The Power Of Your Yes

Some of the biggest damage in our lives doesn’t start with a huge decision. It starts with a small yes we didn’t fully understand, or a no we were too afraid to say out loud. Walter and his wife record at 4 a.m. with one goal: pull back the curtain on how agreement works in the spiritual life, and why your voice matters more than you think. 

We ground the conversation in Scripture and real-life patterns, from Proverbs 18:21 on the power of the tongue to John 10:10 on the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We talk about how the enemy looks for access through deception, intimidation, manipulation, accusation, and fear, and how “yes” can show up as tolerance, compromise, or silence. We also get practical about discernment: canceling lies spoken over you, guarding your thoughts, and refusing identity labels that compete with who God says you are. 

From relationships and dating to family dynamics and work environments, we unpack why boundaries are not selfish, they’re protection. We look at Jesus in Matthew 4 and how He answers temptation with truth and restraint, and we contrast God’s invitation with the way manipulative people push, shame, and pressure when they’re denied access. If you’re learning to reclaim your voice after trauma, this conversation is for you. 

Subscribe for more faith-based conversations, share this with someone who needs stronger boundaries, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What boundary do you need to hold this week?

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Transcript

Welcome And 4 AM Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome 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 your relationship you have with others. I'm your host, Walter. I'm joined here alongside my lovely wife. And this is episode 12, season two. And it is currently 4 o'clock in the morning.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

4 a.m.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

So um we are believers. We like to start these podcasts out with prayer, so we are going to do that with this podcast as well. My wife prayed last time, so it's my turn to pray. Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning, we are grateful for this moment in time, God. We're grateful for your love, your mercy, and your grace. We pray that your perfect will will be carried out in our lives, God, in the lives of our listeners, God. We thank you, Father God, for allowing your spirit to flow through this, allowing your presence to flow through this, God. That you will speak through us, that you will use us accordingly to the way that you see fit. We thank you, Father God, for covering this podcast under the blood of Jesus Christ. We thank you, Father God, that you are here, that your presence is here. Let this word, God, reach the listeners that you've called for it to reach. Let it penetrate their heart, God. Penetrate their hearts in the name of Jesus, we pray. Holy Spirit, we submit to you, Lord Jesus, we welcome you. We give you the praise, the glory, and the honor and counter done even now. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

So this week's episode name.

SPEAKER_07 2:01

The power that lies in your yes.

The Pattern Behind Forced Yeses

SPEAKER_06 2:05

Or are you deciding what it is?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

The power that lies in your yes.

SPEAKER_06 2:10

The power that lies in your yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

So I mean, we may touch on boundaries a little bit in this episode, but I don't know where where we go.

SPEAKER_06 2:24

What is boundaries?

SPEAKER_00 2:25

I guess. That's what came to me, I think. A couple of days ago. We were um ciphering through my wife's life. And we were having a discussion over the phone.

SPEAKER_07 2:45

And we were um I guess in a way trying to locate patterns.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Or I guess without even knowing it located a pattern. And without getting into details, because it's my wife's testimony to speak and tell when she when she's ready. Um, there are numerous uh instances where my wife has said yes, or the enemy has tried to get my wife to say yes to things uh to gain control it over different areas and different parts of her life. And so what we notice is that, and matter of fact, you speak to it.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

No, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

It's your life.

SPEAKER_06 3:33

You already you were already speaking.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Well, it would it would be different if it comes from you. So what did you notice?

SPEAKER_06 3:40

No, what did you notice? Because you we were talking about it. Um But if you don't feel like speaking, I will speak.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

That was a whole that was huge. That was a huge, but um I think you should and then I'll I'll I'll piggyback off of what you say.

SPEAKER_06 4:04

Okay. Well, there's a pattern with me where there has always been this agenda to silence my voice by way of control. So the enemy has sent people in my life where anytime I've said no to something, it would just wreak hell in my life to the point where I'm forced to say yes or forced to compromise on things that I don't agree with, um, and then still ends up getting me caught up um in really, really tough, bad situations. Um, so I guess you would say from a child, it now had me form into this person where I always said yes, overextending myself, um, always bending over backwards, um, putting myself in situations that are unsafe for me, for other people. Um and so then we started to talk about what is connected to your yes when you say yes to things.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah, we started discussing that because of the pattern uh that that I noticed would take place with my wife. It's almost like it's different individuals, but they all have the same agenda and they all approach her the same way.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

It's always an attack, uh, no matter what. And we'll get into some of the even more recent detail situations that we've found her uh take place. And I'm always um when I'm just dealing in general, I'm always like, okay, God, allow me to see the spiritual side of things. So I'm always looking at what's the spiritual part to this that's going on, whatever we see in the natural. And so there's just been incidents, and even more recently, where uh we we saw the enemy trying to gain access to her through certain individuals, and God immediately highlighted that's the enemy. And I'm like, okay. And then as we dug it deeper in, we saw that it was just the same instance of getting her to say that yes to um allowing entry into her spiritually, or you know, it may seem naturally, but it's it's more so spiritual. And um in return, I've also seen, and she's seen it too, where the enemy consistently tried to attack her voice. And so when getting her to say yes or getting you to say yes, it's really placing you in a position where um the scripture where it talks about the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And so that's the ultimate goal of the enemy. And getting that yes is silencing the voice of the uh children of God. So um, if we were to get started, um uh

Words Carry Life Or Death

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Proverbs 18 and 21 is a good place to start, right? And babe, do you want to pull that up and read it or you want me to read it?

SPEAKER_06 7:59

You already got it up.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Um I do now.

SPEAKER_06 8:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

What is it? Proverbs. I don't have it up yet. You have it up?

SPEAKER_06 8:13

No. You said it was Proverbs what?

SPEAKER_00 8:15

18 and 21. I got it.

SPEAKER_06 8:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

And this is the New Living Translation version. It says, uh, the tone can bring death or life. Those who love to talk will reap the consequences. The tone can bring le death, death or life. Those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Right? And so as I was going through this, one of the things that really came to me is we have to remember, right, that our our words are not neutral. Right? Our tone can produce life, healing, faith, restoration, or destruction. And it all comes from the power of your tongue. And what we agree with spiritually and emotionally matters. And the enemy often seeks access through conversation, agreement, fear, manipulation, and compromise. So we we I guess the greatest thing to say is the enemy has always been after our yes. And we have a plethora of examples that we're gonna get into. Um, I don't think I put it in here.

SPEAKER_06 9:31

I don't know why you didn't put in what your um what you were getting as I was writing it and sent it to you.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Um I have it here.

SPEAKER_06 9:43

Oh, okay. Because there were some, you know, like catchphrases there.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

I mean, it was a lot that I was saying.

SPEAKER_06 9:54

It was a lot.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

I see here the enemy doesn't have power. His power is what you you come into an agreement with. And okay, so I guess I was saying at that time, what was coming to me, the enemy doesn't truly have power over us. Uh, his power actually comes from what we come into an agreement with and what he speaks over our lives. So, like if you come into agreement with what the enemy is speaking over your life, then that gives him the power and the access to your life in many cases. And the Baba says that he's like he comes like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. And so what was just coming to me is the enemy is always trying to get us to say yes to something and make you believe that he has power through intimidation and manipulation tactics. Uh and it's just not the case. And we was talking about that in a car or when I was in the car. But this, it's all in here, right? Um, I guess one of the things is what uh there are curses attached to you when you say yes to the enemy, and blesses attached to you when you say yes to God. So and it it digs into all of this and and how it's uh put together, babe. So getting back to it, I guess the the the biggest thing that we can uh uh really unravel is that there's different forms of yes, right? Um and that's what I was talking about before. There's a like there's agreements, there's permission, there's access, there's compromise, there's participation, uh, silence when truth should be spoken, entertaining destructive thoughts or conversations. So when we think about yes, and when we think about how the enemy comes uh to attempt to gain our attention or gain our trust or gain or get us to uh agree to something, we have to understand that there's multiple or a plethora of ways that he can come to attack us. It's not just a thought. It can be a conversation, it could be a conversation someone is having. Like there have been instances that we, even in more recent times, where uh people have spoken lies over us, right? And that's nothing but the enemy. And it's it's really even in those instances, like if in your lives, if the enemy comes in it or someone comes and they speak lies over you or speak something over your life that's just not true, or try to speak uh word curses over you, it's important that you cancel those out and you don't come into agreement with it.

SPEAKER_06 12:42

Yeah. So what you're saying is that a yes, when you're saying yes to something, it's not necessarily you saying, Yes, I agree to these terms and conditions. It's being agreeable to whatever is presented in front of you. So you're saying, like, if we're having a conversation and I say something about you and you don't say anything back, or you don't say, no, that's not true, or I don't like what you said, or you know what I mean? Like you've come into agreement with the word that I spoke over you.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah, sometimes subconsciously that can attach itself to you, and you can start thinking that that thing is true. And even if you may not be able to say anything out loud, right? It could be something that immediately, when you recognize that, nope, shut it down. I don't come into agreement with that, I cancel that out. There are instances where you can be bold enough and you have the ability to speak and say, no, don't say that. Because I mean, I'm I've had to say it with with family members when they try to speak things over our children, just unknowingly, right? And just saying, no, no, no, you got to be careful what you say. I don't, I don't come into agreement with that. Cancel that out. Right. And so, and it's the same thing for us, but it's just different tactics of the enemy. Because that word that someone speaks can now plant a thought, and now you start to a seed, and that thought and you start dwelling on it.

SPEAKER_05 14:16

Right, which is why we have to take our thoughts captive consistently.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

And so the thing is your yes

Your Yes Is What You Tolerate

SPEAKER_00 14:25

is like you said, it's not always verbal, right? Sometimes your yes is, and this is very key, and this is important, even in relationships, right? Your yes is what you tolerate.

SPEAKER_06 14:36

Yeah, that's yeah. It's what you're what you're uh coming into agreement with.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Your yes is what you entertain. Your yes is what you repeatedly return to, or what you refuse to confront. And even if we were to look at this from a relational perspective, how many of you out there are in relationships that you're tolerating things and you're entertaining things, and you're repeatedly returning to things, and you refuse to refront things that goes contrary to who God has called you to be. And what God has called you to do, and what God has called you to do, or even more, who God has called you to be with.

SPEAKER_06 15:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

The two that the two don't match.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

And for many of us, we find ourselves in this cycle of entertaining things, returning to things, whether it be in relationships, whether it be family members, whether it be um word cursors or things spoken over our lives, whether we even subscribe to the horoscopes or the what do you call those signs? The uh, what do they call them? The signs that they use.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Zodiac.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

The zodiac signs. And say, oh, well, I'm a Gemini or I'm a Libra, and this is what this is, and this is what that is. And subconsciously we attach ourselves to those things. But we really should be stuck on what does God say?

unknown 16:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Who do God say we are? The Bible tells us that we are to take on the identity of Christ. The Bible tells us that we are the operate within the fruit of the spirit. These are the things that we should be latching to, these are the things that we should be connecting to.

SPEAKER_06 16:16

Yeah. A lot of people don't understand their yeses and what you're coming into agreement with. You know. And that was a good example you gave with the zodiac signs.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:29

Because I used to call myself a cancer, and everything that was associated with the cancer, that's what I was. And I came into agreement with that.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

And when you do, you now see yourself start operating in that way.

SPEAKER_06 16:43

Right. And then everybody else who calls themselves that same sign, they all say, Oh, this is what we do. This is how we move. Oh, this is how that zodiac sign moves. This is how that zodiac sign does this.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Yeah. And it's it's, you know, it's just understanding the dangers associated with that. Um, just like God, and we we've touched on this so many times, just like God has his kingdom, right? The enemy also do have the same. And it's a perverted version of the kingdom of God.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

And so how we we know God is looking for our yes, right? The enemy is also looking for your yes.

SPEAKER_06 17:26

Right. So when we say yes to God, we inherit all these blessings and we inherit all these resources, and we inherit the kingdom.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Let's be clear. When we say blessings and all that stuff, we're not saying that you're gonna be.

SPEAKER_06 17:41

We're not talking about financial blessings.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

This is more so Eternal. Eternal blessings. There is provision, right? Um, but I'm sorry, we don't really believe in the prosperity gospel.

SPEAKER_06 17:56

It just It don't line up with scripture. It don't line up with scripture.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

So um, and that's a whole nother episode when the Bible talks about God will give you life and life more abundantly, right? When we, you know, I'm not going, I'm not going to dive into that, but when you think of blessings of God, it does not necessarily mean that you're a multimillionaire. You could be blessed making 60, 70,000 dollars.

SPEAKER_06 18:25

You could be blessed homeless.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

That's very true. Um, and then we have to look at the lives of the disciples. We talked about this the other night. Uh, we're not looking at disciples who were multimillionaires. We're not. They weren't. And they were persecuted and they went through a lot.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

And they gave up their lives for God, for Jesus, and to follow him.

SPEAKER_06 18:50

And so, but that's those who were considered billionaires, or like Job or you know, Abraham or um Joseph. Joseph, they went through some stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

They relied on, they was thrown in prison, Joseph was thrown in prison. Job lost everything, including his health. He just didn't die.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

He lost all of his children, he lost everything that he built up within a matter of minutes, you know? And so, yeah. It's it's really serious. So getting back on subject, uh, the the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That actually comes from John 10 and 10, right? And it was a it was a parable that Jesus was touching on.

SPEAKER_06 19:35

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Yeah, why?

SPEAKER_06 19:38

No, because I was I had I've been singing 1010 all week. And I was like, what does 1010 mean? What is 1010? And then I saw something about like um destroy or destruction, like the word. Um, but I never associated it with that until just now.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Yeah, John 1010. Um, it was a a parable that Jesus was using. And let me see.

SPEAKER_06 20:08

So just like when your yes attached to God brings you blessings, and then your yes attached to what the enemy presents in front of you brings destruction.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 20:19

Or curses, because he his his goal is to kill, steal, and destroy. Yeah, still, kill and destroy. So some whatever you're saying yes to, it it can things can be stolen from you, destroyed, or an end.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

I mean, when you when you look at John 10, uh, it starts off, it was a parable that he gave. It says, I tell you the truth, anyone

Blessings Without Prosperity Hype

SPEAKER_00 20:45

who sneaks over the wall of a s a sheepfold rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber. But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and lead them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger, they will run from him because they don't know his voice. Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them. I'll tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who come before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am, let me see. Yes, I am the gate, those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pasture. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them rich and satisfying life. The New King James Version says, I come to give them life and life more abundantly. And so, would that be in the case, it's having an understanding that even when the enemy Me is coming, he's conniving. Right?

SPEAKER_06 22:03

He's deceptive.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

He tries to sneak his way in. And this is why we have to pray for discernment.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

So, like we talked about earlier, when you're having conversations or when certain certain things are taking place, you can recognize by way of the spirit, oh Cassie, you that's the enemy.

SPEAKER_06 22:23

Yeah, because things can be seemingly okay. And by the world standard, yes, it's okay for you to do that. There should be no problem with you doing that. But for you, it might be a problem.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah. And you can unknowingly bring on uh unnecessary warfare. And you're wondering now why there's you know so much chaos in your home or chaos in your life or chaos in different areas of your life. It's because there's some type of open doorway that you allow the enemy come into to come into. You said see you said yes to something, and now the enemy is wreaking havoc in that area of your life.

SPEAKER_06 23:02

It's yes, I I was gonna go to this place, I was gonna go to this event. Yes, I was gonna link up with this person, yes, I was gonna be with this person, yes, I was gonna speak to this person, yes, I was gonna be in this building.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Yeah. So we we touched on this earlier. Uh the enemy's kingdom imitates God's kingdom, but in a perverted way, right? The enemy operates, as we know, through deception, intimidation, manipulation, accusations, and fear. Yep. That's the enemy. That's his those are his calling cards. Deception, intimidation, manipulation, accusation, and fear. And my wife is having this aha moment because there are multiple instances within her life where she's seen. I can speak specifically and say that she's seen different people operate in these different areas. Accusations, I've seen it do in my own life. Manipulation, intimidation, and deception a lot with my wife, with different individuals.

SPEAKER_06 24:04

A lot. It was also 5'11, just like grace. Grace.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

So his goal is to get people to believe they have no authority.

SPEAKER_06 24:17

Yes, which is big for me.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yep. We when I tell you as this is happening, as we're going over this, I did not plan this to go this way. But it's it's also word for my wife, right? Because we touch on that all the time. She sees different instances, and we see different instances where people will push and push and push and act like they have the authority that they really don't. And they're simply trying to get her to agree to something or get us to agree to something, right? And when we don't, they fall back. Yeah. And then try a different tactic.

SPEAKER_06 24:54

But they'll push harder for me versus anybody else. For me to say yes. It's like, why?

SPEAKER_00 25:03

It I believe it it stems from your childhood. And just, and then also it's, I believe, something that you it's it's you getting your voice back, right? And you walking in your authority of who God has called you to be. And this is what we we you know touched on before, right? Um, and let's go deeper into this, right? His goal is to get you to believe, everyone to believe, that you have no authority, that you have no right to do that. That there's no boundaries and you have no right to say no.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

So let's just get let's go ahead and just clear this out specifically, especially for women, right? Because this, you know, happened to you all a lot. It's okay to say no. It's okay to tell someone no. It's okay to um establish boundaries in your life.

SPEAKER_05 26:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

You should have boundaries.

SPEAKER_05 26:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

And ladies, if you're dealing with a man, um, you know, I always say you should be who who God has called you to be with, but a lot of people aren't.

SPEAKER_04 26:13

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Um, and they don't subscribe to it. But if you're dealing with a man and he there's no boundaries, there's no self-control, that's a very dangerous relationship to be in.

SPEAKER_06 26:26

Yeah, where you feel like you can't say no, or you um you compromise or you you belittle your voice so that there's no confusion or arguments or disagreements to the point, you know, because in the last relationship I was in, there was a lot of that. It was a lot of compromising, a lot of I'm not gonna say anything because

Discernment And Open Doorways

SPEAKER_06 26:55

they're gonna go off or something's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Which falls under fear.

SPEAKER_06 26:59

Yes, it's fear. Intimidation. Yes, fear, intimidation because I would get yelled at, I would get screamed at. It would just be. And it and it's not, it wasn't just that person, right? It was a lot of people all throughout my life when I would just say no, just in general.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

Which goes back to there being a stench that the enemy can smell from trauma that you've been through, which is why it's so important that we are healed from childhood trauma and things that we've dealt with, because the enemy can really latch on to that and send people our way that is not of God. And then it's also important that the Bible says, what, the people perish because of the lack of knowledge.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

So you have an understanding of how you're to approach life and relationships. So you don't have to worry about dealing with those things because it's really serious and it can become dangerous. Um, I told my wife the other day, there's nothing more dangerous than a man with no boundaries and no self-control. I will say that again. There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a man that lacks self-control, boundaries, and then we'll add to it morals.

SPEAKER_05 28:05

Morals, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

And character. There is nothing that they won't do. My mother used to always tell me, it was an old saying, she said, if you lie, you steal. If you steal, you're killing.

SPEAKER_05 28:20

You'll kill.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

It's all tied together.

SPEAKER_03 28:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

And so that I I I it's really important that it's understood. Stay away from people who don't have boundaries. Yeah. You lie, you're still, you're still. It's cheating somewhere in there.

SPEAKER_06 28:38

Cheat somewhere in there.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

But uh stay away from people who don't have boundaries, stay away from people who don't have self-control, especially men specifically. You can't have a man leaving you, women, when they don't have boundaries, self-control. They don't have character.

SPEAKER_06 28:54

Uh they don't have no moral standards.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Stop focusing on what's in that man's pocket and start focusing on what's in that inner man, what's within him.

SPEAKER_06 29:04

Yeah, because it's a lot of men out there who have great morals.

unknown 29:08

Great morals.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

And then more importantly, dig back to the beginning of what we always say in this podcast. You don't need to be with anybody that God hasn't called you to be with. You need to be where God has called you to be. And if you don't know where he's called you to be, then you need to be by yourself, focusing on your relationship with God. That goes for both women and men.

SPEAKER_06 29:27

Yeah, and I was gonna say that goes for men as well, because they they be in relationships sometimes where you have a woman who's so controlling, they don't even want to deal with her at all. But then it's like they're miserable, they're just miserable, stuck.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yeah, yeah. And so once again, we touched on this before. The enemy's power is often found in the agreement people give him.

SPEAKER_03 29:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

It's just especially if you're a believer. It's found in that. And it's interesting because like as I started thinking it through this stuff, stuff stuff started popping up. Like, um Jesus in the wilderness, right? And maybe this is it right here. Let's see Matthew 4. Let me make sure before I have you read it. Matthew 4. Beginning at verse 1. Yeah, could you read Matthew 4 verse 1 through 11? Please, ma'am.

SPEAKER_06 30:30

You said Matthew 4?

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Yeah, beginning at verse 1, 8 through verse 11.

SPEAKER_06 30:35

Oh, I'm at New King James. Hold on, what are you saying? N L T 4, verse 11.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Uh four, starting at verse 1 through 11.

SPEAKER_06 30:49

Oh, one through eleven. Okay. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. But Jesus told him, No, the scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and said, If you are the Son of God, jump off, for the scriptures say he will order his angels to protect you, and they will hold you up with their hands, so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. Jesus responded, The Scriptures also say you must not test the Lord your God. Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me. Get out of here, Satan, Jesus told him, for the scriptures say you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil went away and angels came and took care of Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

The thing about this, right, if you just look at it from a simplistic perspective, the enemy was literally trying to get Jesus to say yes to him.

SPEAKER_03 32:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

He tried three different times.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

He did.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

And if we um start at the beginning with Adam and Eve, that was the same thing. The enemy was trying to get Eve and Adam to say yes to him, yes to the deception, yes to choosing his way of doing things. And that's what it always is, right? It's really him trying to get us to say yes to his way versus us saying yes to God.

SPEAKER_03 33:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

And this is the battle that we're consistently dealing with, with our flesh versus the spirit of God. Is that yes to him versus our yes to God. He wants us to be, we touched on this before, God's love language is obedience.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

So the enemy's love language is us having uh our disobedience to God.

SPEAKER_06 33:28

Yeah. It's not following God's word.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

There's nothing that that is greater to him than being able to get us to disobey God.

SPEAKER_04 33:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

It becomes basically his way of mocking God or almost attempting to laugh in God's face.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

At his creation, right? Using his creation against him to say they don't obey you. They don't listen to you. They do what I tell them to do.

Boundaries That Protect Relationships

SPEAKER_00 33:55

So um the I th I guess the key takeaways from this, right? Every temptation was an attempt to gain to gain Jesus' agreement. Jesus responded with truth, not emotion, right? Jesus showed boundaries, discernment, restraint, and obedience to the Father. And this should be what we're always doing, which is why you touched on before boundaries. Boundaries are so important in life, in general, right? And um the one of the core statements or the key thing with this is every temptation was an invitation to give the enemy a yes. Every temptation was an invitation to give the enemy a yes. So even with us, every time we're being tempted, it's an invitation for us to say yes to the enemy.

SPEAKER_06 34:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

In every area, every part of our lives.

SPEAKER_06 34:48

It's all legalities. He's your accuser. He's your accuser because you said yes to this, this, this, and this. And he can go to God and say, God, see, this is what they did. They said yes to this. They agreed to these terms.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Even from like a legal perspective, right? Because as we we dig into Genesis, right, it says uh the serpent refraised God's words, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:12

Uh deception begins with the conversation. The enemy question truth to gain agreement. Adam and Eve fall begin with entertaining their own voice. So from a legal perspective, right? Even in the natural, if you don't know your stuff, you will literally get screwed.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Because you would have people come to you and say that you have to do A, B, and C.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

But no, you don't from a legal perspective. But they're counting on you not knowing your rights, not knowing what you are supposed to do. Right. Not knowing what their responsibilities are and how far they can go.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

And that's the enemy. That's what he does. Right. He counts on you not knowing, which is why he went to Eve and not to Adam. My hands are bringing up, which is why he went to Eve and not to Adam. He went to Eve because he's like, okay, in his eyes, she was the weakest link.

SPEAKER_01 36:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

God did not give it directly to her. Right. She got this set of instructions from Adam, which was given to Adam by God.

SPEAKER_03 36:13

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

So it was easier for him to deceive her.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

And to say, oh, you won't surely die.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

And add to the word of God. Right. And so we have to be mindful of that from both a spiritual and a natural perspective.

SPEAKER_02 36:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

That just like we have to be careful in the natural to make sure people aren't taking advantage and trying to overstep their boundaries or overstep boundaries that you have set in place, or even perimeters and things that they should have set in place for what they're doing. Well, the same is true in the spirit realm.

SPEAKER_06 36:47

Yeah, it is. And while you were saying it, I was just thinking about, you know, like a traffic stop where, you know, a cop may stop you and they ask to look in your car or in your glove compartment, or you don't have to let them. But if you do, if you do, you're subject to whatever it is that they they decide that they want to do.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:08

You know, they could plant whatever they want to plant, they could lie, they can steal, they could do whatever they want to do because you allow them access.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Which is why we have to know our rights, both from a legal and their spiritual perspective. And it it just, you know, when we're dealing with spirit, but the spirit realm is having the spirit of discernment.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Being able to discern what's going on, to look beyond what you see with your natural eyes. And so let me see. That's a good point, but we'll keep moving. So let's see. Boundaries. Right. James 1 and 19. And we I touched on this with you before. And it essentially says, be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Proverbs 4 and 23, that's a good one. Guard your heart. Um and I touched on it, this is good. Uh Galatians 5 and 37. You remember I always told you what? Let your yes be your yes and let your no be your no. These are all just ways of having boundaries. I tell my wife all the time she has to let her yes be her, be a yes, and let her no be a no. Because a lot of times you say no, and people are trying to get her to say yes when she's already said no or question her saying a no to say, do you really want to say no? Yes, I'm saying no.

SPEAKER_06 38:41

Well, if you say no, this is what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

And it'd be so interesting because with me, it's like they'd be like, you know, I don't got no problem with saying no. I don't. I say no and I say no with the quickness. Okay, no. I'm not doing that. No. Absolutely not. No. And I don't know why it's that way. Because we both went through trauma, we both dealt with stuff, and I guess we respond differently. I became hyper-vigil uh I I I I don't know. I guess it's just I'm more just I I put up that wall of protection, and I'm like, I'm not gonna let you get past that barrier.

SPEAKER_06 39:24

Yeah, we all have our whether we be flighting or fighting responses.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Maybe I fight.

SPEAKER_06 39:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:32

I fight. Um, and yeah, that was a good one. I I said to you, I remember I stated that. When you say no, you often discover who was depending on your silence and uh and agreement. So what that really means is I was talking to my wife. Uh, it's interesting when you say no to people, you see who really sent them.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 39:57

Their response to your no shows who really sent them. Show who their father is.

SPEAKER_06 40:03

I keep pushing, keep putting pressure. That's the enemy.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

God don't do that.

SPEAKER_06 40:07

If they say if you say no to someone, if you say no, I'm not gonna do that, no, I'm not gonna be here, or I can't do that, I can't make that, I can't do this, and they give you pushback, they try to shame you, they try to uh intimidate you, they try to down you, they try to slander you, to try and get you to do what it is that they really want that's beneficial for them, but might not beneficial for you. Yeah um, that's definitely the enemy because when we were talking about that on the phone, what came to me was the rich young rich young ruler with Jesus, when Jesus said, Hey, or when the um rich young ruler was like, What I what do I have to do to you know follow you? And Jesus was like, You gotta drop everything, you gotta give all your riches away. And he was like, Nah.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

I don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_06 41:01

I don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

I love you, but I don't love you like that.

SPEAKER_06 41:04

I love my money more. And he was sad. He was sad, but Jesus was also sad. But Jesus didn't push him. He said, Okay. He didn't say, Oh, well, you know, if you don't follow me, you know you're going to hell, right? You know you're gonna be tortured forever, right? He didn't try and bribe him, he didn't try to shame him, he didn't he didn't say anything. He approached him with love and was like, okay, that's what you want to do. I'm sorry to see you go.

Jesus Says No In Matthew 4

SPEAKER_00 41:35

And that's Mark 16, I mean Mark 10, 17 through 25.

SPEAKER_06 41:40

And it hurt Jesus because he he loved him, right? But at the end of the day, he's not gonna force you to do something, he's not gonna force your will.

SPEAKER_00 41:51

No. And I think it's the thing, um, when you really the the key thing, right, if if we have to break that down, and this is how you can tell when it's God, right? You still gotta do your due diligence, but Jesus invited but did not manipulate. He was straightforward with the rich young ruler on what he had to do.

SPEAKER_02 42:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

He didn't try to manipulate them. Um, and more importantly, he gave him a choice. God always gives you a choice. And so with the kingdom of God, right? The kingdom of God operates through invitation, not coercion. Right? Uh, the rich young ruler said no and walked away saddened. Jesus honored the decision while allowing consequences to remain. Right? And so that's even from like a political perspective. We've touched on this earlier on in previous episodes with uh problems with uh the political arena and politicizing uh the LGBTQ plus community and uh the abortion situation. And we talked on it, touched on the fact before, and people may think it's controversial.

SPEAKER_01 43:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

Uh, but God is pro-choice. And and that's something that he had placed in our spirit earlier on. And he is pro-choice. God is pro-choice in everything, basically saying that it's your choice that he gives you on what you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_05 43:17

Right.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

There are consequences associated with the decisions that you make.

SPEAKER_05 43:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

But God never forces himself on you. The enemy does. God never forces, because it's about relationship. If I have to force my way and force myself upon you, right? I'm I'm dictating you.

SPEAKER_06 43:36

But then there's also that that issue at that point where there's a lack of knowledge, there's a lack of truth for you to be able to submit to God's will.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 43:46

Because you don't know any better. Right. So you're gonna do whatever it is that you want to do because you don't know. You think you you out here living this life that when you when you go, you're not, you think you're gonna go to heaven, you think you're gonna enter the change. You think you're gonna do all these things, or you think the things that you're getting is from God, but it's not because you haven't said yes to him. Well, I think And his knowledge is is there.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:16

It's it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 44:18

Well, let's make this easy for them with this, right? And the way that you can make this easy is this God gives choices, manipulation removes them.

SPEAKER_06 44:28

Manipulation, deception.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

It removes them. It makes you feel as if you don't have no choice. And think about that, even with some of the stuff that you've been having to deal with.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

You see it.

SPEAKER_02 44:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

You're made to feel as if you have no choice in the matter.

SPEAKER_02 44:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:42

Even when you make your decision and say, This is my choice, you're you're discouraged away from having that choice. And they you're trying, you're, it's almost like they try to push you into doing what they want. That's not God. That's not that's not something someone who is a believer would do. That's something someone would do when their father is the enemy. Right? Because we see what, like you stated before, what came to you was the rich young ruler. And this is for everyone. You have to remember, God will never try to manipulate you into anything. He would never try to force you to do anything. That's not God, that's the enemy. God always gives you a choice. Even if you choose wrong, with Adam and Eve, he gave them a choice. They had the choice to choose to follow him or not. And when they chose not to, there was consequences. He told them there would be consequences. They chose it.

SPEAKER_06 45:44

Yeah. And the thing is, the enemy will continue to keep manipulating you and deceiving you and um causing you to make decisions um that benefit his kingdom so that you can forfeit the kingdom of God. So that you can be spiritually cut off from God, separated from God.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Yeah. And here's the thing, everyone. Saying no is not rebellion when it protects righteousness. Boundaries expose motives.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Manipulative people often become angry when denied access. Let me say that again. Manipul Manipulative, right? Manipulative. Manipulative. Manipulative. I'm sorry. Manipulative people often become angry when denied access. Manipula manipulative manipulative um tongue-tied people often become angry when denied access. And that's something that just sit on that. Because that it's that alone, bruh.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

That alone. And your inability to say no can become spiritual bondage.

SPEAKER_06 47:11

Yes. It will call it will cause you to be a captive. But Jesus says the captive is free, but that is captivity. Not bondage, but captivity.

SPEAKER_00 47:26

And so this is a lot, right? And we can dig into um other scriptures, right? Um let's just leave it with

God Invites While Manipulation Pushes

SPEAKER_00 47:40

this and we'll we'll see where it goes from here, right?

SPEAKER_03 47:42

What?

SPEAKER_00 47:43

Saying yes to God, right? It produces life, peace, healing, wisdom, purpose. Saying yes to destruction or to the enemy leads to spiritual death, emotional destruction, brokenness, and bondage.

SPEAKER_06 47:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:58

Which is what the enemy wants for you.

SPEAKER_06 48:00

Right. Which is what I said is it's a separation from God and his holiness. And all the plans that he has for you.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

Yeah. And it's it's as simple as that. And I I it we you we can't stress enough like the importance of understanding the power that lies in your yes and what you say yes to.

SPEAKER_06 48:23

And who you're saying yes to, who you allow to continue to keep calling you, talking to you, being in your space.

SPEAKER_00 48:31

The friends you have, your family members, the relationships you choose to be a part of intimately, the church that you choose to go to, the leadership, the pastor you choose to sit under, all of those things.

SPEAKER_06 48:45

If you're not able to exert boundaries in those relationships, that's not of God.

SPEAKER_00 48:50

That's not of God. You should be able to have boundaries.

SPEAKER_06 48:53

You should be able to say, Don't talk to me like that. They should be able to be like, okay, I won't.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

You should be able to express when things are you don't agree with things or you're uncomfortable with things or you don't like the way things are, or say, hey, these are boundaries I have, and I just need you to respect that they're there. That's in every area, even within your place of employment.

SPEAKER_03 49:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:17

Boundaries are so important. And in many instances, especially with ladies and men, but mainly ladies, you gotta be careful. Um it happened with men, but it happened more with y'all. Uh when you don't have boundaries, it leads to you losing your voice.

SPEAKER_03 49:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 49:39

It leads to you losing your voice, which is what the enemy wants, especially when God has called you to greater.

unknown 49:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 49:46

It will take your voice captive and jail and locked away in a box.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

So, like literally, learn to guard your agreement. Stop giving access to voices sent to destroy peace, identity, purpose, or faith. Discern what your yes is connected to.

SPEAKER_06 50:10

Yes. Which is why it's so important that we really seek the face of God when you are dealing with people in general. But if you are dating, which you shouldn't be dating, but if you are dating, you should be seeking the face of God. God, do I need to speak to this person? Do I need to connect myself to this person? Because we see it so many times, day in, day out. Women and men and children are dropping like flies.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

Unfortunately, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:43

They are being murdered in cold blood.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06 50:49

Children. Because they mother dated dated a man and got pregnant by this man, and now this man left their kid with a with the with a their spouse, and that spouse unalived that child.

SPEAKER_00 51:04

Yeah, you have to be careful with um or harm that child. You definitely have to be led by the spirit of God on what you do. Because there could be dire consequences associated with making decisions outside the will of God. Um you have to be careful. And I mean, it's just as simple as understanding whatever you agree to, understand the spiritual weight that it carries. And I think it's important to let people know that your voice matters.

SPEAKER_06 51:34

Yes, your voice matters.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

Your voice, your voice matters, and your no matters. It's okay for you to say no.

SPEAKER_06 51:42

And the thing is, the truth matters because when you say yes to something that you don't agree with, you're lying to yourself. And that's what the enemy feeds off of. He feeds off of lies. He is nothing but a liar. It is his only in his character.

SPEAKER_00 52:00

He is what the is it the father of lies?

SPEAKER_06 52:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

He's the father of lies.

SPEAKER_06 52:05

And if you're lying to yourself, that is not a characteristic that God carries.

SPEAKER_01 52:10

No.

SPEAKER_06 52:12

So you're coming into agreement with the father of lies. Therefore, it gives you gives him access to do whatever he wants to do through whoever you gave that yes to.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

So learn to say no. It's okay to say no. It is okay to say no. And be very careful with what and who you say yes to. Anything else you wanna add? Anything else coming to you? I'm tired.

SPEAKER_06 52:54

I know. My chest is hurting now.

SPEAKER_00 53:00

Anything else that we need to discuss?

SPEAKER_05 53:05

No.

SPEAKER_00 53:06

And why your chest is hurting?

SPEAKER_05 53:07

I don't know. My chest is hurting.

unknown 53:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:12

So I think that's everything. Um, I see you have brown on.

SPEAKER_03 53:18

What'd that mean?

SPEAKER_00 53:20

You talked about my um case last last episode.

SPEAKER_06 53:23

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

But you're wearing brown.

SPEAKER_06 53:25

Yeah, you got on brown today too. Your case kind of matched your shirt a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 53:31

It's two different browns.

SPEAKER_06 53:32

Well, it matches the little goat in your on your hat.

SPEAKER_07 53:36

Possibly.

SPEAKER_06 53:38

I think it's a brown. It's it's doo-doo brown.

SPEAKER_00 53:42

You're doing that again.

SPEAKER_07 53:43

It's not doo-doo brown.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

But um, excuse me. This was good. Um, prayerfully, this was a blessing to everyone. Uh, this is a really important, I believe, episode because it it touches on the importance of having boundaries. And I think many of us don't have boundaries. And I believe a lot of relationships and a lot of people find themselves in really challenging situations because of a lack of boundaries or people pushing past your boundaries.

SPEAKER_02 54:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:21

And there are so many different instances that we can touch on that

Guard Your Agreement And Close

SPEAKER_00 54:25

uh a lack of boundaries can impact and how negatively it can be impactful to you when you don't have boundaries.

SPEAKER_06 54:33

Yeah. And it's good, it's important that you do have discernment, that you are able to have a good support system so that when when people do come to try and push your boundaries, you're not alone.

SPEAKER_00 54:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 54:47

You know.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 54:48

You have backup.

SPEAKER_00 54:50

Because I'll let you know off the rip, you know, I can come to my wife and uh think you're gonna get her to agree to something that she don't feel comfortable with. And I mean, I have to I have to ask God to help me because sometimes I'll be quick to be like, bruh, no. No. She ain't doing it. We ain't doing it now. Absolutely not. And if you got a problem with it, you can come see me.

SPEAKER_06 55:20

And I wish we could share more on what we're talking about, but legally, we can't say any. I can't say nothing.

SPEAKER_00 55:26

No, just in all, just that's just who I am. You know, that's why, like, you know, even when I was talking to our oldest, she was like, Dad, I know you'll do A, B, and C. And I'm like, Yeah, I would.

SPEAKER_06 55:38

But even with our children, because you know, children could be manipulative too. And they be trying to get me.

SPEAKER_00 55:44

Yeah. And I have to tell her Sinead, it's okay to say no. And that's it, it's so interesting because it's just it's interesting how the enemy moves. And when you when when it's been a struggle for you to have your voice, you don't realize all of the different areas that it can negatively impact. And I'm sure there's other people that can attest to this. But you'll be in a situation where you're not even able to able to say no to your children.

SPEAKER_03 56:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:14

And so you have to be really careful to where um you walk in the boldness of God. You walk in the boldness of God and you recognize who you are in Christ. Um, you have to see yourself as who God sees you as. And when you do, then you're able to flow in um everything, the fullness of what God has called you to.

SPEAKER_06 56:43

Your yesness to God.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

Your yes to God and your no to the enemy. So we pray this has been a blessing to you all. Uh, we know we're late, we're posting, but we also have to work on our yes to God in getting these episodes out. Um we appreciate you all. Our prayers are with you. And anything else you want to add? Until we meet again. Be blessed.

SPEAKER_06 57:15

See you later.

SPEAKER_00 57:17

Bye. You're not gonna say bye.

SPEAKER_06 57:20

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 57:22

You wanted to do the other bye. Don't do not.

unknown 57:30

Do not.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

Okay.

unknown 57:33

All right.

SPEAKER_00 57:34

That's that.