The modern world is not self-esteem friendly. This is evidence that we have a call-out culture
where anger can often seem like the tone of the internet, office, and classroom.
Meanwhile, the aggression surrounding social issues today causes many to be silent because they
fear a landslide of haters and thumbtugs. Yet to this backdrop, Nikola Tesla says all that was
great in the past was ridiculed, combated, only to emerge all the more powerfully from the struggle.
In this episode, we talk about turning your intimidation into determination. Stay tuned to
the end as we ask one of the top 100 most influential Christians in America today,
how do they handle criticism?
Hey, my name is Noma Headman and the Keep It 100 podcast has been like water to my soul.
Each week I spoke right to where I'm at. Sean and Christa bring truth with practical tools
to equip and empower the body of Christ to live out the calling anointing on our lives.
Its discipleship across the airwaves and the ripple effects will be felt for generations.
What up everybody? We are so excited. This is Sean and Christa Smith with Keep It 100.
We are so excited and today we have some fresh content to help you remain strong in the face
of FLAC. I am so pumped up. All right, it may be a little TMI for our listeners, Christa,
but we have both gotten sized and I've gotten my invisible braces on and it's funny because people
may notice it. It gives me a slight lisp. So just give me a little grace, y'all. Just give me a
little grace. But it's funny because both of us have had crowding up teeth and so we got these
invisible braces to make space. We also have had some remodeling in our home and we've done purging,
we've taken some extra stuff out of our closet, we've donated and in the midst of it, we've made
more space in our home. That's good. Yes. And then also we all find ourselves in this shelter in
place where God is kind of removing the clutter of our schedule, I believe for the same reason. So
I found a common thread. The common thread is that we had crowding in our teeth, we had crowding in
our house and crowding in our season and God is saying it's all about making space, making space
for what God is about to do. And I believe this episode is about making space for your growth
and your spiritual walk, but it will require that you acquire the skill of how to deal with clapback,
casting shade and criticism. It's funny how this negative retaliatory atmosphere blankets this age,
Christa. So true. We have it in amongst musicians and hip hop artists is called Distracts,
where a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack another artist. I think this was popularized
through the whole two pot biggie West Coast, East Coast rappers. West Coast. It's so true and
celebrities, athletes and man, are we seeing in politicians. We're an election near America and
there is so much clapback, which is that strong comeback to answer any opponent's insult. We've
seen it in brands casting shade that, you know, that's really what we call the subtle expression
of contempt or disgust with someone brands like Coke versus Pepsi, Mac versus PC, Wendy's versus
McDonald's. It's funny you'd say Wendy's versus McDonald's because Wendy's tweeted McDonald's.
So you still use frozen beef in most of your burgers and all your restaurants asking for a friend.
I know that's clapback, but that's straight up comedy. That's gangster right there. That's
our core. It is. You know, today's call out culture is so seductive that you could see just like Wendy's
so many can't resist the overwhelming temptation to strike out at people on social media. Callouts
for those who don't understand the definition happen when people publicly shame people online
or wherever they have beef with other people. It's so true. And as humans, each of us have a
fundamental desire for social inclusion and all of us want to be well received and affirmed. You
and I do. Every one of our listeners does. That's what we all want. We all want to belong. We all
want to feel accepted and because of that just core value within all of us, it can take one frosty
comment, one verbal jab to completely devastate or derail our day. And I know we all know that
because we've had those stories in our lives each and every one of us where we have a clapback moment,
we have a critical moment where someone say harsh things or and sometimes we respond so well and
then sometimes we do not respond well. Perfect segue to my story. You know, in keeping with the
spirit of keeping at 100, I want to be real and I want to share you about a time that I didn't do
so well. My baby girl, Brittany, when she was young, she had a basketball game and in her basketball
game, it was like a city league. As a young girl, she was probably an elementary. She's playing a
basketball game and an opposing girl tripped Brittany. She was dribbling, bringing the ball
up court for a team, tripped her and as a result of tripping her, the other girl stole the ball.
Well, the referee should have called an infraction. It should be a foul for those of you that don't
know basketball. You can't trip people. This is not hockey, but the ref didn't call anything. And so
I'm kind of like, oh man, I can't believe he missed that. So the little girl on the other team
recognizing, hey, I wasn't penalized. I'm going to come back and do it again. So this other girl
tripped Brittany and the second time Brittany fell on the ground, looked like she kind of hurt herself
and the ball was turned over. The girl got it again and the ref didn't call anything. So I stood
up and I said, ref, you can't trip people. That's a foul. And the moment I said it, another guy,
just across in the stands, I think he was the dad of the other girl says, hey, pipe down over there.
And before I knew it, I stood up on my feet and I said, hey, am I talking to you? And I just stared
the man down. And then as I realized as I'm standing up in front of a gym full of people,
I looked around and saw about three different churches represented that I preached at in our
area here. I sheepishly sat back down and this one, all the listeners to know since that time,
I've had to come to Jesus moment. That was not the way to respond. That is the definition of
clapback. I clapped back on that dude. You clapped back on the clapped back. You know,
I tell you what, that story is so hilarious to me because it is so not you. I mean, I've known you
for years. I have never seen anything remotely like that come out of you. So all the more it's
hilarious because I'm like, that is just the farthest thing away from your personality because
you're such an exhorter and you're always encouraging everyone around you. And it was that perfect
storm moment for you. Right? It was all those factors. It's your baby girl and you're like,
this is not right. I'm going to advocate for her. And we all have those moments and those where you're
like, don't even realize and you have that reactive moment and then you have the sheepishly
sit down moment. We've all had them. And that's what I feel like God's like, Hey, come on, let's go
higher. That's right. You know, and that's the hard part. But I feel like that it is available.
And it's certainly possible with the Lord, you know, in my story, because we were kind of talking
about stories like where we've seen this in our life. This actually happened really recent.
I mean, we're in August right now and this happened last March. It was right, my last sermon that I
preached before COVID. And we were with a ministry and I preached a sermon and unbeknownst to you
and I, the sermon really went viral. And it had like 680,000 views. It was shared 9,000 times. It
had like crazy amounts of comments. I've never had a sermon go viral like that. And we had no idea
because I released a sermon, but then I come home and I didn't go on the ministry page to find out,
you know, that it had done what it done. And so we got contacted by the media person of this ministry
and he's like, Hey, have you seen what's been going on with Christa's sermon? It's going viral.
And he's like, Hey, be really good for you guys to get online, interact with people, thank people,
and just, you know, respond and interact. We're like, Hey, we can totally do that. So we were,
you know, it was early one morning, we got up, we're still in bed, we pull out our laptops and
we're like looking like, Oh my gosh, this is so awesome. And majority of the comments were
super positive and really encouraging. And then all of a sudden there was like one really negative
comment and then another and then another and there was like this list. And you know how it is,
it's like when one hater comes out, like they all join in and there's usually like this, I call it
like the clump of negativity. They like cluster, they come together. And all of a sudden there was
like this litany of negative and they were mean. They were like things about me, they didn't like
about me. And then theologically just, I mean, tearing me apart. And then of course, the fact I
was a woman, oh my word. I mean, it was so mean and I just wasn't expecting it. I wasn't prepared
for it. I never had anything on this level. And I got, boom, I got hit and I remember sitting in
bed and without even realizing it, I was reading it. All of a sudden tears just overcame and I
started crying. I was like sitting in bed, I started crying like they're so mean because my mentality
is, Hey, you can disagree with me, but you don't have to be mean or hateful, right? You don't have
to like everything I say. I'm okay with that. I'm comfortable with that. But like, don't tear me apart
in the process, right? And so I'm, and it's coming from Christians quote unquote. And I'm like,
Hello, where is Jesus in any of this? He is nowhere in this conversation. I realized in that moment,
because as Sean took my laptop, a kindly away from me, he's like, you're going to not read this,
and you're not going to go back on and check. You're not going to even entertain any of this
dialogue or conversation. I'll go on. I will handle this. I will cover you. And I realized,
who I felt so protected and covered in that moment. And I realized, had I stayed in that place,
and I continued to read and really digest what they were saying, which means absorbed what they
were saying, it really would have wounded my spirit, I think long term, because it was,
it was stuff about my identity, it was stuff about who I am and what I carry. And it was personal.
And I really realized in that moment, in this clap back, critical casting shade culture,
there has to be a wisdom of covering ourselves and guarding our peace.
True. So true. I almost wanted to rise up in that moment and go, am I talking to you on Facebook?
Trust me. I did too. I tell you what, and we learn in those moments how important it is,
because I could have, I could have like shrunk, you know, I could have just limited myself. I
could have been like, Oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again. And then I'm like, no, this comes
sometimes when you have something that gets seen by a lot of people, that comes with the territory.
And it's worth it when the gospel gets released. Yes. You know, as followers of Christ, your
exclusive allegiance and witness of Christ would generate criticism. You know, if you're doing
anything significant, people are always going to cast shade. That's, that's what we know. And that's
certainly what I experienced. That's why you have to be prepared for it. That's why we're talking
about it today. And when we learn how to harness it so that it propels you into your purpose,
and we want to turn intimidation into determination. Speaking of determination, I think it's important
to delineate. There are different types of intimidation. You know, the Old Testament closes
by saying that God would send the spirit of Elijah. Well, Elijah has his origin in 1 Kings,
chapter 18, and his rise to prominence comes at a very interesting time. It's at a time where there's
a wicked coalition of a wicked king by the name of Ahab and a wicked queen that brought
Phoenician worship into Israel, worship of Baal. Her name was Jezebel. And I think of them as two
types of persecution. It says in 1 Kings 18 that Jezebel massacred the prophets so they hid in
caves. So Jezebel is overt persecution. We've seen that throughout history. She threatens,
the threat is a message that projects a negative outcome. And Jezebel was going to follow through
on that. But also, Ahab is a little bit different in his intimidation, and it's more of a subtle
control. It's more of a manipulation. It's more of social conforming. Yes, we think of our kids
and our teenagers in terms of one of their biggest battles is peer pressure. But you don't age out on
that. It just simply becomes social conformity. And Ahab was a master at using it to the point where
when Elijah comes on the scene, God speaks to him and says, you have to go show yourself to Ahab.
In other words, you can't run from the intimidation. So Elijah shows up and he soon finds out that
ultimately the battle is going to be 850 to 1. And so even Elijah has to fight the intimidation of
being in the minority versus the majority. But what Ahab uses is intimidation. And intimidation is
such a powerful weapon because it can cause you to put down God's purposes and compromise. It's so
true. And this dynamic of Elijah, Ahab and Jezebel of that intimidation. And here Elijah, he takes a
strong stand. He does a bold exploit. One of the greatest demonstrations in Old Testament
when they're on that Mount Carmel. And there's a command of who is the one true God. And of course,
we know the God of Elijah, our God, comes through and he defeats the prophets of Baal. And in that
next moment, there's a death threat for Elijah's life. He's run into the caves. And there's this
dynamic and this going back and forth that I think we all wrestle with. But I feel like God's
like, I want to break the sway of intimidation where you don't have to run anymore. You don't
have to hide in the cave anymore. We're going to stand in the face of opposition. And the opposition
has to cower because what is in us is greater than the sway of the culture of today. So true. And
even to illustrate that type of intimidation in verse 16 of 1 Kings chapter 18, Ahab says to
Elijah, is that you, you troubler of Israel. And so I think about what intimidation tries to do is it
attempts to use labels to get you to back down from your stand. So true. In other words, the world
today will try to label you as intolerant. The world today will try to say you're not inclusive
enough. The world today will try to say that you're far right wing conservative, whatever,
whatever, whatever, all the different labels. And what happens is intimidation at the end of the day
is a result of someone trying to gain control over you. So the moment you see it for what it is,
you can begin to defend it. And then in verse 21, it's interesting because the rest of the cast
and this amazing story of 1 Kings 18 was the people, the populace of Israel and Elijah turned to them
and said, how long will you sit on the fence? Because nobody said a word and nobody made a move
because the intimidation immobilized them. You know, that is so familiar to what we are seeing in
today's Western world Christianity because intimidation shows when people are immobilized from doing
what we know is right. And there are so many people that are on the fence. They're not moving,
they're paralyzed. And there's like these people, there's, you know, there's definitely believers
that are like, come on, where's your voice? Stand up for truth and righteousness and what God is
saying in this hour. And there's like crickets and God's like, Hey, you have to know who you are in me.
And you cannot cower anymore to the intimidation. And I love that God wants to shift us from a place
of resolve and our identity. So when the clapback comes, when the criticism comes, when that culture
of cancel wants to hit us, if the enemy knows there is a word or a label that will shut you down,
don't you think you'll hear that? But when you rise above and you, you do not give authority to the
labels and the titles of the word curses that the enemy tries to put on you, that's where you're
going to walk in your greatest place of identity. I'm going to do a first here, keep it 100 tried.
Obviously, the first book I've ever recommended that you read is the Bible. Okay. But now here's the
first other book, Fox's Book of Martyrs. Because Fox's Book of Martyrs gives you the history of
your spiritual ancestors that spilled their blood and guys that would say quotes like, Oh, but I had
a thousand lives to give for my savior, but alas, I have but one as a guy literally was decapitated
in Nero's backyard. And I think when you have spiritual ancestors that refuse to run from Nero's
guillotines, we can't be those Christians that run from the butter knives of ridicule. We have to
know that we're cut from the cloth of people that literally were torn asunder. They had their heads
chopped off. They were torn between chariots. And when you recognize that that same DNA is in you,
it causes you to rise up. And that leads me to another story. Christa, I can remember when I
given my life to Christ, I was being mentored by probably to this day, one of the boldest Christians.
I mean, he was bold, so bold, and I was so challenged by the boldness of his life. He would preach
open air. He would walk into frat houses and witness the little I've never seen a back down
anything. And one time church was putting on an outreach actually here in the Bay Area, and they
invited Oakland public schools to do their cheerleading contests. And it was an annual contest,
but this church hosted it because during the halftime they would give like a gospel presentation.
And so all these cheerleader teams were out and then all of a sudden they started it. And so it's
on the steps of a church, but it's outside. I think many people show up. They don't know what
they're walking into. They don't know this is an outreach. And so I'm with my mentor and we have a
little hook before we're going to share the gospel. He did some feats of strength. I did
martial arts and broke some boards. And then he began to preach. Well, almost about the time we're
finishing up breaking some stuff, you can hear guys go bring the girls back on because the girls
were not just doing rah rah rah, RDP, OU&D rebound. These girls were gyrating. It was very
sensual, it was very provocative. So they had raised up the spirit of flesh. And so they were
saying, shut up, sit down. We don't want to hear that stuff. And then my mentor, he starts preaching
the gospel and they just thoroughly disrespected them. They said all kind of inappropriate things.
And I remember my mentor saying, you know what? I preached in prisons and was treated better than
I'm being treated here. And he just handed me the mic and he was just kind of walking away from the
stage. I didn't even know what to say. And I'm like, man, I've never seen this happen to my mentor
before. He's bold. And so I just shared my testimony and somewhere in sharing my testimony, I just
kind of fought through. And I remember there was one sister that said to everybody else, hey man,
y'all shut up, listen to him. What he's saying is real. And so I finished my testimony and I think
my mentor got back up after that and he gave an altar call. And we ended up praying with two people
that gave their life to the Lord. But I just thought in that moment, the power of criticism
clapped back in shade that in that moment, one of the boldest Christens' day that I met was stymied
for a moment. And that's when I kind of stepped up. But really, it was a combination of him fighting
through and breaking the ice for me to come through and be able to share after that. It's so true. We
have to realize that this critical spirit, this casting shade culture has truly become the demonic
weapon of choice. Many would be testimonies in the making have been assassinated because of this
dynamic. And the reality is we have to understand there is a force that comes against us, but we
don't have to cower and we recognize that anytime we are always operating from a higher place. And
that is so important for us to understand because when we empower the wrong thing, we empower it
through fear, we empower it through intimidation, when we understand that we have nothing to cower
at, and yes, we can be uncomfortable. Yes, our reputations can be affected. We can lose followers
on social media. There is consequences sometimes, but the consequences are nothing compared to the
glory we're going to give to God. That's right. The goal is not to be liked, even though you try to
get that on Instagram, you try to get that on Facebook or whatever. The goal for a born-again
spirit-filled follower of Christ, your goal is not to be liked, like LED, but your goal is to be
liked, like HT. So good. I love that. And you know, the reality is we want to talk about two
downfalls of caving into criticism. Number one, you will be in a position where you will deny
what you know to be true. This is one of the biggest dangers of criticism is not to your
reputation, you guys, but it's to your heart. Come on, tribe, we have to understand when we are in
a clap-back, casting shade, criticism culture, it doesn't just damage your reputation. We're talking
about your heart. This is so important for us to understand that the biggest danger of criticism
is not to your reputation, but it's to your heart. The second downfall of caving into criticism
is you will be in a position where you will make false concession. In other words, you're no longer
going to make a decision based on what is right or wrong, but you'll be making decisions based on
who is around you. And second, Thessalonians 2.4 says, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted
with the gospel, which that's an honor. And it goes on to say, we are not trying to please men,
but God who tests our hearts. And when I think about that passage, number one, we have to be
reminded we're not trying to please men. That's not our goal. Our goal is not to please them. At the
end of the day, that's not how it will be weighed. That's not how it will be evaluated. It's about
pleasing the Father. And second of all, I think it's interesting that passage ends, Christa, by
saying, but we're not trying to please men, but God who tests our hearts. And the way it's read,
it really kind of speaks to the fact that sometimes God will allow some clap-backs to test
your heart. What are you really in it for? Are you in it to be popular? Are you in it to be
powerful in God? Are you in it so that you could look good in your reputation or you're going to
lay down your reputation that God's reputation can shine through you? Oh, so true. I know I
experienced this early on in my ministry when I was in my 20s and I was really finding my voice,
and I was really discovering, and we talked about this in earlier episodes, I was really
discovering who I was in the Lord and like what I carried and my gift mix. And I really discovered,
I loved to preach and I loved to minister. And I was often told, tone it down. I was too fire,
I was too this, to that, that message of you're too much was just reiterated again and again.
And I really saw it as a tactic of the enemy to dole who I was created to be. Had I cowered to
the criticism, had I cowered to what people were trying to make me be, it was like that David and
Saul's armor moment. Everyone's trying to make me more digestible or make me more palpable.
And the reality is, I am going to be who I'm called to be. And the reality of that is us
understanding, if we're just true to who we are, that's going to be our greatest display of God
in us and through us. I love that. You know, there's a song and I'm not taking exception to it,
but I just had a thought on it. It used to be an old campfire song, Christian camps this little
light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. But the Bible says we're the light of the world. So I don't
know that we have a little light. I think we have a flamethrower. But what happens is, is the enemy
tries to use criticism and tries to employ, clap back and casting shade so that we will dull our
shine and turn down the pilot light of our fire instead of being a flamethrower, like you see in
these like movies, that we are reduced from the flamethrower to a bit lighter. Now, when I think
about criticism, there are three options in criticism. And I think it's important to see the
three options. So when someone criticizes you, because we've already established you're going to
face it, it's going to come, have a plan. Well, the first option in criticism is maybe they're
right. Maybe they're right. True. And if they say it and maybe they say it in a way that you don't
like it, it still shouldn't excuse you from a place that maybe you're losing an opportunity to
learn something. So what you have to say is, I may not like the package, but is there something that
I can hear that they're saying that God is speaking to me, that I can grow, I can adapt, I can progress.
So the first option of criticism is maybe they're right. The second option of criticism to consider
is maybe they're hurting. And the truth is hurt people hurt people. And there's people that are
often in fighting battles unseen. We don't know what they're going through. And I have learned in
life that there has to be a compassionate empathy that you and I constantly give people the benefit
of the doubt. We recognize that everyone's in their own fight. They're struggling through their own
things. And so at times maybe they're just simply hurting. Maybe what you released or shared is
triggering. It has nothing to do with you. I learned this in pastor and in pastoring people,
I realized I can't own their hurt, nor can I fix their hurt. But I'm going to do everything in my
power to not contribute to their hurt. And I think that's so important because we don't want to be
people that fuel the cycle of hurt and trauma connected with who Jesus is. We want to break
the cycle and bring them back to a place of encounter and love with the Lord. And the third
option of criticism is maybe they're convicted. Matthew 10.22 says you'll be hated by everyone
because of me. That maybe the reason why they're critical of you is that they feel convicted.
So it's not about you. And sometimes we think, oh my God, what's wrong with me? Well, in fact,
it's that God is pointing out what's wrong in them. And so they're under conviction. And so as a result
of that, because they're running from it or not wanting to deal with a conviction, the conflict
that rises up in their heart, they begin to aim at you. Now, in order for us to thrive in this
clap back culture of fear, the key is you can't allow it to set up real estate in you. Because if
you do it every turn, you're going to be bombarded. And then you're going to have excuses come to feel
secure, to stay in safe mode, to settle, to sell out. But that's not what God's called you to do.
Hebrews 6.19 tells us that we have hope as an anchor for the soul. The reason why this is important
in the early Roman catacombs in the first century where early Christians were buried,
many of them martyred, you will find carvings of a dove, which is Holy Spirit, a fish, which is the
word Ithicus in ancient language. It's the symbol of Jesus Christ. That's why people have fish,
bumper stickers on their car. And an anchor. And here's what they would say about the anchor,
that the early Christians saw an anchor as hope in the midst of persecution. And so we have to be
anchored in our soul. That's what that verse says, anchor for the soul. If you're anchored in your
soul, you're not going to be pulled by the sways of people that are giving you flat or having a time
where they're criticizing you. And so this is so important to see. We want to also give you now
five ways to combat clapback. Number one, the first way to combat clapback is to decide what you
stand for. If you don't know what you stand for, you become unsure in convictions, any amount of
clapback will cause you to take a step back. But if you decide what you stand for, you are going to
be in a place where you will be strong. And if you decide before the fight, many times people
don't realize if you don't make up your mind before the crisis, you'll be unable to make up your
mind in the midst of the crisis. So good. And you know, I think of the scripture, a double-minded
man is unstable in all his ways. You have to know who you are in Christ Jesus before the crisis
comes, before the ridicule, before the criticism come, or you'll sway underneath the spirit of
this age. Number two, we're talking about five ways to combat the clapback in your own life.
Value God's opinion above all others, because when you embrace identity, it neutralizes when
others think less of you. People's opinions will sway. People's opinions one day will love you,
and then you're not their favorite the following day. We've all experienced that, but if we put our
identity and our value and our self-esteem and the opinions of others and not the opinion of man,
we will find ourselves on an emotional roller coaster. But when we're rooted and grounded,
in who God has called us to be, and we value people, we love people, but our identity is not
rooted in people, what a more healthy place we're able to be from, because we're living from our
fullness and not from our lack. Let's go. Let's go. Okay. Number three, I hear this so often,
and let me say the phrase, and then I'll express it. Number three, you have to recognize influence
has a price tag. Say that. I hear so often amongst the emerging generation, I'm called to be an
influence. I'm called to be a cultural influencer, social influencer, style influence, a communicator
influencer. Well, I believe that. Absolutely. I champion that. I cheer lead. I want to mentor that,
but you also have to recognize that influence has a price tag. And here is the price tag that every
true influencer understands. You have to lay what you value on the line for what you value more.
So part of that is you lay your reputation on the line because you value God's move and his
gifting and purpose in your life more than your reputation in a minute in that moment. And so
what you have to do is you have to ignore criticism because you're recognizing influence's price tag.
Number four, minimize exposure with toxic hurtful people. Say that. Come on people. I'm not talking
about people that are just different than you or believe different. I'm talking about toxic hurtful
people that when you walk away from interactions, conversations with them, you question who you are,
you feel bad about yourself. It goes after your worth, your self-esteem, your gift mix, your destiny.
It brings you to a place of hopelessness and discouragement. I want us to really evaluate
who do you allow to speak into your life and the interactions even on a social media online world.
There is such a bait to toxic interactions, toxic behavior and toxic conversations. I want us to
use wisdom if there are relationships and or interactions that are not with the fruit of the
spirit. That's not the fruit that is coming from those interactions or conversations. That fruit
has to be cut out of your life. Guard your peace, guard your identity and recognize you don't have
to give place to people that are against you. The fifth and final way to combat clap back is to use
your purpose to get back on your horse. There was an old saying is you got to get back up on the horse
that threw you and it's kind of that thing of before you allow fear to set in even though it
didn't work out great previously, jump back in it. Well, I think sometimes it's not for the lack
of understanding that you want to be on a horse. It's a lack of why you were on the horse to begin
with. So let me give you a good example. Use your purpose to get back on your horse. This is very
dear to my heart because I remember being impacted as a baby Christian young believer that Jesus is
in a garden and he's sweating drops of blood because he knows he's going to be separated from the
father. I don't think in that moment drops of blood was about so much the physical punishment.
It was more of being separated from the father as he would say on the cross, my God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? And he is describing this. May this cup be passed from me and he's
talking about this in the garden. And then he says this phrase and I love it. He says,
but what shall I say father saved me from this hour, but for this purpose I've come into the
world. Jesus operated in the principle that he used this purpose to get back up on his horse.
And those times when sometimes criticism does get to you, sometimes a clapback does knock
you off your horse. Sometimes like Christa described in that moment that she was in bed and
in those hurtful comments on Facebook and tears flooded her eyes. Sometimes you are knocked
off your horse, but what I've learned and what I want to share with you, keep it 100, a tribe
is that you use your purpose to get back up on your horse. And when you use your purpose to get
back up on your on your horse, you've just taken a bullet out of the enemy's gun. You know, there
really is a call for you and I to be a contrast in the midst of a clapback culture. I believe that
in this clapback critical culture, you and I are called to live from a place that is higher. You
know, when I reflect on the life of Jesus, he was not intimidated, discouraged or angered by
people that were different than him. In fact, he actually ate with the tax collectors and ate with
the prostitutes. He actually shared a meal. He created space at his table for people that were
different rather than shaming, shunning and disqualifying people in his interactions that
were different than him. He actually welcomed them into his space. And wouldn't that be such a
different approach in a world that is so critical and shuns you and cuts you off if you're different.
If there's, there is zero tolerance for anyone that may sound different, may believe different.
I want you to know in the church today, there is so much division, whether it's over social stuff,
whether it's over politics, whatever it may be. But I believe whether when unity comes back to the
church, we're going to look a lot more like Jesus because Jesus was not afraid of differences. In
fact, he refused to allow defense responses to become his default and he was not reactive to the
culture. Instead, he was committed to transform the culture and we transform the culture when we
become a contrast to the clapback where we're not engaging in the bait of the negativity. And I
want you to know friends, we have to reevaluate how we respond in the midst of this clapback culture
because it's never worth it to lose our witness. We're talking about casting shade. In Acts chapter
3, Peter and John being led in and power of the Holy Spirit prayed and they saw a guy who could not
walk, get up and walk and a witness was spreading all around Jerusalem that the man at the gate
beautiful is now walking and no longer on a mat begging for coins. As a result of that,
the enemies of the gospel in Acts chapter 4 called Sanhedrin called Peter and John in and they began
to cast shade by urban definition. In fact, it says in Acts 4, 17, they said to keep this from
spreading any further. And then later on in Acts 4, 21, it says, so they threaten them further to
not speak in his name. And it's interesting because remember the reason why Sanhedrin, the hater group
did this is to keep it from spreading. And I wonder if really the sinister motivation behind casting
shade on you that you feel as an individual is an enemy trying to keep God from spreading. The
Bible says that the gospel is like leaven and leaven is in bread, it rises up. Your purpose is meant
to rise up inside of you. The gospel is meant to rise up in culture, but the enemy wants to threaten
you and cast shade. But you know what Peter did? Peter said, hey, you could decide whether or not
obey man or obey God. But as for me, I'm going to obey God. And he goes back to his companions
and they pray and there's a power shows up in terms of Acts chapter 4 boldness. And then it's
interesting, Christian, Acts chapter 5. Remember Acts chapter 4, Sanhedrin cast its shade by trying
to bring the shade of hindrance. But in Acts chapter 5, it says in verse 15, it says that Peter cast
shade, but a little bit different when he cast shade, it says that Peter's shadow was healing
people. So what I love is if he would have got mad and try to strike back or either shut down,
he would have never have cast his shade and his shade healed, their shade hurt. And so you have
a choice right now that you can cast a shadow. And of course, Peter's shadow is a metaphor for
influence. You're an influencer and your influence is to make sure in this hour you're casting the
type of shade that brings healing. As promised, we told you that at the beginning of this episode
in our introduction that we were going to allow you to eavesdrop on a very private conversation.
One of the 100 most influential Christians in America today. It is my friend, Pastor Samuel
Rodriguez. He has spoken and prayed for presidents. He heads up the Hispanic Evangelical Association.
He's been on major syndicate networks. He is also one of the producers of the movie Breakthrough,
and he has a couple other movies that's coming out. And so I want you to listen as I ask Pastor
Samuel Rodriguez, what do you do to face criticism? Hey, everybody, I got Dr. Samuel Rodriguez.
Our friendship goes back to the 90s. Pastor Sammy, how do you handle criticism,
clap back, or people casting shade? Here's the understanding. If their praise did not make me,
their criticism cannot break me. If their praise did not make me, did not define me,
then their criticism shouldn't bother me. I literally shake it off. Criticism in the 21st
century speaks to communities that are advancing an agenda of righteousness and justice. If you're
committed to truth and love, you will be criticized. If you're committed to the prophetic, the pathetic
will arise against you. So you shake it off. I'm not defined by my followers. So I'm not measured.
I'm not defined by the number of people that follow me. I am defined by the one I follow.
And because of that criticism, God bless you. I don't hate them though. I pray for salvation,
transformation, for God to quicken their spirits and turn them around. But again,
they don't define me. They don't lead me. They don't in any way form or shape obstruct my
fulfillment of God ordained destiny. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Come on. Keep it 100
podcast tribe. We love you guys. We're so honored to be able to just have these conversations with
you. And every week you're tuning in. Make sure and subscribe so you're alerted as soon as a new
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helps us get the word out because we want more people impacted for Jesus. Everything Sean and
I are doing on this podcast is to equip and disciple this generation. We believe God is going to do
something new and you and I are a part of it. If you want to connect with us during the week,
check us out at SeanandChristasmith.com. You can of course find us on Facebook,
Sean and Christosmith Ministries, and we've even been doing some Facebook lives called
Mentoring Moments. And they're things that we're talking about from the podcast. We're taking even
deeper on Facebook live. Check us out. You would do yourself a favor by tuning in next week as we
talk about sanctifying your imagination. It will give you a win in the battle for your mind
while positioning you for an increase in revelation. Can't wait to be with you guys next week. And
remember, keep it 100. We hope you enjoyed today's episode of the Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and
Christosmith. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram and SeanandChristasmith.com,
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