May 27, 2026 • 27 mins
How much of your life is shaped by what you truly believe and how much is shaped by what you hope nobody argues with? We go straight at a hard question: are we trading blessings for approval, slowly becoming “covert Christians” who blend in so well we can’t feel our own purpose anymore?
Ron Myers starts with a surprising picture a beta fish that perks up the moment it’s moved from dirty water into clean water. That simple moment becomes a spiritual gut check. When we adapt to compromise, mute our faith to keep the peace, or camouflage our identity in Christ, we may avoid tension but we also lose clarity, passion, and bold confidence. Ron’s not telling anyone to pick fights; he’s calling us to stop living split lives and start telling the truth about where we’re at.
You’ll also hear a powerful clip from Pastor Alan Jackson on standing firm in “fierce times,” the pressure to blend back in, and why courage works like a muscle you have to exercise. We talk about practical ways to live out Christian faith in public with grace, how to replace lies in our self talk with truth, and why approval seeking is never a good bargain. Ron closes with a simple prayer for anyone ready to invite Jesus into their life, plus a free resource to help you take the next step.
If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels worn down, and leave a review so more people can find real hope.
Thank you for listening! Please help us by sharing this podcast with your friends and telling someone about what Jesus has done for you. If you would like to share your story, visit our website https://thepromoter.org/
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Episode Transcript
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Announcer (00:01):
It's time now to get the hell out of your life, a
weekly broadcast with realpeople, sharing real struggles,
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire, and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, RonMyers, the promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Today on Get the Hell Out of Your Life, are you
trading blessings for approval?
Hello, my friends, and welcometo Get the Hell Out of Your
Life.
I'm Ron Myers, and if life hasknocked the wind out of you, you
are in the right place.
Maybe it's failure, divorce,addiction, fear, shame, loss,
(00:42):
regret.
Or maybe you've been hidingbehind a smile or numbing it
because you don't know what elseto do.
Today we're going to addressthat.
Because here's the truth.
Your story isn't over.
It's never too late for a newbeginning.
This podcast is for the peoplewith questions, the weary, the
outsider, the ones barelyholding it together.
(01:05):
Because, my friends, sometimesthe first step towards freedom
isn't fixing your life, it'stelling the truth about where
you're at and hearing thatrestoration is possible.
Today's show is going toencourage you and empower you
because you're going to hearanswers to questions that you
(01:26):
don't even have yet.
But God is working behind thescenes because He needs you to
become who He created you to be.
All of you.
You know, I want to starttoday's show with telling you
about my little beta fish.
I call him Bob.
He sits on my counter in thissmall little fish tank.
Now it has no filter, no freshair pumping into it.
(01:49):
So once a week I have totransfer him from the dirty
water, the dirty environment,into a clean fish tank with a
clean environment and cleanwater.
The minute I put him in thatfresh water, he comes alive.
He swims faster, he's freer,almost like he's saying, Thank
you.
This feels right.
And let's be honest, a lot of usare living like that fish.
(02:14):
We've adapted to dirtyenvironments.
We have learned how to survivein compromise.
We stay quiet so nobody getsoffended.
We water down our faith soculture will not cancel us.
We want acceptance so badly thatwe slowly become covert
(02:35):
Christians, blending in insteadof standing out.
But Jesus never called us toblend in.
In fact, Scripture tells us tobe in the world and not of the
world.
Today's episode is a wake-upcall.
The alarm clock is going off andit's getting louder by the day.
(02:56):
And the longer you stay in thatdirty environment because you're
adapting to it, the more youwill feel something missing in
life.
And there is something missing.
It's called your purpose, it'scalled your passion.
So today, Jesus wants you tohear this that He wants to move
you into that clean environmentso you will recognize your
(03:16):
identity.
You're here with a purpose, agreat purpose.
You have places to go, people tosee, and things to do.
Excitement for life begins whenyou get in the environment where
it goes from curses toblessings.
We all need a blessing.
And today's journey is going tostart with a clip from Pastor
(03:37):
Alan Jackson.
And I think you will relate towhat he's going to say, and then
when I come back, we'll unpackit.
How do we adapt that in ourlives?
How can we live in the freedomthat Jesus has for each and
every one of us?
Let's take a listen to PastorAlan Jackson.
SPEAKER_06 (03:57):
Politics are not our problem, it's the anemic
condition of the people of God.
And Paul said there'll be fiercetimes because human character
will deteriorate.
And then he makes an interestingstatement.
He said, People will be loversof pleasure rather than lovers
of God.
They'll have a form ofgodliness, but deny its power.
(04:18):
And then the next phrase isimportant.
He didn't say live amongst themas evangelists.
He said, have nothing to do withthem.
They'll have a form of godlinessbut deny its power.
They'll have religious language,they'll have religious
architecture, they'll holdreligious services, but they
will deny the power of God.
(04:43):
Exceedingly fierce times becauseof the deterioration of human
character.
Matthew 24, Jesus spoke to itdirectly.
Matthew 24 is Jesus' mostlengthy prophetic passage.
He's the greatest of all theHebrew prophets, greater than
Isaiah or Jeremiah that we'rereading right now.
Of all the Hebrew prophets,Jesus is the most celebrated.
And Matthew 24 was his mostlengthy single prophetic
(05:05):
discourse.
He said, nation will riseagainst nation and kingdom
against kingdom.
In Greek, it's ethnos, fromwhich we get ethnic, not nation
states, but ethnic conflict inthe earth.
We see a lot of that.
(05:25):
It's that episodic.
My father was a vet.
Most of you know, I've seen lotsand lots of things born.
Fals and calves and kittens andpuppies.
And once birth pains begin,there's some things that are
observable.
I've never given birth.
I don't identify as a birthingperson.
(05:50):
Oh, I couldn't resist.
But I have observed many, many,many times things being born,
and I can tell you, once thosebirth pains begin, they're going
to continue.
They're going to continue andthey're going to increase in
frequency.
And they're going to increase inintensity until there's an
arrival.
(06:11):
So when Jesus said these thingsare the beginning of birth
pains, I think the frequency ofthe tremors and the intensity
with which they arise willincrease.
Now, I don't know the specifictiming of that, but I understand
the pattern that he's referringto.
The beginning of birth pains,then you'll be handed over to be
persecuted and put to death.
You'll be hated by all nationsbecause of me.
(06:34):
It's pretty popular, I'd addchic in a lot of intellectual
circles to be angry with theJewish people or the modern
state of Israel.
Hear all sorts of expressionsaround that.
Well, a hatred for the Jewishpeople and a hatred for the
people of Christ are two sidesof the same coin.
They're an expression of thespirit of Antichrist.
And I would submit to you thatwhat you're watching is simply a
(06:54):
foreshadowing of what is goingto be directed at you.
And we'll have to make a choice.
We'll have to make there's athere's a distinction between
the Jewish people and the thethe remaining people of the
book.
Jewish is both a religion and anethnicity.
So you can be Jewish and rejectcompletely the authority of
(07:18):
Scripture.
You don't have to be religious,you don't have to worship, you
don't have to believe there'sanything significant around
that, but you're still Jewish.
So it makes the target moreprominent.
You know, if you if you liveamongst a Christian people and
you say, Well, I don't believein the authority of Scripture,
and I don't believe Jesus wasthe Son of God, and I don't I
don't agree with that, I don'tpractice that, we still don't
(07:41):
call you a Christian.
We call you an agnostic or anatheist, and you can disappear
back into the woodwork.
So the Jewish people present amore persistent target for the
hatred, that spiritual hatred.
The people of faith, the peoplewho believe that Jesus is
(08:01):
Messiah, have to make a choice,an intentional choice to
identify with him.
And Jesus, in this passage,we're not going to dwell on it,
but he points out that there'llbe an enormous falling away
because as the pressureintensifies, there'll be people
who make a calculated decision.
They'll call it good business,they'll call it the preservation
of their family, they'll they'llcall it protecting their
(08:22):
children, whatever label theyuse, they will step away from
that identification so they canblend back in to the larger
population.
But the hatred is ahead of us.
You better practice your couragein saying I'm with Jesus.
(08:43):
I find that courage andperseverance and overcoming all
of those things, they're likemuscles.
They have to be exercised togain strength.
And if you're not in the habitof saying, you know, I'm a Jesus
person, yeah, I pray, I read myBible, I go to church.
If you're not in the habit ofletting those things be a part
of the description of who youare, because you're aware of the
(09:05):
pushback or the resentment orthe resistance.
It's the holiday time.
We're gonna get together withfamilies.
And you we all understand thatthose kind of statements of
faith bring division even in ourfamilies.
You don't have to be angry orbelligerent, you certainly don't
need to be violent, but but yougotta be willing to identify.
Start the practice.
(09:25):
Jesus said, if you won'tidentify with me in front of
men, I won't identify with youin front of the Father.
There's no such thing as covertChristianity.
You'll be hated by all nationsbecause of me.
At that time, many will turnaway from the faith and betray
and hate each other.
Why?
Because there's tremendouspressure.
I'm not one of them.
(09:47):
Many false prophets will appearand deceive many people.
Those aren't just religiouscharacters.
Prophets are people you expectto tell the truth.
Biblical prophecy isn't so muchforetelling.
The prophets were God'srepresentatives to the people.
This is God's perspective.
This is the truth.
Marriage is between a man and awoman, a biblical principle, not
a political ideology.
God created male and female, abiblical principle, not some
(10:10):
cultural ideology.
False prophets will no longertell the truth.
And because of the increase ofwickedness, the love of most
will grow cold.
There are many Greek words forlove.
The one there is the word usedfor the love of God.
The love in the hearts of God'speople will grow cold because of
the wickedness.
(10:31):
But he who stands firm to theend will be saved.
There's the assignment, standingfirm.
All the way to the end.
You don't know when the end is.
You just know you have one.
I have one.
I want to stand firm to the end.
Well, I'd rather go to a partyor have a picnic or have cake or
but sometimes we have to standfirm.
(10:52):
The implications all aroundthere is it won't be easy, that
there'll be boiling hatred, andthey'll there'll be folks who
abandon the story and they'llcreate hate and it'll be
intense.
And then the penultimate sign ofthe culmination of the age is
this gospel of the kingdom willbe preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all nations.
(11:12):
And then the end will come.
The ultimate sign of the end ofthe age isn't the Antichrist or
his beastly activity or all thehorrific things that may happen
in the world.
The ultimate sign is theproclamation of the gospel in
the whole earth.
Did you know we have anassignment to play?
We have a linchpin in theculmination of the age.
How seriously do we take that?
(11:35):
Forget the distinctions andlearning other languages.
The technology is really takingdown all of those walls so
rapidly it's dizzying.
The proclamation of the gospelstarts with your sphere of
influence.
Does everybody that don't knowyou understand your alignment
with the gospel?
Doesn't mean they're all goingto accept it, it doesn't mean
they're all going to join you.
But you don't want anybody inyour sphere of influence that
(11:57):
doesn't understand the alignmentof your life.
If you're hiding the truth,you're described in that
passage.
If you're abandoning the truthbecause it's uncomfortable in
your circle of friends, youeither need more courage to tell
your friends the truth or you'regoing to need new friends.
Don't forfeit your place in thekingdom because you're trying to
(12:18):
win the approval of people whodon't intend to honor the Lord.
That's not a good bargain.
Fierce times.
Matthew chapter 5, it's theSermon on the Mount.
Jesus is giving the Beatitudes.
This is included in that litany,kind of that unfolding
statements of blessings.
Blessed are those who arepersecuted because of
(12:39):
righteousness.
For theirs is the kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are you when peopleinsult you and persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evilagainst you because of me.
I'm glad Jesus said that becauseif he didn't say that, I don't
think that's a blessing.
I would much rather peopleapplaud me.
I prefer awards to persecution.
(13:00):
How about you?
How do they be liked and hated?
Then we read that and go, ohyes, I'm an old.
Did you ever run a 5K?
I've kind of shuffled a 5K.
Wasn't trying to impressanybody, I just wanted to make
it.
But those are so fun becausepeople line the the route that
you're running and they standand applaud.
(13:21):
They don't know you.
And they're going, ah, good job.
Keep it up.
You look great.
No, I don't.
I can't find enough oxygen.
And there's little stationsalong the way, they'll give you
fruit or refreshments or waterhydration.
I'm like, oh, good job.
You know, I think, well, thatwould be how I'd like it if I'm
(13:42):
going to be a Christ follower.
And Jesus said, well, actually,there's a blessing when you're
widely hated, when you'repersecuted because of me.
Do you have the imagination thatevery time you deny your faith
or you turn the volume down onyour faith or you try to
camouflage your identity withChrist, that you forfeit the
blessings of God?
(14:05):
No, the Bible presents us withtwo alternatives, blessings and
curses.
There's really no middle lane.
When you're hiding fromblessings, when you're making
choices to intentionally avoidwhat God said would bring you a
blessing, you are volunteeringfor curses.
Ron Meyers (14:24):
Did that message stir something inside of you?
Every time I listen to this, myfirst instinct is I don't want
to lose my blessings forapproval, for complacency, for
fitting in with the world.
I want the blessings of God.
And I believe you don't want tomiss your blessings in life
(14:44):
either.
Friends, God has an incredibleplan for each of us, and
blessings and favor are in thatplan.
But when we are trapped in thisenvironment, this dirty
environment, because we haveadapted to the cultural norms,
we lose something.
We lose the purpose call in ourlife because one part of us is
(15:06):
worrying about not offendingpeople, not making people mad.
And the other part is how do Ireconcile that with Jesus?
Because Jesus did not call us toblend in with the world, he told
us to let him live in us, andthen he will express himself
through our action and wordsthat leads to blessings and
(15:28):
God's favor on our life.
Because if we're honest, thereare a lot of believers that have
slowly drifted into this quietkind of Christianity where we
love Jesus, but we're quietabout our faith.
It's not because we're badpeople or anything, we just
don't want to offend anybody andwe don't want to get into
(15:50):
arguments with people.
Well, friends, you don't have toget into arguments.
My suggestion is just brag onJesus.
Just tell people what Jesus didfor you, and that's your story,
and you're sticking to it.
It's about you discovering yourpurpose and your destiny.
And you're not going to findthat when you're living in a
dirty environment.
Pastor Jackson said that thereal problem is not the
(16:11):
politics, the culture, theheadlines.
The deeper issue is thecondition of the people of God.
We become too comfortable inblending in, and Jesus called us
to stand out.
We don't need to be anundercover Christian.
He wants you and I to be who hecreated us to be.
(16:31):
Here's a story I heard yearsago, I think maybe from Zig
Ziggler, that if you put a frogin room temperature water and
you gradually heat it, thefrog's body adjusts to the
slight temperature change.
It fails to perceive that theslow change is a threat until
(16:52):
it's too late.
The water's hot and the frogbecomes frog soup.
Friends, a lot of us have beenin this dirty environment of the
world so long we've adapted toit.
It's part of our life.
We have got used to just kind ofkeeping Jesus to one day and
event.
But every day we make a choice.
(17:15):
Do we stand for Jesus?
Do we want the approval ofpeople?
I'm not telling you to go outand start preaching the message
on some parking in a parkinglot.
I'm telling you just to befaithful to the call in your
life.
Be faithful to the one who savedyou.
Be faithful to the one that hasa plan and a purpose for you.
The Bible says he's faithfuleven when we're faithless.
(17:39):
So this is not about gettingapproval from God because God
has already accepted you.
He just saying, Hey, listen, youwant to see some change in this
world, get involved.
You want to see some change inyour community, get involved
with the school board, maybecity politics, city council.
You want to make a difference inthis world.
(18:00):
Love people, share your truth,share the truth with boldness
and grace, and don't offendpeople.
Let the spirit speak through youbecause, friends, this is an
awesome time to be a believer inthis world right now.
With God's hand over us, He canmove us into places that we'll
never be able to get to if westay in that dirty environment.
(18:25):
We need to continually walk inthat environment of peace,
purpose, and passion.
We don't want to become anundercover Christian.
The other thing I loved whatPastor Jackson said is courage
is like a muscle.
If you never exercise it, itgrows weak.
And that's why some believersare spiritually exhausted right
(18:47):
now.
They have spent so much energytrying to fit into environments
that God never called them tolive in.
So hear this today.
You don't have to compromise tobe loved, you don't have to
water down your faith to belong,and you definitely don't have to
trade your identity in Christfor temporary applause.
(19:10):
Listen, Jesus loves you, he hasa plan for you.
No, he's not walking around witha clipboard asking you to behave
every day.
He wants you to come willinglyinto this beautiful environment.
Because once you experience hisgrace, his love, and his
passion, and his purpose, hismercy, friends, you will become
(19:34):
a spokesperson for Jesus, notbecause you're reading lines,
but because you're speaking fromthe heart.
Your heart understands that I amsaved by grace and let me love
everybody I can.
And if they don't like me, well,that's okay.
(19:54):
Because you don't have to loveme.
You don't have to like me, butJesus loves me.
I'll be back in just a fewminutes and close out today's
show with a prayer for those whoneed Jesus.
Announcer (20:08):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life
with your host, Ron Myers.
Real stories, real struggles,and real hope.
SPEAKER_04 (20:18):
Here's a refreshing word for you today from
Galatians chapter 2, 20.
I have been crucified withChrist, and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, Ilive by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himselffor me.
SPEAKER_05 (20:35):
On this week's Crime Busters, we're looking for some
suspects who are hard to find.
They're unrivaled when it comesto covert Christianity.
They're the undercoverChristians.
They've exchanged the armor ofGod for camouflage gear.
You'll see them at church onSunday, but then they disappear.
You won't find themfellowshipping with other
Christians, and you'll neverfind them on the front lines.
These secret agents for Jesusseem to think Christianity is a
(20:55):
spectator sport.
If you own one of these lukewarmpew potatoes, report to God
immediately.
This has been a CoinbusterReport.
Announcer (21:02):
From crafts to trees to sit so pretty.
It's all my Christmas City.
SPEAKER_07 (21:18):
Save the date.
Visit Christmas City GiftShow.com for more.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
That's a very good question.
We all need to get the hell outof our life.
And it really starts with ourself talk.
It starts with getting thewhispers and the laws of the
enemy of our soul out of ourminds, refreshing and renewing
our minds like Paul talks aboutover and over again.
He says, take my thoughts.
And renew our minds with thetruth.
So, in my view, it's achieved bygetting rid of the lies that we
(22:07):
believe that sometimes we'vegrown them up with and they've
just become second nature to us.
Replace those lies.
It's not enough just to get ridof the lies.
We have to replace them with thetruth of what God says in his
word.
And if we do that over and overevery day, we just get deeper
and deeper and deeper intotruth.
The lies don't have any roomanymore.
SPEAKER_03 (22:27):
Beautiful, thank you very much.
Ron Meyers (22:54):
Well, friends, as I close out today's show, I know
that a lot of us, and I'm one ofthem, I don't like all the
political division and high gasprices.
And I know sometimes if I postsomething on social media that
some people aren't going toapprove it or like it, but I
can't live my life worrying whatother people think.
(23:18):
Jesus lives in me, and I expresshim through my words and my
actions.
I'm okay with that.
And I am more excited aboutunderstanding what Jesus has for
my life than worrying about whatother people think about me.
You know, I know a lot of timesyou the people I meet out here
(23:39):
that listen to the show, they'rejust awesome people.
And they say, Ron, it's so hardto be a Christian in today's
world.
And I said, Well, just thinkabout it like this.
You're a bright light bulb andyou're going out into a dark
world, and you have somethingthe other people in this world
want, they just don't know it.
You have peace, you havepurpose, and you have passion.
(24:01):
You have Jesus living on theinside of you.
Don't compromise that.
Again, brag on Jesus.
What has Jesus done for you?
And you know that one day allthis is going to be over with.
And we Christians, we're gonnabe with all of our loved ones in
heaven, celebrating with Jesus.
And you look at this world nowand it's chaotic, but God is
(24:25):
still on the throne, He's notsurprised.
God has a plan, it's a perfectplan.
And evil people, well, they dowhat evil people do, they're
very good at it.
In fact, they should all win anAcademy Award.
But we believers, we havesupernatural power inside of us.
(24:45):
We carry the light of Jesus, andlight scatters darkness.
Scripture teaches greater is hewho is in us than he who is in
this world.
My thing is this hey, you maynot like me, but Jesus loves me.
Now I want to open up now.
Maybe you don't have arelationship with Jesus.
(25:08):
Listen, here's a simple prayer.
If you would like Jesus to be apart of your life, just repeat
after me.
Jesus, I need you.
I'm tired of carrying thisalone.
Thank you for dying on the crossfor my sins once for all.
I believe that you rose from thedead, and I trust you as my
(25:30):
Savior.
Right now, I open my life toyou.
Forgive me, not because I'vedone everything right, but
because your blood is enough.
Make me new, give me yourspirit, I receive your grace
today.
Teach me to live with you inJesus' name.
(25:52):
Amen.
And friends, if you would likesome information or to talk
more, go to my website,thepromoter.org.
I have a little booklet.
It's a free download, and it'scalled All About Jesus.
And I will be back next weekwith another grace-filled
episode of Get the Hell Out ofYour Life available wherever you
listen to podcasts.
(26:13):
Also, will you do me a favor?
Find me on Facebook.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofYour Life.
Like me, share a story, send mea message, write a review.
I love to hear from mylisteners.
Until next time, this is RonMyers reminding you.
Jesus loves you.
And when you give your heart toJesus, you don't just get the
(26:36):
hell out of your life, you gethim in.
You're forgiven once for all,made new at the core, and
eternally accepted.
Now that's real hope.
Announcer (26:59):
Today's show was produced by Ron Myers
Ministries, a listener-supportedministry.
For a copy of today's broadcast,please visit our website,
thepromoter.org.
And would you prayerfullyconsider making a tax-deductible
donation so that we may continueto share stories of God's
amazing grace with the world?
And join us next week foranother broadcast of Get the
(27:20):
Hell Out of Your Life.
Real people, sharing realstruggles, and offering real
hope.
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Then switch things up withCoffee News.
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It's time now to get the hell out of your life, a
weekly broadcast with realpeople, sharing real struggles,
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire, and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, RonMyers, the promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Today on Get the Hell Out of Your Life, are you
trading blessings for approval?
Hello, my friends, and welcometo Get the Hell Out of Your
Life.
I'm Ron Myers, and if life hasknocked the wind out of you, you
are in the right place.
Maybe it's failure, divorce,addiction, fear, shame, loss,
(00:42):
regret.
Or maybe you've been hidingbehind a smile or numbing it
because you don't know what elseto do.
Today we're going to addressthat.
Because here's the truth.
Your story isn't over.
It's never too late for a newbeginning.
This podcast is for the peoplewith questions, the weary, the
outsider, the ones barelyholding it together.
(01:05):
Because, my friends, sometimesthe first step towards freedom
isn't fixing your life, it'stelling the truth about where
you're at and hearing thatrestoration is possible.
Today's show is going toencourage you and empower you
because you're going to hearanswers to questions that you
(01:26):
don't even have yet.
But God is working behind thescenes because He needs you to
become who He created you to be.
All of you.
You know, I want to starttoday's show with telling you
about my little beta fish.
I call him Bob.
He sits on my counter in thissmall little fish tank.
Now it has no filter, no freshair pumping into it.
(01:49):
So once a week I have totransfer him from the dirty
water, the dirty environment,into a clean fish tank with a
clean environment and cleanwater.
The minute I put him in thatfresh water, he comes alive.
He swims faster, he's freer,almost like he's saying, Thank
you.
This feels right.
And let's be honest, a lot of usare living like that fish.
(02:14):
We've adapted to dirtyenvironments.
We have learned how to survivein compromise.
We stay quiet so nobody getsoffended.
We water down our faith soculture will not cancel us.
We want acceptance so badly thatwe slowly become covert
(02:35):
Christians, blending in insteadof standing out.
But Jesus never called us toblend in.
In fact, Scripture tells us tobe in the world and not of the
world.
Today's episode is a wake-upcall.
The alarm clock is going off andit's getting louder by the day.
(02:56):
And the longer you stay in thatdirty environment because you're
adapting to it, the more youwill feel something missing in
life.
And there is something missing.
It's called your purpose, it'scalled your passion.
So today, Jesus wants you tohear this that He wants to move
you into that clean environmentso you will recognize your
(03:16):
identity.
You're here with a purpose, agreat purpose.
You have places to go, people tosee, and things to do.
Excitement for life begins whenyou get in the environment where
it goes from curses toblessings.
We all need a blessing.
And today's journey is going tostart with a clip from Pastor
(03:37):
Alan Jackson.
And I think you will relate towhat he's going to say, and then
when I come back, we'll unpackit.
How do we adapt that in ourlives?
How can we live in the freedomthat Jesus has for each and
every one of us?
Let's take a listen to PastorAlan Jackson.
SPEAKER_06 (03:57):
Politics are not our problem, it's the anemic
condition of the people of God.
And Paul said there'll be fiercetimes because human character
will deteriorate.
And then he makes an interestingstatement.
He said, People will be loversof pleasure rather than lovers
of God.
They'll have a form ofgodliness, but deny its power.
(04:18):
And then the next phrase isimportant.
He didn't say live amongst themas evangelists.
He said, have nothing to do withthem.
They'll have a form of godlinessbut deny its power.
They'll have religious language,they'll have religious
architecture, they'll holdreligious services, but they
will deny the power of God.
(04:43):
Exceedingly fierce times becauseof the deterioration of human
character.
Matthew 24, Jesus spoke to itdirectly.
Matthew 24 is Jesus' mostlengthy prophetic passage.
He's the greatest of all theHebrew prophets, greater than
Isaiah or Jeremiah that we'rereading right now.
Of all the Hebrew prophets,Jesus is the most celebrated.
And Matthew 24 was his mostlengthy single prophetic
(05:05):
discourse.
He said, nation will riseagainst nation and kingdom
against kingdom.
In Greek, it's ethnos, fromwhich we get ethnic, not nation
states, but ethnic conflict inthe earth.
We see a lot of that.
(05:25):
It's that episodic.
My father was a vet.
Most of you know, I've seen lotsand lots of things born.
Fals and calves and kittens andpuppies.
And once birth pains begin,there's some things that are
observable.
I've never given birth.
I don't identify as a birthingperson.
(05:50):
Oh, I couldn't resist.
But I have observed many, many,many times things being born,
and I can tell you, once thosebirth pains begin, they're going
to continue.
They're going to continue andthey're going to increase in
frequency.
And they're going to increase inintensity until there's an
arrival.
(06:11):
So when Jesus said these thingsare the beginning of birth
pains, I think the frequency ofthe tremors and the intensity
with which they arise willincrease.
Now, I don't know the specifictiming of that, but I understand
the pattern that he's referringto.
The beginning of birth pains,then you'll be handed over to be
persecuted and put to death.
You'll be hated by all nationsbecause of me.
(06:34):
It's pretty popular, I'd addchic in a lot of intellectual
circles to be angry with theJewish people or the modern
state of Israel.
Hear all sorts of expressionsaround that.
Well, a hatred for the Jewishpeople and a hatred for the
people of Christ are two sidesof the same coin.
They're an expression of thespirit of Antichrist.
And I would submit to you thatwhat you're watching is simply a
(06:54):
foreshadowing of what is goingto be directed at you.
And we'll have to make a choice.
We'll have to make there's athere's a distinction between
the Jewish people and the thethe remaining people of the
book.
Jewish is both a religion and anethnicity.
So you can be Jewish and rejectcompletely the authority of
(07:18):
Scripture.
You don't have to be religious,you don't have to worship, you
don't have to believe there'sanything significant around
that, but you're still Jewish.
So it makes the target moreprominent.
You know, if you if you liveamongst a Christian people and
you say, Well, I don't believein the authority of Scripture,
and I don't believe Jesus wasthe Son of God, and I don't I
don't agree with that, I don'tpractice that, we still don't
(07:41):
call you a Christian.
We call you an agnostic or anatheist, and you can disappear
back into the woodwork.
So the Jewish people present amore persistent target for the
hatred, that spiritual hatred.
The people of faith, the peoplewho believe that Jesus is
(08:01):
Messiah, have to make a choice,an intentional choice to
identify with him.
And Jesus, in this passage,we're not going to dwell on it,
but he points out that there'llbe an enormous falling away
because as the pressureintensifies, there'll be people
who make a calculated decision.
They'll call it good business,they'll call it the preservation
of their family, they'll they'llcall it protecting their
(08:22):
children, whatever label theyuse, they will step away from
that identification so they canblend back in to the larger
population.
But the hatred is ahead of us.
You better practice your couragein saying I'm with Jesus.
(08:43):
I find that courage andperseverance and overcoming all
of those things, they're likemuscles.
They have to be exercised togain strength.
And if you're not in the habitof saying, you know, I'm a Jesus
person, yeah, I pray, I read myBible, I go to church.
If you're not in the habit ofletting those things be a part
of the description of who youare, because you're aware of the
(09:05):
pushback or the resentment orthe resistance.
It's the holiday time.
We're gonna get together withfamilies.
And you we all understand thatthose kind of statements of
faith bring division even in ourfamilies.
You don't have to be angry orbelligerent, you certainly don't
need to be violent, but but yougotta be willing to identify.
Start the practice.
(09:25):
Jesus said, if you won'tidentify with me in front of
men, I won't identify with youin front of the Father.
There's no such thing as covertChristianity.
You'll be hated by all nationsbecause of me.
At that time, many will turnaway from the faith and betray
and hate each other.
Why?
Because there's tremendouspressure.
I'm not one of them.
(09:47):
Many false prophets will appearand deceive many people.
Those aren't just religiouscharacters.
Prophets are people you expectto tell the truth.
Biblical prophecy isn't so muchforetelling.
The prophets were God'srepresentatives to the people.
This is God's perspective.
This is the truth.
Marriage is between a man and awoman, a biblical principle, not
a political ideology.
God created male and female, abiblical principle, not some
(10:10):
cultural ideology.
False prophets will no longertell the truth.
And because of the increase ofwickedness, the love of most
will grow cold.
There are many Greek words forlove.
The one there is the word usedfor the love of God.
The love in the hearts of God'speople will grow cold because of
the wickedness.
(10:31):
But he who stands firm to theend will be saved.
There's the assignment, standingfirm.
All the way to the end.
You don't know when the end is.
You just know you have one.
I have one.
I want to stand firm to the end.
Well, I'd rather go to a partyor have a picnic or have cake or
but sometimes we have to standfirm.
(10:52):
The implications all aroundthere is it won't be easy, that
there'll be boiling hatred, andthey'll there'll be folks who
abandon the story and they'llcreate hate and it'll be
intense.
And then the penultimate sign ofthe culmination of the age is
this gospel of the kingdom willbe preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all nations.
(11:12):
And then the end will come.
The ultimate sign of the end ofthe age isn't the Antichrist or
his beastly activity or all thehorrific things that may happen
in the world.
The ultimate sign is theproclamation of the gospel in
the whole earth.
Did you know we have anassignment to play?
We have a linchpin in theculmination of the age.
How seriously do we take that?
(11:35):
Forget the distinctions andlearning other languages.
The technology is really takingdown all of those walls so
rapidly it's dizzying.
The proclamation of the gospelstarts with your sphere of
influence.
Does everybody that don't knowyou understand your alignment
with the gospel?
Doesn't mean they're all goingto accept it, it doesn't mean
they're all going to join you.
But you don't want anybody inyour sphere of influence that
(11:57):
doesn't understand the alignmentof your life.
If you're hiding the truth,you're described in that
passage.
If you're abandoning the truthbecause it's uncomfortable in
your circle of friends, youeither need more courage to tell
your friends the truth or you'regoing to need new friends.
Don't forfeit your place in thekingdom because you're trying to
(12:18):
win the approval of people whodon't intend to honor the Lord.
That's not a good bargain.
Fierce times.
Matthew chapter 5, it's theSermon on the Mount.
Jesus is giving the Beatitudes.
This is included in that litany,kind of that unfolding
statements of blessings.
Blessed are those who arepersecuted because of
(12:39):
righteousness.
For theirs is the kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are you when peopleinsult you and persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evilagainst you because of me.
I'm glad Jesus said that becauseif he didn't say that, I don't
think that's a blessing.
I would much rather peopleapplaud me.
I prefer awards to persecution.
(13:00):
How about you?
How do they be liked and hated?
Then we read that and go, ohyes, I'm an old.
Did you ever run a 5K?
I've kind of shuffled a 5K.
Wasn't trying to impressanybody, I just wanted to make
it.
But those are so fun becausepeople line the the route that
you're running and they standand applaud.
(13:21):
They don't know you.
And they're going, ah, good job.
Keep it up.
You look great.
No, I don't.
I can't find enough oxygen.
And there's little stationsalong the way, they'll give you
fruit or refreshments or waterhydration.
I'm like, oh, good job.
You know, I think, well, thatwould be how I'd like it if I'm
(13:42):
going to be a Christ follower.
And Jesus said, well, actually,there's a blessing when you're
widely hated, when you'repersecuted because of me.
Do you have the imagination thatevery time you deny your faith
or you turn the volume down onyour faith or you try to
camouflage your identity withChrist, that you forfeit the
blessings of God?
(14:05):
No, the Bible presents us withtwo alternatives, blessings and
curses.
There's really no middle lane.
When you're hiding fromblessings, when you're making
choices to intentionally avoidwhat God said would bring you a
blessing, you are volunteeringfor curses.
Ron Meyers (14:24):
Did that message stir something inside of you?
Every time I listen to this, myfirst instinct is I don't want
to lose my blessings forapproval, for complacency, for
fitting in with the world.
I want the blessings of God.
And I believe you don't want tomiss your blessings in life
(14:44):
either.
Friends, God has an incredibleplan for each of us, and
blessings and favor are in thatplan.
But when we are trapped in thisenvironment, this dirty
environment, because we haveadapted to the cultural norms,
we lose something.
We lose the purpose call in ourlife because one part of us is
(15:06):
worrying about not offendingpeople, not making people mad.
And the other part is how do Ireconcile that with Jesus?
Because Jesus did not call us toblend in with the world, he told
us to let him live in us, andthen he will express himself
through our action and wordsthat leads to blessings and
(15:28):
God's favor on our life.
Because if we're honest, thereare a lot of believers that have
slowly drifted into this quietkind of Christianity where we
love Jesus, but we're quietabout our faith.
It's not because we're badpeople or anything, we just
don't want to offend anybody andwe don't want to get into
(15:50):
arguments with people.
Well, friends, you don't have toget into arguments.
My suggestion is just brag onJesus.
Just tell people what Jesus didfor you, and that's your story,
and you're sticking to it.
It's about you discovering yourpurpose and your destiny.
And you're not going to findthat when you're living in a
dirty environment.
Pastor Jackson said that thereal problem is not the
(16:11):
politics, the culture, theheadlines.
The deeper issue is thecondition of the people of God.
We become too comfortable inblending in, and Jesus called us
to stand out.
We don't need to be anundercover Christian.
He wants you and I to be who hecreated us to be.
(16:31):
Here's a story I heard yearsago, I think maybe from Zig
Ziggler, that if you put a frogin room temperature water and
you gradually heat it, thefrog's body adjusts to the
slight temperature change.
It fails to perceive that theslow change is a threat until
(16:52):
it's too late.
The water's hot and the frogbecomes frog soup.
Friends, a lot of us have beenin this dirty environment of the
world so long we've adapted toit.
It's part of our life.
We have got used to just kind ofkeeping Jesus to one day and
event.
But every day we make a choice.
(17:15):
Do we stand for Jesus?
Do we want the approval ofpeople?
I'm not telling you to go outand start preaching the message
on some parking in a parkinglot.
I'm telling you just to befaithful to the call in your
life.
Be faithful to the one who savedyou.
Be faithful to the one that hasa plan and a purpose for you.
The Bible says he's faithfuleven when we're faithless.
(17:39):
So this is not about gettingapproval from God because God
has already accepted you.
He just saying, Hey, listen, youwant to see some change in this
world, get involved.
You want to see some change inyour community, get involved
with the school board, maybecity politics, city council.
You want to make a difference inthis world.
(18:00):
Love people, share your truth,share the truth with boldness
and grace, and don't offendpeople.
Let the spirit speak through youbecause, friends, this is an
awesome time to be a believer inthis world right now.
With God's hand over us, He canmove us into places that we'll
never be able to get to if westay in that dirty environment.
(18:25):
We need to continually walk inthat environment of peace,
purpose, and passion.
We don't want to become anundercover Christian.
The other thing I loved whatPastor Jackson said is courage
is like a muscle.
If you never exercise it, itgrows weak.
And that's why some believersare spiritually exhausted right
(18:47):
now.
They have spent so much energytrying to fit into environments
that God never called them tolive in.
So hear this today.
You don't have to compromise tobe loved, you don't have to
water down your faith to belong,and you definitely don't have to
trade your identity in Christfor temporary applause.
(19:10):
Listen, Jesus loves you, he hasa plan for you.
No, he's not walking around witha clipboard asking you to behave
every day.
He wants you to come willinglyinto this beautiful environment.
Because once you experience hisgrace, his love, and his
passion, and his purpose, hismercy, friends, you will become
(19:34):
a spokesperson for Jesus, notbecause you're reading lines,
but because you're speaking fromthe heart.
Your heart understands that I amsaved by grace and let me love
everybody I can.
And if they don't like me, well,that's okay.
(19:54):
Because you don't have to loveme.
You don't have to like me, butJesus loves me.
I'll be back in just a fewminutes and close out today's
show with a prayer for those whoneed Jesus.
Announcer (20:08):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life
with your host, Ron Myers.
Real stories, real struggles,and real hope.
SPEAKER_04 (20:18):
Here's a refreshing word for you today from
Galatians chapter 2, 20.
I have been crucified withChrist, and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, Ilive by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himselffor me.
SPEAKER_05 (20:35):
On this week's Crime Busters, we're looking for some
suspects who are hard to find.
They're unrivaled when it comesto covert Christianity.
They're the undercoverChristians.
They've exchanged the armor ofGod for camouflage gear.
You'll see them at church onSunday, but then they disappear.
You won't find themfellowshipping with other
Christians, and you'll neverfind them on the front lines.
These secret agents for Jesusseem to think Christianity is a
(20:55):
spectator sport.
If you own one of these lukewarmpew potatoes, report to God
immediately.
This has been a CoinbusterReport.
Announcer (21:02):
From crafts to trees to sit so pretty.
It's all my Christmas City.
SPEAKER_07 (21:18):
Save the date.
Visit Christmas City GiftShow.com for more.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
That's a very good question.
We all need to get the hell outof our life.
And it really starts with ourself talk.
It starts with getting thewhispers and the laws of the
enemy of our soul out of ourminds, refreshing and renewing
our minds like Paul talks aboutover and over again.
He says, take my thoughts.
And renew our minds with thetruth.
So, in my view, it's achieved bygetting rid of the lies that we
(22:07):
believe that sometimes we'vegrown them up with and they've
just become second nature to us.
Replace those lies.
It's not enough just to get ridof the lies.
We have to replace them with thetruth of what God says in his
word.
And if we do that over and overevery day, we just get deeper
and deeper and deeper intotruth.
The lies don't have any roomanymore.
SPEAKER_03 (22:27):
Beautiful, thank you very much.
Ron Meyers (22:54):
Well, friends, as I close out today's show, I know
that a lot of us, and I'm one ofthem, I don't like all the
political division and high gasprices.
And I know sometimes if I postsomething on social media that
some people aren't going toapprove it or like it, but I
can't live my life worrying whatother people think.
(23:18):
Jesus lives in me, and I expresshim through my words and my
actions.
I'm okay with that.
And I am more excited aboutunderstanding what Jesus has for
my life than worrying about whatother people think about me.
You know, I know a lot of timesyou the people I meet out here
(23:39):
that listen to the show, they'rejust awesome people.
And they say, Ron, it's so hardto be a Christian in today's
world.
And I said, Well, just thinkabout it like this.
You're a bright light bulb andyou're going out into a dark
world, and you have somethingthe other people in this world
want, they just don't know it.
You have peace, you havepurpose, and you have passion.
(24:01):
You have Jesus living on theinside of you.
Don't compromise that.
Again, brag on Jesus.
What has Jesus done for you?
And you know that one day allthis is going to be over with.
And we Christians, we're gonnabe with all of our loved ones in
heaven, celebrating with Jesus.
And you look at this world nowand it's chaotic, but God is
(24:25):
still on the throne, He's notsurprised.
God has a plan, it's a perfectplan.
And evil people, well, they dowhat evil people do, they're
very good at it.
In fact, they should all win anAcademy Award.
But we believers, we havesupernatural power inside of us.
(24:45):
We carry the light of Jesus, andlight scatters darkness.
Scripture teaches greater is hewho is in us than he who is in
this world.
My thing is this hey, you maynot like me, but Jesus loves me.
Now I want to open up now.
Maybe you don't have arelationship with Jesus.
(25:08):
Listen, here's a simple prayer.
If you would like Jesus to be apart of your life, just repeat
after me.
Jesus, I need you.
I'm tired of carrying thisalone.
Thank you for dying on the crossfor my sins once for all.
I believe that you rose from thedead, and I trust you as my
(25:30):
Savior.
Right now, I open my life toyou.
Forgive me, not because I'vedone everything right, but
because your blood is enough.
Make me new, give me yourspirit, I receive your grace
today.
Teach me to live with you inJesus' name.
(25:52):
Amen.
And friends, if you would likesome information or to talk
more, go to my website,thepromoter.org.
I have a little booklet.
It's a free download, and it'scalled All About Jesus.
And I will be back next weekwith another grace-filled
episode of Get the Hell Out ofYour Life available wherever you
listen to podcasts.
(26:13):
Also, will you do me a favor?
Find me on Facebook.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofYour Life.
Like me, share a story, send mea message, write a review.
I love to hear from mylisteners.
Until next time, this is RonMyers reminding you.
Jesus loves you.
And when you give your heart toJesus, you don't just get the
(26:36):
hell out of your life, you gethim in.
You're forgiven once for all,made new at the core, and
eternally accepted.
Now that's real hope.
Announcer (26:59):
Today's show was produced by Ron Myers
Ministries, a listener-supportedministry.
For a copy of today's broadcast,please visit our website,
thepromoter.org.
And would you prayerfullyconsider making a tax-deductible
donation so that we may continueto share stories of God's
amazing grace with the world?
And join us next week foranother broadcast of Get the
(27:20):
Hell Out of Your Life.
Real people, sharing realstruggles, and offering real
hope.
SPEAKER_07 (27:27):
Are you tired of scrolling through the same old
news feeds every morning?
Then switch things up withCoffee News.
Our publication is filled withinteresting stories, brain
teasers, and uplifting quotesthat are sure to brighten your
day.
And now you can access CoffeeNews anytime, anywhere by
visiting our website.
So whether you're sipping yourmorning coffee at your favorite
cafe or browsing online fromyour desk, we've got you
(27:50):
covered.
Start your day off right withCoffee News at
readcoffeewsonline.com.
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