Latest / One Voice Many Conversations / Truth Be Told Ep #029 Are you THIRSTY? PT6 Hosted by Mickey With Co-host Guest Bethany

Transcript

Truth Be Told Ep #029 Are you THIRSTY? PT6 Hosted by Mickey With Co-host Guest Bethany · One Voice Many Conversations

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everyone.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another great episode of Truth Be Told.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: I am Mickey.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And joining me today is my co-host, Bethany.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And today we are going to be jumping back into a series that we have been talking about for the past five weeks.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: This will be part six.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: And we have been talking and asking you, how thirsty are you?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Are you thirsty for God?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: We want you to be thirsty for God.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So this episode in the series is called Are You Thirsty?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we have been diving into the scriptures.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: We've been going deeper than I think we've ever been before.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we just keep going and keep going as far as we can.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been wonderful.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit's been showing up.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's exciting that the Word of God is just active.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's alive and it just moves.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's wonderful that we get to experience what God has for us firsthand.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as we get into His Word, God starts to move.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So with this podcast and this episode today, we are in um part six today of the series that we've started.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're going to jump right in, say hello to Bethany, and we're going to take off today and um get through this lesson.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, Bethany, welcome in.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Great to be here.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Now, before we get into the episode today, let's pray.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you once again for your leading and your moving in this episode and for how you show up, how you lead and guide and direct in and through us, speaking through us, being myself.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: And Lord, this episode now is no different.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: So Lord, we thank you for what you will do through it.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: We thank you for those who are listening and watching.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: That Lord, what they need, you would give them and bless them and strengthen them with.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: And we thank you and praise you.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: In Jesus' name.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now, today, as Mickey said, we are on part six of Are You Thirsty?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: And today, we want to focus on having the right foundation.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: So let me ask you, who is your foundation?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Are you building your life in your own strength?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Or are you dependent on God and building on his foundation?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: There's many scriptures in the Bible that talk about having the right foundation.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: The foundation that is set on a rock, and that rock is Jesus.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so let's look at some of those verses and see what God would have us to implement and to really focus on.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so in Matthew chapter seven, the entire chapter is rich in wisdom and encouragement and instruction, and I would encourage you to take time to read for yourself, to discover for yourself what the Lord has for you.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so in verses 24 through verse 29, actually, we have Jesus and he's talking to his disciples and others who were around during this time.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: And he's talking to them about foundations.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: They know how to respond to adversity.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so let's look at Matthew 7, starting with verse 24.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: Verse 24 says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: Again, this is Jesus talking.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: Verse 25.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: Verse 26.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: Verse 27.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: And the rain c and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: And beat upon the house.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: And it fell.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: And great was the fall of it.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these things, the people were astonished at his doctrine.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: Verse 29.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: And verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine would be for another episode to dive into what is being said there.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: But by looking at those verses, by hearing them even now, you can tell that the people who were there who heard Jesus, they knew he had authority.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Describes the religio religious teachers of that day.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: That will be for another episode.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: Remember that the people who heard him, heard Jesus speak, they knew he had authority.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_02: And just the same as Jesus had then, he has that same authority now.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: And that's why we can trust him.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's why we can build our lives on the rock of who he is.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yes, these verses should encourage us.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: Should help us to understand the importance of being obedient to God, being obedient to what he says.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: And that does cause me to ask another question.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: Are we being obedient to what the Bible says?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: If we're being obedient, then we are building on that firm foundation.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: But if we're not being obedient, then we are building on sand.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_02: On that shaky foundation.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: Which really is sand even a foundation to build on at all.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: Depending on where that sand will come from.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: So um, Mickey, what are your thoughts on this?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: When I think of the scripture, I think that it reminds me again of Matt or not Matthew, Revelations, um, when it talks about being lukewarm and that we're not allowed, we're not supposed to be lukewarm.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to be hot or cold.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: He prefers us to be one way or the other, but not mixed up in the middle.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of Christians today, I think, are lukewarm.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um we toss, we toss and toss and toss and toss, um, but we're not stable.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this scripture, Matthew um 7, 24 through 27, talking about, you know, building your house on a foundation that's firm, is the same thing in deciding whether you're going to be hot or you're going to be cold.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same, exact same um idea of what Jesus is is talking about here.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that we need to be really mindful as to when when when we're building things in our life, and I know this is just metaphorical, it's just a you know, it's just giving us an example of what we should be doing.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: But as we're building things in our life, we really need to be looking at the solid foundation.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: What is the what is the main principle?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're building anything on Jesus, that foundation's gonna be there.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: But if we're altering that and we're building it on um, let's say the trust of the church or our friends or our family and not on Jesus, we end up being in that lukewarm area.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're playing, we're playing with the devil's advocate.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like we we can't be doing that.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: We need to be very mindful and careful um with you know how we're making decisions in our life.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's with everything in our life, not just one thing, not just you know, not just the main principle of where do we build a house, you know, where do we start.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with the foundation.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's super important that we start right off the bat with Jesus and have you know have that structure in our life.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: But as a new Christian, sometimes we don't know what that looks like.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I know for myself, when I first became a Christian, I remember I just wanted Jesus to be my friend, and I wanted I knew I needed him.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: I felt the Holy Spirit on me, but I didn't know the discipleship that I was lacking or the discipleship that I needed in the growth part of it, in even building my own foundation through what God wanted me to have.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I wish had I been discipled sooner and someone you know taught me the truth and the word of God sooner, um, I think you know, certain things would have been different in my life.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: But if we start our principle, our basic principle, our basic foundation, and it doesn't have to be complicated.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: We just start it with Jesus, Jesus is gonna see us through.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: It says, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's scripture.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: God does not lead us into temptation, he leads us away from it.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So anytime we take God along with us, he's gonna lead us in the right direction.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to be mindful and thinking about that.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what this scripture does for me.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: The scripture brings it brings me to revelations and it makes me think about um, are we hot or are we cold?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we're when we're building our foundations, whatever those foundations are, and we have many foundations in our life.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: I know this is you know talking about a house and building that on sand or building it on the rock, but this is about all the foundations that we build in our life, our relationships, where we work, what we do, how we act, how we behave.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: All of those foundations, um we need to not be hot or cold.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: We need to not build our foundations on sand that's gonna shift.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: We need to build it on the on the solid rock.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because God wants us to be stable.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: When we're living in unstability, and if you if you feel like you're constantly just like always sporadically, there's always chaos, chaos, chaos, chaos, and there's no peace, I guarantee you you're probably you're probably setting forth foundations that are on shifting sand.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we got to be really careful to make sure that we're trying to focus in.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if things are shifting constantly and you can't seem to get a grip of it, step back and ask yourself, am I doing this with Jesus?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then take it to Jesus.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Go and pray.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ask God, show me, Lord, show me, show me, because He's not going to lead you in the wrong direction.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Only the enemy is going to lead you, and only humans, you know, people with a human nature that aren't following Jesus will lead you in the wrong direction.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I love about this scripture because it plays such a huge part in our entire lives, not just where not just where we show up and go home every day or where we, you know, um go to bed or make our home or whatever, but for every single thing that we do in our life, the scripture can is related to that and how we should be looking at it if we're looking at it that way.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and Jesus is teaching this is a very he's teaching a very valuable lesson here.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's very valuable.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that's what I love that you know, that he demonstrates his authority behind it because he wants you to understand the seriousness of it, same within the revelations when it says, do not be lukewarm, or he will spew you out of his mouth.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's making it very clear.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to be building any any foundations on shifting sand.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: You want it to be on the solid rock because it's gonna fall off from underneath you.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna go well.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a huge warning for us.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: He's given us, he's given us the insight ahead of time, and we need to be heeding to that warning.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that way, as we grow in our spiritual walk with the Lord and our personal relationship with Jesus, as he's teaching us these scriptures, he's only literally goes before us and he lays the foundation for us.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: So he's not going to lead you away from that foundation.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: He has a purpose, like Jeremiah 29 29.11 says, he has a plan and a purpose for you, you're hoping to give you a future.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: He is not going to lead you astray.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want good, solid foundations, start with Jesus.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Just start there.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Once you get saved, just keep researching, keep studying who Jesus is, study the gospels, study Proverbs.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Those are great places to start in the Bible that really help you to focus in on um who Jesus really is and kind of what he's teaching.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: He has a lot of great teachings in his word.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: So this is great scripture.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and another verse that I think somewhat ties into this is Proverbs 3, 5, when it says, Trust in the Lord, not unto thine own understanding.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think this that verse and this passage tie in great with each other because I do believe that Proverbs 3.5 will remind us of this passage in Matthew 7, that we don't want to lean on our own understanding.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: We want to trust in the Lord.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so now another verse that gives us a firm confident key as to where foundation needs to be.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: That verse is First Corinthians chapter three and verse eleven, which says for other foundation can no man lay, then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: So a foundation that will stand always is Jesus Christ.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: And this verse in First Corinthians plainly says there's no other foundation that can be laid.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: And maybe maybe I should say no other foundation that will stand that can be laid.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that is Jesus Christ.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's another another verse that gives us that confidence, that authority, that Jesus is should be our firm foundation.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: He should be our foundation.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so that is an encouragement to me.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so maybe what are your thoughts on that verse, First Corinthians?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, first 1 Corinthians is um well, obviously this is you know Paul talking to the church, but the foundation, um, if you think about Paul's life and the foundation that he had, he didn't he did not have a good foundation in the beginning of his life at all.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know if you know what the word foundation meant in the beginning of his life, honestly.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: No pun intended there, but I mean, um, his foundation was was not good.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so him for him to even talk about having a foundation is is pretty huge, actually, in in the scripture.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because he can identify that he understands what other foundations are, where some of us may not be able to.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: understand what what the shifting sand looks like those those unthose uncertain unrocky those you know unstable areas I mean that he walked in um because he lived it he he could teach it and share it to the churches um because God gave him the ability after um you know he um turned his life around for Jesus so when we think about other foundations um Jesus is the foundation he's the solid rock you know um there's another scripture I think it it's in like um I don't want to get ahead of myself but I know it's in Psalms I know we're gonna touch base on one but there's a couple of there there are a few in Psalms that talk about Jesus being the rock Jesus being the rock Jesus being the rock there's actually several in the book of Psalms um so I know we're gonna touch base on that here in a little bit but keeping in mind that when we think about the foundation that foundation is Jesus Christ there's not going to be any other foundation that could take that place.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's none.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's only one savior that's it period and so we need to make sure that we understand when we're talking about the foundation who and what that foundation actually is.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we take off and we go do things and we we don't get um our footing we don't have the right foundation you know and I don't know about you Bethany but I know I have tripped and fall fallen many times on my own accord and um I didn't even need no help in it I just I just did it gracefully you know and thank goodness you know the Lord forgave me but as we're walking about this this life that God gave us the foundation is so important and no man can lay down the foundation that Jesus can.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna tell you one thing that man can do and the enemy can do is they can sugarcoat it to make it seem like it's better than what Jesus has to offer.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell you right now be careful be careful for the wicked walls of the devil because he can he can portray you into thinking that the mansion over here is better than the mansion over here.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of like that expression you know is the grass greener on the other side not always I don't know if you've ever experienced the not always I have experienced both you know sometimes it was sometimes it wasn't because my foundation wasn't set on Jesus.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so we want to make sure that when we're studying the foundation of Christ like I said when we were talking about Matthew is dive in and meditate on who Jesus really is once you learn who Jesus is you won't have a more clear understanding as to what the foundation is that he puts before you and then you will see and recognize that there is absolutely no man on the face of the earth that can do what Jesus did.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because he's already he's already done it.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: He went to the cross he paid the price no man can do that for us.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: And no man is willing to do that for everyone in the entire in the entire world so um just think about that when as we're talking about foundation today and we're talking about you know getting thirsty for for Jesus when I when I think about this I think about meditating on on this it makes me thirst for Jesus.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: I want to learn and know more about him.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: I want to grow I want I want to be replenished with what he has to offer because I want to be I want I want to grow and I want to be um I want to be stable I don't want to be all over the place and be like all you know and you know sporadic or whatever but um and I know everyone operates in their own realm but Jesus knows how we operate he knows how we operate more than we know how we operate just to let you all know he knows us more than we do.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: So just seeking him out like Mary and Martha as we talked about in episode number um four or number five I mean how we talked about Mary Martha how Mary sat at the feet of Jesus that's the best way to learn the foundational principles of Jesus Christ is sitting at his feet and just studying him get into his word and the scriptures that that Bethany is bringing to the table today are are great reference scriptures that you should go to you should look them up look and and and um study them as well if you're if you're unsure if you have uncertainty in your life right now and there's a lot happening in the world right now there's a lot there's a lot of there's a there's a lot of evil there's a lot of angry people there's a lot of confusion a lot of people are mad these days I don't know everywhere I go somebody's mad at somebody you know and some and a lot of the times I think it's ridiculous behavior um we're operating on our our you know overstimulated emotions is what I call it because we're so into social media and there's so many things that are um piquing our um emotions that we we we're not even paying attention to what we're allowing to affect us and we're not supposed to be allowing any of that to affect us we're supposed to be allowing Jesus to affect us and it starts with that principle foundation that Bethany is talking about and that's why this is such a good lesson because um when you get saved as a new Christian a lot of times like I said we get saved we take off running but we don't have a foundation we don't have the basic principle and that's it's super important to to figure out what that foundation is.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you figure it out stay in obedience to it.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're not going to be perfect.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said I've stumbled I've fallen you know I've had to gracefully pick myself up and dust myself off and try it again um because I you know we all make mistakes none of us are none of us are perfect but when I take my eyes off the foundation of Jesus that's where I see myself making those errors when I make those mistakes those those detrimental mistakes that actually can can change or alter what's going on in my own life.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this is really this is really a great word I can't wait till we dive into the next scripture because I I don't want to say it because I know you I know what it's coming but it's it's good we're we're we're we're trucking right down the right path that's awesome yes um yeah the foundation it's critical and so as we continue on here let's go to Psalm chapter one twenty seven and verse one now we looked at verse two in episode four and so now we come to verse one verse one accept the Lord build a house they labor in vain I build Accept the Lord and so that's the first part of the verse I think we need to ask ourselves once again who are we allowing to build our life are we focusing on self or are we allowing the Lord to build because even that verse says it said the Lord build the house I labor in vain in vain that build it what does that how does that speak to you individually how is the Lord impressing upon you when you hear that when you look at it as you study on your own it encourages me that as long as I am connected to the Lord as long as I am being obedient and resting and trusting in him then he will be laying the foundation building like he wants it to be built and that you know that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be like I would want but again it's I believe an opportunity to trust trust that the Lord is building the foundation he's laying the foundation he's building as he wants it to be built and he always has our best in mind I do believe there's never a time when God says well they aren't you know they aren't being obedient and they aren't whatever and so I'm just gonna build however and however it works out.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter and no God never does that He always has a plan and a purpose for how he builds and even in Proverbs Chapter four in Proverbs chapter fourteen excuse me verse twelve it's a great verse to study on your own as well because that gives encouragement and um that may have been the verse that Mickey was referring to I wasn't sure if we would have time um to look at that verse or not and so Mickey what what are your thoughts on these Psalm 127 and Proverbs 1412 I like it it makes me think of another scripture actually um which is Ephesians 3 says now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us so when we think about Jesus laying the foundation before us he he wants to do everything exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask for sometimes we don't ask because we don't think we're worthy sometimes we don't ask because we think the answer is going to be no sometimes we don't ask for whatever umpting reasons we have in our mind we don't ask God wants us to ask it's okay to ask and he doesn't want us to ask you know out of greed or selfishness or any of that but if it's really the desire of your heart he doesn't mind if you have the mansion he doesn't mind if you have money he doesn't mind if you have things as long as you're using it for the good of God you know for the grace of God that you know for the love of God.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: He wants us to have everything exceedingly and abundantly including our foundation the foundation that we have he wants it to be a great foundation he doesn't want it just to be a little tiny square that we have to stand in and just stay right there and don't move.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know that's not his foundation for our life it's exceedingly and abundantly above anything that we could think of.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: And yet we are the ones that minimize what we think God can do.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you were reading this scripture this other this this that other scripture in Ephesians 3 came to me because I was like man when we think about our foundation we we only accept the little tiny bit of it because we don't even see the magnitude of who God really is.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're missing the boat you guys we're really missing it and um he wants us to have everything exceedingly inabundantly and according to you know this is according to his power we have to believe and and and have that faith in him I know when we talk about a little bit of faith of the mustard seed that's really all it takes is a little tiny bit to believe how powerful and mighty God really is he doesn't want us just to get by you're just getting by and you're just barely scraping the surface something's not right in your walk with the Lord.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's not right and I'm not talking money wise I'm not talking necessarily being rich and you know that and that type of vanity and and you know lots of you know Mercedes bins or whatever your car preferences in the driveway you know and 15 bedroom houses with great big chandeliers that are bigger than the almost the house you know I'm not talking about that and there's nothing wrong with those things if if if you did not labor in vain to get them if you did not labor in vain to get them God doesn't care if you have them we need to be very careful and mindful how we're laboring for the things that we're doing.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we are overworking ourselves for things that are unnecessary and we're missing the one thing that is necessary.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: We really need to be you know steadfast and focus on who God is and again I'm not I'm just gonna keep on emphasizing this the more you sit at Jesus's feet the more he's gonna show you you're gonna see it you're gonna see the what's more important then that vanity is no longer there you're you're not wanting the stuff that you're laboring in vain.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: How many times have you worked really really really really hard for something and got nothing got not that nothing zero nothing out of it you know why?
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because you probably labored in vain and I hate to say that people probably don't want to hear that but that's the truth God's not going to bless something that's in vain.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you can work as hard as you want to you can work day and night hour upon hour upon hour exhaust yourself whatever it is mentally physically all of that if you're laboring in vain you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: You got to be careful.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're doing it for the right reasons and you're not laboring in vain then Ephesians 3 comes alive.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: It can come alive and and it just like exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask all that we ask doesn't say all that he wants for us it says all that we ask we have to read the scripture what it says and take it at face value.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: We twist the scripture so much because we think that we're not worthy or God's not going to want to give us what we want.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: As long as it's not in vain God doesn't care if we have it He wants us He doesn't care how much money we have He wants us to do good with it.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: He wants us to feed the poor He wants us to give it to the church where it belongs and pay our pay our dividends whatever to the Lord um and it's not that he needs our money by the way so some people are really hoarders of their possessions money included and I'm I've never just I've never really been one of those kind of people but um when you're hoarding your money God doesn't want you doing that you got to be really careful about that.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: And um He's not going to bless the money that you're earning that you're putting in your pocket if you are doing that.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're doing what God says to do with your money he's gonna bless you abundantly and exceedingly abundantly and exceedingly just think about that when you start thinking about doing stuff and you're doing something if you're not receiving anything in abundance and exceedingly outside of the realm of what you thought you should be getting then you're probably doing it in vain.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: So really think about that I mean I've had to stop myself in my own tracks because my my thinking on what my intention was was not the intention that God wanted me to have.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: We have to keep our our our focus on Jesus and then he can work exceedingly abundantly in our lives and through our lives he can't if we're if we're laboring in vain.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I I don't know why God keeps showing me these scriptures but he's showing them to me today but I was like man you know if we're laboring in vain we're not going to have anything exceedingly we're gonna have nothing and there's people that have nothing because of that exact situation.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to be very careful.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: And God is you know he's watching us he knows what he knows what we're doing he knows the intent of our heart if we're doing something that we shouldn't be doing he knows that intent and he's not going to bless it.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: God is not one to fool around with with with sin.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't sin.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's impossible for God to sin.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to remember that we can't put sin on God because he can't he can't do it.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's impossible we can but he can't and he won't and he doesn't so we can't try to labor in vain and and try to put that sin on God.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: The sin is on us if we're doing it.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if we want that exceedingly and abundantly um you know we have to ask him ask him what that is and sometimes we don't even know what it is until we sit at the feet of Jesus and we ask we can start by asking there.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of what the Lord was showing me with the scripture that you brought and um I think it's important that we keep our focus on Jesus gener Jesus needs to be our our central focus on everything we do.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: Everything we do so I hope that makes sense so I know you have one more scripture but that is so worth taking the time to truly consider and that definitely will be a verse that we will look at in a future episode because there's so much to that verse that we need to be very mindful of.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so yes that's absent and so now there's one final verse that we want to look at in this episode and our next episode will be um will be different than this series that we've done and so this episode now Is the last in this series that we're doing, but it it has been a wonderful series that we may add on to later.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so let's look at Isaiah Chapter twenty-eight.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_02: The book of Isaiah is an excellent book two study book two.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_02: And take time to understand everything that has in it.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_02: You know, just as you have time You know, take time for yourself to study the Bible, to see what it says, to see what the Lord has for you.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so in Isaiah chapter twenty-eight and verse sixteen It says Therefore thus saith the Lord God Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation that believers shall not make his and so what God is refined there is Jesus.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_02: Jesus is that sure foundation.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_02: Jesus is that person is a cornerstone.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: I personally believe it's the most important stone of a building.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so when it comes to our spiritual lives, we want Jesus to be that cornerstone.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_02: We want Jesus to be the foundation.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_02: We want Jesus to be the one who leads and guides how we build our lives.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so let me ask what do you want your life?
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_02: What do you want?
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: In the last episode, episode five, I mentioned well.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_02: Something I genuinely truly wish I would have done.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_02: I would have started years ago.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_02: That routine has helped my days.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean that both geographically as well as seriously.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_02: Where you are.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so Mickey.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: Would you like to finish us out?
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think as we go on to closing today, Bethany asked some really good questions, and I think we need to take a step back.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, like we mentioned in a couple of the other episodes of this series, that sometimes we we we rush, we rush things, and we go too far too fast, and we forget the basic principle of who Jesus Christ is.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: That personal relationship is the solid foundation that we should be operating in.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: We are adopted into the kingdom.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: But there's there's there's a little bit more to it than just saying, yes, I believe in Jesus, and now he's my savior.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's that simple, but there is more to it.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: Our hearts change, our walk in our lives should change, and we should become a reflection of who Jesus is because now Jesus lives within us.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: So as we're talking about building the foundation and we're talking about getting rest and we're talking about having that desire to thirst for Jesus, we need to remember that it's a very intimate personal relationship that we have with Christ.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes we don't um we don't take it seriously enough.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think we just, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so does the devil, by the way.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you, he believes in Jesus more than we do because he's already met Jesus, by the way.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: The enemy knows Jesus.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's met him.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_00: Look at Judas.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: He met the devil.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's met the enemy.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the enemy is vast and he's reckless and he's dangerous.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: He's solid, he's the foundation.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to be very careful and be mindful when we're seeking out who Jesus is and developing that personal relationship with him.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: Once we realize this the seriousness of what Jesus did for us, it makes it easier to walk it in the foundation of Jesus.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: It really does.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you know someone laid their entire life down for you, specifically for you, and I've said this multiple times, and I'll probably say it another multiple times, but if you were the last person on earth, Jesus would still go to the cross for you.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_00: Let that sink in.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let it sink in.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody else on the face of the earth is gonna do what Jesus did for you.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: No one.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, your family loves you, yeah, your friends love you, yeah, your pastor loves you, yeah, people love you, but no one loves us the way Jesus loves us.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: We can't even fathom the love and the sacrifice that he made for us.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when we actually allow that to sink into our mind and to our heart, it makes it actually a lot easier to thirst for Jesus because you want more.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_00: You want to know why he loves us so much that he would do this for us.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: What possesses him to do this and love us so much?
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: Why would he go before us and lay a foundation?
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Why would he give us exceedingly abundantly, more than what we ever would deserve?
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because he loves us.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: He would still go to, even today, if he came back, he would still go to the cross for us.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't have to because he already signed and sealed and finished it.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean, if he hadn't done it up till now, he would do it again for us.
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to think on that relationship and get yourself to a point where you just are thirsty for Jesus.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_00: You're just craving him.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of like when you have that ice cream craving, or I want to, I want a milkshake, or I want a I want a Coca-Cola, or I want a cheeseburger, or whatever.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know how you get that craving?
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_00: God wants us to crave him like that.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um, we want to go somewhere, I want to go do something.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let it be driven by by Holy Spirit and by Jesus.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: And as we um finish out this series and we talk about being thirsty, it's so important that we understand um the basic, and it's so basic, so simple.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: The basic principle is Jesus Christ and your salvation.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not saved, if you're not sure, you need to get sure.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: Time is really running out because you don't want to know what's on the flip side of that decision.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: You really don't want to find out.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if you if you don't know for sure, get sure.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's why we're sharing the word of God with you.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're teaching you how to get to know who Jesus is.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_00: Get in the scripture, read the word, get into the gospels.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: The gospels are read Jesus' life, read what he did.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_00: That alone, right there, will change a person.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you had no other parts of the Bible, all you had was Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you're gonna gain a whole lot of something with Jesus in those four chapters.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, the whole Bible is important.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much greatness and goodness, and and it's wonderful.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_00: The word of God is amazing.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, is the word of God is alive and it's active.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 55:44
  SPEAKER_00: We don't appreciate that, we take it for granted.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I was thinking about this yesterday after we did our our our um as we've been doing these episodes.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was thinking about this episode that we had done.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that God's word is so active.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: But here's what happens.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_00: Someone asked me this, and I'm gonna ask you this.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about your your walk with Jesus, and we know Jesus is active, and we need to get um, we want that spiritualness.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: How do you think that happens?
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you can't get anything if you don't activate it.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: It has to get activated.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like when you get a new phone, you have to turn it on, you have to activate it.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_00: When you get a new credit card, you have to activate it.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: When you get in a car, you have to turn it on, you have to put gas in it.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_00: You have to take steps in order for it to be activated.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_00: We can know something all day long, but if it's not activated and active in our life, there's no fruit to go with it.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're not showing Jesus.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're just showing the same old, same old that we've been doing.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: We need to get active.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_00: We need to get in the word of God and let the word of God become active in our life.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I love about truth be told.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I love about Bethany coming to the table with all these great scriptures because um her heart, uh, Bethany's heart's desire is to help you guys get activated in who God is and to come alive.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's exciting.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: I want Jesus to come back.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we live in a really wretched world right now.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so much hate, so much anger, and I just I just can't wait to sit and and listen to Jesus tell stories and talk and and and be in his presence because there's you know, we're not gonna be amongst the stuff that we're amongst now.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's not gonna, that's not gonna be allowed.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_00: But we gotta get active.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta we gotta walk in his goodness.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta walk out the foundation.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_00: We have to walk in what he wants us to do.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_00: So with that being said, I'm gonna I'm gonna say a prayer and we're gonna close out for today.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think we have one more episode on this series, do we not?
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think we have one more.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna do one more, Bethany?
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_02: This is it.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, this is it.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: I was thinking I thought I thought you said this was the final, but then I thought I thought we had one more, so I I I think I um got ahead of myself.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's let's pray, okay?
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: Father God, Lord, we thank you.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: We thank you, Lord, for truth be told.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_00: We thank you for everyone listening today, everyone within the sound of my voice, the sound of Bethany's voice, and Lord, most of all, anyone listening to the word that is brought to the table today, your word, God.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about what we say, it's about what you say.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's about what you've already written.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_00: You've already given us the instruction manual.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord, just help us to to pick it up and open it and use it to be effective in our life.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_00: Help it to become activated and and um um and personal, Lord.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to to seek your face, seek your face always, Lord.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: We just thank you for coming and dying on the cross for us.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_00: We are not worthy, but yet you did it anyway.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_00: You loved us anyway.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord, we just thank you for that.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_00: We ask that you just watch over everyone um that's listening to this podcast.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_00: Encourage them to um share and follow and send it to somebody else that may need this message today.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just ask you just watch over um everyone, God.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_00: We know we know the world is just a wretched place.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that you're active and we're you're you're alive and you're moving.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_00: And God, we just ask that you continue to do that.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: And we thank you so much for for your grace and your mercy and your blessing, and thank you for your foundation, and thank you for your love.
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just ask you just help us to lay out the foundation that you would have for us because we know your plan is perfect and ours is not.
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just thank you and we love you.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, with that being said, that was a great, great series.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, stay thirsty.
• 59:39
  SPEAKER_00: Just stay thirsty.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_00: And again, challenge yourself.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not thirsty, get thirsty.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_00: And how do you do that?
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_00: Get in the word of God.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these episodes.
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_00: Go back through the scripture, get yourself thirsty.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the more you thirst for God, the closer your relationship with God is going to be.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to end up having a great personal relationship with Jesus.
• 1:00:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we want.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we want for you.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's what we want for ourselves, even.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we we we we do this, we the scripture helps us as much as it helps you guys.
• 1:00:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we want you guys to know that.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um we are we get completely blessed with this scripture because God gets to move in and through us as we share it with all of you.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Bethany, thank you for all of um the work that you put into bringing the scripture um and being able to open it up and share it and um and um teach it because it's so important that we um understand the word of God more than anything.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_00: So all right, everyone.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we can't wait to see you in the next series.
• 1:00:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure what that's gonna be, but stay tuned because we will have another either series or at least an episode for you coming next week.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_00: So y'all take care and God bless.