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Hello. Hello, you guys, and welcome back to Saved. Not soft. Emmy's wearing a striped sweater, and I don't care what primary colors. I feel fine. Because today's gonna be a fun episode. You guys wearing the striped little cashmere sweater. Don't know if it's cashmere, but I feel like it because it's itching or actually, I don't know if cashmere is the. I don't think cashmere is supposed to itch, but it is a little itchy, isn't it? You wouldn't know. I do, but this is what we're wearing today. I Great transition to last video, by the way. I'm coming. Very happy. Smiley this episode to make up for all the tears in the last one. Because, you know, we bulk film before releasing all the episodes. And I was like, you know what the last one was like. A little sad. Glory to God. So many people were able to relate to it. And the tears, that was very vulnerable and hard for me. I bless God that it blessed so many people. But I really wanted to come back and felt burdened by the Lord. This was even just like an Emmy thing that Emmy wanted to do. I was completely burdened by the Lord to just give a very hopeful message today, to just share the blood and love of Jesus to each and every single one of you. Not that that didn't happen the last time time, but I really do believe that the Lord wants to intentionally give each and every single one of you hope here today. So I'm here. I am, first and foremost, so overwhelmed by the amount of love and support I've gotten through the last episode. That was one of the hardest things not I've ever had to do. It's one of the hardest things I've had to do on the Internet. I'll put that far much, but because it required me to be vulnerable in a way that I have not exercised enough. And it was scary, especially coming into a space in Christianity where that vulnerability is usually shunned. And I'm so blessed by the Lord that he was able to use and still able to use my testimony to speak to so many people. Malik and I got so many lovely messages of people who have just received so much breakthrough through the power of the testimony and through the blood of the lamb. Amen. That's what it says in Revelation. And so I just bless God that he was able to work through it. And more importantly, I said this last episode. I'll say it today. My goal is always to be a leader who leads with vulnerability. And is theologically sound in everything that I do and just holds the fear of the Lord so, so fast and so, yeah, today I'm, I, I'm, I'm really wanting to bring more of that optimism which I'm learning so much about since my brain is just going, going, going, going, going. And I believe I could lean into the optimism, but I really want to embrace it today, of the joy of our salvation being restored by that joy, but more importantly, living a life that's faithful and, and intentional in Jesus. And to the normal everyday believer, you may be listening to this and it's like, well, I know that the Lord and the joy of the Lord is my strength. I know that the life I have with Jesus is abundantly filled with his joy. But I believe there is a greater awareness that the Lord wants to bring us to. I want to talk about what I am sensing and observing is a capital C issue and tension we're having in the body of Christ right now. And I don't think this is a singular generational tension we're having. I believe across all age groups, all ethnic cities, all over. I believe we're dealing with the stronghold of distraction. And I believe the temptation that we have in our everyday lives, even if we think they're mundane, is the caution that the Lord is wanting to give us to not waste our lives away. That each and every single day matters. Even when you wake up and you don't think today matters, or you, you going and working your job or whatever it may be that it quote unquote doesn't matter, I want to remind you that it does. And how the Lord commands us to live very faithful lives, intentional ones that are infused all with his Son, the revelation of Christ crucified and bringing him in in each and every single day and having constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit. So I'm amped, like, I can't wait to edit this episode and put like the Hope Core audios over it. Because I'm like, I'm just ready to, to encourage and edify the body of Christ. Not from my own strength, from the Lord's strength. Because at the end of the day, you guys, all of this, like, the joy of which we have, it does not come from like selfish ambition or self sufficiency of, you know what, like, I'm going to be joyous because I want to be joyous. No, there is a source of that river and it is from Jesus. And if we were to just lean more into who Christ crucified actually is, I believe we would discover a lot more of that joy. And. And I'm weary, and I am burdened by how many of us have been extremely distracted. And no matter what age, gender, or ethnicity you are, and you're listening to this, I bet you have been walking through life as of recently feeling so distracted. Can we just be very for real? Everything's fighting for our attention. I think it's so silly when we say, oh, I feel like nobody wants me. I feel like everything wants me. I. I feel like the gas station want my money. I feel like. I feel like Aritzia wants me. I feel like social media wants me. I feel like everything wants our intention. Everything wants human participation. I believe that humans are actually being so stretched from so many different pressures to, like, give in to these materialistic things that we're actually limiting our input into Christ when he's the only thing that can actually give something worth of rewarded value back into us, which is eternal life. And then on top of that joy, the fruits of the spirit, his character conforming into the image of him, and all these other things might give us a temporary resolution, but it doesn't necessarily stick. So I want to address the point first and foremost that we're all wanted. But I think when we notice, like, wow, I'm actually wanted by the creator of the universe, there's a greater reward that's anticipating when we plead and when we yield to that. So, yeah, I'm yapping a lot because I'm really excited. I'm really amped. I was doing a little dancy dance when I was getting ready, like about 20 minutes ago, because I'm just so stoked talking about this. So let's pray. Let's set the atmosphere. Why do we pray in the middle of the podcast before we go into anything? Which, by the way, introduction by so bad at this if this is your first time here. My name is Emmy Moore Brookins. I'm the host of say Not Soft podcast. I. Why is this called Safe not Soft? Because, girl, we are saved. But this is not a soft journey. The path is narrow. And I grew up in a very. I guess I don't. I don't even the word. I want to say it just like a very defined, small viewpoint of Christianity, that Christianity was this very, like, soft and whimsical religion. And I didn't realize not just how discipline it was, but the, The. The amount of mountains of valleys you would have to go through. And so Safe Not Soft is just catered to everyday believers who want to walk faithfully with the Lord. And not only are we being real about our faith, but we're going to pursue the scriptures for what they say. And so this podcast is catered for those who want to be loved, heard, and seen by Jesus, because that's how Jesus found me when I was 17 years old, had no idea what I wanted. I'm going so in front of my mic, but I had no idea who I was, what I wanted to do with my life, or let alone if anybody loved me. And yet there was a bloody savior who had put his life on a cursed tree for you and I so we could have eternal life with him. And so my job on this podcast is to bring you to one person. Not to Emmy, not to a ministry, not to a social media channel. It's to bring you to a person, Jesus. And whether if you click back on this video or on this podcast or subscribe, I do not care. I care that you go through the gate, and the gate's Jesus. That's the only thing I care about. And so this podcast is just for you to know him, Point, blink, period. And also because I say this also every podcast, the podcast is not a supplement, and it's not a replacement to your Bible reading and your intimacy with Jesus. Just because you listen to this podcast and we're talking about great things and it could implement some structure into your teachings. This podcast, like Emmy Moore Brooken, speaking into your life does not replace your personal relationship with Jesus. What we're supposed to do is that we use tools, yes, but they're not meant to replace intimacy. So this is to speak to all the things that God may already be doing in your life. And this is not a church. This is a podcast. This is a tool. So with that, I encourage you to get plugged into your local communities, get plugged into a local church. Find mentorship, leadership, community, and read the scriptures for yourself. Test every single spirit, including this podcast, that's applicable for everything. Okay, that's all my disclaimers. And that's it. I'm so excited for today. Okay, let's pray. Let's close our eyes, you guys. Okay. In all seriousness. Oh, yes, Lord. We pray, Lord, because we want our hearts to have good soil for what you're about to give us. Lord, Lord, we thank you for your kindness. And I even just feel led in this moment to meditate on where I would be, where we would all be, if you did not come to us and save us. Oh, Lord, thank you for rescuing such a wretched mess like me. And thank you for sending your one and only son to die on a cursed tree so he could be buried and resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father still pierced to testify that he had perfectly lived the perfect in a sinless human life. That he's been tempted in every way, just as humans had and he has conquered it. That he is more sufficient, that he is more above any and all else, that he's the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. Lord, we exalt you to the rightful throne of our lives. And Lord, nothing else deserves that place except for you. Lord, Right now, in this moment, we dethrone any distraction, whether if it's things that are at the pinnacle of our minds, whether if it's relationships or things that are tugging at our heartstrings or if it's things that are fighting for our attention. Lord, we lay these things down as a living sacrifice at your feet. We stay at the altar. We choose to stay at the altar each and every single day to be purified and to be sanctified by you, Lord. Lord, use this episode to speak to many hearts that are discouraged. Lord, I ask that you speak to your sheep, your flock, even though this is the ministry that you've entrusted me with. These are your sheep. This is your people. You love them more than any human whatever. And Lord, I ask that you exalt them and you encourage them. That, Lord, is the intimacy and is the compassion of Jesus that brings them to a greater awareness of an understanding. And Lord, I ask that that love that they experience cast them out of the choke holding of fear, Lord. Lord, I ask that you break the chains of incarceration, of fear. And Lord, I ask that you exalt the body and you exalt the sheep to run free freely in the pastures. Free, Lord, Chainless, free, unbound and chasing after you. Oh Lord, thank you. That you make us lie down in green pastures, that you forcefully put us through the pruning and through the crushing so we could be a forever flourishing, Lord. Lord, I ask that you touch the hearts of the bitter. Lord, I ask that you touch the hearts of the unforgiving. That they may forgive, that they may become joyous, that they may be transformed even in the 45 to an hour timeline that we're going to be talking. Lord, I ask for divine transformation because you renew our minds through the washing of the scripture. Lord, Wash our minds with the renewing of the scriptures. Let your scripture testify, testify something new within us and convict us, Holy Spirit. Convict us and show us, Jesus. Because that is what you're addicted of doing. Oh, Jesus. Oh, holy Trinity, show us of your divine, holy covenantal relationship with one another. Show us how obsessed you are with one another. And let us join this dance of this covenantal love. Oh, thank you, Lord. Sparking us a great hope that sticks and does not leave or depart from us, but feeds a constant hope that would never, never wither away. Lord, we love you. We have hope in you. Oh, and we wait and we long for you. We want to be ready for your coming. Lord, we love you. We praise you. We exalt you in your mighty and your precious name. Amen. Oh, wow. I haven't been this excited for a podcast in a very long time. And it's crazy because there's times where I'll intentionally seek the Lord and I ask him, lord, was it that you want me to bring to this podcast? And it's not like that hasn't happened for this, but this has been a true overflow. A lot of what I teach is an overflow of things that God has shown me in secret. But this was. It's the joy. I had like an overflowing experience of joy when the Lord was sharing this with me. And this message is being shared from Straight overflow. And I'm just blessed that the Lord has done it that way. I believe it's incredibly sweet. But I want to talk about how I want to address something that I believe each and every single one of us are wrestling with capital C church. When I keep saying capital C church, I'm not saying like this posted up gangs that you guys be posted up in church. Like, church is not like cliques or gangs. Like, we're one big body. Like, people are repping churches like they're gangs. It's like, no, we're one big body or one bride. We're one. We may be different ligaments, but at the core, we're one bride. Like, Jesus is coming back for one people group and it's the Christians. And I never want to, like, separate us of like, oh, I'm speaking to this type of church. It's like, no, I'm talking to capital C church. Whether if you're elderly, if you're a man or a woman or wherever part of the world you're listening from. I believe that there is something striking of what's happening in the human experience right now, and it's that so many people are afraid at whatever magnitude, whether if it's world's problems or anxiousness in the mind or feeling so demanded by so many things. I believe that fear is a great undergirding problem that we are experiencing in the body of Christ, that no one's really. We may be addressing it, but I don't believe we're being nourished in the midst of our fear. I believe we're attempting to be nourished by the word of God, but it's being choked out by fear of which we're experiencing. And I was talking to my pastor about this because Malik and I sat down with our pastor a few weeks ago, and he was talking about, like, really encouraging Malik and I to teach about fear and to share. Hey, there's so many people who are afraid right now. We are in scary times. I acknowledge that no matter where you are in the world, we're going through very scary times right now. And I'm even bold enough in the faith to say that I believe that the times are very near. I believe we are going towards more glory days ahead. And I believe that we're also entering scary times that we don't really know what to anticipate at the same time. And when my pastor was talking to Malik and I about speaking upon fear, when I took that to the Lord, I believe the Lord wanted me to. To be a shepherd of this podcast, to nourish the sheep, which is you. You're his sheep. With the nourishment of love, I think of First John 4:18 that says, there's no fear in love, but perfect love dries out all fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. And I believe that if we want to fix a fear issue that we're wrestling with, it's not going to be talking more about fear. I don't believe we cast fear away by becoming more aware of the fear that we have. I believe that. I believe that awareness or vigilance, I believe vigilance is helpful, but I don't believe vigilance is necessarily completely freeing. I believe what's freeing is that it's the same way of how I found out last week, you know, the diagnosis of ocd, anxiety, depression, okay, It's. That is the vigilance. The diagnosis was the vigilance. The nourishment is now because I have that vigilance, I'm able to supplement myself properly so I could actually heal. It's like, for an example, going to the doctor and not knowing what you're sick with and God and God forbid they give you the wrong medication. So I believe that if we want to heal from this very fearful sickness that the body of Christ is walking through each and every single day. We have to find the remedy of love. Because I have no doubt in my mind that everybody who's listening to this podcast can identify the fear that they're wrestling with. I have no doubt in my mind. And then if you can't, I would encourage you to identify it. But if you already have it identified and okay, I am fearful about all these things, but yet I'm not experiencing that true, nourishing freedom. I believe it's because we're not being made perfect in love. And how are we made perfect in love? I think of 1 Corinthians 13, 6 through 8. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. So what are attributes of love? What's the fruits of love? It doesn't delight in evil, but it rejoices like love is in its full delight when it's in truth. What is truth? Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth. I. I am the life. So we cannot have complete love if it's apart from Jesus. So love rejoices completely in truth, and it what it always protects, always trusts, always hopes. I want to get on this right here, the hope thing. Hebrews 11:1 says, now, faith is confidence in what we hope for, in the assurance of what we do not see. I believe that each and every single one of us, and this will not end, by the way, because the Christian life is a mountain in a valley. Mountain and a valley and a mountain and a valley. That's all scripture. Whether if you like it or not, all of life is a mountain, a valley, mountain, a valley, mountain and valley. You're going to learn how to climb up and how to ride it down, and you're going to learn how to stay at the top, and you're going to learn how to build a tent at the bottom. That's just the Christian life. But I believe in the highs and lows of the Christian life are journeys of discovering this thing called unbelief. And I don't know how we've gotten to a place in Christianity where we've equated unbelief to blasphemy. Because unbelief is something that the Lord likes for us to be challenged in. I think of the man who brought his son to Jesus and wanted him to be healed. And he said, lord, help me through my unbelief, showing that through the unbelief of that man for his son to be. He had faith and simultaneously didn't have faith. I believe that the Lord welcomes that and challenges it so we could find more ways to trust Him. I believe this is the process of sanctification, is finding and discovering the ways of, of areas where we don't trust the Lord for Him to sharpen us like iron and refine us like silver and gold so we could trust him all the more. And faith is confidence and what we hope for, an assurance about what we do not see. And I really want to hold the weight of this word hope. And I just go back on the first Corinthians 13. Love always hopes, like love. Hope and faith, I believe, is just in this very happy bubble. Like they're, they're just all married to one another. And I think we try to live a loving Christian life sometimes, apart from faith or faith, apart from hope or hope, apart from love. And I, I, I believe we're in too scary of times to not take love, faith, and hope seriously. And I'm kind of, and I might be the wrong messenger saying this, but I'm, I'm kind of burdened by the amount of depressing and I guess, what's the word I want to say? Not, not workspace, because I don't believe it's workspace. Like, kind of, like, like, kind of discouraging messages we're hearing of, like, dang, well, I'm wrong here, and I need to work here, which is true. We all need it. And I, I, I, I believe that repentance is provoked by the kindness of God's heart. That's Romans 2. Like, the Lord leads people to repentance through his kindness. And I believe that we could experience more repentance, true repentance in our lives if we approached our lives with more kindness, if we were more consistent of pursuing love. Knowing that when we pursue love, the conviction will come with it, that I don't have to, I don't have to do something to experience love, that I could experience love. And then the conviction will come from that. Does that make sense? Um, I just want to activate the hope core on the inside of the body of Christ. Like, I believe there's a vein that needs to be shaken up. And I believe the Lord is wanting to put his hands in, in, like, the main artery of the body of Christ and shake it with hope. Do not be afraid. Do not become weary Even through your struggles, even through, even through your tears. Let it mean something. And life is way too short Call me cliche, but it's true. Life is way too short to just, like, be lollygaggy with our lives. Like, each and every single day. Like, we get to choose if we want to make it a waste or if we want to make it mean something. And I have my eyes focused on eternity. And while I know that eternity is the ultimate goal, I know that each and every single day of my life is measuring up to something that plays into my eternity, into that decision of me coming into eternity. Like, I know it means something to the Lord. I know that each and every single day I have the ability to move God's heart, to understand his feelings, and to, like, move him in such a compassionate way. And I want to just ask the question, could it be true that we're not living to the fullest because of unbelief, of more glorious days? I believe we have more of a belief of scarier times than of more glorious times. And I believe the scary times we're experiencing, what it's anticipating is a coming. And the coming is glory. So the more glorious days, because I believe as the days become maybe a little more fiery or persecutive, however you want to label it, I believe that the days are also becoming more glorious because the church is uniting more. I believe that the days are becoming more glorious because we're learning suffering through obedience, like Hebrews 5, just like how Christ did. I believe that there's glory that we're beginning to understand and we're allowed to hope in that. Like, we're allowed to become hopeful in glorious days. And I think many of us have been very distracted. I want to talk about distraction probably later, but I think a a theming to what I'm wanting to express today is the Body of Christ has been distracted. And I believe from that distraction we have not been experiencing the full magnitude of the fullness of life and of the fullness of joy. I love Psalms 16:11. It says, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Oh, Jesus, what a beautiful gift we receive. It's from his presence, it's joy. And I believe we have to be acclimated as a body to dwell in the presence of the Lord. Living the Psalms 91 life he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. It doesn't say, he who visits the shelter of the Lord will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. It says, he who Dwells. We need to learn how to become dwellers of God's presence instead of visitors of God's presence. Oh, Jesus. Oh, man. I wrote some stuff this morning. The Lord was just like, pouring, and I was reading some of it right now. I was like, wow. But, but the joy that is awaiting us, I think we think that Christians are going to experience more joy. Once I get free from this, once I get the job, once I get the house, once I get married, once I get the dog, once I get the raise, once I move out, once I get the car, once God tells me this revelation, once I get out of school, once I hit this age. Like, we limit the condition of when and how we could experience joy because we're, like, preserving it for like a certain timestamp when. I believe that we don't have a proximity problem. I believe we have an awareness problem. There's many instances in the scripture where it wasn't proximity. It was awareness. It was vigilance. And many of us are weary because we believe God is far away and you. And he doesn't hear my cries and he's not hearing my prayers. And if I get to this place, if I finally get the job, if I get the raise, if I move out, if I. If I. Once I graduate school, once I. Once I get married and step into the relationship, then I will hear. Then I will hear God's voice in a way that I never heard him before. But I believe that we don't have a proximity problem. I don't believe that because we haven't achieved certain things, therefore we're not hearing certain things. I believe that we are not experiencing the full joy of the Lord and, and the fullness of his presence and the abundance of life, not because of proximity, but because of awareness. It's the same way that Mary Magdalene, when she, after Jesus was crucified and buried, she was waiting by the tomb and she was approached by what she thought was a gardener. And she was weeping to the gardener under the impression that he was a gardener, but it was Jesus. Would you argue that was a proximity problem? You would not, because it was an awareness problem. Mary Magdalene was weeping over a man and she was weeping over a sorrow of proximity, but the problem wasn't proximity because he was there. The problem was awareness. She didn't know that the gardener was Jesus. And I love that side note, but a pastor told me this, and I was like, bro, you're nuts. Crazy revelation. But I love how Mary interpreted and saw Jesus as a gardener because it saw Jesus like The first. The first person who saw Jesus and mistaken him as a gardener. It showed that Jesus fulfilled the first Adam failing because Adam was a gardener. He was supposed to keep the Garden of Eden. And he comes back and he restores the gardener position. Isn't that powerful? Oh, a pastor friend told me that once and I thought it was incredible. But it's so interesting how Mary was sowing sorrow and tears of this, like sorrow and proximity when it wasn't proximity, because he was there all along. And so how can we as a body become more aware of Jesus to where we could actually experience true, authentic joy and hope in our lives, knowing that he is there, that he is not far away, that he is not departed from us, that he is with us through it all, through us all, even if we come to understand it, feel it, or experience it or not. Because I understand we could have beliefs that don't align with our experiences. I understand that's a real reality. I experience that at times. And I believe there's a greater faith. I believe there's a greater faith that there is an awareness that Jesus is near, even if we don't feel it experimentally that he is near. He is near because life is everything with Jesus. We have to be disciplined to stay in this hope, because if we don't, our hearts are going to become cold and the gospel will become boring if we lose the hope and if we lose holding fast in the joy of the Lord, which let me possibly break this down. Why aren't we excited out of our dang minds? Like, I just wanna. I just wanna bring something, all of us. If you've been in the Christian boat for a long time, I believe there is a grace on fresh fire. When I first met Jesus, and honestly, I've been the same ever since, I cannot shut up about him. I talk about Jesus. I talk to Jesus. I want everyone to know about Jesus. I do not care if you're my barista. I don't care if you're my best friend, my uncle, my family member, or if you're a child, or if you're an elderly person, or if you don't even speak the same language as me. I want everybody to know Jesus. Why? Because I am so incredibly obsessed with him. I believe there's a grace of fresh fire that falls upon every new believer that has that mindset. And then over time, when you begin to just live the Christian life, that could be diluted and that fire could wither away. And I believe in second Timothy, where it says to fan the Flame. There is a flicker of a flame on the inside of the body of Christ. And I believe the Lord wants us to become evangelists again of the good News. Like that word, good news. You break it down. It's evangelion in the Greek. What does that mean? It literally means the proclamation of the good News. We're called to be evangelists, if you believe it or not. Matthew 20:19. Go and make disciples of all nations. How do you make disciples of all nations? You have to tell people about Jesus. You have to tell them about the gospel. That's evangelism. Whether if you go on the streets and talk to the Hebrew Israelites or the Jehovah Witnesses or the Mormons or the, the. The Islams or the Muslims, who, whoever it may be, if you want to do big apologetics, do big apologetics. But if you're just a barista, or if you're a preschool teacher, or if you're a lawyer, or if you're a technician, or if you're a plumber, you're called to evangelize the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're all called to be evangelists. And I believe the gospel becomes boring when we allow the Christian life to become weary in our lives. And I believe we lose that joy. Um, that. That's why I believe. It's a constant prayer that I hear in the psalms. And suddenly we see repetitive throughout Scripture is Lord, restored the joy of my salvation. And I believe the joy, the salvation is the awareness of Jesus. And when we allow the Christian life to be the in life like I a in life, meaning that it missed Christ, it becomes weary and burdensome. And the joy of our salvation is restored when we don't take our eyes off the prize. Hebrews12 I'm running the race, keeping my eyes fixed on one man, one face. Christ Jesus, running the race until the very end, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. This is the race we're all called to run. How do we run it? Faithfully it. It's the same way that you would run as if you're in track. I keep my eyes on the finish line because if I look to the right or to the left, to the lane next to me, to the left or to the right, I will end up going in that lane because I took my eyes off of the trophy. And Jesus is the shining trophy. Amen. So Jesus is everything. And Jesus is everything. The Bible tells that because the moment that Jesus called the disciples, they dropped everything they had in enthusiasm. I believe that this enthusiasm is not something we're supposed to neglect the further we get in Christianity. I believe it's something we're supposed to embrace more the more we are called by Jesus. Like, if I'm just in my kitchen and doing dishes and I hear the Lord say, emmy, I want to talk to you, I should drop everything in enthusiasm and go meet with the Lord. Like, we have to address this callousness that's in the body of Christ to where we've became so diluted and distorted to the calling that God has upon his children. Like the Lord calls me, I want to come into a joyous place where I go and find him, to where I'm not just sitting and like, oh, well, I'm just gonna let life be busy and my Christian life be my Christian life. And you know, I'll get to the Lord when I'm just in my secret place. It's like, no, like the Lord wants to capsulate us with this joy. He wants to be a part of our everyday processes, of our everyday journey. Like, I believe the Lord wants to be with me when I'm washing my dishes. I believe the Lord wants to be with me when I'm spending time with my husband and when I'm having fellowship with my friends. When I'm studying, sure. When I'm reading, of course. But even when I'm on a walk with my dog or if I'm just driving somewhere, even in a stressful work moment, I believe that the Lord wants me to experience his joy, his presence in the midst of all of that. And how I do that is just by acknowledging him and what, considering him for a moment. I delight in the Lord because I decided to consider Him. And many of us aren't experiencing the delight of the Lord because we haven't made a decision to consider him in the moment, which, by the way, moments we wish we felt his nearness. And so I, I, I, I wonder if we would be in less weary times and less anxious if we considered the Lord for the moment and, and his feelings and his how faithful of a spouse he is. And consider him in those very moments. Everything, oh, life is everything with Jesus. Life is everything with Jesus. And the world will try to spit. So there is a dog outside this so cute and ugly. Someone's walking a dog in my front yard. And I can't, I can't come to the conclusion it, like, stopped and peed in front of my yard. I can't come to the conclusion if it's cute or ugly. I cannot, it just walked away. I, I cannot tell but it, it, I made eye contact with the dog. It was like right there. So sorry but that was like so cute and so like it was like a little like, like pug shih Tzu thing. I don't know what that was but it was like, it was so cute cuz it was so tiny. I don't know what I was talking about. But Jesus is great because he is life. And the worlds will give you promises that seem fulfilling and seems like it is going to give you everything of which you would wish, think, hope or desire. But yet it would just leave you in the same place temporary satisfaction to where you could be filled for a moment. But you're hungry and hungry again. Again. This is why Jesus says I am the living water like I am the bread of life. Because it fully satisfies, it fully nourishes, it doesn't leave us without lack, it keeps us right. And so how can we live in daily bread? How can we live from living streams of water? The Bible says in John 10:10 the thief comes only still kill and destroy. But I've come that they may live and have life and have it to the fullest. Other translation says life fullest abundantly. And I believe that those choice of words is very intentional. I believe that Jesus not only comes to give us life, but for us to experience to the fullest of extent. And I believe full abundant life is found in the fruits of joy. And the world will promise you so many things. And it's silly because as Christians we think we're so sold out for Christ that the world can no longer tempt us. And I believe even as Christians there's some worldly fallacies we'll fall for of oh yeah, maybe when I do this or I get this or obtain this type of knowledge, then I'll be happy and then I'll be joyous and then I'll be that like conditioning all these things. But I, I really do believe it's the the Lord and only in Jesus. I, I, I, I believe in a Christ centric message. Not Christ exclusive message, but a Christ centric message of all joy is centered around him. And when it says the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, I think of the worldly life. How I think of Romans 8 where it says that we were once slaves to fear, but the Lord has adopted us from adoption to sonship, that we could be adopted sons and daughters and receive a full inheritance of the father, co heirs with Christ. And it's because we simply just accepted this sonship and this Proposal that the Lord gave us to eternally dwell with him. And that's from the acknowledgement I think of. I think of John 17:3, where it says that eternal life is acknowledgement of knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ and who he and whom he has sent. Eternal life. The joy of our salvation is found in Jesus. How do we enter the pen? By walking through the gate. And that gate is Jesus. And Jesus comes to give us life. And not to life that just sustains us, but life that guarantees enjoyment. And Jesus points to himself as life again. I'm the way. I'm the truth. I am the life. Life is like. When Jesus teaches about life, he points to himself. I am the life. Anything that we try to experience of life outside of Jesus, it is not life like it is. It's like this worldly fallacy. And just. It's not real, it's not palatable, it's not nourishing. It's temporary, and it leaves us hungry and thirsty. Over and over and over and over and over again. Point blank, period. And Jesus points to himself as the gate to eternal life, but him also being the eternal life. So he's the gate and the life. Glory to God. Um, and Jesus is also the. Jesus says, I'm the resurrection and the life. We're. When I was studying this, oh, man, the Lord was just blowing me away. Let's go to John 11. Get your B blaze out, you guys. I left my Bible when I went to go preach in San Jose, and I was so sad. But then I got a new one and I started annotating it differently. I'm obsessed down. So I have my first Bible where, you know, it. I don't even have the binding on it anymore, like, my God. But this one I've been really into. Just using a pen, no highlighter, writing on the side, circling, underlining. It's been fun. Okay, John 11, 17, 27. Go there because I want you guys to read the scripture with me. I want it in front of your face if you're using your phone. Great. If you have a physical Bible, that's even greater. If you don't have a physical Bible, let's get you one. Okay. Context. This is when. This is when Lazarus had sadly passed away. Even though we know what happens next in the story that Jesus would resurrect him. Mary and Martha are weeping along with this community. And Jesus goes back to Bethany. And they're weary because they're like, Jesus, like, if you were to come back, Lazarus would have been raised like you would have healed him, like he wouldn't have died. But the Lord allowed this moment to show something even more glorious. And so let's. Let's read about what he says about him being the resurrection and life. 17 to 27. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to consult them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God would give to you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection. On the last day, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who believes and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was coming into the world. Let's jump to John 11:43, 44. And this is where we see Lazarus being raised. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, lazarus, come out. The man who had died came out. His hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with cloth. Jesus said to him, unbide him and let him go. Jesus, declaring that he is the resurrection and the life, particularly in Bethany, is powerful. Because if Jesus was just the resurrection, that means that Lazarus would just be raised, but unfilled. It means that Lazarus would be able to get up from the grave, but have no eternal dwelling. So when Jesus says that he is the resurrection and the life, that he has the power to upbring to that he has the power to defeat death and fill what was once a dead vessel with life. That is powerful. So we see him, Bethany, House of the Poor. When Jesus declares himself to be the resurrection and the life, that he took a dead body, not only did he raise it, but he filled it. This is powerful because this is the Christian life that whenever we said yes to Jesus and we were baptized, what is that symbolizing? What is the sacrament like? What is actually? What are we participating in when we receive salvation and we experience baptism? It is a death to the world. It's a constant crucifixion of self. Like we are dying every day. Like the Christian life is a daily funeral and we're dying each and every single day so the Lord could fill us with the Spirit. So it's a dying, so Jesus could raise us and fill us. We are filled by what? The Holy Spirit. When we are baptized, it is symbolizing and it is an actual divine sacramental experience that we're having. Because what is a sacrament? A sacrament is the mysteries of God made manifest and material possession so we could experience his glory. That is a sacrament. So whenever we are baptized, we are experiencing the symbolism and the true sacrament of I am dying to my sin, I'm accepting the salvation of the Lord, and when I go under this water, I am being buried, I'm being raised to life, and I'm being filled with the Holy Spirit. That's why you cannot be. That's why baptism and filling with the Holy Spirit should not be separate. It should happen all in one. When we are baptized, we are called to be filled. We're not called just to cast out, but we're also called to be filled by something. We taught this in the, in the episode about the truth about demons is that you could cast out and you could love deliverance all day, but if you are not filled with Jesus, you are always going to have room for something to creep and crawl back and make its home and nest somewhere in your life. Amen. So when Jesus says, I am the resurrection and I am the life, not only does he raise us, but he fills us. Oh, my gosh, isn't that glorious? In a humble and a lonely place? A humble and a lowly place like Bethany. Resurrection and a life. Ooh, Jesus. So do not waste your life, right? Jesus is the resurrection in the life. And we're becoming complacent about our Christian life and we're not wanting. And, and what I mean, like, don't waste your life. I mean this in very practical senses. Like, I mean this of, like, why not go out all out for Jesus? Like, don't waste my life. Like, why should I be embarrassed about telling my cashier about Jesus? Like, why should I be embarrassed about anything? Like, why should I not want to take risks? Why should I not want to do anything if. If not that life? Not because life is meaningless, but because life is meaningful. And it's so interesting because I think we, we have lost the idea of life being too short. Like, eternity is eternity. We have only so much time here that means everything. And I believe that we've lost so many things that are just crucial to the faith that has bled into us. Just, like, wasting our lives, like, very practical. Things. So many of us are wasting our lives each and every single day just by not loving each other. Like, life is too short. Learn to love your neighbor. Like life is too short. Stop being so bitter. Like life is too short. Go out and take a risk. Life is too short. Like, take a bet on a relationship. Find relationships and friendships that you've always wanted to build and learn how to fill them with just intentionality and compassion and the fruits of the spirit. Like, don't waste your life. And if you have so far, it's okay, let's make room for that. Don't waste your life. And if you did, it's okay. This is the prodigal, Luke 15:13. Not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had, because what's the prodigal son? The prodigal son is two sons under one father. One stayed with the father faithfully, became a little bitterer, like elder brother syndrome, but the other took his inheritance and spent it all. Wasted it. Can we hone in on this word waste for a moment? And so Luke 15:13 says, not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had, set off for a distant country there and squandered his wealth in wild living. Squandered, wasted the entirety of his wealth, the entirety of his inheritance in wild living. This is the majority of our testimonies. If you've wasted your life, that's okay. You have the power and you have deliverance in a decision we get to cognitively make together as a body to no longer waste our lives to choose Jesus. And that's exactly how the prodigal son came home, is that he was in the pigs band. He was in the worst of the worst. He was at the bottom of the pit. He was at the end of it all. And he made a decision that I would even be better as a servant in my father's house. But the father didn't want him as a servant. He wanted him as a son. Amen. I've taught on this before, but we're just refreshing. Your life is never wasted if you're still breathing. The Lord wants you to let go of what has been wasting your life away, what has been a constant discarding. And he wants to fill it with himself and make it meaningful. And when I say not wasting your life, I'm not saying, not going through hardships and tribulations. Because even Jesus, if the perfect man, had to suffer, how much more will we but Jesus? Jesus's suffering was not a waste. Jesus's suffering was Meaningful. And so we have to learn that every aspect of life, mountaintops and valleys, have to be meaningful, and we cannot allow them to come to waste. What is a waste? I kind of wrote a few things of what I think categorically a waste would be. I believe a waste is living for temporary praise while neglecting eternal obedience. I believe a waste is being busy, but not fruitful. I believe that is the epitome of restlessness. I believe a waste is having gifts but bearing them in fear. Hearing the word but never obeying it. Chasing comfort so much that you avoid your calling and building your own name while neglecting God's glory. Those are just ways I've, like, just, I believe the Lord has really convicted me to define, like, what would be a waste. And I would really encourage you to challenge, like, man, where are areas of my life where I'm just wasting it away because life is too short? Like, I don't know. I, I, I, I think as of a statistic in 2024among baby boomers, and they were asked, you know, what are some of your regrets? Which, by the way, there's regrets that everybody has. 40% wish that they had spent more time with a fam, with family and friends, 38% wish they had spoken up in crucial moments, and 37% wish they had not fought with loved ones. Those are all regrets, right? Like you speak to the elderly and what's their wisdom? To enjoy and live life abundantly to the fullest and to not allow temporary moments to, like, fluster you up. And I don't know, I just, I, I just think of, like, living a life in waste. And it's, it's, I, I, I don't know the scripture on the top of my head, but it's quarreling amongst ourselves like, it's, it, it, it's just, I know this isn't the scripture, but it reminds me of First Corinthians 13, the first portion of it, where it says that I'm like a clanging symbol. If I prophesy and I do all these things apart from love, then I'm just a clinging symbol. It's a waste because why we're missing the component of love, right? And I think most people, I think we have to categorically define what is a waste and what is beneficial. Because I think what looks like a waste to the world is beneficial, eternally beneficial to the body of Christ. I think of Mary, I think of Bethany again, I think of Mary at Bethany when she is anointing Jesus's feet. Let's go to mark 14, 3, 9. Okay, okay. Jesus anointed at Bethany. And while he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, he was reclining at a table a woman who was Mary, with an alabaster flask of ointment and of pure nard, very costly. And she had broke the flask and poured it all over his head. There were some. There were some who had said to themselves indignantly, why was the ointment wasted like that? Oh, my gosh. For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her, but Jesus said, leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? For she has done a very beautiful thing for me. For you have always had the poor with you, and whatever you want, you do good for all of them, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body before my burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Oh, my gosh. So powerful. And this is very contrasting because people are looking at this, what Mary did at Bethany, and they're thinking, this is a waste. The world may look at what Christianity is doing and think that it's pointless, and they may think that it's wasteful. But the oil that we pour out on Jesus's feet is far from a waste. It secures. It's a deposit into eternal life. Pouring. And then I think this is just like, bottom line, pouring your life and your heart out to Jesus is never a waste, even if people don't understand. I think of just experiencing, like, pouring out on Jesus's feet intimacy with the Lord. I think of Adam's first experience, Genesis 2:7. Then the Lord God formed the manna dust from the ground, from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. The first experience that Adam had on this earth was receiving the breath of God and exhaling it back onto the Lord. Like this is intimate intimacy with the Lord, not being a human doing, but being a human being, right? And we see from Martha, and it's silly because we're talking about all the siblings, which I didn't even intend to, but the Lord just constructed this message of Bethany so beautifully through Mary never allowing oil and pouring it out on Jesus's feet. Like our devotion to the Lord is never a waste and we should pursue it in joy. We should pursue, pursue Pursue it in hope and pursue it in urgency. And also, like Lazarus, to be raised and resurrected and filled with abundant life, filled by the Holy Spirit. And I believe there's a woe that Martha received in Luke 10. We could turn there 40 through 42. Luke 10, when Mary's distracted, Where is it? 40, 42. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her. Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. And so what is distraction at its purest form? It's anything that takes you away from the intimacy of Jesus. Even if, which, by the way, I'm not saying don't serve, obviously, I, I'm arguing that if we're serving apart from intimacy, it's a distraction. Right? And life's too short. Like, love one another. Hello. Like, I get so Aggie when I see all these comments on Instagram reels of all these Christians hating one another, because I'm like, life is too short for you to come against one of the greatest commandments, to love one another. Like, life is too short to not love one another. It's like the greatest commandment. And we're sitting here as a body arguing with each other on social media about a tank top or, or the editing style, I don't freaking know. I think we're having, like, the stupidest quarrelings ever. And I just think there needs to be, like, a greater understanding and a reverence of, like, wow. Like, life is too precious and should be too joyous to have, like, weird quarrelings. That is not loving. It's just judgmental and it's irritating. And I, I, I, I just think life is too short. I believe life is too precious and too joyous. And even to I, I believe our struggles and our tears should mean something. Like, even me going through this journey that I shared last week of discovering the OCD and the depression, like, even in the midst of the diagnosis, like, letting it mean something, whether if it helps some people or whether if it gives God glory or whether if my weeping turns into reaping of joy. Like, what's the psalm? It's Psalm. It's, it's Psalm 126. 5, 6. Those who sow in tears shall reap a shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed of sowing, shall come home with shouts of Joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Like life is too precious, like life is, is too abundantly sound by the spirit of God for us to waste it away. So I want to encourage you, like I want to end off this video with a great encouragement to live life abundantly to the fullest. And sheep, how do we live life abundantly to the fullest? We pursue urgently the feet of Jesus. We find his feet and we pursue them with urgency. Like I look at Jesus and I consider that's a man running crazy after. Like I, I, I have to come to a decision. My life, where I look at Jesus and I'm like, yeah, I don't care what type of timing I'm on, what type of space of life I'm in. I'm running this race and I'm running it with everything that I have because I'm so incredibly obsessed with Jesus. And so I want to encourage you on the other side of the screen that if you've experienced a hindrance with the Lord, if you've experienced like great despair and longing and you're not being nourished, I want to encourage you that there is a bread of life and it's found in a person and that person is named Jesus. And that there is a well that never runs out of water and that is found and the man. And in the fully God man of Jesus, it never runs dry. And I, I, I, we have to be a church that's comfortable with preaching Jesus. Like, you wonder why you're not gonna fed it. Your church is because we're not preaching Jesus, y'. All, like, what are we doing? This is how the Christian life is becoming weary because church is becoming more of sermon and TED talks and tick tock sound bites instead of becoming real nourishment to our lives. It's the person, it's the constant revealance of Jesus. If I miss him, I miss everything. I will not have a nourishing or flourishing life because he is the sustainability of all of it. So I would encourage you that if you're experiencing lack, how can we create greater invitations for the Lord, for him to fuel those places with his presence, every area. I don't even care if it's your work or your dreams, like I even want to give the permission for you guys to dream again. What did the Lord put on your heart that you were that got choked out by fear that the Lord was wanting you to pursue? How could you allow the joy of the Lord to infuse those spaces again? Like, let's get comfortable dreaming with the Lord again, let's get comfortable with, with seeing him rightly. Let's get comfortable with pursuing him the Scriptures. Let's get comfortable of reading the Scriptures not for self sufficiency ambition, but to know him and from knowing him. Like, like the Bible isn't meant to be a self discovery book. Like, we discover ourselves by discovering him. But I'm not discovering myself by seeking this ambition to discover myself. I discover myself just by the natural repercussions of figuring out who he is. Like, let's figure out Jesus and let's stop playing games in church. Like, I feel like I'm having these conversations on this podcast and with everyone over and over and over again. I'm so sick not talking about the man. I'm so sick living Christian apart from Christ. I am so sick of this. Like, please hear me. I'm burdened. I weep about this, like at night and in the morning in my secret place of like, we're missing Jesus and I just like, want Him. And I'm weary going into churches and seeing people not free. I'm weary talking to people and they're just like, not fully abundant in life because, like, we're missing Jesus. And even if you're going through struggles, even if you're going through trials and tribulations, like, there's still a satisfaction that Jesus is worth all of it. But Jesus can't even be considered worthy of anything if we don't consider him, if we're not aware of him, if we don't look to him. And I'm burdened. I'm just so burdened. And I think the only thing that could lift us from this burden. Oh, I just believe it's kindness that leads us to repentance. I believe it's the kindness of God's spirit. I don't think, I don't think it's preaching that discourages us. I believe it's preaching that exalts us. I believe it's Bible teaching exaltation. Because when the body is exalted, Jesus is exalted. And when the church actually begins to look like Jesus, I think a lot of us will change. But the church isn't looking like the body of Christ. It's looking like the body of, like this imaginative, like this imaginative Jesus that we've constructed off of our own perceptions. And I'm done. I'm so done. Like, my vow to this podcast is to preach Christ of him crucified and the good news and the gospel, that it's not a sermon series, it Is the message like the apostle Paul, the apostle John, all the apostles, like, all of them, all the epistles, they did not preach another message apart from the gospel. They're real life preachers who are at churches being like, well, Jesus was preached, so I got to teach about the kingdom. Now the kingdom is Jesus. I already preached about Jesus, so I got to teach deliverance. The deliverance and healing ministry is Jesus. Like, nothing departs from Jesus. We cannot lose the plot. This is how the apostasy will happen is because many people will fall away from the faith. Because the faith was never palatable, because the faith was never palatable, because we weren't looking at a person. We were looking to a construct. We were looking to a cultural society that said it was Christian, but it was never infused with Christ. It's false Christianity. And so we have to find our joy and in Christ and him alone, it has to be this, you guys. And so I want to encourage each and every single one of us. Let's live life, enjoy. Let's live life, enjoy. Let's pursue the scriptures, enjoy. And we pursue the scriptures in joy when we find Jesus. I'm freaking fired. I could stand up, but you're just going to see my torso and I'm just going to look stupid, so I'm not going to do that. But I, I feel like, like, I feel like, like, I feel like, like I feel like a big dog in the faith right now. Like, I feel like I want to flex, like, my, my, my shoulders and I want to show you my muscles, like, because I just feel like so freaking gassed up and dogged out in the spirit right now of like, yo, what are we doing? Like, let's get right with Jesus. Amen. I feel done. Okay. Too excited. Too excited. I' ma let this boil into my meeting that I have after this because if I get it all out here, I'm, I'm, I'm pumped, you guys. Like, I'm just so pumped for Jesus. And that might sound like cliche, but it's like, yo, if I'm not pumped for Jesus, like, what are we doing anyways? Glory to God. What a shift from last episode. Like, what a shift. Which I recorded the last episode, actually a week. Was it a week ago from, like, today? No, no, no, no, it wasn't. It was like two weeks ago from today. What a shift. Oh, the medication is working. No, I'm joking. I am medicated, but I am medicated. I'm med. I'm medicated by supplements, natural things, Ashwagandha and magnesium. So the supplements are working because my brain has deficiencies, so it's working. Glory to God. We're experiencing healing in the therapy and the conversations in the Lord is ministering. Hey, you guys get to see. You saw me boohoo crying last week. Now this week we up. I feel like standing up on this mic. What are we talking about? Chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. Okay. I love you guys so much. I'm getting too excited. I'm sweating and I don't sweat. That's like really gross to me. But I really love you guys so much and I hope you feel really encouraged. I hope you got a few giggles. I giggled a lot and I made both of my friends that are here, my husband and literally my assistant giggle so I giggle too. I love you guys so much. Be encouraged. Read the word of God. You could take all of this, but test it. Read the word for yourself. Everything that we said in the beginning and more importantly, just a few announcements. If you want to be a part of Safe Society, which is an online fellowship and online community, please make sure that you click the Patreon link down below. We do follow four calls a week daily activity. We're constantly chatting it up, talking, etc and we do so many amazing things. I love our community and Safe Society. Also other things. I don't know if it will be up by the time we upload this, but you guys, I know the way we've been taking donations for this podcast which where the donations go to, it goes into the equipment. It also mostly goes into pouring into other communities. Over this last summer which where I am planning on doing this again, we filled like numerous of classrooms all over the United States for elementary schools, for special needs with equipment, school supplies for kids. All over last year we've been able to give on to organizations, domestic shelters, wildfire centers, just through your guys donations and also just pouring back into the team, pouring back into everybody here. So we do have a cash app which is a little because I don't know what I'm doing but me and my team are currently working on a tightly so I don't know if we'll be up by then. If not, that's okay, use the cash app. But if it is, we have tightly so you can keep track of everything and it looks a little less raggedy and then I think that's it you guys. By the time this is posted. Oh yeah, by the time this is posted. If you guys are wanting to head to Vu Con, Malik and I are going to be speaking at Vukan on their dating relationships panel. And I think that's really it as far as announcements. Yeah, that's really. It's the tea, you guys. But I love you guys so much. I really thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I hope you guys did too. But be blessed, walk faithfully and live a life in full abundance of joy. Because Jesus is everything. Amen. Okay, love you guys. Bye.