell you like Malik has always stayed in a position to be the leader and to be the head. It's because I met somebody who was stronger than me.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and that's just like really exciting um but but this season of like leaving my old life and then coming into a new one is so surreal to me because when I tell y'all I was single of absolute single people for a very long time I absolutely mean it I really want to talk about singleness today.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think. Oh, man. This is good. God just told me something. I have to say it. Okay. I think, man, God, hold on. God, give me grace and allow me, Father, Holy Spirit, I just ask that you help me to say this clearly because it needs to be said, Father. But let me say it with grace in Jesus' mighty name.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If we're being very honest, I believe that a lot of women who pursue these men actually intentionally pursue weaker men because there's a part of them that actually likes the power of being in charge. And I think that's...
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
a toxic trait of what this hyper feminism culture that we've been seeing in our generation is that you have to rise above and you have to be in charge and you have to tell the man what to do and and screw this guy if he does that and men suck if they do this and it's actually cultivating the super toxic order out of order dysfunction of of not allowing a man to step into the role that God has given them and
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I believe that there's a pride that is that is sulking into hearts of women because there's a real part of women that want to be in charged and that want to tell men what to do because they have been abandoned. They have been left. They have been neglected. They have been hurt. They have been traumatized.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And instead of dealing with their trauma, they rather have a boy instead that they'd rather tell what to do.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I think if we were honest as women and as speaking from someone who used to be a super hyper individual woman, the reason as to why I was super masculine in areas and why I was pursuing men that were supposed to pursue me was because I was angry and traumatized and because I was never given a safe space to be feminine.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so that cultivates this really toxic trait of pursuing men in the wrong intentions because you want to feel a false sense of power. And I'm not just saying you, I'm saying I used to be here too. I used to be one of those women. I used to emotionally manipulate men because I wanted a false sense of power because I was dealt with a whole bunch of trauma that was inflicted by other men.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I think we have to die to this expectation that one, all men are bad. And two, we have to let go of the traumas and the disparities that us women have gone through because of abandonment and because of neglect and because of what men have done and forgive them in hopes that God actually is equipping real men to love and steward and be a leader.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we're not allowing men to step in those spaces if we're taking those spaces from them. Does that make sense? And so I empathize with those who have been abandoned and hurt because I've been there. And which is why I resonate with Joseph so much is because he's been abandoned and neglected.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But yet he understood that God used his situation to bring him out of something and into something much greater. And before I could ever empathize with Joseph and how he was abandoned, I first have to understand that Jesus empathized with my abandonment and being alone and being fearful and feeling like no one's going to.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
step up and what it's like to actually be left Hebrews 4 4 14 through 16 says therefore since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven Jesus the son of God let us hold firmly to the faith we profess for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet he did not sin let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and grace to find
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the episode name for today is getting ghosted and what it's like to navigate your singleness season when you're experiencing rejection time after time after time, abandonment after abandonment, boy after boy, girl after girl. I don't know what it is. But y'all, when I tell you I've been there, I've done that. I've seen and tasted the greener side of the grass.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
to help and find grace to help us in our time of need. And so Jesus empathizes the fact that you have been abandoned and rejected by man. Like he emphasizes it and then he also empathizes with it. So not only does God recognize what you're going through, but God literally send the image of his son to empathize with the fact that you've been abandoned and betrayed and neglected by
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And through that, because we know that Jesus empathizes with us, that allows us to come to the throne of God with more grace and more confidence and more mercy, because we know that the problems that we're going through is not just singular and felt only exclusively by us alone, but we get to share an empathy with God because he has sent his one and only son to go through the same exact struggles and sufferings that we're enduring right now.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So go in confidence knowing that when you come before the throne of God, that he's empathizing in that same situation of your loneliness, of your singleness, of abandonment and betrayal that you're experiencing. And Jesus has been abandoned by people that he loved, whether it was friends or his disciples or let alone his own father.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I just kind of want to highlight where Jesus has been abandoned, where we can find our hearts in him and where we can allow him to help us and him to be the one who sticks around and empathizes in all the great things. And so every time I get in a really tricky spot, I always go back to two places. I'll go back to the garden or I'll go back to the crucifixion.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I was reading the crucifixion and we get to the part in Mark 15, 35, where it says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And I read that verse and I actually asked the question, God, why did you forsake Jesus? Like, why did you do that? Because you didn't have to leave Jesus, but you did.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But the Lord showed me, but yes, Emmy, I did have to leave Jesus because what happened in this moment is as Jesus is crying out on the cross to God, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He did exactly what John 3, 16 through 17 says. He has endured all the sins of the entire world. For God to love the world, he gave his one and only son to take on the sins of the whole entire world.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So the reason as to why God left Jesus in that moment was because Jesus was enduring all sin on the behalf of the entire world. And sin is what separates us from God. So Jesus had to endure abandonment from God because that is the consequence of sin ultimately.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And the reason that's why God allowed that to happen, it wasn't because God actually wanted to abandon Jesus, but because God had to abandon Jesus because of the sin of which he was enduring. And God understood the bigger picture of what was being carried out. God abandoned Jesus just for a moment, So he could never abandon us for all of eternity. Let me say that one more time. God left Jesus.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God abandoned Jesus for one moment so he could be united with us for all of eternity. And so Jesus quite literally experienced the full abandonment of God. And the reason as to why Jesus went through and endured that suffering and pain is because Jesus understood that the cup of suffering that he took was for the greater good of God's creation and not just for himself.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Romans 5.8, while we were still sinners, Christ still died for us. Even at the worst of your sin, God still died. God still sent his one and only son to die for you. God doesn't forsake you for your sin because Jesus was already forsaken. If you embrace the cross, if you embrace what Jesus has done for you, God will not forsake you.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I've wanted to definitely just like share about that because when I tell you that I was probably the most single person, um, I dated, obviously, before Malik. Malik and I have been together for about a year and a half. And well, longer, a little bit longer than that, if you want to count in the talking stage. But we've been together for about a year and a half.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I've been praying that you guys have been experiencing the same thing as well. If you do not know me, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of Saved.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It reminds me of what he was telling Joshua as he's, as God is instructing him to carry the Israelites into the He says, do not be afraid. I will not forsake you. I will not abandon you. Instead, meditate on my word day and night. It's knowing that when you stay in the heart of the Father, he will not leave you or forsake you.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And God will not leave you because he already left his son, the son who took your sin and your iniquity and your debt and pinned it on a cross. And so we understand that we're truly never alone and we're never abandoned when we embrace what Jesus has done for us. And there is no separation that you experience from God when you embrace what Jesus has done for us.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we have to understand that God does not forsake you for the sin that Jesus has already died for. It's just a matter of you accepting what Jesus has done and coming into agreement of it. Galatians 3.13 says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. So what does that mean?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Jesus literally took on the shame and guilt and the disparities of sin and he was abandoned by God just for a moment so you could be a united, perfectly and harmonious relationship with God for all of eternity. He became a curse for mankind so he could break the
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
the curse he endured all the sins of the entire world just so the curse could be broken so death could be defeated and you could have the same exact thing if you just accept jesus christ as lord and I want to talk about something which has to do with abandonment and neglection. Just to be fully transparent of where I feel like I've fallen a lot as a Christian.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And where there's been a lot of doubt. Where there used to be a lot of doubt and there used to be a lot of confusion. And it was the story about the Holy Spirit leaving Saul. Ah, man. When I heard the story about the Holy Spirit leaving Saul, there was a fear there.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
embedded into my spirit by abandonment betrayal and trauma that i used to experience that oh my god god what if you just get up and leave me one day that was a real fear i had as a christian i read that story of the holy spirit leaving saul and was so terrified that god could do the same thing to me that god would abandon me that god would leave me
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that was a verse that would throw me into a lot of perversion and confusion. And I believe that the enemy used as a pawn to throw me into a lot of confusion and perversion in the word of God, because that's all enemy does. He perverts scripture. He takes God's truth and he manipulates it for his will and his purpose.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And what I realized is that it's understanding that the Holy Spirit didn't leave Saul because the Holy Spirit wanted to leave Saul, but because the Holy Spirit had to leave Saul because Saul was not repentant. And so it just kind of killed all of these abandonment issues and insecurities and neglections in my heart because I was like, dang God, what if you just get up and leave me one day?
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And he's like, I mean... I love you and I have compassion upon you. And my spirit is not going to leave you because my son has already paid the price. Your job is to just embrace it. And so you stay in the safety and the security of the Lord and you stay in his presence when you just embrace Jesus. It's that simple.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And what we before Malik and before I met him. I didn't have a single boyfriend. I think like the only boyfriend I have, it didn't even feel real. It was like in 2020 and I had a boyfriend for a month. Like that's not a real relationship. And I felt like I forced him to ask me to be his girlfriend. It wasn't genuine or intentional.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so then it shows us a real reality that if you are embracing Jesus, if you are embracing the cross and what God has sent his son to do, then the spirit of abandonment isn't upon your life. It's just a lie from the pits of hell. Amen. Because the word says that God does not forsake us or leave us.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And even if we think God is gone for just a moment where he feels distant, he may just be speaking in a different way that we just can't recognize. And God's allowing us to not understand so we could draw closer to his heart. And so moving forward, you can live a life far from the fear of abandonment when you embrace the price for abandonment already being paid for by Jesus Christ on that cross.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Just embrace the cross. Embrace Jesus. Romans 8, 37 through 39, Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
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Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither any height nor depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Nothing can.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So trust that God loves you, that he will never leave nor forsake you. And that God is taking you through these trials and tribulations to show you where he's actually there. And maybe God's not allowing the relationships or the situationships or the talking stages to work out.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
because he really just wants you and he wants your heart and he wants to know that he that you're going to be able to submit under him before he sends you somebody to submit yourself under amen so go in confidence knowing that that where the spirit of lord is there's freedom and that God is using every situation for the greater good, and that your singleness season is not done in vain.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's actually one that should be taken advantage of. And I wouldn't be surprised if Satan is trying to hijack your singleness season by sending all of these boys that actually do not care for you. Get out of your toxic relationships. Get out of your talking seasons that are absolutely exhausting and pursue the heart of God because you only get this thing on the season once. Embrace it.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And when God does release you and when God does call you into dating, into being pursued, embrace that as well. But there is a time and a season for everything. So embrace what God is trying to show you right now. Amen? That's all I have for you guys today. But I believe the Lord has spoken. I feel really good about it. And I pray that's ministered to you. But pray about it.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
That's the biggest thing. Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. Even fast on it if you need to. Just seek the Holy Spirit. Seek his wisdom and seek scripture. Because I don't have all the answers. It's literally Jesus who has the answer. I'm literally just a vessel and just a student. Just like each and every single one of you. I am nobody special who is so special. It's Christ.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And man, when I tell you that this singleness season has taught me so much, I wouldn't take back anything I have gone through to get to this moment that I'm at right now. Amen? So I love you guys so much. Announcements, y'all already know. It's if you've been... If you've been saved through this podcast or if you need prayer, there's a link down below.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you feel led to tithe towards this ministry or also donate towards me and Malik's wedding, there's also another link down below. You don't have to. We accept prayers more than anything and we appreciate them. We'd rather be spiritually covered than physically covered. Let me tell y'all. So we praise the Lord.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Um, and if you want to shop the merchandise, save not soft shop.com besides that, that's really good. But man, y'all like just embrace Jesus in this season. Cause he wants to, he wants to speak to you something about, he wants to speak to you. So, so specially and from a woman who's about to get married at about four and Yeah, yeah, it's going to be four months. Four? No, five months.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It was just like a lot of weird situational dating and things that I went through that
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There we go. In five months, I've never felt more urgent to maximize the singleness season in my entire life because it will be gone just like that. So embrace it right now because you only get it once. Amen. I love you guys. I'll see you next week. And until then, be blessed. Love you guys. Bye.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
even out of high school whenever I was in middle school I just felt like I had a lot of friends who had boyfriends and it was like the people and girls around me always had the boys but when it came to me it just felt like I was never really getting attention from boys like that and I believe looking back I now know that that was God's protection but during the time I felt like a lot of shame and
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I felt like no one wanted to pursue me and no one wanted to date me. I think people saw me as attractive, but I didn't know that people valued me and wanted to experience my heart and see my character. And I didn't know that people liked my personality.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
not soft which is a podcast for those who are love seen and heard by god and what it means to actually navigate what it actually means to be a christian i think whenever we come to christ we think that it's just a little stroll in the park and that it's easy but it's hard there's a lot of trials and tribulations and suffering that comes to being a christian
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So it was just like a lot of areas where I was really in shame and I felt not enough and unworthy because I wasn't getting that attention from boys.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Whenever I graduated high school, I remember before I even talk about graduating high school, before I got into high school, I remember whenever I was in middle school, my friends would tell me, Emmy, whenever you go to high school, you're going to get a boyfriend just like that. You're so awesome. You're great. You're gorgeous and all these things.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Then I'd go to high school and nothing worked out. I tried talking to boys and when I tell you, I was trying to fulfill my so much of my insecurities and just talking and dating men that was a constant cycle i was stuck in probably till about 2023 early end of 2022 and it was this constant cycle of putting my worth in hands of men who did not give a crap about me
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I started to speak to more people after high school. I was in these like situationships, really elongated talking stages, which were absolutely exhausting. I think the talking stage is such a weird thing. I... I feel like I consider the talking stage dating and I consider what people call dating in a relationship.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I would say that I've dated people, but I wasn't in a relationship with them to where they were like my boyfriend and I was their girlfriend. But I dated them like we had a romantic interest and I was dating a guy talking to a whole bunch of people. The talking stage is absolutely tedious and exhausting.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
When I say it is absolutely draining to speak and give your all to a person for usually about two or three months just for one person to leave you in the dirt and then you have to pick up all the pieces, that is probably one of the most exhausting trials I had to continuously go through through the early part of my 20s and through my late teens.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
it is so exhausting to find someone to be pursued by another person when everybody's just trying to figure out who the heck they are and what they're supposed to do because you'll talk to people and realize oh like this is a cool person and relationships don't work out mostly for one reason and it's because either one or both parties don't try enough
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And whenever I was in these situationships and a lot of these talking stages, I was always talking to the same types of men, whether if they were athletes or part of some sort of college or looked a certain way. Not even if they looked a certain way, they all had the same attributes. The number one attribute that was a cycle in all these decoy relationships I was pursuing was
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
was being absolutely nonchalant and apathetic. I have no idea why a very intentional, sensitive woman would pursue a man who was completely nonchalant and apathetic. Nonchalant men in the world is probably one of the most aggravating people to work with, especially relationally. I had a
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so how do you understand everything that God is calling you to do and endure if you don't know his word, if you don't know how to go deeper into your prayer closet, all those things. So this podcast is accumulated to let you guys know that you heard, seen, and loved by God, but also how to navigate through culture and living in a world where God's grace and love is very much so needed. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
that I've spoken to and etc but the moment that I messed up and the moment that a flaw came out of me they were done and it was so funny because I was putting up with all these boys dummy stuff for all these months but then the moment like an insecurity comes out they're like oh no you're done
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
baby boy i was putting up with all your stuff this whole time but the moment something that just takes you off just a little bit comes out of me you're done and i started to learn about relationships is that they rarely fail if one person isn't willing to just pick up the pieces and accept that the other person is flawed and i believe that god has instilled the grace in inside of me because i want him christian and i'm with him and i accept his gospel and who jesus is
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
that I was able to carry a grace and a forgiveness into relationships that I was trying to pursue, because let's be realistic, as I look back onto my old relationships, these men were not pursuing me. I was being hyper-masculine and hyper-individualism in being a woman and trying to seek, offend, and find for my own to where I was pursuing these men. So already I'm out of order.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And two, most of these men were absolutely worldly. And they just had a Bible scripture in their Instagram bio. And I'm like, oh, they're Christian. They were not Christian. These men were dogs that I was talking to. And God bless them. And I wish nothing but the best for them. If any of them ever comes across any of this video, God bless you. I hope the Lord treats you well.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And that he's blessing you extremely in Jesus' mighty name. Simultaneously, though, God allowed all of those situations to fail because my destiny partner was right around the corner, which is Malik Berkey's.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
hey bae so everything works out for a divine purpose but as i look back on like my situationships i never had relationships it was always like this constant cycle and i realized i never really came on my podcast and talked about singleness and my struggles of being single because it was something that ruled almost the entirety of my life and a huge trial that i was going through
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
time after time after time. And a part of that had to do with me and my own deliberate delusion to pursue men who were not good for me. And I knew that by the grace of God. And then another part was tied to cycles of fear and abandonment and neglect that I've experienced that was almost like
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
attention-grabbing and comfortable and familiar to where i kept going back to people who would just abuse and dispose me because a part of me was just used to that and grew up in that lifestyle and so i say all this to say that when we talk about singleness and what it means to give your all to somebody and then they just totally leave you in the dirt how do you navigate that as a christian
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And we're going to talk about that today. We're going to talk about singleness. We're going to talk about getting ghosted, being abandoned, being left behind when someone you put everything in for doesn't put anything in for you. So we're going to talk about that today and then also the hope that Christ has for you and to let you know that you're never alone.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
You are going through a process and God is with you this whole entire time. So let's pray real quick and then we're going to get into it. Dear Heavenly Father, we just praise you, God. God, I thank you that you have brought me out of the disparities of trial and error of my singleness season. And also, God, that you've shown me the fruit that's came from my singleness season, God.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God, I thank you for every trial that you've brought my way that has sharpened me, Father, to the woman that I am today. God, I thank you for sharpening my testimony to share it with other women listening to this podcast in hopes for their husbands, their future partners, and those who are supposed to be beside them for the rest of their lives, God. God, I ask that this episode sparks hope.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I really just love what God is doing through this podcast because the season of what he's doing through this ministry is reconciling his bride back to him. And speaking as a bride and speaking as someone who is about to get married in a few months, which is absolutely insane to say out loud, like girly pop, what? I'm a whole fiance. You see this wing? Uh, it's absolutely insane.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It sparks a new beginning. And God, it sparks an appreciation for the season that your daughters are in right now and even your sons in Jesus' mighty name, Father. God, I ask that you comfort the hearts of your children, that God, you let them know that they're never truly forsaken, that they are loved and adored by you, God.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I ask that as much as we have a desire to be loved by another person here on earth, God, I ask that you give a bigger desire for us to pursue you and your presence and the fact that you are here and you will never leave God. That God, our full trust shouldn't be in man, but it should be in the Father, which is you, God. So God, help us put our trust in you.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
God, let your children know that this is not a dark tunnel. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, Father. So I thank you that you have promised your children prosperity and goodness and faithfulness if we're just obedient to what you have to say, God. So God, use me as my testimony to preach to these people. God, this is your podcast, not mine, your ministry, not mine.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Just use me for the glory of you. I don't want any glorification. I don't want this podcast to be about Emmy. I want this podcast to be about God and how God has helped Emmy and how he could help other people all across the world with the same circumstance. So I love you and praise you. In Jesus' my name, seal this prayer. Amen. So I talked a little bit about relationships that I went through.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I think one of the ones that was very difficult for me in my late teens and early 20s was I was in a very toxic situation for three years on and off with the same person that was draining the absolute life out of me. And I had a lot of compassion for this person. And I was very intentional in a lot of the areas where I was
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
moving very wrongly and where I messed up was because I was so hurt of being abandoned and left and scarred by trauma. And I realized whenever I came out of the cycle of these toxic relationships, I just kept getting in time after time after time. It was because I didn't have a boy problem. I had a neglection problem and I had an abandonment problem and people leaving me was normal to me.
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I was almost comfortable with these situations and these toxic relationships because there was a part of my spirit and a part of my flesh that was familiar with that. And so in 2022, God gave me a vision at a worship night with circuit writers. I actually testified this in an episode called Let It Go. So if you want to
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
watch that you can but i received a vision of god showing me that i had i was basically in this home that was completely wrecked so the dishes were all the way filled and they were dirty and dusty the windows were broken the lights were flickering the floors were broken the walls were punched like that this house that i was in it looked like an abandoned home
Saved Not Soft
Getting Ghosted (Abandonment/ Betrayal) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
and in this home there were all these men that i used to talk to and they were taking up my space and the lord showed me through this vision he said emmy this was always meant to be your secret space but instead you made it your own prison because of all these men that you've let in and they all
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Hello, hello everyone and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. What's going on everybody? Hope you guys have had a blessed week so far. Hey, I'm ready. Today I'm feeling kind of like... chill, very vibey, but also very excited because I know God is just going to speak through this episode.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And then after them, they sinned. And then this is literally how the human... species was created through repopulation and sin became hereditary and it started a widespread and it kept continuously happening but God had a beginning from the start that he was even going to use sin in the midst to bring people back to the heart of God again
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God does not permit suffering or let alone does not like it. Nowhere in scripture will I ever say that God likes to see his people perish. If anything, Ezekiel 33, 11 says that God does not take pleasure in punishing the wicked. Get that. He doesn't even take pleasure in punishing the wicked.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
You know how many people here on this day see pleasure in wicked people getting tormented and killed and mocked and scorned? Like God doesn't even take pleasure in that because God has empathy for everybody who So we have to understand that the judgment of sin is released, not because that's God's actual desire, but it's because it's the designated response.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like with sin comes judgment, but God's ultimate desire is mercy, but that only comes through repentance. If you want more backstory on that, you could definitely watch my episode, God Please Heal Me, where we talk about repentance, restoration, and God ultimately like healing our sufferings and et cetera.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so I want to kind of capitalize and expand the idea of like, God uses suffering to draw us near, but God doesn't create suffering. Instead, he just uses it and allows it. And it's not because he wants to watch us suffer, but it's because that's just the condition of our worlds. And that's just the condition of what we're experiencing, right? And so when...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And a question that somebody asked me on this video when I was talking about suffering and et cetera, well, if God is so almighty and powerful, then why couldn't he have done it another way? Why couldn't have God made a species or made a way to where sin did come into the picture and we were able to choose? But like, why? Why couldn't he make a different system?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And it's just, this podcast is supposed to be used as a tool to help you navigate the Christian lifestyle. This podcast isn't a replacement for God's word or a replacement for God's presence. Rather, it's just an opportunity for you to experience the presence of God through learning tools in scripture and prayer and fasting and community and et cetera. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And it's practically knowing that God couldn't have done it any other way, because if God did it any other way, it would have been contrary to his very nature and character. God allows suffering to happen. He doesn't create it, but he allows it to happen. because he allows freedom and choice, right?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So if God gives us the ability to choose, AKA choose good or evil, sin is able to be imparted in some way because it's the repercussions of evil and not choosing him. It's not something that's created by God and suffering isn't at the hand of God. Suffering is at the hand of evil and of disobedience and of sin and free will.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So it's like a mixture of all these things that all declare separation from God. And so, um, When I say that God couldn't have done it any other way because it would have been contrary to his very nature, the Bible says that God does not lie, according to Titus 2.1 or 1.2, that God is just, 2 Thessalonians 1.6, and that God is love. There's...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
There's characteristics about God to where he couldn't have done it any other way because of the nature of who he is. And where does that come from? We don't know that because God is a spiritual and an internal being. We have very small, finite minds and God is an infinite creature.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So for us to even go down that rabbit hole, you're not going to find the answer to that because you don't know because you're not eternal beings. yet. We're eternally together with Christ whenever we pass away from this earth and inherit a new heaven, which is after this.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But as of right now, there's just some things that you're not going to know and you're going to have to be comfortable with that. And so I think also with the conversation of, man, why does God allow suffering? We also have to address the truth of the matter of fact that we have to lose somewhat of our understanding.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Even if you're a Christian or not, it comes to a point to your life to where you understand or you have to realize and understand that you're not going to know everything even if you're Albert Einstein.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Even if you're the smartest person on the entire earth and you've sent all these things to space and you do all the stuff in the sea and I don't care what it is, but nobody, and I mean nobody on all of planet earth actually knows anything completely in all certainty about No one is all knowing like God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God has granted us wisdom and knowledge, but is there one person here on earth who knows everything 100% certain? Absolutely not. And so that's why the word of God is so impactful for us Christians because we believe it's 100% truth because it's breathed by God. But do we know all the mysteries of heaven? Of course not, because the God who has created this world is eternal and we're just so
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
so little. And so I think loosening your understanding and embracing trust in the Lord and coming to a quicker realization that you don't know it all is actually going to free you from a lot of baggage and pressure to know everything.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So I'm very blessed and happy that you guys are here and I hope you learn something very new today. That's my prayer for y'all. So let's pray. Let's set the atmosphere and let's allow God to do exactly what we want him to do, which is show up and be good, which he already is. Amen. So let's close our eyes to your heavenly father. Thank you, Jesus, God. Thank you for this day.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
How great is it that I actually don't have to stress out about all the extremities of my life because God has already gotten it figured out and I just have to trust in it? I think that gives a lot of relief. Even in the midst of my trials, God will grant me peace. provision and he already knows what's going to happen and my job is just to trust it.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I think it's being okay with not knowing anything and no one on this earth is fully certain. Like even when we talk about like science, science is literally accumulated by predictions and hypotheticals. Even these mad scientists and people who have studied like the earth and the stars and the universe for decades aren't even completely certain.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
That's why, so I mentor and I disciple, I work in high school ministry. I've been doing it the past four years. And one of my girls, but she knows who she is if she's watching this, she is probably one of the smartest people ever.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
i think i've ever met in my entire life every time we sit down and have conversations she always brings up a question that just stumps me like no other but not like a stump of like oh dang i don't know but it's it's like she uh knows so much about science and she she works in like not works but she's in school because she's in high school she's like in all the bio stuff and she's she
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
She's literally studying something so insane right now. She's studying how antibodies are found in alpacas to cure cancer. Like, this is the person I'm discipling, right? And so I will never forget one day when she told me, she was like, well, because...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
because she loves science so much, whenever we come and have conversations about God, we'll kind of mesh these scientific and godly conversations together because science is honestly, it's just the discovery of like,
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
our universe and the earth and everything that's before us and what we perceive and see but then also like science backs up god and it's like finding god and so whenever she comes and i disciple her like we talk about what she's learning in school and etc i will never i will never forget when she told me that no one like not even the greatest scientist is actually ever sure which is why whenever you see claims whether if it's like a medicine or whatever it may be
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It never claims this will do this. This will heal you from this. It's like this has the ability to do this or hypothetically or this possibly. Like there's never certain language even in science because I think there's people who stray away from God and they're like, oh, well, then I'm going to involve myself into science and all these things that are more certain.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But it's like they don't even know as much. Right. Which is why their language in scientific language is super like what ifs and hypotheticals and predictions. And some of those things are effective and could be true, but none of it is ever 100% certain, right? And so I'm not saying that they're not effective. I'm not saying that science is a hoax. I think science is great.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I just think that if you don't think, you know... If you think science is going to give you all power and all knowing of everything, I'm going to be the first to tell you that you're absolutely wrong because even the smartest of the smartest people who have ever existed here on planet earth, they did not know everything and they were never fully certain of anything.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so a part of you receiving the peace of God is actually loosening and surrendering a part of your understanding to him and And noticing that you're not going to know it all and that you're not going to have it all figured out. And there's a piece in that when you realize that you're not responsible for that. God's responsible for it.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Thank you for fresh breath in our lungs, God. We don't take our breath for granted. We don't take our lives for granted, God. We are grateful for your presence. We are thankful that you have called us and chosen us, God. We accept you calling us out by name, Father. And God, I just ask that through this episode, Father, that you just help us navigate your sovereignty and your goodness, God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
You are just responsible for doing what he has called you to do, to be loved and cared for by him, right? And so... The Bible says in Isaiah 55, it says, my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. So like the way that God operates is so far out of our understanding that like we can't tangibly reach it.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
We can as much as we can through scripture and things that he has given onto us on the earth and what he reveals to us in the spirit. But more so like in a realistic sense, even if you were the smartest theologian, you will not understand all the mysteries about God until you see him face to face, right?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And it's more so perspective and seeing that things are always different from a different angle, right? And so let's go back to the overall... This all bleeds into each other, but if God is a good God, then why is there suffering? Because I understand that there's people who...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
are going through really awful circumstances whether if is you or your family or someone you really love about they're dealing with a sickness or a disease and you're like well this person has cancer because I sinned that one time like you're telling me that this person deserved cancer and it's like nope that's not what I'm arguing at all I'm actually not arguing that any of us like I
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I don't believe like God looks at us and he's like, you deserve cancer. That's not what I'm advocating. My point of what I'm saying is that because sin entered into the world, it fell onto those who were wicked and also those who are good.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And that is just the reality of the earth that we live in because God allowed it to happen in order for us to experience a compassion with him so we could freely choose him. And so a lot of people would be like, well, why is God loving then for him to allow that? And the simple answer is just like, he's loving because he just allows us to make decisions for ourselves and not be selfish.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
and not be manipulated by God. He wants authenticity. Even though God does not permit or ordain suffering, God still allows it to happen, but not because it's his will. But I believe God is so gracious and so compassionate that he will even use our sufferings that are deserved or not to teach us something and to draw us closer to him.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And there's been a lot of areas in my life to where I suffered really badly, whether it was abuse or getting taken advantage of or going through some sort of tragedy that impacted my life for the worst and getting caught up in addiction and depression and almost committing my own life whenever I was 17 years old. And I no longer look at those things and I think, wow, like God wanted that for me.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like God wanted me to feel that way about myself or God wanted me to experience that. If anything, I look back on this situations. I see where God empathized with me and I see where he was strong for me in areas where I was weak.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
and where I needed him, even if I didn't know him just yet, and how God actually used those circumstances to make me stronger, how God used very rainy days to just give me a rainbow, honestly. And I think there's a lot of people who go through really terrible situations that aren't deserved, and they aren't
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
fun and they could hold a lot of weight and trauma and I've experienced that firsthand even things that I have not shared on this podcast were one the sake of privacy and two for the sake of just healing and etc like I As a sister and as a human, I know what it means to suffer. And I'm not acknowledging that suffering is fun.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
If anything, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12, I believe it's verse 9 or 10. He says, that's why for Christ's sake I suffer. It's not for the sake of self, it's for the sake of Christ. Because you understand that when God tells you to take joy in your sufferings, it allows God to just move and reverse every single curse in Jesus' mighty name because he has compassion upon you.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God, I just put to death all expectation of what we think good is in our version of good, in our version of sovereignty, God. God, we open our eyes, our minds, our hearts, our ears, our hands open to receive your goodness for what it truly is and not just a fabricated version manipulated and transcribed by us, God. God, we give you the pen to be the author of our ministry.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so where we know God has compassion for us is one of the stories, like I was talking about earlier, we were talking about the garden in Genesis. And whenever Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they created fig leaves for themselves to hide themselves from God. And God is coming to look for them.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
He gave the consequence of sin, one, not because he wanted to, but because that is just the judgment of sin. And that's what needed to happen. And even in the midst of their sin, and while God could have left them for dirt, he could have started over and been like, you know what? I'm done with y'all. Y'all made me too mad. He then decided to provide for them.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
They made fig leaves for themselves, but instead God knitted for them wool and real clothes made out of animal skin to help and assist them. And God didn't have to do that because humanity sinned against God. And I think a lot of people don't understand suffering and why people suffer because they're like, oh, well, why do good people suffer?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I think my question is, well, what do you consider good? What is good? And what makes you the judge to determine what is good and what's morally good or bad? And do you believe that there's people who don't fall short? Because if you look at every single person in everywhere, on every earth and on every planet, crevice and corner of the earth. Everybody is flawed.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Everybody has some sort of problem. And we are not the judge of what is good and what is not. And I think we have to release that judgment onto God and not become it for ourselves. Because here's the thing. A lot of people will say, okay, so we're going to take two different types of people just for you to understand like the aspects of good.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So right here we got a little boy who is abused by his parents and who was beaten and mocked and hurt. spat on bullied at school all these things and he had such a kind heart he was stripped of his innocence and there was a lot of extremities in his life that he had to endure so we have this person on this side and then on this side we have a man who is abusive and
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
who has gone to jail a multitude of times, who has done very harsh things to other people for himself. He's an abuser. He's an alcoholic. He's a drug addict. He is a mocker. He's prideful. He's adulterous. So we have these two people, right? We have this little boy who's been abused and beaten, and then we have this man who's an abuser. Who deserves to go to heaven?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Is it this little boy or this man? And then who deserves to go to hell? You being the judge, who do you think is more good based off of what I told you? And so something I'm going to share just to give you perspective is What if I told you that this man, who was an abuser, an alcoholic, an adulterer, whatever it may be, had the same past as this little boy? He was abused by his parents.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
He was spat on, mocked, abused, bullied at school, kicked to the ground. What if I told you that this man, who you would think as evil and atrocious and debaucherous and all these things, what if I tell you that he was actually produced from an environment just like this little boy?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It gives you a bigger perspective of as to why this person is so wicked in the first place because sin was committed onto him. And so we can't rely on our own understanding of what good is because we would see the little boy version of this man and show sympathy. But then as he's a man and making all this deliberate decisions, we would condemn him to hell. But that job is only up to God.
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
future of our purpose of everything Jesus. We give you full control, God. God, I release to you the responsibility of this podcast, Father. God, I ask that you navigate through this word and you encourage my brothers and sisters on the other side of the screen and that you meet with them a compassion and a passion and also simultaneously in order.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It is only up to God. And I'm not saying that this person deserves heaven or hell. I'm just giving you perspective for you to understand and discern on your own. Because truly you do not know, no matter how good you think someone is, you truly do not know their story. And the only person who is able to accumulate what good is, is God. And honestly, like we can never even be perfectly good.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God accepts us because of our repentance and because of what Jesus did on the cross. And so we can't be the deciders of what good is because we don't carry out perfect good. I would say if we would be perfect human beings who perfectly carried out what it meant to be good, then maybe... But the truth of the matter is, is that we all mess up and all fall short.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So we cannot be the contributors and the deciders of what good is, the ultimate good, if we don't even know everything. And so it's like releasing that onto God and understanding that we endure suffering not because God allows it, Not because God permits it, but because he allows it. And even through suffering, God is going to minister to us. And suffering is by the works of evil.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And I am very excited for this episode about talking about why a good God allows suffering because I tackled this topic a few months ago when a girl tagged me on a post saying, basically she was just saying, you know, I would be a sold out Christian if I just knew why God would allow suffering if he's so good. And I was like,
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It's by the works of Satan. It's separation from God. And it's also just a repercussion of life. Even if you are someone who is toe to toe and just neck and neck with God and you love him so, so much and you're in his presence each and every single day,
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
you're still going to encounter suffering because Romans eight says that those who want to share the glory of God will also share his sufferings because we are heirs of Christ. And that's here on earth. Like we're enduring a temporary suffering in order to inherit eternal glory with God. And it's because God has to restore everything that the earth has swallowed up because of sin.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And that's why we literally have to die because God wants to perfect us and make us whole because And take us to a land of perfection, not have us live as a stain on a world full of sin. And so I want to talk about maybe, I guess, well, I'll talk about this first. Because even though we are sinful and even though there is sin in the world and there is sickness and there is disease, right?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
That is no longer your portion whenever you are in Christ. So if you're inflicted by the sins of the world or like disease and like all of these things, like you have the opportunity to step out of them by how much belief and faith you exercise in God. So what is John 3, 16 says?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son for nobody to perish, but for us to have eternal life. So the goal of God is not for us to perish, but for us to have eternal life in him. And because God loved us so much, even though we were the people who committed sin in our life. bad each and every single day. God still gave even when he didn't have to.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so Jesus was sent by God to pay the debt that we could have never paid because here's the thing. Like even after Adam and Eve committed sin, God gave humanity time after time after time to come back to him and live in perfection, but they weren't doing it and they weren't being obedient and they weren't doing the things of God. And so, um,
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
He told them to, you know, sacrifice these animals and do all these things and they were still being disobedient. So what did God do? He sent the ultimate sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, which is Jesus Christ.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But God, most of all, I ask that your love is the thing that arises and it's the thing that keeps us glued to your spirit. It's the spirit of love, God. Let us receive you today, God. I love how your word says we're only able to love you because you first loved us, God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And through that perfect sacrifice, he redeemed humanity because Jesus literally took, took on the sins of the whole entire world, like the entirety of the world, just for you to have eternal life with God, right? Get that. All of sins of mankind, all the way back to Adam and Eve and beyond, Jesus endured that in order for you to have an eternal relationship with God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And the only thing you have to do is just accept Jesus Christ as Lord and to pick up your cross and follow him. That's it. It's repentance. It's getting up and it's following the things of God. And we have to understand that God is so compassionate that while we were dead in sin, he still died for us.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Even when you committed the worst sin possible, you can think of the worst thing of your entire head. God will still die for you even at your lowest. Even while you were doing the worst of the worst, God died. God sent his one and only son just for you. For that, like Jesus died for that to redeem you through that very thing. And it's embracing that, right?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so the more you embrace the cross and you embrace what Jesus has done for mankind, it relieves a lot of pressure because you understand the price has been paid and you no longer have to come into agreement with what sin and what the world has to offer. You're no longer a slave to sin. Instead, you are just an heir now of God when you accept him.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so people are still caught up in sin because they don't accept Jesus and they don't believe that he's good. And I really do think like in order for you to see God as good, you just have to release your understanding of what you think good is and allow God to define it for you. And, um, I think that's, it's opening your perspective.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It's seeing other sides of like, okay, well, if I think this person is really good, how do I know this is good? Or how it's like, you really don't know at the end of the day, God is the only judge. And it's like, I think a lot of people are like, oh, well, if God is good, then why is there suffering?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And then they'll turn to the universe and all these crystals and these false gods and et cetera, and think that they won't carry the same principles because And so it's funny that people will turn to crystals and tarot card readings and the universe, and they'll have the audacity to say, well, if your God is so good, then why is there suffering?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But won't prop those same questions towards the things that they're practicing. Like if crystals are so good, then why is there suffering? If the universe is so good, then why is there still suffering in this world? If your false gods are so good, then why is there suffering?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So God, let us embrace and receive the love that you have for us so we can love you better and love our brothers and sisters better, God. God, I ask that you use me as a vessel, Father, that I am literally just a vessel of you, Jesus.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
The difference between your practice and between my true authentic relationship with Christ is that he actually has an answer. And it's not that he permits suffering, but God allows suffering to happen because he's given us the freedom to choose.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
freely choose him and with that evil came into play not because he wanted it to happen but because people didn't choose god and that's that and so i would even just encourage people who don't know the things of god and or or people who have turned to these other things because they don't think god is good prompt those same questions towards the things that you're practicing because the only thing that they're doing is throwing you into delusion and into corruption at the end of it
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so I want to talk into another thing, which is a little more mature. And that's going to be definitely OK. We're going to be talking about very briefly and I won't go super deep into it. I think another episode I might go into like a way.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
deeper dive but to talk about generational curses and what that is because sometimes sickness and the disease that you've experienced and suffering that you go through isn't even on the behalf of yourself but it's from sins of those before you so it could have been your mom your your god mom or not your god mom your great-grandmother and your great-great-grandmother all the way back to adam and eve like sin carries on so even though you're purely innocent you're
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And there's a purity of, of you or upon your life, or even you could say for the sake of children, people who are experiencing disparities, even when they're not deserved are not at times, mostly are not inflicted by themselves, but it's inflicted by the people before them. So just to give you like super basic terminology, just like how, okay, the Bible says on earth as it is in heaven.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So it shows that before it ever happens on earth, it first happens and it is decided on heaven in heaven. And so just like how there is like a natural state of sickness and disease, there's also spiritual state of sickness and disease. Just like how, if you were to meet someone who has, let's just say has cardiac problems, if they have like heart problems and
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It's probably most likely in that family bloodline, there's history of high blood pressure, of some sort of heart disease, of cancer, whatever it may be, because it's hereditary, right? It runs in the family. The same thing is spiritual. So for an example, well, this is also just proven by psychiatrists and psychologists, is that anxiety is not a genetic mutation, right? Anxiety is taught.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God, I just ask that you use me to speak your word articulately, that there is no stuttering or no inconveniences, Father, but instead that you just use me as a voice to cultivate truth, God. God, I decree and declare that this is your podcast, not mine, your platform, not mine. We're here for nobody else but you, God. We want to receive you. We don't want a self-defining, self-seeking gospel.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It's behavior that's taught, right? So a lot of these things like, for an example, if you have dealt with suicidal ideation or you know someone who's dealt with suicidal ideation, it's pretty likely that there was people also in that person's family who were dealing with the same problems. because everything is spiritual.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And just like how there is natural sicknesses and diseases, there's also a spiritual sickness and disease, which is a generational curse.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So spiritually, what that looks like is because I'm the first generation, first generational Christian in my family, a lot of the things that I've experienced was sins on the behalf of my parents, their parents' parents and their parents' parents, all the way down to Adam and Eve, because no one repented and turned towards God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Because I came from a family who was enemies towards God and did not accept the gospel and who Jesus Christ was. So because of that, a lot of the sins and suffering that I was dealing with were not things that I deserved, but they were passed down because people before me did not deal with it. And so generational curses are hereditary, just like any natural circumstance.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So whenever we read the 10 commandments of God commanding the people of Israel, we see in verse five through six, he says, when he's talking about idolatry and he's given the first command, he says, you shall not bow down to them or worship them for I, your Lord, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So there's such thing as generational blessings and generational curses. Generational blessings comes from the compassion you have towards God. So if you're compassionate for God and if you love him... It says that showing love to God will go on for thousands and thousands of generations for those who love him and keep his commandments, a.k.a. faith without works is dead.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So it's not just, oh, hey, I love God and I care about him, but I'm also daily picking up my cross knowing that the destination is death. But for those who are in disparities and are in an iniquative lifestyle and have the same problems in their bloodline, it was because no one came against the sin that was happening. And for my more mature audience, honestly,
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
what you're going to realize is that a lot of sin that happens is manifested from a spiritual sickness. Like every physical sin, every sickness and disease is inflicted from something spiritually that is off. Bible, I can give you on the top of my head. There's a story in second Kings about King Uzziah, who was a King who was being used by the things of God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And he was doing all these miraculous things, gaining a lot of fame. And then he became so prideful and His heart literally turned into a full tombstone of pride. And from that, he then committed an instance to where he went into a temple and burnt incense, but he didn't have the authority to do so. And leprosy broke out on his forehead.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So sickness and disease took place because of his disobedience. But you got to understand that sin was already in his heart before it manifested physically. Even when I think of Jacob and Esau, Esau was disobedient towards the things of God. He was passive. He didn't partner with God. He was denying the promise that God wanted to give him. And there was a physical manifestation there.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
of esau's sin like he's described as red hairy and rough and his sin manifested not even just in himself but also through a nation and so when we see generational curses it's a spiritual deposit that takes place which then manifests physically and so uh i i want to talk more about this because i think people um as much as i can when we go to genesis chapter 4 about cain and abel
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
it's the first it's crazy because you get to like page six of the bible and it's a freaking murder mystery not a mystery we know who did it but it's like you get to the fourth like page of the bible and you're seeing that dang like homeboy just like killed his brother out of nowhere and it shows us that through this i'm gonna read genesis 4 10 this is after cain committed murder towards his brother and
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
We want a gospel that's all about Jesus. So remind us of your goodness and how you love us so, so deeply. And let us receive it. So we thank you and praise you. And I seal this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So like I said, what really inspired me for this episode was a conversation that I had.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And the reason as to why Cain committed it in the first place was because there was hatred and malice in his heart and envy and unworthiness and shame that manifested physically because he failed to deal with it spiritually. And so it says in verse 10, the Lord said, what have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out from me.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
or excuse me let me start over the lord said what have you done listen your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground so this was after abel died and god says this very interesting statement that abel's blood cries out from the ground to god so even though your great great great grandma who was cheating on all of her husbands passed away that does not mean that abel
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
that your mom could have been in the same boat, your grandma, or even you. Like if no one dealt with that sin, and if no one was claiming the things of God and renouncing it and denouncing it and sending it to the pits of hell and repenting and turning to God, then there's an opportunity for that to manifest because it hasn't been spiritually dealt with.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so we know that this is referring to generational curses because we go to Hebrews 12, 24, and it says to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkle blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Any terminology could have been used in the scripture, but it says that the sprinkled blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
The blood of Abel of which cries out. And why the blood of Abel is cried out is because... At the end of the day, like spirits transfer, blood transfers. And it's like, if you don't deal with sin, if you don't deal with what has happened or your anger or your wrath or your depression or your unworthiness of yourself, it's like, you're going to pass that on to the next generation.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Why do you think a lot of people who are in sin, their parents did the same thing that they're doing and so on and so forth? Because it's all spiritual. Just like how there's a natural...
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
inheritance there's also a spiritual one and you could come out of the agreement of sin and certain suffering when you choose jesus and not choose the way of the world amen and so this is the last thing i would like to prompt before we close out because we know that god allows suffering because of freedom because in order for us to experience freedom that's the only way we would have been able to experience love
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And also the reason as to why we might be dealing with things, even though if it was inflicted solely by us, it could have been because of our parents, our parents, parents, et cetera.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And what I want to say is that whether if sin that you're dealing with and suffering that you're dealing with, because I empathize with you children of God, I don't want to just like bypass this as if people aren't really struggling and people aren't having a hard time.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Because I know people are, and I know there's people who are listening to this and have a hard time seeing God as good or seeing their situation as fruitful. And I just want to encourage you that what has happened to you and what's going on right now is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. It's your responsibility to finally choose good.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
A few months ago, and I feel like one of the questions that a lot of unbelievers have towards Christians that's kind of like an aha, I got you moment is, oh, well, if you claim your God is so good, then why is there suffering? Why is there children who have cancer? Why are there good people who are experiencing bad things? And...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It is your responsibility to make the decision if you want to choose Christ, if you're going to choose sin and a life apart from God. And I want to prompt this last thing because I know why we suffer. We suffer because we're bad. We suffer because we mess up. We suffer because we're sinful, right? And so I would just like to prompt this question because we always prompt the question.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
We always prompt the question of if God is so good, then why is there suffering? Why do we have to suffering? I have the answer to that. It's because we're sinful, we're bad, and we mess up. So, okay, that makes sense as to why we suffer is because we mess up and we're sinful and we've been in opposition to God.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But here's a question that I would like to form that I feel like we've never asked If god is so good and so perfect Then why did he choose to suffer? because God is fully miraculous. God is fully powerful. He's fully compassionate. He's fully good and he's fully perfect So if god is all of those things and it claims to be true Then why did he choose? to suffer
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And I believe that if we change our perspective of what suffering is, we get to see that God suffered for humanity, not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And suffering allows us to be in the compassionate heart of God because we get to empathize what God has done for us on a way extreme, less of a... We get to experience the empathy of what God has endured for us on a less extreme of a level. And so I think I finally understand at this point in my life what suffering means and what Paul means by take joy in suffering.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Because when I suffer, I get to experience the heart of God and I get to experience a part of him I've never been able to experience before. And so I'm just going to leave with that encouragement is that if God suffered for you, why won't you suffer for him? Why won't you suffer for him? Because God is a blameless God who is just right and perfectly good. And yet he didn't have to suffer, but did.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so be invited into the compassion of God and remain there because you just got to let your suffering be for the sake of God and not for yourself. And your suffering allows you to empathize with God in essence. And it's beautiful.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And, like, man, the crucifixion is just something else because when you learn the extremities of what Jesus endured, which I don't even feel like I could go into it right now because I would just cry. But, Jesus, do you want me to? man, I feel like I'm just going to cry, but it's okay.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And before God would ever give us an outlet for us to empathize with him and to experience that suffering with him, we have to first understand that God empathizes with us in our suffering. Like Hebrews 4, 14, 15 says that for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness for he has been tempted in each and every single way just as we have, but yet has not sinned.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So God literally sent his one and only son because he wanted to empathize desperately and deeply with you to just understand and acknowledge that you're weak. So it's like when you understand that Jesus was sent in order for God to empathize with us, it gives you such more of a heart for God because God didn't have to suffer. He could have left us to suffer, but yet he chose suffering.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like he is a perfect and good and just God. And he chose suffering. And I think sometimes like we, we're so cocky and confident and egotistical within ourselves that we probably need to repent for to where we look at our suffering and we'll cry out and ask God, why? Why did God allow me to suffer? Why did God allow me to do these things as if he didn't?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I feel like it's a really intriguing and intimidating question when it's prompted. But if you're deeply rooted in the faith, I would actually be confident to say that this is probably one of the more easier questions for me to answer versus some other things theologically that have been very difficult for me to understand.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
as if he wasn't put up on a cross and endured our sins on our behalf. And I want to take out this imagery that we have of like cute little Jesus having nails through his hands on a, on a wooden cross. Like when you understand that Jesus is, man, I can't say this without crying. So I'm just like going to try my best to push through. But when you understand that, oh my gosh, okay, I could do it.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Evie, just talk about the crucifixion, what Jesus has done for us. It's so good. When you understand that your suffering is nothing compared to what Jesus did for us, like he stood and was pinned on that cross, like naked. and sorry oh my gosh keep it together he was naked they whipped him i'm sorry they whipped him
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Till blood was gushing out of him, and his intestines ringing out, and his back was torn open to where you could see his spine. And they spat on him, and they placed a crown of thorns on his head and bogged him. And they made him carry on top of that a 200-pound cross to a hill on which they would kill him on. And then the people he loved the most abandoned him and left him.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Even his own father left him for a moment. And when Jesus died on that cross, like every time he went to breathe, like he literally had to lift himself up just to get a breath. Every time he breathed, he literally had to like extend his chest up.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And while he's doing that, he has like all these opened wounds on his back, literally like being impaled again by like the splinters of the wood on this cross. And he's like just trying to get some air. And it's like, You have the audacity to ask why God allows suffering, but you don't look on what he did for you.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like Jesus didn't have to suffer, but yet he did because he wants to live in perfect harmony with you. And we just look at the cross once a year as if it's just some sort of friend with the Easter bunny. Like this isn't, this isn't just like a, oh, I love, I love Jesus. And you know, he's cool.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like I understand that Jesus Christ died for me and like died a very extreme, gruesome death where they like cut him. It marked him. And so, yeah, I think once you see the sufferings of Christ, you no longer see the sufferings of self. Instead, you just embrace them because you just get to share a part of God. That's it. And so seeing God as good is all up to you.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Like, I think it's so funny that people don't understand the sovereignty and goodness of God and why we suffer from but then other topics are theologically a lot more deeper. But I think this is one of those easier ones to tackle. But if you do not know Jesus, it's going to seem very intimidating and very harsh in a sense for you to understand.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Because if you're watching this video and you're finding every single reason for God not to be good, you are going to find it. And it's because you're coming in with the intention to see God as not good. But it's like, what would happen if you just died to that for a moment and open your mind of what it actually means for God to be good? And not just your perception, but like what he actually says.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And people could go to parts of the Bible where, you know, God could have been like super wrathful and all these things. But it's like these things were never inflicted by God. It was always these people inflicting it upon themselves.
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I promise y'all, if you were to see all this biblical stuff that was happening in Old Testament times, you're like, oh, like, why would God wipe out a nation like of these innocent people? Because these people was not innocent. You want to know what they were doing? They were killing. They were prostituting themselves. They were having sex with animals.
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
They were doing all these things completely debaucherous. And it's like, you think these people are perfectly innocent and God is just punishing people for no reason. It's like, no, like sin punishes itself. Like God doesn't punish. Like what we're seeing, like suffering, like that's the work of evil. That's the work of sin. It's not the hand or the work of God. Like he's the judge of who's good.
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And we get to be in right standing with God in righteousness because of Jesus. And that's all through repentance. But it's like, you don't choose what good is. Even if you want to believe it up and down, you do not. You do not. you are not the decider of ultimate good or evil. It's only up to God. It's just a matter of releasing it. Amen. So yeah, I'm a hot mess, but that's the gospel.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I think it's good to be wrecked in glory by what Christ has done for us because it keeps us in a posture of humility. But
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
suffering isn't fun but I take joy in it because I know it pleases God and he could use it to teach me something amen so yeah um I'm not really gonna do announcements like that because I feel like I should just leave this as it is um the only thing I'm gonna say y'all already know what the announcements are they're all down below just look at the description that's it um
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
yeah i think the biggest application i'm gonna give is don't just take emmy's word for it like go and discover god for yourself like you can find that all throughout the scriptures like if you want to know who god is like it's really all through here and like take away every preconceived idea that you have about god and let him just teach you who he is
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
It's like meeting someone for the first time that you've only seen on the internet and that you've heard about. And then you think you know everything about them just because you've seen them on the internet and because you've heard your friends talking about them and all these things. It's like, nope, you actually don't know them as much as you think you do.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so we have to kill those expectations and... We have to kill the expectation of who we think God is and actually allow him to reveal himself and speak for himself instead of us deciding who he is based off of our perception, rumors, and et cetera, but like really discovering God. And that can be done through prayer. It can be done through scriptural reading, through community, church.
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If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Um, but yeah, my request is for you to stay there and just meditate and, uh, don't take my word, take God's word because I'm not on any side. I'm on God's side. Amen. So yeah, anything down below, if you got saved through this podcast, if you, uh, you pray requests, you feel led to tithe, whatever, uh, all links are down below. But until then, I love you guys. I will see you next week.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But when you fully do get the picture as to why God allows suffering and why he's good simultaneously at the same time, you get to experience the compassion of God that he has first ordained for us to experience with him. And so I think when we talk about why does a good God allow suffering, it kind of just shows us this contrast between, okay, well, God is good in suffering.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And be blessed because God truly does have compassion for you. It's just a matter of choosing him because he chose you and he loves you. Just choose him back. Amen. Okay. Love you guys. Bye.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Obviously, those things shouldn't be in the same melting pot. And I just want to add language, biblically and theologically, as to why God allows suffering. That he doesn't permit it and God does not orchestrate suffering, but God allows it to happen in order for us to experience a compassion with him. And I think that's something that a lot of people get confused on.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Well, why does suffering have to happen in order for compassion to be placed with God? Is it there any other way he could have done it? Why do I have to suffer on the behalf of God? All these things. And we're going to talk about those things today. So buckle in because the Lord is just going to say what he's going to say. So let's just go to chapter... Genesis chapter one.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
We're going to start there in the beginning. Anytime I have a question about scripture, I get really stumped in area, just a little life hack. I usually go to the same two spots. I'll go to the crucifixion and I'll go to the beginning of time because that will usually show us two avenues as to where we could be falling and where we need to be more appreciative.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And I kind of tackled that conversation and I wanted to bring that into a podcast episode form today. So there's one room to talk about it and two for us to like really be invited into the presence of God and experience his goodness and not just our perception of what we think good is, but actually embrace Jesus for who he says he is. So, if you do not know me, my name is Emi Moore.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So a lot of the reasons as to why we fall in the same cycles is because of the same things that Adam and Eve fell for in the garden. And then the reason as to why we're saved and redeemed, well, that's what Jesus Christ has done. So those are kind of two pivotal stories. And I think the entirety of like the gospel and this love story we have with God, that's like super important.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so in Genesis chapter one, through chapter three, we're seeing this unraveling of God creating the heavens and the earth, the birds in the sky, everything in the water and below it. And then he creates male and female. And while he created all the universe and said that it was good, he created us and said that it was very, very good.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so we have to first know that God created male and female and humans in general for the intention for us to be in correct and perfect harmony with God. God's intention to create humanity wasn't for us to do all these things for him or to alter or accelerate his ego, but rather humans were created with God because God wanted to enjoy his relationship that he made with his creation.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So the reason as to why we're alive isn't because we're made to make God egotistical or because we're called to do all these things. But humans, me and you, are simply made to be admired and loved by God. And so we see that man and woman were made. And then we see that Adam's name in all the animals and everything. And then we...
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Come to Genesis chapter 3, and we see that there's a snake planted in the Garden of Eden. And so God gave Adam and Eve very simple instruction. He said, look, you can eat from any of these trees, but this one right here, you cannot eat from this one. This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and you are not allowed to eat from this tree.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Whatever you have, everything else you see in this garden, you could touch, you could eat, you could swing from the trees. But this one right here, that's a no because you will surely die. And so we go to chapter three and we see that Eve is acting just a little delulu and she goes up to this tree. And this is when we have our first or when she has her first encounter with Satan.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
As us reading the Bible, this is the first encounter we have reading about Satan and who he is and the attributes of which he holds. And so Satan, who is masked as a serpent, then tells Eve, Well, if you eat from this tree, like you will certainly not die for God knows that if you eat from it, you will just be, you will be just like him knowing and obtaining all knowledge of what he has.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God just don't want to share with you. So because Satan is deceptive and because he's crafty and intelligent and deception, he tricks Eve into eating the fruit of the knowledge of the tree of knowledge, again, an evil. And then she gave some to her husband who was right there with her.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
That's a completely different story of Adam being there and allowing her to eat the fruit when he should have stepped up and did something. Okay, but that's a different conversation. And so then after that, this is when sin imparts into the world, right? By the way, all this, you have to understand in order for God to allow suffering, right? And so sin then imparts into the world.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And what does Adam and Eve do? It says that their eyes were then open and they saw themselves and became ashamed. They saw that they were naked. And it's funny because they was naked the whole entire time. But the moment that sin has entered the world, it took their eyes off of God and it finally put their eyes upon themselves.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And the condition that they were always in, they were now made aware of because sin had now given them a different lens. And so when sin came into the world, it addressed shame itself. in fear. And because of that, Adam and Eve then hid from God and he's walking in the cool of day and he's looking for Adam and Eve and he's saying, where are they?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
I'm the host of Save Not Soft. Also, I just feel like saying this. One of my best friends, Imani, she met somebody who had like a Save Not Soft t-shirt. And she was like, oh my gosh, you watch my bestie Emi. And she's like, oh my gosh, I love her, all this stuff. And she took a video of her and she was like, hey Emi, I love Save Not Soft.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And they're hiding behind the bushes, trying to make fig leaves of clothes and garments for themselves. And God is asking where his creation is because he wants to spend time with them and he sees that they are hiding. And so whenever he does find Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve then tell God that they were afraid of God because of what they had done, so they hid.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so then from that, God declares a consequence, not because he has hatred for them or because he had some sort of malice or wrath towards them, but because God had to release a judgment in response to sin. And so that consequence was given, and then that's when we see God knitting wool for Adam and Eve, even in the midst of their sin.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so whenever sin imparted into the world, that then opened up a whole entire door for people to rebel and come against the things of God. And so the question as to why does a God who was good allow suffering also kind of stems from the question of why would God allow sin to happen in the first place? Because suffering happens because sin happens.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
But sin happens because God took a risk by giving us free will so he could experience true compassion with his creation. And so when we see Adam and Eve in the garden, First, Adam and Eve were created with the intention to be in perfect harmony with God, but yet it didn't happen because they were sinful and they fell into their own desires and they believed the serpent.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so the question is, why did that happen in the first place? Why did God put the snake there? And why did they have the opportunity and the choice to not choose God? And we first have to understand why God created mankind in the first place. And it's because of one thing, one thing only, because of compassion. Because God wanted to experience a legitimate relationship with his creation.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And in order to experience love, love cannot exist outside of the parameters of freedom. And so what that means is that when love comes into play, there also has to be a choice. So love is like a two-step process or it's a two-step definition, I would say. So love requires two things. Love is a feeling, which is compassion and empathy and love and excitement. Love carries an attribute that's
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
That's embedded into a feeling. But then the other side of love is also an action which is accompanied by choice. So this is why you see married couples who have been married for years and years and years and years. You ask them, you know, what has kept you married for so long?
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Why have you been able to keep your marriage so, so, so great and tied together and rooted in Christ and all these things? And these couples will say each and every single time you have to choose to love one another because there will be days where you wake up and you don't want to feel like love for that person, but it's an active choice.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So love is an action which is accompanied by choice, right? So in order for us to experience love for God and for him to experience compassion for us, there has to be choice in the midst of all of this, which means in order for us to have choice, there has to be an opportunity for us to exercise free will.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And I feel like I realize I don't do this as much, but I guess I do. But it's okay. I don't even know where this came from. But anyways, my name's Emmy Moore. This is the podcast Save Not Soft. What is Save Not Soft? Save Not Soft is a catered podcast to let you know that you are heard, seen, and loved by God. You are adored by God. God loves you. He has compassion upon you.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so the reason as to why free will had to happen and why there is ultimate good and ultimate evil is because whenever you don't have the power to choose, you don't have the power to love. So God gave the power of choice and he limited his power in order for his creation to freely choose God, even if he knew the expense of it, because he wanted to experience a relationship.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
Because if God forced you to love him, would you consider that love? Yeah. No, because God is forcing you to love him. So love wouldn't truly exist because it's represented by dictatorship.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
So what the Lord God had made for us to experience and why suffering had to come into the world is because whenever you don't choose God, when you don't choose love, which he is the definition of, you are choosing the other side, which is ultimately sin.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And sin is the absence of God because there's people who indulge in sin and they think that it's good and they're, oh, well, this isn't harming my life and this isn't hurting me. But it is declaring separation from God. And that's what sin is. Sin is separation fully from God. And God doesn't want to create a creation or a species to where he's unrelational because God is good. God is just.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
God is loving. He is the definition of love. And he wants to experience creation with humans. Like he wants to partner with us. And I think that's really special. And so while the earth was created for us to be in perfect harmony with God, God limited his power. And then through that, because Adam and Eve didn't choose God, they chose sin and therefore entered into the world.
Saved Not Soft
If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?
And so the next question would be, well, if Adam and Eve sin, what does that have to do with me? Why do I have to struggle and be in suffering because of what Adam and Eve did? Like, I don't even know them. They lived like thousands and thousands of years ago. What does that have to do with me? Because the moment that Adam and Eve sinned, after them, their sons, they sinned.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Hello, hello everyone and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. What's going on everybody? I'm excited for today because God is good and he is all the time. That's my jingle for today. And we're going to keep it as that. We're going to close it. Hope you guys are doing great. Hope you guys are doing amazing.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So when Jesus talks in parables and he talks in instructions, he usually speaks from a perspective so the people he is teaching to could easily understand. And so the people during this time understood that what it meant to be yoked meant to have two strong oxen beside one another with a wooden frame that kept them one another to work with one another so they could equally pull weight.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So the problem with being unequally yoked is that in the ancient agricultural practice is that if one oxen was weaker than the other, it would be impossible to finish the job because it's not a one oxen job. It's a two oxen job, but both of them need to be on the same page, not just physically, but also mentally and through temperament. I believe that is like the word. And so-
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The frame binds them together. So just as how two oxen are binded together by this golden frame, so are we in relationships by being yoked. We are binded not just by casual conversations or just living on a day-to-day basis, but on a deep, intimate level together.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so it's important to know that if these oxen were unequal in size or strength or temperament, the yoke would be imbalanced and the task would become super difficult or quite literally impossible. And so the reason as to why I bring this up is because 2 Corinthians 6, 14 through 15 shows us what it means to be yoked to somebody and what it means not to be yoked to somebody.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I believe, you know, there's aspects you kind of understand when you first come to Christ that you're going to lose some people along the way, whether if it's, you know, whether if it's you just fall out of a line with one another and you're no longer living the same lifestyle. But then even after I became Christian, I still lost friends along the way.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It says, do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ or by Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? So it shows us this contrast between there's a side to where the believer is carrying a lot of weight.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
They understand the spiritual things. They are mature in the spirit. And what it means to, they wouldn't have the capability to finish the task they're called to fulfill if they were yoked to somebody who was weaker in the spirit. And it doesn't necessarily mean that this person is better. It just means that this person is stronger in areas where this person is really weak.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I think there's areas where in some friendships there could be some commonalities where you guys, you know, have a lot of strength. You have the same temperament and et cetera. But you guys may have different problems. So just as much as let's say this friend has a lust problem, this person can have like an addiction problem. but you guys both sharpen each other in one of those areas.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Like that's different. I think the example I'm giving is say someone is completely spirit filled and they're pursuing the things of God and they're not really being tied back by the world. And then this person over here is caught up in like drinking, smoking, partying, whether if it's false doctrine, self-righteousness, whatever it may be.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it's holding them back from fulfilling their assignment. And it's not creating this harmonious relationship because there is an imbalance, right?
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I bring this up because we have to know what it means to be yoked with people and being yoked in developing those deep relationships is based not off of, like I said, casual conversation, but deep, intimate conversations, common beliefs and common thoughts. I think people may have the question of, can I still be friends with people who are unaligned with my faith?
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And my answer to that is you cannot be yoked with them. But if God has assigned you to that person, then there must be a healthy distance and a boundary.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because there have been some cases in my life specifically to where I had friends, whether if they were in the world with me or if I just met them, and God wasn't calling me to partake in their practices, but God was also calling me to stay somewhat close so I can minister to them. And that is an instruction from the Lord.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If your friend is all sorts of not doing what they're supposed to do and you know it, you got to get up and leave with their bad influence. There are some people, though, to where they don't have anybody else in their life to show the light of Christ. And God may actually be using you as a vessel to minister to them.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
The only difference that needs to happen is you could have a friendship, but it needs to be a friendship at a distance and not to be yoked. What people don't understand about being yoked is that being yoked is not a casual interaction. Being yoked is a deep ongoing relationship that requires shared goals and values. And so what this looks like practically is,
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
is if you were to have a friend who doesn't share the same goals and values as you, then it is your responsibility to not invest into them super spiritually and emotionally and physically because you're unequally yoked. What it means to become yoked with someone is investing into them on a deep spiritual level. And if the other person doesn't understand deep spiritual...
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I wanted to talk about friendships today because that is something that the Lord has been putting me through the ringer when it comes to friendships and building relationships with other people.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
values or goals, then that's not someone you should be yoked with because there is no commonality.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But if God has called you to that person and minister to them or to assist them or to show the love of God, you could do that at a distance and being friendly and being kind and being gracious, but not partaking in their, whether if it's their wickedness or their disobedience or the things that they're doing in the world that has the potential to throw you into corruption as well. That's
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so we could still be assigned to people without being yoked. And an example I have on the top of my head is even the prophet Samuel. The prophet Samuel was looking over Saul and Saul was absolutely far from God. Like the Holy Spirit got up and left Saul. But Samuel was still assigned to Saul to give him the word of the Lord.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And it was in the only reason as to why Samuel continued his relationship with Saul was because God instructed Samuel to look over Saul. There became a time where Samuel had to step back because Saul gave into sin and iniquity so much and Samuel grieved.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
But the times that Samuel was looking over Saul, it was because God had called him to look over Saul, even though they were not equally yoked in friendship or let alone on a spiritual basis.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Saul used to be a man of God, but because he fell far from God, Samuel had a different role of not being equally yoked and deeply yoked with Saul, but instead he created a healthy balance to where he was able to minister and pour into Saul. Does this make sense? So it's creating healthy boundaries and it's addressing that there's a huge difference between loving people and associating with people.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
You can love people from a distance and you get to decide how far you want to go. But association and associating with what they may be doing and things that are not Christ-like that you've been convicted of and God has told you not to be around and et cetera, you can love people without being associated with them each and every single day and cultivating that very deep relationship.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I wanted to cater a podcast specifically to keeping an eye on your circle and watching who your circle is, whether if it's for the greater good or if it's actually throwing you into spiritual corruption. And so I'm gonna share a little bit of personal experiences, but more importantly, what the word of God says.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
it's just understanding that there's two different paths. And if God has assigned you to that person to help them up and guide them, that you really have to be tender to the voice of the Lord and his instruction to carry that out well. Some people though, God's just calling you to drop and you just got to let it go.
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Because if God does not call you to that person and if that person is flat out like they don't want to hear Jesus, you got to dust the hands. You got to dust the dust off of your hands and just leave them. Right. And it's mostly imitating the heart of Jesus and not leading and not allowing an open door that can lead to spiritual conflict or compromise. Right.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so where we see Jesus ministering to those and assisting those who he wasn't, well, it's Jesus, but there was a different relationship that Jesus had with the disciples, his friends, than the relationships he had with the sinners and the tax collectors. There was a different relationship there.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
There was a deeper investment that Jesus had with his disciples and with his friends because there was that relational equity. But then we see how Jesus communicated with the sinners and the tax collectors. He's still gracious and kind and was ministering them. He was always leading them back to God though with kindness and he was never partaking in their wickedness.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
He always caught the tax, the sinners, the tax collectors and the prostitutes in a time where they were just able to sit down and eat and Not when they was doing a whole bunch of things they weren't supposed to do in the first place. His love didn't depend from other people's righteousness. It just came from his divine nature and his mission to save people.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And Jesus always led others towards God through teaching repentance. That's the biggest thing. And our love for others should be an invitation for them to experience God.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
If you're called to assist them and navigate them into a flourishing life with God, if God has given you that responsibility to lead your friends and to be the black sheep, I guess, of the group and stand out and make a point and advocate for righteousness, like God does call us to be that person for our friends.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It's just knowing the difference between yoking to those friendships, but then also creating a healthy balance to where you're not falling into those same tendencies, but you're still somewhat associated or you're somewhat in relation with them to where you're able to speak into them. And there's some sort of equity to where you could pour into them and give them new hope in life. Amen.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so when we talk about friends we have to drop, it's the opposite of the friends we have to keep. So the friends you should keep are friends who obviously lead you to Christ and friends that you're equally yoked with. But then friends that you should probably drop are friends who lead you away from Christ and friends you're not equally yoked with.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think we could be revealed with a whole bunch of different behaviors that the Bible points out to stray away from. And even when you are Christian and you have other Christian friends, you still can be unequally yoked. Just because that person is a Christian does not mean that you're yoked with them. I can't tell you how many times where I had Christian friends say,
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So first, if you do not know me, my name is Emmy Moore and I'm the host of Save Not Soft. And Save Not Soft is a podcast to let you know that you are heard, loved, and seen by God. And also to inform those who are listening that, It is not an easy journey. This whole Christianity thing, it is difficult and it's hard. And that's why the Bible says that the path is narrow.
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And we were not on the same page. And God told me to step back and to not be deeply invested. I've actually lost a few relationships because I could no longer trust them with that deep intimacy because they were doing things that were not on the same level. And we were unequally yoked in areas or beliefs or the way that we lived our lives, et cetera. It could be a multitude of things.
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And God had called me higher. And that person did not want to move with me just like an oxen and move forward, but instead stay back and stay where they were at. And that's essentially what unequally yoked was, was that God was calling both of these oxen to move forward, but one of them didn't want to. And that's who you got to let go of is God.
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Someone who's unwilling, someone who's unwilling to do the things of God. If God has caused you to grace them, then show them grace. But it comes to a point to where if God is flat out like, hey, you need to leave, you got to listen to the voice of God. But how do you know that? What are behaviors to avoid?
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
I think one of them is when the other person practices things far away from your lifestyle in Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15, 33 says, "'Do not be misled. "'Bad company corrupts good character.'" So if you have friends who are still in the world and they're still loving the world and lovers of the world, and that's just not your lifestyle and you found a new one in Jesus Christ.
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The Bible shows us not to be associated with our good character with their bad company. Again, there's times where God may use you to minister to them and he's going to give you an opportunity to do so, but it's not associating yourself with their bad company.
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And then I think another attribute to where you know you need to step away from the relationship or from the friendship is when the other person openly is rejected of Jesus Christ. Matthew 10, 14 says, if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that at home or town and shake the dust off of your feet.
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So what I mean when people openly reject Jesus, I'm not even just talking about people who would be atheists or agnostic and just completely hesitant toward the things of God, but even people and even friends that you may have who are rejective to God's word and People who are not able to receive correction or rebuke, like people who refuse for you to let them sharpen them.
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I think that's a huge indicator. I think that was like, that there, that was a lot of areas where personally with my friendships where I felt the Lord was calling me out of a lot of them because I, I was the one to always sharpen other people, but no one was sharpening me. And I was like, what the heck is going on?
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And I think there was, there was a spiritual imbalance because maybe I could have been more sound in doctrine or maybe I could spend more time in my secret place, whatever it may be. And that the other person like didn't call me out in areas where I wanted correction. And I wanted that, that I wanted, I wanted to receive and know where, you know, I'm wrong and get sharpened in those areas.
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But it was almost as if The other person wasn't equipped to like sharpen me and call me out. But then there's been times where I've had relationships to where I was in a position of authority because of our relationship to call that person out by the spirit of God leading by his conviction. And the person didn't receive it because they're so offended.
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So how do we walk that path? And how do we not compromise for the things of the world? So this podcast is catering to that specifically. Amen. But anyways, let's get into this message and let's pray. Yes. So let's bow our heads, close our eyes. Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you and praise you, God.
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And therefore, because of their offense, they can't receive the things of God because they're too offended. They're too traumatized and they're thinking about themselves way too much.
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And so I think that was like one of the things I like struggled with when it came to friendships and kind of the cause as to why I had to let some of my friends go, especially as I started to evolve in ministry was because there were just some people who didn't want to be sharpened or didn't have the tools to sharpen me when I was sharpening them.
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And that what that's what it means to be equally oats, because if I'm just sharpening one side, I'm going to get doled out because I'm doing way too much work. But then there's like another side where it's like I'm needing to get sharpened and I'm needing to I'm needing to grow and I need someone to also hold me to that same standard.
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And it's just basically seeing in the spirit that way of the friends that you have, you should sharpen one another and it shouldn't be out of harshness. It shouldn't be rude. It shouldn't be kind. It should be gentle. It should be kind. clothed in truth. And if it needs to be said sternly, it can, but let it be from an intentional heart and not anything that's like self-righteous.
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And so that was one attribute. Another attribute is those who operate in anger or lack of self-control. Proverbs 24 or 22, 24 through 25 says, do not make friends with a hot tempered person. Do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
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So I think what people fail to realize about relationships and friendships is that we hear this all the time is like, you are who you hang out with. So whoever you hang out with and whoever you're spending time with, whether if it's good or bad, there is a part of you that has the ability and has the temptation of being
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accumulating and developing the same attributes that they have because of the deep connections that you have, right? And so, Sorry, I had to itch my nose real quick.
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So one of the things that I could think of on the top of my head is if you're a person on fire for God and one of the people, which is your friends, is easily tempered and angry and acts in emotion all the time and doesn't know how to control their emotions and it's throwing you into a lot of despair, you get up and go, baby girl.
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There's a time, I think it's going to get to a point to where you can only take it for so long. And it's like, how long are you going to take it? I think the biggest indicator of who you're needing to drop in relationships is ultimately people who are not willing to change and grow with you. Sometimes you just outgrow people and that's okay.
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These past few episodes have been so impactful, not only just preaching them, but also just in my secret space, knowing that the Lord has been pleased through this ministry and just knowing that's really impacting people's hearts and drawing them closer to Jesus. So I'm very blessed of what the Lord's doing through this ministry and through this podcast.
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God, I thank you for the opportunity for us to come before you, God, and ask you for wisdom and consultation, God. We just ask that you guide us, God, according to your word. God, I ask that you help us and you assist us in the way of the Spirit and just in the correct way. walk, God, with you, Father. I just ask that you speak to us.
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I wish actually our culture and our day and age normalized people just outgrowing one another without it being bad blood. There's been so many times where out of high school, going into my adult years, I just grew out of people. And it was just because we were going through different seasons.
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And it wasn't because I necessarily had animosity or anger towards that person, or let alone that they necessarily did anything bad. We were just on two different sets of life and they were no longer equal with one another. They were completely imbalanced. And I think sometimes we need to normalize it. It's okay to just drift apart because you go down two different roads of life. Like,
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I think one thing that now sets me apart from my age is like, there's an unrelatability that I now experience with friends because I'm about to get married and none of my friends are married. So it's, it's also one of those things of like, it doesn't mean stop being, you know,
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It doesn't mean to stop being friends with people who aren't on the same season as you, but it's being intentional of how your friends respond during the seasons that you're going through. Are they still sharpening you? Are they still encouraging you? Are they still pushing you through the things of God?
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Or are they trying to hold you back to where they find you comfortable and where they want you? Because sometimes you will be growing in the things of God and other people will try to drag you down where they're at just so they don't feel alone. And that's when you need to run, baby girl.
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If you're not equally yoked with somebody and the person who's over here is trying to drag you down just so they could be empathized with, you got to get up and go and find another oxen, babe. Because you're not going to be equally sharpened by that person because that person is just wanting to be sharpened for their sake and not for the sake of you.
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And you could discern that by observing their fruits. And by all means, it's not to have perfect friends. I don't believe anyone is perfect, not even perfect. the greatest Christian ever. Like no matter how much you go to church, no matter how much you read your Bible, no one's ever going to be truly perfect. And there's never going to be a perfect relationship.
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It's just a matter of, are you willing to grow? Are you willing to be sharpened? Are you willing to do the things of God? And are you willing to grow together? Because the moment that somebody stops and they stay stuck there, someone has to make a decision.
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Either God's going to call you to encourage that person to get behind, back up and pursue the things of God, or God is going to lead you to go. And I believe how you know you got to let go of relationships is definitely tested by scripture. Tested by scripture, pray to the Lord and go to your secret space. Just being super transparent of how the Lord speaks to me.
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The Lord has divinely blessed me with the gift of dreams and the interpretation of dreams, not just like dreaming. And I'm like, Oh, what the heck was that? But also God has divinely blessed me with their interpretation of my own dreams, the dreams of other people to where I could see it more spiritually than naturally and
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So for an example, like in a natural sense, I could have a dream that's like a roller coaster and you're like, oh, I don't know why I'm on a roller coaster. Does that mean I don't go to Six Flags or Disneyland?
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But God gave me the wisdom and the interpretation to know that a roller coaster can mean you going through different seasons of life and God's just trying to show you that you're moving a lot and there's a transition coming. So it's like God has divinely blessed me with the interpretation of dreams and of dreaming. And a lot of the friendships that I needed to let go of,
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You minister to our hearts and spirits, God, that you make us receptive to learn, God. And God, you even reveal certain areas where we may need to let go of people and maybe embrace other people, God. I just decree and declare that today is a day full of clarity. in a day where your children will walk away from this episode feeling certain of what your word teaches and what your word says.
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The majority of them, God told me in a dream. And sometimes he will full on just pop up and be like, you need to drop this person because this is what they're doing behind closed doors and you don't even know. Oh, like God is the absolute biggest snitch. And I love that he is because God is an honest God and he's a just God and God is going to vindicate you.
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So if you're asking for areas where you may be struggling or hurting and like, man, like God, I really need help and assistance in these areas, what's dragging me down?
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And God gives you a dream of your friend or God gives you confirmation that your quote unquote friend is doing like witchcraft behind your back or talking smack behind your back or is actually jealous or angry of you and wants everything that you have, whatever these things may be. God is going to reveal that to you.
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whether if it's in the person, uh, themselves or like through a dream or through the word itself and just testing them by their fruits. I understand some people may not audibly hear the voice of God and some people have a hard time discerning dreams and growing their spiritual discernment, but that just comes with prayer and practice and cultivating your time in the spirit.
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Because even sometimes there, God didn't have to come to me in a dream because I would just pray and I would contend with the Lord. I would just show him like, God, these are areas where I'm really uncomfortable and I don't know if you're calling me to this friendship or I'm assigned to them. And it's almost as if the next time I see them, they do something that was absolutely out of pocket.
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So it was like, oh God, you allowed me to see that. So I know what's actually happening and where I need to step away. And so sometimes God will do that.
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I think the biggest thing is just testing it by the scriptures and testing it by the fruits of the spirit and also like a love test, like going into 1 Corinthians 13 and like testing just the fruits and the attitudes of that person and see if it's actually sharpening you or if it's actually pulling you back and taking you through more turmoil, right?
Saved Not Soft
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And so the bigger picture is that at the end of the day, whether if you like it or not, your friends represent you. I remember I saw on TikTok there, it was very worldly, by the way, this was not like a Christian creator at all, but it was like this guy, because you know, like how people will go to the clubs and just start asking questions.
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Like I love watching those because I really want to know what the world thinks and what culture thinks. So it could equip me in my secret space with the Lord of like how to speak to other people who may think that way, if that makes sense. And so I watched a lot of these interviews because people are so out of pocket on these like street interviews, club interviews or whatever.
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And there was one question that this guy was asked and, and this, This I know this is going to be like, girl, why are we bringing this up? But it's all going to make sense. But this guy asked this other guy at the club, he said, hey, man, I got a question. He's like, what's up?
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And he's like, my question to you is, is that would you date a girl who and say she was in a friend group with like five girls or something like that? He was like, would you date a girl if you knew all the rest of her friends were like OnlyFans stars or something like that? And the man said, no. And he was all like, why wouldn't you?
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And he was like, because your friends represent who you are, even if you're not doing any of that. Because the guy was like, well, what if she didn't do OnlyFans? And what if she didn't do those things? And he made a really good point. He was like, okay, I have a question for you. And the interviewer was like, oh.
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And I ask that the Holy Spirit convicts not me or anybody else, God, but just you. I ask that your spirit gently convicts your children and that you show us you want the best for us, God. So I thank you so much, Father. God, I decree and declare in the mighty name of Jesus that the weapons of my war are not carnal, but they are spiritual through the mighty hand of God.
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And he was like, my question is, if you see a pack of lions, are you going to think, oh, one of them is nice. Let me go up to it and pet it. And the interviewer is like, no. And he's like, right. So it's like a pack of lions is a pack of lions. You're not going to go up to one of them and just think that one of them is nice.
Saved Not Soft
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So it's that we could take that same analogy for ourselves is like your friends represent you. So if you're around a whole bunch of women who are mean and angry and gossiping, No wonder other people are going to think of you that way because you're being represented by those you surround yourself with.
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But if you're around friends who are loving and kind and gentle, that also speaks upon your character as well. And it's not a vanity thing and it's not a superficial thing. That is just the reality of how friendships are supposed to work. You are supposed to be friends with people you are equally yoked with.
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And then you wonder why people don't want to, or why people wouldn't see you as a Christian. Oh, I wouldn't know that you were a Christian because you hang out with, and it's because you're not equally yoked with the people you're hanging out with. And I think it's a matter of not sticking with the wrong crowd.
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Like I said, if you're called to people, if you're called to minister to them, if you're called to be a light, be the light, just don't go to the club with them. It's like, people are like, oh, like I can still not drink and smoke and do these things, but I'm still going to go to the club and support all these people drinking and smoking.
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And it's like, that literally defeats the whole purpose because people will go to these places and then they won't even advocate for the gospel. They just won't say anything at all. And when nothing changes, nothing changes. that's it. It's like, if you're going, if for some reason, if God did call you to go to the club and to not drink and smoke, you better be preaching the gospel up in there.
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I know there's been some times where, um, early in my influencer days and I was just coming to Christ, I would go to influencer events and I wouldn't drink and I wouldn't dance. I would do all these things. But instead I was in the girl's bathroom telling people about Jesus. And so there'll be opportunities for that. But if you're a person who's just like, Oh man,
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God hasn't called me to drink or smoke, but all my friends drink and smoke and party, and I'm going to go with them, but I'm not doing these things, but I'm not going to advocate the gospel or his truth. You're basically sinning just as them just by participation.
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Just like how criminally you can get arrested just by being associative of something, there's also a spiritual arrestment that could happen just from your association and your lack of seeking the things of God. Criminally, even people who have been... AKA they're called accessories.
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Whether it's to, uh, whether if it's to something super criminal or like, say if it's like a drive by shooting or a robbery or something like that, even if you didn't pull the trigger, even if you didn't rob the person, you are an accessory to, by association to that person who committed that act. Same thing spiritually.
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So if you're not advocating good, then you're just as sinful as what those people are doing in the club and smoking and doing all the twerking and the marijuana, et cetera, because you're failing to do anything. And this is in my words, James 4, 17 says this, if anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
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So when you're in a position to advocate for Christ and you're in a position to where you could preach the gospel to your friends who are in wickedness or they're doing all these things that sure you don't do anymore.
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But if you don't say anything to them, if you're not advocating God's truth and if you know what's good, but you're not going about it, you're in just as much sin as them and they're smoking and drinking and partying and having, having sex with other people and et cetera. Because you're also being disobedient. It may not be in those areas, but you're still being disobedient.
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In Jesus' mighty name, they are mighty, God. So I thank you. God, I just speak of protectiveness over this podcast, God, and I just speak that there's a fresh overflow of instruction, of wisdom, of knowledge, and of repentance. God, use me as a vessel. This is not my podcast. This is yours. This isn't even my body. This is yours, God. Just ask that you use me for the greater good of God.
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Disobedient is disobedience. And so I think my encouragement is to just come out of being lukewarm. And not cultivating lukewarm relationships. Instead, having relationships that build each other up. And I think at the end of the day, God is going to show you who's going to stick around and who's just seasonal.
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And if people are seasonal, then trust God that they played their part in your season and release them with peace. release them whenever God gives you the instruction to not out of your own. Oh, I got to do this, God. And, you know, it's just bugging me so much. Like if the Lord is releasing you from that person, let them release you and also do it in a peaceful manner.
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And where the Lord is fully intact. And, you know, even when I first came to Christ and when I lost so many friends. And I mean, so many friends that I thought were going to be, you know, for the long run. I mean, even though they're not in my life now and we're still not friends, I will still think about them and pray for them and take them to the Lord. But I'm not friends with them.
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I'm not associated with them, but I love them. And just how Christ prays and intercedes for us. I believe he calls us to do the same for other people who are still stuck in that lifestyle. And so we must be the bigger people and the bigger person to because God was the bigger person for us. Jesus was the bigger person for us. Like he died for us.
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And when we did it, when we couldn't pay the price, like he paid it for us. So it was like, if God was the bigger person for us, how much more should we be the bigger person for other people? Amen. And my encouragement, my final thoughts, just wrapping up is, friendships you have should always glorify God.
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And if you are in a hiccup in your relationship and God's calling you to stay and thug it out and show grace towards that person, then so be it. But if God is also calling you to get up and go, you must be obedient and get up and go because that person may be going through something on their own that God wants to take them through that he doesn't want you to be in as well.
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So it's staying in the spirit of the Lord and discerning carefully of your friends. But like I said, the biggest indicators is knowing if those people are going to bring you to Christ or knowing if those people are actually tearing you away from Christ. I feel like those are like the two biggest things. And then knowing what it means to be equally yoked and what that looks like.
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And if you're looking at your circle, like, and if you're even kind of questioning some, some friendships you may have, I would even just write a list of where areas where you're equally yoked with this person, right? Like where areas where you're yoked and where some areas where you do not align at all.
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If you see a lot of areas where you're unaligned with your friend on stuff that are like real basis, core values and beliefs, and they're just completely imbalanced, that's probably a huge indicator that you probably shouldn't be equally yoked with that person and you need to step away. And so I think the question is, is like, why does being equally yoked matter?
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And why does cultivating great friendships matter? Because ultimately it empowers the kingdom of God. Like before the friendship is ever about you, it's mostly about God because God wants to use and cultivate relationships to fulfill his glory and his kingdom plans.
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And so if God is sending you people to be beside and to sharpen one another and be in community and to work in ministry together or in business or just moving forward and empowering people, you want to make sure you both are just as equally strong and tempered and able to pursue the things of God at the same strength and speed, right? And so it's not just for the sake of yourself.
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It's also for the sake of God. It's mostly for the sake of God and for the sake of his people, because God is going to use your relationships and your friendships, not to just sharpen you, but to sharpen other people. I think it's just important to know where we need to be.
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And to use me for the kingdom of you, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of a light God. Use me for your plans and purposes. And I rebuke every plot, plan, and purpose of the enemy God. God, I ask that you expose the enemy's plots, plans, and tactics here today, Father. And you reveal to your children what is true and what you say. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.
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more self-vigilant of okay god where are areas where i need to be more aware of my friendships and really emphasize cultivating meaningful conversations and core values and staying consistent with that instead of coming yoked with people who are not on the same page as me and it's just kind of like holding me back from going to that next place and
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And, yeah, I think that's pretty much the biggest advice I could give to friendships is just observing your friends and just seeing if you're equally yoked or not. And God's going to reveal to you areas where you are and aren't. And that's that. And so... Just know that your friendships ultimately are giving God glory and God is pleased through your friendships, especially ones that glorify him.
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We just have to be discerning to know when it's time to leave and then when we're called to cleave, I guess. Not like a husband and a wife, but more so like, hey, I need to sit and support and help you. Sometimes God wants you to help and support from a distance so you don't get caught up on whatever that person is dealing with, right? So yeah, that's basically it.
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So I just pray that you guys have a lot more discernment and wisdom of how to of how to cultivate and remain in really awesome relationships that glorify God. And then also where to find the power and authority to get up and leave when God is calling you to. Because some of y'all have been getting abused in friendships time after time after time.
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It's about time for you to get up and let them go for the sake of God and for the purpose that he has aligned for you. Amen. So that's that few announcements on the top of my head. First things first, if you got saved through this podcast or if you need prayer, there's a link down below. Also, if you feel led to tithe, there's also two links down below as well.
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And then also, if you want to shop the merchandise, you can shop at SavedNotSoftShop.com. And that's that. Just know that God loves you very dearly. And he also loves the person that you're friends with. He loves everybody. God loves everybody. Jesus loves everyone. And it's great. So we praise him for it. But I love you guys. And until then, yeah, I think that's it. Yeah. Have a great week.
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And I'll see you next time. Yes? Amen, amen. Love you guys. Bye.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So, like how I said going into this episode earlier, Because basically what I've learned in the past few years, even shoot the past few months, is that there are some people who are going to stick around forever. And then there's some people who are really needed during seasons.
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And when it comes to friendships, I think as a young Gen Zer walking it out in Christianity, friendships could be one of those more complicated areas because there's a real empathy and compassion that we feel for people. But how far is too far to actually let them in our lives? And how deep does that go?
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And I think previously I've lost a lot of relationships, not necessarily because these people or are bad or these people are extremely wicked and, you know, are totally blasphemous against the things of God. But I believe God has revealed people for people in my life where there was a
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Again, it's literally nothing in my own strength. He's just doing it on his own. So yeah. Lord is good. I'm happy for a multitude of reasons today. I'm happy because I got these new pair of loafers right here from Steve Madden. I've been looking for a good pair of loafers and these are the perfect ones. And I've been wearing them all day and I don't have blisters in my feet.
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a deep connection where we weren't equally yoked or they were just God just didn't call us to have a deeper relationship or that person was needed for a season but won't go won't go with me into the next one like friendships are either seasonal or they're going to be for the most part like friendships for a lifetime.
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And even whenever I first came to Christ, my friend group looks completely different, like how it once did back in 2019, 2018. So I want to talk about that. And I also want to empathize with you guys, because I think one of the challenges that we go, like I said, when you're younger, is navigating friendships, especially when you first come to Christ.
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You're like, okay, well, what is my circle supposed to look like? And then why does it matter about my circle and the people I surround myself with? And why should I pay attention to that? And why should I care? Right? And so I, the past few years, I've lost a lot of friends. I've also gained really amazing ones since I came to Christ. Even the person who Brought me to Christ, was a close friend.
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And then even after that, like years and years and years of having really fruitful relationships. One of my best friends, Clarissa, I met her about two, three years after me becoming Christian and like giving my life to the Lord. And our friendship has been completely fruitful. And it was something we both didn't expect. And that has completely blessed me and turned my life around.
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My other best friend, Amoye, we met all the way back in like 2020. And our relationship and our friendship has completely changed my life. Because we're able to empathize with each other on another level. We just meet each other where we're at. She pulls me and pushes me and sharpens me in areas where I need to be sharpened and same vice versa. It is a complete Proverbs 27, 17 moment.
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Even one of my other best friends, Amani, she has completely blessed my spirit and
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and I don't even know her for that long it's been over a year but it's just kind of one of those things where it's like when you know you know and when you know your circle is with you they're with you and then there's also other friends um I have as well just like on the top of my head uh and then like Tristan and Alana and people who have been really close to my life who have served great purpose and who have been around for a very long time and
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I've gained really great friends in the faith and through this process of me going through my Christian lifestyle. And also throughout the process, I lost a lot of relationships or I had to step away from some people and not go as deep because the Lord was just showing me areas where we weren't spiritually aligned. And that doesn't necessarily mean to be rude to the dang people.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
It just means there's a healthy distance to create between people. So it's like, what does it look like walking that out and being friends and especially as a Christian and all those things? And so I want to talk about first Job and his friends. I think that's one of the most popular stories of a friendship in the Bible is the story of Job.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Job is going through sufferings and trials and tribulations, not because he did anything sinful, but because the Lord allowed a trial and tribulation to happen in order to build Job's character. And so through this story, Job was going through a lot of distress. He was suffering. He received boils all over his body. He was sick. His whole entire family died.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Everything he had worked hard for has been stripped away from him. And we see a good attribute of his friends in the story because in a time where Job was suffering and in grief and distress and going through a calamity, instead of Job's friends trying to tell him what he should do and not do, they sat with him in silence and they supported him and they didn't need to say all these fancy things.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
They just sat there and they were present. And I think this shows an area where we could have really healthy relationships and what healthy relationships look like is that they sit with you, that they're patient with you, that they're praying for you and that they're beside you.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So that is a good sign because I feel like Steve Madden shoes, they usually get blisters and all that stuff and you know, I'm not trying to hate on them. I'm just saying the truth. But God is good because I woke up and I breathed a new day. I got my new shoes, my new loafers on. And God has been very kind to me in this new season.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
simultaneously though job's friends also weren't the best after this incident of him losing almost everything and then them sitting with them his friends then developed a behavior and attitude which almost kind of flipped on job which caused a lot of confusion to job because his friends were supposed to be those who he confided in and people who would advocate for him and
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so later they started to criticize him harshly, insisting what was happening to him. And it was because they thought he inflicted it upon himself with disobedience. But Job kept advocating after each time they would speak that he hasn't been disobedient. Instead, he has faithfully served the Lord and he didn't know why any of this happened. was happening.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And Job endured the suffering, but his friends needed to tell the truth about God. And they weren't. They were leaning on their own understanding about God. They didn't comfort him. Instead, they added to his pain. They were doing good in the first half. And then once they got to the second round, they finished very badly.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so because they didn't tell the truth about God, we see in Job 42 verses seven through nine, God's response to Job's friends is, God's response after the Lord has sent these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken the truth about me as my servant Job has.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me as my servant Job has.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Biladad, and Shuhite, and Zophar, the Namathite, did what the Lord told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer. So it was to show us that God was upset with Job's friends because they represented him poorly. And God has beef with friends who don't speak the truth about him.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And this scripture alone, a very long time ago, whenever I was first being pulled away from a lot of my friendships out of the world into the world, is that God didn't want me to be surrounded around people who didn't know the truth of God. And we see in the story, God was upset with Job's friends because they did not share God's truth.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And so I think that's one indicator of what friends you need to keep and what friends you need to let go of. And I'm going to make this podcast episode very simple of basically two sections of this episode of what friends do you keep and what friends do you let go of, right? And how to watch your circle. And so we're going to talk about what friends to keep.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And I think the first indicator of knowing what friends to keep and knowing if it's wise to keep certain friends, you keep your friends if they are leading you to Christ, if you're equally yoked to them, and if they sharpen you essentially.
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Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And when, what it looks like for a friend to lead you to Christ means that they're not allowing you to turn back to the world, to your old habits, your old life, whatever it was, party, drinking, smoking, living adulterous, living sexually immoral, whether if it's gossiping or slander or bullying people online or just being mean or being disingenuous or rude or angry, whatever it may be.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
These are people who shouldn't lead you back to corruption, but instead push you to the things of God. So a great indicator that you should keep your friends is if they push you towards the things of God and also if you're equally yoked. The Bible talks about in Proverbs 27, 17, the iron sharpens iron. And I think a lot of Christians at times, and I've been here too,
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
And a part of my new season where he's been really kind and I've been having to just give him so much gratitude and thanks for what he's been doing in this past season is that the past few months, I would even say the past few years, the Lord has completely pruned me in areas, especially when it pertains to my friendships and
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
we would want these kind of soft edged friends and it wasn't sharpening us for conviction and to grow higher into the things of God, but what it means to, to sharpen iron with iron, it's constant contact with one another and sharpening is a process and sharpening is never something that actually feels good, but it's beneficial because it's making you stronger, right? Um,
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So I could take one of my friends for an example, like Clarissa or Amoye, because we're both equally yoked in our walks with God. Whenever we speak to one another and whenever I may be weak and Clarissa has to pull some extra weight or Amoye, she's going through something and I have to help her with some wisdom. We sharpen one another and same vice versa.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Just as one friend sharpens one, the one is supposed to sharpen one another. So it's a constant sharpening. And the thing is, is that if you have one person who's sharp and one person who's dull, you're actually not going to make that wood plank, which is what I'm just thinking on the top of my head, sharp. Instead, you're just going to dull yourself out in the process.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
So you keep friends who sharpen you. You keep friends who are able to call you out and heavenly rebuked you with gentleness and kindness and et cetera. And you keep people who actually are pursuing the things of God and want to bring you along the way. And I think when we talk about friendships, the biggest thing we have to talk about is what it means to be equally yoked.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because we see a lot of people in friendships, but there's not a, it's just not equal. I was trying to find a better word for that. But the friendships aren't equal because one person is pulling dead weight and then the other just doesn't care. And so we have to talk about what it means to be equally yoked and what the Bible says about being equally yoked.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
Because I think we think, oh, being equally yoked is having the same interest or it's being the same age or having the same, I don't know, social media following or you're in the same class or you've been to school your whole entire life. And because there's a familiarity that that's what it means to be equally yoked. But what the Bible says about being equally yoked.
Saved Not Soft
Watch Your Circle! (Discerning friendships) | SavedNotSoftPodcast
what it means to be yoked with somebody actually comes from an ancient biblical agricultural practice. So these oxen would have these frames over their heads and two strong oxen would be put together with the intention that when this wooden frame comes over them, they would be able to work and empower one another to to plow fields, to carry heavy weights, and et cetera.
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God Please Heal Me!
hello hello everyone and welcome back to saved not soft you want to know what i'm thinking about right now at this very moment because i know my intro is always like what's going on and everyone we're going to save not soft i don't know where that came from and then second point i don't know why i kept doing it i was just thinking about that right now i open up every episode being like what's going on everyone welcome back to say not soft you know
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God Please Heal Me!
And so, because of that, God, in response, had to release His judgment, which was the locust. The locust was eating up all these things that they worked hard for. It was eating up all the things that God wanted to bless. But because of their sin, because of their disobedience, the locust ate up everything. There was calamities. There was destruction. There was tribulations. There was hardships.
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And so, what the Lord is saying... is that even though you are in wickedness, you are in sin, and even though you are the ones who infiltrated it, I still want to restore you if you just come to me. Verse 12, even now declares the Lord, return to me with all of your heart. With what? Fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments.
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God Please Heal Me!
I just don't think that's something that God... Do you get what I'm saying? I just don't think that's something that God would want to continue in heaven. It makes no sense. I get it for the agriculture. Okay, sure. You know... It's just so interesting to me how that works. Anyways, I'm not talking about daylight savings today. I'm not talking about exhaustion. There we go today.
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God Please Heal Me!
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sin and calamity. Who knows, he may turn and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. And so what God is saying is that in a moment where His judgment is being released, that His desire is for His mercy to be released instead.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so the revelation that God gave me when it comes to healing and restoration, because the point of repentance is when you turn back to God, He's going to restore you, which we're going to read that in a moment. What I was reading and what the Lord was convicting me of as I was reading this passage is that whenever you turn away from your sin and you turn towards the things of God,
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God Please Heal Me!
What was I going to say? There's a restoration that comes in place, yes. What was the other thing I was going to say? I decree and declare that this thought comes back into my mind in Jesus' mighty name. Wherever it was going to be. Oh my goodness. It was like the main... There it is. I was like, what is it that I was going to talk about? The main thing is that...
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God Please Heal Me!
God has to release his judgment in response to sin, right? So this is when we could talk about afflictions, trials, tribulations, consequences, sicknesses, disease, all these things, because on earth as it is in heaven. So when we say that on earth as it is in heaven, God let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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God Please Heal Me!
in heaven there's no sickness in heaven there is also no destruction it's perfect it's peaceful it's with god you're holding hands with them and i would hope that we we would be skipping and and and hopping down jolly gold streets whatever it may be and so when we when we say on earth as it is in heaven are there sick people in heaven no so why is it that we're dealing with sickness in
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God Please Heal Me!
trials, tribulations, accidents, incidents, strifes here on earth because sin is clothed or the world is clothed in sin. And so when I was reading this passage and I'm reading that God wants to restore what the locusts have done, it's so funny because we were the ones who infiltrated the locusts in the first place. I'm just going to start reading from where I left off.
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God Please Heal Me!
It said, the Lord replied to them, verse 19, I'm sending you grain, new wine, and olive oil enough to satisfy you fully. Never again will I make you an object to the scorn of nations. I will drive out the northern horde far from you, pushing it to a parched land in the barren land.
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God Please Heal Me!
Its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea, and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea, and its stench will go up, its smell will rise. Surely he has done great things. Do not be afraid, land of Judah. Be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures and the wilderness are becoming green.
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God Please Heal Me!
The trees are their bearing fruit, and the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion. Rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain. The vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
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God Please Heal Me!
I will repay you for the years that the locusts have eaten, the great locusts and the young locusts, the other locusts and the locust swarm, my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat until you are full and you will praise the name of the Lord your God who has worked wonders for you. Never again will my people be shamed.
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God Please Heal Me!
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God and that there is no other. Never again will my people... be ashamed. Let's highlight verse 25. I will repay you for the years of the locusts have eaten and the great locusts and the young locusts and other locusts and the locusts sworn.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so when we talk about repentance, and again, the reason as to why we're having this conversation in the first place is repentance is key to restoration, aka healing. So if you're crying out to God and you're saying, God, heal me, restore me in this area, vindicate me, it first starts with repentance. So we see that God heals whenever his people turn towards him. Amen?
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God Please Heal Me!
Because the reason as to why the locusts were released into the first place was because of the lawlessness that the people were facing. But God says, if you rend your hearts and not just your garments, I will repay you for everything that the locusts have torn up. It's funny how God will always clean up our mess.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so this shows us a divine intervention of God's judgment and what his mercy looks like. God's judgment is a response to our sin. But God's judgment isn't necessarily something that he takes pleasure in. I'm going to get to that in a moment. God takes pleasure in mercy.
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God Please Heal Me!
Or it could be in a sense. Today we're going to be talking about restoration and I'm very excited about it. First and foremost, if you do not know me, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of this podcast. And what is this podcast? This podcast is safe, not soft. Meaning that this road to Christianity is not a soft one. It is hard. The walkway is narrow.
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God Please Heal Me!
So God's response will always be judgment whenever we fail to seek his heart in repentance and to fulfill his will and do the things of the kingdom. It will always be God's will and his desire to extend out mercy. But he extends mercy out to those who are repentant and to those who want to fulfill the things of God.
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God Please Heal Me!
That's why it says that God will restore the things that the locusts have torn up if you come back and repent. And the Bible says that rend your heart and not just your garments. And so what does that mean? Give me one second. Because somebody on the way to my house, and I'm not even close to done with this episode. It says, Why did the prophet Joel say this?
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God Please Heal Me!
And why did God give Joel this imagery? Because back in these times, in biblical times, Usually whenever the Israelites or the people of God were mourning and grieving and wanted to be an act of repentance, they would quite literally tear their clothes for a physical symbol to show God that they were repentant.
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God Please Heal Me!
What started to be corruptive though and misleading and what started to be perversive though over time was that the people of God would tear their clothes for God, but would never tear their hearts for God. And so they would show a physical repentance through the tearing of their clothes, but they never tore their hearts for the things of God.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so as I'm reading the scripture, it shows me, and God has just given me a parallel, that there are people who are only just tearing their garments, but never tearing their hearts for God. And And at the core, that's what repentance is. It's just not a physical tearing. It's an internal one.
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God Please Heal Me!
It's understanding that there is a humility that needs to be accessed by the tearing of your flesh, by standing in a posture of humility. And not standing in a place of self-glorification, but rather giving yourself onto God fully. And so when God says to rend your hearts and not just your garments, He's asking us to strip ourselves from all selfish ambition and to pursue His will.
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God Please Heal Me!
And when we pursue His will, and when we seek repentance, we will have repentance. restoration or we will have restoration in response to the repentance that God is calling us to, to give back to him. So we're going to go to... And then the scriptures after that is talking about the Holy Spirit being poured out onto all people.
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God Please Heal Me!
It's that one day the Holy Spirit will be poured out onto all people of all nations for those who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That's the rest of the chapter. It is absolutely beautiful. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And so...
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God Please Heal Me!
the the reason as to why we fail to be redeemed at times is because we're not calling out for god and if we do it's for manipulative purposes instead of like actually crying out saying that we need him and that you want him and that you want you really want to love the lord and be with him let's go to ezekiel 33 This is what really spoke to me.
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God Please Heal Me!
I think at times we think that it's super, super wide. And you could be far off the fence. But this is navigating, you know, what it's like to walk in holiness. What it's like to walk in purity. And what it's like to stand in right standing next to God because of His Son, Jesus Christ. And so that's what's going on.
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God Please Heal Me!
And this is what was really just doing the dang thing for me. So Ezekiel is also another prophet. And man, this just did it for me. Ezekiel 33, starting in verse 11, it says, "...say to them, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." Turn, turn from your evil ways.
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God Please Heal Me!
Why will you die, people of Israel? My God, I just feel the heart of the Lord begging his people to turn, turn back. We're going to go to the rest of this and it's crazy. Verse 12, therefore, son of man, say to your people, if someone who is righteous disobeys, that person's former righteousness will count for nothing.
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God Please Heal Me!
And if someone who is wicked repents, that person's former wickedness will not bring condemnation. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did we just hear? If someone who is righteous disobeys. So what does this look like? Someone who you think is on the tip top of Christianity, self-righteous, can't get nothing wrong. They just doing the things of God. If they disobeyed,
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God Please Heal Me!
if they disobey, that person's former righteousness will count for nothing. And then it says, someone who is wicked repents, aka turns back to God. That person's former wickedness will not bring condemnation. Continuing on, the righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.
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God Please Heal Me!
If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their own righteousness and do evil, that's None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered and they will die for the evil that they have done. And if I say to a wicked person, you will surely die, but they turn away from their sin and do what is just and right.
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God Please Heal Me!
If they give back what they took and pledge for alone, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life and do no evil. That person will surely live. They will not die. None of the sins of that person has been committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and what is right, and surely they will live.
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God Please Heal Me!
Yet your people say, The way of the Lord is not just, but it is their way that is not just. If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. And if a wicked person turns from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. Yet you Israelites say, The way of the Lord is not just, but I will judge each of you according."
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God Please Heal Me!
to your own ways. This is when we see that picture of judgment and mercy. God extends mercy out to all of those who are wanting to seek him and be repentant. Amen.
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God Please Heal Me!
Also, another thing to my YouTube viewers, because y'all are seeing and witnessing everything. I got a big spotlight. It's just given drama today because I usually have the snow globe of a of a lampshade over it. I'm not going to lie. It's already hurting my eyes, but we're going to keep it pushing in Jesus mighty name because we already started.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so when we read the scripture of Ezekiel 33, Ezekiel is urging the people of God, he is urging the Israelites that one good deed and being faithful all these years doesn't just like store up for you righteousness because it's not by your own works. It's by you staying in the heart of the Father. You don't stay alive and you don't gain eternal life just by what you've done. Sure, like,
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God Please Heal Me!
works as evidence of your faith, but if you've been doing all these acts of righteousness for years and decades, whatever it may be, and yet you disobey, not understanding that you're putting yourself in a vulnerable place of judgment, the Lord is not pleased with you. And so the Lord says essentially what gives you life, what brings you restoration, what brings you healing is repentance.
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God Please Heal Me!
and this is where a lot of people don't understand the grace of god because we could read ezekiel 33 and people would not like that it says if a person is evil and wicked and they turn away from their evil sins and desires and pursue the lord then surely they'll have eternal life this is not a popular message of the world but this is what the prophet ezekiel says because whenever you turn away from your sin from your iniquity no matter how bad or evil it is
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God Please Heal Me!
and you pay your debts, and you do exactly what the Lord has called you to do, surely you will have eternal life. And then the Bible says that he will even go as far to not even remembering your sin. My God! None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them.
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God Please Heal Me!
So also when you stand in repentance, you're also giving God the ability to forget what you've committed against him. And I think that's so funny because a lot of people aren't healing in places where they need a healing because they don't believe they've repented enough or they don't believe that the repentance is enough. God heard you the first time.
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God Please Heal Me!
God heard you the three times you cried out to him and you said you were sorry. Do you think God is the one who doesn't accept your repentance? Or do you think it's yourself? I think when we cry out to God asking for forgiveness and asking for mercy in the same areas over and over and over again, I believe that just shadows our disbelief.
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God Please Heal Me!
That God, we actually don't believe that you've forgiven us. But what God is saying is that when you repent... When you turn away from your sin and you follow him and you pursue righteousness and you do the things of the Lord, that mercy is what he extends out to you.
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God Please Heal Me!
And that none of these sins that person has committed will be remembered against them because why they have done what is just and what is right. And surely they will live. There is no judgment because judgment has already been released on a son on a cross. And we're only in right standing because of what Jesus has done for us.
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God Please Heal Me!
Not what we could do for ourselves, but because of what Jesus has endured on our behalf. Because here's the thing. God looks at you as righteous, not because, again, of your own works or selfish ambition, but because there was a price that was paid. There was quite literal blood that is poured over you.
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God Please Heal Me!
So he looks at you, he sees the blood of Jesus over you, and he's not looking at you as righteousness because of what you've done, but because he sees the blood, but because he sees his son. God is so pleased with Jesus that he allows us into the things of God because there has been a price that has been paid. And so the truth of the matter is, is wrath is going to be taken out regardless.
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God Please Heal Me!
But usually I have like the snow globe of a thing over it and it kind of distributes the light. I feel as if recently when I'm going back to edit my reels and stuff, my content is as crisp and clear. And I believe it's because of lighting. And it may be because of my camera. So this is just a test run. At the end of the day, the word is what matters. Not what's being seen. Not what I'm doing.
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God Please Heal Me!
You get to choose who it's taken out on, either Jesus or on you. And when we fail to repent of the things of God, we're basically asking God to release his wrath out upon us. And whenever you don't stand in a place of repentance, you're standing in a place of iniquity and basically saying, God, I don't want your restoration because people want God to restore them.
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God Please Heal Me!
Because people want God to restore them, but people do not want to repent for the things that they've done. Your repentance unlocks restoration and redemption. And a lot of people aren't getting the healing that God has called them to step and live in because they won't repent from the iniquity and sins that they've been indulging in.
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God Please Heal Me!
And if you're having a hard time even just seeing what that is, I would just advise to pray and to fast. Joel 2 was talking about praying and fasting and mourning and weeping. How are you encountering the Lord? Oh God, I got nothing to repent over. You sound so self-righteous. Everybody got something they need to say sorry for, especially when it comes to God.
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God Please Heal Me!
Because God will always have beef with sin. And guess what? The flesh loves sin. And so it's just a matter of humbling yourself, being in the spirit, and just being honest before the Lord and saying where you've messed up. It's just that. It's living a life of repentance. It's living a life of turning away from the world. And I don't know if that's sleeping with somebody.
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God Please Heal Me!
I don't know if it's smoking a thing. I don't know if it's... cursing I don't know if it's dressing immodestly I don't know if it's you know posting booty pictures on the internet I don't know what it is I have no idea what it is I don't know if it's settled like white lying or if it's gossiping or if it's silently hating behind a screen I don't know what it is
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God Please Heal Me!
But we live a life of repentance by humbly coming before the Lord and giving Him our transgressions. By living a life of repentance. Not just staying regretful, but changing our actions. By stepping in the things of the Lord. Amen? And so, the last word. Let me read my notes real quick. Because there might be some things. Remaining righteous. The fairness of God's judgment.
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God Please Heal Me!
God's judgment is fair because he takes no pleasure in it. I'm just going to read you my notes. God's judgment is a response to our wickedness. God will always choose mercy. In verse 11, in the beginning, Israel is convinced that God takes joy in judgment. But Ezekiel points out that God's true desire is for us to repent. Perishing is a choice. You're free from perishing when you choose God.
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God Please Heal Me!
And God reminds us that every righteous man could end up with a life dominated by his transgressions. So good. And then when it comes to remaining righteous, so there's this topic of imputed righteousness, which this is a gift. So we're made right standing people. because of Jesus, that's imputed righteousness. And then practical righteousness, which is obedience to God.
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God Please Heal Me!
And so, Philippians 3.9 says, "...not having a righteous of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." So, we are justified through faith. And if faith partners with action, faith is also produced by God. We just have to be willing, and it talks about that in Ephesians. And
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God Please Heal Me!
And then we are saved because of mercy. Titus chapter 3 verses 5 through 7 indicates that. And how we are cleansed and rebirthed because of the washing of the Holy Spirit. We are justified by God's grace. If you agree with repentance. Yeah, that's good. That's good. Last thing I want to talk about is Isaiah 6. Let me turn there. Giving a lot of Bible.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
This is just what the Lord has been telling me. And so I'm just going to be obedient and give it back onto his people.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And I think... Something that, you know, I think a lot of the times we can make a lot of podcasts, or even I can, just being self-reflective. Us as Christians can indulge in podcasts that are very calling out and specific and full of criticism.
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God Please Heal Me!
Not what I'm wearing. Not how fabulous the lighting or the outfit is. It's honestly around the word of God. My camera is really pixelated. And I really just film in my guest bedroom. And so I'm just trying to figure out what's best so it doesn't look super underground and janky, I guess. Anyways, today, you guys, we're going to be talking about restoration.
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God Please Heal Me!
When, if we just preach the gospel, and if we just preach the word of God, and if we listen intentively, that is what is going to give us all the answers instead of staying in a posture of criticism. That's just my thought. Dang, where is Isaiah? Isaiah, I cannot find you. There you is. Okay, let's go to Isaiah 6. This is him being called to become a prophet. Isaiah 6, where are we at? Cool.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
So, this is Isaiah's commission whenever he's called to become a prophet. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and exalted, seated on the throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings, they were covering their faces. With two, they covered their feet. And with the other two, they were flying.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
They were calling to one another, Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory. At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook the temple and was filled with smoke. Woe to me, I cried, I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand. which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, Whom among shall I send, and whom will go out for us? And I said, Here I am, send me. He said, Go and tell these people.
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God Please Heal Me!
Be ever hearing, but never understanding. Be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people callous. Make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. And so the rest of this chapter is God giving Isaiah instruction. And so, why is this so important?
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Why is this talk about healing? Why is this talk about restoration? Because when we see in this vision, before God can even call you and give you a mission and send you out into the next, you first have to stand in a posture of correction and repentance. And this is something that people do not like to hear. You want God to fulfill something in your ministry, in your calling and entrepreneurship.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
But because you lack to repent of the things of God, He's not going to send you out. God will always posture you in humility before He has you carry out His will for other people. Will you do His will on your own first before He uses you to help fulfill somebody else's? Does that make sense? God first wants to humble His people before He sends them out.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so, as we read, I mean, the vision is this, after King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and exalted, seated on the throne in the train of his robe, filled the temple. This is the vision that Isaiah sees. And so, in this vision, God is high and exalted and lifted up, and we see these angelic creatures, the seraphim, and they're
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Crazy angelic creatures with six wings, one covering, or two of them covering their eyes, two covering their feet, and then two flying around singing, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. They're singing, and the way these seraphim are postured, it gives us a beautiful picture of how we should always be in a posture of humility and repentance. They covered their eyes because it's almost as if
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And the title of this podcast, which I didn't know what to call it at first because it's going to be kind of different than the one we've spoken about a little while ago. But the title is God, Please Heal Me. I did an episode around healing, talking about the woman who was bleeding for 12 years and Jairus' daughter and what that looks like. Basically, healing isn't what you may always think it is.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
The Lord was too glorious that they couldn't even see him. It reminds me of how God revealed himself to Moses and Moses literally couldn't even see God. He literally got blinded by a piece of his garment. And so it's almost as if these seraphim are closing their eyes because of the glory of God and because of the reverence that they stay in.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And they cover their feet as a symbol of understanding that they've been created and that they're not above God. And they fly around in action singing holy, holy and praise, honor, respect. And so Isaiah is seeing this divine encounter in the spiritual realm. And he says, woe to me, repentance, humility. It's exaltation unto God.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King God and the Lord God Almighty. This is Isaiah's response to God's glory. He says, Woe unto me, for I am unclean. The people that I reside around are even unclean. How is it that I could say, for it is God's mercy that I have seen His face?
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so then after that, it says that the seraphim flies to the beginning or to the front of the altar, picks up a coal from these tongs and places it on the lips of Isaiah and says that you have now been cleansed from your iniquity and sins. And then God gave the commission. So what does this show us about healing? Because the moment that the seraphim got the live coal from the altar and
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
the hottest place, it's at the front of the altar right next to God and places it on his lips. He is immediately healed from his sin and his iniquity. So we see that Isaiah was healed in response to his confection, which was partnered with repentance. And because of that, when the seraphim
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
let the life coal burn onto his lips, a burning essentially, that he was cleansed from his iniquity, from his shame, from his sin because of the repentance that he released. And so then from that repentance and then from that healing, God sends out Isaiah. And this is the aftermath of healing. The whole reason as to why we heal in the first place is so God can use us to be vessels.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And understand that the glory is never supposed to fall on you. It's always supposed to fall onto the full expenses of who God is. Glory was never ever supposed to be made for us humans. Glory has always been made to fall upon the Father. And so if you want to operate from a posture of
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And from a place that always extends God the glory, you must be in a place that is repentant each and every single day. And if you're trying to heal from addiction, if you're trying to heal from anger or unforgiveness or worldliness, whatever it may be, repentance is the key. It's humility.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
It's no longer coming in agreement with the things of yourself, but coming in agreement with the things of God. Romans 12, one through two says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Transformation happens when you agree with repentance and when you confess your sin and when you understand that your iniquity will never serve you and only that the hand of God will save you. That's it. And so my biggest encouragement is Is that from all of this, from everything I just said, is repent, repent, repent, repent. Repent from idolatry. Repent from worldliness. Repent from strife.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I don't know what it is. Repent from gossip. Repent from people pleasing in comparison. Repent from jealousy and enviousness. Repent from prematurity, whatever it may be. People of God, repent, repent, repent, repent. Because repentance bleeds into your restoration. You're asking God to heal you, but you're not partnering with him. God wants you to partner with him.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
God wants you to be angry with sin. God wants to give you the ability to hate sin. I think that's probably one of the most powerful things I could have asked God to assist me with is God, give me the ability to hate what you hate. God, give me a terrible taste in my mouth every time I sin. Every time I promote my will over yours, let it quite almost literally make me sick.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Do you want the things of God that bad? Do you want what he wants? God wants to respond to you in mercy. God wants to respond to you in grace. Will you let him? Will you let him? And that's honestly. All I really have today. Is just what the scriptures say. Rend your hearts and not just your garments. Stop tearing your clothes. If you don't even mean it. Because we see a lot of people.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Say that, oh, I'm not going to do that again. Or, yeah, I'm okay. It's almost as if we need to live each and every single day like God can come at any moment. And I'm just going to say this very quickly. I believe... I believe what would encourage believers to repent more is if they focus more on the fear of the Lord.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Today, more so, we're going to talk about how repentance and restoration partner with one another and how restoration comes through the fruits of our repentance and And I'm very excited about it because this has been fulfilling my spirit for a few weeks. I love the Bible. I love God. I love everything that He tells me.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And not just an awe or reverence, because we know that the fear of the Lord is reverence and it's being in awe of Him. But understanding that the fear of the Lord quite literally means to tremble at his name. That God is one to be adored and God is one to be reverence. But God is also one to be quite literally feared and to tremble at His name.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
His majesty is so grand and beyond our understanding to where when you just fall at His feet and you encounter His presence, it quite literally makes you tremble. Like, when you sin, when you're partnering with iniquity, it should make you tremble of how that makes God feel when you don't repent and turn towards Him. God has serious beef with sin. Let me encourage you further, though.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
God's love for you, though, will always conquer over his hatred for sin. You stay in that love, though, when you repent. And a message doesn't get simpler than that. It's staying in repentance. It's saying no to self-righteousness. And it's pursuing his will at the end of it all. So my question to you is, will you do it? Will you do it? And that's that. And that's all I got to say. Mm-hmm.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
yeah, that's really all I gotta say, because that's what the Lord wants to say, and whatever you take from this, take it, if God is leading you to another scripture, do it, but the key is repentance, and it's simple, we don't have to overcomplicate it, we don't have to give crazy theatrics, we don't have to say super crazy out-of-pocket things in order for the gospel to be impactful, because the gospel is impactful, because it's impactful in
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
and because God breathed this alone, not because we put any secret sauce on it, and not because we try to take it to another level, but because this is the Word, and this is the Word alone.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I guess it's a thing now, but I was just thinking about that. I was like, where did that come from? And then two, why did I have the pattern to keep doing it? Just a thought. That's what's on the tip of my mind right now. What's going on, you guys? It's been a great, amazing, crazy past couple of weeks. The time is changing. Hope you guys have been sleeping well.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I feel like that's how I end a lot of my, a lot of the things that God has told me is like, I'll just go and go, go. And then, you know, that's it, God. I just feel the pleasure of God. I feel the pleasure of, I already feel the pleasure of the Lord because it's almost as if while people were watching this episode, they were just repenting. But God is pleased with your repentance.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And something that has grown my intimacy with the Lord is understanding that I can please the Lord by simply repenting to Him each and every single day. It makes God smile when I repent. It makes God smile when I not only just rend my garments and tear my clothes and give Him this quote-unquote false humility as if I'm really repenting, but it pleases God when I rend my heart towards Him.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
It pleases the Lord when I say no to the things of the world and when I crucify worldliness and I pursue Him. And so I think something that could change, I think something that could cultivate a life of repentance is the understanding and wisdom of knowing that you could step in the pleasure of the Lord by simply turning away from the things of the world and sprinting after the things of God.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And I believe as a generation, we have to live a life of repentance and not just live a life of regret. I believe at times we get confused of what it means to be repentant. And people think that in order for me to repent, then that means that I have to be regretful. And I think regret can bleed into repentance, but regret and repentance aren't the same thing.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
It puts a smile on God's face. Isn't that such a joy to know is that you have the opportunity each and every single day to please God through your repentance. And so if you think, oh man, like God's angry with me or God's not going to do this. God's not going to restore me. God's not going to heal me. God is pleased through your repentance. God is pleased when you run back to him.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And what's his promise? It's restoration. Not partial restoration, but full restoration. God promises full restoration onto his people who fully repent. And so if you know you fully repented, then that means that God is fully going to restore you.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
that's that our job is to be fully dependent onto God and his job is to be fully generous onto us and God is fully generous onto us when he restores us and redeems us completely in his sight not ours and God's redemption will always be higher of what we expect and that's that so yeah read the word at the end of the day I'm not God Jesus is God is God I'm not God I'm just a vessel I'm just a tool
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
So yeah, Joel 2, Ezekiel 33, and Isaiah 6. And God will heal you if you constantly stay in a place of humility. And if you expose the devil exactly for who he is. And if you expose your flesh for what it is as well. And that's that. Amen. Amen. Few nail smiths and I'm gonna head out because I got to go to worship night and I got someone waiting outside of my house.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Uh, Tristan specifically, if you guys know Tristan, we love Tristan. Tristan's basically like my little brother for y'all who don't know. But, um. Few things. Okay. First things first. If you need prayer, there's a link down below. If you got saved through this podcast, there's a link down below. If you feel led to tithe towards this ministry, there's a link down below.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
If you want to sow into Malika and I's wedding funds, there's a link down below. and there's no pressure to if anything we appreciate uh we appreciate prayer above all things it's just a resource for people to give if they feel led to give but if not totally okay we're not hurt by it it's just a resource um if people want to so because people have been asking
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And that's that new merch is on the way. I got some pictures of some samples today and it's going to be great. I'm so excited. The Lord is very good. I'm very, very, very, very excited. And God has just been expanding my creativity and has been pushing me new areas. Anyways. Yeah, that's it. You guys, I'm going to be coming back two weeks from now. And, uh,
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything else. That's it. But I love you guys so much. And the Lord loves you even more. May you have a blessed rest of the week, rest of the two weeks. May God shine his face upon you. And just know that he's pleased with you. In Jesus' name. Okay, I love you guys. I'm going to go. Bye.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And what the Lord has been showing me is that we've been witnessing a generation that has been regretful but not repentant. And we're crying out to God asking for a restoration, for healing, for vindication. And it's not falling into the correct spaces because we're failing to come to the altar in full true repentance. And today we're going to talk about that. So y'all already know the deal.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
We're going to pray into it first. We're going to get into a lot of scripture today. You know me, I love the word. And essentially the answer is not what's stored up in my mouth. It's what's stored up in the scriptures. And so we're just going to read them together. But first, let's pray. Let's consult with God and let's ask him to bless us and to expand our understanding.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
So dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you and praise you, God. God, I thank you for the other person on the other side of the screen, God. I thank you that they have clicked this video, not for self-gain, not for myself even, God, but truly to just sit at your feet and to hear from you, Father.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
God, I ask today that as we learn about restoration and the repentance that comes with it, Father, God, I ask that through this message, you give us an example of what it truly means to repent, of how you call us to repent, God. God, show us how we can render our hearts towards you, Father, and not just our actions, but our hearts along with it, God.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
God, let the Holy Spirit convict us, not anything I have to say or anything that is constructed by man, God. Let the Holy Spirit start a conviction and stir a conviction deep inside of us, Lord. God, I pray for the other person on the other side of the screen, God. God, I ask that you instill in them a joy. God, that you instill inside of them joy.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
a a willingness and and god prosperity and even a promise god a promise that is accompanied by joy god god i thank you that your restoration is healing god i thank you that your will is to heal your people god and god i decree and declare here on this day god that your healing will break out through this podcast episode that you will touch the hearts of your children that
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
that you will break chains, that blind eyes shall be opened. Even the places where we're spiritually blind, God, we ask for your touch. We ask for your tenderness. We ask for your empathy and your love and your mercy. And God, I even posture my heart and our hearts as a collective to repent to you as of now, God. Forever pursuing selfish ambition. Forever putting our needs before others, God.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
God, for not prioritizing you as much as we should, God. God, forever operating in vain glory, in strife, in anger, in unforgiveness. God, we ask that you forgive us, God, for our trespasses and that you forgive those who have trespassed against us, just like you have instructed us in the Lord's Prayer.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I thank you, God, that you have not given us a spirit of fear, but a power, love, and a sound mind, according to 2 Timothy 1.7. So, God, let this message be filled with power, love, and a sound mind. I thank you that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. And I also thank you that you are not a God of confusion, but you are a God of peace.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Let peace and serenity be released through this podcast episode. God, step down now and just touch your children. Let us be close to your heart. And let the fear of the Lord and the reverence of you, God, be instilled in our minds and hearts, God. Let us tremble at your name. Let us take you seriously. Let us pursue the things of the Lord. God, we enjoy you. We love you.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Because the past week, I've been exhausted. Daylight savings crazy. Has been kicking me in the behind. And I've been having to ask for God. For more strength and patience. Because when I tell you that. The sun. You would think you gaining one more hour. Of sleep. Would help. Instead of grow you into more exhaustion. I've been in. In the season of more exhaustion.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
We're not here for anybody else but you, God. So I thank you. And I could stand confident knowing that you're going to do a good thing in the hearts of your children. Equip me also, God. Give me the confidence to speak. God, I sacrifice to you this platform. It's not mine. It's yours. God, I put off any desire of the flesh, any part of my flesh that wants to become prideful or stand above God.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I just put it to the side. I repent of it. I actually put it to death now in Jesus' mighty name. I ask that you sharpen my tongue, that you bless my speech with gentleness and kindness, and that the Holy Spirit himself is what speaks through me. Let this be your will and not mine. And let your kingdom come and your will be done. In Jesus' mighty name, I seal this prayer. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
I opened my eyes and forgot I was blinded by this big old light. Anyways, scriptures we're going to be reading today. We're going to be reading in, if you want to jot this down, Joel 2, Ezekiel 33, and maybe Isaiah 6. So I believe we're going to get into Isaiah 6. This is one of the only podcast episodes.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Usually I have an outline and I kind of have things I want to say and some sort of preparation. I felt the Holy Spirit of the Lord just tell me that He wanted me to flow and just be really authentic of what I've been learning and just take you through this beautiful ride of repentance in the Lord's restoration upon His people, even when we don't think we deserve it. My belief is that
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
the restoration is understanding the knowledge and wisdom of God's restoration will instill hope into those who are ready to give up and I specifically want to speak to those you know have been on the brink of life they're ready to throw in the towel they're ready to be done God is calling you higher. And God is calling you to come to his feet so he could lay his hands on you and heal you.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And that comes with a repentant heart. So, we're going to be reading in Joel 2. I'm going to start in... I'm going to start at the beginning of verse 2 and tell you what's happening. So, the prophet Joel, because all these books that we're going to be reading from today, or all these chapters and Bible verses, they're all prophets.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so, we got Joel, we got the prophet Joel, we have the prophet of Ezekiel, and then we have the prophet of Isaiah. And so, what we're reading in this letter, in this documentation of the prophet Joel, is that Joel is telling the nation of Judah to prepare. And he describes it as the day of the Lord, judgment day, essentially.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
It's a coming judgment and he's warning the people of Judah to prepare. And so the day of the Lord represents a time to when God will intervene with his people, with humans, right? intervene divinely with us. And so, Joel 2 is most known for the prophecy of the Holy Spirit being released.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so, what we see through this scripture is that even though God's people was caught in rebellion and destruction and wickedness and lawlessness, God's intended response to his people is mercy. And mercy is extended when repentance is released from the mouths of those who have been in the cycles of iniquity. And so when God's judgment comes, you know, no human can resist it.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so that's why the Bible says that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. That's going to happen to everybody. Whether if you rock with God on this earth or not, I think the truth of the matter is how soon are you going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? and that He is the only one who could redeem you from your shackles and bondages of sin.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Sorry microphone. I think it was because. When you change your sleeping schedule. Your rem cycles get all get all jacked up. And so I think that's what happened to me I'm, finally getting back on my routine, which is amazing I just think daylight savings is something of the devil. I'm not going to lie. I don't think there's daylight savings in heaven.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
And so, what Joel 2 is, the subtitle of the first part is, it's talking about an army of locusts. And the whole scripture is mostly speaking about the call to repentance. And how God's heart for mercy still shines for his people. So, the first portion, I'm not going to read it all the way because it is very lengthy and long.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
verses 2 or verses 1 all the way down to 11, basically what it is, is that locusts is, and this is a vision of what the prophet Joel has seen, is that locusts is being spread out to and from. There's destruction, there is trials and tribulations, that it is eating up everything because of the sin, wickedness, and lawlessness that has been infiltrated by the people of
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
So the locust is representing the judgment of what the people were partaking in, in wickedness. We understand? So we now see in the next part of scripture, I'm going to start reading in verse 12. It says, Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, as he relents from sin and calamity. Who knows, he may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for you, for the Lord your God." Let the priest who ministered before the Lord weep between the portico and the altar.
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people. The Lord replied to them, I'm sending to you a new grain, a new wine, and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully. Never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. I'm actually going to stop right there before we get into the rest. So what is this saying?
Saved Not Soft
God Please Heal Me!
How we said before, the beginning of this called to repentance mark of what Joel is preaching is that the people of Judah have been disobedient to the things of God, that they have turned away against them, they've turned to their wickedness, they've turned into their own flesh, and they're acting out of lawlessness.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Hello, hello everyone and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. What's going on everybody? I hope you had a great, great week. We're going to hop into things on this little episode right here because I am so, so excited. We're going to be talking about fear.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So you could conquer the spirit of fear by pursuing power, love, and a sound mind, by receiving the truth of the gospels and who Jesus Christ has claimed himself to be because God does not lie. And so when it comes to fear, we first have to die to our expectation into what we think God has for us because his thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
That's why Proverbs 3, 5 says, So the first step to conquering fear is not leaning on your own understanding. It's not trusting in what you think is going to come next. It's trusting in what the Lord has declared and promised you because one, it's written. And two, he does not lie. And three, he's sovereign. And four, he has compassion on you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And five, he will complete a good work in which what he has started. And so... Let's go into the teaching because we're talking about fear, how it robs us from opportunity. It robs us from pursuing the things of God. And it robs us from having a sound mind power in love. And I want to talk about this parable that Jesus gave. And I think you could take this in any light.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
When I first learned this parable, I took it in the light of finances, which we are going to talk about finances a little bit today and trusting God with your finances, with your life, with provision and all those things. But God also showed me that through this story, fear absolutely robs this man of receiving the pleasure of the Lord. Like forget the providence.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
This man did not even receive pleasure in the presence of his master because he was operating in full fear that kept him bound. So let's read. We're going to go to Matthew chapter 25, verse 14 through 30, which is the parable of
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
of the bags of goals and know how sometimes like you think you read stories and you're like oh yeah i know this story this was one of those stories that really ministered to my spirit and just helps my my understanding of how we could be better stewards of the opportunities and things of god and so it starts off i'm going to read from my bible bible starting verse 14 again it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them keep in mind this is a parable
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
To one, he gave five bags of gold and another two bags into one other one bag, each according to his ability. So let's lay it out really quick so we can imagine. I'm a visual learner. So there is a master who is entrusting his servants with all of these riches. And each servant was given bags of gold according to their ability, right?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So we see that one man got five bags of gold, the other one got two, and the other one got one, okay? We see it. Let's continue. And so then it says, the man who had received five bags of gold went out once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
because of the spirit of fear and so i'm excited to speak about this today because fear is like one of those things to where we all kind of recognize we have it in some aspects but i feel like we fail to understand and acknowledge how much it's actually throwing us in prison and so it's a matter of telling fear whose boss it is which is the lords and in allowing not allowing fear to no longer overtake your life and so we're gonna pray and we're gonna get in
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, you've entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I've gained five more.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. The man with two bags of gold also came. His master replied, Come share your master's happiness. Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what this way here. Wait, see, here is what belongs to you. His master replied, you wicked, lazy servant. So you knew that I'll harvest where I'm not sown and gather where I've not scattered seed.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Well, then you should have put your money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest. So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has 10 bags for whoever will be given more. They will be given an abundance. Whoever does not have, even when they, even what they have will be taken from them and
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
and throw what is what throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth that's kind of a harsh parable towards the end because he just hid his money okay we're gonna talk about a multitude of things because y'all this story is so good and where do i want to start first so let's just kind of re-wrap the story
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So this master has three servants and each was entrusted with a bag of gold according to their ability, right? So one guy grants a five, one grants a two, one grants a one. And so the master got up and left and he said, okay, I'm going to see what y'all are going to do with what I just gave you and hope that I get a return because I've entrusted you with these riches, right?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So the master gets up in leaves. And then from that, what the servants were supposed to do was to steward what the master has given them properly. So what does the first servant do, the one with the five bags of gold? He puts it to work immediately, not the next day, not a week after. He immediately gets the inheritance and the abundance and starts to put it at work.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so he's starting to put it at work and then he gains five bags more. So this went to a five bagged, five bag deal to a 10 bag outcome, 10 bags of gold. So his portion was doubled because he steward into what his master have has given him properly. Are you staying with me? And so then we see the second man who had the two bags of gold did the same exact thing.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so when the servant came back, excuse me, whenever the master came back, the master was pleased with the two servants because they invested and steward what the master had given the servants properly. And there was an investment and there was a return. And not only was there a return, but the master also states that while...
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
The master also states that just as much as they gave a return and they put their bags of gold to use and et cetera, that there was a pleasure that he took into their work because he was pleased that they put it to work and that they invested. And it also said... What the master said, he said, because I've trusted you with these things, I will trust you with more.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So it shows that when God trusts us with little things, they're not something that should just be pushed to the side. There should be things that are embraced and stewarded just as much as if God were to give you a crazy opportunity, because God is going to use that opportunity to test you if you're worthy to be entrusted with the bigger thing.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
You may be praying for you to be a CEO of a business, but God's not going to grant that to you if you don't even learn how to be a good employee. So is God going to grant you more if he can't trust you with the little?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so the story kind of paints this picture of God giving to his children and giving onto his servants and them having the responsibility to carry out the riches and things that he has provided onto us. And he wants to see what we're going to do with it. Are we going to have a bigger return or are we going to be like the last man who was afraid and hid what he was called to double?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
to it yep that's it let's close our eyes dear heavenly father we just thank you and praise you god god we just ask that your holy spirit fire comes through this episode father god i just ask that you use me as a vessel to correctly spread your gospel oh jesus god god i ask that through your parables and through your stories that your word alone is what impacts our hearts and also your presence god
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So while we saw that these men who were entrusted with more got a better return because they put their work to use, we then come across this man who then hid the inheritance and the treasure and the abundance that his master has given him because of one thing, fear. He says, master, because I was afraid, I hid what you have provided upon me. And here it is just the way that you left it.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And what is the master's response? You wicked and a lazy servant. You have not brought me back interest. You have not stewarded the things that I have brought on to you. And so I want to talk about for a moment, I talked about this, oh gosh, I feel like it was one of my first episodes and it was called the addiction of hiding. And I want to talk about right now, the reaping of hiding because
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Because while these men were putting their money to use, what this man had done is that he received the inheritance, but then what had happened was instead of putting it to work, he hid it. Like, he buried it. And it wasn't... Like, you would have thought he could have done anything with this money.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Like, the fact that he dug a hole in the ground and then put the money in it and then buried it, like, he could have, like, kept it by his bedside or kept it to himself or he could have invested it into somebody else or he could have spent it, but, like... He hid it. He could have just kept it, but he buried the money and hid it instead.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And what the Lord was revealing to me through this passage is that hiding partners with shame and fear is that when this man said, I was afraid and went out and hid your gold into the ground. See here, this is what belongs to you. It shows that shame happens. and fear partnered with one another because this man was in shame.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
This man was in fear of embarrassment, was in fear of failure, was in fear of the missing of opportunity that instead of risking the chance to, it was almost as if this man risked the opportunity to please his master to, what's the word I'm looking for? to just hold on to his shame. Like he, he, yeah, I'm just going to leave it at that.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
He threw his, his ability to help and please his master at the expense of not being embarrassed. There it is. So how many of us in the Christian lifestyle are like that? You won't do the things of God and you won't do the scary thing that he's telling you to do at the expense of failing or feeling embarrassed or feeling in shame.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so what God is showing us through the parable of the bags of gold is that nothing should get in the way of you doing the things of God, right? Why is it that this man was entrusted with five bags of gold and got back 10 more? Because this man put to work what the master had given him.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And he knew that in order to receive bigger things, he had to invest with the little things that were already given to him. And so a lot of people are praying for big things. They're praying for a house. They're praying for a family. They're praying for a business startup. They're
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But God is giving you avenues and opportunities for him to trust you with the little, but you won't even take them because you're fearful of being embarrassed or failing. And then you wonder why you're not getting blessed. It's because you're not taking the opportunities that God has given you because you're deeply incarcerated by fear.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
First and foremost, God, we invite your presence into wherever we may be, whether if it's in a room or while we're getting ready to go to school or to work, or if we're in the car or whether if we're at the gym, whatever it may be, God, meet us where we're at right now, Father, and use this episode to speak directly to your children, God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so this is the dangers of fear is that ultimately it steals, kills, and destroys every single opportunity that God wants to give you because there's unbelief stored up in the depths of your heart. You have to know that if God has called you, he has called you. God does not lie. And God wants you to be like one of these servants who is entrusted with little so he could trust you with more.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So the question for you is, is how are you going to move forward in these opportunities in the fruitfulness of God and with the expectation of of fulfilling his will, even if it looks scary, obeying even when it don't look right, when it doesn't meet your expectation.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And even if it doesn't mean what you're seeing right now, like, are you going to press forward knowing that God said what he said and he called you? Because you want to know what also happens in this story? It says that the man who hid his treasure,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
that he he had the same amount whenever whenever the master came back he left with one bag of golds and he came back with one back of gold one bag of golds and he said you know what i hit it because i was scared of you and i just know uh that that you're a harsh man so here is the same amount that you left me with and you want to know what the master did he said i'm actually gonna take away what i gave you and give it to somebody else who knows how to steward it better my god
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
What does that show us? If you're disobedient to the things of God, if you're not taking God-given opportunities, there's going to be a point in time where God is going to release you from that God-given opportunity and give it to somebody else. We see this all throughout the Bible. Moses, for an example, he was so... filled with his disobedience.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
We're going to be talking about when you're too scared to make a move and why you're actually operating in the disobedience of God when you're not going forth and doing the things right. of God. But before we go into the hot topic of what God wants us to dive into today, let me first introduce myself. My name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of this podcast, Save Not Soft. What is Save Not Soft?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
He disobeyed once by the things of God and God from that experience of disobedience told him, bro, you're not going to leave these, these Israel license at the promised land no more because you didn't take me seriously. So God could easily give up your position for somebody else because you know better and won't do better. So there is a partnership.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
We're supposed to have a God and you have to, yes, there's a grace. It's not saying, Oh dang, if I miss this opportunity once, it's never going to come back. It's more so of like, if you know God has called you and if you know better and you're not doing better, God's not going to honor that. God wants you to steward what he has given you properly.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Even if it is finances, if it's a job, if it's a ministry, if it's a relationship or a marriage or a new house or whatever it may be like, God is giving you little because he wants to know if he could trust you with the more.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so we have to be obedient and willing enough to partner with the things of God right now so we can fulfill his destiny, not just for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of the kingdom. Amen. And so I want to talk about, again, like the reaping of hiding, because what what the man was experiencing was he was experiencing hiding because of shame, guilt, fear.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And I would even say that hiding like partners with this feeling like of shame. unworthiness. I wonder if this man was experiencing an unworthiness and a deep shame that didn't give himself permission to go seek and pursue the things of God. And he hid what God gave him because he was afraid. That's what it says in scripture.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
God, I decree and declare that you, God, have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, because that's what your word says in 2 Timothy 1, 7, God. Let us not operate in fear. God, we repent of any fear right now, God, and we just ask that you wash us away of all fear and that you make us white as snow, oh God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And the opportunity God has granted you should not be hidden, but instead invested. And I kind of think
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
capitalize off of this fact is fear stole his opportunity to please his master and when i think of fear and how it stole this man from an opportunity to please his master it just reminds me of what john 10 10 says and it's the devil's purpose and plan if you don't know it the devil's purpose and plan for your life is to kill steal and destroy everything that god has for you
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So we know that the enemy is a thief. He is an absolute thief. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. And so... I want to bleed into this because the Lord was giving me a great vision as I was writing this episode. In order to do the things of God and to take God-given opportunities, we have to enforce a very strict spiritual security system.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And that spiritual security system is violated whenever you keep inviting the thief of fear to come in and steal everything inside of your home. Because you have to think about it like this. You are a home and a host to the Holy Spirit. And there was a real criminal thief named Fear. And he's on the loose. And he's trying to kill, steal, and destroy everything that's up inside of your household.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So to ensure a spiritual security system, there's a few things that need to happen. First thing is to trust the system, right? So if you're looking to be secure in the things of God and to trust that God has given you this opportunity not to fail, not to be embarrassed, but instead for the advancement and for the provisions of God, you have to trust what God has given you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so a lot of people will operate in fear and they will operate, uh, the fear of embarrassment or the fear of failure, the fear of abandonment, the fear of neglect, the fear of mockery, whatever it may be, people will operate in fear because there's a real part of them that does not trust or believe God. And so when we think of enforcing a spiritual security system,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Like, my question is, is why would you have a security system for your physical home and not trust it in the first place? Like, I have an alarm system in my house because, well, the real story is that I saw one day somebody was in my backyard and I made eye contact with them and it was really scary. And then I just freshly moved in. I was like, God. Anyway, OK, that's a different story.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But anyways, what I'm trying to share is that I got a security system in the first place with the hopes that if someone were to try to bust a window or come through the front door, it would alert me because it's keeping me safe. Right. So why would you buy a security system for your home if you're just going to be sleeping with one eye open all night? It makes no sense.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
God, I decree and declare in Jesus' mighty name, God, that you are going to use this podcast to start a fire and start a hunger in the people of God. And whether people are having a really hard time making a decision or getting up out of bed in the morning, Father, that you are going to use this episode to spark something new inside of them, God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
That would defeat the whole purpose of a security system for your home because you're supposed to trust the security system. And so it's the same thing with God. It's when you don't trust God with the opportunities that he's telling you to take, when he's trying to push you down a certain career path, a relationship, whatever it may be.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
It's like, what's the point of accepting if you don't even trust it? And so we could mirror this to the relationship that the servant had with his master because the man didn't steward his opportunity properly, not just because of fear, but because of his perception of who his master was. So in the story of the 10 bags of gold, this servant was entrusted with one bag of gold.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And in scripture, it says, "'Master, I knew that you are a hard man.'" So that shows us the perception that the servant had of his master. The servant hid his money. He didn't invest it. He had no return back. Instead, he hid it because he was afraid and ashamed. So whenever his master came back and he said, what have you done for me? He said, I've done nothing.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Instead, I hid the abundance that you've provided for me. There's no return. There's no investment. Here it is exactly like how you left it. He said, because you are a harsh man. So what does this tell us? You get poor results when you have a poor perception of who your father is. You get poor results when you have a poor perception of who your master is.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And because this man had a poor perception of his master, he got a poor result because he thought poorly of his master. And so it shows that he didn't have trust or there was like a lack of confidence that he had in his master because the problem wasn't, you know, he's fallen and he's failed or discipline or punishment, all these things.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
It was just the truth of the matter, the fact that he just had a false perception. Oh, what does that mean? Fear. It's fear. Fear. Because fear is a poor assumption of what is unseen. And this man believed his poor assumption of what was yet to come. And so I think even if you're in a financial state of, I just feel led to talk about this.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I feel like any time a Christian talks about finances, they make it really weird. But I just want to, God's not calling for that. I feel like a lot of people have a poverty mindset.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And I'm not saying be proud of money because the Bible says that money is the root of all evil, but people will have a poverty mindset and almost like deny financial provision because they have a poor view of who God is and how much God will actually provide for them.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so what it shows us through the story is that when you have a great perception of God, and when you know that he has given you something, he's given you the resources and the opportunities to double it. He wants you to take it and not, and not project this false humility.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
to let them know that you have called them, that they are capable because of your spirit, not because of our strength, God, and that you are calling them to do the things of you and that you have qualified them to do so because of what you have done for us on the cross, Jesus. So let us embrace you, God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
That's actually gaining you nothing to where you're actually selling, selling your inheritance and robbing yourself because you believe you're not worthy. And you believe God is not going to give you something of which he promised and
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And sure, you may have situations or you may have been like in tragedies or had trauma in your life where you've actually been neglected or you've been abandoned or betrayed or belittled and whatever it may be. I think those are really real attributes as to why it's easy for us to slip into fear. And I don't want to negate those whatsoever necessarily.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I just think simultaneously, as much as we acknowledge that this is why fear holds us to such a close bondage, we have to understand that releasing those things is simultaneously what's going to free us from the bondage and the spirit of fear. And it's a matter of trusting God and seeing him as good and as worthy and as providing.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Because when God says he's a provider, but yet you have a poor view of God and you wonder why the bills aren't being paid, Is it because you're not doing the art of a job and you're not working enough? Or is it because you believe God wants you to be poor? Like, do you believe God wants you to be poor? We look through all the scripture and we even look through the story.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
God has given these people little so he could trust them with much. I'm not saying to idolize money and, you know, money is going to fix everything. But there's people who really think that God wants them poor. Forever. And for them to not have provision or help in any areas. But God doesn't say that. You say that.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And I've even fallen into this mentality so many times, which is why the Lord had to snatch me up and out of there so I could get the things of God and not believe the spirit of fear and what the enemy was trying to tell me. Because of course the enemy wants to rob me from the providence of God. Of course he wants that. And so how do you make rich decisions that cultivate God-given opportunities?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
You place your security in God. That's it. You see him as good. You see him as providing and you believe it. If you have a poor vision of who God is, you're going to get poor results. That's what the story teaches us. And fear exists when you don't trust God, right? Why do you have a security system if you don't trust the system? Make it make sense.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So part two of entrusting and ensuring your spiritual security system is arming the system. So you could believe all day, but the Bible says faith without works is dead. So what does that mean? It means that works is evidence of your faith. So you arm the system and you arm that security and you... You remain in the trust of God by what?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
God, I even just ask for a deeper and a closer intimacy with you and God, for an opportunity for us to understand and empathize with you more, God. So God, let us die to all expectations and all deceptions of what fear has to offer, God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Prayer, fasting, studying the word of God, by meditating on the word day and night, by being in community, plugging into a church, serving, whatever it may be. That's how you ensure the security that God has placed on your life. Amen. And so the other two men were entrusted because they were good stewards. So like, are you a good steward of what God is calling you to do?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And each person was given bags of gold according to their ability, right? So God wants to increase your ability. You just have to be willing to take every opportunity that God is giving you. And I love how in scripture, when these men did invest properly and they were doing the things of God, the master says to the servants, he says, you have been faithful with a few things.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. When you invest properly, when you take those opportunities, even when you obey, even when it's scary, you share a joy and a happiness with God. This is great news. I know you may be scared to take the opportunity.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I know you may be scared to take the leap of faith, to move across the country, to pursue the relationship, to take the job and leave the old one. And I know you may be scared about even coming to Christ, but God takes pleasure and he takes happiness in you doing so. And not only does he experience happiness, but he wants to experience and empathize that happiness with you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Like he wants to share the joy which he's experiencing with you and not just keep it to himself. So whenever you are obedient to the things of God, whenever you do the thing, even when it looks scary, there's a joy and there's a pleasure that not only God takes, but a joy that God is wanting to have in partnership with you. And what I love about God is that he shares.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And after he tests you, and even though he put you through the ringer, like God is going to give you and restore onto you a joy that is going to surpass every trial that you just went through. And I want to just encourage that if you're put in a position to receive more from God, then it's because he's already entrusted you with the little of what he's given.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So what's like the practicalities of that? Like, what does it mean for God to trust you with the little? That's like... I gave this example earlier. If you want to be a CEO of a business and you know God has called you to entrepreneurship one day and to start something really great, why would he grant you the position of a CEO if you're not a good employee?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
and let us put it to the side let us die of it let's carry our cross and pursue faith so we thank you god for what you're doing we thank you for your generosity and your compassion and that god you have not called us to live a life of fear and god we don't want to be apart from you jesus use me as a vessel this is your podcast not mine this is your platform not mine
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Being a good employee is stewarding the little things. It's being obedient even when it's small and trusting that God is going to raise you up higher, higher, higher, and higher. Like for an example, like, like each, I just think about school, like kindergarten, first grade, second grade, all the way to middle school is necessary for you to go into high school.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So you just can't come out the womb and go straight into high school because you have no fundamental principles. God is wanting to trust you with a little because he's wanting to give you a foundation.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so that is the, the ultimate like urge is dwell and be pleased with the little of what God is stressing you with, because those are tiny little steps that God is going to, to use to open up your future. And the big thing that he's really called you to do. And again, It's just a matter of not procrastinating of what God has called you to do right now, even though it looks small.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And just because it looks small doesn't mean that it's not important because it glorifies God. It's not about you, honey boo boo. It is about God. It is not about you. It's not about your purpose, your life. Sure, God's using your life and you as a vessel to do the things of God, but it's ultimately for the advancement of his kingdom.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so God, of course, is going to show compassion and care and love for you in the midst of it. but we have to partner with God and take joy in the small things. Cause those are the very things he's going to use for prosperity and provide us.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So, yeah, I, I think I kind of dove into what those things mean of like what it looks like to trust and invest into opportunities and to leave the spirit of fear. And ultimately it's very simple. It's like an order of, in order to fall away from the spirit of fear, you ultimately just have to trust. I think when we talk about trust, that's a little bit of a sticky situation.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
It's a hard conversation for a lot of people because I think a lot of people think that they're trusting God, but then they look at their lives and they see that God has or hasn't been showing up in certain ways. And I think, or you're still entrapped by fear and you eliminate the spirit of fear by trusting God. And I think people think that they trust God,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But what it means to trust God is not just to, oh, hey, God, I trust you, and just kind of say a statement that's like that. But it's truly submitting and acknowledging him as Lord. Proverbs 3, 5 says, When we think of submission, it's basically saying, say if you're going through... A hard time with like your job and you don't know where you're going to get employed next.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
What submission looks like and what it means to surrender is, God, I'm now releasing the responsibility of the provision of my job onto you because I trust you. And I'm not going to lay my hands on it until you say so. That's what surrender looks like. But then we see this word submit in Proverbs 3, 5 through 6.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And what the word submit means in the Hebrew language, it literally means yada, which means to acknowledge God as Lord. And so I think when we think submit, we think surrender. But if God meant surrender in this verse, he would have said surrender. But what it means to submit is, In order to trust, you have to acknowledge Christ as Lord.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so the reason as to why we're thrown into cycles of fear is because ultimately we don't trust. And we don't trust because we don't see Jesus Christ as Lord. And so how do you see Jesus Christ as Lord? It's by developing a deep intimacy with him. It's receiving a revelation of the cross and what he's done on behalf of you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
All the glory is returned onto you, Jesus. It's all for you. It's for nobody else. It's just for you. You are the one we want to exalt. You are the one we love. Teach us so we could be a better bride to you, Father. So we thank you. In Jesus' mighty name, I seal this prayer. Amen. Amen.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
That God has sent his one and only son when he did not have to for the sake of you being a perfect, harmonious relationship with God. And so when you fail to see Christ as Lord and God on the throne of which he is called and exalted to be at, That's not going to make it easy for you to trust him. It's going to make it easy for you to fall into fear.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so seeing God as Lord bleeds into seeing him as the highest authority and priority of your life. And trust also comes with a self-crucifixion and self-denial. And so in order to trust God, you have to stop trusting yourself. It's a matter of, if you feel fear creeping and crawling, like take a moment to step back, examine your fear and try and test it by the word of God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I believe it's Hebrews 4, 7 or 12 talks about it. And it says like the word of God penetrates, dividing the soul and the spirit and the mind. Like it judges the thoughts of of your spirit, soul, mind, body. Like the word of God judges everything.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So if you're having a hard time not believing your fear, test it by the word of God and see what God has to say about it because this is ultimately truth. And it's cultivating an intimate relationship with him through prayer, through fasting, through community, whatever it may be,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
to acknowledge God for who he is and not just saying, oh, I trust you because I trust you, but God, I trust you because I recognize you as a Lord, because I see you as sovereign and I see you on the highest throne and I will not put you below anything in my entire life. Instead, I will keep you in the center and on top reigning over everything. And then the second thing is to invest.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Make spiritual deposits into yourself. It looks like prayer, fasting, scriptural studying, involving in community, plugging into mentorship, worship, consecration, serving. Investments in obedience is fueled by the fire of faith. So you do the things of God and you cultivate your own faith when you stop believing what you think is good, but actually believe in what God has said for your life.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Don't lean on your own understanding. Instead, lean on his. Faith is confidence, what we hope for. So there was like an unseen matter that is good. Like you have to understand, like if you're in a room, you don't know what's on the other side of the door. And what if I told you it was good? You have to know that what God has for you on the other side of the door is good.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
You just have to die to your expectation of what you think that thing on the outside of the door is because you're so focused on what's happening on the inside. Like just see in the spirit, open up your mind and just know that God has something better.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And last encouragement is that you just have a divine opportunity to partner with God when he's calling you to do something even when it looks scary. God wants to use these moments to show you how faithful he is, that he is working even when it doesn't even look like it. I think sometimes we miss the opportunity to strengthen our faith because we don't trust him.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And let me tell you something, God is worthy of being trusted. If you want to know for yourself, just meditate of what he's done for you already in your life. If you want to see how God's been trusted, like read the scriptures, see how God has helped and provided for his people.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So I feel like fear is one of those things where it can kind of bleed into a lot of different aspects of life and fear just testimonial wise has had a lot of experience of robbing some really good moments of my life. Fear and faith are super interesting because fear and faith are the only two things that demand for you to believe in something.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Like I was even just telling one of my best friends this morning, I told her, I said, I said, if God, because I was reading the story of Gideon, I said, if God redeemed a people who was literally prostituting their bodies for false gods, How much more is God going to redeem you through this? Like your problem is cake to God. Like what you're going through right now is easy for him.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
You just have to trust that it's easy for him. It may be difficult for you, but it's so easy for God. God delights in your weakness because it makes his power perfectly strong. Believe that. And I would even encourage that if you want to advance in your faith, and if you're looking to experience the full presence of God, Don't leave your prayer closet until he releases you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Sometimes we'll just pray and we'll seek the things of God and we'll be like, well, I'm hungry and I'm going to go get something to eat or I want to go on TikTok and I want to do these things, but God hasn't released you. Sit and dwell on the presence of God.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
We want all this head knowledge and we want to know it all, but nobody wants to sit down and embrace the presence and just really meditate on what Jesus has done. It's like really...
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
jesus and even everything he's doing through us i could even say on the behalf of like this podcast this isn't an emmy thing this is a god thing and none of this would happen at the lengths and the extremities that it would be happening at if i just didn't trust god and sure i may not see it but i know god has seen it for me this is why the bible says in hebrews 12 god is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith like he's already been in areas where we haven't seen it
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so it's believing that. And so I'm going to leave y'all with that. And I'm just going to trust that God did his thing, y'all. Because, man, does God love you. And God's not giving you these opportunities for no reason. Because he wants to help you. He wants to see you win. God is your biggest cheerleader. Amen. So embrace that. Embrace that God wants to see you in.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And let me just encourage somebody at home right now. It is not too late. It is not too late. You are not too far gone. God is just asking for you to turn back around. You could have taken a million steps away, but it's one step back to God. I don't care how far. far off you are. I don't even care if you win a jail cell listening to this.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
There was one step that brings you back into harmony with God and it's pursuing him. It's repentance. And God is going to give you what he has for you when you just trust in him. Amen. So know that you're capable and worthy because God has called you to it. Amen. Amen. So a few announcements, then we finna go. You already know the drill.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
If you've been saved through this podcast or if you need prayer requests, there's a link down below. Number two, if you want to, or if you feel led to tithe towards this ministry or also towards future plans regarding Malik and I, there's also another link down below. There's no pressure whatsoever. This is literally just an announcement. We appreciate prayers more than anything.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
When I tell you, I will always dwell on a spiritual covering more than a physical one. because I know the Lord is faithful. But for those who would like to, it's just there. And then last thing, if you are wanting to shop the merchandise, it's at savenotsoftshop.com. And if you guys have any questions, leave them down below. And yeah, that's that, you guys. I love you guys so much.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And God loves you. And let him reveal his kindness to you this week. Love you guys. And I'll see you a week from today. Love you guys. Bye.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And whenever you're fearful, you can't simultaneously be faithful. When the Lord was teaching me about fear in early 2024, he was showing me that fear was actually rooted in a lot of disbelief. And I dealt with a lot of anxiety. I think that was something from the moment I got into high school.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I mean, I think I've always had anxiety, but I remember the first time I experienced an anxiety attack whenever it was whenever I was in high school, I was 14 years old. And I thought I was going to die. That's what it felt like. And through that experience, I kept having more panic attacks and more episodes and more spirals of fear.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Save Not Soft is a podcast cultivated to let others know that they are heard, seen, and loved by God. And this is not a soft journey. It's hard. This is why the word says that it's not a wide gate. It's a narrow path, and it's not something that's necessarily easy. You will never see
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But I look back on my life and there was a lot of areas where fear has robbed my life and it was almost embedded into my understanding. And so when I said yes to Jesus and when I started to walk correctly with God, I then had to confront this enemy, which was fear and how fear has been holding back a lot of the faith that the Lord has been wanting me to. to encounter.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so whether if, you know, you have anxiety or if you're an anxious person or not, I think in every area, every person here on earth will deal with some sort of fear. And that could bleed into a language of not feeling enough. That could bleed into feeling as if everybody is going to get up and leave you. That could make you feel as if you're not confident and you could lose your identity in the
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And fear at the end of the day is one of the things that Satan will use to still kill and destroy the purposes and plans that God has orchestrated for his people. And when we talk about fear and faith, God has called us to live a life of faith. And I want to just kind of break down terms and definitions so we understand what fear is and so we also know what faith is.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So we know that faith and fear are not friends. They do not hold hands and they are not lovers. They are enemies. And fear is the opposite of faith. What is faith? Well, scripture tells us that. Faith is confidence of what we hope for. It's not what we see, it's what we don't see.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So a lot of people will ask for faith and then they'll be put in a circumstance to where they have to trust in what God says and not off of their own perception of what they think is good and what they think is mighty. So faith isn't what you see, it's what you don't see. So I would even just encourage in this moment, when you pray for faith,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
do not be surprised when God takes away tangible things that you could only experience in the natural, but he's going to give you a spiritual circumstance for you to trust and lean on him in. So then what is fear? Fear? Well, we know that God does not give us a spirit of fear according to second Timothy one seven.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So the spirit of fear is something that God does not give us, but God gives us instead power, love, and a sound mind. That's what this verse says. So fear, fear, literally incarcerates you from experiencing power, love, and a sound mind. So biblically, the Bible supports that fear is the absence of power, the absence of love, an absence of a sound mind.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Even other translations will say an absence of self-control. So whenever you're in fear, you're not capable of loving properly, You're not able of being in full authoritative power in Jesus Christ because you're accepting and embracing the Holy Spirit that you're hosting inside of you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And then you're also not experiencing a sound mind in Christ Jesus because fear has taken root in capacity of your mind. And so fear is a poor assumption of what is unseen. When we see the terminology of faith, faith is confidence in what we hope for. So it's not something we just hope for, it's confidence, right?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
jesus anywhere in the bible saying how this whole walk is easy if anything is going to come with trials and tribulations a lot of trial and error but we praise the lord because he is the one who perfects all of it he's the one who gives us grace he's the one who guides our footsteps and today's a really exciting episode because i get to speak about something what the lord's using me
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So one way you could up your faith is not just, oh, yeah, God, I'm just believing this because you said it, but it's like actually having a confidence of like, no, God, you said this and it will come into fruition because I'm confident that you're a God who does not lie, that you are not a God who will forsake me or leave me, but that you are actually a God who will get up and to fight for me.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
I love how Psalms 144 says that God has trained my hands for war, my fingers for battle because God is Jehovah Gabor. God is a God who wars for us. So we have to have a confidence that God has already won the battle through his warring power and his authoritative position because he is God and because he's already done what he's supposed to do.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And when we reconcile with the Father, when we accept the cross, we also accept a victory that has already been conquered by Christ Jesus. So, The question is, if we have accepted the cross and if we accepted everything of who Jesus is, then why are we still entrapped by fear as children of God?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And that's honestly the catalyst of what I'm wanting to address today, because we could accept Jesus all day long and we can say that God is good and lift up a praise. Oh, God, I'm so grateful. Oh, God, you are so mighty. But yet we are entrapped by the thief of fear. And so the message of today, which is what we're going to dive into.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
It's the simple matter of the fact is that the fear of embarrassment is the thief of opportunity. And we're going to talk about fear. And we're also going to talk about how fear thieves and steals and plans to kill and destroy all the plans and purposes that God has for your life. And if you create an open door and if you crack the door for fear to come,
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
creep and crawl in, is going to come with the intention to slam that door open and to let in all these other things. So we could pursue God by denying fear and embracing faith and believing in things that we hope for and have confidence in, and not just what we see, but what we don't see. Because there is a real heaven that is at work. There is a real spiritual...
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
a real spiritual reality that is at hand. And we have to trust that God has all figured out because his word proves that. And God has already proved it. I don't know about you, but I know about me. God has shown up in a lot of areas where I thought nobody was going to show up for me.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And he showed up for me continuously time after time after time after time in an area where it looked impossible in a time where naturally all odds were against me. God showed up because he is the ultimate redeemer and all things are possible through God. That's Philippians 4.13. That's like every athlete's favorite Bible verse.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
But it's true because through Christ, all things are possible because he holds the power. He holds the authority. He holds the victory. And so I'm kind of rambling. But the question I want to prompt going into this is, are you not gaining provision from God personally?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Because there's no opportunities to your liking or because you're fearful of the opportunity that God is granting you, even though it may not be of your liking. And when I talk about the... Because... Fear of embarrassment is the thief of opportunity.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So when we have a fear of being embarrassed and of disappointment and of failure, it robs us of us actually stepping out and pursuing the things of God in faith because we're convinced by unbelief that what fear says has to be true because we're so focused and have accumulated this poor assumption of what is unseen, essentially.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And so I could just go back to a lot of times where I didn't step forth in areas where God was calling me because there was a fear of failure and there was a fear of not being or feeling enough. And I think that stems from a lot of abandonment and neglection and betrayal that I've experienced in my life.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
to speak about something that I believe is incarcerating a lot of young people in Christianity today. And it's fear, and it's fear that steals opportunities, whether if God is calling you to a new height in business or a new height in
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And when you allow your trauma to be the dictator of your life, it opens the door to its friend fear to then realize To where it then alters your understanding, your experience of what power is, and of you cultivating love.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And when God started to set me free from the fear of embarrassment, I started noticing that a lot of the opportunities that he was calling me to, there was a new confidence I was bringing to it because I trusted in what the Lord has said. And the thing about embarrassment is that you will truly never ever be embarrassed if you just truly believe what God has told you.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Like I said in the beginning of this episode, fear partners with unbelief. So when you're fearful, you're simultaneously saying, God, I don't believe you enough in this area. So I'm going to believe my own mind and my own brain in its poor assumption of what is unseen and unknown instead of believing in your provision and your kindness and in your promises. Fear partners with unbelief.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
And I think sometimes we don't like to see that reality because it feels like we're far from God. But the more we're able to admit our condition and see where we're sick in the spirit of how fear is quite literally a disease in the body of Christ, our great physician God will be able to be invited into our disease and heal it because he is the redeemer and he's already conquered it on the cross.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So it's a matter of admitting your condition of God. I am fearful in these areas and it is causing me to believe a reality that isn't true because fear also is deceptive. I'm going so off my notes, but I just feel so Holy spirit.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
So whenever we go to the garden of Eden in Genesis chapter three, it says now Satan was crafty then, or the serp, it says now the serpent was crafty than any of the animals the Lord God had made. So again, In Genesis chapter three, verse one, we get our first depiction and description of who Satan is and his attributes. It says that he is crafty. What does it mean to be crafty?
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
It means to be intelligent in deception. So fear is intelligently designed to throw you into deception. You have to understand fear. Satan is an ancient being who has been around since the beginning of time. Does this make him all powerful and knowing? Absolutely not. But it does make him strong in essence compared to just the flesh and just human strength.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
theology and what it means to grow intimacy with the Lord, or if it's going into college or stepping into a career or a relationship, if you're stepping into marriage, or if you're coming to a new church or a new city, whatever it may be, is that we're missing opportunities that God is wanting us to take advantage of and plant and take root in.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
Because Satan is a spiritual being, an ancient one, who was intelligent in deception and in craftiness. And so we have to understand that when we fall into the disparities of fear, we're falling into an intelligent design of deception. And so... What gets you out of that intelligent deception is what the Lord says, who the son sets free is free indeed.
Saved Not Soft
Fear of Embarrassment is the Thief of Opportunity
With the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. The truth will set you free. This is all embedded in scripture. And what is the truth is the promises is the revelations and is the declaration declarations of the Lord. So what conquers fear? It's faith. It's because faith is an opposition of fear and fear is an opposition of faith.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
hello hello everyone and welcome back to saves not soft season three y'all already know what the deal is happy new year y'all this is so insane the lord has been so good obviously you see just a little bit of some updates we still in mikasa still on the same couch just got a few little things that um the lord has just been sparking my creativity on i just honestly moved my couch a
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so because Ruth, excuse me, Naomi saw that God did provide for the people in Bethlehem and the people of Judah in the midst of the famine, she was thinking, my God, like, I thought you weren't going to show up. And I left just right when you did. And so Naomi, Ruth, and Oprah make this plan to go back to Judah because they're childless and widowed and they need God.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so Naomi should have known that God was going to provide, but yet she fled in fear and disobedience. And it shows why a lot of us run in the first place. And it's because we're either scared or we don't want to obey the things of God. And so she took her late son's wives under her belt and She went back because she just didn't want to hear the things of God.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
I love how it says when Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people, it just shows that Naomi didn't just want to hear what God did, but she wanted to receive what God did. So what did she do? She got up, got everything she needed to go back and return to God.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so it shows us that even though we make the deliberate choice to be enemies of God, that there is still an open door for us to turn back and pursue him. And so they get everything together. And the severity of Ruth and Naomi's position just kind of shows us that. kind of this lying tragedy they're in, which this is something I say all the time.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
Sometimes God will allow you to hit rock bottom for you to know that he is the rock. And Naomi and Ruth and Orpah hit rock bottom. Naomi lost her husband. Naomi lost her sons, a.k.a. Ruth and Orpah's husbands. And because of that, they were both childless and widowed. They had no one to protect them. They had no one to get resources from them whatsoever.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
They were the only they they were there to only fend for themselves. And so the people who were or women who were widowed and childless were considered the lowest of the low. So not only were these people enemies of God, but they also had a lack of resource. They were weak. They were impressionable and they were vulnerable, essentially. And through this.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
Ruth, Naomi, and Oprah, or mostly Naomi, saw the tragedies and was just like, you know what? We're going to get up and we're going to go pursue God. And so what kind of ends up throughout this next part of the story is that Naomi, they're on their way to Bethlehem or to Judah, and Naomi just sat down Orpah and Ruth and was like, you know what? I don't have much to offer y'all.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
I love y'all and I have such a connection with y'all, but there is nothing I could give you because I am a widowed and a childless woman. I have nothing to offer whatsoever. And so through that, it said that Ruth and Oprah
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
kissed her goodbye and they wept out loud and said to her we will go back with you and your people but Naomi said return home my daughters why would you come with me am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands return home my daughters I'm too old to have another husband if I thought there was still hope for me even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so what do you do when you're falling into the same cycles? If you're in iniquity, if you're still in those chains and you're looking for new life and new beginnings and just a freshness. And we're going to talk about what Jesus says about that because Jesus does promise new life, fresh water, and more so eternal life with him as well.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
Naomi was standing in a position to where she knew she was in the opposition of God. And she knew that she had became an enemy of God because she got up and left his provision to go pursue the opposing land. And so... Orpah basically kissed Naomi goodbye and was like, okay, I'm going to listen to you and I'm going to go back to Moab. AKA, she's going back to her old life.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
She's going back to the false idolization. She's going back to disobedience. She's going back to opposition with God. But Ruth's response, Ruth's response was a little different than Orpah's. And what Ruth said was, In just a moment, because my iPad shut out for some reason. But Orpah said, or sorry, Ruth said, do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. This is kind of the part of Ruth's story where everybody quotes it because it just shows her devotion towards Naomi and even how much love and compassion and devotion she had towards her.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so this is admirable to the kingdom of God and even to God himself, because even though Ruth was an enemy to God and was born as an enemy to God, she still made the deliberate decision to go pursue the things of God because she had an admiration for Naomi and saw and heard about what God was doing for these people.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so what this shows us is that it shows us two different types of Christians when we're in the opposition of the Lord. And you know it. And when we see Orpah, she was in disobedience with God. She was from an opposing land. And so was Ruth. But the difference between... Them two was a difference of choice. And Oprah decided to go back to her old life.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
But Ruth, regardless of her old life and regardless of the circumstances, she made the decision to press forward and pursue the things of God, even a God that she didn't know completely, but that she just heard about. And she decided to serve and go under somebody. And. I love this story so, so much because it shows their affection towards Naomi, but they just acted differently.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And I love that through this story, it shows that Ruth completely left her old life behind to pursue a new life in God, even if she didn't know exactly what all of that meant. And so Ruth died to her current condition in order to be made complete and new in this new life that God had in store for her, but she just didn't know it yet. And so Orpah left. She dipped out and she's gone.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So we're going to pray and we're just going to get into what God has.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And then Naomi and Ruth, they're on their way to Bethlehem. And so they finally do arrive. And as they're arriving, they pull up and it says, where is it? When Naomi... When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came back to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And the woman exclaimed, "'Can this be Naomi?' "'Don't call me Naomi,' she told them. "'Call me Mara, because the Almighty God has made my life very bitter.'" I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me. The Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
has for us so let's just pray super quick dear actually before you pray my name is emmy moore and welcome to safe not soft this episode not this episode this podcast is catered to let people know that they are heard loved and seen by god sorry i didn't mean to pray with y'all prayer time i just realized if you've never clicked on here you may not know what this is uh but basically this is a podcast catered to let them let people know that they are heard seen and loved by god
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. So that's the closing of chapter one. So set the scene. Naomi left Bethlehem, pursued a life in the opposing land of God, lost everything, and came back empty with another enemy of God, a Moabite woman, someone who was born into affliction, brought her back.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And so... even though we're seeing a lot of trials and tribulations, I think this just highlights that your struggle can completely be a setup and you may just not know it yet. And so Naomi and Ruth, they were struggling. Uh, Naomi especially struggled because she tasted and seen the things of God and that she bounced back.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And I love how Ruth and Naomi, even though they turned back to God, Ruth and Naomi also represent two different Christians, uh, Someone who loves the Lord and has always been in the will of God, but then stepped away and came back. But then Ruth, who was like born into opposition to God and didn't know anything and was a complete enemy to him, also came back.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So it shows that whether if you've known God for 10 years and felt and fallen very, very far away from him, there's still an opportunity for you to reconcile with him. And even though you're a complete enemy to God and you're far on the other side, there's still an opportunity for you to come back into the things of God. Now, where does the Bible talk about this?
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
It talks about it in the second chapter. So in the next chapter of Ruth, in chapter 2, it talks about when the deposit finally hits. They were going through all these trials and tribulations, and now we're looking at the fruit of what they were just reaping for so, so long. And so... Now, the title of this chapter is when Ruth meets Boaz in the grain fields.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
We're going to find out who he is in a moment. It says now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the fields and pick up leftover grain behind anyone whose eyes I find favor. Naomi said to her, "'Go ahead, my daughter.'
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So she went out, entered a field, and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Amalek. Just as Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "'The Lord be with you. The Lord bless you,' they answered. Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, Who is that? Who does that young woman belong to?
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
OK, we're going to pause right here and then we're going to go into the rest of the story. So Ruth said that she was going to go glean into a field because she needed to gain food, obviously, for her and her household, which is her and Naomi and only them only. And so because Ruth is of the lowest of the low, again, widowed and childless, that means that she was only able to receive so little.
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And what it means to glean is that basically there were farmers who were hosting the and harvesting all of these crops to where it was a Levitical law for them to leave certain harvest behind or if they dropped any on the floor for them to leave it so the poor could come after they had harvest everything to then pick it up and feed their families.
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And this is stated in Leviticus 19, 19 through 20. It commands farmers in Israel that they should not completely harvest their fields. They were called to leave some harvest behind. Whatever they dropped on the floor was for those who they gleaned. And so Ruth going to a field that just so happened to be Boaz's wasn't just a coincidence. It was the work done.
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The Beauty of Starting New
of god and so sometimes we're in tragic situations and we're looking on how we could you know move forward and see a positive outlook and god will start putting us in situations to where we don't know it at the time but it actually is him and so this field that ruth was gleaning and she didn't know at the time that that this man boaz god was going to use him to grant great favor
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The Beauty of Starting New
And so I think it even shows us Ruth's attitude towards her going and working too, because Ruth could have sat and moped and groaned all day about what to do next. But we see the attitude of Ruth. We see that the attitude of Ruth wasn't to just sit around and... complain or to be wearied by her state of mind, but instead she got up and she worked.
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Now let's pray and let me stop playing with y'all. Okay, let's bow our heads. Dear Heavenly Father, I just thank you and praise you, God. I thank you for this platform. I thank you for the opportunity to exercise and speak the word, God. I thank you for your gospel. I thank you for the good news of Jesus Christ, God.
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And I think sometimes when we're in seasons that are very desolate and we're coming out of, you know, we just sinned against God and we're an enemy to him because of we may have fallen short or fallen behind and we're not pursuing the things of God and we're looking to be reconciled back into his heart.
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It's almost like sometimes we think that we have to have this super spiritual encounter in order to start being obedient or to pursue the things of God. When in this instance, Ruth just got up and went. And I think sometimes we could fail to do things for God when we just sit around and we're waiting for all day for something that he has called and ordained for us to go up and just do.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And so Ruth, she had the heart to just get up and go. She knew she was in a new land. She knew there was work that needed to be done and God was going to partner with her faithfulness. And so we get to the next part of the story where I say, I left it off to where Boaz said that he saw Ruth and he said, who is that young woman? Who does she belong to?
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And the overseer replied, she is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters. She came into the fields and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter. So Boaz said to Ruth, My daughter, listen to me. Do not glean in another field. Do not go away from here.
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Stay here with the woman who works for me. Watch the fields where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have told the men to not lay a hand on you, and whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled. At this she bowed with her face on the ground. She asked him, Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you have noticed me, a foreigner?
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Boaz replied, My God, this literally replicates us pursuing the things of God, even though we grew up in a different circumstance, even though we had, you know, maybe a different family or a Maybe you lived a life where it was born into a family that was very far from God.
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Ruth chose to leave her father and her mother and her old land to pursue a people that she doesn't even know, but she had hope in them because she heard what God has done in that land. And I love how Ruth made an impression on Boaz because she did a good job. Ruth made a good impression on Boaz because she worked well. She gleaned well. She served well.
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God, I just decree and declare that as we step into this new year and as we step into new beginnings, Father, that you just bless our walk. Like Psalms 119, 105, God, that thy word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, God. Let your word be the light that's on our path, God, that guides us through every circumstance, God.
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There was an intentionality behind what Ruth was doing. And I think sometimes we think we please God, you know, just simply by actions. But Ruth had an action accompanied by an intentionality. And so I would even prompt the question of, as we're growing and doing the things of God, and even though we feel like we're doing all the right things, are you doing it
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with a correct heart are you serving with a pure heart are you are you gleaning and working with intentions that align with the heart of god are you doing it for selfish motive and ambition i believe what this story is showing us is that not only did boaz see the works that ruth was doing but he saw the heart of which ruth was doing it at And so Jesus looks at us in the same way.
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The Beauty of Starting New
We could be working and doing the things for God all day, but the moment we do not have correct intentions, it's all done in vain. And so it's a matter of knowing what the Bible says, faith without works is dead. Is that works is a repercussion of faith because works is just the evidence of what you're already experiencing on the inside.
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And so Ruth didn't even know it yet, but she was a woman of faith. Because she had pure intentions. She wanted to serve. She wanted to help. She literally made this declaration to Naomi. She said, whoever your God is, is going to be my God. And whoever your people is, they're going to be my people now. Because Ruth was devoted to Naomi. She had a compassion for her.
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And through that compassion, that's going to make you want to leave any old thing and just pursue the new. And so God provided or continued to provide for Ruth and Naomi throughout the story.
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And after we see this encounter that Boaz has with Ruth, which is him basically granting her a whole bunch of favor, favor that you just don't get on a random Sunday, favor that is absolutely appointed by God. He said, I have found favor in you and you do not have to do all these things like how you once did because I'm giving you favor. A new fresh wind. I've seen how hard you've worked.
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I've seen your intention. I've seen that even though you went through a hard circumstance, you still went and served under your mother-in-law. And she didn't have to do it, but she did because she had a pure heart. And God is going to honor pure intentions that align with his will. And so after this story, Ruth came back with the favor and the fruit of her hard work.
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She comes back to Naomi after this great day in Boaz's field. And she has all this grain and all this harvest. And Naomi's like, where did you get all of this from? And she was like, oh, I met this great guy. His name's Boaz. He's amazing. And Naomi's like, I know that man. He was a relative of my late husband. And so this is when Naomi is like, look, This is only by God.
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Even if this year is a year of trials or if it's a year of celebration, God, just lead us through each and every single season and day in and out, just through your word and through your promises and what you say, Father.
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And we are going to make sure we're doing everything to make sure we keep in the rhythms of God. And so from that, God continued to provide for both Ruth and Naomi. Ruth ended up marrying Boaz in the third chapter and fourth, and the God had restored everything that has been lost, which is so, so, so, so beautiful.
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And we get later into the story in chapter 3 and 4 where we see the details of their marriage, what God has done. Naomi gained a son, which was so beautiful. Just a lot of things that the Lord was doing through both Ruth and Naomi, all because they returned back to God. Okay, so what does this have to do with stepping into a new year and stepping into a new you?
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And if God is calling you to do all these things and, you know, you lived a life of rebellion and now you're living a life of Christ, like what does the story mean for us today? What I love most about the story of Ruth and Boaz is that it depicts and shows a very beautiful love story of how Ruth had a very tragic beginning and middle and
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
But God ultimately restored her because she made a deliberate choice to follow him and even know what all of that really meant. And so the parallel of Ruth and Boaz is us being the bride of Christ and God. Is that whenever we, because here's the thing, the moment you are born here on earth, you are an enemy to God because you are born into sin.
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You are born into transgressions and trials and things that are a part out of his perfect will. And we come and rest into the heart of the father when we accept what Jesus has done on the cross. And our Boaz, as we are the bride of Christ, our Boaz is ultimately God.
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Jesus, it's God for when we have been sinful and when we have been left in the dirt and when we have been apart from God, he still loves us enough to pursue us and to fight for us. We just have to make the decision to turn back to him. I love the thing that's always said is just like, It's never God who's truly far from us. It's always us who's far from God.
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God, I just ask that you give your children a new profound confidence as they listen to this episode, God, not because of my words or what's coming out of my mouth, God, but because it's appointed by you, God, that you have given us the blueprint. You are showing us where to go, God. And I just thank you that you're so compassionate upon us, Father. So, God, speak to us. Speak to us.
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We just get to choose how close we want to be with God. And I just want to give an encouragement that no matter how far you may feel from God, no matter what sin you may have committed, even if you feel like it's the worst of the absolute worst, there's still redemption. I talked about this in the last season. I believe it was the episode, God Please Heal Me.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And I was talking about Ezekiel 33 and Joel 2. And Joel 2 talks about that God is going to restore everything that the locust has taken away. And the locust was inflicted by God's people originally. So how good is God that the affliction and sin that people caused upon themselves, that God will also take the responsibility to restore them? This is the same matter with Ruth.
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The Beauty of Starting New
Because Ruth was willing, God was able to use that willingness to restore her and to redeem her through the things of God because she decided... to pursue the things of God. Was Ruth perfect? Of course not. Was Ruth a full-on enemy? Yes, but she decided to leave her old life behind and pursue the life of Christ. So my question for you is, are you willing to leave your old life completely?
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The Beauty of Starting New
And what does that look like? I don't know what your past struggles is. I don't know if it's smoking or drinking or partying, if it's you know, doing something that's grimy, gross, or if it's even just as little as like being addicted to social media or doing too much shopping or gossiping or being greedy or being prideful.
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I don't know what it is, but are you willing to leave that old life and pursue a new one in Christ? Because you're able to pursue that each and every single morning, each and every single day, there was a new mercy. There was a new grace and there's a new day. And I also want to encourage that Ruth's obedience, it was so much bigger than just her and Naomi. It went for generations to come.
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And I think when we're disobedient and we're far from God, we just think of it as a personal thing, but it's also like the behalf of the generation that you're representing on your back.
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Because whenever you say yes to Christ, you're not just saying yes for yourself, but you're also allowing God to use you as a vessel and as a trailblazer for other people in your generation, for the lineage that's about to come out of you, for God to use it for the advancement of his kingdom. And so I want to encourage you that your yes to God is so much bigger than just you.
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If God has placed you on this earth just for the sole purpose of for you and for your sake, then it would all be done in vain. The reason as to why the Lord keeps us and why he stewards us as vessels is because there's people who are connected to us who need Jesus, who need the word of the Lord. And there's a divine purpose that God is using, not just through you, but also through your bloodline.
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And this is supported through scripture because as we go into Ruth chapter four, we see the lineage and genealogy of David. What does this have to do with anything? Just bear with me. It says this then is the family line of Perez, a.k.a., which is which is the the lineage of of Ruth and Boaz.
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Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amnimadad, Amnimadad the father of Nishan, Nishan the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. Why is this important? Because Jesus is a descendant of David.
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So God used Ruth and Naomi's repentance to fulfill the purpose and plan of God sending Jesus Christ. If it wasn't for the fact of Ruth and Naomi being obedient to the things of God, God wouldn't have been able to use them to send Jesus through their lineage. Jesus being born In Bethlehem was because of Ruth and Boaz, because Ruth was a Moabite, a enemy of God.
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We invite you here, God. God, I release to you and I give you the responsibility of my platform, God. I give you the responsibility of this podcast. It's not mine. It's yours. My body is not even mine. It's yours, oh, God. I just ask that you use me as a vessel to share the word of God with your children, God, so it transforms their minds, bodies, spirits, everything of which they are, God.
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And yet God used not just a woman, but an enemy to fulfill the purpose of bringing Jesus Christ here on the earth. If he's going to do that for Ruth, how much more is God going to redeem you? And when we go into the times of when Jesus was born, there was a Roman census that required individuals to return to their ancestral town, so Mary and Joseph.
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And that literally was the cultivation as to why Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, because they had to return back to their ancestral town. places. And Joseph was directly connected to David. That was like his great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy. And this fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the city of Bethlehem, according to Malachi 5.2.
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And I would just like to encourage you that your obedience isn't just for the sake of yourself, but it's for the sake of who you are connected to and mostly for the sake of God. And just to close this out, I keep saying I just love this story because I do, but Boaz truly does reflect the character of Jesus fully.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And he reflects Jesus because while we were sinless, while we were an enemy of God, while we were far away, he still looked at us, even though we were dead in sin and a straight up enemy, and decided that there was enough compassion that he had upon us to redeem us. And so only you know what you've committed and the things that you've done that have caused enmity between you and God.
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But allow the Lord to give you the revelation, just like Ruth and Boaz, that if you turn away from your old life and if you're seeking a new one in Christ, he's going to honor and restore you because of your repentance.
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And so let that be a motivation for this new year that as we're stepping into the things that God has for us in this new season, as we push forward and press towards the mark, don't bring the old life in a new season. Leave it behind because God is calling you higher.
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It's just a matter of crucifying your flesh, leaving it where it's supposed to be left and pursuing a new life, which is found in God. And when I tell you that it is so refreshing to know that you have an opportunity to start over through repentance. Repentance isn't just a, hey God, I'm sorry.
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The Beauty of Starting New
It's, hey God, I apologize and I'm fully turning away from my old life and I'm pursuing new life in you, Jesus. And through that, you get to experience a fresh start. A fresh start. One that holds no grudges. One that is not holding you to an expectation. One that is just... One that is just pushing you to the things of God. And that's that at the core.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And so let us encounter newness in God through the depths of our lives and giving God our all. What was so beautiful about Ruth and why she was redeemed and restored the way that she was was because she gave the God that she did not know her entire all. How much do you actually give for God? Are you giving God all that you got?
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Are you not seeing breakthrough because you're not giving as much as you should? I don't care if it's serving. I don't care if it's crucifixion and surrendering a part of your life. Are you truly giving God everything that you got? If you are, then okay, different story. Maybe God's using your pain for purpose.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And God, we also just declare a public declaration today, God, that we will follow you. We will follow the ways of Yeshua, of Jehovah. And God, we just put away all things that are not of you. We leave our sinful desires and our old lives behind and we carry up our cross. We carry up our cross, God, and we know the weight that comes with it, God, but we will do it just for you, God. Speak to us.
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The Beauty of Starting New
But if you haven't, maybe that's why you're not seeing breakthrough in certain aspects of your life because there's a part of you that's hesitant to giving God everything because there could be pride or fear or abandonment or neglect or anger or wrath towards God.
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The Beauty of Starting New
But God wants to restore you, redeem you if you just leave all those things behind and you pursue the things of him and give everything you got. Like how I said, God's not asking for perfection. He's just asking for progression. Are you willing to just do the things of God, knowing that it's not going to be perfect because who is perfect is his son.
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The Beauty of Starting New
It's just a matter of embracing the cross and embracing what Jesus has done for you. Because the more that you embrace what Jesus has done, you're going to stop trying to permit and do everything in your power when that complete perfect strength is made new and it's found in Jesus and in Jesus alone. And that's really that. Go in an encouragement that God has called you to new life.
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It's just a matter of you denying and leaving your old one. Let me close out real quick. Thank you guys for listening to this episode. God is very, very good. Yeah, this is obviously just really special. And I would encourage you to not only just listen to this episode, but take it seriously. and study it. Don't just take what Emmy has to say because this isn't Emmy's word. This is God's word.
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If you feel like the Lord is ministering to you, it's just a matter of opening up your Bible and reading the story for yourself and allowing God to speak through you. Amen.
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announcements and then we're going to be done first and foremost uh if you have been saved through this podcast or if you need prayer there is a link down below if you feel led to tide there's also a link down below there's no pressure though i accept prayers more than anything there's literally no pressure to uh it's just if god has made an impression upon your heart
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The Beauty of Starting New
Also, if you feel led to tithe or donate towards Malik and I's ministry moving forward and what God is doing through our marriage, there's also a link down below. Same thing, no pressure. It's mostly for family and friends, but a lot of you guys have also asked for it, so we just made it available for you.
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But most of all, we just really appreciate prayer and being surrounded in the security of God's people and the prayers that they're releasing. And lastly, if you want some merchandise, save not soft shop dot com to get some new merch. There's going to be a lot more fun stuff coming out. That's not just T-shirts, which I'm really excited for.
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The Beauty of Starting New
But we had to do the T-shirts for a little while just to pull out the cool stuff in the archives. But God is good. And I'm very pleased of what he's doing.
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three days so until then oh and also last announcement we will also for season three be posting weekly instead of bi-weekly so instead of once every two weeks it's now going to be every single tuesday which i know you guys are probably going to be so hyped about it so Yeah, I think that's all I have, but I love you guys. The Lord loves you even more. Get into your word.
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Know that he loves you, that he wants to redeem you and that he looks at you and he has such a beautiful compassion upon you. So go blessed and I'll see you next week. Bye guys. Bye.
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Give me the confidence to speak. Let everything that falls from my mouth be from the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. So speak to your children. We're excited for what you have to say, and we love you very, very deeply. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Amen, y'all. So as I was praying about what God wanted to do in this episode, and let alone just kind of like...
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New scenery, new life. And God's just been providing so amazingly. I hope you guys have had an amazing new year. Sorry that we've been out, but it is transitioning into a new season and the Lord is very, very good. And this season three of Save Not Soft is one I'm really excited for.
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The setup of these next few weeks is God emphasizing the truth of the matter of fact that we are a new creation each and every single day that we accept and embrace Jesus Christ. And as we're talking about the new year and something that's kind of fitting into going into 2025 or like, hey, we're already here. is how are we not bringing last year into this year?
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And if you love the things of God, just like me, and if you've been praying into the new year, I would like to think that God has been setting a lot of expectation for each and every single one of you who are listening, that God is promising some great things this year, maybe some hard things have already broken out, and we're stepping into a new season.
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So how do we step into new seasons without bringing the baggage of, Old ones and even if you just came to christ and you're a new christian and you didn't know god last year How do you live a life that is apart from the world and now one that's cohesively with god?
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And I think that first starts with just embracing and accepting that jesus is lord and so the kind of introduction that I wanted to bring into this is that um, I wanted to show that you know, whether if You just became a Christian yesterday, or if you've fallen a thousand steps back, there's just one step that's back to God, and that's through repentance. It's turning to Him.
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I don't care if you found Jesus yesterday or if you found Him 10 years ago, and then you backslid and you're trying to find Him again. This year is a new beginning, and God needs you close to Him. And I really want to emphasize to God's children that you may think that you're far, but the Lord is near. It's just a matter of you turning around.
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And so, yeah, I want to address a desperation that the people of God may have for restoration, regardless how bad they may have messed up. I think through the Bible, you know, we see all these characters as, you know, biblical characters who have done amazing, great things for God. And I think that's awesome and it's great.
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What I love about the Bible, though, and what I love about each and every single Bible character is that God does not fall short of showing that humans have always been forever flawed. Like we will talk about the exaltation of like David all day, how David was an amazing king, how he was a man after God's own heart.
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And yet this man committed adultery, murder and rebellion and all of these things. And yet God used those very things, didn't permit them, but God restored him from things that he's inflicted upon himself because of God's grace and kindness and mercy. And this is just kind of the whole like synopsis of the Bible.
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From the beginning of time, the moment we read Genesis 1, 1, we see the goodness of God that he created the earth and the heavens and everything that is in between it and on it. And through that, whenever he created human beings with the sole purpose for us to be in perfect harmony with God, we messed it up.
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And so the whole Bible story is mankind falling time after time after time again, and God so graciously reaching and ministering and uniting his people back to his heart because his goal ultimately is to have a harmonious relationship with mankind forever. Not for any reason, not because we've done anything, but because He just loves us. And that's it.
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not only because there's new beginnings and new things that the Lord is wanting to do, but it's more so there's just like an intimacy that's tied to what God is doing through this podcast. And I'm really blessed to be a part of it. I'm blessed to be here. I'm blessed to communicate the things of God, to just be warring to do and share the gospel the way that I do.
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And so with that being said, when it comes to starting new and doing the things of God, I think it's first overcoming the shame and overcoming the old life, even if your old life was yesterday or 10 minutes ago. It's fully turning away, aka repenting from your old life and pursuing the things of God.
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The Beauty of Starting New
And God is going to honor it no matter how bad you messed up because you've turned away from the things that you were once committing and you're now turning towards the things of God. And so I just want to speak to anybody who's listening to this episode that feels like an enemy of God and feels as if they have massive beef with God or God has massive beef with them.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And what I want to encourage you with is that God has compassion upon you, but God definitely does hate your sin. But I think the mix of that is knowing that God's compassion for you will always outweigh the wrath that he has towards your sin.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So what that means is that the amount of compassion and love and empathy that God has for you will always be stronger than his anger and wrath towards your sin. And so knowing that it's knowing that, you know,
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
With sin comes consequences, but there's also a restoration that takes place when you follow the things of God and you repent and you turn away from you messing up because God's not looking for you to be a perfect Christian.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
He's asking for you to be a progressive one, one who is progressing in the things of God, one who is working, not one who is just trying to do A, B, C, D, F, G to try to make everything in the things of God perfect. We're not made to be a people of religion, but a people of relationship.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
Going in today, in today's message, I want to talk about how your struggle is a setup, how God, just because you may feel like you're an enemy from God, God could restore that position and redeem you if you just accept the offer of repentance. And so we're going to talk about Ruth today.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
naomi and boaz today and if you haven't read the story of ruth this is one of my favorites and it's very appealing to what the lord has just just shown me through this next year and what he has planned for ministry what he has planned to communicate to the body of christ and it's becoming his bride and it's embracing being god's bride
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And the parallel between Ruth and Boaz and Christ and his bride is magnified in the story. And so I'll give a little summary of what's happening in the story and then just kind of stop in between and just kind of give you context and teach. So we're going to go to Ruth chapter one. Where is Ruth in my Bible? It's after Judges. I think it's right after Judges. Yep. Come on. Okay.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
So we're just going to read all stop, go, stop, go. And we'll just go from there. So Ruth chapter one, verse one, in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem and Judah together with his wife and two sons went to live for a while in a country of Moab. Okay, what's the context of this story?
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
This is in the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land. So what is a famine? It's basically like a scarcity of like food. Like there's no resources, no food anywhere. Everybody's hungry, everybody's starving, and there's a shortage. And usually famines were cultivated by God for one of two reasons.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
It's amazing that God has called me to this position and I am blessed and honored and I will never take it for granted. And so starting off into the new year, I think, you know, what's like the perfect word or message going into the new year? And I wanted to talk about the beauty of starting new and starting fresh. I think it's one of those like new year revolution. Yeah, that's what it's called.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
One, it was sparked by disobedience of the people, or two, it was for some sort of advancement for God's purpose and plan for his people. And so in this instance, we see that there was a lot of rebellion. There was a lot of sin. And Naomi and her husband are in Bethlehem as of right now.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And when the famine broke out and the people of Bethlehem were going through a disparity, they needed to make a decision. And instead of staying in the land of Bethlehem, they got up and left and they went to Moab, which was just outside of Judah. And so why does this create some sort of tension there?
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The Beauty of Starting New
throughout the story well because moab was an enemy to the people of judah so the the moabites they were they were idolizing these false gods they were giving false exaltation they were operating in wickedness and they were apart from the people of god so naomi and her husband getting up and leaving bethlehem they were
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
They were just going to a different land that was in opposition of God's people. So this wasn't just like a, hey, we're going to get up and move for the sake of convenience, which they also did. But they also got up and moved at the sake of convenience to be an enemy to God and to his people. And so they get up and they go to Moab while the famine is taking place. And so she then started a family.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And when she did, Naomi lost everything. Both her husband and both of her sons. And so it says the man's name was Elimelech. There we go. His wife's name was Naomi. And the names of his two sons were Malon and Kilon. They were... Well, we actually don't need to talk about this part. Let's go down, down, down. Verse 3... Now her husband died and she was left with her two sons.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
They married Moabite women. So her sons, which were from Judah, came to Moab because they fled from the famine and they married Moabite women. So this is kind of like a Romeo and Juliet type of situation. These people who were enemies married from the other side. And so it then says one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there for about 10 years, both of her sons also died.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. This is a big problem because not only did she lose her husband, but she lost both of her sons in the midst and had nothing to offer Ruth and Orpah. They all became widows around the same time. And when you're a widow, you are the lowest person. And so they're in a really compromising situation.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
And I think it also just shows the intentions as to why Naomi and her husband got up and left. Because if you know anything about Bethlehem, Bethlehem literally means the house of bread. So how is it that the house of bread fell into a famine? That's just kind of ironic and feels like that wouldn't be the situation, but yeah, it is. And so it's funny that when you forget the place Bethlehem,
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The Beauty of Starting New
that you came from, you're going to go to other places and other extremities trying to find God in those areas where he's not there at all. And so if Naomi stayed and if she was just faithful to the things of God, she wouldn't have been affected by the famine. And we figured this out throughout the rest of the story because God was faithful to his people and provided.
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
But she went to a different land and her sons married women in that opposing land. And now she's kind of in a little bit of a pickle where she's now a widow along with her now daughter-in-laws. And I think it just kind of shows that when there's a problem that outbreaks, like no matter how far you run,
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The Beauty of Starting New
you always bring your problems with you you can't just run away it's always going to come and so naomi was just trying to run away from her struggle and run away from problems and trials but yet ended up bringing them with her and so we now get to this this part of the story in ruth chapter 1 verse 6 through 7 and it says when naomi heard in moab that the lord He says,
Saved Not Soft
The Beauty of Starting New
is like every year you're wanting to leave something behind and not take it into what's new and what's to come. And what God has instructed me to communicate is that there are new mercies each and every single morning, limitations back set up all day. And how there is a new grace, there's a new favor that God has allowed us to step into each and every single day.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
hello hello everyone and welcome back to saved not soft what's going on everybody it's a happy day it's almost christmas and i'm so hyped absolutely hyped christmas is my favorite time of year i love to rap i love not like poots and cats but like
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And sometimes people want to be sent out or God sent me out for 2025 and make, and make me a minister to all the nations, elevate my podcast and my platform, my TikTok, this and, and, and, and give me a higher promotion in my church and whatever it may be. And it's like, God's not going to exalt you if you won't even humble, humble yourself.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And one of the things I've learned from God is that if you fail to humble yourself, he will absolutely humble you. And I think there's a lot to learn from humility and from being quiet and being quick to listen. I believe Gen Z and this new mainstream Christianity is striving for very vainest things that's just wrapped and clothed in this demon of vanity.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Like it should be our desire to live a quiet life. And if God does call you to the stage and if he does call you to the podcast or to the platform or to the nations or in front of your church or leading a small group or whatever it may be, like let it be. Be from a place of obedience and humility, not from a place that's in vain, not from a place that just wants to be heard, seen and recognized.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Because the reason as to why Isaiah was so known and why he is one of the most famous prophets of all time wasn't because he wanted to exalt himself, but because he was a willing vessel to allow God to exalt himself. himself, God himself through Isaiah, like Isaiah wasn't glorified. God was glorified through Isaiah.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And so the question is how many of us are actually willing to partner with God to fulfill his, his will and not ours. And I believe the best way any of us can step into 2025 is stepping into the will of God. Matthew 6, 33 all day.
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Finishing the Year Strong
first seek the kingdom and everything else shall be given on to you and we shouldn't seek the kingdom because of the second part we shouldn't seek the kingdom because we want everything to be given on to us seeking the kingdom comes with the security it comes with a promise if you seek the kingdom if you seek the kingdom all these things are going to come on to you therefore you don't have to worry about these things because you are putting god first if you surrender these things to the
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Finishing the Year Strong
If you are granting God responsibility over your finances, responsibility over your ministry or over your family or your relationships or your social media platform, whatever it may be over your job. If you release those things into the hands of God and you seek the kingdom first, all those things are going to be taken care of because you're putting your father first.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And I think a lot of people are seeking the kingdom, not with the intention to actually partner with God and pursue the things of the kingdom, but but because they actually want the things that God has to offer. But there's a lack of a desire to want to partner with God. And my question is, why don't we want to partner with God?
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Finishing the Year Strong
She desperately needed an upgrade because it was doing all sorts of damage on me. So we got a new camera by the grace of God. And this next season that the Lord has me going into, just even apart from ministry, like the fact that I'm a fiance and going to be a wife halfway through 2025 is insane for me to think about.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And why is there not a desire to partner with the things and with who God is essentially, not even the things of God, but who God is as a whole? Like the reason as to why we live and breathe on this earth is one, to be loved by God. That's like, That's the number one thing he wants us for is for us to share a compassion with him and to to be used by God for his glory and for his kingdom.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And so what ways are we doing that in 2025? How are we seeing the heart of the father? How are we empathizing with him? How are we carrying out his will without selfish ambition? How are we being obedient to the things of God? Are we leaving our old lives behind? And are we carrying up our cross knowing that the destination is death?
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Finishing the Year Strong
Like we have to preach a self-denying gospel because that's all that God talks and writes about. Like this isn't a self-glorifying gospel. This is deny yourself. And I believe as we take steps, not even if it's into 2025, even if it's just tomorrow, because Lamentations 322 to 23 says that there are new mercies each and every single day. You have the opportunity to wake up new tomorrow.
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Finishing the Year Strong
I'm going to say that one more time. You have the opportunity to wake up new tomorrow because Lamentations 3, 22 through 23 says that we have new mercies each and every single morning. That mercy is obtainable and that grace is obtainable and a new day is for you if you just believe it. A lot of people are living in their sin on repeat and on replay in their lives.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Because there's a part of them that doesn't believe that God wants to make them new. It's a matter of believing it and stepping into that place where God is wanting to restore you and redeem you. And it comes from belief.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And God could just accelerate us into this next season of our lives and this next season of 2025 if we just amped up our faith and if we amped up our belief system and God and our trust in him. And that comes through prayer. It comes through fasting. It comes from being in the word and soaking in his presence and just admiring all of who he is. Because Jesus is worth it. Jesus is so worth it.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Not even just for the sake of myself, but for the sake of everybody. God is truly so, so good. He is. He is good. I don't even know what the heck I'm talking about. I just pray to God he's helping somebody. I'm going no outline today. I'm just telling you what I'm learning. I think one of the things that have been helping me with self-denial is to know that to live is Christ and to die is gain.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And when Paul writes this and we talk about crucifying our old lives, to die is gain literally means like it's better off to die and to be reconciled with the Father than to live a life and you're actually dead in sin. Like I live for Christ and dying is gain because I get to be reconciled back into the heart of the Father spiritually. That is amazing.
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Finishing the Year Strong
It's kind of hard to understand if you're having a hard time with crucifying the flesh and living for Christ, especially if you're suffering and going through a lot of hardships. It's hard to see that lining. But the moment God gives you that revelation that greater is in me than he who lives in the world, nothing is impossible. Can I absolutely tell y'all something?
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Finishing the Year Strong
The Bible says greater is in me than he who is in the world. So you're telling me right now that what is stored up inside of me, the Holy Spirit that I host is greater than every trial and tribulation that is out there trying to steal, kill and destroy everything that God has stored up for me.
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Finishing the Year Strong
So with the change of how God is moving through my life, there's also going to be some changes. great changes to this ministry. That's not like a, Hey, we're going to try to take this to the next level. Do all these theatrics. Like not, we're still doing the podcast from the bedroom. You see it. I just switched a few things around and got a new camera. Um,
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Finishing the Year Strong
Yes, because we are hosts of the Holy Spirit, because we are walking mobile temples of the Holy Spirit, greater is in us, not because of my own self-confidence, not because of my own strength, not because of the miraculous prayers I pray. Or how much I serve at church. No greater is in me. Because Christ dwells inside of me. Because I've accepted his spirit.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And so everything that has been conquered. A trial. A tribulation. A breakup. You getting fired from your job. Going through mental health distresses. Whatever it may be. That's not conquered by the strength of yourself. It's by the strength of the Holy Ghost that lives inside of you. That's why it says I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. It's not the strength of yourself.
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Finishing the Year Strong
it's not the what's the word i'm thinking of yeah it's just not it's not the strength of yourself it's the strength of god who rests inside of you and we could touch and agree with that strength when we just accept him yep i'm thinking about so many things right now i'm gonna hop on or i'm gonna stay on for about five more minutes ah so many things to talk about i'm just telling you what i'm learning right now
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Finishing the Year Strong
This is kind of more of like a little authentic episode where I just sit, talk, what's on my mind, what God's been showing in the secret space. I kind of already said that in the beginning. I don't have to ramble again. But y'all know me. I don't like to cut. Cut no episodes. Hmm. What's something else I would like to share? I'm just going through my notebook.
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Finishing the Year Strong
There's a lot of things I've learned this year. I've learned how fear blinds you from love. I've learned what it means to lay down your life for Christ, to leave your old life and pursue him with everything that you got, to give God everything you have and not just have like half faith. Because when you have half faith, you're going to get half blessings.
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Finishing the Year Strong
So in order to receive everything that God has promised you, like go forth in full faith and make every effort to do the things of God. I think something that also helps me that I'm going to take into 2025 of next year as well is because I think, how do I want to say this?
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Finishing the Year Strong
A lot of us are desperate for the hand of god to work in our lives But will not take time to pray about it or will not dwell in our secret space to really consult with god or let alone dive deep into Our our scripture study or won't even dive deep into the bible whatsoever A lot of us have a need for god to move in our lives, but there's a passivity and a laziness that we're friends with because
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Finishing the Year Strong
it's not because you don't want your problem solved, but it's just because there's a laziness. I think it's just simply that. And something I'm taking into 2025 is what God taught me earlier this year is, Emmy, do not leave your secret space until I release you. It's so good. It's so good.
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Finishing the Year Strong
My life started to change for the better when I didn't leave my secret space in my prayer closet on my terms. I started to see blessings in my life when I stayed in the presence of God and I did not leave until he told me so. Because a lot of us will bring prayers to God or we'll only be in our Bible for about five minutes and then wonder why we're seeing no fruit anymore. in the natural.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And it's because we're spending no time in the spiritual. You're not making a spiritual deposit. And because of that, there's no spiritual equity. And it's because you're not coming to the throne of God and spending time with him.
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Finishing the Year Strong
A lot of my healing and a lot of the healing that I've experienced with God and a lot of the progression that's been made in this past year has been from not leaving my secret space and soaking up the presence of God and being laid out in glory.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And we're keeping everything, for the most part, the same. It's just a matter of implying rest and stepping back in certain areas. Speaking, not as if this hasn't been happening, but like... Really empathizing and embracing Jesus. And God has really put on my heart for the word that he gave me for next year, which I'm not going to release it just yet because you'll hear it next season.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And I think if we were a little more honest with God and just say, hey, God, sometimes I get a little bored in your presence and I don't know how to stay here. He would be able to help the desires of our heart to to melt and mesh and mold into his. It just comes with humility because what it means to be in a posture of humility, it just means to be honest. And that's that.
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Finishing the Year Strong
So that's one thing I'm taking to 2025 that really helps me this year. It was that do not leave your secret space until God has released you because you may think, oh, I'm hungry. I need to go eat a sandwich. But God's not done talking yet. And he was two sentences away from giving you your breakthrough.
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Finishing the Year Strong
But you want to have known that because you weren't saying you weren't staying in your secret space. So stay in that place. Learn from God. Don't get bored in his presence. Fight your flesh. Stay there because God wants to speak to you. It's just a matter of you staying. It's that. It's honestly that. And the Lord is good and he is faithful. My God. That's really all I have.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And I'm going to close out with this. because I felt led to just share what the Lord has put in my heart. And then also just kind of a transition going into 2025 regarding Safe, Not Soft. So Safe, Not Soft is transitioning from season two to season three.
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Finishing the Year Strong
So with that being said, I am going to take a very needed, a real life rest because I say I rest and I've, I don't even think I've actually really rested in the things of God because The ministry still will continue. It's just going to be under a new system, a new team. I've gotten help, which is amazing. Many hands makes the low light. I'm very excited for what God is going to do.
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Finishing the Year Strong
But Saving Us Off will not be coming out with another episode until the end of January or the beginning of February. Just had to let y'all know. But I love you guys so much. May God bless you and finish well this year, y'all. Finish the race. Finish the race well. Throw off anything. and everything that throws you into hindrance.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And take your eyes off of the old and focus your eyes on the new, which is Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. All announcements, whether if it regards to prayer requests, tithing, merchandise, it's all down below. But until then, I'll see you guys in 2025. Love you guys. Bye.
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Finishing the Year Strong
i love wrapping presents because i'm just such an aesthetic girl this year i should have brought one my presents are green on green like an emerald green with a velvet green green ribbon my god it is so beautiful and so that has nothing to do with what i'm talking about today i was just thinking of christmas i'm excited i love giving to people and
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
But man, the Lord has been wrecking me in my secret space. I'm talking like laid out flat in glory. And even things that aren't super profound. I think sometimes we think I have to get this new, fresh, divine revelation in order for me to be wrecked by God's glory. And the other night in this very room, actually, I was watching a TikTok video, out of all things, in the corner of this room.
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Finishing the Year Strong
There's a chair that's over there. And I started to meditate on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And it's not even this crazy, profound theological discovery about Jesus. It was just his presence. It was just his face. It was just meditating on what he has done for me. I was laid out in glory for like hours, crying like an absolute baby.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And the Lord's just been moving in my heart, man, so beautifully.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
so so beautifully and so yeah I don't really have a big topic about what's gonna happen today I just know that God is gonna say whatever he's gonna say and it's gonna pertain to finishing well so we're just gonna let the Holy Spirit flow and these are fun episodes because usually this is where the Holy Spirit just gets to exercise his perfect will because I'm completely weak in this moment and
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Finishing the Year Strong
And God just gets all the glory. Amen. So let's pray and let's see what God wants to share with us. So dear Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you, Father. God, I thank you that, God, I'm not doing this alone. None of us are doing this alone, God. You are here with us. You do not forsake us nor abandon us, God. You are close to your children, God. You are close to our hearts.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Your presence is near, God. Your presence is even in this room that I'm in right now, Father. Amen. God, I ask that no matter where the other person on the other side of the screen is, whether they're at the gym or in their car, on their way to work or getting ready for church, God, I just ask that you encounter them with your presence, God.
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Finishing the Year Strong
God, let them know that you are not far from them, that you are close, God, that you have not left them or abandoned them, God, that, God, you are encouraging them to finish this year strong and to even obey when it's scary, Father. I thank you that you say in your word that thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto our path. God, let your word be the light unto our path.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Let your word lead us in the correct direction, God. God, I thank you for your sovereignty and your mercy and your grace, which we don't deserve.
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Finishing the Year Strong
or let alone we've never earned it god we thank you for the best gift of all and it's your presence your presence is something we'll never get sick of jesus speak to us tonight speak to me oh god speak to your children god this is your platform not mine god this is your podcast not mine even my body is yours god use me for the gospel use me father This is not about me.
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Finishing the Year Strong
This has nothing to do with anybody else except for you. You're all we can focus on, God. So just show us your face. We love you. Let this be an impactful, impactful episode, Jesus. We trust in you. And I say this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. So there's a few things that as I was praying, the Lord just showed me that he wanted me to talk about, especially when it pertains to finishing well.
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Finishing the Year Strong
How do you finish out of a season? And I'm just even going to prophetically speak right now in the mighty name of Jesus, that whatever you had to endure this year, it is planting seeds for your harvest of next year.
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Finishing the Year Strong
hey come on somebody because truth of the matter the fact is is that your tears one are never wasted and two your your pain will never be in vain unless if you allow it to be so as we step into this 2025 season if 2024 was a very hard year for y'all have expectation that god can turn it all around just through your repentance through through your praises through your thanksgiving
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Finishing the Year Strong
And today we're filming a podcast and this was not on my agenda for today and quite honestly for the rest of the year. But I believe the Lord has given me a word to share before the year ends going into 2025. And if you do not know who I am, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of Save Not Soft. Basically, this podcast is navigated to let y'all know that you are heard, loved, and seen by God.
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Finishing the Year Strong
That if you've been suffering on the behalf of Christ, that if God is urging you of son, daughter, the pain that you're going through, it's purposeful. It's not just something that you're going through for a silly reason. Like God is actually using your pain for acceleration. You're suffering to catapult you to the next season of your entire life. I believe 2025 has something in store.
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Finishing the Year Strong
And if you believe that's for you, you can hold on to that revelation and believe in it for in Jesus mighty name. but it's by God's grace. I thought, just being fully transparent, I thought 2024 was going to be a great year for me, which it has been. God has done a lot of things this year that I'm very, very blessed for.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Simultaneously, this has probably been the year with the most challenges that I've ever experienced in my entire life. And so whenever I came from 2023 to 2024, I was like, God, You're not going to let this year be bad. I'm not going to go through any suffering. I'm going to be just fine. And what did I see in 2024?
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Finishing the Year Strong
Instance after instance and challenge after challenge and tribulation after tribulation. When I tell you I was going through the absolute ringer with God. And it wasn't even because it was like fruits of disobedience. It was just sharing the sufferings of Christ, like how Romans 8 says. If we are heirs of Christ, then we share his glory in order so we could also share his suffering, right?
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Finishing the Year Strong
And so I was absolutely receiving the suffering of God, one thing. And the two was dealing with a lot of my thorn in the flesh, as Paul would call it. And so this year has been really interesting navigating it, but I have so much hope in the mighty name of Jesus and confidence because God has already told me and confirmed it that next year is going to be a year of momentum.
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Finishing the Year Strong
That next year is going to be a year for God's people. And I claim in Jesus' mighty name. For some people, it might be challenging. This year may have been their year of harvest. The next year is going to be their year of work and toil and suffering. But y'all, I'm just going to say off the bat, I suffered way too much this year.
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Finishing the Year Strong
to where i'm ready i'm ready for for my to watch my work come into uh fruition by the grace of god and by the obedience of god and the only person who's watering it is not mine it is jesus i just partnered with him i'm barely doing anything but when it comes to finishing well i wanted to talk about hebrews chapter 12 if i could turn there i was on my way there and then i And I almost forgot.
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Finishing the Year Strong
Okay, let's go there. I'm going to make this a shorter episode too. Just for the sake of time. So let's read this. And so the reason that's why God put this on my heart right now is because as we're
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Finishing the Year Strong
finishing out the year imagine as if you're finishing a race and you're needing to run well and when i think of running a race and finishing well and running well i just think of a race i just come back to scripture because it's honestly so comforting especially in verse 2 where it says jesus fixing our eyes on him the pioneer and perfecter of our faith when the bible says that jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith it's insisting that jesus has already been the places that we haven't been yet
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Finishing the Year Strong
A pioneer literally means to discover a new terrain and a new area.
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Finishing the Year Strong
So when the Bible says, when Hebrews 12 says that Jesus is the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith, we could come to the throne of God in confidence knowing that the places where we're struggling and we don't see breakthrough and we don't see the end of it, Jesus has already been in those places because he is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. In Hebrews 11...
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
You are valuable, you are important, and God has his compassion in his eyes upon you. Amen. Today, I don't really have that much of an agenda. I really just wanted to bring the transparency of the gospel to y'all and also what it's going to look like walking into 2025, things we need to leave in 2024, and how to finish strong. Yeah, I don't know where this podcast is gonna go.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
Verse one, which is the page right before this, faith is confidence in what we hope for. It's not what we see, it's what we don't see. And so we have to have a good perception of what we don't see. And we have to have a good morality of it and have trust that God is good. Because faith isn't, hey, I'm just looking at my natural circumstance of what I'm going through right now.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
Faith is seeing the natural circumstance, taking it into consideration and go, okay, God, why am I going through this right now? And understanding that your current circumstance is not going to be forever. It's just going to be your season. And God's going to use your right now to cultivate your further seasons in faith.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And so when we go through struggling and suffering and hard seasons or even good ones, it's with the intention that God is going to somehow use that to give him glory. And that is going to cultivate our faith. And yeah, I just really believe that in this next year, Jesus is going to move wonders in his bride.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
I mean, people who are really obedient to the things of God, not people who just say that they Christian and they ask and speak differently. Right. I believe we're going to see a new wave of on-fire Christians that is going to absolutely set the world ablaze. And then I believe there's going to be a lot of people who...
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
have platforms and have all these theatrical things in replacement of the gospel i believe god is going to tear a lot of those false idols and golden calves down i believe that there is going to be a breakthrough of the true authentic gospel and god is looking for a willing bride and
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And I almost just see in 2025 how God is going to just strip down everything that does not glorify him, even if it's his own people trying to idolize themselves in ministry. And so it's interesting to see what God is doing, what he's told me, and even just in areas where God has convicted me into like step back. I think a lot of the things I've learned in 2024 is that
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
One, man, two, three, five, 10 things. Which one do I want to start with? I think one of the number one things is to take a step back even when you're popping. I think sometimes when we get the promotion or we get the man or we get all the views on TikTok or on Instagram, we feel this urge to capitalize off of that moment.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
But I read in scripture that every time Jesus, every time he hit like a super high moment, it wasn't like, oh, I got to capitalize off of this. Like that moment was just enough within itself because God was fully glorified. And like the more Jesus became famous and like well known, like he he just like stepped back and he came back into the heart of the father and he rested there forever.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
I think that's one of the things where God has really taught and ministered to me as a leader is that as God starts to take me higher, I've been getting absolutely low. I'm talking my face on the ground, weeping and crying out for God and embracing his presence and his word. I think I'm a huge nerd when it comes to the Bible and I know theology pretty well, not the best.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
There's tons of people who are way more qualified and better than me. but i do believe that i i work a lot in scripture i study a lot and that's never a bad thing but a lot of my time as of recently has just been getting in god's presence and just staying there it's been a place of gratitude and of appreciation and exalting god to to the authority of which where he is at and
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And that's been showing a lot of fruit because it's just like I'm spending time with my father. I spend time with my dad and just sitting in his presence and hearing him and feeling him receiving him like it never makes me want to leave that position ever. I talked about Isaiah six. Was it two, three weeks ago?
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
talking about how whenever Isaiah had this vision of God calling him as a prophet, Isaiah was quite literally stunned with glory. He was just wrecked by the presence of God. And he is bowing down at the presence of God. And he's saying, for I am in iniquity. And even if I didn't commit this iniquity, my neighbors are in sin. The world I'm in is in sin. Like God cleansed me for I'm not worthy.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
I just knew the Lord was telling me to come and sit down and do it before this new year ends and before God has this podcast transition into a new season. For those who are watching on YouTube, You got a cute little camera. We got a cute little camera for you. And it's so exciting because my old camera had for like two and a half years. She's been great.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
And God cleansed him and gave him a mission and sent him out. And I think a lot of us want to be sent out for the things of God, but we won't have a heart like Isaiah and be purified through our humility and allow God to consult us and comfort us and confront us in certain areas where we need to be healed because God is not going to send you out if you have an unrepentant heart.
Saved Not Soft
Finishing the Year Strong
isaiah understands his condition that he's in sin and even if he wasn't in iniquity and if he wasn't the one fully partaking in disobedience then he understood that the world that he was in was sinful that he was far from god because of the separation of sin and god wasn't able to ordain isaiah as a prophet until isaiah first came to the heart of god in repentance