November 23, 2024 • 53 mins
Life's unexpected twists can feel like a wrench thrown into our well-laid plans, but what if these shifts are aligning us with a greater purpose? We've all faced moments that demand change, whether we welcome it or not. Reflecting on these experiences, we explore how maintaining a posture of praise and gratitude in every season can anchor us through life’s trials. Our conversation dives into the profound practice of entering God’s presence with thanksgiving, even when circumstances feel overwhelming, and how this mindset fosters resilience and spiritual growth.
Think of life's adjustments like a monkey wrench, capable of expanding and contracting to fit the situation—this metaphor guides us through understanding the necessity for flexibility in our spiritual journey. We draw parallels with chiropractic adjustments, which, though sometimes uncomfortable, are crucial for maintaining balance and health. Whether it’s minor tweaks or significant overhauls to our plans, embracing change with openness can lead us closer to our divine purpose. Our discussion uncovers the natural resistance we have to change, highlighting the transformative power of trusting in God’s infinite wisdom and recognizing the beauty in our human limitations.
Authenticity in faith is liberating, and we challenge the notion of putting on a brave face when inside we’re struggling. By sharing personal stories and biblical examples, we encourage a heartfelt transparency with God. This openness not only fosters a deeper relationship with Him but also frees us from the spiritual prisons of doubt and fear. As we wrap up, there’s an invitation to join us in spreading the gospel through various platforms, partnering together in this mission of faith and transformation. Our gratitude is profound for those who support us in this journey, and we look forward to growing together in the spirit of praise and trust.
Please sponsor the Daily Bread Podcast through your giving support at https://www.covenantgracechurch.org. Any amount helps spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
All right, well, praise the Lord, everyone.
We are back in the studio andwe want to welcome you to the
Daily Bread podcast.
We are your hosts, dr Jarrelland Angela Stokely, and it is
just an absolute privilege andhonor to be here with you today,
in this moment.
I'm grateful for my lovelyco-host, who is looking at me
(00:22):
right now in the same kind ofway.
I'm grateful for my lovelyco-host who is looking at me
right now in the same kind ofway.
But welcome to the podcast.
We're about to get started, soAngela's going to greet everyone
.
She's going to give us a wordof prayer.
We're going to jump right in.
Hot topic today.
Hot topic today Today, we'retalking about adjustments.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Angela, it's all yours.
Well, what up everybody, gladyou're here.
Thanks for chiming in, notchiming in checking in.
How about that?
To listen in?
We appreciate you, we'regrateful and we're glad to be
here and preferably, you know,we'll be able to share a nugget
or two that you can utilize tohelp add to your arsenal to
(01:03):
navigate this thing called life.
Amen.
So I'll go ahead and open upwith prayer and then we'll get
started.
Amen, lord, we bless and thankyou and give you all glory and
honor and praise.
We thank you, father, first andforemost, for this day.
It was not promised, lord, butyou saw fit that we'd be here.
God, we thank you for theopportunity to be sitting in
(01:25):
these seats again and to sharewith your people, god, that
which you have laid on the heart, on our hearts.
God, to preach, to teach, toshare, to elaborate on God, that
people may be edified and thatthe devil will be horrified in
the name of Jesus, and then, god, that ultimately you will be
(01:45):
glorified.
We thank you for every listener.
We pray, god, that you give usall an ear to hear what the
spirit of the Lord has to say tothe church.
Now, god, I ask that you moveby your spirit, that you will
anoint us afresh for thisassignment, god, that we will be
able to do that, what you havecalled and commissioned us to do
, and that the change that youwant to see happen happens in
(02:10):
the earth realm.
And we give you glory, we giveyou honor, and God, we give you
praise in Jesus name, amen.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Amen.
Thank you so much, angela, forthe prayer.
All right, listen, right whereyou are, give God just a quick,
you know five seconds of praise.
Just say hallelujah, just liftyour hand up and say God, I love
you, I thank you, amen.
Come on, give him some praise,right where you are, because he
deserves just a few seconds ofpraise as we get into our
teaching on the day.
(02:37):
You know, the Bible says enterinto his presence with
thanksgiving his presence,giving his presence.
We're in his presence, in hiscourse, with praise.
Be thankful unto him and blesshis holy name.
So, out of our mouths, we showgratitude and thanksgiving, out
of our mouths, with our hand,with our gestures, with our feet
(02:59):
, with a smile, with ourattitude, and we bless his holy
name by opening up our mouthsand saying something good toward
God.
Because, again, the key word isholy.
His name is holy, he is holyand so he is worthy.
As vessels who are only madeholy through Jesus Christ, he's
(03:19):
worthy of a shout of praise orShabbat or hallelujah or God,
I'm struggling, but thank you.
anyway, I'm going to say thankyou in this moment.
So give them some praise therereal quick as we come into this
space together.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I think it's, you know, for believers, I think
that's such a great, a greatword to to practice.
You know to come into hispresence with Thanksgiving and
his course with praise.
I think that you know to comeinto his presence with
thanksgiving and his courts werepraised.
I think that you know we forgetabout sometimes, just the basic
, the basic things, and I thinkI like that scripture.
(03:52):
That's why I'm kind of stilltalking about it, because I
think it's such a great practicefor the believer to continue to
work through, Because not allthe time do you feel like
praising, to continue to workthrough, because not all the
time do you feel like praising,not all the time do you want to
give thanksgiving, becauseissues you know tend to burden
us.
But I think I love that.
(04:13):
That scripture instructs us todo that and it is not based on
conditions, but it is simplybased on God's intention for us,
and I think we should learn howto do that regardless, just
regardless.
Because when you were talking,all I thought was how that's a
posture.
It's a posture to be able topraise.
(04:34):
It's a posture to be able tosay thanks even with tears
rolling down your face or abroken heart or whatever it is,
and I just think that that'ssuch an excellent exercise for
the believer to practice asoften as possible.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, we are made in the image and likeness of God,
and everything that God createdhe created to worship him.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Absolutely he created .
To give him praise.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
The Bible talks about how the winds give him praise
and the mountains praise hisname, and the seas and the
rivers and the waters praise thename of the Lord.
And so everything got.
So there is a praise in you.
So you have to keep praise onreserve for difficult times.
If you got to pray, if you putpraise on reserve in your soul
(05:24):
and commit and disciplineyourself and condition yourself
to have a praise regardless.
It may not be as loud as yourprevious praise, when everything
was going great.
It may not be as rambunctiousand as demonstrative and
expressive as other times, butif you could just say thank you
Jesus, if you could just sayLord, I thank you.
You know, even if it's a sombervoice, lord, I thank you, and
(05:47):
keep saying it until that voicegets higher, and I keep saying
it until your soul starts torejoice and a true shout of
praise coming out of your mouthHallelujah, god, I thank you,
anyway begins to build up on theinside.
Yeah, because praise has to beon reserve.
We were made to pray.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
So it's in there.
You could be hurting so bad,but it's in there, it is, and,
of course, because it's based onwho he is and not what he does,
I think that's the other part,when we are just grateful for
who God is.
You know what I'm saying.
I think that that posture canbe developed when, through our
(06:22):
journey of Christianity, wesimply remember that we are who
we are, we have theopportunities that we have, we
are not going to hell because,you know, god sent his son,
because he so loved the world,and I think if we just base it
on who God is, that praise willautomatically come out of us.
(06:46):
You know what I'm saying?
Right?
Because sometimes I think weget into that place where it's
but this didn't happen and thatdidn't happen, and I don't have,
you know, I haven't seen thisyet or that prayer was an answer
yet, and so we start praisingbased on condition as opposed to
praise, and based on who God is.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And I think that's where we kind of have the back
and forth, you know, right Well,we're able to do it.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Right.
So our topic and I believe thisis going to be a series,
because this is a very importanttopic it's one.
This is a life topic.
You could come back to thistopic anytime and feed off of it
, and so the series we'restarting is adjustments.
We are living in one of themost critical times in the
(07:35):
history of humanity Not that wehadn't always been in these
types of situations, but theBible talks about, as we get
closer and closer to Jesus'second coming, that the world
will wax worse and worse, evilwill wax worse and worse, and
the hearts of men will becomeworse and worse, and men will
become more lovers of themselvesthan lovers of God.
(07:57):
And men are in power.
They're in authority, they're incontrol.
So they navigate our culture,our society, they navigate the
financial industry, theynavigate what's going on on the
global powers, the relationshipsbetween countries and people
groups, and you know, all ofthat is based on the heart of
(08:17):
men making decisions.
So we're living in a time ofadjustments and life is full of
a plethora of adjustments.
And I was thinking about thison the way here and what I kind
of said to myself is this thereis no adjustment that can break
you.
It is your perspective of theadjustment that can break you.
(08:41):
So, because God has given usgrace and strength in Jesus
Christ to process through everyadjustment, the only way to
break and fold dealing with anadjustment is your perspective
of that adjustment.
Though it may be painful, it maybe tough, it may be rigorous,
(09:05):
it may be unpredictable, it maybe challenging, it may be one of
the hardest things you face, itcan't break you.
Your perspective of it.
The lens in which you see thisadjustment, how you approach
your mindset, your attitude,your day in and day out about
the adjustment, is what canbreak us.
(09:26):
I absolutely agree.
Comment before I give adefinition.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Of course, every time you say adjustment immediately,
you know, my mind goes to achiropractor.
You know, and having had theexperience with a chiropractor
and actually needing to go see achiropractor right now for my
neck, you know, when you hearabout adjustment, it sounds very
(09:50):
intimidating prior to havingthe experience it sounds very
intimidating.
So, as I'm thinking about thisparticular topic as it relates
to life, sometimes adjustmentsor the thought of having to make
an adjustment, because reallyadjustment is a form of a change
in a sense, it is intimidatingbecause it's something we've not
(10:12):
experienced.
Sometimes.
Sometimes we don't know what toexpect as a result of that
adjustment, and so sometimes webecome paralyzed and fearful
just at the idea of adjustment.
I know that was the case for mewith a chiropractor.
Like I avoided that for a verylong time, not realizing that
the adjustment would help putthings back into alignment.
(10:35):
Though there's a process thatyou have to go through.
And so I feel like that's sofitting for you know this
particular topic, becauseadjustments are not always
comfortable, but they help torealign things Right.
And then you have to continueto work through this process as
(10:57):
things continue to come backinto alignment, and not only do
you get an adjustment like once,you keep going back.
Sometimes, depending on yourcircumstance, you have to get
three adjustments in a week.
But you're getting things backin alignment and then after some
time they'll tell you just cometwice.
After some time they'll tellyou just come once once a week,
(11:20):
then it'll shift and you'll justhave to do it once every month,
once every other month.
And so I feel like that justparallels so well with what
we're going to talk about todaythat, in spite of the
uncomfortableness of it, itreally is putting things back
into alignment for your good.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
That's so good.
That is so good.
Another side of the coin ofwhat adjustment means and a
metaphor of it is a particulartool when I was growing up that
the handyman and the backyardmechanics used to use to fix
(12:02):
things.
I don't know if it's stillcalled this.
I don't know why they call it,but it was called a monkey
wrench.
Oh yeah, and if you ever, ifyou've ever, seen a monkey
wrench I don't know what it'scalled in other culture, but our
culture was called a monkeywrench it's got a little little
device on the head of it thatcauses the tool that clamps on
(12:22):
the object to expand, so causesthe tool that clamps on the
object to expand.
So if you twist the little Idon't know the dial inward, it
closes the head of the tool thatclamps down on the object.
If you twist the little valveto the right or outward, it
expands the tool so that it canclamp onto a larger object.
(12:43):
And I've noticed that, likethat tool, life's adjustments
are for expansion.
It's for us to be flexible,it's developmental For sure.
So one side of the coin ofadjustment is alignment.
The other one is when God isdeveloping us for purpose
destiny, to be able to handlemore, to become a better example
(13:08):
of Jesus Christ.
And we have to go through thesetimes where God allows things
to develop us and they areexpanding our capacity.
So when that monkey wrench isit's dialed in real little you
know it can handle a one inchpipe round pipe in real little
you know it can handle a oneinch pipe round pipe, but when
(13:28):
it's expanded out it can handlea five inch, a seven inch wide
pipe to get the job done.
So God has developed us for thedifferent stages, platforms,
destinies in life, so that webecome a flexible tool to get
the things done that he's calledus to do and walk in our
anointing.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
And you know that connection goes back.
It connects right back to thebody because when our anointing
and you know that connectiongoes back, it connects right
back to the body because whenour bodies are realigned, it
helps us to be more flexible forwhatever age we are.
Because, you know,chiropractors, they, they, they,
they suggest that people bringinfants in for adjustments.
I didn't know that, you know.
But for every stage, for everystage, it goes back to what you
(14:06):
were just saying.
For every stage of life thereis a necessary adjustment.
You know what I mean.
And it helps the flexibilitythat is needed for that season
of our life physiologically.
You know what I mean.
So I definitely see thatparallel there.
That's powerful.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah, because development, you know, we go
through physiologicaldevelopment, then we go through
spiritual development, yeah, andwe go through soul development.
See, my mind, will and emotions, which is the soul, have to be
adjusted for the plan of thisbig old God, have to be adjusted
(14:46):
for the plan of this big oldGod, you know, and when we are
adjustments become mostdifficult, when we're going
through trouble times, it's hardto change and modify, you know,
when things are already notgoing the way you want them to.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
But what about when they happen and you don't even
expect it to be happening?
What about when you're coastingalong and everything's pretty
cool, yeah, and then boom,you're hit with an adjustment.
See, I think that's anothertime when it's challenging too,
because you're like well, I wasfine you know what I mean.
(15:18):
I was okay.
Yeah, why did this adjustmenttime have to come?
Now?
You know what I mean, andsometimes I think that that
that's another time when it'sdifficult.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Oh, absolutely.
You know well, in all reality,because we are creatures of
habit and pattern, we don't likechange.
We do that.
You know there's thispsychological term called
homeostasis.
You know there's thispsychological term called
homeostasis.
It means when we're so in aroutine, we're so in a routine
driving from home to work thatwe can drive from home to work
(15:51):
without even paying attention tothe turns that we're making.
We're on autopilot.
We're so used to patterns.
Everything is about a pattern.
We go get our coffee at thesame place.
We all see the same breakfastall the time.
You know what I mean.
Like we act the same way onFriday.
Friday come, we have the samepatterns.
We're happy, we're excited.
We're going to get our paycheck, we're going to pay our bills
we're going to get the family,we're going to move.
(16:11):
You know it's a pattern, we'repatterned people.
And so anything that takes usoutside of that pattern.
It's difficult, it's hard, butwe have to be flexible with
adjustments, absolutely.
So let's look at adjustment.
I wanted to look at just somedefinition type stuff, just so
we can lay some groundwork, andI went to Chad GBT and it said
(16:35):
adjustments refer to changes, asit were, or modifications.
Watch this To improve.
This is some of thischiropractic stuff that you were
talking about To improve.
Watch this to improve.
This is some of thischiropractic stuff that we're
talking about To improve.
Watch this to correct.
Ladies and gentlemen, some ofthat adjustment that you're
facing and going through in life.
It's corrective and we have tobe willing to be open minded to
(17:00):
that.
That or to adapt a situation.
So adapt, adapting process orsystem to achieve a desired
outcome.
I love that so much, and so letme read that again Adjustments
refer to changes, modificationor modifications made to improve
(17:24):
, correct or adapt a situation,process or system to achieve a
desired outcome.
We can never assume that we areat the desired outcome that God
has for our lives, and that'sit Like it's no more.
We can never assume.
We know the plan of God, weknow everything that God is
doing with us and we knowexactly whether or not God is
saying it's time for us to grow.
(17:44):
That's right, because he, whenyou're dealing with adjustments,
the first thing you have toaccept is the sovereignty of God
, so that you can trustAbsolutely.
So let's get into the meat ofthe sovereignty of God so that
you can trust him.
I don't want to go too fastbecause this is going to be a
series I want to.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
You have some comments you want to say about
that definition.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I did, but I'm okay to go ahead.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
It's so good.
There was something inparticular you said.
I've forgotten about it now,but if it comes back up I'll
mention it.
I and I forgot.
I forgot what you said, butthat's a very good definition.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
So, if you, if you see me, shift and stop me,
because I tend to get in a hurry.
Yeah, and sometimes we need tojust saturate in that whole
thing, because there are alsopeople out there I know I am in
my life.
Let's do that, let's.
Let's go back and talk about,let's lay ourselves on the altar
here.
Changes, yeah.
Modifications, yeah.
Alterations.
Changes, modifications,alterations as this definition
(18:43):
talked about with life or asituation or processes or system
.
All of that kind of irritatesme sometimes and I've gone
through so.
You have financial adjustments,you have social adjustment, you
have political adjustments, youhave relational adjustments,
family adjustments, livingadjustments, career adjustments,
(19:05):
work adjustments.
Wait a minute, let's go back tothe physiological.
When your body, when you gethit with some type of ailment oh
my God, talk about needing to.
I've lived through all of thoseadjustments and many of them
were extremely tough.
And those people who arelistening right now you're in an
(19:26):
extremely tough adjustmentsituation.
But be of good courage.
Be of good courage.
There's no adjustment that canbreak you.
It's your perspective and God'sgot a word to show you some
people in the word of God thathad to deal with major
adjustments and how they dealtwith that.
And the sovereignty of God iswhere we start.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I like your emphasis on the adjustment won't break
you but your perspective will,and that's very true because, of
course, you know, perspectiveis kind of my thing, I really.
I think there's so much there,because I know that how we see
and visualize and conceptualizea thing determines how we
(20:07):
respond, act, behave, lackthereof, whatever.
It impacts so many differentthings.
And so I like how you connectthat reality because it's very
true, the thing won't break youand you know, and I think about
the adjustment won't break youand I think about the scripture
that says he won't put more onyou than you can bear.
Yeah, he knows what we arecapable of Right Handling.
(20:33):
Yeah, he knows it because heput it in us.
He put it in us, he put thatability, he put handle it in us.
He put that ability, he puthandle it in us.
You understand, he put make itin us.
And you know, I want to sayBooyah, booyah, right, that
bounce back, that's right.
In Hebrew it's Booyah, yeah, goahead.
I love that.
And so he placed that abilityin us.
(20:55):
And so when these things inlife, these adjustments, it's
time to adjust right, when wehave these times when it's time
to adjust or we're hit withthese different things, god is
not worried.
You know, god is not concerned.
God is not trying to figure outanything because he already
(21:16):
knows who can handle what youknow.
And I think that in and ofitself is so beautiful when we
can truly accept that realityand say just because I didn't
know does not mean God didn'tknow.
And so, while I may not preferto be dealing with this and I
(21:41):
wish God would have called me inthe meeting room when he
decided it for me, right.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You know what I mean you understand man let me work
out.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Can we negotiate, lord Right, like, can we like
not give me that, but let me,like, deal with this Right?
We can't be in the room andhave those conversations, but I
think we have to remember that,wow conversations.
But I think we have to rememberthat, even when I think about
Jeremiah 29 and 11, that hisplans for us are good and not
(22:10):
evil.
So, whatever that plan is,because we're figuring it out
day by day, that's our goal.
We're striving to figure outall the plans that he has for us
because we don't know in onefirst whoop, but they are good,
right, and not evil.
Right Perspective, because whenthings happen it can feel very
evil to me.
(22:30):
Oh, absolutely, you know whatI'm saying.
But when I have the rightperspective and if I'm looking
for perspective, yeah, in theword of God, it'll help me Right
To navigate the way that I seethe thing that I'm going through
Right Right.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
I think it's important in that context to
remember that there are threeplans operating in life.
There's God's plan I know theplan that I have for you.
It is good and not evil.
But then there's Satan plan andSatan is saying I know the plan
that I have for you and it'sevil and not good.
So that's two.
The third one is our plan.
We have free will and our planis like okay, god, I hear you,
(23:11):
okay, satan, I hear you, butthis is what I want, that's what
I'm.
You got a good plan.
Sometimes we're like a betterone.
Okay, I got a better one rightnow than to be going through
this pregnancy when I didn'tplan on being pregnant at 30.
At 21.
I know I'm not, I'm married, wedo this as a family, but I
(23:31):
wasn't ready.
I'm just saying hypothetically,using that as a very
minimalistic example, but I'msaying God got a plan that's
good, not evil.
Satan got a plan that's evil,not good.
We got a plan that's even notgood.
We got a plan that's great,regardless of any one of them.
So we think so, we think so, wethink so.
This really takes us to thepoint of number one God's
(23:52):
sovereignty and God's control.
Yeah, oh my God.
Since we cannot stop theadjustments, since we cannot
choose the adjustment or thetiming of the adjustments, since
we cannot control the people,who is causing the adjustments,
we then as believers, asfollowers of God, as righteous
children of God, have to lendourselves to trusting his
(24:16):
sovereignty and knowing that Godis in control.
That's how we don't break.
First of all.
That's the first thing I wantto talk about, and so I have a
scripture here, Proverbs three,verse five through six.
It says trust in the Lord.
Ladies and gentlemen, here'sour work.
We are working to get to thispoint.
(24:37):
We're laboring to enter therest of God.
So I hear you say it Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and
do not just a part I love, donot lean on your own
understanding.
I want to finish this.
Then we break this down In allyour ways.
Acknowledge Him and he willmake straight your paths.
(25:08):
So it says to me.
Life's adjustments often requiresurrendering our understanding
to God and relying on hisdirection.
Let's eat the scripture up fora minute.
Let's eat on this.
You want to start?
Let's start here.
Trust, Yep, how, how.
Sweetheart.
Pastor A, all those titles.
(25:29):
We've been together doingministry for almost 30 years.
I call all kinds of stuffPastor A, Apostle, because she's
co-everything that I've done,We've done it co-together.
That I've done, we've done itco-together.
So, anyway, how would you, howdo you see trusting God as a, as
an asset, when dealing withadjustment as an asset.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
I'll say it like.
I'll say it, like I feel it,and then we'll see if I answer
the question.
How about that?
Is that okay when?
When I think about trusting inthe Lord, for me it's a
no-brainer.
In this sense, in and of myself, I am limited, right, and I am
(26:17):
fully aware of that.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That's so good.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
In and of myself.
I have the propensity to makeall sorts of errors and mistakes
.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That is so good, that is so heavy.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Because I am fully aware and am not at all
delusional in that regard.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Move Holy Ghost.
I feel the power of God.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Trusting in God just makes sense.
Wow, jesus.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Glory, wow.
I know people say in scholarlycircles and intellectual realms
they say don't use the word wowthat much because it really has
no defining point other than wow.
I didn't know that.
But wow, my God, I don't careabout that.
(27:09):
That's a wow statement and awow moment.
Yeah, all I heard in that wasand not all I heard but one
profound thing I heard in it wasyou have to be first humble.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You have to To trust God.
You have to Because without it,you won't think about it.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Without it you can't trust God.
Listen y'all, we teach this notparenthetically, but
experientially.
We don't come to you as theexperts of this, but the
experiencers of this.
Oh, it can be so hard sometimes, because I'm not talking about
humble yourself from a platformof arrogance and pride.
(27:51):
I'm talking about humblingyourself to choose his will over
you.
That's it.
Sometimes that's tough becausewe are intellectual beings.
God wired us great.
We have creativity, we have amind to use, we have rational
reason and logic, and Godequipped us that way.
(28:12):
So we can think our way in andout of things.
But when you're willing to giveup all that power, that's our
power.
We have to give up that powerfor God's plan and his purpose
yeah, knowing that we were puthere by him.
He has a sovereign plan overour lives.
He will control us, but hecontrols the narratives.
(28:33):
That brings us into theformation and the transformation
to who he has called us to beAbsolutely.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
See, there is a you know for me, husband, apostle my
boy right oh man.
There is this reality for methat, though God has endowed me
with intelligence and amazingspiritual gifts yes, discernment
(29:05):
, word of wisdom, word ofknowledge, a gift of teaching,
he set me up well.
He did.
He set me up well.
He set me up well.
In spite of that, there is afull understanding that I have
(29:29):
that I still live with a lot oflimitation.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
There it is again that word you keep saying
limitations.
We have to know that we arelimited in this big cosmos that
we live in, with these twodimensions that exist the spirit
dimension and the earth realmdimension.
These dimensions and we dealwith power.
The Bible says we deal withpowers and principalities and
rulers and wickedness and highplaces.
(29:59):
Oh my God, we have tounderstand.
We are limited creatures.
We are limited.
We are a reflection of hisimage.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
We are not him.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
We're a reflection of his power.
We are not him.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
That's right.
We are a reflection of JesusChrist we are not him, that's
right.
You know, and so you know I'mgoing to let you go, I'm going
to let you go.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I love that, yeah.
And so when you realize that Ibelieve, when you realize that,
like, for real, for real and I'mnot talking about this may
believe stuff that sometimeshappens, but when you know that,
beyond a shadow of a doubt,like, hey, nobody move you from
knowing that you are, in fact,limited, in spite of all these
beautiful blessings that youhave, you know and that you
(30:41):
possess, and all this charismaand character you have, all this
you you bad to the bone, butyet you still are limited to you
, recognize, remember andreflect on often that you serve
a God who is not.
Yeah, For me, that makes it sonatural to trust in God.
(31:06):
Right, because and we say this,and I'm sure a lot of us have
heard this in different sermons,us have heard this in different
sermons it's not about thething that's been created, but
instead it's about the creatorof the thing.
You know what I'm saying.
So, in order for me to fullyunderstand my full functionality
(31:28):
and ability, because I am thecreated thing, I need to make
sure that I stay connected tothe one who created me, my
creator, because my creatorknows more about me than I know
about myself and, oh Jesus, Ifeel the Holy ghost.
And so that's why I can beassured that, even when I am
(31:50):
facing a difficult situation anda difficult, a difficult a
predicament, yeah, that itdoesn't shock him, though it may
shock me, because he know whathe put in me to deal with the
thing that he knew that he wasgoing to allow to show up in my
life.
You know what I'm saying, right?
So if I posture myself,realizing that I am I am a
(32:12):
limited being, yet I amconnected to an unlimited being
it only makes sense to trust inthe Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
This is such a great topic.
This is such a great topic.
It only makes sense to trust inthe Lord.
Because you know what, angela?
There are some challengingadjustments that happen in life.
Yes, sir, absolutely there aresome.
There's some challengingadjustments that happen in life,
yes, sir, but yet then thereare some, some exciting
adjustments that happen in life.
Yeah, and sure we are.
(32:44):
Sometimes we're afraid of theexciting adjustments because it
can be larger than life and itcan be.
You know, we don't.
We don't feel like we have theconfidence or whatever, the
wherewithal to step up to thatblessing, to that great thing.
But we do and we rejoice in itand it's a great season.
So we have the excitingadjustments, but then we have
the excruciating if I can keep,the easy, excruciating
(33:07):
adjustments.
In all of them, in bothcategories, we have to trust God
.
We have to In his sovereignty.
Now, sovereignty we've usedthis word Sovereignty to me kind
of says that God is the supreme, he's the supreme navigator of
(33:28):
all things.
God's sovereignty is hisrulership.
He is over all things, he knowsall things, he controls all
things.
That that God's sovereignty isis really just his, is his glory
, it's his goodness, it's hismercy.
It's his grace.
(33:48):
So we have to trust in God'ssovereignty, that he knows he's
omniscient, he's omnipotent andhe's omnipresent, omniscient.
He knows all things, he'somnipotent, he has all power and
he's omnipresent.
He's everywhere at the sametime.
He's with me, with you.
So I wanted to just give somecontext on this whole thing
about sovereignty.
(34:09):
But I have a question too forour audience how are you
trusting God right now in youradjustment?
You trusting God right now inyour adjustment?
Yeah, yeah, think about that.
Yeah, are you really trustingGod in what you're going through
?
And it's okay if you'retrusting him a little.
That's right, if you're trustinghim kind of you know average
(34:30):
haphazardly, or if you'retrusting him a lot, you know
it's okay to be real withourselves and say I'm struggling
with this right now, Like God,like God I barely trust you
right now.
I barely trust you.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I feel like I can't trust you.
You know I'm right here rightnow.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yeah, Because I'm hurting Cause this is bad.
This is like I'm having aproblem trusting you right now,
so help me.
There was one character in theBible.
His son had a demon fromchildbirth that threw him in the
water and in the fire.
He took him to his disciples.
Disciples weren't able to casthim out.
He went to Jesus.
Jesus said do you believe?
He said I believe, but help myunbelief.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I got a little bit of a growth process.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
I need here with this because I've had this going on
ever since he was a child.
I brought it to the disciples.
They weren't able to do it.
Yeah, I got some unbelief.
Yes, yes, okay, yes, yes, yes,yes, yes, I'm tired of the
perfect Christianity context.
Yes, I got some unbelief.
Help me with it, jesus.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
And you know that's beautiful that you said that,
and I believe that someone hasbeen criticized for not having
faith or belief in a particulararea or surrounding a certain
(35:49):
thing, or vacillating betweenbelieving and not believing, and
so I feel like that.
What you just said, minister tosomebody to give them the
freedom to be transparent withGod.
Yes, because I feel like that.
One of the things,unfortunately, we have been
(36:11):
taught in church is that, nomatter what you're going through
, just pretend like everything'sokay.
The problem with that conceptis that you end up creating a
lot of dysfunction within peopleand within the organization or
the institution.
But when we are taught to betransparent, when we are taught
(36:40):
to be transparent number one,being transparent with God is
one of the most beautiful thingsthat you can ever be.
I am grateful.
I have no idea how I was taughtit, but I'm grateful that I was
always transparent, like whenI'm thinking, when, when I
started young, very young, when,for example, my dad died and I
literally told God I was mad athim.
I was like, well, I don't evenknow what you're doing.
I was 12 years old and I saidGod, I'm mad at you.
(37:01):
Okay, when you think about somepeople say you know you can't
say stuff like that to God.
And so why, why could, whywould God be intimidated by me
saying I'm mad at you?
That was my truth.
It gives me opportunity to beopen for growth.
When I'm transparent.
See, when we hide behind allthis false stuff, we stay
(37:26):
entrapped and it gives the enemyopportunity to beat us up even
more.
But when we are able to open upour mouth and be completely
honest, like you know what, god,I'm really struggling.
I believe a little bit, butthen this happened and I got a
little nervous.
You know, I start feeling likeyou didn't, I wasn't your boy, I
(37:46):
wasn't your girl anymore, orwhatever your dialogue is.
You know what I'm saying.
I feel like that.
What I'm saying?
I feel like that we have toknow.
The body of believers has to.
We have to know that how we goto God is okay, right, and where
we're in error, god will helpus to understand.
(38:10):
Don't do that Right.
You know what.
You understand what I'm tryingto say, because I feel like when
you said that, like I just feltthis oh my God, somebody needed
to hear that, because they'vebeen criticized about
vacillating between their beliefand their lack of belief.
And the reality is, when we areable to be transparent and say
(38:32):
I believe that, I don't believethat, I believe that I don't
believe, it says okay, I'm beingtransparent because I want to
grow, and it gives meopportunity you know what I'm
saying For God to really be ableto work on me so that I can
grow.
You know, and I think that'svery important.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
The evolution of transparency for the believer is
a process.
For sure, and it takes somegrowth in God.
It's an experiential processBecause, you know, I got saved I
was a part of.
When I got saved I was in myearly 20s.
(39:09):
I was a part of a denominationthat they practiced that sense
of secrecy.
You know you can't go to Godand express how you feel if it's
not a positive expression quote, unquote positive expression.
You can ask why you couldn'thave a complaint.
If you will go to God and say Idon't like this, so you
couldn't express yourdispleasure with something, I
(39:30):
won't call it a complaint.
And so it took me.
That's a prison when you can'tbe transparent with God.
And I was in that prison untilrecently.
I wouldn't go to God and tellhim none of my gripes or
complaints, none of my things Iwas displeased with.
I wouldn't go to him and askhim why.
I learned that from you and Iwas the first time I did it here
(39:55):
.
I was so scared.
I thought God was going to getme because I was raised up in
that.
Don't say it, don't do it.
You know, don't have acomplaint.
Everybody going back to youknow the Exodus when the people
complained and God struck themWell that's a posture of
complaining, that's a heart ofcomplaining.
That's not me going to Godtelling him something I don't
(40:15):
understand.
I'm displeased with it and Idon't like, and I was so scared
to do that.
But then I finally did it and Iwas relieved in my heart and my
anxiety left me and all thatbecause I thought it anyway.
God already knows our thoughts.
That's where I was going.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
He knows what's in our heart.
He already knows, so why nottell them?
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Why not tell them?
And I came to you and I toldyou.
I said I said I did it.
I said I told God some things Iwas just pleased with.
I asked him why?
And she said to me.
She said good.
She said I've been transparentlike that all along.
She said that's, that's how Iinteract with God.
And it was.
It, was it?
Let me out of that prison.
We're going to close out thissession.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I think that was good .
Yeah, I think that was goodbecause I feel like people need
that.
You know I feel like peopleneed that.
You know when, when individualsthat are doing things like what
we're doing are struggling withdifferent things, people need
to be able to you know tap inand relate.
You know what I'm saying andknow that, oh okay, they're not
(41:14):
just saying and you said italready this is not from just
some expert level, this isexperiential.
You know what I mean, and so Ithink all of that was really
good, but I also believe it wasnecessary because I felt like
somebody was trapped in that.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
In that prison.
Yeah, come out of that prisonin the name of Jesus.
You do not have to accept thatdenominationalism, that
tradition of men.
I mean you think about all thepeople in the Bible who went to
God and said I'm displeased withthis.
Elijah said I'm the only oneleft, jezebel and Ken and all
the prophets I'm the only oneleft.
(41:49):
You left me here.
You know what I mean.
Jeremiah said I'm donepreaching.
I'm not going to even preachanymore.
Ezekiel was tripped out at someof the things God had him doing
, just to mimic how he feltabout the children of Israel.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Yeah, so I think it's important.
I've learned, I've come tolearn that you have to release
(42:09):
yourself from that prison.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
I mean absolutely, because God is not intimidated.
Two things he knows already,right, but God's not intimidated
.
Two things he knows already,right, but then God's not
intimidated by us.
We have to remember that that'sjust not scary anymore.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
And even learning to do that is an adjustment, it is.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
I love that, yes, so some adjustments are
self-initiated adjustments thatwe need to make.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
I love that that's such good ministry right there,
self-initiated adjustments.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Yeah Well, we need God's help to do it, but we must
do it to come out of ourprisons and to break our prisms.
Okay, let's look at this guy,abraham, abraham.
Let's look at what God told him.
So Abraham had to make a bigadjustment.
All adjustments are not thisbig, but God often calls us to
(42:58):
adjustments this big and someadjustments come into our life
that have this big of an impact.
We're living right now in asociety where the adjustments
that are happening on the globalcultural, social, political
landscape are big adjustments.
They are big adjustments withwhat's going on around us and
(43:20):
the mental state of humanity andheading toward a third world
war.
There's a lot.
So let's look at Abraham herein Genesis 12 and one.
The Lord said to Abram he wasn'teven Abraham at the time.
Now listen now who said this tohim?
The Lord said spoke to Abramand Abram heard him.
(43:42):
You got to understand some,just for some context.
At this time, abram, god,hadn't even started the Jewish
nation, the Hebrew people,rather, abraham.
Abram had come out ofMesopotamia with his father
Terah and his brother Haran, andthey stopped in Haran, and so
we have to understand that hewas a heathen and God spoke and
(44:06):
he heard Don't tell me, god,don't pick sinners, the outcasts
, the worst of us, those who arenot perfect.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
The way that I can tear this room up.
Come on At that reality, oh myGod.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
We miss that in our Bible study teaching sometimes
because we want to cleanse andsanitize the Scripture.
We don't want to look at it forwhere it is.
Abram was a heathen, came outof a heathenistic culture.
His daddy was a heathen.
His family was heathen.
God picked him out and chosehim to start a great nation with
that's so wild.
God don't start from clean, hestart from dirty.
(44:42):
God don't start from fixed, hestarts from broken.
Talk to me and hear somebody,so let us kick this.
Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (44:54):
This is Genesis right .
This is Genesis chapter 12,verse 1.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
We have these masks over our churches, talking about
which denomination is most pure.
None of them are pure, becausepeople are in them and God
starts from broken people.
Yep, absolutely.
And he makes us through therighteousness of Jesus Christ.
Okay, I'm not trying to preachthis.
Okay, I'm not trying to preachthis.
Okay, the Lord said to Abram gofrom your country.
(45:22):
Why is he telling him to comeout of his country?
Because he was in aheathenistic country.
Your people.
Why is he telling him to leaveyour people?
Because they're heathenisticpeople and I'm getting ready to
do something in your life Withyou that they will be a
distraction, a roadblock andeverything else.
And leave your Father'shousehold To a land I will Show
(45:53):
you.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
My God Major.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Adjustments For sure will show you.
Major adjustments, modification, change.
How many of us right now have aword from God that is requiring
all types of adjustments?
Let's jump into this, angela.
Go ahead and break some of thisout for us.
(46:16):
Oh my God.
So Abram had to trust.
We're going back to that pointAbram had to trust you talk
about.
So you see, we often struggletrusting God in little things.
Here's a relocation.
Here's a calling to walk alone.
(46:38):
This is relocation.
This is separation.
Okay, this is, oh my God.
He doesn't even know where he'sgoing and he has to make all of
these adjustments that looklike abandonment from his family
(47:00):
.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
At the age of 75.
Speaker 1 (47:05):
75.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Wow, sailor, sailor, oh my God, wow, oh my God.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Okay, I want our ears to just let this saturate
because there's so much runningthrough my mind.
I got to calm down, yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Wow, wow Okay.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
How do you do that?
Yeah, wow, okay.
How do you do that?
Yeah, without trust and leaningnot to your own understanding.
Watch this and it says in allyour ways.
See, in order to do what Abramwas called to do by God, he had
to.
He had to lay it all down.
He had to leave it, as they say.
(47:53):
He had to leave it all on thefield.
He had to bring it, as they say.
He had to leave it all on thefield.
He had to bring it all to God.
He had to consider the realityof everything in his life being
shaken up and trusting God inthat.
And that's where we are rightnow.
In our current society,everything in our world is
shaking.
You may not be leaving yourfather's house.
(48:15):
You may not be leaving yourfather's house.
You may not be leaving yourfather's country.
You may not be leaving yourpeople, but, like Abram,
everything around us is shakingand rumbling and earthquaking,
and the very ground we stand on,which is the patterns of life
we've been living in, the norms,are being shaken.
(48:37):
The Bible says in the last days, I will shake the earth again.
Yes, I will shake it twice.
Only those things that are ableto remain will remain.
We're living in adjustments.
Oh my God, we have two minutes.
Speaker 2 (48:59):
My God.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
And we're going to come back with part two of this.
Okay, I'm going to leave itright there.
Yeah, if everything in yourworld is shaking, good, god and
mercy, will you remain?
Will you remain when everythingin your life shakes to the
(49:45):
bitter end, where some in thefloor crying out to God with one
question why Will you trust him?
Can you trust him, please trusthim, if it's little by little,
sometimes trusting God actuallyhappens, minute by minute, but
(50:05):
no adjustment can break you.
It's your perspective towardsthat adjustment that can break
you.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
Don't you lose your mind on us.
Listen to me.
Don't you let this put you in amental institution.
(50:26):
Don't you fight your way out ofa bottle.
Hold on, press in.
God will keep you.
Yes, there's a lot of thingsyou can do.
You can talk to people, you canget help.
I just want to minister to yoursoul.
Just hold on first, hang inthere, trust God and the
(50:55):
sovereignty of God.
Amen, amen.
Any closing remarks.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
You know, I want you guys to think about this Genesis
12 and 1, abram's situation andhow big this really was for him
.
We read it and we make it seemlike he just left from one
neighborhood and moved out ofthe hood and went to the suburbs
(51:23):
somewhere.
But the reality is that he lefta lot.
This was a huge call on hislife and he didn't even know
where he was going and ithappened when he was 75 years
old.
I think that's worth ponderingon, because sometimes we think
that the things that we're goingthrough are outlandish,
(51:45):
sometimes we think that that theadjustments are unheard of or
just whatever they're out there.
But sometimes, when we go visitthe word of God, we find out
that it's not as far what we'regoing through.
It's not that far that God hasdone it before, you know, and if
(52:06):
he did it before, he'll do itagain.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Ladies and gentlemen, we trust that you've been
blessed by something that wehave said on this podcast on
today.
I want to thank my lovely,energetic, anointed co-host for
being here to help make thishappen.
We need your support.
We trust that you will go toeither one of our websites.
Coming to gracechurchorg, weare not a church per se with
(52:35):
building and structure.
We're an online movement and weneed your support.
If you go tocovenantgracechurchorg, you can
sow a seed of grace on ourpodcast page or just sow in
general and be put toward ourprograms as we continue to
spread the gospel online andeverywhere that we can through
(52:56):
podcasts, through television,through radio.
So you can go toJarrellStokelycom and sow your
seed of grace, listen.
We trust that you will join us.
We trust that you will give.
We trust you, the listener, thehearer, that you will partner
with us and sow whatever's onyour heart to sow that we can
continue to share the gospel ofJesus Christ.
It's been great being with you.
(53:18):
Don't miss part two of thisadjustments.
God's got a word for you.
We love you.
God bless you.
Speaker 2 (53:24):
See you next time.
All right, well, praise the Lord, everyone.
We are back in the studio andwe want to welcome you to the
Daily Bread podcast.
We are your hosts, dr Jarrelland Angela Stokely, and it is
just an absolute privilege andhonor to be here with you today,
in this moment.
I'm grateful for my lovelyco-host, who is looking at me
(00:22):
right now in the same kind ofway.
I'm grateful for my lovelyco-host who is looking at me
right now in the same kind ofway.
But welcome to the podcast.
We're about to get started, soAngela's going to greet everyone
.
She's going to give us a wordof prayer.
We're going to jump right in.
Hot topic today.
Hot topic today Today, we'retalking about adjustments.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Angela, it's all yours.
Well, what up everybody, gladyou're here.
Thanks for chiming in, notchiming in checking in.
How about that?
To listen in?
We appreciate you, we'regrateful and we're glad to be
here and preferably, you know,we'll be able to share a nugget
or two that you can utilize tohelp add to your arsenal to
(01:03):
navigate this thing called life.
Amen.
So I'll go ahead and open upwith prayer and then we'll get
started.
Amen, lord, we bless and thankyou and give you all glory and
honor and praise.
We thank you, father, first andforemost, for this day.
It was not promised, lord, butyou saw fit that we'd be here.
God, we thank you for theopportunity to be sitting in
(01:25):
these seats again and to sharewith your people, god, that
which you have laid on the heart, on our hearts.
God, to preach, to teach, toshare, to elaborate on God, that
people may be edified and thatthe devil will be horrified in
the name of Jesus, and then, god, that ultimately you will be
(01:45):
glorified.
We thank you for every listener.
We pray, god, that you give usall an ear to hear what the
spirit of the Lord has to say tothe church.
Now, god, I ask that you moveby your spirit, that you will
anoint us afresh for thisassignment, god, that we will be
able to do that, what you havecalled and commissioned us to do
, and that the change that youwant to see happen happens in
(02:10):
the earth realm.
And we give you glory, we giveyou honor, and God, we give you
praise in Jesus name, amen.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Amen.
Thank you so much, angela, forthe prayer.
All right, listen, right whereyou are, give God just a quick,
you know five seconds of praise.
Just say hallelujah, just liftyour hand up and say God, I love
you, I thank you, amen.
Come on, give him some praise,right where you are, because he
deserves just a few seconds ofpraise as we get into our
teaching on the day.
(02:37):
You know, the Bible says enterinto his presence with
thanksgiving his presence,giving his presence.
We're in his presence, in hiscourse, with praise.
Be thankful unto him and blesshis holy name.
So, out of our mouths, we showgratitude and thanksgiving, out
of our mouths, with our hand,with our gestures, with our feet
(02:59):
, with a smile, with ourattitude, and we bless his holy
name by opening up our mouthsand saying something good toward
God.
Because, again, the key word isholy.
His name is holy, he is holyand so he is worthy.
As vessels who are only madeholy through Jesus Christ, he's
(03:19):
worthy of a shout of praise orShabbat or hallelujah or God,
I'm struggling, but thank you.
anyway, I'm going to say thankyou in this moment.
So give them some praise therereal quick as we come into this
space together.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I think it's, you know, for believers, I think
that's such a great, a greatword to to practice.
You know to come into hispresence with Thanksgiving and
his course with praise.
I think that you know to comeinto his presence with
thanksgiving and his courts werepraised.
I think that you know we forgetabout sometimes, just the basic
, the basic things, and I thinkI like that scripture.
(03:52):
That's why I'm kind of stilltalking about it, because I
think it's such a great practicefor the believer to continue to
work through, Because not allthe time do you feel like
praising, to continue to workthrough, because not all the
time do you feel like praising,not all the time do you want to
give thanksgiving, becauseissues you know tend to burden
us.
But I think I love that.
(04:13):
That scripture instructs us todo that and it is not based on
conditions, but it is simplybased on God's intention for us,
and I think we should learn howto do that regardless, just
regardless.
Because when you were talking,all I thought was how that's a
posture.
It's a posture to be able topraise.
(04:34):
It's a posture to be able tosay thanks even with tears
rolling down your face or abroken heart or whatever it is,
and I just think that that'ssuch an excellent exercise for
the believer to practice asoften as possible.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, we are made in the image and likeness of God,
and everything that God createdhe created to worship him.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Absolutely he created .
To give him praise.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
The Bible talks about how the winds give him praise
and the mountains praise hisname, and the seas and the
rivers and the waters praise thename of the Lord.
And so everything got.
So there is a praise in you.
So you have to keep praise onreserve for difficult times.
If you got to pray, if you putpraise on reserve in your soul
(05:24):
and commit and disciplineyourself and condition yourself
to have a praise regardless.
It may not be as loud as yourprevious praise, when everything
was going great.
It may not be as rambunctiousand as demonstrative and
expressive as other times, butif you could just say thank you
Jesus, if you could just sayLord, I thank you.
You know, even if it's a sombervoice, lord, I thank you, and
(05:47):
keep saying it until that voicegets higher, and I keep saying
it until your soul starts torejoice and a true shout of
praise coming out of your mouthHallelujah, god, I thank you,
anyway begins to build up on theinside.
Yeah, because praise has to beon reserve.
We were made to pray.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
So it's in there.
You could be hurting so bad,but it's in there, it is, and,
of course, because it's based onwho he is and not what he does,
I think that's the other part,when we are just grateful for
who God is.
You know what I'm saying.
I think that that posture canbe developed when, through our
(06:22):
journey of Christianity, wesimply remember that we are who
we are, we have theopportunities that we have, we
are not going to hell because,you know, god sent his son,
because he so loved the world,and I think if we just base it
on who God is, that praise willautomatically come out of us.
(06:46):
You know what I'm saying?
Right?
Because sometimes I think weget into that place where it's
but this didn't happen and thatdidn't happen, and I don't have,
you know, I haven't seen thisyet or that prayer was an answer
yet, and so we start praisingbased on condition as opposed to
praise, and based on who God is.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And I think that's where we kind of have the back
and forth, you know, right Well,we're able to do it.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Right.
So our topic and I believe thisis going to be a series,
because this is a very importanttopic it's one.
This is a life topic.
You could come back to thistopic anytime and feed off of it
, and so the series we'restarting is adjustments.
We are living in one of themost critical times in the
(07:35):
history of humanity Not that wehadn't always been in these
types of situations, but theBible talks about, as we get
closer and closer to Jesus'second coming, that the world
will wax worse and worse, evilwill wax worse and worse, and
the hearts of men will becomeworse and worse, and men will
become more lovers of themselvesthan lovers of God.
(07:57):
And men are in power.
They're in authority, they're incontrol.
So they navigate our culture,our society, they navigate the
financial industry, theynavigate what's going on on the
global powers, the relationshipsbetween countries and people
groups, and you know, all ofthat is based on the heart of
(08:17):
men making decisions.
So we're living in a time ofadjustments and life is full of
a plethora of adjustments.
And I was thinking about thison the way here and what I kind
of said to myself is this thereis no adjustment that can break
you.
It is your perspective of theadjustment that can break you.
(08:41):
So, because God has given usgrace and strength in Jesus
Christ to process through everyadjustment, the only way to
break and fold dealing with anadjustment is your perspective
of that adjustment.
Though it may be painful, it maybe tough, it may be rigorous,
(09:05):
it may be unpredictable, it maybe challenging, it may be one of
the hardest things you face, itcan't break you.
Your perspective of it.
The lens in which you see thisadjustment, how you approach
your mindset, your attitude,your day in and day out about
the adjustment, is what canbreak us.
(09:26):
I absolutely agree.
Comment before I give adefinition.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Of course, every time you say adjustment immediately,
you know, my mind goes to achiropractor.
You know, and having had theexperience with a chiropractor
and actually needing to go see achiropractor right now for my
neck, you know, when you hearabout adjustment, it sounds very
(09:50):
intimidating prior to havingthe experience it sounds very
intimidating.
So, as I'm thinking about thisparticular topic as it relates
to life, sometimes adjustmentsor the thought of having to make
an adjustment, because reallyadjustment is a form of a change
in a sense, it is intimidatingbecause it's something we've not
(10:12):
experienced.
Sometimes.
Sometimes we don't know what toexpect as a result of that
adjustment, and so sometimes webecome paralyzed and fearful
just at the idea of adjustment.
I know that was the case for mewith a chiropractor.
Like I avoided that for a verylong time, not realizing that
the adjustment would help putthings back into alignment.
(10:35):
Though there's a process thatyou have to go through.
And so I feel like that's sofitting for you know this
particular topic, becauseadjustments are not always
comfortable, but they help torealign things Right.
And then you have to continueto work through this process as
(10:57):
things continue to come backinto alignment, and not only do
you get an adjustment like once,you keep going back.
Sometimes, depending on yourcircumstance, you have to get
three adjustments in a week.
But you're getting things backin alignment and then after some
time they'll tell you just cometwice.
After some time they'll tellyou just come once once a week,
(11:20):
then it'll shift and you'll justhave to do it once every month,
once every other month.
And so I feel like that justparallels so well with what
we're going to talk about todaythat, in spite of the
uncomfortableness of it, itreally is putting things back
into alignment for your good.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
That's so good.
That is so good.
Another side of the coin ofwhat adjustment means and a
metaphor of it is a particulartool when I was growing up that
the handyman and the backyardmechanics used to use to fix
(12:02):
things.
I don't know if it's stillcalled this.
I don't know why they call it,but it was called a monkey
wrench.
Oh yeah, and if you ever, ifyou've ever, seen a monkey
wrench I don't know what it'scalled in other culture, but our
culture was called a monkeywrench it's got a little little
device on the head of it thatcauses the tool that clamps on
(12:22):
the object to expand, so causesthe tool that clamps on the
object to expand.
So if you twist the little Idon't know the dial inward, it
closes the head of the tool thatclamps down on the object.
If you twist the little valveto the right or outward, it
expands the tool so that it canclamp onto a larger object.
(12:43):
And I've noticed that, likethat tool, life's adjustments
are for expansion.
It's for us to be flexible,it's developmental For sure.
So one side of the coin ofadjustment is alignment.
The other one is when God isdeveloping us for purpose
destiny, to be able to handlemore, to become a better example
(13:08):
of Jesus Christ.
And we have to go through thesetimes where God allows things
to develop us and they areexpanding our capacity.
So when that monkey wrench isit's dialed in real little you
know it can handle a one inchpipe round pipe in real little
you know it can handle a oneinch pipe round pipe, but when
(13:28):
it's expanded out it can handlea five inch, a seven inch wide
pipe to get the job done.
So God has developed us for thedifferent stages, platforms,
destinies in life, so that webecome a flexible tool to get
the things done that he's calledus to do and walk in our
anointing.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
And you know that connection goes back.
It connects right back to thebody because when our anointing
and you know that connectiongoes back, it connects right
back to the body because whenour bodies are realigned, it
helps us to be more flexible forwhatever age we are.
Because, you know,chiropractors, they, they, they,
they suggest that people bringinfants in for adjustments.
I didn't know that, you know.
But for every stage, for everystage, it goes back to what you
(14:06):
were just saying.
For every stage of life thereis a necessary adjustment.
You know what I mean.
And it helps the flexibilitythat is needed for that season
of our life physiologically.
You know what I mean.
So I definitely see thatparallel there.
That's powerful.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah, because development, you know, we go
through physiologicaldevelopment, then we go through
spiritual development, yeah, andwe go through soul development.
See, my mind, will and emotions, which is the soul, have to be
adjusted for the plan of thisbig old God, have to be adjusted
(14:46):
for the plan of this big oldGod, you know, and when we are
adjustments become mostdifficult, when we're going
through trouble times, it's hardto change and modify, you know,
when things are already notgoing the way you want them to.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
But what about when they happen and you don't even
expect it to be happening?
What about when you're coastingalong and everything's pretty
cool, yeah, and then boom,you're hit with an adjustment.
See, I think that's anothertime when it's challenging too,
because you're like well, I wasfine you know what I mean.
(15:18):
I was okay.
Yeah, why did this adjustmenttime have to come?
Now?
You know what I mean, andsometimes I think that that
that's another time when it'sdifficult.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Oh, absolutely.
You know well, in all reality,because we are creatures of
habit and pattern, we don't likechange.
We do that.
You know there's thispsychological term called
homeostasis.
You know there's thispsychological term called
homeostasis.
It means when we're so in aroutine, we're so in a routine
driving from home to work thatwe can drive from home to work
(15:51):
without even paying attention tothe turns that we're making.
We're on autopilot.
We're so used to patterns.
Everything is about a pattern.
We go get our coffee at thesame place.
We all see the same breakfastall the time.
You know what I mean.
Like we act the same way onFriday.
Friday come, we have the samepatterns.
We're happy, we're excited.
We're going to get our paycheck, we're going to pay our bills
we're going to get the family,we're going to move.
(16:11):
You know it's a pattern, we'repatterned people.
And so anything that takes usoutside of that pattern.
It's difficult, it's hard, butwe have to be flexible with
adjustments, absolutely.
So let's look at adjustment.
I wanted to look at just somedefinition type stuff, just so
we can lay some groundwork, andI went to Chad GBT and it said
(16:35):
adjustments refer to changes, asit were, or modifications.
Watch this To improve.
This is some of thischiropractic stuff that you were
talking about To improve.
Watch this to improve.
This is some of thischiropractic stuff that we're
talking about To improve.
Watch this to correct.
Ladies and gentlemen, some ofthat adjustment that you're
facing and going through in life.
It's corrective and we have tobe willing to be open minded to
(17:00):
that.
That or to adapt a situation.
So adapt, adapting process orsystem to achieve a desired
outcome.
I love that so much, and so letme read that again Adjustments
refer to changes, modificationor modifications made to improve
(17:24):
, correct or adapt a situation,process or system to achieve a
desired outcome.
We can never assume that we areat the desired outcome that God
has for our lives, and that'sit Like it's no more.
We can never assume.
We know the plan of God, weknow everything that God is
doing with us and we knowexactly whether or not God is
saying it's time for us to grow.
(17:44):
That's right, because he, whenyou're dealing with adjustments,
the first thing you have toaccept is the sovereignty of God
, so that you can trustAbsolutely.
So let's get into the meat ofthe sovereignty of God so that
you can trust him.
I don't want to go too fastbecause this is going to be a
series I want to.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
You have some comments you want to say about
that definition.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I did, but I'm okay to go ahead.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
It's so good.
There was something inparticular you said.
I've forgotten about it now,but if it comes back up I'll
mention it.
I and I forgot.
I forgot what you said, butthat's a very good definition.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
So, if you, if you see me, shift and stop me,
because I tend to get in a hurry.
Yeah, and sometimes we need tojust saturate in that whole
thing, because there are alsopeople out there I know I am in
my life.
Let's do that, let's.
Let's go back and talk about,let's lay ourselves on the altar
here.
Changes, yeah.
Modifications, yeah.
Alterations.
Changes, modifications,alterations as this definition
(18:43):
talked about with life or asituation or processes or system
.
All of that kind of irritatesme sometimes and I've gone
through so.
You have financial adjustments,you have social adjustment, you
have political adjustments, youhave relational adjustments,
family adjustments, livingadjustments, career adjustments,
(19:05):
work adjustments.
Wait a minute, let's go back tothe physiological.
When your body, when you gethit with some type of ailment oh
my God, talk about needing to.
I've lived through all of thoseadjustments and many of them
were extremely tough.
And those people who arelistening right now you're in an
(19:26):
extremely tough adjustmentsituation.
But be of good courage.
Be of good courage.
There's no adjustment that canbreak you.
It's your perspective and God'sgot a word to show you some
people in the word of God thathad to deal with major
adjustments and how they dealtwith that.
And the sovereignty of God iswhere we start.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I like your emphasis on the adjustment won't break
you but your perspective will,and that's very true because, of
course, you know, perspectiveis kind of my thing, I really.
I think there's so much there,because I know that how we see
and visualize and conceptualizea thing determines how we
(20:07):
respond, act, behave, lackthereof, whatever.
It impacts so many differentthings.
And so I like how you connectthat reality because it's very
true, the thing won't break youand you know, and I think about
the adjustment won't break youand I think about the scripture
that says he won't put more onyou than you can bear.
Yeah, he knows what we arecapable of Right Handling.
(20:33):
Yeah, he knows it because heput it in us.
He put it in us, he put thatability, he put handle it in us.
He put that ability, he puthandle it in us.
You understand, he put make itin us.
And you know, I want to sayBooyah, booyah, right, that
bounce back, that's right.
In Hebrew it's Booyah, yeah, goahead.
I love that.
And so he placed that abilityin us.
(20:55):
And so when these things inlife, these adjustments, it's
time to adjust right, when wehave these times when it's time
to adjust or we're hit withthese different things, god is
not worried.
You know, god is not concerned.
God is not trying to figure outanything because he already
(21:16):
knows who can handle what youknow.
And I think that in and ofitself is so beautiful when we
can truly accept that realityand say just because I didn't
know does not mean God didn'tknow.
And so, while I may not preferto be dealing with this and I
(21:41):
wish God would have called me inthe meeting room when he
decided it for me, right.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You know what I mean you understand man let me work
out.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Can we negotiate, lord Right, like, can we like
not give me that, but let me,like, deal with this Right?
We can't be in the room andhave those conversations, but I
think we have to remember that,wow conversations.
But I think we have to rememberthat, even when I think about
Jeremiah 29 and 11, that hisplans for us are good and not
(22:10):
evil.
So, whatever that plan is,because we're figuring it out
day by day, that's our goal.
We're striving to figure outall the plans that he has for us
because we don't know in onefirst whoop, but they are good,
right, and not evil.
Right Perspective, because whenthings happen it can feel very
evil to me.
(22:30):
Oh, absolutely, you know whatI'm saying.
But when I have the rightperspective and if I'm looking
for perspective, yeah, in theword of God, it'll help me Right
To navigate the way that I seethe thing that I'm going through
Right Right.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
I think it's important in that context to
remember that there are threeplans operating in life.
There's God's plan I know theplan that I have for you.
It is good and not evil.
But then there's Satan plan andSatan is saying I know the plan
that I have for you and it'sevil and not good.
So that's two.
The third one is our plan.
We have free will and our planis like okay, god, I hear you,
(23:11):
okay, satan, I hear you, butthis is what I want, that's what
I'm.
You got a good plan.
Sometimes we're like a betterone.
Okay, I got a better one rightnow than to be going through
this pregnancy when I didn'tplan on being pregnant at 30.
At 21.
I know I'm not, I'm married, wedo this as a family, but I
(23:31):
wasn't ready.
I'm just saying hypothetically,using that as a very
minimalistic example, but I'msaying God got a plan that's
good, not evil.
Satan got a plan that's evil,not good.
We got a plan that's even notgood.
We got a plan that's great,regardless of any one of them.
So we think so, we think so, wethink so.
This really takes us to thepoint of number one God's
(23:52):
sovereignty and God's control.
Yeah, oh my God.
Since we cannot stop theadjustments, since we cannot
choose the adjustment or thetiming of the adjustments, since
we cannot control the people,who is causing the adjustments,
we then as believers, asfollowers of God, as righteous
children of God, have to lendourselves to trusting his
(24:16):
sovereignty and knowing that Godis in control.
That's how we don't break.
First of all.
That's the first thing I wantto talk about, and so I have a
scripture here, Proverbs three,verse five through six.
It says trust in the Lord.
Ladies and gentlemen, here'sour work.
We are working to get to thispoint.
(24:37):
We're laboring to enter therest of God.
So I hear you say it Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and
do not just a part I love, donot lean on your own
understanding.
I want to finish this.
Then we break this down In allyour ways.
Acknowledge Him and he willmake straight your paths.
(25:08):
So it says to me.
Life's adjustments often requiresurrendering our understanding
to God and relying on hisdirection.
Let's eat the scripture up fora minute.
Let's eat on this.
You want to start?
Let's start here.
Trust, Yep, how, how.
Sweetheart.
Pastor A, all those titles.
(25:29):
We've been together doingministry for almost 30 years.
I call all kinds of stuffPastor A, Apostle, because she's
co-everything that I've done,We've done it co-together.
That I've done, we've done itco-together.
So, anyway, how would you, howdo you see trusting God as a, as
an asset, when dealing withadjustment as an asset.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
I'll say it like.
I'll say it, like I feel it,and then we'll see if I answer
the question.
How about that?
Is that okay when?
When I think about trusting inthe Lord, for me it's a
no-brainer.
In this sense, in and of myself, I am limited, right, and I am
(26:17):
fully aware of that.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That's so good.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
In and of myself.
I have the propensity to makeall sorts of errors and mistakes
.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That is so good, that is so heavy.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Because I am fully aware and am not at all
delusional in that regard.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Move Holy Ghost.
I feel the power of God.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Trusting in God just makes sense.
Wow, jesus.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Glory, wow.
I know people say in scholarlycircles and intellectual realms
they say don't use the word wowthat much because it really has
no defining point other than wow.
I didn't know that.
But wow, my God, I don't careabout that.
(27:09):
That's a wow statement and awow moment.
Yeah, all I heard in that wasand not all I heard but one
profound thing I heard in it wasyou have to be first humble.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You have to To trust God.
You have to Because without it,you won't think about it.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Without it you can't trust God.
Listen y'all, we teach this notparenthetically, but
experientially.
We don't come to you as theexperts of this, but the
experiencers of this.
Oh, it can be so hard sometimes, because I'm not talking about
humble yourself from a platformof arrogance and pride.
(27:51):
I'm talking about humblingyourself to choose his will over
you.
That's it.
Sometimes that's tough becausewe are intellectual beings.
God wired us great.
We have creativity, we have amind to use, we have rational
reason and logic, and Godequipped us that way.
(28:12):
So we can think our way in andout of things.
But when you're willing to giveup all that power, that's our
power.
We have to give up that powerfor God's plan and his purpose
yeah, knowing that we were puthere by him.
He has a sovereign plan overour lives.
He will control us, but hecontrols the narratives.
(28:33):
That brings us into theformation and the transformation
to who he has called us to beAbsolutely.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
See, there is a you know for me, husband, apostle my
boy right oh man.
There is this reality for methat, though God has endowed me
with intelligence and amazingspiritual gifts yes, discernment
(29:05):
, word of wisdom, word ofknowledge, a gift of teaching,
he set me up well.
He did.
He set me up well.
He set me up well.
In spite of that, there is afull understanding that I have
(29:29):
that I still live with a lot oflimitation.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
There it is again that word you keep saying
limitations.
We have to know that we arelimited in this big cosmos that
we live in, with these twodimensions that exist the spirit
dimension and the earth realmdimension.
These dimensions and we dealwith power.
The Bible says we deal withpowers and principalities and
rulers and wickedness and highplaces.
(29:59):
Oh my God, we have tounderstand.
We are limited creatures.
We are limited.
We are a reflection of hisimage.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
We are not him.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
We're a reflection of his power.
We are not him.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
That's right.
We are a reflection of JesusChrist we are not him, that's
right.
You know, and so you know I'mgoing to let you go, I'm going
to let you go.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I love that, yeah.
And so when you realize that Ibelieve, when you realize that,
like, for real, for real and I'mnot talking about this may
believe stuff that sometimeshappens, but when you know that,
beyond a shadow of a doubt,like, hey, nobody move you from
knowing that you are, in fact,limited, in spite of all these
beautiful blessings that youhave, you know and that you
(30:41):
possess, and all this charismaand character you have, all this
you you bad to the bone, butyet you still are limited to you
, recognize, remember andreflect on often that you serve
a God who is not.
Yeah, For me, that makes it sonatural to trust in God.
(31:06):
Right, because and we say this,and I'm sure a lot of us have
heard this in different sermons,us have heard this in different
sermons it's not about thething that's been created, but
instead it's about the creatorof the thing.
You know what I'm saying.
So, in order for me to fullyunderstand my full functionality
(31:28):
and ability, because I am thecreated thing, I need to make
sure that I stay connected tothe one who created me, my
creator, because my creatorknows more about me than I know
about myself and, oh Jesus, Ifeel the Holy ghost.
And so that's why I can beassured that, even when I am
(31:50):
facing a difficult situation anda difficult, a difficult a
predicament, yeah, that itdoesn't shock him, though it may
shock me, because he know whathe put in me to deal with the
thing that he knew that he wasgoing to allow to show up in my
life.
You know what I'm saying, right?
So if I posture myself,realizing that I am I am a
(32:12):
limited being, yet I amconnected to an unlimited being
it only makes sense to trust inthe Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
This is such a great topic.
This is such a great topic.
It only makes sense to trust inthe Lord.
Because you know what, angela?
There are some challengingadjustments that happen in life.
Yes, sir, absolutely there aresome.
There's some challengingadjustments that happen in life,
yes, sir, but yet then thereare some, some exciting
adjustments that happen in life.
Yeah, and sure we are.
(32:44):
Sometimes we're afraid of theexciting adjustments because it
can be larger than life and itcan be.
You know, we don't.
We don't feel like we have theconfidence or whatever, the
wherewithal to step up to thatblessing, to that great thing.
But we do and we rejoice in itand it's a great season.
So we have the excitingadjustments, but then we have
the excruciating if I can keep,the easy, excruciating
(33:07):
adjustments.
In all of them, in bothcategories, we have to trust God
.
We have to In his sovereignty.
Now, sovereignty we've usedthis word Sovereignty to me kind
of says that God is the supreme, he's the supreme navigator of
(33:28):
all things.
God's sovereignty is hisrulership.
He is over all things, he knowsall things, he controls all
things.
That that God's sovereignty isis really just his, is his glory
, it's his goodness, it's hismercy.
It's his grace.
(33:48):
So we have to trust in God'ssovereignty, that he knows he's
omniscient, he's omnipotent andhe's omnipresent, omniscient.
He knows all things, he'somnipotent, he has all power and
he's omnipresent.
He's everywhere at the sametime.
He's with me, with you.
So I wanted to just give somecontext on this whole thing
about sovereignty.
(34:09):
But I have a question too forour audience how are you
trusting God right now in youradjustment?
You trusting God right now inyour adjustment?
Yeah, yeah, think about that.
Yeah, are you really trustingGod in what you're going through
?
And it's okay if you'retrusting him a little.
That's right, if you're trustinghim kind of you know average
(34:30):
haphazardly, or if you'retrusting him a lot, you know
it's okay to be real withourselves and say I'm struggling
with this right now, Like God,like God I barely trust you
right now.
I barely trust you.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I feel like I can't trust you.
You know I'm right here rightnow.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yeah, Because I'm hurting Cause this is bad.
This is like I'm having aproblem trusting you right now,
so help me.
There was one character in theBible.
His son had a demon fromchildbirth that threw him in the
water and in the fire.
He took him to his disciples.
Disciples weren't able to casthim out.
He went to Jesus.
Jesus said do you believe?
He said I believe, but help myunbelief.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I got a little bit of a growth process.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
I need here with this because I've had this going on
ever since he was a child.
I brought it to the disciples.
They weren't able to do it.
Yeah, I got some unbelief.
Yes, yes, okay, yes, yes, yes,yes, yes, I'm tired of the
perfect Christianity context.
Yes, I got some unbelief.
Help me with it, jesus.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
And you know that's beautiful that you said that,
and I believe that someone hasbeen criticized for not having
faith or belief in a particulararea or surrounding a certain
(35:49):
thing, or vacillating betweenbelieving and not believing, and
so I feel like that.
What you just said, minister tosomebody to give them the
freedom to be transparent withGod.
Yes, because I feel like that.
One of the things,unfortunately, we have been
(36:11):
taught in church is that, nomatter what you're going through
, just pretend like everything'sokay.
The problem with that conceptis that you end up creating a
lot of dysfunction within peopleand within the organization or
the institution.
But when we are taught to betransparent, when we are taught
(36:40):
to be transparent number one,being transparent with God is
one of the most beautiful thingsthat you can ever be.
I am grateful.
I have no idea how I was taughtit, but I'm grateful that I was
always transparent, like whenI'm thinking, when, when I
started young, very young, when,for example, my dad died and I
literally told God I was mad athim.
I was like, well, I don't evenknow what you're doing.
I was 12 years old and I saidGod, I'm mad at you.
(37:01):
Okay, when you think about somepeople say you know you can't
say stuff like that to God.
And so why, why could, whywould God be intimidated by me
saying I'm mad at you?
That was my truth.
It gives me opportunity to beopen for growth.
When I'm transparent.
See, when we hide behind allthis false stuff, we stay
(37:26):
entrapped and it gives the enemyopportunity to beat us up even
more.
But when we are able to open upour mouth and be completely
honest, like you know what, god,I'm really struggling.
I believe a little bit, butthen this happened and I got a
little nervous.
You know, I start feeling likeyou didn't, I wasn't your boy, I
(37:46):
wasn't your girl anymore, orwhatever your dialogue is.
You know what I'm saying.
I feel like that.
What I'm saying?
I feel like that we have toknow.
The body of believers has to.
We have to know that how we goto God is okay, right, and where
we're in error, god will helpus to understand.
(38:10):
Don't do that Right.
You know what.
You understand what I'm tryingto say, because I feel like when
you said that, like I just feltthis oh my God, somebody needed
to hear that, because they'vebeen criticized about
vacillating between their beliefand their lack of belief.
And the reality is, when we areable to be transparent and say
(38:32):
I believe that, I don't believethat, I believe that I don't
believe, it says okay, I'm beingtransparent because I want to
grow, and it gives meopportunity you know what I'm
saying For God to really be ableto work on me so that I can
grow.
You know, and I think that'svery important.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
The evolution of transparency for the believer is
a process.
For sure, and it takes somegrowth in God.
It's an experiential processBecause, you know, I got saved I
was a part of.
When I got saved I was in myearly 20s.
(39:09):
I was a part of a denominationthat they practiced that sense
of secrecy.
You know you can't go to Godand express how you feel if it's
not a positive expression quote, unquote positive expression.
You can ask why you couldn'thave a complaint.
If you will go to God and say Idon't like this, so you
couldn't express yourdispleasure with something, I
(39:30):
won't call it a complaint.
And so it took me.
That's a prison when you can'tbe transparent with God.
And I was in that prison untilrecently.
I wouldn't go to God and tellhim none of my gripes or
complaints, none of my things Iwas displeased with.
I wouldn't go to him and askhim why.
I learned that from you and Iwas the first time I did it here
(39:55):
.
I was so scared.
I thought God was going to getme because I was raised up in
that.
Don't say it, don't do it.
You know, don't have acomplaint.
Everybody going back to youknow the Exodus when the people
complained and God struck themWell that's a posture of
complaining, that's a heart ofcomplaining.
That's not me going to Godtelling him something I don't
(40:15):
understand.
I'm displeased with it and Idon't like, and I was so scared
to do that.
But then I finally did it and Iwas relieved in my heart and my
anxiety left me and all thatbecause I thought it anyway.
God already knows our thoughts.
That's where I was going.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
He knows what's in our heart.
He already knows, so why nottell them?
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Why not tell them?
And I came to you and I toldyou.
I said I said I did it.
I said I told God some things Iwas just pleased with.
I asked him why?
And she said to me.
She said good.
She said I've been transparentlike that all along.
She said that's, that's how Iinteract with God.
And it was.
It, was it?
Let me out of that prison.
We're going to close out thissession.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I think that was good .
Yeah, I think that was goodbecause I feel like people need
that.
You know I feel like peopleneed that.
You know when, when individualsthat are doing things like what
we're doing are struggling withdifferent things, people need
to be able to you know tap inand relate.
You know what I'm saying andknow that, oh okay, they're not
(41:14):
just saying and you said italready this is not from just
some expert level, this isexperiential.
You know what I mean, and so Ithink all of that was really
good, but I also believe it wasnecessary because I felt like
somebody was trapped in that.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
In that prison.
Yeah, come out of that prisonin the name of Jesus.
You do not have to accept thatdenominationalism, that
tradition of men.
I mean you think about all thepeople in the Bible who went to
God and said I'm displeased withthis.
Elijah said I'm the only oneleft, jezebel and Ken and all
the prophets I'm the only oneleft.
(41:49):
You left me here.
You know what I mean.
Jeremiah said I'm donepreaching.
I'm not going to even preachanymore.
Ezekiel was tripped out at someof the things God had him doing
, just to mimic how he feltabout the children of Israel.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Yeah, so I think it's important.
I've learned, I've come tolearn that you have to release
(42:09):
yourself from that prison.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
I mean absolutely, because God is not intimidated.
Two things he knows already,right, but God's not intimidated
.
Two things he knows already,right, but then God's not
intimidated by us.
We have to remember that that'sjust not scary anymore.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
And even learning to do that is an adjustment, it is.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
I love that, yes, so some adjustments are
self-initiated adjustments thatwe need to make.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
I love that that's such good ministry right there,
self-initiated adjustments.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Yeah Well, we need God's help to do it, but we must
do it to come out of ourprisons and to break our prisms.
Okay, let's look at this guy,abraham, abraham.
Let's look at what God told him.
So Abraham had to make a bigadjustment.
All adjustments are not thisbig, but God often calls us to
(42:58):
adjustments this big and someadjustments come into our life
that have this big of an impact.
We're living right now in asociety where the adjustments
that are happening on the globalcultural, social, political
landscape are big adjustments.
They are big adjustments withwhat's going on around us and
(43:20):
the mental state of humanity andheading toward a third world
war.
There's a lot.
So let's look at Abraham herein Genesis 12 and one.
The Lord said to Abram he wasn'teven Abraham at the time.
Now listen now who said this tohim?
The Lord said spoke to Abramand Abram heard him.
(43:42):
You got to understand some,just for some context.
At this time, abram, god,hadn't even started the Jewish
nation, the Hebrew people,rather, abraham.
Abram had come out ofMesopotamia with his father
Terah and his brother Haran, andthey stopped in Haran, and so
we have to understand that hewas a heathen and God spoke and
(44:06):
he heard Don't tell me, god,don't pick sinners, the outcasts
, the worst of us, those who arenot perfect.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
The way that I can tear this room up.
Come on At that reality, oh myGod.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
We miss that in our Bible study teaching sometimes
because we want to cleanse andsanitize the Scripture.
We don't want to look at it forwhere it is.
Abram was a heathen, came outof a heathenistic culture.
His daddy was a heathen.
His family was heathen.
God picked him out and chosehim to start a great nation with
that's so wild.
God don't start from clean, hestart from dirty.
(44:42):
God don't start from fixed, hestarts from broken.
Talk to me and hear somebody,so let us kick this.
Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (44:54):
This is Genesis right .
This is Genesis chapter 12,verse 1.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
We have these masks over our churches, talking about
which denomination is most pure.
None of them are pure, becausepeople are in them and God
starts from broken people.
Yep, absolutely.
And he makes us through therighteousness of Jesus Christ.
Okay, I'm not trying to preachthis.
Okay, I'm not trying to preachthis.
Okay, the Lord said to Abram gofrom your country.
(45:22):
Why is he telling him to comeout of his country?
Because he was in aheathenistic country.
Your people.
Why is he telling him to leaveyour people?
Because they're heathenisticpeople and I'm getting ready to
do something in your life Withyou that they will be a
distraction, a roadblock andeverything else.
And leave your Father'shousehold To a land I will Show
(45:53):
you.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
My God Major.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Adjustments For sure will show you.
Major adjustments, modification, change.
How many of us right now have aword from God that is requiring
all types of adjustments?
Let's jump into this, angela.
Go ahead and break some of thisout for us.
(46:16):
Oh my God.
So Abram had to trust.
We're going back to that pointAbram had to trust you talk
about.
So you see, we often struggletrusting God in little things.
Here's a relocation.
Here's a calling to walk alone.
(46:38):
This is relocation.
This is separation.
Okay, this is, oh my God.
He doesn't even know where he'sgoing and he has to make all of
these adjustments that looklike abandonment from his family
(47:00):
.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
At the age of 75.
Speaker 1 (47:05):
75.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Wow, sailor, sailor, oh my God, wow, oh my God.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Okay, I want our ears to just let this saturate
because there's so much runningthrough my mind.
I got to calm down, yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Wow, wow Okay.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
How do you do that?
Yeah, wow, okay.
How do you do that?
Yeah, without trust and leaningnot to your own understanding.
Watch this and it says in allyour ways.
See, in order to do what Abramwas called to do by God, he had
to.
He had to lay it all down.
He had to leave it, as they say.
(47:53):
He had to leave it all on thefield.
He had to bring it, as they say.
He had to leave it all on thefield.
He had to bring it all to God.
He had to consider the realityof everything in his life being
shaken up and trusting God inthat.
And that's where we are rightnow.
In our current society,everything in our world is
shaking.
You may not be leaving yourfather's house.
(48:15):
You may not be leaving yourfather's house.
You may not be leaving yourfather's country.
You may not be leaving yourpeople, but, like Abram,
everything around us is shakingand rumbling and earthquaking,
and the very ground we stand on,which is the patterns of life
we've been living in, the norms,are being shaken.
(48:37):
The Bible says in the last days, I will shake the earth again.
Yes, I will shake it twice.
Only those things that are ableto remain will remain.
We're living in adjustments.
Oh my God, we have two minutes.
Speaker 2 (48:59):
My God.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
And we're going to come back with part two of this.
Okay, I'm going to leave itright there.
Yeah, if everything in yourworld is shaking, good, god and
mercy, will you remain?
Will you remain when everythingin your life shakes to the
(49:45):
bitter end, where some in thefloor crying out to God with one
question why Will you trust him?
Can you trust him, please trusthim, if it's little by little,
sometimes trusting God actuallyhappens, minute by minute, but
(50:05):
no adjustment can break you.
It's your perspective towardsthat adjustment that can break
you.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
Don't you lose your mind on us.
Listen to me.
Don't you let this put you in amental institution.
(50:26):
Don't you fight your way out ofa bottle.
Hold on, press in.
God will keep you.
Yes, there's a lot of thingsyou can do.
You can talk to people, you canget help.
I just want to minister to yoursoul.
Just hold on first, hang inthere, trust God and the
(50:55):
sovereignty of God.
Amen, amen.
Any closing remarks.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
You know, I want you guys to think about this Genesis
12 and 1, abram's situation andhow big this really was for him
.
We read it and we make it seemlike he just left from one
neighborhood and moved out ofthe hood and went to the suburbs
(51:23):
somewhere.
But the reality is that he lefta lot.
This was a huge call on hislife and he didn't even know
where he was going and ithappened when he was 75 years
old.
I think that's worth ponderingon, because sometimes we think
that the things that we're goingthrough are outlandish,
(51:45):
sometimes we think that that theadjustments are unheard of or
just whatever they're out there.
But sometimes, when we go visitthe word of God, we find out
that it's not as far what we'regoing through.
It's not that far that God hasdone it before, you know, and if
(52:06):
he did it before, he'll do itagain.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Ladies and gentlemen, we trust that you've been
blessed by something that wehave said on this podcast on
today.
I want to thank my lovely,energetic, anointed co-host for
being here to help make thishappen.
We need your support.
We trust that you will go toeither one of our websites.
Coming to gracechurchorg, weare not a church per se with
(52:35):
building and structure.
We're an online movement and weneed your support.
If you go tocovenantgracechurchorg, you can
sow a seed of grace on ourpodcast page or just sow in
general and be put toward ourprograms as we continue to
spread the gospel online andeverywhere that we can through
(52:56):
podcasts, through television,through radio.
So you can go toJarrellStokelycom and sow your
seed of grace, listen.
We trust that you will join us.
We trust that you will give.
We trust you, the listener, thehearer, that you will partner
with us and sow whatever's onyour heart to sow that we can
continue to share the gospel ofJesus Christ.
It's been great being with you.
(53:18):
Don't miss part two of thisadjustments.
God's got a word for you.
We love you.
God bless you.
Speaker 2 (53:24):
See you next time.
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