Identity Crisis

Your identity can’t survive on church attendance, a favorite pastor, or a political label and that’s the uncomfortable truth we sit with today. After a long hiatus, we come back to talk about the “identity crisis” we’re seeing in the body of Christ and the ways believers quietly drift into building a self-image around church culture, influence, status, and who they follow, instead of around Jesus.

We walk through what it looks like when Christianity becomes tangled with politics, celebrity pastors, and spiritual hype. We also open the Bible and slow down with Romans 12:1-2 on renewing the mind, plus Galatians 5 on the fruit of the Spirit, because identity in Christ isn’t a slogan. It’s a transformation that changes your character, your choices, and the way people experience you. We talk about why “fruit” is not success, why influence can’t replace integrity, and why Jesus makes it clear in John 18 that his kingdom is not of this world.

We also get practical about discernment. We share why what you listen to matters, how music and culture can shape spiritual atmosphere, and why the church is called to be in the world without becoming of the world. Then we challenge common church language around spiritual fathers and titles by reading Matthew 23 and reminding ourselves who gets ultimate authority in our lives.

If you’ve felt pulled between the world’s systems and God’s voice, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s wrestling with identity, and leave a review so more people can find Stepping in Faith. What’s one place you’ve seen believers misplace their identity most?

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Transcript

Welcome Back After The Hiatus

Speaker 1 0:00

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.

Speaker 2 0:14

Shinea.

Speaker 1 0:15

And this is episode 10.

Speaker 2 0:18

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 0:19

So it has been a while. I really don't want to get into the details of why it's been a while. We've had a lot of family transitions. We've had exactly. We've had a we've had a major family transition. And um we we've touched on this before that we were, you know, dealing with a lot of warfare before as well. Um God has been good. Some of that is done. Um, and we have been victorious in some of that. Um and at some point we'll be able to share our testimony of the things that we've dealt with and really the importance of remaining committed to allowing God to lead

:53] Final Blessing And Goodbye

Speaker 1 1:07

you in what you do. That's what I would say. Sound about right?

Speaker 2 1:12

Yes, in everything, particularly relationships.

Speaker 1 1:15

Yes. But God is is has been good. He's kept us, his grace has been sufficient. We apologize for the long hiatus. It was not intent intentional. We have been thinking about you all, and we we've wanted to get back involved and back going. But we're just figuring out our schedule now on how to and when to record, given the major transitions that has taken place in our life. Uh, we don't want to get into details because sometimes you share stuff and then you open yourself up for unnecessary warfare. So, as much as possible, uh, we try to keep certain things private to not have to deal with unnecessary warfare. So to God be the glory. I will To God be the glory. People be coming before us, though. They be coming before us, y'all. So we be real mindful of um not involving any of our offsprings or anything like that into anything. So no one can, you know, yeah. So um, I'll start us off in prayer.

Opening Prayer And Covering

Speaker 1 2:28

We'd like to start off in prayer. We're believers. This is also season two, episode 10. So let's get going. Father God, as we come before you this evening, we thank you for your love, your mercy, and your grace. We thank you, Father God, that you are in control and that there is none that is greater than you. We submit this podcast to you and ask, God, that it would touch those that you've called for it to touch and reach the ears of those that you've called for it to reach. Holy Spirit, we submit to you and ask that you would take full control. Even as we prepare to get into what we're going to be discussing this week, we ask that it would resonate with the people, God, with your people. We thank you, Father God, for your love, your mercy, your grace. We thank you that you're here. We thank you for breathing upon this podcast, breathing upon this space, allowing your presence to flow throughout this space. We speak peace. We speak calm over this episode, over this podcast, God, over those that's listening, God. We thank you, Father God, that your love and your mercy will find them where they are, God. We thank you that you are greater and that there is none greater than you, and we submit to you even now. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. I was about to get into it. He's about to get into what? Prayer. This was about to be an episode of prayer. It's about to be an episode of prayer. Hey. Yeah. So what's the uh what's this week's episode title?

Naming The Identity Crisis

Speaker 1 3:58

I'm a matter of fact, I'm gonna give my wife a chance because she just applied lip gloss. So once again, what is this week's episode title, ma'am? Identity crisis. Identity crisis. Is that it? Um, yes, it is. Okay, this was something that we were supposed to be touching on like months ago. But I got this in January, the title, and um recently kind of went into more details of what it was and what it was entailing. And so um here we are. And so I got identity crisis, but my wife, one of the things that stood out to her that kept coming to her, was identity crisis in the church. So it'd be interesting how the Holy Spirit moves with so many uh revelations that He provided to her. Oh, you mean tonight? So today, whenever you watch. Yeah, tonight for sure. Or listening. So for us to get started, right? Um And I gotta keep holding my mic because it keeps dropping. That means you're that's not tight. It is tight. So um with that being said, let's see.

Where We Misplace Identity

Speaker 1 5:26

I guess we can start where how we misplace our identity, right? And so, and I guess we also we've had this and we've encountered this ourselves, many of us, we often find our identity in our church, the church home that we're connected to, our pastor or our leader, politics, our ethnicity uh ethnicity, um, our status, our accomplishments, our academic achievements, um, our family name. You know what I mean when I'm saying that. Lord have mercy. Sorry, I'm struggling over here. Um this this make is is doing what it wants to do, but okay. Okay. Do we need to restart this?

Speaker 2 6:21

No, go ahead.

Speaker 1 6:23

And so, um, as well as uh I was saying what we find our identity in, I'm sorry. So our family name, being a spouse or a parent, or our career. And so uh these things can describe a person, but they should not define them. And many people unfortunately build identity on these foundations, but their identity isn't rooted in Christ. So I know one of the major things that we're dealing with right now, especially within the church, is uh people's identity being somehow um intertwined within politics. Um I know specifically with the white evangelicals or I hate that term because it comes from a really racist place, but um or Christian national. Yeah.

Speaker 2 7:20

Christian nationalism.

Speaker 1 7:23

Which which is also rooted in racism, which is or division, which is not of God. But that's a major thing. And I know one of the things that we've really seen a shift in is a heavy focus on the LGBTQ plus and the um abortion, for example, uh women, uh women's rights being something that people have taken on and saying that this is what they want to focus on. But then also I know this in the um within the African American church, um we'd see a lot of mess in that too. And I guess we see mess within both churches, right? Because we there's so many things that's been taking place, uh, so many things that we're focused on. That's not of God. And um we've seen people idolize leaders or pastors, making them their gods. And um we've seen people become gun-hoe, on quote unquote, having spiritual fathers and spiritual mothers. And so those are some of the things that was coming to me as I was thinking about this podcast and this episode, what about yourself? Um I mean, we were talking about, you know, some stuff, and I guess what came to me was um people find their identity in who they follow. Um, so like I can call myself a Christian simply because I go to this specific type of church, or I might think I'm a better Christian than some other Christians because I go to this particular type of church, or I follow this particular type of leader, and outside of church, I don't my identity is not in Christ, it's just in church culture, it's just in it's religious, it's I identify as a Christian because I follow this leader, or I know I have a relationship with God in Christ because my leader does. Yeah, I think um until you find your identity wrapped up in somebody else's identity. Yeah, that could be challenging that it's so loud. That can definitely be challenging. Um I believe that's something that's that's as old as time, religion. Uh and then with social media, there's this you and your mic with social media it keeps dropping, so uh there's this newfound um uh it's not tight, that's why.

Speaker 2 10:34

I keep tightening it.

Speaker 1 10:37

Okay.

When Pastors Become Influencers

Speaker 1 10:38

There's this uh newfound desire to um there's this newfound desire to for pastors to be almost like influencers. And I think that becomes challenging because it shifts the perspective away from it being about Christ to it being about your pastor and how many followers they're having they have or how influential they are. And now, you know, we see instances of Sunday morning services where um pastors unfortunately begin to play cleanup and they their personal lives spill into the pulpit, um, and it shifts their the focus away from God, or we see pastors that are beginning going on tour as if they are um some type of artist or whatever the case is. Or celebrity. Or celebrity. Because you have these, you have celebrity pastors, and I don't think it should be a thing. It should not be a thing. And it becomes challenging because it shifts the focus away for the people sometimes from I'm really seeking after God to I'm seeking to be under this pastor who's very well known and extremely influential in the world. And I think that's why God wanted us to talk about this. Um, and particularly um the revelation he gave to me about people finding their identity in their church or their church leaders. We're moving into a time now where we need Christ. We need Jesus. Like you need to hear a word from God. You need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because of the times that we're going into. There's about to be famine, there's about to be war, there's gonna be riots, there's going to be pandemics, it's um a lot of uncertainty right now. People are gonna be losing their jobs, people aren't gonna be able to eat. Yeah. Um God to have the instructions on how to move forward given the given our current times. Absolutely. And just having wisdom on understanding that not only are we battling things within the natural, but we're also battling things within the spirit.

Speaker 2 12:57

Right.

Speaker 1 12:58

Um to see God as being one that can provide manna from heaven or multiply the little that you have. And so I I believe where we start is this right here, right?

Salvation Starts The Transformation

Speaker 1 13:10

We started salvation. That's the first place that we started. So um I believe for many of us, we struggle with the understanding that our new life in Christ, it does not end at salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit. It starts there. And for many of us, um, we receive salvation, but we don't receive the Holy Spirit. And the two aren't interchangeable. So we think, oh, because I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I automatically receive the Holy Spirit. It can happen at the same time, but then it also could happen on separate occasions. And so um the important thing that we have to remember is that's the beginning. That's where your new life starts, where you be your you being born again starts. But we must go through the process of renewing our minds, right? And putting away the ways of this world. And we have to allow God to transform our perspective in every area of our life, which is why Romans 12 and 1 through 2 is so important. And so we go there, we're reading the NLT. Let's see, Romans 12, verse 1. It states, and so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. So there's so many scriptures that touches on this, and we've we've read Romans 12, 1 through 2 so many times. But it's important to understand that we have to literally submit our lives to God, and we have to give all we have, all of us, to Him, right? That's that process of um essentially dying to self, crucifying your flesh in order to walk in this new way of living. And so I believe we don't we don't go through that process, which it creates transformation, and I think it starts there, right? So what are your thoughts on that as far as the process of transformation, the importance of transformation, or whether that's something that we pursue within the body of Christ as we should? I think um identity isn't really talked about a lot in the church. Um people just tell you you need to go to church, you need to have Jesus, you need to have Christ. And like I said, you find your identity in the church, in that church leader, in that church culture, but you don't cultivate your own actual personality or identity in Christ because you're still the same person you were when you first got to church. You still have the same habits, you still have the same behaviors, you still hang around the same people. Um, and they don't really tell you that, you know, when once you give your life to Christ, that you may become a villain in your family, right? You will become probably a black sheep, you will be a new creation. That's what that means. It means a new creation, means a new person because you have the Holy Spirit, which is a part of you now. So you shouldn't be identified, you shouldn't be, what's the word I'm looking for? Um, easily identified by those who used to know you. That makes sense. They should be able to see a complete change or it in in a lot of areas, you know, in your life. Well, well, the the challenge becomes, you know, when we see Christ come on the scene, as soon as Christ received the Holy Spirit, he was ushered into the wilderness. And so we don't have a wilderness experience, right? What's wrong? Nothing. We don't have a wilderness experience, and that's part of that whole transformation that takes place, uh, which is how you get to a point of being able to be free from those things that you struggled with before. And so um, I think I know within that wilderness experience, that's when you dig into the characteristics of God.

Fruit Reveals Character And Identity

Speaker 1 17:58

So Galatians 5, verse 16 through 25. So I believe verse 16 through 25. And so that's when you begin to dig into that because the characteristics is what actually begin to form your identity. We know that that's the characteristics of what? Whatever your character is. It's it's it's it it creates an identity within you. What creates an identity in you? So, okay, let's so let's put it like this. I like trying to, I'm trying, I'm trying. So um, so identity, right? Uh-huh. When you look up the definition, it's this, it's the set of characteristics and qualities that define who a person or a thing is.

Speaker 2 18:39

Okay.

Speaker 1 18:40

Okay, so that includes your personal traits, that includes your beliefs, that includes your experiences, and your identity shapes how you see yourself and how others recognize or categorize you. So basically, identity is what makes you distinct. So when you think of your character, the Bible talks about what you should know them by their fruit.

Speaker 2 18:59

Right.

Speaker 1 19:00

It's what people, it's what caused you to make the decisions that you make. It's what, you know, causes you to think the way that you think, is what causes you to move how you move, or all of these things, all of the different decisions that we're making on a day-to-day basis, it's basically rooted within our characteristics of who we are. Identity. Yes. And your identity is nothing more than your character that uh places you in a position to make decisions. And so people see the decisions that you're making and they see how you move. And so they now say that this is the type of person you are.

Speaker 2 19:39

Right.

Speaker 1 19:40

And so I think the the simple way of putting it is right, one's identity is largely shaped by character and revealed by character.

Speaker 2 19:51

Okay.

Speaker 1 19:52

So it's shaped by character and revealed by character. And the scripture, as a matter of fact, is actually Galatians 5, 22 through 25. Um, did you want to read that? Uh Galatians 5. Verse 22 through 25. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to the cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. So that's Galatians 5, 22 through 25. It touches on the fruit of the spirit, right? And we know that the fruit that it's referring to is the characteristics of God. Okay. It's the very essence of God. Right. And so we, if you go up further in Galatians, it talks about the fruit that uh one produces when they're led by their flesh. And so we come into the body of Christ and we leave a world where we're always making decisions or we're led by our fleshly desires, right? And we bring it into the church and we don't shift that. We don't go through the process of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. So we move from being led by our flesh to being led by the spirit, which shifts our characteristics, which shifts our identity. And this is just one part of looking at it, but it starts there at the basis of what of what you're doing, which is why you can see someone and say, Oh, you know what, they have a sweet spirit. Or, you know, I know this this thing about them, or they they they seem like a such a loving person, or whatever the case may be. You're looking at like these are traits of that person. This is the character. Well, people call it, they call it energy. Mm-hmm. Y'all can call it that, but you know, we know what it is. And that's one way of form of looking at it, right? And so when you're looking at that, right, we know, right? Fruit, like I stated before, it refers to the characteristics of God. Okay. You will know them by their fruit. Matthew 7, 16 through 20, Jesus touched on this. And it's so important because some people think fruit and they think of productivity. Or success. Or success. Or abundance. But that's not what Jesus was referring to. Because it's a lot of people that's successful, but their character is horrible. Yeah. Like we always look at them and we say, hey, you know, they're successful, but they're a horrible person. Or you have leaders in the church who are popular or have a large following. A large following. But when you look at their life, their fruit is horrible. Yeah. And that's why Jesus stated in Matthew 7 and 16, you can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire, right? Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. And so we have to get back to it being this, to where you're looking at people and saying, okay, I need to, what is your actions? What are your characters? What does your character say about you? I can't go based upon how successful you are or how um influential you are, because there are quite a few people, both men and women, who are extremely corrupt, but they're influential. And they have a large following. Yeah. And they have people that's committed and devoted to them, but they're corrupt individuals. And it's not a reflection of God. And I think that's part of the problem of what we're dealing with right now, where we're looking at people who are corrupt people and we're tying them to Jesus. We're tying them to God. Well, they tie themselves to Jesus. We also do too, though. They tie themselves to Jesus, like they identify as a Christian, even though their fruit says otherwise. Just because you say you're a Christian doesn't mean that you are your father is God, the father. It could be Satan. Well, that's once again why we have to have an understanding and we have to shift. And that's why it's like it's an identity crisis because we don't have an understanding of who we are, whose we are, and who we belong to, and what we should be a reflection of. Right? Right. So it's like if you do these things, we are kingdom citizens. If you do those things, if you do these things, you are not a kingdom citizen. You can call yourself Christian all you want. You could say you believe in Christ all you want. Your actions will show it. Yes.

Kingdom Citizens Before National Politics

Speaker 1 25:11

So now as we're going into this, this was interesting. Social identity, right? Um, how a person is defined in relation to groups, which is when you talk when you uh I guess your perspective of the body of Christ, who you associate with, who uh you connect to, your friends, your family. And so when you think about this, right, this is based upon your culture or your ethnicity, uh, your nationality, your religion, your gender, gender, your profession. It reflects both self-perception and how others categorize you, right? Now the challenge becomes like even though we are African American, we are first followers of Christ, we're first believers, and we're first children of God, right? And so, you know, even though we are American, we first identify as kingdom citizens, right? So our loyalty is and or our allegiance is not to America, our allegiance is to God. Our allegiance is to the Father, our allegiance is to the kingdom of heaven. We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. So that's what we identify with first. And so that digs into the legality of things, right? And I think sometimes, quote unquote Christians, uh, they struggle with the legality, as far as from a legal perspective, when you're looking into identity. So that's your name, your date of birth, your identification documents. Yeah, right. Well, what does that mean? Like, are what are you looking at first? Are you, you know, an American citizen and you were born here, and this is what you hold on to? Because many people hold on to being born, you know, being born in a certain area, a certain city, a certain state, a certain country, being born and given a certain title or name that's connected to a certain family that may be influential, um, or even just like being connected to a particular country.

Speaker 2 27:21

Yeah.

Speaker 1 27:22

And so that's challenging because this is why, and people are not gonna like this, but this is the challenge when you try to tie God to a particular country and say it is a such a Christian nation, or this is God's chosen nation, because we are now in a situation where we have both Jews and Gentiles from all different nationalities, from all different countries. So you can't claim something as if it belongs to you or as if you are primarily the chosen outside of if you're like an original Jew. Yeah. But then that starts to impose your own religious views and doctrine upon people when God literally gives us a choice to choose whether we want to serve Him or not. Yeah, and we will get into that with Jesus and Pilate, right? Um, and that's John 18, 29 through 37. And so if you read that, interestingly, uh, when Jesus went and I'll read it real quick, trying to be mindful of time. What's that, Matthew, right? Is it Matthew? Let me see. I don't have split screen. No, it's John 18, 29 through 37. I don't know. Is something wrong with the update? I can't split screen. Well, I did kind of weirdly. Is weirdly a word? Yeah. I believe it is. Why did it take me to axe? Did I click on axe? Sorry everyone, I'm getting it together. I said John 18, right? John 18, 29 through 37. Okay. So, um, beginning at verse 29, and this is when uh Jesus was taken, he was uh taken to Pilate after he was beaten by the Jewish leaders. It says, so Pilate the governor went out to them and asked, What is your charge against this man? We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal, they retorted. Then take him, take him away and judge him by your own law, Pilate told them. Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone, the Jewish leaders replied. This fulfilled Jesus' prediction about the way he would die. Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. Are you the king of the Jews? He asked them. Jesus replied, Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me? Am I a Jew? Pilate retorted. Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why, why, what have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders, but my kingdom is not of this world. I'll stop there. So Jesus in this moment, when he's before Pilate, he made it clear to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. I'm not focused on whatever is going on with the Roman Empire. I'm not here to tear the Roman Empire down. My kingdom is of heaven. Right? And if you really wanted that smoke, we know Jesus could have sent forth 10,000 angels to shut everything down.

Speaker 2 30:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1 30:54

And so I find it problematic when this is Jesus' stance. But we see now that people are encouraging us to take a stance of putting politics before God or trying to intertwine God with politics.

Speaker 2 31:09

Yeah.

Speaker 1 31:10

And that become problematic because if you are a follower of Christ, if you are um a child of God, your uh top priority is being in the place where you are more so like uh many of us, you supposed to act like a diplomat. You don't pick sides. Yeah. Or from a church perspective, you have a church who tries to incorporate culture um into the church.

Music As A Spiritual Gateway

Speaker 1 31:39

Like you shouldn't be hearing boots on the ground in church. I've never even heard the song, but I just know it's not a song that I would listen to. What's boots on the ground? It's some some line dance or something that they've been people being like you. I think we heard a little bit or something. Oh, is that with the sororities and fraternities or something? Have no clue. Okay. Yeah, I don't know. But it's a worldly song. And or you know, we're swagging and surfing, you know, in church. You know, you listen to the lyrics, like that's not it's not of God, right? But then we and and and people have this excuse of, or they say, well, we have to reach the people, and it's like you're not God. It's not your job. He literally chooses us. Well, some would say that it's not a sin to listen to swag and surf. So, what would you say to that? And I'm I'm I'm I'm being rhetorical. No, um, do I think it's it's not sinful, but what they're talking about is sinful. So why would you associate yourself with things that are evil or sinful, right? David said, like, God, I will turn away from all things evil, right? And so why would you want to listen to it? What what is the reason? What's the reason? What's the reason why? Because at that at the end of the day, it's like either you're gonna be obedient and to God or you're gonna gratify yourself in flesh and just make excuses, right? Because yes, you can listen to it, it's not sinful, but why? But why? Yeah, I think what's the reason is not sinful because you can, it's not a sin, but we have to, and this is part of having your mind renewed, understand that something is always influencing you, right? And I was gonna talk about since that the last episode, I think it was Ear Gates and I Gates or whatever. And so whenever you're listening to things that are sinful or they talk about sin, those are seeds being planted deep down inside that one day the enemy can come and collect. You know, you just never know when it's gonna happen. You could be listening to a song at four years old, and at 10, he comes and collects. Yeah, you know, or you could be listening to a song right now about sex or drugs, and the enemy will come and he'll collect on that seed. He'll have somebody water that seed, and then you just start to slowly transform. And it's just also adding to that is understanding that music creates frequencies and atmospheres and doorways are open through music. Um, it's really important that you, whenever you had anything going on with the prophets in the Bible, many times they would ask, they would send for a minstrel to play music to create a frequency to allow them to flow more easily within the spirit. And so it's really important to understand that it's creating a frequency for something, which is why, and we've touched on this on numerous occasions, while you can listen to like a certain rap song or something like that, and you get angry and you're upset and you're ready to tear stuff up because you're listening to something that's talking about that, or you're listening to a song that's very sexually based, and now you're really dealing with this perversion and you're wanting to do something with somebody, and you're having these feelings that you wasn't having before you put that music on. Yeah, let's not pretend like music isn't a gateway. Let's not pretend like music isn't influential and you can just, oh, I can just listen to it and it's not gonna do anything to me. Yeah, right in that moment, it might not, but and at some point, yes, it yes, it does. I mean, those the people who, you know, I remember back in high school, you know, before games and stuff, you know, or before going out to the club, or um, and they would listen to like knuck if you buck, or you know, and get you hype. And you know, if knock if you buck, come on, I'm leaving because a fight's gonna break out because it changes the atmosphere. And they don't understand, even when you listen to some of the artists, they know and they understand frequencies. Many of them have touched on it on time and time again, stating that they study frequencies and they purposely create these songs and create certain frequencies to put their listeners, listeners in. Yeah, little Z Bird created our song, right? And it didn't have any words. It was literally just mute, it just beats. Yeah. But not getting the way, uh getting back on on subject, I guess. Um the reason I gave, uh the reason John 18 and 29 through 37 came to me, what was coming to me is the key takeaways from this, right? Jesus made it clear that his kingdom is not of this world. Um, and he made it clear, although Jesus was born a Jew, right? At that point in time, his identity and allegiance, uh, it was rooting in the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. He could have stated that yes, I am the king of Jews, but he said, no, I'm not the king of Jews. Because his, or that that's not his primary, that's not his focus. He stated, hey, if I was the king of Jews, and if this is what it was, they will come and they would rescue me right now. So my followers are the kingdom of, they are part of the kingdom of heaven, right? But I think that was something that was really important to understand too, because when you truly follow God and when you truly follow Jesus, you also understand what he's doing. Or you also, you may not fully understand everything, but you you move on the same frequency, right? Yeah, because even in the Garden of Gethsemane, I think it was Peter, he cut the ear off of one of the uh soldiers. And Jesus was like, No, we're not doing this. If you live by the sword, you'll die by the sword. This is not because I'm I'm he's like I'm giving myself to them freely. And if you understand that, and I've been trying to explain this to you for the longest, you will let them take me. Because I have to go through this process in order to literally undo everything that Adam and Eve did in the beginning, which goes way beyond, and some people may argue, but it goes way beyond salvation. We and we talk about this all the time. We have we as humans have to stop being selfish. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, it shifted everything. I'm talking from a universal perspective, it shifted how everything moves. Literally, everything. It put everything off. Everything was put off. And so um, it's just really important. Uh John 17, 14, 14

Living In Two Kingdoms

Speaker 1 39:09

through 16. I'm not gonna, for time's sake, read it, but it touches on the fact that we are to be in the world, but not be of the world. And that was Jesus speaking, right? And this is what you were talking about, how a lot of times the church infused the world into the church to try to be quote unquote hip or to try to be in or appealing or appealing to the world. But the Bible lets us know that we are to be in the world, but we are not to be of the world, so we can't become tainted by it. There always has to be a distinction between the two.

Speaker 2 39:39

Yeah.

Speaker 1 39:40

Now you're not being judgmental to the world because that's j that's we that's God's responsibility to judge the world, but you are to be a light, you are to be sought to season the world. They should see, as you stated earlier, a distinct difference between you and them. Yes. So um to really tie this up, it's just important to understand when you are dealing with an identity that is rooted in Christ, that is rooted in the Father, you are operating in two kingdoms at the same time. And it's important to understand which one takes priority over the other. When you are rooted in Christ, you're operating in two kingdoms at the same time. What two kingdoms? The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of this world. Oh, okay. Makes sense. Jesus was operating and and he was operating, uh operating um how can I put this? Outside of time, and he was also operating within time, within the confinements of time. He understood both. He knew the prophecies, he went right when the prophecies were supposed to be done. He didn't go before or after the prophecies. He would consistently speak of the prophecies. He never got in the way of it. He understood everything that was going to take place. He spoke of his death and what was going to happen even before, years before it even took place. You know, he was always operating within both kingdoms.

Speaker 2 41:19

Yeah.

Speaker 1 41:20

He was. Which is why people would see angels going up and down. They would see him having conversations with Moses. I believe it was Moses that he was having a conversation with, right? They would see all of these things that was taking place with him supernaturally. He was operating on a completely different level. And we're called to operate the same.

Speaker 2 41:41

Yeah.

Speaker 1 41:41

But we don't.

Speaker 2 41:42

Yes.

Speaker 1 41:44

And so um that c that uh it's a good segue into the importance of having an identity that's rooted in God and understanding that we're children of God, right? That's Romans 8 15 through 17. What's wrong? Okay. And so Romans 8, 15 through 17, paraphrasing for time's sake, it basically lets us know that after receiving the Holy Spirit, our spirit joins with God's spirit to confirm that we are his children. Right? Yes. So we become brothers and sisters with Christ. So we are not only kingdom citizens, right? We're also children of God. So God is not only our king, but he's also our father. And so I think we struggle with that sometimes. We struggle with those two things. With what two things? Understanding that God is also God is our father, yet God is also our king. Just like we struggle with Jesus being our Lord and our Savior. And this goes through this, this comes back to the fact of having it being important that our mind has to be renewed. And we operate, uh we operate, um, especially in America, under a democracy. We don't have a king here, like from a natural perspective. We have someone that's trying to be a king now, or people would like to make a king, but by all accounts, we're supposed to operate within the democracy, even though it's questionable. Yeah, it's a Babylonian structure. Yes. So we don't have an understanding of God being the king and being our father. Because if you notice with Jesus, there was always a level of reverence that he has had for the father. And he's our example. He never disrespected the father. He never looked at the father as being his friend. He always looked at the father as being his father and him being the king.

Speaker 2 43:45

Right.

Speaker 1 43:45

So he always submitted himself to him. Right? Anything you want to add? So um This is going to be controversial.

Rethinking Spiritual Fathers And Titles

Speaker 1 44:02

I think have we touched on this before?

Speaker 2 44:04

What?

Speaker 1 44:05

One true spiritual father.

Speaker 2 44:08

Yeah.

Speaker 1 44:08

Matthews 23 and 9. We touched on that before. When it touches on calling no one your earth on earth your father. Right? And so I believe that's also an issue with our identity. Because we look at our and I know people will argue with this, but we look at our pastors as our spiritual fathers and mothers. But Jesus, let's go there. Let's let's read this. Matthew 23. We I think we got time to read that. I think it's important that we read that. And what did I say? Was it 29? You said Matthew 23? Matthew 23? Matthew 23, what? Okay. Um Matthew 23, 9. We can start with verse 1. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example, for they don't practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms, they wear extra wide prayer boxes with scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels, and they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces and to be called rabbi. Don't let anyone call you rabbi, for you have only one teacher. And all of you are equal as brothers and sisters, and don't address anyone here on earth as father, for only God in heaven is your father. And don't let anyone call you teacher, for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant, but those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in the people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either. What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees, hypocrites? For you cross land and sea to make one convert convert, convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are. It's a lot there. One of the challenges that we struggle with now is there's this huge thing in looking for and seeking out spiritual fathers and mothers. But Jesus told us that when the when not to call anyone our father, except God. Right?

Speaker 2 47:01

Right.

Speaker 1 47:02

And so, and he explained why. And so what we see now is a perverted thing, right? And and I'm sorry, this is just scripture. And I know we have Paul, I know we have the relationship Elijah and them had, but we have to be really careful. Just because Paul had that relationship, Jesus told the disciples what? He said, No, do not allow anyone to call you father. Don't. You are brothers and sisters in the faith. Yeah, I mean, the title of the literary says, Jesus criticizes the religious leaders. And so he's telling them, look, don't allow anybody to call you rabbi. Don't allow anybody to call you teacher. He's the teacher. And God is your spiritual father. God's our spiritual father. So now the challenge becomes when you because and I always I've and I've I've had this debate with other people in the faith too. If it was something that Jesus wanted, why did he always refer to his disciples as his disciples? He never referred to them as his spiritual sons. Never. No, he didn't. This is Jesus we're talking about. Right. This is this is Jesus. Hebrews 1 called God state that I look at him and I call him God. Right. And this is a perfect example of, you know, people doing things in the Bible that, you know, it's in the Bible, so it must be justifiable. And it's just not the case. Because we're looking at different people's encounters with God. Yeah. And not everybody did everything the way they should have done it. So the the the thing become, we can we can learn from the teachings and the text that Paul wrote, because there's some there's a lot of stuff in there where he was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, right? Yet ultimately Paul don't become our example. Jesus is. Yeah. But are you going to hell because you have a spiritual father or a spiritual mother? No. No. You're not. However, you may have to deal with some stuff. But if you idolize them because you look up to them, but we had this conversation before. You form your identity around who they think you should be, who they've called you to be, what they've told you to do instead of, you know, going to God. Well, I won't dig into it. I feel like I did before because me and Rich had that conversation that I told you about. Yeah. And I think the other thing we were talking about was the sheep and the shepherd. I think that was brought up brought up when we were talking about this episode, but I don't know if it's relevant right now. Or the fact that, you know, when you think about it, and you can you can seek out a spiritual father, but what came to mind when we were talking about it before was when the children of Israel was asking for a king.

Speaker 2 49:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1 49:57

And um Samuel was like, yo, you sure y'all like this don't make sense? You have a king. You have God. He's chosen you. We need a physical king here on earth. And so God looked at Samuel and he told Samuel, they're not rejecting you, they're rejecting me.

Speaker 2 50:14

Yeah.

Speaker 1 50:15

Go pick them out a king. Let them be their king. And they're gonna do whatever comes along with that. So we see certain instances, unfortunately, because you have men who are corrupt and can be corrupt. And we see certain instances that when you place the place them in that position, you have things where people consistently now overstep boundaries, take advantage of that role, take advantage of that position, all of these different things. So you it's just really it really should be like that's my little brother, or that's my big brother. And then I'm being discipled by them. Yes. I'm being discipled by them. And so um I think where are we at now? I think that's okay, yeah, that's where we are. So essentially it's important to understand that God is the ultimate spiritual father. And now it's like it's not just belonging to a kingdom, but now you're a part of the family of God. But you just gotta be careful because you know, we touched on that before, and I'm not gonna go back into that, but that can negatively impact you when you connect yourself to men who are corrupt, and that can form your identity. And now you can have some stuff you're dealing with because yeah.

Speaker 2 51:37

Yeah.

Speaker 1 51:38

So at the core,

Waking Up To Real Encounters

Speaker 1 51:42

right? Our identity should be rooted in Christ, formed through transformation, revealed through character, and the Holy Spirit is who produces the nature of God in us. And we are to be reminded that we are in this world, but we're not to be of the world, and remember that we are operating in two kingdoms at the same time, and we are children of God is the takeaways from this episode. And we have to get it together because we're struggling in the body of Christ. We are asleep, we don't under think understand things of the spirit. Um we don't realize that the word is alive. We're not led by the spirit of God and what we do. We're led by men. We're distracted.

Speaker 2 52:32

Yeah.

Speaker 1 52:33

We seek out celebrity pastors. We we move places now and join churches based upon the number of people that go to the church or the worship team that's at the church, or the pastor that's at the church, and not because God told us to. Yeah, because there's a move of God there. And it's like, that's not the case. Are we seeing miracles, signs, wonders, demons getting cast out, the sick being healed? Most importantly, is your life being transformed? Are the people's lives being transformed? Are the people in the church, are they still out in the world, in the club, listening to certain music, going on, because there should be a certain level of conviction. When you, you know, there's a level of conviction. When you encounter God, there's a level of conviction at one that that you have to where you you just can't do what you're doing. You're convicted. When you come under, like when if you're in a space where the presence of God is hosted, you know, when the presence of God is thick and you're under leadership. I think a lot of people don't, they they haven't had encounters with Jesus. And if you haven't had an encounter with Jesus, then your life doesn't really get transformed. You could say you know Christ. I mean, I used to say like I was a Christian, I used to, you know, believe, but I never had an encounter with Christ. And then when I had that first encounter with Christ, with God, the Father, changing my life forever. We'll never ever be the same. Never ever be the same. Yeah. And that it begins there because uh I guess just to simplify it, part of the reason that we still struggle with our identity is because we still operating under the old system. We've been we haven't been transformed because we have not encountered Christ. We haven't encountered because you haven't heard God tell you who you are. You literally have to have a word from him. What does he want you to do? What is your purpose here on earth? And a lot of people don't believe that God still speaks, but it's like, how do you know what your purpose is if you know you're just reading other people's purposes? Well, that's what it's in the Bible. That's where Romans 12 and 1 through 2 comes in. It says that your mind has to be renewed. Then you will learn and learn uh God's will for your life, which is good, pleasing, and perfect. But first, your mind has to be renewed. And so even us, you know, we're still going through the process in certain areas of our lives where our mind has to consistently be renewed. It's you never arrive. It's a daily situation where your mind has to consistently be renewed because you got to think about it, you know, when you're 30-something years in or 20-something years in, living a particular way and doing what certain things a particular way, all of that has to be transformed and shifted now to now have an understanding of who God is. Now it'd be great for our children, um, especially those that come through me and you directly, because you know, and for those of you who are in relationships or in marriages that God pre uh ordained to be, and you have kids come from that, you are in an amazing place where you can raise them up from a child on up, teaching them the ways of God, yeah, to where now it's not as hard for them as it is for you, or as it is for us, or as it was for us to go through this process of having our mind renewed.

Speaker 2 56:17

Right.

Speaker 1 56:17

Right. Because it's just a we have to consistently be reminded your mind has to consistently be renewed to get to a point of essentially being able to now walk in the spirit. Right. Well, the whole purpose of Genesis, the whole purpose Jesus died on the cross was to restore our right standing. So, like he he died on the cross so that to make it, to make it to where Eve and Adam never ate from the tree, right? Yeah, and so God created Adam and Eve to create offspring that bears his image, then they wouldn't need a renewing of their mind. So if you have two, uh if you have a couple who's ordained by God and they have offspring, those offspring are already in an image of God. It doesn't, they don't have to have their minds renewed continuously. No, they don't, but they have to learn though, because right. And I'm not I'm not saying that I'm not saying that they they won't ever have to renew their mind, but what I'm saying is they don't have to, they they there is no born out of I don't know. Is there a born again? Yes. I mean, obviously because they're still born into a world of sin. Because they're still born into a world of sin. But when you have two believers, I guess it's not as as bad. It's still so the no matter how you look at it, you're still born into a world of sin, even if you have children, um, even if you have kids that come from well, I mean, I know there's there's influences, right? Well, it's it's just it's innate, right? Our sin for nature is innate, which is why you have every single child, for example, that goes through what they will call a terrible two process, right? No matter who the children go through terrible twos. It's not terrible twos, it's they're learning to deal with their emotions, they're being influenced, you have the enemy. That's still your child, even if you are believers, is not um protected from demons coming and trying to influence them. Matter of fact, in many cases, they will be under even greater attack. Well, the only difference is you're teaching them how to deal with that. Yeah, and you're teaching them what it is, and you're teaching them the ways of the Father so they're able to combat it because Jesus is the prime example, he's literally the son of God. Right, which is training them up in a way in which they should go. Yes, and that's that's the key thing. It's more you're it's eat it's not that it's easier, but you're in a better position when you both are believers and you're in a relationship God has ordained. Because now there is also protection that comes from that, right? The Bible talks about in Matthew's, I believe it was seven or six when Jesus was talking to, I don't know, what is it, but um, when Jesus talked about, you know what, God is joined together, let no man come in between, essentially. And so there's a protection that comes from being in a marriage that God has joined together and having offspring come from that marriage, and then submitting those kids back to God and saying, God, I need you to help me raise them in a way to where they would be fear, they they will be, they will love you, they will reverence you, and they will fear you. Not fear isn't scared, but fear from a reverence place.

Speaker 2 59:40

Yeah.

Speaker 1 59:40

But that's a whole nother topic. That could be a whole nother episode. We are going to get ready to end before we keep going. Anything else you want to add? No, no, no. Just good. I was just thinking, I was just thinking about, I forgot, you know, sin enter the world. But if it didn't, then there would be no born again, renewing, all those things. Which is why even when our children turn 12, they have to make the decision to give their life to God.

Speaker 2 1:00:09

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:00:09

Prior to that, they're under us. And so if you out there in them streets doing stuff you ain't supposed to be doing, your child is under that. But anyhow, I digress. Um, we're digging into other topics. So I guess this is a great place to stop. Everyone, we pray that this has been a blessing to you. Yeah. Um, unless otherwise we will see you and we will finish this out. We have what, 14 more episodes to go after this? Is it 14 or wait, do we do 28 episodes per season? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know how many episodes we did last season. I think it's 28. Or I think it's it may be 18. Whatever. Um, either way, we have quite a few more episodes to go before this season ends out, and we are going to be committed to um getting this out to you all. Uh, keep us in prayer. We are also walking in the fact of understanding that this is what God has called us to do, right? Uh, so we understand that, yes, 20 is 28 episodes. So we have 18 more episodes to go. So, you know, isn't we also are accepting all of the things that God has called us to, and walking away from what we thought our lives should look like. So we're walking in this journey alongside you all as we're encouraging you to take the step of walking in this journey too. As all of our minds are being renewed. So I think that is everything. Um I will say one thing.

Prophetic Warning And Practical Preparation

Speaker 1 1:01:50

I'll be brief, it just came back to me. Uh, my wife touched on it earlier in the beginning of the episode. There's a f a series of dreams I had, and I'll touch on it with the other channel that's created, get more in depth. But there was a series of dreams that I had. Um, and you know, you got Prophet Giles has been touching on it as well. I don't think too many people in the church are. I want you all to begin to pray on preparing for what's to come. We are about to be in a very challenging time where um it's going to be important that you stock up on goods, on food, on supplies, on medical supplies, mask, all the above, um, because of what we are about to face. And we have to be prayerful and led by the Spirit because especially in America and all throughout the world, uh, but America, uh, Europe, all of those places, we are about to see some shifts that's going to take place. America, uh, we are going to see the dollar decline significantly. And what we are about to face is going to be something like none other. Um what I saw, and I'm very mindful of speaking this, but what I saw in a series of dreams, I saw the dollar, which is now worth a significant amount in comparison to the China, Chinese currency. Um, I see I saw a shift, and I saw the Chinese currency have a significant increase in what it was worth, and the dollar dropped significantly. So from an economical perspective, um, I see, and what God is revealing is that China is going to be, unfortunately, and I don't it sucks because you know we're here, but they're going to be someone that's going to be in an They'll be number one. Economically speaking. They're going to be number one. And it is not good for America. It's not good for a lot of people. I saw um barrels of Chinese currency, which is called what what is it called? Yin. Is it called yin, right? Not the yin, yu yuan or something like that, I believe. The yuan. I think that's what it's called. It's called yin. Or the yes, I think it's yuan. It could be yin. But I saw it like it almost it reminded me of Joseph. The, you know, when Pharaoh was and when they had the barrels of wheat built up. This was a dream you had. Yeah. I saw money, barrels of money, Chinese currency that was built up side by side, side by side, that was stored up large. And so this is something that's been in the works for quite some time. And there were multiple dreams I had of just really seeing the dollar decline. This is not to be fearful, but it's just really a forewarning. It can't be stopped. No. But it's a reminder that's not. Is God. Is God. And you're not subjected to the king, the currency of this world or of the of the particular country that you're in. You're subjected to the currency of heaven. So your money might not come from America. It might come from China. It might come from Africa. It might come from wherever it is. God will provide it. Yeah, it's just important to understand about take this back to God, pray and prepare. Because, you know, just as the famine that came to Egypt, they had to prepare for the famine.

Speaker 2 1:05:26

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:05:26

God gave them wisdom and He forewarned them about what was to come. And He's doing the same thing for us. So you can stock up and you can prepare. And prayer free churches do the same thing. Please don't miss your boat. No. Please don't miss your boat. Please. I don't care what they say. This is giving up giving you wisdom. Don't care. I know a lot of people are in the client are in the comments, like, um we just need to trust God. We don't need to be fearful. And it's like, okay. Well give us a book. This isn't being fearful. God is sending you a boat right now for you to go. And go stock up whatever goods you need to start. You can do however you can to prepare for what's to come. Because it is coming. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I don't care what the news tell you. I don't care what the government says. It is coming. And it has been in the works for a while. Yeah. Main thing, get your canned goods right now. Yes. Get you a generator if you need to.

Speaker 2 1:06:26

Go.

Speaker 1 1:06:27

So you can stock up. If you don't already listen to him, we would recommend checking out Giles. It's a book that he released before When God Speaks, I think.

Speaker 2 1:06:36

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:06:36

Get that book. Pray on it. But we would recommend getting that book from Joshua Giles. God has given him an anointing to speak to the nations. And so he's definitely accurate.

Speaker 2 1:06:50

He's extremely accurate.

Speaker 1 1:06:51

I'm telling you, certain things that, you know, God has shown me. He had confirmed God is showing him the same thing.

Speaker 2 1:07:00

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07:00

Including it was crazy, including the situation with the whole currency with China versus America. I kid you not. I was listening to something he said, and I'm like, oh my gosh. There's nothing you won't know that he won't tell you. You just gotta listen. Yeah. You just gotta listen. But um that's that. This is not to instill fear. This is just to say, be prepared. Um, this is just really what's about to happen. I don't, there's no sides. You know, when you are when you are moving prophetically or when you're a prophet or whatever, you don't pick sides. You just you're on God's side. Yeah. So you're not one way or the other. You know, you're just on God's side. And you just speak what he tells you to speak, and that's it. So I don't take that lightly. Uh God bless. Uh, do with that, pray over it, and and go from there. Anything you want to add, babe? No, I'm sleeping. Okay. We're gonna get ready in. We love you all, we appreciate you all. Uh, we pray that this is a blessing to you and be blessed.

Speaker 2 1:08:01

Bye. Bye.