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Hello. Hello, you guys, and welcome back to Saves Not Soft. You guys, we are back and better than ever with nothing less. Yet again, another break that was much needed. And, no, I don't have to explain myself. The Lord needed to do a lot of healing and reconstruction in my ministry, in my life, in my mental health, emotional health, everything. And I'm coming back in this season, rejuvenated, ready to get the things of God, and I do not plan on taking that long of a break anytime soon. I wanted to address the elephant of the room the moment I got on, which we're going to kind of talk about that today. But I pray that you guys have been well. I hope that you guys have been blessed and well rested. This summer has been a restful one, and I'm totally here for it and just so blessed from what the spirit of the Lord has been doing. I've been meeting a lot of you guys the past few weeks. It feels like I feel like I've been running into more people, especially as I was staying out in Florida, and just talking to you guys and just hearing your hearts has been blessing me so, so, so much. So this ministry means a lot, y'all. And what God is doing through this, there is such a beautiful weight to it. And seeing the evidence of God work through each and every single one of you literally does shape my heart into this. Pretty, pretty with a flower. But anyway, super excited to be back. Like how I said, now I'm back and better than ever, and I'm ready to get in my bag, y'all. This is the energy that I'm coming in with. Okay? I'm getting the spiritual bag. I'm getting the natural one. I'm getting the mental one, the emotional one, the relational one, the social one, like this. Like, let's end off this year with a bang. Amen. Who's ready to just get their life in order and to do the things of God? Because that's where I'm at right now. God done dealt with me, and now I'm like, okay, let's go and get it, y'all. If this is your first time. Wait, I didn't say my name. My name is Emmy Warren. I'm the host of this podcast, Saved. Not soft. And, no, this is not an easy journey. It's actually a hard one. But just let that. It is. It is, but it's beautiful. It's a hard journey, but it's very. It's very, very beautiful. And at the end of the day, if I have to go through all of this just to be at Jesus's feet and to understand God more. I will do it over and over and over again. But this podcast is to navigate the Christian lifestyle, how to go through culture, how to go through a day to day basis of what it means to follow Jesus. Because it's hard to navigate, let's be honest. And I think that was one of the things when I first started coming to Christ, I had no idea what was going down, what was happening, what I was doing, let alone the people around me. And whenever you first come to the Lord and you're like, okay, God, I accepted you into my heart. But like, what does this mean for me? It could be, it could be a scenario that's hard to navigate. So this podcast is a tool to help women all around the world. Men too, if you like to listen. But mostly I cater to women and preach to women. How to just navigate the things that is, that. That God is giving you, that he's freely given on to us. Grace, mercy, perseverance, et cetera. Let's pray. I'm gonna tell y'all a little bit about my life because I think some of you guys are curious and then we'll get into the message for today. So let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Father, we love you, God. God, we just love you so much, God. God, we just thank you for this place, platform. We thank you, God, that we get to sit and listen to your word, God, that we get to have fruitful conversations. Father God, we just thank you that you have given us breath in our lungs, God, that you have blessed us with a roof over our head with foods and with food in our stomach, with water to drink, Father God. Clean water to drink, let alone Father God. God, I just ask that your children just start to give you praises now in Jesus mighty name, Father. Whether if it's for simple pleasures and simple graces in life that we tend to miss, to mislook or overlook at times, Father God, we, we are giving you praise now in Jesus mighty for every small and big thing you've done in our lives. God, we just thank you, God. We see the magnitude that, that you are operating in. We see how big and massive and beautiful you are, God. So, God, we just thank you that you are a God who is filled with beauty and you're a God that always provides for their children. Father God, God, I just ask that today is exactly what Psalms 119, 105 says. Thy word is a lamp onto my feet and a light unto our path, God, let today, let your word shine onto the path that we are needing to walk down. Father God, give us the blueprint, give instruction. God in line our hearts with your will, Father God, let us, let us throw off everything that's throwing us into hindrance like, like Hebrews 12, Father God, let everything be thrown off so we could run the good race of faith, Father God. So everything that, that, that we've just been carrying around, that's a lot of baggage, Father. Can we just leave that at your feet right now in Jesus mighty name. And when we listen to this message and when we have this conversation, when we're listening to your word and we're tuning into your voice, God, let all those things that we're worrying about, things that are throwing us into confusion, be left at the altar, Father God, with an expectancy knowing that your hands are going to take care of it, Father God. So, God, I ask that you give your children on the other side of the screen the courage now to just lay things at the altar, Father God. To just lay it down so their hearts are prepared for this message. God, prepare our hearts. God, prepare our minds like God, just prepare us for all things. God, prepare us for what you're gonna do in this podcast as a whole. Father, I just believe it's gonna be so powerful and there's ears who really need to hear your message. Father God. God, I just ask that your transcending peace is fallen onto your children now in Jesus mighty name. And that your love and your compassion for them is what seeps down to the bottom of their spirits. God, God, make them receptive to listen. God, I just decree and declare that every distraction that is trying to come against them will not prosper. In the mighty name of Jesus, God, I just declare, Isaiah 54:17, that no weapon against shall prosper in Jesus mighty name, God. And we, we decree and declare that we are the head and not the tail above and not beneath. Like Deuteronomy 28:13, God. And more importantly, God, we just ask that you just bless us over and over and over again. We thank you that you're kind, that you're gentle, and that you're just the bestest father ever. So show us your glory today. We can't wait to see what you're going to teach us. And we love you, we praise you. And I feel this prayer in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So good, y'all. Okay, I'll spoil a little bit about my life first because the girlies do like to talk. The girlies do like to talk about some things and I'll tell you guys a little bit about my life, what I've been doing this past month. It does tie into the message. And I don't know, I believe one of the strong foundations that makes this podcast really awesome is it's almost as if I have like this friendship with you guys. Like every time I come on here and I hop on this bike, it's like we're just sitting down, we're having like a girly girl conversation and I'm just telling you and chatting it up about my life and the things that God's doing while also coming in with a fire message. So yeah, girly talk real quick. So I went to Florida for a whole month because that's where my boyfriend Malik lives. But more importantly, my church is also located there as well. And going through these past few months have been quite challenging to navigate how to get out of it. And once my time comes to fully share my testimony, the day will come, but I will not fully share it now just because there's some things that are still needing to come to pass. It's still fresh. I'm in a new season. I praise God for it. At the same time, I want to be intentional about what I say right now. Anyways, I went to Florida to honestly just seek rest and healing. I've been doing this podcast and been doing ministry and been doing social media non stop, no breaks, hardly ever. And like truly resting, like never really truly rested and understood what that meant. And until this last month, I really just sat down and did absolutely no work. None of it? No, no online, like ministry like that? No, no, like work to. To help myself. I mean, like a little, but nothing to where it was like overbearing. The only thing I did was like launch my T shirts and et cetera. I just rested and I desperately needed that because people who are in my personal life know I'm go, go, go. I'm working, working, working. I've been on workaholics since the moment I came. Always working, I'm always doing something. And so I really needed a time to just sit, be one with God and enjoy the relationships that are around me. From my mentors, from the people at my church, through my really close friends and my boyfriend. It just really filled my spirit and I came back so much more prepared. Especially coming back to this podcast. I feel a lot more prepared in the things of God and where he's calling me as a leader. So it's really awesome. So while I was In Florida did a multitude of things. We went on a cruise for me and Malik are 11 days apart. There we go. And in celebration, we went on a cruise with our bestest friends. We went to Georgia for a few days. We went to Discovery Cove and, like, swam with fishes. What else did we do? We went to Universal Studios. We did so much stuff. We did almost, like, everything it felt like. And we celebrated our birthdays. It was just so awesome spending time and just resting and just enjoying my life instead of just going through it super fast, trying to endure each and every single day. And so that rest that I needed was so crucial because there were some things that I was going through to where I desperately needed that recreational time and support. And I just want to emphasize really quickly that, that there's going to be times, whether if it's me or your other favorite podcasters or people on social media, we're going to have to take a break, especially when it pertains to ministry, because there's such a. A weight that comes with it, and it's a weight that we quite honestly cannot carry ourselves. So this resting period was one that God literally forced me into because I did not want to go into it, but I had to in order to get out on the other side. But it was necessary so God could heal me. Because here's the thing, y'all. You will never see a sick doctor heal people. Do we understand? I couldn't sit here and speak to you guys on situations in scripture if I was really, really broken on the inside. And so these past few months that have been really challenging, but I escaped it in Jesus mighty name, and the Lord has delivered me. And I praise God for. For him for it. There. There was just a moment where I needed to heal and my heart needed to be mended back into the hands of the Father. And I want to just give a reminder that if you need a rest, rest, and it's okay to rest. And quite honestly, you don't owe anybody an explanation. Like, I didn't owe y'all an explanation. But I wanted to sit here and be transparent and vulnerable because I understand that's my superpower. At the same time, there's. There's just been a lot of things God's been doing, and I wanted to share with you guys one of them. And this is gonna kind of tie in to the message today. And the message today is get your priorities straight. Get your priorities straight. This could fall into a multitude of things as I was gone for this past month, in my resting period, God was telling me, he said, emmy, I need you to get your priorities straight. I'm thinking, God, what I put you first. I go to church, I'm serving, I'm under mentorship. I just got licensed as a minister. I'm doing all the things. What do you mean? Like, get my priorities straight? And there were certain things that God was wanting me in that I didn't even understand just yet. And so sometimes we get so distracted by what we think we want to, where it's limiting us from what we should be prioritizing in the things of God. So this. This past month, the Lord has revealed a lot to me personally, things I've been needing to re. Prioritize. Of course, I prioritize like him, my relationship with him, friends, family, et cetera, whatever that may be. But I really had to ask God the question, God, what is it that you are wanting me to do right now in this very season? And when God lays down that BluePR, you have to prioritize it. It's almost as if we cry out to God and ask him, God, like, give me instruction, give me clarity on this next season, and then he gives you the blueprint from it, and yet you don't follow instruction, and yet you don't prioritize it. It's like we'll cry out to God to give us clarity, and then we'll see it and then not want to chase after it. So get your priorities straight. As the Lord started to convict my heart, and he was like, okay, yeah, Emmy, you do put me first, but I want you to go deeper in prayer. I want you to go deeper into my presence. I want you to learn how to serve on a deeper level. Like, there's never going to be a time to where everything is just perfect with God here on earth. Whenever we're in heaven, sure, here on earth, we're always progressing. We're always being sanctified, we're always being perfected. And it doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to be perfect tomorrow, but we're striving for perfection because that's what Jesus was, right? So the Lord was showing me that in order to be more like Jesus, there were some things I was needing to prioritize a little, a little more. And a few of those things was, for sure, intimacy with God instead of just going and looking, just to be transparent. I believe an old trait I used to have really badly was I would open scripture and I would read a passage, and I would look at the wrath and the anger of God and I was never looking for his grace and for his mercy. And so over time it started to plant this idea in my head that God was always angry and that God was kind of like this bad cop, right? And the Lord started to conflict my heart. And he was like, Emmy, I come in the image of my son. The whole reason as to why I sent my son in the first place is so you could see how much Jesus reflects God's character. And so when you see Jesus and you see how gently and you see how gentle he is, and you see the way that he washes the disciples feet of how he's not tolerant, what's whatsoever, but he is so kind, he's so patient, he's so loving. Those are all attributes of God. And so God wanted me to prioritize more intimacy with him. So now when I'm studying scripture, I'm opening to a page and I'm looking for God's mercy and his grace in every single passage. And I think that's a really crazy cycle to be in sometimes because especially for me, I, I believe I'm the type that likes to be corrected and I like to fix and improve and do all these things. And there's such a joy in just being seen and just being loved. And the Lord was sharing me how you find that just by finding and looking for his grace. There was this interview with Theobon Theoban, that's how I say his name. And this other guy, I don't know who he was, but he made a really good point. He said, you know, your belief is whatever you believe, whatever you're running towards, right? Something amongst the lines of that. He goes, look around the room. He's like, look for everything brown, right? Theo Vaughn's looking around the room, he finds everything brown. He goes, okay, close your eyes. Theo closes eyes and he goes, okay, tell me what was red? And Theo's like, I can't tell you what was ready. He was like, why? And he said, because I wasn't looking for red. And he was like, that's it. Like we develop a belief from what we're looking for, right? So if we believe that God is full of wrath and anger, it's because unconsciously we're looking for it. So if you're wanting God to, if you're looking for God to be gracious and merciful and loving, which is the God that who he is and who he claims to be, you have to go into scripture looking for that, not having already these preconceived notions that God is angry or that he's full of wrath. And sure, there's points to where God is wrathful, but it's righteous and it's out of mercy and grace and love. And if you're not looking for grace, mercy and love in those stories, all you're gonna see is his anger. So that's just one thing. This has nothing to do with the message, kind of, but that was one thing. The Lord has been wanting me to prioritize is reading his scriptures in mercy, love and compassion and then just going deeper as a whole. My prayer life can go deeper. The way that I serve others can go deeper. My intimacy with him could go deeper. My podcast could go deeper. My doctri can go deeper. The way I study could go deeper. Everything. God just wanted me to go deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper. And then also growing my empathy for others through intercession. So instead of doing all these lengthy prayers for myself at times throughout the day, God has been convicting my heart to pray for other people and to step in the gap in place for them, to claim victory over them and then also serving people. And I, I believe this is something the Lord has really put on my heart and emphasize this past month, is that the Lord has been wanting me to prioritize washing people's feet and physically doing it. I believe what I do online, this ministry is amazing and it's great and it's beautiful. I also believe, though, that true ministry doesn't start in front of a camera or on a microphone. It starts at people's feet. And God is wanting me to be plugged into in person ministry physically washing people's feet. So in this season, I'm really excited because I believe the Lord is going to push me more into in person ministry that's not just speaking and leading. Those things are great and I know I'm graced for it. And I know God has given me the, the, the grace and the gifts to speak in front of people, to lead women to do the pick it up and praise, you know, whatever it may be. And those are all gifts that God has given me. At the same time, I want to go solo for God. The greatest of those are those who serve lowly. Jesus had had all the sermons, he had all the miracles, signs and wonders, and yet he still washed feet. I want to be like Jesus, I want to wash feet. I want to wash feet. And people don't even see it. Like, I, I just want to, I just want to serve people all the time. And whether, if it's on this Podcast or not, I'm not saying that, that I'm ever quitting this podcast because God is going to have this keep going until, you know, my testimony. And I, I just want to. I just want to serve everyone with everything that I got because that's what Jesus did. That's what he does for us each and every single day. So that's, that's another priority is just serving people, being at their feet and being a student, being one who learns. I think I'm quick to teach a lot. I'm quick to hop on a camera, I'm quick to hop on a stage. And during this time, I really want to be quick to listen and slow to speak, like how James says. And I've been doing that in the past. But there's a deeper sense that I could go. That's why I'm reading this book by President Perry called How to Tell the Truth. And there's a part in it to where his grandmother shares with him that there's a reason as to why we have two ears and one mouth. It's so you could hear twice as much as you speak. And I was like, oh, that's so good, right? It's like we do have two ears for a reason. Like, God has given me two years so I could listen twice as much. Like, I want to listen to people, I want to see their hearts, I want to serve them deeper, and I want to be a good student. Amen. So that's just me being vulnerable and honest of where the Lord has, has been calling me in this next season and I'm really excited. So keep me in prayer. I just know that the Lord is protecting me, that his angels are encamped around me, that he's just enforced them on my side, and that the Lord is just bringing me such a joy and compassion for his people and for this next stage of ministry. So with that being said, God wants you to prioritize him and the instruction that he's given you. And I want to prompt you with a question today. What is it that God has called you to do? If you don't know that answer, that's okay. I think sometimes that daunting question can really put a pressure on us of like, oh, what does God want me to do? And you could fall into maybe an identity crisis or in a down world spiral of I don't know what to do because I don't know what the heck I'm doing or who I am and all these things, but just ask him. James 1:5 says that God gives wisdom to those who ask him, and he doesn't find fault in them at all. I believe I could say the verse a lot better. It says, if any of you lack. Yes, that's what it is. James 1:5 says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should go to God who gives grace or who gives wisdom freely to all without finding fault. So, meaning, when you ask for wisdom from God, he's going to grant it onto you without finding fault in you. So. So if you're wondering God, like, what is it that I'm supposed to do? What is it that you're trying to show me in my life? God, give me clarity, give me provision, whatever it may be. Ask for wisdom and he'll give it to you without looking at your sin or your faults. It's a gift he wants to give, right? So what is it that God has called you to do? Whether if you know it or not? I would highly suggest that you ask God again and again. Because he's going to show you each and every single day where you need to go, places you need to be, people you need to meet, people you gotta pray for, whatever it may be. God, what is it that you're calling me to do today? And once he gives you that instruction, make sure that you follow it, right? Because wisdom is applied knowledge. I think we forget that. I think wisdom is having all the knowledge in the world. Oh, I know all these things. I'm book smart, I know the Bible front to back. But wisdom is the application of, of knowledge. And you can know all these things, but if you never apply it for yourself, are you truly walking in that obedience for the Lord? So when it comes to actually setting those priorities for yourself, wisdom comes with carrying it out. So you ask God for the vision. You ask him, hey, God, what is it that you want for my life? He gives you the instruction. Your part to walk out in wisdom is to take what he's taught you and to go forward and go forward in it in obedience, right? So we must be obedient to the call. We must be obedient to what God is telling us. Because if we don't pick it up, someone, someone else is. That's terrifying to think about that. If, if God has told me to do a specific thing and I ignore the call, he's going to pass it on to someone else, right? What is God calling you to do? You, you. What is it that God is calling you to do? Not your neighborhood, not your favorite influencer on social media, not your boyfriend, not your. Not not your girlfriend, whoever it may be. What is it that God is calling you to do you specifically? Right. And I think we could allow a lot of things to get in the way, whether if it's the perception of other people. Galatians 1:10 talks about that. Am I now trying to seek the approval of human beings? If I were, then I would not be a true follower of Christ. You know, it could be status or fame or money. And we, we're chasing after all these things of what we should prioritize when in all actuality we should be priority prioritizing God at all times. Amen. Amen. So I want to share a story with you guys that really blessed me while I was on this break. We're going to turn to we're going to share two stories today. The first one is going to be found in Mark, chapter one. Let me get there because I didn't bookmark it. Mark chapter one. Oh, all the way back here. So we're going to read verses 35 to 39. And this is talking about Jesus praying in a solitary place. We're going to talk about it. I'm really excited. Starting verse 35, chapter 1, verse 35. If I, if I didn't say that already. And it says very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Simon and his companions went out to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed, everyone is looking for you. Jesus replied, let us go somewhere else, to nearby villages so I could preach there also. This is why I've come. So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching their synagogues and driving out demons. The next part of this passage. So verses 40, 45. I'm going to talk about this another day, but I'm going to give a quick summary. The next part of the story is after Jesus is praying in a solitary place. He sent out to a city to heal a man of leprosy and something unravels. You can read it on your own time. We'll talk about that another time. I would really like to highlight, though, this story of Jesus praying in a solitary place, right? Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up and spent that solitary consecrated time with the Lord. And Jesus knew how to prioritize God. If Jesus knew how to prioritize God, how much more should we right? Jesus is literally the Son of God. Jesus is the reflection, is the human reflection of God. And yet he always sought God's presence every single morning in in the morning before, while it was still dark outside, he was still seeking the feet of God each and every single day. And I believe the story is so beautiful because Simon and his companions, AKA the disciples, are looking for Jesus. And they're like, jesus, Jesus, where are you? We've been looking for you everywhere. And he's like, bro, like, I'm spending time with my Father right now. Jesus knew how to, how to prioritize his time with the Lord and to be in a solitary consecrated place. And I believe when it comes to having your priorities straight, we must know how to spend that consecrated time with the Lord. At times I believe that we get consecration and isolation mixed up. Isolation is putting yourself in a box and throwing yourself to the middle of the ocean. No one can see you, you just up to no good. Consecration is almost like holiness. You're setting yourself apart to spend that consecrated time with the Lord, that one on one intimacy with the Lord, right? And so Jesus is not encouraging us to be isolated and to keep yourself warm from community or to keep yourself in a room all day, but he prioritized spending that one on one time with the Lord to get instruction, to be at his feet, to pray to him, to spend time with him. And as, as Simon, AKA Peter was trying to find them, he's like, where have you been, Jesus? Like, I'm here speaking to my Father. Jesus knew how to prioritize God. And even when Jesus was needed, he still knew how to prioritize God. Here's the thing, y'all, sometimes we won't spend that consecrated time with the Lord because we think that we're needed by so many people. Oh, oh, I can't spend my one on one time with God, or I can't spend my consecrated time with God because I gotta go to work, or I gotta spend time with my family, or I gotta hang out with my friends, or I gotta talk to this person, or I gotta spend time with my husband or my wife, whatever it may be. And those are all important, beautiful things. I, I, I' negating any of it. I believe that you should prioritize your family, that you should prioritize work. Those are great priorities. But anytime any of that comes before the presence of God, it is an idol and we must be aware of that. Know that whenever God is urging you to spend consecrated time with him, it's because he's wanting to be at the top of your priority list. And Jesus knew how to seek the feet of God even though Jesus was needed for other people. And so when Jesus was. Was praying in the morning. He went in the intention, knowing that he was about to be sent out. I think sometimes when we want to be sent out on the mission, we want to go do the work. Right before. Before Jesus was sent into the city to heal the blind man of. Or not the blind man. Before Jesus was sent out into the city to heal the man of leprosy, he first had to spend consecrated time with the Lord first in order to be sent out. A lot of us want to do the work first. A lot of us want to hop on the podcast, we want to hop on the TikTok live and get the universe. We want to do all the things of God without seeking his presence first. And what's important and what we must know about this part of scripture is that you have to seek the feet of God each and every single. Each and every single day. Amen. That consecrated time with the Lord is crucial, that needs to be prioritized before you ever. I believe sometimes we could idolize speaking about God before speaking to Him. What a. What a backwards world. We have to know how to truly seek the feet of Jesus, how to seek our Father, how to gain instruction and prioritize him each and every single day. And I know I keep saying this, but I have to embed it into your spirit because the spirit of the Lord is telling me that almost the body of Christ is out of order and there's a lack of priority. We're wanting to do all the big things for God, but you don't want to sit down, spend time with him. You want to start the podcast, but you're not in your word. You're talking about God more than you're actually reading about Him. Do you. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like the podcast and the Instagram reels and the tick tocks and the things that you do. It should be an overflow of what you're spending on with that one on one time you have with the Lord. It should be a response. It shouldn't be, oh, I'm going to talk about God, and because I'm talking about God, I need to go to His Word. No, this needs to be a priority at all costs because this is the voice of God. And the moment you put the second, you're doing it wrong. Amen. So just know that Jesus had to consult God first before he was sent out to do the work. Before Jesus could perform all the signs, all the miracles, all the healings, he first had to seek the feet of God. We must do the same if you're. If you know that God is telling you, hey, I want you to become a minister. I'm wanting you to teach my word. I'm wanting you to be a small group leader. I'm about to send you out on missions and take you around the whole world. I'm going to help you transform your whole family. I'm going to reveal myself to your family and restore your relationships. If you know God has plans for your life and he's going to cause transformation and he's going to send you out, then you must spend that consecrated time with Him. You must prioritize his presence first. You must prioritize his presence over the promise that he's given you. Because just like Abraham and Sarai, Sarai prioritized the promise over God's presence. And we know this because she pursued Hagar instead of the provision of God. So let's not be like the people who made mistakes in the Bible and always put the presence of God first, not just what he says, but who he is. Right? Do we understand? Amen. So, yeah, my heart is just beating for that. And it's just so good. There's just so much in the scripture that I wish I could share more of. I believe I gotta save it for another time. But I want to talk about another scripture in Luke chapter 12, and this one was just beautiful to read. So we're going to read Luke chapter 12, verses 13 to 21 to get your priorities straight. Get your priorities straight, y'all. I cannot emphasize it enough. The biggest priority is to spend that time with the Lord. Amen. Is to seek God each and every single day. And not just, hey, I wake up. God, thank you for this breath. Bless my day. Amen. Go about your day. And you prioritize, and you're prioritizing everything else except for God, right? Like, if you say that you love God, how much more does your life reflect that? I think a lot of the times we'll, you know, say, oh, yeah, God first. Or you'll see in people's Instagram bios, oh, yeah, God first. But yet their life does not reflect that they put God first, you know, And I don't want to be a people who says that they put God first, but their actions don't replicate it works. Is evidence of your faith. So if you're saying God first, and if you're saying that God is my number one and yet your life doesn't reflect it, are you. Then you must be a hypocrite or a liar. That's the only case. So how could we. So how could we be a better people of truly prioritizing God in order, in faith, in love, and in compassion? And not just saying that we're putting God first, but actually putting God first. It's one thing to say it, but it's one thing to actually do it. I think sometimes God. How do I want to say this? I think sometimes we could be bad boyfriends. And what I mean by that is, have you ever had a friend or something like that, and, you know, she's talking about her relationship and she's like, you know, my boyfriend, he says all these things, but he never does it. I think God be looking at us like that sometimes. I think God be looking at us like bad boyfriends at times. He's like, you say that you love me, but you don't show it. Like, you say that you love my word, you love everything I got to offer, but yet you're not in my word. And I don't. I don't. I don't think God is necessarily mean for that. I think he's righteous. We must mean what we say. The power of the tongue declares life or death. So if you're declaring that God is first, that yes, I have faith in him, act like it. Because your word is planting the seed in the fertile ground, but you have to water it. You have to water the seeds that you are planning. So if you're just saying, oh, I have faith, God first all day, and there's no works tied to it, then it might as well be dead. Faith without works is dead. Amen. Works as evidence of your faith. Super elementary, super simple. Your actions should reflect what you say about God and what you believe, who God is. Amen. Anyways, let's go to Luke. We're on Luke, chapter 12, verses 13. All the way down 21. This is the parable of the rich fool. Sometimes in the crowd, or let me start over, someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, man who appointed me a judge or an ardor. Oh, I don't even know how to pronounce that word. Arbiter. Arbiter. There we go. I got the word, man who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you. Then he said to them, watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in abundance of possessions. And then he told him this parable. The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, what shall I Do I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, this is what I shall do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store up my surplus again of grain. And I say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, you fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be for whoever stores up the things for themselves but is not rich towards God. Yikes, yikes, yikes, yikes. A multitude of things. We must know that in this story, this man was storing up a lot of things for himself, but never forgot. This is. This is a story about a man who had abundant crops. He had fertile soil, he had everything from outside looking, and he was a very successful man. But he did not have any riches stored up for God. And when you don't have your priorities straight and you're putting work or your relationship or school or sports, whatever it may be, over the presence of God, you're gaining up no riches for Him. I need y'all to hear me because this is the gospel. When we're not prioritizing the Lord and we're not giving him everything that we have, we're not storing up anything for him. We're only storing up things for ourselves that won't even matter in the long run. Our life does not consist of what we possess. And sometimes we could base our priorities on which we could easily possess, whether that's through work, friendships, status, money, platform, social media, whatever it may be. Those are things that are easily things that are tangible and easy to grasp onto. And it's, oh, like, I have to do this today, because if I don't do it today, then I'm gonna be a mess. But will you be a mess? I think sometimes we try to prioritize things like, oh, I gotta get this done today. Did you really need to get it done that day? Why don't we have that same energy towards God? Do you get what I'm saying? Like, oh, I gotta go to the gym today. You go to the gym every day, but you don't read your Bible every day. Why don't we have that same energy? I believe we could just be more obed it to God if we just gave him the same energy that we would give to the gym, or the same energy that we would give to school or to our family or to our relationships if we just stopped putting second things first. I Promise you, if we put our, if we, if we got our priorities straight with God, we would flourish in every single other area because everything is now under submitted to Him. Do we understand church? So when it comes to this man in the story, this parable of this very successful, financially stable man who had an abundant amount of crops, so much to where it was overflowing his. His supply to where he had to buy bigger things to store into, and yet God took his life that very night. He's like, where is this gonna go? Because you didn't give it to me, it's gonna go into nothing. Because you stored nothing for God, but only for yourself did we understand. We tried to strive for materialistic things, hoping that because we see that this man was rich and that this man had all the finances right? The parable of the rich fool shows that he was a very successful man. You would even argue that people outside looking in that he was a person who had everything. But to God, he was painted as a fool. And this man was painted as a fool not because he was rich, but because he lacked. He lacked the awareness to prepare for his eternity. And when we lack the awareness to prepare for our eternity, we are fools to God. He only prepared for himself. That's why it says in Scripture at the very end, where was it? This is how. Where was it? Who will get what you have prepared for yourself? It wasn't submitted onto God. It wasn't submitted onto God. He tried to store it up for himself, but he can't take it with him when his testimony is over. So what is it going to do? Is it just going to rot in the earth? Or perhaps it was just a distraction to keep him from the hands of God. Don't allow second things to get in the way of what God is wanting to bring right in front of you. The riches that you're needing to invest in. Right? True riches. A true kingdom mindset. Right? And what I'm not saying, just for a huge, like, disclaimer. What I'm not saying is, I'm not saying don't work. I'm not saying don't get, get the bag. Don't, you know, I'm. I'm not saying that work, right? Go and get the bag. If anything, God wants all of his people to be financially prosperous. God wants his people to get any and everything. Amen. So I'm not saying don't go out and get the things of God. Don't go out and get a job or do your dream. All I'm saying is don't put those things first above God, because the moment you put them above God, you make it an idol. Right? Do we get what. What I'm saying? Put God first, prioritize him first. That should be the. The moment you wake up God. Good morning. Thank you for this. This great fresh air. I'm about to go do the things of you. God, give me instruction. God, give me wisdom. You know what? I'm gonna pray for my friends and my family. And it's not like a force for like a checklist. It's because you genuinely love him. We should prioritize God, not because we have to, but because we love to. We would love to, right? It's not a have to because you don't have to. You have the ability to make any sort of choice that you want, but every decision that we make to pursue and prioritize God, it should fall from the fruits of love. That's it. Yeah. I just love this parable because the story just emphasizes the urgency to always put God first. I was reading some other verses that just kind of tied into this, and I was reading 1 Timothy 6, 9, where it says, those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Yes, y'all. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. It's greed. It's greed when you're putting the wrong things first. When you're striving for materialistic things more than spiritual things, it's going to throw you into ruin and destruction. Don't let it. And I. The last thing I want to emphasize on, and then we'll be done. I don't even know how far we've gone on this. I have no idea. But one thing I would like to really emphasize on is kill your expectations of what you think success is. I think we think success is, oh, having a platform on social media. It's having the nice car, it's having the high ministry platform. It's having all the ties and all the offerings and the big house. And whatever it may be, the dream job, whatever it may be, kill your expectations of what you think success is. Because the Bible shows us exactly what true kingdom success is. So whether or not. So whatever you're thinking of right now, of like, dang, I'm striving to be here, and I'm getting really discouraged. Let's just kill that expectation right now for a moment. Just For a moment. And let's hear the expectation that God wants to set for us the riches and the successes of his kingdom. So one of them being redemption in Christ. What it's like to be successful is to be redeemed in Christ. Ephesians 1:7 8 says, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he has lavished. That he has lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. This is rich. This is success. Wisdom, understanding, the riches of God's grace, and more importantly, redemption through his blood, forgiveness. That is what it means to be rich. And I think sometimes we put a. We put a false ideology on, like, oh, this is what it means to be successful. Oh, to have this car, to have this platform. That's what it means to be successful. No, to be a child, to be one of God, to be his son or daughter. That's what makes you successful, because you are agreeing to the inheritance that he's freely giving to you. And it may not look like a new car in some forms. Yes, God will give you a new car because he gave me a new car. At the same time, what it means to be truly successful and what it means to truly be rich is to be one with Christ, to be redeemed, to be freed, to be rich in mercy and grace, because he's rich in mercy and grace, and he freely lavishes us in that. That's what it means. And just getting the riches of God's grace and glory. Ephesians 4:19 says, and my God will meet all of your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Every single one of your needs, they are being met with Jesus glory. It's so good. The richest thing we could obtain is literally God himself. Proverbs 10:22 says, the blessing of the Lord brings wealth without painful toil for it. The blessing of the Lord is what brings success. So if you want to get your priorities straight and you're like, dang, I need to get my life in order, seek the face of God first. And I don't know specifically what instruction he's trying to give you. All I know is, is that he's going to be the one who tells you it. Because there might be someone here to where they may have just graduated high school and they don't know what their next steps are, or they just graduated college, or they just got out of a bad breakup, or they moved to a new city, they got fired from their job, and they're like, dang, what's next? And in order to get your priorities straight, you have to go to the one who's going to give you instruction. Amen. So I can't necessarily give you the verbal answer to this is exactly what you need to do. But I could point you to someone who can, and that's God. God can give you instruction. God gives you clarity and wisdom. Just ask for it. We talked about that earlier, James 1:5. If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God who will grant it onto you without finding any fault. So ask God to give you wisdom, and he. He's going to give it to you. Amen. So know that the true riches, the true success from, from you setting your priorities straight is from putting off first always. If you're, if, if you're praying for a blessing, if you're praying to do the things of God and it's just not coming into fruition, you're like, dang, what's going on? Maybe check if your priorities are right. Is God really the center of everything that you're doing? And take a really deep dive. Heart check at that. Right? I love this verse. And it says Proverbs 13:7. One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing. Another pretends to be poor and yet has great wealth. What does that mean? It means that true riches come in humility. Material wealth can be deceiving, and true riches may. How could I say this? Material wealth can be deceiving because true riches, you don't necessarily see them. Spiritual wealth often lies in humility and contentment. So we must be content. If you want to be rich in the spirit, be content. Be humble. Be like Mary, who was always at Jesus feet. Every instance you hear of Mary, not his mother, but Mary and Martha. Every time you hear a Mary in the Bible, every single time, she's at my boy's feet. Always at his feet. Be one who chases God's feet. That's what it means to prioritize God even whenever. The story of Mary and Martha is so beautiful because Martha's, you know, Martha's getting in the house ready for Jesus's arrival. And I could just see her working. She in the kitchen, she whipping it up. And Mary is at the feet of Jesus. And Martha's like, Jesus, could you tell my sister to help me? And Jesus is like, sorry, Martha, what you're doing is great, but what your sister is doing is better because she's at my feet. She's listening to me, she's prioritizing me. She's learning from Me like, your works are great, but her faith is admirable. So let your priority be growing your faith in Jesus. Right? Is growing your faith in God. Amen. And so that's honestly all I have today. And I'm blessed that the Lord has given me the wisdom and the discernment to give it. And I hope that this has answered a lot of you guys prayers of, you know, what it means to prioritize God, what it means to seek after his presence, what it means to be a true disciple. And sure, we're going to go deeper throughout, you know, the next few weeks, but I really wanted to come back and just give you guys foundation of, hey, we need to get our priorities straight. I know the summer was a good one, but we got to get right with God, right? So ask him, God, what is it that you have called me to do? What is it that you're wanting me to do in this next season? And I will obey your instruction. Because here's the thing, we could ask God to give us the clarity and the understanding, but if we don't obey it, it means nothing. It means nothing. So that's that. That's that. I hope it blessed all of y'all. I'm excited to be back. I'm excited for the next few things that are happening. There's so much exciting stuff happening. The Lord has just been moving through this ministry through this podcast. It should be. It's just been such a blessing. So with that being said, a few announcements super, super quick. I announced on my Instagram. I don't know if it will still be up by the time I post this, but I'm doing a giveaway on my Instagram to where I'm giving five of you guys a full makeup routine and a brand new Bible. And it doesn't matter what skin tone you are, etc, I have every single shade. I have so much makeup that I'm just ready to give to you guys to people who are in need. If you want more details on that, you could go check out my Instagram post both on my podcast page and my personal page. If you need prayer, if you've been saved through this podcast, there's a link down below for you to click it. Also, if you feel led to tithe to keep this ministry going, please feel free to do so. I'm so excited, y'all, because this year we're actually going to be doing a lot more stuff with outreach and helping people more. So I don't want to spoil so much, but we're going to do a lot more in person stuff. So your ties and offerings mean a lot because it's going to be pouring back out into the. The poured back out into the community, so that's that. Anything else? If you want to buy some merchandise, I do have some T shirts still up for purchase and I think that's it. Thank you guys also for supporting the launch so much. I got some exciting things coming up. You know, we gotta, we gotta build it up with T shirts and then we really gonna go in and go crazy and do the thing. So I'm really excited. But yeah, that's all I got for you guys. I love you guys so much. I'm proud of each and every single one of you. And yeah, I just ask that you guys bless or what? What am I saying? I just ask God that He just continues to bless you and keep you and that his face always shines upon you. I love you all so, so, so, so much. And I'll see you in two weeks. Love you guys. Bye.