Everyday Kingdom
What if the Kingdom of God wasn't just for Sundays - but for every moment of your life?
Everyday Kingdom is where deep biblical truth meets real-world living. Hosted by Kaleb and Rafael, this show unpacks Scripture, explores powerful God-stories, and breaks down big spiritual concepts into practical steps you can live out right now.
From understanding how God speaks, to seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, to finding faith when life is hard, each episode will inspire, challenge, and equip you to walk out your faith with authenticity and courage.
Whether you're a seasoned believer, new to following Jesus, or just curious about Christianity, you'll find honest conversations, relatable stories, and practical wisdom to help you experience the reality of God's Kingdom...every...single...day.
Everyday Kingdom
85. How Do I Deal With Hostile?
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This episode dives into dealing with hostile environments
Welcome back, everyone, to the Everyday Kingdom Podcast. I'm Caleb and I'm here with Miriam and Raphael, and we are ready to rock and roll today. Yes, we are. Yay. Where's the rock? Yeah. And where's the roll? Glory to God. You know what? We got some Swiss rolls downstairs, some mocha Swiss rolls that someone listen to this, listen to this. Don't tell my kids. All right. Hopefully they're not listening right now. But uh, somebody donated some Swiss rolls to our food pantry. The problem is they were like expired today. And so we don't have the food pantry open today. And they're like, well, we can't give these out because they're expired, obviously. I said, Well, I guess I'll take them home. You know, what are you gonna do with them? Because they were gonna throw them out. I said, I'll take them home. So my kids now have a couple boxes of mocha Swiss rolls.
SPEAKER_01Do those have caffeine in them? Are you sure you want to give those to your kids?
SPEAKER_03You know what? It'll be fine.
SPEAKER_01Give it to them at school. I'll give them to them.
SPEAKER_03That'll be their snack for school.
SPEAKER_01Their teachers will love you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and if they don't eat it, I bet Marley would. She'd probably really like that too. She's actually out on a trip right now.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Out out west for nine days.
SPEAKER_01Nice.
SPEAKER_03And it's me and the kids. So Swiss rolls for breakfast.
SPEAKER_01Star is great.
SPEAKER_03It's exactly like a cake. That's right. Star Crunch for lunch.
SPEAKER_02Star Crunch. I love that.
SPEAKER_03And McDonald's for dinner. Let's do it. Here we go. The environment in my home right now is uh one that you would imagine because it's just me and three kids, uh somewhat chaotic. Right. Uh anytime that your partner is away, your spouse is away, uh, especially when it's mom, you know, and mom is like the she's the the anchor point. She's the she's the I'm crying, I'm hurt, go to mom. You know, like uh if I want fun, I'll go to dad. But like if I'm crying or if I'm hurt, you know, I don't want dad to help me. I want mom, you know, she's sweet and kind, and dad's like, throw some dirt on it, you're fine, you know. And uh and mom's gone right now. So you can imagine what the environment in our home is like.
SPEAKER_01Uh North Korea.
SPEAKER_03North Korea, you know, just that's exactly right. Math, science. Yeah, clean up everything. It actually is pretty clean right now. Um, I will say that. But that's mostly because we haven't been home very much. So thankfully. Uh, but uh fortunately for us, the environment is not too hostile. Um, there are moments and you know, kids want to get out of line, but I just throw a Swiss roll at them and everything gets right back into line. Uh but gets me thinking about environments. Not every environment that you were in is a good environment. So, Miriam, how how do you typically handle or deal with uh entering into an environment that uh may be considered hostile or um just not good in general?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so now I'm considering taking a box of Swiss cake or Swiss rolls with me and just throwing them people around me. That's a great idea. Or zone I know, right? Right, you know, um You'll get a Star Crunch. You'll get a Star Crunch. It works as they work as missiles, too. Exactly. Uh-huh. Um you know if I'm entering a an environment that I know can be hostile, hostile, hostile. Um I always would pray beforehand just because I would know that, okay, this is a this is a potentially volatile situation for me. And I know that a this particular person gets me riled up in a certain way, and it's it's it's hostile and it's um confrontational. I'm not typically a confrontational person, so if I know that I'm gonna be entering something like that, the first place that I start is just like praying because I'm thinking, okay, what am I gonna do? And then I remember that I carry peace because I think it's very easy to forget that the Prince of Peace, who we I live in union with, you know, walks with me everywhere that I go. And if I forget that, then I can become I would almost consider it like a slave again to my environment and to what's happening to me instead of affecting that environment. So if I know that I'm going into a hostile environment, the first thing I do, I I guess you could think of it as centering, you know, on him. Okay. And but I think what happens to a lot of people is they don't realize they're going into a hostile environment. You know, you get to work, you think, okay, I'm gonna go to work, and this is what's gonna happen. You get there, and then I was gonna say Susie. I won't use Susie's name. Um or Sharon, come on now, Pam. Karen, or Karen, there you go. Karen's there and she had a terrible weekend, and she's going through an awful divorce. Well, she starts stirring up drama, right? And so then she gets she gets Steve worked up. And so I don't know, I get all these names. And so she gets him worked up, and so now you've got like this little stirring undercurrent going on in the office or in in your environment, and you didn't ask for it, you didn't create it, right? But you're stepping into that and you weren't even expecting it. So sometimes those can kind of blindside you a little bit, but it's always wise to take just a second and come back.
SPEAKER_00I got an example of a hostile environment this week. Um excuse me if I'm taking a little bit more time to speak. But I had this moment this week where my wife calls me and she says, Hey, this person says that you set up their account like this, and I was just like, that never happened. I made sure that never happened. And so I had time to prepare. And I went to the person's house and I said, We can look over every document, we can look over every piece of email. Like any if there's any emails or any accounts, let's let's look at that. And we went through everything, and there was not one piece of information uh on their accounts as they said or thought there was, like there was no credit card information out anywhere. And so it prepared me um to help this person because I wrote down what I needed to do to show them, hey, everything's good. And I I think if you can study to show yourself approved before you go into an environment that you know is going to be hostile, and like have every peace letter out, like have every piece word ready to speak at all times in season and out of season. I think it really brings peace to hostile environments.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. That's a good, that's a good, uh, a good way to look at it too, Raf. You know, essentially, like you said, Miriam, you're not always uh prepared for the environment that you're gonna walk into, or or or or maybe your expectation is that it's gonna be one way and it turns out another way. And so, you know, with that, the the the preparation happens beforehand. Yeah. A lot of people end up because they never prepare the vessel, they never prepare their hearts, and because they don't do exactly what you just talked about, study to show yourself approved. Um, they don't spend time in union with the Prince of Peace beforehand. Uh there they they use it, they use Jesus more as emergency response. Yeah. And so, you know, I live my life, and then Jesus is on call and on standby for when I need him.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Right. And so by living that way, when I encounter a uh an environment that might be hostile, then I'm like, oh Jesus, I need you. Hurry up. Right. You know, um, but the difference is, you know, when you have someone who's actually living from union with Christ, it doesn't matter what environment that you enter into, whether it's peace-filled or it's hostile, uh, the Prince of Peace is always there. And that environment gets to encounter the Prince of Peace in you. Yeah. Um, because you're living from union. You've studied to show yourself approved. All that that means is that I have taken time intentionally beforehand, um, uh learning and growing and walking with the Prince of Peace. Knowing him. Like seeking to know him. Absolutely, absolutely. And so I can I can enter into an environment that is, you know, not uh ideal and and and and maybe could be even you know harmful or antagonistic. Uh and I can respond like Christ because that's what's within me. It's the it's the age-old, you know, when you squeeze uh a lemon, what comes out? When you squeeze a sponge, what comes out? You know, when you squeeze a sponge, the thing that the sponge had absorbed is what's going to come out. So if it's dirty water, dirty water's coming out. If it's clean water, clean water's coming out. If it's milk, milk's coming out. You know, like what are you filling yourself with? Right. And and so I love what you you said there, Rafa. You know, it's it's so much of it has to do with, you know, the the the prep time, air quotes prep time. You know, beforehand, it's the quiet time. You know, it's the it's the spending time with the Lord. And I think that's kind of what you're talking about too, uh re um referring to Miriam, when you're talking about just if I know I'm going into this environment, I'm gonna be praying beforehand. Right.
SPEAKER_01Well, and even like you said, you know, not Jesus, not having Jesus on standby, but instead I'm waking up. Good morning, Jesus. What do you want to what do you want to speak to me today? Right. You know, or what are we doing today? You know, let me bring you in. You know, you've already been in this day. Let me come in and agree with with what you say about this day, you know, and and walking that way, you know that he's with you, you know, and that that that just starts it off in a place of of oneness.
SPEAKER_03It it really does, like the way that you view God really does play a significant role in this because if you're um, you know, we've talked a lot about religion, we've talked a lot about union with Christ. Um, and if I believe in my heart that there is no distance and separation between us, um, then I'm going to live that out. I'm gonna walk that out. And um what that means is that it there is no uh I'm doing my life and then Jesus is over here doing his thing. Right. Sometimes our paths cross, sometimes I call in his name and he saves me. You know, it's it's it are are those things true? Absolutely. He does save you when you call in his name, right? Um but but he is literally his desire is to walk in union with you no matter where you go, like there to have no distance, right? You know, and so that's what he wants uh for us. And and you know, religion will will will tell you that uh, you know, you you've got all this sin going on in your life, and so then you gotta get to the altar because Jesus is over here, and you know, get that sin out so that Jesus can get in, and and it becomes this perpetual cycle that there's distance between us. You know, but that the the gospel says that I've been filled with him and by his spirit, you know, and now this is how I live, and that it's that spirit that is now pushing out all of the other stuff out of me, you know, making room uh for the good and the fruit that he wants to produce in my life, you know, and those two things are at at war with each other, you know, they're in enmity with each with one another, the things of the spirit and the things of the flesh. And so, you know, I get the choice of who am I gonna partner with, right? And that's this that's the daily, you know, that's the daily walking together with him. It's just like what you said, you know, it's it's it's I wake up and God, thank you for this day. Like, I'm so glad that you're here with me. And like what would happen if that was your perspective that you woke up and you're not like, oh, I gotta go read my Bible so I can see God again. It's like, no, he's already there, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, we had a uh minister, Jim Baker, over this at conference this year who's challenged us, you know, to wake up in the morning and and just the Lord is my shepherd. Yeah, I have everything I need. I have everything I need. I have everything I need. I shall not want. I shall not want everything I need. I have everything I need. Just wake up with that on your lips. You know, that's your perspective that you take into the day. Then whatever I encounter, I have everything I need.
SPEAKER_03I have everything I need.
SPEAKER_01Father, I'm gonna draw on that. And and it, you know, it just takes the striving away. Yeah. It takes the I have to, I'm not saying not to study or not to prepare, but it takes the I have to quote the scripture exactly that way, right? Or I have to have exactly the right words to speak. It it it brings it to a place of I trust you, and I'm I'm gonna open my mouth and you'll feel it. And it's such a sweet place to sit.
SPEAKER_00I I like how you said that. And when I say study, I I mean just like search out, think about, stir up, and like stir up prophecy. Like when I heard you speaking earlier, what I was thinking about is stir up Jesus who is Jesus in you, like stir him up. Yeah, like don't rely on Raphael or or Miriam or Caleb and like just stir up. If you if you need to call somebody, call somebody, like stir up the gift of of faith, of prophecy with one another, sure. Like carry one another's loads, you know, like bear with one another, sure. But really in that hostile moment, you have to stir up and search out the king's glory. Those it's it's God's power and majesty to conceal something, but it's kings who search out riches, and it's their glory when they find it. It's important, it's so important, and people don't really like I heard that the other day. I'm just like, is does that really say that? Like it's it's for kings and for them to have this glory, like they get glory by searching something out, by remembering, by recalling. I I remember what Matt said in um the church uh Sunday. He said, I remembered what someone gave me about 10 years prior. He said, I I was trying all these things, and God just spoke to me, do you not remember this? And then immediately, like there was peace. He stirred up when he began to remember, he began to search it out, study, whatever you want to call it.
SPEAKER_03I I think it's you know, when you're talking about a hostile environment, a lot of times with that, it can it can come multiple ways. You have a hostile environment where people are like actively against you, yeah, and you have a hostile environment where people are it's just like chaos and crazy within their own lives, and you're in that space. You know, does that make sense? Like you've got somebody, kind of like what you were talking about, somebody's dealing with something over here, you know. Step into it. Uh and so, you know, they're they're living emotionally. They're living from the emotion of of what they are dealing with, they're living soulfully. Um, and obviously we all know every single one of us deals with something, right? We're we're all encountering opposition in our life on the daily. That's that's what life looks like. You know, the difference is, you know, how are we how are we handling that, how are we navigating that, and uh what tools are we using, um, what resources are we using as we're doing it? Is is the resource of my life, you know, the source of life and truth in the way, or is the resource of of my life uh my emotions, like my feelings? And and the majority of the time, people um will live from that space where they'll live from their feelings, you know. So if I'm upset, I'm gonna live from the feeling of anger. And that anger isn't gonna manifest in how I treat people. Now I'm gonna be snippy towards you because I'm angry. Like I've lived that I've lived that space. I mean, I'm pretty sure we could all admit, you know, we've we've lived from that space, you know, because it's easy. Yeah, it's natural. Like that's what happens. And so that I think that's the part where, you know, when I live a life in Christ, you know, He He He calls me into this space of dying to self and letting that stuff be left at the altar. And and like you said, Ralph, searching out his glory, you know, and and and and going after his riches and his goodness, you know, and how he calls us to live and how he has designed us to live. And and in doing so, there's there's been so many times in my life where I'm in I'm dealing with something internally. And I'm I am a high eye on the DISC personality profile, I'm a high eye uh person, which means um that typically you can see exactly how I'm feeling because I don't hide it. I don't mask my emotions super well. I I I wear them on my sleeve. So if I'm happy, you see that I'm happy. If I'm upset, I'm I'm you see that I'm upset. But one of the things that God has has had to kind of help me along is that if if Caleb is dealing with something internally because of what's going on in his life that people might not know about, um how is that affecting how he treats everyone else? You know, and and I think for each of us that like that that gets to be the space where we get to seek the Lord and allow him to then live through us. And that's what I'm kind of talking about here is like, you know, I can't control how someone else responds or how someone else lives, but I I can maintain how I do.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03You know, so if Miriam comes at me one day and she's, you know, hot and and ready to, you know, spicy and ready to cut my head off, you know, cut me down, you know, I can come back at her and I can go toe-to-toe with her. Right. Or I can and and to let that emotion stir up inside of me, and then I respond from that emotion, or I can say, okay, Christ, like a soft answer turns away wrath. Like, how can I be a salve in this moment for her? Which is infuriating, you know, which often is infuriating.
SPEAKER_01But it's it's very it's absolutely effective. I mean, it it's it's not that I've come at you like that. That was just an example. But don't lie on camera. You're hilarious. But I have seen you listen. Okay. I have seen you respond to people like who are very heated and who are very emotional. I have seen you respond in a with a soft answer, and then this it just completely diffused. Like they they'll immediately back down. And I say it's infuriating because it's like I want to do that too. And the fact is I can do that because of Christ. Of course, not because of me. Yeah, and not because I'm trying to be like Caleb, but because of Christ.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I just get to trust him and respond, you know, in that way.
SPEAKER_03So that but that's it, and and and that comes from the the and that's what we're kind of talking about at the beginning. Like that comes from that response comes from the life lived with him. Yeah. You know, and it's the that's the difference between the life lived and the knowledge gained. Yeah. Because some grow up with a bunch of knowledge about what to do, but they've never actually experientially walked at how to do it. Right. You know, we talk about this actually all the time is with with the difference between, you know, the knowing and the doing. The the scriptures say, you know, be doers of the word, not hearers only. You know, there's so many who know the right things to do or have been taught the right things to do, but they don't actually do the right things. And and and there's actually a physiological connection there because your left brain is associated with the knowing, your right brain is associated with the doing. And the right side of your brain is the is the connecting point to your character as well, which is why, you know, we can teach Raphael how to forgive, and then he can uh learn a great lesson on forgiveness, and then he can go out in the parking lot and have road rage because Miriam cut him off, you know, and because it hasn't been experienced yet. He knows it in his mind, but he hasn't experienced it yet. And so, you know, that's the difference between living that life with Christ and experiencing it with him versus just knowing about it.
SPEAKER_01Right. And I think that that happens a lot with people who come to church on Sunday morning and they hear a message and they're all fired up about it, and they're like, yes, that's that's the gospel. You know, this is the truth. I'm gonna live this out this week. And then Monday morning comes. Here's the chaos confronting me right into my face. What do I do? What do I do? You know, and so, or it comes on Tuesday or Wednesday after I've had a few days to forget what I've learned, or to not seek the Lord and say, Lord, I know that this is an issue here. Help me this week. I need to apply this so that it sticks with me.
SPEAKER_03Right. You know, and I've got a friend who's bringing, you know, their passive aggressive drama into my life, and they're treating me like garbage, and now I'm dealing with this, and I want to help them, but at the same point, it's like, you know, what the heck's going on?
SPEAKER_01Or or even if somebody I respect and I want to address it, how can I address it in love?
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_01You know what I'm saying? Exactly. Because just because you respect somebody doesn't mean they're always gonna say the right things or do the right things either. So I wish. But and I'm not talking about you, by the way. I know.
SPEAKER_03I wasn't talking about you either.
SPEAKER_01I was talking about me.
SPEAKER_03I don't think we're talking about anybody here. We're good. No, I'm just using a hypothetical situation there. Uh but that's but but but Raf, you had had had talked about, you know, uh taking time intentionally, even like midweek, yeah, to to to re Review some of the things that maybe like like Miriam said you heard something great on a Sunday.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I thought about something uh Matt said actually this Sunday, and it was about singing in the moment that you're in. Like just praising God in the moment that you're you're in, and don't hold it back. Pour it out. I know personally I have held it back at times. But I know that when I go full war into the hostile environment, it might be like throwing Twinkies at kids or something, you know.
SPEAKER_02Throwing turkeys at kids turkeys, twinkies or switch rolls. Okay, okay, that's our crunch twinkies.
SPEAKER_00It starts it starts hitting those things that that are heavy and turning the bitter sweet. It really does. And your your mouth can speak bitter. Yeah. Or you can speak sweet.
SPEAKER_03Right. Yeah. Right. And and and I think it's it's important to remember too, like your perspective in this really matters. Like how you're seeing things. Because the hot the environment itself can appear hostile.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03What would happen if the perspective you're carrying, you're not looking at it as if it's a hostile environment. Right. You're looking at it as if it's an environment of opportunity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You know what I mean? Like, like if you're what what if your perspective is just a redeemed perspective of things? Isn't that what God does for us?
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_03You know, what you and I might look at as a loser or as a sinner or as not worthy or anything like that. Like he looks at it as like, no, that's my precious gold. That's my child. Like I'm going after that. You know what I'm saying? Like, what would happen if we begin to get Heaven's perspective on things, you know, where you might, your, your, your soul might want to call it hostile, but your spirit's like, no, that's my breeding ground. Like, that's that's grace applies here. Let's bring grace. Like, I mean, literally, that's literally it. We're sinner bounds, grace abounds more. So, what would happen is if you go, you look at an environment and it looks as if it's a hostile environment, but that's grace saying, Yes, let me in there, let me in there, let me in there. Yeah, like let me be released through you right now. Yeah, come on, I'm ready to go to work because it needs it. It's it's evident, like it needs it so much.
SPEAKER_01And that is energizing instead of draining. Of course, of course.
SPEAKER_03But you know why? Because his burden is light. That's right. His burden is easy, his yoke is easy, and that's the yoke that we carry. Yeah, you know, and that's the reminder for each of us as we're walking through life and we're dealing with the stuff, you know, and the the environments that seem hostile, or the the the heavy loads that that you know we would would try to attach itself or or to us, or or that that we would try to pick up and carry he's not putting on you, you know, that that that let that serve as a reminder, like his load, his his yoke is easy and it is light, and that's who I'm attached to. Like not I'm not only attached to that, I I can't be unattached from that. I live from union with him. And so, like, let me remind my soul and let my mind be renewed in this and let it see and think again, let my vision be clear in this because my eye is single, filled with the light of Christ. You know, like this is what I'm looking at now. And so you it changes how you approach it. I I I've been training for um uh a 10K. And um, so I've got this this running app that has a guided coach um speaking, and and today I I was doing um sprint intervals, right? And just the thought of sprinting sounds terrible. Sounds terrible, right?
SPEAKER_01Sprinting's not bad. It's the marathon.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, when was the last time you sprinted? Exactly. So yeah, before commenting on sprinting not sounding bad, let me throw a Swiss cake at you.
SPEAKER_02Coastal environment, I'm starting.
SPEAKER_03So, but but but but I was doing these sprint intervals, and one of the things they said it was the very last interval that I had. So I'm like, it's like interval 15. I've already done 10K, 5K, 10k, 5k, 5k, 10k, mile, mile, mile, five. So like all these different pacings, right? And then the last one he called it a celebratory pace. And and I'm like, oh, I like that. That sounds good. Celebratory, because a lot of us think about celebratory as like easy and fun. And he's like, it's a celebratory pace because I want you to think fun. And it's gonna be the hardest one that you do. This is gonna be the fastest, most energy that you're gonna give. And I'm like, whoa. And it sparked something in me. The Lord began to speak to me as I'm running doing this thing about how the hardest thing, what would happen if the hardest thing that I'm about to face, instead of looking at it as if this is hard, I look at it as this as if this is fun, and I attack it with a smile on my face. And it because I'm and it's literally I am sprinting as fast as I can go, and I have a huge smile on my face. If somebody watched me, they're probably like, what is this guy doing? Psychopath. Running as fast as he can go, which is not that fast. Let's just be real. Um, but I thought, what a what a what a mental shift. And and what was what was cool is two things. Number one, I was able to do it. I felt like a kid.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03It was very childlike and running and running fast. And I thought, man, how spiritual is that that it's becoming childlike in this space? Like, what would happen if we became childlike in our mind in that space of like, I don't have a care in this world because dad's got me, and I can have fun doing the crazy things that other people will look at and be like, I don't want to do that. Papa's kids are like, I'll take that one. Yeah, it's I'll go into the hostile environment, I'll release grace, I will speak truth. And not only that, I'm gonna do it with joy and I'm gonna have a fun time while it's you're bringing the light.
SPEAKER_01You're bringing the light. Right. You know, and not only is it light, like light, but it's the light.
SPEAKER_03Come on, it's a word shines. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01Like, and if you look at like you were talking about earlier, the hostile environment instead of seeing it as being like Grace can be released here. Let's go! You know, but all of a sudden it's it's joyful and it's light. And it's like, I'm just gonna shine.
SPEAKER_03I'm just gonna shine. I'm throwing star crunches, I'm throwing Swiss cakes. Come on now.
SPEAKER_01Like on the money, everything's bring on the hostile environment.
SPEAKER_03Little Debbie. Bring on the hostile environment. You're about to get little Debbie than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00I I like in in the old testament where it says um the walls of Jericho came down. How easy is it to be loud and violent and tear walls down?
SPEAKER_01Depends on the person.
SPEAKER_00If you're a hawk, I don't know, it's pretty easy to my five-year-old, I'll tell you that right now. If you're a hawk, you know, character, you you're gonna probably be able to bust down those walls and and destroy a lot of people. But without destroying people and making the the enemy flee, and making God's people prosper. He called them to be silent in a place where most people would be loud. And then the the final round around Jericho, I believe, is when the walls started falling down. But it was silence. And I I remember Jesus as he goes to the cross, he comes as a dumb lamb, a silent lamb. But he did it for the joy set before him. And so we get the opportunity to be dumb lambs, silent lambs, and and choose to to do whatever we do with joy. And that's what I want to live in, and that's what I hopefully will live in every single day. And I I believe I'm living in it right now. Yeah, but the moments where I want to be loud when I should be silent, and when God's calling me to be silent, is the moments that I have the opportunity to keep on receiving my joy, to re to keep on living in my joy, or live in flesh, in despair, depression, anger, or or whatever. Be silent, be still, and know that I am God.
SPEAKER_03And the cool part about that story is the walls came down when they shouted when it was time. It was let's be quiet and now release it. Now release the sound of praise, now release the sound of joy, now r now release it. You know, I think that I think that that kind of goes back to what we talked about last week with hearing the Lord and getting out of a spiral. Yeah you know, is that we listen for the Lord, yeah, and then we are obedient, we respond. You know, and so because there are there's gonna be times where you enter into an environment just like you said, Ralph, and everything within you might want to be like, I want to correct this, I want to say this, I want to do this, I want to shout about this, I want to come back at you with this. And the Lord says, Hold your tongue. Now's not the time. Walk around the city six times. You know, we're we're gonna we're it doesn't matter if they're making fun of you. Keep walking. Keep walking. And then as you live from that life led by the Holy Spirit of God, when the time is right, he'll say, Okay, now. Now I want you to say something. Now I want you to speak, now I want you to shout. Now I want you to to praise. Now I want you to and and and watch what I'm gonna do. And that's the beautiful thing of it. It's like even with that story, it it wasn't the people that did it. It was God that did it. We know that. We know it was by the power of God that walls come down. Yeah. You know, and the same same situation applies in human life. We know that it is by the power of God that walls come down in people's lives.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But he uses people, just like he used people. Like he he allows us, and think about it like that. Because when you say use, sometimes sometimes people can see that as a negative connotation, but like he allows people to partner with him in it. Yeah, he's it's he's not the dad that's like, I'm gonna do it myself. He's the dad that's like, come on, do it with me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's like when you have a kid and you've got a dad and dad's got a hammer and and he's like, here, put your hand on here. And it's really the dad hitting, but it makes the kid feel like he's part of it too, right? It's like that. And like the joy that is that that is taking place there in the kid's life and in the father's at the same time. Yeah. So look what we get to do together. All the while we all know it was dad doing this all along. It's always been him doing this, always by his power. You know, but that's what he invites us into when when you get into that hustle environment, you know, to rely upon him in this, to, to, to, to be quiet, to be still, to listen, and then to speak when it's time to speak. Yep. You know, to shout, to release grace when it's time to release grace, to release joy when it's time to release joy, you know, because it's it's it's all his. Yep. You know, and it's by the power of his word, by the power of his might, yeah, that those things, those strongholds come down and are broken and people are healed and whole. And so, and and he and he says we get to be part of that. How cool is cool.
SPEAKER_02Yay.
SPEAKER_00Two weeks ago you were preaching, I believe, and I felt like the Lord said to me personally, and this could be off, just for the record, this could be off. But for me personally, I felt like he said our moment is coming in this podcast and many other moments where we're gonna be blessed in a manner that we have not received before. But we're also gonna be blessing and know the blessing that we're giving. I was listening and remembering what God has spoken to me about doing this over, you know, five, seven years ago. And time and time again, people come up to me and say, Hey, I felt like this, and I'm just like, man, I stutter. I I I get hung up on words. God just says, You have love, share it, you have me, share it. And I believe we have such a big God.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00And I hope whoever is listening to this right now that they know that they have such a big God. And it doesn't matter the circumstance. Just raise your hands and know the battle is won. Raise your heart up, know that the battle is won. I know that God is going to bless thousands through this podcast, whether it be today or another year from now or whenever. I know that God is a blessing and has blessed and will bless again and multiply. And I know that for every trouble that He will give double, because our covenant is better than even the Old Testament. And Zachariah says, I will give you a double blessing for every trouble. And I'm not saying that I, you know, this podcast is trouble, but I know that each one of us have our own things in life, right? And I know that we're sacrificing nothing that we wouldn't just give. This is a free offering. Let me put it like that. This is a free offering, this is a free gift. I'm looking for God to make the rain come down on the seed. On on the people who's listened to the for the people who have listened to this podcast, I look to see their lives changed with rain. And I look to see things multiply in their lives. I look to see their health increase, their finances increase, their families increase, their their capacity to love increase, their marriages to abound. For for where they haven't received I'll I pray that this song that I'm singing right now in my heart to God and to the people who are listening, that they know not only in their heart, but see physically the promise of God.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Amen. So be again. Well, thank you for listening to the Everyday Kingdom podcast. Go forth, release grace. Don't be scared of the hostile environments. You've got the great one in you. Go shine bright. Love you guys.