Stepping In Faith

EAR GATES & EYE GATES

• Stepping In Faith • Season 2 • Episode 9

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What if your watchlist and playlist are shaping your soul more than your prayers? We dive into the “ear gates and eye gates” idea and connect it to Ephesians 4–5, where Paul calls us to put off the old nature and live as people of light. Together, we unpack how songs, shows, timelines, and conversations are never neutral; they either train our hearts toward clarity and freedom or nudge us into confusion and compromise.

We share stories and scriptures that expose how subtle inputs dull spiritual senses over time. From Matthew 6’s warning about false “light,” to Galatians 5’s call to walk by the Spirit, we draw a straight line between what we consume and the character we carry. This isn’t about legalism; it’s about lordship. We ask better questions: What does this glorify? What does it feed in me? Does it make it easier or harder to hear God’s voice and love people well? You’ll hear why true fruit is character, not clout, and how to spot inputs that slowly normalize what God calls darkness.

We also step into the thorny but vital conversation on headship, covering, and order. Identity cannot be outsourced to culture, influencers, or even church trends. It must be received from Christ and confirmed in a community that bears good fruit. We talk about single and married life, parenting and purpose, and why reverence matters in a world that treats God like a vending machine. When we approach the Father as King and surrender our preferences, decisions get simpler, peace grows, and our homes start to sound like light.

If you’re ready to reset your gates, renew your mind, and recover your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to tell us one input you’re changing this week.

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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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to another episode of Stepping in Faith, 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. This is episode eight.

SPEAKER_03:

Nine, I believe.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it? I mean it's eight.

SPEAKER_04:

Is it eight? I think it's nine.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, okay, I guess it's nine.

SPEAKER_04:

Nine.

SPEAKER_00:

Alright, episode nine. So until further notice, we will be posting every two weeks. Just trying to post once a week, but kept getting to post every two weeks, so that's what we're going to do. And just keep it that way. Um we're still, you know, working to make sure we remain committed to what God says. This isn't our podcast, it belongs to Him. So we don't do what we want to do here. We do what He tells us. So we're excited to be with you all again. And I think you prayed last week, right? Or last episode.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So it is my turn to pray. We are believers. We start this out with prayer. This is season two, episode nine, but we're still keeping it.

SPEAKER_02:

Still keeping it what?

SPEAKER_00:

I was thinking about um Cam Newton.

SPEAKER_02:

Still keeping it what? What does he say?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh fresh and funky.

SPEAKER_02:

Fresh and funky.

SPEAKER_00:

No. We're not keeping it fresh and funky. We're keeping it.

SPEAKER_03:

Fresh and clean and pure.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, fresh and fresh clean and pure. Fresh. That was late. Okay. So, Father God, as we come before you this afternoon, we thank you for this day. We thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace, your kindness, your joy, your peace. We pray, God, that your perfect will will be carried out in every area and every part of our lives. That you would continue to take full control and mold us into what it is you've called us to be. Help us to live our lives accordingly to your plan. Allow this to reach those that you've called for to reach, Father God. Allow your presence to be felt, your presence to be experienced. Holy Spirit, we submit and we yield to you. Lord Jesus, we welcome you. Father, we place everything we have in your hands. Even though we have notes that you have given us, we still yield and submit ourselves to you to say whatever you want to say and allow this podcast to go in whichever way you decide. We give you the praise, we give you the glory. We thank you for speaking and making yourself known through us. Holy Spirit, we submit to you. We surrender to you. Let it reach those that you've called it to reach. Let the words penetrate their heart. Let your words penetrate their hearts.

SPEAKER_01:

Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So what is this week's title?

SPEAKER_03:

I believe it's Ear Gates and Eye Gates.

SPEAKER_00:

Ear gates and eye gates was what came to me. Uh, when I was praying on what the next episode should be what we should discuss. Ear gates and eye gates came to me. And I know previously we discussed uh communication. So that's where we are. So with Ear Gates and Eye Gates, what comes to mind with you when you hear that?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh what we're watching, what we're listening to, all of that. Right now, my eyes is heavy.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we come up against that spirit of heaviness.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm trying, I'm trying to keep them open in a natural, but yeah, no, the enemy always try to find out.

SPEAKER_00:

We speak against it. So ear gates and eye gates, uh, it's very important because it literally um it focuses on what we listen to, what we watch, uh, what we consume. So that is it's the music we listen to, right? It's the TV shows and movies we watch, it's the books we read, it's the games we play, the company we keep, the conversations we entertain, what we view on social media, because that's a huge thing now. Uh, we really have to be mindful and understand that these things are not neutral. They consistently are shaping us. And so, because of this, it's important that we constantly allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and shine light on what we are consuming, what we are listening to, and what we are watching.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it ties back into the the episode we had yes um previously about communicating and communicating from a tainted well. And so if your well is full of all these things that aren't God-centered, your communication is going to be tainted.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And that's the entire focus of this episode is really driving the point home of protecting what we hear and see uh so we can walk in truth, clarity, and freedom. Right? So a place to start is Ephesians 14, 17 through 32. And we're gonna do some reading starting off, and then we're gonna break off into some stuff because there's some key scriptures that really came to me that was really important. And even as I was reading Ephesians 14, or Ephesians 14, Ephesians 4 and 17, I as I kept reading through that entire chapter, I started reading chapter 5, which was interesting and good. So, babe, do you think it would help for you to read? Or you want me to read?

SPEAKER_03:

I'll read. You said Ephesians 4.

SPEAKER_00:

Verse 7, beginning at verse 17.

SPEAKER_03:

17.

SPEAKER_00:

You read verse 17 through verse 32, and then I'll take over at chapter 5.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay. Living as children of light, with the Lord's authority, and we're reading from NLT version. With the Lord's authority, I say this: live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness, they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame, they live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have learned, since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. That's key. No, it just touched on um the dream I had last night, and then where it all began. It began with lust and deception. Lust of the eye, being deceived, Eve in the garden. Um instead, let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy. Stop so stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body, and don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language, let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them, and do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

SPEAKER_00:

And for time's sake, we'll go into verse one of chapter five, and it says, Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children, live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes, these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don't participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as the people of light, for this light within you produce only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness, instead expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret, but their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why the scripture says, or this is why it is said, awake, O sleep, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light. And we'll stop there. So as we were reading that, what was coming to you, babe?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh well, what was what came to me um in the beginning was how um when Paul was talking about um if you're a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good work, good hard work. And so it just reminded me of how these gifts that God gives you, like being generous, you can be a thief. The the enemy will taint that gift and pervert it into being thievery instead of being a gen a generous person, right? Because that's a gift of the spirit is being generous that this the Lord gives you. And so that was coming to me. But also what came to me was when Paul was talking about living in the light and how listening to obscene stories or foolish talk or coarse jokes, we do that, not we, but people do it all the time by scrolling on Instagram or Facebook or you know, watching certain shows on TV, and people don't think anything of it because it's what everybody does. But clearly it says stay away from it, it has no place among God's people.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And then stay away from people who tell you it's okay to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

So I think it's important because and that stood out to me too, because um these two chapters specifically, it makes it clear that following Christ is not about um, it's not really about adding new behaviors to our lives, right? It is about putting off old nature entirely, so it's taking things away and putting on the new. So your mind, it we talks about, it talks about in Romans 12, 1 through 2, about renewing your mind, or verse 2 specifically.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So it requires a decisive turning away from former ways of thinking and speaking and living in a full surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so when doing that, we can't, and this is what you were talking about, you can't take these old habits, you can't bring the old habits with you uh when we're being led down a new path by the Holy Spirit, and we can't take our old mindset uh or any old attachments. And so I think the thing that people challenge are challenged with sometimes is forsaking your old ways.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, people, but and it's hard because I think people, it's hard for people to do that when they don't renew their minds. Like after both of our conversions, I remember when we uh started watching like shows that we used to watch when we was kids like Family Matters or Martin. And it just did not hit the same. It was like, what? We were just picking all these things that just were not, it didn't align with our lifestyle that we live now. It wasn't even funny anymore. It was like, I don't even know why we can't even let our kids watch this. It was just a bunch of perversion there, there was a bunch of obscenities there. There was, it was just, I don't know how we could, we could never go back to this.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, it's it's what takes place when you're transformed, right? So I have here, um you literally have to go through a transformation. So um the challenge is your mind is being transformed and renewed by Christ. And so when that takes place, if you attempt to maintain connection to things that shape um our thinking in unhealthy ways, uh whether it's through media, relationships, conversation, or internal thought patterns, um, what happens is you have this tug of war now, right? And and this is, I think, what the church struggle with because they're like, okay, it's not sin.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

But it will those influence can quietly corrupt your discernment and to distort your identity, which is the desire of the enemy, and negatively affect how we see ourselves, how we view others, and then even how we understand God, which goes back into communication.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but it's and it's um your idea of what is good and evil and what other people's thoughts of good and evil is. When originally that's not what we are supposed to be operating off of. We're supposed to be operating off of God's commands and his commands only.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you approach it from the perspective of understanding that the ways of this world is not necessarily right. Um, which it can be challenging because your worldview has been shaped by your entire life experience.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So if you're used to listen to listening to certain things, a lot of times we try to shift our perspective to say, I guess to justify. So we try to find scriptures to justify us being able to continue to live life in that manner, in that way.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And saying it's not, it's no problem with it. And so now the new thing that they say is, okay, well, it's not sin to look at these movies, it's not sin to listen to this music, it's not sin to view the this type of content or have these type of conversations. Matter of fact, it's actually human and it's a part of the human experience for us to do these things, even though it is not um healthy for your spirit. Right. It's feeding your flesh. Right. And so, and then what we don't understand is when you connect yourself to those things, um, it can then in return impact how you move in life, which could possibly lead you to sin.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I think the problem is a lot of times, um, just because we can do it does not mean we should do it. And just like we were listening to a young lady earlier today, um, just because it's allowed doesn't mean that God allows it. You know, just because you could do it doesn't mean that you should do it. You know?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the thing is that the best way that we can look at it, if especially with Ephesians 5, um, we are no longer called to walk in darkness. We see that in Ephesians 5. We are called to live differently and we are called to reflect God. And so the question is, is what you're doing a reflection of Christ? Is what you're listening to a reflection of Christ? Now, here's the interesting thing because that does not mean that you're not able to have fun. That doesn't mean that you're not able to watch movies or enjoy yourself, or every movie you have you watch has to be a Bible quote unquote based movies or a story about Daniel or David or whatever. There are movies that you watch and we've watched that we've preyed upon, and it was we were given the okay to watch that reminded us or caused us to think back on the things of God, right? Which is why this goes right back to Galatians 5 and 25, where it tells us to let our lives be allow us to allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit in all we do. Let the Holy Spirit lead our lives. And I think that's the challenge, right? And so this is what we are encouraging everyone, this is what we're encouraging you to do. Um, now, for example, listening to certain music artists, and I'm not going to call any names out, that's not what we do, but just in general, listening to regular RB music or listening to regular hip-hop music, which is something that a lot of quote unquote Christians struggle with, or those who claim to be followers of Christ struggle with, right? You have to think about what they're talking about. Don't get caught up in the beat, don't get caught up in how they sound, which is what a lot of people do. But what are the words that they're speaking? Because they're speaking that into your spirit. And as you're listening to that, you're receiving that, whether you know it or not. It is impacting you. It is impacting how you think, and that in return, um, now you're creating this battle within your mind. Um, openly opening yourself up to these things where it makes it easier for the enemy to have doorways that he can use to enter in in order to pull you away from the will of God.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. And a lot of people think that it doesn't matter what you watch or what you're listening to, um, it's not going to affect you because you don't really, you don't see, you don't see the immediate fruit. It it progresses over time. And um, I've just lost my train of thought for a second. Uh it yeah, it it progresses over time. And I yeah, I lost my thought. I don't know. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, even going deeper into that, it's not just you listening to that that's challenging, it's also the spiritual implementations of what it's opening you up to.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, sorry, because life and death is spoken in the tongue, and so when God Created earth, just like we were talking in the last episode. Um you produce a fruit. Fruit is going to be produced. So if you look at the lyrics that you're listening to, or you look at the transcript of a YouTube video or a movie, um, that is being directly fed to you. That's your bread for the day. You know, that's not, you know, the Bible talks about our daily bread, which is the word of God, but that's also bread.

SPEAKER_00:

And what is the the, I think the other thing that, and we've talked about this or we've discussed this in previous episodes. Um, just like we have our worship music that we play throughout the day, or you know, we have quote unquote the style RB music. We have Christians that do RB music, we have Christians that do hip hop music. And just like you have that plane, it's literally something where they're glorifying God.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And so, and we've talked about this before. What is the other music glorifying? Those who are not true followers of Christ and doing this music, what are who are they glorifying?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, right? It's glorifying self, it's glorifying selfishness, it's glorifying sinfulness. Sin, sinful nature.

SPEAKER_00:

Just it's glorifying, because it is glorifying disobedience, which is is sin. When we think of sin in the most simplest or simplistic term, sin is nothing more than disobedience to God's original plan and design.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and it's feeding your flesh. So when you're angry, you put on a certain type of song, or like a lot of ladies, they listen to Mary J. Blige, it's like, oh, you listen to that because you've gone through a breakup. Or, you know, and it's just it's empowering. And it's like, where does that even come from? What is empowering you? What is affecting your influencing your emotions when you're listening to these songs?

SPEAKER_00:

And what's influencing them when they're creating them? What type of headspace are they in? You know, for example, and not to pick on it, but Mary J. Blodge, she's been through a lot in life. She's dealt with a lot of trauma. And so her music, it comes from that place.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And then it comes from a place of trying to empower herself in the best way that she knows how.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

But that's not what we're called to do. We know that we are empowered through Christ.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so we find our joy, our peace, everything that we need in Christ. Well, a lot of times with different artists, they find their joy of peace elsewhere.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Whether it be through them um getting into paraphernalia or whether it be in them going out and living very promiscuous lifestyles or shopping sprees or whatever the case may be.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And the song Cranes comes to mind with Salange when she's like, I'm trying to drink it away. I'm trying to sex it away. I'm trying to shop it away. I'm trying to do all these things to make everything to make to give myself peace. I'm doing all these things. But it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00:

And and I think in those instances, right, all everyone is seeking that peace.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Everybody is seeking that out, but we know that we find that in Jesus. So what we should remember, right? Um, what we hold on to does not just affect our behavior. It affects what we think about ourselves, it affects what we think about others, it affects what we think about God. Um it's this is why it's so important for us to guard our ear gate and eye gate, and that's why it's critical, right? Because our identity, our perception, and our spiritual sensitivity is shaped by it. And if our thoughts are polluted, and we talked about this before, what happens? Our discernment will become polluted and our well becomes polluted.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And that that our temple becomes polluted. Exactly. Because earlier when we were speaking, and I couldn't, I didn't, I didn't want to interrupt you, but the song that that was coming to my head was um William McDowell's um My Life is not my own. To you be to you I belong. I give myself, I give myself away. Like my life is literally not my own. And so we have people out here making decisions, who they're listening to, where you're gonna go, what you're gonna do. I'm gonna tell God this is what I want to do. And your life is not your own. And so we're out here struggling because we're trying, it there's there's two kingdoms that we're we're we're bumping heads with.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mean, it it it's as simple as that, right? And we don't understand, and I think, you know, once again, we just don't know. It's something that's not taught to us. And while we read the scripture, we don't believe the scripture. And the scripture, if for many of us, is not alive. So um we say in theory that we want the Holy Spirit to lead us, but many of us question how that looks.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I think that's I think it's because it's normal. They normalize the behaviors in the world, or the mixing.

SPEAKER_00:

They normalize the mixing in the church. Um, you look and and this is what you have to, um, everyone that's listening, be careful with, because you can get caught up into a space where you look for churches or spaces that are safe spaces where you can be affirmed. Be affirmed and doing the things that does not align with how God has called us to live our lives. So those churches will say, Hey, it's nothing wrong with you listening to this music. It's nothing wrong with you smoking, it's nothing wrong with you drinking, even though we know that God has called us to something differently or called us to live our lives differently.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. Or you have your pastors going to fiancé concerts or um different type of, you know, seeing, I don't know, Jodice or I don't know, you know, Keith Sweat, I don't know. But you have them out in the world and you see them because they're your leaders, and you think, okay, well, they're a man and woman of God. They claim to be, they profess to be. So this must be okay if I do it too.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. But this is what you look for too, because so this is something to say, right? Um, and you can find this all in Ephesians 5 and 4, right? This uh some of our key scriptures for this week's episode. But true transformation requires complete separation from the old life and full submission to the new life in Christ, right? So partial surrender always produces what? Partial clarity. If we want to hear God clearly walk in freedom and live in holiness, we must be willing to let go of anything that competes with his truth. And so I think I know for a fact many of us struggle with letting everything go. Right? And it's only, of course, by the power of the Holy Spirit that you can let everything go. However, with that being the case, now it digs into the challenges that we face with what we were discussing on the previous episode, which is communication.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And once again, just because it is not necessarily a sin to listen to those things, the question is what is it feeding and what type of thoughts are it producing within you? And also are you searing the Holy Spirit? Are you um are you impacting your ability to discern or hear from God? Because the more we expose ourselves to something that we aren't supposed to be doing, we become spiritually, and and we talked about this here, we become spiritually dull, right?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So spiritually dull refers to, and this is the enemy's ultimate goal. I don't know we talked about this before before, right? So let's just call it what it is. I don't think we discussed this. There is a war for control of our minds. That's just what it is. There is a war for control of our minds because our subconscious is what the Bible is referring to when it ref references our heart.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Right? And so the enemy knows that if he wins the war in our minds, he gains direct control or influence over our destiny, which is why he's consistently battling us in our minds. He's consistently battling our thought process. So the ultimate goal for the enemy for the majority of us, especially those who are followers of Christ, right, is to render us spiritually dull.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And so spiritually dull refers to a condition of reduced spiritual sensitivity, awareness, or responsiveness. And so when you think about it from a theological perspective, it is often associated with complacency, distraction, or hardness of heart toward God's voice and activity. So to be spiritually dull is what? It's to be less perceptive to God's guidance, conviction, or presence. It's unresponsiveness or slow to obey spiritual prompting. And it's desensitized, desensitized to truth, worship, or prayer, and it's weakened in spiritual hunger and discipline.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And this is the desire of the enemy. So it's it's important to understand that it is not the same as unbelief. It often occurs, as we stated before, in believers who are tired, discouraged, distracted, or wounded.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So the enemy's desire is not to make you an unbeliever, right? The enemy's desire is to separate you from God's voice, which is what he did in the garden. They still believed in in God, they still believed in Jesus, right? The Lord, but it separated them because he was deceptive because of the conversations that they had, because of the conversations that they had with the serpent, right? And the the enemy doesn't care that you're a believer. He will show up to the church with scripture and all those things, right? But if he can get you to walk that thin line where you're completely distracted and your head is full of lies, deceptions about yourself, about other people, um, because of what you're listening to, because of who you're talking to, because of where you where you where you are in life just in general. It will, he will, he's his desire is to just make you spiritually dull. So you can't hear the voice of God. Because if you can't hear the voice of God, then you don't, then you wouldn't be able to fulfill his will in your life.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And and that I think we have to remember what the enemy's greatest desire is, right? And the enemy is always working to um cause us to question our what our identity.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. So we have to understand that there is an identity crisis at play.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And the only person who gives you your identity is Christ.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. So for many of us, we struggle, right, with being able to view ourselves as sons and daughters of God. Yet the reason that we struggle with that is because of the thought process.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we have everything else affirming us besides.

SPEAKER_00:

Which should be. Exactly. And so with that being the case, um, because of that struggle, we struggle with coming to a true realization of who we really are, which is the desire of the enemy. Because once we come to the realization of who we really are, now we're able to operate, which in return becomes a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because we operate in the fullness of everything that we've been called to operate in. And so this is why the enemy continue to war for our mind to keep us from coming into agreement with whom God says we are. And when you think about it, even when you look at the beginning with Adam and Eve, that literally what it was, it was what it was. He caused them to question what God said.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

He caused them to question what God had already placed inside them. Um and so that is that consistent struggle or tug of war that we find ourselves dealing with. And I want to read this and then I'll uh turn it over to you. A key scripture that comes to mind uh and we've read this before is Matthew, I believe it's Matthew 6 and 22 through verse 23. And this is NLT and let me see Matthew 6 verse 22. And it says that um your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Now when it's referring to the eye, it's referring to your spirit.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we have to remember what impacts our spirit. What we take or your soul.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

What we take in.

SPEAKER_03:

Your eyes are the gates to your but it also impacts your spirit too. Yeah, it impacts your spirit for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

And so with that being the case, we have to remember that the enemy's desire is to taint that aspect of things. So by doing so, it shifts our perspective on everything. Which is why the scripture states that if you're if you think that you have light, but it's actually darkness, how deep is that darkness?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And once that takes place, babe, we dig into all of these other things where now everything that you're speaking out to other people, especially if God forbid you're in a place of leadership or a place of power and authority, everything you speak out is you're spewing out darkness.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And that is the greatest desire of the enemy, which is why I would say, and this is what the young lady was talking about who was on Zeke's show, that the enemy don't care about you operating in your gift.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

He wants you to operate in your gift.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. So he can, but it's perverted.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. He just wants to pervert your gift.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

He wants to pervert. Exactly. He wants to pervert that. So now whatever you're taking in, your spirit has become tainted. Your soul is tainted. And so now you have this darkness inside that you don't even realize is there. And even when it states that when Jesus was saying here, and if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is, you know what comes to mind? Pride.

SPEAKER_04:

Why?

SPEAKER_00:

Pride comes to mind because it's um it's like you're set in your ways. You're set in your ways to firmly believing that you are operating within darkness, but you you you state that it's light. So you call what is evil good and what is good evil. You're set in in pride. You're set in your ways. It goes so deep that it becomes prideful.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, that's kind of how the world is set up because you're looking at what you're doing as uh successful. Or you're thinking that, you know, um, God put me here because I have this gift. No different than when celebrities are like, oh, I thank God for, you know, giving me this platform, or thank God for giving me this award or God giving me this place or whatever.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and I think in those instances, now we have to uh we have to shift our perspective on what we uh categorize as fruit, right? Because for many they they think of fruit as being money, success, uh, status, right, um, authority, or popularity or influence.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

When fruit in our actuality is character.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, the characteristic characteristics of God.

SPEAKER_00:

So all of that stuff, um, you can't judge that because both could be true in either case. You know, you could have influence, you can have popularity, you could have resources, you can have all of these different things, but your fruit can still be tainted. And so we have to shift how we view success. So success is not tied to the amount of people you have following you or the amount of money you have in your bank. Success is tied to your character. Who are you as a person? That is the biggest thing. And that's what shifts, or that's what sets uh those who are supposed to be followers of Christ apart from those in the world.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

The world doesn't really care about character. They care about being successful by any means necessary.

SPEAKER_03:

And a lot of people don't look at people's fruit, like how they're living their lives. They just look at like what they say. But this what uh what's on the surface.

SPEAKER_00:

This brings everything full circle, right? Because now we re uh visit our ear gates and our eye gates, what we're listening to, what we're watching, and all those things, what we're consuming. Who is that person as an individual to? Um, how do they move within their lives? Because this also influences what they put out and what they encourage you to do. Because now as you're consuming this, and even if it's friends of yours, it we can take it and bring it more, uh, make it more personal. It could be your own personal friends, it could be family members. Um, how do they live their life? You know, because how they live their life, their experiences, their worldview will then shift or um not shift, but impact or influence the type of advice they give to you and the conversations that they try to encourage you to be a part of, right? Which can still in return uh draw you away from God, or even your pastor or your the the leaders in your church. What type of lifestyles are they living? What are their fruit? Because this in return impacts what they speak over your life.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. And then it goes to, you know, who's the head of your life, right? Even though you you have all these people you're surrounded by, you have your pastors, you have your prophets, you have all these people, all these voices. But the only voice that matters is God's voice. So you take everything with a grain of salt and you give it back to God. God, should I be listening to this person? Is this word for me? Is this right? Should I be listening to this? Is it okay if I do this? Is it okay if I do that? You just you take it back to Him.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think that's a uh a great uh segue into what it is that you wanted to discuss what God was dealing with you with before. Regarding um the crisis they had in the covering. Do you wanna explore that a little bit more?

SPEAKER_03:

Um I can.

SPEAKER_00:

No, we can go there.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay. Um what was coming to me is you know, when I was going down rabbit hole last night, but this morning, early this morning. And um the war for our mind literally started in the garden um with Eve and Adam. Right? And so Christ should it's God, Christ, the man, and then the woman. So the head of the man is always should always be Christ. God center, God focus. Um the commandments come from God to the man, and he relays that information to the woman. Um but then when the communication is broken or silent, that's when the enemy creeps in and be and he's deceptive and he will you know cause you to question what it is that God is saying if you are out of order. And so for me what was coming to me um for women per se, um because it's a lot of women who are out here single making decisions for their lives and they are put in really, really bad situations, um, because the men that they choose their heads aren't in Christ centered. And so they're being led led astray. Um the enemy comes in not because Eve or the woman is weak, but because the man hasn't given the right commands.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's important just to um chime in to understand that just because he's in church does not mean that he's Christ's center or that Christ is his head.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

There's a uh a lot of men in church that are not submitted to Christ. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03:

Um yeah, that was what was coming to me. Um I think uh and I'm I'm trying to get my nose here together so I don't have this uh thing full of silence. But that's really kind of what I wanted to say.

SPEAKER_00:

Was there anything else you want to add?

SPEAKER_03:

Because I know there's quite a few things you have here, and I think it's an interesting subject because I didn't want to go into like a super super deep dive because this isn't about just like women.

SPEAKER_00:

But this is supposed to be also in your book.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

But uh, and that's it's coming soon. But I didn't want to do like a super, super deep dive, but I just wanted to put it out there. Um, because I know a lot of people get in relationships, a lot of women per se. Um, they have all these other voices when you don't have a covering. So there's a lot of women who are out here are single. Now, Eve, obviously, she was married to Adam and he was her head, but it's like, who's your head when you're single? You know, and so you have all these women out here listening to these podcasts or these men out here who are selling dreams, right? Selling uh these selling the dream, selling a dream of what a relationship looks like or what a woman should be doing or not doing um in a relationship from a and they it's natural for you to look to a man, right? For advice. It's natural for you to look to a man for you know what it is that men are looking for, how your role should be as a woman, but that role has to directly come down from God, from heaven, to say, hey, this is your role. Yeah, this is your role, this is what I'm calling you to do. Just like Adam spoke over Eve. Like I'm your woman, right? This is what you're called to do, and you're also called to rule beside me, you know. She also played a part, but then when you don't have that covering, you're kind of just lost out here and confused. You're listening to all these voices except for who's supposed to be your head. Your head is Christ.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And the head in your head of your husband is supposed to be Christ. And and and so, and it was interesting. And this is what you were diving into before delving into. Um, if Christ is not your head, the world is your head.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

And who's the prince of this world?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Thank you, baby, for covering that for me.

SPEAKER_00:

And so now unknowingly, the enemy has become your head.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Because everything within the world outside of God has been shaped and created by the enemy to mimic God.

SPEAKER_03:

Right, because he he always just tries to distort order. And so if man is supposed to be the head of the woman, then man were is in a fallen state right now. And if they're if their head is not um Christ, then it's the world.

SPEAKER_00:

And now what happens is you become competitive because while man is the head, uh, we look at Genesis uh two, and God made it clear that it was meant for us to rule together.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

But we know within Genesis three that this uh tension between man and woman came from the fall.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

It was introduced uh as a part of the curse from Adam and Eve turning away from what God had commanded that they do.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so outside of Christ, you automatically place yourself in a position where you're living life through the curse. And I believe what becomes even greater of a challenge is that we have people in the church that are still living from uh the perspective of a fallen state because they have not been transformed. And so, and we talked about this before, which could be somewhat controversial, but now we have people that identify as Christians, but they are not followers of Christ.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

So you assume that a Christian is a follower of Christ when it's two distinctly different things, right? Um, which is why we have people who will see an action carried out and say, oh, because they did this for Christians or whatever the case may be, that means that I'm supposed to identify with that. It's almost like, you know, me and you identifying with being African American uh first instead of a believer first, or you know, our brothers and sisters that are Caucasian, I'm Caucasian first, or a quote unquote white Christian nationalist first, right instead of a follower of Christ first. And so we just have to be careful because this all derives from us operating within the fallen state.

SPEAKER_04:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

And sin or disobedience to God or the enemy's design is literally to be device, the divisive. Um, he uh to disrupt order. Yes, disrupt order. He thrives in confusion and chaos.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

So wherever there is confusion and chaos, you know, okay, that's not God, that's the enemy. That this is that's the enemy's calling card is confusion and chaos. So now for women in your lives, you're going through all of this stuff, and now you're seeing confusion and you're seeing chaos in your relationships or in your um your uh personal lives. And the same thing with men.

SPEAKER_03:

You don't have an identity, exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

You lack an identity, so you attach your identity to what the world says, or that more importantly, right?

SPEAKER_03:

The men. Yeah. Because you it's that naturally that is the order, right? My identity is attached to my husband. But when I don't have one, and I'm not saying my identity is wrapped up in my husband, it's it's a difference, it's yeah, it's tied to.

SPEAKER_00:

It's intertwined together. It's tied to my husband. But our identity together is found in Christ. Exactly. And so what you're saying is that a lot of times, and even in marriages and even in Christian marriages, we hear women say a lot that now their purpose is connected and intertwined to what that man's purpose is.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so they don't have a purpose, right? Their purpose is to see his purpose through.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And I would argue that that is not your purpose.

SPEAKER_03:

No, because it's out of order. It's out of order. The man's purpose comes from God, and then the man relays what God's purpose for her is through what God says.

SPEAKER_00:

And in that situation, because now we both have personal relationships, when I'm relaying what God's purpose is for you, it should only be confirming what God has already said to you. Yes. Right?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I'm not your God, and that man is not your God. And in many cases, unfortunately, within relationships, women fall into a space where their husband becomes their God. And the husband wants to be their God, but it's coming from a distinted or or or a tainted or distorted perspective because he's still operating within a fallen state.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. So then you have the world or the the church telling you you need to submit, you know, to a man, but the man is not submitted to Christ.

SPEAKER_00:

How can you submit to a man that don't have an identity? And that's what takes place. Women now struggling with their own identity is now submitting to a man who also lacks identity.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Because your true identity is found in Christ. Right. Right. So even as a father, it's my responsibility for our children to lead them to Christ. I could speak life into them, but ultimately the only thing I'm doing is coming into agreement with God and what he's spoken over their lives, and that becomes their identity. And so now you have relationships and marriages and families where this man is not submitted to Christ, he's not submitted to the father. Right. So how can he speak identity? He doesn't even know his own identity, especially when we as men are coming from fatherless homes, right? Or coming from homes with fathers that did not speak life into us, was not spiritually mature. Because we know many of us across all uh cultures, many of us deal with situations where spiritually we come from places where the women were the spiritual heads in the household, which is automatically out of order.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

So you had no one speaking life into you.

SPEAKER_03:

You had no one forming your identity.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03:

Because the only one that can form your identity is the father through Christ.

SPEAKER_00:

By way of your father.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

Until you get to an age where now you're going directly to the father.

SPEAKER_03:

It's the natural design. It's natural design.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So if your father, whether he's absent, whether he's present, you and he's speaking death over you, or he is not present, you your identity is not.

SPEAKER_00:

Now you form your identity around the things that your father said and the things that he or he did not know. Or did that say. Or his actions, how he moved, that becomes your identity. That's why now you have women that link up with men who are just like their fathers, who are abusive, who are who's controlling, who's manipulative, who's cheaters, who's all of these things, because without knowing it, your identity has been formed around that. And now, uh, and this is just one aspect of it, but you feel like that's all you're worth. Even though you may say something else, subconsciously, you feel like that's what you're worth worth. And now God has to come in. Once you have given your life to God, He has to come and uh remove all of that mess and now say, Hey, this is what I've called you to be. This is where you should be. This is your identity, this is who you are in me. And now we're going through this process.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. And for those who are single mothers or in the father is not present or whether he is present but not present, um, it's not to say that, mom, you can't help form your child's identity, but you have to do it through Christ.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

You have to allow your children to know who Christ is for themselves, which is their father.

SPEAKER_00:

And and it's understanding in those instances is going to be a tug of war because um, depending on the dynamics of that relationship between you and that father of that child. Um, for example, if he's still active, but he's not there spiritually and he's not a good person.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, now you're fighting between good and evil. You're fighting between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so now that's where it comes into place where now the child eventually has to get to a point of making a decision on which direction.

SPEAKER_03:

That's the way I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03:

Which is why it's your job to steer them in the right direction as much as possible.

SPEAKER_00:

But this is why it's so important that that from the beginning you submit to the Father so you be with people God called you to be with. Yes. So you don't have to worry about this because you both are on the same page. You're both submitted to Christ. You're both surrendered to Christ. You understand the importance of all of these things. This is why channels like this exist.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And um, we have to submit to what God has called us to do, all of us, because we're not the only one out here, in order to encourage you to submit to the Father and develop a relationship with the Father and gain a greater understanding of who the Father is, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So that is everything, right? Um, is there anything else you want to add, babe? Anything else coming to you?

SPEAKER_03:

No, I think we're good for now. I would say um I mean, there's some so much other stuff that we could talk about, and I can go like diving deeper, but I think that was good.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So the thing I want I I would caution everyone, we say this all the time. I feel like we do. Um it was something that we were listening to that was really just disheartening. Uh, God is not here to serve us.

SPEAKER_03:

He's not a vending machine.

SPEAKER_00:

We worship and we serve God.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

So you don't tell God what you want to do. You don't tell God what you want him to do for you. You don't go to God telling God it's literally like when you think of this, we are so prideful and we've gotten so far away from those encounters in the Bible. It's selfish. You would think, like, you wouldn't think that like Daniel and you know Ezekiel and all of them. There's a lack of authority, there's a lack of reverence, there's a lack of respect, like you don't fear of God. Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

There's a lack of fear of God.

SPEAKER_00:

You don't go to God telling God what you want God to do for you.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

You don't go to, come on, you don't go to Yahweh doing that.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and for example, we listened to the lady, a young lady, and she was like, I told God this is what I wanted, this is what I wanted to happen, this is where I wanted to be, and you know it happened. And it's like, no. Do you tell your parents what you're gonna do? What happens when you tell your parents this is what I'm gonna do?

SPEAKER_00:

And she's not the only one. There's a plethora of examples that we hear and specifically focusing on relationships. Yes, there's a plethora of people that say, I told God what I wanted to tell God what I wanted, I told God how I wanted her to be, or misconstrue and say, God asked me what I wanted. No, you're misinterpreting either I don't know who you're hearing from or you're misinterpreting what God is saying. Because God is not in the business of serving you. It's not how it works, which is why read the gospels, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

SPEAKER_03:

Read it and and and really literally the whole Bible, Ezekiel.

SPEAKER_00:

But I say it because I say I say that because it's Jesus and Jesus trumped everybody else in the Bible.

SPEAKER_03:

No, I meant God when God is actually speaking.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, but I the reason I'm saying that is how he operated with the Father. He's the Son of God, he is God the Son. He is God. Jesus is our example, but he still submitted himself to the authority of the Father, and he still approached the Father in the place of reverence. It was never a demanding perspective, and he's our example. So how we approach the father should be the same. We don't demand anything from God.

SPEAKER_03:

No, we don't tell God what we're gonna do, how we're gonna do it. We don't tell him what we're not gonna do. Um, and I always look at it as a natural, as a natural in the natural perspective.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, he's he's he's not just your father, he's also a king.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, he's a king.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think sometimes democracy and being under democracy a democracy, it can get you to shift your perspective into thinking that this is a democracy.

SPEAKER_03:

He's like it's not Lord Savior, he's not like master.

SPEAKER_00:

He's not like the president of the United States of America. It's different. It's literally a kingdom. So there's a level of some like surrender you have. He gives you free will, right? Because he's a loving and merciful father. Right. That there should be a level of reverence that you have when you're going before the father, understanding that he's not only your father, but he's also your king.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. He's your king and he has he has a purpose for you. He already has a placement for you. He has a mission for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So that's that, you know, and I think by understanding that it shifts how we uh approach life in general, and including making decisions on who you're going to spend the rest of your life with. Um, it shifts your perspective into understanding it's not about you, but it's about him.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And it opens you up to be easier, more um able to receive when the father is speaking to you.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

There's no expectation. It stops confusion and chaos in your life. It stops you from having to wonder, is this person right for me? Should I be here? Should I not be here when you are literally just doing what God called you to do?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So that's that. Uh, we appreciate you. We pray that this has been a blessing to you. Uh, we will see you in two weeks until God says elsewhere. And that's everything. Anything you got paid?

SPEAKER_03:

No, we thank you guys.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Well, be blessed.

SPEAKER_03:

Bye.

unknown:

Bye.