WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 What if the greatest battle you're fighting today 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:05.360 didn't begin today? What if some of the fears 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:08.359 you carry were planted years ago? What if the 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.179 insecurity you wrestle with didn't originate 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:13.679 with you? What if the anger, the bitterness, 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:17.179 the shame, the rejection, the fear of failure, 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.519 the constant comparison, the lies you believe 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:23.100 about yourself were never yours to begin with? 00:00:23.579 --> 00:00:27.079 What if someone else planted them? Because not 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:30.500 every seed in your heart was welcomed. Some arrived 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.600 before you even knew what was happening. Some 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.740 were planted through words, through experiences, 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:40.039 through disappointments, through betrayal, through 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.479 culture, through repeated exposure, through voices 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:46.759 you trusted. And perhaps the most dangerous seeds 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:49.600 are not the ones we knowingly entertain. They 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.799 are the ones we don't even realize are growing. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.520 Today, I want us to explore a different kind 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.759 of battle. Not the seed you chose, but the seed 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:02.380 that quietly chose you. Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.700 a ministry of Life of Christ International Ministries, 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.739 where we build stronger lives, deeper faith, 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.700 and Christ -centered homes, one story, one message, 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:16.280 and one revelation at a time. I'm Barry Mwamba. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:20.920 Let's begin. One of the greatest misconceptions 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:23.620 about the Christian life is believing that every 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:26.959 battle begins with a personal choice. Sometimes, 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.719 It doesn't. Before we were old enough to discern 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.299 truth, people were already speaking into our 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:36.760 lives. Parents. Teachers. Friends. Culture. Television. 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:41.500 Music. Stories. Social media. Life itself. Every 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:44.099 one of them. Planting something. Some planted 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:47.359 courage. Others planted fear. Some planted hope. 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:50.239 Others planted shame. Some planted identity. 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.140 Others planted confusion. The frightening reality 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:55.980 is this. Children rarely question the seeds they 00:01:55.980 --> 00:01:59.040 receive. They simply believe them. A child repeatedly 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.760 told, you'll never amount to anything, doesn't 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.719 merely hear words. A seed is planted. A little 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.719 girl who grows up without affirmation may unknowingly 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.599 begin believing, I am not enough. A young man 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.439 betrayed by someone he trusted may begin believing, 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:16.580 no one can be trusted. One painful experience 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:19.610 becomes an invisible belief. Years later, that 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:22.210 belief begins making decisions. Not because it 00:02:22.210 --> 00:02:24.689 is true, but because it has taken root. This 00:02:24.689 --> 00:02:27.629 is why Proverbs tells us, guard your heart, for 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:30.449 everything you do flows from it. Notice, everything 00:02:30.449 --> 00:02:33.289 flows from the heart. Not only our choices, but 00:02:33.289 --> 00:02:36.689 also what has been planted there. The enemy rarely 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:39.449 needs one dramatic moment. He prefers repetition. 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:42.830 One lie, repeated often enough, begins to sound 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:46.270 like truth. One image, seen often enough, begins 00:02:46.270 --> 00:02:49.729 to redefine normal. One message, heard repeatedly, 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:52.530 begin shaping identity. That is why culture is 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:54.990 so influential. Not because it always argues 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:57.729 against truth, but because it repeats an alternative 00:02:57.729 --> 00:03:00.750 story until it feels familiar. This is why scripture 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:04.009 constantly reminds us to renew our minds. Because 00:03:04.009 --> 00:03:06.770 if our minds are not continually renewed by God's 00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:09.449 truth, they will naturally be shaped by something 00:03:09.449 --> 00:03:13.289 else. We become what we repeatedly behold. Jesus 00:03:13.289 --> 00:03:15.729 once told a parable that many people overlook. 00:03:15.930 --> 00:03:18.520 A farmer planted good seed in his field. But 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:21.780 while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:24.319 planted weeds among the wheat. Think about that. 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:27.080 The farmer never planted them. The workers never 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:30.280 planted them. The enemy did. Jesus wasn't simply 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.960 talking about agriculture. He was revealing a 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:36.020 spiritual reality. While we are unaware, the 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:39.419 enemy is always looking for opportunities to 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:43.560 plant. Fear, division, confusion, false beliefs, 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.080 discouragement, doubt. Not every battle you fight 00:03:47.289 --> 00:03:50.710 originated with you. Some battles began because 00:03:50.710 --> 00:03:53.870 something foreign was planted. This is the hope 00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:57.629 of the gospel. God never asks us to simply ignore 00:03:57.629 --> 00:04:01.490 bad seeds. He replaces them. Jesus said, you 00:04:01.490 --> 00:04:04.050 shall know the truth and the truth shall set 00:04:04.050 --> 00:04:07.590 you free. Truth doesn't merely comfort us. Truth 00:04:07.590 --> 00:04:11.409 uproots lies. The Holy Spirit continually exposes 00:04:11.409 --> 00:04:14.849 what doesn't belong so he can plant what does. 00:04:15.229 --> 00:04:17.920 Every time you read scripture, God is planting. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:21.360 Every time you worship, God is planting. Every 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.399 time you forgive, God is planting. Every time 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.339 you choose faith over fear, God is planting. 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:30.240 Transformation doesn't happen because we try 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:34.560 harder. It happens because truth slowly replaces 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:38.779 the lies we once believed. If we are honest with 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:41.800 ourselves, truly honest, I believe every one 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:44.639 of us will recognize this reality. There are 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.639 seeds that were planted within us without our 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:50.220 knowledge. Seeds that quietly found their way 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:53.939 into our hearts long before we knew how to guard 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:57.680 them. Some were planted through words. Some through 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.819 painful experiences. Some through rejection. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:04.480 Some through betrayal. Some through the culture 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.980 around us. Some through what we repeatedly watched, 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:11.779 listened to, or believed. And over time, those 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:14.689 seeds began influencing the way we think, the 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:17.490 way we respond, the way we trust, the way we 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:20.230 love, the way we lead, the way we see ourselves, 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:23.370 and sometimes even the way we see God. If we 00:05:23.370 --> 00:05:25.870 are sincere with ourselves, we will have to admit 00:05:25.870 --> 00:05:28.810 something. Not every reaction we have began in 00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:31.850 the moment. Not every fear started today. Not 00:05:31.850 --> 00:05:34.949 every insecurity originated with us. Not every 00:05:34.949 --> 00:05:38.129 belief we carry was planted by God. Some of the 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:41.199 battles we fight today are the fruit of seeds 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:43.759 that were planted years ago. Seeds planted so 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.699 early or repeated so often that we eventually 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:48.939 stopped questioning them. We simply accepted 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:51.620 them as part of who we are. But here is the good 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:54.439 news. Just because a seed has taken root doesn't 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.939 mean it has to remain. The Holy Spirit is not 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:00.120 only interested in changing our behavior, He 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.180 is interested in transforming our minds. Because 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:06.300 lasting transformation doesn't begin with the 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:09.240 fruit. It begins at the root. And one of the 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.470 greatest signs of spiritual maturity is learning 00:06:12.470 --> 00:06:15.250 to recognize that not every thought you think 00:06:15.250 --> 00:06:17.730 is a truth you should believe. And not every 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:21.009 seed growing in your heart belongs in your garden. 00:06:21.189 --> 00:06:23.990 That is exactly what we see throughout the scriptures. 00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:26.829 God doesn't simply show us people's failures. 00:06:27.029 --> 00:06:30.290 He reveals the seeds that were growing long before 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:33.310 the consequences became visible. One of the easiest 00:06:33.310 --> 00:06:36.170 mistakes we make is believing that every struggle 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:38.589 begins with a personal decision. But the Bible 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:41.720 repeatedly shows us that people often lived out 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:43.980 what had first been planted into them. Let's 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:46.199 look at a few examples. Let's look at Moses. 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.480 Before God ever called Moses, he grew up in Pharaoh's 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:53.079 palace. He witnessed oppression, violence, power, 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.000 control. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.060 and instead of trusting God's timing, he reacted 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:01.459 with violence. He killed the Egyptian. Years 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:04.660 later, even after becoming Israel's leader, that 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:07.759 same tendency resurfaced. At Meribah, instead 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.550 of speaking to the Rock as God commanded, Moses 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:13.170 struck it in anger. The consequence was devastating. 00:07:13.529 --> 00:07:15.569 He led Israel to the edge of the promised land 00:07:15.569 --> 00:07:18.670 but never entered it himself. The seed of uncontrolled 00:07:18.670 --> 00:07:21.769 anger continued producing fruit until it was 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:24.329 finally confronted by God. What about Jephthah? 00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:26.970 Jephthah grew up rejected. His own brothers drove 00:07:26.970 --> 00:07:29.629 him away because he was the son of another woman. 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:32.089 Imagine the seed planted in that young man's 00:07:32.089 --> 00:07:35.490 heart. Rejection. Isolation. The need to prove 00:07:35.490 --> 00:07:38.149 himself. When God later raised him to lead Israel, 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.879 those wounds were still there. He made a reckless 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.680 vow, promising God he would sacrifice whatever 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:46.199 came out of his house if he returned victorious. 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:48.759 His own daughter came out to greet him. One seed 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:51.600 of rejection helped produce a lifetime of impulsive 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.319 decisions. Let's look at Saul. Saul began as 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.759 a humble man. But repeated comparison and insecurity 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.199 took root. When the women sang, Saul has slain 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.879 his thousands and David his tens of thousands, 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:07.100 a seed was planted. Jealousy. Instead of confronting 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:10.490 it, He nurtured it. Soon, he wasn't leading Israel 00:08:10.490 --> 00:08:13.709 anymore. He was chasing David. His kingdom slowly 00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:16.910 unraveled. Not because of one battle, but because 00:08:16.910 --> 00:08:20.009 one seed of insecurity was never uprooted. What 00:08:20.009 --> 00:08:22.490 about the Israelites? When twelve spies returned 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:25.410 from Canaan, only two brought back faith. The 00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:27.730 other ten planted fear. Notice what happened. 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:31.709 One report. One conversation. One seed. Soon, 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:34.690 an entire nation was saying, we should go back 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:36.940 to Egypt. The people who had witnessed the Red 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.580 Sea open now believed they could never enter 00:08:39.580 --> 00:08:42.840 the Promised Land. Fear spread because seed spread. 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:45.799 The consequence? An entire generation died in 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:48.240 the wilderness. Let's look at Absalom. Absalom 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:51.120 never openly rebelled at first. He stood at the 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.159 city gate, listened to people's complaints, whispered 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:58.379 sympathy. Slowly, patiently, he planted dissatisfaction. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.179 The Bible says he stole the hearts of the people 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:04.019 of Israel. He didn't seize them. He planted into 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:06.860 them, one conversation at a time. Eventually, 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.620 those seeds became a rebellion. And the rebellion 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:12.500 ended with Absalom hanging from a tree. Do you 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:16.179 see the pattern? A seed. A behavior. A consequence. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.860 The Bible isn't simply telling us stories. It 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:22.240 is showing us how seeds become harvests. Sometimes 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:25.240 the seed is planted by words, sometimes by rejection, 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:29.000 sometimes by fear, sometimes by comparison, sometimes 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.679 by repeated experiences. But unless those seeds 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.419 are confronted by God's truth, they continue 00:09:34.419 --> 00:09:37.320 producing fruit, long after we forget where they 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:39.539 came from. That is why the Holy Spirit doesn't 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:42.039 simply change our behavior. He goes after the 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:45.000 roots. Because God knows if the root is healed, 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:48.779 the fruit will eventually change. As we close 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:52.039 today's conversation, I want to ask you one question. 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:56.700 Not, what have you done? But, who has been planting? 00:09:57.539 --> 00:10:00.679 Whose voice has shaped your identity? Whose opinion 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:03.639 still controls your confidence? Whose rejection 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.740 still influences your decisions? Whose words 00:10:06.740 --> 00:10:10.259 still echo years after they were spoken? And 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:13.179 are those voices greater than the voice of God? 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.299 Because there is only one voice that has the 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:19.559 authority to define who you are, the voice of 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.940 your Creator. Perhaps today, the Holy Spirit 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:26.440 is exposing a seed you didn't know was there. 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:30.240 Don't be discouraged. Be grateful. Because what 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:34.159 God reveals, He intends to heal. And every lie 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.940 can be replaced by truth. Every fear can be replaced 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:41.559 by faith. Every wound can be healed by grace. 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.779 The garden of your heart does not have to remain 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:47.730 the way you found it. because the great gardener 00:10:47.730 --> 00:10:50.809 is still at work. And wherever Christ is welcomed, 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:54.710 new life begins to grow. Thank you for joining 00:10:54.710 --> 00:10:58.230 me on Pomoja Podcast. Until next time, guard 00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:01.049 your heart, because not every seed growing there 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:02.070 belongs there.