Hey guys and welcome back to the salt not sweetener
podcast. I'm your host Danielle Townsend and
today y 'all we are Continuing in on second Timothy
if you didn't listen to the last episode I encourage
you to go listen to that one before you listen
to this one because We have started like a little
bit of let's say like a mini -series like a continuance
Where the Lord I really felt the Lord putting
on my heart amen To read second Timothy and to
break it down chapter by chapter And it's almost
like a little bit of a series on this podcast
now It's not going to be very long because Timothy
is only four chapters. So after today's episode,
we're gonna be halfway done But this isn't just
for y 'all, this is for me. There are things
that the Lord has been reminding me of and teaching
me as I read this where I'm like, Lord, I can
definitely see why you called me back to the
scripture and why you called me to study it in
depth. I haven't studied it in depth before.
So what today's episode is gonna be is just like
last time where we're reading through the chapter,
stopping and breaking it down as we go through.
And I pray that the Lord speaks to you today
and reveals things to you today. As he has been
for me now just to give y 'all a little bit of
context to remind you Okay, we talked about this.
We went a lot more in depth on the last episode.
I gave you context of What's going on when Paul
is writing this? It's very important when you
are reading the Bible if anyone who's listening
to stay is new to reading the Bible It's really
important to get the context of what you're reading
If you read a verse out of context or sometimes
even reading a book, but not understanding what's
going on at the time It can almost feel like
contradictory or it can almost feel confusing
and it's very important to remember that God
will never contradict himself. Okay? So it's
really important to know the context and just
to give you a little bit of context for 2nd Timothy
to remind y 'all what's going on. Paul is locked
up in prison. This isn't the first time he's
been in prison. Okay, but he's getting close
to his martyrdom. He's getting close to his death
He's locked up in prison and at this time it
is not the popular cultural thing to be a follower
of jesus And berniero has risen into power and
he is actively persecuting christians If you
want to talk about jesus, you want to proclaim
the gospel you are not liked You are locked up.
You are thrown in prison. You are persecuted.
You are beat You are all of these things. You're
falsely accused. You're slandered and paul Who
clearly is doing it very boldly and was used
by God in amazing ways is in a prison His experience
suffering and while he is there a lot of people
have turned their backs on him because again,
it's not popular to be a Christian It's not popular
to be aligned with Christians, especially bold
ones that are in jail. So Paul doesn't have a
lot of support Yet his faith is still rooted
in Christ his his worldly circumstances Do not
negate or like shift the fact that he knows that
God is well pleased with what he is doing. Okay,
so Paul is writing from a space of understanding
that it is not the culturally acceptable thing
to be a follower of Christ. It's not popular.
It's actually a lot more popular to hide the
fact that you're a Christian, to conceal your
values. And that sounds really relatable to what
we're dealing with in the world today, right?
A lot of the worldly standards and what the world
defines as love right now and acceptance and
care and being a good person, a lot of it goes
directly against the Bible. A lot of it calls
for us to deny Christ and to say everyone's truth
is the truth. the world really is calling us
right now to make everyone just feel comfortable
in their sin and accept sin and just Enable it
and endorse it and if you don't align with those
values, you don't align with those things. You're
ostracized You're called names. You're called
unloving people hate you people kill you look
at Charlie Kirk What Paul was dealing with is
not very different from what we are dealing with
today There are Christians actively being persecuted.
We don't see that a lot here in the US of like
beheaded We see here in the US we see a lot of
Christians that are slandered and You see people
online trying to cancel them and expose them
and trying to ruin their lives and things like
that But what you see happening in other countries
and I'm so grateful that that's not happening
here where I live But there are Christians are
being beheaded their Christians are being slaughtered
That's a thing and I feel like that reading second
timid is so relevant for us because the world
that Paul is living in is no different than what
we're living in now It might look different of
Like the my truth the things that we're dealing
with right now might be different Appearing but
there's nothing new under the Sun. We know that
from Ecclesiastes, right? So I want you all to
keep that in mind of like what Paul is dealing
with is no different From what we're dealing
with the fears and the things that the devil
was trying to place on people back Then is no
different than now back then people were being
fearful to be a Christian. They were fearful
of persecution They're fearful of false accusation
and slander and how people are gonna treat them
back then it's the same thing We're dealing with
now y 'all So just just to just to set the tone
just to give you context and now we are going
to start reading in second Timothy chapter 2
Now y 'all I am reading from my she reads truth
a study Bible if y 'all are looking for a good
study Bible out there I love this study bottle.
I do think they have a he reads truth one as
well they do they have a he reads truth and she
reads truth and i think like you know one is
kind of geared a little bit more towards women
and one a bit more towards men like with the
design of the book um and there are devotionals
in here but i can tell you right now i don't
feel like i'm opening it and this is like a women's
book by any means This is the Christian standard
Bible as well If y 'all are wondering what version
this is it is the Christian standard Bible, but
I also very frequently read from the ESV That's
why I used to read from on here, but I've recently
really gravitated towards The CSV just because
I'm always in my study Bible. This is the one
I'm always in Alright y 'all let's start off
here Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 1 you Therefore
my son be strong in the grace That is in Christ
Jesus what you have heard from me in the presence
of many witnesses Commit to faithful men who
have been able to teach others Also, who will
be able to teach others also. We're gonna pause
right here y 'all Paul is he's getting he was
reminding us right out the door right from the
beginning that our strength doesn't come from
us. Our strength comes from God. Paul is someone
who has been falsely accused, slandered, locked
up again on behalf of the gospel. And the reason
why he's smiling, the reason why he's still able
to speak encouragement to other people, the reason
why he's still able to move by faith and keep
his faith is because he's getting his strength
from God. And I feel like so many times we forget
and we think that we need to have our own strength.
And we think that's all about our own strength.
And you know that saying of like, God wouldn't
give you more than you can handle? That's not
true. I don't know who made that up, but that's
not true. God very frequently will allow us to
face things that we cannot get through without
Him. Jesus even said, I am divine. Jesus made
it very clear. That we can do nothing apart from
him. We're not supposed to be strong apart from
him We're not supposed to be wise apart from
him. We're not supposed to do these great amazing
miraculous things apart from him Even after Jesus
resurrected and went back to heaven When the
disciples were going and healing people when
they raised for example Tabitha from the debt
It was in the name of Jesus. It was the power
of Jesus. It wasn't their own power Some of us
forget and we think that when we're going through
persecution and when we're going through suffering
that we just have to be strong on our own But
my brothers and sisters, I'm reminding you today
that that strength comes from God And we're not
perfect when we're suffering We're not perfect
emotions are high things happen you feel some
type of way sometimes you slip up And you react
in a way really I wish I didn't react that way
remember that God's grace So it abounds it's
amazing And Paul is reminding of this right out
the gate that God is so graceful God is forgiving
God is loving But we are to draw our strength
from him and we're never gonna hit a point where
God says stop coming to me for strength And I
don't know about y 'all, but I faced this a lot
when I first gave my life to Jesus I was coming
to God consistently for things in prayer I felt
like I had this thing in the back of my head
of like am I annoying God? Am I coming to him
too much? Because before I gave my life to Jesus
y 'all I went through a set in New Age spirituality
where every time like you went in New Age spirituality
People went to deities like other deities like
Roman deities Greek deities or different Beings
and every time you want to ask them for something
Which is false idol worship. I want to be very
clear. I'm not condoning any of this y 'all.
This is all This is not something God wants you
to do. I'm just sharing with you all from a past
experience before I gave my life to Jesus, okay?
People would go before this idol Whoever it was
they were trying to petition and you would have
to offer and you would have to venerate and you'd
have to do all these things Before you could
ask for one thing It was it was said in New Age.
They would say a lot like you aren't supposed
to go to them consistently You aren't supposed
to go to it was like a weird. It was like a weird
thing so when I Got out of that mindset and my
faith was in Jesus. Amen It was like a weird
shift for me of like God wants me to come to
him and all the big things and all the small
things He wants me to come to him when I'm suffering
with this, when I'm struggling with something.
God wants me to come to him when I'm facing the
consequences of my own problem, of my own choices.
He still wants me to come to him. God wants me
to come to him for something petty, like things
I find petty of like girly stuff, where like,
you know, I'm really praying for, I want to find
an outfit for this specific event when I go into
the store and actually pray to God about it.
And there have been times when he helps me find
the outfit. I'm like, he really cared about that?
He really cares about my job. He really cares
about like my love life. He really cares about
all these things. It was a weird, weird deprogramming
thing I had to do. Glory be to God, he led me
through it and I saw that he is an all -loving
father. And I'm sharing that personal experience
and personal testimony with y 'all because there
may be someone here today who feels guilty going
to God. Do you feel guilty going to God and asking
him for the strength? Do you feel like by now
I shouldn't need to come to him every day? Because
if you do, I want to lovingly tell you that is
not biblical. We are going to need God every
day of our lives. We go to him daily for our
daily bread. There's never going to be a day
where you read the Bible enough that you don't
need Jesus, or you pray enough that you don't
need Jesus, or you fast enough that you don't
need to fast again, or that you've denied yourself
enough that you never need to worry about self
-denial again. We are consistently throughout
life going to be facing things that require us
to go back to the Father. That is a thorn. Remember
Paul he had a thorn in his side and the Lord
kept the thorn in his side because the Lord said
this is like Paul recognized This is what kept
him humble if he didn't deal with that thing.
He wouldn't have a reason to go to God He would
think he could do it all on his own So I'm telling
y 'all today and reminding y 'all today God cares
And if you have to go to him for the strength
a hundred times a day He loves that he loves
that you're going to him, but he what he doesn't
care for is When you feel like You can do it
all without him or you feel like you have to
there is nothing you have to prove to God I feel
like someone needs to hear that today who's listening
to this you do not have to prove yourself to
God He knows you he knew you when he knitted
you in your mother's womb. He had a plan for
you He knew you And he has plans to prosper you
not to harm you that's Jeremiah I believe 29
11 You do not have to prove yourself to God he
already knows that you need him he literally
created mankind He knows about sin. He knows
about how we fall short. He knows it all You
don't have to prove yourself to him. He loves
you anyway Let's move on move forward to this
next part They read y 'all where it says what
you have heard from me in the presence of many
witnesses Commit to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also God is so amazing in
the wisdom that he gives us right we learn through
trial and error We learn through mistakes in
our life. We learn through like man I messed
up But then God guided me out of it and he restored
me and he gave me the wisdom and now I know not
to Participate in this and now I know the harm
of this sin and now I know this now I know this
But once you once you get that understanding
once you get that wisdom y 'all we're not meant
to keep it to ourselves And there's a lot of
reasons why you might want to keep that to yourself.
Maybe you're embarrassed Maybe your testimony
of how you learn that lesson is embarrassing
or you feel ashamed And I want to remind you
that shame is not from God shame is from the
enemy And the enemy uses shame to keep you in
the sin cycle and to keep you in a cycle of lying
and hiding and in the dark and afraid to come
into the light. You're afraid to get too close
to the light. You're afraid to get too close
to God because these things might have to be
exposed. That's the enemy's tactic. He loves
shame. Maybe you're fearful that if you come
out and say it, you'll lose things. Maybe, you
know, you just want to act like it never happened
and then bury it. I'm telling you right now,
God didn't give you that wisdom and that knowledge
to keep to yourself. We are to create disciples.
We are to spread the gospel and one of the most
impactful ways God does that is through sharing
testimony I can tell y 'all a lot of times when
I have been the most encouraged and And knew
that God could move in my life was after hearing
how he did it for other people and seeing how
he did for other people Every one of us has a
testimony of something God has done in our life.
That's up to you whether or not you share it
and It's it's amazing When you start doing that
actively and you see you see just how much god
can use it So I want to remind you today that
this wisdom this knowledge that you're gaining
from your walk with jesus You are meant to share
it And if you don't know how ask god how? In
my asking god how god led me to the podcast This
podcast um I we have today y 'all salt nut sweetener
isn't like my own desire or what I wanted to
do I actually fought God a lot before doing this
because I didn't feel qualified I never had the
desire to speak like this I knew God called me
to share testimony and to speak and then to share
what I learned as I learned it I didn't know
how I tried to on tik -tok I thought maybe just
some short videos and like social media like
that would be fine But God called me to a podcast
that was never my goal I fought him for a while
until he sat me down said no, it's it's time
I need you to do it You're gonna do it and I
have seen how he's used it to help other people.
It's not about me It's not about it's if it helps
one person and that was God's plan. That's fine
with me I'm challenging y 'all today. Take it
to God and ask him like God How can I help spread
the wisdom? How can I help spread the knowledge?
How can I pass on this information? And it might
not be a big platform. It might not be social
media. It might not be a podcast. It might be
just you talking to your friends and family.
It might just be sometimes God leads you to conversations
and you plant seeds for those people. Amen. It
might be in your small groups at church. It might
be at work. I don't know what it is, but pray
to God and see how he can start using you because
I'm telling you it's transformational when you
see yourself starting to be used to spread the
gospel. It really is and it adds like a meaning
to everything you've been through It's one thing
when God says I let you go through it for a reason,
but then you keep it all to yourself It's another
thing when you actually start stepping into that
reason, okay? Now let's go on it says share in
the suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in
the concerns of civilian life. He seeks to please
the commanding officer You're not alone in your
suffering You're not alone. You're suffering
every person who is a faithful follower of Jesus
is going to partake in his suffering You're gonna
partake in people Bearing false witness against
you people lying about you people slandering
you people disliking you simply because you stand
in the truth How many people had a problem with
Jesus simply because he was just walking in the
truth He was the the word made flesh. He was
the way the truth of life. He is the way the
truth of life But how many people hated him simply
because he stood on the truth. He spoke the truth
and he would not back down How many people hated
him out of envy and jealousy when they saw him
working miracles and people flocking towards
him the Pharisees hated that How many people
might be jealous of our brothers and sisters
in Christ when they see God using and blessing
them Whatever the suffering looks like for you
You're not alone in it It might feel like you're
alone the devil loves to make you feel like you're
alone, but you're not alone in it And I feel
I didn't plan on saying this but I feel need
like I need to say this and because you're not
alone in it and I say this in the most loving
way Because you are special to God. Everyone
is unique But yours isn't a special case to sin
anyway When we and we talked about this in the
last podcast episode when you go through suffering
That's not the time to back down and to give
into fear And maybe to turn to lying and deceiving
and to the worldly methods to get out of suffering
and doing all these things That's the time to
be a Paul To stay obedient to God Regardless
and sometimes when we get in suffering and we
feel like it's unique to us We feel like well,
there's a unique way out. Maybe we can send to
get out of this Maybe we can start doing all
these things that we know God doesn't usually
condone, but he'll forgive us later and Again,
I didn't plan on saying this but I feel led to
say this that like you're not alone in your suffering
which is a good thing if you can lean on other
people and there are other people with testimonies
and You can pull from their testimonies and take
it to God But also you're not alone in this Other
people have been able to get out of this without
lying and deceiving and giving into the world
So so can you your situation isn't special enough
that you're an exception to God's law lovingly
And to go on further I really need to hear this
the other day that a civilian like a soldier
doesn't get entangled in civilian life They seek
to please the commanding officer When God gives
us Call to obey we're not always gonna have clarity
first. That was another thing I wrestled with
a lot Especially when I first came to Jesus is
I want clarity when God would say talk to this
person Do this thing apply to this place? So
this seed don't go here do go here before I would
obey I would want to know why and I'd be like
no God You need to tell me why and I would want
all these explanations and once and there are
some times when I actually felt like I got an
explanation And once I did I'd be like, okay
now I'm not going You called me to do this thing
and there's gonna be suffering. There's gonna
be hardship. No, I'm not doing it. I Look back.
I'm like, yeah, that's why God doesn't tell me
about some of the suffering I'm he he does there
have been lots of times when God tells me way
ahead of time. There's gonna be suffering with
this There's gonna be pain there's gonna be this
but hey, there's gonna be these amazing things
and glory and gives me hope But then there's
every times when he just tells me to open a door
and I open the door and I don't know that there's
about to be warfare or hardship Because if I
did I wouldn't do it And someone needs to hear
this today, that your, we have to be mindful
because our desire for clarity can quickly turn
into control and us feeling like we can say no
to God. There's a reason why we are called to
be childlike and God is the father. What does
a child do? They say, yes, father. They obey.
They trust that their loving, their all loving
father has their best interest at heart. Isn't
asking them to do something Because he wants
to see them hurt or in pain or anything He's
asking them to do it because he knows this is
the best route or this is the best method and
once I once I truly believed God loved me and
Would use all things for my good and had the
best intention for me And even though I understood
that not everything I faced would feel good God
would use it for my good And he wouldn't be allowing
me to go into it if I'm walking Obeying him there
are times y 'all when you're you face suffering
because you are outside of his will When you
decide to ignore him anyway, or you decide to
play life by your rules And follow your feelings
and do your thing and you face suffering that
God did in him for you to face and Then we also
have the fact that the devil is the lowercase
G God of this world causing a lot of pain and
a lot of suffering And I can't tell you every
reason for why horrible things happen. They happen.
There's a lot of horrible things happen to me
throughout my life that I was so angry at God
and I couldn't understand why they would be allowed
to happen. And when I finally stopped trying
to understand and I started walking in gratitude
for what I do, it was a lot easier to see how
God used all of these things. But I encourage
y 'all to really I really really study this part
of scripture because I know it will be Transformational
for some people especially if you have a lack
of trust If you feel like you need clarity before
every step if you faith doesn't require Clarity
and seeing it all faith is trust and what you
can't see is trusting in God Leaps of faith aren't
leaps of security or leaps of surety And what
soldiers do is they say, yes, sir. You look at
our military here, the commanding officer gives
the command, the military, it's not about your
thoughts, your feelings, your wants, your desires,
it's yes, sir. But the difference, and we look
at that the same way with God, right? Where God
gives you a command and we say, yes, Father.
But the difference here, That we'll see in the
military in the military. It's not all about
love. It's about the end goal of whatever is
best for the country, right? What's so cool with
God is He does think about what's gonna further
the kingdom of heaven. That is the end goal.
It's not this life It's heaven so it's not always
about what feels good for us or what we want
in the moment God is thinking about the bigger
picture But he also so dearly loves every one
of us individually Has a thought for every one
of our lives that whatever path he guides us
down He knows how he can use it for our good
personally. He does take us personally into account
and I just I want you all to think on that and
I want you all to Reflect and go read. I want
you all to read second Timothy for yourself If
you don't already have your Bible out I want
you to be reading through this with me as we
go Because I believe the Lord is going to reveal
things to you that I might not be saying right
now okay because every one of us reading that's
a beautiful thing i can read second timothy 10
times and each time have different understandings
from the scripture i'm reading i can read this
chapter next week and different things will stand
out to me and the lord will reveal different
things to me and someone can be sitting right
next to me and be reading at the same time i
am and different things are going to stand out
to them which is why i always encourage you all
to read with me as i'm reading through this because
there's something you may see that i'm not saying
Okay. And we go on where it says, also, if anyone
competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless
he competes according to the rules. The hardworking
farmer ought to be the first to get the share
of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord
will give you an understanding in everything.
This is a hard truth that someone needs to hear.
It doesn't matter how you play the game if you're
not playing by God's rules. it's lukewarm to
be praying playing 50 % 60 70 80 90 percent by
God's rules and then the 10 % in the world I
had a conversation with a person the other day
where it seemed like they were really wrestling
with at some areas there was a sin that they
were wrestling with in the situation where Their
sin kind of put them in that situation But the
thing that happened to them was done unjustly
so they were kind of wrestling with the weight
of feeling the sin but also feeling like a victim
or an attack that happened and You know, they
were on one level saying well, I know God doesn't
want me to do this and I know that it was a sin
to be in this but if you asked anyone else in
the world they would say what I'm doing was normal
and that this other person attacking me was bad
and so like actually it's not that bad and they
were like wrestling with this and I actually
read this piece of scripture to them because
I mean I wrestled with those thoughts too of
We need to remember y 'all that the devil is
the lowercase G God of this world and he is influencing
what the world says is admissible. Right now
what the world says is fine and admissible is
drinking and smoking and hookup culture and unforgiveness
and pettiness and crashing out and just like
getting licks back and gossiping and all these
things are normalized. When you see celebrities
doing all these things come out people don't
care the next day like to them Oh, it's normal
people do this all the time I Don't want to get
too much into Like culture, but I've seen talked
about a lot on the news recently. There's a very
popular show I used to watch a while back that
is all about claims. It's about love. That's
really all about drama. They just day of like
decided not to run the season when someone they
already knew it was already public knowledge
that this person had a history of like domestic
violence situations and being a crash out and
all these things and it wasn't until a video
resurfaced of this person crashing out getting
violent and actually hurting their own child
in a crash out That some people are like, oh,
okay, maybe this isn't that good But there's
still a lot of people who are like it happens
it happens and they're making excuses and they're
defending it and I bring that up simply because
those things aren't normal and if we held that
to scripture we're like this isn't and this person
is From at least my understanding from what I've
seen the way that they seem to be doubling down
on it not not repentant Not taking accountability
for it. There hasn't been a transformation there,
okay? So of course this isn't someone we put
up on a pedestal. This isn't someone that we
put in a position to influence millions of other
people. This isn't someone that we bestow all
of these things upon. Right? But the world has
so normalized. Crashing out and actually popularized
it. There's a lot of people who the past couple
years I I don't get it like on reality channels
have been the crash out have been the narcissistic
have been the like Manipulative and that's the
person that's the most popular Then that's the
person that everyone says I can relate and then
you realize it's because that is what most people
are walking in most people are walking in a life
that glorifies adultery and fornication and manipulating
to get what you want and lying and deceiving
and calling all these and painting all these
things as confidence and that's because the devil
is influencing the culture the people who are
aligning themselves with that aren't aligning
themselves with the word of god obviously so
the things that the world says is okay and the
things that the world says is admissible and
the things that the world puts up on a pedestal
are not the things that aligns with god's word
Because y 'all remember the devil's mission at
this point the devil already knows he's lost
It's just a matter of time before Jesus comes
back So now what the devil is just trying to
do is he's trying to keep us away from God God
didn't create hell for us. It was created for
Satan But Satan hates God and he hates God's
creation So what he's doing is he is trying to
get us in separation. So we don't have eternity
with the heavenly father He came to steal kill
destroy and he does it through the lying and
the deceiving and we see him doing it through
culture where it's popular to do these things
and you're seen as the good person if you do
these things and if you call it out and live
a different way you're actually the bad one he
makes it popular to go to hell he makes it popular
to walk in wickedness and he makes it look like
righteousness and it's so clear here in scripture
That unless you play by god, I don't whatever
prize you're going after you don't get it if
you're not playing by god's rules what we We
need to remember and we'll be reminded of this
as we read on in scripture That it's not about
this life. Our rewards are in heaven. It's not
about being rewarded in this life It's not about
the platform. It's not about the money. It's
not about the fame. It's not it's not about any
of that Our treasures are stored up in heaven
Will God, God, yes, he'll pour out on us throughout
this life. But this life is like, as Christians,
the closest actually we're gonna get to hell.
Being this close to the devil and what he has
going on. Our crown isn't in this life, our crown
is in heaven. And if you're going through this
life, playing by the world's rules, you can't
expect a God crown. And you know, I pull back
to, back when I was in New Age spirituality and
like starting to read the Bible, I was walking
through this weird thing where I was reading
a lot of promises from God. And I was trying
to have faith of those of, you know, like, no
weapon formed against you shall prosper and all
these different things. And I remember I was
really wrestling with it because I was like,
well, God, you say these things. But I haven't
seen these things all the weapons look like they're
prospering my enemies are laughing at me I'm
a victim of witchcraft like I see these things
happening Why why is it and the Lord have revealed
me he's like but you're not obeying me Like these
promises also require obedience No weapon formed
against you shall prosper But you have all these
open doors to sin where you're allowing the devil
to come in and wreak havoc in your life You're
mad that you're mad that witchcraft attacks on
your life are working, but you're over here reading
tarot cards But you're over here listening to
psychics, but you're over here listening to people
claiming to be prophets from God But I'm giving
you the conviction and you feel the discernment
going off that they are not from me You're mad
that the truth isn't being exposed, but you're
over here lying Like God had to get so real with
me of like my promises require obedience and
you're upset that you're only seeing half of
it You feel like you're only seeing a little
bit of protection You're only seeing a little
bit of guidance, but you aren't doing your part.
You aren't playing by the rules. I've given you
I've given you these rules. I've told you to
flee sin. I told you to flee temptation I told
you to do all these things and you're only picking
and choosing the ones you want to do and then
you're getting mad at me And I had like God sat
me down And it was so humbling for me of like
I cannot expect I can't be mad at God What I'm
not saying the fulfillment of his promises and
that I don't feel like I'm seeing victory or
any of these things when I'm only half in When
I only have one foot in I Can't be mad that he's
not restoring things in my life when I refuse
to forgive people when I'm still holding on to
anger I can't expect to be rooted in my identity
in Christ if I'm still comparing myself to all
these other people. Like I can't have it both.
I can't have it both ways. I can't some days
find my comfort in Christ and other days find
it in the world. I have to pick. And I pray that
me sharing that with y 'all helps y 'all and
I'm really encouraging y 'all reflect on where
you're at. Reflect on are there areas right now
where you are playing by your own rules instead
of God where you know God Says to walk in truth
where you know God says not to gossip where you
know God says not to slander and not to bear
false witness But you feel like that's a shortcut
You feel like that's gonna get what you want
Are there areas where you are going against God's
Word because you feel like it's the better or
easier way and Are you getting mad that it's
not working out the way you want it to? God's
way is not the fastest way. Remember y 'all he
took the Israelites through the wilderness He
could have taken them straight to the promised
land But if they went straight there, they would
not have been prepared for the fights and they
would have got sent right back to Egypt They
either would have been put in bondage by these
people that they faced when they got there or
they would have gone back to the bondage in Egypt
God took them through the wilderness so he could
instill faith in them and break things off of
them. So that way he could keep his promise to
them. He took them the long way. God's way is
often the long way, because the long way is the
preparation way. The long way is the way that's
going to be the lasting way. If Rome wasn't built
in a day, if you all have heard that saying,
and that's the same for God's promises, is he
lays a foundation, a firm foundation, so that
way when the rains come and the winds blow, you're
not built on sand, you're built on a rock, and
that is biblical. Okay, that is when your foundation
is Christ, when your foundation is Jesus, it
will not be shaken when the storms come, when
the pain comes, when the suffering comes. And
a lot of us are so focused on the quick way that
we want to avoid God's way. And I'm encouraging
y 'all today not to do that. And if you have
done that, you can repent and turn to God. I'm
a living example of that. Paul is an example
of that. He was persecuting Christians and he
was on his way to Damascus With an order saying
that he could go and lock up more when God encountered
him when he encountered the truth of Jesus Christ
You don't have to clean yourself up before you
come to Jesus You don't have to present yourself
as perfect and like do it all on your own to
prove yourself to God as worthy of being forgiven
He will forgive you just when you ask for forgiveness
Now let's move on here where it says consider
what I say for the Lord will give you an understanding
of everything and As someone who I used to all
I cared about was wisdom and knowledge Fun fact
y 'all that was actually the big reason why I
got into New Age and tarot cards before I gave
my life to Jesus was I saw it as a way to get
ahead in life I saw as Because I was someone
who sought control and I was in a lot of pain
and suffering I was looking for answers and I
was looking for truth and I was looking for control
and I was like Oh, I can ask these cards and
figure out what this person's intent is. I don't
have to wait and see if they're gonna hurt me.
Oh I can look at this and see what's going on,
which you can't the devil is a liar He gives
you half true. So I want to be so clear that
the things I saw in there Like the things I got
out that were not the truth of God and they weren't
from God That was a sin divination is a sin witchcraft
is a sin and you can't partake in that and Expect
the truth of God and the blessings of God to
come from that be so for real. Okay But what
I desired the most was wisdom and understanding
and when people would when I would hear Christians
say like God told me God revealed to me I would
be like y 'all are a load of crap Like I did
not believe it. I was like, oh you just woke
up and God just whispered this to you God just
told this to you I thought no you have to take
all these other steps and I thought like it was
once in the blue moon and Then when I repented
and gave my life to the Lord and I started just
locking in I've told you all this before that
for months when I when I Repented and I turned
away from New Age for months It was just me and
the Bible and God and like 15 hour 12 to 15 hours
a day I was just reading the Bible fasting and
praying And in two months the Lord was revealing
to me so much. He was giving me an understanding
of what I was reading. He was giving me promises.
He was calling me to repentance. He's calling
me to break things off. I didn't need the divination.
I didn't need the horoscopes. I didn't need the
false prophets. I didn't need the, and I'm doing
quotation, prophetic words that aren't from God.
There are ones that are y 'all but there are
a lot of people out there who claim to be prophets
from God Well when you take that word back to
God, that's not from God It's just there to plant
anger and fear and anxiety and it's works of
the enemy And the Lord really showed me that
anything I need to know he will make sure I know
and y 'all need to hear that today, too If there's
something that God means you to know you're gonna
know If he needs you to apply at that job, you're
going to know. If that is the person he wants
you to date or marry, you're gonna know. If that
is the church tree to go to, you're gonna know.
If that person is dangerous and bad company,
corrupts good morals, you are going to know.
But the way to hear God is to consistently be
in his presence. You don't talk to a friend by
constantly ignoring their calls or refusing to
reach out to them It's pretty obvious that the
way you communicate with someone is you put yourself
in a space to hear from them and to talk to them
Which is why you should be consistently in God's
presence before you make big decisions. Take
it to God You should be praying to God daily
having daily conversations with him. Okay, y
'all That is how You have the understanding you're
not gonna know everything and you're you're not
gonna be able This is a big one. Okay, cuz there
are a lot of people who want to know God's word
They want to be able to quote scripture and be
able to have scripture like written on their
heart But then they don't read the Bible, but
then they only listen to sermons. I Remember
when I when I first gave my life to lawyers a
couple months after when the enemy really started
coming after my mind and I had to take these
thoughts captive and make them obedient to the
word of God. I had to make them obedient to Christ.
And I remember listening to different people's
testimonies that were dealing with that. And
all of them said the same thing of like, I combat
it with scripture. The enemy hits me with a lot
of lies, but I'm able to decipher what are lies
because I'm rooted in the word. And that was
my big problem. I was like, I was getting hit
with like a lot of lies of the enemy. And some
of it I was believing. And I was like, how do
I know what's from God and what isn't? And I
really felt God lead me to that of like, you
know, by knowing my word. And that way, when
I started hearing false things, I was like, no,
because this is what God's word says. But I only
knew that because I consistently spent time reading
the Bible. And not only that, I was praying for
understanding. And if there was something I didn't
understand and I prayed to the Lord and I felt
him lead me to like, go look it up, go read up
on it. Watch this sermon. Like I would do that.
I'm saying sermons and things are supplemental
y 'all but sermon should not be your Bible reading
My podcast should not be your Bible reading If
you're someone who struggles with being able
to identify what is from the enemy and what isn't
what's a lie and what isn't know God's Word If
you're someone who struggles with discerning
between like false teachers and false prophets
know God's Word Does God's what the Bible actually
tells you how to spot these people? Tells you
what to look out for if you need conviction you
need humbling read the Bible. I feel convicted
like every day I read it. I'm like, ooh, I fall
short. I fall in shorts again The Lord will give
you an understanding and everything if you need
to know you will know but it is important faith
without works is dead y 'all it is important
That you walk in obedience Pray to God talk to
him have a relationship with Jesus Be receptive
be listening be reading scripture if you love
Jesus and you you want to know Jesus take the
active steps The one who believes in him will
do the works that he does okay and and and what
where I go with that a lot is our Our actions
speak loudly Our actions speak where our heart
is at our actions will follow Where our faith
is really at right if someone's faith is really
in Jesus They're going to start walking like
him and looking like him. You can't help it If
you really desire to have a relationship with
Jesus your actions are going to follow And there
was something I read and dare to be true by Madison
Pruitt Trout that like really struck a chord
with me where she said you make time for what
matters to you and for her that was talking about
prayer, you know where she was saying that she
knew she needed to increase her prayer life and
there are a lot of other people who need to increase
their prayer life that they say I'm too busy
and I don't have the time and I don't know what
to pray about and they make all these excuses
and she just flat out said you make time for
what matters to you if you know prayer is what
God you know prayer is Needs to be worked on
You'll make time for it and just like Mary and
Martha y 'all how we see with with the story
of Mary and Martha Mary chose the better thing
She sat at Jesus's feet while Martha was running
around busybodying And I've seen this tried and
true so many times in my life if you make time
for God He will make time for everything else
Like when there are times when God has called
me to stop my normal routine and do something
instead be in the word or Go to a service or
whatever it is. He's called me to do and I'm
like, but God I have a million other things Guess
what those millionaire things get done that day.
I need to be done gets done. God makes time It's
like he literally stops time or he speeds activities
up I don't know how he does it but it all gets
done and taken care of and I end up feeling rested
Let's go on reading remember Jesus Christ risen
from the dead and descended from David According
to my gospel for which I suffer to the point
of being bound like a criminal, but the word
of God is not bound It's not wild how even though
Paul is bound in prison He's bound in prison.
The word of God is still traveling. He knows
that even though the enemy might have him physically
unable to move The testimony is being heard The
gospel is still being spread because every one
of these guards that has to go check on him,
they have to say, why is he in prison? Oh, because
he's a Christian. What's a Christian? Oh, a follower
of Jesus. Even in his being locked up, the gospel
is being spread. But to add on to this, as we
were reading here in verse 10. In chapter 2 this
is why I endure all things for the elect so that
they may obtain salvation Which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory which the elect I Know
there are a lot of different discussions in church
There are some people who don't believe this
and there are some people who do God is all -knowing
God knows when we if we are going to repent God
knows if we are gonna put our faith in Jesus
God knows already he knew what our life was gonna
look like before he create us and there's some
people who are angry at God who Are angry at
the fact that God would create people knowing
that they weren't gonna put their faith in him
and they use that as oh So he predestined them
the health they still have the active choice
They still have the active choice God knows what
they're going to choose They still have the active
choice. Okay, but Paul is talking about the elect
The people that are one day going to put their
faith in Jesus. They might not be walking with
him today We have elect here today That's why
we go out and evangelize, that's why we go out
and spread the gospel, is because we're planting
seeds in hopes that someone is going to hear
it and repent. We know that there are people
who are one day going to convert, who are going
to put their faith in Jesus. That's why we go
out and spread the gospel. And Paul is saying,
I suffer for these people. He knows that his
suffering is going to be a testimony that gives
other people courage one day that might not have
put their faith in Jesus yet or that there are
going to be some people who See that and want
to put their faith in Jesus because they're like
this man is willing to suffer all of this This
must be the truth. I need to hear the gospel
Paul is saying that he's like I'm going through
this suffering Because I know God is going to
use it for other people and to help other people
and that's what we've talked about with Testimonies
earlier y 'all and that's the courage that God
had given me when I came out new age And I didn't
want to tell anyone I was ashamed of my testimony
I felt God say one day there's gonna be a lot
of people turning from new age and your testimony
is gonna be used to help those people They don't
have their faith in Jesus right now, but one
day it will be and one day you are gonna be necessary
There is a testimony every single one of y 'all
listening to us today that you have that God
can use There is a testimony you have that can
plant a seed And it might not be today it might
be for someone a year from now two years from
now three years from now But that doesn't make
it unimportant I'm gonna go on reading this for
if we died with him. We will also live with him
if we endure We will also reign with him if we
deny him. He will also deny us if we are faithless
He remains faithful for he cannot deny himself
And I feel like the scripture is touching on
what we talked about earlier y 'all Of like it's
not about this world. It's about in heaven Like
in this lifetime our mission is to spread the
gospel and to create disciples in the further
the kingdom of heaven But our crowning our reward
is in heaven. It's not about what we get here
on earth Because if you haven't noticed what
we've been talking about a lot and second Timothy
is when you're walking in obedience And you're
walking in your calling. There's actually a lot
of pain and suffering It doesn't always look
like the big fancy house in the mansion and just
like everyone adores you and loves you because
a servant isn't Greater than his master if they
hated Jesus, they're gonna hate you, too And
then amen, okay So that's why we set our mind
on things above What we see here isn't a determination
of how much God loves us of like The blessings
we feel are poured out on us Paul was used by
God in amazing ways. God loved him. God did forgive
him but he went through a lot of suffering an
interesting thing is that's what Ananias was
told if you read if y 'all read an Acts where
it's talking about his conversion and Paul is
blinded and Ananias God gives him a vision to
let go lay hands on Paul to heal him And God
tells Ananias, Paul already has seen the vision
of you. He's waiting on you. He knows you're
coming. Ananias is like, are you talking about
this dude that was going around persecuting people
and you want him to be able to see again? And
God said to him, Paul, and this is just the gist
of it. God said to him, Paul is going to be suffering
a lot on behalf of the gospel. He's going to
get his fill on suffering. And when I read that,
I kind of took that as, okay, that's a little
bit of a comfort to Ann Nias, because I feel
like Ann Nias was like, he's going to get off
scot -free, like he's going to get off, you're
just going to forgive him, and he gets away with
it. God's like, no, like he's going to have to
suffer a lot on behalf of what he's doing. Like,
Paul's suffering that he went through is such
a testimony to all of us today, right? A lot
of us draw strength, like where Paul was writing
his happiest letter from being locked up in prison.
I can do all things through Christ who gives
me strength like His suffering is such a testimony
to us today and so necessary for us But God right
before Paul even was healed of the blindness
before he even stepped into any kind of evangelizing
God already knew the suffering God already knew
what he was going to face God already had a plan
I want to read this back to y 'all for if we
died with him, we will also live with him Remember
we have eternal life in heaven even if and this
isn't what's gonna happen for every Christian,
but even if You are a martyr even if you die
because of your faith And I think about Charlie
Kirk as I say this I think about all the Christians
who are being beheaded because they refuse to
renounce Christ. Their life ending here, they're
not dead, they're alive with Jesus. They have
eternal life. If we endure, we will also reign
with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us.
Sometimes we forget that it's by our faith that
we are saved. It's not by our works, so that
way no one may boast. I believe that is Ephesians.
It does not matter how many good things you do,
how good intent you are, any of that. If your
faith is not in Jesus, when you go before the
Father, it's going to be, depart from me for
I never knew you. The thing that keeps us out
of heaven is our sin. And we all are attached
to the original sin of Adam and Eve, but we each
sin throughout our life. us have fallen short
that that's biblical that all of us have fallen
short of the grace of god lately all of us need
what jesus did on the cross whether or not we
want to admit it or take accountability for every
single one of us needs what he did to enter heaven
none of us can go before god and say our works
that's certainly why jesus came because it was
clear that the works like no one could keep it
keep up with it the Pharisees on the outside
could do it but inside they were whitewashed
they were whitewashed tombs on the inside they
had all this wickedness and all this hypocrisy
know what if the if the pharisees Couldn't be
saved by their works, baby. You're not saved
by your works. I say that lovingly So when we
deny christ in this life when we deny putting
our faith in jesus or when we're closet christians
of like yeah, i'll say privately i'll put my
faith in jesus, but like When I step out of the
house, I'm going to look exactly like the world.
You're not going to tell the difference. Is your
faith really in Jesus? The one who believes in
him will do the works that he does. I ask you
that like if at home in your private space, you're
quietly or like call yourself a Christian, but
then you refuse to stand on biblical boundaries.
You refuse to tell people about Jesus. You refuse
to look any differently. You refuse to change.
You refuse to die to self. You refuse to do any
of these things. Is your faith really in Jesus?
Do you really fear God? If you're really comfortable
being lukewarm and playing both sides, do you
really fear God? Do you? If we deny him he will
also deny us we forget that like one day we are
gonna go before God and the only thing the only
thing that's gonna last into heaven is Jesus
stepping forward and saying this one is covered
this one is mine They have their faith in me
They are covered in my blood That is the only
thing If we are faithless, he remains faithful
for he cannot deny himself. And this is Paul
reminding us about God's unchanging nature. And
that's the most amazing thing with God is he
will not, his word does not return empty. God
keeps his promises. He is never changing. His
character is never changing. There's not gonna
be a day where God just decides he's no longer
gonna fulfill his promises or when one day God
just isn't good anymore or God doesn't honor.
The people who honor him like God is never changing.
So even when our faith even when we're faithless
Even when we are shaking even when we are imperfect
even when we fall away God doesn't God is so
consistent He will never not be the loving father.
He will never not be the forgiving father He
will never not be the one showing grace and mercy
to people who are humbling themselves and repentance
That's the beautiful thing is he is so unchanging
his love is unchanging it is unwavering There's
never going to be a day when we wake up and God
isn't who he has always been. He's the same God
now and forever. Amen. It says here, remind them
of these things and charge them before God not
to fight about words. This is useless and leads
to the ruin of those who listen. And we're about
to hear Paul touch on a lot. Quicking involved
in pointless arguments. Like quit arguing over
the stupid petty little things Because it just
leads that no one wins Have you all ever been
in those conversations where it's like someone
gets butthurt or offended by a wording? What
do you mean by that? Yeah, I know you said it
that way, but are you sure you didn't mean it
this way? When you're so busy twisting and manipulating
and all these things like have you ever looked
back and been like man? That was such a stupid
disagreement Like there wasn't really a point
to it. We were just fighting the fight We were
arguing over stupid and pointless things that
led to a destruction of our friendship. It led
to the destruction of a relationship It led to
the destruction. It's crazy how many things are
destroyed by pointless stupid offenses Stop getting
offended by stupid pointless things We're called
to take the higher road as Christians we're called
to forgive and love when it makes no sense We're
not called to get offended by the petty things
and go tit for tat. And if you do, this is where
it leads. It leads to destruction. But instead,
be diligent to present yourself to God as one
approved, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed,
correctly teaching the word of truth. We're gonna
go we're gonna go through all this again. I want
to put this all together real quick real Remind
them of these things and charge them before God
not to fight about words And I think sometimes
as Christians we do that with Christians and
other denominations, right? You get so caught
up in like one or two words that really don't
change The theology that don't change but we
get so caught up in the meaning of one or two
words That there's a base there's arguments that
just go round and round with no winner The only
winner is Satan because now he has division Now
he has separation a house divided against itself
cannot stand. How many how many Christian denominations
do we have? Isn't it like 47? Of Christians who
and a lot of these Christians who are ready to
bash each other and call each other all kinds
of names and not want to sit together and I cannot
tell y 'all how many times it's crazy when I'm
looking online like TikTok. For example, there's
a perfect example is Leo Scaffi. He's been reading
the Bible, but every time I look I saw a post
the other day where he said he was going to church
and I saw in the comments every day each person
shouting out their denomination and then people
hating on each other in the comments and not
that one, go to this one, not this one. It's
like we see someone coming to Jesus and we just
want to applaud this person coming to Jesus and
seeking truth and having the Holy Spirit lead
them where the Holy Spirit wants them to go.
but you see people of different denominations
just tearing each other to shreds. And a lot
of these denominations, like it's crazy when
I look at the history of some church splits happen
off of disagreement of over just a couple words,
where it's not even like a theological difference,
but maybe the way they walk it out, like whether
or not they wear skirts or like whether or not,
like it's crazy, it's crazy, it's crazy. It's
crazy, y 'all. It's crazy how getting caught
up in just a few words can lead to just destruction.
And this is what Paul warns us about where he's
like, don't get caught up in words because like
literally it destroys. And it makes me wonder
too how many people are probably reading those
comments sections who are also wanting to go
to church and who see that and they're like,
man, the Christians can't even agree. Like the
Christians are hating each other like I don't
want to go Like how many people are turned off
and I know that God will point them back, but
we're ambassadors for Christ Okay, we're not
meant to be we're not meant to be Christ We're
not meant to be perfect like Christ, but we're
representing Christ and we're supposed to be
presenting ourselves as tried -and -true workers
We're supposed to be trying to look like Jesus
and trying to showcase the fruits of the spirit
and trying to exemplify that and just plant seeds
for other people but when everyone's arguing
and at each other's throats and bashing each
other and calling this person a cult or calling
this person of this or calling this person of
that and Just like trying to like tear each other
down to get your your thing ahead It's just producing
destruction. The devil is the only one winning
And that's not to say that I don't have, I do
have, there are some things I view as very big
differences in my belief that may be other denominations.
But tearing down and just going tit for tat,
that's not the answer. There's a time and place
for discussions, loving Christ -filled discussions.
But tearing down that's not that's not the answer.
It's not God loves us all and you'd be surprised
at the people he pours the Holy Spirit out on
I was reminded of that too and reading apps and
where you know Peter Says yeah, that was Peter
y 'all. Sorry. We're getting a little set But
I I felt the need to drop this on but there was
a Gentile who You know god sent an angel and
said like send for peter to come and give you
a message and talk to you And god sent an angel
to peter telling peter don't call what I have
deemed clean unclean Because like an angel was
telling peter like go kill and eat and here's
like no lord I can't i've never ate anything
unclean and god was like don't call what I have
deemed clean unclean because at that point the
gentiles were all called unclean and god has
decided he's going to integrate the men and Gentiles
were going to be These people too you and me
y 'all We thought you know weren't raised Jewish
that weren't historically God Because they rejected
Jesus the course has been it opened up the door
for us But at that time obviously the people
who are Jewish still they weren't eating they
still eating with Like being around talking to
they still saw the Gentiles as unclean and God
was like, no, there's no more separation There
I've called them clean. Don't treat them as less
than don't treat them as dogs. Don't treat them
as trash Don't treat them as dirty and God kind
of corrected him and when Peter went to his house
and everything He talked to them and you know
The Holy Spirit ended up being given to the Gentiles
and there are people who were shocked that the
Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles There are
people who were shocked And that was where Peter
was saying God truly does not discriminate God
loves everybody people of all nations the ones
who are obedient and walking like an uprightness
Will be blessed. These are the ones Now let's
continue and move along here we're getting a
little we're taking up some time I'm trying to
keep this not a super duper long episode y 'all
that says here avoid are relevant and avoid irreverent
and empty speech since those who engage in it
Will produce even more godlessness and their
teachings will spread like gangrene and right
before this You know where God says to where
Paul is saying present yourselves to God as one
who's approved who doesn't need to be ashamed
correctly Teaching the word of truth if you're
like, okay, Danielle We've talked the past couple
weeks about like not being ashamed and like standing
in truth, even if you're being persecuted for
it Where does it say that specifically right
here? I'm smiling, right here. Even if standing
in the truth leads to suffering, don't be ashamed.
Stand in it. Even if you know everyone, people
aren't going to want to be your friend anymore
when you say, well, these are my values because
I have a biblical worldview. I believe that the
Bible is the living, breathing word of God. I
believe that is God inspired. Y 'all, I'm one
of those people. And I was talking about this
on the phone last night with all my family members.
Where there's nothing new under the sun and when
something arises and I'm like, I'm not sure how
I feel about that I go to the bible because the
bible tells me how I should feel about that And
if I heard someone say that like five years ago,
I would look at them like they were crazy No,
no, I I want to live a life pleasing to god and
god has given me right here Everything I need
to know which is why I want to be so rooted in
the word I want the word tattooed on my heart
because I have exactly how to live my life right
here And if I believe that this is God, the living,
breathing word of God, like if I believe that
this is from God, I'm gonna live by it. And not
all of my feelings at first matched up with what
I read. I had to pray that God would change my
heart. But now when I'm encountered with something,
especially in our society today, there's always
something popping up now. How does God feel about
it? What does God's word say? And I open up and
I see things like, I open up and I see what God
intended with creation. I see what God says about
love. I see what God says about sin. I see what
God says and I'm able to say this is how I feel
about that. And most people would say you should
be ashamed for that to be your value or that
belief because that doesn't align with the world.
And maybe you're that person or just having that
value, you're going to lose friends, you're going
to lose support, you're going to lose community.
be willing to lose that so if you're like danielle
where does it say that like even if standing
in the truth leads to suffering they need to
stand the truth anywhere right here stand in
the truth it goes on to say avoid irreverent
and empty speech since those who engage in it
will produce even more godlessness and their
teaching will spread like gangrene and i have
written down here right right here you go pointless
unholy talk that lacks value and edification
All it does, those pointless conversations that
aren't pointing to Jesus, that aren't edifying
people, that are instead itching the flesh, comforting
the scratchy ears, maybe they're entertaining
conspiracies that like do not point to Jesus,
okay? All of these things, all they do is produce
distance and corrupt the truth. And then this
spreads and corrupts others. We see because Paul
says humanus and philatius are among them They
have departed from the truth saying that the
resurrection has already taken place and are
ruining the faith of some They originally had
a right understanding of the gospel but entertaining
so much pointless talk and pointless conspiracies
and like pointless conversations and just gossip
and all these things has led them away from the
truth and Although they once knew the truth.
They are now somewhat totally different They
now believe that the resurrection has already
happened and they're actually ruining the faith
of other christians They might not even realize
that they have become a false teacher with their
false beliefs But if you all want to know what
what does that point let why why should we stay
away from that pointless? Conversation and gossip
and the things that don't edify and the endless
conspiracies and like only focusing on the kingdom
of darkness and wickedness Why does god not want
us to do that? Because it leads to this And not
only is this destruction of your faith It spreads
to others and that's the destruction of others
and it contaminates others And remember what
God said where it's in scripture that it's better
a millstone be tied around your neck And you're
cast into the sea than you lead other people
astray. It's very you're often dead Then you
are responsible for other people being led astray
It says here nevertheless God's solid foundation
stands firm bearing this inscription the Lord
knows who are his and Let everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.
God knows our hearts God knows if our faith is
really in him. God knows our intent for why we're
doing what we're doing And there are people out
there who think that they can play God. There
are people out there who think, well, if I say
Jesus with my mouth, but then I have all this
wickedness in my heart, I'll go to heaven. God
knows your heart. He knows if your faith is really
in Jesus. Let everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord turn away from wickedness. It's not
just about calling. It's not just about saying
Jesus' name, but there's a repentance that follows
along with that. When your faith is in Jesus,
you can't help but walk like Jesus. We see a
thing with like and I and I I can't act like
I know everything that's going on But all of
a sudden there's a lot of celebrities Who are
speaking the name of Jesus? They've noticed it's
popular to speak the name of Jesus and try throwing
God into things A lot of them are more saying
God and keep in mind y 'all when people say God
they're not all talking about Jesus There are
a lot of people who are talking about God who's
actually the lowercase G God For a lot of people
that is their God Just because they say God just
because they say the name of Jesus just because
they say they're Christian You shall know them
by their fruits, okay, there are a lot of celebrities
right now that secret like that see saying the
name of Jesus as a pleasing thing to some We
shall know them by their fruits, that's all I'll
say with that we shall know them by their fruits
because it says here People that call on the
name of Jesus will also turn away from their
wickedness. There's an action that follows And
I think it's very important to reiterate your
works do not buy your faith, but your works are
a sign of your faith If your faith is in Jesus
your life will start to look different your works
will start to look different And the lord knows
the people who are doing it for attention for
clout for money for a comfortable space because
there are people who go through something like
really crazy and then just claim to be Christian
in hopes that people will be like forgiving of
them and kind to them. There are people who who
falsely claim the name of Jesus. But over time
it shows. Their fruits speak. You can't fake
it. You can't fake the fruit. But I think what
we forget because a lot of us get really caught
up on like wanting other people to see and other
people know the only person like really God knows.
and no one is going to be able to go before the
Heavenly Father one day and fake it. The Lord
knows who are His. He knows. He knows those who
are one day going to put their faith in Him.
He knows the elect. He knows those who are going
to turn. Now in a large house, there are not
only gold and silver vessels, but also those
of wood and clay, some for honorable use and
some for dishonorable use. So if anyone purifies
himself from anything dishonorable, he will be
a special instrument set apart, useful to the
master, prepared for every good work. And I want
to take this as a moment, and I think this is
where Paul was getting at too, is we all have
talents. And I talked about this in the last
episode. We have talents. Right now obviously
there there are gifts of the spirit like the
gift of teaching The gift of evangelizing and
these things but a lot of us are born with natural
talents Like we might be good at singing. We
might be good at musical instruments. We might
be good at art We might be good at dancing. We
might be good at communicating. We might be good
at these things And we each have the decision
of what we do with that talent. Do you use it
to glorify God? Or do you use it to get yourself
ahead? Do you use it for the world? Do you use
it for wickedness? God created I think we forget
sometimes that God created things good It's sin.
It's the devil that corrupts People with the
gift of singing people with the talent of singing
you see some that use it to glorify God You'll
see them singing in church You'll see them singing
in the choir. You'll see them giving their time
with their gift to God You'll see them singing
worship music. You'll see them, you know working
in those ways and Things are gonna plant seeds
and things that are gonna give other people strength
I don't know about y 'all but when I'm feeling
weak one of my ways I go into worship because
I I can't Be worshiping and ungrateful. I can't
be worshiping and angry. I can't be worshiping
and hopeless So when I feel those feelings I
get into a space of worship and oftentimes I
listen to worship music and it's because people
chose to use their gift in a way that glorifies
God that I'm able to turn on that worship music
because singing is not like my gift. I'm being
so real with y 'all. But then we also see people
who have that same gift. Who use it for themselves.
It's not about God. It's not about pointing people
to the cross. It's not about how God can use
it It's about how much money can make They use
that gift and they lead people into lust They
sing all these songs about sex and drugs and
money and all these things and hookups and Cheating
and adultery all this stuff and they glorify
that and there are other people who sing that
and come into agreement with that and think what
they're doing is okay and they don't realize
that even singing about that you're being used
by the kingdom of darkness because that's what
you're normalizing and that's what you're glorifying
and that's what you're elevating. There are people
who have a gift for explaining things and communicating
things and when they could be being used to explain
the gospel and communicate the gospel or to counsel
people or to talk to people. Instead, they use
it to manipulate and to twist and to deceive.
They use it to sell things. They use it to be
a sales pitch. They use it to sell the kingdom
of darkness. God, we are born with talents, but
we make the choice. Do we use this in a clean
and honorable way or do we use this in a dishonorable
way? And I want to be so clear that you can repent
and Stop using it in a dishonorable way and use
it in an honorable way. For example, y 'all One
of the gifts I really feel like the Lord has
given me is the ability to explain things For
me, that's one now. I'm not saying I'm perfect
with our amazing with it But one thing I've been
told a lot over my life is you're really good
at explaining how you feel or you're really good
at explaining a situation where it makes sense
and it's relatable and I can understand it. But
unfortunately I didn't always use that for the
gospel. Now God has shown me how to use it to
glorify him and lead other people to him. But
I used to do it in self -serving ways. When I
was a new age I used it to sell tarot readings.
I used it in a very dishonorable way. But when
I repented and I gave my life to Jesus amen I
Went through a time of just humbling myself before
him and one day he started telling me that you're
gonna share this testimony and you're gonna use
it and This is how I want you to start using
as on the podcast start talking to people about
what I did for your life And it slowly turned
into start explaining what you understand with
scripture start breaking it down It finally turned
into this series now second Timothy It is possible
because it says here It says here if anyone purifies
himself from anything dishonorable He will be
a special instrument set apart useful to the
master prepared for every work I want to speak
this to y 'all today that there is restoration
and renewal and repentance you can be using your
talents in a bad way and Repent and start using
them in an honorable way And not only will God
use it, He will set you apart. And He will use
you in ways that are amazing. He will use you
to do incredible good works. I think we forget
that people can repent. And that's why when I
use examples, and how I even did today of like,
people who might be calling on the name of Jesus,
but don't have their faith in Him, I want to
remind you all that it is possible for these
people to one day have their faith in Jesus.
Everyone we have the opportunity throughout our
life when I was talking about the elect. We still
have the opportunity throughout our life It's
not like we're programmed to have no opportunity
we have the opportunity we have the choice and
That's why we should never condemn anyone Even
when you see someone who's heavy in debauchery
someone who's heavy in witchcraft someone who's
heavy in fornication or any of these like any
of these things And we can look at them and see
that they are on the path to hell. We can see
through what they're doing and where their faith
is at that this is not right in the sight of
God. But we can't say this person is never going
to repent and this person is never going to change
and God can do nothing. Because we don't know
that. People used to say that about me. And God
surprised a lot. God surprised me. He surprised
a lot of other people for leaving the 99 to find
me He found me and I want to remind you all of
that that there is no one who is too far gone
To come to Jesus. I was someone who used to say
I would never Never be a Christian that been
never And look at what God does I Want to remind
you all of that that you are capable of redemption
and renewal And like sometimes I think we we
we think that when people repent like God will
just forgive them and they'll kind of just barely
get by and they have to work the rest of their
life at like earning God's grace and love and
mercy and this is God's reminder of no you can
actually be set apart like you can be used for
big things for good things like we are on an
even playing field here in God's eyes not the
world's but in God's and that's not saying that
the world is going to forgive you all for your
past It's not saying that the world's gonna forget
or let it go. But in God's eyes, you're a new
creation. Anyone who's in Christ is a new creation.
Amen, amen. So it says here, flee, we're in verse
22, flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness,
faith, love, and peace, along with those who
call on the Lord from a pure heart. And I want
this to be our encouragement today to look at
the desires in your heart currently look at the
things that you're passionate about and really
kind of start thinking like Do these things align
with the Word of God and do these things glorify
God? Some of these things maybe you've been holding
on to for years that they've just been your your
goal for years. Are these God -given desires?
Are these Godly passions are these things that
bring you closer to Christ or these things that
align with Scripture? Are these passions leading
you to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and
peace and allowing you to operate from your heart?
Are they bringing other things out of you? And
if they're bringing other things out of you,
it might be time to evaluate and see that that
might not, that might be a passion that you should
be fleeing from. If it's lust, it's, you know,
the sex, and you find like you're looking for
all the, for example, you want all these things
in a partner, but when you really stop and evaluate,
you realize that a lot of these things are from
like a lustful, passionate place, and a lot of
these things wouldn't lead you closer to Christ.
Don't come from a man who's leading you closer
to Christ. Don't come from a man of God. Comes
from a man of the world, you know, you know and
thought my brothers in Christ not a woman of
God a woman of the world, right? We're called
to flee from these passions and A quick way to
identify if it's a passion You should be fleeing
from is does it lead you again to pursue righteousness
faith love and peace does it produce the peace
Does it allow you to operate from the pure heart
It says here, but reject foolish, we're going
back to cut out the petty arguments, but reject
foolish and ignorant disputes because you know
they breed quarrels. The Lord's servant must
not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone,
able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents
with gentleness. That's what sets you apart.
I've talked to you all about this a lot. We're
supposed to look different than the world. Our
reactions are supposed to look different from
the world. You are supposed to react differently
when you're put in a situation. We're not called
to be crash outs. I was a crash out before I
gave my life to Jesus and slowly He worked on
my heart and worked on my reactions and I became
less of a crash out. I became someone who could
respond differently, someone who the first step
God showed me is how to shut my mouth and be
silent. And at first I just had to endure people
saying things to me and me just not responding
back because at the time I couldn't respond in
a loving way and the way that wasn't condemning.
So if I couldn't say anything nice, I didn't
say anything at all. And that was what God took
me through and that was humbling, humbling. But
I just had to learn how to shut my mouth and
how to just walk away and not even make the facial
expressions. Some of us think that we can shut
our mouth but then make all the sarcastic facial
expressions and get away with it. No. No. I had
to learn how to not only shut my mouth but tame
my face. And even though I swill in all these
different types of ways inside, the first step
was not clapping back, not crashing out, not
responding back. Because I understood that any
kind of crash out I'm an ambassador for Christ
now now that I am a Christian And if I and I
want to say I live my life by the word of God
I'm a follower of Jesus and especially if I want
to start holding other people accountable to
that I better be holding myself to it first The
log in my own eye before I point out the splinter
and someone else's yeah And that was my first
step is shut my mouth learn how to shut my mouth
and then slowly the Lord started showing me how
to respond in love and it's really through steps
right because I feel like we have to keep that
in mind I feel like we have to remember that
but like we are ambassadors for Christ and the
way we respond needs to look different from the
way the world responds and today I am not comforting
y 'all and being a crash out I am not comforting
y 'all in matching energy and getting your look
back and responding. And what I mean by matching
energy is that's like a very popular thing today,
right? Of like, well, they treat me this way,
I'm going to treat them that way. They said this
to me, I'm going to say it to them back. They
made me feel this way, I'm going to make them
feel like that. And I'm not innocent at all.
I'm not innocent in that. I was that person when
I was younger that if someone hit me, I was going
to hit them harder. And I just thought, well,
then they won't hit me again because they know
I hit really hard with my words and with my comments.
But that wasn't the love of Jesus. That was the
worldly way and that was the way to get a worldly
win and the worldly feel good. But that wasn't
pointing anyone closer to Jesus and that was
producing separation between me and Jesus. As
followers of Christ, we are to reject the foolish
and ignorant arguments where people are just
trying to gaslight you and trying to get you
heated when you're looking at it and you're like
there is nothing to be gained here. You're not
to fight to fight. You're not to argue to argue
There's a lot of us that find ourselves going
into arguments and disagreements not even because
like there's a win But more out of pride and
out of ego of not wanting to lose and wanting
to get the last word We are not called to get
the last word as Christians That's not our lot.
That's not our game Because it goes on here to
say perhaps God will grant them repentance leading
them to the knowledge of truth Then they come
to their senses and will escape the trap of the
devil who has taken them captive to do as well
Y 'all, I cannot tell you how many times that
the Lord has called me to just drop it, to drop
it and trust that He will convict and trust that
He will work in hearts and trust that He will
lead them to repentance. And I cannot tell y
'all how many times that God fulfilled that or
later on the person apologized or later on the
person repented or later on the person learned
a lesson from it. It actually speaks a lot more
volumes when you don't hurt them back. They actually
have to sit with it a lot more. and i'm not saying
every person there are some people who don't
have that guilty conscience but there is the
chance that god is actively working at their
heart and knocking at their heart and you deciding
to respond in love and meet in love that they
are going to be left to have to evaluate the
situation and god is going to pierce their heart
with conviction You're not going to plant the
seed and get them to give to God give their lives
to Jesus and see that they're wrong and everything
in the heat of the moment and the heat of coral
It's in the time of reflection and we have to
be so thoughtful of how we leave situations and
oftentimes us not matching and us not going back
and forth is What opens the door for God to be
able to come in and do that now I go I did look
at the time and we are kind of over time We're
at like a minute. We're at like an hour and 30
minutes on this podcast episode So I do feel
like we need to kind of close it down right here
But I want you all to tune in for next week's
episode where I believe God willing we will be
doing chapter 3 and I pray that this episode
is encouraging to y 'all And I do ask you to
hit subscribe wherever it is you're listening
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this with someone who you think is going to be
needing to hear this episode and I will see you
guys next time. Bye guys.