Latest / The Bread of Life with JJ / A True Witness

Transcript

A True Witness · The Bread of Life with JJ

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everyone, welcome back to another episode.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Growing it together.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoy it.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: These morsels, these small meals and appetizers that we get to share together that come from the bread, the true bread of life with his Jesus Christ, as we know.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Drinking from his living water, refreshing our soul, quenching our thirst, and also the hunger that we have as being filled, hunger that we should have, right?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Being filled by his word, by his daily bread.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to read some words of the day, scriptures we're going to get into.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to talk about what a true witness is, how I can correlate and relate to things and discuss and then pray more.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Today we'll not have communion.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have communion next time.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: But today is something we're doing a little different.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also calling into the studio.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to uh see how this works as well.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm grateful for the producer here who gets things rolling.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely thankful for different things we can do soon.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to be on the streets walking around and talking and doing different aspects of this podcast that we like to do and video coming very soon.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into this word.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And before we do, I'm going to pray and then we'll get going and open.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, Heavenly Father, thank you for those listening.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for those tuning in, downloading, staying here with us.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: 30 episodes.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you're only you're doing this, Lord.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I thank you for it.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I thank you so much.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I pray people that are listening, their eyes, their ears, their heart, their soul, their mind is open, receptive to hearing truth.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I pray that you speak truth through me, through your Holy Spirit, guide me to what I need to speak, how I can relate, encourage, and help those in the body of Christ, your people, your children, and those that want to be.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: I pray that in Jesus' almighty name.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Being a true witness.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: See how that looks.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And being with Jesus, how that looks.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Spending time with Jesus transforms us, and his presence then becomes noticeable to others.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Where I'm getting this information, we're going to dissect from.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Turn your Bibles if you have them to that page for me.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So verse 13 from Acts chapter 4.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And seeing the man whom they healed standing by them, they had nothing to say in reply.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: When they had ordered them to leave the council, they began to comfort with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: For the fact that a notary or notary miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But so that will not spread any further among the people.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: But Peter and John answered, said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than God, you be the judge.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: For we cannot stop speaking about what we have not, or what we have seen and heard.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and what we have heard.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And when they had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no basis on which to punish them on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what has happened.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: For the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now Acts chapter three, beloved uh for that.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a man who had been laying from his mother's womb had been carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, in order to beg alms for those who were entering the temple.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: When Peter saw and John, when they saw what happened and are about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms, money.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But Peter, along with John, fixed his eyes and gazed upon it and said, Look at us.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: But Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Walk.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: With a leap he stood upright and began to walk, and he entered the temple with him, walking and leaping and praising God.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And they were talking and taking notes of him and being as one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg arms, and now they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them, so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: When Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, the moment whom you've delivered and disowned of the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: But you disowned the holy and righteous one, and you asked for a murderer to be granted to you.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: But put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man, whom you see and know, and the faith which comes through him has given him the perfect health and the presence of you all.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also, but the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of the prophet that his Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus to Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren, to whom you shall give heed to everything he has said to you.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it will be that every soul that does not heed the prophets shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And likewise, all the prophets whom spoken from Samuel and his successors onward also announce these days.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is you who are the sons of the prophets and the covenant which God made with your father, saying to Abraham, and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: For you first God raised up his servants and sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: The rulers, the elders, and scribes in today's passage were amazed.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Peter and John standing before them had just healed a lame man in Jesus' name and preached Christ's resurrection to a crowd.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Interrogating them, the authorities expected the fumbling defense of uneducated Galalians.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, they witnessed clarity and courage that were hard to explain.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: As a result, the leaders began to recognize them as having been with Jesus, having been a true witness.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: That small observation contains an enormous truth.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: What set Peter and John apart wasn't credentials or natural gifts, it was proximity.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: They had walked with Jesus, they had eaten with him, listened to him, watched him, been rebuked and loved and sent by him.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it showed.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: It showed.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Others may not always notice what you've done, but hopefully, hopefully, they'll come to recognize who you've been with.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: That says everything.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Everything.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if other people are seeing that, are other people seeing how I'm living, what I'm doing?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Can they decipher between the two, the worldly ways and the godly ways, with your conduct, with the way you live, and the way that you show grace.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: The way that you show grace, the way you show your character, your behavior.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: But show grace because you're saved by grace.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because grace is it's our own strength isn't sufficient to save us.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not at all.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's through Christ alone.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And through him we find hope and subtle peace.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 5, 1 through 11 tells us that and shows us that.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 5, verse 1 says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Through faith.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exalt in hope of the glory of God.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And not only this, but we also exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulations bring about perseverance.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And perseverance, proven character, and proven character hope, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: While we were still helpless at the right time, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: He died for the ungodly.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: For one will hardly die for the righteous man, though perhaps for the good man, someone would dare even die.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank God.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: And not only this, but we also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we have now received reconciliation.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: In Colossians 1, 19 through 20 it says, For it was a father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And through him to reconcile all things himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Through him, Jesus, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: A beautiful thing.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again, as a true witness, I see how my life is and the blessings thereof.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: The people I'm around.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: The job that I have, which I I call a vocational ministry, a beautiful thing I'm able to do.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And to be around those in this life that hold a certain caliber, esteem.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Very prestigious.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord allows me to be amongst those because He knows the plans he has for me.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a true witness of that.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: And his grace waking me up every day when he doesn't have to.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And allowing me to go through things in this life that strengthen me in my character, as the word just says in Romans, and it causes me to have perseverance.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it is, the fullness of what God wants.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, I told you it's not really concerned about your comforts, it's more your character.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And reading this, it says about Paul, Paul's word in Romans 5.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It may seem, it might come across as surprising.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people may have thought he write about what we did to earn God's favor.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, he wrote about what God did when we were still far off.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: While we were still helpless, Christ died for the unbodly.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: God demonstrates his own love towards us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: As we were reading earlier.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's verses 6 and 8 of Romans.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Notice the timing, though.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Christ didn't wait for us to clean ourselves up, which I hear a lot of people saying, oh man, I gotta give my life right before I do that.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's not it.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not it.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't pause until we were closer to worthy.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: He moved towards us even though we had nothing to offer.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that movement was a very reason we could move toward him.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's free, a free gift.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is the picture of grace.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a reward for people, right?
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's who finally got it together.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a reward for that.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's a rescue extended to people who could.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Paul says we were helpless.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Ungodly sinners and enemies of God.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than use words to shame us, he underscored how far the Lord was willing to reach out in love.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Let me read that again.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than use words to shame us, he underscored how far the Lord was willing to reach out in love.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: As a result, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that's in Colossians.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Colossians 1.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Far from so fragile truth, this is the subtle peace, grounded in what our Savior has done rather than what we can sustain in our limited human strength.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: The good news is not that we are finally acceptable, it is that we have been loved from the beginning by the one who chose to reconcile us to himself.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because he created this.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: He created this.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: How things seem so far off, untangible, how it seem like things seem hopeless, discouraged, discouraging.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: There may be a season or a moment, but that's far from the truth of the promise God said that He had for us.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when anyone, like in those listening, please hear me.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: When you are going through situations and circumstances, there is a reason.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there is consequences behind our actions.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's choice-driven.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's because it's a season and it's there to strengthen you.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: And when those times come, it's very important, very important to speak the word of God back to those situations and circumstances because that's the truth.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Do not be moved by what you see.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Faith is that.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Faith is the substance, right?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's the evidence.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's the evidence of things not seen.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hope for it.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: In my circumstances, it may seem this way right now.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And for whatever reason, I'm going through it and it cannot change because some things I'm I'm powerless over.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm powerless over people, places, and things at times.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I have a choice in how I handle the situation and how my attitude is with it and invests thereof, right?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: How how I'm approached the perspective and what mental clarity I'm receiving from it.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And what I need to do to learn from the situation and circumstance.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's highly important.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we're brokenhearted at times, of course, we go through things.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: But understand God is near the brokenhearted.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And what characterizes a good life is not the absence of hardship, like I was saying, but rather the nearness of God in the midst of hardship.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: How close are we?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: When things are good, they're great.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: God is still there.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: But when things are hard, my heart is broken.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do I still feel any nearness to God in the midst of it?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we read Psalms 34, 4 through 19, and this is the Psalm of David.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: And look up King David and how he went through the things of life, his ups and downs.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: But as he says here in verse 4, I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: They looked to him and were radiant, and their faces would never be ashamed.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues him.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: O taste and see the Lord is good.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: O fear the Lord, you his saints.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: For to those who fear him, there is no want.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Come, you children, listen to me.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Who is a man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good?
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: For that you must keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Depart from evil and do good.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Seek peace and pursue it.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off memory of them from the earth.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of their troubles.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord delivers them out of them all.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that in the midst, the nearness of God, in the midst of this hardship of yours and life, and all of ours.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: The psalm was written by someone who had just gone through some real trouble.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: As I was saying before, the psalmist remembers his fear, King David, his cry, and God's answer, and thankful for the relief of deliverance.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: He writes a song of praise that he steadied generations of believers.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: But what's striking about Psalm 34 is how it redefines the good life.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: The world measures goodness by comfort and circumstance.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: What we have, what we have achieved, and how things are going.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: For him, the good life is one in which God is close by.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Even in fear and sorrow, are when nothing is all we'd hoped.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: God is close.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: The psalm contains one of the scripture's tenderest promises, which it is, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 18 says, It's so true.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those aren't words written by a person whose life is going well.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, they describe suffering experienced by one who's discovered that where the Lord meets us, and that's where the Lord is.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's where he meets us.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: We might assume God's presence, nearness, and faithfulness are blessings that shield us from adversity.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: But they're more than that.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're also what holds us through trouble.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so the psalmist invites us to taste and see the Lord is good.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Not someday when everything is fixed, but now no matter what you're carrying.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what you're carrying.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, don't be moved by your situation or circumstance.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Be moved by faith.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Be moved by the things you don't see.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how you you live your life as a true witness, as I was saying.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Your life, your witness.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you have to understand what you do, Jesus, God, he gave us a clear mission.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Go and make disciples.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: You do that by living the way you live, and being intentional with your walk and your life.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew 28 gives us that.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is the great commission.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said to them, this is Matthew 28, 18 through 20.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And lo, I am with you always.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: We can hold that promise and understand He is.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yet with gentleness and reverence.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Hope we understand that as what a true witness is, with gentleness and reverence.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: But we're supposed to contend and defend the faith here.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: What has happened in your life, the truth, the testimony that God pulled you out of situations and things, put things in your life that only he could do, which is like me in my life, the job that I have, the things I'm doing now.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness gracious is through faith, it's because of God.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: So many times I've wanted to give up and quit.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't see things coming the way I wanted to at the time I wanted to, but God, our Father in heaven, is a beautiful time.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: And when everything is there, it lines up with the people and the circumstance, situation.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's put in your path.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's yours.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's yours, and no one can take it.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what it seems like, no matter how it it may come across, or people that come in and out of whatever job you're doing, business, whatever it may be, you think is your situation, your position, wherever you're doing, you're in danger.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're not.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: If it's yours, it's yours.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing can prosper against it, no matter what comes against you.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: No weapons, as the word says, as I speak, no weapons formed against me shall prosper in my job.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Wherever I do, the Lord is with me.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: He will never leave me nor forsake me.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he shall supply all my needs.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I shall live more than by bread alone, right?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I shall live by the word of God.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that is how we're supposed to be.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's hard to believe that and understand that and speak that day by day because of our circumstances.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: But again, we're not moved by our circumstances.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot be.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot allow that.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: We have to speak the word of God over our circumstances and believe what his word says.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because we got put in positions for a reason, everyone.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: So he is in control of that.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: He gets glory for that.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to really fight for it.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: I just need to show up and be faithful and ask, Father, what do I do for you today?
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: Even when I'm working, Lord, what can I do for you?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Each and every day I'm with this person, I'm with your child.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I pray for your child and those in this company and those in their company.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: But what can I do for you today?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: How can I be better as to serve, to serve you, to serve those in my company?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm grateful for it.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's the attitude we have to have.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I'm doing.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: And he blesses me through it through it all.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's obviously this life of the Christian is an active one.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's an act of life.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's what's one given over to working, serving, sharing, and loving.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I love doing.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know I get burnt out sometimes and got to take a break.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a season for that, for the Lord to refresh you and to be still, and then it's time to go.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have time to waste.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: But understand this.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's tempting to think that being a believer mostly means showing up for church each week and putting something in an offering plate, right?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Those are good habits, but Jesus' final charge to the disciples, to his disciples, us, encompasses far more.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: In today's passage, Jesus tells his followers to go, therefore, make disciples of all nations.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: Notice he doesn't say convert or recruit, but make disciples.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: A disciple is someone who walks alongside, watches, learns, and slowly becomes like the teacher.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: That kind of formation doesn't happen automatically.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: It takes place over meals and loving conversations through friendships and seasons as faith becomes visible in how we live.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: This takes pressure off.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: To have a kingdom impact, you don't have to quit your job to become a missionary.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to convince your neighbors with a gospel presentation.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: Simply notice the people God has put in you.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: And simply notice the people God has put in your way, your path, in you, in your life, and live in that way that shows honesty, love, and genuine interest in them.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then when questions come, answer them with gentleness.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's the thing that we all have to work on.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we want to judge, we want to falsely accuse, we want to speak harshly when we see how things can be fixed and find solutions instead of being gentle to it.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know I have to work on that.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: My tone, my tonality, my approach, you know, to things where I know I can there's a solution, I have it, but gentleness needs to be the approach.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so does the correct tone.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hard as it is, because I'm I want to get it done.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm about tasks and decisions, and we have things met and everything done accordingly, and it doesn't always need to flow that way.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Patience, love, kindness, and gentleness, fruits of the spirit, that's key.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's key.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Most Christians were influenced by people they already knew and trusted who showed them love before ever sharing their faith in Jesus.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's a quiet, lifelong word Christ has given us.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you notice that in life, I have people who knew, I knew and trusted, they did show me love.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: And they didn't know Jesus.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a different type of approach and way of being than the world shows and world is and I love it.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to give anything in return.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: The world wants me to give something in return, no matter what it gives to me.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: But with the Lord, I don't.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: He just wants my heart, and then he does what he does, and it's amazing this process.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's for my good, anyways, because that's what I've been created for.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: All of us have been created for that.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we're true witnesses, but we've all been created for that.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: And as we do, we together we witness.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to witness on our own.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: God gave us fellow believers in the Holy Spirit to help us share Christ with others.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: So those that are hearing me, don't feel frightened.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you feel you, I don't know how I'm gonna do this, how I'm gonna do that.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: God gave us people to help us, believers.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: He gave you the Holy Spirit, so that confidence to come.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: And where that comes from with the in scripture is Acts chapter 1, beginning of the church, right?
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: The formation of the church, where it started, Acts.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Acts is another letter letter written by Luke, who wrote on the Gospels position.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: He wrote the book of Acts.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Acts 1, verses 4 through 8 says, gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which he said, You heard it from me of for me.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: So when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it this time you're restoring the kingdom to Israel?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or epochs of which the Father had fixed by his own authority.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest and the end parts of the earth.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: Luke 24, 49 says, And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: So before Jesus ascended to the Father, he gathered his disciples one last time and gave them a remarkable promise.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we read in Acts.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, promise holds today.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: But this is what this promise said.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: They were not to leave Jerusalem yet, they were to wait for something to happen that would change everything.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Notice that Jesus spoke these words to a group.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't commission one man to get it alone.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: He gathered all of his apostles and told them all together that the Spirit would equip them together to bear witness to what they had seen and heard.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: The early church was never meant to be a collection of isolated believers taking individual stands.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: It was meant to be a community whose shared life made Christ visible.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's still the essence of witnessing today.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to manufacture courage on our own, and we don't have to figure out what to say in the moment.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: We belong to a body of believers, past, present, in which the spirit is already at work.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Our job is to live faithfully inside what the community, trusting that when the time comes to speak, the same spirit who filled the disciples will give us exactly what we need.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's in Luke 24, what I just read, 49.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: Witnessing is not a performance, it's the overflow of a shared life in Christ.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because honestly, you can't help but flow and witness.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: You can't help but share the good things that is going on in your life.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: It comes from God.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: All good things come from God on high.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: All good things.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: And even the challenges and the things that seem horrible and bad, and some things that are.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, those are allowed for whatever reason to challenge us, to strengthen us, to grow us.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: And some other things we know don't come from God.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: They happen.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't think for one second that He's not in charge.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't know.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Lord knows all things.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: He will fix all things.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever the enemy, remember that whatever the enemy meant for evil, God intends for good.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: And God will use it for his good.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: That'll bring glory and bring us out of that situation.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: But through faith, believing, knowing that that will happen, that's key.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: Surrender, repenting, obedience, trusting, praying, being intentional is key.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: Just like how I am with everything else in this life, whether it's work, training, um, checking business, media, social media, you name it.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm intentional.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have to be, right?
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm handling things, I'm being a good steward, finances, taking care of bills, whatever, etc.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: But the true reality, what matters, is being intentional with the Lord, being a true witness.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what's going on around me in my life, and being a witness saying, hey, look at the good in my life.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what things may seem, look what the Lord has done, look what he continues to do, look what he promised he will do.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm and I and I believe I'm on my way.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: I believe all of us are.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: But we're only we're here just stopping by, everyone, those that are listening.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: This earth, this is just a moment of stopping through.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're just passing on by.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've got to do our best not to get caught up with the things that are going on that we have no control over.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we can't be consumed by the things that we made choices on or the things that we are responsible for.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to be a good steward through it and be, you know, do things in excellence, but our heart really belongs and it needs to belong to Jesus, to God, the goodness of Him, the love of Him, how we need to be with each other and how we need to conduct life.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's a time and strategy for everything in life under the sun.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: I know there is.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: But what matters is am I pleasing God?
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: Not just myself.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: Am I truly there for others?
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that the the the main commandment the Lord says, because the Ten Commandments are important, of course, but they all, like you said, the law, it all sews up into one.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, two.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: But it says to love the Lord thy God with all my heart, mind, and soul.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's one thing, right?
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: To love him with all my heart, mind, and soul.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing is this to love my neighbor as I love myself.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: If I can fulfill those things, man, I'm I'm sowing up the law.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: I won't have time for the rhetoric and the negativity and the things that are evil that are happening in this world.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: The good and the bad, yeah, it's there.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna go blind to it, but I trust in God because He's gonna see it through.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: He has a final say, no matter what's being played out today.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what's being played out.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do your part, those that are listening.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Stay close to the Lord.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: Be intentional.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Be a true witness.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: Intend and defend the faith.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: Know the word.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you're being challenged by it, then know the word and speak it back to those that are trying to challenge you.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Come against them.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: And love and truth.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: Bring fire.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is with you.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord loves you.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I I thank you for this time that we have together and you tuning in and listening to Bread of Life with JJ.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate you more than you know.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any concerns, prayer, or anything that you need to reach out about, topics, questions you have, please don't hesitate.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Feel free.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: We'll get back to you and we'll get back to you through the studio and we'll possibly even read what you have to say on our next segments and go from there.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: But the email is the bread of life with JJ at gmail.com.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: The bread of life with JJ at gmail.com.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: Feel free.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: We'll do our best to be here for you and stand in the gap that we were called to.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: So until next time, may the Lord keep you.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: May He bless you.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: May His face shine upon you.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: And may He give you peace.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: For God is with you and He loves you.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus loves you, whatever.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: God bless you.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll you soon.