Latest / Deep Waters / Test Yourself To See If You Are In The Faith

Transcript

Test Yourself To See If You Are In The Faith · Deep Waters

0:14
SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Ken, your podcast preacher.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to my podcast Deep Waters.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: This podcast is brought to you by Applied Strengths Ministry, where we believe working together on our strengths is the effect of working out the will and calling of God into our lives.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: Let's open up in prayer.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you for today and for the opportunity to grow.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: We pray that you would give us a revelation within this message that you intend on us receiving with the understanding.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: The title of this message is Test Yourself to See If You Are In the Faith.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy 4.2.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Preach the word.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Be ready in season and out of season.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 3.15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Psalms 19.7.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: 2 Corinthians 13 5.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: Examine yourselves as to whether you were in the faith.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Test yourselves, do you not know yourself that Jesus Christ is in you?
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Unless indeed you are disqualified.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: So I could have broken down all of those scriptures more precisely, but I think that I can provide a simpler explanation of what I intended to be the applicable part.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: Sharing the stories of God in our lives as it relates to the Bible is necessary and a part of the Great Commission.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: After all, we do not live in a size-limiting family, but a one that is ever expanding.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: God has a list of souls, and we are in the ministry to find every one of them in our generation.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, but we also have another task, which is not really a task but more of a witness to others that God is working in our lives.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is our testimony to others about what God has done, is doing, and through prophecy and the prophetic word, will do in our lives.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: It is more or less the proof that we are walking in Christ.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: And the way to discover this is to test yourself to see if you are in the faith.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: So what is testing yourself to see if you are in the faith is not saying for you to see if you are saved.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have any testimonies that you can share, it may be that you just are beginning your relationship with God, or are part of a church that doesn't adhere to the following testimony-generating mandates.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: For there are scriptures in the Word of God that generate testimony if we apply them in our lives.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 4, 11 through 16, and he himself gave some to the apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, that speaking truth and love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by whatever joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: If your church isn't actively doing this, then leave it for one that is.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: You must be equipped for the work of ministry for your life to align with the life of Jesus.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: Listen, John 14, 12.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: So this is how important it is for you to be equipped, either for your own ministry or in support of an existing ministry, which by the way isn't overpopulating your church to fill the seats and to carry on as dully normal.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: If all you ever hear at your church is preach, preach, preach, invite, invite, invite, then you are in an unbalanced church.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: You can study the fivefold ministry to see that there are five primary offices and not just one.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians four eleven, eleven through twelve, and he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers, for the equipping of the saints.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: We know that there are also positions of elders and deacons and a few others, but the point is that there isn't just one.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: The other testimony generating mandate is as follows Matthew twenty eight nineteen through twenty.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, amen.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: No testimonies?
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Then test your faith in the position as a disciple.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: Are you working with someone or a small group in order to grow in the Lord?
4:55
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm not talking about a milk level Bible study that never enters the deep water things of the Bible, but a real authentic group that calls things in your life like they are, in love, of course.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: You're not the boss of me will not be a good excuse on the day that you arrive in heaven, ill equipped.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: By being and making disciples we generate testimonies on both sides.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Mark sixteen, fifteen through twenty.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and he who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned, and these signs will follow those who believe.
5:29
SPEAKER_00: In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: The day is you, by the way.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: So we could read it like this Mark sixteen, fifteen through twenty, and he said to us, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned, and these signs will follow those who believe.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: In my name you will cast out demons, you will speak with new tongues, you will take up serpents, and if you drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt you.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: You will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: nineteen.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God, and they, that is you, went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, that is working with you, and confirming the word through the accompanying signs, amen.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so this is loaded with great information, and its application determines our effectiveness.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Allow me to explain.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Preaching the gospel in power.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: Oh wait a minute, does this mean to shout loud and proud?
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Nope.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Does this mean for us to leave this task to the preachers?
6:43
SPEAKER_00: Nope.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: We are all called to preach the gospel which means that we are all preachers, to one degree or another.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: Ah, you see how the devil tries to split hairs and get us blind side limited so that we only see and hear what we want to see and hear.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Listen to this Corinthians two four through five.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: There's no need to be a fancy talker when sharing.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: One demonstration of the power of God will do all the convincing that is needed.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Also keep in mind that if we don't preach, God cannot add to the church daily those who are being saved, that is authentically born again saved.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Romans one sixteen for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jews first and also for the Greek.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: The power or the demonstration of it is a huge portion of salvation.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: You cannot explain away the demonstration of the power of God, but know this that some people who are long winded can argue against all that you speak without demonstration of the power of God for years.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Testimonies derived from the exhibition of the power of God preaches louder than any argument or persuasion.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: thirty seven thirty eight.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me, but if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: Right here Jesus is saying that if I do not have the evidence of the fact that I am God manifesting in my life, then do not believe me.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: For us it would sound like if I do not have the evidence demonstrated through supernatural works to prove that I am a Christian and that I am in Christ, then do not believe me just because I said it.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: Look also, Jesus stated that the works which generate testimonies are evidence that He is in God and God in him.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: When we preach a power gospel, we are meeting the totality, not just the fraction, but the totality of Jesus' commission to us.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: Mark sixteen fifteen through twenty.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned, and these signs will follow those who believe.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: So then after the Lord has spoken to them he was received up into heaven, and he sat down at the right hand of God, and they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Sign signs signs are testimony generating mandated evidence that we are in Christ abiding in him and he in us.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Ah, but we need to see what abiding or being connected to Jesus three hundred sixty five twenty four seven looks like in the Bible, along with what we can or cannot produce insofar as the miracle signs and wonders of Jesus.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Abide in me and I in you, as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Neither can you unless you abide in me.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: I am the vine, you are the branches.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch, and is withered, and I gather them to throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it should be done for you.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: As a father loved me, I also have loved you, abide in my love.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments, and abide in his love.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, it should be clear now that our Christianity has to have the demonstration of the power of God, in order that people know that we are authentic Christians.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: No power, then how are we any different than any other religious proclaiming individual selling salvation through works, which, by the way, the works mentality comes from those who do not have the power of God manifesting in their lives.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: So what happens is that they relegate salvation to earning it.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians two eight nine for by grace you have been saved through faith, and not that of yourselves.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: It is a gift of God, not of works, least anyone should boast.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: I also know that people can get confused with this scripture, which God tells us that He is not the author of confusion, which tells us that there is an author, and they ask or say, If we do not work for salvation, then why all of this doing, doing, doing?
11:29
SPEAKER_00: Why should I preach?
11:30
SPEAKER_00: After all, isn't that work?
11:32
SPEAKER_00: Or why should I start a church or ministry?
11:34
SPEAKER_00: As this sounds a lot like work to me.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: The answer is simple.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: We do not work for salvation, but in our salvation we work, and but we work the works of God and not of the flesh.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians two ten states that believers are prepared for active service.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so hopefully we are getting a fuller understanding that our religion is not based on works to earn, but it is unequivocally based on works demonstrated through miracle signs and wonders, which are manifested through the power of God.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: John four forty eight.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: Jesus wasn't being sarcastic, of which some teach and preach.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean why would God say this unless he knew it to be true?
12:24
SPEAKER_00: By understanding that he was making a statement of fact, we can see how it lines up with all the other scriptures already mentioned in this message.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Miracle signs and wonders caused by the power of God leading to generating testimonies.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: They are evidence that we serve the one and only God who is above all other gods in every way.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: Why this message?
12:42
SPEAKER_00: Well I woke up the other day with another reason to give God all the glory for my crazy life that only he, through it all, could have kept me alive to this very day.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you think your life isn't as crazy as mine, so you don't really need to listen to this message, or maybe you are in it so deep that you don't want to hear anything about this stuff at all.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Believe me, I have been there, and so I understand, but if you make time to heed these things, I am sure you will learn how to resist the devil when he comes around.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: I am sure you will be able to pray for healing and it will happen.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: And when it doesn't, that you will be given the wisdom to go to the hospital and seek their help.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says to be ready to give a testimony in and out of season.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Out of season can mean a couple of things, including feeling overwhelmed and barely able to hang on.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: It has been my experience that I learn best when the pressure is on.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: When we are at the end of our rope, we can get to a place of humility which allows us to hear God.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Each person's life is different, but everybody suffers, goes through trials and tribulations, and is hated for their belief in Jesus.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: The difference maker is God.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: This is the only thing that distinguishes a so called stupid Christian from those who think Christianity is stupid.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: More on that stupid comment later.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: You see, luck doesn't exist.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: It is a word that humanity made up to excuse away the things that we don't understand.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Luck is defined as the force, phenomenon or accidental way that good or bad events happen to a person by chance, rather than through personal effort, design or skill.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: The core meanings, chance occurrence, events that unfold randomly or unpredictably without a deliberate plan.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: Good fortune, good luck, favorable outcomes, unexpected gains, or positive coincidences, such as finding a lost item or winning a game.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: Bad fortune, bad luck, unfavorable events, hardship or mishaps that feel undeserved or out of one's control.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Common types and expressions beginner's luck, unexpected success experienced by someone who is new to an activity or skill, luck of the draw, an outcome decided purely by random selection, pushing your luck, taking excessive or dangerous risks, assuming positive outcomes will continue, as luck would have it, an idiomatic phrase used when unexpected turn of events, good or bad happens.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: The Bible addresses luck in the following scripture Ecclesiastes eleven, I returned and I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happens to them all.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: We mustn't define scripture as talking about luck.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Luck is superstitiously by its very nature a made up position because we don't understand what God is doing.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: Ecclesiastes three eight states that there is a specific appointed time and season for every activity under heaven, such as the time to be born, die, plant, weep, and laugh.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't sound random to me.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs sixteen four states that the Lord has made everything for its purpose or for its own end.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Again, it's not random or coincidence.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: Romans eight twenty eight assures believers that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: Notice it doesn't say for the good or bad depending on your luck.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: Jeremia twenty nine eleven records God's promise, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians two ten explains that human beings are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Ecclesiastes twelve, thirteen through fourteen summarizes the overall duty and purpose of humanity fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: Now I was going to title this message Why Are You a Stupid Christian?
16:36
SPEAKER_00: And but I thought just maybe you would have thought that I was asking you this question or accusing Christians of being stupid.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: But this is not that.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: In truth, I am just repeating what so many fake believers, make believers, non believers, those with the spirit of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, attorneys, the scribes, the chief priests, the elders, the Sanhedrin, and some of those in civil and political arenas, many in the crowds who could be swayed by the wind exiting any of these people or groups already mentioned, as their toxic breath, breathing lies about Jesus left their mouths, as well as the falsies such as false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, false pastors, hypocrites who disguise themselves as righteous but promote deceptive teachings, selfishness and ungodly lifestyles, those who preach a different gospel, distorting the truth, such as many do in false religions, which is all of them that do not preach and teach that Jesus is God and the only way to the Father, because of his own blood being shed to pay for the sins of humanity, false spirits, demons, and workers of his who appear as an angel of light, and those who are wolves dressed up in sheep's clothing and false evangelists.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: These are the people that claim that we are a stupid Christian because of our belief.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: And for this I would gladly accept their stupid judgment.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: They said similar things about our Jesus and about Paul Mark three twenty one.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: But when his own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of him, for they said he is out of his mind.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: They were talking about Jesus.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Acts twenty six twenty four.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Now as he thus made his defense, Feta said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself, much learning is driving you mad.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: So this message wouldn't be complete if I didn't give God the credit for the many things in my life that he has done.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: This doesn't include everything, but many of those things that I haven't easily been able to set aside.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: Watch how David positioned himself to hear God.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: So the situation is that David and his men returned to Zitlag to find the city burned and their families captured by the Amalekites.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: Their reaction, they were overwhelmed by grief.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: David's men blamed him and spoke of stoning him.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: This, by the way, is the guy that took all these people in when they had nobody.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: David's choice, rather than despairing, of which I believe many Christians are in that season given these are the end times, David sought strength from the Lord, and inquired of the Lord through the priest Abathar.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: If there's anyone who needed to learn how to encourage himself it was David, and it should also be true for us as well.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: Psalm twenty seven fourteen focuses on waiting on the Lord for strength and courage.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: Psalm forty two eleven addresses a soul being cast down and placing hope in God.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah forty one ten offers reassurance of God's presence and strength in times of fear.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: I will finish with my testimonies, without telling the full story, as many of those stories have already been shared in other messages.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: There was a time when I commanded demons to flee as they were keeping my state car from running.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: It eventually started, and when I was asked how I got the car back to the office, I told them I drove it, to which they replied it was impossible, as the car was broke beyond driving.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: There was another time I was struggling with lust, to which I asked God why.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: He told me to pray over the house which I did.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: I heard two demons leave, and after they did the presence of God returned to the house.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: I found out later that my nephew was struggling with pornography and had accessed and watched it on my computer, thus opening up a portal of access for those nasty old demons.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Many years later I myself have gotten to a place where I'm able to screen out any and all movies, music, social media that contains even the slightest forms of sensuality.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: Keeping your foot in the door still means the door is open.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: A couple of times I have prayed for people who had cancer, and they were healed, including my father who lived completely detached from God.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: He had stage four liver disease obtained from a lifetime of drinking.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Anyways, he asked if I could pray for him, to which I did.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: The next day after his doctor's appointment he called and told me that his doctor stated he no longer had liver disease.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Do I have testimonies about God working in my life before I was saved?
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Yes, but it was in hindsight that I saw it.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Back when I was a wee kid working for Sierra Pacific Industries, which was a lumber company, I was promoted three times in one month as an unsaved heathen.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: I was totally healed from industrial toxic poisoning after all of the doctors could not find any reason for my being sick, and my employer had accused me of lying about being sick.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: I found a doctor who immediately found my issue.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Before my healing, I was unable to do anything.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: In 1994 I had a dream about a Northridge earthquake.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: I was working at home base at the time and wasn't making enough money to support my family after graduating from college.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: About two weeks after the dream about the earthquake, someone called my wife from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services and asked me if I would be interested in working for them in SoCal.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: I ended up getting a job with them and even though I was not seeking employment with them, my salary increased five times what I was currently making.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: I gave my life to Jesus at this job.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: At another job I was told by the owner that I was doing a spectacular job, but what I didn't know was that one of my employees was falsely accusing me of making errors that were not being made to the manager of the store in order that he would get my position.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: I ended up being demoted and working for the guy who had lied about me.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: I treated him like Jesus, who told us how to love people and to pray for those who spitefully use us.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: Within about two or three weeks shortly afterwards, I got a job paying, once again, five times my current salary, even though I had no idea what the job was about and had no experience in management or leadership.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: The fruit and evidence that God was in this is that the office was number one out of eighteen or so offices in production, quality of work, and speed of completing the work for the entire twenty years that I worked there, and it is still considered one of the greatest mystery offices in the state after I retired.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: By the way, the guy who lied about me ended up training his replacement unaware, and was shocked when the same thing happened to him that he did to me.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: He met with me afterwards to share his dismay.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: I never condemned him for doing what he did.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: I just listened and looked for a way to help him, knowing that God had vindicated me.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Three times in my life, my wife and I faced bankruptcy, and in each of those three times we were rescued by God.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: Yes, through other people sometimes, but also miraculously, as he gave me creative ideas to balance my budget when there wasn't enough money coming in to pay all of the bills.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, all of the bills got paid, and we were financially blessed in many ways.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: I have had recently atrial fib surgery for the third time.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: I experienced no heart pain at all, unlike the first two times.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: I am also totally healed from heart failure, which enabled me to have the final surgery to deal with the source of the atrial fib.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: The doctor of which there were many had only hoped for a partial recovery from the heart failure.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: My most recent visit proved that I was totally healed of the event.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: In another case, I was renting a house in Chico when the Paradise Fire had consumed most of the town of Paradise.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: I was told about three days after the fire that I would have to move as the owner was going to raise the rent six hundred dollars a month due to the influx of new potential renters who were coming to Chico, twenty seven thousand or so displaced people.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't ready financially to retire, and there wasn't any rental inventory remaining in the local areas.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: I was considering moving out of state and retiring, as this appeared to be my only option.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: But God, yes, my father in law had a rental property in paradise that had survived the fire.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: He said we could essentially be camping for about a year until the power was restored and the well repaired.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: We moved to the town of Ashes and loved every bit of what it has become.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: Currently we have no house payment on four acres, and it isn't any doing of myself.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: We went from renters to Chico to owners in paradise, a journey I had no plan of taking in my lifetime.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: And but while I was in a season where it seemed all hell broke loose in my life, such as not getting a promotion that I had worked fourteen years to get, being asked to move, helping eight of my staff navigate through the paradise fire, most of them losing everything, coordinating with many outside agencies through the fire recovery process, hearing that my nephew had just jumped off a freeway bridge to his death, hearing that my son went into lockup for suicide watch due to losing a family member, leaving a church after fourteen years of pushing for life changes and thousands of people, and expecting revival to explode from our very efforts, and then hearing that it had shut its doors was a bit much.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: All of this and more, including an office remodel, whereby we were expanding the office, and I was the primary manager handling that task.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: All of these things and more within about six months.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Where did God go in my time of need?
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Nowhere.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: He was doing what he does best, which is that he uses life events to prepare us for his work or to prepare us to continue doing his work.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: This podcast came out of that season of misery, and right now we have a hundred and forty four countries dialing in.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: Again, proof and evidence that goes beyond my strength, wisdom, or knowledge.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: It is God all the way.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: And but did I share how I handle my season of perpetual tornadoes?
25:52
SPEAKER_00: I was drinking, smoking cigars, eating horribly, addicted to alcohol cigars, and sugar of any kind.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: I did what the Bible tells us to do, which is to ask God.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: So I asked God to deliver me from the alcohol and cigars, and in about so many hours I was set completely free from the appetite of both of these toxic things.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh, and also from smoking pot, of which I was also addicted to.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: Hey podcast preacher, what about the addiction to sugar and a mostly bad diet?
26:20
SPEAKER_00: Romans eight twenty eight, and we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: You need to hear that scripture before hearing this next series of testimonies.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: But after being set free from the addictions of alcohol, smoking cigars and smoking marijuana, I ended up getting diabetes.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: There are several miracles within that disease, which is at first the discovery of the diabetes and the measure of my blood sugar which was at five hundred and forty, which I have been told should have resulted in me being a zombie, walking among the dead.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: And yet here I am today.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: The other thing is that after a month that I was told that I had diabetes, after I had prayed to God to take away the addiction to sugar and to correct my diet, of which he did, and I no longer had diabetes.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: My A1C levels went from 14 to 4.5.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: I am no longer addicted to sugar, and I am no longer a diabetic.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: But what is more awesome is that I've been able to follow some of the diabetic nutritional recommendations, eliminating a lot of the foods that actually turn into sugar in your body, such as white bread, white rice, potatoes, and everything associated with them, and pasta dishes of any kind.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: When my wife has pizza and there are leftovers, I simply scrape off the toppings and put them in my eggs.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: All of these little dietary changes have allowed me to maintain my current weight of 175 pounds.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: This is 65 pounds lighter than I was just about a year prior.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Was God in any of this?
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Yes, God was in all of this, for I didn't have the self-control to stop any of it.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: There are other things as praying for the wind to stop on this property, and seven times that wind stopped immediately.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: And one time I prayed for the snow to come out of the trees as there was a branch breaking every minute.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, like a snow globe, the wind came up and blew all the snow out of all the trees on my property.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: It looked like somebody dropped a snow bomb all around me.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: These are just a few reasons why I'm a stupid Christian.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to consider such a stupid lifestyle.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Least you end up in stupid hell forever.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: Now on the flip side, yes, at times I have been a stupid Christian, meaning I did things that I shouldn't have done as a Christian.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know that God never left me in spite of myself or my horrible and sinful behaviors.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 13.5.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: Let your conduct be without covetedness.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Be content with such things as you have.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 31.6.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Be strong and of good courage.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: Do not fear nor be afraid of them.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: For the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: He will not leave you nor forsake you.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 31.8.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: He will never leave you nor forsake you.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Do not be afraid.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: Do not be discouraged.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 41 10.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: Fear not, for I am with you.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: I will strengthen you.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I will help you.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Joshua 1 5.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: As I was with Moses, so I will also be with you.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: I will not leave you nor forsake you.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: And also, Romans 8 38 through 39.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: My life and the fact that I am still alive confounds the professional communities.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: They literally have no idea how I have been set free from so many things that destroy lives, grinding them into powder in the process.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: I should have been dead at least six or seven times in my life, and this is no exaggeration, and yet here I am.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: If you too are walking powerfully in this thing aptly titled and mislabeled Stupid Christianity, then I hope you've enjoyed just a few of my testimonies.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: And but if you are not and you want to see more of God's miracle signs and wonders manifesting in your life, then email or text me, and together let's get those eternal benefits of God working in your life.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: I can be reached at victoryman62 at gmail.com or 530-591-0051.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: Well that's it for today.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: Remember it's not what you find wrong or disagree with for Bart's news messages, but what you can take away from it.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: Together we can do more to impact the kingdom than if we work alone.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: Let's flip the script and kill, steal, and destroy the works of the enemy and create space for the light of life to shine through into people's lives.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Plant a seed and click on the like and subscribe button.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: You post on your social media platforms and help us to make disciples.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: Link this message out or teach from it in your Bible study, your life or sale group, and yes, even in your church.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: You can be assured it comes from one call to teach, and though imperfect, you have the word of God to use to test everything I say.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: Let's build this ministry together.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: Thanks and see you next time in Deep Waters.