Hey guys and welcome back to the salt not sweetener
podcast I'm your host Danielle Townsend and I'm
excited to be recording this episode today. It's
a little soon in all honesty I literally just
recorded and Uploaded an episode yesterday. So
there's a good chance that this episode might
not be uploaded for a couple more days I might
give that other podcast episode just a chance
to breathe and a chance for you guys to Listen
to that episode. We'll see where God where God
guides me. Okay, but today's topic This is something
I know is gonna be helpful for you listeners
because it's something that is helpful for me
like literally today This is something I'm not
on the other side speaking and preaching to you
all about this is something that I have been
working through Since I gave my life to Christ
and I'm sure I I will have instances of working
through this throughout my walk with Christ and
that is continuing on your walk with Christ with
that thorn in your side and I am talking about
that thorn that's referred to in 2nd Corinthians
and y 'all the Lord spoke to me about this today
when I was reading some mutual friends deep dive
on the scripture I have a mutual friend that
has been doing a deep dive in on the scripture
and they had a lot of good insight that I was
reading about in one of their posts today and
in reading that the Lord spoke to me something
I feel like he's been trying to get through to
me for the past couple weeks and it just hasn't
been clicking and God used this person's post
to speak to me and I want to share with y 'all
today because I know but this is a word for other
people to receive and an understanding for other
people to receive. It's going to help you in
some way shape or form. Now I want to read a
little bit from 2nd Corinthians in chapter 12
starting in verse 6. For if I want to boast I
wouldn't be a fool because I would be telling
the truth but I will spare you so that no one
can credit me with something beyond what he sees
in me or hears from me. especially because of
the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so
that I would not exult myself, a thorn in the
flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to
torment me, so that I would not exult myself.
Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three
times that it would leave me, but he said to
me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will most
gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses
so that Christ's power may reside in me. So I
take pleasure in weakness, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and difficulties for the sake of
Christ, for when I am weak I am strong." And
something I'm sure you guys can relate to that
immediately caught my eye with the scripture
was having that thorn in your side. Having that
stressor or that hardship or it's like that that
piece of opposition that you're like god life
would be so much easier if i didn't have to deal
with this maybe you've been praying that god
delivers you from that you've been praying god
remove this Maybe you've been trying to rebuke
it. Maybe you've been identifying as your Identifying
it as spiritual warfare and you've been binding
and rebuking and you're like, why isn't this
going anywhere Lord? Like what is going on here?
And if that's you today, I want to tell you like
I relate I relate There have been multiple things
I've prayed to God for deliverance from and I
have seen deliverance I have seen the opposition
fall to the floor, you know scripture says no
weapon not formed against you shall prosper and
I Stepping into the authority that Jesus Christ
has given me and using the name of Jesus That
scripture comes up very often for me. No weapon
formed against me shall prosper and I have seen
weapons fall to the floor But there has been
a common thing that I have been dealing with
for like over a year now that seems to come up
at the most inconvenient times and God has yet
to make this a problem that doesn't appear again
and he has revealed to me that this thing right
now is the thorn in my side That is keeping me
from thinking that I can do it all on my own
That is keeping me from a dangerous space of
pride that is keeping me from a dangerous space
of ego God loves us and Yeah, he wants to see
us delight in him. He wants to see us enjoy life.
He wants to see us enjoy blessings but not at
the expense of our relationship with him, right
because we are supposed to His grace is sufficient.
His strength is enough. As we move throughout
life, we are not meant to be getting our strength
from ourselves. We're not meant to rely on our
own strength, on our own understanding, on our
own resources. We're not supposed to be digging
up wells for ourselves and creating all this
provision for ourselves. We are supposed to be
getting it from the provider, the Heavenly Father,
right? And if life were 100 % easy for us all
the time, if we felt like we didn't need God,
what is our reason to go to God? Let's be so
real right now. When I look back at it, Since
I've given my life to Christ, it was the times
where everything seemed to be really good, no
complications, no anything, life was just enjoyable,
and I felt like I had it all handled and all
under control. When I look back, those were actually
the times when I was speaking to God the least.
Sure, I would throw praise and thanks and say,
thanks God for this, thanks for that. But when
I felt like I had all the resources, when I felt
like I had the understanding, when I felt like
I had everything under control, I went to Him
less for guidance. I wasn't asking God what to
do as much as I was when I didn't know what to
do. I was making pathways for myself. I was taking
action and then praying about it later. I stopped
using prayer as my steering wheel, right? My
guidance. And instead I started using prayer
as my spare tire. Prayer to be that thing to
pray, just later on ask God to bless it. Later
on ask God to fix it. Later on check in with
God. It was in the times when I didn't know what
to do. When I didn't have the provision. When
my own strength was not sufficient. When my own
provision was not sufficient that I was at his
feet That I was willing to submit my will to
him And I have seen God work Miracles when I'm
in that space. I have seen him open up doors.
I could never open for myself I have seen him
move mountains Each time I went to God those
and saw those powerful things I was in a humble
space God had something that I could not create
for myself you know I've talked about this before
in past episodes that there is a rest that comes
with being a follower of Christ when I don't
know what to do when I don't have the resources
when I don't have the When I don't have the strength
I'm able to lay at Jesus's feet and walk away
Go to sleep rest in a storm knowing that he is
making a way and he's working on it There have
been times where I lay it as feet and I wake
up the next day and the solutions there I don't
have to seek it out When you're relying on your
own strength and your own control and your own
understanding and all of these other things There
you don't get that type of rest because it's
all on you There is a peace that comes with giving
it to Jesus. A peace that I could not understand
until I experienced it myself. But I wasn't able
to experience this peace without the stressor,
right? Because in order to feel peace and to
feel relaxed, you have to have a period where
you feel Not at ease where you feel anxious when
you feel stressed when you feel whatever it is
fearful And I believe that this ties in a little
bit today to this morning y 'all I was reading
John chapter 18 and in John chapter 18, this
is where Judas Betrays Jesus right and Judas
and his little squad of people show up to arrest
Jesus And I believe it's a verse for word Jesus
goes out to them knowing what is about to happen
knowing what is about to transpire Jesus knows
he's about to walk into suffering he knows he's
about to be falsely accused arrested go to the
cross all of these things and he still goes out
and meets the situation he still stands up in
response to them when they say we're looking
for Jesus of Nazareth he says I am he He doesn't
run away. He doesn't back down. He doesn't hide
He doesn't try to avoid the suffering that the
father has appointed to him Because it goes on
later on in that chapter and I believe it is
verse 25 Or Peter has just like literally pulled
out he's literally just pulled out his sword
and cut off an ear and Jesus is like dude stop
Do you really think? I'm going to pass on the
cut that the Father has assigned to me. Like
Jesus is saying, I know that the Father has assigned
the suffering to me. I'm not going to bypass
it. Jesus had the authority to walk away. He
had the authority to call down angels and deliver
him from the situation. He had the authority
and the ability to leave completely, but he didn't.
Because the Father's will was more important
than his physical comfort. Right? We know that
Jesus Christ going to the cross, although it
was suffering at that time, there was joy afterwards.
Suffering for goodness. Because what happened
after Jesus Christ went to the cross and resurrected?
It opened up the door for all of us to put our
faith in Jesus and receive forgiveness and enter
the kingdom of heaven. It integrated the Gentiles
into being able to be God's chosen people. It
opened up the door for us. If Jesus would have
said no and would have gone off the plot, the
prophecies wouldn't have been fulfilled. God's
Word would have returned void and we know that
God's Word does not return void. We see it in
the Bible. We see it happen with Jesus Christ
who is perfect. That the Father will assign suffering
when he knows that there's a good outcome. I've
shared my testimony before y 'all of when I gave
my life to Christ. There was a lot of spiritual
warfare and things that happened But there is
also a lot of denying yourself and when I was
trusting in God it looked like I was I was really
thrown into a period of suffering right after
giving my life to Christ and Actually a time
period of leading up to giving my life to Christ
I was taken through a lot of intermittent fasting
where I was going like four or five days where
I wasn't eating anything Just like drinking drinking
liquids like caffeine and water But I wasn't
eating anything and I was going through a time
where there was a lot of lies and there was a
lot of false accusations and people were mocking
me and slandering me and I Just appeared to be
attacked from all sides and I couldn't understand
why God was allowing it to happen when I was
finally Submitting to him and obeying to him.
I was like Shouldn't it get easier? Was where
my brain was was like god. I'm finally doing
what you told me to do I'm finally submitting
to you shouldn't be easier and he had told me
that this I remember so clearly him speaking
to me like This one day will be a testimony You
one day like the joy is not gonna compare to
like all of this that you're going through the
joy is gonna surpass this you're not gonna remember
the pain and All of this, but this has to happen
right now for a reason And I couldn't see the
reason at the time, but later on coming out of
that, I see the deliverance. God used that fasting
to break demonic strongholds. God used that fasting
to break me down. I needed broken down. It put
me in a humble space where I was willing to say
yes to whatever God called me to do. Because
there were some things he was calling me to surrender
and submit to that I wasn't going to do in my
prideful state. But when I finally did it, he
moved the mountains. He did exceedingly and abundantly.
All of those things now are testimonies of God's
goodness, his power of what happens with surrender.
Being put in that space forced me almost to kind
of develop and grow. Uncomfortability oftentimes
leads to growth. You don't grow from staying
in the same comfortable space. Being in uncomfortable
spaces forces you to learn new coping mechanisms.
And being in that space forced me to put my faith
in God. That for that time period was the thorn
in my side that I felt like I couldn't escape
from. And I was praying that God delivered me
from it and He wasn't delivering me from that
suffering until His appointed time. And now it's
a testimony. I've shared testimonies of during
that time I was put in situations of heavy temptation
where people were trying to convince me that
God wasn't going to come through and I should
just sin to get out of my situation I had opportunities
to sin and take the easy way out but I chose
to put my faith in Christ even if that meant
extending my suffering period I had when people
say making a deal with the devil I had the opportunity
to do that when I was deep in fasting My hope
was really kind of running low it was it was
a really it was a day where I It had been leading
up to a point where I wasn't in a good mental
space and there was someone who approached me
That had charming words that started offering
me a lot of ways out Instant money Instant provision
instant things but it would have It would have
required me to sin It would have required me
to go directly against what God had called me
to do. It would have required me to give up territory
that God had just claimed. I would have had to,
what feels like really, give off pieces of my
soul. And in that moment, I decided to put my
faith What God had already spoken over my life
and what God said he would do for me And I understood
that God wouldn't require me to sin to end my
suffering God wouldn't require me to make these
deals and do these things I'm gonna stay rooted
in Christ and put my faith in Christ and you
know what my suffering was Appeared to be extended
it was I think like a week and a half a Week
and a half to close to two weeks that period
continued before God delivered amazing miracles
in my life. Someone needs to hear this today.
If it requires you to sin, it's not from God.
If it requires you to backslide, it's not from
God. God's Word does not turn up void. And oftentimes
before God's Word is fulfilled, you're going
to have a temptation to settle and you're going
to have a temptation to go backwards. And that's
the moment too. That's the defining moment. What
you choose to do is going to tell you how much
faith you have in God. Do you truly believe in
his word? And do you really believe he's gonna
do what he says he's gonna do? And do you truly
believe in doing things the Jesus way? The way
that God is calling you to do it. And if you
do settle, if you do backslide, if you do those
things, I want you to hear today there is redemption.
You can repent, give your life to Jesus. Take
the active steps to do better I want to be so
clear repentance isn't feeling guilty and recognizing
what you did as well repentance is a change of
heart placement when you're actually Repentant
for something you can't continue to defend or
excuse that thing you recognize it's wrong you
recognize it's a sin you recognize it's displeasing
the God and you stop defending it and Instead
you start making the active choices to do better
and live differently There is no condemnation
here i'm someone who many times before i did
it the jesus way chose the easy way out and settled
and god redeemed me it required repentance and
a humble heart and let me tell y 'all that if
i hadn't experienced the suffering i did that
the time felt unjust i wouldn't have been humbled
to the point where i was able to receive the
gospel and accept jesus christ as my lord and
savior so actually all the suffering and the
pain and everything I went through that was meant
to make me lose heart and was meant to make me
lose faith actually increased my faith because
God moved on that. So I'm here to tell y 'all
today and this is the root of the message today
is that thorn in your side that God is allowing
to stay there is being used to bring you closer
to Him. Can be used to bring you closer to him
that that is the wording I want to use here because
you you do have a choice God has given us for
will you do have the choice to choose whether
or not you want to draw near to Christ Or if
you want to throw in the towel and try to do
things your own way Because see with that thorn
in the side that hardship That presents you with
a decision, right? Do you lean on God for his
strength? Do you go to God? Do you allow him
to do the work? Because that thorn in your side
is meant to debilitate you a little bit. It's
meant to kind of... That's your limp, right?
Where you're kind of hindered, where you can't
think you can do it all on your own. So you can
be reminded that you need God. So that way you
don't... Go crazy ego pride arrogance confidence
that thorn in your side is meant to be like your
reminder that you need God But that thorn in
your side if you if you harden your heart and
also be that thing that makes you angry at God
and you turn away from God and There have been
times when the thorn in my side has gotten overwhelming
And I had some angry prayers towards God. I didn't
turn away from God. But there were a couple instances
where it became an anger, where I was like, why?
And I became frustrated and weary and tired.
But by the grace of God, because He is so merciful
and forgiving, He showed me love in that time.
Gave me a new perspective and new way to see
it and I stayed coming him even in my anger and
my confusion I stayed at his feet Whoever you
are listening to stay and you're experiencing
that thorn in your side How you respond to that
thorn does matter And again, I want to be so
clear there is forgiveness there is no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus But when you
do settle and when you do submit and when you
do give that part to Satan and I shared this
in my last episode It takes a while to earn that
territory back once you've given it away And
God will help you do that, but it's not worth
the surrendering. It's not worth the settling.
It really isn't Speaking from experience it isn't
And to get back to this morning where I was meditating
on this word because there was a thorn in my
side that has been on my mind recently and it's
been on my mind like the past year and I'll say
it's a bit of a financial thorn right and I think
that a lot of us a lot of us have to deal with
that I don't know about y 'all but I was someone
who since I was young I was raised to think You
got to get a good job. You have to make sure
that you always have like a really good stream
of income and you have all this financial provision
and that if you're secure financially, everything
else will just fall into place. And that was
like the mentality I was raised with. And that
actually led me astray for a very long time.
For a very long time, I prioritized financial
stability and security over happiness, over my
calling, over like all of these things. And we
know that the heart is deceptive, but God does
want us to be fulfilled. He does want us to delight
in Him. He doesn't want us to be weary all of
our lives and sad and depressed all of our lives.
He does want us to delight. And when I finally
gave my life to Christ, He forced me to prioritize
a life obedient to God Submitting to God and
what he has called me to do over digging wells
and provision and security and all these things
and instead putting my faith in God and trusting
in his ability to provide and make ways and that
was so hard for me and I am not perfect in that
by any means and Hi, I will be the first to admit
I like a lot of other people every day in this
world Have to make opportunity costs have to
make decisions. There are times when I want to
go out and do that thing I want to say yes. I
want to go hang out. I want to go to the event
I want to go to that thing. I have bills to pay
and I have to make that decision of like I'm
not gonna go to that I'm gonna stay home. I gotta
save my money Or when there's that really really
really nice thing that you want and you're like
I can't afford that right now there is a very
good thing that's not that is a lot less expensive
and you know what I'm okay with that I have had
to say no to things that I really wanted that
cost a lot of money or cost money that's out
of my budget and there have been times that God
has in my submitting that and surrendering that
to him blessed me with those things There have
been times when at the store I saw that thing
I really wanted and I was like, that's not a
great financial decision for me to make right
now so I have to put it down. And it's like a
week or two later that very thing pops up and
it's like 90 % off or it's given to me or like
God comes through in those ways. And then there
are other times when I just have to release the
need for that thing and understand that if it's
something I really needed, God would have made
sure I had it. And oftentimes later on I'm able
to see I didn't actually need that thing. And
that has actually been something that has been
a thorn in my side. I've been like, God, I'm
pretty sure like, couldn't I like minister a
lot better if I had no worries about finances?
Like if I today could get on a plane and go to
like Burma or like go, I could go do mission
work. If I just had unlimited money, think about
how many people I could donate to. Think about
how many different places I could go and do mission
work. Lord, if I had all this money in my bank
account, I wouldn't have to worry about going
to work. Instead, I could dedicate all my time
to podcasting and to spreading the gospel and
doing all these things. I've had so many instances
where I'm like, God, if I didn't have to worry
about money, I could go and do this and I could
go and do that and go and do all these things.
And I mean, yeah, that's true I could And I think
I posed this question for myself that a lot of
other people should probably be posing this question,
but would you? I like to think I have a giving
heart But if God blessed me with all that might
today would the first thing I do be like committing
it to mission work and To glorifying other to
glorifying God you're giving to other people
and doing all these other things or would I take
some for myself? when I take some vacations and
do all these things, I'm sure God wants me to
enjoy and delight. But when I think about it,
it's like, why do I really want that provision?
Am I really wanting all of it? Because I'm like,
think about how I can glorify God with it. I'm
sure I would in a lot of ways. I'm sure I would
use that. But let's be so for real right now.
The reason more why I'm seeking that is so I
don't have to deal with the fear or anxiety that's
related to finances anymore I don't have to worry
about opportunity costs. I don't have to worry
about saying no if I wanted I can get it If this
pops up I can go take care of it I can go do
it. It's convenience. It's convenience and a
lack of fear is The real root of why I asked
for that thing And I hope that this is causing
someone else to reflect on this too, because
I'm not saying this in the terms of like, I want
all this money and be like Scrooge and like keep
everything to myself. But I have to be humble
enough to recognize the real reason why I'm asking
for this, right? And of course, yes, I would
be tithing. I tithe now. I do believe I would
be gifting and giving, but is that the sole reason
I'm asking for that? And is that the first thing
I would really do with that? And not saying it
has to be. But it's good to identify why, what
is the root reason of why you're asking God for
that thing and to be delivered? And next, I've
really felt God lead me to what does this thorn
in my side do for me? And when I think about
it, it's like, it prevents me from saying yes
to things I don't need to be saying yes to. Like
this thorn in my side, me having to... Opportunity
costs to say yes or no to certain places. I go
is actually a blessing When I think back to as
we even as I mentioned in the beginning of this
podcast When I was in times of like no stressors
or worries, I went to godless I went to godless
and when I think of each of these times when
I've had to say yes or no to something because
of finances Would always take it to God first
and I'd be like God if I'm supposed to go I'm
gonna need you to financially provide and make
a way for me to go make a way for This and sometimes
he has another times. He doesn't When I think
of what the thorn in my side did for me number
one thing is it keeps me going to God It keeps
me asking him. Is this something I'm meant to
be doing Is this something I'm meant to be partaking
in it keeps me from relying on my own strength
my own understanding my own control Another thing
is it keeps me from being greedy and gluttonous
to be so for real to be so for real Being able
to just buy anything anytime just because you
feel like it just because you want it Even with
self -control that can still get a little much
And there's a gratitude that actually starts
to be lost. And there's a lack of stewardship
over the things that you already have, because
you're so ready to just replace it and get more.
And speaking from experience, I'm someone who
used to chase the dopamine hit in the short -term
fulfillment that came from getting something
new in the store. And that actually, when I look
back, before I gave my life to Christ, that was
something that replaced the fulfillment I would
get from coming to Jesus. That's another thing,
is every time I've had to say no, and stay home
instead of going to that event, I end up reading
my Bible. I end up spending time with God instead.
Or he gives me a fresh revelation. I end up recording
a podcast episode instead, doing something else
instead. That thorn in my side has caused me
to be at his feet. That thorn in my side has
caused me to go to him for guidance and instruction.
That thorn in my side has caused me from being
able to rely on myself and my own control. ensure
that may produce periods of uncomfortability,
of fear, of whatever, but those have also provided
many opportunities for me to testify to God's
ability to make a way out of no way. I have many
testimonies of God bringing financial provision
out of nowhere, of Him paying for something,
of Him orchestrating things where it makes no
sense. And unless I was put in those situations,
I wouldn't have those testimonies. If I would
have had all the money or all the provision,
all the resource to take care of it, there would
have been no need for God's provision in that
situation. His supernatural moves, His hand.
It's when I'm in situations that, well, no one
but God could fix us, that He has showed up and
showed out. Glory be to God. I think this is
going to be a little bit of a shorter episode.
And I just want to speak to whoever you are that
has a thorn in your side. It might not be money.
Maybe it's an illness. Maybe it's an addiction.
Maybe it's a thought process. Maybe it's a specific
habit that you have that's like you keep praying
for deliverance, but keeps creeping up. I challenge
you to reflect on how has God used that to grow
you, to teach you? How has God been using that
to keep you coming to Him? And is there more
you could be doing towards your relationship
with Christ right now? Are you wallowing in sadness
and anger and frustration? Are you misplacing
accountability? Are you just really angry at
the world? Are you... What emotions are coming
up that you should be taking to God? As someone
who, when I was in my early 20s, I was diagnosed
with anxiety, panic disorder, depression, PTSD,
and I had been dealing with that clearly since
I was like 12, 13 years old. I was in counseling
back at that time. They just didn't want to hit
you with diagnosis that young. And I was one
of those people that I just wanted to wallow
in the pain and the hurt and the sadness. And
I wouldn't admit that out loud. I would be one
of those people who would say, I just want to
be happy. I don't want to be angry. I don't want
to be all these things. But there was a part
of me that was rooted in that feeling. And when
things like this would come up instead of like
looking for how can God use it and how can I
see the goodness or anything I want to be angry
and I want to wallow in it and I want other people
to be angry and I want other people to justify
how I was feeling and all these things What emotions
is that thing bringing up out of you that you're
choosing to wallow in and sit in and let Fester
that instead you should be taking to God And
I challenge you to take it to God. I challenge
you to start obeying the Word of God. Not 50%,
not 75%. I challenge you to start looking at
God's Word as truth, point blank period. Jesus
Christ is the way, the truth, the life. We also
see in John chapter 18, when Pilate is talking
to him, Jesus says, I came here to testify to
the truth. and Pilate said what is truth it was
an interesting thing my pastor said this morning
in the sermon is Jesus Christ will give us the
truth because he is the truth right but there
are a lot of people who when they're confronted
with the truth they walk away they don't want
to hear it and I challenge you today to start
looking at Jesus Christ And everything he says,
even though it goes against your feelings, even
though it goes against your emotions, even though
it goes against your fleshly desires to look
at what he says as truth, as absolute truth.
Stop trying to poke holes and trying to question
it and everything like that. Instead, look at
it as absolute truth. And start submitting your
words, start submitting your... your mind starts
submitting your actions to God's Word. If you're
one of those people who you're like, well, God's
Word says no weapons that formed against me shall
prosper. Well, God's Word says this, well, God's
Word says that, and I don't feel like I'm seeing
the full fulfillment of that. Okay, but are you
obeying Christ? Like, be so for real right now.
Are you denying the flesh? We've talked about
this in past episodes, and I feel like this one's
brought up again today. What opened doors? The
devil do you have in your life? God doesn't call
us to flee sin and to flee temptation because
he doesn't want us to have fun. He calls us to
flee because when you partake and participate
in those things, you are giving the devil legal
access to your mind, to your life. You're opening
the door, welcoming him in and allowing him to
take root. And it might feel good in the moment
The thing with sin is it feels good and it looks
good in the moment. It looks like relief It looks
like whatever but it's just chains later on It
looks like freedom until you try to leave there's
a reason why scripture says that the devil masquerades
as an angel of light Charm is deceptive Speaking
from experience I used to wonder and pray to
God like why does it appear like my enemies are
succeeding over me? Why does it appear like they're
winning? You said no weapons of form against
me shall prosper and like I'm trying to be a
good person. I'm following this commandment.
I'm following this commandment. I'm following
this commandment. And then God highlighted to
me all the other open doors of sin I had in my
life. Sexual immorality. That one is spoken about
a lot. The sexually immoral shall not inherit
the kingdom of heaven. the sexually immoral,
fornicating before marriage, sexually immoral
acts. You look at the witches, the diviners,
the people who are putting their faith in zodiacs,
going to tarot card readers, going to astrologers,
reading the zodiac charts, doing all that. That
is an open door for the devil. You're living
in active sin, like willfully. the liars, the
slanderers, the gossippers, that is a sin. That
is an open door for the devil. And it's hard
for our mind to grasp all the way, all the different
ways that the devil is able to move in our life
when we open up the door and let him in. You
wouldn't think that lying, slandering, and gossiping
could affect all these other areas of your life.
Boy, it will. It will. And I'm saying this from
a loving place. How are you gonna be mad that
you feel like God isn't fulfilling His Word when
you aren't holding up your end of the deal, when
you aren't actually believing His Word is truth,
when you are actually submitting your way to
it, when you're blaspheming, some people out
here blaspheming God. When you're holding people
in unforgiveness, how do you expect, and this
is in Scripture, if you forgive others, you will
be forgiven. We have a real big problem in this
generation. I know it's not just our generation
It's gone on for thousands of years and people
who will show themselves grace and mercy and
understanding and saying well Yeah, I lied I
gossiped and I slandered but it was because of
this Well, yeah, I participated in this thing
but was because of this it was because of this
is because of this person or it's because of
that or it's Because of that you show yourself
grace and mercy and make excuses and say well
I have a good heart and good intent I deserve
to be forgiven, but then you won't extend that
to anybody else But then someone else does the
same thing you did and they are point -blank
period of gossip, a slander, a liar, a wicked
person, evil person, they deserve hell. That's
the way a lot of people are looking at it. They
deserve God's wrath. Where you decide they can
only be forgiven if they do these things that
you qualify as like good enough of making amends.
There are a lot of people who refuse to forgive
someone unless they Do these kind of physical
acts whether it be paying money doing this thing
doing that thing taking saying this doing that
They say I'll withhold forgiveness until someone
does that thing. That's the only way I'm gonna
tell you right now. You're only hurting yourself
You deciding to hold someone in forgiveness does
not determine whether or not God forgives them
Someone's covered in the blood of Jesus They're
repenting. They've asked Jesus for forgiveness.
They're receiving forgiveness. They're working
on forgiving other people. Your forgiveness or
lack thereof does not determine whether or not
that person steps into their calling, does not
determine whether or not that person receives
blessing in their life, does not determine whether
or not that person succeeds. Does not determine
whether or not that person enters the kingdom
of heaven all it does is makes you a space of
bitterness You're able to be used by the devil
by the enemy And it's an open door for the devil
to take root and cause more pain pain unnecessary
suffering in your life Influencing your thoughts
your words and your decisions Someone needs to
hear this today Our definition of wickedness
and good isn't the same as God's definition of
wickedness and good. Good is anything that is
from God is Christ -like. That is goodness. Anything
that is not from God, not Christ -like, is wicked.
Our fleshly desires are wicked. When Adam and
Eve ate that fruit in the garden, Sin entered
the world and this was a fallen world We carry
that there are a lot of people who do not I'm
speaking I'm speaking today there's some people
who need to hear this and I I was one of those
people that there are a lot of people who Do
not accept the gospel do not accept Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior. There are a lot of
people who call themselves Christians Who will
quote specific parts of the Bible and then a
lot of other areas of their life look very very
un -Christ like we call those lukewarm christians
being a follower being a christian is not a religion
being a christian is a follower of christ a disciple
of christ and how can you be discipled how can
you follow him if you don't know him how can
you follow him if you don't know him And it says
in John chapter 14 the one Jesus says the one
who believes in me will do the works that I do
I've shared this main times over your works are
a byproduct of your faith Your works do not gain
your entry into heaven But if someone is living
a life their works are very clearly on christ
like They're not living biblically. It's safe
to say jesus christ isn't first in their life
It's safe to say that they are not living a life
Submitted to christ that they don't truly believe
His word to be true because if you believe Jesus
Christ to be the way the truth of life If you
believe what you're reading in the Bible to be
truth You're gonna start submitting yourself
to it and I'm not saying you're gonna be living
perfectly but your life is gonna start changing
and I was someone who grew up in the church.
I grew up in religion Who believed I was Christian
But my life looked very different. I was gossiping.
I was slandering. I was turning up. I was sexually
immoral. I was doing all these things. So it
was clear Jesus didn't have my heart. I fell
away from the church. Stopped attending. Stopped
going. I started poking holes in it. I started
saying, well, you're not a real Christian, or
you're not a real Christian. When I had no idea
what a real Christian meant, because I didn't
really know Christ. Clearly. And the root of
the problem here is I didn't believe that I needed
what Jesus had to offer. What Jesus offers us
is salvation from ourselves. And we have a very
prideful generation. Generations that are walking
this earth right now that don't believe that
Jesus Christ came for them They believe that
Jesus Christ may have came for other people but
not for them. They believe that they're good
enough Which is exactly what Jesus Christ experienced
2 ,000 years ago with the Pharisees right the
Pharisees they were waiting on a Messiah they
were waiting on a Savior But they imagined the
Savior to come in Slaughter the Romans take them
down and elevate the Pharisees. The Pharisees
have been living a workspace lifestyle. I'm a
good person My life looks good. I'm clean on
the outside. I keep all these commandments. I
do all these rules. I'm morally sound It's everybody
else that's the problem And when Jesus Christ
showed up The Savior the Messiah the anointed
one He didn't offer them that instead he offered
them you every single one of you has sinned Every
single one of you is a sinner. What keeps us
out of heaven is our sin Our sin is what prevents
us From going to heaven every single one of us
today is a sinner every single one of us has
committed sin a lot of us live off of like our
own moral code where we compare ourselves to
other people and we're like well since I haven't
killed anybody or since I haven't cheated in
this way or since I haven't done this in this
way I'm a good person compared to that person
and like there are a lot of people and I didn't
even realize I was one of those people doing
it that I was basing my entry off to heaven based
off of my works which goes directly against the
Bible the Bible literally says that works do
not buy your salvation, that we are saved by
grace through our faith in Jesus Christ so that
no one may boast in their works. That is literally
in the Bible. No one is going to be able to go
before God and say, I was nice to these people
and I welcome these groups of people and I made
these people feel loved and I gave this money
and I donated this thing. I helped all these
people. I gave every weekend to help these people
and doing all this. God might say, okay, cool.
That's awesome. But where's your faith in Jesus?
When we go before the Heavenly Father for judgment
day every single one of us will The only thing
that allows us into heaven is our faith in Jesus
Christ because Jesus Christ is literally we know
this if you read your Bible you will know this
That Jesus Christ is there waiting to intercede
on our behalf Where the people who have their
faith in him meaning they believe Jesus Christ
is the Messiah that he was sent from God that
He died and resurrected, that He came back to
life, that if we put our faith in Him, we will
receive the forgiveness of sins, believe that
He is coming back as a victory on the cross.
We actually believe that and have our faith in
that. When we stand before the Heavenly Father,
Jesus is going to step in and say, this one's
covered. Their debt has been paid. It's the ones
who may have called themselves Christians may
do all these good works and all these things
are gonna go before him and He's gonna say depart
from me for I never knew you and they're gonna
say did I not do good works in your name? did
I not like cast out demons in your name and do
all this and Jesus is gonna say depart from me.
I never knew you meaning you didn't actually
have faith in me We didn't actually have a relationship.
You could do all these good things and be a good
person, but that doesn't mean Jack squat. And
this might be a hard reality check for someone
to hear today, but your good works do not matter.
When it comes to forgiveness, you cannot earn
forgiveness. None of us can earn the forgiveness
from Jesus Christ. so you trying to make other
people earn your forgiveness is on Christ like
and A lot of people refuse to accept Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior because they look at
themselves and say I'm a good person Jesus didn't
come for me He came to save all these other people
these other people are sinners That's a reason
why a lot of people take vengeance into their
own hands Why they refuse to give vengeance to
God? That's why a lot of people refuse to put
their faith in Jesus Christ because they don't
view themselves as someone who needs saved from
themselves. They view themselves as victims that
need saved from everybody else around them. A
lot of people only want Jesus as the one who's
going to go and slay their enemies and tear all
these people down and elevate them and make them
look like angels. So when they hear that he's
actually expecting you to take accountability
and repent, I want to say this from the most
loving place if you're someone who is deep in
unforgiveness right now Here are some ways that
you're gonna know That you haven't actually forgiven
a person. Are you quick to slander them still?
Are you still quick to gossip about them? Do
you find yourself trying to degrade them trying
to make them look bad? Like are you going out
of your way? to try to mold and twist the way
that other people view them. If you are, you
are not trusting in God's ability to reveal and
expose what needs to be revealed and exposed.
That is you still trying to get revenge. Are
you still trying to make someone feel some type
of way? Are you going out of your way? Are you
taking steps purposely to try to block or delay
someone to stop good things from happening in
their life? To stop them from achieving things
to stop them from especially stepping into God's
calling News flash if you are trying purposely
to stop someone from stepping into their calling
Stopping someone from growing in closeness with
God or glorifying God. You're not being used
by God. You're being used by the other guy But
if you are going out of your way to stop block
destroy Hinder you have not actually forgiven
that person Forgiving doesn't mean that what
the other person did was okay. Forgiving is forgoing
someone to God is saying I release whatever like
Ownership and authority. I think I have over
this situation. I give vengeance to God Because
you're believing the Bible as the true word of
God where it says a vengeance is God's eye shall
avenge, says the Lord. Vengeance is mine. So
if you believe and God's word is truth, if you
are a follower of Christ, you will follow God's
word. And trust that he is able to deal vengeance
and exposure a lot better than you ever could.
Do you find yourself in the cycle of you keep
trying to get revenge and get a look back and
trying to expose and do all these things and
then you're the one who's hurt? In the end, you're
the one who every time you're like, oh great.
Now I look like the bad person Now I look like
the crazy person. I look like this and I look
now I look like the bat Holy spirit, give me
the words. I'm gonna be so thoughtful with the
way I wordless You find yourself continuously
in that cycle when you're trying to expose you're
trying to do this You're trying to do that. That
is you trying to take God's will into your own
hands and oftentimes speaking from experience
Your view on the situation is warped I Didn't
feel like I did I didn't expect to say this today,
but when I was in New Age spirituality y 'all
I thought I was the good guy I I did not see
what I was doing as wickedness when I was a tarot
card reader I thought because I had good intentions.
I was a good person And when I look back I was
praying against people that were like true Christians
who were glorifying God and everything I was
viewing those people as wicked I was viewing
those people as people trying to block me and
stop me and operate against me and like all of
these things and I was like wondering why why
do they appear to be Succeeding in life. Why
all these things? Why am I the one getting hurt
and all these things and later on I realized
I was literally working against God's people
So of course I was in a cycle of pain and suffering.
No weapon that formed against them shall prosper
and I was the weapon forming. And I didn't realize
that because in New Age spirituality I believed
my intention was all that mattered. Sin aside.
But then once I started obeying the Word of God,
I realized that it doesn't matter why I was in
divination, why I was in witchcraft, why I wasn't
any of that. It's a sin and it's not being used
by God. People can claim that they're talking
to God or... The holy spirit is speaking through
them. It's not true If you believe in the bible
as a true word of god, you will know that god
does not condone divination He doesn't condone
witchcraft. So he's not going to bless that Anything
you get from that is not going to be from god
It's going to be from the enemy and the second
you try to live righteously and do goodly You're
going to realize you're in a trap I did not expect
to like get into this topic today because I know
this is a heavy topic y 'all It felt really light
in the beginning episode But I know someone needs
to hear that today and this is going to be freeing
and releasing for someone if they choose To come
in a humble space That's the thing is this can
be taken two ways This can either be the aha
revelation moment where you take accountability
for your unforgiveness and like anger and frustration
or This can be the moment where you get even
angry or more frustrated and say you don't know
what you're talking about and turn to yourself
and away from God You have those choices Speaking
to you from experience choose Jesus choose Jesus
And maybe you're not someone who's holding someone
unforgiveness but you're someone who's dealing
with people holding you in unforgiveness, or
you're witnessing it going on around you. Pray
for them. Pray for the softening of their heart.
Pray that the gospel is able to pierce their
heart. However God needs to move in their life,
whatever he needs to turn them over to the destruction
of their flesh, whatever he needs to do, pray
that he does it. Because their salvation is a
lot more important than their comfortability.
Believe and this is me pulling out the depths
of my brain. I believe it was Paul Who there
was a group of people who were sexually immoral
and they were refusing to repent Like they were
refusing to see any wrong in what they were doing.
They were refusing to turn away They were doubling
down in their sin defending their sin and He
prayed that they would be turned over to Satan
for the destruction of their flesh. So that way
their soul may be saved meaning he was praying
that They they would see pain from their sin
That like sure you're turning to your sin, but
you were not no longer going to find comfortability
and satisfaction and enjoyment in that sin Turning
you over to Satan meaning turning you over to
turning you over to wickedness allowing wickedness
to have you allowing them to go through suffering
Allowing them to go through hardships for the
destruction of their flesh Which is similar to
what I went through y 'all the destruction of
my flesh Like gave me to a point where I could
no longer rely on myself I no longer want to
find peace in those things where I was humbled
and open to receiving the gospel Humble and open
to hearing that I may be the problem That I may
be needing to do something different that I'm
not just a good person being consistently punished
that maybe there's something else going on here
So that way the soul may be saved Look at what
God did in my life y 'all. He restored me and
now I'm being used to spread the gospel I'm not
saying I'm perfect. I'm being used to spread
the gospel. I'm being used by God now Won't he
do it? Yes, he will Pray for the destruction
of the if someone is unrepentant refusing to
soften their heart Pray that God moves in whatever
way he needs to move in their life because their
soul, their salvation, is more important than
their comfortability. Point blank period. Someone
prayed it for me and I'm happy they did. I might
not have been happy in the period because it
felt like just suffering. I'm happy now seeing
the glory of God. I pray that this episode blesses
you. and that your encountering with the truth
sets you free. Who the Son sets free is free
indeed. And I encourage you today, if you are
looking for a book in the Bible to start reading,
if you're trying to get back into scripture reading,
I encourage you to read the book of John. As
a church, me and my church, we're going through
the book of John right now. It's a 21 -week series.
We're almost finished with it. We're on book
18. And I encourage you to start on the Gospels.
Let's start in John. Read the book of John. And
as you read the Bible, pray that God softens
your heart. Pray that he opens your eyes. Pray
that he gives you a new understanding. Pray that
he gives you a humble heart to receive the gospel.
Pray that you start to see his word as truth.
Pray that he removes the desires from your heart
that are not from him and replaces them with
desires that are from him. Pray that you have
a desire and a fire ignited. for the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. God moves when you pray
from a humble space. When you pray for things
like that, God wants you to know the truth. He
wants the scabs to fall off your eyes. He wants
you to receive salvation. He wants you to receive
healing. So start praying that he works on your
heart. I did and he did wonders with that. Thank
you all so much for listening to this episode.
This was Salt Malt Sweetener, and I'm your host
Danielle Townsend. Have a wonderful day.