You know, looking at others and how God has dealt
with them doesn't necessarily give you the idea
of how God wants to deal with you. And it might.
It might give you some really good ideas, especially
if they are doing things according to the Word.
The important thing is that you know the Word
of God, you know the character of God, and you
follow Him. What's it to you what they do? God
promises in Joel 2 .28 to pour out His Spirit
on all humanity. Welcome to Global Outpouring,
where we contend for that promised outpouring,
we equip for that outpouring, so that we may
engage in that very outpouring. I'm Philip Buss.
And I'm Sharon Buss. Welcome to the podcast today.
We're going to talk about something that very
well could be life -changing for you. Because
we're going to investigate things about like
not taking things personally and not judging
people when they're doing things differently.
And we're basing it on a scripture that if you
put it in today's language, it's what's it to
you? Thanks so much for joining us today. We're
just delighted that you're with us. And we want
to encourage you, if you haven't already done
so, that you go to our website, globaloutpouring
.org and make sure that you're subscribed to
our email lists. We've got several to choose
from. And we want to just be able to stay in
touch with you in case there's something that
comes up that you need to hear about. And we
also want to encourage you to give us some feedback.
get a lot of feedback. It's wonderful when we
do, though, and we're really grateful. I want
to say thank you to each and every one of you
who has reached out to us with feedback. We are
delighted to hear that there's somebody that's
listening and that the Lord is using this in
your life. And also, while you're on our website,
you can go to the events tab and look at Convention
2026. We have it up on our website under events.
And there's a link there where you can make reservations
at the hotel. We're going to be at the Hilton
Hotel, St. Louis Airport. It is just a couple
blocks down, I think, from where we've been in
other years. So it's very close and it's very
convenient to fly in or to drive in. It's right
by the interstate. So very easy to get to. And
we'll be having wonderful speakers. Tony Kemp
will be with us and Dean Braxton and Anna Werner.
Claren McQueen, and I'll be speaking also, and
we'll have awesome, awesome, wonderful worship.
People come from the nations, and it's a life
-changing experience, and you begin to make relationships
with people of like precious faith, and there's
something just so wonderful about that, and it
goes on for eternity. These relationships are
for always that God puts together. So today,
we're going to look at John 21. This is after
Jesus has resurrected from the dead. And we have
the disciples, you know, Peter says, I'm going
fishing. So they go up to Galilee, and they go
fishing all night, and they catch nothing. Sounds
like how it was at the very beginning of their
ministry. I know what that feels like. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Of course, I didn't stay out all night.
No. And so Jesus shouts at them, and how's it
going? And they realize that it's Jesus. And
Peter jumps in the water and swims to shore,
and Jesus has fish already on the fire. He's
got breakfast ready for him. After they eat breakfast,
Jesus asks Peter three questions. You remember
that story. And, you know, he's grieved about
Jesus keeping on asking him three times, do you
love me? And, of course, it's really dealing
with the fact that he denied Jesus three times.
So he's kind of undoing that. And then he goes
on to say this in verse 18. You want to read
that, Philip, from the English Standard Version?
Truly, truly, I say to you. When you were young,
you used to dress yourself and walk wherever
you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch
out your hands, and another will dress you and
carry you where you do not want to go. This he
said to show by what kind of death he was to
glorify God. That's an interesting thought, that
your death glorifies God. Go ahead. And after
saying this, he said to him, Follow me. Peter
turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved
following them, the one who also had leaned back
against him during the supper and had said, Lord,
who is it that is going to betray you? When Peter
saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this
man? Jesus said to him, If it is my will that
he remain until I come, what is that to you?
You follow me. What's it to you? What's it to
you? You follow me. So the saints spread abroad
among the brothers that this disciple was not
to die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he
was not to die, but if it is my will that he
remain until I come, what is that to you? What's
it to you? So the Message Bible puts it similarly
from verse 20, turning his head. Peter noticed
the disciple Jesus loved following right behind.
When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, Master,
what's going to happen to him? Because Jesus
had just told him how he's going to die, right?
Jesus said, if I want him to live until I come
again, what's that to you? What's it to you?
You follow me. And that's the whole message here.
You know, whatever God's doing in somebody else's
life, what's it to you? You follow me, right?
And, you know, it's about the rumor. And John
is saying, He didn't say that I'm going to stay.
He just said, what's it to you? And then I like
what the Amplified Classic says, and I'll just
cut to the chase here in verse 22. Jesus said
to him, if I want him to stay, survive, live
until I come, what is that to you? What concern
is it of yours? You follow me. So whatever is
going on around us, we get so easily distracted
by what's going on in other people's lives. that
maybe there's an inclination to get jealous.
Especially in ministry. Yeah, especially in ministry.
Or what if somebody gets away with something?
The Holy Spirit won't let me get away with it.
I remember Dean Braxton talking about one time
he was just relaxing in a hotel where he had
been put before he ministered, and he put his
feet up on the coffee table. And the Holy Spirit
said, You know better than that. Oh, that's funny.
It's like, you know, anybody else can put their
feet up on the coffee table, but no, you know
better, right? So I was reminded of something
that the Lord gave me in my journal a couple
of years ago when we were fasting. And the Lord
said, I didn't choose you for what you were.
I chose you for what you would become. You are
still in the process of becoming what I created
you to be. Learning to be completely dependent
on me is key to your destiny. Destiny is not
a destination. A destination is thought of as
a place where you stop. Your destiny is eternal
and will continue to grow and mature for all
eternity. Isn't that beautiful? to have a unique
destiny. So quit looking at others to emulate
them. The saints and generals of the faith will
inspire you to press on and persevere into your
destiny as they did theirs, but you will never
be exactly like them. They will be cheering you
on to follow the Lamb. Remember Jesus said to
Peter, follow me, you follow me. They will be
cheering you on to follow the Lamb, to walk in
the Spirit and not in the flesh. As you walk
with me, leaning on my holy arm, you will grow
and mature into what I intended for you from
the beginning. It's not what you think. It's
even better. Don't be afraid when I lead you
into a place of risk and vulnerability, like
Moses and Israel at the Red Sea shore. Moses
received plenty of complaints, but he had to
obey me. So I could use the situation to deal
with Baal Zephon, which was an Egyptian god,
and the Egyptian army who depended on that false
god. I want to show myself strong in these days.
Your trust in me will help you to be obedient
in spite of how it looks. Beautiful. So, you
know, looking at others and how God has dealt
with them. doesn't necessarily give you the idea
of how God wants to deal with you. And it might.
It might give you some really good ideas, especially
if they are doing things according to the Word.
The important thing is that you know the Word
of God, you know the character of God, and you
follow Him. What's it to you what they do? You
follow me. Right? You be you. I mean, that's
one of the sayings that goes around these days.
And there is a certain amount that can be out
of sync with God. If you're just trying to be
you and you're being you in the flesh, well,
that's not going to accomplish anything eternal.
But you be you in your walk with God and don't
try and get all of your orders from other people.
particularly. It's good to have someone that
you can depend on to give you good guidance.
And if you have somebody that's really good,
they will take you back to the Word, and they
will pray with you and help you find the will
of God by the Holy Spirit. It's not like continually
looking for a prophetic word. Oh, come on. Yes.
If the Lord gives you a word through someone,
you pray into that. Yeah. But don't go to a place
where you get a prophetic word every other day
or something like that because you'll end up
getting confused. Right. And the bottom line
is you need to do the thing that the Lord told
you in the last word he gave you. Yeah. So if
you're really seeking a word from the Lord, let
him find you, not you always try to find him.
Right. Because he'll have the right person at
the right time that can give you just what you
need to hear. And also, just know this, that
sometimes, and I've seen it happen, sometimes
a person with a prophetic gift will look at you
in the spirit and see what's going on in your
flesh and read your flesh instead of reading
your spirit. And they'll prophesy according to
what they see in your soul realm. that isn't
necessarily from God. I've seen it happen. Even
yesterday after church, one of our, I think it
was Cheryl said, can I take you out to lunch?
Oh, yeah. Cheryl Simpers. Okay. Sometimes if
someone takes you out, they got a word or a hammer
for you. No, what she had was really good. She
had a tremendous word. We'll have to come back
to that one and have her on again. That was really
tremendous. Because it's something for the whole
body of Christ. It's powerful. Yes. So we'll
tease you with that. It'll be coming up. Yes.
We'll have to have her come again. It was a good
meal, too. Yes, it was. Very nice. You know,
your destiny is not a destination. That's very
good. You need to realize that your destiny is
like ever, and I use this word loosely, ever
evolving. It's because it's ever growing. Your
destiny really is growing. Your ability to get
to where you think you're supposed to be in the
spirit has everything to do with your willingness
to follow Jesus. Follow the Lamb whithersoever
he goes. That is how it is if you want to be
that person that God made you to be. So we had
Nehemia Gordon on our podcast a while back, quite
a while back. And he is a Karaite Jew, which
means he's a scripturalist. Even though he comes
from a long line of rabbis and very, very famous
rabbis, doesn't follow the rabbinic tradition.
He follows what the Word says, which I love.
He's not a Christian. Personally, I think he's
going to be, but he's going to find his Messiah.
But he says about this that when we're trying
to find something about the will of God or when
we're trying to interpret a scripture, here's
how he says it. Work it out for yourself in fear
and trembling with prayer and study before the
creator of the universe. Beautiful. So you're
asking your heavenly father, what does the scripture
mean? And the wonderful thing is a scripture
can mean many, many things. Every time you read
it, you can get a new shade of meaning or get
a whole new revelation about it. But you compare
Scripture with Scripture, and you compare it
by the Holy Spirit and all of those things, and
you ask for wisdom from others who have wisdom,
right? So the thing about Scripture is you can
also get it wrong. Interpret it wrong. And you
can interpret it wrong. And the reason why the
Pharisees and the Sadducees didn't recognize
Jesus was because they weren't interpreting the
scripture correctly. And they were also adding
to the scripture. So one of the things that was
going on, especially with the Sadducees, the
Sadducees had this idea that everything is in
the here and now. If you read... In the Gospels,
in the book of Acts, when it mentions the Sadducees,
it says they didn't believe in the resurrection.
Resurrection, right. Well, not only did they
not believe in the resurrection, they didn't
believe in the afterlife. They just thought,
when you die, you're done. So all of your rewards
and judgments are going to be in this life. So
that's why... Like Annas, who was the high priest.
Remember there were two high priests, which never
should be. There never should be two high priests.
So his son -in -law. Right. So it was Annas and
his son -in -law Caiaphas. Well, Annas had been
the high priest and he was the patriarch of the
family. So when he had somebody killed, stoned,
I suppose, for breaking the Sabbath. He was deposed
by Quirinius, who was the governor at the time.
So he put in his son, and his son only lasted
a year or two. And then he put in Caiaphas, and
Caiaphas lasted about 18 years. 18 years, wow.
He was out before the destruction of the temple
then, wasn't he? Yes, he was. He was already
out. He was. And a couple more of Annas' sons
ruled for a while as high priest. They were out
of there. But it's interesting what the Talmud
says. The Talmud says, Woe to the house of Annas.
Woe to their serpents His. They are high priests.
Their sons are keepers of the treasury. Their
sons -in -law are guardians of the temple, and
their servants beat the people with staves. Oh,
wow. So they had a bad reputation. Really, really
bad. And they were... monopolizing the sale of
sacrificial animals and money changing at exorbitant
prices. It was really bad. Josephus talks about
them as well. So anyway, that's why they had
to go to Pilate to ask for Jesus to be killed,
because they knew they weren't allowed to do
capital punishment, especially about a Sabbath
breaker, which they... said Jesus was, but it's
because they didn't understand the scripture.
And they were adding to the scripture, you know,
the thing about fussing at him about telling
the man to take up his bed and walk. Well, it's
the Sabbath. You're not supposed to carry anything.
Well, the law doesn't say that. Where they get
that, as I understand it, is from Nehemiah, the
last chapter of Nehemiah, where Nehemiah is all
upset because these merchants aren't keeping
the Sabbath. And they want to run the market
seven days a week. So they're carrying their
goods into Jerusalem to sell. And so he tells
the keeper of the gate to close the gate when
Shabbat starts on Friday night and don't open
it until it's over. So that these guys who are
busy carrying their merchandise won't carry their
merchandise. And the Pharisees turned it into
you're not allowed to carry anything on the Sabbath.
Duh. That's a totally different interpretation.
How do you get that? Yeah, there was an excuse.
Yeah. Well, they're trying to do in the flesh
what God wants done in the spirit. Right? So
it helps us to understand that. It's important
for us to not judge people based on how God deals
with us. If it was wrong for them to carry on
the Sabbath, let it be wrong for them to carry
on the Sabbath, but don't make anybody else do
that. I mean, it's not written that way. It was
tradition of men. And Jesus was always pushing
back on their traditions, right? Because they
weren't part of the actual Torah, right? Yeah.
So there's a beautiful writing by G .D. Watson
that says, others may, you cannot. And I remember
Sister Gwen, our founder. We had a tract. Yes.
And we published it in our magazine years ago.
One of these days soon, we're going to have our
magazines archived onto our website so you can
read them. Haven't quite gotten there yet, but
it's a project that's in progress. But I just
want to read this to you. Sometimes God deals
with others differently than he deals with us.
And especially if he's called us to a deep walk
with him, then other people can get away with
stuff that the Holy Spirit won't let us get away
with. Like, what's it to you? You follow me.
So here's what Brother Watson says. He lived
over 100 years ago. If God has called you to
be really like Jesus, He will draw you into a
life of crucifixion and humility and put upon
you such demands of obedience that you will not
be able to follow other people. See, that's the
thing. What's it to you? You follow me. You'll
not be able to follow other people or measure
yourself by other Christians. And in many ways,
he will seem to let other good people do things
which he will not let you do. Other Christians
and ministers who seem very religious and useful
may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes
to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it.
And if you attempt it, you will meet with such
failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you
sorely penitent. And it goes on along those lines.
I won't take time to read the whole thing, but
it's something that we need to understand. We'll
put a link to the whole thing in our show notes
so that you can. Have a look. Well, let me just
read the last little bit. Settle it therefore
then, that you are to deal directly with the
Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus said, follow me.
What's it to you? What other people do? You follow
me. You are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit
and that he is to have the privilege of tying
your tongue or chaining your hand or closing
your eyes in ways that he does not seem to use
with others. Now when you are so possessed with
the living God that you are in your secret heart
pleased and delighted over this peculiar personal,
private, jealous guardianship and management
of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have
found the vestibule of heaven. Wow. Isn't that
beautiful? Yeah. Wow. So we'll put a link to
that and even a place where you can order packets
of it. But I just wanted to bring that idea of,
you know, others can do things that the Holy
Spirit won't permit. you and me to do. So then
what happens when somebody does something that
offends us? What are we going to do? So when
Jesus was resurrected and his disciples heard
that he'd been resurrected and he had made his
appearance on the road to Emmaus, and they're
all still hanging out in the upper room, afraid,
they're locked in, and Jesus suddenly appears.
And he says, shalom. Shalom. Peace be to you,
right? The jaws must have dropped. Oh, yeah.
Yeah, and he showed them his hands and his side.
And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were
filled with joy, delight, exultation, ecstasy,
rapture. That's John 20, verse 20 in the Amplified
Classic. And then Jesus said to them again, shalom,
peace to you. Just as the Father has sent me
forth, so am I sending you. And having said this,
he breathed on them and said to them, Receive
the Holy Spirit. So we need him to breathe on
us and give us his Holy Spirit. Every day. Now,
here's the key that I want to get to. Verse 23.
Now, having received the Holy Spirit and being
led and directed by him. And that's inserted
by the authors of the Amplified Classic. If you
forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.
If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.
Wow. Wow is right. Yeah. So we have a job to
do by the Holy Spirit. This forgiving, this idea
of forgiving sins. First of all, if you get offended
by somebody, you need to forgive. What does Matthew
6, 12 say? It's part of the Lord's Prayer. And
forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven,
left, remitted, or let go of the debts, and have
given up resentment against our debtors. Wow,
that's huge, isn't it? Give up resentment. Oh,
you mean that's in the same category? Kind of.
So what we miss a lot of times, because most
of us have memorized it from childhood or maybe
early adulthood, we've memorized the Lord's Prayer,
we don't realize that Jesus goes on with a footnote
about forgiving. And that's in verses 14 and
15. For if you forgive people their trespasses,
their reckless and willful sins, leaving them,
letting them go, and giving up resentment, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive others their trespasses, their
reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting
them go, and giving up resentment, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses. Now, haven't
we heard testimonies of people who've been to
hell? Yeah. Christians in there because they
didn't forgive. Right. Wow. Very, very serious.
Yeah. And I think you have to be really... dedicated
to unforgiveness and bitterness to get to that
point where you refuse to even as you're transitioning
into eternity. I believe if in the moment of
your departure that you ask God to forgive you
for your unforgiveness, because it says it very
clearly, if you forgive the sins of anyone, they're
forgiven, and then your heavenly Father will
forgive you. So I like what the passion Translation
gives for the Lord's Prayer. Would you read that,
please, Philip? Matthew 6, 9 through 15. Our
beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms,
may the glory of your name be the center on which
our lives turn. Isn't that beautiful? Yeah. Manifest
your kingdom realm and cause your every purpose
to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.
We acknowledge you as our provider of all we
need each day. Amen. Forgive us all the wrongs
we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness
to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every
time we face tribulation and set us free from
evil. For you are the King who rules with power
and glory forever. Amen. And when you pray, make
sure you forgive the faults of others so that
your Father in heaven will also forgive you.
But if you withhold forgiveness from others,
your Father withholds forgiveness from you. That's
really clear, isn't it? So Jesus demonstrated
that he had the authority to forgive sins. So
remember that he's telling us we now have authority
to forgive sins. In Matthew 9, 2 through 8, I'm
going to read from the Amplified Classic. They
brought to him a man paralyzed and prostrated
by illness, lying on a sleeping pad. And when
Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed
man, Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven,
and the penalty remitted. And behold, some of
the scribes said to themselves, This man blasphemes.
He claims the rights and prerogatives of God.
But Jesus, knowing, seeing their thoughts, said,
Why do you think evil and harbor malice in your
hearts? For which is easier to say, Your sins
are forgiven and the penalty remitted, or to
say, Get up and walk? But in order that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth
to forgive sins and remit the penalty, he then
said to the paralyzed man, Get up, pick up your
sleeping pad and go to your own house. And he
got up and went away to his own house. When the
crowd saw it, they were struck with fear and
awe, and they recognized God and praised and
thanked him who had given such power and authority
to men. So that word for forgiven. Your sins
are forgiven. Your penalty remitted. That word
in the Greek means to send away. To send away.
To bid going away or depart. It's used of a husband
divorcing his wife. Like, I divorce you, get
out of here. It means to send forth, to yield
up, to expire, to let go, let alone, let be,
disregard, to leave like a topic and not discuss
it now, to omit, to neglect. to let go, give
up a debt, forgive, to remit. And there's more.
I'm not going to take time to read all these
things. They're in the Blue Letter Bible, if
you want to follow it up, the Blue Letter Bible
app. The idea is to go away. And it comes from
863. 863 means to send away. It also means freedom.
And pardon, deliverance, forgiveness, liberty,
remission. And then it goes on, you know, just
a few verses. Jesus said in Matthew 26, 28, For
this is my blood of the New Testament, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins. So
it's Jesus' blood that we depend on for the remission
of sins. And that's how we can remit other people's
sins. We can become their intercessor and ask
God to see. the blood of Jesus over their sins,
and to hear his cry, Father, forgive them, they
know not what they do. We can carry that to him
as intercession. One of the things that helps
us deal with offenses is 1 Corinthians 13, verse
5, and the latter part of it. From the Amplified
Classic, it says, God's love in us does not insist
on its own rights or its own way, for it is not
self -seeking. It is not touchy or fretful or
resentful. It takes no account of evil done to
it. It pays no attention to a suffered wrong.
That amplifies the idea of don't take offense.
Love doesn't take offense. If we are truly letting
God's love flow through us, we can let it go.
Yeah, because a lot of times in offense, you
don't know the rest of the story. It's true.
It's true. And most of the time, people don't
mean to offend you. Most of the time, people
offend you accidentally. You mean something and
they heard something else. They interpreted your
words incorrectly or your actions. Or we interpret
someone else's actions incorrectly. And it makes
it easy to become offended. Yeah, and you have
to deal with offense very quickly because if
you don't, it'll just start, it'll be part of
you. Yeah, it's true. And eventually it can affect
your whole nature. Yeah, it can become bitterness
and then bitterness controls you. So intercessors,
right? We can become intercessors. And one of
the best illustrations of that in the Word. is
Moses when he comes down from the mountain. He's
been 40 days in the presence of the Lord. What
an amazing thing that has just happened to him.
He's just been with God and learned all these
things that God wants him to teach. And he comes
down and he finds out that in his absence, his
people have said, what happened to Moses? He
must have been consumed by that fire. And, you
know, Aaron, make us gods to worship. So Aaron
gathers up all of their gold and throws it in
the fire and out comes his calf. Yeah, isn't
that amazing? At least that's what he said. I
don't think that's what really happened, but
it was his excuse, right? So Moses comes down
and hears this reveling going on. The Lord said,
I'm in Exodus 32 and verse 9. The Lord said to
Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it's
a stiff -necked people. And don't think it's
all about the Jews, you guys, everybody listening
here. It's not just about the Jews. It's just
that they did it really well. We can all be very
stiff -necked, right? Yeah, that's true. But,
you know, God used them as an illustration for
how the rest of us are. So these are stiff -necked
people. Now, therefore, verse 10, now, therefore,
let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against
them and I may consume them and I will make of
you a great nation. And Moses said, Lord, why
is your wrath hot against your people, which
you brought forth out of the land of Egypt with
great power and with a mighty hand? Why should
the Egyptians speak and say that? For mischief
he did bring them out to slay them in the mountains
and consume them from the face of the earth.
Turn from your fierce wrath and repent of this
evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore
by your own self, and said to them, I will multiply
your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this
land that I have spoken of will I give to your
seed, and they shall inherit it forever. And
the Lord repented of the evil which he thought
to do to his people. and asked God to reconsider.
He became the intercessor when God really could
have and should have probably wiped him out and
started over with somebody whose heart was already
toward him. But Moses reminded him of his covenant.
And especially when you're interceding for someone
you love, someone who has done something that
they shouldn't do, someone who has disobeyed
the Lord. Instead of being judgmental about them,
if you'll become their intercessor, they'll get
back a whole lot faster. Because remember what
Jesus said to the disciples, whosoever sins you
remit or forgive, they're forgiven. But whosoever
sins you retain, they're retained. It puts them
into a cage. And they can't get out. And it's
not that it's impossible for them to get out.
If they repent, God's going to forgive them.
But if you hold that against them, it could very
well keep them from ever feeling the Holy Spirit
encouraging them to repent. So when we ask God
to see the blood of Jesus, to forgive them of
their sins, we're asking him. to make it possible
for them to be freed and send the Holy Spirit
to them, the Spirit of truth, to bring them to
repentance. It's the goodness of God that leads
to repentance. So we're asking God, shine your
goodness on that one, even though they're misbehaving.
We know that they're doing something they shouldn't
be doing. We know that the thing that they did
that really hurt us should be punished. But Lord,
we're asking for mercy. We're asking for mercy
so that you bring this person to repentance.
And it's just amazing what happens when you start
to ask God to forgive them. It gives you the
grace to forgive also. And of course, in the
book of Daniel, I think it's chapter 9, he goes
to repenting on behalf of his people, even though
he was such a godly man that he didn't need to
repent for himself in particular. He was really
godly, but he took on himself the burden of repenting
on behalf of his people. And we can do that,
too. So, you know, just recognize that the accuser
of the brethren is trying to separate you from
the people who are trying to offend you or who
did offend you. It's the accuser. OK, so I have
a story. Years ago, when our daughter was young,
I remember there were several times that I would
put our daughter to bed and I'm doing stuff to
finish up the day. And Philip has already finished
up his day and he's gone to bed already, right?
Yeah. Happens more often than not. You just get
done before I do. I'm slow. I'm very slow. And
you're just... More fast. Anyway, so I remember
it happening on multiple occasions that in this
situation where I'm tired, right? I'm tired.
I really should have quit sooner. And I get this
thought in my head that Sister Gwen, our founder,
was saying things against me behind my back.
And I started getting angry and upset. I think
I was actually going to bed upset. And then I'd
get up in the morning, and she would be nice
and kind and loving like she was most of the
time. Not that she was perfect, but none of us
really are. And then I thought about what I was
thinking the night before, and I kind of dismissed
it. And it happened several, several times. And
then one night, I woke up to the fact. that this
wasn't Sister Gwen. This idea was coming from
the accuser of the brethren. And I said, oh,
devil. You are the accuser of the brethren, and
I am too tired to even listen to you. Like, I
didn't even rebuke him. I just said, that's enough.
I'm not listening to you. And I only had to do
that about two or three times, and that never
happened again. So we have to recognize when
the accuser is operating, because he does. He
does tend to operate. And I remember Dean sharing
with John Thomas about, he shared with us also
about how communication in heaven is thought
to thought. Thought to thought. But you have
to ask for permission to give a thought. That's
really interesting. You have to give permission
to get a thought. So that's the protocol of heaven.
So what he told John was that at the beginning,
when Lucifer got it into his head that he was
going to overthrow God, he sent out a message
to everybody in heaven about this overthrow,
about this rebellion. And, you know, I'm going
to be this, and I'm going to do that. And, you
know, I guess the idea was, join me. And one
third. But he sent it out without permission.
Everybody gets this thought in their heads. And
that's how he still operates, for heaven's sakes.
That's how he still operates. All these ideas
that come into your head, that's not from the
Holy Spirit. And it's not from your spirit. Okay,
your soul realm. The part of you that fears and
the part of you that hates and the part of you
that doubts and has unbelief, that part of you
is more receptive to a lie. Okay. So we have
to recognize when the accuser is giving us a
thought, right? Yeah. So one third accepted the
thought and two thirds said, no, you don't. I
mean, two thirds said. I'm following Jesus. I'm
sticking with God. So, you know, we have to recognize
when we're being spoken to out of that dark realm
and rebuke that devourer. You know, the Lord
rebuke you. You know, I bring the blood of Jesus
Christ against you. Yes. And those kind of things.
You are trespassing. Get out of my life and go
to the... Outer darkness and wait for the judgment,
whatever, you know. But go to the feet of Jesus.
That's another thing that you could tell him.
Go to the feet of Jesus. I will not have you.
I will not accept that wrong thought. And, you
know, deal with temptation the same way. I bring
the blood of Jesus Christ to bear against you.
That's good, yes. And that reminds me also of
a story that Peter Snyder told about, and he
didn't tell us what was going on, but there was
something that was troubling him. And the Lord
said to him, and he was begging the Lord to take
it away. And the Lord said, you just follow me
and do what I told you. Rather than sitting there
trying to fight this thing and struggle with
it, what it's doing is it's trying to get your
attention and keep you distracted from following
Jesus. So following Jesus is really what it's
all about. You follow him. What's it to you?
What that thing says. You follow me, Jesus says.
And so when we will just follow him, that's where
we get the victory. That's where we get the breakthrough,
is following him. And I want to close with another
story that Sister Gwen, our founder, used to
say. She told about this woman that had a friend
or a relative, I don't remember which it was,
that was in very, very serious condition. She
was having a hard time breathing. It seemed like
it was going to be life -threatening. And the
doctors weren't giving her any hope. And so this
woman was somehow in the ministry. I don't know
if she was a minister or if she was a music minister
or something like that. But she was praying for
this friend of hers, a relative. And the Lord
spoke to her and said, take her to that A .A.
Allen meeting that's coming up. And I will heal
her. And she said, but Lord, I've heard terrible
things about A .A. Allen. And they didn't even
have internet back then. Oh, no. That's true.
Would have been even worse now. So she said,
is he guilty or not guilty? And the Lord said,
guilty or not guilty, I stand with the accused
and not the accuser. So what is that to you?
What's it to you? What's it to you? Follow me.
You follow me. So she obeyed the Lord and took
this friend or relative to an A .A. Allen meeting,
and God indeed healed her. Because guilty or
not guilty, he stands with the accused and not
the accuser. Which is very comforting that even
when I've done something wrong and I'm repentant,
the Lord is going to stand with me. And even
before we repent, he's there. He's there for
us, and he's there for us to follow him. He's
there to breathe on us and say, receive the Holy
Spirit. He's there to take us out of temptation
and deliver us into breakthrough. He's there
for us, regardless of what anybody else is doing.
What's it to you? You follow me. You follow me.
So, Father, We just ask you right now to minister
your love to all of our listeners, to enable
each one to take that 1 Corinthians 13 5 into
their heart, that your love, your love operating
in us isn't self -seeking, and it's not looking
for its own rights or its own way, and it's...
not touch you or fretful or resentful, and it
takes no account of evil done to it. It pays
no attention to a suffered wrong. Lord, we're
asking you to give each one of us the ability
to rise above. Lord, to rise into your glory,
to rise into praising you, to rise into interceding
for those who have harmed us or for those. those
we don't even know, that we can see that they're
doing evil. Lord, we just ask you to use us by
your Spirit, to keep us walking in the Spirit
and not in the flesh, that we won't operate with
the suggestions of the accuser of the brethren,
but we will walk with you, that we will follow
you, and that we will work with you in the outpouring
of your Holy Spirit, Lord, that you will use
us to intercede for those who are out of sorts,
for those who are out of sync with you, for those
who are lost. Lord, give us the heart of intercession
for the lost. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Your review helps the podcasting platform
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Until next time, this is Sharon Buss. And I'm
Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming,
loving presence.