Stepping In Faith
Stepping In Faith is a podcast that deepens your walk with Jesus each week by exploring the heart of faith, love, and relationships from a Spirit-led perspective. Each episode focuses on building intimate relationships with Jesus Christ, strengthening marriages, providing guidance for singles, and fostering healthy, God-centered connections.
Stepping In Faith
Counterfeits
What if everything you thought was real was actually a counterfeit? This episode takes you on an enlightening exploration of spiritual authenticity, using the story of Samson as a cautionary tale. We unravel how, despite being chosen with a divine covenant, Samson's entanglement with the Philistines led him away from his path. Learn how to discern genuine guidance from God and the seductive allure of spiritual shortcuts that promise much but deliver little.
We continue by dissecting the concept of spiritual warfare, rooted in the foundational story of Genesis. Understand the profound impact of the two kingdoms — the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness — and how Satan's counterfeit world affects our daily existence. Through provocative insights, we discuss the necessity for spiritual renewal and the importance of aligning one's life with God's wisdom over worldly allurements, as we wage the battles of our soul against deceptive forces.
Lastly, explore the authenticity of godly relationships where true spiritual authority stems from a connection with Jesus. We delve into the sanctity of marriage, resisting cultural norms that lead to ungodly unions. Through scripture, we emphasize choosing partners who truly embody Christ-like love. We invite our listeners to reflect, share their insights, and connect with us for support and prayer. As we wrap up, we offer warm festive greetings and anticipate joining you in our next spiritual journey.
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Welcome back to another episode of Stepping in Faith, where together we explore the importance of having an intimate relationship with God and how that can impact the relationship you have with others. I am your host, Walter, and I'm joined here by my lovely wife.
Speaker 2:Shania.
Speaker 1:So this is episode four, officially. And babe, what's this week's episode about?
Speaker 2:Counterfeits. We're talking about counterfeits.
Speaker 1:You had a lot of energy on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just, it's early, Is it? I mean it's early, it's afternoon time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, early afternoon. Well, it's actually officially afternoon time now. Okay, so why counterfeits? And I guess that would be a question for me, because it's what God dropped in my spirit for us to discuss when I was praying on and about okay, what do you want us to discuss next? Because we are believers. This isn't our podcast, this belongs to him.
Speaker 2:This belongs to God. So we always ask God what is it that he wants us to speak? Because we didn't choose to create this podcast? No At all.
Speaker 1:Not at all.
Speaker 2:We could have been doing a whole bunch of other stuff, but he told us to create it, so we created it. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And so it's important that he guides us on everything we're doing, but it's counterfeits, and so I didn't understand it.
Speaker 2:Because it's such a vast uh subject, I believe like there's so many different ways you can approach this well, I mean, when god said we're gonna talk about counterfeits like what, was your thought Like counterfeits like what?
Speaker 1:I mean initially I thought about like contracts, Contracts.
Speaker 2:Like in the spirit or covenants.
Speaker 1:Covenants In the spirit yeah. Or contracts yeah. Okay that you can have illegal contracts versus legal, but before we dig into that, let's pray. I opened this up in prayer last time, so it is your turn. I am definitely putting you on the spot.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, all right. Holy Spirit, father, god, we thank you for this day. We thank you for all of our followers, all of our listeners. We pray that your voice will reach those who needs your words of encouragement, who needs your words of advice. So we thank you for allowing us to host this podcast for you, so that your word can be scattered among all the nations. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 1:Amen, you was from the spot, weren't?
Speaker 2:you, I was it's okay, it's cool.
Speaker 1:All right. So, like I was stating, I was thinking about contracts or covenants that can be created in the spirit illegally and counterfeit right Backdoor. But I'm like, okay, god, you want us to discuss counterfeit. What came to mind was samson. Initially, samson came to mind and so, um, we know the story of samson, right, but before we dig into that, let's look into what counterfeit is. What is the definition of counterfeit from the webster dictionary? But uh.
Speaker 2:Counterfeit is an exact imitation of something valuable or important, with the intention to deceive or defraud.
Speaker 1:Or I found another one from lawcornelledu. Counterfeiting occurs when someone copies or imitates an item without having been authorized to do so and passes the copy off for the genuine or original item.
Speaker 2:I like that definition better.
Speaker 1:Yes, because it really just kind of solidifies.
Speaker 2:Because you have to have authorization.
Speaker 1:You like the authorization.
Speaker 2:I love the authorization part. And authorization only comes from God Absolutely.
Speaker 1:In the context of why he gave us counterfeit right. So Judges, chapter 13. I could definitely. It's a lot to read. So for those who are listening, I would recommend because I'm not going to sit here and read those what? Four chapters, three chapters, four chapters I'm not going to be the one to. It would take some time to read through it.
Speaker 2:Yes, and you're on a podcast. A podcast, but it's an easy read. It is very it's a good story, great story.
Speaker 1:So, essentially, samson's mother was barren and she wanted a child. And the angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a child and gave her instructions on how to, how to handle her pregnancy and how to approach I guess it touched with, touched on how to raise the child. She went back and told her husband he was uncertain. He was uncertain, so he's like, okay, can you come back and confirm with me, or can the angel of the Lord come back and confirm how would it raise this child? And so when that took place, the basics of it was you're not to drink any wine, you're to stay away from anything that's unclean. There were certain certain animals that she couldn't eat, certain things she couldn't eat. That was considered unclean, and the same thing applied to samson, right, uh? And then also, of course, samson's hair couldn't be cut because, his hair not being cut, there was power that lied within that covenant of not cutting his hair as well as as remaining free of unclean stuff.
Speaker 1:And so Samson grew, he got older and God was going to use Samson he made it aware to come up against the Philistines. Samson got older, samson actually began to catch an eye for the Philistines and it got Samson in trouble. God used it, but it got him in trouble because he went against the whole unclean thing, even though his parents forewarned him. Hey, you're not supposed to be with anyone unclean. Why don't you get with the Israelite woman? Samson's like no, I see something, I like flesh, I like what I see, I want that. And that began the whole situation with his first wife, or his wife, with the Philistines using his wife against him, basically threatening the wife that if you don't get Samson to reveal his secrets, we're going to kill you and your family and burn everything that you have.
Speaker 2:Did they actually get married?
Speaker 1:She did, he did get married to her yes his ex-wife.
Speaker 1:He didn't get married to Delilah. Right, samson gets upset. He finds out they did it. He destroys and kills a whole bunch of people. Fast forward, the same thing happens with Delilah, because Samson is just going through killing people. He's very strong, he's very powerful. He can take out so many men by himself.
Speaker 1:Delilah comes and she goes through these slew of things because they promised her what it was, each of them promising her 1100 pieces of silver If she would get Samson to reveal the secret to his power. She goes back and forth. She's nagging him. He tells her he basically kind of lied to her. And she keep trying these things and it always fail. He always break feet free, whether it's tying them up in rope or the rope being wet or whatever the case may be. And finally he reveals to her that I've never cut my hair and if I cut my hair, that is the source of my power. I will lose all my power.
Speaker 1:So she causes him to go into a deep sleep in her lap. She calls him the Philistines, they cut his hair and he awakes when she tell him hey, the Philistines are here and they want to destroy you. And immediately he loses all his power and they immediately gulge out his eyes, and so that is the story. And then eventually they basically make a mockery of him. They bring him back out.
Speaker 1:They're having this huge event. It's about 3000 people in total there, as well as, like leaders in the Philistine army and just in general, the Philistine people. Their leaders are there and he begs God because his hair has grew back a little bit. But he begs God. If you just allow me to have my strength one more time, I would destroy everyone here, and God gives him the strength and he destroys everyone, including killing himself, and that is the end of Samson self, and that is the end of Samson. So the thing that's interesting to me with Samson is he had a desire, and we touched on this in a previous episode. He desired to be with someone, but he didn't consult with God on how to approach that, and his to be with someone put him directly in a place where he went against a part of that covenant.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Which was, you wasn't. You weren't supposed to take upon anything that was unclean. You wasn't supposed to associate yourself or eat anything or or be a part of anything unclean. And we know that the Philistines were unclean, they were pagan and they weren't holy, they weren't sacred, they weren't set apart they weren't god's people.
Speaker 1:They weren't god's people and because of that it led to him not recognizing that there is a pattern right. It started with his wife and that pattern was that they would go through them and be able to use that to get to Samson. And then, because they recognized that they could do that, they sent Delilah. The scripture never say anything about him marrying Delilah. They were just together.
Speaker 1:He was just smitten by her, and so that's what God gave to me when I was asking him. Okay, that's what God gave to me when I was asking him okay, what are we discussing with counterfeits? And it left a lot. It left more questions. I would think it left more questions because I understand. It's like, okay, this is a counterfeit because in relationships and I think we touched on- this before as we were discussing this.
Speaker 1:We know you're not supposed to have sex outside of marriage. That's a given. I think we miss a key portion, because the enemy knows that there are those who are less likely prone to do so, and the challenge becomes that the counterfeit in that, within relationships, is when you choose who you want to be with based upon your flesh, versus allowing God to choose based upon what it was supposed to be initially. So you want to create a covenant with someone versus allowing God to create a covenant, and I believe we saw an example with this with Samson. He created a covenant instead of going to God and saying God, where does this covenant lie? Who have you called for me to be with? I'm desiring to be with someone, but I have to consult with you.
Speaker 2:Right, right. So you're saying that in counterfeit, when it comes to relationships, the enemy will send you enemy, satan, I'm saying, will send you a counterfeit which is a direct replica of a person that God designed for you to be with. But, because of the desires that we have, everything that we choose is a direct replica of what God desires, if we're not in God's perfect will.
Speaker 1:That's correct, because in the beginning Adam and Eve sinned. And when they sinned, the Bible initially stated and we was going to read that Genesis 2, no, genesis 1, 26 through 28. It stated what? That they were to be fruitful and multiply. It also stated that they had dominion over the earth. And so let me see the Bible says verse 26, genesis 1,.
Speaker 1:Then God said Let us make human being in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth and the small animals that scurry along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God. He created them, male and female. He created them Verse 28,. Then God blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply. 28,. Then God blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, rain over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground. And so initially Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth and it was their responsibility to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth.
Speaker 1:Right, but something took place. When they fell, they gave that dominion over to Satan. Whether they realized that or not, they gave it over to him Right. And so, essentially, when that took place, immediately, because they were drawn by the wisdom of this world everything shifted. So now we have two kingdoms. We have the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the enemy, the kingdom of the dragon, the kingdom of Lucifer, the kingdom of Satan. We have the kingdom of light versus the kingdom of darkness, and we touched on this before that. The enemy he literally came from heaven. He took two-thirds of heaven with him. He understood the structure of heaven, he understood the laws of the spirit. He the scripture lets us know that he's obsessed with being like God, like our savior, like Jesus. He wants to sit on his own throne.
Speaker 2:Right, he wants to go, he wants to be higher than God. Was that passage you sent?
Speaker 1:That was Isaiah. I think that was Isaiah 14, 12 through 18. Okay, that touched on that, but yeah, but go ahead.
Speaker 2:No, I was just saying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he does. And so, with that being the case, what does he do? He create a kingdom that is similar to the kingdom of God. And what is that? Counterfeit? Because we dig back into the definition and it states what counterfeiting occurs when someone copies or imitates an item without having been authorized to do so and passes that copy off for the genuine or original item.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So this is technically like heaven on earth, but like a distortion of heaven, because we're on earth, obviously we're not in heaven, but Satan is the ruler of this world which is the earth, yes, and so it is a counterfeit representation of heaven and, with that being the case, his, it shifts right because, by god, we are led by our spirit, but the enemy will teach you to be led by your flesh.
Speaker 2:So every decision that we make is counterfeit. Yes, until we have our mind renewed, dedicate ourselves to serving God.
Speaker 1:We'll see that we touched on this in, I think, the previous episode or the episode before that. One of the two, the previous one, when Adam and Eve fell. It disconnected their spirit from their subconscious. It was almost like it severed that connection. And so us being born again is reconnecting our spirit. That's intertwined with the spirit of God, joined with the spirit of God.
Speaker 1:I believe Romans touched on that, paul touched on that, that your spirit joins together with the spirit of God. I believe Romans touched on that, Paul touched on that, that your spirit joins together with the spirit of God and it reconnects. We go through that process as far as renewing our mind, dying to self, going through the wilderness experience. We go through that process of what having our spirit that's intertwined now with the spirit of God be reconnected back to our subconscious, so we're no longer being driven by our flesh. Our flesh no longer dictate the moves that we make. It's now directly connected to us or is directly connected to the power of the Holy Spirit that leads and guide us on every single decision that we make in life.
Speaker 1:and that's the struggle of what we're dealing with. And you touched on that and that's what. Because I was like, okay, guy, you're saying discuss counterfeit. I don't know how to approach this. What are we talking about? What are you saying to me when you say counterfeit? And what he dealt with me on, I think I was driving to do something and it just hit and he was stating that every like our entire existence is counterfeit, entire existence. He said. We're taught to make decisions from our soul or from a fleshly place. Even when we approach marriage and we look at marriage, it's directly driven by our flesh, our fleshly desires. We're taught to what Seek pleasures, which is not of God, it's the opposite of God.
Speaker 1:So everything that we do the enemy has already set it up to put us in a place where we are selfish right. Where we are driven by our flesh, where we value the wisdom of this world over the wisdom of God, and so our entire existence is based upon a counterfeit like experience that the enemy has created. That messed with me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, because the reality is is if we aren't subjecting ourselves to God and everything that we do, then we're subjecting ourselves to the enemy, but we don't understand, right, it's so big. We don't understand that this world, technically, when Adam and Eve did what they did, it became the possession of Satan. It became the possession of Satan Because when Satan was kicked out of heaven, the Bible says what he was kicked down, him and the angels. They fell to what the earth?
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, Adam and Eve gave dominion to Satan.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Their authority. They gave it to Satan because they made a decision outside of God.
Speaker 1:So he became the ruler of this world. God, so he became the ruler of this world, and he set his kingdom up to reflect the kingdom of God, except from a very dark and selfish and prideful place or a fallen place. And so, with that being the case, now we have once again two kingdoms, but we fail to realize how significant his impact is on this world Now, when you give your life to God when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Speaker 1:when he truly become your Lord and Savior, it transforms you. And now the Bible says because of your connection to him and because of who lives in you, the Bible says what greater is he that's in me than he is in the world? That, at the name of Jesus, we know what every knee must bow, every tongue must confess that he is Lord.
Speaker 1:We know that demons tremble at the name. We've seen examples of them begging him like recognizing I know that you are the son of God. So there is a hierarchy and he sits above all else, outside of God, including the enemy. He sits above him. We know that when he died, he went down to hell and he snatched the key of death and the key of the grave, Even the keys to hell.
Speaker 1:It all belongs to him now and we sit at the key of death and the key of the grave, even the keys to hell. It all belongs to him now.
Speaker 2:And we sit at the right hand of Jesus, so we also are over him, we are over the enemy, but we don't.
Speaker 1:I don't think we it's only by you accepting your inheritance and understanding who you are connected to, who's your Lord and Savior, going through this process of going from being someone that is a servant to a friend and taking your rightful inheritance in the kingdom of God, that you're able to understand how to flow in that authority. But the enemy deceives us and he makes us feel as if we are powerless, especially as believers, and that he's more powerful because he's roaring and he's doing all of this stuff, but he has no power.
Speaker 2:Well, he makes you think that you can do things on your own, like you're not sitting at the right hand of Jesus, like Jesus, the creator of all things. Don't consult him. Don't consult him. You got your own authority. You got your own power. You got your own power. You got your own power.
Speaker 1:Matter of fact, I will you have no power outside of Jesus. I will give you something quicker. You don't got to go through all that process. I'll give you something quicker. But what we don't realize is what, even when you get into the occult, they're still sacrificing, they're still shedding blood.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's transactions.
Speaker 3:It's transactions, the difference between that and Christ is Christ became the ultimate sacrifice.
Speaker 1:So it's all counterfeit. It's still based on the kingdom of God and how it moves, how the laws of the spirit goes. It's just a backdoor. It's just a backdoor. It's an illegal backdoor, and so that, I think, stood out for me Our entire existence is based upon a counterfeit-like experience that the enemy has created and we don't even realize it. No, we don't even realize it. I have one here and I think it's really important to read, especially for those seeking to be in relationships Matthews 19, 1 through 6. And I went to Genesis. Babe, do you want to read that?
Speaker 2:Let me pull it up. Let me pull it up, matthew 19.
Speaker 1:Verse 1 through verse 6.
Speaker 2:Matthew 19, 1 through 6. Nlt version says when Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. Large crowds followed him there and he healed their sick. Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason? Haven't you read the scriptures? Jesus replied they record that from the beginning, god made them male and female, and he said this explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Once again, verse 6. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart Mm-hmm, key word what God has joined together. We read the scripture and you have to. We touched on this before. You have to have the spirit of God in you. Yeah, to understand what it is To understand what you're reading.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that you're reading.
Speaker 1:Because we'll read this and be like we missed this part. We just feel like, okay, I find a woman, I'm so attracted to her, she's so sexy, she's everything I ever wanted.
Speaker 2:And then we ask God to bless it.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Instead of going to the creator first.
Speaker 1:We want to create a covenant with God on our terms.
Speaker 2:Right, but it clearly says what God has joined together. So you aren't God.
Speaker 1:And it ties back to what was stated in Genesis 2. Jesus touched on Genesis 2, right.
Speaker 1:God formed man, and he brought the woman to the man, and so he says verse 5, and he said this explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one. And one thing that we don't do is understand that all the scripture ties together. You have to study to show thyself approved, so the scripture ties in together. So when Jesus is referencing this and he's saying what God has joined together, he's directly referencing the fact that in the beginning God created man and woman, yet God stated that it's not good for man to be alone.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And after that the Bible says that God created Eve.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Pulling the rib from Adam.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:In order to form Eve and brought Eve to Adam Right, and because of what he created, they became one Right to Adam and because of what he created they became one.
Speaker 1:So counterfeit states that you can make your own decision, and this is something that God dealt with me earlier on. He gave me a dream and in a dream I talked to you about this. I saw different boxes with different men and women in it, and the boxes were being matched together and God, basically, I came out of the dream and he he explained to me this was a representation of saying that he makes the decisions on who come together as one, not us.
Speaker 1:He makes the decision, he creates the matches. We don't create the matches Now. We do do it on our own, outside of him, but we deal with problems from that. And so I love this scripture because there's two things it teaches us. It teaches us when God brings something together, no man can come up against it. But the key thing that we have to understand is that you could also the enemy could bring something together.
Speaker 2:Yes, because he's counterfeit.
Speaker 1:Because he's the opposite of what God is and we know and this is why you have to study your scriptures, because we know the enemy desires. I think it's Isaiah 14, 12 through 18. He is obsessed with being like God, even though he's already lost Revelations 12, I believe.
Speaker 2:He's delusional.
Speaker 1:He's already lost. He's already lost the war, but he is obsessed with being like God for the little bit of time he has left prior to him going to the lake of fire, and he is obsessed with bringing as many people as he canises, the woman and her seed, because of who is connected to that seed. Jesus Christ came through that seed.
Speaker 2:That's why he attacked Eve first.
Speaker 1:Because of who Jesus Christ is. He is literally the son of God. He is jealous of the fact that he is greater than all. There is none that is greater than him. The Bible says in Hebrews that God looks at him and calls him God and say that no one is greater than you other than myself. Sit here for a while until I make your enemies your footstool. And so that is so good, because it places us in a perspective of saying, as we're reading the scripture now, now we can get into the mind of the enemy and understand how he moves. If God has called for us to operate within the fruit of the Spirit we see that in Galatians 5. Right.
Speaker 1:The enemy has also called for us to operate within our flesh Right. If God has called for us to be with a specific person that he's designed for us and that he brings that together and he creates the covenant with us and that heaven rejoices, then the enemy is also one. He also wants us to be with someone that we are attracted to based on our flesh, based upon our brokenness, based upon our weaknesses. Based upon our weaknesses.
Speaker 1:Based upon whatever would keep us as far away as possible from the plans of God, because one of the things that we touched on From God.
Speaker 2:Yes, In general from God.
Speaker 1:It's good, because we talked about this before, right, babe?
Speaker 2:If God exists out of time, what does that mean for the enemy? It means he also can see everything he exists outside of time.
Speaker 1:He just don't know the plans of god. Yeah, I mean the spirit realm there is no time.
Speaker 2:No, there is no time. In the spirit realm you can see everything at once he just don't understand how everything ties together. No, but he also can't be everywhere.
Speaker 1:He can't be everywhere because he's not omnipresent. He just has his demons. He has what we call what Monitoring spirits that work together as a chain, but they're still limited because they don't know the full plan of God. No. Not even for our lives. They just have an idea, which is why they try to send the same demons to inflict and to create confusion in people's lives. Who carry a certain mantle. If you are a prophet, then there are certain spirits. That is connected to the prophetic.
Speaker 2:Right, if you're an evangelist.
Speaker 1:There are certain spirits that's connected to the prophetic Right If you're an evangelist. There are certain spirits that's connected to the evangelist If you are an apostle there are certain spirits that's connected to that, whether it be pride, whether it be lust, whether it be perversion, whether it be whatever. It's just him sending those spirits out, because why he don't understand everything? The dangerous thing that we forget is that he also existed before all of this was created.
Speaker 2:No, you're right, You're absolutely right. I don't know, people will say they don't really like believe in spirits, spirit of lust or anything like that. But the thing is is that if it isn't produced by the spirit of God, then it's produced by a spirit of the enemy right. So less perversion, masturbation, adultery, all of that is not. That don't come from God. So where does it come from? It comes from the world and people are like, oh, that's normal, it's not normal. It's not, and I'm always going to say that it's not normal.
Speaker 1:You're made to think that it's normal because, um, I forgot who was talking about it, you know, but they was talking about how it was Micah, I believe. Right, Micah. What's Micah's last name? Turnbow, Micah. Turnbow I believe right, micah. What's Micah's last name? Turnbow. Micah Turnbow, a prophet, a seer. He was discussing how what the enemy does is he works on a generation gets them to begin to move in a particular manner.
Speaker 2:Like Adam and Eve.
Speaker 1:Exactly. And then you move two, three, four generations on and it's now become a culture. Yeah, to where the enemy does not have to do as much as he did before.
Speaker 2:It becomes tradition. So you don't even question. No, you don't even question.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Why people are doing the things that they're doing. Because it's just natural and it's normal, no different than like your grandma has this recipe and she this recipe has just been passed down from generation to generation. But then this one person gets this recipe and they're like well, why do you put this in there?
Speaker 1:This don't even make sense and you're just like just do it, yeah, Because it's become your worldview, part of your culture. And with that being the case, what happens? Like you said, you don't question it. No, and with that being the case, what happens? Like you said, you don't question it. No, and even though it goes contrary to the word of God, even though it goes contrary to what God calls you to do, you still subject yourself to this because it's culture.
Speaker 2:Even church it's culture. Yeah, it's like, oh, like people looking at have porn addictions, they have alcohol addictions. They have porn addictions. They have alcohol um, um addictions they have drug addictions, they have all these sex addictions, they have all these addictions, but nobody really questions like where it comes from.
Speaker 1:They're just like oh, it's just like normal, it's not normal it's normal to masturbate, it's normal to look at pornography, and you're not really a man or a woman if you don't do it, and at least we, if you don't have these woman, if you don't do it and at least we excuse it.
Speaker 2:If you don't have these desires, if you don't have this urge, if you're not looking at a woman and thinking she's pretty or beautiful, then something's wrong with you, even if you're married.
Speaker 1:And that is the challenge. We have to be careful, because those things are not normal, it's not, it's not normal and we're going to continue to keep saying it is not normal, it's not, it's not normal, it's not.
Speaker 2:And we're going to continue to keep saying it is not normal At all Zero. This is not what God created. It is complete opposite of the fruit of the spirit.
Speaker 1:You don't have to struggle with those things, you don't have to struggle with the spirit of perversion. You don't have to struggle with lust. You can be free from that.
Speaker 2:Or anger or depression.
Speaker 1:It's a desire that is not of God.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:And if it's, the Bible tells us what the fruit of the spirit is, and I will read this and I recommend to anyone.
Speaker 2:To meditate on this day and night, even when the enemy try to come and try to get me to believe something else, I go to the scripture and it helps so much. Because the sword of the spirit is the word of God.
Speaker 1:And so Galatians 5 and verse 16 through 24, and I would read this as much as possible. It says so I say let the Holy Spirit guide your lives, Then you won't be doing what your sin for nature craves. The sin for nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants, and the spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sin for nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. So you are not free to carry out your good intentions, but when you are directed by the spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy drunkenness wild parties and other sins like these.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God, but the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives Love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness gentleness, and self-control.
Speaker 1:There is no law against these things. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucify them there. Since we are living by, we see here that there are two different kingdoms at work. One teaches you, as I stated before, to be moved by your flesh. The other one teaches you to be led by the spirit of God, and when you do, it produces different types of fruit. Lust is what A fruit A fruit.
Speaker 1:Idolatry is what A fruit. Impurity, immorality, sexual morality is what A fruit? Impurity, immorality, sexual morality is what a flute. A fruit being driven by your lustful pleasures. Fruit hostility, fruit sorcery. Fruit, quarreling fruit, jealousy, fruit outbursts of anger.
Speaker 2:Fruit a lack of self-control yes, fruit, it was a seed that was planted. It was something that you harvest in your mind, by your world view, by what people tell you, by culture, which culture is nothing but generations of living in sin. Yes, because nobody questions culture. It's like oh, it just is what it is. Everyone does it. But why Everyone does it?
Speaker 1:This is why we get ourselves in trouble, absolutely Because what, for example, and this has negatively impacted so many marriages because the church teach you what, get married.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:As long as they're a Christian, as long as you're a Christian, women, y'all deal with this so much and I don't know why. Like I got to say this. I'm sorry, stop listening to people. Who's telling you that as long as a man is a Christian and he go to church sometimes, that you need to marry him and be happy that he go to church at least five times out the year.
Speaker 2:Or he believes in Jesus.
Speaker 1:Or he believes it, that man ain't ready to be married At all. What keeps a man in place? Let me go ahead and take you to the scripture, because we don't understand.
Speaker 2:Listen, ladies, listen, listen, very, very carefully.
Speaker 1:Let me take you to the scripture, because this is going to bless your heart. This really is. This is what the Bible and I'm not talking to women, I mean, I'm not talking to men, I'm talking to women now, specifically, so you can understand this. This is for men, but I'm talking to women because men are going to get upset Ephesians 5, verse 25. And let me go on my phone because I need to have this so I can be comfortable in reading this, because we see this and we ignore it.
Speaker 1:This is what husbands are supposed to do. Paul said this and this was under the inspiration of the Spirit of God Ephesians 5, 25. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish Mm-hmm, but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
Speaker 1:Christ does not abuse the church. Christ does not try to control the church. Christ accepts the church where the church is Matter of fact. The scripture tells us that as everyone was mocking Christ on the cross he looked up to heaven and said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. We have to understand the condition that the church was in. It is very hard for a man to love his wife as Christ loves the church outside of God. It is only through the power of God Because, as a man, the Bible tells us what did Jesus do before he went on that cross? He got on his knees, he took the lowest position in society. He washed the feet of his disciples and told them they were to do the same.
Speaker 2:He died for us, he died for them. He died for the church.
Speaker 1:He served them, he died to himself for the church, he put his flesh on that cross and he crucified it, and this is what we are to do as husbands. So I am sorry that the church is telling you to just be accepting of a man who barely even know who God is. He don't even know of him, much less know him. The first thing that you look at he should be eating, breathing, sleeping Christ.
Speaker 1:The word of God, Christ. He should be able to hear from God, he should have an intimate and personal relationship with God, because the Bible tells us with Adam what he was first naked and unashamed before the father yes, Before Eve came along. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:And when he saw Eve he recognized her that she was his wife, and God will not. You can put this on this, because I study God's ways and this is why you need to know your Bible. God will not put you, as a woman, in a situation with a man who has not already gone through the process. I know it in my own life because before he brought my wife to me, back to me, after we went through our situation, which we'll discuss at some point he took me through the process of dying to myself. It was an uncomfortable process.
Speaker 1:I would be making comments about what Shania did wrong and this, that and the whole third, but God would look at me and say, no, we're not focusing on her. What did you do wrong? You didn't do what I told you to do. You weren't loving her the way. I've called you to love her. You were loving her from a conditional place. You were loving her from a place that was transactional. I call you to love her unconditionally. That is 1 Corinthians 13.
Speaker 1:So when we think about this, ladies, stop setting yourself up for failure, because the issue we have in the church is that we have the mothers in the church, that's, leading the church, praying in the church, and the fathers are at home looking at football games, the fathers are at home with the cookouts, with their friends playing pool, and all of this mess, when the reality is the brothers should be in the church praying more than the mothers are, because the brothers, the men, we, are the watchmen of our family. That is how God designed for it to be. That is what God called for us. Is it easy, brothers? No, it is not, which is why you have to subject yourself to relying on the Holy Spirit. That is what marriage is. Anything outside of that is counterfeit. Anything outside of that is fake. So when the church tells you just to get married, please don't. When the church tell you oh, you're struggling with sex, you need to marry this person because you're struggling with sex.
Speaker 2:Because you're living in sin.
Speaker 1:Please don't If you're just living in sin.
Speaker 2:you shouldn't be living in sin in the first place. No, I'm sorry, you got me over here. I'm over here.
Speaker 1:No, it becomes emotional like I'm passionate about it, because people lives are being messed up with this foolishness that is not of god it. Our lives was messed up because of it prior to us coming together you got people who don't have a relationship with god trying to teach us how to have a relationship with god. They can't even hear from because they're out here counterfeiting yes they're out here perpetrating counterfeit, counterfeit ideas.
Speaker 1:No encounter, no encounter with God at all. The relationships they're in. It's because they chose those relationships. You hear their stories and I'm like that's not God. God just told Samuel. He said what. I don't judge by the outward appearance, I judge by the inward appearance, I judge by the heart.
Speaker 2:So you saying he's six, six a lot of money, he has a nice car, he has a nice um a house, he has a nice career. That don't mean anything to god. You bring all that to god and god just like I don't care. I created all this. What can you do for me?
Speaker 1:that don't matter to me. It doesn't matter. What does your?
Speaker 2:heart look like. What does your heart look like?
Speaker 1:and how does he or she tie to your purpose? Because the bible says that god stated what be fruitful and multiply what god was saying is I want you to create little babies like yourself, who are god-driven who are created in the image of me.
Speaker 2:I want more of me in the world. Exactly, I want more of me in the world. And so the enemy stopped that by by playing with Eve but God was so and produced Satan.
Speaker 1:God loved us so much that he said I, because the Bible says that he planned the end from the beginning. He said I know that you are going to fall and I love you so much that I am going to send a contingency plan. I am going to send my own son to become what you can never become, to die on the cross for your sins, even though you mocked him, even though you insulted him. We don't understand. We see these little cheesy behind movies that show these little stripes on his back. He was beaten to the point to where his flesh was hanging off his body. He was beaten to the point to where he could barely walk, which is why they had somebody else carry the cross for him. It was only by the grace of God that he didn't die from that alone. I am talking wounds that you would die from in modern day if it wasn't treated. When we look at the whips that the Romans used, literally it was pieces of broken glass and all of this stuff that was in there
Speaker 2:all kinds that will rip away at your skin as soon as it touched your skin, it will rip it apart. Pull away muscle, pull away meat let's talk about this.
Speaker 1:This is what jesus went through. Then they, and then after that they took a crown of thorns and they pressed it into his skull Before that even took place. The Bible says that the Pharisees they beat him in his face consistently and spit at him to the point. The scripture says that he was unrecognizable. You can look at the greatest fight ever and it will never equate to what he went through when they beat him. The condition of the box is, when we look at boxing here in America, nothing can equate to what Christ went through?
Speaker 2:No, because you be looking at their face sometimes and their face be jacked up and his was 20 times worse.
Speaker 1:He could not defend himself. He took every single beating. Then they put him on the cross. They put nails in his hands, they put nails in his feet and they hung him from that. When the cross was put up, his flesh and everything came down. I'm talking the worst agony one could ever feel. And he sat there and they mocked him and he still looked up to heaven and said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And once it. Then, to add insult to injury, because he took in that moment injury, because he took in that moment, he took on the sins of the world for everyone that existed then, that existed prior and that would exist after. And God can't look on sin because he's a holy God. So in the moment when he at least had his father, even his father turned his back on him and he says Father, why have thou forsaken me?
Speaker 2:Because he took on the sins of the world.
Speaker 1:And once it was finished, the Bible says that Jesus gave up his spirit and said it is done. So when we talk about marriage as men, that is your example. That is your example.
Speaker 2:That is your example. Who doesn't exemplify all the fruits of God's spirit, christ's spirit, the one he gave up on the cross? You are dating a counterfeit.
Speaker 1:And it's not worth it.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Because there's so much tied to getting this wrong. We have to start back taking all of this serious. We have to start back understanding that the enemy don't like us. No, especially for those who are called especially women, because you birth the children.
Speaker 2:You birth the children. You don't think he's gonna keep sending you counterfeits, counterfeit after counterfeit after counterfeit after counterfeit after counterfeit after counterfeit. And while it's important for the man to be in a space to know Christ, you also have to know Christ for yourself so that you can hear and know when God is sending you someone or when the enemy is sending you a counterfeit. God will tell you. You will know, he will give you a dream, he'll give you a vision, he'll give you a word word.
Speaker 1:Visions and dreams are not just for prophets and seers, no, it is for everyone absolutely the says what in the last days, I will pour upon pour my flesh upon all your sons and daughters will prophesy, will prophesy. And daughters. Mm-hmm. Dreams and visions. It's meant for everyone.
Speaker 2:And it's okay that you don't may not understand what your dreams mean, but they are very important.
Speaker 1:That's why you have to draw in closer to God so that he can reveal himself to you. You can have a personal and intimate relationship with the father.
Speaker 2:And you don't need to go to a prophet.
Speaker 1:No. You don't need to go to a prophet A lot of times prophet comes in place because there's something really severe and serious going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like there's something they come for correction. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or something you're not getting.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's really serious when the prophet shows up. Many times God has showed prophets things about the nations. Many times God has showed prophets things that's going on within the church, and so prophets can be used. And I would say this even more Ideally, a prophet should be coming along, if anything, to confirm what God has already been saying to you.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:If anything.
Speaker 2:And if you get offended by a prophet's word, you need to go and ask God, God, why am I offended?
Speaker 1:Now you got to be careful because they're false prophets.
Speaker 2:Right. That's why you ask God, why am I offended by this word?
Speaker 1:But that's why we recommend what you have to have an intimate relationship with God yourself.
Speaker 2:Which is also counterfeits.
Speaker 1:So you, understand the voice of God. You understand the voice of your Lord and Savior, you understand how the Holy Spirit operates. You understand that, while the three are one, they're also three separate entities. There is God the Father, there is God the Son, and there is God the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God.
Speaker 2:And we are also triune beings.
Speaker 1:Then you have angels, then you have heavenly beings. You have to understand all of this. This is the reality of what it is. It gets very deep.
Speaker 2:The scripture touches on all of it. It's a very, very deep book. It's not just. We're not theologians by any mean at all. No, Not, by any means it's good to read the Bible and know your verses and scripture, but you have to have the spirit of God living in you to reveal to you the secrets of this book. This is a spiritual book. This is not just a library book.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's really important. You have to study because the Bible says what I think is in it may be in Hosea it says my people perish because of the lack of knowledge.
Speaker 2:Right. And so but truth only comes from the Spirit of God.
Speaker 1:We can go on, and, on, and, on, and on.
Speaker 2:And we could.
Speaker 1:But I think this is a good place to begin to wrap it up. So if you were to wrap this up, babe, because we've said a lot, we touched on counterfeit.
Speaker 1:Um, I think let me see something like that. Let me see One of the things I have on here reach on 10 and 10. So I want to see, we'll wrap this up, okay. So, john Tenetton, it says the thief, and this is the New Living Translation. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. Right there you go. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but God has come. Christ has come, because this was Christ speaking. So he, I've come to give you life like a rich and satisfying life. Other translations would say I've come to give you life more abundantly. New King James Version the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy.
Speaker 2:I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly yeah, being that the title of this episode is counterfeits, that everything in this world is a counterfeit representation of heaven If you are making decisions outside of God, where you are just making decisions on your own, just because you think that it looks good or you think that what you're doing is good for your community and you're not consulting?
Speaker 2:with God you're consulting with the enemy, and it's easy to. I'll say this everything is a counterfeit your job, the person you choose to marry or be with. If it doesn't, if any of your decisions do not draw you closer to God, it's a counterfeit and you gotta make sure it's truly. Draw you closer to God is the counterfeit.
Speaker 1:And you got to make sure it's truly drawing you closer to God.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because you got to understand this entire world has been designed to be a design to mimic the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2:And even people in ministry, like even your career in ministry, could be counterfeit. That could just not be what God called you to do.
Speaker 1:Or not the time that he called you to do it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and so the enemy will send you someone to say hey, you should be in this position. Even though it looks like a good position, I'm doing good works.
Speaker 1:But is it of God? Because the scripture says well, in those last days there will be those that come to me and say we what?
Speaker 2:We cast out, we prophesied in your name. We cast out demon in your name. We healed the sick in your name.
Speaker 1:And Jesus said I will turn away from me.
Speaker 2:Turn away from me, you, workers of iniquity.
Speaker 1:Or New Living Translation states those that break or doesn't keep God's laws, yeah, God's laws, his covenants. So we dig back and we get back to this point and we're in right here.
Speaker 3:Realize that at the end of the day and we said this- before and we'll continue to say this sin is disobedience to God.
Speaker 1:Sin is disobedience to God. So you might not be having sex outside of marriage, you might not have an addiction, as you would say to drinking or alcohol or drugs or whatever.
Speaker 2:You might not be casting spells or doing divination.
Speaker 1:But if you are in direct disobedience to God, you are still sitting. We are called as believers to directly submit ourselves our entire life to the will of God.
Speaker 2:We're supposed to be? A living, breathing sacrifice, a living sacrifice. We are an altar sacrifice, a living sacrifice.
Speaker 1:We are an altar, we literally the Bible says what Not only are we an altar, but we are also a temple.
Speaker 2:Yes, we are a temple of God.
Speaker 1:That the Holy Spirit dwells within. So we are to submit our entire lives to God. Jesus is truly to become our Lord and Savior. We're cool with him being our Savior, right. We're cool with him being Lord over some things. But nobody wants him to be our actual Lord over everything when you live, the type of car you drive, the career path you choose who you spend the rest of your life with what you do in life, all of these things. He should be Lord and Savior over it all.
Speaker 2:And this is what God has called us to is to really make Him Lord, not just our Savior, but Lord over our lives. We got family and friends mad at us, right now. Can't speak to them or nothing.
Speaker 1:But it's really, it's the example of your life becoming a living testimony in your life. The scripture tells us what you worship him with your life, the way that you live your life, so you become the light of the world. And once again, we are in this world but not of this world, so we don't take on the customs and culture of this world.
Speaker 2:No, we don't make decisions of the kingdom. We don't make decisions based off of everyone else's decisions. We don't. We don't do like the Romans do.
Speaker 1:No, we become the example. We become the example. We become the example.
Speaker 2:And it's not easy.
Speaker 1:No, that's why the Bible says the road is narrow.
Speaker 2:Very narrow.
Speaker 1:And many people that we think are on that road ain't on that road Because the road is narrow.
Speaker 2:Extremely narrow on that road. Ain't on that road because the road is narrow, extremely narrow. It's very easy and wide for those who are not going to make it into heaven and we we said this before people look at people in the quote-unquote world the quote-unquote pagans those that are not believers, those that are not christians yeah the issue is the enemy.
Speaker 1:He ain't worried about that. No he's coming for the church. And you don't realize he's already infiltrated the church.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:It says it in the Bible and there's plenty of people that's in the church, that is on that wide path.
Speaker 2:Teaching a false Christ.
Speaker 1:A false.
Speaker 2:Counterfeit Christ, counterfeit God, and you won't even recognize it unless you have a true relationship with God, a true, intimate relationship. That means your life is a living, breathing holy sacrifice. You're not out here and doing the wild parties, getting drunk.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Being angry, your fruits.
Speaker 1:And I think that's the key thing. And so I will leave you with this Isaiah 14, 12 and 18. Isaiah 14, 12 through 18, verse 12 through 18. That's a good read that touches on Satan, that touches on the fall. Revelations 12, chapter 12, verse 7 through 18. It touches on the actual battle between michael and um, satan, the dragon and the angels that took the side of say any and the angels that took that, that stood with god, that stood on the side of michael and, of course, michael stood on the side of god.
Speaker 1:Michael is an archangel. He's like top tier angels. Gabriel top tier angels I mean in spite of a particular movie that's out right now like heavy heavy. We won't get into that, but we've seen how angels We've seen how angels look. They're not soft. They ain't soft at all.
Speaker 2:Well, Jesus isn't soft. They're not soft. They ain't soft at all.
Speaker 1:Well, Jesus isn't soft, they're not soft, they're not.
Speaker 2:But that's another subject. They ain't small and scrawny, that's another subject.
Speaker 1:So those things are great things to read. I would say read that, babe. Would you like to close us out? With what. Whatever?
Speaker 2:I already said what I needed to say.
Speaker 1:Well, whatever I already said what I need to say. Well, listen, we hope you've enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 2:I know it ran a little bit long. Yeah, we do, and we, we, we.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sticking with us, listening to us and we pray that it's being a blessing unto you, because absolutely that's our only desire is that it will bless you right it will find you where you are. Let's make this clear and never, in any instance or situation where we judge will we judge no um, we'll touch on grace, all those different things at some point, but we just want it to be a blessing to you. We really just want to do what god has called us.
Speaker 2:We hope that you have taken away something, if anything. And if you have taken it away, share it with someone. You that god places on your heart to share it with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you can even comment if you want to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, please tell us comment, let us know how this is helping you, what your experiences have been, what struggles that you're struggling with.
Speaker 1:If you need prayer for something, yeah, if you need prayer or anything, let us know. And so I think that is a great place to end. Thank you for tuning into this episode. We will see you next week and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2:Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, happy.
Speaker 1:Holidays. All of that good stuff to you and your family.
Speaker 2:Bye.
Speaker 1:All right, bye.