In This You Rejoice

Summary

Street Preachers - “In This You Rejoice”

Host(s): Phillip Anthony Mitchell & Tim Timberlake
Date: July 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Street Preachers, hosted by Phillip Anthony Mitchell and Tim Timberlake, dives deep into 1 Peter, focusing on the powerful exhortation: “In this you rejoice.” Against a backdrop of growing social and global persecution against Christians, the hosts break down how believers are called to rejoice in the midst of suffering by focusing on eternal hope rather than temporary pain. The conversation is unfiltered, passionate, and peppered with scriptural insight and raw personal testimony, offering solidarity, encouragement, and challenge for believers navigating hardship.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Unscripted Ministry (00:00–01:18)

• Hosts reflect on the podcast's spirit-led, unscripted nature.
• “It’s really like a testament to the Holy Spirit because he and I don’t script anything… Last year, we just freestyling.” (Mitchell, 00:04)
• “That’s the beauty … it’s evident we in our word … iron sharpens iron…” (Timberlake, 00:16)

2. Cultural Context: Persecution Then and Now (01:18–05:54)

• Parallel drawn between the persecution faced by believers in Peter’s time and modern-day Christians worldwide.
• Emphasis on praying for and remembering the persecuted church.
• Notable Quote:
  “They’re standing on business for the Lord Jesus Christ. They’re not denouncing him… And there is images now … of Christians being stoned, beheaded, beaten in the middle of the street with pipes, persecuted … across the African continent, all throughout the Middle East…” (Mitchell, 03:44)
• Listeners are encouraged to share the podcast like first-century letters were circulated, spreading hope and the gospel to suffering believers everywhere.

3. Eternal Perspective: Rejoice in What Matters (09:10–12:15)

• “In this you rejoice…”—not in material gain, but in eternal inheritance.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “Rejoice in the intangible inheritance that we will have when we die.” (Guest, 09:40)
  • “Rejoice in the fact that this life is temporary, our challenges are temporary, our affliction is temporary…” (Guest, 10:00)
• Tim’s Insight:
  “Your future is not fragile, although your current circumstances and situations are painful.” (Timberlake, 11:39)
• Focus is on the bigger picture and not getting fixated on temporary sufferings.

4. Trials Are Temporary, Eternity Is Forever (12:16–20:51)

• Peter calls life "a little while”—no matter how intense the suffering, it’s short compared to eternity.
• The devil gets no glory from believers’ hardships; suffering is reframed as evidence of authentic faith.
• Mitchell’s Open Vulnerability: Shares about his own “public persecution,” personal tears, and being strengthened by renewed eternal perspective.
  • “All this is so temporary… their videos are going to fade, their comments are going to fade away… and the times when I start talking to myself is so temporary, Lord, these are momentary, light afflictions…” (Mitchell, 17:12–19:15)

5. The Necessity of Authentic Faith: Refined by Fire (22:05–28:21)

• Refining Fire Analogy:
  • “Gold refinement was not just about purity… it was about proving authenticity over counterfeit.” (Timberlake, 22:48)
  • God allows trials as a means to prove the genuineness of our faith, not as punishment but as proof.
• Public/Private Trials:
  • Not just prominent Christians, but all believers are tested.
  • Authenticity is proven not just by blessings, but “by the things we survive.” (Mitchell, 35:19)
• Story Highlight:
  • The couple in his church who lost a child but continued to praise God, demonstrating authentic, fire-tested faith (25:32–26:50).

6. The Example of Job and God’s Hidden Glory (30:50–33:03)

• Job’s Suffering:
  • Job never receives an explanation from God, yet remains faithful—sometimes suffering is God’s way of displaying his “bragging rights” about authentic faith.
  • “Is it possible that some of the hardship you’re going through … may be the Lord bragging on you? … I’m gonna prove to everybody watching my son…” (Mitchell, 32:36)

7. Surviving the Fire: Exhortation to Persevere (33:42–38:08)

• Survive and endure:
  • “Survive what you’re going through right now… you must survive, because the character of God is riding on you to survive.” (Guest, 33:42)
• Authenticity is inseparable from Christianity—should be "married" like peanut butter and jelly.

8. Fire Burns Away the Fake; Only the Real Remains (36:24–38:21)

• Timberlake encourages:
  • “Fire exposes what cannot remain, while at the same time exposing what cannot be destroyed.” (Timberlake, 36:24)
  • “If you’re still in the fire right now, it’s because God is still removing and extracting what is not authentic to your call…” (Timberlake, 36:50)
  • “God will place you in environments that are hot enough to burn off every fake and phony thing about you…” (Timberlake, 37:48)
  • “Stand the fire long enough to come out on the other side … so that the person that made you can see his reflection in your life.” (Timberlake, 38:21)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Your future is not fragile, although your current circumstances and situations are painful.”
  — Tim Timberlake, 11:39

• “Fire is not punishment. Fire is proof.”
  — Tim Timberlake, 26:50

• “The authenticity of our faith should not only be in the things that we consider blessings, but by the things we survive.”
  — Philip Anthony Mitchell, 35:19

• “The moment you are silent, demons get courage. Right. Your voice is not just needed in this hour. It's necessary.”
  — Tim Timberlake, 21:02

• “Survive what you’re going through right now…You must survive, because the character of God is riding on you to survive.”
  — Guest, 33:42

• “Fire exposes what cannot remain, while at the same time exposing what cannot be destroyed.”
  — Tim Timberlake, 36:24

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–01:18 – Hosts introduce the episode, celebrate the unscripted, Spirit-led format.
• 01:18–05:54 – Persecution past and present; plea to remember/pray for the global persecuted church.
• 09:10–12:15 – Deep dive into “In this you rejoice”; focus shifts from material/temporal to eternal joy.
• 12:16–20:51 – Trials are “for a little while”; Mitchell shares personal encounters with emotional pain.
• 22:05–29:00 – The refining fire, authenticity of faith, story of the couple who suffered loss but kept their faith.
• 30:50–33:03 – Reflection on Job’s unexplained suffering and God’s greater purposes.
• 33:42–38:08 – Call to persevere and survive fire/trials for God’s sake.
• 36:24–38:21 – Fire exposes and purifies, encouragement to stand firm.

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Takeaways & Encouragements

• Trials as Purposeful: God is not punishing, but proving the reality and strength of faith.
• Authenticity Matters: The world knows we are Christ’s not by avoiding suffering, but by faithfulness through it.
• Eternal Mindset: Perspective shifts everything—seeing beyond present hardship to an unfading inheritance transforms suffering into hope.
• Community & Circulation: Share encouragement “like the letters of the early church”—pass the message on.
• Global Solidarity: Pray for and stand with persecuted Christians worldwide.
• Stay in the Fire: Allow God to burn away the inauthentic and refine what is real.

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Final Prayer & Call to Action (38:26–end)

Mitchell closes with passionate prayer for all who are suffering, particularly the persecuted church, asking for strength and endurance, and for believers to “stand in the fire” until God brings them through. The hosts urge listeners to share this message widely—just as early Christian letters circulated among believers—so that encouragement and gospel hope can reach those walking through adversity.

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“Your voice is not just needed in this hour. It’s necessary.” (Timberlake, 21:02)

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Transcript

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's just.

[Tim Timberlake]

It's just wild how far God has taken it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I don't even know. And it's crazy. I was telling Tim, like, it's really, like a testament to the Holy Spirit because he and I don't script anything. You know, I was like, I wonder if we start scripting stuff, would it get better? But we don't. We haven't. Last year, we just freestyling.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah, that's. That's the. That's the beauty of number one relationship facts. Both of us. It's evident we in our correct closet facts. It's evident we in our word facts. And then you bring that together, it's just like. Like, iron sharpens iron facts. You know what I'm saying? Like, my Sundays are better because of these days, you know? So it's just.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

What's up, family? You're now tuned into the Street Preachers podcast with your host, Tim Timberlake and Philip Anthony Mitchell.

[Tim Timberlake]

We're honored that you're here, and we pray that you're blessed by the content you're about to receive. What's going on, Street Team? It is a phenomenal day because it is another episode that we get an opportunity to lean into the word of God. Our last episode was completely hijacked by the Holy Spirit. Those are my favorite ones, man. He just. He just does whatever he wants to do. We have our plan coming into it, and he's like, nah, y' all not even get to that.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, y not gonna get to that, man. But it was. It was important, though, you know? I mean, our plan was to get to first Peter, you know, but maybe what was said, people needed, you know, and if you missed our last episode, we do want to encourage you to go back and watch it. Tim and I was about to break this bread with the oil on it, and Holy Spirit just kind of led us to talk about the importance of time. If you missed that episode, Tim wrote a book about the importance of time, the power of 1440. And the holy Spirit just led us down this pathway of just talking about the importance of time and the stewardship of time, and that we. We're not going to get anything more than what God intended for us to get. And because of that, we want to be good stewards, good managers of our time, our relationships, our resources, our opportunities, all these things for the sake of the glory of God and for the sake of the fact that we will give an account for how we stewarded the things that God has entrusted to us in this life. But here at Street Preachers podcast. This is the intersection of the word of God and the times that we're in. It is the intersection of the word of God and culture. And Tim and I, in this season, too, at the beginning, we don't know where God would take us. Right now, we are walking through First Peter together, and we feel like it's just important for the times because Peter is right. In a time when believers are dealing with a lot of social pressure and persecution fierce. And we feel like we're seeing a lot of the same things happening right now. You know, I want to also mention this. We are seeing the same things happen right now outside the US where brothers and sisters are being put to death for the faith. And so they. We have brothers and sisters right now who are dealing with the same things that a lot of the brothers and sisters with in the times when Peter wrote this letter, they were dealing with the same thing. Being persecuted under the hands of Nero and put to death. Our brothers and sisters are enduring that right now. I also want to make a plug for the persecuted church. I think we don't talk about the persecuted church enough. And I want to take just a moment to just ask all of you who are part of our street team to remember them in your prayers.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I take time to pray for the persecuted church. And by persecuted church, I mean our brothers and sisters who are living in countries where the gospel is illegal or where there's such hostility to the gospel that people are literally losing their lives for the sake of Christianity. They. They're dealing with a pressure that we have not seen in the United States, at least not yet.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And. And I just ask that you remember them in your prayers. They don't have the comforts we have in the United States. Some of them may not have access to the resources we have. And they're standing on business for the Lord Jesus Christ. They're not denouncing him. And so they are losing their lives. And there is images now on all over social media of Christians being stoned, beheaded, beaten in the middle of the street with pipes, persecuted in nations across the African continent, all throughout the Middle East. And let's just remember to pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and not forget them.

[Tim Timberlake]

I would also encourage our street team to know that these episodes are really canons, you know, messages that we can share with our brothers and sisters that are being persecuted, that are in countries that the gospel is being, you know, really hidden and discarded, and people are literally being killed because they are sneaking Bibles and pages of Bibles into their rooms. And so, you know, I think about how, you know, in the old times, bro, people would write a letter and then that letter would travel from country to country.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And people would take those letters and people would take those scrolls and they would make sure that people heard them and read them because they believed in the message that much. Yeah. And Street Team, I'm asking that you would carry these episodes, share these episodes. Everyone that's taken a clip, I love that. Everyone that shared a clip, we're so grateful. But more importantly, I love. We are, we are asking that you would do these things to help us continue the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not just people here in the US but people all over the world. Because of the day and time that we live in, the word of God is needed now more than ever before.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I love that, bro. I was even thinking as you was talking, how when Paul wrote the church, when he wrote to the church of Colossi, if you, if you read the letter of Colossians, he said this same letter, make sure it was also read over in Leo.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

All right. Like when I was in Turkey, I remember being at the ruins of Leodia. I remember, I think the ruins of colossi was like 10 miles away, if I can't remember. But it was like either to the west or to the east of Leodia. And Paul said this letter that I wrote to you here at Colassi, when you're finished with this letter, take it over to the churches of Leo and read it over there also. You know, or when we read Galatians, I think sometimes people may not know contextually that when Paul writes the letter of Galatians, he's actually writing to a number of churches in a region. Right. So it's to these churches in the area of Galatia. So he writes this one letter, but he wants it to circulate. And, oh, I even think about the letter of James. You know, people. I'm not sure how many people know, but when you pick up, when you pick up James, you're actually holding in your hand the very first letter that was ever written to the church. And so, you know, Christ, Christ ascends to the right hand of the Father, Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost, the church is born. And, and Luke is recording the first 30 years of church history in the, in the book of Acts. But at some point in time, churches are being established and communities of faith are being estab. Out of nowhere, the brother of Jesus writes the Letter that is named after him, James. And then that is the first thing in circulation amongst the church, which is powerful, too, because if you read it, it's a letter of practicality. You know what I'm saying? Don't just be hearers of the word. Be doers of the word. Don't count as strange when you face trials of various kinds. And so. So that letter is circulating. So I love when you say that. Yeah. Street team, like, hear my brother's heart. Right? If. If these podcast episodes are being a blessing to you, help circulate them, right? This is like we're saying, like, those letters were circulating in the first century. Take these episodes and share them. Like, listen, man, just. It's as simple as copy and text, right? Just copy the link, text it to somebody that needs to hear it. Let them circulate. Right. Let them circulate and be a blessing to people that need to hear these episodes. Yeah, but we are. We are. We are in first Peter, and we are walking through a text that is. That is applicable to the times we're living in where believers are dealing with social persecution unto death. And I think we're living in times when believers are also feeling the squeeze of social persecution. And for many of our brothers and sisters, they're losing their lives. Right. And yet Peter is writing a letter to them that is really a letter of encouragement, and it's not the type of encouragement we probably get in the Western. Western Christianity. In Western Christianity, all of our encouragements, you know, sometimes they can kind of land very flat. Yeah, but Peter's right into people losing their lives. And he's talking to him about things that's eternal. He's talking about things that seem tangible. He's talking to them about grace, about peace. He's talking to them about the inheritance that is unfading, undefiled. He's talking to them about things that. That go outside of this life so that all of their hope does not terminate or right. Now, last time Tim and I was walking through the text, we was finishing verse five, where he was kind of pointing us to the end times, to the last time. He was talking about going to be revealed. And I want to pick up in verse 6, when Peter says this. In verse 6, he says, in this, you rejoice in what?

[Guest Speaker]

He uses the word rejoice.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

In a Christian context where people are losing their lives, and yet he says rejoice. But rejoice in what? Rejoice in Job. No, he didn't say that. Rejoice in money. No, he didn't say that. Rejoice in cars. They didn't have that. Horses. No, he didn't say that. Rejoice in anything materialistic. Nah, he didn't say that. No. Rejoice in what? Rejoice in the intangible inheritance that we

[Guest Speaker]

will have when we die.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Rejoice in the fact that Christ has gone to prepare a place for you and I. Rejoice in the fact that our names is written in the Lamb's book of life.

[Guest Speaker]

Rejoice in the fact that I'm engraved on the palm of the hand of the Lord. Rejoice in the fact that Jesus, God has prepared an inheritance for me in

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

a place that the devil cannot take,

[Guest Speaker]

cannot interfere with, cannot steal, cannot remove from me. Rejoice in the fact that I am headed someplace beyond this life. Rejoice in the fact that this life is temporary, our challenges are temporary, our affliction is temporary. And that. Rejoice in the fact that we are going someplace where there will be no more tears, sorrow, trials, tribulation, disease, warfare,

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

back pain or sin.

[Guest Speaker]

Rejoice in the fact that what we're doing right now is only temporary and where we're going is going to last forever. Rejoice in that. That's what he said.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Rejoice in that.

[Guest Speaker]

Right. It's okay to be happy that you got the new job. It's okay to be happy you finally

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

got the boo that you want. It's okay to be happy that you started your ministry. It's okay to be happy and all that. But ultimately, rejoice in the fact. In the things that are intangible and cannot be taken away from those of us who will persevere to the end in this. Rejoice in what? In everything that came before it. Right. And everything that came before it. Let me just. Just say some of these words that came before it. Words like imperishable, undefiled, unfading. Watch these words kept in heaven for who? For you.

[Guest Speaker]

By how.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

By God's power and being. Watch this word. Guarded through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice. How about that, Tim?

[Tim Timberlake]

Man, that's incredible, bro. You look at that and it reminds you that your future is not fragile, although your current is painful.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Say that again.

[Tim Timberlake]

Your future is not fragile, although your current circumstances. Situations are painful.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And sometimes we can look at the pain of our present and think that our future will look the same way. What scripture is telling us. No, no. There's an inheritance that has been laid up for you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good, bro.

[Tim Timberlake]

There's an inheritance that's been set aside for you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good.

[Tim Timberlake]

And it is not like your present. Come on. And if we're so focused on. Like we were talking about last episode. If we're so focused on now. Yeah. Then we don't have an opportunity to really get a heavenly perspective of what God has prepared for our next.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so when he's talking through this, look at what the back half of this says.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

More.

[Tim Timberlake]

Even though now, for a little while, if necessary. You have been distressed by various trials.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I love how he says even though now and then.

[Guest Speaker]

Watch. Watch this though.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

He calls life a little while.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right.

[Guest Speaker]

Like he says, even though now.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Guest Speaker]

And peep. Like the language sounds. Sounds weak. He's talking to believers who are being put to death.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

For the faith.

[Guest Speaker]

And listen, he refers to.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

He refers to persecution that's leading to death as. Even though now, for a little while. He refers to life as a little while that you're going through these trials. It's almost like you know what he's doing. Listen to me. What he's doing. He is not allowing the devil to get any. Not even an ounce of glory out of even the death of the saints. Like, I wanna.

[Guest Speaker]

I wanna. I just wanna come through this camera and just shake some of you right. Like, he's not even allowing the devil to get an ounce of glory. Like, no. In no persecution, in no trial, in no hardship, in no circumstance, we will not allow the devil to get even an ounce of glory. That even. No matter what you are going through right now, your trial, your hardship, your pain, your sacrifice. He says, man, even for right now, even for a little bit of time, God would allow you to feel some of these light afflictions. He's constantly reminding us, like what Tim said, man, it's momentary. For where we're going is going to last forever. And he robs them of giving the devil even an ounce of glory. We're not even gonna. We're not even gonna let the devil think that he's got the best on us.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

No, you have not gotten over us

[Guest Speaker]

everything we're doing with even the things that you have inflicted us with. Temporary.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah, man.

[Guest Speaker]

Ain't that powerful. Powerful. Temporary. Temporary. I'll shed tears right now. Temporary right. Deal with warfare right now. Temporary hardship right now. Temporary trials right now. Temporary. Right. Things that got you in the basement of the soul in the middle, like crying. Temporary. Right. And and that encouragement from Peter means nothing to the person that does not

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

see the bigger picture. Tim.

[Guest Speaker]

Right. It means it's crazy to me because that this encouragement of Peter has no impact on the heart that does not

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

see the bigger picture.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Guest Speaker]

They don't see the bigger picture. You must see the bigger picture in order for this exhortation to make sense.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You see what I'm saying?

[Tim Timberlake]

Absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And when believers don't see the bigger

[Guest Speaker]

picture, it's like these words fall flat. It's like they can't even invoke encouragement in your heart.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah. That's what I want to say. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

[Guest Speaker]

These words of Peter, they can't even

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

really invoke encouragement or excitement in the heart. If you don't understand the bigger picture of eternity, it just will not work. It will have no effect. And it's for the believer to understand the totality, the foreverness of eternity for these words. Now, in the middle of my trial to say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

It's just for a little while.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Just for a little while.

[Tim Timberlake]

Think about this.

[Guest Speaker]

That's crazy.

[Tim Timberlake]

I think last year America spent $1.9 billion off filtering water. Bottled water.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Just the water market in America. $1.9 billion off of bottled water. Filter. And we spend so much time concentrating on what we put into this flesh. Organic. Is it organic or not? Is it purified or not? And we spend all this time.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

On what we do. And I'm not knocking those people who take care of their body. We should take care of this temple. But what Peter is talking about, if you put more emphasis on the temple than you do eternity.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Then you lose time.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You lose time.

[Tim Timberlake]

So how can he talk about rejoicing when these people are physically being tortured.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Physically being persecuted. Physically being put to death.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Because he understands that this flesh. Yeah. Is going to give up on you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

But I am so much more than this flesh.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right. This flesh has 77 years.

[Guest Speaker]

It's gonna if best 80. It's gonna fail.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah. It's going to fail. Yeah. But I'm so much more than this flesh. Yeah. I am a spirit. I have a soul. I live in this vehicle that moves me throughout the earth, that takes me from point A to point B. But I this body.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right.

[Tim Timberlake]

I am so much more than this body. So this body can be in pain, but I am not in pain because my spirit man is alive.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know what was powerful about that? I mean, I think about the body being in pain. I also think about not only physical pain, but emotional pain. Absolutely. Right. I'm going to confess right here on the podcast, right? I'm going to confess.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So you know how, like, last year was really difficult for me, right? And you know how last year was really difficult for me and because it was. It was like the first time my life had to deal with. With. With public persecution, right? So it was difficult. And I'm growing to endure that a little bit better. And I think about times, right? You know, Peter's telling these people, you know, rejoice, and. And he's talking to people that's. That's losing their life, right? Physical pain. And I want to talk to people experience, like, emotional pain. I knew what it was, Tim, to be in. In my. In my lower level of my home, in my basement, in my prayer room with tears in my eyes because of just all of the trials and the tribulations and the warfare of leading a growing ministry and then dealing with public persecution and all the things. And shedding tears. And in a moment, right, in a moment, sitting there in my prayer room and my prayer room, I use this little light in my prayer room. I was sitting there in my prayer room, and I have these thoughts to myself, Lord, these tears I'm shedding right now, the emotional pain I feel, all this is so temporary. All these arrows I take from people that don't understand who I am, or they're confused about my movements, or they think I'm a demon or false prophet. And all this crazy stuff. Like, this stuff is so temporary. Their videos are going to fade, their comments are going to fade away. My ministry, what I'm doing, all of this is going to so temporary. And the times when I start talking to myself is so temporary, Lord, these are momentary, light afflictions. I would say, like, lord, I will be with you one day. You see what I'm saying, Tim? I would literally be in my prayer room. I'll be like, lord, I'm going to be with you in there. And I would imagine in my mind what it would be like the day I'm actually with him. And when that day comes, that everything that we worried about right now would no longer exist. Absolutely. And then. And then in that moment, perspective comes back to me, and I said,

[Guest Speaker]

I

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

feel strength emerging and courage emerging, like, yes, it's temporary. Yeah. And then this thought comes to my mind. I get up, Philip, go back out there, back into the front line of battle and just continue to be faithful. Just like, continue to be faithful. On the front line of battle, take all the bullets and just keep being faithful. Because all of this is just temporary. And this is me allowing the perspective of eternity to even bring healing to emotional pain. Right. Like, so he was talking about like the body, you know, and how that's gonna fade away. But even emotional trauma we're dealing right now, all of that's gonna fade away too. It's all temporary. And maybe, maybe somebody on the street team watching this need to hear this right now. You know, like Tim was saying, this body is gonna dissolve, it's gonna get old. You know, you're gonna get back pain, your hair is gonna get gray. I mean, keep it black as long as you want, but it's gonna fade away, right? It will. The house you're in will give up on you.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yes.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's just. There's just no way around that. The house will give up on you and it will give way to eternity. But, you know, so with this emotional pain you're going through and trauma you're going through, it will give way to a world that you will experience that never again. And so I feel like even like Peter is trying to encourage them with hopes about the world to come. I think if we don't care about eternity, it will be hard for like the words of Peter and the apostles to really take root in our heart when we're too tethered to this life. And I think the more we untether ourselves from the attachments to this life, the more these words will have a greater impact in our hearts.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah. I think also in those times, I'm glad you come out with a greater perspective.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Because the moment you are silent, demons get courage.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Say that again.

[Tim Timberlake]

The moment you were silent, demons get courage. Right. Your voice is not just needed in this hour. It's necessary. And you know, we will let people in kind of behind the scenes conversation. But I call you Black Billy.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Black Billy.

[Tim Timberlake]

Black Billy Graham. You know what I'm saying? And it's amazing to see the grace that Jesus has given you for this hour. And it is going to be persecuted and it is going to take attacks and it is going to have people talking negatively about you. But that's how you know the gospel is being effective.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Amen, bro.

[Tim Timberlake]

Because it's disturbing the demons and everyone that disagrees with heaven.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Amen.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so thank you for persevering. Thank you for pushing through and taking those shots on the front line so that the generation that's coming behind us. Yeah. Have an example.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

That it is Possible to stand firm and to stand strong in the face of adversity and in the face of the enemy.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Man, I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah, man.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So, yeah, I love. I love in the text, in this you rejoice though now for a little while he calls life. A little while. Yeah, a little while. If necessary. If necessary. You have been grieved by various trials, verse 7. So that the testing, the testing, the testing, the testing genuineness of your faith. The tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in the praise and the glory and the honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. That is a mouthful. He just said, let's unpack that.

[Guest Speaker]

So.

[Tim Timberlake]

So in the Roman world, gold refinement was not just about purity.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, Right.

[Tim Timberlake]

Gold refinement was about proving authenticity.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Over counterfeit. And the way that they would prove something was authentic as it pertains to fire or any precious metal.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Was that they would hold it in the fire, how to burn it so that they could show people there are no imperfections in what we have provided facts. And we look at the fire as a bad thing when it is actually God proving that. There are no counterfeits in my family.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

There are no replicas in my bloodline.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

Only. Only authenticity. And so sometimes when we are in the fires of life and we're in the pain and we're in the trials and we're in the persecution, we think man, God has forsaken us. We think God has turned his back on us. No, God is proving himself through us by show world that the perfect one is at work on the inside of them. And the only way that I can be revealed is authentic.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

Is that there has to be a. A display that there is no counterfeits in him or in her.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And listen, man, for. For the street team watching, right, this goes for people who are public figures that belong to Christ and people who are not public figures that belong to Christ. Right. On every level, God is going to put all of his children in fire.

[Guest Speaker]

Yes. Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

The challenges for people who are public figures who belong to Christ. You just get to see that fire. Yeah. You get to see people attacking them on social media, you get to see. But what you're seeing also too, is the genuineness of their faith. Absolutely right.

[Guest Speaker]

But in private.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right. In private, for the. For the millions and maybe billions of Christians who people don't know on social media. Right. All of us are being tested by fire. By God. Right. You're being tested at your job and you're being tested by relationships. We're all being tested by the trials, the life of fire. And like Tim said, the Lord has not abandoned you in those fires. He's actually.

[Guest Speaker]

Actually proven to the people who are

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

watching your walk up close, this is. Watch this word.

[Guest Speaker]

A real. You hit a word. A real man and woman of God. They say, how could she go through

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

that and still have praise on her lips? How could he survive that and still have praise on this? How could this married couple go through that and still have praise on their lips? How could they suffer so much attacks and still have praise on.

[Guest Speaker]

How could they have gone through that?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we still see them showing up at the gatherings. Right.

[Guest Speaker]

How could they have lost a child and not blame God? I knew a couple, I know a

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

couple in my church, in our community that lost their first child. Child was like one or two.

[Guest Speaker]

And the day before Thanksgiving or the

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

day after Thanksgiving, they lost their child the day after Thanksgiving. And I remember. I remember stepping into that space with that couple. And that was a very painful thing, you know, to step into that. That. That pain with that couple. It's hard to counsel a couple that lost their first child the day after Thanksgiving. It's like, what do you say in the beginning? You could only be the ministry of presence. And I watched them shed their tears and I watched them wrestle and I watched them have unanswered questions. But you know what I never saw them do? I never saw them blame God. And I did not see them walk away from God, but I seen them. I seen them go through that fire and be faithful to the Lord all the way through that fire. And that the people who are watch, who was watching them, Family members, friends, and even unbelievers who may follow them on social media. You know what they saw?

[Tim Timberlake]

That's it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

They saw. Listen. Listen to these words. The genuineness of their faith, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

So you know what a fire is? Fire is not punishment. Fire is proof.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How about to say it's proof?

[Tim Timberlake]

It's evidence, because fire doesn't create gold.

[Guest Speaker]

You remember that movie, that Christian movie, Fireproof?

[Tim Timberlake]

Fireproof, Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Fires. Proof.

[Tim Timberlake]

It is proof that God is, in fact, faithful in the things that we would not find ourselves to be faithful in.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Bro, I'm about to jump off this couch.

[Tim Timberlake]

Hold on.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yo, I'm about to jump off this couch because I'm about to jump because in the end, Tim, in the end.

[Guest Speaker]

Can.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Can I go to the end for just a second?

[Tim Timberlake]

Go to the end, bro.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Okay, in the end, like right now, right now in life, our testing and our trials and our hardships is proven that our lives in this life is fireproof. But there's a lot of people who claim Christianity and. And all this other stuff. And. But you know what? In the end, when we stand before the Lord, we really find out who was fireproof, who will not be scorched.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

By the fires of judgment. In the end. I remember I did a series a long, long time ago, I don't know, maybe a decade ago, called Fireproof. And the whole premise of the series was, will you really make it in the end? You know what I'm saying? Like, when we die and we depart from this life, would I say that? Man, I was fireproof in this life. And by fireproof, I used it as terminology to say, nah, I made it to glory. Yeah, I wasn't scorched in the fire. We don't want to be scorched in. Right. So I even think about, like, in this life, our trials will prove to the world that we are fireproof. But then in the end, our testimony will really prove were we fireproof, you know, and. And you know what? I want to just take a moment to encourage somebody on our street team who's going through a difficult situation right now. And maybe you feel like God has not heard your prayers. Maybe you feel as if your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling or maybe just questioning God and what you're going through. Like, lord, why are we going through this? We believe in you for this for a long time, and you haven't delivered. You know, we've been believing you for a child for a long time, and you haven't delivered. We've been believing you to open this door for a long time, and you haven't delivered. We've been believing you to change the circumstance, and you haven't deliver. Man, there's so many. There's so many of us. And me, too. I'm included. Because right now, I'm dealing with a trial right now in ministry that is so complex, so evil, how we're being persecuted by someone. I won't call their name, but we're dealing with something very serious. And I think to myself, like, it's so easy to think, well, Lord, when are you going to deliver? But you know what? You know what's being brought out of that? This beautiful testimony of, although I'm suffering this, yet I remain faithful to God. I may have unanswered questions, but I remain Faithful. I may not understand, but I remain faithful. Some of y' all can identify with this. I've shed tears in the middle of the night and wiped tears out of my eyes, not getting the answer I want from God and not getting the explanation I want from God. But I'm going to this gathering on Sunday morning. I'm going to get up and pray tomorrow. I'm still going to open these psalms and let my tears fall on the pages of psalms while I'm praying. God's word, still remaining faithful. And for the. The spouse that is watching, for the children that is watching, for the people who are following on social media, you know what they're actually seeing that the authenticity of your faith that goes beyond posts on social media. It's easy to post a scripture or a picture of us looking faithful as another thing to go through trial and come out on the other side with a testimony. Yeah, this woman, this man is faithful, and that is powerful. Tim, it's almost like God putting you on display, bragging on my sons and daughter. Watch how I allow them to suffer.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yep.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Watch this for just a little while. Or watch how they go through this and not curse me. Right? And what we come out on the side is the authenticity of faith. So we can know, like we can say right now, job, that man loved God.

[Tim Timberlake]

He loved him.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right? Right. We have the privilege of being able to read what happened in Job's life all the way to the end and say, that man love God.

[Guest Speaker]

But you know what?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

People don't peep in the text. We have the luxury of reading his account from the beginning to the end. But you know what? When his account is over, you know,

[Guest Speaker]

just read the text very slowly. You know what happens in the text.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

The Lord never gave him an explanation for what he went through.

[Tim Timberlake]

Pause.

[Guest Speaker]

The man lost his children, the man lost his businesses. The man lost resources.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right.

[Guest Speaker]

The man lost all of that. I want y' all to follow this

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

street team like, yo, follow this.

[Guest Speaker]

Just everybody follow me right now. Don't get distracted. Follow me. Job was a wealthy man, a married man. The man had money, the man had fame, the man had status, the man had children. The man had businesses. The man had health. The man had all of that. And watch, in a moment, with no. With no warning, no notice, the man loses all of his children in one incident. The man lost his businesses, the man lost money, the man lost hope. The man had a crazy wife that was like, look, man, why don't you just curse God and die? The man had a wife that Turned his back on him. And watch. And at the end of his account, the man never got an explanation from God. Why did I lose my children? Why did I lose my businesses? Why did I lose money? The Lord never explained to him why he lost all those things. And all the while, the Lord is in heaven bragging on him. Have you considered my servant job? Is it possible that some of the hardships you're going through, trials you're going through, issues you're going through, may be the Lord bragging on you? You know what? I'm going to prove to everybody watching my son. Watch how real my son is.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Watching.

[Guest Speaker]

Watch how thugged out my son is. Watch how thugged out my daughter is. I'mma prove to all of y' all that this person right here, he's real. See, you think the Lord be bragging us about our realness because of the size of our platform? No. I'm going to show y' all what it looked like for one of my sons and daughter to go through hell, be persecuted, be talked about, mistreated, misunderstood, and watch how they still come out on the other side, faithful. And I'm going to show the world that this right here, this is a real man right here.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

This is a real woman right here.

[Guest Speaker]

So, right. So when they scream in false prophet, and when they screaming, oh, Philip Anthony Mitchell's full of a demon, or when they're saying things about Tim Timberlake, and when they saying all these things, but they keep showing up, though.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah.

[Guest Speaker]

And they keep preaching the gospel, though, and they keep doing podcasts and they keep leading people to Jesus and they keep winning souls, and they keep doing that. In the end, you know what's going to prove like, oh, snap, that dude Tim was real. Oh, snap, that dude Philip was real.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right?

[Guest Speaker]

So I'm just saying to somebody watching right now, right now, right now, watching this right now, or you're listening to my voice right now, who's going through hell and hot water and fire, right? Listen to me, my brother, my sister, watch this come out on the other side.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah.

[Guest Speaker]

How about that, right? Watch this word. Survive what you're going through right now. Like, yes, it's painful, but survive it. Yes, you shed tears, but survive it. Yes, you've been up in the middle of the night, but survive it. You must survive, because the character of God is riding on you to survive. Come out on the other side, for the world can see, like, here, that

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

God we said we serve. Like, yeah, that person real right there. She's real right there. They're real.

[Guest Speaker]

Right there. That camp right there.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That camp is real. That church is real. Celebration is real. 2019 is real. Tim Timberlake's real. Philip Anthony Mitchell's real. Oh. Oh, they're real. They really real.

[Guest Speaker]

And so God allows us.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Guest Speaker]

To go through these fires. Watch. Watch the words. Watch. To do what? To test the genuineness of the faith,

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

the authenticity of your conviction. Right? And. And. And, yo, Tim, jump in here, right? Because, like, I'm allergic to fakeness, right? Like, maybe it's because I'm from New York, but it's also because the Holy

[Guest Speaker]

Spirit is in me.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I'll be allergic to fakeness. Like, phoniness make me agitated, right? So it's like you can smell a phony from a mile away. Like your bro. Like, pause, fall back, right? As Christians, phoniness shouldn't be coming off of us, right? There's something in our confession that should be real. There's something in the way that we live for Christ should be real. It should be authentic. And it should be proven not just only by our blessings, but by the things we survive.

[Guest Speaker]

Repeat. Right? The authenticity of our faith should not

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

only be in the things that we consider blessings.

[Tim Timberlake]

Come on.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But by the things we survive. Don't think I'm real because I have a platform. Don't think I'm real because y' all

[Guest Speaker]

see me dealing with heat and coming

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

out on the other side still being faithful.

[Guest Speaker]

You see Tim dealing with heat and

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

coming out on the other side still being faithful, right?

[Guest Speaker]

And something about authenticity and Christianity is

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

supposed to be, like, absolutely symbiotic. Like peanut butter and jelly.

[Tim Timberlake]

Absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Absolutely.

[Tim Timberlake]

Like ham and cheese, fish and chips.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Fish and chips.

[Guest Speaker]

Come on, bro. Like me in London. Like ham and cheese. Like fish and chips.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know what I'm saying?

[Guest Speaker]

Like, they're symbiotic. They're supposed to be married.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Like, just pause for just a second, right? Married.

[Guest Speaker]

Authenticity.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Christianity married. Yo, Tim, do us a favor, bro. Do us a favor. Yo, let's. Let's. Let's just. I feel the spirit of God.

[Tim Timberlake]

Absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Let's just encourage our street team. Encourage our street team. People who think God has abandoned them because of what they're going through. Remind them about that fire you was just teaching us, man. Let's encourage them, bro.

[Tim Timberlake]

You know, the crazy thing about fire is it exposes what cannot remain, while at the same time exposing what cannot be destroyed.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It burns out the dross.

[Tim Timberlake]

And I want you to think about this for a second, because some of you are in real life Trials, real life tribulations. In real life. Fire. Right now.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

But you have not been destroyed.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on, Tim.

[Tim Timberlake]

Everything in your environment.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

That was not pure, that was not authentic has been burned away. And if you're still in the fire right now, it's because God is still removing and extracting what is not authentic to your call into your purpose.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

But you cannot be destroyed. And that is what Peter is saying. And this is why he's not suggesting. He's telling you. Rejoice in the middle of these hardships. Rejoice in the middle of these trials. Rejoice in the middle of this pain. Rejoice in the middle of this tribulation. Because in the end, you will not be destroyed. Everything that is not authentic, everything that is not pure, it will burn away. So keep hope.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Hope.

[Tim Timberlake]

Continue to put one foot in front of the other. Continue to put your hand in the hand of God, and continue to put your faith and anchor your trust in Him. Oftentimes we say we believe in God, but we trust in ourselves. And it is only when you attest it by fire that you really have a sense of where your trust and allegiance really lies.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on, Tim.

[Tim Timberlake]

If it is pure.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

Or if it is not. And so sometimes God will place you in environments that are hot enough to burn off every fake and phony thing about you.

[Guest Speaker]

Come on, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

And he will leave you there until you come out, like my brother said, on the other side.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on, Tim.

[Tim Timberlake]

Pure.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Pure.

[Tim Timberlake]

Authentic.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Authentic. Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Tested.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Tested.

[Tim Timberlake]

And tried and tried. And so stand the fire. I know you don't want to hear that. I know that's not the encouragement you thought you would get from this episode, but stand the fire. Stand the fire long enough to come out on the other side.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

So that the person that made you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Can see his reflection in your life. Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So, Father, on the testimony of Peter's exhortation to us, Tim and I pray right now over our street team. Pray over every person right now that's watching this episode or listening to this episode, wherever they are in America, around the world. We pray for every brother and sister that's going through a difficult season. A trial, a test, a hardship. We pray for every brother or sister who's asking you questions and not getting the answers that they want. We pray for every brother and sister

[Guest Speaker]

who's tempted to throw in the towel and walk away.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We pray for every brother and sister

[Guest Speaker]

who is wary and frustrated and shed in tears. We pray right now, in this moment, you would meet them where they are. You would encourage them, you would strengthen them, you would make their wary hands, God, Lord, strong. You put strength in their legs. You would give them the grace they need to keep persevering through every fire, every test, every trial, every circumstance, every tribulation that they will keep coming out on the other side with a testimony of authenticity of Christianity. We pray you teach us to live well and suffer well and come out on the other side. I pray grace and strength for our brothers and our sisters and, Father, for the persecuted church around the world. Maybe this message might make it to some of them.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yes, Lord, we say to them, we pray for our brothers and sisters suffer well even for but a little while.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yes.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That all of our sufferings will terminate with glory and eternity, with the crowns that we receive the rewards that we will lay down at the feet of the Savior. Your suffering, our brothers and sisters, may be worse, but your rewards will be great. And we pray that you would endure all the way to the end, no matter what it costs you. We pray you give him strength, Father, to endure all the way to the end. Father, remember the global church in this hour, as the intensity of intolerance is heating up against Christianity. Let us stand as true witnesses for you and not be cowards, not tuck our tails and not run away. May we stay in the fire, like Tim said, until you have brought us out, even through the dark night of the soul. We ask this in the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Yo, Street Team, if you've been watching this episode of the Street Preachers podcast, if it's meant anything to you at all, Tim and I ask you to do us just a small favor, like comment, subscribe and share. Remember in the beginning of this episode, Tim and I was talking about these New Testament letters and how Paul wrote them and they were sharing them, them with other communities. They were passing them from one community to the next. We're living in the last days. We don't know how much time we have left. And this is the hour to encourage one another, right? We encourage one another. Like we text each other messages of encouragement. We text each other scriptures. You can do that too, with a podcast. You can copy the link and just text it to somebody, right? Text it to 10 people, right?

[Guest Speaker]

Anybody you know who's going through a

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

trial, a tribulation, a hardship, who just

[Guest Speaker]

need to be encouraged, take this link,

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

copy it and just text it to somebody.

[Guest Speaker]

Let's do our part to spread the

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

gospel and to move the message of Jesus Christ going forward. So just do that for us, if you will be so inclined. Share this message with somebody.

[Guest Speaker]

Okay?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we just want to encourage you, man, to just stand firm in the fire. Don't give up right now. The Lord is with us, and we want your confession of faith to be authentic. We love you, street team. We'll catch you in the next episode of the Street Preachers podcast. You know, peace.