February 17, 2025 • 30 mins
Self Love
Spiritual Battle when bad things happen
Is the mark of the beast doomed to hell
Spiritual Battle when bad things happen
Is the mark of the beast doomed to hell
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to kfi Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Self love Leviticus nineteen eighteen is where we jump off
from today, talking about loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
This easily and simply implies from the word of God
that you have to love yourself. You have to understand
that we looked at the fact that everything that is
(00:27):
good from God, the enemy has a perversion or a
a polluted version of God gives you passion, the enemy
gives you lust. God gives you righteous anger, The enemy
gives you rage. God gives you healthy self love, and
the enemy gives you conceit and selfishness and narcissism. And
(00:49):
that's not what I call you to, that's not what
I want. But there's there's this attitude that, well, if
you love yourself, then you're being focused only on self.
And I'm telling you this that if you love yourself properly,
(01:11):
as First Corinthians thirteen says, that talks about being kind
with yourself. Okay, because this is talking about love. Remember,
love is patient, Love is kind, Love does not envy
or boast. Well, think about it this way for yourself,
that you are to be patient with yourself So many
times I will talk to someone on the air or
receive an email about someone who's just not patient with
(01:33):
themselves and what you're growing through or learning, and being
kind to yourself, not being envious about other people's selves,
certainly not to boast, not to be arrogant or rude.
(01:55):
This is interesting that love, as it says in one
Corinthians thirteen, it does not insist on its own way.
What does that mean if you're talking about loving yourself, Well,
it's about understanding that not everything you want for you
is healthy or good. It's why you yield to the
(02:15):
will of God and not your own will. And that's
part of loving yourself is understanding that God's will is
better for you than your own. That love bears all things,
and with that is embarrassments and mistakes and things that
you will go through in life. And you know what,
(02:37):
everybody else goes through them too. Believes in all things.
It says about love in one Corinthians thirteen. You have
to believe in yourself as well. And that's not some
self help thing. That's not some you know, mamby pamby
(02:57):
kind of here here is some candy for you to
chew on and feel good about yourself. No, it's about
knowing that God created you with purpose and skills and abilities,
and you need to believe in those things, those tools
that God gave you. That's all part of who you are.
(03:18):
Be hopeful for things, endure all things, and know that
the love that you have in life is given to
you by God and it is endless. Scripture also says
that the more you know about God, the more you'll
know about yourself. Firse John three to one. See what
(03:43):
kind of love the Father has given to us? That
we should be called children of God, and so we are.
The reason why the world does not know us is
that they did not know him. This is saying that
the world can't even love you because they don't know
(04:07):
and love God. Similarly that you, the more you know
about God, the more you can love yourself. The more
that you understand that the Creator has given you this
life and all the things in it, and that the
trials you go through are there for you to strengthen yourself,
to endure and to hone that love. If you get
(04:35):
that thing, if you take that with you today, that
knowing that to know God more, spend more timeliness in
his word to spend more time with his people, spend
more time in prayer. Then you'll know yourself better. You'll
be able to love yourself properly when you know God
(05:01):
and love God. Romans thirteen eight and ten eight through
ten have an interesting description of the fulfillment of the law.
It says, oh, no one anything except to love each other.
(05:23):
For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
I'll pause for a second. And how are you supposed
to love another like you love yourself? Goes on to say,
for the commandments you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,
and any other commandment are summed up in this word.
(05:46):
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not
wrong a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
All of the ten commandments, it's saying here, every single
one of the ten commandments are fulfilled in that concept
(06:07):
of love, true love. Yet it says again that you
shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love does
not wrong a neighbor. Love should not self, love should
not wrong itself. The fulfillment of the law. Do you
(06:28):
realize that you cannot break any of the commandments if
you do everything in love. And that's what it's saying here.
It's very easy to get caught up in life. You
see these, some of them quite horrible reality shows, and
(06:50):
the way people treat one another, and the insecurities and
the ugliness, and the way the producers and the cameraman
and everybody else do their part to try and cap
sure the ugliest part of humanity. And you'll find it
it's not hard to capture. You don't need producers, even
you don't need any of that. People can be very
ugly to one another, and it's hard to remember not
(07:14):
to be sometimes, but it usually stems from not knowing
yourself and not having a healthy love for your own self.
You need to understand who you are and that I
made you, The Father made you in his image, And
(07:34):
what is that? Does that mean two legs? Two? I
know that means intellect, will, and emotion, and that you
have those things, and that you are designed to be
a creature of love, both to others and to yourself.
And the world will tell you that love is sex,
and the world will tell you that love is power,
(07:58):
and the world will tell you all these things, and
it's not it's understanding, its appreciation. It's a true knowledge
of who God is and who you are through God.
And the proper application of those things is what will
make you healthy. And I will tell you there is.
(08:21):
Can you imagine walking into a filthy restaurant with a
lousy sign outside. Nothing looks clean, no one looks like
they care. Why would you want to eat there? You wouldn't.
And it's the same with how you present yourself. If
(08:42):
you crawl into a hole, if you stay in the dark,
if you don't explore your own curiosities and wonderment with
this world, if you don't want to explore on your
very own, the assumption will be that none of that
(09:03):
will change with a partner. If you're curious and excited
about life, if you are not feeling good in the
place that you are, your first response is to quit,
that's a problem. If your first response is to well,
then I'm going to climb out of this hole and
I'm going to find a place where I am exhilarated
(09:27):
and stimulated and excited by the things around you. I mean,
when you walk out and you see a different moon
or a big harvest moon or just a tiny little sliver,
or you see the way clouds roll in or roll away,
or the way the sun rises or sets, the way
(09:50):
the ocean comes in and out. Where you find the
simple little things in line that can bring so much joy.
When you find that person in your life, you'll find
that this is always interesting. The things that your partner
finds about themselves that they don't like usually will be
(10:15):
the things that you do like and that drew you
to them. The strange, funny way that they curl their
lip when they talk, the slight pigeon toe of the
left foot, how it just slowly inches in like a
child when they walk, the big eyes, the beauty mark,
(10:35):
whatever it might be. I guarantee the things that you
love about your partner they despise, they don't like them.
So what I ask of you today is to look
at yourself and to look at yourself through the eyes
of others, to find that that beauty, that wonderfulness, that
comfort and who you are. And I will tell you
(10:58):
the world will be a tre to you. And that's
not the goal. That's the result of healthy people living
in a healthy environment around other healthy people, loving yourself
self love. It seems contradictory to Christianity, and it's not.
As a matter of fact, Scripture says in Leviticus nineteen
(11:19):
eighteen that you have to love your neighbor as you
love yourself. And those are strong words. That's God saying that. Listen,
you need to have a structured understanding of who you
are that allows you to appreciate who you are in
the context of this life and the context of serving God.
(11:44):
So it's not about conceit not about narcissism, not about selfishness.
It's about understanding who you are, me first, not me only,
and I love how concise that is not necessarily true
about the me first in the sense that there is
kind of a selflessness that goes with it. But the
(12:05):
balance that is should be achieved is about knowing who
you are and appreciating who you are, because no one
else will appreciate you if you don't appreciate yourself. And
so God says to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
So you have to love yourself first, but not in
(12:27):
the way that you push everybody out of the way.
It's to help things move along, it's to help society.
It's to help your relationships. So really it becomes an
act of selflessness and not selfishness. So what is love, well,
One Corinthians thirteen. If you've ever been to a Christian wedding,
you know this. Love is patient and kind. Love does
(12:50):
not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way. It is
not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice and wrongdoing,
but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes
all things, hopes, all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
(13:14):
It even says one Corinthians thirteen that prophecies they will
pass away, tongues they will cease, knowledge it will pass away.
But love stays consistent. And so all these things should
be things that you apply to yourself. But the way
you love yourself is to be patient and kind, not
only with others, but with yourself. I've met some incredibly
(13:39):
loving people who are so kind to others and yet
can't be that way to themselves, don't know how to
be kind or patient with their own selves, their own
learning their own path. It's not about how bragging, not
about boasting, not about envy. Oh they're more when it
(14:01):
comes to this love, the self love that I want
you to have much more. Marty, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Good morning, Jesus. Hi Hi. I just want to say
a few things very quickly before I get into my question.
I came to know you personally very young, at the
age of five. I'm fifty three years old today, and
just want to thank you publicly for always being there
(14:31):
and always never ever ever letting me go through anything
without knowing that you were there for me.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Well, Glory to God. That's wonderful to hear.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yes, I have a question and for the first time
in my life, just wondering what a spiritual battle truly is.
My firstborn grandson became very ill two years ago, is
ill today as we speak. And you've been so faithful
(15:04):
to guide and give this family strength because without you
we couldn't have done it. But I have other believers
around me that keep saying or asking me, what is
the spiritual battle that your family is going through and why?
And as though there were an evil something looming over us,
(15:29):
even though you've been so faithful to be there every
step of the way for us during this trying time
and so I'm confused why other believers would I would
say that or question that, or.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They are they acting as if it's like a curse
or something or some sin brought up that you brought
in and then therefore this is somehow punitive.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Yes, yes, and I'm blown away and I'm confused about that.
And we lean on you every day and every step
of this way. You have shown us that you are
there and have never left this family.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Well, I'd like to think that maybe they're miss they're
missing something, or that really when they're saying spiritual battle,
that they're just referring to the generic term. There are
spiritual battles going along in every Christian's life, every single
one of them. And that's part of the protection and
(16:24):
growth process of earth. That's one of the reasons why
you're here and you're not created in heaven, you're created
here on earth. There is a purification process that goes
through this life, and every Christian in this life that
you're going to experience. Romans five three says more than that,
(16:45):
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. So
those those trials that suffering one Peter four twelve, beloved
do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it
comes upon you to test you as though something strange
were happening to you. You shouldn't be surprised. It shouldn't
(17:06):
be out of the norm for a Christian to go
through things through garbage. And it's the old bumper stick
because you know how Christians love the little sayings, the
old bumper sticker. That's not what your future holds. Who
holds your future that's important is really the key. And
either there's some misunderstanding as to that concept of spiritual battle,
(17:30):
but really you should want to welcome it in the
sense that it's part of the purification process that God
is with you through throughout the entirety of it. Rejoicing
in those things are good because in those trials is
where God reaches in and has glory. I mean, listen
to the tone of your voice when you talk about
the things that God has done in your life, you know,
(17:52):
and those times when I've stepped in and those times
where you felt My presence and all of that is
you can only talk about that because there are trials
in your life. If everything was perfect, you know, what
are you going to say? We life is great, and
God is good and everything's fine. You know, how dull
is that the things in life that are commonly referred
(18:15):
to as trials are the things that make your life
unique to you, and your experience is unique to you,
and your endurance and strength and spiritual growth unique to
you and your family in this case, and that's not
a bad thing. It's bad in the world. You know,
we were having this discussion earlier about what's bad and
(18:35):
what's good, and the world gets confused about those things.
There are many things that are painful and that can
cause pain or turmoil that are good for you. And
so I wouldn't look at that as a as a
pejorative or a negative term. When someone says spiritual battle,
I would look at that as you know, you go
(18:56):
through Ephesians and you see where it talks about the
armor of God. What do you think the armor of
God's for spiritual battles. Spiritual battles exactly to protect you
from evil. And if you could see what's taking place
on a daily basis in the spiritual realm around you,
(19:21):
in the battle front, and angels with swords drawn to
defend and all these things, it's quite fantastic. Beautiful and
terrifying to those who don't believe. But you're a believer
and you're covered in that. And and if somebody says
(19:45):
you're going going through a spiritual battle, you look at
them and say thank you. Yeah, God, God sees you
in the light that you are worthy of protection, you
are worthy of refinement, you are worthy of being in
a place that you can glorify God. And that's what
comes from trials.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
And we do every single day we give God the
glory because we give you the glory because of the
fact that you have proven doctors wrong. Every time we
receive bad news, you do. Your perfect plan is shown
(20:24):
to us. And you've been so faithful to do that.
And this family has grown spiritually and pulled together and
has brought us so closer. But we lean on you daily. Daily,
We lean on.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
You, and people see that, and that's part of your
testament of faith, and it's part of who you are.
And it's not about the outcome. Everybody's always saying, you know,
you see these Christians that are always walking around with smiles,
and you know they're not always happy. It's not about
always being happy. It's a joy is different. Happiness is
a momentary feeling of joy due to a happening. Something happened,
(21:01):
and you go, now I'm happy. But joy, true joy
comes in times of pain. It's an understanding that God
is there and that God provides, and it's a constant,
and you're gonna have highs and lows, and there's gonna
be good things and bad things that happen to you
by the world's standards, But ultimately you keep that attitude, Marty,
(21:21):
that God is with you and that it's all to
glorify God, and you're ahead of the game. People misunderstand things.
I think about this for a second. Every time you
refer to someone as courageous. You know, if you think
of firefighters or law enforcement or military, or any of
these people that put their life on the line for
(21:44):
you on a daily basis, for your freedoms, for the
peace of mind, all of these things, your protection. That
the very things that you call them, the very attributes
that you find noble or heroic or courage just don't
exist without turmoil, without fire, without gunfights, without you know,
(22:07):
ugliness and adversity. That really it's that purification. It's those
trials that really show the character of an individual. Or
shower show that the true faith and makeup of somebody.
And this attitude, not that you certainly don't have marty,
(22:28):
but this attitude that I've heard from time to time
with Christians, that it's Christianity is supposed to make everything okay,
and that you're always fine and there's never a problem. More,
there aren't these tests. No spiritual battle is true. But
every Christian should be going through spiritual battle of one
kind or the other. And I'll tell you something, the
(22:49):
closer you get to God, the more that you might experience,
because it's like the hotter the fire, the more refining
that fire, the hotter will get. One Peter one point
seven says, so that the tested genuineness of your faith,
(23:10):
more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested
by fire, may be found to result in the praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The purification of gold goes through a heating process and
a process of trials, if you will, And Scripture talks
(23:33):
about the dross being scraped off the top and thrown
to the side. The dross is the imperfections, it's the
it's the oils or certain minerals that shouldn't be there,
or whatever dust that during the heating and purification process,
that which doesn't burn out, that doesn't just burn up,
goes to the top when you're heating these metals and
(23:57):
getting them pure. And you see those stamps on the
side of metals, whether it be jewelry or what have you,
that talk about their purity that comes from the heating,
that the processing of those metals to get them to
a point of perfection in the eye of the maker.
(24:17):
And if you're a believer, you should be going through
these things. You should be going through experiences that are tough,
that are testing, that that are purifying who you are
and what your faith is, and that you shouldn't be surprised,
as it says in one Peter four twelve, you shouldn't
be surprised about fiery trials in your life. You should
(24:41):
be content with God's grace and you should know that
you're going to go through these tests. So if anyone
comes up to you and says that you know and
uses it as a as a negative term or says that, oh,
like it's some weakness in your faith, on the contrary,
it could very much be due to the intensity of
(25:05):
your faith. The enemy putting special attention on you, and
I want to attack you because of the intensity of
your faith, and that should be understood. And don't take
it on yourself and the weight on your shoulders as
if you've done something wrong, because that's not the case. Jim,
(25:28):
Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Hello, Holy Host, Hi Jim, How can I help you?
Why would God put people in hell or taking a
brand or a mark of a sixty sixty six in
their four hair right hand when it's going to be
the only way they can buy or sell.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Well, that's up to interpretation as to whether that's what's
going to go on or not, whether it's six sixty
six or tattooed. And there's been a lot of speculation
as to what the so called number of the Beast
is and what that will mean. It's not that somebody
goes to hell for that. The hell is created for
(26:07):
those who reject God and don't want to be with
God for eternity. So in the case of speaking about
the Book of Revelation and the things that are talked
about there, that really the sign or this symbol is
about rejecting God in totality. It's not just about exchanging
(26:29):
things or for money or using it for commerce. It's
not about that. It always comes down to the one
unpardonable sin spoken about in scripture, and that's rejecting God.
It's rejecting technically, rejecting the Holy Spirit, who brings you
to Me, who brings you to the Father. So if
(26:50):
you are at that point where you do what is
spoken about in scripture, and keep in mind in the
Book of Revelation, it's not very specific. It's a sketch
of something that will take place. Many people thought that
that was going to be credit cards. Some people thought
it was social Security numbers. People have thought all of
(27:12):
these things, that it was going to be some sort
of this is the mark of the devil. But it's
not about, oh now I've got a tattoo, or there's
this mark on me, I'm doomed to hell. That's not
how it works. It's not some weird technicality that God's
looking for to boot you out of heaven. It's a
specific and wilful act of rebellion, turning away from God,
(27:40):
flipping God the finger and saying I don't want you
in my life. That's very specific and that's done with
will and intent. It's not accidental. It's not all well,
I needed to buy bread for my children. So there
may come a time, trust me, things may get worse,
(28:00):
and there may come a time where you have to
make a decision between your existence on earth and the
pleasures on Earth and God and so what you see
as just simple commerce. There may be a time when
things get to a place where you will have to
(28:21):
make decisions against certain pleasures or certain experiences on Earth.
I mean, you do that every day with girding yourself
and making sure you're in line with the word of God,
rather than in doing whatever you want. So there may
be this time, and this is speculated by different theologians,
where you'll have to make decisions against things that you
(28:42):
think are normal everyday comforts. But is it about some
sort of weird technicality. No, it's not about that at all.
It's the rules stay the same through the entirety of scripture,
and that is that as an act of rebellion, if
you get to a place where you reject God and
you say, essentially I don't want to be with you
(29:02):
here on earth. I want to do what I want.
I want to do it when I want, and I
don't want you looking over my shoulder. I don't want
you guiding my life. I don't want you involved in
my life. Then God will say okay, and then in
that process you have essentially severed your relationship with God
(29:23):
unto death. Keep in mind that you know, people make
decisions all throughout their life, and you can make a
bad decision and make a good one, but unto death,
at that point of death, it's done. It's like the
bullet leaving the gun and entering a body and you
kill them. You can't go oh, now, the consequences look
too harsh. I want to reverse it. It's done. So
(29:45):
essentially it comes from the love of God saying either
you say that my will be done, or I look
at you one day and say thy will be done.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Kfix on demand.
You're listening to kfi Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Self love Leviticus nineteen eighteen is where we jump off
from today, talking about loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
This easily and simply implies from the word of God
that you have to love yourself. You have to understand
that we looked at the fact that everything that is
(00:27):
good from God, the enemy has a perversion or a
a polluted version of God gives you passion, the enemy
gives you lust. God gives you righteous anger, The enemy
gives you rage. God gives you healthy self love, and
the enemy gives you conceit and selfishness and narcissism. And
(00:49):
that's not what I call you to, that's not what
I want. But there's there's this attitude that, well, if
you love yourself, then you're being focused only on self.
And I'm telling you this that if you love yourself properly,
(01:11):
as First Corinthians thirteen says, that talks about being kind
with yourself. Okay, because this is talking about love. Remember,
love is patient, Love is kind, Love does not envy
or boast. Well, think about it this way for yourself,
that you are to be patient with yourself So many
times I will talk to someone on the air or
receive an email about someone who's just not patient with
(01:33):
themselves and what you're growing through or learning, and being
kind to yourself, not being envious about other people's selves,
certainly not to boast, not to be arrogant or rude.
(01:55):
This is interesting that love, as it says in one
Corinthians thirteen, it does not insist on its own way.
What does that mean if you're talking about loving yourself, Well,
it's about understanding that not everything you want for you
is healthy or good. It's why you yield to the
(02:15):
will of God and not your own will. And that's
part of loving yourself is understanding that God's will is
better for you than your own. That love bears all things,
and with that is embarrassments and mistakes and things that
you will go through in life. And you know what,
(02:37):
everybody else goes through them too. Believes in all things.
It says about love in one Corinthians thirteen. You have
to believe in yourself as well. And that's not some
self help thing. That's not some you know, mamby pamby
(02:57):
kind of here here is some candy for you to
chew on and feel good about yourself. No, it's about
knowing that God created you with purpose and skills and abilities,
and you need to believe in those things, those tools
that God gave you. That's all part of who you are.
(03:18):
Be hopeful for things, endure all things, and know that
the love that you have in life is given to
you by God and it is endless. Scripture also says
that the more you know about God, the more you'll
know about yourself. Firse John three to one. See what
(03:43):
kind of love the Father has given to us? That
we should be called children of God, and so we are.
The reason why the world does not know us is
that they did not know him. This is saying that
the world can't even love you because they don't know
(04:07):
and love God. Similarly that you, the more you know
about God, the more you can love yourself. The more
that you understand that the Creator has given you this
life and all the things in it, and that the
trials you go through are there for you to strengthen yourself,
to endure and to hone that love. If you get
(04:35):
that thing, if you take that with you today, that
knowing that to know God more, spend more timeliness in
his word to spend more time with his people, spend
more time in prayer. Then you'll know yourself better. You'll
be able to love yourself properly when you know God
(05:01):
and love God. Romans thirteen eight and ten eight through
ten have an interesting description of the fulfillment of the law.
It says, oh, no one anything except to love each other.
(05:23):
For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
I'll pause for a second. And how are you supposed
to love another like you love yourself? Goes on to say,
for the commandments you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,
and any other commandment are summed up in this word.
(05:46):
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not
wrong a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
All of the ten commandments, it's saying here, every single
one of the ten commandments are fulfilled in that concept
(06:07):
of love, true love. Yet it says again that you
shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love does
not wrong a neighbor. Love should not self, love should
not wrong itself. The fulfillment of the law. Do you
(06:28):
realize that you cannot break any of the commandments if
you do everything in love. And that's what it's saying here.
It's very easy to get caught up in life. You
see these, some of them quite horrible reality shows, and
(06:50):
the way people treat one another, and the insecurities and
the ugliness, and the way the producers and the cameraman
and everybody else do their part to try and cap
sure the ugliest part of humanity. And you'll find it
it's not hard to capture. You don't need producers, even
you don't need any of that. People can be very
ugly to one another, and it's hard to remember not
(07:14):
to be sometimes, but it usually stems from not knowing
yourself and not having a healthy love for your own self.
You need to understand who you are and that I
made you, The Father made you in his image, And
(07:34):
what is that? Does that mean two legs? Two? I
know that means intellect, will, and emotion, and that you
have those things, and that you are designed to be
a creature of love, both to others and to yourself.
And the world will tell you that love is sex,
and the world will tell you that love is power,
(07:58):
and the world will tell you all these things, and
it's not it's understanding, its appreciation. It's a true knowledge
of who God is and who you are through God.
And the proper application of those things is what will
make you healthy. And I will tell you there is.
(08:21):
Can you imagine walking into a filthy restaurant with a
lousy sign outside. Nothing looks clean, no one looks like
they care. Why would you want to eat there? You wouldn't.
And it's the same with how you present yourself. If
(08:42):
you crawl into a hole, if you stay in the dark,
if you don't explore your own curiosities and wonderment with
this world, if you don't want to explore on your
very own, the assumption will be that none of that
(09:03):
will change with a partner. If you're curious and excited
about life, if you are not feeling good in the
place that you are, your first response is to quit,
that's a problem. If your first response is to well,
then I'm going to climb out of this hole and
I'm going to find a place where I am exhilarated
(09:27):
and stimulated and excited by the things around you. I mean,
when you walk out and you see a different moon
or a big harvest moon or just a tiny little sliver,
or you see the way clouds roll in or roll away,
or the way the sun rises or sets, the way
(09:50):
the ocean comes in and out. Where you find the
simple little things in line that can bring so much joy.
When you find that person in your life, you'll find
that this is always interesting. The things that your partner
finds about themselves that they don't like usually will be
(10:15):
the things that you do like and that drew you
to them. The strange, funny way that they curl their
lip when they talk, the slight pigeon toe of the
left foot, how it just slowly inches in like a
child when they walk, the big eyes, the beauty mark,
(10:35):
whatever it might be. I guarantee the things that you
love about your partner they despise, they don't like them.
So what I ask of you today is to look
at yourself and to look at yourself through the eyes
of others, to find that that beauty, that wonderfulness, that
comfort and who you are. And I will tell you
(10:58):
the world will be a tre to you. And that's
not the goal. That's the result of healthy people living
in a healthy environment around other healthy people, loving yourself
self love. It seems contradictory to Christianity, and it's not.
As a matter of fact, Scripture says in Leviticus nineteen
(11:19):
eighteen that you have to love your neighbor as you
love yourself. And those are strong words. That's God saying that. Listen,
you need to have a structured understanding of who you
are that allows you to appreciate who you are in
the context of this life and the context of serving God.
(11:44):
So it's not about conceit not about narcissism, not about selfishness.
It's about understanding who you are, me first, not me only,
and I love how concise that is not necessarily true
about the me first in the sense that there is
kind of a selflessness that goes with it. But the
(12:05):
balance that is should be achieved is about knowing who
you are and appreciating who you are, because no one
else will appreciate you if you don't appreciate yourself. And
so God says to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
So you have to love yourself first, but not in
(12:27):
the way that you push everybody out of the way.
It's to help things move along, it's to help society.
It's to help your relationships. So really it becomes an
act of selflessness and not selfishness. So what is love, well,
One Corinthians thirteen. If you've ever been to a Christian wedding,
you know this. Love is patient and kind. Love does
(12:50):
not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way. It is
not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice and wrongdoing,
but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes
all things, hopes, all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
(13:14):
It even says one Corinthians thirteen that prophecies they will
pass away, tongues they will cease, knowledge it will pass away.
But love stays consistent. And so all these things should
be things that you apply to yourself. But the way
you love yourself is to be patient and kind, not
only with others, but with yourself. I've met some incredibly
(13:39):
loving people who are so kind to others and yet
can't be that way to themselves, don't know how to
be kind or patient with their own selves, their own
learning their own path. It's not about how bragging, not
about boasting, not about envy. Oh they're more when it
(14:01):
comes to this love, the self love that I want
you to have much more. Marty, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Good morning, Jesus. Hi Hi. I just want to say
a few things very quickly before I get into my question.
I came to know you personally very young, at the
age of five. I'm fifty three years old today, and
just want to thank you publicly for always being there
(14:31):
and always never ever ever letting me go through anything
without knowing that you were there for me.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Well, Glory to God. That's wonderful to hear.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yes, I have a question and for the first time
in my life, just wondering what a spiritual battle truly is.
My firstborn grandson became very ill two years ago, is
ill today as we speak. And you've been so faithful
(15:04):
to guide and give this family strength because without you
we couldn't have done it. But I have other believers
around me that keep saying or asking me, what is
the spiritual battle that your family is going through and why?
And as though there were an evil something looming over us,
(15:29):
even though you've been so faithful to be there every
step of the way for us during this trying time
and so I'm confused why other believers would I would
say that or question that, or.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They are they acting as if it's like a curse
or something or some sin brought up that you brought
in and then therefore this is somehow punitive.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Yes, yes, and I'm blown away and I'm confused about that.
And we lean on you every day and every step
of this way. You have shown us that you are
there and have never left this family.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Well, I'd like to think that maybe they're miss they're
missing something, or that really when they're saying spiritual battle,
that they're just referring to the generic term. There are
spiritual battles going along in every Christian's life, every single
one of them. And that's part of the protection and
(16:24):
growth process of earth. That's one of the reasons why
you're here and you're not created in heaven, you're created
here on earth. There is a purification process that goes
through this life, and every Christian in this life that
you're going to experience. Romans five three says more than that,
(16:45):
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. So
those those trials that suffering one Peter four twelve, beloved
do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it
comes upon you to test you as though something strange
were happening to you. You shouldn't be surprised. It shouldn't
(17:06):
be out of the norm for a Christian to go
through things through garbage. And it's the old bumper stick
because you know how Christians love the little sayings, the
old bumper sticker. That's not what your future holds. Who
holds your future that's important is really the key. And
either there's some misunderstanding as to that concept of spiritual battle,
(17:30):
but really you should want to welcome it in the
sense that it's part of the purification process that God
is with you through throughout the entirety of it. Rejoicing
in those things are good because in those trials is
where God reaches in and has glory. I mean, listen
to the tone of your voice when you talk about
the things that God has done in your life, you know,
(17:52):
and those times when I've stepped in and those times
where you felt My presence and all of that is
you can only talk about that because there are trials
in your life. If everything was perfect, you know, what
are you going to say? We life is great, and
God is good and everything's fine. You know, how dull
is that the things in life that are commonly referred
(18:15):
to as trials are the things that make your life
unique to you, and your experience is unique to you,
and your endurance and strength and spiritual growth unique to
you and your family in this case, and that's not
a bad thing. It's bad in the world. You know,
we were having this discussion earlier about what's bad and
(18:35):
what's good, and the world gets confused about those things.
There are many things that are painful and that can
cause pain or turmoil that are good for you. And
so I wouldn't look at that as a as a
pejorative or a negative term. When someone says spiritual battle,
I would look at that as you know, you go
(18:56):
through Ephesians and you see where it talks about the
armor of God. What do you think the armor of
God's for spiritual battles. Spiritual battles exactly to protect you
from evil. And if you could see what's taking place
on a daily basis in the spiritual realm around you,
(19:21):
in the battle front, and angels with swords drawn to
defend and all these things, it's quite fantastic. Beautiful and
terrifying to those who don't believe. But you're a believer
and you're covered in that. And and if somebody says
(19:45):
you're going going through a spiritual battle, you look at
them and say thank you. Yeah, God, God sees you
in the light that you are worthy of protection, you
are worthy of refinement, you are worthy of being in
a place that you can glorify God. And that's what
comes from trials.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
And we do every single day we give God the
glory because we give you the glory because of the
fact that you have proven doctors wrong. Every time we
receive bad news, you do. Your perfect plan is shown
(20:24):
to us. And you've been so faithful to do that.
And this family has grown spiritually and pulled together and
has brought us so closer. But we lean on you daily. Daily,
We lean on.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
You, and people see that, and that's part of your
testament of faith, and it's part of who you are.
And it's not about the outcome. Everybody's always saying, you know,
you see these Christians that are always walking around with smiles,
and you know they're not always happy. It's not about
always being happy. It's a joy is different. Happiness is
a momentary feeling of joy due to a happening. Something happened,
(21:01):
and you go, now I'm happy. But joy, true joy
comes in times of pain. It's an understanding that God
is there and that God provides, and it's a constant,
and you're gonna have highs and lows, and there's gonna
be good things and bad things that happen to you
by the world's standards, But ultimately you keep that attitude, Marty,
(21:21):
that God is with you and that it's all to
glorify God, and you're ahead of the game. People misunderstand things.
I think about this for a second. Every time you
refer to someone as courageous. You know, if you think
of firefighters or law enforcement or military, or any of
these people that put their life on the line for
(21:44):
you on a daily basis, for your freedoms, for the
peace of mind, all of these things, your protection. That
the very things that you call them, the very attributes
that you find noble or heroic or courage just don't
exist without turmoil, without fire, without gunfights, without you know,
(22:07):
ugliness and adversity. That really it's that purification. It's those
trials that really show the character of an individual. Or
shower show that the true faith and makeup of somebody.
And this attitude, not that you certainly don't have marty,
(22:28):
but this attitude that I've heard from time to time
with Christians, that it's Christianity is supposed to make everything okay,
and that you're always fine and there's never a problem. More,
there aren't these tests. No spiritual battle is true. But
every Christian should be going through spiritual battle of one
kind or the other. And I'll tell you something, the
(22:49):
closer you get to God, the more that you might experience,
because it's like the hotter the fire, the more refining
that fire, the hotter will get. One Peter one point
seven says, so that the tested genuineness of your faith,
(23:10):
more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested
by fire, may be found to result in the praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The purification of gold goes through a heating process and
a process of trials, if you will, And Scripture talks
(23:33):
about the dross being scraped off the top and thrown
to the side. The dross is the imperfections, it's the
it's the oils or certain minerals that shouldn't be there,
or whatever dust that during the heating and purification process,
that which doesn't burn out, that doesn't just burn up,
goes to the top when you're heating these metals and
(23:57):
getting them pure. And you see those stamps on the
side of metals, whether it be jewelry or what have you,
that talk about their purity that comes from the heating,
that the processing of those metals to get them to
a point of perfection in the eye of the maker.
(24:17):
And if you're a believer, you should be going through
these things. You should be going through experiences that are tough,
that are testing, that that are purifying who you are
and what your faith is, and that you shouldn't be surprised,
as it says in one Peter four twelve, you shouldn't
be surprised about fiery trials in your life. You should
(24:41):
be content with God's grace and you should know that
you're going to go through these tests. So if anyone
comes up to you and says that you know and
uses it as a as a negative term or says that, oh,
like it's some weakness in your faith, on the contrary,
it could very much be due to the intensity of
(25:05):
your faith. The enemy putting special attention on you, and
I want to attack you because of the intensity of
your faith, and that should be understood. And don't take
it on yourself and the weight on your shoulders as
if you've done something wrong, because that's not the case. Jim,
(25:28):
Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Hello, Holy Host, Hi Jim, How can I help you?
Why would God put people in hell or taking a
brand or a mark of a sixty sixty six in
their four hair right hand when it's going to be
the only way they can buy or sell.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Well, that's up to interpretation as to whether that's what's
going to go on or not, whether it's six sixty
six or tattooed. And there's been a lot of speculation
as to what the so called number of the Beast
is and what that will mean. It's not that somebody
goes to hell for that. The hell is created for
(26:07):
those who reject God and don't want to be with
God for eternity. So in the case of speaking about
the Book of Revelation and the things that are talked
about there, that really the sign or this symbol is
about rejecting God in totality. It's not just about exchanging
(26:29):
things or for money or using it for commerce. It's
not about that. It always comes down to the one
unpardonable sin spoken about in scripture, and that's rejecting God.
It's rejecting technically, rejecting the Holy Spirit, who brings you
to Me, who brings you to the Father. So if
(26:50):
you are at that point where you do what is
spoken about in scripture, and keep in mind in the
Book of Revelation, it's not very specific. It's a sketch
of something that will take place. Many people thought that
that was going to be credit cards. Some people thought
it was social Security numbers. People have thought all of
(27:12):
these things, that it was going to be some sort
of this is the mark of the devil. But it's
not about, oh now I've got a tattoo, or there's
this mark on me, I'm doomed to hell. That's not
how it works. It's not some weird technicality that God's
looking for to boot you out of heaven. It's a
specific and wilful act of rebellion, turning away from God,
(27:40):
flipping God the finger and saying I don't want you
in my life. That's very specific and that's done with
will and intent. It's not accidental. It's not all well,
I needed to buy bread for my children. So there
may come a time, trust me, things may get worse,
(28:00):
and there may come a time where you have to
make a decision between your existence on earth and the
pleasures on Earth and God and so what you see
as just simple commerce. There may be a time when
things get to a place where you will have to
(28:21):
make decisions against certain pleasures or certain experiences on Earth.
I mean, you do that every day with girding yourself
and making sure you're in line with the word of God,
rather than in doing whatever you want. So there may
be this time, and this is speculated by different theologians,
where you'll have to make decisions against things that you
(28:42):
think are normal everyday comforts. But is it about some
sort of weird technicality. No, it's not about that at all.
It's the rules stay the same through the entirety of scripture,
and that is that as an act of rebellion, if
you get to a place where you reject God and
you say, essentially I don't want to be with you
(29:02):
here on earth. I want to do what I want.
I want to do it when I want, and I
don't want you looking over my shoulder. I don't want
you guiding my life. I don't want you involved in
my life. Then God will say okay, and then in
that process you have essentially severed your relationship with God
(29:23):
unto death. Keep in mind that you know, people make
decisions all throughout their life, and you can make a
bad decision and make a good one, but unto death,
at that point of death, it's done. It's like the
bullet leaving the gun and entering a body and you
kill them. You can't go oh, now, the consequences look
too harsh. I want to reverse it. It's done. So
(29:45):
essentially it comes from the love of God saying either
you say that my will be done, or I look
at you one day and say thy will be done.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Kfix on demand.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.