Truth Moments: Episode 20

What's up? Truth Moments. Back at it. You know, I was thinking. You were thinking? I was thinking and, uh, man of many thoughts here, whether it be in Father's Day, you know, what does a baby computer call his father? Maybe Mac daddy. Is that it? No, that'd be good though. Okay. That's kind of data. Data. Data. Oh, I had a good Father's Day. Father's Day is a good day. You know, it's not really celebrated much. Even like my wife, it was like, she's a super planner, you know, everything on the calendar. And then it was like, it got like four days before Father's Day. And I was like, you know, Father's Day, it's a Sunday and she's like, oh yeah, what are we going to do? But it's like everything else in life is booked out for two months. Yeah. You got a three week vacation for Mother's Day. Yeah. It's like, I was like, uh, uh, I thought you was supposed to play. Yeah. It's like, bless her heart. But yeah. It's crazy.

Cause I only seem sick on the weekdays. I must have a weekend immune system. Oh my gosh. These dad jokes, dude, he's, he's on, he's on a roll. You know, you get, you get, this is what I say about there's a big men with kids here. You gain a lot of strength for each, from each child. This dad strength comes about, right? There's a strength and a corniness that just happens and you become strengthened and corny at the same time. Yeah. The more kids that you have. So you're, you're on number four coming up. So you're, you're going to be very strong and corny at the same time. It's, it's, it's, and it's, what's funny is my son, my son is my, my girls kind of eye roll, you know, at this point in their life. But my son is just like embarrassed. Oh yeah. Oh, absolutely. You know? Yeah. Absolutely. But anyways, you know, we're excited, man. We're excited for this, this, this summer, this season for us here at Reese's is a fun time, a time that's kind of busy. It's full of a lot of great missions. We got missions teams that are from Texas and from Virginia and, and they're just answering the call that God has put on their life and they're saying, Hey, send me, I'll go. And it's just cool to see people come in. You know, that's how you know you're, you're, you're doing, you're doing, you're doing good. You're doing good.

When it's like people or admissions are coming to your church because it's like a place to go and do. It's a place to go and do. Right. I mean, I'm not, I'm not, this is no slight on anything else, but I'm just saying like not, there's not a lot like, like, you know, I got, you know what I mean? Go to the nice church. Let's see. You know, it's like, you know, it's like, Hey, go over there to Eastside where they're, you know, go to the, go to the ghetto and, uh, and, and, and, and, and get that serving in there. And so we got a team right now from, from H town, man. Oh, okay. All right. Shout out Texas boys. Southern Texas. Yeah. And I was ragging on them last night. I was telling the man like, that is a terrible place to live. It's a perfect place for a reach church though. Yeah. No, no, no. It needs Jesus bad. The whole town of Houston is just hood. Yeah. No, it's all hood. It's all hood. Hood and humanity. Like, like triple H Houston, you, the humanity is terrible, terrible, disgusting weather, but other than that, you know, and so they do good stuff down there at their church.

Yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're, they're, they're kicking, kicking. Yeah. They're kicking butt taking names down there. Name of Jesus. Yeah, man. No, it's been good, man. We're going to jump into a message that I preached a couple of weeks ago and it was called when the spotlight shifts and you know, it kind of had me thinking, you know, just in ministry how so often you can see people, they want the, the spotlight, they want the, you know, the, the accolades that come from certain stuff and, you know, we've seen it and, and it was just kind of a reminder. That's what stuck out on this when it, when he said, I can't remember what version it said, but I think it was like New King James. And he's like, why do you wander at this? Why do you wander, you know, at us as if we did this by our own power or godliness? You know, and we made this man walk. And, you know, it was just kind of interesting because of who he's talking to. And so, just, you know, pretty, some pretty good principles in here. So we can jump into some of the questions. I hope, I hope that, you know, they've, I can't access the PDF on the phone, Pando. Oh, really?

I wonder if they have a different, I wonder if they have a different access to it because it allows me to upload it. Yeah, well, we've gotten some letters that have fully written out questions and answers. So, to more than what we talked about. We've only, we've only, we've never got past question one on here. Well, that's true. So, yeah. They've got answers to all three questions. Okay. Well, I guess that's true then. So that answers, that answers the question. Well, what we got, man? And so, you know, one thing I was thinking about this, and it's just because of my own study, I'm reading in Exodus, you know, and I was reading this morning, actually, you know, like these signs and these wonders, they're going on in Jesus' ministry, right? And that's how he's performing these signs and wonders. And then Jesus performs these signs and wonders because it's like, I think about how God, he knows us so well, right? He knows us, like he knows our intricacy in our hearts so well that like, he's got a, he has to send these, like he knows that we are some knuckleheads and we will not believe, right?

We need something to see. Yeah, and it's like, we need something to see. And he, not only did he use those, but then he used his people that he commissioned afterwards to do the same. And it's like, in Exodus, you know, Moses and Aaron, they're showing Pharaoh these things, these signs and these wonders, but Pharaoh is going to get his magicians and they're doing the same thing that he did. You know what I mean? And it's like, whoa, that was kind of blowing, like from where we're at in Acts and then going back to Exodus, and it's like, you know, okay, so it's like, hey, not only do, like, not only do you need to know where the spotlight needs to stay on God, but also have the sermon on what you were looking at, man. Right? Because, hear me, because it could look glorious. It could look glorious to some degree done by a servant of the Lord, but not really actually serving the Lord. Right? It's like, Pharaoh went and got his magicians to do the same thing and showed that miracle. And so here, you could easily get caught up in ministry and followings and all these things, because that's what we are, man. We're people.

We're people, people. And we follow people. We like people. We talk to people. We enjoy conversations with people. People are, is everything. No one's just zoned in on something that's not person. Right? You're a sports fanatic. You love racing, whatever that is. It's people. Right? And so that's just our nature. But it's like, even the people can do these signs and these wonders without God. It can appear that way. So it's like, you have to have the focus shifted on only God through it. Right? Yeah, that's a good observation, to be honest. You know? And the thing is, is I think some people will be like, yeah, but that was Pharaoh. Like, he was an evil guy. Right. You know? Jesus, and I can't remember exactly which gospel and passage it was, but he said that there will be many that come to me and say, Lord, Lord, have I not cast out demons

in your name? Have I not healed people? Have I not done all of these things? And so it's basically saying, hey, I've done all of these signs. I've done all these things. I had, you know, Benny Hinn followings. I had all of these things. And it's like, and then he says, yeah, but depart from me, for you're a worker of iniquity. I never knew you. And it's, I mean, that is, that's a good observation. Because here's the thing, the spotlight itself, this is me just speaking personally, man, is, you know, I have in the past had a hard time when people would come home from prison. They would watch us on Pando. And then there would be a type of like, almost like a celebrity type introduction where they're like, man, I know you and this and that. And I'm like, man, that's awesome. That's great. But then I kind of just like recoiled from it, you know, and just kind of went about my business. And we were actually in a prison. an event. I think it was one, I think it might have been a women's prison event. And, and God was just working on my heart during worship, man. And I remember you talking to me about, you know, you know, we wanted to help the discipleship at Reach Homes, you know, and, and God was like, you know, we're in worship and it was just like, he just dropped in my

spirit very, very, very clearly. He said, man, what are you doing with the influence that I've given you? Right. And I just remember in worship, I just looked at you in your face and I said, you know, you're, you're planning to do the, you're planning to do this Bible study with this 30 weeks. And it's like, you know, here's, here's my pastor trying to take on another task. Cause that's just what, that's just the type of man you are. You'll, if, if, if you see a need, you're going to do it, whether somebody else is equipped to do it or not, like you're going to go in first on it. And I just looked at you, I said, I'm going to run that Bible study, dude. Like I'm going to do whatever we need. And, and I, and originally I told, and then this is how the transformation works even more is, you know, I originally, I said, I'll do that 30 weeks, you know, and now we've been doing 20 weeks of it. And I'm like, I'm never going to quit. I'm just going to keep, just keep going and we'll figure it out. So it's like, you know, how does, how do you, how does the spotlight stay on Jesus? The spotlight has to stay on you because people are going to be people no matter what, even when you in your life, when you start to transform and you start to mold towards Christ, people are going to gravitate to you. That's what, that's what happens. You don't have to have a major platform with them with an actual physical microphone to do that. What's going to happen is that you're going to let people around you, people are going to see the transformation in your heart and that's instantly going to gain you some influence in their life. And what you have to realize in those moments is what Peter did exactly. He said, stop looking at us here. Look at, look at this, right? And in that is further discipleship. So he's, he's trying to disciple them even further past the past, the miracle and past the influence. And that's what it is. It's constantly drawing back to that discipleship, going back to that. Hey, okay. What, what are you doing with the influence? Like, Hey, God's, God's given it to you. The influence didn't come from anything else but him. So what, what are you doing? And how are you referring back to God with that influence? You know, I was like, Hey man, this is, he says, this isn't by my power or my godliness. This isn't anything that, that I've done, you know? And, and the, the, the first question, I don't know how this really generates sometimes, but you know, it says church often comes from placing expectations on people that only God can fulfill, you know? And I, I, how can we

honor spiritual leaders without making them the foundations of our faith? But I, I just think about without going too deep, even on that one is I think sometimes that, you know, sometimes that it just, you know, it just makes me think of how we put hope in these people, man. Like I've talked to, I don't know how many people and they're just like, basically, I've tried that, you know, kind of thing. And it's just like, dang, man, like, how do you get to that point where it's like, you know, I mean, I've had a lot of crazy things happen from so-called Christian people. And it's like, I, I don't know that it ever really tainted my vision or version of God, you know? I mean, it's like, eh, that was man, that wasn't really God, you know? And so it's like, how does that, you know, how does that work? I mean, it's like, I don't know, man. Yeah. And it's, it's based on all of these contingencies that it's the contingencies of the faith, man. That's what, that's what it is. When your faith is circumstantial and contingent, you're looking for results and for people and for people to move in these certain ways and for the spiritual leaders to do a certain way. And it's like, you know, I, I know someone very close to me, right? Loved, loved them to death. When they go and they visit a church, this is what they come back and they talk to me about, well, the worship was this. I mean, like the preaching was this, it was a, it was a, it was a, a, a remote, there was no live preacher, you know? And it's like, you know, there's, that's the flip side of the coin. Either we're idolizing one person or they're just picking apart the whole thing altogether. You know what I mean? And it's like, sheesh, dude. Oh, I've seen a lot. I mean, I've even, I got same scenario, kind of same, but different. Like they'll go and help a church or go and be a part of a church rather. And then you talk to them and it's just like, dude. I just basically slander the bride. And it's like, I get it. But it's like, I want to always look at like, what can I bring to it? What can I bring to the table? What can I do to help change? What can I do to shift it?

And not in a prideful way, but just like, I mean, it's that understanding your influence thing. Like, man, what do you bring to the table? I remember we was maybe two or three years old as a church. And there was this lady that had been around the faith for a long time. And she attended our church. And she had left. And through her daughter, I had heard that she didn't attend anymore because she didn't feel like she was getting fed anymore. And I was like, well, if you feel like you're not getting fed anymore, then maybe you should start feeding people. And it just kind of flipped. And she came back shortly after that. But it just kind of, you know, it's like, I don't know. We just got the wrong mindset walking into things as if it's our power or our godliness that kind of set these things out. And it's like this. So he says, you know, the second point is the right focus requires truth, right? And so it's like, you know, Peter points at them, at Jesus, at the Jesus they rejected. So he's talking about, hey, this is the Jesus that you guys rejected. He connects Jesus to everything they said they believe, right? He calls Jesus God's servant, the language of Isaiah used to be prophesied about.

And Peter chooses accountability over applause, you know? And it's like, dude. How many people will do that? Man, yeah. You know what I mean? Like, holy cow, dude. If you had an opportunity to steal the spotlight, you had a moment. And you had the captivation of who knows how many people at this moment. I'm pretty sure 3,000 more people got saved after this sermon that he's preaching right now, basically. So you have at least 3,000 people attention. And you can choose to braggadocious or correct their heart and say, you know what? This is the God. This is the Jesus that you killed, that you did, that you did, and just start. Dude, you can't even preach sin like that hardly. Oh, my gosh. People will be offended. You know, as an early believer, I can even attest to this. So spotlight shifted. My spotlight was on Paul as an early believer. You know, like, I just, if it wasn't really a Paul pistol, man, like, I was like, this is where I get my meat, though. I was following Paul. And even in the Bible, right, even loving the Lord, even doing these things.

I had a beef with Peter. You know what I mean? I held the mistakes of this man over his ministry. Even in my study, bro, through maturity and through the love of God's word, I've come to really love Peter as well, right? But I was like, you're either Paul or you're Peter. You're preaching to the Jews or you're to the Gentiles. You're either going to eat with them and be right there with them. And I held the fact that it didn't matter that he denied Jesus. I never held that above Peter. But the fact that he decided he wasn't going to sit with these Gentiles at supper time and do all those things. And Paul had to correct them. I was, that moment in the Bible, I was a follower of Paul at that moment, dude. You know what I'm saying? And it was like, and I thank the Lord Jesus for correcting my heart. I thank him that his word speaks and pierces my heart and does all that. But that's even how serious it can get. It's like, man, you get on here and it's like, you know, we do a podcast, you have a guest on that isn't me. Someone says, I'm not going to watch it. Yeah. You know what I mean?

We're doing church and you have a guest speaker on and they look and they're excited for Reach KC Church. They see that it's not Adam Brown preaching. I'm going to watch something else. It's like, whoa. Well, I thought it was going to be. Whoa. You thought wrong. You know what I mean? That's where the spotlight, it's like, it's got to be, it's that's, so, you know. Yeah. It's, you know, one of the, one of the statements I made in this message was, you know, we love explanations that remove accountability because culture teaches this victimhood. And, you know, this is. kind of like a reverse theology almost because, you know, the spotlight, when we think about it, we think about what you originally opened up with, with like, you know, people that are performing these things and they're doing these miracles or even this conversation of like, you know, we're the ones speaking or we're the ones doing a concert or we're the ones doing whatever, but what about that subtle, like prideful humbleness of the person that is always the victim that turns everything around on them and it's all about me. Like I've had, in church leadership, I mean,

you get that quite a bit because it's like, if you say something, you know, wrong, then, you know, it could offend somebody and then it's this and that. And, you know, one of the things that I had said was healing begins where excuses end, you know, and it's like, man, how often do we, or when do we just stop with the excuses, stop with, you know, the buffalo, you know, and just face the facts and quit always being the victim and just say, hey, you know what, I'm going to change some of these things about me because the right focus requires truth and that's truth about ourselves. And it's taking ownership. I mean, and it's asking, like, what is God trying to do in me? What is he trying to do through me? And honestly, I was talking to somebody the other day and, you know, he was just talking about, you know, wanting to rectify a relationship that had been completely damaged, a significant other situation, not marriage, and he was wanting to rectify this relationship and reconcile, and I told him, I don't think that's healthy, bro. Like, I think that's a very bad decision. I think you're going to make a decision that is going to just completely deter the entire future of your life.

And, you know, I told him, I was like, you know, there was this moment in my life where when I came to the Lord, I allowed the word of God, like you just said, to pierce my heart, and I remember going through it and things that I had done that brought shame and condemnation to me, while I was in prison, I just, at that moment, I was just like, you know what, I'm going to stop and I'm going to pray and I'm going to ask forgiveness, and then you just have to release that. I don't know how to tell somebody to do that. You just have to release it and just say, hey, that's done, it's on the cross, it's done. And one of the things that, you know, I did was I wrote a letter and asked for forgiveness, you know, to this woman that I dated for a very long time, and I mean, I was mentally, physically, emotionally abusive to, and that's what I was telling him, you know, and, you know, I was like, bro, that's what you need to do. You don't need to chase down this terrible relationship. Yeah, because you're still wanting a result from it. You're wanting... Yeah, I need closure, and it's like, no, you don't. You need to close it, you know, and just ask God, hey, what are you trying to do in me? What is this moment that I need? Because in order to have the right focus, dude, you got to have truth about yourself,

about your situations, and even in this situation, I told him, I was like, dude, I was like, bro, I have seen thousands of people come to our church, and I can tell you this, I've never seen one that has went down this path that you are trying to go down right now and come out of it healthy, bro. Man, Holy Spirit, I'm so thankful that the Lord led us to this place, because it's like, you know, you can look, we can look at our discussion topic, and how do you get here? Well, you get here from the Holy Spirit doing that, because I'm gonna tell you this much, man. This is no slight on any program or anything, but the forgiveness in your heart and the amends belongs with the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? Like, you, let me say this. You're setting yourself up for emotional things that you're not prepared to go through, you're not, your heart isn't conditioned for, and the Lord didn't prepare you to do that. He didn't say, hey, go, and every person that you wrong, you need to go and you need to face up, and you need to admit where you're wrong at and do those things. Now, on paper, that sounds very much, that sounds really well, that sounds really well, but here's the problem with that, is you are acting for the applause and the approval of man still, right? You harmed man.

and you harm men, I harmed, there's, you were talking about that woman, there's a list of women that I did that with. Lots of it, but I had to learn how to let that stuff go and give it to God and say, yes, it did die on the cross. And now, now here's the opportunity though, because I decided, hey, I'm gonna devote my life to Christ. I'm gonna let my life be a living example of Christ, right? I'm gonna let Christ be glorified through me. And so now, I've had very much the opportunity to showcase Christ in my life. And it has drawn, Christ has drawn those people back to where I run into them, I've ran into people before, man, that whatever step should have told me I should have went back and talked to four years ago, five, six years ago, right? I should have made amends to him because I stole $800 from him, right? But I seen that same person that I stole $800 from five years later into my faith journey. And then at the store, God ordained this thing and his heart was transformed because of what he's seen and happened to me in Christ. And now it's an entire completely different interaction. So be careful on what, be wary on that. And so the book that you need to be reading right here, and I'm gonna let that die right there, but the forgiveness that needs to be practiced is in your heart and through Jesus Christ. Yeah, I had somebody, I can't remember where it came from,

but I had somebody in that same regard tell me one time, not basically, this was not their wording, but this is what they said, not all amends need to happen person to person. Because there is more damage that could happen coming to this person and saying, hey, I'm sorry I cheated on you 39 times. You know, and they're like, I thought it was one. Or whatever, I'm just making stuff up, but you know, and it's like, the forgiveness needs to happen within. And from studying the Bible, I went back and looked at a bunch of steps later on and actively walking through discipleship in my life, dude, I went through every one of them. Oh, 100%. You know, and I look back and I was like, dude, I did all that. You know, like this is, you know, but anyways, yeah, it is, it's just, but you know. That was for somebody, man. I'm serious about that, man. Don't let it offend, don't let it offend. That was for somebody, man. You know, but the thing, you know, one of the things that, you know, this guy that I was talking to, he said, he said, she just deserves the opportunity that only I can bring her.

And I looked at him and I said, dude, you're not a savior. Yeah, yeah. Like, who are you? You are trying to take the role that only Jesus can do. You know, one thing I tell the guys in discipleship, but I tell them, I said, man, if you are healing, then heal. And if she is healing, leave her alone. Yeah. That is the thing. If you are getting into a relationship with someone and they are healing, you need to allow them to heal, man. You know, like, that's the biggest thing. Like, give some people some space, man. Well, I mean, here's the truth. If we're unwilling to face the truth about ourselves, the light will never remain on Jesus. Yeah. Because if you, the unhealed version of you will never focus, will never put the focus on Jesus, bro. The unhealed version of us is always shining the light on us and wanting this, you know, tainted spotlight that just points out all of these things. And it's like, you know, there is not a day that goes by,

there's not a conversation that goes by that when it's done, I don't, if I said something immediately, bro, I'm convicted. Yeah. You know, I mean, if I say, and then I analyze it and I'm like, it doesn't matter if I'm right or wrong. I'm always like, man, how did I handle myself in that? And I use those moments to correct myself and allow the spirit to correct me. Because I'm like, dude, I don't want it to ever, I don't want it to ever be about me. I don't want it to ever be about, you know, even in a disagreement, you know, it's like, dude, what could I do differently? I don't want to subtly hijack the spotlight from Jesus. You know, it just doesn't. And also, there's no greater feeling that I've ever felt than when God uses me, and he gets the glory, and our life is transformed. Yeah. I mean, that's it, man. That's what it's all about. That's what it is all about. Even in the smallest ways. I gotta see a lame man get up and walk. Yeah. But all of a sudden, man, somebody comes to us and says,

hey, this is what, you know, you've been feeding me, this is how I've been doing, here's how my life, I got my kids back, bam. That's it, man. You know what I mean? It's like, wow, thank you, Jesus, for that. That is awesome. And it's like, you gotta grasp a hold of that. You gotta get a hold of that, get you some of that. You know what I mean? Well, and that takes it to the last point of the message that I had preached, is don't forget the purpose of the power. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Hey, when you get out and all this stuff or whatever, you can be out 20 years, and when something major happens in your life, when you get a great promotion at work, guess what, you got that promotion so that you can give more to the kingdom. You didn't get that so you can ride lavish. You can ride lavish, but don't neglect this other. You know, these relationships aren't restored so that you can just be braggadocious about it. They were restored so that God can get the power. He can get the glory. Everything leads back to that, you know, and it's like, don't forget the purpose of the power. You know, Peter wasn't focused on the miracles. He was focused on creating a movement of disciples, and it was like, hey, God did all of this.

God, I mean, this was Jesus, the Jesus that you guys did this, this was him who did this, and he never took the light. He never made it like, well, it was me, and you know, it's also like this, you know, you have somebody, you know, they'll be, you know, a great worship service or whatever, and somebody will be like, oh, that was good. You know, man, you did such a great job at worship, and the other thing that's on the other side of the spectrum is like, oh, that wasn't me. That was all Jesus, and it was like, well, you know, I mean, it's like, that's pride, too, sometimes, you know. I hit him with this, praise God. They're like, man, that was, I'm like, praise God, dude, that's awesome. Yeah, the Lord used a donkey. Yeah, like, you were moved by that? Me too, dude, you know what I mean? Yeah, the Lord used a donkey. The King James says it a little bit different. I won't say that word because they're using AI to monitor these now when you upload them, and I don't want it to get flagged because I used the King James version of donkey. You know, they're like, oh, there's a cuss word in there. Oh, man. You know, but. Yeah, it's good, man. We really are, we're excited.

We really appreciate the reciprocating of the letters and the responses that shows that it's like. Something on that real quick is, the team that writes the letters, I've gotten some feedback the other day. Oh, yeah. She said that the lady that oversees the team they said that there was quite a few letters that come in that they were reading and that people were complaining because it wasn't you and I that was writing them back. Hmm. Oh, yeah. It's kind of the same thing we were just talking about, you know, and so, hey, man, just know that like we have a team of people that is writing these letters back. You know, we've got things that are happening and praise God that we've got people that want to write these letters back, you know, and respond and so. You know, here's the thing, the team that we have would not say anything that we wouldn't say. The heartbeat of Jesus is in that team. We wouldn't have them writing it. That's the thing, so it's like, hey. You might get it more personal because it would just be like, I'm just going to hit print on a standard letter.

And if your return address is different than what you got it mailed out to, you need to put that in there. How to write back. Right, if it's a mailing center or whatever. Yeah, if you got to go through some sort of other, you know, place where they do it and they send it to your tablet or whatever and that's different from where you sent it out from, you need to put that in your letter so that you can actually receive something back. And so, I pray that God would actually, you know, there'd be a level of gratitude and humility in the reception of a letter and not, you know, who are we, you know? We're just a couple donkeys and that's about it. And so, any communication is. is great. And so yeah, we're, we're, we're excited, man. We're, we're, we're, we're, we're, we're gearing through this, this summer. We pray that you would gear up with us and you'd be passionate exactly in the pod that you're at and in the area that you are, and you would create that passion and, and, and, and you'd, you'd, you'd press in. So we're going to pray. So God, we just thank you, Lord. Thank you for this opportunity. We thank you for the hearts that are listening in the ears that are listening. God, we pray that the ears would not be turned away that if they had made it all the way through 37 minutes of a podcast at the end of this Lord, that they would be hearing this prayer that God, and they would have been locked in and Lord, we thank you, Lord Jesus for that. And thank you that their passion is there enough to press into something and say, I want to listen. I want to sit and I want to listen, God. And we pray for a revival inside of those prisons. God, we pray for men and women to come together and to fellowship and to worship together to, we pray for a communal worship, God, communal fasting inside of those prisons, just bondages that are forming that are together of brotherhood and

sisterhood of Christ. Lord, we pray for a revival to break out there in Jesus name. God, we thank you and love you. Amen.