Hey guys and welcome back to the salt not sweetener
podcast. I'm your host Danielle Townsend I hope
y 'all are having a wonderful week so far Y 'all
I did not plan to record an episode today If
I'm talking a little soft, honestly, I've been
feeling sick the past couple days. I have a bit
of a sore throat So obviously this like isn't
the most ideal time for me to be Talking and
recording an episode. I really felt the Lord
call me to get on today. So here I am and The
message that I really felt put on me today was
let the Lord use you and I pray that the Holy
Spirit guides me Throughout this episode today.
I believe that's a message That a lot of people
need to hear they're listening to this today
is allow God to Use you And now that's a lot
more easier said than done at times, right? Because
being used by God requires you to put aside your
fleshly wants and desires. Being used by God
being a vessel for God to move through. It's
gonna require you to be okay with being disliked
With being uncomfortable When we look in scripture
seems like every time God was using somebody
There was opposition there were people who didn't
it didn't sit right with them there are people
who didn't receive it well and someone's need
to hear this today that like When you're being
used by God, not everybody is going to receive
you well. That's not the point. Then that's not
the purpose. The purpose isn't to be well loved.
It isn't for every single person to accept the
message with joy and gladness. Because Jesus
already warned us that if the world hated him,
like, it's gonna hate us too. And Jesus came
with the message of salvation. Jesus came and
died on the cross. He resurrected from the dead
all these things and there were still people
who denied him There were still people who didn't
want him. There were still people who were offended
by his message So if you look anything like him,
of course that's gonna happen to you too And
why I mean by looking anything like him is in
the spirit and your actions and your words and
the way that you live your life The one who believes
in him will do the works that he does so when
you start to look more like jesus when you start
to have like biblical foundation for your outlook
on life when you're a willing vessel being used
by God there are people who aren't going to receive
it well but you can't let the fear of how other
people are going to receive you get in the way
and there are a lot of people that God wants
to use that aren't Opening themselves up to be
used in the full capacity because of the fear
of how they are received and I believe I'm speaking
to myself right now to y 'all This is this isn't
me just speaking at you This is something that
I felt the Lord putting on my spirit to you and
I believe it's something all work through in
different stages throughout my life and The Lord
had really kind of started putting this on me
when I was listening to if y 'all know the pastor
Philip Anthony Mitchell and I was listening to
a recent interview and I've heard this testimony
before from him, but not in depth in the way
he shared it But he talked about I believe it
was like 2018 where you know, he went out of
the country he went on a trip and There was a
pride That had been in him like as a pastor There
was a pride and there was a thoughtfulness about
how he was received and it was while he was on
This trip that you know, the Lord spoke to him.
I Believe it was when there was like the singing
and he went and he couldn't understand the language
But he knew that the Lord's presence was there
and when he went there and kind of snuck in someone
spoke to him But he knew were words from the
Lord Holy Spirit led And he said something afterwards
in this interview where he said I gotta preach
the message Whether it fills up a room or clears
it out And that was something that really hit
me in the heart y 'all because I don't know about
y 'all But I have a thing when it comes to like
likes and views on social media that I've wrestled
with in the past because I've had times where
my social media really took off and then Honestly
after giving my life to Christ and having Christ
centered content my social media isn't as well
-received as it was in the past. Actually, when
I was in New Age and I was preaching messages
that weren't Christ -centered, I was - it was
tens of thousands of views on stuff, like likes
at the wazoo, interactions follows, and I mean,
it's - it's not the same with the Christian content.
And I've had times where I'm like, Lord, you're
calling me to post these things. I feel like
you're calling me to put this message out there,
but I'm not seeing the return on it. like i don't
feel like there's all these likes and all this
interaction and everything like that and i felt
convicted so many times where it's not about
the likes and it's not about the interactions
it's not about the comments success is just an
obeying god like i'm successful if i answer god's
call and say yes if he calls me to put this message
out there if he calls me to share this thing
my obedience my obedience and what that obedience
produces is up to god it's not up to me And I
think sometimes we forget that even 10 or 20
likes on a thing on social media is amazing.
We're so used to seeing things that go viral
and go crazy that imagine if you walked up to
a group of people with a message and 10 to 20
people just stood up and applauded you. and said,
I love this message. How encouraging that would
be. I know I'm encouraged when I get like one
compliment, like when someone stops and says,
hey, this is really good or hey, this is really
awesome. And that's like a crazy encouragement
boost. Imagine 10 or 20 people. We're so desensitized
that we forget that even 10 or 20 people saying
this was really helpful or this really helped
me is wild. But even if that 10 or 20 people
Don't speak up don't like don't clap even if
you sat there and said a message and everyone
left the room If you were obedient to God that
is a success and I feel like there's someone
who's needing to hear this today that like And
I know that I've had to deal with this as well
that especially In the society we live in today,
right where everything is cancelable Everyone
wants to cancel someone for saying something
that they're offended by. We live in a world,
like a society today, where we're expected to
dance around, like even possible triggers for
people. And we live in a society that expects
us to water down the gospel to keep other people
comfortable, to water down the truth. Jesus Christ
is the way the truth the life everything that
we read in the Bible is the truth And the things
that the world is doing are contradictory to
that is a lie And we live in a society right
now that when we go out and we speak the truth
we are called hateful We are called judgmental
we are called on accepting we are called to just
conform and tell everybody to do whatever they
want to do to keep themselves comfortable. We
live in a world where literally speaking the
truth is demonized. Did y 'all forget that when
Jesus was walking here, they tried to call him
like a demon. They said he was a glutton and
a drunkard. If they called Jesus that, if they
tried to say that he was casting out demons with
the power of the devil, remember when that happened?
It's like a house divided against itself cannot
stand. If they accuse Jesus of it, of course
they're gonna accuse the followers of Christ
of it. But we live in a society that has been
telling us for years that standing on the truth
of God, preaching the gospel, doing what we love
all these people in the Bible. Paul that was
saying it, John the Baptist that was speaking
truth, Peter. Notice how all these people that
God was using were standing on kingdom business.
We're spreading the gospel, we're preaching the
truth, whether or not it made people uncomfortable.
Every single one of Paul's letters he was writing
was calling out people in their sin. Almost every
single one was a rebuke in some area, but pulling
them closer to Christ. John the Baptist was constantly
rebuking. When you are Being used by God you're
gonna be called to say things and do things that
are gonna make people uncomfortable And if you
have more of a fear of how you're received or
what other people are going to do to you You're
gonna find yourself conforming and watering it
down And that's not in the most loving way I
can say this That's not God's will. God's will
isn't for things to be watered down or made lukewarm,
made more digestible. We're not meant to water
down the word. Someone needs to hear this today
because there are people who water down the gospel,
who will speak lukewarm and say, believe what
you want to believe, do what you want to do,
and hope that it will just keep someone coming
back to church. or maybe they'll get baptized.
And they're like, well, at least if I do it this
way, I'm bringing them to Christ. Are you really
though? Because you're saved through your faith
in Jesus. You're not saved through being baptized.
You're not saved through going to church. You're
not saved through going to small group attendances.
You're not saved through those things. You're
saved through a relationship with Christ. I was
raised going to Sunday school. every sunday i
was baptized i was confirmed i was taken communion
i did all these things and it was until 2024
when i gave my life to christ i looked back and
i was like i was not saved and i felt the lord
reveal that to me too that i would have died
in my sin and gone to hell just because i was
baptized just because i walked i stepped foot
in a church i didn't have a relationship with
jesus i didn't know jesus 2024 was me actually
getting to know jesus And you watering down the
gospel, you watering down the word of God to
get someone to keep coming back or to get someone
to get in the water doesn't mean they're saved.
It doesn't. Watering down the gospel doesn't
do anything but keep you comfortable and maybe
produce results that you want to see. But our
will and God's will are not the same And again
y 'all This is something I have need I've needed
here, too I know I need to be reminded of this
Because the way I'm received comes to mind there
have been things God has called me to do where
I'm like God when I say that or do that People
aren't gonna like it. I Already know how the
world is gonna respond and this makes me think
of Jonah, right? Look at the look at the book
of Jonah. Look at the story of Jonah in the beginning
of the book God gives Jonah something to do a
call to obedience, right? God says I want you
to go and do this thing. I want you to go and
tell them invites That I'm gonna destroy them
because of their sin Jonah was like no and you
know historically the Ninevites were actually
a scary group of people the Ninevites I guess
you know they worshiped like a fish god and they
were known for like human sacrifices and things
like that they they were the group of people
that you're like I don't want to go gaslight
them I don't want to go antagonize them they'll
probably lay me out for going up and saying something
to them they were an intimidating group of people
to talk to number one It wasn't like he was called
to go speak to people who were clearly going
to receive it well. It was like being sent to
the group of people who were probably going to
be right off him. Like, it was scary, number
one, being called to that group. So I'm sure
Jonah was like, really? Like, this group of people,
really? But what he said to God was he was like,
no, I'm not going to do that. We find out throughout
the book of Jonah reading it that Jonah believed
that there was gonna be no point He's like God
I'm gonna I'm gonna show up and preach this message
and I know that you're merciful and I know that
you're graceful You're gonna spare them. So you're
gonna send me there to say this to them and then
you're gonna end up not doing it So no, I'm not
going I already know I already know what the
end result is gonna be so I'm not gonna do it
God called Jonah to an act of obedience and he
said I already know How this is gonna play out
and I don't want I don't want to deal with that
That's a situation not one deal with so I'm just
not gonna do it here And we know Jonah runs off
gets in the boat all that stuff The same people
who are helping him escape God are the same people
who cast him into the ocean when it gets too
rough for them Same people that are helping him
get away from God get away from the calling When
they realize that their lives are at stake because
of his disobedience when they realize God is
angered at him they cast him off into the ocean
to save themselves but god has him swallowed
up by a whale which some people see as like oh
that's so rough like god had him swallowed up
i actually think that's a blessing god protected
him and saved him because number one being cast
out in the middle of the ocean off a boat in
the middle of the storm he probably should have
drowned and died so god allowing him to be swallowed
up by a fish number one that was kind of saving
his life that gave him a safe space to land Also,
he had to sit in that belly for a couple days
and forcibly reflect. If he had gotten right
back on land, he probably would have walked right
back into that disobedience. He was put in a
space where he could not move. He had to sit
and he had to reflect. And after that time of
forced reflection almost, I call it almost, because
he didn't have to reflect. He could have sat
there and stewed and gotten his pride, but he
decided to reflect. He repented was spit out
of that fish and then when he was like, alright
God What now God gave him that same call and
this is this is an emphasis on repentance y 'all
repentance isn't feeling guilty because you can
feel guilty and still go back to doing the same
thing when you're repentant for something you
realize the wrong in it and you do your best
to go in a different way your heart position
changes on it and because Jonah was repentant
Instead of saying no to God this time. He said
yes And in obedience, he did what God was calling
him to do. And he went to the Ninevites. And
what ended up happening? They ended up putting
on sackcloth, mourning, grieving, and God ended
up sparing them. And we see Jonah catches an
attitude. He's like, see, I told you, this is
why I didn't want to come in the first place.
Acting like it's going to be different, but this
is what happened. See, I told you. I cannot tell
y 'all how many times. God has called me to an
act of obedience and I'm like God if I say that
or do that, they're not gonna react well It's
not gonna sit right with them they're not gonna
take this well And I felt God say we'll do it
anyway and then doing it later on I see here's
here's one I'll share with y 'all An instance
of this because I know this is gonna be very
helpful for someone else. There was a time in
my life When Holy Spirit give me the words because
I always like to protect people's privacy there
was a time in my life where I you know as freshly
from giving my life to Christ and I was getting
back up on my feet and The Lord Had someone called
me to someone and that person was just helping
me get reestablished you know, they helped me
while I was saving money and getting back into
the swing of work and everything like that and
just working on really obeying the Lord. And
this person was very helpful. You know, they
were providing some things that I wasn't able
to provide for myself at that time yet. They
were very helpful, right? But this person wasn't
surrendered to Christ and this person wasn't
pursuing a relationship with Christ and they
didn't understand fully The done denying of self,
right? No bang God and they were very more set
on the world ways and this is how you do things
by worldly standards and Setting up security
for themselves and this person Had a very set
Idea of the next steps I should be taking with
my life and by worldly standards They looked
like fine steps. They looked like they made sense,
right? And this person was putting a lot of pressure
on me to take these steps Saying, you know at
first just from a caring place of hey, I love
you And this these are the steps I want you to
take with your life These are things I think
are gonna work out best for you to get to that
next level of security and stability This is
what I want you to do and in taking it back to
the Lord I was like, you know Lord these things
make sense What do you want me to do? Because
I knew that at that point, I had gotten to where
I was due to my obedience to Christ, right? And
the things that I had currently like career in
different things like that were open doors from
God. God had placed me in those places. And I
was like, God, I recognize that what I have right
now are blessings for me. And if I obey this
person's advice, I'm going to be closing the
door on these things. and trying to walk into
something new. And I don't want to leave a space
before you tell me to leave. I don't want to
act prematurely. I don't want to do things on
my own strength. I know that where I'm at right
now, you are using me and there are works being
done and I'm a willing vessel for you where I'm
at. I know that I'm serving you and I'm doing
the things you've called me to do. I know that
you're bringing things out of me, you're producing
things in me. I can see... How maybe this isn't
bringing me all the financial stability in the
world But this is really good for me spiritually
And I know that you're using this So lord, what
do you want me to do? Do you want me to stay
or do you want me to leave? And I felt the lord
tell me like I want you to stay where you're
at I don't want you to move yet And that was
what I needed. I obey god Not man, right? Started
confessing to God whereas like God this person
isn't gonna like this I'm gonna obey you but
there's about to be a lot of pain and suffering
that comes along with this obedience I Don't
think this person's gonna move or budge on this
and I see a lot of pain and suffering coming
my way I think that this person might You know
pull away this provision and these different
things and like what do I do Lord because I'm
not ready on my own to bring all these things
up and I really felt the Lord tell me like Trusting
me. I will provide for you and even if that does
happen Even if trust trust I have provided for
you this far, I'm going to continue to provide
for you. Someone needs to hear this today, Philippians
1 .19, and my God will provide for you everything
you need according to his riches and glory in
Christ Jesus. I'm sorry, I'm just quoting off
the top of my head, but I've had to really meditate
on that scripture. God will provide what you
need. And that was a situation where I'm like,
God, I'm going to obey you, but if I obey you
in this, this person isn't gonna like this, and
things are probably gonna get really rough. It's
not gonna be an easy situation for me to move
through and God said even if that happens You've
got to trust that I will carry you through you
got to trust that I have already planned for
however This person is going to react to your
obedience to me and let me tell you all that
it was It was hard. It was hard because I was
made, you know, this person didn't understand
the obedience I was walking in with Christ and
I have to keep in mind too that this person doesn't
know God is the provider that I do. This person
doesn't fully grasp putting aside your fleshly
desires and like your fleshly headspace and saying
I'm gonna be a willing vessel for God. You know
and I I know that because I had I was in the
same headspace for 20 plus years that this person
was in Where it was provision first taking care
of myself first and doing those things first
So I gave this person grace in that area of they
don't understand what I'm doing and The way that
they view the way I view what I'm doing is I'm
obeying God and trusting in him to provide and
this person has a very different perspective
of what's going on And I have to make peace with
that. I can't shift or change how this person's
gonna view. But I gotta trust that God is calling
me to do this for a reason. And long story short,
that person didn't accept what God was calling
me to do and things did get more tense and more
tension did come up and I could tell that this
person was more... upset with that And their
stance didn't shift in that time and they actually
did pull out the provision I mean the things
that I was like God are they gonna take that
away and God said even if they do Trust they
did And it did put me in a space where I was
a very I had to Really see God of God. What do
I do? Where do I go because this? Could lead
to a real hardship like even my look I had to
move like I had a lot of things had to happen
and um God said like I have a place for you and
he led me to the place and I got to go there
and it was actually kind of uncomfortable at
first because it was out of my normal routine
and it had its own complications right it wasn't
perfect but it wasn't too long after I started
seeing that this in itself was an answered prayer
for me, right? I'll speak to y 'all about what
this obedience did. I know that this testimony
is encouraging someone else and is helping someone
else today, right? Because this obedience wasn't
easy. And the interesting thing is I recognized
that my relationship with that person In the
situation I was in had become a bondage when
it came to my obedience to Christ there are things
God was calling me to do lifestyle changes to
make Actions to take that my current situation
it was like a bondage like where I was in a constant
fear and worry and there were things that God
was calling me to do where I'm like God that's
just not possible for me here and I had been
praying for deliverance I've been praying for
deliverance, whereas like God where I'm at is
keeping me in a people pleasing space. It's keeping
me fearful. It's keeping me anxious. Like you're
calling me to do these things. I'm in a space
where it's like these constant expectations of
the world instead. And I didn't see it at the
time, but God was using this as a deliverance.
That my obedience to God, although in my obedience,
I was what some people might call like kind of
like a cutoff or like a toss aside was my deliverance.
I was no longer bound. The same mental, like,
fears and anxieties and things I was waking up
with every single day in this new space I no
longer was. There were freedoms that all of a
sudden I had in my daily life that I didn't realize
I was missing out on before. Like, very simple,
simple things. like cooking dinner for myself
whenever without like you know feeling anxious
about it or it was we were playing my worship
music and just kind of hanging out and hanging
around and just um coming and going and doing
what god called me especially the volunteering
and the podcast y 'all i started this podcast
um and starting this podcast was an obedience
call the Lord was calling me to for a while,
but my environment was a big reason why I hadn't
stepped into it yet and When I look back, I'm
like, oh my gosh, although that step of obedience
Like I was like God if I take this step of obedience,
it's gonna come with this pain and the suffering
The very thing I was hearing due to my obedience
was the very thing I faced But that facing that
was actually my deliverance I was so fearful
of the conflict that was going to come with my
obedience and I faced that conflict and that
conflict delivered me and the Lord used it and
I want to be so clear that I was uncomfortable
at first because I was like having to get used
to a new environment a new routines and it came
with its own struggles and it came with its own
stressors right but there is an appreciation
for the new found freedom that I had You know
when the Israelites were led to the promised
land, it wasn't like they, after going through
the wilderness and everything, it wasn't like
they could just walk into the promised land.
You realize they had to conquer people, right?
The walls of Jericho had to go down. There were
still battles for the promise. But I pray y 'all
that that testimony, and I don't think I've shared
that testimony on here before or anywhere publicly,
I pray it encourages you, okay? Because sometimes
when God calls us to a step of obedience, all
we see is the conflict or the opposition that
could arise or the hardship and the pain, and
we say no simply because we want to avoid it.
But sometimes that conflict and that pain is
the deliverance, is the answered prayer. And
you've got to trust that if God has taken you
this far, He's gonna continue to be with you.
Okay, he's gonna continue to be with you He didn't
leave you. He didn't get you this far just to
leave you where you are And I believe that someone
needs to hear this say this is up on my board
Psalm 25 verse 3 no one who waits for you will
be disgraced those who act treacherously without
cause will be disgraced and And this is another
one I want to be very thoughtful with the way
I word it, but sometimes your act of obedience
will allow the justice that you have been waiting
on God to deliver to come in. And I want to be
so thoughtful with the way I word this, but when
you are walking in obedience to God, when you
are in right standing with the Lord, when the
Lord is pouring blessing out on your life, it
blesses the people who are around you, right?
Think about Joseph. Even though Joseph was in
bondage when he was in Potiphar's house Potiphar
saw a blessing He was blessed simply because
Abraham was there or simply because Joseph was
there. Sorry I was also thinking about Abraham
and Isaac and it was what I was reading last
night I believe it was Isaac and it was the Amorites
I'm a little fuzzy on this one y 'all, but The
Amorites they they saw the anointing and the
favor that Isaac had on his life and they were
so jealous that they started filling up like
the wells that had been dug and everything with
dirt just like kind of little sabotage attempts
and eventually kicked him out and you know later
and later on the king and the Amorites come around
because they notice the favor that Isaac has
on his life and that God you know has protected
him and they're like make an agreement with us
they're trying to benefit a little bit off of
his favor right where they're like um make make
an agreement with us that we won't hurt you like
that you won't hurt us because we didn't hurt
you we kicked you out you know but like that
was kind of the protection right so like make
an agreement with us we see a pattern in the
bible of people who have favor from God people
around them kind of benefit off of that right
um and this is something i've seen in my life
is the people who are benefiting off your favor
from god when you leave when you obey god i want
to be very clear with that because there are
seasons where god will call you to be around
those people and minister to them but when you
obey god and you leave and you close those doors
you'll see the effect that it has when your favor
kind of like leaves their life right um There
were people in my life that there were a lot
of injustices being done and I was like God I
thought you're the God of justice. I thought
you're the God that like I thought vengeance
is yours and you'll take take them, you know
do what you need to do because Yes, we pray for
justice, but we always pray For people's salvation,
right? That's one thing the Lord has taught me
to do is even people who do me the most dirty
I'm praying for their salvation I'm recognizing,
well, they're doing this wickedness because they
don't have the love of Jesus. So I'm going to
start praying that they know the love of Jesus.
Because number one, they'll stop doing those
wicked things. And number two, they'll see salvation.
That's my purpose here. I want people to be saved.
I want people to turn away from their sinful
ways and seek God. That's my little evangelizing,
right? There were some there were some times
where I'm like God these people they They keep
doing all of these mean things and they keep
doing all these wicked things and it's like they're
allowed to just continue and I Remember there
being a time and the Lord really kind of revealed
to me where he's like well You're in close proximity
with them every day. These people are a part
of your life like If they see destruction and
all this right now, you're gonna get caught up.
And before that happens, there are some doors
that need to be closed. And I remember there
being a time when the Lord told me that, hey,
there's a season of justice coming. And there
are some people who are, God is gonna be working
in their life where it's not gonna be very pretty.
There's gonna be pain and there's gonna be suffering.
And I remember the Lord really instructing me
when I call you to close those doors You need
to in obedience close doors because if you don't
you're going to get caught up in it as well And
I don't intend for you to get caught up in it
But if you refuse to leave if you refuse to close
these doors number one you're going to get caught
up in it and number two the lessons that these
people are going to learn are not going to be
learned and someone needs to hear this today
that There are going to be times when God calls
you to close doors When God calls you to walk
away from relationships, when God calls you to
set boundaries, and when you do, Lord, Holy Spirit,
give me the words with this. I'm going to share
from personal experience, y 'all. There were
doors that the Lord called me to close, and it
was really hard for me, too. And in acts of obedience,
I obeyed God and I closed the doors. his timing
later on I was able to see when I left pain and
suffering started to pick up for these people
like when I left it was like I don't know a way
to explain it other than it's like the favor
left you the protection that they were seeing
from God left you none be clear that these were
people that their faith wasn't in the Lord there
were a lot of open doors Sin going on pride these
different things rejecting the Lord And when
I pulled away and I wasn't constantly pouring
into these people anymore Pain and suffering
picked up and when I look back now, I'm like
God I'm glad you you know kind of pulled me apart
because I would have been there to deal with
that suffering I probably would have started
trying to save the situation and they wouldn't
have learned the lessons That you're trying to
instill in them. There are some people who have
turned to God due to their suffering and I'm
like God I'm glad I wasn't there because they
would have turned to me instead of you Yeah,
I think that's the best way to word is they would
have turned to me instead of turning to the Lord
or I would have started Dealing with the suffering
in this pain when it wasn't a season for me to
deal with it. I would have picked up extra burdens
that I wasn't meant to carry and I know that
there's someone out here who's needing to hear
that today too is like there there may be some
things where it's like this is a lesson that
God is trying to teach and you're kind of stealing
that lesson away from someone when you go in
and you're constantly saving and rescuing and
intervening you gotta let that person learn their
lesson from God just as God loves you and he'll
take care of you he loves them and he'll take
care of them that was something I really had
to tell myself because it was really hard. I
remember when God revealing to me that some of
these people were going to be going through these
seasons and that He was calling me to kind of
leave. And it was really hard for me because
I was like, God, no, I love these people. I don't
want these people to deal with this alone. I
don't want these people to go through this alone.
But the Lord reminded me that just as I'm a child
of God and it was when I was in my lowest point
deep in sin. That Jesus found me or that I opened
up to Jesus I know that it's possible to be knee
-deep in suffering in Years of pride and still
turn to the Lord. The Lord showed me he's like
I did it for you. I can do it for them, too Just
as I am a child of God and he loves me and he'll
use all things for my good Including suffering
that person is his child, too. He loves that
person, too and He'll see he will leave the 99
to find them, too He will restore them to he
will use this pain and suffering for their good
too So instead of like trying to save and rescue
them start praying for them start interceding
for them start praying that their heart is softened
And that was a real trusting God season for me
It takes a lot to trust a person you love with
God to say I'm gonna take my hands out and I'm
gonna trust that God is gonna take care of them
and God is gonna do what he did for me for them
and I'm gonna pray for them And being a willing
vessel for God also looks like obeying when it
comes to taking your hands away. A lot of times
we think being a willing vessel is just, you
know, when God says, preach this message, speak
this thing, do this thing. And that is being
a willing vessel for God. But being a willing
vessel for God also looks like taking your hands
off. Knowing when to back up. I pray that this
is helping y 'all today. These are these are
testimonies. I don't think I've shared on the
podcast at all I don't think I've shared on social
media at all and these were actually kind of
hard ones for me to share it y 'all a lot of
the testimonies I share I'm like You know, I've
moved through it It's I'm able to talk about
it easily. These are ones that are kind of like
hard for me to talk about there's still emotion
with some of them, you know, but I'm sharing
it to glorify God and in hopes that it's going
to encourage someone else today. I pray that
my sharing this testimony encourages you to share
testimony, encourages you to step out in obedience,
encourages you to trust God and have faith in
a way that you may not have had so far. And someone
needs to hear this today and I know I've needed
to hear it too so many times is that sharing
testimony actually like breaks off the bondage
that it's had on you, right? A lot of the things
I willingly share with y 'all now today were
things that at one point I was really nervous
and really scared to share. And when I would
feel God calling me to share, like for example,
my sobriety testimonies, I share those very willingly
now, but there was a period in my life when I
was way too fearful. And when God was calling
me to share, I would kind of dance around it
and I wouldn't share it. And it was because I
was scared of how people would perceive me, of
how it could be twisted, of how it could be warped
around. And I realized that it wasn't testimony,
it was a bondage, if I couldn't share it and
glorify God. And in sharing it, it became a testimony
that glorified God and it stopped being a bondage.
And I believe honestly, y 'all, that's what sharing
these testimonies is for me today with y 'all
too. is for a while it's kind of felt like a
form of bondage. It's felt like something I've
kept to myself. And now in sharing it, I do believe
that the Lord is kind of breaking that off of
me. It's becoming more of a freedom than it is
a bondage, you know? And I want you all to remember
that God is your loving Father, and He's going
to provide for you with any steps of obedience
that He calls you to take. But being a willing
vessel for God requires you to be disliked. Requires
you to make other people uncomfortable requires
you to go against what other people expect from
you whether that be your friend your close friends
or your family you know when Jesus and Jesus
had said like He came here and division would
be caused houses would kind of be turned against
each other right like two against three three
against two And two people have their faith in
Christ and three don't three people want to obey
and you don't You're gonna find that especially
if you're kind of breaking things off. I know
for me personally Walking in this level of submission
and obedience and like living life with this
level of fear of the Lord It's kind of a new
thing that I'm kind of starting out in the close
people around me, right? I don't have a lot of
people around me that understand and When you
do that, there is a lot of opposition, right?
I recognize that my situation is very different
than someone who has a community, was raised
in a community of people who fear the Lord, and
have a biblical foundation, and they make decisions
based off of God's word, not their feelings and
opinions. That's not exactly my situation. So
my obedience comes along with opposition of just
having to fight what the world says, and law,
like... Psychology says, you know, I recognize
and I'm not the only person who deals with things
like this, y 'all. If you're someone who is kind
of like paving the path, breaking off generational
sin, generational disobedience to God, there
is opposition that comes along with just the
people close to you don't get it. And saying
yes to God means saying no to people that you
love, and it's hard. But I'll be the first one
to say I have seen God bless my obedience in
ways that are unimaginable. And even if, someone
needs to hear this today, even if that thing
that you're fearing happens due to your obedience,
trust God has already planned for it. And trust
that He's going to take care of you. Amen? Amen.
I pray that this episode blesses you. And y 'all,
if you wanna pray for me, please do. Pray for
me. Like I said, I've been kinda sick, so if
you need anyone to add to your prayer list, y
'all add me to your prayer list. I really don't
like being sick, so please pray for me and that.
And I do ask that y 'all, wherever you are listening
to this podcast, hit subscribe and like. And
comment. I can actually see when you comment,
like here on Spotify, or if you're doing the
reviews on Apple, if you're listening to this
on YouTube, leave a comment, like, subscribe,
share it. Share it with people. It helps get
the podcast out there more. And I will see you
all next time. Have a wonderful day. Bye, guys.