June 11, 2025 • 55 mins
Imagine walking into spiritual battle wearing the wrong footwear. You wouldn't last long, would you? In this powerful exploration of Ephesians 6:15, we dive deep into what it truly means to have your "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
This isn't about physical shoes—it's about spiritual readiness. Like Roman soldiers who needed proper footwear to march effectively into battle, Christians need spiritual preparation to stand firm against the enemy's attacks. The gospel of peace becomes our foundation, making us strong and stable as we navigate life's challenges.
But here's the critical insight many miss: you can't effectively share the gospel of peace if your own heart harbors bitterness. As James 3:11 reminds us, "bitter and sweet water cannot come from the same source." Our words reveal our true heart condition. When we allow unforgiveness, anger, or pride to take root, we compromise our ability to represent Christ authentically.
The spiritual battle begins within. Many believers experience what scripture calls "hardness of heart" or "spiritual dullness"—a condition where we become resistant to God's truth and leading. Even the disciples, who witnessed Jesus walk on water, still doubted His ability to feed the multitudes. Their spiritual senses had dulled between miracles. Sound familiar?
God offers a solution: "I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19). This divine heart transformation changes us from the inside out, replacing stubbornness with receptivity and bitterness with peace. When we allow God to soften our hearts daily through His Word, prayer, and worship, we become effective ambassadors of His peace with "beautiful feet" that bring good news.
How's your spiritual footwear? Are you ready to march forward in the gospel of peace? Pray daily for discernment, maintain a soft heart toward God, and watch how effectively you represent Christ to a world desperate for His peace.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thank you All.
Right.
Well, I want to welcomeeverybody here tonight.
I think it's a very interestingteaching.
Tonight it's on having yourfeet shodded with the gospel of
peace, and we'll just readEphesians 10.
(01:18):
Finally, my brethren, be strongin the Lord and in the power of
his might.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
against the whales of the devil.
For we do not wrestle againstflesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers,against rulers of darkness,
(01:39):
against spiritual hosts ofwickedness and heavenly places.
Verse 1.
(02:08):
Righteousness, and havingshotted your feet with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace and above all, take the
shield of faith, that which youwill be able to cringe all the
fiery darts of the wicked one,and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit,which is the word of the, the
sword of the Spirit, which isthe word of God, praying always
with all prayers andsupplications in the Spirit,
(02:33):
being watchful to this end, withall perseverance and
supplications for all of thesaints, amen.
So tonight we're putting on ourthird piece of armor, which is
we're shotting Our feet with thegospel piece.
And so you can see our armor.
(02:53):
Guy, he has on His spiritualshoes and he has his Breastplate
held out and he's got his beltof righteousness on, which draws
(03:14):
him close to God.
Those are his guards guardinghis shins.
So the phrase shotting yourfeet with the gospel of peace
comes out of Ephesians 6 15,which is a part of Paul's
description of the full armor ofGod, meaning that we should be
ready and prepared to share thegospel, the message of the
(03:37):
salvation, through Jesus Christ,at all times, like a soldier to
march.
Do you got my marching feet upthere?
I got marching feet.
It has sound too.
So Now what do you think thedevil thinks when he hears that
(04:06):
coming?
He's like I am a defeated foe.
Amen, I am under their feet inthe name of Jesus.
So we're soldiers, ready tomarch.
The gospel is the foundationfor our spiritual footwear,
(04:28):
making us strong and stable aswe proclaim the message of peace
.
Ephesians 6, 10 through 18,where Paul uses a military
description of Christians inspiritual warfare.
Description of Christians inspiritual warfare.
He encourages us as believers,to put on the whole armor of God
(04:52):
to withstand the fiery darts ofthe wicked one.
And so when we are clothed inthe armor of God, there's not a
place that the enemy's fierydarts can hit us because we are
covered with the blood and thearmor of God.
You know, the fiery darts,those are the things that knocks
(05:13):
us off our games the lies andthe deceit and the.
What are they?
He has tactics, he has scams,he makes ambush, all those
things that he does to knock youand I off our game.
This, this verse, isn'tliterally about wearing shoes
(05:37):
like it ain't about these shoes.
It's about our spiritual shoes,just like it's our spiritual
shield and our spiritual belt.
Standing, therefore, had girdedyour waist with truth and have
put on the breastplate ofrighteousness and had shod your
feet with the preparation of thegospel peace.
(05:58):
To shod means to have underone's feet, to be bound Like
these shoes, these I like.
I could never run a marathon inthese shoes, for one thing,
they're extremely loose.
There ain't nothing.
It ain't going to work out.
So you know it's the shoes ofGod are bound to our feet and
(06:22):
they are um, tied and winded andand knitted to be one, to have
your foot and the gospel ofpeace, to be one in Christ, it
means to be ready to share thegood news of Jesus, to share his
life, his death, hisresurrection and what that
(06:45):
brings?
You know, what did Jesus' life,death and resurrection bring?
It brings salvation, it bringsforgiveness and it brings a
reconciliation with God, becausebefore we ask Jesus into our
heart, we're not in rightstandings with him.
But when we ask him to come bein our heart and in our life,
(07:08):
then we become in rightstandings with him.
It's not just about having theknowledge.
It's not just about having theknowledge of the gospel, but
also being ready to be willingto speak about it.
And so the way God took me onthis is we have to have a heart
(07:34):
knowledge of the gospel,understanding the fact of the
gospel and our intellect, butalso being able to experience
his truth through lifeexperiences.
It's being transformed in ourhearts, going beyond our head
(07:58):
knowledge and understanding thegospel in our spirits.
Okay, it's knowing in yourknower.
You know it.
Nobody could take it from youBecause you know it, you've
lived it.
He's proven himself or and orto us, amen.
(08:22):
Now we're going to talk abouthead knowledge versus heart
knowledge.
Okay, this is what I'm going toask Can bitter and sweet pour
out of the same spout?
No, bitter and sweet watercannot come from the same faucet
(08:44):
or the same spring.
Sorry, what Heart.
James 3.11 says A spring ofwater does not pour fresh and
bitter water at the same timefrom the same opening.
And another way of saying goodand evil, blessings and curses
(09:12):
should not come from the samesource, which is our mouth.
Because when we are spreadingthe gospel of Christ, that's
coming from our mouth.
It's our words that are goingto draw people to Christ, the
anointed words that we speakthat will draw to Christ.
(09:34):
Okay, such as a fig tree cannotbear an olive, an orange tree
cannot bear apples, a grapevinecannot bear figs.
True, the water source thatbears bitter, like salt water
(09:55):
you ever been to the ocean?
Get a big mouth of that?
You know that is bitter water,it is not fresh and I know I've
said it a dozen times, but I'mgoing to say it again Bitter and
sweet cannot come out of thesame spout.
James 3.11.12 says that A humanspeech arguing malice,
(10:29):
contentment, discontentmentshould not flow out of our
mouths.
What that word does when wespeak bitter, it shows our
nature, it shows our heart.
(10:51):
Like you know, you could justbe having a great day and
somebody bring up somebody'sname and your head turns around
and you're like what Do you everhave?
That.
Do you ever have that?
See, it's important that ourheart and our nature aligns up
with God's word, that we speakwhat God speaks.
(11:16):
And we're all human, we're allflesh.
You're going to speak and beready and bring forth the word
of God to this world with yourshoes of peace.
(11:36):
You got to have peace in yourheart because people are smart
and they'll catch on right awaythat you're playing, that you're
not serious about God.
God's word says that you'llknow them by their fruit Matthew
6, 7, 16.
(11:56):
A tree and its fruit, to how aperson's character is, the way
their actions are, the way theysay things, implies that a good
tree produces good fruit, whilea bad tree produces bad fruit.
And so, when we are shottingour feet with the gospel of
(12:22):
peace, we need to be speakingwhat is good, what is true, what
is honest, what is pure.
We need to be walking it, weneed to be living it, because
whenever we act one way and sayanother, that makes us
hypocrites.
And so we be very, very carefulof the bitter water that comes
(12:44):
out of our spout, out of ourmouth, out of our opening.
You know, there was a time inmy life when I had a lot of
bitter water in me and I wouldspeak to you, slice you up,
leave you lay alongside the road.
A couple days later you'd belike what, what did she do?
(13:06):
What did she do?
Did she say that to me?
But I was clever, I was wittyand I did exactly as the devil
wanted me to.
But thank God for the day thatI learned to put that nasty old
tongue away and begin to operatein the spirit of the Lord.
Did that happen overnight?
(13:26):
No, many hours on my kneeschanged my heart.
Oh God, put a right spiritwithin me.
So you know, our words are likecontainers that are like
dynamite, and we can blow people, things, areas up.
(13:51):
And we can blow people, things,areas up.
And so if we're going to havethis armor on and we're going to
be shod with the gospel ofpeace on our feet, we've got to
be talking the right talk.
Okay.
Fruit reveals to the outwardmanifestation of a person's
(14:11):
characters and actions.
It suggests that people arejudged not by their words or
their appearance, but thetangible result of their life.
The word says that you willknow them by their fruit,
meaning that a person's actionsimpact others.
(14:31):
Do you believe that your wordscan impact somebody Can stop
them in their tracks, can hurtthem, can make them turn from
their walk with the Lord.
I would hate to be guilty ofthat before God someday, because
everything that you and I do,good or bad it, will be had
(14:53):
before everybody.
That's what his word says.
I don't want that.
I want to walk up to him and hesay very good, well, faithful
servant, you've done a good job.
I don't want there to be a well, here we go, because now that
I'm saved, the things of thepast have been passed away, but
(15:15):
now I'm on a new journey.
Okay, so God's word in Proverbs29.1 warns us that a stiff neck
can be a consequence of refusingto listen.
(15:38):
Head knowledge causes us to bea stiff neck.
People.
That means that all you have isthis word in your head.
It's not operating or flowingout of your heart.
I don't know, nita, you're justdrawing on my well tonight I'm
(16:02):
just going to talk to you.
Without obedience andwillingness to submit can lead
to a hard heart and that canlead to being greatly corrected.
I don't want to be correctedeither.
(16:22):
I try to keep my nose clean.
I try to stay out of thelimelight.
Really I do, and I try to walkthe walk and talk the talk, and
if I ever think that I've hurtyour feelings, you can bet you
I'll be right there.
Did I say or do anything tooffend you?
If I have, I am sorry Becauseyou see, I have a spirit of
(16:45):
discernment and I can pick rightup on when anything is out of
key to her.
I, I want, I want you toforgive me if I have so.
Stick stiff-necked, people arestubborn.
People know anybody stubborn,unwilling to submit, and they
(17:08):
resist God's counsel.
So you know, when you receivecounsel from God or from a
leadership and you blow that off, that's stubbornness and
(17:30):
unwilling to submit.
Because you know, sometimes youthink, well, well, what do they
know?
Well, hopefully we hear fromgod and we're able to guide,
lead and direct the congregationin the right way, amen.
So what causes us to get thathard heart?
Rebellion against god,operating in stubbornness.
You ever have see that where itsays she might tell me to sit
(17:54):
down, but on the inside I'mstanding up, right, right.
A lack of receiving God's wordand his will.
You know most of us want ourown will.
You know I want my own way.
But when God puts his thumb onme and tells me that direction
(18:14):
is changing.
When Dave and I lived in Philly,I did not want to come back to
Yerkesville.
And when God said I need you togo back, I need you to go back
to Yerkesville, I need you to goback to Twin Cities, I got to
work for you to do there and Iwas just like that's not God.
I had to be that piece.
I just said because I mean hehad to push on me hard.
(18:38):
And when we came back, I comeback kicking, screaming, crying,
bawling.
Listen.
We lived in Philly.
I was seven minutes fromeverything, seven minutes from
work, seven minutes fromdowntown Philly, not even seven
minutes from Walmart.
Dave was 20 minutes from work.
I mean it was, and we had anice house.
Not that I don't have a nicehouse now, but it was more
(19:02):
convenient, it was more opened.
You know what I mean.
Like I could house 20 women inthere easily.
I had an office upstairs.
You know I loved it.
And when he said not only thatwe was using our house as a
ministry home and we had a ladyliving in there that when she
moved in she had 43 cents to hername, and you know God, she got
(19:28):
a job, she got a car, shebecame a manager of the place
that she worked.
I mean, god just blessed her.
And when I had to go tell herthat we were coming home, she
says Holly, it's okay.
She says my daughter just movedto a new area and has asked me
to move in with her.
So see how God is.
But I was still pretty upset.
I mean, our house, we tore ourhouse completely apart.
(19:52):
We took the walls right down tothe bare minimum, took out the
windows.
I mean, probably for a year anda half all we had was a card
table and two chairs, a TV on anold stand, you know nothing.
And so when God says move,don't mean it's going to be an
easy transition.
(20:13):
But he brought me here.
You know, look at all the goodGod's done.
And you know you just got tofollow his will, get out of
yourself and get into him, amen.
And so don't be stubborn.
I was being stubborn, see.
(20:36):
You know Satan, he was cast outof heaven for his rebelliousness
and for his pride.
You know he challenged God'sauthority and because of that,
him and I think a third of thedemons or they were angels, but
they get kicked out of heavenand pride and rebellion.
(20:57):
Um, you know, satan's name islucifer.
He had a position and a high,high honor in heaven and he
developed a power hungry spirit.
I want it all, I want to be it,and because of that he got
(21:20):
kicked out of heaven and down tothe earth.
So hard-heartedness stops yourspiritual growth.
Hard-heartedness will stop yourrelationship with Christ.
You take and get yourself madat somebody I mean really mad at
them.
You take and get yourself madat somebody I mean really mad at
them and try to speak with yourfeet shrouded with peace.
(21:40):
Ain't going to work.
It's not going to work Becauseyou've got anger in your heart.
It's bitter.
No sweet can come out when thebitter's rolling.
What does God's word say about ahard heart?
It's rebellion, it's stubborn.
Look at the Israelites 40 yearsAround, an 11-day trip Around
(22:08):
and around and around.
Huh, yeah, if we would havestayed in Philly, we'd still be
going around that mountain Untilwe caved and gave in to God's
will and not ours.
But you know, moses is sayinglet God's people go and Pharaoh
(22:29):
is saying no, no, no.
And he held on and finally,when he did let go, they barely
got away and they're just likewe got to go get them.
We can't let that happen.
You know, they hardened theirheart right back up.
Even after he lost his child,he hardened his heart right back
up.
Jesus also speaks of a hardhearted heartedness people that
(22:49):
are unwilling to listen, toreceive God's teachings.
That's sad whenever you soharden your heart that you don't
hear what the man or woman ofGod is trying to speak.
I'm going to tell you exactlywhat that feels like.
(23:10):
When you're trying to ministerto a group of people that have
hardened their heart, your wordscome right out of your mouth
and they fall directly in frontof you.
You feel they don't penetratethe atmosphere and so in your
heart of hearts, whether you'repreaching, you're still praying.
(23:31):
Father God, give me thebreakthrough, give me the
breakthrough, give me thebreakthrough.
But that is a horrible feelingwhen you know, as a teacher or a
preacher, that your word is notbeing received, when your heart
is hard, you have a lack ofcompassion for others.
(23:53):
You just you know well, theyshould have known better to do
that.
Well, I could have told themthat would happen.
Would that be Jesus' heart?
No, even though he knew that,you know he'd love you through
it.
He'd love you through it.
And whenever our heart is hard,we discard the spirit of truth.
(24:14):
We won't even let the spirit oftruth come in.
Do you know why?
Because the spirit of truthwill set you free.
But whenever you shut that doorto the spirit of truth, then
you're going to live in yourbondage, your agony, your
bitterness, your unforgiveness,whatever it is that's keeping
you from being able to shod yourfeet with the gospel of peace.
(24:36):
Hardheartedness can be likedawling of the spirit.
It's D-U-L-L-I-N-G dawling ofthe spirit, making it difficult
to discern God's voice and tounderstand his will.
(24:57):
A spirit, a spiritual dullness,is sleepy thinking.
You know, you just kind show,he's a slaw, ice Age the slaw.
He has a sleepy thinking.
(25:18):
You know, he's just kind ofthere, kind of not just drifting
through.
You know it's a lessless stateof thought that fails to get
anywhere or accomplish anything.
You ever have those days, thefaster I go, the behinder I get.
(25:40):
That's the enemy Just takingyour time.
So you know you put, put yourfoot down to him, put your arm
around, put your foot down tohim, ask God, arm around, put
your foot down to him, ask God.
You know, I thank you that myhours are multiplied unto me
when I used to work.
That's what I prayed Multiplymy time unto me Two hours before
(26:02):
.
Four be six, six be eight,because I got a lot to get
accomplished in this day.
Anybody who works.
Ask God to multiply your timeTo cause you to be able to be,
uh, more of a on tax, to getthings done, because if you
don't do that, it won't happen.
When you're busy, busy, um, whenyou have a dullness in the
(26:25):
spirit, you have a loss ofhunger for god's voice.
Like you don't hear him no more.
Because you know what, you shutyour spiritual ears off and you
stop expecting to see a miracle.
I'm telling you, I expect tosee a miracle every day of my
life, because there's no big,there's no small.
(26:46):
They are miracles, amen, amen.
They are miracles, amen.
And you find it hard to sensethe Spirit.
You ever have that times whenyou're like I don't know where
God is, I don't even feel him, Idon't even sense him around me.
It's because you've become dullin the Spirit.
Maybe you have stepped backfrom your Bible reading.
(27:09):
Maybe you've stepped back fromsoaking.
Maybe you've stepped back fromyour Bible reading.
Maybe you've stepped back fromsoaking.
Maybe you've stepped back fromworship, maybe you've stepped
back from Bible studies.
You know you become dull in thespirit and then you're just
like well, what's wrong?
Well, you know, you say, holySpirit, show me what's wrong.
Show me in my life where I'mmissing it.
Have I sinned against you inthe kingdom?
(27:30):
Show me how many of us have todo that once in a while.
I have to do that once in awhile.
Show me where I'm missing it,god, because I ain't, I ain't
tracking with you.
That's why it's so importantthat we keep our hearts pure
before the for God, before theHoly Spirit, before Jesus,
(27:53):
keeping our heart intact.
You know, one time for years Isung that little song Change my
heart, oh God, make me ever true.
Change my heart, oh God, makeme more like you.
I was in a prayer room weactually call it the red room,
(28:17):
but it's just this wee littleroom and I'm just singing that
song and everybody left afterintercession and the Holy Spirit
said lie down on the table.
I'm like what he's like.
Lie down on the table.
I'm telling you, he gave me aspiritual, open heart and he
gave me that heart I've beenseeking and it changed our
(28:37):
marriage.
When God gave me a spiritualheart surgery.
It changed, because you knowwhat it changed me.
You see, when you're upset withsomebody and you're like,
change him, lord, no, no, no, no, no, no, change me, then
everything around me will change.
Believe that so.
(29:03):
Mark 6.52 describes a lack ofunderstanding, a spiritual
hardness.
This hardness of a spiritualdawling.
I've got to get where I'm going, okay.
So the disciples we're going totalk about the disciples a
(29:24):
little bit Now.
I'm sure that they wanted tohave their feet shodded with the
gospel, peace of anything withtheir armor.
So they had just seen Jesuswalk on water.
Now, think about that.
Think about they saw it.
(29:44):
They saw him walk on water.
They saw him say peace, bestill to the winds and the waves
.
They experienced that.
And yet, when they go to theMount and there's all these
people that need fed and he hastwo loaves of bread and five
(30:05):
fishes and they're just like,what are you doing?
There's 5,000 men, not countingwomen and children.
What are you doing?
See, somehow or another, theirsenses got dulled from one
miracle to the next.
They missed it.
Are we like that?
(30:27):
From one miracle, oneexperience, one move of God, of
god, to the next?
Well, can he do it.
I don't know.
I don't know if he can do it,but I'm telling you what the
same jesus and matthew, samejesus today and he could do it
(30:48):
back then, he can, can do itthis moment, whatever needs to
be done, amen.
So they had a lack ofunderstanding of Jesus's
miracles and they needed aspiritual discernment.
Now I'm telling you, every dayof your lives, pray, bless me
with knowledge, wisdom,understanding, great discernment
(31:12):
.
Because, especially, pray thatfor your children and yourself,
your husband, your family,because where in the world are
we going to be if we don't havegreat discernment?
I mean, we know the differencebetween good and evil.
But the enemy's clever.
He'll bring a tactic, a scheme,an ambush right around to you
(31:41):
and you get engaged with itbefore you realize it.
Nice and shiny, yeah, get yourhand stuck in the jar.
And while you're trying to getthe hand out of the jar, he
wipes out.
And so you know, don't let yourspirit become dull, stay in the
(32:04):
word.
I don't feel like reading theword today.
Now, who's telling you that?
The enemy?
I don't have 15 minutes to sitand listen to worship this
morning.
You do.
Put it on in the car whileyou're driving, put it on, while
you're doing the dishes, whileyou're sorting the clothes,
(32:26):
whatever it is, you do, put yourear pod in, take away and have
some time with God.
Their hearts were described ashard or blinded, the lack of
understanding to Jesus' actionsand his teachings.
Now, on Sunday mornings, youknow, father God, I thank you
(32:50):
that everyone's heart is softand pliable before you this
morning.
I thank you, lord, that theyhave spirits, ears that hear
what the spirit of the lord issaying this morning.
But see, what happens is andI'm not saying nothing bad.
I'm a part of it.
You know we're busy when I cometo church.
It's probably one of thebusiest days of it.
(33:11):
You know we're busy when I cometo church.
It's probably one of thebusiest days of my life.
You know, I come, I get coffee,I go to the prayer room, I come
out, we come in church, we haveworship, we have who knows what
God's going to do.
But I can't be dull in my spirit.
I have to be sharp, and youknow what.
So should all you Be tuned in,you know, like a radio, get your
(33:34):
antennas up and tune in to whatJesus is doing.
Amen, because that's a day thatwe could be shotting our feet
with the gospel peace Every day.
But there's people right herein these pews I mean these
chairs that could use the gospelpeace.
But that's when we need to sayFather, god, let me hear the
(33:59):
silent cries of your people, letme hear their broken hearts.
Give me discernment, father, tobe able to reach out to those,
because you know what we all geton this fault space.
Everything's great, it's awonderful day.
How are you?
(34:19):
Fantastic, Right?
How are you really?
You know?
Well, I drug myself here thismorning.
I'm here, by the grace of God.
What if somebody was justhonest?
We would be what, right?
It would knock us off our socks, because that's not what we're
expecting.
You know, last Sunday I washere, by the grace of God.
(34:42):
I was tired, I didn't feel good, I wanted to stay home.
I'll be honest, but I will.
I always know that the moment Idon't show up, that's gonna be
the day God shows up in thehouse and I'm gonna miss it to.
You know.
Keep that in your, because youknow we never know what's going
(35:03):
to happen here and, sure asanything, it was Pentecostal
Sunday and he showed up.
We had church, we were thechurch, amen, amen.
So you know, there's dangers tospiritual blindness and the need
to open our hearts fully toreceive what God has for us.
(35:26):
Matthew 13, 15 says For thesepeople's hearts have become
callous.
Now y'all know what a callousis.
Listen, when I used to rollerskate when I was a kid, friday
night, saturday afternoon,saturday evening and Sunday
afternoon, let me tell you whatI had myself some kind of I
(35:46):
still have a callus on my footand it hardened up so that my
foot didn't hurt when I skatedRight.
And so this is what happens toour heart it just builds.
Well, that hurt me.
And it builds Well theyshouldn't have said that Well,
(36:09):
he don't come with me Buildswhat's everyone think of me?
And pretty soon our hearts hasgot hard and got a callous on it
.
That the word of God it, thatthe word of God bing, bing, bing
(36:33):
instead of penetrating it.
Is this true?
Am I telling the truth?
Okay, we become insensitive orhard towards God's truth and
towards the Holy Spirit, because, you see, he's the one that
brings the truth of the word.
Anytime you see spirit, it'stalking about the Holy Spirit
(36:55):
and so he guides.
It's, like you know, thatcallous.
It hardens our hearing, itcallouses our eyes so that we're
(37:17):
not seeing and we're nothearing what the word of God is.
And when that happens, then wedon't understand, then we don't
have the knowledge, then wedon't have wisdom and then we're
not receiving the healing.
I think we need healing everyday of our lives.
My heart needs healed every dayof my life, every day of my
(37:40):
life I get a little older.
Every day of my life I needJesus to come and rejuvenate me
and heal me.
Correct, see, jesus teachedwith parables Because the people
harden their hearts and they donot receive or understand his
(38:04):
messages.
He says that they are activelypreventing themselves from
understanding and being healedwhen we allow our hearts to
become hard and calloused, whenwe become blinded, when we
(38:28):
become spiritually dull.
You know we talk about theparable of the sower.
You know the farmer.
He went out and he sowed seeds.
Some fell on a pathway and thebirds came and ate it, and some
fell on rocky ground and itquickly dried up and died.
Some were thrown in the thornsand they were choked out by the
(38:55):
concerns of this world,suffocated.
But some fell on good soil,became fertile, took root,
growed and produced a beautifulharvest, amen.
So what is a great harvest.
(39:15):
It is a period of our spiritualgrowth and transformation.
That often describes a time ofabundant fruit and blessings in
your life.
I think it's walking in thefullness of God.
A large number during that time, a large number of people may
come by faith to the knowledgeof Jesus Christ.
(39:37):
It's a spiritual awakening whenpeople wake up.
You know how many times do wein the prayer room say wake up,
wake up, oh sleeper, wake up OnSunday mornings.
Be awake, be alert, comeexpecting God to do something,
(40:02):
you know, and these things canchange people's lives forever.
See, I'm all abouttransformation.
That's what I want ineveryone's life.
I want everyone to betransformed into the likeness of
Christ.
I don't care if that takes sixyears, 20 years, 30?
.
It's a process.
(40:24):
It isn't going to be instantpudding, because we have to
learn how to put our flesh downand walk in the spirit for
transformation to take place.
Our spiritual fruit, what arethey?
Love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness
, gentleness and self-control.
(40:46):
The seed is God's word, thesoil is our heart.
You know, is your heart in someareas hard tonight In certain
circumstances.
How about?
Is it rocky?
You know, is the seed eater,which is Satan, come and eat
(41:10):
that seed.
The moment you receive it, youknow, does it fall into areas of
our heart where the cares ofthe world push it out?
Instead of us gleaning to itand having it work for us, we
work against it, you know?
Or does the word of God fallupon your heart and does that
(41:35):
word take root?
You read it, watch them littleseeds grow, you know, and you
put it in.
It gets those little littlefeet on it and then it pops up a
little bit of green.
And then you know what it does.
It grows evenly, because if thefruit gets bigger than the root
system, it will tip over anddie.
And so you want a balance.
(41:56):
You want your root and yourfruit to grow together.
The Word of God is sown so thatit impacts people, that it
brings a result, and you see theheart of God's people changing.
That's the beauty of the crossis when you see God's people's
(42:20):
heart begin to change with goodfruit.
God's people's heart begin tochange with good fruit.
God can soften any heart to aperson that's willing, but you
have to be willing.
You can stay stubborn, you canstand when you've done all, but
(42:46):
stand and not change at all.
Those are your choices.
He didn't make us robots.
If you are willing fortransformation, transformation
will come and change you intohis likeness.
Ezekiel 11, 19 tells us Godtakes away the stony heart and
gives a heart of flesh.
That is spiritualtransformation.
(43:08):
God's mercy and grace canovercome the hardness of a heart
allowing people to experience Iknow this word, it just won't
come out repentance and new lifein Christ, living out the
gospel, obeying God'scommandments, living life of
faith and sharing the gospelwith others.
(43:30):
Having a heart knowledge of Godmeans that one's actions and
emotions align up with the truthof God.
That means that I ain't outhere today fighting with my
neighbor, cussing him out, andthen Sunday morning I'm in here
in church giving God all theglory, because what is it, sweet
(43:54):
and bitter, will not come outof the same spout.
This is how we live out ourfaith, sharing God's mission of
reconciliation to the world.
A heart of reconciliation ismore than a quick fix, because
that's what everybody wants.
Slap a band-aid on it andyou're good to go Not with God,
(44:17):
because God wants to take thatHoly Ghost flashlight.
Go down the corridors of yourheart.
You slam that door shut.
He'll go on to another corridor, but until you open that up and
let him down there you willdeal with unforgiveness,
bitterness.
You know he wants to restorerelationships.
(44:40):
It's not about proving who'sright or wrong.
It's about coming together inunity and love to spite our
differences.
You know, spaghetti, brokenspaghetti, whole, what's it come
out?
Spaghetti.
Do you crack your spaghetti,tina?
(45:00):
Crack your spaghetti, tina.
Yeah, I break mine.
I break mine three times.
I don't like long spaghetti, Ilike it broken.
But what is it?
At the end of the day, it isspaghetti.
So that means I can have anopinion, you can have an opinion
and we can agree to disagree.
We don't have to be upsetfluffing around with one another
(45:27):
.
We can agree to disagree.
Choose your battle.
Shod your feet with the gospelpeace and choose your battle.
Is it worth it?
Sometimes?
Nah, it's not worth it.
I don't have to have a say.
You know I'm going to go ventto God over here.
He'll listen to me.
And then I didn't have to havethat battle, I didn't have to
(45:52):
have that war, I didn't have torepent over things that I said
that I shouldn't have.
You know I didn't let bittercome out of my sweet vessel,
right.
And so sometimes you know, it'sjust like, okay, I'm done, I'm
done here and just walk away.
(46:13):
Amen, amen.
That's when you shod your feetwith the gospel peace, amen.
I don't have to be right, youdon't have to be right.
Greed, discreet, reflecting theheart of the Father.
That's what we're doing.
When we choose our path.
We're reflecting the heart ofthe Father.
(46:35):
Isaiah 52, 7 says who brings thegood news as having beautiful
feet.
How beautiful on the mountainsare the feet of those who bring
good news, who proclaim peace,who bring good tidings, who
proclaim salvation, who say toZion your God reigns.
(47:02):
Beautiful are the feet whopreach the gospel.
I love to have beautiful feetbefore the Lord, preaching the
gospel, the good news, the peaceof God.
Our God reigns and his messageof salvation brings truth and
healing to whoever allows it tobe invited into their heart.
(47:25):
And as we shot our feet withthe gospel of peace, that's the
blessings that we bring to thisworld.
Beautiful on the mountainsspeaks of joy and having a place
of holiness and importance upon the mountain.
(47:46):
The good news is aboutrestoration and returning to
God's solventry.
The message of salvation anddeliverance is to set the
captive free.
You ever see anybody?
(48:07):
Just totally bound inthemselves, they can't get free
from themselves.
Ask God to shod your feet withthe gospel of peace and go
minister to them the salvationmessage of Jesus Christ.
It'll bring restoration andwholeness and peace to that
(48:31):
person.
Did you know that you and I arecalled to be ambassadors of
peace, sharing the gospelmessage and word and action?
(48:51):
A person who acts as arepresentative or a messenger of
God shares his message withvalue to the world.
They are called to live a lifethat reflects Christ's love and
encourages others to reconcilewith God.
(49:12):
I want to be an ambassador ofpeace.
They are a living example oftheir faith and are actively
involved in sharing their beliefof Christ with others.
A spiritual ambassador's lifeshould be a testament to their
(49:35):
faith, demonstrating the valuesthat God has put in them that
they can share with others andthem that they can share with
others.
They actively share God'smessage of hope and
reconciliation with others,inviting them to reconcile with
God.
Now, when we prayed Sunday, wehad salvation in the house.
(49:56):
That was beautiful, justbeautiful, and I think last
month we had three salvations inthe house.
God is on the move.
He is about turning peoplearound and bringing them into
(50:18):
the salvation knowledge of him.
When we are an ambassador ofpeace, we represent.
We're a representative of God,working to build bridges,
fostering understanding betweendifferent people and different
cultures, compassion andunderstanding.
(50:38):
You know they are people thathave sympathy in whatever you're
going through.
But you've got to be carefulwith that Because, you see, god
made Holly to be able to boreHolly's issues.
(50:59):
Okay, so Dave has an issue andhe tells me about it.
I can't pick that up and carryit because God did not design me
to carry Dave's issues, but hedid design me to help him, to
encourage him, to uplift him.
(51:21):
If I went around and carriedeverybody's burden in this room,
I would be flat, because Goddidn't make me to do that, he
didn't make Teresa to do that,he didn't make Beth to do that.
He only designed us to carryour own burdens.
You know, being humble as anambassador of peace, recognize
(51:47):
the importance of seeing otherpeople's perceptions, because we
get tunnel vision.
We only see what's in front ofus.
We don't even think.
Front of us, we don't eventhink.
Now I overthink in this areabecause I'll think I'm just
(52:15):
going to say Anita, anita seemedlike she was down in the dumps
Sunday.
I need to call her and seewhat's going on.
I hope she's okay.
And so I tend to overthink.
Like Dave was watching a reelthe other day and he said Holly,
this is you 100%.
And this man had a dream and hewas apologizing to his wife for
the dream he had.
And I'm telling you, I do thatBecause it hurts me inside if in
(52:41):
my dream I hurt Dave, becauseit hurts me inside.
If in my dream I hurt Dave,it's a look he gets on his face
when I hurt.
It's just a look.
I can't bear it.
I'm sure you all experiencethat with somebody in your life,
and so in the dream, if hegives me that look, I apologize
in the flesh.
So, like a soldier, soldier, beready to march.
(53:10):
The gospel is the foundation forour spiritual footwear, making
us strong and stable as weproclaim the message of peace.
Ephesians 6, 10 and 18, wherePaul says Clothe yourself in the
armor of God, put on thebreastplate of righteousness,
(53:32):
put on the belt of truth, shodyour feet with the preparation
of peace and go share the gospelwith every man, woman, boy and
girl To nations, amen, amen.
So, father, god, I thank youand I praise you for this time
(53:52):
we had together.
I thank you, lord, that thisword that you put in my heart,
lord, that it just was planted.
The seed was planted, father,and I thank you for its growth.
I thank you that it roots and,father, god, that it does bring
a great harvest.
And, lord, as we go out the restof this week and into the rest
(54:14):
of our lives, lord, let us shodour feet with the gospel of
peace.
Father, let our mouths be aplace where sweet water comes
from, that bitter water will notspout out.
I thank you, father, for yourlove, for your grace, for your
(54:37):
mercy.
I thank you for everyone inthis room, lord, that they would
have godly knowledge, wisdom,understanding and great
discernment.
And I thank you, lord, thatyour love and your peace rest
upon us, give us travel andmercies, and we give you all the
praise in the mighty name ofJesus, and everyone says Amen.
Thank you All.
Right.
Well, I want to welcomeeverybody here tonight.
I think it's a very interestingteaching.
Tonight it's on having yourfeet shodded with the gospel of
peace, and we'll just readEphesians 10.
(01:18):
Finally, my brethren, be strongin the Lord and in the power of
his might.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
against the whales of the devil.
For we do not wrestle againstflesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers,against rulers of darkness,
(01:39):
against spiritual hosts ofwickedness and heavenly places.
Verse 1.
(02:08):
Righteousness, and havingshotted your feet with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace and above all, take the
shield of faith, that which youwill be able to cringe all the
fiery darts of the wicked one,and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit,which is the word of the, the
sword of the Spirit, which isthe word of God, praying always
with all prayers andsupplications in the Spirit,
(02:33):
being watchful to this end, withall perseverance and
supplications for all of thesaints, amen.
So tonight we're putting on ourthird piece of armor, which is
we're shotting Our feet with thegospel piece.
And so you can see our armor.
(02:53):
Guy, he has on His spiritualshoes and he has his Breastplate
held out and he's got his beltof righteousness on, which draws
(03:14):
him close to God.
Those are his guards guardinghis shins.
So the phrase shotting yourfeet with the gospel of peace
comes out of Ephesians 6 15,which is a part of Paul's
description of the full armor ofGod, meaning that we should be
ready and prepared to share thegospel, the message of the
(03:37):
salvation, through Jesus Christ,at all times, like a soldier to
march.
Do you got my marching feet upthere?
I got marching feet.
It has sound too.
So Now what do you think thedevil thinks when he hears that
(04:06):
coming?
He's like I am a defeated foe.
Amen, I am under their feet inthe name of Jesus.
So we're soldiers, ready tomarch.
The gospel is the foundationfor our spiritual footwear,
(04:28):
making us strong and stable aswe proclaim the message of peace
.
Ephesians 6, 10 through 18,where Paul uses a military
description of Christians inspiritual warfare.
Description of Christians inspiritual warfare.
He encourages us as believers,to put on the whole armor of God
(04:52):
to withstand the fiery darts ofthe wicked one.
And so when we are clothed inthe armor of God, there's not a
place that the enemy's fierydarts can hit us because we are
covered with the blood and thearmor of God.
You know, the fiery darts,those are the things that knocks
(05:13):
us off our games the lies andthe deceit and the.
What are they?
He has tactics, he has scams,he makes ambush, all those
things that he does to knock youand I off our game.
This, this verse, isn'tliterally about wearing shoes
(05:37):
like it ain't about these shoes.
It's about our spiritual shoes,just like it's our spiritual
shield and our spiritual belt.
Standing, therefore, had girdedyour waist with truth and have
put on the breastplate ofrighteousness and had shod your
feet with the preparation of thegospel peace.
(05:58):
To shod means to have underone's feet, to be bound Like
these shoes, these I like.
I could never run a marathon inthese shoes, for one thing,
they're extremely loose.
There ain't nothing.
It ain't going to work out.
So you know it's the shoes ofGod are bound to our feet and
(06:22):
they are um, tied and winded andand knitted to be one, to have
your foot and the gospel ofpeace, to be one in Christ, it
means to be ready to share thegood news of Jesus, to share his
life, his death, hisresurrection and what that
(06:45):
brings?
You know, what did Jesus' life,death and resurrection bring?
It brings salvation, it bringsforgiveness and it brings a
reconciliation with God, becausebefore we ask Jesus into our
heart, we're not in rightstandings with him.
But when we ask him to come bein our heart and in our life,
(07:08):
then we become in rightstandings with him.
It's not just about having theknowledge.
It's not just about having theknowledge of the gospel, but
also being ready to be willingto speak about it.
And so the way God took me onthis is we have to have a heart
(07:34):
knowledge of the gospel,understanding the fact of the
gospel and our intellect, butalso being able to experience
his truth through lifeexperiences.
It's being transformed in ourhearts, going beyond our head
(07:58):
knowledge and understanding thegospel in our spirits.
Okay, it's knowing in yourknower.
You know it.
Nobody could take it from youBecause you know it, you've
lived it.
He's proven himself or and orto us, amen.
(08:22):
Now we're going to talk abouthead knowledge versus heart
knowledge.
Okay, this is what I'm going toask Can bitter and sweet pour
out of the same spout?
No, bitter and sweet watercannot come from the same faucet
(08:44):
or the same spring.
Sorry, what Heart.
James 3.11 says A spring ofwater does not pour fresh and
bitter water at the same timefrom the same opening.
And another way of saying goodand evil, blessings and curses
(09:12):
should not come from the samesource, which is our mouth.
Because when we are spreadingthe gospel of Christ, that's
coming from our mouth.
It's our words that are goingto draw people to Christ, the
anointed words that we speakthat will draw to Christ.
(09:34):
Okay, such as a fig tree cannotbear an olive, an orange tree
cannot bear apples, a grapevinecannot bear figs.
True, the water source thatbears bitter, like salt water
(09:55):
you ever been to the ocean?
Get a big mouth of that?
You know that is bitter water,it is not fresh and I know I've
said it a dozen times, but I'mgoing to say it again Bitter and
sweet cannot come out of thesame spout.
James 3.11.12 says that A humanspeech arguing malice,
(10:29):
contentment, discontentmentshould not flow out of our
mouths.
What that word does when wespeak bitter, it shows our
nature, it shows our heart.
(10:51):
Like you know, you could justbe having a great day and
somebody bring up somebody'sname and your head turns around
and you're like what Do you everhave?
That.
Do you ever have that?
See, it's important that ourheart and our nature aligns up
with God's word, that we speakwhat God speaks.
(11:16):
And we're all human, we're allflesh.
You're going to speak and beready and bring forth the word
of God to this world with yourshoes of peace.
(11:36):
You got to have peace in yourheart because people are smart
and they'll catch on right awaythat you're playing, that you're
not serious about God.
God's word says that you'llknow them by their fruit Matthew
6, 7, 16.
(11:56):
A tree and its fruit, to how aperson's character is, the way
their actions are, the way theysay things, implies that a good
tree produces good fruit, whilea bad tree produces bad fruit.
And so, when we are shottingour feet with the gospel of
(12:22):
peace, we need to be speakingwhat is good, what is true, what
is honest, what is pure.
We need to be walking it, weneed to be living it, because
whenever we act one way and sayanother, that makes us
hypocrites.
And so we be very, very carefulof the bitter water that comes
(12:44):
out of our spout, out of ourmouth, out of our opening.
You know, there was a time inmy life when I had a lot of
bitter water in me and I wouldspeak to you, slice you up,
leave you lay alongside the road.
A couple days later you'd belike what, what did she do?
(13:06):
What did she do?
Did she say that to me?
But I was clever, I was wittyand I did exactly as the devil
wanted me to.
But thank God for the day thatI learned to put that nasty old
tongue away and begin to operatein the spirit of the Lord.
Did that happen overnight?
(13:26):
No, many hours on my kneeschanged my heart.
Oh God, put a right spiritwithin me.
So you know, our words are likecontainers that are like
dynamite, and we can blow people, things, areas up.
(13:51):
And we can blow people, things,areas up.
And so if we're going to havethis armor on and we're going to
be shod with the gospel ofpeace on our feet, we've got to
be talking the right talk.
Okay.
Fruit reveals to the outwardmanifestation of a person's
(14:11):
characters and actions.
It suggests that people arejudged not by their words or
their appearance, but thetangible result of their life.
The word says that you willknow them by their fruit,
meaning that a person's actionsimpact others.
(14:31):
Do you believe that your wordscan impact somebody Can stop
them in their tracks, can hurtthem, can make them turn from
their walk with the Lord.
I would hate to be guilty ofthat before God someday, because
everything that you and I do,good or bad it, will be had
(14:53):
before everybody.
That's what his word says.
I don't want that.
I want to walk up to him and hesay very good, well, faithful
servant, you've done a good job.
I don't want there to be a well, here we go, because now that
I'm saved, the things of thepast have been passed away, but
(15:15):
now I'm on a new journey.
Okay, so God's word in Proverbs29.1 warns us that a stiff neck
can be a consequence of refusingto listen.
(15:38):
Head knowledge causes us to bea stiff neck.
People.
That means that all you have isthis word in your head.
It's not operating or flowingout of your heart.
I don't know, nita, you're justdrawing on my well tonight I'm
(16:02):
just going to talk to you.
Without obedience andwillingness to submit can lead
to a hard heart and that canlead to being greatly corrected.
I don't want to be correctedeither.
(16:22):
I try to keep my nose clean.
I try to stay out of thelimelight.
Really I do, and I try to walkthe walk and talk the talk, and
if I ever think that I've hurtyour feelings, you can bet you
I'll be right there.
Did I say or do anything tooffend you?
If I have, I am sorry Becauseyou see, I have a spirit of
(16:45):
discernment and I can pick rightup on when anything is out of
key to her.
I, I want, I want you toforgive me if I have so.
Stick stiff-necked, people arestubborn.
People know anybody stubborn,unwilling to submit, and they
(17:08):
resist God's counsel.
So you know, when you receivecounsel from God or from a
leadership and you blow that off, that's stubbornness and
(17:30):
unwilling to submit.
Because you know, sometimes youthink, well, well, what do they
know?
Well, hopefully we hear fromgod and we're able to guide,
lead and direct the congregationin the right way, amen.
So what causes us to get thathard heart?
Rebellion against god,operating in stubbornness.
You ever have see that where itsays she might tell me to sit
(17:54):
down, but on the inside I'mstanding up, right, right.
A lack of receiving God's wordand his will.
You know most of us want ourown will.
You know I want my own way.
But when God puts his thumb onme and tells me that direction
(18:14):
is changing.
When Dave and I lived in Philly,I did not want to come back to
Yerkesville.
And when God said I need you togo back, I need you to go back
to Yerkesville, I need you to goback to Twin Cities, I got to
work for you to do there and Iwas just like that's not God.
I had to be that piece.
I just said because I mean hehad to push on me hard.
(18:38):
And when we came back, I comeback kicking, screaming, crying,
bawling.
Listen.
We lived in Philly.
I was seven minutes fromeverything, seven minutes from
work, seven minutes fromdowntown Philly, not even seven
minutes from Walmart.
Dave was 20 minutes from work.
I mean it was, and we had anice house.
Not that I don't have a nicehouse now, but it was more
(19:02):
convenient, it was more opened.
You know what I mean.
Like I could house 20 women inthere easily.
I had an office upstairs.
You know I loved it.
And when he said not only thatwe was using our house as a
ministry home and we had a ladyliving in there that when she
moved in she had 43 cents to hername, and you know God, she got
(19:28):
a job, she got a car, shebecame a manager of the place
that she worked.
I mean, god just blessed her.
And when I had to go tell herthat we were coming home, she
says Holly, it's okay.
She says my daughter just movedto a new area and has asked me
to move in with her.
So see how God is.
But I was still pretty upset.
I mean, our house, we tore ourhouse completely apart.
(19:52):
We took the walls right down tothe bare minimum, took out the
windows.
I mean, probably for a year anda half all we had was a card
table and two chairs, a TV on anold stand, you know nothing.
And so when God says move,don't mean it's going to be an
easy transition.
(20:13):
But he brought me here.
You know, look at all the goodGod's done.
And you know you just got tofollow his will, get out of
yourself and get into him, amen.
And so don't be stubborn.
I was being stubborn, see.
(20:36):
You know Satan, he was cast outof heaven for his rebelliousness
and for his pride.
You know he challenged God'sauthority and because of that,
him and I think a third of thedemons or they were angels, but
they get kicked out of heavenand pride and rebellion.
(20:57):
Um, you know, satan's name islucifer.
He had a position and a high,high honor in heaven and he
developed a power hungry spirit.
I want it all, I want to be it,and because of that he got
(21:20):
kicked out of heaven and down tothe earth.
So hard-heartedness stops yourspiritual growth.
Hard-heartedness will stop yourrelationship with Christ.
You take and get yourself madat somebody I mean really mad at
them.
You take and get yourself madat somebody I mean really mad at
them and try to speak with yourfeet shrouded with peace.
(21:40):
Ain't going to work.
It's not going to work Becauseyou've got anger in your heart.
It's bitter.
No sweet can come out when thebitter's rolling.
What does God's word say about ahard heart?
It's rebellion, it's stubborn.
Look at the Israelites 40 yearsAround, an 11-day trip Around
(22:08):
and around and around.
Huh, yeah, if we would havestayed in Philly, we'd still be
going around that mountain Untilwe caved and gave in to God's
will and not ours.
But you know, moses is sayinglet God's people go and Pharaoh
(22:29):
is saying no, no, no.
And he held on and finally,when he did let go, they barely
got away and they're just likewe got to go get them.
We can't let that happen.
You know, they hardened theirheart right back up.
Even after he lost his child,he hardened his heart right back
up.
Jesus also speaks of a hardhearted heartedness people that
(22:49):
are unwilling to listen, toreceive God's teachings.
That's sad whenever you soharden your heart that you don't
hear what the man or woman ofGod is trying to speak.
I'm going to tell you exactlywhat that feels like.
(23:10):
When you're trying to ministerto a group of people that have
hardened their heart, your wordscome right out of your mouth
and they fall directly in frontof you.
You feel they don't penetratethe atmosphere and so in your
heart of hearts, whether you'repreaching, you're still praying.
(23:31):
Father God, give me thebreakthrough, give me the
breakthrough, give me thebreakthrough.
But that is a horrible feelingwhen you know, as a teacher or a
preacher, that your word is notbeing received, when your heart
is hard, you have a lack ofcompassion for others.
(23:53):
You just you know well, theyshould have known better to do
that.
Well, I could have told themthat would happen.
Would that be Jesus' heart?
No, even though he knew that,you know he'd love you through
it.
He'd love you through it.
And whenever our heart is hard,we discard the spirit of truth.
(24:14):
We won't even let the spirit oftruth come in.
Do you know why?
Because the spirit of truthwill set you free.
But whenever you shut that doorto the spirit of truth, then
you're going to live in yourbondage, your agony, your
bitterness, your unforgiveness,whatever it is that's keeping
you from being able to shod yourfeet with the gospel of peace.
(24:36):
Hardheartedness can be likedawling of the spirit.
It's D-U-L-L-I-N-G dawling ofthe spirit, making it difficult
to discern God's voice and tounderstand his will.
(24:57):
A spirit, a spiritual dullness,is sleepy thinking.
You know, you just kind show,he's a slaw, ice Age the slaw.
He has a sleepy thinking.
(25:18):
You know, he's just kind ofthere, kind of not just drifting
through.
You know it's a lessless stateof thought that fails to get
anywhere or accomplish anything.
You ever have those days, thefaster I go, the behinder I get.
(25:40):
That's the enemy Just takingyour time.
So you know you put, put yourfoot down to him, put your arm
around, put your foot down tohim, ask God, arm around, put
your foot down to him, ask God.
You know, I thank you that myhours are multiplied unto me
when I used to work.
That's what I prayed Multiplymy time unto me Two hours before
(26:02):
.
Four be six, six be eight,because I got a lot to get
accomplished in this day.
Anybody who works.
Ask God to multiply your timeTo cause you to be able to be,
uh, more of a on tax, to getthings done, because if you
don't do that, it won't happen.
When you're busy, busy, um, whenyou have a dullness in the
(26:25):
spirit, you have a loss ofhunger for god's voice.
Like you don't hear him no more.
Because you know what, you shutyour spiritual ears off and you
stop expecting to see a miracle.
I'm telling you, I expect tosee a miracle every day of my
life, because there's no big,there's no small.
(26:46):
They are miracles, amen, amen.
They are miracles, amen.
And you find it hard to sensethe Spirit.
You ever have that times whenyou're like I don't know where
God is, I don't even feel him, Idon't even sense him around me.
It's because you've become dullin the Spirit.
Maybe you have stepped backfrom your Bible reading.
(27:09):
Maybe you've stepped back fromsoaking.
Maybe you've stepped back fromyour Bible reading.
Maybe you've stepped back fromsoaking.
Maybe you've stepped back fromworship, maybe you've stepped
back from Bible studies.
You know you become dull in thespirit and then you're just
like well, what's wrong?
Well, you know, you say, holySpirit, show me what's wrong.
Show me in my life where I'mmissing it.
Have I sinned against you inthe kingdom?
(27:30):
Show me how many of us have todo that once in a while.
I have to do that once in awhile.
Show me where I'm missing it,god, because I ain't, I ain't
tracking with you.
That's why it's so importantthat we keep our hearts pure
before the for God, before theHoly Spirit, before Jesus,
(27:53):
keeping our heart intact.
You know, one time for years Isung that little song Change my
heart, oh God, make me ever true.
Change my heart, oh God, makeme more like you.
I was in a prayer room weactually call it the red room,
(28:17):
but it's just this wee littleroom and I'm just singing that
song and everybody left afterintercession and the Holy Spirit
said lie down on the table.
I'm like what he's like.
Lie down on the table.
I'm telling you, he gave me aspiritual, open heart and he
gave me that heart I've beenseeking and it changed our
(28:37):
marriage.
When God gave me a spiritualheart surgery.
It changed, because you knowwhat it changed me.
You see, when you're upset withsomebody and you're like,
change him, lord, no, no, no, no, no, no, change me, then
everything around me will change.
Believe that so.
(29:03):
Mark 6.52 describes a lack ofunderstanding, a spiritual
hardness.
This hardness of a spiritualdawling.
I've got to get where I'm going, okay.
So the disciples we're going totalk about the disciples a
(29:24):
little bit Now.
I'm sure that they wanted tohave their feet shodded with the
gospel, peace of anything withtheir armor.
So they had just seen Jesuswalk on water.
Now, think about that.
Think about they saw it.
(29:44):
They saw him walk on water.
They saw him say peace, bestill to the winds and the waves
.
They experienced that.
And yet, when they go to theMount and there's all these
people that need fed and he hastwo loaves of bread and five
(30:05):
fishes and they're just like,what are you doing?
There's 5,000 men, not countingwomen and children.
What are you doing?
See, somehow or another, theirsenses got dulled from one
miracle to the next.
They missed it.
Are we like that?
(30:27):
From one miracle, oneexperience, one move of God, of
god, to the next?
Well, can he do it.
I don't know.
I don't know if he can do it,but I'm telling you what the
same jesus and matthew, samejesus today and he could do it
(30:48):
back then, he can, can do itthis moment, whatever needs to
be done, amen.
So they had a lack ofunderstanding of Jesus's
miracles and they needed aspiritual discernment.
Now I'm telling you, every dayof your lives, pray, bless me
with knowledge, wisdom,understanding, great discernment
(31:12):
.
Because, especially, pray thatfor your children and yourself,
your husband, your family,because where in the world are
we going to be if we don't havegreat discernment?
I mean, we know the differencebetween good and evil.
But the enemy's clever.
He'll bring a tactic, a scheme,an ambush right around to you
(31:41):
and you get engaged with itbefore you realize it.
Nice and shiny, yeah, get yourhand stuck in the jar.
And while you're trying to getthe hand out of the jar, he
wipes out.
And so you know, don't let yourspirit become dull, stay in the
(32:04):
word.
I don't feel like reading theword today.
Now, who's telling you that?
The enemy?
I don't have 15 minutes to sitand listen to worship this
morning.
You do.
Put it on in the car whileyou're driving, put it on, while
you're doing the dishes, whileyou're sorting the clothes,
(32:26):
whatever it is, you do, put yourear pod in, take away and have
some time with God.
Their hearts were described ashard or blinded, the lack of
understanding to Jesus' actionsand his teachings.
Now, on Sunday mornings, youknow, father God, I thank you
(32:50):
that everyone's heart is softand pliable before you this
morning.
I thank you, lord, that theyhave spirits, ears that hear
what the spirit of the lord issaying this morning.
But see, what happens is andI'm not saying nothing bad.
I'm a part of it.
You know we're busy when I cometo church.
It's probably one of thebusiest days of it.
(33:11):
You know we're busy when I cometo church.
It's probably one of thebusiest days of my life.
You know, I come, I get coffee,I go to the prayer room, I come
out, we come in church, we haveworship, we have who knows what
God's going to do.
But I can't be dull in my spirit.
I have to be sharp, and youknow what.
So should all you Be tuned in,you know, like a radio, get your
(33:34):
antennas up and tune in to whatJesus is doing.
Amen, because that's a day thatwe could be shotting our feet
with the gospel peace Every day.
But there's people right herein these pews I mean these
chairs that could use the gospelpeace.
But that's when we need to sayFather, god, let me hear the
(33:59):
silent cries of your people, letme hear their broken hearts.
Give me discernment, father, tobe able to reach out to those,
because you know what we all geton this fault space.
Everything's great, it's awonderful day.
How are you?
(34:19):
Fantastic, Right?
How are you really?
You know?
Well, I drug myself here thismorning.
I'm here, by the grace of God.
What if somebody was justhonest?
We would be what, right?
It would knock us off our socks, because that's not what we're
expecting.
You know, last Sunday I washere, by the grace of God.
(34:42):
I was tired, I didn't feel good, I wanted to stay home.
I'll be honest, but I will.
I always know that the moment Idon't show up, that's gonna be
the day God shows up in thehouse and I'm gonna miss it to.
You know.
Keep that in your, because youknow we never know what's going
(35:03):
to happen here and, sure asanything, it was Pentecostal
Sunday and he showed up.
We had church, we were thechurch, amen, amen.
So you know, there's dangers tospiritual blindness and the need
to open our hearts fully toreceive what God has for us.
(35:26):
Matthew 13, 15 says For thesepeople's hearts have become
callous.
Now y'all know what a callousis.
Listen, when I used to rollerskate when I was a kid, friday
night, saturday afternoon,saturday evening and Sunday
afternoon, let me tell you whatI had myself some kind of I
(35:46):
still have a callus on my footand it hardened up so that my
foot didn't hurt when I skatedRight.
And so this is what happens toour heart it just builds.
Well, that hurt me.
And it builds Well theyshouldn't have said that Well,
(36:09):
he don't come with me Buildswhat's everyone think of me?
And pretty soon our hearts hasgot hard and got a callous on it
.
That the word of God it, thatthe word of God bing, bing, bing
(36:33):
instead of penetrating it.
Is this true?
Am I telling the truth?
Okay, we become insensitive orhard towards God's truth and
towards the Holy Spirit, because, you see, he's the one that
brings the truth of the word.
Anytime you see spirit, it'stalking about the Holy Spirit
(36:55):
and so he guides.
It's, like you know, thatcallous.
It hardens our hearing, itcallouses our eyes so that we're
(37:17):
not seeing and we're nothearing what the word of God is.
And when that happens, then wedon't understand, then we don't
have the knowledge, then wedon't have wisdom and then we're
not receiving the healing.
I think we need healing everyday of our lives.
My heart needs healed every dayof my life, every day of my
(37:40):
life I get a little older.
Every day of my life I needJesus to come and rejuvenate me
and heal me.
Correct, see, jesus teachedwith parables Because the people
harden their hearts and they donot receive or understand his
(38:04):
messages.
He says that they are activelypreventing themselves from
understanding and being healedwhen we allow our hearts to
become hard and calloused, whenwe become blinded, when we
(38:28):
become spiritually dull.
You know we talk about theparable of the sower.
You know the farmer.
He went out and he sowed seeds.
Some fell on a pathway and thebirds came and ate it, and some
fell on rocky ground and itquickly dried up and died.
Some were thrown in the thornsand they were choked out by the
(38:55):
concerns of this world,suffocated.
But some fell on good soil,became fertile, took root,
growed and produced a beautifulharvest, amen.
So what is a great harvest.
(39:15):
It is a period of our spiritualgrowth and transformation.
That often describes a time ofabundant fruit and blessings in
your life.
I think it's walking in thefullness of God.
A large number during that time, a large number of people may
come by faith to the knowledgeof Jesus Christ.
(39:37):
It's a spiritual awakening whenpeople wake up.
You know how many times do wein the prayer room say wake up,
wake up, oh sleeper, wake up OnSunday mornings.
Be awake, be alert, comeexpecting God to do something,
(40:02):
you know, and these things canchange people's lives forever.
See, I'm all abouttransformation.
That's what I want ineveryone's life.
I want everyone to betransformed into the likeness of
Christ.
I don't care if that takes sixyears, 20 years, 30?
.
It's a process.
(40:24):
It isn't going to be instantpudding, because we have to
learn how to put our flesh downand walk in the spirit for
transformation to take place.
Our spiritual fruit, what arethey?
Love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness
, gentleness and self-control.
(40:46):
The seed is God's word, thesoil is our heart.
You know, is your heart in someareas hard tonight In certain
circumstances.
How about?
Is it rocky?
You know, is the seed eater,which is Satan, come and eat
(41:10):
that seed.
The moment you receive it, youknow, does it fall into areas of
our heart where the cares ofthe world push it out?
Instead of us gleaning to itand having it work for us, we
work against it, you know?
Or does the word of God fallupon your heart and does that
(41:35):
word take root?
You read it, watch them littleseeds grow, you know, and you
put it in.
It gets those little littlefeet on it and then it pops up a
little bit of green.
And then you know what it does.
It grows evenly, because if thefruit gets bigger than the root
system, it will tip over anddie.
And so you want a balance.
(41:56):
You want your root and yourfruit to grow together.
The Word of God is sown so thatit impacts people, that it
brings a result, and you see theheart of God's people changing.
That's the beauty of the crossis when you see God's people's
(42:20):
heart begin to change with goodfruit.
God's people's heart begin tochange with good fruit.
God can soften any heart to aperson that's willing, but you
have to be willing.
You can stay stubborn, you canstand when you've done all, but
(42:46):
stand and not change at all.
Those are your choices.
He didn't make us robots.
If you are willing fortransformation, transformation
will come and change you intohis likeness.
Ezekiel 11, 19 tells us Godtakes away the stony heart and
gives a heart of flesh.
That is spiritualtransformation.
(43:08):
God's mercy and grace canovercome the hardness of a heart
allowing people to experience Iknow this word, it just won't
come out repentance and new lifein Christ, living out the
gospel, obeying God'scommandments, living life of
faith and sharing the gospelwith others.
(43:30):
Having a heart knowledge of Godmeans that one's actions and
emotions align up with the truthof God.
That means that I ain't outhere today fighting with my
neighbor, cussing him out, andthen Sunday morning I'm in here
in church giving God all theglory, because what is it, sweet
(43:54):
and bitter, will not come outof the same spout.
This is how we live out ourfaith, sharing God's mission of
reconciliation to the world.
A heart of reconciliation ismore than a quick fix, because
that's what everybody wants.
Slap a band-aid on it andyou're good to go Not with God,
(44:17):
because God wants to take thatHoly Ghost flashlight.
Go down the corridors of yourheart.
You slam that door shut.
He'll go on to another corridor, but until you open that up and
let him down there you willdeal with unforgiveness,
bitterness.
You know he wants to restorerelationships.
(44:40):
It's not about proving who'sright or wrong.
It's about coming together inunity and love to spite our
differences.
You know, spaghetti, brokenspaghetti, whole, what's it come
out?
Spaghetti.
Do you crack your spaghetti,tina?
(45:00):
Crack your spaghetti, tina.
Yeah, I break mine.
I break mine three times.
I don't like long spaghetti, Ilike it broken.
But what is it?
At the end of the day, it isspaghetti.
So that means I can have anopinion, you can have an opinion
and we can agree to disagree.
We don't have to be upsetfluffing around with one another
(45:27):
.
We can agree to disagree.
Choose your battle.
Shod your feet with the gospelpeace and choose your battle.
Is it worth it?
Sometimes?
Nah, it's not worth it.
I don't have to have a say.
You know I'm going to go ventto God over here.
He'll listen to me.
And then I didn't have to havethat battle, I didn't have to
(45:52):
have that war, I didn't have torepent over things that I said
that I shouldn't have.
You know I didn't let bittercome out of my sweet vessel,
right.
And so sometimes you know, it'sjust like, okay, I'm done, I'm
done here and just walk away.
(46:13):
Amen, amen.
That's when you shod your feetwith the gospel peace, amen.
I don't have to be right, youdon't have to be right.
Greed, discreet, reflecting theheart of the Father.
That's what we're doing.
When we choose our path.
We're reflecting the heart ofthe Father.
(46:35):
Isaiah 52, 7 says who brings thegood news as having beautiful
feet.
How beautiful on the mountainsare the feet of those who bring
good news, who proclaim peace,who bring good tidings, who
proclaim salvation, who say toZion your God reigns.
(47:02):
Beautiful are the feet whopreach the gospel.
I love to have beautiful feetbefore the Lord, preaching the
gospel, the good news, the peaceof God.
Our God reigns and his messageof salvation brings truth and
healing to whoever allows it tobe invited into their heart.
(47:25):
And as we shot our feet withthe gospel of peace, that's the
blessings that we bring to thisworld.
Beautiful on the mountainsspeaks of joy and having a place
of holiness and importance upon the mountain.
(47:46):
The good news is aboutrestoration and returning to
God's solventry.
The message of salvation anddeliverance is to set the
captive free.
You ever see anybody?
(48:07):
Just totally bound inthemselves, they can't get free
from themselves.
Ask God to shod your feet withthe gospel of peace and go
minister to them the salvationmessage of Jesus Christ.
It'll bring restoration andwholeness and peace to that
(48:31):
person.
Did you know that you and I arecalled to be ambassadors of
peace, sharing the gospelmessage and word and action?
(48:51):
A person who acts as arepresentative or a messenger of
God shares his message withvalue to the world.
They are called to live a lifethat reflects Christ's love and
encourages others to reconcilewith God.
(49:12):
I want to be an ambassador ofpeace.
They are a living example oftheir faith and are actively
involved in sharing their beliefof Christ with others.
A spiritual ambassador's lifeshould be a testament to their
(49:35):
faith, demonstrating the valuesthat God has put in them that
they can share with others andthem that they can share with
others.
They actively share God'smessage of hope and
reconciliation with others,inviting them to reconcile with
God.
Now, when we prayed Sunday, wehad salvation in the house.
(49:56):
That was beautiful, justbeautiful, and I think last
month we had three salvations inthe house.
God is on the move.
He is about turning peoplearound and bringing them into
(50:18):
the salvation knowledge of him.
When we are an ambassador ofpeace, we represent.
We're a representative of God,working to build bridges,
fostering understanding betweendifferent people and different
cultures, compassion andunderstanding.
(50:38):
You know they are people thathave sympathy in whatever you're
going through.
But you've got to be carefulwith that Because, you see, god
made Holly to be able to boreHolly's issues.
(50:59):
Okay, so Dave has an issue andhe tells me about it.
I can't pick that up and carryit because God did not design me
to carry Dave's issues, but hedid design me to help him, to
encourage him, to uplift him.
(51:21):
If I went around and carriedeverybody's burden in this room,
I would be flat, because Goddidn't make me to do that, he
didn't make Teresa to do that,he didn't make Beth to do that.
He only designed us to carryour own burdens.
You know, being humble as anambassador of peace, recognize
(51:47):
the importance of seeing otherpeople's perceptions, because we
get tunnel vision.
We only see what's in front ofus.
We don't even think.
Front of us, we don't eventhink.
Now I overthink in this areabecause I'll think I'm just
(52:15):
going to say Anita, anita seemedlike she was down in the dumps
Sunday.
I need to call her and seewhat's going on.
I hope she's okay.
And so I tend to overthink.
Like Dave was watching a reelthe other day and he said Holly,
this is you 100%.
And this man had a dream and hewas apologizing to his wife for
the dream he had.
And I'm telling you, I do thatBecause it hurts me inside if in
(52:41):
my dream I hurt Dave, becauseit hurts me inside.
If in my dream I hurt Dave,it's a look he gets on his face
when I hurt.
It's just a look.
I can't bear it.
I'm sure you all experiencethat with somebody in your life,
and so in the dream, if hegives me that look, I apologize
in the flesh.
So, like a soldier, soldier, beready to march.
(53:10):
The gospel is the foundation forour spiritual footwear, making
us strong and stable as weproclaim the message of peace.
Ephesians 6, 10 and 18, wherePaul says Clothe yourself in the
armor of God, put on thebreastplate of righteousness,
(53:32):
put on the belt of truth, shodyour feet with the preparation
of peace and go share the gospelwith every man, woman, boy and
girl To nations, amen, amen.
So, father, god, I thank youand I praise you for this time
(53:52):
we had together.
I thank you, lord, that thisword that you put in my heart,
lord, that it just was planted.
The seed was planted, father,and I thank you for its growth.
I thank you that it roots and,father, god, that it does bring
a great harvest.
And, lord, as we go out the restof this week and into the rest
(54:14):
of our lives, lord, let us shodour feet with the gospel of
peace.
Father, let our mouths be aplace where sweet water comes
from, that bitter water will notspout out.
I thank you, father, for yourlove, for your grace, for your
(54:37):
mercy.
I thank you for everyone inthis room, lord, that they would
have godly knowledge, wisdom,understanding and great
discernment.
And I thank you, lord, thatyour love and your peace rest
upon us, give us travel andmercies, and we give you all the
praise in the mighty name ofJesus, and everyone says Amen.
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