Hey guys and welcome back to the salt not sweetener
podcast. I'm your host Danielle Townsend and
I hope you guys have had a wonderful week. I
hope you've had a blessed week Let me tell y
'all the Lord has been dropping some wisdom on
me this week and There was a topic that we're
gonna go in on today that I know a lot of people
need to hear okay, because I have needed to hear
it. As someone who was a retired crash out, if
y 'all have been listening to my podcast for
a while, you may have listened to the episode
titled Crash Out, where I have admitted firsthand
that I did not always handle things in a Christ
-like way before I gave my life to Christ. I
was a very petty person. Before I gave my life
to Christ, I wanted my lick back. I wanted to
get revenge. I would lean into the things that
people were saying about me, not because they're
true, but because I wanted to prove a point.
I was a petty person. And the Lord worked in
my heart. He taught me how to handle things differently.
And I had to go through a lot of trials. I had
to go through a lot of hardships. I had to face
a lot of opposition for this to be ingrained
in me. And our topic today is how you respond
matters. How you respond to opposition matters.
How you respond to gaslighting matters. How you
respond to slander, to lies, to deceit, to wicked
deeds matters. How you respond can actually be
what leads a person closer to Jesus. Now I want
to be very clear in saying this because I know
in the past I struggled with a perfectionism
thing where I would look at the way I handled
situations and be like that wasn't Christ like
enough. I would feel a guilt and I would feel
a weight and I just want to start By telling
you all that you need to remember that God is
graceful and he is merciful He doesn't expect
you to handle things perfectly because he knows
that you are not Jesus Okay, he knows that you
are not Jesus But he does want us to be more
Christ like Okay, so if you right now are looking
and thinking, wow, I didn't handle that situation
with very much grace. I didn't respond to that
person in the Christ -like way. I let my anger
get the best of me. I let these things happen.
It's good that you recognize that. And take that
to God and ask Him to help you with that. Understand
that when you ask for forgiveness, you are forgiven.
So first thing, take that to God. Ask for forgiveness.
Have that weight lifted off of you. but then
ask God to help you be better and do better.
This isn't about condemning you for not handling
things well in the past. This is recognizing
the areas where you can improve and asking God
to help you improve. I want to start off reading
some scripture to y 'all today. 1st Peter, we're
in 1st Peter chapter 2. Yeah, let's do chapter
2. Verse 11 and verse 12. Dear friends, I urge
you as strangers in exiles to abstain from sinful
desires that wage war against the soul. Conduct
yourselves honorably among the Gentiles so that
when they slander you as evildoers, they will
observe your good works and will glorify God
on the day he visits. Notice how scripture here
says, it doesn't say when or it doesn't say if
they slander you, it says when they slander you.
right it's not about if opposition is going to
come it's not about if lies if deceit if gaslighting
comes it's when lies come when slander comes
when deceit comes when gaslighting comes it's
not an if it's a win i'm telling you all today
especially like when you when you were freshly
the first couple years out of like leaving your
before Christ life behind and stepping into your
life as a new creation, your past is really going
to try to come back and grab you by the ankle
and drag you down. I'm just going to be so blunt
about that. Old habits are going to try to come
in and pull you back. Old thought processes,
old ways of dealing with things, people reminding
you of what you used to be. Who you used to be,
what you used to do, how you used to respond.
You'll have the old friends popping in. You'll
have the family members that you haven't talked
to in way back when. Those things that you thought
were dead and buried coming back to try to grab
you. I want to make this so clear. The enemy
the devil is the lowercase G God of this world.
So the things that glorify that the world glorifies
Obviously are not glorifying the Heavenly Father,
right? They're things that produce separation
and Lead you away from the Heavenly Father So,
of course the world is going to hate you. The
world is influenced by wickedness. The world
is influenced by the kingdom of darkness and
what does the kingdom of the kingdom of darkness
the devil does not want you spending eternity
with the heavenly father but he also doesn't
want you leaving other people closer right so
when he sees you when the devil sees you pursuing
a relationship with christ accepting him as your
lord and savior the devil wants to break that
down he wants to get you to lose faith he wants
to get you to lose heart and he wants you to
lead other people astray. There are so many people
who stay away from Christianity or have a misunderstanding
or a bad idea of Christianity because of people
who call themselves Christians but weren't living
a life Christ -like. Now I'm not saying that
they weren't perfect none of us are perfect but
there are people who call themselves Christians
who are representatives of Christ Jesus But do
not show the love of Jesus But do not respond
in Christ like ways that sow seeds of discourse
and division and heat That lean into greed that
lean into pride that lean into ego and those
are the people that give a bad rap Now I'm not
saying that Christ God fearing Christians Can't
be misunderstood because we're misunderstood
all the time. We literally just read scripture
you could be doing the most Christ like thing
having the best intention and Someone who does
not have eyes to see or ears to hear someone
who isn't able to identify Jesus, someone who
is influenced by the world, someone whose perception
is skewed, will misunderstand what you're doing.
I have experienced it firsthand when I was doing
something that was just meant to show the love
of Jesus and also patience and waiting on God
and someone who was really in the world Really
rejecting God at the time Really had a different
perception and a different view of what I was
doing, you know, they were in a space of Twisting
what I was doing into wickedness and evil and
although I knew that wasn't what it was I had
to accept that that was the way they were seeing
it and I couldn't combat that with my words.
I couldn't combat that with explaining myself.
I couldn't even like Create results for myself
because I was waiting on God right what I had
to do was just continue To show up through my
good works and living more Christlike You know
the interesting thing y 'all when I had people
slandering me and falsely accusing me and doing
all these things Gossiping about me and I asked
God how to handle those people. He told me to
pray for them and actually to serve them There
was a time period where I was made to serve them.
Where it was like if they need help with something,
still help them. If they have questions about
God, still answer their questions. If they're
going through this emotional thing, show them
the love of Jesus. It wasn't a time when I was
told to, you know, shake the dust off my feet
and turn around. There are times like that, right?
Scripture also says, don't cast your pearls before
swine. There are times when you are not meant
to stick around. Continue to talk and explain
and do all these things when it's going to be
more harmful than helpful But there are also
times when God will call you to continue to minister
to those people to show them the love of Jesus
there are some people who are not going to pick
up a Bible and They're not going to know the
love of Jesus through reading it in Scripture
But they're not going to go to the sermons that
the Bible that they're going to read is you and
how you live your life That they are observing
you And as a follower of Christ, we are called
to make disciples. We are called to be fishers
of men, right? We are called to show other people
the love of Jesus, to bring other people to the
kingdom of heaven. And that's not always by just
reading scripture and like speaking the gospel
with our mouths. Oftentimes it's ministering
to people through how we live our lives, how
we choose to respond. whoever you are today I
believe you need to hear this that how you respond
to opposition really speaks a lot to people who
are unbelievers because when you choose to match
energy when you choose to okay well I'll meet
them with the same negative words I'll meet them
with the same sarcasm I'll meet them with the
same hatefulness and all that When the unbeliever
looks at you and looks at that person, they see
no difference. Which means they don't see the
difference that accepting Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Savior makes into your life. Now when
they see that person with all of the hate and
all of the slander, the envy, the jealousy, all
that spewing out, and they see you matching it
with love and kindness, good works, obviously
you're holding boundaries, but you're showing
them the love of Jesus. People aren't going to
be able to help but notice a difference in the
response there and sure and the short term Maybe
their perception is skewed on the situation But
what is done in the dark will come to light and
trust in God's timing he will reveal He will
reveal the truth he will reveal who was the antagonizer
in the gas lighter He will reveal who was just
trying to show love who was just trying to show
kindness And sometimes in the time that we want
Him to, I want to be so clear with that. God
doesn't move on our time clock, y 'all. He moves
in His own divine time, His own divine plan.
Because when we think about what we want, and
what we want God to do, we're usually thinking
about ourselves and how it will just affect us,
right? but God usually aligns things to impact
like 20 people at the same time I can't tell
y 'all how many times that one blessing from
God in my life ended up being a blessing for
like 10 other people and a lesson for like 20
other people on top of that and God will align
things so it's not just benefiting you it's benefiting
all these other people and at the end of the
day it points back to the kingdom of heaven the
blessings and all these wonderful things yes
God loves us and he blesses us Because he loves
us, you know, but he also gives us these blessings
because it's going to point back to him and glorify
him and lead people closer to him. What's the
point of blessing you with something that isn't
going to point back to him, that isn't going
to lead other people closer to him? Because then
what's it going to point to yourself, your works,
the world, the world's ways? God divinely orchestrates
things in ways that we could never think of.
And I want to read to you all some more scripture.
Matthew chapter five. We're going to start in
verses 13. You are the salt of the earth. But
if the salt should lose its taste, how can it
be made salty? It's no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled under people's
feet. You are the light of the world. A city
situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights
a lamp and puts it under a basket. but rather
on a lamp stand and it gives light for all who
are in the house in the same way let your light
shine before others so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your father in heaven
when you when we face opposition y 'all it is
so tempting to dim our light it is so tempting
to pipe down and to quiet down that is actually
a tactic of the enemy have you ever noticed that
like when you start getting that fire and you
start Spreading the gospel and you start like
putting yourself out there more sharing your
testimony leading other people closer to Christ
Just being a light showing the love of Jesus
when all of a sudden you start giving people
more biblical advice You start pointing people
closer to Christ and before you know it there's
some kind of opposition that pops up Maybe someone
makes a rude comment or a sarcastic comment.
Maybe someone misunderstands you You know, maybe
you get one of those hate comments on social
media Maybe you have someone say something and
like it kind of messes with your relationship
with the person whatever it is You're you're
spreading the gospel. You're sharing the light
of Jesus Christ, right? We have we have we are
a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit And the
light of the Holy Spirit shines through when
you are ministering to people when you're speaking
to people When you're doing the good work showing
the love of Jesus your light whether you even
mean for it to shine the light I'm not even say
I don't even want to say your light the light
of Jesus Christ within you Eliminates and shines
through right and that light interesting thing
Also reveals a lot of things that are working
in darkness, right? That's what you'll see like
Oftentimes when your light is like because the
light exposes the works that are done in the
dark, right? That's why you'll see sometimes
people who are operating out of spaces of evilness
and wickedness that do not want to be near you
That might want to attack you but they don't
want to be around you too long Because when they're
around you too long and when they're in your
light for too long their bad deeds start being
exposed Have you ever noticed when you're around?
Someone who is living very on Christ like and
you're having a lot more conversations and You
know you start giving advice and the advice that
you start to give the biblical advice Starts
to reveal some of the ways that they're not living
a life obedient to the Lord. They start to feel
conviction Or maybe people start comparing your
two lives when they're around you too long Yeah,
darkness sometimes will actually flee that light
out of fear of being recognized and revealed
so they'll attack and they'll dip out and it's
so important that when you are being attacked
you do not dim that light and i'm speaking from
experience there were times where i was already
going through like a lot of i was already going
through a lot of uneasiness in my life and it
was times when god was calling me to step out
in faith and really let the light of jesus christ
shine and it wasn't always met with love There
were times when it was met with opposition and
animosity and that was a testing of my faith
and that was used to produce steadfastness. We
know that God will allow us to face opposition.
He will allow us to face trials. He will allow
us to face testings of our faith because it will
produce steadfastness. It will produce more faith.
It will produce something in us to be able to
carry the calling better. to be able to handle
the next assignment we step into better sometimes
when God calls us into a thing and he confirms
for us to walk into it we usually assume we're
just walking into a blessing that's going to
feel good sometimes God is actually confirming
for us to step into a testing he is confirming
for us to step into a trial knowing that it will
produce something in us that he is later on going
to be able to bless or that thing being produced
in us is going to be a blessing in itself a blessing
to others but it is so important not to let the
opposition scare you because i i remember when
i was firstly getting back on social media and
starting to share my testimony and starting to
spread the gospel there are so many different
things popping up opposition doubts fear and
i would go like a week or two where i would like
pipe down and i would stop talking about jesus
as much Now there were seasons when I would stop
ministering to people that I know God has really
called me to minister to because I didn't like
their reactions. It didn't make me feel, it wasn't
encouraging. I didn't feel like those people
wanted to hear what I had to say. I didn't feel
like those people wanted to hear about Jesus.
So I didn't want to talk about Jesus to them
anymore. I was sick of being rejected, but I
needed to face that rejection. So that way when
I'm rejected, I don't care and I keep going.
The way even y 'all I am able to speak now With
the lack of fear is nothing compared to two months
ago. If y 'all listen to my first episode I I
honestly feel when I listen to my earlier episodes
on the podcast y 'all The way I word things and
the authority I speak with is a lot different
now compared to then Because of things like God
has had me face and when I was speaking then
I thought I was speaking with a lot of authority
So it's it's wild how God and it's beautiful
at the same time how he will use these trials
and these things we face to produce things in
us but someone needs to hear that today do not
let the opposition make you fearful of speaking
up of letting the light shine through you when
you choose to let the light shine anyway when
you refuse to dampen your light that's when the
light is able to make an impact the enemy is
attacking Because he knows that what is about
to happen or what is going on is impactful So
he can't actually stop it. He can't stop God's
plan But he can get you to delay. That's what
he tries to do, right? That's what that fear
in the opposition is is trying to get you to
stop before you break through Trying to get you
to stop before that person sees the light trying
to get you to stop before God's will is executed
in the situation And sure you'll go through seasons
where you don't keep pursuing and you back down
and God already knows that you're gonna do that
and I'm not saying that that's the good thing
to do or the right thing to do I'm saying that
as people who are going through sanctification
who are growing and are working that is something
that will likely happen on your process is You're
in a time where God wants you to push through
But you don't have the spiritual maturity yet
You were not you haven't learned that lesson
yet, and he allows you to go through this to
learn the lesson So that way when you reflect
and you sit down you're like dang. I shouldn't
have I shouldn't have pipe down I shouldn't have
quiet down. I should have kept going I should
have asked God for the strength. I should have
prayed that the Holy Spirit speaks through me
and You know to pray for that a lot of us feel
defeated when we go into a trial like that or
a testing and we feel like we failed but God
already allowed us to walk in knowing how we
were going to respond and react which means that
he knew that there was something that you could
learn from us that there was something that could
be grown from this there's a reason he's allowed
you to experience that and you have Pray to him
that you overcome whatever guilt Condemnation
feeling I'm speaking as someone who I used to
have that perfectionism thing where when I felt
like I didn't ace a test I felt like I didn't
get through that trial or that tribulation. I
felt like I could have done better I was always
just like pounding on myself Instead of praying
to God like what do I need to be seeing in this?
And I would eventually pray that prayer, but
my first reaction would usually be kind of like
a beating myself up. God was showing me much
more grace than I was showing myself. And I want
to remind y 'all today that God is a graceful
God, a merciful God, a loving God. And as people
who are walking this walk with Christ for the
first time, God... plans for our mistakes he
plans for our hiccups now that's not saying that
we make peace in that place of mistake and we
just keep that cycle going and going we're meant
to learn from the mistakes but don't let making
mistake or stumbling end your walk let it be
kind of your your guide right to where you need
to focus and where you need to work on and what
you need to pray about more But I want to go
I want to go back to this part of scripture that
I just read or it says in the same way Let your
light shine before others so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your father
in heaven And that relates to that first scripture
we read right that when you do good other people
cannot help but see the good that you're doing
And they're going to be able to see the source
difference is Jesus Christ when you are openly
glorifying Him. That adds on to it, right? You
don't even have to guess when you're saying,
hey, I do this because of Jesus. I know that
there's so many other people out there who are
dealing with this because this is something that
I faced as a follower of Christ. That there are
people in my life that I want to see come to
Jesus and that I'm praying for their salvation,
but they do not want to open a Bible. They do
not. They reject invites to church they don't
want to hear about Jesus they actively shut him
down and how many times I prayed like God I just
want them to know you I want them to know Jesus
they think they know you but they don't and I
remember praying God like I've tried sharing
scripture I've tried inviting them to church
I tried doing all these things they don't want
to hear any of it And the Lord illuminated to
me that the way to minister to them is by how
I live my life. I cannot tell you, I have had
so many opportunities to match anger and slander
and frustration. There are a lot of times when
I was, you know, they kind of hit me with backhandedness
and revenge and all of these things. And I had
the opportunity to just like walk and walk away.
In some cases, God will call you to love them
from a distance. This was not one of those situations.
I had so many opportunities to tell other people
what was going on and make them look like the
bad guy right then and there. I had so many opportunities
to say something rude back, to spill a truth,
to do all those things. But instead I met them
with grace and love and mercy and kindness and
that looked different Sometimes like that was
me just having a short response and saying something
like hey, I understand You know, I hope you have
a good day instead of cursing them blessing them
Sometimes it looked like they needed help and
there is no one else to help them in that situation
And I went and I helped them after God had led
me to help them Okay, I prayed on that one of
hey God am I am I overstepping on the lesson
or do you want me involved here? And he showed
me to be involved there. I was ministering and
serving the people who had just finished cursing
me and Actively trying to sabotage my life There
were some people that like actively took steps
to try to make my life harder and more Complicated
and tried to increase my suffering and God still
called me to bless them God still called me to
serve them when they need to help them when they
needed help to love them and He revealed to me
that that is ministering to them because that
to them is showing them the unconditional love
of Jesus that I experienced Because in their
mind like it's hard to really grasp Why am I
continuing to show love and kindness and all
these things when by now? I should be resentful
and hateful and angry and doing all these things
like everyone else would And they know I've accepted
Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. They know
that I center my life around following Christ.
And they can't help but see that difference in
me of who I used to be versus who I am now following
Jesus and my responses. And that is what's going
to minister to this person. It's not the words.
It's my choosing to show love when it doesn't
make sense to show love. It's my choosing to
do good deeds when it doesn't make sense to do
good deeds And I want to be so clear that there
are other people in my life Who created suffering
and all these things that God did not call me
to minister like this to There are other people
who God had made it very clear to pray for these
people Consistently, and I still pray for these
people. I pray for their salvation. I Pray that
the scabs fall off their eyes. I pray that the
deceptive voices are removed from their lives.
I pray that they are surrounded with Christ -like
community. I pray that they know the love of
Jesus and healing and forgiveness. Where it has
been so revealing, I have to pray for those people.
But the Lord has made it very clear that if you
allowed them in your life on a daily basis, there
would be a lot of damage that God doesn't intend
for me to have to deal with. That I would be
kind of opening a door for the devil to take
root in my life. Not calling that person the
devil, but the devil is operating and moving
through them. He's influencing their choices.
And that I would be opening a door that God didn't
intend to be open. That there would be suffering
that I would face that he didn't intend for me
to face and learn from. That I've already learned.
I don't need to go through that again. Like there
there are people that God has really showed me
pray for them When you have the opportunity to
gossip and speak negative about them, don't do
it when you hear that they're doing it about
you bless them But they weren't people that he
called me to like call up and still check in
on and do all those things They weren't people
who were supposed to have a foot in the door
of my life And what's interesting is the people
that God has called me to minister There is even
a little bit of a distance there with those people,
right? There's definitely a lot more of an ability
to communicate and back and forth, but God has
really revealed to me, and really enforced in
my life, bad company corrupts good morals. And
that is, I believe that's 1 Corinthians, bad
company corrupts good morals. And I had seen
those people that I minister to now, They're
at a little bit of a distance mean they're not
the first they're not the advice I listen to
they're not the people I've been to They're not
the people that I look for guidance and instruction
on because where they're gonna point me isn't
closer to Christ It's closer to the worldly things
and the worldly desires, right? And if I had
them as my close confidence if I had them as
my people that I listen to their advice I listen
to their criticism. I listen to their guidance
or their instruction. They would be criticizing
me away from They would be guiding me away from
Christ to things that serve the flesh. The good
morals I have established, and I had actually
seen it in the past when I developed closeness
with those people, was starting to be kind of
tainted. Some of the good rooted things that
God had established in me were starting to be
kind of like pulled at and picked at, and things
that at one time I was really firm in my belief
in I was starting to be shaky in. And I was starting
to get lukewarm in areas. It's important that
we are not unequally yoked with believers and
that's definitely important in relationships
romantic relationships, but that goes into business
relationships and Friendships and things like
that. We are to minister to people y 'all Jesus
sat with sinners. He said that it's not The healthy
that need a doctor. It's the sick It is the people
who are caught up in their sin It is the people
who are, you know, the unbelief and all these
things that need ministered to. But you need
to trust God and the boundaries that he is calling
you to set. And you need to obey them. I've seen
firsthand what happens when you don't obey those
boundaries because you want to please, because
you care about how you're being perceived. And
next thing you know, your boundaries are being
moved. Your morals are being corrupted. How can
you minister to someone if you are not even like
kind of a pure space? And I'm not saying perfect.
I'm saying a pure space to pull from. How can
you pour into people if your water is tainted?
And I honestly wasn't able to minister to these
people well until I was not in their daily life
under their daily influence. And I was more someone
that they could call up occasionally. And that
is where I feel we're kind of shifting into right
now is trusting the boundaries that God is calling
you to set and ask him the boundaries that you
need to be setting and understand that they are
different for each person. There are going to
be some people that you're called to minister
to and there are going to be some people that
you're called to pray for and they can see the
way that you respond and all these things but
you're not supposed to be up in their daily life.
And you have to trust God on the reasoning for
that. I was also one of those people that I didn't
want to just take God to work for. I wanted to
know why. And the knowing why will lead you to
do things that you don't need to be doing. It'll
lead you down rabbit holes. It'll lead you to
making assumptions. It'll lead you to false sets
of beliefs. Coming into agreement with things
that you don't need to be coming into agreement
with. Trust in what God has said to you. pray
that he reveals to you why and if he does he
does and if he doesn't accept that he hasn't
for a reason and understand too that maybe he
will just not yet there are some things i didn't
understand why god was calling me to that and
it was like six seven eight months later he he
reveals to me why he called me to walk away from
that person place or thing and i'm like oh gosh
that makes so much sense i wouldn't have understood
it then but i understand it now and we know that
And I believe this is John chapter 16 Is your
John chapter 16 or John chapter 15? Where not
everything is revealed to us at once God so lovingly
will withhold revealing certain things just because
we are not able to like completely handle and
conceptualize everything If we were told the
full plot the full plan, we would probably run
away out of fear And I think back to when I gave
my life to Christ There was a lot like a lot
and a lot of warfare that came with it after
and I and I will be the first to say this I don't
know Like if I in that moment, I was in such
a vulnerable space when I gave my life to Christ
and there's a fire for the Lord if he would have
said You're gonna face this hardship and this
thing and there's gonna be divisions and this
and all this pain and all these things are gonna
come From you obeying me There is a good chance
I may have disobeyed Some of the things he was
calling me to do out of fear My faith wasn't
built in Jesus at that time. I I hadn't seen
him do all these wonderful things that was like
really I was really new in my relationship with
Christ and If I knew I was gonna face because
I had to face some of the things that I dreaded
and feared the most in life And if I would have
known that my obedience to God was gonna lead
me to face these things There's a good chance.
I would have ran away There's a good chance.
I would have tried to Tweet things and do things
in my own way that wouldn't have been God's way
And I know even now there are things that he's
calling me to that I'm not seeing everything
that comes along with them because there's some
things that out of here I may delay and I may
avoid And that's not just for new Christians
as for seasoned Christians as for people who
are elders people who have been Following Christ
for 30 40 50 67 years That they still aren't
getting the full picture Because God knows what
they can and what they can't handle at that time.
He knows what is beneficial and what would no
longer be beneficial That is a loving father
right there to not overwhelm your overload you
with more information Than needed Glory be to
God and you have to be careful when it comes
to that temptation for information I've shared
this in the past y 'all, that was one of the
things that, and this was way before I gave my
life to Christ, I was a tarot card reader and
I was in New Age spirituality and I fell for
the same temptation that Eve fell for in the
garden. You know, she was told, bite into this
fruit and your eyes will be opened, you'll be
like God, you'll be able to discern between good
and evil. That's the big thing with God is he's
able to, he's all -knowing, you'll get knowledge
that you don't have. You'll be able to tell the
difference between things and what really pulled
me into tarot cards when I got into it was I
hated the lack of knowledge I felt like I had
I felt like I was always Done unjustly and I
felt like if I would have been able to just like
ask If this was a good relationship if I would
have been able to just see this person's intention
ahead of time all these things I could have avoided
the situation entirely I could have avoided this
pain and suffering entirely. I could have done
this and gotten ahead I could have done this
I went to it at the root for a sense of control
after feeling like I was being dealt unjustly
for so long and I felt like it was an open door
for me to like I can I can get one up I can get
ahead I can do these things I can avoid pain
and suffering and all these things which isn't
true I actually opened the door for more pain
and suffering because what that is divination
is demonic point blank period it's not of god
and you're opening doors to the devil whether
you believe that you are or not you are You're
coming into agreement with demonic words because
person you're talking to the spirits you're talking
to isn't God It's demonic spirits monitoring
spirits. Of course, they have information. They
monitor you they watch you They don't actually
know your future or anything. So when you come
into agreement with their false prophecies and
their false words their deception You're giving
them legal access To hurt you to oppress you
to do these things in your life they don't actually
know what's going to happen but they want you
to come into agreement to make it much easier
for them to do those things in your life to give
them legal access to you there are multiple different
stories especially in the old testament where
when people are living obedient to god it's it's
hard for the enemy to attack them and get at
them it's when people are living in disobedience
it's when they're giving in to sin giving into
things of flesh like witchcraft like divination
But there is more access for the enemy to have
victory over them the enemy can legally get to
them They don't have that same protection of
God because they have open doors. They have chinks
in their armor And I'm not saying that when you
obey God Like you should just always be protected
there are people who were very very good on their
works But still face suffering as we said in
the beginning this episode God uses that suffering
reduce steadfastness and endurance actually y
'all suffering is a way for us to connect with
jesus christ more he came here and he went through
suffering that he didn't deserve mockery slander
how many times was he was he called a blasphemer
how many times did people say he was lying and
he said he was the son of god how many times
were people painting him out to be who he wasn't
he literally carried on his body the wounds So
when we experience just an ounce of that here
on earth of belittling of suffering of pain on
the behalf of Jesus Christ Meaning when we are
doing things in Jesus name And we are facing
unjust suffering We are actually able to partake
in what Jesus partook in we're actually able
in that moment to experience a closeness with
him We are experiencing what he experienced Consider
it a great joy when you face suffering of all
kinds So I'm gonna be so clear that like your
good works doesn't mean you're never gonna suffer
God will still allow you to face trials and testing
and things like that But I will say that your
refusal to open up demonic doors your refusal
to participate in things that you know are sin
Will give the devil a lot less legal access to
you Will allow you to see God's promises fully
When I was a new age I was so confused why weapons
warming against me appear to be prospering And
once I gave my life to Christ and I was covered
in the blood of Jesus And I started obeying him
and walking in his ways of searching a protection.
I didn't think was possible I realized I didn't
need the evil eye bracelets. I didn't need the
sage. I didn't need the crystals I didn't need
any of that And I was like wow the weapons that
formed against me I'm actively seeing them not
prosper like it's pretty quick I see God actually
flipped the situation around and all these different
things and I really understood it was like I
Looked at well, what's different in my life?
I was like, well I was trusting in Jesus to protect
me instead of these other things The big thing
is is I was surrendering control and I was obeying
God's word. He told me no divination no divination
No witchcraft, no witchcraft. Forgive, I forgave.
Pray for these people, I'm praying for them.
Not to sew magic. It says in Ezekiel, woe to
you who sew those magic bands on your wrists.
Woe to y 'all who are wearing those evil eye
bracelets. Who are wearing those crystal bracelets.
Those enchanted jewelry that you think is for
protection. And you're saying, how could this
be hurtful? It's just protection. You're relying
on something outside of Christ. All you need
is the blood of Jesus. And the fact that you're
unwilling to walk in that means you don't believe
that. It was a big leap of faith for me when
I threw out all my crystals and threw out all
the bracelets and everything like that. But when
I started closing the open doors I had to the
enemy, the protection I saw was unmatched. God
flipping things and using them for my good, it
was unmatched. It was nothing I'd ever seen when
I was in New Age. And I thought I saw some real
things. I realized everything I was seeing in
New Age. and all that was counterfeit. It wasn't
actually from God. The devil can appear to bless
you too. The devil will give you things too.
Remember, he offered to give Jesus everything.
If Jesus would just bow down and submit to him,
Jesus said no. Jesus called scripture back at
him. A lot of the people that we see having,
how many times is it referred to, especially
like in Psalms and Proverbs? where the wicked
appear to be winning like the wicked appear to
be living good lives they appear to be blessed
but the end result that they're going to face
is death it's it's not these things that they're
receiving for doing wicked deeds aren't from
god i want to be so clear the devil only borrows
to give he can't create things but a lot of the
people that you see Who appear to have success
and all these things were doing wicked things
that blessing is it from god? That's encouragement
from the enemy and if you have to send to get
it you're gonna have to send to keep it So before
you're jealous or envious or thinking well, maybe
it would just be easier to do that You recognize
that now they have to continue to live in sin
to keep that they have to continue to live apart
from god to keep that And the devil doesn't just
stop once he has you there. He's gonna push the
boundary further. He's gonna up the ante That's
why you see a lot of people increasing in the
sin lifestyle they live In order to get more
and more and more they go further and further
and further away And all of those people it's
possible most definitely for them to give their
life to christ and come back, but it's hard It's
like you're getting on a train and you're going
for the further away you get it's it is hard
to work your way back It's possible. Jesus will
do it with anybody. I was in New Age for years.
I had left the church for years I was so far
away. I committed so many sins I didn't ever
think I was gonna commit and Jesus brought me
back and is using me here today But I am telling
y 'all That the further away you get it is hard
to get back to work back Because all those things
that now those people have they have to be willing
to let go of Because when you switch sides when
you say I am done serving the kingdom of darkness,
I'm gonna serve the kingdom of heaven You're
gonna have to let go of like everything that
the kingdom of darkness has given me Because
see here's the thing is the devil he doesn't
love you He's not an all -loving father. And
when you try to walk away and give your life
to Christ, he'll start hurting you He'll start
pulling these things away from you to get you
to stay with him Remember when I was trying to
give up tarot card reading and trusting in God
to provide for me Like there was a lot of I'll
just say this there was a lot of meanness I was
getting when I started because I was so used
to handling people like petty When I started
handling people the Jesus way and when I stopped
reading tarot cards and when I stopped doing
those things there were people That the devil
used to use to bless me that would buy readings
from me and all these things and I thought were
cool but all of a sudden like flipped and it
was like a meanness it was like a you owe us
there was guilt there was like all of these things
to try to pull me back when you try to walk away
from the kingdom of darkness he is going to start
trying to pull things to make it uncomfortable
for you to leave to make it scary for you to
leave to say you can't leave your mind But if
you put your faith in Jesus Christ his blood
breaks any and all of that Those demonic agreements
broken. I have seen it happen. I have experienced
it But you also have to think that people grow
accustomed to that they grow accustomed to whatever
fame money wealth that they've gotten from it
whatever things that they desire Being a Christian
is literally like a big thing of following Christ
is denying yourself It's taking up your cross
and following Jesus and that's the opposite of
what the devil the devil gives you whatever your
heart desires He wants to give you over to your
fleshly desires and keep you controlled by that
So when you're used to living that lifestyle
and you turn to Christ like I will be so for
real with y 'all. It's not easy But that is also
an opportunity for your faith in Jesus to grow.
When you choose to despite what the devil's doing,
despite his tactics, despite all of that, continue
to put your faith in Jesus and you see how he
shows up, you see what he does, faith unmatched.
y 'all when I was when I walked away from tarot
card reading when I walked away from all that
when I walked away from smoking and drinking
and I was putting my faith in Christ and I was
waiting on him to move mountains and to move
me back to Indiana and to bring me provision
and to provide food at the time I didn't even
know where I was gonna eat you all understand
that like I was waiting on God to provide me
with food I was waiting on God to provide me
with a phone my phone bill was about to run up
I was willing on God to provide me with like
cat food to feed my cat and if God didn't come
through I wasn't going to be able to take care
of myself. It was while I was waiting on God
to come through. I had so many temptations from
the enemy. Like, there were literally people
coming in that were saying, I'll give you money
right now if you sin. I was offered provision
to sin. I was offered what I thought I was waiting
on God from. I was offered the shortcut. I was
offered the immediate satisfaction. But it required
me to go against God's Word. It required me to
sin it required me to go back to my old ways
There was one person who said you can just do
it right now and you can get right tomorrow You
can do the bad thing one time and then get right
tomorrow You don't have to start today. You can
start tomorrow And then hearing all that I knew
all that went against god's word and that actually
encouraged me to put my faith in god more I remember
thinking to myself if the devil is trying this
hard to get me to go back to my old ways God
is about to come through and he's about to come
through exceedingly and abundantly and guess
what he did and now those experiences although
those were really painful to go through at the
time testimony and i was able to see how god
showed up god showed up i continued to stay rooted
in him and put my faith in him and god showed
up and i remember Someone asked me it was it
was later on and I was definitely a lot more
in on my walk with Christ and they could not
understand Fasting and self -denial and they
looked at me and they said I can't understand
how you can worship God that would deprive yourself
What God would call you to do that and I remember
my response to them just being he showed up every
single other time I Do it because he has shown
me Like it says in hit I remember saying it says
in his word that we are called to deny ourselves
Prayer fasting we are meant to do this we are
called to but I have also seen him move mountains
I have seen him do amazing things in that act
of obedience I Wasn't shaken because I had seen
God move in my times of lack enough and in my
times of denying self enough That doesn't matter
what doubt someone was about to speak at me.
I knew that God can and will use it And they'll
look different every time Y 'all that is what
the seasons of testing will do for you is they
will literally give you a rapport So that way
later on when you're facing a situation able
to look back and be like well God showed up in
all these other times So I know he will It's
a testimony to share with unbelievers Do not
I know the testing and all the trials, the tribulations,
they produce a weariness. But I'm telling you
today to get poured into from God. Get your strength
from God and understand that he will use these
things for your good. Don't get angry at God.
Don't curse God. Don't turn back to the world.
Don't be conformed to the world around you. Lean
into God. If you're in the process, I know people
who are listening to this, there are people who
listen to this podcast are in all different steps
in their walk. There are some people who have
been walking with the Lord for like 20 years
that listen to this podcast where it's like,
they have been through a lot of this. There are
people who are unbelievers who are listening
to this podcast. There are people who are lukewarm
in their faith and feel convicted at some of
the things they say. There are people who are
right now on fire for God and are just, Going
through these steps. There are people right now
who are listening to this podcast are actively
trying to leave the kingdom of darkness and are
being attacked I know that this episode is gonna
minister to people on so many different like
areas in their walk of Christ and I know that
we have like such a great mishmash of People
that listen to this podcast are in all different
spaces in all different steps And if you're that
person that right now is trying to walk away,
you are new in your walk with Christ and the
devil is trying to grab you by the ankle. Stay
rooted in the word. Stay rooted in your faith.
Pray that God gives you a clear mind. Pray that
he gives you an understanding. Use prayer as
your steering wheel and not your spare tire,
meaning the decisions that you're making now.
Use prayer to guide even the small things. The
jobs you're sending an application in for, pray
about it. The scripture you decide to read today,
pray about it. Use prayer to guide you. Before
you make a judgment call on somebody, before
you react in that way, pray on what you're supposed
to be saying. Pray that God reveals the truth
to you. Pray that you respond in a Christ -like
way. And what I mean by spare tires, there's
lots of times where people just do whatever they
want and then they pray, hey, God bless this
decision, bless the situation. Or when things
go wrong is when they turn to God and say, God,
please fix this. God, please help me. God, please
get me out. Prayer cannot be your spare tire.
Prayer needs to be your guidance. God says literally
in the Our Father prayer. Give us this day our
daily bread. We were supposed to go to him daily
for guidance It's not daily for like hey God
fix all this. I messed up doing on my own Yes,
we are to repent but you should be going through
your guidance and instruction That is how I got
to this point y 'all is by praying every day
that God guides my steps and softens my heart
and changes my heart There is a humbling that
needs to happen of recognizing that what you
think is right Isn't what God calls right? What
you think is good isn't what God says is good
And when you are able to shut down Okay, even
though I feel this way God I want you to change
my heart I've always said that one of the best
prayers I've ever prayed and I prayed it every
day to God is God take desires out of my heart
take beliefs take things that are in my heart
right now that are wicked and not from you remove
them and Replace them with desires that align
with your will Replace them with beliefs that
align with What you say is good. I prayed that
God changed my heart and some things it was like
I just kind of all of a sudden like had different
perspectives then there are other things where
it was through reading the word my perspective
was changed and there are other things through
I had to face trials and Situations that changed
my view and change my outlook. I had to be open
to listening to other people. I had to be open
to being wrong We live in a society we live in
a world that doesn't want to hear that they're
wrong That wants to explain away and defend away
every choice and action. They're making that
is told that your truth is your truth They're
people who claim I hold myself accountable and
I'll admit when I'm wrong But then you hold up
the Word of God and they say well, what about
this or what about this God's Word is truth Jesus
is the way the truth of life and Jesus is the
word made flesh So if what you're saying is right
and good goes against What God says is right
and good in scripture. There's a humbling that
needs to happen there, speaking from experience.
My beliefs and how I live my life is based off
of God's word, not off of my desires and what
I want and what I feel because the heart is deceptive
and feelings are fleeting. And a couple years
ago, I would have said that was really ignorant
and I would have laughed at someone saying that.
I would have said like, oh, Christian nationalism
or whatever. But I have seen the difference in
my life. I have seen The love of Jesus I have
seen how Jesus can move when I am living obedient
to God's Word God didn't just give us the Bible
for funsies He gave us the living breathing Word
of God to live by so that way we may be able
to live more Christlike so that way we may know
how to close doors to the devil so that way when
we are confronted In this world with the works
of wickedness and the kingdom of darkness we're
able to discern it and we know how to move accordingly
To ignore it is folly and ignorance And you'll
experience it I've shared with y 'all I experienced
what it was like to deal with warfare and pain
and suffering and all that when I had blatant
open doors to the devil And then when I listened
to God's Word, I was closing those doors and
wow The difference I saw in my life. I'm not
saying it was perfect. I'm not saying it was
a cakewalk. But there was a justice I hadn't
seen before. There was a protection I hadn't
seen before. There was a peace that surpassed
all understanding I hadn't experienced before.
There was an ability to trust in God and keep
it pushing and keep it moving. I hadn't experienced
before. And to the person who's listening to
this today saying, yeah, yeah, I tried the Jesus
way, did you? Did you really? The person saying,
yeah, yeah, I tried surrendering to Christ. I've
tried living a life to surrender to Christ. I
grew up in church, I did this, I did that. Did
you really though? I'm speaking from experience
and I'm saying this from a place of love. If
you are actively denying the flesh, seeking first
Christ, seeking first the kingdom, if you are
actively praying, Humbling your heart like softening
your heart. You can you are truly encountering
Jesus You can know a lot about Jesus. You can
memorize scripture You can go to church all the
time and not know Jesus. You cannot know Jesus
and not be changed. I Was one of those people
that said I tried church. I tried the Jesus way.
I was confirmed I did baptism. I did all these
things. I went to church every Sunday. I did
all that You know, I I prayed sometimes I did
these things But when I look back at how I lived
my life, I wasn't denying the flesh. I was partying
every weekend. I was fornicating. I was gossiping.
I was slandering. I was giving into fear and
opportunities when I should deny myself as denying
myself. I wasn't looking. I wasn't trying to
live according to God's Word. I was trying to
mold my I was trying to mold God's Word to my
lifestyle. I was looking at what scriptures fit
what I already believe. How can I twist the scripture
to mold into this? I wasn't forming, I wasn't
molding myself to God's Word, I wasn't submitting
myself to God, I was expecting God's Word to
submit to me. And you could see it through my
works. Going into witchcraft, going into divination,
ornicating, immodesty. Someone needs to hear
that today, immodesty. Showing off your goodies.
the physical but there is also there it's more
than just showing off all those parts of your
body that is a modesty the lustful speaking the
leaning into the sexuality and the sensuality
and all that The making a spectacle of yourself
in that way a modesty isn't just like showing
off all your body Because modesty first starts
internally modesty first starts in your spirit
and then it's like an outward I remember my modesty
journey started with me feeling conviction and
Started with me seeing how my a modesty was actually
negatively impacting me How my immodesty was
actually negatively impacting people's ability
to hear God's word and see God through me They
were so busy looking at my body and looking at
what I was showing off and looking at all that
It kind of negated what I was saying with God's
word And there are a lot of people who will get
offended at me saying this because there are
a lot of people are like it's personal conviction
and it's personal conviction and sure like the
way that you threat is personal some people consider
With their modesty convictions as it's no for
me. I'm no crop tops. I'm a no crop tops I'm
I don't do like the top. I don't do like the
Sleeveless shirts anymore coming from someone
who used to wear the booty shorts the sleeveless
shirts the crop top showing off everything I
didn't care. I don't do leggings that show off
like my butt The bathing suits I'm a one -piece
girly now. I was like the skirts for me. It's
showing the skin and then also like the really
tight fitting where you can trace all the curves
that's where my modesty goes for some people
it's wearing only dresses and only skirts and
like very loose flowing clothing for some people
they'll wear the really tight fitting stuff that's
just not stuff that shows their skin the modesty
the way that you live out modesty looks different
it looks different But modesty in itself is a
conviction that should come in your walk with
grace It should it should if you are walking
with Christ and you feel no type of way about
being lustful being sensual being sexual Throwing
it all out there and this isn't from a judgmental
space. Is Christ really working in your heart?
Are you softening your heart to his word? And
I'll take this a step further Where are you seeking
validation from and what is your identity is
your identity rooted in Christ Jesus? Do you
truly believe that like you were fearfully and
wonderfully made in God's image? Do you believe
that you're like as a valuable and as precious
as Ruby's do you? Does your view of like your
worth and what you bring to the table and everything
Is part of it rooted in the response and the
reaction the looks that you get from other people?
Do you feel like what you have to say about Jesus?
Do you feel like the light of Jesus Christ coming
out of you is enough to catch a man or a woman's
attention? Or do you feel like you also have
to have the goodies out and you have to be appearing
some type of way? Now it is important that we
are well -kept and we're taking care of Keep
up on your hygiene But are you allowing all of
these physical things To play into part of your
worth and what you feel you bring to the table
We know that beauty and charm is fleeting By
reading scripture. It's what you have internally
that matters And I know that there's someone
that's gonna feel convicted hearing this today
And maybe you need to and there's not there's
so many people that And I'm one of those people
that for a long time out of not wanting to offend
people would say well mom It's just a personal
conviction the way that you live out your modesty
is a personal conviction The way that you live
it out But being modest in itself That's following
the Word of God. And if you're not feeling convicted
any type of way about that, that's something
to pray for God to soften your heart on. And
if you are finding yourself only attracted to
those kind of people, you find yourself rejecting
men or women of God and leaning into the lustful,
you need to take that to God. There's some work
that needs to be done there too. And I'm speaking
from experience on that one too y 'all. Remember,
I am going through the sanctification process.
I am learning these things. The things I'm speaking
to you guys on isn't just something I read and
I haven't experienced. I'm speaking to y 'all
with this kind of enthusiasm and authority, but
also love and empathy because I've been there.
I know what it's like to go through it. And if
someone would have told me when I was dealing
with my immodesty, like, oh, you're looking for,
you're looking for attention, or you don't have
your identity in Christ, I would have been like,
you're stupid. I think honestly, I would have
deflected and I would have been like, no, that's
not true. And I would have shut it down. But
once I gave my life to Christ and started listening
to that modesty conviction, and really did some
reflecting and soul searching, I could see actually
how those things were coming out. and my immodesty
and how even though I felt like yeah I know that
I have a lot of good things inside and all that
I was actually relying a lot more on charm and
beauty than I wanted to admit to. charm being
the way that you can flirt in the way that you
can work with your words and the way that you
can maneuver and Being able to do that little
that little smile, you know being called a flirt
Charm is deceptive Beauty is fleeting, but it's
what you have going on internally that lasts
forever And that's what you need to be yoking
yourself to when you're looking for a partner
y 'all Is that man or woman of God who's going
to lead you closer to Christ? And that's not
saying that physical attraction can't be there.
Are they leading you closer to Christ? Are you
feeling pushed more into your calling in a Christ
-like way? Christ -like methods? Is your relationship
with God being strengthened? Being encouraged?
I'm not saying the partner is perfect, but are
they also pursuing first? the kingdom of heaven
there's a difference between living it and saying
it with their mouths there's a difference between
living it and just going to church or showing
up to your bible study with you where are they
leading you to we've focused a lot today on words
words are one thing but sometimes it's the way
someone lives their life And that's what really
points. That's the fruits, right? We talked about
how you live your life and conduct yourself can
point other people closer to Christ. So guess
what? The way people live their lives and conduct
themselves will also tell you what's really in
their heart, what they're really pursuing, what
is really influencing their decisions. Someone
can be going to church and saying they love Jesus,
but they're not being influenced by Jesus. They're
being influenced by the world. They're being
influenced by their flesh. I know it because
I've been through it. Want to just get back to
the root of this message y 'all the way that
you respond matters The way that you live your
life is ministry So if you're choosing to only
if you're only picking and choosing from the
Bible And you're living out some things and you're
putting others to the wayside because they don't
justify your flesh They don't feel good to the
flesh They convict your lifestyle. They convict
you what you want and what you desire You're
not gonna be pointing people closer to Jesus.
You'll end up falling into that category of lukewarm
Christian that pointed people away from the church
and gave them church hurt in all honesty. But
there's also, I want to speak this to you right
now. You can regain your fire for the Lord and
you can live a life obedient to God. You have
to humble your heart and submit yourself to God's
Word. Even if it goes against your flesh. There's
a reason why scripture says many are called but
few are chosen. God calls us all. So there's
a select few that will actually deny their flesh
and live it out. Are you going to be one of those
people? It's not an easy walk. There's a reason
why the wide road, the road to destruction is
wide. It's easy to follow. There's lots of people
walking down. The road that leads to heaven,
the road that leads to eternal life is nearer
and it's not taken by many people comparatively.
Which path are you going to take? Remember there
was like this real lie when I was in New Age
I would hear people say oh the people who left
New Age went to Christianity are weak people
that couldn't take it because in New Age it's
all about like witchcraft and things like that
and About like constantly healing and having
spiritual awakenings. It's all about doing it
on your own, right? And they would claim they're
going to different deities which are just demonic
entities and who could build a better demonic
team basically And New Age and its root like
when you would have people saying things like
that. There was a who's Stronger who's stronger
and when people would go to Christianity and
submit their lives to Christ They would call
those people weak and say they couldn't handle
the walk. They couldn't handle the path. They
couldn't handle this When actually We aren't
meant as beings God's creations to do this alone.
We know that through reading scripture We are
meant to get our strength from him Ephesians
6 putting on the armor of God We aren't meant
to do spiritual warfare alone or with the demonic
we're meant to do it with God and the enemy will
say and do whatever he can to get in your head
and to convince you not to do it with God and
that was one of the Prime ways I saw it work
in New Age is where they would try to shame you
for going to god and say oh well you're just
not strong enough or well you're just not this
like trying to shame you for not relying on your
own strength and not relying on your own control
and going to god which is doing exactly what
you're supposed to do is go to god they they
saw it as a weakness to not rely on your own
understanding the enemy masquerades as an angel
of light and the things that will lead to separation
and sin the enemy will paint as the right way
and the good way and when you leave that behind
and you go to christ he'll try to he'll try to
warp it he'll try to the devil we know from ring
scripture he's the father of lies and he only
comes to lie steal kill destroy and it's crazy
how that that's like one of the real um lies
that we see going around new age when people
leave and go to christianity they're like oh
they just couldn't handle it or they just couldn't
take it But when I tell y 'all, and I've already
said this before, having God fighting for you,
you don't have to worry about whether or not
there's a victory, because Jesus Christ secured
victory on the cross. There was already victory
over darkness and death. When you give your life
to Christ and you let God fight for you, you're
joining the winning team. The devil will try
to convince you otherwise, but... That's why
we put our faith in Jesus. We walk by faith not
by sight So y 'all I think we're gonna close
off this podcast episode today And I pray that
whoever you are listening to us wherever you
are on your walk But there is something that
you've taken out of this today this episode and
that this episode has ministered to you and helped
you and I want to thank you for listening to
this episode and I do ask that you hit subscribe
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share it share it on social media share it with
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to share with and I will see you guys next time.
Have a blessed day.