Stepping In Faith

Breaking Cycles: Why You Keep Going In Circles

• Stepping In Faith • Season 2 • Episode 3

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If comfort has started to feel like a cave, this conversation is your map out. We start with the raw pattern in Judges, sin, oppression, repentance, rest, and ask the hard question: why do we keep circling the same ground when we love God? The answer isn’t more noise or new routines; it’s training. We unpack how God leaves “giants” in our landscape to teach warfare, strengthen obedience, and grow in real spiritual authority. That means formation that looks like fasting, Scripture, worship, and boundaries—reps under the bar that build capacity to stand when the pressure rises.

Gideon’s story gives us a blueprint that cuts close to home: before you fight public battles, tear down private altars. We talk about the idols hiding in “culture” and “tradition,” how outrage becomes a substitute religion, and why every life carries a scent, either worship that draws God’s presence or smoke that attracts familiar oppression. Expect resistance, even from religious spaces that mix empire with faith. We choose the Kingdom Jesus named before Pilate, the kind that refuses to bow to power or panic and instead trains to love well, discern schemes, and walk in quiet authority.

If you’re tired of repeating the same fights, here’s a practical framework: daily bread in the Word, small acts of obedience, rhythms of fasting and prayer, honest heart checks for idols, and a choice to fight the right enemy. We share stories, Scripture, and simple tools to help you break loops, recover identity in Christ, and step into steady peace. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review with your biggest “altar” you’re ready to tear down. We’re praying with you.

Ready to dive deeper? 🎧 Join us on YouTube for the full video podcast where we explore faith, love, and relationships through a Christian lens. Whether married, single, or seeking spiritual growth, our episodes offer practical advice and profound insights to strengthen your walk with Jesus. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a powerful episode. Let’s grow together in faith and purpose!

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Walter:

Welcome back to another episode of Stepping in Faith, the podcast, where together we explore the importance of having a relationship with God and how that relationship with God can impact the relationship you have with others. I'm your host, Walter. I'm joined here alongside my lovely wife.

Shanea:

Shanea. What's wrong with you?

Walter:

I had a brain fart.

Shanea:

Okay. You were trying to hide it?

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

You trying to hold it in?

Walter:

I was.

Shanea:

Okay.

Walter:

This is episode two.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

We skipped last week, had some stuff going on, but we're back.

Speaker 4:

We are back.

Walter:

To God be the glory. Um this is episode two. I guess we don't officially know what the name of this ep this week's episode is.

Shanea:

No. Not yet. Still working on it.

Walter:

We will be discussing cycles this week. Cycles, right?

Shanea:

Yeah, uh, yeah, I guess. Breaking cycles, you know, um breaking, tearing down idols, noticing patterns. So patterns and cycles, you know, that occasionally you'll go through. Wondering why you keep going through the same thing over and over again. So yeah.

Walter:

Well, let's dig in. Um I prayed last time.

Shanea:

No, you didn't.

Walter:

Yes, I did.

Shanea:

No, you didn't.

Walter:

I prayed last time.

Shanea:

Oh.

Walter:

Exactly.

Shanea:

Did you?

Walter:

Yeah.

Shanea:

You prayed the opening episode?

Walter:

Yes. I did.

Shanea:

Okay. You sure this is a second this is the second episode? Or this is the third episode?

Walter:

Um, this might be the third episode. Let me see.

Shanea:

Because if it's the third episode, then I definitely prayed last time.

Walter:

I wanna say. People help us. Um bear with us.

Shanea:

It's been a long couple of uh this is the third episode. Okay.

Walter:

This is episode three, everyone.

Shanea:

Okay, episode three.

Walter:

You did pray the last episode, then, because I I prayed the first episode.

Shanea:

I'm on a tripping.

Walter:

This is episode three, so I will open us up in prayer.

Shanea:

Okay.

Walter:

Father God, we thank you for this evening. We thank you, Father God, for keeping us, Father, in the midst of everything. We pray, Father, that even as we go into this week's episode, that you will allow this to reach those you've called for to reach. Holy Spirit, we pray that you will speak through us and make yourself known. We thank you for your guidance, for your wisdom, for your understanding, for your direction. We pray that your perfect will will be carried out in every listener's life, God. We thank you even now in the name of Jesus. We welcome you in. We welcome your presence in. Lord Jesus, we welcome you in. Holy Spirit, we submit to you even now in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Shanea:

Amen.

Walter:

Well, babe, I will pass the mic over to my lovely wife, who will be leading this week's episode.

Shanea:

Why you gotta say that I'm leading? Why we just can't have like a regular conversation that, you know, I talk a little bit more this time.

Walter:

Nah. You've been put out into it.

Shanea:

I've been put out into it.

Walter:

To the deep end, as uh my brother Taylor would say.

Shanea:

Into the deep end.

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

There's a lot of deep end uh podcasts.

Walter:

I was referring to Taylor specifically. You know, I love his podcast.

Shanea:

Taylor and LaCrae have uh similar.

Walter:

What's Taylor's last name? Welch. Taylor Welch was referring to Taylor Welch specifically. I uh I have love in my heart. I love LaCrae too, but I was referring to Taylor Welch. Yeah. Podcast. Both our brothers in the faith.

Shanea:

Yes, absolutely.

Walter:

So we will be discussing. Um sound like I got a lot of highs, but it's fine. We will be discussing cycles.

Shanea:

Yes, we're gonna be discussing cycles. We're gonna be discussing why you keep going in the same circle over and over and over again and wondering why God isn't delivering you.

Walter:

Okay. Why, how did you get this?

Shanea:

So what day was that? Saturday or Sunday? One day this week or last week. God had me reading Judges. He was like, read Judges 3. And I was like, why? And then after I read it, I was like, oh, okay. And then was it like a a day later or that same day? I'd read Judges six. So we'll be in Judges three and six today. Okay. So if you got your Bibles, get your handy dandy handy dandy notebooks by the video.

Walter:

You wanna be doing a lot of reading today?

Shanea:

Not a lot of reading. No, not a lot of reading. I it not a lot of reading.

Walter:

Okay. So judges three?

Shanea:

Yeah, judges three, and I believe judges six. Okay. And then I'll just I'll notate all the scripture references in the description box so that you guys can go back and listen or go back and read. Okay. On your in your own spare time. So basically, as I was reading Judges three, I noticed that um God will leave your enemies or leave enemies in a territory, right? Not to necessarily destroy you, but to train you, to test your obedience to him, and to basically let's say mature you or increase your spiritual rank, increase your rank in the spirit, increase your increase your authority over these territories, right? So it's like his we are soldiers for the Lord, right? And you can't be a soldier unless you are going through training. So when you come to God and then you're going through all these things, you're like, God, dang, why do I keep going through this over and over again? And it's almost like you keep going through the same process over and over, or you keep going and going through the same um, I guess, cycle with people, places, things. And you're like, why am I not being delivered? And it's like, okay, well, you probably just did not learn.

Walter:

Learn your lesson.

Shanea:

You didn't learn the lesson. And so the enemy will keep coming with you with things until you finally overcome it. So, like when I first came to the faith, there were things that the enemy would keep plaguing me with in my mind. And I would get upset, I would get frustrated until the point where, you know, babe, you'd be like, he gets you like this every single time. Every single time. Until finally, I'm like, okay, I'm not doing this on war with you. I gotta kick you out. I gotta kick you out.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

And so I want to start with Judges three, right? And I'm gonna read one through verses one through six. Um, so we're in Judges three, verse one, NLT version, says, these are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. These are the nations, the Philistines, those living under the five Philistine rulers, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebohamath. Those people were left to test the Israelites, to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, Perizites, Hivatites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons, and the Israelites served their gods.

Walter:

That alone.

Shanea:

Because they're available. Like God allows you to do it. And it's like not that God allows you to do it. It's it's because they're just because they're there doesn't mean that you should.

Walter:

Right.

Shanea:

That's what I'm saying, is like he allowed for the Canaanites, not the Canaanites, but the yeah, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizites. And if you go back and look at their history, you know, how corrupt they were. And he left them there in the land. And it was up to you to decide that you didn't want anything to do with them and their gods.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Shanea:

So when we're looking at relationships, just because they're there, just because you can see them, just because they're available, doesn't mean that you should.

Walter:

Well, I mean, this this is as old as God creating the heaven and the earth creating Adam and Eve. When God created Adam and Eve, when you go back, it reads that he put both the tree of life and the tree of good and evil in the same garden. So he placed that tree there and then told Adam, you're not to eat from this tree.

Shanea:

This is very true.

Walter:

It's there for you.

Shanea:

This is very true.

Walter:

But you you're not to eat that.

Shanea:

It's a testing. It's a testing, it's a training ground. Are you gonna really be obedient when it counts? Yeah. Are you gonna be obedient when it counts? Are you going to do what he says do when he says to do it? You know? Because each, you know, uh level or ranking in the spirit or your authority happens as you possess the land, as you take over new territories, as you defeat new giants. Just like in our military, right? We have rankings.

Walter:

It grows your, it it grows your faith in God, which is why it's so important. It stretches that it stretches that faith muscle as you go through. I think we read that in one of the previous episodes when Paul talked about how they were pressed on all sides, and they didn't think that God was going to save them, and God did come and save them, and it taught him to rely on God even the more.

Shanea:

Yeah. So yeah. And so while God leaves those giants or those corrupt people around you, it's not for you to just like Sodom and Gomorrah was right around. And um, Lot was like, I'm just gonna go a little bit close to Sodom and Gomorrah, but it ended up just pulling him in because he was way too close. Way too close. Um, so he left all these destructive tribes in the land with the Israelites to test their obedience. And because they were there in the land, they this is why we have judges, they went through this cycle of they would commit sin because it says right here that they they intermarried, right, and they worshiped and served their gods. The gods of the Canaanites, the gods of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites. It was not the God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, it was their gods. So they sinned. Then God would be like, Okay, I'm gonna let this king take over, and you're gonna be oppressed. You're gonna be oppressed for a season, and then they would cry out to God, and then God would be like, Okay, I'll save you, I'll send you a judge, I'll send someone on my behalf to rescue you. And they would be delivered from their oppressor, and they would have go through a period of rest, and then they would just do it again. They would repeat the cycle again because God didn't remove the the other tribes, He didn't remove them, He didn't remove the Canaanites, He didn't remove the Hittites, He didn't remove the Amorites, they were still there, but you never learned your lesson the first time because you got comfortable. They got comfortable, right? And I think that's one of the problems that we have is that we will do something wrong, we'll get oppressed, we're like, dang, why is this happening to me? And it's because you committed a sin. And God is like, okay, you need my help, I'm gonna help you. And then he helps you, you get delivered, and you're free, and you have a little bit of rest, but you forget like where you came from because you're still around like the same people. You're still you're still out there, the world is still there. The world isn't going anywhere. It's up to you to decide whether you're going to interact with the world around you, or are you gonna stay obedient to God and stay in that in that place of rest to overcome?

Walter:

Well, I believe the thing is, um one of the key things is when we were reading this, each time, the the length of oppression, it grew. Right? So that's also a reflection of each time the enemy comes back. Jesus talked about, the scripture talks about how the enemy comes back with seven other demons. Once that house has been cleaned and it has not been occupied. It's really important that we understand the importance of when we are freed from something, remaining freed from it.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

Because each time the enemy comes back, he comes back seven times stronger. And this is what we consistently see with the children of Israel. God with freedom. Like you said, they would forget. The enemy would come back, he would come back even stronger. He would be they would be oppressed for an even longer time.

Shanea:

They would be oppressed for a longer time, but then they would also have a longer time of rest. It was like an equal kind of sort of amount. They would be oppressed for more years, and then they would have rest for more years. But in those resting, it's like they forget because they've gotten so comfortable. And it's like you just can't be comfortable in the world. No, you just can't get to a point where it's like this doesn't bother any anymore. Like when you first came to the faith, like you threw out all your secular music, you didn't do, you didn't watch adult films anymore, you didn't go to the hookah lounge, you didn't go to the bars, you weren't drinking, you weren't doing any of that. And then you get to this point where maybe a year into it, two years into it, you are back at the bars because you're like, oh, I'm saved, I'm sanctified. It's not gonna bother me. So the question I'm listening to the music again, or I'm I'm around listening to this music, it's not gonna bother me.

Walter:

So the question becomes then, and even with the example of the children of Israel, are you truly free? Because if you're truly free, you never turn back, and that's what Jesus would always tell everyone that he healed. Many of them, what did he always say? We've seen in the scripture, go and sin no more. So, in part of going and sinning no more is turning away from your behavior that you once did.

Shanea:

It's it's producing in you a fruit of the spirit, which is self-control. And that's one of the hardest things that we as humans can do.

Walter:

But it's only by way of the spirit that it takes place. And I think the challenge that we saw with the children of Israel, and it's so interesting that we fall into that, is that they didn't have the Holy Spirit living inside them.

Shanea:

No.

Walter:

So, truth be told, and I'm not trying to be hard on us, if we do have the Holy Spirit living inside us, we have no excuse.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Walter:

Because the Holy Spirit is there, and the Bible says, Paul said, that for the Gentiles, they show they know the law because the law becomes written on their heart. The Holy Spirit bears witness and have them and teach them the law. Okay, you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that. So it's not like for those who have the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit isn't there saying, Hey, you don't need to do this, you don't need to do that, you just don't listen. But it is still a reflection of the children of Israel not listening.

Shanea:

Exactly.

Walter:

But it's even greater for you because you know you have that helper.

Shanea:

Yeah. But then they had God telling them, hey, you're not supposed to do this.

Walter:

They did, but they didn't have the Holy Spirit inside them.

Shanea:

No, they didn't.

Walter:

And that, you know, I'm not negating that they should have listened.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

But I think it it it showcases for us is even greater. Like there's no excuse, right? Because the prophets of the old spoke of Jesus Christ and spoke of him coming and spoke of what would take place, right? And so the fact that you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, it should be even greater of an opportunity for you not to fall into the uh fall into the cycle that the children of Israel fell into.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

So where do we go from here?

Shanea:

I'm actually just I'm trying to see where we're going from. Because it's good. I mean, it's it's it's a lot to take in, you know. Um it's a lot to take in.

Walter:

And well, you talked about judges three and two, and I think this is really important.

Shanea:

Um What do you mean judges? Oh, what judges three and two?

Walter:

When it states here you don't send an untrained soldier into battle. And so God trained soldiers. I said that? Yes, it's here.

Shanea:

Where?

Walter:

Training ground theology.

Shanea:

Oh, okay, yes.

Walter:

And so um, bear with us.

Shanea:

Sorry, y'all.

Walter:

I think about, and I won't go into details, but even the process that God had me going through uh when we were dealing with the stuff that we were dealing with, prior to me even knowing things that you were going through, God took me through a process. I don't, I don't know why he took me through the process, but it was training ground. And it was uncomfortable. You know, that for me that looked like, you know, fasting, living a fasted lifestyle, not watching anything, him um, you know, abstaining from TV, games, just worship music, praying, word, worship music, prayer, work, worship music, prayer, word.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

And just really listening to the father and praying, praying, praying.

Shanea:

You were training your spirit.

Walter:

Yes. And so it got to a point to where I didn't know that. I was just being obedient. But when I was, when it was time to help aid you and the stuff that you were dealing with, I was able to walk in that with no fear.

Shanea:

Um Yeah, but you were increasing your your spiritual ranking.

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

So, like if you would have like first came to the faith that you tried to fight. I would have got my body. Just like um, who who was it?

Walter:

Um You're talking about when they uh Paul and them?

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

Um what are their names? I have to look and see. I know what you're talking about. When they said Paul, I know.

Shanea:

Right.

Walter:

Jesus, I know.

Shanea:

But why can't I remember that?

Walter:

Let me see.

Shanea:

Okay. Um, yeah. So when you first came to the faith, God had you doing all these things to train you up for battle. Because we are soldiers. We war against not flesh and blood, but against rulers, principalities, things you can't see in the natural. So spiritually has to train us, right? And so you have church leaders, you have people who've been in church for 80 years, 50 years, and they are still a baby in battle.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

They can't deliver people from their demons. They got demons themselves. They're dealing with anger, they're dealing with, you know, suicidal thoughts, they're dealing with, you know, adult um films, you know, they're dealing with self-pleasure, they're dealing with all these things that they don't even know. They and they turn people away. You've got people dealing with homosexuality, and they can't even come to the church because they don't know how to help them. And they don't know how to help them because they don't have any authority in the spirit. They don't have no spiritual ranking to speak to those demons, to speak to those rulers or those principalities or those territories.

Walter:

And that's Acts 19. It says, um, verse 13. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town, casting out evil spirits. They tried to use, they tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantations, saying, I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches to come out. Seven sons of Skeva, the leading priest, were doing this.

Shanea:

Seven sons of Skeva.

Walter:

Skeva.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

We're doing this. But one time when they tried, one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you? Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house naked and battered.

Shanea:

Got their bind tora.

Walter:

This is why you can't go out trying to do stuff that you're not in a position to do. It's so important for relationship and uh ranking in the spirit, even though people don't like to hear it. No, people don't like to hear it because they think, oh, I come to God, I got, you know, God is giving you everything that He's called for you to have. All of the giftings are there, but you still have to go through the process, and we can't negate that the disciples walked with Jesus for three years. They did life with him day in, day out. He told them to drop everything they had and follow him.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

That was part of them going through the process.

Shanea:

It's part of their training.

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

And like when I was reading Judges three and six, I had this mental picture or vision of, you know, like a, like a, like, you know, I lose the weightlift. And so if I'm trying to get to a certain weight, or I'm trying to get to a certain class if I'm in competition or something like that, right? I have to train. And the only way that I can get stronger or get to my weight is I have to keep adding weight in order to get stronger. And so that's what God does. It's like it's like, you know, in the Bible where it says he won't put on nothing more on you than you can bear. He won't put on more you than you can bear. It's not true. Like he will put a whole bunch on you, but you can't do it in your own strength, is what he's saying. And so he will continue to keep putting weight on you to get you stronger. Because we're dealing with ancient spirits, we're dealing with spirits that have been here since Adam and Eve. The enemy. Continue to keep putting weight. Once you get used to that weight, guess what? You're gonna have a little bit of rest. And he's gonna do what? Add some more weight.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

He's gonna add some more weight. But guess what? He's your spotter. He's not gonna let you fall, he's not gonna let you stumble at all. But it's just it's knowing that while you are in Christ and Christ is in you, there is rest, there's peace, there's joy, but there's there's weight.

Walter:

There's challenges.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

I mean, it just comes with the territory.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

It comes with the territory.

Shanea:

Yes. It is. But it's gonna, it's just gonna grow you. So when you're going through these trials, when you're going through things where you feel like you can't take it anymore, God's just like, give me one more rep. Give me one more rep, and you're like, God, I'm gonna do it.

Walter:

And it's just important to remember the enemy tactics never change. Like I know this, even as I was going through the process, he would come at me with the same stuff.

Shanea:

It's the same stuff.

Walter:

And so you learn, he'll come at you with the same stuff until you overcome that. And then when he sees you can't handle that, or you can handle that and it's not bothering you, he'll try a different approach, but it's the same thing. He keeps coming at you over and over again. It's almost like he be approaching it like we're foolish. Right? He his tactics don't change.

Shanea:

Yeah. He's really just like a bully.

Walter:

Yes. Until you see that you, until he sees, okay, I can't get him in this area. Let me try another area. And that's why the Bible says Jesus said that when the enemy comes, he find he found nothing in him, or he will find nothing in Jesus.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

But the same thing goes with us. We got to get to a point to where the enemy can find nothing in us that he can use against us.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

And that's by going through the process of allowing God to train you, going through this process of allowing you.

Shanea:

So you can recognize, so that you can recognize, oh, this isn't me. This isn't you. This is the enemy.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

So, like if we're me and my husband are having like a disagreement or we get into an argument and we just cannot find common ground at all. At some point, I'm like, this isn't me. This isn't you. This is the enemy. We gotta stop. We gotta stop. And then it's it's gotten easier because it's like, okay, I see what you're doing. You're trying to get me upset. You're trying to get him upset so we can stop doing what we need to do.

Walter:

It's just understanding how the enemy works. Um, and it's it's a learning process for all of us to really gain an understanding of how the enemy attacks and know whether it be through him trying to use other people or use your children or use your job or use your spouse or use family members.

Shanea:

You will definitely use your children for sure.

Walter:

Yeah, it's just a reflection of saying, hey, this is nothing but the enemy, and I'm not gonna allow you to distract. Anytime he does it, it's always for distraction. But I won't say we'll move on. Where are we at now?

Shanea:

We are right now at um tearing down what keeps you, let's say, repeating these cycles. Not necessarily because you're in the world, but there's something in you that keeps you from. Being obedient. There's something in you that keeps you from wanting to stay in that place of rest or staying in that place of obedience. And it could be in your bloodline. You know? Um, it it is it's patterns that have been passed down from generation to generation. And it becomes a tradition. It becomes it becomes something that is normal to you. That should not be normal. You know, because you see it everywhere and you think that it's okay.

Walter:

We talked about it becoming a part, like it it being what happens is it creates this worldview for you. Yeah. It's a part of your culture.

Shanea:

And it becomes like a safe space for you. But that safe space is like a cave. That safe space is keeping you from the light. You're literally keeping yourself in darkness because it feels good, because it feels normal. And I'll read this from Judges 6. Um, Judges 6, verse 1 says, The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, martyrs from the Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemies' hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts. They arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count, and they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. It's like you hold on to your tradition and your culture so much that you put yourself in a cave and it becomes a stronghold, and you can't get yourself out to the point where you are starving yourself. Starving yourself from God's love, his redemption, his power, his glory. And then you're like, Man, I'm so hungry. And it's like, you put yourself in a cave.

Walter:

Yeah. That's why Jesus came in the scripture that we gave before when he said, My mother, my father, and my brother, essentially I'm paraphrasing, are those that does the will of my father. Jesus was saying that he forsake or he looked past his culture and took upon a culture of the kingdom of God. And I and unfortunately, especially in this day and age, it's challenging for us to forsake our culture.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Walter:

And take upon us the kingdom of God.

Speaker 4:

It is.

Walter:

See ourselves as a part of the kingdom of God. That is very challenging for many of us to do.

Shanea:

It's hard to forsake the culture because people will they will try to tear you down. They will literally try to alive you.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

They will make you feel bad about what you're doing. Well, you start culture. Because it's tradition.

Walter:

But it's demonic.

Shanea:

Because it's what's normal.

Walter:

It's demonic. And unfortunately, it's even in the church where the church will get mad at you because you forsake the culture and you say that no, I choose Jesus over the culture. And that's my culture now, the kingdom of God. So yeah.

Shanea:

So from there, I want to read Judges 6 25. And it says, that night the Lord said to Gideon, so get God sent Gideon to help them. To help the Israelites from Midian. And that night the Lord said to Gideon, Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one that is seven years old, pull down your father's altar to Bile, and cut down the asherapole standing beside it. Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully, sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the asherapole you cut down. So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord commanded, but he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father's household and the people of the town. Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that a sheriff beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that was sacrificed. And the people said to one another, Who did this? And after asking around, they learned that it was Gideon. And they basically told Gideon's father to bring out their son so that they can unalive him. Because he must be destroyed for destroying the temple, the altar of Baal.

Walter:

Their idol.

Shanea:

Yes, their out their idol. He cut down their idol and they were upset for cutting down the altar of Baal and for cutting down the sheriff pole. But Gideon's father was like, why? Why would you defend an idol? It doesn't speak. And why would you defend something when you are literally starving? You are starving. You are in caves. You are hiding. What's the problem? And they were like, uh they were his father was like, What is the problem? You are suffering right now. Why can't you just let this go?

Walter:

It'd be challenging, and and that I I believe that'd be part of the stronghold. It'd be a stronghold on their mind. Uh there's a veil there where people cannot see the things that they've created idols out of. And that you can create idols. And we have to be challenging. I mean we have to be careful with idols. And I I believe it's just a consistent heart check that we have to do where we're asking God to remove those idols or help us to be mindful that we don't idolize anything or anyone.

Shanea:

Even if it looks like it's something that everyone does.

Walter:

Exactly. So for example, um even for example, in America, is this push to uh state that as believers we're supposed to be political. But that's not biblical. People can always find scriptures to justify what they do.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

But I think one of the greatest scriptures is when Jesus was speaking to uh the Pharisees and he told them to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

And he placed a separation between the church and the empire. And so um it's really important to understand that the church should not be combined with the empire. That's not to say that you don't have instances. There's a difference between you being uh a Daniel or someone of that nature where you provide guidance based on what thus says the Lord. But if we look at Daniel and we look at Sharach, Meshach, and Abendigo, they were never loyal to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

There was their loyalty was always with God.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

And then when we we look at Daniel specifically, he never wanted anything from King Nebuchadnezzar. And then we also have to dig into this, right? Because people who use Daniel for an example, truth be told, if we want to be technical, Daniel, uh, Sharach, Meshach, and Abindnego, they were slaves.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

They were captured and they were brought to Babylon. And they were forced to learn the ways of the Babylonians. And so I think it's really important once again, there's a separation between the two.

Shanea:

I think, um, like we were talking about earlier today, it's you having to check your heart posture because the people of the town were so upset. They were so upset with Gideon.

Walter:

It's crazy when you want to unalive him for doing the right thing that you already knew is the right thing. You're not supposed to be worshiping Bao. You're not supposed to have an altar to bow. You're supposed to be worshiping God.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

But you wanted to unalive him because he tore down your idol.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

When your idol was taking you straight down.

Shanea:

Yeah. And so it's checking your heart posture. When you get so upset over something, when someone's asking you to remove this or not do this, or they're telling you, hey, I believe this is wrong. You're like, no, it's not. I'm going to take your head off.

Walter:

That's dangerous.

Shanea:

You get so mad. And we've saw a lot of you guys. You get bubbling to the point where you're like, you want to cuss them out. You want them to, you want harm done to them. Like, you need to check your heart.

Walter:

And people, please be mindful because we see that a lot now. And it's very unfortunate. It's extremely unfortunate. It's very dangerous. Um at the end of the day, ultimately, if you have that, that perspective towards anything, whether it be the music you listen to, whether it be politics, whether it be you watching football games or, you know, basketball games or whatever may have you, your cars, your career, whatever, your pastor, the leaders in your life, I would check your heart because that kind of really, for me, it showcases that you've made an idol out of that.

Shanea:

No, absolutely. And even when I first came to the faith, God was like, no, you can't talk to your family. Like, why? It it really like teed me off. I was so angry that I couldn't talk to my friends, couldn't talk to my family. But then it's like, okay, you had to get me away so that I could recognize that I idolize family. I put them before everything.

Walter:

And it's really dangerous when you do that because what happens, um, everyone, you'll begin to take on learned behaviors. And so that becomes challenging because I know we talked about afterwards, right? That I had a dream about you, and I won't go into the details, but I had a dream prior about you, and you had taken upon learned behaviors from people. And so, and then for me, for example, when God took me through the process, it's because I idolized my friends in such a way where they became my God because I would go to them for advice.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Walter:

I would go to them for guidance. And now that I've gone through the process, I go to God first.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Walter:

It's almost like it's second nature for me. If something is happening, to immediately go to go to the father in prayer and say, Father, I need guidance on this. I need I need wisdom on how to approach this. This is what I'm going through. This is what I'm dealing with.

Shanea:

Yeah. Or even when people are like, I know for me, when people say something, it's like I take it in, and it's now that becomes my identity. And so, in a way, they are like an idol because I'm taking what they're saying and I'm applying it to myself and saying, okay, well, then I am what you say I am. And they're not God.

Walter:

And you got to be really careful, everyone, because a lot of times the enemy will use those closest to you to tear you down. And you begin to find yourself taking upon an identity of all of these negative things that people have said about you that's just not true. And this goes back, and I know you had to go through this, and we talked about this. My wife had to go through the fact of Psalms 139, is what I would always speak to you that you're fearfully and wonderfully made. You know? And so I would say, because I know that there's a lot of people that deal with that, it's really important to get to the point of understanding who does God say I am.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

Because I'm not what people say I am. We're not who people say we are. We're who God says we are. And I talked to you about this: the importance of finding your identity in Christ. Because the minute you find your identity in man, they will always tear you down. It's just the reality of what it is. They will always tear you down.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Walter:

Especially if they're not submitted to the Holy Spirit. Especially, I don't care who it is, family, friends, leaders, even pastors, because unfortunately, there are pastors out there that's not submitted to the Holy Spirit. And church hurt is serious and it's real. And you have pastors out here who don't know God who's tearing people down.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

You know? And so, um, I don't know how we got there, but yeah.

Shanea:

No, it's no, it it it's it's you know, recognizing how how is this cycle coming to be? Am I idolizing something somewhere where I keep allowing this to happen to me? Am I placing myself in a position where I'm idolizing a person, a place, or a thing, a thing, and I'm putting myself back in the same position. Why do I keep attracting the same people? Why do I keep attracting the same thing? Why is my money looking funny every time this happens or that happens? It's a certain cycle. There's some type of idol there that needs to be dealt with.

Walter:

You know.

Shanea:

What?

Walter:

So when we look at uh echo the train, when we look at Jesus, right? Jesus gave his life on the cross. You know, he sacrificed his life for us, he became the ultimate sacrifice, and that is allowed. Yeah, he became the ultimate sacrifice for us, right? And so with that being the case, there whenever you would give up burnt offerings, right? What when when they burnt offerings, it was a scent that it would let off. What was coming to me is that your idols have a scent that it let off.

Shanea:

Ooh, that's good.

Walter:

You know?

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

So your idols have a scent that it let off, and that scent attracts whatever is connected to that said idol.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

So whatever that idol is a representation of, you wonder why you're consistently going through. And you talked about why are these things attracted to me? Why are these type of people attracted to me? Why am I consistently going through this? Because of the scent that that idol is putting up as you offer those sacrifices on that altar.

Shanea:

Yes. And you have to figure out what those sacrifices are. What are those sacrifices? Is it not listening to God? Is it not going to is it going to this space when I'm not supposed to be?

Walter:

And I ain't come up with that. That was just something that was given to me by the Holy Spirit. I I'm listening I'm smart, but I ain't that smart.

Shanea:

No, no. That's that's good. It's good because we're supposed to be the sacrifice. We're supposed to be a living, walking, breathing sacrifice. So everything that I do carries a scent.

Walter:

Yes. So there you have it. Where are we at now?

Shanea:

Everything I do carries a scent. Yes. Thank you, Holy Spirit. So that's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. And people are just like, oh, I can watch whatever I want to watch. I can go wherever I want to go, do whatever I want to do.

Walter:

It's not the case. It's not. And it's going to be so important in the coming days that we buckle down and being committed to Jesus, being committed to the Father, being submitted to the Holy Spirit because of what's to come. And this is not to instill fear. This is really just a word of um caution and a word of warning that you have to find your everything in Jesus because there is a difference between the church of Bao and the Church of God. Or followers of Bao and followers of Christ.

Shanea:

And I think Right, and then you have Babylon and Empire, and you have the kingdom of God.

Walter:

Yes. And I think we have to be really careful because for a lot of us, when we think of Bao, we think of like, you know, something outright, the devil, or like just satanic. Heavy. You know, people, for example, people hate Disney, you know, or whatever. Or for whatever reason, people hate Netflix and stuff like that. And so they're like, oh, that's, you know, demonic, right?

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

But I think the challenge is that we don't realize that the enemy has already infiltrated the church. And he's been there for some time. He's been there for centuries, right?

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

And he never left.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

The church never uprooted those things that was rooted or that was placed there, that was planted in the church. And so when I'm speaking of Bao, I'm speaking about the fact that Bao is in the church.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

Bao is in the church, right? And then you have those who actually are followers of Christ. Right? And it it and we talk about this all the time. It is my firm belief, especially here in America, that when we think of persecution, right? I believe persecution is coming. We already see it. And it's going to come from the church.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

Against the followers of Christ.

Shanea:

Yes, because it's much easier that way.

Walter:

And we already see it happening as we speak.

Shanea:

Because unbelievers, people in the world are not going to persecute you because you follow Christ.

Walter:

They don't care.

Shanea:

It's the type of Christ that you follow. And it's understanding.

Walter:

That within different areas, right?

Shanea:

Mm-hmm.

Walter:

It looks different. Yeah. There is a religion in China. China has its religion that it recognizes. Right. So even when you look at the persecution of the church in China, the followers of Christ, right? It's still coming from the church. It's a different type of church. It's a different type of religion, but it's still coming from that, right? Like when you think of, and we just look at it from this perspective, even many times in the scripture, when you would read, it would be the Pharisees and them that will be going and getting Rome involved.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

The Romans involved, right? Yeah. To persecute. To persecute the church.

Shanea:

So it's like even modern day, you would have the church going to these political arenas to persecute the real believers.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Shanea:

Because they don't agree with their doctrine.

Walter:

They don't agree with their own way of life.

Shanea:

So persecution is coming. It's going to come from the government to the Christians, the real believers. Because it's being backed by the document.

Walter:

But it will be but it will be done by way of the church.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

And we're going to give you, we can give you example after example in the Bible of that, right? Because when you think about it, and we're going off on a tangent again, but when you think about it's so interesting, right? Caesar, or not Caesar, Pilate, sorry. Pilate did not want to crucify Jesus.

Shanea:

Right.

Walter:

He didn't want to be involved in it.

Shanea:

But who made him do it?

Walter:

The church.

unknown:

The church.

Walter:

And it was to the point that Pilate understood it, even so. He did, he did beat him.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

But he wouldn't have even done that. It's just like they was pushing.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

Right?

Walter:

He's like, I'm just saying.

Shanea:

It's just it's part of the law.

Walter:

Yeah.

Shanea:

They accuse him. It's something that they did to everybody.

Walter:

But he was like, I don't see anything wrong with what he's doing. Right. Right. You know, Jesus made it clear. I'm I have nothing to do with your kingdom. I'm talking about the kingdom of heaven. Okay. So even in that, that goes against people who believe that Jesus should be or they should politicize the church. Jesus made it clear when he he had a moment, right? When he was sitting there with Pilate, when he could have told him, Yes, I'm trying to infiltrate the kingdom. I'm trying to infiltrate the kingdom of Rome. He said, No, I'm not concerned with the kingdom of Rome.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

I'm concerned with the kingdom of God.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

Pilate stated, I see nothing wrong.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

But if this is what you want to do, after he flogged him and everything, you have a decision to make. You can either let Jesus go or you can let this murderer go.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

The church chose the murderer.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Walter:

Interesting. And with that being the case, Pilate was like he washed his hands with it because he wanted nothing to do with what they did to Jesus. That's in itself a whole different situation. Let me let that sink in again. The church. The church chose the murderer over the son of God.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

I'll just leave this here. To this day, the church is still choosing murderers. Murderers over the son of God. They're still choosing something that goes completely contrary over the son of God.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

And that's just the reality of what it is. So, and we will stand firm on letting you know even in this day and age, Jesus is on Jesus' side. And we are on Jesus' side.

Shanea:

We are believers.

Walter:

We are followers of Christ.

Shanea:

And that's it.

Walter:

We are not connected to the Empire. And we will never submit to being connected to the Empire.

Shanea:

No.

Walter:

Simple as that.

Shanea:

We have to remember that as a believer, we are in the world but not of the world. The world is always going to be there. And so even when we have these um preachers and pastors and you know evangelicals and believers, not really believers, but Christians.

Walter:

Religious people.

Shanea:

Religious people. Um bringing up things that people are doing in the world, like referencing Bad Bunny in his conf in his in his concert, or referencing other stars, or referencing what's going on on television or media. And it's like we don't have to participate.

Walter:

Don't even know really who Bad Bunny is.

Shanea:

We don't have to participate. And it's like the enemy wants you to talk about it. He wants you to be upset about it. Because it's like you're you're staying, it's like he's keeping you in a cycle. A cycle of hatred. A cycle that's Bad Bunny could become a believer tomorrow if God wanted to. If God wanted to deliver that man, he would deliver him.

Walter:

I think the question becomes like, what is the message that God is giving you? You know, what is the message? Whenever you saw Jesus, uh, first of all, we know Jesus didn't really debate. People would say, yes, he did. No, the Pharisees would come at come against Jesus and he would correct them. Right. But he never stood long enough for it to be a debate. He would say what he would say and then he would leave. Right? Um, other than that, Jesus had a message that he brought forth.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Walter:

Jesus came with a mission. So what's your message and what's your mission? And I'll say this all the time. For those of you that see these channels out here who gossip, who comes up against people consistently, who always have something negative to say about someone who's always attacking different people, that is not a message. That is demonic. That is gossip, right? What is your message? What is the message that God is giving you? What is the message? What is the message that God is giving you to spread forth to the people, to bring them to Christ, right? And at the end of the day, ultimately, I never get surprised when the world does what the world does because I expect the world to do what they do.

Shanea:

Exactly.

Walter:

So why are we surprised when the world operates the way that they operate? They are not followers of Christ. So stop attempting to get everybody to operate the way that you operate when they don't know God.

Shanea:

Right. And I think it's you being um, I think it's people just being comfortable in the world.

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

You're being comfortable in the world.

Walter:

You want to shape the world, you know. Everybody wants the world to um they want to intermarry the world with God.

Shanea:

And we can't. We just see this in judges. The world's always going to be there. God's done that for a reason.

Walter:

No matter what.

Shanea:

So that he can sift out.

unknown:

Yes.

Shanea:

So he can sift you.

unknown:

Yeah.

Shanea:

Who's gonna be obedient, who's not, who's getting into heaven, and who's not. How would he, how else would he be able to judge us if there is no testing, if there is no trial, is there, if there is no challenges. But we see right here in Judges where the Israelites were literally intermarrying. God's people were intermarrying with the world around them. And God's like, no, you gotta cut them off. They're there, but I'm not telling you to go with them. I'm letting you know that they're there. And you need to be able to fight them and say, hey, no, I'm standing my ground. You stay over there, I'm gonna stay over here.

Walter:

I'm not gonna change what you do unless you want to come to know who Jesus is.

Speaker 4:

Yes.

Walter:

But other than that, it's really a situation where I'm telling you, it's such a freedom where you have these religious people who are so hard-pressed at every single movie Disney dropped. They're so hard-pressed at what Netflix is doing. They're so hard-pressed.

Shanea:

Yes, I'm canceling my Netflix because they have homo. All of this stuff in the sexual videos and shows and be free.

Walter:

Like, be free. When I tell you it is such an amazing place to be, but you like, you know what? I don't care.

Shanea:

Because I don't have to watch it.

Walter:

I don't care. I don't have to watch it. It's not like it's something that is marketed to Christians. I don't know what you like. What do you want me? I don't why do you even know that? Why do you know who they who's gonna be at the Super Bowl? Because the problem is, if we want to get honest, many Christians idolize the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was not created for you, the world created the Super Bowl.

unknown:

Right.

Shanea:

You know, like I said, you're creating spaces for you to be in to feel safe so that you don't get criticized, so you don't get, you know, canceled or whatever. But at the same time, you're keeping yourself in a cage.

Walter:

Let it go. Ask God to help you to where you can be free, to where when you see that stuff, you'll be like, all right, cool. You see that something is being posted that you don't agree with, all right, bet. Well, my children won't watch that. I'll I'll make sure they don't watch that.

Shanea:

Right. Or when you see someone, or when someone is, because we've been going through some stuff, right? And you recognize a person for who they are. And you don't get mad anymore about it.

Walter:

You but you just accepted us. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him. So even before Judas betrayed them, Jesus said to the father, I kept everyone except the one you meant for destruction.

Shanea:

Yeah.

Walter:

You gotta understand that sometimes there's people that's just meant for destruction. Nothing you can let it go. And then you also have to understand you got to extend grace because at one point in time you didn't have it all together either.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

At one point in time, you was out there doing stuff too. And just because you can see and recognize the sin on people because they wear their sin depending on what their sin is, it doesn't make you any better. Because even now, as followers of Christ, when you're judging them, that's still sin.

Shanea:

Yes.

Walter:

When you're gossiping about what's taking place, when you are doing whatever you're struggling with that you can think that you can hide, but you can't hide from God. You're no better. God calls us to move in love. I can love you yet still disagree with the lifestyle that you live, yet still love you. And love is saying, hey, if you want, I have something here that I've gained that could bring freedom to you. And it's being able to be in a place that Jesus was with the rich young ruler. That when the rich young ruler said, I don't want it, let him walk away.

Shanea:

Right. And you're not fighting after it.

Walter:

No, you're not.

Shanea:

You're not trying to prove anything.

Walter:

No, you're not.

Shanea:

But it comes with training.

Walter:

Yes.

Shanea:

It comes with training. Otherwise, you'll be in that same cycle. Oh my gosh, why they don't love me? Oh my gosh, why they don't, why they don't like me? Why they keep doing this to me? And it's like, you better start fighting. You better start fighting back. Fighting the devil. Fighting those thoughts in your head. Because God didn't put them there.

Walter:

That's why you need to know your word. You need to know what God says about you. And you need to stand on that, stand firm on it, please. Because once again, we are in a time where we're really going to have to have an understanding of who Jesus is. And even when I was praying early and I told you about this, babe, let this get let this become a revelation, right? And it is something that hit me earlier today. God is the creator of the universe. Right? And this really touched me. And I pray that you get this and and and really hear this. Like this resonates with the spirit of God and your spirit inside. God created the heavens and the earth. Right? If God created the heavens and the earth, there is nothing or no one that is greater or bigger than God. A song that we like to listen to, that the kids like to listen to. We serve a big, big God. Big God. Right? It's such a simple word, right? A simple phrase, but it's so powerful because when you understand that, and when that revelation hits your spirit, you realize that there is nothing that anyone can do. That's why, and I go and say this all the time because it was such a powerful moment, that's why Shabbat, Meshach, and Abendigo was able to stand up to King Nebuchadnezzar. Because they understood who God was.

Shanea:

They have a very big God.

Walter:

That even if you throw me in the fire, that God still, I believe he will save me. But if he don't, I still won't bow. I can perish, and I still won't bow to you because I still understand who God is. I can't.

Shanea:

Because he's the creator.

Walter:

Because he created all of this.

Shanea:

He gives me life. He can take my breath.

Walter:

All of this.

Shanea:

If I die, it's because he allowed it to happen. He took, he, he is the taker.

Walter:

And when you now, some people can go early, but yes.

Shanea:

Oh, no. Yes, but it's still because he allowed it. Because there's some things that you know you need to recognize. You some people lose battles because they haven't fought. They don't have, they don't have a spiritual ranking. And so when you're in battle, battles that you can't see, you will get your mind whooped.

Walter:

And we gotta get ready to wrap this up. So we talked about a lot tonight.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Walter:

What do you want to leave everyone with?

Shanea:

Um sorry. Um I guess I have this little framework, I guess, on how you can get through your training when you are going through things that you don't understand. It's literally just staying in your word, building up your spiritual muscle, taking your protein shakes, which is your your daily word, your daily bread, your daily protein is the word. Even if it's a verse, even if it's a scripture, you start small. If you start yawning, you tell your body to go and come into alignment with the word of God. Because your flesh is gonna continue to is gonna always fight in war against the spirit.

Walter:

And it's as simple as asking God to help you. Yes. Asking the Holy Spirit to help you. Yes.

Shanea:

And and then just recognizing your idols. Ask God to reveal to you what is in your heart. Ask God to reveal to you your idols. And like I said before, if it's something that you get super upset about, you gotta check your heart posture. If you get super offended, you gotta check your heart posture. Why am I this way? Don't just accept it. Sit with it and really ask God, why, why am I so upset? Why does this bother me so much? And I think those are I think those are key takeaway points that people can use.

Walter:

Well, everyone, we appreciate you. We pray that this has been a blessing to you. Uh keep us in your prayers. And we pray that God will continue the great work he's doing in every one of your lives. We're grateful and thankful for the community that God has allowed us to build here. And anything else you want to add, right?

Shanea:

No, just get rid of everything that you don't need. Tear down those altars. Be a giddy be a Gideon.

Walter:

There you have it.

Shanea:

That's all. Just read judges. You'll get it.

Walter:

All right. Well, until next week.

Shanea:

We'll see you guys.

Walter:

We will see you all later. Be blessed. Bye.

Shanea:

Bye.