Growing Together
Step into a virtual garden of spiritual growth and community connection with the "Growing Together" podcast. This podcast is a nurturing space for individuals seeking to deepen their faith, cultivate relationships, and explore the boundless beauty of a shared spiritual journey.
Each episode of "Growing Together" is a breath of fresh air, where Pastor Michael, Syd, Nic, Pastor Holly, and Pastor Roger try to navigate the twists and turns of life while staying rooted in faith. Their warm and inviting presence makes you feel like you're sitting in a cozy living room, engaged in a heartfelt conversation with old friends.
Diving into topics ranging from personal growth and self-care to building resilient relationships and fostering a sense of community, the podcast aims to equip listeners with the tools to nurture their faith in all aspects of life. Through scripture readings, open discussions, and interviews with experts in various fields, "Growing Together" provides a holistic approach to spiritual development.
Whether you're a lifelong believer, a seeker on the spiritual path, or simply someone curious about how faith can shape lives, "Growing Together" offers a welcoming haven for everyone. Tune in during your morning routine, while taking a leisurely stroll, or even during a quiet moment of reflection – the podcast fits seamlessly into your daily life.
Join the "Growing Together" community and embark on a journey of discovery, growth, and genuine connection. In a world that can sometimes feel disconnected, this podcast reminds us that nurturing our faith and cultivating meaningful relationships can lead to a life that's deeply fulfilling and spiritually abundant. Subscribe now to start your journey of growing together in faith and fellowship.
Growing Together
What We Earn in Heaven Begins with How We Live Now- Heavenly Crowns
What happens after we're saved? Is heaven the same experience for everyone, or are there different levels of rewards? We dive deep into the biblical concept of heavenly crowns – the rewards Christ promises to faithful believers who have run their spiritual race with perseverance and purpose.
The conversation begins with an eye-opening comparison: salvation on your deathbed is like being rescued from a burning building with nothing but your life. Yes, you're saved – but you've missed out on accumulating treasures in heaven through a lifetime of faithful service. It's a sobering reality that our eternal rewards are directly connected to how we live our earthly lives.
The question becomes not just "Are you saved?" but "What are you doing with your salvation?" These crowns await every believer, but they must be actively pursued through faithful service and spiritual discipline. Don't settle for merely being pulled from the fire when God has prepared crowns for you to wear for all eternity!
we're on we're on and we're just going to bring it right to the surface. Beth is over here panicking, hit herself away in the building. We didn't even know where she was I thought she like locked herself up. This is a topic we're going to do tonight. She brought it up and I basically forced her into it, and so she has been a nervous wreck I mentioned it and it kind of like died off so I didn't do any more studying on it.
Speaker 4:And then you're like give me a three-day notice and let's go, let's go because I didn't think you were ever going to do it.
Speaker 2:So I was like, okay, I didn't really have, I didn't really have anything really solid and I thought you know what that is a good idea? And uh, yeah, I just think if we don't, if I don't force you into it, you ain't ever going to do it.
Speaker 4:So here we are you're right you know, so tonight we're doing on the crowns, the crowns that we are, we are to strive to obtain when we get to heaven. Um, it actually I bounced around whether to go into the judgment seat of christ, but we'll just touch briefly on what that is. The judgment seat of Christ is when believers are judged, giving an account of what they have done with their lives as Christians, what we have done for Christ. We've already made it through the gates. Salvation is, you know, we've already been judged on our salvations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I heard it explained that. Well, I think it may be in Revelations, but think of it this way, and this is what kind of turned the light bulb on for me. So let's just say, okay, let's just say, on your deathbed, because we've talked about this before you know you take Christ as your Lord and Savior, all right. And let's say, for the past 60 years you've never followed Christ, you've never been a Christian, you know? So it's last call. So look at it this way you will be saved. But it's compared to like being saved from a burning building, like, yes, you will be pulled from the fire, you will be rescued. But think about somebody who's been pulled from a fire, from their home and loses everything. Like, yes, you survived, but everything else is gone. But every everything else is gone. So, in heaven, when you receive your crown, well, you may be saved, but you might not receive any of those crowns. The only thing you might have is your salvation.
Speaker 2:And as I said before we went on the air, I was talking about this, this, to my wife, margie, right before I came over here and she asked me what the topic was. I said well, we're going to talk about the crown. She's like well, what's the crowns? So I started explaining it to her a little bit and I said, well, there's going to be, you know, more or less different levels to heaven.
Speaker 2:I said somebody who's been saved from the burning fire, from the burning building, yeah, they'll be saved, but that's pretty much it. They're not going to get to enjoy, you know, the other, the crowns, the other things that heaven has to offer. You're pretty much going to be on that first tier, on the lower level of salvation. Think of it like a rewards program. Yeah, you know, I don't know, you're like on tier one. And she looked at me and she goes, you know, she's like I don't know if I should be saying this, but I don't really think that's fair. And I said, well, I said I don't think there's anything in the Bible about things being fair.
Speaker 1:No, or in life really, or in life as we know.
Speaker 2:So that's maybe one way to look at it is, when we're talking about this, you will come to realize that, yes, perhaps there are different levels to heaven and there are different rewards to be had, depending on you know, were you faithful? You know, did you have a true relationship with God? Did you try to follow his path in life? Was that your main purpose is to bring people to plant a seed, or were you just getting by? And in the end, perhaps when you were scared, perhaps when, you know, with facing death, you have this revelation that Christ is your Lord and Savior Okay, yeah, you'll be saved, but and we'll talk about this too this revelation that Christ is your Lord and Savior okay, yeah, you'll be saved, and we'll talk about this too.
Speaker 2:You know, the crowns not only have to do with heaven, but they also do have to do with life itself as we're living it now. You can receive crowns as you live, and so that's an important part of it, too, is realizing that, yes, you can be saved at last call and be saved from the burning building, but look at what you're losing in life. Look at all the things you could have had in life, all the blessings you could have had if you had had a relationship with Christ. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So don't miss out on the crowns in life, Exactly Because you know you wait till the last minute, because then that's when we'll start talking about. I think what Beth is more or less prepared for is all those different crowns as we go into heaven, and what they mean and what your heaven is going to be like.
Speaker 4:Well, I have in my 10 pages of notes, you know, spread out all over the place, scribbled on, whited out, whatever. But in Luke, when Jesus tells the parable about the faithful servant, when the king gives the money to his slaves or whatever, and what they did with that? Because they knew he was coming back.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 4:So how he rewarded each one of them differently for what they did with what he gave them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think I had me.
Speaker 4:I think I had it marked.
Speaker 2:You might hear some shuffling here, because I had one of. I thought I had one of those marked. It might have been, maybe I didn't have it.
Speaker 4:I know that story's Luke 19. What is 11, 26? Is that what you're looking for?
Speaker 2:I thought for some reason, I thought I saw in Matthew, because what is 11, 26? Is that what you're looking?
Speaker 4:for I thought, for some reason I thought.
Speaker 3:I saw in Matthew, because you know, some of these things go in. Yeah, they come up twice, they come up more than once.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I have it Luke 19, 11 through 26. That's a lot to read.
Speaker 2:What do you got? Do you have a main part of the scripture there that?
Speaker 4:just the one that I think he rewarded.
Speaker 2:Let's start with after he's crowned well, I think, what you're, what you're getting good servant.
Speaker 4:You have been faithful with the little I entrusted you, so you will be governor of 10 cities. As your reward, the next servant reported master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount. Well done. The king said you will be governed over five cities. But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said master, master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with and taking what isn't yours and harvesting crops you didn't plant.
Speaker 4:Oh, I must have missed something there. Kept it safe, I was afraid, because you are a hard man to deal with. Yes, taking isn't yours, taking what isn't yours and harvesting crops you didn't plant. That doesn't. It's there but it doesn't register here. But plain words. I think that shows the different levels. You know he kind of like you're saved on your deathbed and you know being faithful with what he gives you.
Speaker 2:And you know, being faithful with what he gives you. Yeah, and you know we talk about this all the time too, because you can get a little confused, because the Bible does talk about works and we say a lot of times that works alone cannot save you. But I think there's we have to define. We have to define those works. We have to define those works.
Speaker 2:So in life, if let's just say you know out of sheer kindness and you know you do all this charity work, you know you're always nice to people, you go out of your way to, you know, do things for other people, and then you can get into things like well, everything that you do on the surface looks like you're doing good works, but really you're doing them to get attention, you're doing them for yourselves, so that you can elevate yourself.
Speaker 1:You're supposed to work for God to humble you not be boastful.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So if you're just doing it for works alone, no, those works will not get you into heaven. Those works will not earn you any crowns. It's the work you're doing for the lord that is what is going to be defined as those works that are going to earn you those crowns.
Speaker 4:So I think that has to be well defined yeah, because you want his reward, for you don't want man's reward no right, but man's reward is just what it is it's man's reward? Yeah, and that's it, yeah.
Speaker 2:You want all your work to please him, not anybody else. And I had one, I think. Let me find it because I really liked it, because I think it was, if somebody else wants to keep talking, while I find it, people can just listen to pages this one was a pretty deep subject.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very deep and, like I said, you'd be surprised how much you will find on this topic. Um, once you get, let's see, I I'll find it, I know, okay. So so this is I think I found it. I think I found it. So this is in 1 Corinthians and it's 1 Corinthians 4. And I think this is Paul right. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, so it's Paul. Yeah, so he says. So, then men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. So if God has bestowed his blessing upon you and you've recognized him as your Savior, then you are expected to prove yourself faithful of that, which means you're never going to lose sight of it, you're never going to take it for granted and you're going to continue. Despite your flaws, despite your sins, you're going to continue to work for God. So to me, that means that's what will keep you faithful. And the next line it says I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. Indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. So what he's saying is, I believe, is that even within himself, if he thinks he's done a good work, he still has to be humble.
Speaker 2:Right he still has to be humble, right. He can't just be pleased with himself that he thinks that he did the right thing, or pleased all these other people you know. Uh, hot dogging and grandstanding you know, making everybody look his way.
Speaker 2:He's saying that, you know, I'm still, uh, accountable to the lord for the, for the things that I do, and it has to be, for that true purpose is to please God. So when he says, my conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me flaws he has, no matter what sins he has. It does not matter if the whole world, if every one of the human race, does not forgive him or continues to judge him. It doesn't matter. The only judgment that matters is God's, and he's making that quite clear. So, therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait till the lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from god, which very well could mean and receive his crowns.
Speaker 2:So again, uh, you're always looking inward. You're always. You know god can see it anyway. God always knows your heart, why you're doing what you do, why you're doing it, if you're doing it to please him, to better the kingdom, or if you're just doing it for your own uh, you know self-indulgence, or to get attention. And let's face it, they can be good works, they can be great works, but if you don't give God any of the credit for the work that you're doing or for the result of those works, when good things happen, if you don't give God the credit, they're meaningless. And that's the point, and I think. So jumping ahead, jumping ahead when he says at that time, each will receive his praise from god. That's what they're talking about. They'll be talking about the crowns, so where were you at?
Speaker 2:with that one. So that is first corinthians four and it goes from four one to uh, four, five, four, six. So it's like the first. Yeah, it's the first one and I just thought that was a very good one.
Speaker 2:Just, he's like I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. So you know, even if he's, if he knows he's been guilty of something in man's eyes, that means not that he and it's not to say like you shouldn't recognize if you've harmed somebody, if you treated somebody unfairly for any reason, that doesn't mean you shouldn't recognize that. There, you know. There's just circumstances in life being a human being, where you have to realize that you know what.
Speaker 2:There's some things maybe I've done in my life that humans are never going to forgive me for. But that's life on earth, that's the way it is. You have to accept the things that you have done and take responsibility for them. And you have to realize that, yeah, there may be some people who never forgive you for doing something in life. There's just a lot of people that are unforgiving and will never look past something that you've done in your life and that's just the way it is. But you don't need to hang your hat on that. Don't keep your head down, because you know somebody out there may never forgive you. That's not going to stop you from your relationship with God, because in the end it's God's judgment. That's the only judgment that matters, I have James 1.12.
Speaker 1:Blessed is the man who preserves under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. But I thought it was interesting because life, a lot of the times in scripture is referred to almost in like meaning a relationship with god.
Speaker 1:so it's like the crown of being in a relationship with god and it's like, yeah, like you said, you can't just have good works to get you into heaven or to have that relationship Like you have to. You know, you have to have that relationship with him and not just the good works. And look at me.
Speaker 1:And you know, and I think, yeah, the apostle John pretty much just answers it, I think maybe in Hebrews, but he says for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. So it's like not only have that relationship but keep his commandments. That way you get that crown of life.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep.
Speaker 4:The crown of life is known as the sufferer's crown. Yes, all the ones who have been persecuted for their walk with Christ, the martyrs. It's a reward for those who do not let go of their faith, no matter what they're going through. They keep their eyes focused on the Lord. I read in one place it says it is forged in the fire of testing, trial and tribulation and they have the unwavering love of Jesus. It's a reward for the one who endures, not just when it's easy, but when it's excruciating. Believers who lose everything on earth but gain everything in Christ. And I think the verse I have is James 1.12. That's what. I have you just read that one, okay, yep.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. Yes. Because when he has withstood the test, he will receive the crown of life.
Speaker 1:Like the first person that came to mind was my grandpa, and it's I mean, it was kind of both ways, because, like he, he did suffer at the end, but he was also probably one of the most I'm like evangelical, like just someone that was always trying to spread the word one way, like somehow, and I truly believe, like, if you know, if he had a gun up to his head and someone was trying to, you know, murder her at him or something he would have just yeah, that is my god and you know, I truly believe, like he has that crown of life up there right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he wasn't going to let it go for any yeah circumstance. Yeah, no, he was going to convince him otherwise the other one.
Speaker 4:First I have on that is revelations 2 10. Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for 10 days, but if you remain faithful, even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. So, like she said, you know when that person's there you think about end times. You know when they want you to announce your Lord.
Speaker 2:And I think I've got what did I have here. Yeah, proverbs 4, 5. Get wisdom, get understanding. Do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you. Love her and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme. Therefore, get wisdom, though it cost you all you have. Get understanding. Esteem her and she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head. So when you're living underneath God's wisdom, following His Word, you need to cling to that as much as possible. That's where you draw your wisdom from, is from God's Word, and you know that's. I think I shared something on Facebook I think Steve Harvey was talking about it and he said you know, there's just a lot of Christians out there that can't understand why their life is not going in the direction they want it to go.
Speaker 2:You know they say I don't understand. I go to church every Sunday. You know, I profess that I'm a Christian and yet I'm not anywhere near where I want to be. All the dreams I have, all the success that I hope for, nothing's coming to fruition. Why is that? It's like, well, because people can say their daily prayer. You can go to church on Sunday, but you're not actually applying it to your everyday life, you're not in the Word every single day. So, although you can pronounce to the world that you're a Christian and hope everybody hears it and you want to have that identity, and Pastor Michael, I think, was talking about that this past Sunday. You know, oftentimes you can proclaim that, you know you're a Christian, but you're not working towards it, you're not getting into your word.
Speaker 2:You know, you just you know you do the bare minimum. You're not growing. Right, yeah, you're not growing. You're not doing anything to push yourself spiritually and make yourself grow, so you're attending. You're a bystander, you just fill in the seat. Yeah and so people have a hard time understanding, Like I don't get it, what else can I do? And it's like well, it's because you're not applying the Word every day and it's probably because you're not getting enough of the word. Just going to church on Sunday isn't enough.
Speaker 4:But not only that. You have to learn to listen for his guidance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, be patient.
Speaker 4:Be patient, and whether you hear his voice in your heart or whether he shows you what he wants you to do through the word, if you're not in the word or you're not patiently listening, You're not going to find it.
Speaker 2:You're never going to find it. Yeah, and I can attest to the fact, and I think doing this podcast is it's a major catalyst for getting into the word every week. It provides me with an incentive to get into the Word every single week, and not only just read it, but to study it, yes, to find different verses, how they come together, how it can be applied to life, and so that's a great thing and that's what everybody should be taking the time to do in the course of a week. You know, maybe it'd be helpful, Like we come up with a topic every week because we need to Right, so we could do this show Right, but maybe it'd be good for every week for somebody to go. You know what? This week I'm just going to focus on anger and I'm going to get into the word.
Speaker 1:Or they can even piggyback off what we listen to, like listen to the podcast and then do your own research, you know, because, again, we're not always right.
Speaker 2:No, and we're only touching the surface Right, right.
Speaker 1:Especially with this one yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean there's the Bible is, once you really start getting in there and reading the word every day, you start putting together something from the back of the book, clear to the front of the book, and it all as we've talked before it all matches up. And that's what people need to be doing is they need to give themselves the incentive each week to have a goal as getting into the word and staying in that word and keep and keeping their you know, brain mossy, you know, keep it, keeping their curiosity up and keeping their desire for it, because otherwise it is just a book and in our way of life these days, it's hard to get into any written word you know, or just because it's all about you know,
Speaker 2:social media now and electronics, and it's hard to open up a book much less the bible, yeah, which can be very challenging at times just to read. You know it's not something you read for enjoyment, right. So I think you got to give yourself that challenge and push yourself to make it interesting, to make it apply to your life. And if it's anger you got to focus on, if that's what you feel you got a problem with, or maybe you just know somebody that's really struggling with it you want to help them. And then maybe next week, instead of looking at anger, say, well, now, this week I'm going to focus on joy, right.
Speaker 2:And go ahead, keep going, and so, yeah, and so you will build on those things to the point where you'll start to build an inner you know, your personal relationship with christ yeah it's stronger.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah yeah, I think digging into this made me stop and think am I doing enough? Right, right yeah am I doing enough?
Speaker 2:you know, I mean well, like I said when margie's like well, that's not really fair, yeah, and and before I read it I might have been like, yeah, I kind of agree with you, right, but then when you really start reading it you're like, well, the word is the word yeah it doesn't say it's going to be fair yeah, yeah you know, and, and everybody thinks well, heaven's heaven, it's the same for everybody to sit here, but perhaps it is not.
Speaker 4:And it sounds, sounds to me the word that it is. It is not. It's given me a clear understanding of your deathbed salvation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4:Cause I'm, you know, you're like you know yeah, well, I could have been living the wildlife until you know.
Speaker 2:I can still get pulled from that burning building Right.
Speaker 4:But you know I mean you pulled from that burning building right. But you know I mean you think well, if they're going to get the same thing.
Speaker 1:Why should I work so hard? Yeah, but then I got digging I'm like no, this is what I want, yeah, this is what. Yeah, because it. Because you always you hear like the deathbed salvations and everyone thinks, oh well, then I'll get you know, if I do a dead, you know a deathbed salvation. I'll get the same as joe schmoe, who's been preaching for 30 years. Yeah, not really, you know a deathbed salvation. I'll get the same as joe schmoe, who's been preaching for 30 years. Yeah, not really. You know, we're finding out.
Speaker 2:No, not really, yeah and when you talk about the crown of life, you realize that you have just cheated yourself out of the one life that god gave you yeah right and he was going to give you every opportunity to be happy, to be successful, to be at peace with the world and the people around you, and you didn't take it. Yeah, you know. And then, if you can look back on that and go, man if I could just do we say that all the time if I could just do it over again.
Speaker 4:Well, you know I was studying on the crown of life.
Speaker 2:It's just joe, joe yeah yeah, you know it, all the suffering that he went through and yep he, he never and he was being pushed to the edge yeah yeah, he was being pushed to the edge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the way edge denounced his lord never I wanted to go back to the just trying to find your own niche or whatever. Or you know certain seasons if you need to dig in deeper, like I say it all the time, but we live in a time that there's so many resources that we can use to our advantage. Like I'm typically not a um devotional, like I typically don't like devotionals, however, I found one when Cooper was or when I was expecting for Cooper, so I I would open it and I mean it would give you, you know, a page or two, pretty much two pages, and then ask you like two different prompts. Well, now the same person has wrote I missed the full first year because I didn't realize, but she, she's probably had five or six of them. So, and you know, that's something like right now.
Speaker 1:I just started it, it came today and it's like hey, for your 15 month old, and it just it's so much. It just resembles like what I'm doing with him right now, but it also portrays, you know, and it compares like the Bible to what's going on with his life, like there's so many different, not just motherhood, like so many different things. Like for historians, like you don't even have to do devotionals, but I mean chat, gbt, like ask him to you know, make something up for you Like there's so much we can look into and all the different you know versions of the Bible and translations, like I think we're very fortunate at this time.
Speaker 4:You would see my. I have Rosalind's little I don't know whatever table sitting up has in front of my recliner and I got three different Bibles all over the place and I got papers thrown all over the floor and the driver's like, when are you doing this? But I was still all hiding away and I can't even read my own notes. I scrub them out so much. She's cursing me over there.
Speaker 2:Well, here's another good one that kind of applies to what we're talking about. So this is first corinthians 9, 24, and it says do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize, everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. I beat my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize Now that is the verse I have for the imperishable crown Me too, okay, or the incorruptible crown it's given to those who live their life in self-discipline, spiritually focus.
Speaker 4:In a world full of distractions they continue to focus on on the lord, those who make hard choices when no one is watching. Yeah, you know, yeah they do the right thing regardless regardless of um. They trained the spirit by the word. I don't know, I'm gonna say I can't read my own notes. They run their race for the eternal prize, you know, to have that place in heaven. Yep, and this one is a have note here.
Speaker 2:That's for every believer yeah, me too and that's the kind of works we're talking about.
Speaker 2:And then I have in Isaiah 61, which is called the year of the Lord's favor. It talks a little bit about it where it says the spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. So when you're talking about running for the prize, doing it that's your aim, is you know? No, we're not actually running a relay race here well, that's what I was gonna say.
Speaker 1:I feel like training analogy yeah like trained could also be like disciplining yourself. You know what I mean, because when you are training for a marathon, let's say, like you're, you're full-on, disciplining you're yeah, you know, emotionally, spiritually, physically, all of it like yeah, yeah, basically like keeping your eyes on the pride, no matter what distractions are out there?
Speaker 2:and there's all kind of distractions out there yep, you know, and no runner in any race. You know it's a sound of the you know pistol, that you don't give it full bore. No. You know there's a process to how you run. Yeah, so you're not running Number one, you're not running aimlessly, but you're not just, you know, shooting out like a cannon. It's like you know there's a goal from beginning to end of how you're going to get there.
Speaker 2:And so you have to be watchful of that. And I think that is when we're talking about okay now, yeah, we're talking about running a race, but it's that training and process of not only are you conditioning yourself, conditioning yourself, but you're preparing yourself so that others may well. Maybe they'll, maybe you're like Forrest Gump.
Speaker 4:Yeah, just running yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, he starts off just running. Yeah. Because he feels he needs to run. And what do you know? He can't stop. Then what do you know? He can't stop, but then, before you know, he's got all these people running behind him. Why is that? Because they see something in what he's doing that he's not just running Right. You know he has a purpose to what he's doing. Yeah. And everybody wants to figure out. Okay, why is this guy running? There's something to this guy.
Speaker 1:And that's what your, yeah, that's what your life should be, yeah.
Speaker 2:You should. When you look back, you should hope that somebody wants to run with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that you can draw a crowd, yeah, and you should hope that your light shines differently or shines, let alone differently compared to others, and like, hey, what do you have that I don't have?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what makes you, you know sometimes you want to look at somebody and go. What makes you tick. You know what drives you to have this kind of commitment. You know to have this kind of discipline, because I want that too. Yeah. Because I see where you're going.
Speaker 1:I see what the goal is.
Speaker 2:You know I want that too, and that's what you want to project.
Speaker 4:Yeah. You know, you talked about being in the Word. I have notes here under the. We train by being in that word daily.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that is our training, as I said, you know, that's, that's the main thing and it's you're not going to. Yeah, you'll get something out of going to church and listening to Pastor Michael preach. You will, I guarantee you will into Pastor Michael preach. You will, I guarantee you will.
Speaker 1:But that's really like. So cliff notes. Well, it's like.
Speaker 2:I don't know Synaptizer yeah, it's like a primer, yeah, but at the end of the day it's not going to, unless you're willing to take what he says and go a little deeper, go a little further. You're not getting past the first quarter of the race.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Basically, if all you have is what Pastor Michael says to you every Sunday, you're going to make it through a quarter of the race. Yeah. And then you're going to quit. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because that's all you're going to be trained for, that's all you're going to be disciplined for, inspired to do. But if you build off that, if you go home, if you hear what he has to say and go okay, I'm going to look more into that then that's going to prepare you for the next course. That's going to prepare you for the next you know mile of the race. However, you want to look at that, the next, and you have to continue to feed off that success and that inspiration and God's word and moving forward. And just when you feel like you want to quit, when you're exhausted and you don't think you can go any farther, well, you'll pick up on that next part of it, just be like yep, okay.
Speaker 2:I'm fueled up again. Yeah. And keep going. So, yeah, it's not something that you know. You can kind of start and stop, start, stop you know, think about, I mean, it's like the tortoise and the hare. You know, the hare is like I got this guy because I'm faster than he is I, physically, I can, you know, I'm smarter, I can, I'm faster, you know, I'm you know, cockier, I've got all these things, but what's he do? Start, stop, start, stop.
Speaker 4:And, of course, story the tortoise just keeps on slow, even pace, but he knows where he's going, he understands what he needs to do and he doesn't quit Because he never took his eyes off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he never.
Speaker 4:Yeah, keep our eyes focused on the Lord and keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so so that's what it's all about. Like I said, starts and stops to starts and stops to anything. I that's the way I work, like I work off momentum, even my job. I work off momentum. Usually, if I have a bad day, it's because somebody has stopped me from the task that I wanted to complete. Like I've got a plan, I've got a pace I want to keep and, for whatever reason, people just go out of their way to put a dead stop to it. And nothing kills me more than losing my momentum, both mentally, physically. Yep, you know, once you lose that it's hard. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Starts and stops in your spiritual journey. It's like you're starting all over again.
Speaker 4:I have a plan when I leave the night before work. My plan for the next day it doesn't always work day it does not work.
Speaker 2:No, it does not yeah.
Speaker 4:And nothing upsets me more than I have to carry something from this day over to the next day because, I didn't get it done.
Speaker 1:Same same.
Speaker 4:And here lately I've been carrying it over another day, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And when I look at my schedule, by Friday I want to have every order out the door and that everything I put on my schedule, I want it to be off. And not because it got pulled off or got canceled or delayed. No, because I got it shipped. Right, I got it out the door.
Speaker 1:It's off on my hands, that's my goal every week. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's kind of what we're talking about here. You have to have a consistency, you know, and the momentum to keep moving forward, to keep building on your relationship and to finish the race. As they say yeah, everybody, everybody can run, everybody can participate in that race. But, you know, are you going to be at the back of the line? Are you going to be laying on the side of the road, winded, and can't carry on? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Where are you going to be at the end of that race? Do you want to be at the front of the line? Do you want to? You know everybody else to you know, not that you want to be low Be carrying you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know, not that you want to carry you, yeah, but you know, yeah, you want to. You want to run a good race, you want to feel good about what you've done and and and you're running for god too. That's the thing, um, you know, you can have 50 000 people in the stands watching you run, but the only person that matters, you know that's going to judge you on your performance, is going to be god exactly so that that's.
Speaker 1:That's all you need to worry about and it's like physically, when you are running a race, you need air, you need food, you need water, but like spiritually, you need him or else you're not, you're not getting anywhere. And I truly believe you need him spiritually even when you're in a physical run, because you are in your head you're in your head so much, regardless, anyhow, all the blood's rushing your head and uh-huh yeah, you know that's all you're going, because at some point I have to believe, like what separates the winners from the losers?
Speaker 2:you know, at some point we're all human, so they're all training just as hard yes, you know, they're all on the same regimen yes doing the same things, following the same program. But you, but you have to believe that the one that wins most of the time is one that decides in their mind they're going to push a little harder, just when it's the toughest.
Speaker 2:Right, you know, and they're not going to let down. Yeah, that has to be the difference, and a lot of times you're right. Yeah, it could come down to somebody who was spiritually focused and disciplined over somebody who was. This just isn't worth it.
Speaker 4:It just isn't worth it.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, I know I trained, I know I my diet was, you know, a plus all across the board.
Speaker 2:I did everything I was supposed to do physically, but now it's just not worth it, yeah no, and maybe that's how you know and maybe that's how some people get with um, you know their religion with, with being a christian is, once you start getting pounded a little bit, you start getting judged a little bit, people look at you the wrong way, you lose your friends. All these things, some people, you know what it's just not worth it.
Speaker 4:Very much so. I've seen people falter with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it's only the people that stay in the word and continue to draw strings from it, All the things we talked about that finish out where most people are like, yeah, it's it sounded good, you know. Yeah, there was a lot of great benefits to it, but at the end of the day, it's just not yeah.
Speaker 4:So when I was reading this I think we already talked about it, about, you know, the one that will receive, that is, the one that lives their life every day for Christ, and that made me question myself. It really did. I mean, I like to say that I do, right. Yeah, sometimes I'm up and at work before I've acknowledged him for the day and I'm not proud of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah Well and the way the world which I fully believe, that's the enemy's plan. You know, the way this world has become is designed to keep you that way.
Speaker 2:Oh, exactly, keep you that way, keep you distracted to keep things so tight that you have absolutely no time to take time to get up in the morning. Say thank you, lord, for waking me up. Thank you, lord, for, you know, giving me another day to serve you, you know, to put me on the right path to do what you want me to do. You know, most time it's like you know we're getting up late, we're we're pressed to the last second you know I've got kids so all your focus has to be on them.
Speaker 2:You know both. You know most cases. You know husband and wife both work, so the pressures of that. You get home both. You're tired. You still got the kids to deal with right and you're you know. So, at the end of the day, who's going to open up the bible?
Speaker 4:yeah Bible and really get into the work, yeah.
Speaker 2:And of course, the devil has to go. That's perfect.
Speaker 4:I don't even have to do anything. He is a thief of our time.
Speaker 2:Oh for sure, that's his biggest thing. He's like I don't even have to do anything, They'll do it to themselves.
Speaker 1:Well, and even like on my days off, like Cooper, normally he'll sleep in like sometimes till like 8 30. So I'm like I'm not even gonna set an alarm because I deserve to sleep in too, like that is him.
Speaker 1:That is him in my head because you know I'm tired yeah, like if I would at least start the day, you know, even fall asleep around 11, wake up at 7, that's perfect. You know that that would give me like a full hour probably to have my alone time to start the day ahead. But then I just no, no, I'm like no, no we'll just wait till he wakes up. I'm like no, and I know it's him doing it you know, maybe next week. Yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm tired. It's been a long week. I really need to sleep in. I do that all the time and it's just like, yeah, you just throw hours away because you just believe that you know you got again. You believe at the end of the week you got nothing left to give. You know, because life has just beaten you down and you know. If you can just find, yeah, if you can just sleep in and get up when your body's ready to get up, yeah it's a great idea. I do it all the time. But then you think like, yep, if I was a little more disciplined yeah think of what I could accomplish yeah, exactly, yep no.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it's tough and, like I said, devil just sits back and goes yep, this is perfect, I don't even have to lift a finger they'll do it to themselves.
Speaker 4:His best and best thing that he uses is our cell phones oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah, I that was just such a.
Speaker 2:It takes our time away from him.
Speaker 4:It takes our time away from our family.
Speaker 2:That has been such a leap for him that most people can't even comprehend how much? Advantage that has given him in so many ways, not just for your time, but just yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, even it keeps us out of our Bible. Yeah. I mean we can say we're going to read this devotion and that and I have daily devotions on there that I read yeah, hey, I'll be honest, you'll go on.
Speaker 2:Facebook. You'll get in the morning, open Facebook, look at your news feed and you'll be scrolling through, and there'll be a Bible verse and you'll be scrolling through and there'll be a bible verse and you'll go yeah, oh, so-and-so's. Yeah, you know, or so-and-so did this yesterday, or all you know, my favorite sports team did this.
Speaker 1:And another scripture she just passed right over, because you're like, I already know what it is you know, yeah, you're like yeah, but then you're like oh, who won the game last?
Speaker 2:yeah, then you get you the next one. Sure will be something that really grabs your attention and you completely, completely lose it. I will say Guilty, guilty, guilty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like over the past week and a half two weeks, I downloaded an app called Bible Mode and it makes you either take a picture of your Bible open or it will give you a verse. But with the verse it gives you, I don't know, like an affirmation, it gives you a devotion and something else. So you have to physically go through them before, because you set your limit, like, say, you don't want to get on, you can have 15, or you can have, say, three minutes to scroll or something. But once you're done scrolling and you lock your phone up. If you go back to facebook, like 10 minutes later, if you have it set to not even be able to open it for another two hours, it's not opening, it's going back to that bible mode and it's going to make you read another verse.
Speaker 1:So it shouldn't come to that, though I know I know, but I will say, I will say it's really, my screen time has went down. Like I've found myself not doing it as much, I found my, because it is annoying. I'm like, oh crap, I gotta you know. And then I found myself like hurry up and reading that and I'm like, wait, no, that's not why I, you know, I downloaded it for purpose, not to just skim through it, like we were probably skimming through those pictures. That has a Bible verse, you know.
Speaker 2:And yeah, like I yeah, you're going to get no credit for completing the task.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:That's not what it's about, god doesn't just say, yeah, I want you to complete this task.
Speaker 2:Exactly Just because it's something I want you to do. Yeah, no, we get no credit for you're like yep. I wrote the first three verses of Job today. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, fantastic. But only to complete it, to say that you did yeah, yeah, I don't think that's, that's not helpful. No, you know. Nope, it's only if you're really trying to get into it and you know that, like I said, it goes back to, like I said, challenge yourself in ways that make it something that you have the desire to do, because it will spark your, you know your interest and your inspiration to.
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, you know, when we do that, fasting every year. Yes, january, I always. Mine is that I'm going to. I'm not allowed to be on Facebook or any of my games until I've had my time with the Lord. I will do so good through that. Yeah, as soon as it's done, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Before my feet hit the floor. You know, Yep. Before my feet hit the floor, I should be thanking the Lord for waking me up Exactly. That's right.
Speaker 2:Exactly, yep, yep. There's one reason I do not like getting up at 4, 4, 30 in the morning I'm not a morning person, but it is one thing that I do like about getting up that early, and not so much now, because now time's turning but, that time from like late april, yes, to late mid-july when you get up at 4 4 30 and I get outside and the sun is just coming up the birds are already chirping another day is coming.
Speaker 2:That's when I can stand outside in the morning and really just appreciate God and thank God and have that time. Because, it's almost like when you see another day creating itself. It really does something to you.
Speaker 1:I agree, I agree.
Speaker 2:So I am thankful in that regard that I get to experience that each year. Yeah. Now it's getting to the point where it's still dark when I'm leaving. Mm-hmm. So I really like that time of year, but yeah, so it's trying to find that moment in your day where everything comes together, to where you can have that time. But, it's tough.
Speaker 1:It is yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Speaking of of time, where are we at?
Speaker 1:because 48 minutes I'll see I see you then leaving yeah, we didn't start right at six, michael um I think he's doing in there. I don't know he left, didn't he? Or did he leave? Yeah?
Speaker 2:you think he's doing in there?
Speaker 1:I don't know he left, didn't he? Did he leave, yeah? I think he was planning on it. Is his car still out there? You can? See I can't.
Speaker 4:No, I thought you got those guys fixed. I can't see.
Speaker 1:I'm not Superman. I can't see through the wall. Beth Come on Gee many Christmas. I could, beth Come on Gee mini Christmas.
Speaker 4:I could, but I can't Boy what you could tell us, if you could.
Speaker 2:You might be able to crash through a ceiling, but you can't look through a wall.
Speaker 4:Yeah. The next one is the crown of rejoicing that's available to all. It's what they call the soul winner crown, and I have the verse as Now.
Speaker 2:I got to ask you because this is the trouble that I had. I had a little diagram that I found online that showed all the different crowns and I tried to blow it up and I still couldn't see it. So it was like a really bad version of it, so I was trying to find a better one. But when you're in the Bible you're talking about all these different crowns, I couldn't find where it's actually like there's no point in the Bible where it actually lists them all, or am I wrong?
Speaker 4:No, I actually I like to listen to Dr David Jeremiah. I actually, I like to listen to Dr David. Jeremiah. So I searched in his thing where he had a teaching on it and it brought it up and I read through it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I thought so, but I wasn't sure because I couldn't find anywhere where it actually listed them all together.
Speaker 4:Well, and I just have the five, but I think there's many more. The five that were listed in the New Testament. Okay, I have 1 Thessalonians 2, 17 through 20.
Speaker 1:As they're flipping, we're still on crown of rejoicing, right. Yes, um, I just wanted to say, you know, when we were talking about like our, our light shining brighter and everything like that really reminded me of the crown of rejoicing, you know, and like I feel like, as christians, we have the most to rejoice about, so we should be doing that, you know.
Speaker 4:Start here, Nineteen. After all, what gives us hope and joy? What will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? Is it you? Yes, you are a pride and joy. Lord Jesus when he returns, is it you? Yes, you are a pride and joy. So my first, Thessalonians 19,. That's what I got. But we do want to be the pride and joy and we want to bring I don't know how that ties with being the soul winners we want to be able to plant that seed.
Speaker 4:We want to be able to be a witness to somebody. Yeah, and we have to be able to have that faith when we plant that seed, knowing that God's going to provide, maybe the next person to come along on water and do it. It's not always our responsibility, knowing that God's going to provide, maybe the next person to come along on water and do it Right. It's not always our responsibility.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like it's not always coming from our jug, even if we want it to, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Maybe it is because it talks about the joy in the heavens when one sinner repents, when they obtain their salvation, when God uses us in our words, you know, and we approach people with compassion and share our testimony to draw those people close.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 4:You know, yes, so they can see that we're different.
Speaker 1:That we're different yeah.
Speaker 4:And when they and we live our life. Yes, so they can see Christ in us. Yes, yes, and it makes them want that. And that goes back to all the other gifts that kind of all line up together.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:The righteous gift you know yes. To live our life for him, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have 2 Timothy, Okay, and it's 2 Timothy 2 through 2.1, through 2.6, where he says you then my son, be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus, in the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, and trust reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others, libel men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs. He wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of his crops.
Speaker 2:Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all of this. And then going over to Philippians 3, 17. He says live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is in their stomach and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, you, whom I love and long for my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord. So I think that maybe that enlightens a little bit about what you were talking about there.
Speaker 1:Are you about to highlight the crown of righteousness? Oh that one was a little hard. It was, I feel like you know, the soldier. Like everything he just highlighted on about the soldier, that was really, I don't know, portraying the crown of righteousness for me. I suppose Okay. Let me see.
Speaker 4:I have as they. It's the person that keeps longing for Jesus. They live their life every day just to see Jesus' face. Like eagerly, Eagerly, just wait for that, and I think I don't know. It was really hard for me to understand this one a little bit.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like when they say David was a man after God's own heart.
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah. A holy hunger for the Lord is what one person described it as.
Speaker 4:This brought Pastor Holly to my mind because she never, no matter what she's, she's always got her eye on the lord and just keeping focused. No, you know, yeah, no matter what problems you, she has, or or somebody brings to her, she just gets them right back on the path and fills them with the word and what they need and guides and leads them, you know, because she never takes her eyes off of him. Yeah, because she's waiting, just waiting for his return.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, and you want to get to the point where because I think you know, sometimes proof of God lies within us, Like you, can't get somebody to believe in God and believe in Jesus if they can't see him in your eyes.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:If you can't, if you, you have no hope of trying to do that, if somebody can't see it within you. Exactly, you know you can't, you know, you can't be a self-serving jerk all day and then try to preach to God's word it's not going to work. It's not going to work, it never will, even though the word is true. He may be reading the word as it is true, but if people can't see, you know the eyes of God within you and how you deal with people and treat people.
Speaker 4:I mean you know you can't do it. It's just not going to work. So those that receive it is, they keep longing for Jesus. They look forward to expectation of his return. There's steady hope in time of despair they just, you know, no matter what, they just don't ever give up on Jesus. You know, no matter what happens, he's going to handle it, he's going to work it out. God's going to, you know.
Speaker 3:I get in there, I meddle all around and try to fix it.
Speaker 4:Then I'm like okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really messed up then.
Speaker 3:Yeah it is, and I'm like I can't do it, lord, here you go.
Speaker 4:Yes, hopefully our life would be so much easier if we just did that from the beginning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was thinking about that just the other day, like, yeah, that was one thing my mom always told me, since I knee high was just, whatever you do, don't turn your back on jesus, don't give up on jesus. And it seems like such an elementary thing to say to a little kid. You know, it seems very simple and just, but it's very true, no matter how old you get it's like that's the one if all else fails.
Speaker 2:You know, that's the one thing that you know, don't? You know, don't turn your back on the lord, everything else will come to pass. Yeah, you know, but that that one thing just. You know don't turn your back on the Lord, everything else will come to pass, you know. But that one thing just you know if you got that going for you, you got everything. If you don't have that, you got nothing. So it's pretty simple.
Speaker 4:The other notes I have in here. They live knowing that this place is not their home. That's right that they know, they know that they're living to go home with Jesus, and this believer is usually the one who repents thoroughly, forgives quickly and like I said, and they don't store their treasures here on earth.
Speaker 2:They just know that and I think any believer unbeliever. I think you could get them to admit like do you want to stay on this earth forever? I can tell you right now. If somebody asked me do you want to live on this earth forever? I'll grant it right now that you can live on this earth forever. And they could even say healthy and I'd be like no thanks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:No, no way. And they could even say healthy, and I'd be like no thanks, yeah, no, no, no way.
Speaker 1:I mean because at some point it just there's nothing, there's nothing to hope for, no, it's just not and I mean we know the word is true, so we know that the end times will happen, so like why would we want to be here?
Speaker 2:for that. I'll give you all the money in the world and you'll be healthy and but you got to live in this world forever.
Speaker 4:No, no, no, because day by day you see it getting more violent. Exactly just, you see satan, you know and sometimes I think like I think back, like the book of dracula.
Speaker 2:when you think of dracula, when you think about the original book, you think like, yeah, he's lived on this earth for centuries, no wonder he's a vampire.
Speaker 2:No wonder he's Dracula I never thought about that, because if you had, to live on this earth as long as he has, that's probably how you would lose your mind and become something very similar Because all your loved ones are gone, something very similar because you, all your loved ones, are gone. You know you have, you know there's no, you've. You've, uh, piled up all the treasures of earth to you. That's the thing. If you could just keep piling them up, piling them up, at some point they're not going to mean anything to you. I mean so eventually you would just become I think you would become a creature, you would stop being a human being yeah because you just wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
Speaker 2:You've been on this terrible earth so long and everybody you've loved has gone on and passed, and you've been given this great curse to yeah, stay here forever. Yeah, you probably wouldn't be the nicest person in the world, or? No you probably would be feeding off other people and doing everything you can just to survive survive so, yeah, absolutely not, I would not want to be here forever.
Speaker 4:I kind of chuckle when I was reading that about store your treasures up on earth. I'm thinking you've got to stop buying purses, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:It kind of hurt a little bit. You're like all right, god, I hear you okay.
Speaker 2:Speaking of that, there's an auction today. Have nothing but purses, I mean all brand names.
Speaker 4:Want me to tell you where it's at. No, okay, I won't, because I actually need Jarvee to put another shelf up. He's already put one up.
Speaker 1:I mean like, as soon as I saw that, I thought ah.
Speaker 2:She would go berserk.
Speaker 1:I'm terrible with purses. I will. I'll take that same one until it starts like the one that I was carrying around forever. The zipper broke and I can't like zip it again. I'm like I guess I better get a new one.
Speaker 4:But well, honey, you just come into my closet.
Speaker 1:And you could just pick perfect and then I'll be good for another five years.
Speaker 4:I probably have two for every outfit. Best changes in maybe five minutes.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I'm just having another Dracula thought. It's like if you were a person that lived on this earth forever, you wouldn't have that promise of salvation. No, and if you lose that, then guess what? You're going to lose your soul.
Speaker 4:And if you lost that?
Speaker 2:then anything goes, and sometimes that's what I think it's like. Yeah, if you live here for a thousand years with no promise of salvation, what would you turn into? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean because I think for a lot of people, a lot of people because they haven't. And, let's face it, there are people still in this day and age that have not been introduced to that salvation. They may not even be aware of it. You know, yeah, I mean I'm sure, yeah, everybody's heard Jesus' name, but nobody's ever taken the time to say as mom did whatever you do, don't turn your back on jesus, like they have never been introduced to him and they live thing that she instilled in you as a child yeah even if you, as a teenager, you thought oh, whatever, you know right, yeah like some teenagers, go through that little thing.
Speaker 4:It still was.
Speaker 2:She planted the seed, planted the seed, but some people live on this earth and you think how could they be that lost, how could they be that terrible? How could they Well, think about it. There's no seed in them, right? There's nothing in them. Well, that's probably why.
Speaker 1:So you know, they're not even people that have. Oh yeah, I went to church when I was a kid and for know if the schools can't bring it into the schooling system, if you know people are. It just seems like everything is getting more strict as far as freedom of speech and freedom of religion, so where would they get that seed?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean it was like schools like try to stop, you know, children from, you know, receiving the word, which is just it's crazy to think about, but it's true and you know, like I said, in this day and age it's hard to believe that there could be people that lost, that have never been introduced to Christ, but it's the truth.
Speaker 2:Oh, you know and that could be a whole other topic of conversation. But yeah, so you can't even begin to prepare for a race if you know you've never even been, you've never even seen the track, you know you never you know you just it's hard to imagine, but it's true.
Speaker 4:Very true. The last one I have is the crown of glory, and this is given to those who shepherd God's flock, to those who shepherd with patience, integrity and love. He protects the flock, bears the burdens of the flock, and when the chief shepherd appears, which is Jesus, he will honor those who served and protected his flock. So I have on that 1 Peter, 5, 1, 4.
Speaker 4:And now a word to you who are elders in the churches. I too am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and I too will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world, and I too will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly, not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example, and when the great shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor and this also says speaking about the crown of glory.
Speaker 1:it is the only way true meaning comes to life, because, like, if you think of Michael, you know like someone, like a head of the church or something like, yeah, a lot of his time is, you know, spent on others and making sure their purpose is lived out, let alone his, you know like. So if you're not pouring into others, then what are you doing you? Know like yeah is you know like. So if you're not pouring into others, then what are you doing?
Speaker 4:you know like yeah and you know it has to get hard for them to continually care for the flock.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, look at all the burdens that they carry for others well and think about a lot of times like people place their burdens upon him. People go out of their way to place their burdens. Yeah. So then, yeah, as a shepherd, as a man of God, you have to accept that. You know you can't say I'm not going to. Yeah, you know, a lot of times you have to take on that responsibility, even when you don't want to. It becomes part of.
Speaker 4:You know you've got conflict within the church.
Speaker 2:You've got discord.
Speaker 4:You know you've got divorce. You know, I mean Politics Exactly. I mean, look how it just makes us realize how much we should be uplifting our past.
Speaker 2:Older generation, newer generation. You've got the legacy members, you've got the young members, you got the young members. There's so many conflicts that can come up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I don't like the change of this. I don't like that.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't like staying put. You can't please everyone, and of course that comes with growing pains growing your numbers.
Speaker 2:The more people you have, the more situations you're going to have and opinions you'll have, and so even what your, your goal is to gather more people and, as you're doing that at, the same time, it's causing more stress for yourself. Yeah yeah, so it's tough, you know.
Speaker 4:But but it's, I guess it's not. This crown is not only just for the pastors, but your elders, your Sunday school teachers, anybody that is guiding, leading and teaching and protecting the flock whether it's little ones or the elderly.
Speaker 2:And I can't remember which book it's in, but it says something like if they're a teacher, let them be a teacher. If they're a leader, let them be a leader. You know, et cetera, et cetera. So it's saying that you know, if somebody finds their gift to what they're supposed to do and they feel like it's their gift and you know it's genuine, if they want to be a teacher, let them be a teacher. You know, don't stop that person from fulfilling that role, whatever that role might be. That's in the church, that's for the church of God. Let that person build on that.
Speaker 1:Well, and then that goes with the five-fold ministry that Pastor Michael really thinks that it operates well. Whenever a church is under, someone has a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep, you know he's. He had to walk away from the podcast, you know, and he's entrusted us five people to carry it on. And I think, deep down, he knows, yeah, they can do it, you know, and he's willing to trust us to do it every week, to do it right, to serve purpose. I've always felt I've been a teacher. That's where I feel like that's the gift that God has given me. So, yeah, I'm going to run with that, I'm not going to not do it yeah.
Speaker 2:I always say just again no matter what else I've got going on in my life, no matter what I'm working on spiritually, whatever I might be failing in my shortcomings, I'm not going to stop doing the work of God. Yeah. Now, you know, we all live in this world, we all have, you know, day jobs, we all have families. But it's like I've committed to this, I'm going to do it? Yeah, right, families, but it's like I've committed to this.
Speaker 2:I'm going to do it. And and it's always, you know there's plenty of times you're like oh, you had a hard day at work, I'm tired, I would really just like to stay home. But as soon as I get here and we start doing this, it's like I know I've done the right thing. I instantly feel better.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's, it's just yeah, that's just like a race or even a walk. Like even if you just go walk or go work out, or do you never want to do it, you never want to start, but towards the middle of it you're like all right, I got this. And then towards the end you're like man, I'm so glad I did that.
Speaker 2:You know, that's exactly what this all about. It's just you know you want, you want to run that race, you want to get that crown. Well, get in the word and, yeah, find out where god wants you, because it'll tell you yeah, it does, it will tell you where you're supposed to be but you're not going to know. You're not just going to walk into a church for the first time, sit down, down and go. I want to be a pastor. I want to lead worship. I want to. It doesn't work that way.
Speaker 1:I might be saying something and I could be wrong, but maybe you know, I feel like a lot of people get complacent and, just you know, in the mundane and not wanting, because they stop reading the Bible. But when you're reading the Bible you're getting those Aha, he spoke to me in this verse, you know, and it's like well then, if you're not reading your Bible, then that spark is not reigniting, like no wonder, you know.
Speaker 4:I love when I read a verse, read a verse, read a verse a hundred times and all of a sudden I'm like exactly, oh yeah, go tell Jarvie look. And he's like, yeah, yeah, you crazy.
Speaker 1:I knew that Whatever. I'm like well, I never looked at it that way.
Speaker 2:And I want to be clear I'm happy if somebody goes to church every Sunday and that's all they do. I'm happy that they do that. I'm not criticizing anybody because that's all they do. I'm happy that they do that. I'm not criticizing anybody because, that's all they do. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So. But what we're saying is just consider for a moment that you know your salvation is your salvation. You got to work it out yourself. So just consider for a moment if you know, it doesn't matter what again my judgment. It doesn't matter what again my judgment. It doesn't matter what I think yeah whether you go to church every sunday and that's all you ever do. That's fine, I'm pleased with that.
Speaker 2:I'm happy with it, but I'm just me yeah, you know, I'm just me but consider for a moment if you do more, if you get into the word more, how it it could possibly change your life, how it could lead you in new directions you've never been in before. How could it give you blessings that you've never had before? Because, again, it's your salvation, it's your crown. Take it or leave it. You know you can pick it up, set it down, set it aside, replace it with other things if you want to, but at the end of the day it's reserved for you. That's the thing the crowns that we have promised. They're reserved for us in the beginning and they're never going to be taken away. There's no point where God's going to say you know what this dude? He's just going to church every Sunday. Forget it, I'll just put him in the attic. He's never going to do that.
Speaker 2:He's going to lay him at your feet every single day and you have every single day to choose whether you're going to pick one up, put it, put it on yeah, and and go out and and do it, and that's, that's what you need to consider.
Speaker 4:When I sat under the church in port washington the pastor's wife there always said she wanted those crowns so she could and I've never seen anything biblically but she wanted those so she could lay them before Christ's feet, you know, as an honor to him.
Speaker 2:I've never Give them back in the end Like, yep, you're giving to me, but yeah.
Speaker 4:Like here, this is a gift for you, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I think I don't want to get up there and I got nothing right, yeah, here's my expired milk.
Speaker 1:What, yeah? But?
Speaker 4:I will say, by digging in into this study and I know we can go a lot deeper and with it it's made me sit back and reevaluate my walk yeah, yeah, I agree am I doing everything that he wants me to be doing? Yeah am I using the gifts that he's given me? You know, am I using the blessings that he's given me for his purpose? Right yeah, it's made me open my eyes. Yeah, and open the book.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I said, I was very pleasantly surprised when I started studying up. I'm like, wow, there's actually a lot to this, Because at first I thought it's going to be kind of a struggle and all of a sudden I was like I was running out of these little things I'm like, I'm running out of these tabs. And I'm still going. And I was like this is great, you know, you know, yeah, and I love, I love that anyway, I love. I'm a writer by heart too. I like to write.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But sometimes my favorite part of it is research.
Speaker 1:Is research? Yeah, finding it and like then putting it all together, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. The writing is kind of a chore, it's hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:To actually put it doing the research.
Speaker 1:Yes, this is good, write it down. It has none it has. It doesn't flow. Same thing. And she's got 942 sticky notes and don't know which one she wrote first. Hey, I'm the same way, though I have papers all over. She's got roslyn's construction paper.
Speaker 4:That's all I had at the boat to work with. That that's so funny, but the good thing we were at the boat and so I had pulled up David Jeremiah to see what he had to say, but I like listening to him, I like his teachings and Jarvi is like really into it.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, see, yeah, yeah, I wrote his name when you said that earlier on tonight, but think about it that piece of construction paper is worth more than a $500 bill.
Speaker 2:It's worth more than a piece of silk. It's worth more than a strand of gold. Yeah, because you did that and used that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's worth more than anything. Yeah, Because all that other stuff you can't take it with you. What you wrote down, you're taking it with you yeah yeah, yeah you can't lose it. Nobody can take it from you. Yeah, yeah, you know somebody, can you know, steal your purse? God forbid, beth. So we can steal your purse, that's okay, she's got plenty more, but that's the can't ever. They can't ever take away from you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, very good well, I suppose it was Dawn's turn to pray, huh.
Speaker 1:Actually it was yours, beth, and Nick did you pray, so it was going to boomerang back to you to pray tonight All right, let me get it started, okay, okay.
Speaker 4:Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this opportunity to come together and and study your word together and and learn new things through what you have shared and shown each and every one of us here, dear father god. And we ask, dear lord, that you just put this word in our heart and that we hold it and that, as we go out through each of our days, that we strive to win that race, dear Father God, so that we can have those crowns your word says that we can obtain. Dear Father God, we ask that you get us home safely tonight, dear Lord, and that you bring us back to our next appointed time.
Speaker 4:And, dear Father God, I ask that you just be with the family that has recently suffered loss of their young children dear Lord, and we just lift that family up to you, dear Lord, and we ask that you just wrap your loving arms around them and just bring them peace through this, somehow, dear Father God, because we know that you can do that. In Jesus' precious name, I pray amen.
