WEBVTT

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Hey guys, and welcome back to the Salt Not Sweetener

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podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Townsend. I

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hope y 'all are having a wonderful week. I apologize

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for the little like extra time in between episodes.

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Y 'all usually I'm very good about like weekly.

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Obviously, it's usually a different day each

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week, but I'm really good about weekly. And the

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day I'm recording this episode is a Thursday.

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And the last time I posted an episode was last

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Tuesday. And I don't intend on posting this until

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Saturday. I really do feel like, guys, we're

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going to go, we're going to slowly start easing

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into a every Saturday upload, God willing. If

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he changes it, he changes it. But I feel like

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that's a good time, right? We upload it Saturday.

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You have the opportunity to listen to it over

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the weekend, but you also have the opportunity.

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all throughout the week to listen to an episode.

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I don't know if y 'all are like me, but I like

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to listen to podcast episodes while I get ready

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in the morning. That's more when I listen to

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it. So I figured I would make that available

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for you guys. Now, yesterday I knew, I knew the

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Lord was gonna give me a podcast topic. Because

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I knew he was getting me ready to record. But

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I wasn't sure what it was. And I actually thought

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it was going to be a totally different topic

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than what this is. It may be next week's topic.

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Who knows? Maybe the Holy Spirit will lead me

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to kind of put that in today's episode. But this

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morning in reading scripture. I felt the Lord

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start just pouring out this topic on me. And

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y 'all, how I can tell a topic is from the Lord

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is it's like I get revelation after revelation.

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It's like he reveals something to me. And then

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the next couple hours, it's like my brain cannot

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stop receiving. And that is really kind of how

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the Lord takes me through it. And that's how

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I knew this was the main topic and not the other

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thing. Who knows? That might be next week. But

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today's topic. And this is something that I know

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affects a lot of people, is traditions. Traditions.

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I started thinking on that this morning when

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I was reading Mark chapter 7. And we will, I

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will read the scripture to y 'all wholly, like

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in just a few. And today we are reading from

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my She Reads Truth Study Bible, which is the

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Christian Standard version, Christian Standard

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Bible. And just to give you a little rundown

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of what's happening, the Pharisees, the religious

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leaders, the people who are supposed to be the

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holiest of the holy, the people who are supposed

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to know God, the people who are supposed to be

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guides for other people, see Jesus' disciples

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eating bread with unwashed hands, unclean hands.

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And when they are looking at these disciples,

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they see people not keeping. the same traditions

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that they keep. They're looking at it and they're

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saying, you know, that they wash their hands.

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They do these things to keep themselves clean

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before they eat. But they're not seeing these

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men do it. And they're like, hey, Jesus, why

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aren't you having them do it? Why are we doing

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it, but you don't have them do it? And that is

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when Jesus goes into kind of calling them out

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on their hypocrisy. Just to give you all a little

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rundown, okay? There are two different types

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of traditions I feel like we're really going

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to be addressing today. And one of these are

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traditions that aren't really religious. Maybe

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these are like your heritage. This is something

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that you've always done in your family or in

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your culture. We're going to be addressing traditions

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like that. Traditions that aren't religious,

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but they go against God's word. And we're also

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going to be talking about traditions that most

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of the time you'll find in religion that contradict

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God's word or use God's word to make room for

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these traditions. Meaning these are traditions

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that are passed off as God's word, as God's law,

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when they're not really God's word or God's law.

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And I really encourage you all today, as you

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listen to this, to have an open mind. to have

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an open heart, and to be open to evaluating and

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reflecting on the traditions that you are participating

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in right now, whether that be heritage, family

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stuff, whether that be from your church, your

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religious background. And I want you to reflect

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on them. I want to challenge y 'all, and I'm

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always going to challenge y 'all to read the

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Bible. You need to read the Bible for yourself.

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It is not just for pastors. It is not just for

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priests. It is not just for theologians. This

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is the living, like this, this is the word of

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God that is living and breathing. And I want

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to share with y 'all some scripture. Okay. And

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this is John eight. And this is verses 31 through

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32. Bear with me. I'm quoting off memory. but

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jesus says the one here you know we're not even

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going to try to quote off memory i'm going to

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flip to it right here i have my bible open i

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want y 'all to be able to follow along with me

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pull out your bibles if you have a bible app

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without your bible app okay whatever it is you

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need to do but we're going to john 8 31 and 32.

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And this is a word that I have had to meditate

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on a lot. This is a piece of scripture I've had

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to meditate on a lot. Okay. But it says here,

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we finally hear it. Yes. And then Jesus said

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to the Jews who had believed in him, if you continue

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in my word, you are really my disciples. You

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will know the truth and the truth will set you

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free. I urge you brothers and sisters. Every

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single one of you to read the word, to read the

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Bible consistently. And I'm not talking about

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secondhand Bible reading. I'm not talking. It's

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wonderful that when you go to church or when

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you go to mass or whatever your service is, that

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they read the Bible there. They should. They

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should. But that is not the Bible reading I'm

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talking about. I'm not talking about listening

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to sermons. I'm not talking about me reading

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this. Y 'all listening to me today should not

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count as your Bible reading. Because what you're

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getting from me is you are getting the revelations

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that the Lord poured out on me, the message that

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the Lord guided me to speak today. But if you

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read this scripture for yourself and applied

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it to your life and prayed to God personally

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for understanding, there are a lot of different

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things he may reveal to you and pour out on you.

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And I, I am telling y 'all today that being in

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God's word has caused me to change so many things

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in my life that has led to a closeness that has

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led me seeing the promises of God that has broken

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bondage off me that I didn't realize was bondage.

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And it is, Jesus said it himself. If you, I'm

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going to read this to y 'all again. If you continue

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in my word. You are truly my disciples. If you

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are a disciple of Jesus, get in the word for

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yourself. Someone needs to hear that today. For

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yourself. Your pastor is secondhand information.

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Your priest, the reading at church, that does

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not count as your Bible reading. Think of it

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this way, y 'all. When you are sitting in class,

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take your mind back to middle school. Take your

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mind back to high school. and when you would

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be reading a chapter together as a class the

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teacher would often emphasize on the key points

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that they feel are the most important takeaway

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right what you're getting from the teacher isn't

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wrong information but they know what lesson they

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plan on teaching so they are focusing on the

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key words on the key takeaways there is certain

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information that they're going to emphasize and

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then understanding their own understanding, their

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own memory off of it. You can ask someone for

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a definition of a word, and each might use a

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little bit of a different wording. When you are

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in your church service, when you are listening

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to your priest's or your pastor's message or

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sermon or takeaway, you're listening to theirs.

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just as if you were sitting in a classroom listening

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to the teacher. But you take that textbook and

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you go home and you read it for yourself, there

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are different things that stand out to you. There's

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going to be different things that catch your

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eye. There's going to be different things that

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resonate with you. And it's the same for reading

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your Bible. And I'm telling you today, reading

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the Bible is, there are people who literally

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believe it's just for priests and it's just for

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pastors. And being a disciple is just for like

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certain people. No, it's for everybody. And Jesus

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says that if you, you will know the truth and

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the truth will set you free if you continue in

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his word. When you don't know the word of God,

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it is easy to be deceived. When you don't know

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the word of God, it is easy. to be tricked by

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fear. When you don't know the word of God, it

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is easy to fall into religion. Before you know

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it, you're going to start adopting religious

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practices and like carrying weights and burdens.

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I'm going to share personal testimony with y

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'all today about how that's what I went through.

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Not realizing that you don't have to carry that

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burden. The truth literally set me free. Reading

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my Bible and praying and getting my understanding

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from God literally set me free. from yokes that

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I was not meant to carry. And I may refer back

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to scripture a couple different times, but I

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want you guys to save that scripture in your

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notes. Write it down on your board because that

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scripture literally changed my life. On the days

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I didn't feel like reading my Bible, I picked

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up my Bible. On the days when I said I didn't

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have time to read my Bible, I made time to read

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my Bible. Give God your first fruits. We talked

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about that in the most recent episode. God loves

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a cheerful giver, where I started giving him

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the first roots of my day because I started saying,

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well, I don't have time to pray. Well, I don't

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have time to read my Bible. When I go throughout

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the day, I have all these other things to add

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up. Okay, well, I'll make time. First thing,

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it'll be the first thing I do. You prioritize

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what's important to you. Your bills are important

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to you. You make sure they're paid. That relationship

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is important to you. You make sure you pick up

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the phone. If God is important to you, you're

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going to prioritize him too. Now I want to, we're

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going to start y 'all with just reading Mark,

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that part of Mark 7 that I was reading this morning,

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okay, about traditions. We are going to start

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in, yeah, we'll just start here at the beginning

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of Mark chapter 7. Without your Bibles, if you're

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on your Bible app, follow along with me. It says

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here, the Pharisees and some of the scribes who

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had come from Jerusalem gathered around him.

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They observed that some of his disciples were

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eating bread with unclean, that is, unwashed

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hands. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do

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not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial

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washing, keeping the tradition of the elders.

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I want to pause here, okay? They are doing it

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because the people before them did it. They're

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upkeeping the tradition of the elders. I just

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want to pause here and pose a question to you.

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What are some things that you're doing simply

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because your parents do it too? Or your grandparents

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did it? Is the religion you're in simply because

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it's the one you were raised in? The denomination

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you're in? Is it simply because this is what

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your grandparents did? I just want you to reflect

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on that. How many traditions are you keeping

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in your life right now simply because the people

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before you did it? How many thought processes?

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How many habits are you doing? Not because it's

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something you discovered for yourself. Not because

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it's something the Lord pointed you to specifically.

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But it's because that was what you were raised

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in. That's what you grew up knowing. Write those

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down. Don't be afraid. Write those down. This

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is a notes day. This is a get out your pen and

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paper day. This is a reflection day. I just want

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to pause here for a second. To note that, okay,

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the reason why the Pharisees are doing this is

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because it is the tradition of those who came

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before them. And obviously this tradition came

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from different commands that God had given them

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before. So usually, and we see this a lot in

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religion, we have scripture, we have the word

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of God, we have a command God has given us, and

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people will make up rituals. People will create

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rituals. They'll create religious routines. They'll

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create religious acts, religious rules. in order

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to keep it right for example the sabbath we can

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think about how many times did the pharisees

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get heated about jesus healing on the sabbath

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they were told to have a seventh day for resting

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to rest so the pharisees took the rule of rest

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and they started creating the different guidelines

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of rest of course god did give some you know

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with um when it comes to reaping when it comes

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to the sowing so god had given them some basic

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rules And out of that, they started to create

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real legalistic, ritualistic routines, right?

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So when Jesus was showing up and just healing,

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just saying, hey, your sins are forgiven. When

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Jesus was telling someone to just pick up their

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mat and walk, the Pharisees were losing their

00:14:34.149 --> 00:14:39.049
minds. And they wrote it off as sin, as blasphemy,

00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:42.870
as antichrist -like behavior, like anti -God

00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:47.740
behavior. They took this ritual. practice and

00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:51.639
made it law it was human law it wasn't god's

00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:55.340
law all right i just want y 'all to keep that

00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.179
in mind we're going to continue reading it says

00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:01.960
here when they come from the marketplace they

00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:05.779
do not eat unless they have washed and there

00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:09.179
are many other customs they have received and

00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.629
keep Like the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles,

00:15:12.649 --> 00:15:14.129
and dining couches. So again, we're going to

00:15:14.129 --> 00:15:16.929
identify here. These aren't ritual routines that

00:15:16.929 --> 00:15:19.330
they made up themselves. It's not a thing that

00:15:19.330 --> 00:15:21.950
God revealed to them in their private time with

00:15:21.950 --> 00:15:24.669
them. These are things that they received from

00:15:24.669 --> 00:15:27.190
the people who came before them. That's how traditions

00:15:27.190 --> 00:15:29.429
are created, right? The people before you did

00:15:29.429 --> 00:15:35.740
it. And a lot of us have those. When it comes

00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:38.639
to holidays, how we celebrate the holidays. A

00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:41.679
lot of us have traditions and might not even

00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:45.799
realize that we have traditions. And isn't that

00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:47.639
the thing that makes traditions really hard to

00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.539
let go of too, right? Is the emotional tie to

00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:53.139
it and the nostalgia to it of, well, I used to

00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:55.720
do this with my parents, or I used to do this

00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:57.320
with my grandparents, or I used to do this with

00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.080
my great -grandparents. And it's a way where

00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:01.100
we still feel connected to them. That's a way

00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:04.740
that we can find joy. A lot of people upkeep

00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:08.559
traditions for different reasons, okay? I want

00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:10.120
to pause here and just say, I'm not knocking

00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:13.610
y 'all for keeping traditions. They are traditions

00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:16.690
I have kept for the longest time. A lot of us

00:16:16.690 --> 00:16:18.950
keep traditions for different reasons, whether

00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:22.710
it's a space of fear of what happens if I don't

00:16:22.710 --> 00:16:24.429
keep these traditions? What happens if I break

00:16:24.429 --> 00:16:27.029
these traditions? Or a sense of like empathy,

00:16:27.250 --> 00:16:29.690
emotional tie, right? Like where it's like we

00:16:29.690 --> 00:16:31.230
feel like we're getting fulfillment. We feel

00:16:31.230 --> 00:16:32.870
like we're getting nostalgia. We feel like we're

00:16:32.870 --> 00:16:35.590
getting joy out of it. Each of us keep a tradition

00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:37.210
for a different reason. Maybe that's all you

00:16:37.210 --> 00:16:40.769
know. And you don't want to try to figure something

00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:43.210
else out. I'm just identifying and pointing out

00:16:43.210 --> 00:16:47.289
here that the Pharisees are following these rules

00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:49.429
because this was something that was handed down

00:16:49.429 --> 00:16:53.309
to them. And of course, the root of these practices

00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:59.129
was a God command, right? As we explained, God

00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:01.830
gives commands. And then at times people start

00:17:01.830 --> 00:17:07.980
to intensify. And that was what we saw happening

00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:12.039
with the Pharisees, right? To move on, move forward,

00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.740
it says here, So the Pharisees and the scribes

00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:19.319
asked him, Why don't your disciples live according

00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:22.519
to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating

00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:27.660
bread with ceremonially unclean hands? So the

00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:30.519
Pharisees are asking Jesus, straight up, straightforward,

00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:38.039
why don't they do what we do? And see how the

00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:43.079
Pharisees are like very quick to identify, hey,

00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:50.900
they're unclean, ceremonially unclean. I just

00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:54.359
want to pause here. I know we're kind of reading

00:17:54.359 --> 00:18:00.259
ahead with this thought. But we know from reading

00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:04.329
scripture that the Pharisees. had a bit of a

00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:07.809
holier -than -thou thing going on, right? That's

00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:09.930
why when people who would have no biblical teaching

00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:14.109
or people who didn't spend years learning how

00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:16.710
to be a Pharisee, when the Holy Spirit is poured

00:18:16.710 --> 00:18:19.829
out on them, we see it especially happen like

00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:24.349
after Jesus has died on the cross, resurrected,

00:18:24.490 --> 00:18:28.150
and we see people like Paul going through towns

00:18:28.150 --> 00:18:32.089
where Pharisees are shocked by the wisdom people

00:18:32.089 --> 00:18:35.049
are exuding. that is the holy spirit speaking

00:18:35.049 --> 00:18:40.029
through them right and to really kind of just

00:18:40.029 --> 00:18:43.230
be blunt with it the pharisees tended to have

00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:46.569
a superiority complex of i keep these rituals

00:18:46.569 --> 00:18:51.269
i keep these holy routines i am more righteous

00:18:51.269 --> 00:18:53.789
i am more deserving that is kind of the mindset

00:18:53.789 --> 00:18:55.690
that a lot of pharisees went through so when

00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:57.809
they saw god using and moving through people

00:18:57.809 --> 00:19:02.059
who didn't keep the same religious they did or

00:19:02.059 --> 00:19:04.039
maybe didn't have the same education or things

00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:06.960
like that, they were shocked. They were astounded.

00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.259
They were amazed. And then a lot of times it

00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:12.619
turned into a jealousy or an envy and a wanting

00:19:12.619 --> 00:19:17.720
to take them out. But it's important to note

00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:22.579
that the Pharisees felt like their works elevated

00:19:22.579 --> 00:19:26.019
them. And keep in mind, they were moving off

00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:28.279
of the old covenant when, you know, God said,

00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:30.440
these are the commands you have to keep. And

00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.099
that is why Jesus came to us, right? Is because

00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:35.740
God saw that clearly our works are not cutting

00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:39.039
it. No one is going to be able to be saved by

00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.660
their works. No one. And we'll get into that

00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:46.559
because that is actually in Ephesians 2, 8, where

00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.460
God makes it very, very clear. It's been made

00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:51.740
very, very clear that your works will not save

00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:56.160
you. It is faith alone. It's not faith plus works,

00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.519
and we'll get into that discussion later. It

00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:00.880
is faith alone, so that way no one may boast.

00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:05.099
God had spent a long time seeing. It was clear

00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:09.420
that our works were not going to save us. Because

00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:11.940
people could not keep the commands. They were

00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:15.940
way too hard to keep. The eating, the cleaning,

00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:19.000
the sacrifices, all of it, people could not keep

00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:22.599
up. And the Pharisees were the people who felt

00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:25.039
like they could keep up. They were keeping up

00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.799
enough and they would see all the other people

00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.339
who couldn't keep up and they would condemn those

00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:32.880
people. They would feel holier than thou. So

00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:38.259
Jesus Christ was here because he came to pay

00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:42.680
that debt. That's why we have the new covenant.

00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.799
The new covenant is our faith in Jesus is what

00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:51.519
saves us. Repentance, humbling ourselves before

00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:55.099
the Lord. It doesn't matter how many diets you

00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:57.700
do, how much fasting you do, how much offerings,

00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:01.000
how much any of that, that alone is not going

00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.519
to buy your way into heaven because God saw that

00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:08.099
it could not, it was not feasible. So keep in

00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:10.480
mind, these Pharisees are operating off of like

00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.420
this old covenant mindset, right? Because Jesus

00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:15.960
Christ is here right now with the new covenant,

00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:22.210
okay? And laying it out. It says here, he answered

00:21:22.210 --> 00:21:26.289
them. Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites,

00:21:26.349 --> 00:21:30.269
as it is written. This people honors me with

00:21:30.269 --> 00:21:33.470
their lips, but their heart is from far from

00:21:33.470 --> 00:21:39.049
me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines,

00:21:39.049 --> 00:21:42.529
human commands. So I want to break this down

00:21:42.529 --> 00:21:44.450
a little bit. And this is more the understanding

00:21:44.450 --> 00:21:47.109
I got this morning. And again, guys, I want to

00:21:47.109 --> 00:21:50.180
emphasize this to you. that this is the understanding

00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:53.440
that the Lord has poured out on me. And I am

00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:58.259
also, in reading this scripture, holding it to

00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:00.660
the rest of the Bible that I have read, because

00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:02.960
God does not contradict himself. So I want to

00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:04.799
say it's so important that you read things with

00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:10.500
context. And Holy Spirit, guide me with saying

00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:14.160
this. Help me to word this in a way that people

00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:17.180
are going to have ears to hear. When you read

00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:19.559
the Bible, you need to read the scripture in

00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:22.319
the full context. When you read out of context,

00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.980
you get a lot of misunderstandings. It's also

00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:27.900
important to understand, especially when you're

00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:30.460
reading Paul's letters, who he is speaking to.

00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:35.819
For example, Corinthians. It's really cool. Some

00:22:35.819 --> 00:22:37.779
of the stuff Paul wrote in the letters to the

00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:40.480
Corinthians was really cool. It was really helpful.

00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:44.000
But you also have to keep in mind what the...

00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.420
corinthians were dealing with at the time to

00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:51.259
understand who paul was speaking to for example

00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:54.619
when paul was talking about the lord's supper

00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:57.660
to the corinthians um what's interesting for

00:22:57.660 --> 00:22:59.240
those of y 'all who didn't know i was raised

00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:02.759
roman catholic and we hear um second corinthians

00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:05.180
referred to like every mass when they're preparing

00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:08.180
the eucharist right this is my body given up

00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:16.009
for you but i had never known what Paul was actually

00:23:16.009 --> 00:23:18.769
addressing when he was speaking that, right?

00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:23.670
Because what he was actually doing was the Corinthians

00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.730
had started partaking, and I'm doing in air quotation

00:23:26.730 --> 00:23:30.009
marks, the Lord's Supper. I'm doing the quotation

00:23:30.009 --> 00:23:31.410
marks because they weren't doing it correctly

00:23:31.410 --> 00:23:34.609
at all. The Corinthians before Jesus were pagan.

00:23:35.190 --> 00:23:37.730
They worshiped pagan gods. They were all about

00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:42.460
drinking and lust. greed and gluttony and doing

00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:45.160
whatever they want. Pastor Bobby Chandler for

00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:47.299
Authentic Church recently had a sermon where

00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:49.240
he talked very in depth about them and helped

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:51.700
me get such a better understanding. I do recommend

00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:53.539
you all go listen to him if you get the chance.

00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:55.940
I wish I could remember the name of that sermon,

00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:59.559
but I do believe it was done sometime in January.

00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:01.480
I believe it was sometime in January of this

00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:03.940
year, 2026. So I do recommend go look it up.

00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:07.220
His sermons are on Spotify as well as like YouTube

00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:12.720
and places like that. But they started doing

00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:15.880
a thing, calling it kind of like the Lord's Supper,

00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:19.519
when they wouldn't wait on other people before

00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:22.619
they would start eating and drinking. And they

00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:25.940
weren't very good sharers. They were taking what

00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:27.619
they want, ate what they want, did what they

00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:29.539
want to do. And by the time some people, the

00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:32.660
poor people, got there, the food was gone and

00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:37.069
everyone was drunk. It was like there wasn't

00:24:37.069 --> 00:24:39.230
actually the community. There wasn't actually

00:24:39.230 --> 00:24:43.130
the honoring of Christ. Everything that was supposed

00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:45.410
to be like a reverence about the Lord's Supper

00:24:45.410 --> 00:24:48.829
wasn't there. And it's so funny, like if that

00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:53.230
wasn't, if I had never known that context, I

00:24:53.230 --> 00:24:54.609
would have just taken that and read that as,

00:24:54.670 --> 00:24:56.829
okay, this is like how we're supposed to celebrate

00:24:56.829 --> 00:24:58.690
the Lord's Supper. And now when I read it, I'm

00:24:58.690 --> 00:25:01.819
like. Oh, that was Paul correcting a group of

00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:05.099
people who were doing it for partying and turning

00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:07.539
up and all the wrong reasons. I just want to

00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:08.859
pause here with you all and just tell you, it

00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:11.200
is so important to know the entire context of

00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:16.039
what you're reading. I just want to put that

00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:17.839
out there. Okay, that was one thing I really

00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:20.799
struggled with, especially the past couple years

00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:22.380
after coming to Christ, is like when I would

00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:24.299
go to my church services, before I moved to my

00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:26.759
non -denominational church, I really struggled

00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:32.609
with... how, yes, scripture was read during each

00:25:32.609 --> 00:25:36.450
service, but a lot of it felt like snips. Like

00:25:36.450 --> 00:25:38.450
a lot of it felt like we don't have the full

00:25:38.450 --> 00:25:41.430
context here. We don't have the full understanding

00:25:41.430 --> 00:25:45.470
here, right? And I would walk away and like,

00:25:45.529 --> 00:25:48.069
there were parts where I'd be like, okay, I'm

00:25:48.069 --> 00:25:51.269
able to say I know what I've read. But when I

00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:53.029
walk away, I didn't really feel like I had any

00:25:53.029 --> 00:25:55.170
more of a deeper understanding like I did before,

00:25:55.329 --> 00:25:59.039
right? But anyway, we're going to move on. We're

00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:02.059
going to move forward. We're going to go back

00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.940
to this where it says, this people honors me

00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.759
with their lips, but their heart is far from

00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:10.240
me. And we see that with the Pharisees, right?

00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:13.140
They're honoring God. They're worshiping God,

00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:17.579
but their heart is far from God. Their heart

00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:21.039
is invested in their works. Their heart is invested

00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.460
in their habits and their rituals. It's not with

00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:28.829
God. If it was, they would know Jesus. And if

00:26:28.829 --> 00:26:32.170
y 'all haven't listened to my episode Pray, a

00:26:32.170 --> 00:26:36.369
recent episode, P -R -A -Y spelled out, go listen

00:26:36.369 --> 00:26:38.190
to it because I actually talk about this a little

00:26:38.190 --> 00:26:41.049
bit, y 'all, about how conviction when I was

00:26:41.049 --> 00:26:43.769
growing up in the church didn't hit for me. Conviction

00:26:43.769 --> 00:26:45.690
wasn't really a thing. When someone would say

00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:47.609
God's word goes against this, I'd be like, okay,

00:26:47.650 --> 00:26:51.890
cool, whatever. My heart, and that was because

00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:56.200
my heart was far from God. I said this in a conversation

00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.920
with someone yesterday morning because they sent

00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:00.619
me a Bible verse that was talking about like

00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:04.400
repentance and sin. And they sent me their daily

00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:06.700
Bible verse from their app. And I have a different

00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:08.460
app, but the daily Bible verse that was actually

00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.559
all about knowing God's love. And this person

00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.779
made a comment on the duality of it. And I had

00:27:13.779 --> 00:27:16.740
said, yeah, it's crazy. Like, you know, we can't

00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:20.380
feel conviction for sin and that true desire

00:27:20.380 --> 00:27:24.650
to repent if we don't have a love. for God and

00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:28.829
a reverence for him and his word, right? Because

00:27:28.829 --> 00:27:30.630
you can hear it's wrong all day, but if you don't

00:27:30.630 --> 00:27:32.450
respect the person telling you it's wrong or

00:27:32.450 --> 00:27:35.029
respect their opinion, respect what they have

00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:39.269
to say, you don't care. And honestly, that's

00:27:39.269 --> 00:27:41.410
how it was with me and the Lord for a long time.

00:27:41.970 --> 00:27:44.710
And I did all the religious practices. I was

00:27:44.710 --> 00:27:46.809
baptized. I went to the Sunday schools. I got

00:27:46.809 --> 00:27:50.759
confirmed. I would do the confession. Ash Wednesday,

00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:53.960
I did all of the religious steps, but my heart

00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:56.400
was far from the Lord. I could pray the rosary

00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.779
and still not have a heart that was convicted.

00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:03.259
And that's kind of what we see with these Pharisees

00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:08.500
here, right? It's like they confessed the Lord

00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:12.339
with their mouths. They said they loved the Lord.

00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.140
They wanted to keep his commands. They said they

00:28:14.140 --> 00:28:15.759
wanted to do all these things. They said they

00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.740
loved God. They did things in the name of, they

00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:22.200
were stoning people in the name of God. They

00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.279
were doing all these things, but their hearts

00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:27.559
were far from him. They didn't have a relationship

00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:31.039
with him. They didn't have intimacy with him.

00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:34.640
They didn't truly have a desire to know his will

00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.660
because if they did, they would have recognized

00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:42.420
his son. And that's what Jesus is kind of calling

00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:44.660
out here. And he's actually saying this was prophesied.

00:28:45.130 --> 00:28:47.390
this isn't a surprise we were told about this

00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:50.970
the prophet isaiah prophesied that there are

00:28:50.970 --> 00:28:53.569
people who will honor god with their lips but

00:28:53.569 --> 00:28:55.809
their heart is far from me and he goes on to

00:28:55.809 --> 00:28:59.430
say they worship me in vain all this worship

00:28:59.430 --> 00:29:04.730
that they're doing adds up to nothing God would

00:29:04.730 --> 00:29:07.630
rather have a relationship with you. Jesus would

00:29:07.630 --> 00:29:10.089
rather have a relationship with you than you

00:29:10.089 --> 00:29:12.750
upkeeping all these practices because your works

00:29:12.750 --> 00:29:15.890
do not buy your salvation. If you have never

00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:21.809
read Ephesians 2 .8, go read Ephesians 2 .8 where

00:29:21.809 --> 00:29:24.809
it is made abundantly clear to us that we are

00:29:24.809 --> 00:29:32.029
saved by our faith through the grace so lovingly

00:29:32.029 --> 00:29:36.990
given to us by Jesus. No one, no one will be

00:29:36.990 --> 00:29:39.730
saved by their work so that way no one may boast.

00:29:40.549 --> 00:29:43.529
Your offerings, your church attendance, how many

00:29:43.529 --> 00:29:46.890
times you go to Ash Wednesday, your mission work,

00:29:46.970 --> 00:29:51.089
none of it is going to buy. You are not going

00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:52.829
to be able to go before the Father and say, I

00:29:52.829 --> 00:29:54.470
did A, B, C, D, F, G. He's going to be like,

00:29:54.529 --> 00:29:57.130
okay, but where was your faith? The only thing

00:29:57.130 --> 00:29:59.670
that covers your sin. The thing that keeps us

00:29:59.670 --> 00:30:01.849
out of heaven is our sin. The only thing that

00:30:01.849 --> 00:30:03.750
covers our sin is the blood of Jesus. It's not

00:30:03.750 --> 00:30:08.750
your works. So you can do all these good works.

00:30:08.970 --> 00:30:11.789
You can be a wonderful person. You can make everybody

00:30:11.789 --> 00:30:14.190
feel great about themselves. And this isn't just

00:30:14.190 --> 00:30:15.970
talking about religious works. We're going to

00:30:15.970 --> 00:30:18.710
talk about the being a good person. You can be

00:30:18.710 --> 00:30:20.490
the best person in the world. You can have the

00:30:20.490 --> 00:30:22.930
best intentions. You can have the best all. But

00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:26.349
if your faith isn't in Jesus, all of it goes

00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:30.869
to nothing. It makes me think of Ecclesiastes,

00:30:30.990 --> 00:30:36.250
where Solomon, the richest, wisest king, with

00:30:36.250 --> 00:30:40.789
like 900 wives and concubines, said that everything

00:30:40.789 --> 00:30:46.250
is meaningless. From dust we are created, and

00:30:46.250 --> 00:30:49.369
to dust you will return. Your platform will not

00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:52.309
go with you. Your money will not go with you.

00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:55.349
Your friends will not go with you. Your mom's

00:30:55.349 --> 00:30:58.289
faith, your dad's faith, your grandparents' faith

00:30:58.289 --> 00:31:03.609
will not take the place of your faith. There

00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:05.710
are people who feel like, well, my grandma prayed

00:31:05.710 --> 00:31:08.130
for me or my mom prayed for me or they're praying

00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:09.970
for me or they're rooting for me. They're doing

00:31:09.970 --> 00:31:13.049
this. And they have a relationship with Jesus.

00:31:14.029 --> 00:31:17.369
When you go before the Father, the only thing

00:31:17.369 --> 00:31:19.210
that's going to cover you and allow you into

00:31:19.210 --> 00:31:22.809
heaven. And this is in the Bible too, is your

00:31:22.809 --> 00:31:26.069
faith in Jesus. There are going to be many who

00:31:26.069 --> 00:31:27.950
go before him and say, did I not do good works

00:31:27.950 --> 00:31:30.529
in your name? Did I not cast demons out in your

00:31:30.529 --> 00:31:34.069
name? And he's going to say, depart from me for

00:31:34.069 --> 00:31:36.190
I never knew you. It's about your relationship

00:31:36.190 --> 00:31:40.130
and your faith. And religion and religious works

00:31:40.130 --> 00:31:44.569
without relationship are in vain. It means nothing.

00:31:45.329 --> 00:31:47.970
And the most loving way I can say this, it means

00:31:47.970 --> 00:31:54.180
nothing. In the eyes of the Father. And I want

00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:57.079
to go on where Jesus says, teaching as doctrines,

00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:01.019
human commands. So they are teaching and saying

00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:03.400
these things are doctrine when they are actually

00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:07.799
human commands. The Pharisees are saying this

00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:12.160
is God's law. And Jesus is saying, no, this is

00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:15.619
your interpretation. These are commands that

00:32:15.619 --> 00:32:20.559
you have created. as a way to upkeep God's law.

00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:25.559
God's law is law. Man -made rituals, man -made

00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:29.079
interpretations are not. And it was prophesied,

00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:31.799
Isaiah prophesied, that people were going to

00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:35.819
do this. I want to pause here and say this, y

00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:44.619
'all, because I am usually very, I don't go very

00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:47.240
in -depth or very deep about why I am now non

00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:49.519
-denominational. And I do make it very clear

00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:52.180
that God led me to move to this church I'm at

00:32:52.180 --> 00:32:56.680
now. But I haven't had very in -depth. There

00:32:56.680 --> 00:32:58.759
was one episode I recorded a while back, but

00:32:58.759 --> 00:33:03.319
I didn't keep it up. I was like, no, this isn't

00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:05.180
the way God is calling me to speak about it.

00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:09.240
I want to tell y 'all that in order to become

00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:12.039
non -denominational, I had to leave the religion

00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:15.180
that I was raised in. I tried to go back to Catholicism

00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:19.109
after giving my life to Jesus. I tried to upkeep

00:33:19.109 --> 00:33:23.250
the traditions. And one of the first, before

00:33:23.250 --> 00:33:27.750
God led me away in March, from there to the place

00:33:27.750 --> 00:33:30.410
I'm at now, that has done exceedingly and abundantly

00:33:30.410 --> 00:33:33.950
in my life, glory be to God. But I haven't been

00:33:33.950 --> 00:33:37.450
very open, mostly because I haven't felt God

00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:41.490
calling me to discuss it in depth yet. I wait

00:33:41.490 --> 00:33:44.329
on his timing and his prompting. It actually

00:33:44.329 --> 00:33:48.990
started with a lot of questions. I didn't leave

00:33:48.990 --> 00:33:52.230
the faith, that denomination, simply because

00:33:52.230 --> 00:33:55.710
God guided me to another church. I left that

00:33:55.710 --> 00:33:58.150
church and came to my church I'm at now because

00:33:58.150 --> 00:34:03.009
of God's prompting. But the questions started

00:34:03.009 --> 00:34:07.269
long before then. And some of my first questions

00:34:07.269 --> 00:34:12.630
were when I started reading my Bible more. If

00:34:12.630 --> 00:34:15.369
you remain in the word, you will know the truth.

00:34:15.929 --> 00:34:20.110
And the more I read the Bible and the more I

00:34:20.110 --> 00:34:25.269
knew God's word, the more when I was at church

00:34:25.269 --> 00:34:28.650
services, I started hearing human commands passed

00:34:28.650 --> 00:34:32.090
off as God's word. And it did not sit right with

00:34:32.090 --> 00:34:36.010
me. And I was thinking about it on my way home

00:34:36.010 --> 00:34:38.690
today. And this was the example I felt like the

00:34:38.690 --> 00:34:40.090
Lord was putting on my heart to share with y

00:34:40.090 --> 00:34:41.969
'all. And this was a time when I was going to

00:34:41.969 --> 00:34:44.630
mass every single day, like, or at least as often

00:34:44.630 --> 00:34:47.179
as I could. multiple times it wasn't just Sunday

00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:49.440
I was trying to go like kind of multiple times

00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.800
a week and it was a it was what's considered

00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:56.320
a holy day in the church coming up and it was

00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:59.860
celebrating a person who's not Jesus it was it

00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:02.960
was celebrating Mary and I am already someone

00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:07.320
who I have a reverence I believe we can learn

00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:11.619
a lot from Mary and I have a reverence for her

00:35:11.619 --> 00:35:20.130
I feel like she It was chosen by God. But I had

00:35:20.130 --> 00:35:22.690
never been in a space where I felt like I was

00:35:22.690 --> 00:35:25.909
developing a relationship with her. You know,

00:35:25.949 --> 00:35:29.309
like a prayer. There's never a thing of where

00:35:29.309 --> 00:35:32.409
I prayed to her to pray. Like I tried praying

00:35:32.409 --> 00:35:34.070
the rosary. We've talked about this in prayer

00:35:34.070 --> 00:35:37.210
in that podcast episode, y 'all. And I really

00:35:37.210 --> 00:35:39.409
don't want to get too far off. We'll just say

00:35:39.409 --> 00:35:42.829
this, that I never saw Mary as someone to worship.

00:35:44.149 --> 00:35:46.110
I worshiped the Father and the Father alone.

00:35:46.349 --> 00:35:48.710
And there were some practices that to me got

00:35:48.710 --> 00:35:52.190
borderline into worship that I wasn't participating

00:35:52.190 --> 00:35:56.210
in. And I felt like, well, I can still attend

00:35:56.210 --> 00:35:58.750
and do these things, but not participate to that

00:35:58.750 --> 00:36:01.389
extent. And for those of y 'all who didn't know,

00:36:01.510 --> 00:36:03.269
I went through a time in New Age spirituality

00:36:03.269 --> 00:36:05.309
for a couple of years before fully giving my

00:36:05.309 --> 00:36:07.590
life to Jesus. And in New Age, I was exposed

00:36:07.590 --> 00:36:11.610
to a lot of pagan practices. And to me, some

00:36:11.610 --> 00:36:14.110
of the veneration with Mary and things, It felt

00:36:14.110 --> 00:36:17.070
very borderline pagan, where it was like, God

00:36:17.070 --> 00:36:20.809
gave me convictions to not do this. I can't defend

00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:22.889
doing this. It doesn't feel right in my spirit.

00:36:24.289 --> 00:36:28.769
So there can be reverence without worship, okay?

00:36:28.989 --> 00:36:31.349
And for me, some of those things got into worship.

00:36:31.590 --> 00:36:34.510
That was the line they were crossing into. And

00:36:34.510 --> 00:36:36.469
when I would bring those things up, they'd be

00:36:36.469 --> 00:36:38.949
like, well, no, because God is still at the root

00:36:38.949 --> 00:36:42.559
of it. And I just, I couldn't, I couldn't y 'all.

00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:45.139
Jesus gave me a direct line to pray to him. I'm

00:36:45.139 --> 00:36:47.179
praying to him. Jesus showed me exactly how to

00:36:47.179 --> 00:36:49.320
speak to the father one -on -one. I speak to

00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:53.340
him. My brothers and sisters in Christ here on

00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:56.739
this earth will pray for me. I know not to commune

00:36:56.739 --> 00:37:00.480
with the dead. I'm not praying to people who

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:02.980
are dead. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:06.360
Jesus Christ is living. He's alive. And that

00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:08.480
is what I'll say y 'all. So I already had reservations,

00:37:08.760 --> 00:37:14.909
right? Um, in reading God's word, there were

00:37:14.909 --> 00:37:16.550
things that were coming up for me where I was

00:37:16.550 --> 00:37:19.610
like, my beliefs don't align with this. And I

00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:22.389
remember I was in church on a Sunday and that

00:37:22.389 --> 00:37:25.090
holy day was coming up that week. And I remember

00:37:25.090 --> 00:37:27.750
one of the priests saying this, and this was

00:37:27.750 --> 00:37:29.690
what didn't sit right with me is they were talking

00:37:29.690 --> 00:37:31.610
about that holy day and they were saying, now

00:37:31.610 --> 00:37:34.329
mass attendance is required. They were saying,

00:37:34.429 --> 00:37:37.130
we're offering multiple masses. You have to come

00:37:37.130 --> 00:37:39.090
to one of them. And this is what didn't sit right

00:37:39.090 --> 00:37:41.730
with me. It was when they said, if you do not

00:37:41.730 --> 00:37:46.469
come, that is a willful sin. Because I remember

00:37:46.469 --> 00:37:47.889
being kind of taken back when they were saying

00:37:47.889 --> 00:37:50.190
this. I was like, wait, what? They said, if you

00:37:50.190 --> 00:37:54.630
do not come to this, that is willful sin. You

00:37:54.630 --> 00:37:56.309
will have to go to confession. You will have

00:37:56.309 --> 00:37:58.269
to repent before you are allowed to receive communion.

00:37:58.809 --> 00:38:01.860
And I was like taken back. Because of course

00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:04.300
I know that before you receive communion, before

00:38:04.300 --> 00:38:06.019
you receive the Eucharist, you are supposed to

00:38:06.019 --> 00:38:08.420
search your heart, right? That is a time of prayer

00:38:08.420 --> 00:38:11.800
before to like confess your sins. You are supposed

00:38:11.800 --> 00:38:14.900
to search your heart and allow God to like bring

00:38:14.900 --> 00:38:17.880
things up and reveal things to you. A time of

00:38:17.880 --> 00:38:23.360
contemplation and reflection. We were supposed

00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:27.440
to do that before, right? But what didn't sit

00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:30.980
right with me was I was like this day. That you're

00:38:30.980 --> 00:38:33.659
telling me is mandatory, that I have to be here

00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:37.760
in worship, is not a holy day God gave me in

00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:41.380
the Bible. This is not the Sabbath day. This

00:38:41.380 --> 00:38:48.539
is a day that man has decided is holy. So already,

00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:53.219
I'm kind of like, okay. But then in saying, and

00:38:53.219 --> 00:38:55.000
if you don't get here, I remember the pastor

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:56.380
saying, unless you have a really, really good

00:38:56.380 --> 00:38:58.619
reason. And I was like, okay, that doesn't sound

00:38:58.619 --> 00:39:00.619
like God. That doesn't sound like God's word.

00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:03.900
A really, really good reason. You're excused.

00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:11.559
You're saying, then it's a sin. And I'm sorry,

00:39:11.659 --> 00:39:18.280
but I don't have anything in God's word to corroborate

00:39:18.280 --> 00:39:27.619
that. Worshiping God. Joining my community, having

00:39:27.619 --> 00:39:31.079
reverence for him, yes. But this is a separate

00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:36.519
figure. And my worship doesn't have to look like,

00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:39.380
my worship can look different. And that was the

00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:41.380
first time that that did not sit right with me

00:39:41.380 --> 00:39:43.420
because I was like, this is a man -made, this

00:39:43.420 --> 00:39:47.980
is man -decided holiday. And I'm now being told

00:39:47.980 --> 00:39:55.050
if I don't go, I am in willful sin. And I am

00:39:55.050 --> 00:39:59.570
not allowed to receive communion until I go confess

00:39:59.570 --> 00:40:03.530
to a priest one -on -one. And I want to sidestep

00:40:03.530 --> 00:40:06.170
with y 'all because that actually started opening

00:40:06.170 --> 00:40:08.829
up the question for me about confession. I want

00:40:08.829 --> 00:40:10.929
to just say this immediately. We are to confess

00:40:10.929 --> 00:40:14.349
our sins. We are told in the Bible, confess your

00:40:14.349 --> 00:40:19.349
sins to one another. That's not an if. That's

00:40:19.349 --> 00:40:21.789
not a suggestion. We are to confess our sins

00:40:21.789 --> 00:40:25.559
to one another. And I do. I confess my sins to

00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:28.519
God. I confess my sins to my brothers and sisters

00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:32.679
in Christ. But where in the Bible does it say

00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:38.480
that my confession is only considered like correct,

00:40:38.519 --> 00:40:43.159
is only admissible if it is to a person who has

00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:46.619
gone through certain church teaching and certain

00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:49.440
church instruction? Because that is what sets,

00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:51.199
you know, like priests apart, right? As they

00:40:51.199 --> 00:40:53.389
go through. the learning, they go through the

00:40:53.389 --> 00:40:55.769
instruction, they go through these things, and

00:40:55.769 --> 00:40:59.250
then they get the title. After years, I know

00:40:59.250 --> 00:41:04.389
there's more to it than that. But why is my confession

00:41:04.389 --> 00:41:07.269
to them different to my confession to someone

00:41:07.269 --> 00:41:09.429
who loves Jesus and their faith is in Jesus?

00:41:10.690 --> 00:41:12.869
And it brought me back to, I remember before

00:41:12.869 --> 00:41:15.590
I even came back to Indiana, y 'all. It was a

00:41:15.590 --> 00:41:17.130
couple months when it was just me and the Lord

00:41:17.130 --> 00:41:19.710
in my prayer time and my Bible in my car in California.

00:41:19.710 --> 00:41:22.489
And I repented for new age. I repented for sexual

00:41:22.489 --> 00:41:25.489
immorality. I repented for promiscuity. I repented

00:41:25.489 --> 00:41:29.110
for all of it. And I remember coming back to

00:41:29.110 --> 00:41:32.789
church and trying to go back into Catholicism.

00:41:32.889 --> 00:41:36.989
And I remember, amen, going into the confessional.

00:41:37.090 --> 00:41:39.530
And as I was saying these things out loud to

00:41:39.530 --> 00:41:42.820
the priest, This is literally what is coming

00:41:42.820 --> 00:41:44.960
to my mind in that very moment is why are you

00:41:44.960 --> 00:41:46.960
doing this? You've already confessed it to God

00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:49.460
and you already know you're forgiven. You've

00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:51.420
already confessed it to other people too, not

00:41:51.420 --> 00:41:54.119
only God. You've already talked about this. You've

00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:56.800
already taken it to God. I have already had times

00:41:56.800 --> 00:41:59.960
of crying where I felt the Lord telling me how

00:41:59.960 --> 00:42:02.760
proud he was of me and that I am forgiven and

00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:06.349
that I am a new creation. I was like, God has

00:42:06.349 --> 00:42:08.929
already told me in my prayer time that I am forgiven.

00:42:09.130 --> 00:42:11.570
I have seen the fruits. I have already seen God

00:42:11.570 --> 00:42:14.269
start pouring blessing on me. I've already started

00:42:14.269 --> 00:42:17.510
walking in some promises. And here I am in a

00:42:17.510 --> 00:42:22.349
confessional feeling all of a sudden like none

00:42:22.349 --> 00:42:25.030
of that happened. Well, none of it is admissible

00:42:25.030 --> 00:42:30.170
until I do it this way. The church's way. The

00:42:30.170 --> 00:42:34.070
church's way. And that was a time when God's

00:42:34.070 --> 00:42:39.769
word started being overridden by the church's

00:42:39.769 --> 00:42:43.769
rituals. And I'm just bringing, as we're reading

00:42:43.769 --> 00:42:45.230
through this prayer, Mark, y 'all, I'm bringing

00:42:45.230 --> 00:42:47.829
this up because I'm telling y 'all what started

00:42:47.829 --> 00:42:50.269
arising for me when I started thinking about

00:42:50.269 --> 00:42:53.210
traditions. And this is not a blanket statement

00:42:53.210 --> 00:42:55.230
for anyone else. I know there are a lot of other

00:42:55.230 --> 00:42:57.889
people who listen to this podcast that are different

00:42:57.889 --> 00:43:00.550
denominations and non -denominational. I am just

00:43:00.550 --> 00:43:03.440
telling y 'all. Because there is someone listening

00:43:03.440 --> 00:43:05.940
to this episode today that needs to hear this,

00:43:06.139 --> 00:43:08.059
that this is going to help. And there are probably

00:43:08.059 --> 00:43:09.539
other people listening to this that are not going

00:43:09.539 --> 00:43:11.820
to be happy to hear what I'm saying. They're

00:43:11.820 --> 00:43:15.099
going to be offended. I can't worry about that.

00:43:16.920 --> 00:43:22.219
I'm sharing my experience. But see, the thing

00:43:22.219 --> 00:43:24.199
is, y 'all, is I didn't have these convictions.

00:43:24.300 --> 00:43:28.829
I didn't know. The reason why some of these rituals

00:43:28.829 --> 00:43:30.750
and some of these practices were able to raise

00:43:30.750 --> 00:43:34.070
red flags in my head as like this is being passed

00:43:34.070 --> 00:43:40.469
off as God's law when it's more religious law,

00:43:40.730 --> 00:43:44.289
like ritualistic law, was because I had read

00:43:44.289 --> 00:43:49.480
things in the Bible that contradicted that. Again,

00:43:49.539 --> 00:43:52.059
we're going back. If you remain in my word, you

00:43:52.059 --> 00:43:54.260
will know the truth, is what Jesus says. And

00:43:54.260 --> 00:43:58.699
the truth will set you free. And it's amazing

00:43:58.699 --> 00:44:01.880
how the truth would set you free, how that has

00:44:01.880 --> 00:44:03.480
ingrained so much in my life, because I cannot

00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:06.679
tell y 'all, and this may be a whole other episode

00:44:06.679 --> 00:44:09.380
for another day, the burden and the weight I

00:44:09.380 --> 00:44:11.639
started to carry as I tried to keep up with all

00:44:11.639 --> 00:44:14.909
the religious practices. and religious rules

00:44:14.909 --> 00:44:18.010
and like if I kept them to a tee I was like this

00:44:18.010 --> 00:44:24.730
is not doable and to be like sane it is not and

00:44:24.730 --> 00:44:27.110
like there was a burden and there was a weight

00:44:27.110 --> 00:44:29.010
where I always felt like there was another thing

00:44:29.010 --> 00:44:31.210
to accomplish or this wasn't holy enough or this

00:44:31.210 --> 00:44:34.510
wasn't ceremonial enough or this wasn't oh my

00:44:34.510 --> 00:44:37.550
gosh and then knowing the truth and being able

00:44:37.550 --> 00:44:40.150
to hold it to God's word and then obeying God

00:44:40.150 --> 00:44:43.989
and what he guided me to do I was freed And I

00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:48.869
have seen promises come to fruition. I have seen

00:44:48.869 --> 00:44:51.489
God grow me in ways. I think this is very important

00:44:51.489 --> 00:44:55.710
to note, y 'all, that I started maturing spiritually

00:44:55.710 --> 00:44:57.570
actually very quickly in the first couple months

00:44:57.570 --> 00:44:59.610
I was reading the Bible and just getting in the

00:44:59.610 --> 00:45:01.949
Word and praying to God in California. Like,

00:45:01.949 --> 00:45:05.090
it was crazy. actually the conviction and the

00:45:05.090 --> 00:45:07.989
rate of which my obedience was going. And that

00:45:07.989 --> 00:45:09.969
time when I tried to go back to my old religion,

00:45:10.050 --> 00:45:12.469
my spiritual maturity really started slowing

00:45:12.469 --> 00:45:19.730
down because of the religious rules, the religious

00:45:19.730 --> 00:45:22.210
practices that were being passed off as God's

00:45:22.210 --> 00:45:24.769
law created such like a weight I was carrying.

00:45:24.829 --> 00:45:27.150
It was like before I was able to run and just

00:45:27.150 --> 00:45:30.989
run after Jesus. And when I got into this religion,

00:45:31.739 --> 00:45:33.280
It was like these weights were being put on me

00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:35.920
that really slowed me down. My maturing slowed

00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:39.159
down. My desire for ministry slowed down. The

00:45:39.159 --> 00:45:43.159
optimism I once had started slowing down. The

00:45:43.159 --> 00:45:44.920
rate at which I believed God could move in my

00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:47.820
life started slowing down. My spiritual maturity

00:45:47.820 --> 00:45:51.139
started slowing down. It was crazy. I started

00:45:51.139 --> 00:45:54.199
to put aside my reading and my relationship and

00:45:54.199 --> 00:45:57.179
rely on my priest's reading and relationship.

00:45:58.409 --> 00:46:00.730
I started to forget everything that God promised

00:46:00.730 --> 00:46:02.989
me and thinking, well, I'm a woman. All I can

00:46:02.989 --> 00:46:07.389
do now is be a nun or be a mom. God can't use

00:46:07.389 --> 00:46:09.429
me in ministry like that. I can't be a priest.

00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:11.889
God can't use me in ministry. I'm not saying

00:46:11.889 --> 00:46:14.690
that's what I'm called to. I'm just saying that,

00:46:14.730 --> 00:46:17.630
like, God gave me desires for ministry that once

00:46:17.630 --> 00:46:21.190
I started getting in the church, like, that wasn't

00:46:21.190 --> 00:46:25.110
exactly poured into. I guess is the best way

00:46:25.110 --> 00:46:28.030
I can say it. Wasn't exactly poured into. And

00:46:28.030 --> 00:46:34.510
there were a lot of human -made, man -made rules

00:46:34.510 --> 00:46:36.809
and regulations that God had already told me,

00:46:36.829 --> 00:46:38.550
I'm going to qualify you in the ways you need

00:46:38.550 --> 00:46:42.050
to qualify. God doesn't call the qualified, he

00:46:42.050 --> 00:46:46.170
qualifies the called. And what I can say is being

00:46:46.170 --> 00:46:48.469
in that put so much weight on me where I was

00:46:48.469 --> 00:46:54.179
so drastically slowed down. And it's not a coincidence

00:46:54.179 --> 00:46:56.599
how when I followed God's obedience to break

00:46:56.599 --> 00:47:00.199
off these traditions and went to a new space

00:47:00.199 --> 00:47:05.659
and started receiving spiritual food, that it

00:47:05.659 --> 00:47:08.880
started picking up again. My spiritual maturity,

00:47:09.039 --> 00:47:12.559
my growth, amen. I have seen the fruits of it.

00:47:13.300 --> 00:47:18.219
I have seen the fruits. And a lot of these testimonies

00:47:18.219 --> 00:47:20.360
I share with y 'all, Like this one I'm sharing

00:47:20.360 --> 00:47:22.980
today. And I have people that will still like

00:47:22.980 --> 00:47:24.719
later on try to sway my mind. I can't tell you

00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.480
how many people still try to convert me back

00:47:26.480 --> 00:47:30.780
to Catholicism. It's more frequent than you'd

00:47:30.780 --> 00:47:36.840
expect. And they try and they try. But it's like

00:47:36.840 --> 00:47:40.719
I've already seen God move. I have already seen

00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:44.099
the fruits. I have already where it doesn't matter.

00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:50.090
God's fruits speak. I have already seen what

00:47:50.090 --> 00:47:53.730
I've needed to see. And I'll always keep an open

00:47:53.730 --> 00:47:57.429
mind to what God wants to reveal and where he

00:47:57.429 --> 00:48:01.110
wants to lead me. Let the fruit speak. And I

00:48:01.110 --> 00:48:03.889
know what God has done off my obedience and off

00:48:03.889 --> 00:48:06.909
trusting what he has shown me. Now let's continue

00:48:06.909 --> 00:48:10.969
reading through Mark 7. It says here, Abandoning

00:48:10.969 --> 00:48:13.869
the command of God, you hold on to human tradition.

00:48:14.670 --> 00:48:17.429
He also said to them, You have a fine way of

00:48:17.429 --> 00:48:20.650
invalidating God's command in order to set up

00:48:20.650 --> 00:48:38.150
your tradition. That is an offering devoted to

00:48:38.150 --> 00:48:41.010
God. You no longer let him do anything for his

00:48:41.010 --> 00:48:43.570
father or mother. You nullify the word of God

00:48:43.570 --> 00:48:45.429
by your tradition that you have handed down.

00:48:45.570 --> 00:48:48.829
And you do so many other similar things. So Jesus

00:48:48.829 --> 00:48:51.329
right here is calling them out with basically

00:48:51.329 --> 00:48:54.050
saying like, God has given y 'all a command.

00:48:56.050 --> 00:48:59.530
But instead of obeying that command, you hold

00:48:59.530 --> 00:49:04.289
on to your human traditions. And I want to pause.

00:49:04.429 --> 00:49:06.510
If you want to know one way that you can see

00:49:06.510 --> 00:49:10.050
this in modern day life and in the modern world,

00:49:10.170 --> 00:49:13.170
look at the evil eye. As someone who I was in

00:49:13.170 --> 00:49:14.989
new age, I used to actually have a lot of belief

00:49:14.989 --> 00:49:16.789
in evil eye. I would wear evil eye bracelets.

00:49:16.889 --> 00:49:19.329
I would have it up like in my social media. And

00:49:19.329 --> 00:49:21.050
you see a lot of people, it's crazy how many

00:49:21.050 --> 00:49:25.070
people I see on social media who have Christian

00:49:25.070 --> 00:49:29.760
in their bio also have an evil eye. And I know

00:49:29.760 --> 00:49:32.260
for a lot of people, it's passed down like in

00:49:32.260 --> 00:49:34.139
their lineage, like their mom believed in it

00:49:34.139 --> 00:49:36.440
and their grandmother believed in it. And what

00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:41.019
a lot of people believe about it is that it's

00:49:41.019 --> 00:49:43.480
a symbol that prevents people believe that the

00:49:43.480 --> 00:49:46.820
evil eye is like when someone is jealous of you,

00:49:46.860 --> 00:49:48.780
envious of you, sending like negative thoughts

00:49:48.780 --> 00:49:53.539
towards you. And that in doing that, it can actually

00:49:53.539 --> 00:49:57.159
affect you and impact you negatively. So people

00:49:57.159 --> 00:50:00.059
would have that as like a talisman, as like a

00:50:00.059 --> 00:50:02.119
defensive. They believe that having that would

00:50:02.119 --> 00:50:04.659
protect them. Some people believe it would send

00:50:04.659 --> 00:50:06.739
it back. Some people believe it would just catch

00:50:06.739 --> 00:50:10.400
it and defuse it. But people wore that or hung

00:50:10.400 --> 00:50:13.500
it up or used it as a way to protect themselves

00:50:13.500 --> 00:50:18.360
from envy, jealousy, negative intent. Well, when

00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:21.840
you read the Bible, you see that all you need

00:50:21.840 --> 00:50:25.260
is the blood of Jesus. That Jesus Christ defeated

00:50:25.260 --> 00:50:30.500
Satan and death on the cross. Envy, jealousy,

00:50:30.699 --> 00:50:33.460
negativity. These things are not from God, so

00:50:33.460 --> 00:50:35.619
who are they from? They're works of the flesh

00:50:35.619 --> 00:50:39.940
and things created by Satan. So Jesus Christ

00:50:39.940 --> 00:50:43.719
has already defeated them. All you need is Jesus.

00:50:44.039 --> 00:50:46.920
All you need to protect yourself from the evil

00:50:46.920 --> 00:50:51.119
one is your faith in Jesus. Is being covered

00:50:51.119 --> 00:50:56.000
in the blood of Jesus. You get authority. There

00:50:56.000 --> 00:50:58.719
is power in the name of Jesus when you have your

00:50:58.719 --> 00:51:00.880
faith in him. We see what it's like when you

00:51:00.880 --> 00:51:03.760
have faith versus when you don't. I believe it

00:51:03.760 --> 00:51:07.800
was the seven sons of Sceva that tried to use

00:51:07.800 --> 00:51:09.900
Jesus' name to cast out demons. And the demon

00:51:09.900 --> 00:51:12.579
was like, Paul, we know. Jesus, we know. But

00:51:12.579 --> 00:51:15.300
who are you? You have no authority here. The

00:51:15.300 --> 00:51:18.300
authority comes from being baptized by the Spirit,

00:51:18.440 --> 00:51:20.380
which comes from having your faith in Jesus.

00:51:21.549 --> 00:51:24.030
Okay, so I just wanted to give that to y 'all

00:51:24.030 --> 00:51:25.530
as an example. That's something you see a lot

00:51:25.530 --> 00:51:28.269
in modern day. And you'll find people saying

00:51:28.269 --> 00:51:31.030
like, well, I can have it and I can have my faith

00:51:31.030 --> 00:51:33.409
in Jesus. Or people will say, well, this is my

00:51:33.409 --> 00:51:35.909
culture. This is my heritage. And then they'll

00:51:35.909 --> 00:51:38.909
try to create it like into a racism thing. Like,

00:51:38.909 --> 00:51:41.190
it's crazy how much I've actually seen that where

00:51:41.190 --> 00:51:43.329
they're like, well, you're just racist. You're

00:51:43.329 --> 00:51:46.309
just, and it's like, no. I'm just saying this

00:51:46.309 --> 00:51:49.530
is a false idol. This is directly against God's

00:51:49.530 --> 00:51:51.909
word. So if you say you're a Christian and your

00:51:51.909 --> 00:51:53.969
faith is in Jesus and you believe you're protected

00:51:53.969 --> 00:51:56.590
through Jesus, then you should not be putting

00:51:56.590 --> 00:51:58.730
your faith in these idols to protect you. The

00:51:58.730 --> 00:52:00.849
scriptures don't say you need Jesus and an evil

00:52:00.849 --> 00:52:04.010
eye. You need Jesus and crystals. You need Jesus

00:52:04.010 --> 00:52:08.010
and witchcraft. No, you just need Jesus. And

00:52:08.010 --> 00:52:13.389
you see, that is a perfect example of a practice.

00:52:14.400 --> 00:52:18.619
a ritual, a tradition that blatantly contradicts

00:52:18.619 --> 00:52:23.519
God's word, that contradicts the truth of Jesus

00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:28.219
Christ. But then Jesus goes on to say, you have

00:52:28.219 --> 00:52:32.079
a fine way of invalidating God's command in order

00:52:32.079 --> 00:52:37.260
to set up your tradition. And y 'all, I remember,

00:52:37.420 --> 00:52:39.260
right? I wrote this down this morning in my notes.

00:52:39.579 --> 00:52:43.219
Traditions are not inherently bad. It's not bad

00:52:43.219 --> 00:52:47.800
to have traditions. Traditions become bad when

00:52:47.800 --> 00:52:52.239
they contradict God's word or take the place

00:52:52.239 --> 00:52:56.179
of God's word. When they're passed off as God's

00:52:56.179 --> 00:53:00.079
word. When they're passed off as God's law. That

00:53:00.079 --> 00:53:03.139
is when they become bad. That is when they become

00:53:03.139 --> 00:53:05.039
dangerous. That is when they become a hindrance.

00:53:08.670 --> 00:53:09.969
For those of y 'all who didn't know, I want to

00:53:09.969 --> 00:53:11.929
do a little extra research on this this morning

00:53:11.929 --> 00:53:14.469
of what Jesus was referring to when he was talking

00:53:14.469 --> 00:53:16.469
to the Pharisees of like, y 'all have the basic

00:53:16.469 --> 00:53:18.650
command of honor your mother and father. Whoever

00:53:18.650 --> 00:53:21.170
speaks evil, a father and mother must be put

00:53:21.170 --> 00:53:23.530
to death. And that is one of the Ten Commandments,

00:53:23.530 --> 00:53:25.449
right? Honor your mother and father. And one

00:53:25.449 --> 00:53:27.829
of the things people would do back then, I know

00:53:27.829 --> 00:53:31.690
it's not as frequently in society as it is now,

00:53:31.789 --> 00:53:34.409
but one thing that was very frequently done back

00:53:34.409 --> 00:53:36.030
then is people would take care of their parents.

00:53:37.809 --> 00:53:40.590
Like they would give them money, they would assist

00:53:40.590 --> 00:53:45.750
them, they would help them with things. It wasn't

00:53:45.750 --> 00:53:48.489
like today where like there's a lot more of like

00:53:48.489 --> 00:53:51.230
a separation. There is more of like a communal

00:53:51.230 --> 00:53:56.809
vibe. All right. And that was a command by God

00:53:56.809 --> 00:53:58.730
was honor your mother and father. And that was

00:53:58.730 --> 00:54:00.769
one of the ways that they would honor their mother

00:54:00.769 --> 00:54:03.110
and father was by caring for them, by helping

00:54:03.110 --> 00:54:04.909
them, by making sure they have what they need,

00:54:04.949 --> 00:54:08.019
providing for them in ways. And what the Pharisees

00:54:08.019 --> 00:54:16.659
started doing was they started saying that things

00:54:16.659 --> 00:54:20.579
were Corban. And Holy Spirit helped me to have

00:54:20.579 --> 00:54:22.739
the wording with this, right? A Corban was an

00:54:22.739 --> 00:54:26.420
offering from God of like, well, this is a gift

00:54:26.420 --> 00:54:31.179
from God that's to be devoted to God. And the

00:54:31.179 --> 00:54:33.159
Pharisees started saying, well, no, this thing

00:54:33.159 --> 00:54:34.820
you have is meant to be given to God. This thing

00:54:34.820 --> 00:54:37.389
you have is meant to be given to God. And would

00:54:37.389 --> 00:54:40.570
start bypassing, saying, you don't have to help

00:54:40.570 --> 00:54:42.250
your parents. You don't have to take care of

00:54:42.250 --> 00:54:44.050
them. You don't have to honor them in these ways.

00:54:44.289 --> 00:54:46.030
Because this is supposed to be given to God.

00:54:47.449 --> 00:54:49.449
This is supposed to be tithed. This is supposed

00:54:49.449 --> 00:54:53.429
to be offered to God. And Jesus was saying, like,

00:54:53.530 --> 00:54:59.469
you're using religious jargon to contradict a

00:54:59.469 --> 00:55:01.809
command that God had already given. God wants

00:55:01.809 --> 00:55:04.909
them to honor their mother and father. And you

00:55:04.909 --> 00:55:08.409
are kind of giving them a new rule, a new religious

00:55:08.409 --> 00:55:10.630
command that goes against this honoring of mother

00:55:10.630 --> 00:55:13.750
and father. And y 'all, I'm sure if I deep studied

00:55:13.750 --> 00:55:16.369
on this, there would be more of a deeper understanding.

00:55:16.510 --> 00:55:18.309
This is the understanding I have now. Because

00:55:18.309 --> 00:55:20.110
honestly, it was kind of hard for me. Like I

00:55:20.110 --> 00:55:21.429
was reading through this. I was like, I've never

00:55:21.429 --> 00:55:24.349
heard this term word. What is Corban? And, you

00:55:24.349 --> 00:55:26.329
know, part of me was like, well, it is good to

00:55:26.329 --> 00:55:29.369
give offerings. Like I, to this day, like when

00:55:29.369 --> 00:55:32.260
God calls me to sow something. I sew it. And

00:55:32.260 --> 00:55:33.760
then it was like, oh my gosh. But that's when

00:55:33.760 --> 00:55:37.639
God calls me to sew it. And God has also called

00:55:37.639 --> 00:55:42.380
me to sew into my elders. Sew into my parents.

00:55:42.420 --> 00:55:46.059
Just sew it. I was like, oh God, okay, you're

00:55:46.059 --> 00:55:47.639
speaking to me now. You're speaking to me now.

00:55:47.820 --> 00:55:51.639
But this was just an example of like, the Pharisees

00:55:51.639 --> 00:55:55.079
were kind of creating new laws. They were creating

00:55:55.079 --> 00:56:01.480
new understandings that kind of... led people

00:56:01.480 --> 00:56:03.900
away from keeping God's command. And that was

00:56:03.900 --> 00:56:07.519
what Jesus was calling them out on. And he goes

00:56:07.519 --> 00:56:10.960
on to say, You nullify the word of God by your

00:56:10.960 --> 00:56:13.159
tradition that you have handed down, and you

00:56:13.159 --> 00:56:16.300
do many other similar things. Summoning the crowd

00:56:16.300 --> 00:56:18.400
again, he told them, Listen to me, all of you,

00:56:18.420 --> 00:56:21.159
and understand. Nothing that goes into a person

00:56:21.159 --> 00:56:24.159
from outside can defile him, but the things that

00:56:24.159 --> 00:56:28.710
come out of a person are what defile him. I cannot

00:56:28.710 --> 00:56:31.210
tell you. Every time I read that, y 'all, I feel

00:56:31.210 --> 00:56:33.510
like I have a new understanding. But up until

00:56:33.510 --> 00:56:36.670
this point, they were so focused on Old Covenant,

00:56:36.730 --> 00:56:39.559
right? where it was about the eating pork it

00:56:39.559 --> 00:56:41.820
was about the kind of there were certain kinds

00:56:41.820 --> 00:56:44.360
of cloth you couldn't wear like it was all about

00:56:44.360 --> 00:56:47.239
what you ate and what you put on your body if

00:56:47.239 --> 00:56:48.960
you put this on your body if you came into contact

00:56:48.960 --> 00:56:50.980
with this if you touch this you were unclean

00:56:50.980 --> 00:56:53.300
you were unholy you were all these things and

00:56:53.300 --> 00:56:55.300
this is jesus kind of starting to set up the

00:56:55.300 --> 00:56:57.360
new covenant where he's saying it's no longer

00:56:57.360 --> 00:56:59.940
about what you eat it's no longer about what

00:56:59.940 --> 00:57:02.199
you wear it's about your heart it's about your

00:57:02.199 --> 00:57:03.960
heart placement it's about what you have going

00:57:03.960 --> 00:57:08.460
on in your heart It's what's from inside you

00:57:08.460 --> 00:57:12.380
that makes you sinful and dirty and unclean.

00:57:12.820 --> 00:57:15.519
He goes on to say, when he went into the house

00:57:15.519 --> 00:57:18.099
away from the crowd, his disciples asked him

00:57:18.099 --> 00:57:21.159
about the parable. He said to them, are you also

00:57:21.159 --> 00:57:23.760
as lacking in understanding? Don't you realize

00:57:23.760 --> 00:57:26.539
that nothing going into a person from the outside

00:57:26.539 --> 00:57:29.980
can defile him? For it doesn't go into his heart,

00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:33.090
but into the stomach and is eliminated. Thus

00:57:33.090 --> 00:57:35.349
he declared all foods clean. This was the moment

00:57:35.349 --> 00:57:38.250
where he was declaring all foods clean. I don't

00:57:38.250 --> 00:57:40.090
know if y 'all ever see, I see sometimes on social

00:57:40.090 --> 00:57:42.090
media, people who aren't Christian, but like

00:57:42.090 --> 00:57:44.869
they'll know random parts of scripture and like

00:57:44.869 --> 00:57:47.449
try to like give you like gotcha moments. And

00:57:47.449 --> 00:57:49.670
I cannot tell y 'all how many times I see people

00:57:49.670 --> 00:57:52.710
in the comment section saying, oh, like how dare

00:57:52.710 --> 00:57:55.449
you call other people out on a sin or like how

00:57:55.449 --> 00:57:58.130
dare you call this a sin, but I bet you eat pork.

00:57:59.639 --> 00:58:03.820
but I bet you wear mixed linens, mixed textiles.

00:58:04.760 --> 00:58:07.000
And that's, if y 'all ever need a response, you

00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:08.400
can pull this up right here, because this is

00:58:08.400 --> 00:58:09.940
literally the moment where Jesus said, like,

00:58:09.960 --> 00:58:14.460
that does not matter anymore. And that, y 'all,

00:58:14.460 --> 00:58:17.960
is why context is important. You don't just pull

00:58:17.960 --> 00:58:21.000
random scriptures and quote them, all right?

00:58:21.059 --> 00:58:22.920
And that's why y 'all will know so many times

00:58:22.920 --> 00:58:24.500
when I'm sitting here and I'm reading scripture

00:58:24.500 --> 00:58:26.780
to y 'all, I'll be referring to other scriptures.

00:58:26.940 --> 00:58:28.579
I'll be referring to, like, other parts of the

00:58:28.579 --> 00:58:32.039
Bible. other chapters, other books, because none

00:58:32.039 --> 00:58:34.840
of it contradicts itself. It all works together.

00:58:36.219 --> 00:58:39.780
All of it, every person writing this was God

00:58:39.780 --> 00:58:44.739
-inspired, Holy Spirit -led. So you'll be reading

00:58:44.739 --> 00:58:47.960
one chapter out of one book and realize that

00:58:47.960 --> 00:58:50.300
it directly relates to another chapter in another

00:58:50.300 --> 00:58:53.139
book. Or you'll see things like this in reading

00:58:53.139 --> 00:58:56.420
New Testament, where you'll see the new covenant.

00:58:57.199 --> 00:58:59.659
And how it negates things in the Old Covenant.

00:59:02.079 --> 00:59:06.119
Okay? Okay. That's another reason why y 'all

00:59:06.119 --> 00:59:08.460
need to read. Y 'all need to read. I love you.

00:59:08.579 --> 00:59:12.079
Y 'all need to read. Set aside time. 30 minutes

00:59:12.079 --> 00:59:18.139
a day. Read. Find the Bible plan. Read. And it

00:59:18.139 --> 00:59:21.539
says here, For it doesn't go into his heart,

00:59:21.659 --> 00:59:24.960
but into the stomach and is eliminated. Thus

00:59:24.960 --> 00:59:27.659
he declared all foods clean. And he said, what

00:59:27.659 --> 00:59:30.480
comes out of a person is what defiles him. For

00:59:30.480 --> 00:59:33.699
from within, out of people's hearts, come evil

00:59:33.699 --> 00:59:36.739
thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,

00:59:36.980 --> 00:59:40.420
adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self

00:59:40.420 --> 00:59:43.420
-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

00:59:43.599 --> 00:59:47.519
All these evil things come from within and defile

00:59:47.519 --> 00:59:51.539
a person. Notice here, like in the beginning

00:59:51.539 --> 00:59:55.449
of this chapter, the Pharisees. We're calling

00:59:55.449 --> 00:59:57.909
them unclean. We're saying, well, they haven't

00:59:57.909 --> 01:00:00.690
washed their hands ceremonially. They haven't

01:00:00.690 --> 01:00:06.889
done it the ceremonial way. And I want to, I

01:00:06.889 --> 01:00:09.050
want to, because I feel like the Lord's giving

01:00:09.050 --> 01:00:11.030
me a revelation on that right now. That was what

01:00:11.030 --> 01:00:13.349
the Pharisees were focused on is the ceremonial

01:00:13.349 --> 01:00:15.949
aspect to it. Y 'all, that was what led me away

01:00:15.949 --> 01:00:21.389
from the Catholic church pretty quick was. There

01:00:21.389 --> 01:00:24.929
was all about the ceremonial way and the religious

01:00:24.929 --> 01:00:27.789
way, and that was passed off as the only way.

01:00:29.690 --> 01:00:33.230
When I had experienced from God leading me firsthand,

01:00:33.429 --> 01:00:36.210
I had experienced confessing my sins to God,

01:00:36.309 --> 01:00:38.730
confessing them to my brothers and sisters in

01:00:38.730 --> 01:00:42.150
Christ, and being forgiven. And then I go to

01:00:42.150 --> 01:00:43.710
the church and I'm told, no, there's only one

01:00:43.710 --> 01:00:45.150
way you can do it. And even though you did do

01:00:45.150 --> 01:00:46.949
it that way, that's not technically correct.

01:00:47.010 --> 01:00:48.570
So now you have to go through and dig it all

01:00:48.570 --> 01:00:51.869
up and do it again. And I even felt God's correction

01:00:51.869 --> 01:00:57.909
on that. I've been told you can't receive communion

01:00:57.909 --> 01:01:01.349
outside of that church. Glory be to God, my church,

01:01:01.429 --> 01:01:03.610
I'm not missing out on communion. Now, we don't

01:01:03.610 --> 01:01:06.190
get to do it every single week, but we do it

01:01:06.190 --> 01:01:09.110
very regularly in my church. We have time for

01:01:09.110 --> 01:01:12.469
reflection beforehand. We have time for prayer

01:01:12.469 --> 01:01:16.210
and seeking God's heart and seeking our own hearts,

01:01:16.349 --> 01:01:19.280
searching our own hearts. before going up and

01:01:19.280 --> 01:01:21.820
receiving it. And you know the awesome thing?

01:01:22.460 --> 01:01:27.500
You're not blocked out. If your faith is in Jesus,

01:01:27.679 --> 01:01:32.599
if you've confessed your sins, if you love the

01:01:32.599 --> 01:01:35.980
Lord, your faith is in Him, and you desire to

01:01:35.980 --> 01:01:41.340
remember Him and have a reverence for Him, you

01:01:41.340 --> 01:01:43.400
may partake in that communion. That was something,

01:01:43.500 --> 01:01:45.039
I'm not going to lie, y 'all, that never sat

01:01:45.039 --> 01:01:47.590
right with me. in the catholic church was that

01:01:47.590 --> 01:01:49.750
the only people who could partake in communion

01:01:49.750 --> 01:01:52.230
the only people who could partake in the remembrance

01:01:52.230 --> 01:01:55.090
of jesus and his body being broken and his blood

01:01:55.090 --> 01:01:56.869
being spilled was if you've gone through all

01:01:56.869 --> 01:02:01.150
the classes you grew up in the church if you've

01:02:01.150 --> 01:02:02.889
done the first communion you've been baptized

01:02:02.889 --> 01:02:05.429
in that denomination you've done all those things

01:02:05.429 --> 01:02:08.250
that is the only way you can remember jesus or

01:02:08.250 --> 01:02:09.969
as an adult you have to go through the certain

01:02:09.969 --> 01:02:13.210
classes those are man -made requirements and

01:02:13.210 --> 01:02:16.980
man -made hoops I know people who have done that,

01:02:17.039 --> 01:02:18.800
who have been in that for 40 years, who don't

01:02:18.800 --> 01:02:21.460
know Jesus. And people who have never been in

01:02:21.460 --> 01:02:25.159
that, who love Jesus and have such a deep reverence

01:02:25.159 --> 01:02:28.400
and awe for what he has done. And that is what

01:02:28.400 --> 01:02:32.360
led me away, y 'all. One of the big things was

01:02:32.360 --> 01:02:42.449
human doctrine rooted in God's commands. Like

01:02:42.449 --> 01:02:44.389
they take God's commands and they create religious

01:02:44.389 --> 01:02:47.409
doctrine and religious rituals and then pass

01:02:47.409 --> 01:02:50.889
it off as this is the only way. You see, the

01:02:50.889 --> 01:02:53.409
Pharisees were focused on the ceremonial aspect

01:02:53.409 --> 01:02:55.670
of the cleaning. These men could have just walked.

01:02:55.949 --> 01:02:58.829
It doesn't say here that they're. Hold on. Hold

01:02:58.829 --> 01:03:02.420
on. I want to work. We're going to read back

01:03:02.420 --> 01:03:05.079
through this real quick, okay? The Pharisees

01:03:05.079 --> 01:03:07.460
and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem

01:03:07.460 --> 01:03:10.619
gathered around them. They observed that some

01:03:10.619 --> 01:03:12.940
of the disciples were eating bread with unclean,

01:03:12.940 --> 01:03:15.400
that is, unwashed hands. For the Pharisees and

01:03:15.400 --> 01:03:17.159
all the Jews do not eat unless they give their

01:03:17.159 --> 01:03:20.059
hands a ceremonial washing, keeping the tradition

01:03:20.059 --> 01:03:22.559
of the elders. When they come from the marketplace,

01:03:22.760 --> 01:03:27.820
they do not eat unless they have washed. There

01:03:27.820 --> 01:03:29.960
are many other customs they have received and

01:03:29.960 --> 01:03:32.460
keep, like the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles,

01:03:32.480 --> 01:03:35.239
and dining couches. And I want to note here,

01:03:35.320 --> 01:03:38.559
y 'all, we go back to the ceremonial washing.

01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:41.739
If y 'all remember with the ceremony, and I actually

01:03:41.739 --> 01:03:44.139
was able to, I saw a lot of this in watching

01:03:44.139 --> 01:03:45.980
the show The Chosen, was actually able to go

01:03:45.980 --> 01:03:48.280
and research. There were certain jars that they

01:03:48.280 --> 01:03:52.099
would not use for ceremonial water. Like ceremonial

01:03:52.099 --> 01:03:54.260
cleaning meant the water was in certain jars.

01:03:55.530 --> 01:03:58.289
The water was in certain jars that you did it

01:03:58.289 --> 01:04:00.809
in a certain way. There were people who would

01:04:00.809 --> 01:04:03.090
have to go bathe in the sea if they came in contact

01:04:03.090 --> 01:04:05.070
with someone who was considered unclean. This

01:04:05.070 --> 01:04:06.889
wasn't just about like scrubbing your hands with

01:04:06.889 --> 01:04:08.650
soap and water and it's like you're clean, healthy,

01:04:08.769 --> 01:04:13.010
like a health thing. This was, there was a certain

01:04:13.010 --> 01:04:16.150
ceremonial way to do it. The water was in certain

01:04:16.150 --> 01:04:21.510
jars. Some of it was holy water, blessed water.

01:04:26.510 --> 01:04:28.630
That was what they had a problem with, was the

01:04:28.630 --> 01:04:32.550
ceremonial aspect to it. And because they kept

01:04:32.550 --> 01:04:35.489
the ceremonial aspect to it, because they upkept

01:04:35.489 --> 01:04:40.889
that, and we see this when Jesus is saying, woe

01:04:40.889 --> 01:04:44.610
to you, Pharisees, hypocrites, when he was calling

01:04:44.610 --> 01:04:47.849
them whitewashed tombs. And he's saying, you

01:04:47.849 --> 01:04:49.989
go the extra mile to make someone a convert,

01:04:50.070 --> 01:04:51.809
and then you make them twice the son of hell.

01:04:52.309 --> 01:04:54.849
Like saying, you convert them, and then you condemn

01:04:54.849 --> 01:04:58.119
them to hell anyway. I'm talking about how they

01:04:58.119 --> 01:05:01.679
elevate themselves. And I'm not going to lie,

01:05:01.760 --> 01:05:03.360
y 'all. And this was something I felt for a little

01:05:03.360 --> 01:05:05.619
while, while I was in Catholicism was there was

01:05:05.619 --> 01:05:07.639
a part of me that because of the ritualistic

01:05:07.639 --> 01:05:10.460
practices I kept, I felt like I was holier than

01:05:10.460 --> 01:05:12.400
people who were non -denominational and other

01:05:12.400 --> 01:05:15.519
practices. I felt like I was closer to God. I

01:05:15.519 --> 01:05:17.320
felt like I was more reverent. I felt like I

01:05:17.320 --> 01:05:20.880
was more committed to him, like all these things.

01:05:21.789 --> 01:05:24.210
And then I started recognizing, especially once

01:05:24.210 --> 01:05:25.989
I spent time in non -denominational, where I

01:05:25.989 --> 01:05:27.750
was like, a lot of these people I'm meeting now

01:05:27.750 --> 01:05:30.289
have a much closer relationship with God and

01:05:30.289 --> 01:05:32.349
walk in obedience to him more than I ever was.

01:05:33.030 --> 01:05:36.269
And it's crazy how we'll allow ritualistic routines

01:05:36.269 --> 01:05:44.449
to elevate us when we're not actually elevated.

01:05:45.329 --> 01:05:48.650
And again, I encourage you all to go read Ephesians

01:05:48.650 --> 01:05:54.780
2 .8. That tells you how we are saved. And I

01:05:54.780 --> 01:05:57.340
feel led to just go, I'm going to read it real

01:05:57.340 --> 01:05:59.800
quick. I'm going to read it to y 'all. Because

01:05:59.800 --> 01:06:01.099
there's some of y 'all listening to this today

01:06:01.099 --> 01:06:02.760
that aren't going to go read it. And I do pray

01:06:02.760 --> 01:06:04.960
that you do read it. But there's some of y 'all

01:06:04.960 --> 01:06:07.400
who are like, maybe later. And then y 'all won't

01:06:07.400 --> 01:06:10.300
go and do it. So we're just going to do it now.

01:06:10.739 --> 01:06:12.699
Because you're not going to leave this podcast

01:06:12.699 --> 01:06:19.119
without hearing this. Ephesians 2, 8. We're actually

01:06:19.119 --> 01:06:23.980
going to go a little bit up. Ephesians 2, 4.

01:06:24.539 --> 01:06:27.420
But God, who is rich in mercy because of his

01:06:27.420 --> 01:06:29.480
great love that he had for us, made us alive

01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:31.780
with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.

01:06:31.960 --> 01:06:35.699
You are saved by grace. He also raised us up

01:06:35.699 --> 01:06:38.119
with him and seated us with him in the heavens

01:06:38.119 --> 01:06:40.760
in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he

01:06:40.760 --> 01:06:42.719
might display the immeasurable riches of his

01:06:42.719 --> 01:06:45.480
grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

01:06:45.920 --> 01:06:49.619
For if you are saved... For you are saved by

01:06:49.619 --> 01:06:53.480
grace through faith. And this is not from yourselves.

01:06:54.099 --> 01:06:57.920
It is God's gift, not from works, so that no

01:06:57.920 --> 01:07:01.940
one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created

01:07:01.940 --> 01:07:04.599
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared

01:07:04.599 --> 01:07:08.280
ahead of time for us to do. And I want to say

01:07:08.280 --> 01:07:09.940
this to y 'all, because I know there are people...

01:07:10.570 --> 01:07:13.130
who are wrestling with this today of, well, where

01:07:13.130 --> 01:07:15.369
does works fit in? And I can happily tell you,

01:07:15.389 --> 01:07:17.130
if you've listened to many of my previous podcast

01:07:17.130 --> 01:07:19.989
episodes, we've discussed this a lot. You are

01:07:19.989 --> 01:07:22.750
not saved by your works, but your works are a

01:07:22.750 --> 01:07:25.110
sign of your faith. There was another thing that

01:07:25.110 --> 01:07:28.110
never sat right with me when I was in Catholicism.

01:07:28.150 --> 01:07:29.750
And that was when I would constantly hear people

01:07:29.750 --> 01:07:32.829
say, you're saved by faith plus works. Without

01:07:32.829 --> 01:07:34.510
a doubt, I would always hear people say faith

01:07:34.510 --> 01:07:37.329
plus works. And that immediately would raise

01:07:37.329 --> 01:07:38.769
up a red flag in me because I'm like, that's

01:07:38.769 --> 01:07:41.489
not what the Bible says. That's not what Jesus

01:07:41.489 --> 01:07:45.010
preached. Jesus preached that you are saved by

01:07:45.010 --> 01:07:47.150
your faith in him. It's like the serpent on the

01:07:47.150 --> 01:07:49.690
pole is what he was telling Nicodemus. You just

01:07:49.690 --> 01:07:52.429
have to look to him and you will be healed. Your

01:07:52.429 --> 01:07:54.750
faith in him is what cleanses you of your sin

01:07:54.750 --> 01:07:59.789
before the Father. But we know where works fit

01:07:59.789 --> 01:08:03.989
in, which is John 14, and I believe it's verse...

01:08:04.769 --> 01:08:07.969
John chapter 14, verse 13, where he says, Jesus

01:08:07.969 --> 01:08:11.050
says, the one who believes in me will do the

01:08:11.050 --> 01:08:14.530
works that I do. Our works are a sign of our

01:08:14.530 --> 01:08:18.029
faith. When your faith is in Jesus, your works

01:08:18.029 --> 01:08:23.329
will change. That is a byproduct. So works do

01:08:23.329 --> 01:08:25.970
fit in here. Once your faith is in Jesus, your

01:08:25.970 --> 01:08:31.640
works will look different. That is a sign. But

01:08:31.640 --> 01:08:34.359
your works do not buy your faith. So I cannot

01:08:34.359 --> 01:08:37.119
subscribe to the faith plus works. It is faith.

01:08:38.079 --> 01:08:42.560
And your works are a sign of your faith. And

01:08:42.560 --> 01:08:45.239
that's another one where y 'all, in the most

01:08:45.239 --> 01:08:48.079
loving way, when I started sitting back and taking

01:08:48.079 --> 01:08:50.100
into account all these things, I started realizing

01:08:50.100 --> 01:08:54.029
I had called myself a Catholic. And tried going

01:08:54.029 --> 01:08:57.369
to Catholic Church, not because my beliefs aligned

01:08:57.369 --> 01:08:59.409
with Catholicism. The more I looked at it, the

01:08:59.409 --> 01:09:03.649
more I was like, my beliefs do not align. I was

01:09:03.649 --> 01:09:06.109
in that religion because that was what was passed

01:09:06.109 --> 01:09:11.489
down to me. My grandma took me to church. And

01:09:11.489 --> 01:09:13.909
my grandma's children had been in it. A lot of

01:09:13.909 --> 01:09:18.630
them left once they were an adult. But I called

01:09:18.630 --> 01:09:22.100
myself that. I was baptized in it. I had my first

01:09:22.100 --> 01:09:25.100
communion in it. I was confirmed in it because

01:09:25.100 --> 01:09:28.739
that was the tradition that was passed down to

01:09:28.739 --> 01:09:32.640
me. That was just something I did. And I subscribed

01:09:32.640 --> 01:09:34.380
to it and I called myself that and I aligned

01:09:34.380 --> 01:09:36.859
myself with that. But when I started reflecting

01:09:36.859 --> 01:09:40.520
on what are my beliefs and what are this church's

01:09:40.520 --> 01:09:42.640
beliefs, I was like, oh, wow, we do not align.

01:09:43.579 --> 01:09:47.140
I do believe Jesus Christ is Lord. We do align

01:09:47.140 --> 01:09:49.979
in those things. But when it comes to some of

01:09:49.979 --> 01:09:52.539
these other beliefs, I'm like, I don't align.

01:09:52.880 --> 01:09:54.640
And that's why when I go to this church, I don't

01:09:54.640 --> 01:09:57.000
feel spiritually fed. That's why when I go here,

01:09:57.060 --> 01:09:59.880
instead of listening with an open heart, I'm

01:09:59.880 --> 01:10:02.079
constantly like, oh, I'm going to have to go

01:10:02.079 --> 01:10:03.720
read and make sure this is actually biblical.

01:10:06.359 --> 01:10:08.300
When I would leave and feel like I had all these

01:10:08.300 --> 01:10:10.640
extra weights and all these extra burdens, it

01:10:10.640 --> 01:10:13.840
was so hard. It was hard for me actually leaving,

01:10:13.859 --> 01:10:16.010
though. I was crying a lot. And I was crying

01:10:16.010 --> 01:10:17.890
because I felt like I was giving up my heritage.

01:10:18.149 --> 01:10:20.130
And I actually had a couple family members that

01:10:20.130 --> 01:10:22.289
were like, made me feel like I was giving up

01:10:22.289 --> 01:10:24.689
my heritage and my tradition and everything.

01:10:26.310 --> 01:10:28.789
But I feared God more and I had a reverence for

01:10:28.789 --> 01:10:35.250
God more. And I had a desire to grow and to evangelize

01:10:35.250 --> 01:10:38.109
and to be in ministry and to pursue Jesus and

01:10:38.109 --> 01:10:39.789
to bring other people closer to Jesus. And I

01:10:39.789 --> 01:10:42.340
was like, I cannot do that here. Because every

01:10:42.340 --> 01:10:44.800
time I introduce myself as a Catholic to people,

01:10:44.920 --> 01:10:46.920
they're going to believe I obviously align with

01:10:46.920 --> 01:10:50.399
Catholic beliefs and I don't. I'm not saying

01:10:50.399 --> 01:10:51.960
I disagree with everything. Obviously, there

01:10:51.960 --> 01:10:53.520
are a lot of things I do. It's more when it comes

01:10:53.520 --> 01:10:55.560
to the religious works and the practices and

01:10:55.560 --> 01:10:57.359
the veneration of figures that are not Jesus,

01:10:57.619 --> 01:11:05.319
that are not God. I'll still lovingly lead each

01:11:05.319 --> 01:11:08.729
person to Jesus. I'll still love. my brothers

01:11:08.729 --> 01:11:10.369
and sisters in Christ, because I've said this

01:11:10.369 --> 01:11:12.949
in the past many times before, denominations

01:11:12.949 --> 01:11:15.850
in a lot of ways are just division. And we're

01:11:15.850 --> 01:11:17.770
followers of Christ, period. We're not different

01:11:17.770 --> 01:11:19.489
denominations. And that's how I look at everyone,

01:11:19.569 --> 01:11:21.350
my brothers and sisters, no matter if they're

01:11:21.350 --> 01:11:24.729
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, whatever

01:11:24.729 --> 01:11:27.130
they are, they are brothers and sisters in Christ.

01:11:28.689 --> 01:11:30.710
And I've said this in previous podcast episodes,

01:11:30.890 --> 01:11:32.590
I believe that there are a lot of churches that

01:11:32.590 --> 01:11:34.869
are life -giving and are spiritually feeding

01:11:34.869 --> 01:11:39.510
that are different denominations. I now consider

01:11:39.510 --> 01:11:41.470
myself non -denominational because I found that

01:11:41.470 --> 01:11:44.569
my interpretation of scripture and what I believe,

01:11:44.670 --> 01:11:49.810
I'm like, this is where I align. And I have made

01:11:49.810 --> 01:11:53.130
the decision for myself in seeking the truth,

01:11:53.390 --> 01:11:57.170
in seeking God. This is where he has led me.

01:11:58.109 --> 01:12:00.109
And this is what I want my children to know when

01:12:00.109 --> 01:12:04.329
I have children one day. And as I said in the

01:12:04.329 --> 01:12:05.770
beginning of this episode, I encourage you all

01:12:05.770 --> 01:12:08.500
today to think about your traditions. to think

01:12:08.500 --> 01:12:10.340
about the practices that you are currently subscribed

01:12:10.340 --> 01:12:13.039
to and really look at them deeply and think does

01:12:13.039 --> 01:12:16.500
this align with what i believe does this align

01:12:16.500 --> 01:12:22.560
with god's word and if it does amen to you amen

01:12:22.560 --> 01:12:24.760
to you because like i said and this isn't even

01:12:24.760 --> 01:12:26.619
about catholicism y 'all but for some people

01:12:26.619 --> 01:12:30.579
who will read the same scripture i do their interpretation

01:12:30.579 --> 01:12:34.319
and their understanding aligns with catholic

01:12:34.319 --> 01:12:38.800
beliefs mine does not okay So for them, amen

01:12:38.800 --> 01:12:45.119
for them. For me, amen for me. I've seen the

01:12:45.119 --> 01:12:48.100
fruits. And I encourage you all today to reflect

01:12:48.100 --> 01:12:54.659
on the traditions you are keeping. And ask God

01:12:54.659 --> 01:12:59.029
for guidance on them. And I want to thank you

01:12:59.029 --> 01:13:00.630
all so much for listening to this episode. This

01:13:00.630 --> 01:13:02.470
was the Salt Not Sweetener podcast. I'm your

01:13:02.470 --> 01:13:04.729
host, Danielle Townsend. And please hit subscribe

01:13:04.729 --> 01:13:06.890
wherever it is you're listening to this. And

01:13:06.890 --> 01:13:11.670
I do ask, like, like, share. That does help.

01:13:11.729 --> 01:13:14.010
If you're watching this on YouTube, I always

01:13:14.010 --> 01:13:15.649
forget that this goes up on YouTube, y 'all.

01:13:15.689 --> 01:13:21.130
I have it, like, the service I use. automatically

01:13:21.130 --> 01:13:23.630
uploads it to youtube and honestly i forget this

01:13:23.630 --> 01:13:25.170
is on youtube a lot and i feel like i could pay

01:13:25.170 --> 01:13:27.529
a lot more attention to my youtube listeners

01:13:27.529 --> 01:13:32.210
um i think it's also just because a lot more

01:13:32.210 --> 01:13:35.510
of my traffic is on like spotify and apple and

01:13:35.510 --> 01:13:39.409
like these podcast platforms And I don't really,

01:13:39.470 --> 01:13:41.930
it's not grouped up the same with YouTube. So

01:13:41.930 --> 01:13:44.489
YouTube kind of feels like the, what's the saying?

01:13:44.510 --> 01:13:46.789
Like the stepchild in some ways. I need to pay

01:13:46.789 --> 01:13:48.989
a little bit more attention. So my brothers and

01:13:48.989 --> 01:13:50.609
sisters in Christ are listening to this on YouTube.

01:13:50.750 --> 01:13:53.970
Please hit the like, please favorite it, whatever

01:13:53.970 --> 01:13:58.670
it is you do, share it with people. And I will

01:13:58.670 --> 01:14:00.609
see y 'all next time. Bye guys.