← In Totality with Megan Ashley
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- [00:00]
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Megan
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- [01:04]
Megan
You're getting ready to enter into a conversation. Well, we're going to enter into this conversation where I'm talking about what it means to really be a living sacrifice and what it takes to actually endure the cross. You know that Jesus says that if we are going to be with him and follow him, we have to pick up our cross daily, right? He wants us to pick up our cross daily and follow him. But what does that mean? And what does it take to have the endurance, the courage and the power to pick up our cross? What does that look like? What is that? How do we even get there? Well, we're going to talk through those, those things and I hope that this episode. Bless you. I hope that it's encouraging to you. It might cut a little bit, but if it gets you closer to him, if it makes you more dependent, if it makes you more like him, look like him, then it's all worth it. So get ready to enter this conversation. It's just me and you today and I hope you enjoy. What's up, you guys? Welcome back to another episode. I have an interesting. Maybe it's not an interesting topic, but it was something that kind of hit me when I was in the shower. Does God ever speak to you guys in like weird places? Sometimes it's like in my shower, it's always in my car. Those are like the places where I feel like I, I have these like amazing kind of dialogues with the Lord or like these random revelations that I feel like he gives me. And so I was in the shower, and I was listening to Paul Washer, and he was talking about Christ enduring the cross. And. And before Jesus gets betrayed, you know, he's in the garden, and he takes Peter, James, and John, and he's like, you know, keep watch and pray. And he goes and prays, right? And he prays so intensely that the Bible describes that he sweats drops of blood. And so he's saying, like, lord, let this cup pass for me. You know, he's asking God, like, let this cup pass for me. And. And people typically like to say it's like, oh, he just didn't want to go through the cross. He didn't want to go through the persecution, you know, the whips and the. The. The crown of thorns. And. And that's not. That's not what he was. So intensely. That's not the totality of why he was so intensely sweating drops of blood and. And asking the Lord, let this cup pass. And so that's what. That's what was playing. I was listening to Paul Washer talk about that, and then I feel like the Lord kind of just interrupted those thoughts for a second, and we went down a path of something else. And. And the Lord was like, you know, why do you think it was so easy? Or it may mean. And maybe easy is not the right word, but why do you think that there was such a willingness for the saints in the early church to go through persecution? And like, I was thinking back on it because I did a study in Acts with my Patreon community, and I remember we get to chapter eight, right? And so Peter and John are arrested again, right? The first time they were just given a warning, like a knock all that off, you know, talking about Jesus, blah, blah, blah, blah. Don't. Don't talk about them no more, right? Then they get arrested again. And it says, after they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them to not speak in the name of Jesus and released them. They went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on the behalf of the name. Thought about that. I thought about that. And then I started remembering early church history. Peter wanting to be crucified upside down because he couldn't. He couldn't be crucified in the same way his Savior was crucified. I think about what John endured being boiled in oil. I think about Stephen, who was stoned, but looks up and sees the King of Glory. The God of glory, right? I think about these, These. These examples, and I'm like, the Lord's bringing these, these things to my remembrance. And I'm like, so clearly we see that Jesus praying in the garden didn't really have anything to do with the persecution. It wasn't just about the pain of what he was getting ready to endure, but it was about the fact that he was going to be forever. Like, not forever, but he was going to be in that moment, separated from his Father for the first time. Him and the Father had always been one, and now he was going to be separated from all of God's wrath was going to be placed on him. He would turn his face from his son. God was going to turn his face from his son. That, that was the Lord. Let that, Let this cup pass for me. So as I'm going through these thoughts, right? And God is taking me kind of through these journeys, I feel like the.
- [06:54]
Ashley
Lord was like, what do you think.
- [06:57]
Megan
Caused them to have so much courage to face that type of persecution? What was it that made them so willing? Again, in Acts 5, they get. They got flogged, which is not a light thing. That's a pretty bad beating. And they left rejoicing, counted it worthy. What. What would it take? There's something that had to have happened prior, right? Yes, they were filled with the spirit, all the things. But. But what discipline or practice had to be in place for them to have that willingness to be persecuted in that way. And so then I. I started to think about the rich young ruler. And this is a parable that we see in all three Gospels. You see it in Matthew, you see it Mark, and you see it in Luke. I don't think you see it in John, but you see it in the first three. And you have this rich young ruler who, who hears Jesus. And he's like, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? So he's like, what do I got to do to make it to heaven? What do I got to do to have eternal life? And so then the Lord takes him down the commandments. Don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. And he's like, yo, I've done all that. I've done that. And then Jesus says, you still lack one thing. Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. Then come follow me. Okay, go do this. Then come follow me. So I started to think about all these things. I'm putting it in my mind. I'm like, okay. The Lord says in Luke 9, he says, pick up your cross and follow me. Right? That's what he wants us to do. Daily we pick up our cross and follow him. But just like with the rich young ruler, it seems like something has to happen before we have the ability to pick up our cross and follow God. And what it told me was, is that the ones who were so willing to endure persecution to pick up their cross and follow him is because there was an altar where they have laid down their lives and in full surrenderance. That's what. When. When the rich young ruler is at. He's like, I've done all the things. I've met all the command. I don't. I haven't committed adultery. I haven't murdered. I haven't stealed. I haven't bear false witness. I honor my father and mother. I've done all the. And Jesus is like, okay, cool. But have you denied yourself? Have you really surrendered everything so the same can be for us? I know that that's what the Lord was telling me. Yeah, I don't. I don't. Do you know what we would consider the big. I don't do the big sins. I live a consecrated life. I don't bear false witness. I don't commit it. I'm not committing adultery. I'm honoring my mother and father. I'm doing the things. And yes, do do the spiritual disciplines. But if you. It. Whatever he is requiring. And, And. And until you get to a place where you are practicing and living a committed life, to laying your life down on the altar, to present yourself as a living sacrifice, which is what that is, is laying yourself down at the altar. You gotta be committed to the altar to have the endurance for the cross. I have to be committed to this altar to laying my life down and saying what. Doing exactly what Jesus did in the garden, saying, not my will, but your will. I know God, you're asking me to do this, and I don't really want to do it. But not my will, but your will. If this is what you're asking me to do, I will do it. I'm consistently putting my life down and laying it at the altar every day. You want to have the endurance for the cross. You want to have the endurance to follow the Lord, to follow him and do what he's asking you to do. You got to be willing to lay your life down. He says, right here, even before. Right before you get to. So I'm in the book of Luke. So before you get to the parable of the rich young ruler, Jesus says right Here in Luke 17:33, whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. You can't have your will and God's will. You can't have what you want for your life and what God wants for your life. You have to be willing to say, God, I might have all these ideas and plans and whatever, but not my will. Your will.
- [12:35]
Ashley
What's up you guys? Listen, as a Christian, it sometimes feels like whenever the Easter holiday comes around, we rush past the meaning, which is that God made himself man and died for all of us so that we could have a close access to God, just as we are, no matter who we are. That's why I want to tell you about the Glorify App and Glorify's Holy Week Challenge. Glorify is the number one Christian daily devotional app. It's such a great resource for daily devotional scriptures and worship, especially during Easter. Whether you've been saved for years or you're just beginning your Christian walk, Glorify has something for everyone. You can journal your prayer time, reflect with guided meditation, and even explore courses designed to deepen your understanding of scripture and help you grow in your faith. Glorify's eight Day Holy Week Challenge guides you through powerful daily devotionals, scripture reading, and teachings that draw you closer to the heart of Jesus. Eight days, eight devotionals. It's that easy. The most exciting part is Glorify teamed up with the Chosen this month and actress Laura Silva has created exclusive and this is content you don't want to miss for Holy Week. You guys know that I love to journal and use different tools to go deeper in my Bible study. The Glorify app helps me have everything in one place. It's easy to use, accessible for everyone. If you're ready to celebrate Easter in.
- [14:04]
Megan
A new way, join me and join.
- [14:07]
Ashley
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- [14:32]
Megan
Free again.
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Ashley
Glorify D app.com totality all right guys, back to the conversation.
- [14:39]
Megan
I'm going to stay committed to this altar. I'm going to stay committed to laying my life Down. Because if you think that you're going to have the endurance or going to have the spirit, like the discipline to pick up a cross that he's asking you to carry when you have not been committed to dying to your will, dying to your way, when you haven't been committed to presenting yourself as a living sacrifice, I'm telling you, when the time comes where you gotta pick up this cross, you won't have it. You won't have the endurance. You'll question, you'll. Oh, God. I don't. Just like the rich young ruler, he had met all the command. He said, I don't do any of those things. Yet walked away grieving because he did not want to give away the very thing that God was asking for. The Lord told him, if you give this away, you'll have treasures stored in heaven. And he still, He. He wanted eternal life, but he didn't live with eternity as a mindset. You want the benefits of eternal life, but you don't want the, the disciplines of what it means to live here with an eternity mindset. So whatever God is asking me to do, I'mma do it because I don't live for, for what I can hold on to in this world, but I live for eternity with Him. And so if he tells me to give away all my possessions, I'm going to give it away because truly I want, I truly want eternal life with the Lord. This stuff, you're not going to take whatever he's asking you for, give it to him. Don't be like the original. Learn from the rich young ruler and, and, and let's keep it. Like, like we might see this and might judge him and be like, dang, bro, you had Jesus in your face telling you to. He was right there. But we're the same way, guys. We're the same way. We're the same way. Have a zeal to, to, to do all the right things. We're doing all the right things, right? We're living a consecrated life. We're not committing adultery. We're not lying, we're not stealing. We're not doing, we're not breaking the Ten Commandments. And in the way that we see the, the rich young ruler isn't. But yet he still missed it because he didn't want to give up the very thing that he was holding on to, the thing that matt. It proved what mattered to him the most. And it wasn't eternal life with the Lord, it was his possessions. Because if God meant more to him than he would have let it go wouldn't have mattered. I'm telling you, you have to be willing to lay your life down and set like I am a living sacrifice. I do. I don't think about, you know, I, I don't live my life for me. I live it for the Lord. And so if he tells me to put this. Guys, listen, it could be in the simplest ways. I'm not even telling you. I'm not even trying to say the Lord is telling you to give away all your possessions. Please do not be in the comments like I gave away everything because Megan said in Luke, do not do that. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if the Lord tells you to give up Netflix, are you going to do it? You're sitting here saying like, lord, I'll follow you. I'll, I'll, I'll endure any persecution. But you won't give up Netflix. But you won't stop listening to secular music knowing that the Lord is calling you to stop listening to secular music, knowing that he wants you to spend more time with him and not Netflix. You won't do that.
- [18:28]
Ashley
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- [20:22]
Megan
Listen, y'all, it might. It may not be a big thing for you anymore to not commit adultery, but it may be a thing that you won't give up. A certain thing like secular music, Netflix. I told you guys about the story about my mom. The Lord telling my mom to give up chips. That's not in the Ten Commandments. But it was what he told her to do. And so she had to be obedient because she lived a life on the altar every single day, presenting herself as a living sacrifice. I'm going to get on this altar. I'm going to die. I'm going to live dead. That's why it's easy to carry a cross. That's why it's easy to walk towards a persecution, because I've already died on this altar. I've died to my wills, I've died to my way. And I've said yes to the Lord, which makes it easy. When he tells me to do something hard like carry the cross, I'm going to say yes, because I live dead. I. I'm a living sacrifice. It may not be in big ways. It may not be sell everything and go on the mission field. It may not be, or it may be, but whatever it is, whatever it is, you gotta be obedient. We have to be obedient to whatever it is that he's saying to do. Maybe it's getting off social media. Maybe it's getting rid of TikTok. Maybe it's getting rid of Instagram. Maybe it's, you know, I want you to dress more modest. I don't want you to wear that anymore. Whatever it is that he is pulling you to do, just do it. Don't be like the rich young ruler. But let's be like how the apostles were. They were a living sacrifice filled with the spirit, ready to endure whatever they had to endure for the name of God, for the name of Jesus, they were willing to do it. They counted themselves worthy to be persecuted for the name. I know for me, I was convicted because it's like, yeah, I think I'm this, like, you know, I'm a rowdy Christian. I'm real serious about my faith. Whatever the Lord tell me to do, I'm Willing to, you know, I'm willing to say the hard things. I'm willing to go through persecution. But you. Not willing to get on the altar to address your pride. You're not willing to call someone to say, you know what? I was wrong. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that. You're not willing to serve in your local church. You're not willing to sacrifice some time and do devotionals with your children to teach your children the Bible. But you. I'm. Whatever. I'm willing to endure persecution. Are you really? If you're not committed to this altar, you won't have the endurance for the cross. You gotta be committed to this altar. Remember, you are to be a living sacrifice. Take the examples of the apostles. Take the example of our Savior, who said, not my will, but your will, not my way, God, your way. You're worthy of me sacrificing anything. And when I really think about who you are, and I really think on all that you've done, the consistency of your nature, is it really a sacrifice? Is it really a sacrifice to give up the pleasures of this world to be more intimate with him? Is it really a sacrifice? Isn't he deserving? Isn't he worthy of it? Ask yourselves that. My encouragement is for you to commit to the altar. Commit to it. You guys know Romans 12 is just my. It's the staple for this season. And if I'm saying I want to be a living sacrifice, then that means I'm committed to the altar daily. I'm going to wake up, I'm going to get on this altar. I'm going to die. I'm going to die to my wills, die to my desires, die to my way. And I'm going to say, God, not my will. Your will. I want what you want for me. And whatever you're asking me to sacrifice, it's going on the altar. Whatever it is, if you ask me to do it, I'm going to do it. It's as simple as that. So I hope that this. This episode encourages you. I. You know, honestly, I hope all of. I hope all of these episodes encourage you to pick this up. Don't just take my word for it. Go read it. Go read what it means to be a living sacrifice. Go read it. Read what God is saying. Read what his commands are. Read what his will is. It's all in here. Read it. And then take inventory of how you're living and say, God, man, do you want more? Lord, I haven't Been laying my life down in the way that I should. I'm sorry. God, give me the power, the strength, the courage to lay my life down. Lay down whatever it is. God, I don't want to be like the rich young ruler. I don't want to to do all the moral things outwardly, but then still have a heart that's far from you. Because I want to hold on to what I want more than I want you. God, I want a heart that wants you more than I want anything else. That's what I want. I want a heart that has your desires. I want a heart that is committed to your will, your way. That's what I want. God help me. This isn't to discourage you. This is to allow you to take inventory. And if you're already there, then this should encourage you. This should be confirmation. Like, hey, you're already living like that. Keep going. And if you don't know where to start, start right there. Like I said, God help me. I want what you want. I want to live a life that is pleasing to you. I hope this is helpful. I hope it's encouraging for you. I love you guys and I'll see you next week.
- [27:06]
Ashley
What's up, you guys? I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you felt encouraged in some way. Be sure to like and follow In Totality Podcast everywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Follow In Totality on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and be sure to turn on your post notifications so that you can be the first to listen whenever there's a new episode.