THE BIBLE IS NOT ABOUT YOU! | Emy Moore Brookins | SavedNotSoftPodcast

0:00Hello. Hello you guys and welcome back

0:02to Saved Not Soft. Hey you guys. My name

0:07is Evie Warbrookens. I am your host and

0:09this podcast is dedicated for you to

0:12walk with Jesus. And we're getting

0:14straight into it because what are we

0:16talking about? We're not wasting time.

0:17If this is your first time tuning into

0:19Save Not Soft, this is a podcast of

0:22walking with the Lord. But ultimately

0:23the mission is for you to know that you

0:25are loved, seen, and heard by Jesus. And

0:28this journey is not easy. It is narrow

0:31and it's simple, but it requires a lot

0:33of difficulty. And so this podcast is a

0:35tool. It's not a replacement to your

0:37church life. It's not a replacement to

0:38your Bible reading. It's not a

0:40replacement to your intimacy with Jesus.

0:42This is simply a tool to help you walk

0:43with the Lord. And so today, you guys,

0:46we are talking about an incredible topic

0:48that I am so excited to talk about. And

0:50I sense even just in prayer that I

0:53wasn't allowed to teach about anything

0:55else moving forward. until I express

0:58this consensus and it's the simple

1:01matter of the fact that the Bible is not

1:03about you. We're going to be talking

1:06about how scripture breathes of Jesus

1:09today. We're going to talk about the

1:10importance of the Bible, why we read it,

1:12ultimately what it points to, and the

1:15burden that came out of this podcast.

1:18And I guess where I've been wrestling

1:21with the Lord in secret and contending

1:23and praying and seeking and pursuing is

1:26there's this overall consistent burden

1:29of not even just noticing the biblical

1:33illiteracy that's in the West right now,

1:35but how we've made the gospel so me

1:38centric that we have missed the man that

1:40the scriptures breathe and testify

1:42about. And we're getting straight into

1:45it because we have a lot to cover.

1:49And I'm very very hopeful in what the

1:52Lord is going to do through this

1:54episode. I think we kind of need this

1:58little push right now and where we're

1:59at. Especially my generation. I'm very

2:01aware that the people who watch this

2:02podcast is Gen Z women. Uh even some

2:04millennials, maybe a few younger, I

2:08don't know. But hey, even if you're out

2:10of the country, we have people who are

2:12all over the world who tune in to this

2:14podcast. And we have to always repeat

2:18the main thing. We don't graduate from

2:20Jesus. We don't graduate from Christ

2:23crucified and him resurrected. We don't

2:25graduate from the risen Lord. We don't

2:26graduate from the gospel. We don't

2:28graduate from the good news. And so

2:31I heard my pastor say it. I I believe it

2:34was two weeks ago is that

2:36just as important it is for us to resay

2:40things over and over again. Um that's

2:42noticeable. But what is also noticeable

2:44is what we don't say. And so I never

2:46want to give an implication that this

2:48podcast is talking about everything else

2:50except for Jesus and we're just tying

2:52Jesus's name to it. We have a gospel

2:55deficiency problem. And this episode is

3:00catered to teach us very foundational

3:03truths as to why we read the scriptures,

3:06why they speak to us, and why they

3:07should transform us. Uh so yeah, we're

3:10going to be starting off in John 5

3:12today. You could turn there in your

3:13Bibles and I'm going to pray. I'm going

3:16to talk and then we're going to teach.

3:18Amen. [music] Uh so let's just close our

3:20eyes wherever you are.

3:23If you're in your room, if you're on a

3:26walk, if you're at the gym, if you're on

3:28a drive, no matter where you are, if

3:30you're on a drive, please do not close

3:32your eyes. Uh but [music] let's just

3:34seek the Lord for a moment.

3:39And I just want there to be a moment of

3:40stillness

3:42that we're experiencing

3:45where the world goes quiet.

3:47Voices become almost [music] like white

3:49noise and static

3:53and we see the Lord rightly

3:55before we even pray. Let's just find the

3:58Lord. Let's find Jesus.

4:01The Bible says that he is as close as a

4:04whisper. So if you want to find Jesus,

4:06just whisper his name. Yes, I'm going to

4:07challenge you in [music] this podcast.

4:09Let's just find Jesus. Just whisper and

4:12call upon his name. The Bible says that

4:14if we [music] seek him, we shall find

4:15him and just tell him how much you love

4:18him. Jesus, we love you. We adore you.

4:21Thank you, Jesus, for dying on that

4:24cross. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for

4:26raising. Thank you, Jesus. I want to

4:29encourage you to pray on your own. I

4:31want to encourage you to get in a space

4:34where you could ask the Lord to impart

4:36something special in you today.

4:39He wants to hear it [music] from you.

4:41Let's just ask together. Lord, would you

4:43speak to us today?

4:45Would you speak to us today?

4:48And you'll [music] sense him if you're

4:50looking for him.

4:52Let's find [music] his pierced hands and

4:55feet and his wounded side, the crown of

4:58thorns that's placed upon his head.

5:04And let's pray from this place ab of

5:08which we see him. Lord, we thank you.

5:12We [music] thank you for dying a

5:14gruesome death. And from that gruesome

5:16death, you were buried into the earth,

5:21the very earth of which you created. And

5:23I thank you that the grave could not

5:25keep you. I thank you that it could not

5:27swallow you. I thank you that it cannot

5:29hold you,

5:32that death cannot hold you to its

5:33condition.

5:36Jesus, I thank you that you have raised

5:37on the behalf of us that while we rest

5:41in the power of the blood of Jesus that

5:44happened that happened during the

5:46crucifixion,

5:48you encourage us to rise with you in the

5:51power of the resurrection. Thank you

5:54that you [music] are a death slayer.

5:57That you have defeated death. You have

5:59conquered [music] the grave and you have

6:02arise on the behalf of humanity to

6:04testify of yourself.

6:07Jesus, you have the name above all

6:09names. Your blood speaks a better word

6:12than the blood of Abel.

6:15And it's by you that is the way of life.

6:19You're the way, the truth, and the life.

6:22Thank you that you are the gate that

6:24grants us eternal life. And thank you

6:25that eternal life is you.

6:28Thank you Jesus that you are good. Thank

6:30you Jesus that you have represented

6:33the entirety of who God is, God the

6:36Father. I thank you that the word says

6:38that the deity of God dwelt bodily,

6:43meaning that everything of which God is,

6:46Jesus

6:48fully communicated the entirety of God's

6:51heart through him, empathizing [music]

6:53with the human race here on earth. Thank

6:55you, Jesus, for coming in humility,

6:59meekness, and power and authority and

7:02love and kindness. Thank you Lord for

7:07coming in such a powerful brotherly

7:10friendly

7:12and a parental relational way. Jesus we

7:15ask that you impart into our hearts a

7:17greater understanding and knowledge for

7:19the scriptures and that they testify

7:21[music]

7:22of you. Lord, we lay every distraction

7:25of ourselves to the side and we look at

7:28Jesus and we look at Christ and him

7:30crucified

7:32and we take up our cross and we follow

7:34him. Lord, I thank you that when we're

7:37in doubt, we just copy Jesus.

7:41Jesus, would

7:43you show us who you really are in these

7:46scriptures here today? And would it mark

7:48us? And would it lead us to repentance?

7:50[music] repentance because of your

7:52kindness.

7:55Lord, we want you to be glorified.

7:57[music] We want to know that we're loved

7:59by you. And we want to know how you're

8:02in generosis to revelation. Show us

8:04through these pages. Show us, Jesus.

8:08And thank you that you are a high priest

8:10who empathizes with our weakness. Thank

8:13you that [music] you have

8:16came to walk amongst men and women here

8:18on this earth to empathize with us, to

8:21eat with us, to wash our feet, to laugh,

8:25to commune, to fellowship. [music]

8:27Thank you that you came upon your

8:30creation and didn't even decide to just

8:33create it, but to dwell with it and to

8:35live with it. Thank you, Lord. What an

8:38amazing God you are. We love you so much

8:40and we just ask that you bless [music]

8:42us today. Lord this podcast belongs to

8:45you. It does not belongs to me. I ask

8:47that you bless my speech. You bless my

8:49tongue. You bless this episode. That it

8:52blesses those who listen [music] and

8:53that their marts forever not because of

8:55Emmy anymore Brookkins but because they

8:57were encountered by Jesus. They were

9:00encountered by Jesus in this episode.

9:02Lord, that is my prayer. We love you

9:04Lord. We love you and praise you in

9:07Jesus name. Amen.

9:09Amen. Um, there's so many things I could

9:13say today and

9:17why I'm incredibly

9:22just so marked by the Lord in this area

9:24and why I didn't feel the permission to

9:28go forward with another podcast topic

9:30until we talked about this is because

9:33I'm afraid we have lost the lens as the

9:38true lens as to why in which we read the

9:41scriptures and I shared earlier that it

9:45seems as if we have conditioned a me

9:48centric gospel where I look the

9:50scriptures and I'm not looking for Jesus

9:52anymore I'm looking for me and I'm

9:54guilty of this and I actually wanted to

9:56open up this episode in truthful

9:58repentance

10:00the more I get closer to Jesus the more

10:02I kind of look at this podcast I'm like

10:04Lord thank you for using it and man I

10:06wish I didn't start as soon as I did

10:08because there's so many things you just

10:10learn the closer you get to Jesus's

10:12feet. There's so many things you get

10:14convicted of over time that you maybe

10:17weren't walking with that conviction in

10:18the first place. And I've always been

10:20very apparent of where I believe I moved

10:24a little too quickly in ministry. But I

10:26believe the Lord used it at the same

10:27time so I can't control his timing. I

10:30say all that to say is that we should

10:32have a lot more reverence in how we

10:34approach and preach the word of God. And

10:38I have seen over the past few years

10:41which this was due to a multitude of

10:43reasons by the way I was discipled by

10:45the church I was under the leadership uh

10:48that was over me at some point that

10:51wasn't super healthy that taught me this

10:54misetric gospel and I would actually say

10:56that this misentric gospel is incredibly

10:59popularized. You look into

11:04any church in a sense and it's it's very

11:07hard to read between the lines if you

11:09don't know your scriptures. What is a

11:11motivational speak that's bl speech

11:13that's blending into almost a TED talk

11:18and a Christexalting message that exalts

11:22and unifies the body. And we're getting

11:25to a point in church, especially in the

11:27West, I could express this because I'm

11:29from here and because I've been to

11:32churches all over the United States.

11:34I've seen

11:37how pastors, how leaders, how people are

11:41reading the scriptures, receiving them,

11:42and what they're doing with them. I

11:44don't know about outside the United

11:46States, but what I can say based off of

11:49experience, what I'm seeing, what I'm

11:50discerning, and based off of the

11:52feedback and the actions of the brethren

11:54within the United States is that we're

11:57having a huge gospel deficiency problem.

11:59Is that there's a lot of people who do

12:00not know much about Jesus. They know

12:03about what he says, but there's a lack

12:06of an intimacy with his character and

12:08who he describes himself to be. And I I

12:12I I really want to

12:15first give a warning

12:18to Gen Z Christians

12:21to test everything. Not even just your

12:26church or

12:29the sermons you listen to online or the

12:31Tik Tok preachers or the Christian

12:32influencers that you really love and

12:34enjoy. Even test this. Even test this

12:36here. uh there is so much self-centric

12:40preaching that is happening right now

12:43and I think there's a place for

12:44motivation there's a place for

12:46encouragement there's a place for

12:47testimonials I'm not saying those things

12:49are inherently bad they can be

12:50encouraging what I'm saying is that we

12:53cannot allow the oversharing and telling

12:57of ourselves

13:00forfeit forfeit what the Lord has done

13:02on that cross and we have to have that

13:05be Our constant and daily bread is

13:08Jesus, not I'm gonna encourage myself

13:11through the word and it means only to me

13:13and not unto him. Does this make sense?

13:15So, I even want to come into repentance

13:18for the amount of times I've came on

13:20this podcast and maybe have shared

13:22scripture

13:24on the behalf of even just

13:28it empathizing with me instead of me

13:31looking through these scriptures and

13:32being like, dang, this is actually about

13:34him. And I love John 5:39

13:40and Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees

13:42and he says,"You search the scriptures

13:44because you think that in them you have

13:47eternal life and it is they that bear

13:50witness about me yet you refuse to come

13:53to me that you may have life." This is

13:55the foundational scripture that I'm

13:57pretty much using today. And the point

13:59is, and I shared in the beginning, is

14:00that the Bible is not about you. It's

14:02about Jesus. This verse in John 5:39-4,

14:09it talks about a people who are actively

14:11searching the scriptures and know the

14:13scriptures and yet they're missing the

14:15plot of which the scriptures are about,

14:17which is him. Which sounds like a

14:19constant problem that's kind of

14:20happening today. Is that we are reading

14:23our Bibles, we know the Bible stories.

14:25And yet, because we have a gospel

14:27deficiency problem, we're aligning these

14:30stories to ourselves rather than onto

14:32Jesus. Now, I need to communicate what

14:34I'm not saying.

14:37I have to. And what I'm not saying is

14:40that we're unable to empathize with the

14:42life of Jesus and with stories in the

14:44Bible. That is not what I'm saying. The

14:46Bible says in Hebrews 4:14 through16

14:48that we do not have a high priest who is

14:50unable to empathize with our weakness.

14:52Ultimately,

14:53the reason as to why we are to empathize

14:56with these scriptures is because we have

14:59a crucified and risen Lord who came

15:01wrapped in flesh on this earth. So that

15:05relatability

15:07could happen. So the only reason as to

15:10why we're able to empathize and we're

15:12able to sympathize with stories and

15:14like, man, that character sounds like

15:16me. I know what that feels like. Man,

15:18this looks a lot like my situation.

15:20isn't because we place ourselves

15:23in the sphere of the Lord. Every

15:25scripture breathes of Jesus and of him

15:28coming, staying, and returning. And I

15:32want to emphasize that because there's

15:34been so many times I've said like, you

15:36know, the gospel isn't about you. And so

15:37many people are like, well, it does hit

15:40me in a way to where I can relate to it.

15:42That's not what I'm saying. What I'm

15:44saying is is that when you look at the

15:45scriptures as a self-discovery book more

15:48than you see it as a Jesus dictionary,

15:51that is when we fall into a self-made

15:54religion, which we'll talk about in a

15:55moment. Actually, we could talk about

15:57about it right now. Let's go to

15:59Colossians 2:23.

16:03I'm jumping ahead a lot, but I think

16:04it's worth it. Colossians 2:23.

16:09I could talk about this for a second. I

16:11might be able to punch back on it.

16:15These have indeed an appearance of

16:17wisdom in promoting self-made religion

16:20and aestheticism and severity to the

16:23body, but they are of no value in

16:25stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

16:28What is Colossians talking about when

16:29it's referring to the self-made

16:31religion?

16:33What Colossians is saying when it

16:36verbalizes a self-made religion, it's

16:39talking about wisdom. It's talking about

16:42knowledge, I guess, of the scriptures or

16:46uh even what I wrote down in my notes,

16:48those who consider themselves religious

16:50and yet don't keep a tight reign. Um oh

16:53wait, that's actually another verse.

16:56Hold on. I'm kind of all over the place

16:58right now.

16:59I skipped ahead like three notes and I

17:01should have done that. Chat, can we

17:03actually take a pause and go back?

17:06I messed up.

17:11You guys, I went way too far ahead.

17:14We're going to put a pen in that. Can we

17:15do that?

17:18I feel really tempted to like start

17:21over, be a perfectionist, but you guys,

17:24Emmy messed up. Ah, and that's okay.

17:27We're going to go back to that.

17:28Actually, I didn't mess up. I just said

17:30it too early and I don't think we would

17:32read receive that scripture as we should

17:34until we go over this verse. Okay, let's

17:36go to 1 Corinthians 15. Let's go there

17:38first. We're going to go in

17:413 through 4. Let's go there. And what

17:45was I talking about? A self-made

17:48religion.

17:50How Jesus testifies of himself through

17:52the scriptures.

17:55We cannot

17:57Man, I was trying to figure out exactly

17:59where I was going. You know what? It's

18:00going to come back. Let's just keep

18:02talking. Okay, let's go to 1 Corinthians

18:0415. We'll start in verse three. Okay.

18:07For I delivered you as of first

18:10importance, what I also received that

18:12Christ died for our sins in accordance

18:15with the scriptures. That he was buried

18:19that he was raised on the third day in

18:21accordance with the scriptures.

18:26This emphasizing of in accordance with

18:28the scriptures. Why do we believe as to

18:31why Jesus did of which he did is because

18:34there is a reliability that is found in

18:37the scriptures and Genesis to Revelation

18:41speaks of Jesus. That's what I was

18:43talking about. I was talking about

18:44relating to the scriptures and how it's

18:46not inherently evil, but we have placed

18:50our priority in the wrong places as to

18:52why we're reading the scriptures the way

18:53that we're reading them. And so, I don't

18:56think there's inherently a problem with

18:58reading a story and being like, man, I

18:59could really empathize with this. I

19:01think if we could empathize with the

19:03story though and miss how it points to

19:06Jesus, that's how we make a self-made

19:08religion where we've turned the

19:10scriptures into an exaltation of

19:12ourselves instead of it being words and

19:16prophecies that point to the risen Lord

19:18and our eternal life and salvation that

19:20is with him. Because Genesis to

19:23Revelation, and I will say this echoed

19:25throughout the entirety of this podcast,

19:27speaks of him

19:31in the very beginning to the very end.

19:34It speaks of Jesus. The Bible is not

19:38about us. It's about Jesus.

19:41And it's written for us, but it's not

19:45written to us. And so we could receive

19:47what the scriptures say. But even if

19:50even if you want to run on the claim of,

19:52"Oh, the scriptures help me and they

19:55build me and they exalt me." Even if

19:57that is your leading motive, apart from

19:59seeing Jesus, get guess what the

20:01scriptures are going to do anyways?

20:03They're going to make you look like

20:04somebody. And guess who they're going to

20:05make you look like? They're going to

20:06make you look like Jesus. So we can't

20:10take the main thing out of the main

20:11thing. We have to keep Jesus in the

20:13center and everything of which of it

20:15all. We can't condition him to the

20:16center. We can't condition him to the

20:18outsides. We keep him in everything.

20:21He's the reason as to why we live and

20:23breathe and read and transform and

20:25glorify him and praise him and write and

20:28study and pray and sit still. He is the

20:30reason and onto everything of which why

20:32we do everything. And the image that

20:35we're conforming into is him. And that

20:37is the measure of which we are going to

20:39be judged. James talks about how our

20:42works look like filthy rags. If we

20:44commit works for the sake of becoming,

20:48lack of better words, more Christian

20:50without looking more like Jesus, we're

20:52going to be judged for that. And so I

20:55would like to set a tone that when we

20:57read these scriptures, we have to come

20:58up with the expectation that yes, we are

21:00transforming into the risen Lord because

21:03these scriptures are about him. All of

21:06them. Even the ones that you don't

21:08think, even the ones that you don't

21:09like, they're about Jesus. Amen. Uh

21:12let's go to 2 Corinthians 1:20 and then

21:16we'll go into the teaching. I'm just

21:17kind of yapping right now. 1 Corinthians

21:201:20. For all the promises of God find

21:23their yes in him, that is why through

21:26him that we utter our amen to God for

21:31his glory.

21:33I've seen so many people take this verse

21:36and go, "Oh, all of our yeses is made

21:38complete and God amen." That doesn't

21:40mean you get a Tesla girly pop. Like

21:42that doesn't mean oh man the promise

21:45that God gave me as like I'm going to

21:47have the most amazing beautiful husband.

21:49That's not what it's talking about. It's

21:51talking about all the promises of God

21:53that has been expressed through these

21:55scriptures is found yes in Jesus. This

21:59ain't about a Tesla or a boy or a career

22:02path. And again, God can bless you with

22:04those things. But you guys, we don't

22:06graduate from the good news. You getting

22:08a Tesla or you going to college and you

22:11getting married and you having kids is

22:13not a bigger blessing than Jesus getting

22:15on a cross for you and I and dying so we

22:19could be with him forever and ever. We

22:21don't graduate. No news gets better than

22:23that. And sure, we could love the things

22:26that God blesses us with. For an

22:28example, God gave us this house. Glory.

22:30Hallelujah. Thank you. And it's a gift

22:34from the Lord. But if you were to give

22:37me a home, a car, all these things, if

22:41you were contain it in a box and wrap it

22:43in a pretty, you know, pink bow or

22:44something like that, and then if you

22:46were to give me eternal life with Jesus,

22:48I'm choosing this one every single time

22:50because there's no greater news than the

22:52good news. And so I I say all that to

22:55say to contrast the importance of

22:59salvation in Christ and why we should

23:03prioritize that above everything else.

23:06And again, I'm not saying that these

23:08things are inherently bad. I'm just

23:10suggesting and submitting that our

23:12priorities may not be in order. So we

23:16have to reshuffle. We have to rep

23:17prioritize again. And by the way, I'm

23:19saying all this because I had to do

23:21this. I had to do this. I had to do this

23:23a few years ago and I've been learning

23:25the past two years. Oh man, like I

23:27thought everything was about Jesus in my

23:28life and I realized it really wasn't. It

23:31was about me. And yes, it could have

23:34everything to do with Jesus and not at

23:35the same time because I was inserting

23:37myself into places that belonged to

23:40Jesus. I was listening to scriptures

23:42that testified of him. And so I'm

23:44speaking from a place that has learned,

23:46grow, and matured. Yes. So that's the

23:50position that I'm coming to today. And

23:53if the Lord had to refine me and

23:54sanctify me in that area, how much more

23:56would he have to in the rest of us? Um

23:59and so yeah, the importance of knowing

24:00the Bible, we have eternal life with

24:03Jesus. Um and because we have eternal

24:05life with Jesus, that's dependent on how

24:09we read and perceive him through the

24:10scriptures. And let's go back to

24:13Colossians 2, the verse I was reading

24:15way too earlier. Way too early earlier.

24:19Colossians 2:23.

24:25Okay. These have indeed have an

24:26appearance of wisdom in promoting

24:28self-made religion

24:30and aeticism and severity to the body,

24:34but they are of no value in stopping the

24:36indulgence of the flesh.

24:40Okay.

24:43What this shares with me is a number of

24:46things is that there's this thing called

24:47self-made religion which we make which

24:50is why it's called self-made and

24:54from what I'm reading in the scriptures

24:56is that knowing your Bible is highkey a

24:59life or death situation. It's actually a

25:02death or eternity situation.

25:05There is such an importance on seeing

25:07Jesus rightly.

25:09God forbid you saw the wrong version of

25:11him. I think this is how we get the

25:13Matthew 7 men who who is like, "Lord,

25:16Lord, did I not prophesy? Did I not cast

25:18out demons? Did I not do all of things

25:19in your name?" And Jesus says, "Depart

25:21from me, for I've never known you."

25:24Could that be? Because the same very

25:26people who were using the name of Jesus

25:27is the same very people who did not have

25:29intimacy with him. God forbid for us to

25:32ever be those people. And so seeing

25:35Jesus rightly, following the rights and

25:37the correct Jesus declares life or death

25:41over you right now and for eternity. And

25:44this should shake you and rattle you to

25:45the bones. And it should give you fear

25:48of the Lord of man, I really hope I see

25:49the real version of him. I hope I'm

25:51actually getting him. And how do you

25:54know you're seeing Jesus rightly? How do

25:56you know you're pursuing the right

25:57version of Jesus? is that you trust the

26:01version he promotes himself to be. So

26:04what that looks like is I don't read

26:07these scriptures trying to prove my

26:08perspective of who I think Jesus is. And

26:13I don't go into scriptures already with

26:15my mind made up that God, let's bring up

26:19an example, that God is really scary in

26:22the Old Testament and he wasn't

26:23gracious. He was full of wrath. And

26:25again, these things I'm not saying is

26:27true. I'm just saying this is a

26:28hypothetical that in the Old Testament

26:30God was angry and then God didn't care

26:32about people and that he was killing

26:34people and didn't care about the human

26:36race. But but but Jesus like kind of the

26:39good cop bad cop thing. But Jesus is

26:42nice and he sits with sinners and he

26:43washes feet and he walks on the water.

26:46And because of that perspective, I'll go

26:49into scripture and my sight will be

26:54diluted because I already trusted in my

26:57own self-made religion before I already

27:00trusted in the God that he testifies

27:03himself to be via the scriptures.

27:06This is called Isisen Jesus. So in

27:10biblical literacy terms, when you study

27:12the scriptures, and I broke this down in

27:14a separate episode of how to read your

27:16Bible. When you read the scriptures,

27:17there are two ways you could read the

27:19scriptures. One of them of which is

27:20heretical, which is what I'm talking

27:21about right now. And the other one that

27:23is doctrinal and correct. So exit Jesus

27:26is when you're able to disassociate

27:27yourself from the scriptures and you are

27:29to read them for what they are at face

27:32value. Eyes in Jesus is when you insert

27:35yourself into the scriptures and you

27:37have a biasy as to which of why you

27:39read. And we are in a very eyes in Jesus

27:43culture where so many people are reading

27:46the scriptures

27:48to promote themselves to promote their

27:50own ideologies rather than to read the

27:54scriptures finding out more about Jesus.

27:56Sorry you guys I'm just fixing my mic

27:58right here. So that is

28:02the tone that is happening in Colossians

28:042:23 when it says in promoting a

28:07self-made religion. It's showing us that

28:10when we have a scripture deficiency

28:13problem, we're reading them on the

28:15behalf to find us eyes and Jesus a text

28:20we will not find the true religion

28:23because a relationship with Jesus it's a

28:25religion and a relationship. Amen. Uh,

28:27let's go to James 126.

28:37Um, I think I think vulnerability is

28:41such a superpower and I'm gonna kind of

28:43interrupt and say something because I

28:44need to fix my mic. For a long time, I

28:48was so insecure of like, oh, I got to be

28:50talking the whole time and I gotta be on

28:52my agame and stuff and if I know I'm

28:54stupid, I'm dumb. Oh my gosh, like all

28:56these things. Um, and I noticed that

29:00when I listen to my favorite teachers

29:03talk and I hear them teach, I cannot

29:06find James. I think it's because it's

29:08literally a twopage

29:12page in the Bible, I'm like, I'm close.

29:14I feel it. Um, but anyways, when I hear

29:17my favorite teachers and preachers speak

29:20and I listen online or I'm there in

29:22person, man, I really appreciate when

29:25they take them breaks because my hand be

29:27cramping. I'm taking so many notes. Um,

29:31and it's a blessing. So, I've been

29:32encouraged. That's been something the

29:34Lord has been teaching me to be okay to

29:37be slow to speak. be okay to take my

29:39time that it may be blessing you guys to

29:41take notes and catch up and not having

29:43to stop and go. Stop and go. Stop and

29:45go. Okay, I'm almost there. There we go.

29:50It's right after Hebrews. I was going in

29:53between Hebrews and whatchamacallit. Um,

29:57babe, can you actually help me? You

29:59guys, Malik's going to be in the frame.

30:02Strut your stuff, honey. Yes. With the

30:05Lwood. It's just it's just sagging

30:08really low and it's okay. Wow, look at

30:11that. Wow. You're really killing it.

30:14Thanks, babe. You're so cute. Okay,

30:18James 1:26.

30:21James 1:26.

30:24If anyone thinks he is religious and

30:26does not brutal his tongue, but deceives

30:28his heart, this person's religion is

30:32worthless.

30:33Oh my gosh.

30:36Basically what this text is saying is

30:38that if you claim devotion to God but

30:42your devotion has no effect on something

30:43as basic as revealing the way of which

30:46you speak which is what this is saying.

30:48If it is not brittle his tongue but

30:49deceives his heart

30:54if it affects

30:56I I would guess um if it's not how do I

31:00explain it? If anyone thinks he is

31:01religious and does not brittle his

31:02tongue but deceives his heart, this

31:04person's religion is worthless. What

31:06shows us that our religion is worthless,

31:09which again, how could our religion be

31:11worthless is that if we're promoting a

31:14rel religion and not yet being

31:16transformed by that very religion of

31:18which we preach. Therefore, it's like a

31:21busy religion but not a transformative

31:23one.

31:24It basically just promotes that we could

31:27be

31:29religiously active

31:31but lack but but not spiritually mature.

31:34I guess that would that's what I would

31:36say is that what the scripture is saying

31:38is that when we promote religiosity so

31:41much to where it causes no

31:43transformation. You see it in the way of

31:45which we speak and the way in which we

31:46act. But yet it's not transforming us to

31:49be more like Christ. We're not seeing an

31:52actual religion take place. This is what

31:55Colossians 2:23 categorizes as a

31:58self-made religion

32:00is that you're so obsessed with the

32:02scriptures that you miss the very

32:04scriptures of which what they speak

32:06about which is what Jesus talks about in

32:08John chapter 5.

32:10Let's not mistake religious activity for

32:13spiritual maturity. Um, and we cannot

32:16get confused on what saying the name

32:19Jesus actually does and means.

32:22Saying the name Jesus does not make me a

32:24Christian. The Bible says that even the

32:27demons shudder at the name of Jesus.

32:30They acknowledge Jesus. And this isn't

32:32even to bring up demons or to give them

32:35this crazy pedestal. My point is is that

32:39when I exercise the name of Jesus,

32:41saying his name alone does not prove my

32:43fruit.

32:44to be like Jesus or let alone to be his

32:47follower. What proves and shows the

32:50fruit of being a Christ follower is the

32:53way of how I follow him and look more

32:55like him and less like myself that I

32:58crucify the old version of myself and

33:00I'm looking more and more like him. How

33:02do I look more like him? Well, first of

33:05all, God is love. What does first

33:07Corinthians tell us about love? That

33:08love is patient. Love is kind. It keeps

33:10no record of wrongs. That's not

33:11self-seeking. that there's

33:13longsuffering. And so I could look at

33:15Jesus and I can see Jesus is kind, Jesus

33:18is patient, he's understanding, he keeps

33:20no record of wrongs. And when I look at

33:23the characteristics of Jesus, even when

33:25let's take him washing the disciples

33:27feet that he humbled himself as a

33:30servant and he washed his disciples

33:33feet, he prepared the waters of which he

33:37was going to wash them in. And uh he

33:39also washed his enemy's feet. Even when

33:43we see Jesus healing people is that

33:46Jesus stopped for people and showed

33:49grace and mercy to them. That Jesus

33:52showed grace and mercy to children and

33:54to adults and those who are sick. That

33:56he wasn't afraid to touch the sick. He

33:58wasn't afraid to be around the homeless

34:00and those poor in spirit. that uh that

34:03even his closest friends Mary, Martha,

34:06and Lazarus, which we shared about a few

34:07episodes again, was in Bethany, which

34:10means house of the poor. Jesus was not

34:13afraid of poor people. He also wasn't

34:15afraid of rich people. He was around the

34:17Pharisees. He was around people who

34:19cared about money. He was around

34:21successful people. He loved Nicodemus.

34:22And Nicodemus funded parts of the

34:25ministry. Jesus also was a carpenter. He

34:29worked. He knew what it was like for

34:32work to be holy. And so we could look at

34:34Jesus's life and when in doubt, just

34:36choose that over and over and over

34:38again. And so I say all this to say is

34:42because when we try to pursue a Jesus

34:45that was made up by us, we're not

34:47actually following him. And we make this

34:50Bible more about us than we would ever

34:51make it more about him.

34:55What makes me truly Christian is an

34:57accurate and an appropriate response

35:00to God to who God shows himself to be by

35:04his definition.

35:07I'm going to read Exodus 34 6-7. The

35:10Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and

35:13gracious, slow to anger and abounding in

35:16steadfast love and faithfulness. This is

35:18the most repetitive characteristics of

35:21the Lord that is repeated over and over

35:23and over again in scriptures. John 1:18,

35:26it says, "No one has ever seen God, the

35:29only God who is at the father's side and

35:31he has made himself known."

35:36We don't have to trust in our own

35:37interpretation. By the way, that should

35:40take a huge pressure off of our

35:42shoulders of thank you Lord. I don't

35:45have to rely on myself to perceive Jesus

35:48rightly. He defines himself already. He

35:51makes himself known. How does he make

35:54himself known? How do we know what God

35:56is like? We look at Jesus because Jesus

36:00is the depiction of the father. Hebrews

36:03says that he is he is the exact imprint

36:07like the fingerprint of God. Colossians

36:101:9 says that the deity of God dwelt

36:12bodily that he is made in his likeness.

36:15Not just in his likeness but in his in

36:17his exact nature. I think that's

36:19Colossians 1:15. I don't know. I I'm

36:22pretty sure that's it on the top of my

36:23head. God defines himself and so we

36:25should make every effort to follow the

36:27version of which he compla proclaims

36:29instead of of having our own assumptions

36:31and perceptions to then manipulate the

36:34scriptures that fit that version of

36:35which we have made that is satanic by

36:38the way.

36:39If we take it's antichrist. If we take

36:42the scriptures and make it something

36:45that is not about him, it's satanic

36:48because it drives us away from the

36:49crucified and risen Lord and points us

36:52to something that is not of him.

36:57So, let's be discerning. Um, I want to

37:01This is uh what I'm most excited about

37:03regarding this episode. I also dropped

37:05my water bottle cap. There we go. um

37:08of there's kind of this repetitive cycle

37:11that happens in church which I would say

37:14I endorsed it for a long time because of

37:16spiritual immaturity

37:18and again there's times where this could

37:20be really effective where you can insert

37:23yourself into the scriptures and

37:24empathize with it and it brings a remedy

37:26to your heart because you see that Jesus

37:28has empathized on the behalf of

37:29humanity. Um, but when that's when the

37:33driving force for us to go to church is

37:35I want to go to church if I'm more out

37:37about me and how I get through all these

37:38struggles instead of seeing Jesus

37:39rightly.

37:42What makes you think that you're going

37:43to enjoy eternity? If I keep pursuing

37:46self-discovery,

37:48apart from this dictionary about Jesus,

37:52I'm not going to find him because I'm

37:54searching for myself. The Bible says,

37:56"Seek and you shall find.

37:59If I seek Jesus, I will find him. If I

38:01seek myself, I will find myself. And so,

38:03how we approach Sundays, how we approach

38:05our Bible study, how we approach our

38:08secret time with the Lord, seeing him

38:10rightly depends on how much we get of

38:12him. And so, I want to always approach

38:16the table curious more about the person

38:19who's on the opposite side of it more

38:21than seeking myself. And trust that the

38:23more I learn about Jesus, I'm going to

38:24learn about me. And that's just an

38:26overflow of knowing him. But I'm not

38:29coming to the table of Jesus or to the

38:31feet of Jesus looking to figure myself

38:34out and then hopefully I get him along

38:35the way. No, I want all of him. And from

38:38knowing him, that is what blesses me

38:41just from knowing him because I'm

38:43transforming into him and I'm looking

38:44like him. Um, and there's this

38:47repetitive cycle that we're seeing in

38:48church culture where we're reading Bible

38:52stories in church. It is scripture.

38:54Like, thank you. we're bringing up

38:55verses. You read the whole passage.

38:56Congratulations. This is amazing. And

38:59then somehow we still didn't talk about

39:01Jesus. Like, yeah, you said Jesus's

39:03name. Yeah, you said Jesus did this and

39:05that. But like, we're not getting sat

39:08down and actually told and disciples

39:09regarding Jesus. And I'm afraid that

39:13stories, very popular stories that have

39:16been meticulously repeated over and over

39:19again, communicated in church has been

39:22more about self-discovery than about

39:25Jesus discovery. And again, I'm not

39:27saying there's anything wrong with

39:28self-discovery. I'm saying that the

39:30prioritize that the priorities

39:33definitely need to be switched. And so I

39:36wanted to break down just a few examples

39:40of stories we've heard in church over

39:43and over and over again that girly pop

39:45is not about us. It is about Jesus. This

39:50mic keeps falling so low.

39:53Babe, can you help me with this real

39:54quick?

39:56Maybe maybe because it's here, but it

39:58it's like all the way down here.

40:02>> Okay. Thanks.

40:05Yeah, that's perfect.

40:06>> Yeah, because it was like all the way

40:08down here. It was like It was like

40:09touching down here.

40:12>> Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you. Also,

40:14you guys, my dog is here. Cowboy, should

40:17I show them cowboy? We got a new puppy

40:20and he is so stinking cute. Yeah, maybe

40:24that works. Thanks.

40:27That would be great for my back. This

40:28couch doesn't have much back support.

40:30Also, yeah, we're in like a new location

40:32because Oh.

40:34Thank you.

40:35>> I feel comfy.

40:36>> I feel comfy. Wow. Thank you. I feel

40:39great. I need to do this every time. Why

40:42have I done this before?

40:44>> Wow. Thank you, Lord. I feel like

40:46redeemed. This is incredible.

40:50Um, what I was going to say is that uh

40:53we switched around like our our living

40:56space and so things have looked

40:57tremendously different. Cowboy, you want

40:59to come up here? You want to say hi?

41:01Hey. He's like, "I'm about to lay down

41:02on the floor." Yeah. Incorrect. He just

41:05sleeps all day and it's the sweetest

41:07thing because our other Harper, our

41:09other dog, Harper, she's like actually

41:11in that job. Um, okay, back to the text.

41:14Um, but what we're going to do today is

41:17we're going to take some of the stories

41:19that have been said in church. You've

41:20probably heard them your entire life.

41:23Very fundamental Bible stories that

41:25you've empathized with, and we're going

41:27to talk about Jesus. And then I want to

41:30give you an application to look at other

41:32stories that you know and find Jesus in

41:35them. Like if there's if there's

41:36anything I want you to take away from

41:37this podcast is please read the

41:40scriptures and find him because they

41:42testify of him and you'll find yourself

41:44along the way. You don't got to worry

41:45about you. Um I even think of what Jesus

41:49says in Matthew 6:33. Um and he says,

41:51"First seek the kingdom of God and all

41:52things else shall be given onto you."

41:54Who's the kingdom of God? John says it.

41:56He says, "For the kingdom of God is

41:59near." And who's there? Is it a roaring

42:03army? It's Jesus. And so what we're

42:08pursuing when it says, "Seek first the

42:11kingdom of God." We're pursuing Jesus.

42:14And

42:15to figure ourselves out, that's included

42:18in and everything else shall be given

42:20onto you. Does that make sense? So it

42:22will come. There are things I love to

42:24discover about myself. I don't let that

42:27go

42:28get itself in the way though of me

42:30seeing Jesus rightly. And so, it's just

42:32rep prioritizing, repprioritizing,

42:35repprioritizing. Okay, you guys. Um,

42:37okay. We're going to go to

42:40uh Genesis. Let's go to I actually don't

42:43know where this starts. Um, I'm pretty

42:45sure it starts in Genesis 27 or 37,

42:48excuse me. All the way in the beginning

42:50of the Bible, we're gonna be talking

42:52about Joseph and we're going to go

42:54through the similarities between him and

42:56Jesus. Yep. Starts in Joseph. Okay.

42:59We're gonna read it together.

43:02Okay. And you know what?

43:05another act of repentance because I made

43:08an episode on this

43:12two years ago and it was all about how I

43:14empathized with it and years later I'm

43:17literally like oh my gosh that was about

43:20Jesus this entire time. So sorry Lord I

43:22overinserted myself. But this is why I

43:25learned these things so I could bring

43:26them to you because I know you guys are

43:27also struggling with the same things. Oh

43:30my gosh. Excited to learn together. Wow.

43:32We're growing you guys. like it's just

43:35so cool just to even reflect how

43:39I'm just able to grow

43:42and you know some things be a little

43:44embarrassing sometimes like you know a

43:46few weeks ago when I got on this podcast

43:47I kind of cried a lot like there's just

43:50things that happen it's like but you

43:51know what I'm grateful that I get to

43:52grow and there's just been so many

43:54things so many growing pains like even

43:56in this uh season of my life I know I'm

43:59like oh my gosh we're reading the

44:01scripture and not inserting myself but I

44:03want to give I I I guess a edge to where

44:06I'm at right now because I even think

44:07relatability

44:10helps us in a sense. It's a great tool.

44:13Empathy is it's an amazing tool. Um but

44:18just even this season of seeing Jesus

44:21rightly has saved my life in ways that I

44:25can't even begin to communicate the

44:27benefits of. And I think because I was

44:30so vigilant upon my own life and the

44:34things that were happening and just kind

44:36of being in and out of survival mode and

44:38low-key still being a little guilty of

44:39that, it's prompted a greater

44:42vulnerability in this podcast. And I

44:44think um I've been able like Okay, let

44:47let me just share this and then and then

44:49we'll teach we'll teach this real quick.

44:51I've been able to come on this podcast

44:54and I feel like share very real aspects

44:57of me that I felt really intimidated.

45:00Not to hide, but I that I had to

45:02shelter. I've always been a super open

45:04book. If anyone asked me anything, girl,

45:06I'mma tell you like, don't get it

45:08twisted. But I think where I'm at right

45:10now is uh even when we did the Q&A

45:12episode with Malik, uh when I post this,

45:14it will be the episode before. Um, I

45:17rewatched the episode. My uh assistant

45:19edited it, but I went back and I was

45:22watching some of it. Um, cuz we filmed

45:24it so far far long ago. We we filmed

45:26that at like 10 months married and it

45:29came out like like six months or no,

45:32like four months later, which is like

45:35really crazy. Yeah, we're in September,

45:36so like four or five months later. Um,

45:38so I just need to check what we were

45:40talking about because I was like, whoa,

45:41it's been like a minute and we're coming

45:42out with this episode like months later.

45:45And I thought it was so the Lord she

45:48like kept clips of me tweaking out. And

45:52when I mean that is that sometimes I get

45:54really overstimulated. Um, my mind just

45:57gets really

46:00scrambled and sometimes I have to get up

46:03and just take a walk because I'll just

46:04feel overwhelmed at times. Um, and I'm I

46:08I was so glad she kept that in. Um,

46:11because I want you guys to feel like

46:13you're sitting in here with me, even

46:15when Malik changed the mic right now and

46:17when he helped me put this on my bag.

46:18But thank you, babe. Um, I I think

46:20that's something I I desire to keep this

46:23podcast feeling like you guys are in the

46:26room with me. Um, I don't have anything

46:28to prove. Um, I'm pretty weak and I

46:32actually

46:33I don't I don't even know if this is a

46:35struggle. I I I've been thinking about

46:37this a lot.

46:40Um

46:42but man, I get in a room or I get on a

46:45podcast or I get on social media and I

46:47feel like the worst person in the room.

46:49Like in a sense that's like

46:52I'm no better than anybody. Um, I've I I

46:57think suffering has humbled me in such a

47:00beautiful way where I've been able to

47:03see the brethren in a way that it has

47:07been beyond any earthly and humanlike

47:10compassion that I could muster up on my

47:13own. Um, when you suffer faithfully with

47:18the Lord, you love people better. And

47:23I don't know, I guess I guess it's just

47:25the joy, the suffering. Um it sucks and

47:27I cry and sometimes I crash out. Um but

47:29other times I I really bless God for it.

47:32And um I just want to extend just like a

47:35big hug to you guys for thank you for

47:38accepting and loving me and supporting

47:41me, praying for me, um and giving me a

47:44safe space u to always be honest and

47:47vulnerable of where I'm at. Um, and I

47:50and I always want the teachings and what

47:52we do here to be really honest. And so,

47:55um, I'm sharing this because it's

47:57changed my life. And I could even just

48:00cry at the thought of that. Seeing Jesus

48:02rightly, learning the scriptures,

48:04finding him in them. When I took myself

48:07out of the picture and I saw more of

48:09him, I started to lose all the things I

48:13was working so hard to be anyways. And

48:16it was just because I'm transformed from

48:18glory to glory. That's

48:232 Corinthians 2:17

48:273:17

48:30for where you're transformed by glory to

48:31glory which is the constant revelation

48:33of Jesus. I've been living a 2

48:36Corinthians 3:17 is that I'm because I'm

48:39actually seeing him. I'm actually being

48:40transformed and not just transformed

48:43like changed like oh I stopped listening

48:44to secular music. No, like I'm actually

48:46starting to look like him and that's

48:48exciting. It's like I want to look like

48:50him. He's like he's my celebrity crush.

48:52He's like he's who I want to be. He is

48:55he is my icon. He is my goat. Like he is

48:58everything. And so um I'm just I'm just

49:01really happy for what Jesus is doing. Um

49:04and I cry sometimes for sure and I have

49:06a hard time but you know I'm a little

49:08optimistic right now. Okay. Genesis 37.

49:13This is the story of Joseph. We're gonna

49:16read through it. Don't know how far

49:18we're gonna get. Um, and again, what is

49:21the topic as to why we are reading this?

49:23It is because we are looking for Jesus

49:27in text. Oftentimes, the story of Joseph

49:29is prompted like, well, I have been sold

49:31into slavery. I know what it's like to

49:34be betrayed. I know what it's like for

49:35people not to believe me.

49:37Not like the Lord. Okay. So let's find

49:42Jesus in this. So let's fix our lens.

49:45What is the lens? The lens is the death,

49:48burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That

49:50is the lens. If you keep that like cheat

49:53code, if you keep the lens of your eyes

49:57to read scriptures, the death, burial,

49:59and resurrection of Jesus, you will

50:01always find him. Actually, I would say

50:04put those little lens in in little

50:06imaginary goggles and wear them

50:08consistently. And as you go outside,

50:10think of the death, burial, and

50:11resurrection of Jesus. And you will find

50:13it in a tree. You will find it in the

50:16sky. You will find it in the people that

50:18you meet. You will find it in very um

50:21mundane things each and every single

50:23day. If you seek him, you shall find

50:24him. So how do we do that? We make our

50:27constant appetite to search for the

50:30death, burial, and resurrection of

50:32Jesus, the power of his resurrection

50:34through the blood during his

50:36crucifixion. Amen. Okay, verse one.

50:40Jacob lived in the land of his fathers,

50:42Sir Jennings, in the land of Canaan.

50:45These are the generations. Let's go

50:47down. Now, Joseph had a dream. Verse 8,

50:51verse 5, excuse me. Now, Joseph had a

50:53dream, and when he told it to his

50:55brothers, they hated him even more. He

50:57said to them, "Hear this dream that I

50:59have dreamed. Behold, we are building

51:00sheav in the field. Behold, my sheep

51:02arose and stood upright." Let's go to

51:04verse 9. Then he dreamed another dream

51:07uh and told his brothers, "Behold, I

51:09have dreamed another dream. Behold the

51:10son." Let's go down to verse 10. But

51:12when he told it to his father and to his

51:14brothers, his father rebuked him and

51:16said to him, "What is this dream that

51:17you have dreamed? Shall I and your

51:19mother and your brothers indeed come and

51:22bow ourselves to the ground before you?"

51:24And his brothers were jealous of him,

51:26but his father kept saying, kept the

51:28saying in mind. Verse 12. Now his

51:31brothers went to the pasture of their

51:32father's flock near Shechum. And Israel

51:35said to Joseph, which is Jacob,

51:38"Are not your brothers pasturing the

51:40flock at Sheckchham? Come, I will send

51:43you to them." And he said to them, "Here

51:45I am." So he said to him, "Go and see if

51:49it is well with your brothers and the

51:51flock, and bring me word." So he sent

51:53them from the valley, sent him from the

51:55valley of Herbron, and came to

51:57Sheckchham. And a man found him

51:59wandering in the fields. And the man

52:01asked him, "What are you seeking?" "I'm

52:04seeking my brothers," he said. Tell me,

52:06"Please, where are they pasturing the

52:07flock?" And the man said, "They have

52:09gone away, for I have heard them say,

52:10"Let us go to Dothan." So Joseph went

52:12after his brothers and found them in

52:13Dothan. They saw him from afar, and

52:16before he came near to them, they

52:17conspired against him to kill him.

52:19Crazy, by the way. They said to one

52:22another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come

52:25now, let us kill him and throw him into

52:26one of these pits. Then we will say that

52:29a fierce animal has devoured him and

52:32that he will and that we will we will

52:35see what will become of his dreams. But

52:38when Reuben heard it,

52:41he rescued him out of their hand,

52:42saying, "Let us not take his life." And

52:45Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood.

52:47Throw him into the pit there in the

52:49wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him

52:52that he might that he might rescue him

52:54out of their hand to restore him to his

52:56father." So when Joseph came to his

52:58brothers, they stripped him of his robe,

52:59the robe of many colors of which he

53:01wore. And they took him and threw him

53:04into a pit. The pit was empty, and there

53:06was no water in it. Then they sat down

53:08to eat. And looking up, they saw a

53:10caravan of Ishelites coming from Gilead

53:13with their camels bearing gum, bomb, and

53:16myrr. And on their way to carry it down

53:18to Egypt. When Judah said to his

53:20brothers, "What profit is it if we kill

53:22our brother and conceal his blood? Come,

53:24let us sell him to the Ishelites, and

53:26let not let not our hand be upon him,

53:29for he is our brother in our own flesh.

53:31So compassionate, right? And his

53:33brothers said, and his brothers listened

53:35to him. The Midianite traders passed by,

53:38and they drew Joseph up, and lifted him

53:40out of the pit, sold him to the

53:42Ishelites for 20 shekels of silver. They

53:44took Joseph to Egypt.

53:47When Reuben returned to the pit, saw

53:49that Joseph was not in it, he tore his

53:50clothes, and he returned to his brothers

53:52and said, "The boy is gone. Where shall

53:54I go? And they took Joseph's robe and

53:56slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe

53:58in the blood. And they sent the robe of

54:00many colors and brought it to their

54:02father and said, "This we have found.

54:04Please identify whether this is your

54:05son's robe or not." He identified it and

54:08he said, "It is my son's robe. A fierce

54:10animal has devoured him."

54:13Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.

54:16Then Jacob tore his garments and put a

54:18sackcloth uh on his loins and mourned

54:21for his son many days. All his sons and

54:24his daughters rose up to comfort him,

54:25but he refused to be comforted and said,

54:27"No, I shall go down to Shol for my son

54:30mourning." Thus his father wept for him.

54:32Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him

54:35into Egypt to Piper, an officer of

54:37Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. We're

54:40going to read more about

54:42Joseph and Piper's wife. Actually,

54:48are we down to read the whole story?

54:50Then we could talk about it. So, we're

54:52tracking, right? Joseph Potter for his

54:55wife. This is in Genesis 39. Now, Joseph

54:59had been brought down to Egypt. And

55:00Potterer, an officer of Pharaoh, the

55:03captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had

55:05brought him from the Ishelites, who had

55:07brought him down there. The Lord was

55:08with Joseph, and he became a successful

55:10man. And he was in the house of his

55:12Egyptian master. His master saw that the

55:14Lord was with him and that the Lord

55:15caused us all that he did succeed in his

55:17hands. So Joseph found favor in his

55:19sight and attended to him. And he made

55:21him overseer of his house and put him in

55:23charge of all that he had. From the time

55:25that he had made him an overseer in his

55:26house and over all that he had, the Lord

55:28blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's

55:30sake. The blessing of the Lord was on

55:32all that he had in the house in the

55:34field. So he left all that he had in

55:35Joseph's charge. And because of him, he

55:37had no concern about anything but the

55:39food he ate. Now, Joseph was handsome in

55:43form and in appearance. And after a

55:46time, his master's wife cast her eyes on

55:48Joseph and said, "Lie with me." But he

55:50refused and said to his master's wife,

55:52"Behold, because of me, my master has no

55:55concern about anything in the house, and

55:56he has put everything that he has in my

55:58charge. He is not greater in this house

56:00than I am, nor has he kept back anything

56:03from me except you, because you are his

56:05wife. How then can I do this great

56:07wickedness and sin against God?" And she

56:10spoke to Joseph after that day, and he

56:12would not listen to her to lie beside

56:14her or to be with her. But one day when

56:16he went into the house to do all of his

56:18work, and none of the men in the house

56:20were there with him, she caught him by

56:22his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But

56:24he left his garment in her hand and had

56:26fled out of the house. And as soon as

56:28she saw that he had left his garment in

56:30her hand, she had fled out of the house.

56:32She called to the men of her household

56:35and said to them, "See, he has brought

56:37among he has brought among us a Hebrew

56:40to laugh at us. He came into into me to

56:44lie with me." And I cry out with my

56:46light loud voice. And as soon as he

56:48heard that I lifted up my voice and

56:51cried out, he left his garment beside me

56:53and fled and got out of the house. Then

56:55she laid up his garment by her until his

56:57master came up in the morning. She told

57:00him in the same story, saying, "The

57:02Hebrew servant whom you have brought

57:04among us came in to me to laugh at me.

57:08But as soon as I lifted up my voice and

57:10cried, he left his garment beside me and

57:11fled outside the house. As soon as his

57:13master heard the words of his wife spoke

57:15to him, this is the way your servant

57:17treated me." His anger was kindled, and

57:20Joseph's master took him and put him

57:22into prison, the place where king's

57:24prisoners were confined. And there he

57:26was in the prison. But the Lord was with

57:30Joseph and showed him steadfast love and

57:32gave him favor in the sight of the

57:33keeper of the prison. And the keeper of

57:34the prison put Joseph in charge and all

57:36the prisoners who were in the prison.

57:38Whatever was done there, he was the one

57:40who did it. The keeper of the prison

57:42paid no attention to anything that was

57:43in Joseph's charge because the Lord was

57:45with him and whatever he did, the Lord

57:47made it succeed. Okay, we're going to

57:50keep reading about Joseph's story and

57:51then we're going to do a huge backtrack

57:53as to why this means everything

57:55regarding Jesus. Let's just refresh real

57:57quick. We talked about Joseph being sold

58:00into slavery, how he is the youngest of

58:0212, and he's sold into slavery

58:05on the behalf of his brother's jealousy.

58:08And so his father sends him out to find

58:11his brothers pasturing in a field. He

58:14finds them just for his brothers to

58:16throw him into a pit where he is then

58:18sold into slavery into the hands of the

58:21Midionites which then take him to Egypt

58:23to be basically the right hand or the

58:27keeper of the house of Piper who is a an

58:30official for Egypt. And while Potterer

58:33is gone, there's altercation with Joseph

58:36and Potterer's wife where she basically

58:41made a false accusation regarding Joseph

58:44that was not true. That's where we're at

58:45in the story. So then he was thrown into

58:47prison and then still made charge over

58:49everything. Okay, let's go. 40.

58:55Uh sometime after this, the cup bearer,

58:57the king of Egypt and his baker

58:58committed an offense against their lord

59:00of the king of Egypt and Pharaoh was

59:02angry with his two officers and the

59:05chief cup bearer and the chief baker. He

59:07put them in custody in the house of the

59:09captain of the guard in the prison where

59:11Joseph was confined. The captain of the

59:12guard appointed Joseph to be with them.

59:14He sent to them and they continued for

59:16some time in custody. And one night they

59:19both dreamed the cupbearer and the uh

59:21and the baker the king of Egypt who were

59:23confined in the prison each of his own

59:25dream and each with its own

59:26interpretation. And basically what ended

59:29up happening is that Joseph gave them an

59:31interpretation to their dream. And what

59:33he had shared with the chief cup bearer

59:35which was a cup bearer. They sit at the

59:37right hand of Pharaoh and they are a

59:39servant ultimately onto Pharaoh. He had

59:42shared with the cup bearer that his

59:43position would be restored back onto

59:46Pharaoh. And then with the baker, not so

59:48great of a story. The interpretation of

59:51the dream was that he was going to see

59:55his last days very soon and that he

59:57would not be restored, that he was going

59:58to be cut off from his own self. And so

1:00:01he interprets the dreams and then uh

1:00:06what ended up happening in the

1:00:08interpretation did happen. So uh on the

1:00:12third day, this is verse 20 of 40 41. On

1:00:15the third day, which was Pharaoh's

1:00:16birthday, he made a feast for all of his

1:00:18servants and lifted up the head of the

1:00:20chief cuff bearer and the head of the

1:00:22chief baker amongst his servants

1:00:24servants. He restored the chief cup bear

1:00:26to his position and he placed the cup in

1:00:28Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief

1:00:30baker as Joseph has interpreted to them.

1:00:34Yet the chief cupbeard did not remember

1:00:36Joseph but forgot him because Joseph

1:00:38said, "In exchange, will you just

1:00:39remember me?" And guess what? He didn't

1:00:41remember him. And he remembered him all

1:00:44these years later. And this had happened

1:00:46when Pharaoh was very troubled. This is

1:00:48what Genesis 41 talks about. And I'm

1:00:50just going to break it down in a very

1:00:53easy form is that Pharaoh had a very

1:00:56troubling dream. Every witch warlock

1:01:00neurommancer came in was trying to

1:01:01interpret it and couldn't. And that's

1:01:03when the cup bearer came to his senses.

1:01:04He was like, "Oh my gosh, there was

1:01:06totally this guy in prison who told me

1:01:08my dream and it happened. You should

1:01:11bring him." Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's

1:01:14dream. From that interpretation, Pharaoh

1:01:17restores Joseph out of prison into the

1:01:21right hand, overseeing the entirety of

1:01:24Egypt. So you have Pharaoh, then you

1:01:26have Joseph right under it. And so he

1:01:28was the second hand sitting at the right

1:01:32hand of Pharaoh

1:01:34in Egypt, which is insane. And so then

1:01:38I'm going to summarize the rest of

1:01:39Joseph's story. Then what happened is

1:01:42that um the Lord had spoken to Joseph

1:01:45that there was going to be a famine that

1:01:47specifically there was going to be a

1:01:49lack of bread and water. And so there

1:01:52was going to be a few years I believe is

1:01:55seven years of storing and then seven

1:01:57years of famine. And what happened

1:01:59during those years is that Joseph was in

1:02:01charge of storing all the food that was

1:02:04needed before the famine hit. So

1:02:06whenever the famine did come, Egypt was

1:02:09overloaded with many possessions. And so

1:02:12with that when when the famine comes

1:02:16around, Joseph's family, the very same

1:02:19brothers that threw him and sold him

1:02:21into p not prison, slavery and then got

1:02:24him into prison and all these other

1:02:25things because of the series of events

1:02:26that took after the events of him being

1:02:29sold into slavery were coming to Egypt

1:02:31because they also needed possessions.

1:02:33They needed food, they needed resources,

1:02:35they needed all of these things. And

1:02:36when they came back,

1:02:39Joseph recognized them, but they did not

1:02:41recognize him. And so he's trembled at

1:02:43the sight of his brothers. He basically

1:02:45says, "I will not give onto you until

1:02:47you bring your youngest brother

1:02:48Benjamin." All the brothers come. And

1:02:51basically, Joseph forgives his brothers.

1:02:55He wept and he grieavves. He forgives

1:02:57them and then he supports them. That's

1:02:59basically the end all beall of I guess

1:03:02the Genesis the Genesis story. And

1:03:06Joseph blesses

1:03:09he blesses his brothers by saying that

1:03:13it is not you but it is God who has

1:03:15brought me here and he did not blame his

1:03:18brothers he forgave them. So this is the

1:03:21story of Joseph. Okay just recap. We

1:03:23have to say it explicitly. So when I

1:03:25tell you these things you're like got

1:03:27it. Now here's the question of the hour.

1:03:29What does this have to do with Jesus?

1:03:32Right.

1:03:34Joseph and Jesus, right? So, we look at

1:03:36stories like we look at um church has

1:03:40taught us that the story uh stories in

1:03:42the Bible are more about us, but they

1:03:44point to Jesus. So,

1:03:47I can't really win the argument of, oh

1:03:49man, this story just empathizes with me

1:03:51so much when most of the stories that we

1:03:52love and adore so much in church are

1:03:54more made about Jesus than they are ever

1:03:57made about us. We could empathize with

1:03:58them, but they're not about us. They're

1:04:00about Jesus. We look at the story of

1:04:02Joseph and Jesus. What did Joseph and

1:04:04Jesus have in common? They are both the

1:04:06beloved son of their father.

1:04:08Joseph was favored by his father. Jesus

1:04:10was favor favored by his father. They

1:04:12are both the beloved son of of their

1:04:15fathers. Joseph was sent by his father

1:04:18to his brothers. Jesus was sent by God

1:04:20the father into the world. Joseph was

1:04:23betrayed by his own brethren.

1:04:26Jesus was betrayed by his own brethren.

1:04:29This is when we see the part where

1:04:31Joseph is sold into slavery.

1:04:34Joseph's brothers conspired together in

1:04:37order to kill him.

1:04:40Religious leaders conspired against

1:04:43Jesus to kill him.

1:04:46When Joseph is thrown into the pit, his

1:04:48robe was stripped from him. Jesus's

1:04:51garments were stripped from him.

1:04:55He was thrown into a pit. Joseph was

1:04:57Jesus is crucified and buried into the

1:05:00pit of the grave. Oh, get this. Joseph

1:05:04was sold for silver. Specifically, 20

1:05:06shekels. Jesus was sold for 30 shekels

1:05:09of silver.

1:05:11Okay, you still think the story is about

1:05:14you.

1:05:16Though innocent blood, Joseph was

1:05:19accused. Jesus was innocent and was

1:05:22accused. Now we're talking about

1:05:23potterer's wife. Joseph was innocent and

1:05:27still was accused and punished. Jesus

1:05:30was innocent and perfect and still yet

1:05:33and still yet accused. Joseph is in

1:05:36prison with two other offenders. Jesus

1:05:39is crucified with two criminals.

1:05:44One of the two offenders that Joseph was

1:05:47in prison with was restored to its

1:05:49position. The other ended up dying.

1:05:54One out of the two criminals that was

1:05:57crucified with Jesus saw paradise and

1:06:00the other had died to his own beliefs.

1:06:03Joseph goes from humiliation to

1:06:06exaltation.

1:06:07Jesus Jesus goes from humiliation/death

1:06:12to supreme exaltation.

1:06:15Now get this. Joseph sits at the right

1:06:18hand of Pharaoh.

1:06:20Jesus sits at the right hand of God.

1:06:25Get this. Genesis 41-40. During the

1:06:28famine of Joseph, people come to Joseph

1:06:30to receive bread. Jesus says, "I am the

1:06:32bread of life." Joseph suffers in order

1:06:36for others to be saved. Christ suffers

1:06:38ultimately to bring us salvation. Joseph

1:06:41saves the brothers who rejected him.

1:06:44Jesus offers salvation to all who have

1:06:46offended him. Jesus for Joseph forgives

1:06:50his brothers rather than punishing them

1:06:52and Jesus forgives his enemies and all

1:06:55of which who have sinned against him and

1:06:56have fallen short. This is not merely

1:06:59about us. It is about Jesus. This is a

1:07:04messianic tale that speaks that breathes

1:07:07that energizes the body of Jesus. And we

1:07:09have the audacity to make stories like

1:07:11this about us. It is not about us. It is

1:07:15about Jesus. Your Bible is not about

1:07:18you. It is about Jesus. Empathize with

1:07:22it. Sit in it. Sulk in it. Do what you

1:07:24must. But do not get it twisted. That

1:07:29let it not get before you that this is

1:07:32not just about you. This is about the

1:07:35crucified and risen form of Jesus who

1:07:38establish all people back to himself

1:07:40through a great and gruesome death and a

1:07:42powerful resurrection.

1:07:45And I'm going to do one more.

1:07:46Let's go to Daniel 6. I did this in my

1:07:50uh personal time the other day. Um I was

1:07:53just kind of reading and this came up

1:07:55and I was like, "Oh, I should bring this

1:07:57up in the teaching."

1:07:59Daniel 6

1:08:02and I'll summarize for the sake of time.

1:08:08Okay. Daniel 6. Daniel and the Lion's

1:08:11Den. You know how many times I've heard

1:08:13people say, "Man, I'm Daniel. I'm just

1:08:15like thrown into my pit and I feel like

1:08:17there's just a swarm of lions just

1:08:19coming around me trying to devour me.

1:08:21This story is not about you, honey boooo

1:08:23child. This story is about Jesus. Um, so

1:08:27let's break it down. Let's take

1:08:28ourselves out of the picture. Let's put

1:08:30our lens to find the death, burial, and

1:08:33resurrection of Jesus Christ. And let's

1:08:35read it from that perspective. Okay? So

1:08:38you can read this on your own time.

1:08:39Daniel 6. What is happening in this

1:08:42context? Daniel is a well-established

1:08:44leader. King Darius during the time

1:08:47favors Daniel and about 120 sat traps

1:08:51came against Daniel to

1:08:55basically they were jealous. They were

1:08:58jealous of his position and they didn't

1:09:00like how close they were to the Lord.

1:09:01They didn't like how successful he was.

1:09:03They didn't like how he continuously was

1:09:06amplified and promoted. They were just

1:09:08jealous of Daniel. And because he was

1:09:10blameless and he was innocent, they

1:09:12conspired a plot to kill him by

1:09:16manipulating the very law of

1:09:19then using it against Daniel to where

1:09:22they would basically catch him being

1:09:23faithful to God. Use that enemies to

1:09:27take that to King Darius so he could be

1:09:29thrown into the lion's den. And then

1:09:32Daniel's in the lion's den. And while

1:09:35he's expected to die, he's expected to

1:09:38die, he did not. The lions did not

1:09:41devour him. The stone is rolled away. He

1:09:45was not eaten. He had not the lions had

1:09:48not laid a a single tooth on him. And

1:09:52King Darius exalted him out of that pit

1:09:56and had made a decree which by the way

1:09:59what had happened before was that uh

1:10:01there was a decree that you couldn't

1:10:02worship anybody except for King Darius.

1:10:05So then after Daniel did not disobey the

1:10:08Lord and he went into the pit for being

1:10:10faithful and he came out still without

1:10:14anything on him being untouched. King

1:10:17Darius made a new decree for everybody

1:10:20in that space and in that land to

1:10:23worship the God of Daniel which is the

1:10:25Lord which is the Lord Almighty. And

1:10:28then what happened is that the very same

1:10:30people

1:10:32he d who dug a hole for Daniel fell into

1:10:35the hole of which they made for him.

1:10:38Their own bodies, their families and

1:10:39their wives fell into the lion's den.

1:10:42And the scripture says this that their

1:10:44bodies didn't even hit the floor because

1:10:47this is how hungry the the the lions

1:10:49were. Okay. So let's compare this to

1:10:51Jesus.

1:10:53So Daniel

1:10:55sat traps plotted against him. Jesus

1:10:57religious leaders conspired to kill him.

1:11:00Okay, sounded familiar.

1:11:03Daniel was innocent and accused. Jesus

1:11:07innocent and accused.

1:11:10Daniel is praying before the arrest

1:11:13while the decree was made. While Jesus

1:11:17is waiting to be arrested, what is he

1:11:19doing? He's praying in Gethsemane.

1:11:23King Darius believes that Daniel is

1:11:25innocent and tries to rescue him. This

1:11:27sounds a lot like Pontius Pilate who

1:11:29declares that Jesus is innocent and

1:11:31seeks to release him, but because of the

1:11:35swings and the opinions of the people,

1:11:36he ultimately gives him over to them. So

1:11:39Daniel's accusers pressure the king

1:11:41using unchangeable law. Jesus's accusers

1:11:45pressure Pilate using Roman authority

1:11:47and law. Daniel is casted into what

1:11:51should have been certain death, which is

1:11:52the lion's den. And Jesus is actually

1:11:54put to death and laid in a tomb.

1:11:58A stone is placed over the mouth of the

1:12:00den when they closed Daniel in it. A

1:12:02stone is rolled over the entrance of

1:12:04Jesus's tomb. Guess what? Both the stone

1:12:07in Daniel's story and the stone

1:12:11in the burial is marked with a

1:12:14governmental seal. Both of them, both

1:12:18stones are sealed.

1:12:20Daniel is found alive. When they

1:12:22unrolled the stone and he is alive,

1:12:25Jesus is found risen. When the tomb is

1:12:28open, he is found risen. Not inside of

1:12:30it, but he is risen. And when they

1:12:32opened that tomb, he was not in it.

1:12:35After Daniel is vindicated, the king

1:12:38proclaims the greatness of Daniel's God

1:12:41to the nations. And after Jesus's

1:12:42resurrection, the gospel is proclaimed

1:12:44to all of the nations. I love the end of

1:12:46Daniel chapter 6 because it shows us

1:12:48something so incredible. Um when this is

1:12:52when King Darius is speaking to Daniel

1:12:54after he sees that the lions did not

1:12:56devour him. Um, and it says, "So Daniel

1:12:58was taken up out of the den, and no kind

1:13:01of harm was found on him because he had

1:13:03trusted in his God. And the king

1:13:05commanded, and those men who had meticul

1:13:08maliciously accused Daniel were brought

1:13:10and cast into the den of lions. They and

1:13:12their children, their wives, and before

1:13:14they had reached the bottom of the den,

1:13:15the lions overpowered them and broke all

1:13:17their bones in pieces. Then the king

1:13:19Darius wrote to all the peoples and

1:13:21languages um on the earth, saying,

1:13:24"Peace be with you. I make a decree that

1:13:26in all my royal dominion, people are to

1:13:28tremble in fear before the God of

1:13:31Daniel.

1:13:35What I love about this passage is that

1:13:39King Darius did not send out a decree to

1:13:41worship Daniel because this was bigger

1:13:45than establishing what Daniel did. It

1:13:47was what God did through Daniel. And so

1:13:50Jesus does the same thing. He points to

1:13:52himself to reveal himself so that for

1:13:56eternity he's proclaimed to the nations

1:13:58that the same way as to how Darius

1:14:02proclaimed we follow the God of daniel

1:14:07Jesus lives a resurrected life. So we

1:14:09proclaim we live a life that is in

1:14:12accordance to Jesus Christ and that

1:14:14power of the resurrection. And so just

1:14:17another story that proves how the the

1:14:19the richness of the death, burial, and

1:14:22resurrection in Jesus and his life is

1:14:23foretold in Genesis,

1:14:27in the prophets, in the Psalms, in the

1:14:30Proverbs, in everything. And so I really

1:14:33want to encourage you that as you read

1:14:36your Bible, find him. Find Jesus. These

1:14:40are just examples. And this is

1:14:43fundamental to the faith, you guys. This

1:14:45is fundamental as to how we see Jesus,

1:14:46how we pursue the scriptures, how we

1:14:48love one another. It's all about him.

1:14:51[snorts]

1:14:52And we could get caught up in a lot of

1:14:54coralings and uh a lot of

1:14:55self-exaltation when it comes to like

1:14:58I'm right and just like appinative

1:15:00things and very subjective matters when

1:15:02we're looking for us and not him or

1:15:03we're looking to be right instead of him

1:15:05being right. Uh we just look for him in

1:15:08everything. If we make the scriptures

1:15:09less about us and we make them more

1:15:11about him and if we find ourselves in

1:15:12them, that's great. But let our priority

1:15:14always be him. And so I wanted to end it

1:15:17on that note uh to just train you and

1:15:19give you some sort of teaching and a

1:15:23lens and a conviction that I pray the

1:15:25Holy Spirit has given to you guys of how

1:15:28to seek him greater and how and this is

1:15:31how we preserve the joy of our salvation

1:15:33is that our salvation isn't a feeling I

1:15:37have with God. It's the fact that he

1:15:39reconciled me to himself through a

1:15:41bloody death. And so if I'm not

1:15:43remembering that, if I'm not looking for

1:15:45that in the scriptures, I'm not going to

1:15:47have a renewed joy to my salvation. It's

1:15:50not going to be renewed because I'm

1:15:51forget forgetting who saved me. I'm

1:15:55forgetting the blood that Jesus has

1:15:58shed. And so we stay in the joy of the

1:16:01Lord. We stay in the joy of our

1:16:02salvation. We stay in joy amidst

1:16:04suffering when we look for him. I think

1:16:08of Psalms 34:5 where it says that those

1:16:10who look to them, their faces are

1:16:12radiant and they will never be ashamed

1:16:14because when we look to him, we are

1:16:16illuminated,

1:16:17by him, with him and for him. If we're

1:16:22illuminated by ourselves, we're no bad

1:16:25better than Adam and Eve sewing fig

1:16:27leaves to cover us. Let us be a part of

1:16:30the Psalms 91 promise where we could

1:16:33abide in the shadow of the Almighty

1:16:35and hide under his wings because our

1:16:38refuge isn't actually him and not just

1:16:41I'm thinking of him and saying his name

1:16:42but like I actually know who he is and

1:16:45the importance of knowing him and

1:16:47knowing him is by looking at the cross

1:16:50and I think um it's looking at the cross

1:16:53and looking at the resurrection and kind

1:16:54of a cheat code that a friend gave me

1:16:56and even my pastor which I even just

1:16:58like honor my pastor my church Malik and

1:17:02I have just really cleaned um from our

1:17:05church home

1:17:08really

1:17:10I think I'd be dead if we did not see

1:17:14Jesus the way that we see him now um and

1:17:17took ourselves out of the picture and um

1:17:20man like thank you Lord for the local

1:17:22church thank you for amazing shepherds

1:17:25um I am a well recipient of that where

1:17:27was I going with that. I think it was

1:17:28because I was going to repeat something

1:17:29that he shared with us. Oh man, it was

1:17:33I'm forgetting it. I'm foretting it. Oh,

1:17:35almost there. Death, burial,

1:17:37resurrection, blood of Jesus.

1:17:41Lord, I'm need you to tell me. But

1:17:45anyways, what I'm trying to say, and I'm

1:17:47almost done with this water bottle. I'm

1:17:48so thirsty.

1:17:51It's all onto him. It's all for him. Um,

1:17:55and it's so we pursue him. Um, and so we

1:17:58could be with him. Uh, and so yeah, you

1:18:01guys, that's my encouragement for today

1:18:02is let's change the way that we pursue

1:18:05the scriptures. If we look at the

1:18:08scriptures and read them differently,

1:18:09it's going to change how we communicate

1:18:11with one another in great ways. It's

1:18:12going to change the way we love one

1:18:14another in great ways. It's going to

1:18:15change the way we serve one another in

1:18:17great ways because we're conforming into

1:18:19the person we know about. And um,

1:18:21knowing him is everything because

1:18:24knowing him is eternal life. Um, that's

1:18:26the last thing I'll read. I'll read uh

1:18:29John 17 just came to my head

1:18:39and this is eternal life that they know

1:18:41you the only true God in Jesus Christ

1:18:44whom you have sent. So be confident that

1:18:47as you read these scriptures, what

1:18:48grants you eternal life, what could give

1:18:50you certainty, what could give you

1:18:51comfort as you lay your head on that

1:18:53little pillow at night that you have

1:18:55eternal life with Jesus is the certain

1:18:57fact that you know him. And you know him

1:18:59by looking at him. You know him by

1:19:01reading these scriptures, searching and

1:19:03seeking him and by adoring him and by

1:19:06transforming into him and by looking at

1:19:09him in every sphere. So, let's be

1:19:12encouraged this week. Uh, to look at him

1:19:13greater, to peel our eyes to the cross

1:19:15and the resurrected king. I love you

1:19:17guys so much. That is pretty much the

1:19:19end of the episode. I think this was a

1:19:20really long one. Um, I have no idea. I'm

1:19:23assuming it was long. Was it very long?

1:19:25Like, I've been hearing for a while. You

1:19:27think so? Can you tell me?

1:19:31Hour 20. Wow, my throat is dry. Um, but

1:19:37yeah, you guys, a few announcements

1:19:41uh that I want to give because this is

1:19:43uploading on the 15th. Yep. Uh, wait, is

1:19:48it uploading on the 15th? Yes, it's

1:19:49uploading on the 15th. That's actually

1:19:51my brother's birthday. So, everybody

1:19:52wish Avery happy birthday. You guys have

1:19:54never met my brother. I bet no one knows

1:19:56what he looks like, but it's my

1:19:57brother's birthday. Um, okay. A few

1:19:59announcements. Uh if you guys are

1:20:02well one if this has blessed you, if

1:20:05this episode has blessed you, um one I

1:20:07just thank God. Um two, if you want to

1:20:13be a part of our Patreon community,

1:20:15which is Save Society, which is an

1:20:16online disciplehip and an online

1:20:18community for everybody pretty much all

1:20:21over the world. Um there is a link down

1:20:23in the description. We do a number of

1:20:25things. We have four calls a month. So,

1:20:28we have a call once a week. Bi-weekly we

1:20:30have prayer calls where we come together

1:20:31as a community and we pray for one

1:20:33another, cover each other in prayer. Um,

1:20:35and then bi-weekly we also have Zoom

1:20:37calls. And once a month we have this

1:20:39Zoom call,

1:20:42which is basically you guys are able to

1:20:43come on a Zoom call and I'm hosting

1:20:45them. I'm there. I'm talking to you

1:20:46guys. There's someone who said like,

1:20:48"Amy, I didn't realize you're on these

1:20:49calls." Like, "Yeah, girl. Like, who

1:20:50else going to be here?" and I get on the

1:20:53call with you guys and it's basically a

1:20:55safe space for you to ask any question.

1:20:57If you don't have leadership, if you

1:20:58want to ask questions regarding the

1:21:00faith, regarding your Bible studying,

1:21:02regarding things that you're walking

1:21:03through, it is a safe place to ask them.

1:21:05Um, and where we're in a place of

1:21:07community where we could sharpen one

1:21:08another and where we could just conform

1:21:10into the image of Jesus together. And

1:21:12usually with the live Q&A calls, this is

1:21:14where we have special guests come on.

1:21:16So, we just had because by the time this

1:21:18episode goes live, um, this would have

1:21:21already happened unless if you're early

1:21:23access on Patreon, it hasn't happened

1:21:25yet. It will happen when you're watching

1:21:27it this night. Um, which that's another

1:21:30thing. If you're a part of Safe Society,

1:21:32you also get early access to every

1:21:35single episode. Um, but [clears throat]

1:21:37we have special guests on our live Q&A.

1:21:38We just have the the sweetest, the most

1:21:41incredible, the amazing Megan Ashley on

1:21:43our live Q&A call. It hasn't happened

1:21:46yet because this is pre-recorded, but

1:21:47guess what? I bet it was glorious

1:21:49because that is my sister and I actually

1:21:51don't think I could do life without her.

1:21:52I like know how you meet people and

1:21:54you're like, "Man, I met you and like my

1:21:56life would never be the same without you

1:21:57type." That's how I feel about Megan.

1:21:59And she's incredible. She's so on fire

1:22:01for the Lord. Uh loves people like how

1:22:03Jesus does. Um and is such a powerful

1:22:06voice for this generation. And so, uh we

1:22:08have people who come on to the live Q&A

1:22:11calls to just give wisdom and glean from

1:22:14it. I gleaned from it too. Um, and then

1:22:17we have our safe society community calls

1:22:19which is at the end of every month. And

1:22:21what the safe society communic community

1:22:23call is, it's basically a huge Bible

1:22:25study call. So what that looks like is

1:22:28we do ice breakers as a community. We

1:22:31get close before we like cry and get

1:22:33into scripture. I don't know, some

1:22:35people cry. Um, and then we pray

1:22:37together as a community and then I

1:22:39teach. And then after I teach, we'll go

1:22:41into small group questions and then

1:22:42we'll close out. And so I think that is

1:22:44like one of the most benefiting things

1:22:48we do uh I would say in

1:22:52excuse me um that we do a part of safe

1:22:54society. I think what makes up a lot of

1:22:57the membership is the calls uh but we do

1:23:01expect to exceed uh what we're doing in

1:23:04so many different ways. So yeah,

1:23:05exclusive content, early access calls,

1:23:09um, and then looking to do things like

1:23:11private events, looking to do things

1:23:12like I used to do devotionals, but it's

1:23:14kind of been packed. So I would love to

1:23:16get back on the devotional grind again.

1:23:18Um, but right now it is so worth it for

1:23:22the calls. The girls who come for the

1:23:24calls over and over and over again, they

1:23:26will tell you that it is incredible. So

1:23:29you guys do not want to miss it. Um, and

1:23:32yeah, aside from that, if you feel led

1:23:33to give onto this ministry, um, there's

1:23:36also a link down below. I'm currently,

1:23:38me and my sister are working on a

1:23:39tithely because cash app is kind of like

1:23:42yikes. Um, but it's just me and my

1:23:44assistant like kind of working

1:23:46everything out. Um, so we're still

1:23:48building as a team and etc. When you

1:23:50give to this ministry, it's 100% going

1:23:53back into the mission. It is not going

1:23:55into my personal pocket. It's not going

1:23:56into my my rents. It's not going into

1:23:59anything. it's going back into the

1:24:01ministry. And so what does the ministry

1:24:02do? There are things coming up where

1:24:04we're wanting to do live events. Um even

1:24:07when it comes to sponsoring

1:24:09missionaries, uh last summer we had

1:24:11filled a few classrooms and uh we give

1:24:14onto local churches, local missionaries,

1:24:16uh local uh projects uh that the Lord

1:24:20has his hands hand on. Um, and so I just

1:24:23wanted to share that when you give on to

1:24:25and if you feel led to, and if you

1:24:28don't, please pray for us because we

1:24:29accept prayer more than anything, but if

1:24:31you feel led ever to give onto this

1:24:33ministry that it does not go into my

1:24:35personal pocket, it goes back straight

1:24:37into the mission. Um, so that's where

1:24:38your finances are going because I think

1:24:40it's always super transparent and um,

1:24:42admirable when we say where they're

1:24:43going. So yeah, that's that you guys.

1:24:47That's kind of all my announcements. But

1:24:48until you then you guys, I'll see you

1:24:50two weeks from now. I love you guys so

1:24:52much and yeah, love you guys.