SPEAKER_00: 0:08

Welcome and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Midweek Podcast, brought to you by a Fresh Wind Church. Each week our team brings you new content to help you take steps towards Jesus and discover more in Christ. Today's episode is hosted by Pastor Ryan.

SPEAKER_01: 0:27

Well, hey, welcome back to the Midweek Podcast. Pastor Ryan joined as always with Pastor Tim. And today we are wrapping up our series Grow. And we've been talking about removing five different poisons that that Peter list in uh in his letter. And Tim, this has been it's been like a boxing match every week, man.

SPEAKER_03: 0:51

It has. And you guys just get to hear it on Sunday, but we gotta wrestle with it all through the week trying to figure out how to help us through. And uh but you know, these are the type of things that we gotta do. And as pastors, sometimes uh we gotta preach the correction. And uh this is one of those things, though, that we have to our mindset has got to be I want to be free. I want everything that God has for me, and uh, I want to grow, I want to know him more, I want the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering. I want it all. Just I want it all. And Peter said, If well, if you want it all, you gotta get rid of these things right here.

SPEAKER_01: 1:34

You know, it kind of reminds me you've shared that story about that shirt that you loved. Um showing up to pick Teresa up in it, and she said, Don't you ever pick me up in that shirt again? And because you love Teresa, you'll get rid of the shirt. Well, at least you won't pick her up in the shirt again. Do you still have that shirt? I gave it to my nephew. So he can pick up his girlfriend in that shirt.

SPEAKER_03: 1:56

That's right. He loved it.

SPEAKER_01: 1:58

You know, there's there's these things that if if we say, Man, I I love Jesus, I want all that he has for me, um, then I should be willing to lay some things down. And and these things here, Peter says, Man, we we gotta we gotta get rid of them. So in 1 Peter chapter 2, he he lists these five things that'll stunt our growth. Um, as believers, malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. Um he says, Man, we we we gotta we gotta uproot these things. If we want to grow, these things have to have to be dealt with. And man, it it was a tough series because it these are things, especially this probably the world over, but I think in America, we so much of this has just become our culture, who we are. I mean, envy, it it's baked into everything. Slander. You talked about this past Sunday, how every political ad, that's all they are.

SPEAKER_03: 2:56

Right. Slander, you know. You really got to dig to find truth in those political ads.

SPEAKER_01: 3:01

Um it's everywhere, man. And so malice, deceit, everything is like, oh, every week it was. It was just that gut punch of oh, because we know it's in there. Right. It's easy for you know, when we talk about, you know, drug addiction or something, we we're like, oh, I don't struggle with that. We're talking about other people, right? This has been four sermons back to back to back of like, oh no, that one, that's me. Um, and definitely there's things that we struggle with more. Um, but man, all of these things, if we all got introspective enough, we'd say, Man, I I wrestle with some of this. Um, and what you said on Sunday I thought was so good. Because you said God's discipline is not punishment, right? It's his grace.

SPEAKER_03: 3:51

It's it's important to to see that that way. Um, you don't know what these things are keeping you from experiencing. You just don't know. But he does. And if he needs to uh punish you or get you to um to come to him and confess these things and get him out of your life, he's gonna do what's necessary to do that because he wants you to have your best life.

unknown: 4:15

That's right.

SPEAKER_03: 4:16

And uh we need to look at his discipline as love and grace, because that's what it is.

SPEAKER_01: 4:21

Well that scripture comes right out and says it, right? God disciplines those he loves. I I've told people, man, if the the moment you stop experiencing God's discipline, that's when you need to be worried.

SPEAKER_03: 4:34

Yeah. Right? Um it's important because we harden our hearts to it and uh we don't know uh what we're doing uh when we do that. And sometimes the Lord, his discipline is just to give you what you want, just to let envy have its way and let you roll around in discontentment for years because you won't choose him over it. Or uh slander, uh, same thing. It's sometimes he'll just give you what you want. Everybody finds out. No, don't talk to them, don't be their friend. You can't trust them. Hey, let me tell you about them. And that's because you slandered and now everybody's slandering you. Uh it's it's just one of those things that sometimes God says, okay, you're gonna choose that over me, you can have it all. And um, and then when you come crawling back, we'll we'll we'll discuss this again. So it's all about uh experiencing what God wants for you, what he has for you. And um Peter's saying these things poison that. If you're getting if you're planted in good soil and you're being watered and warmed by the sun, Jesus Christ, you're gonna grow. It's just a natural thing. But these things um inhibit your growth, so you need to get them out. If it's uh red dye 42 or whatever it is, or uh too much sugar or whatever it is, you got to get rid of it if you're gonna get in shape and experience what God wants you to uh experience.

SPEAKER_01: 6:03

That was another great thing I thought you brought out on Sunday was you were meant to grow, right? It's natural to grow. And we feel we look at these things like, oh man, it's this battle and I gotta fight against it. And yeah, they need to come out. But the most natural thing is for you to grow. Right. If you are rooted in Christ, you're going to grow. A tree, you know, a seed planted in him produces good fruit. That's the natural byproduct of being planted in good soil. Um, and so you you don't have to to struggle and fight. You just need to cooperate.

SPEAKER_03: 6:38

That's it.

SPEAKER_01: 6:38

And there's sometimes he's gonna come along and say, Oh, hey, we've got a little bit of malice growing up here. Let's let's let's weed that out.

SPEAKER_03: 6:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01: 6:45

And that's gonna, and if you'll cooperate with him, he's gonna help you clean that up and you'll keep growing.

SPEAKER_03: 6:51

And you'll keep growing.

SPEAKER_01: 6:52

Um, so the the big thing here is is that cooperation, but man, it has felt heavy every week.

SPEAKER_03: 6:59

I think I think it's because we don't look at it as weed in the garden. We look at it as, you know, changing my life, you know. And uh changing life, uh, we automatically say that's hard. Okay, I'm gonna lose some weight. Well, I'm gonna get in shape. Well, I'm gonna quit drinking or I'm gonna quit this or I'm gonna quit that. Oh, here we got this thing going. And God's saying, no, no, no, this is not like that. Just when malice grows up, just give it to me. You know, when this grows up, pluck it out, give it to me. Um when envy, when you start envying what everybody else has got, just give it to me. And uh confess it is wrong and we'll move on and you'll grow. And the more you do that, the more you grow. I think uh our problem is we we turn every little thing into this monstrous, like uh you just said, it's not an addiction, it's not crack cocaine, you know. And I said on Sunday, it's like we're not shaking in our bed uh because we can't say anything about our mother-in-law, you know, doing the sweats and withdrawal and all that kind of stuff. No, this is this is God saying, Oh man, I got a lot for you here. I got a lot for you. Let's get that out of the way.

SPEAKER_01: 8:20

If if we figured out, I mean, this is it's really an identity thing. I am a co-heir with Christ. I am a child of God. I'm not my malice, I'm not my hypocrisy, I'm not my envy, then those things it it's when God says, hey, we gotta deal with it, it's not this full frontal attack, you know, an assault on our character and who we are. No, no, no, no, no. That's not who you are.

SPEAKER_03: 8:49

Right. You're a child of God. It's gonna be easier to get rid of it if you'll just concentrate on it than you think. You are your identity is in Jesus, and he don't see you any other way.

SPEAKER_01: 9:00

That's right. When I've had, you know, just different situations over the years pop up with my kids, you know, you catch them in a in a lie or you know, being deceitful, something like that. I I've I have often told them, hey, that's not who you are. This is inconsistent with who you are. Because I want them to know I'm not this thing, you know, and it's easy to say, oh, you you're always a you're always lying. You're such a liar. Well, that becomes an identity thing. Oh, I'm a liar. That Jacob, right? We talked about him. Deceiver. That's what you became known as. To to be Jacob was to be a deceiver. And so it becomes this whole identity thing. And I want to separate those things for my kids. No, you're not that thing. Yeah. Something you struggle with, something you were dishonest about here, but that's not you. It's inconsistent with who you are. Because who you are is a truth teller. Who you are is honest. Who you are is is a respectable, respectable man who's growing in the knowledge of God. That's who you are. These things are inconsistent. And so now it makes sense then to say, well, we need to deal with that.

SPEAKER_03: 10:11

Right.

SPEAKER_01: 10:12

If this isn't who I am, if this is hindering my growth, if it's inhibiting my relationship with with God or with my parents, with my siblings, with with the people I'm in community with, then it makes sense for me to get rid of this thing because it's inconsistent.

SPEAKER_03: 10:27

The first one, Malice, when we were talking about, I think we didn't realize how much we had. And um where you would think, you know, I wish they would get hurt. Now it it's born out of I remember watching the Christmas story, you know, when um he says a bad word while his dad's changing the tire, and then he tells his mom he heard it from so-and-so, and so she calls so-and-so's mom, and she freaks out and starts whipping that kid, and and um, but just makes what's his name? Do you remember Christmas story name? What's it what's his name? It just flew out of my mind. Richie's what's popping in my head, but I don't know if that's right. Nah, it's not Richie. Is Richie his little brother? Might be. Anyways, this guy. Um this is terrible.

SPEAKER_01: 11:18

We're missing our nostalgic Christmas movie trivia here.

SPEAKER_03: 11:23

They she she puts a bar of soap in his uh mouth and and uh he's dreaming. Okay, he's dreaming that he's he comes back home after he's an adult and you know, and he's blind because they made him put soap in his mouth, and you know, they're like, Oh, we're so sorry. That's malice. And I I even as a kid we practice it, that those dreams where someone wronged you or you felt like you got wronged, and you dream up a fantasy about how they get hurt, that's malice. And we gotta control it. And the reason we gotta control it is because we live in this um uh did you hear him chanting um about the coach of of the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday? The whole stadium was chanting fire, Tomlin. Oh boy. It was it was that's malice, you know. And we engage in it because we're like, yeah, that's how I feel. I just you know, I'll just jump in. We don't have a filter for it. That's why we get so upset about politics and stuff like that. I mean, you and I we can argue about politics all day. In the end, you get a vote, I get a vote. And if they're opposite, then we didn't do nothing. You can get all upset and jump up and down, and and uh but we've got unfortunately we've got um autopilot going on in the in Congress and uh the White House and they just do whatever they're gonna do and and we we reap it. So I don't know when that that's gonna get fixed, but it's not worth thinking you should die. And we hear we hear that on YouTube and on the news all the time. You know, you guys, which happens to be Republican or Democrat, you are this and you're that and you hate and you're a racist, and I mean you go down to the whole thing, and everybody's sitting there going, I I don't know what you're talking about. But they're like, We'd be better off without you. That's malice. We're letting some thing out here influence us to want harm on other people. And uh we have to be we have to be careful as Christians. Our our identity is in Jesus Christ and he has no malice at all. He has no even he cries for his enemies. He does. He is uh he's hurt when they're hurt even though they're his enemies. Doesn't mean he's not just, he'll always be just. But we have to understand that that's not just who we serve, that's our identity also.

unknown: 14:27

Right.

SPEAKER_03: 14:27

So watch out for that malice. It it creeps up in uh football games and basketball games, and and you say, well, that's harmless. I'm not really thinking that guy should get hurt, but man, if he did, we could win this series.

SPEAKER_01: 14:45

In the series, you know, I'd win that fan duel or whatever Meton thing, you know, like I'm not saying I want it to happen, but I'd really get a good payout.

SPEAKER_03: 14:55

But it's those things that we give license to to lead us into thoughts about our family that did us wrong, that mother-in-law who never accepted you, or your dad who always looked down on you, or whatever it is, um we don't we don't want malice to creep in, but if you practice malice, that's what I if you practice malice on the football field, you know, yeah man, I wish their quarterback was hurt today, not just today, you know, but that kind of stuff, that's practicing. And you know, Joseph's brothers, they practice their malice. Dad got them a new coat, he comes down here telling us his dreams, how he's gonna bow down to us, and all these years they talked between themselves and they practiced malice until someone said, Let's kill 'em.

SPEAKER_01: 15:51

You usually don't start at let's kill them day one. Right. You know, it it takes time. And the some of these play in together because uh, you know, uh you see in Joseph's situation, you see in our political uh environment slander is thrown everywhere. We're so loose with our tongues, and that it gets in there. But then it it feeds this malice until it grows, and you get to that point, and you're just we'd be better off if they were dead. And we see people taking action on that.

SPEAKER_03: 16:23

Yeah, and let's let's not deceive ourselves. You you stumble down to something malice because of slander, because of envy, and never um never confronting your dad, always, yeah, Joseph's a great guy, dad. You're right. No, dad, dad, he's a moron. Dad, he's killing us. Can you tell him to shut up? You know? Um that's deceit, that's hypocrisy. They all tied together to get him sold into slavery, right?

SPEAKER_01: 17:01

It's it's a slippery slope for real, man. Um and they they they do, they all play in together in that I I was I don't want to say shocked, um, but I guess almost encouraged in a way, the response of from that sermon week one, um, because it we got to the end of the message and you gave a a a call for people to to respond to what God was saying to them. And man, it was it was. We didn't realize how much was in us. Um and it was encouraging to for for me to see people say, Man, I need to deal with this thing. It's easy to to justify it away and no, it's not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_03: 17:47

It's just a game. I I don't really mean that. Yeah, you know, and then it creeps in and gets focused on your boss or someone you work with that won't shut up and you know, you just start thinking that way. And then when your heart's that way, you never know when um you can be triggered. Uh it's a bomb waiting to go off, really, is what it is.

SPEAKER_01: 18:10

So I I like how you were talking about it. It you you practice malice and then it it comes out in these other areas, and you get to that point and all of a sudden we should do something to them becomes you know, in the beginning that's well, that's crazy. We we would never do that. But you you practice it long enough and all of a sudden it's like, I mean someone should do something, maybe I should do something about that.

SPEAKER_03: 18:34

Well, we saw it in Charlie Kirk. We saw it when uh President Trump got shot. These people didn't expect that to be in them, but they had talked about it and they built that, they practiced, then all of a sudden they're saying things that they had to take down later. I'm so glad he's dead, or I wish they would have uh shot three inches to the right or or whatever it is. And I think a lot of people looked at their post and were shocked. Oh my gosh, what did I just say? Yeah, and it that's that's exactly what happened to Joseph. And uh I think we need to uh ask ourselves, who do I secretly hope gets what's coming to him? You know? And uh when those things come up, just say, Lord, I confess this is a sin and I forgive them. I forgive them, I hate them, I forgive them. I I I just they drive me crazy, but I forgive them. I want you and what you have more than I want for them to get what's coming to them. That's good. And that's that's where we gotta be. And then we go into this deceit and hypocrisy, which is wow. I I don't know. I don't even know how to I can't even differentiate between my mask anymore, you know. I guess they should all eventually bleed together, but sometimes my mask comes off and in in front of people who've never seen that part of me before and they're looking at me with their mouth hanging open. What? What did you just say? And I'm like, I am not in the wrong group, wrong mask.

SPEAKER_01: 20:16

These ones definitely I feel like they can be the most draining, you know, because malice can feel good. Yeah, you know, drink, but these two, it is, it's that constant, man. I gotta have this mask. And do I have the right mask? And are am I presenting the right things to the right people so that they think the right things?

SPEAKER_03: 20:42

And it it drains you. It's anxiety too. I mean, you're anxious all the time, and even if you're not doing anything wrong at the moment, you can't relax because of the guilt. That's right. You know, uh, if anybody knew I was doing this, well, that doesn't turn off. You don't get to turn off the switch. And did anybody see me? Or, you know, how are they gonna find out? Are they gonna look at the history on my computer? Or, you know, are they, you know, what is this? Or is my wife gonna get my phone and open it up and see that text and you know, all this kind of guilt that just it robs your life? You're right, it just sucks, sucks you dry.

SPEAKER_01: 21:28

Constantly walking on this balance beam, and you can't ever stop focusing on it. Because as soon as I I stop focusing, and I look up for a second and try to just take a breath, boom, you missed the next step, and you have everything that you've been trying to to build and protect and project, all of it comes falling down in a moment. Yeah, and it is it's exhausting. I mean, just you know, if you've if you're not used to working on a ladder every day, and then you get up and you've spent some time on a ladder and you come down, your calves are all cramped up, your thighs and knees are hurting, you know, it's that like I I am just exhausted because I'm constantly on edge, I'm constantly charged, trying to make sure I'm I'm holding all the right strings and the right mask and spinning the right plates, and I just can't ever just stop.

SPEAKER_03: 22:24

And you know, it's it's um you you get confused and then you realize I'm getting confused and I'm messing this up with different groups of people, and you know you're confused. So now you have this other anxiety coming up, and then you you bring in slander and people say, Do you know did you know what he said? Now you've got to lie your way out of what you said, and it uh it's just too heavy. It is it I think we just need to on next Thanksgiving, everybody just lay on the ground and say, This is who I am. It's not good, but it's out there, and now I I don't care if you know anymore. I just this is who I am.

SPEAKER_01: 23:14

It would be quite the way to start Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_03: 23:16

It really would.

SPEAKER_01: 23:17

Hey, everybody, before we eat, I'm just gonna I'm gonna throw it all out here. Um and and I don't know if that that's the right next step for you. Maybe get with the counselor first. Yeah. Um, but we we do. We need to get ourselves to a place where we can live mask-free. Um so we can grow. You can grow. You can, you know, it's it's taking that deep breath, you know. When you feel I don't know, this is me and a cup only a couple of my kids have inherited this from me, but I I almost never feel like I get a good breath, you know. People are all the time, were you getting ready to say something? No, I'm just struggling trying to breathe over here. Um, a couple of my kids got it too, but every now and then I can fake myself into this yawn thing, and all of a sudden it feels like my lungs fully inflate and I get this good breath. And it's it's that feeling when you can take all this off and and just be you, and you're like, I don't have to pretend anymore. I don't have to struggle with this anymore.

SPEAKER_03: 24:22

And I I think the I love what you said about hypocrisy, and we tied these two together, but you said it's performing, performing your righteousness. If you're gonna perform, just practice it. You know, it's it's just it's a mental step from I need to act like a Christian because I'm around Christians that people believe I'm a Christian. Just act like a Christian. Practice it. You know, be that. Step into it, embrace it. Um when we start when we start doing that, and it's a narrowing, we've got lots of masks, you know, it's a narrowing of it, trying to bring them all together to what you are as a follower of Jesus that doesn't always do everything right or say everything right, but that's who I am. I'm a follower of him.

SPEAKER_01: 25:19

What you just said, I think, is so important because performance and practice are two different things. And a performance is I'm acting out something that I don't even believe about myself. Right. You know, uh that's what actors do on stage. I'm acting, but this isn't who I am. Practice is you're practicing, however imperfectly, who you're trying to be. You know, I was in football, went to practice, I was the quarterback. So what did I do? I practiced things that quarterbacks do. And I was not Tom Brady. I wasn't the perfect quarterback, but I was doing the things that Tom Brady's coach would have him do because I'm practicing being a quarterback. That little shift from performance to practice, one is, and the reason it's so draining for you is because you you believe it's deep down that's not who you are. And I'm just acting this out. I'm trying to get everybody to believe. But if you'll switch from performance to practice, and now it becomes man, I'm not doing this perfectly, but I'm taking steps because this is who I have been called to be. This is who I am. God has adopted me as his son or his daughter, and these are the things that children of the king do. And so I'm doing this, and in doing that, I'm living out the truest thing about me. Right. And I don't get it right all the time, but this is the truest thing about me is that I'm a child of the king. And when I take these steps, and I don't want to take this step, and I didn't want to get up early today, I didn't want to show up for two days, and I didn't want to lift those weights. I didn't want to do all those things, but I'm doing it because that's what a child of the king does.

SPEAKER_03: 27:00

And that's so important. Take the explanation he just gave, even if you have to rewind it, and then ask yourself this question where am I performing faith instead of living it?

unknown: 27:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 27:14

And uh that'll help you. And I think you'll it's just it's a it's a mental step that you that you get together. They're so close together, right?

SPEAKER_01: 27:23

So close. Why not practice instead of perform? Absolutely. Why not? And in that you'll find so much freedom. Um then there comes envy. Yeah, buddy. I'm this is something that I know I I have grown. I don't want to say I've grown out of, but I've definitely grown in this area, but definitely something I have wrestled with. Um, looking out and saying, man, I want what they have. I when we were on the podcast, oh, I think that would have been last week, I talked about Pat's truck. When Pat bought that big old truck, I was like, oh, golly, I want good news is he sold that truck this week. He told me he says I couldn't have you, you know, being all envious. I went and sold it.

SPEAKER_03: 28:14

Everybody wants a big dooley till they have to park it somewhere.

SPEAKER_01: 28:18

Or or fill up the gas tank. Right. Or change brakes. He said the brakes on that thing were gonna be eight thousand dollars. He's like, I'll just sell it.

SPEAKER_03: 28:26

Well, I don't blame you, man. Yeah, absolutely. I think um envy when you get to the point where it causes you pain when someone else gets a blessing, um you you gotta do something drastic. Yep. Yeah, you gotta start your Thanksgiving journal and um practice Thanksgiving daily, um thanking God for your family and what you do have. Um we you don't want to get in that position where when someone else gets a blessing, you you hurt. Right. That's a I I don't even know. That's a I'm not an envious person um personality-wise. I do envy, you know. I make a date out of it and we go to the boat show and I envy there and and uh but I think there's some people out there that uh it just that I'm missing out. Why, why God would you bless them and not me? And God says, Well, this is not about performance. If you put that envy down, I can make you content, but I'm not gonna do it with that envy in there. If I put my envy down, will you make me content with what he's got? No, that's the same that's not putting it down. And uh it's a it's a struggle. Um, and I know it is, and I know I you know, I look at our church and I I don't see a lot of that going on.

unknown: 29:59

But

SPEAKER_01: 30:00

then I'm you know I got rose colored glasses when I look at a fresh win but I don't want I don't want you to get into this mess where other people that do great you can't celebrate that because there's there's no joy in life and that's I I would say that's the area I've grown the most in is in my when it comes to envy is my ability to to celebrate and rejoice with those who are who are rejoicing. You know when when I see the people I love get what they want or or achieve something it I've gotten to the point in my life where that fills me with joy. I love seeing those people get those great things. I mean and if they get a new car and man we're driving a beater minivan I I'm not sitting here thinking oh man if if I I've gotten to the point where thankfully I when they get that I'm like oh man that is awesome I love that for you and can I tell you I've not always been there and being on this side is so refreshing because it is it'll drain you when when every time something happens to someone else you feel pain man that it's it is and I'm speaking from experience here it is a horrible way to live because you can't enjoy anything.

SPEAKER_03: 31:27

You begin to obsess and get bitter and eventually it'll destroy you. Envy is you'll learn to hate like you've never hated before just because of envy. And I I worry about that in this this whole equity thing in our country that's been bouncing around for the last ten years, ten, fifteen years. Um it's not I want what they want it's I don't want anybody to have anything better than me. You know, drag them down. It it's not like I no I want to be like them. No no no no no I want to drag everybody down to me and that's that's where envy starts getting control of you.

SPEAKER_01: 32:17

Another prime example of one that feeds right into these other things right because if I'm envious then malice begins to grow because I want what you have and I not only that I don't want you to have it and so now feelings of of malice begin to grow where I'm like oh what if I took it what if I what I want I wish something would happen and take that from them so they didn't have what I have and then slander builds into it. And you know you that that uh passage you used on Sunday um in that sermon on slander here's a guy who says man I really want that garden or was it a garden vineyard? I think it's a garden uh he goes I I really want that and then they built right into slander which grows in malice and now some guy's dead right for some dirt. We're talking about dirt all these things begin to feed right into it if we don't put some checks in to say hey what what am I allowing to to grow here do I do I really want to have those thoughts do I really want to think this way do I really want to to feel this way when when someone else gets that promotion or gets that raise and yeah man I was working really hard for it and they got picked ahead of me I've known men whose kids got a good job or done better somehow somehow and were upset.

SPEAKER_03: 33:43

Isn't that crazy? And that's that's what it'll do to you. It's gonna twist you um I was talking about the word Avan um which means uh twisted no does that one mean anyways there's three three words about sin one is missing the mark uh one is um wickedness doing what's wrong you know it's wrong and you did it anyways and the other one is twisted and uh I always use the example of the Nineveh the Nineveh knew that their God wanted them to sacrifice children and they're like what we're not doing that and someone said well let's just go get the Israelite children and we'll sacrifice them oh there you go win win right and they thought they were doing good that's twisted and envy will do that to you you'll start to be thinking no it's good if he fails it's good if he hurts it's good if he loses everything and that will twist you and it won't stay there it'll start um drilling down into your life and twist you up to where you don't know you'll think uh right is wrong and wrong is right and so we have to be we have to be very careful with them because it grows but the problem is or the great thing is it's so easy to fix it get up in the morning and tell God you're thankful for five things every morning and it'll fill you with joy and it always does you can you can break envy's back by just remembering to thank God every morning.

SPEAKER_01: 35:32

Here's how true this is because this is I saw a comedian talking about this secular comedian not a Christian comedian he says my therapist prescribed me gratitude which really ticked me off that it works because here I thought I was messed up and all I had to do was say well it's not really that bad and my brain goes huh I never thought of it that way and I'm like if you only knew the spiritual truth of what you're saying right now. You know he he doesn't even have that perspective but his therapist said dude it ain't that bad. Just be grateful right start having some gratitude and he goes it works I'm ticked off that it works because all I had to do I thought I was messed up I thought I could blame this on all this other no I'm just ungrateful if you will wake up every morning do what you're talking about God I thank you thank you start that gratitude journal and just write down every day three four five things that you're grateful for it'll it'll begin to break break envy from you.

SPEAKER_03: 36:36

It sure will and I tell you what you'll be free and you'll have joy you'll be excited about when people win and you'll be able to celebrate with them. You know God's our our God is a celebrating God. He he's got all these different celebrations no we're gonna we're gonna remember this on this day and we're gonna have a party and not only a party it's gonna be a week long right while we're pulling out all the stops. And um you want to you want to be able to celebrate um every time someone's saved there's a celebration in heaven and uh we want to be we want to be people who can step right into that and um and enjoy other people's good things good blessings that happen to them. And not only that scripture says that God sings over you I mean that's that's who he is he is in the celebratory mode over his children and man if we could Lord let just let us experience what that's like break us free of that envy um and then uh this past Sunday um you talked about slander and man just another rough one I spent the week thinking how many times have I aligned myself with the devil and uh it's it's been a struggle uh just confessing over and over again to the Lord that my um that my everyday life would actually align myself with what the devil is trying to do and man and it was a it was a punch in the mouth I was afraid to preach it I was afraid to get up there and say okay we're all doing this I'm doing it you're doing it and we just need to stop and everybody stop speaking and let's just uh I don't know what we can do and just think about it it's hard especially you know as pastors you and I we discuss people for projects for whatever and there's always a well what about this and then suddenly it's like well okay we got to be very careful that we don't cross the line and come up with as Alan would say more than I know that is you you said it on Sunday um but one of the greatest things that you have taught me is don't know what you shouldn't know.

SPEAKER_01: 39:11

And I honestly I'm terrible at it I I remember um there was a time when I showed up at your house for some party and someone I don't even want to give all the names again but someone was pregnant and I showed up and I had known they were having a boy and I think this was the gender reveal party I was late to the party I thought that part was over and I show up and give them a big hug hey congrats on the little guy or something like that and every you know a couple people stand there in the kitchen looking at me like what is wrong with you I'm like apparently that was the wrong time it is not good to know what you shouldn't know. So I tell Joy all the time just don't tell me like unless I have to know just don't tell me right and that honestly it has been freeing because then when people come up and did you hear I didn't hear and I can say that and I'm truthful you know um it it's and it it trains you're so free all the time.

SPEAKER_03: 40:15

Now I watched a pastor one time try to lead his church by intercepting the gossip and then preaching sermons about what was going on and trying to do that. And I said I said to him I said why don't we just plow right through and not care what anybody says until they come and tell us to our face and when they come and say well didn't you hear about this and I and just say oh I thought that was gossip. Because people would tell certain people because they knew those people would come to the pastor I was so confused. Yeah how do we I was like Pastor how do we how do we do this this way? Because we don't even know if they're telling us the truth.

SPEAKER_01: 40:58

That's yeah an absolutely terrible way to lead um because you don't know and it it is best to just go ahead and say unless this person has come and expressed it to me we're gonna act as if that has not been said. Right and and it just it is a better way it keeps you from getting tied into all these knots and and and then it's so easy for people to play on emotions and manipulate you as a leader. Even if you're not a pastor I mean if you your kids will do this to you if you if you behave that way. And you can't run a business your employees yep we'll do it to you you you cannot make decisions based off of off of gossip. And it is I mean I I remember you were was it in the joyful series um but you were you were talking in one of the sermons just about how God's doing some great things in our church the one of the quickest ways that the devil will shut this down is is through disunity. Getting us to be ununified and one of the number one ways you can do that is start gossip. Right. Start talking about each other start talking about things um and it'll it'll shut down the growth of a church immediately.

SPEAKER_03: 42:12

Yeah and it's easy to talk about things um where people fail you you know and uh one thing I was teaching you about leadership and you're still having a real hard time with it is if you get 80% of what you want you it's a win. It's a win. I'm fighting for that last 20% man you do you do. But you know we're in a volunteer organization and you're asking people to do things and you want them to be able to do it without you monitoring them all the time and if you get 80% of what you want then it's a win. You just need to embrace that and go yeah but I don't like the way they set up the chairs if they would just set up the chairs like just drop it. Just drop it but that's that's what we do and that's how we can leak into gossip and then gossip always leads to slander. If you don't clean it up you'll you'll start slandering someone you'll want to hurt them you'll want to hurt them and um and hurt their relationship and uh their relationships and their reputation so it's it's basically spiritual murder but you just don't murder one person. You are standing in front of God and saying I am going to defy you and I'm gonna talk about your people your bride right to your face I am just I know you're watching and I'm gonna talk about your bride to everyone look look that doesn't go well here on the planet it's not gonna go well in heaven so I think we don't understand this accusing thing because God talks about slander different than he talks about malice.

SPEAKER_01: 44:08

It's uh I've got a real problem with this children this is something that I raise up off the throne about and uh I think it's important for us to realize his he is not gonna let anybody destroy his image bears he's gonna not let anybody stop the unity uh it invites God's discipline when you stand up and say I'm gonna be a slanderer which is the word diablos which is also translated devil just some of the scripture passages you read um during that sermon it is clear God is like no I'm not putting up with that uh I think one of them said I will destroy you it's like okay are you sure you want the God who spoke and things came into being to be your enemy like are you are are you prepared for that you know and he says no no no I I will destroy you I oppose you if this is the stance you take man that's that's a rough place to be and I mean just imagine standing before God and saying hey God love you hate your wife like yeah how do you think that's gonna go try saying that to me I mean I I love Jesus I'll knock you I'll I'll try again I drive a traverse so I don't know how that'll go but I will try I'm not gonna put up with it you can say whatever you want about me don't you dare talk about my wife imagine standing before God love you hate your hate your wife he he won't put up with it and we are the bride of Christ this is his church and people we need and we shouldn't be slandering anyone we shouldn't be gossiping about anyone but my goodness when it comes to the church the bride of Christ listen people not in your prayer meetings not in your life groups not we need to be so careful um that we do not fall into this because it it'll just crush the unity of the church and Jesus said it is our unity that proves to the world that we are his disciples I think the you know the scripture verse that we ended up at on on Sunday um first Peter chapter three if you want to love life and see good days keep your tongue from evil two things I I pull out of that number one if you if you're trading just talking about someone getting getting somebody just to listen to you because this person's driving you crazy you know you're you're gonna take that and give up a good life for it.

SPEAKER_03: 47:02

That's that's what the scripture is promising. If you want to love your life don't do that. You know and then the fact that the scripture in the old testament and the new testament says this is evil you know it doesn't it doesn't say it's um shoot I wish I'd I can get that study in my head. The three different types of sin you know it doesn't say that it says this is evil. This is what the devil does and um I know gossip starts out harmless but you're just you're just saying you know they got me the same present they got me last year for Christmas. And they didn't realize it. You know it's it starts out that way until you know they hurt your feelings doing something else and then it starts moving closer to that slander thing and you're gonna set yourself up against God without even meaning to and it it's it's a real slander or gossip is a real slippery slope and and where you're going is slander where you're actually trying to to hurt somebody and uh if you could not do it the first time then you will never get there. And like I said before these things are envy is a tough habit to break gossip is a is a tough habit to break but it's not you know heroin addiction. He's not asking much.

SPEAKER_01: 48:46

Hey don't don't do that and you'll grow and be happy and full of joy it's not even giving up cigarettes. Right when you catch yourself just stop yeah pull an Allen I've already told you more than I know I need to stop right here. Um it is as simple as that man um in in scripture it is just so clear. I mean Proverbs says death and life are in the power of the tongue.

SPEAKER_03: 49:16

Yeah we should treat every word as a seed and will this seed produce life or will it produce death produce death that's what James tells us and we need I know nobody talks about this anymore because I mean how would YouTube get paid? I mean how I how would it work? How would society work if everybody just stopped their tongue and um I think it'd be I think it'd be a richer and better place if if everybody said you know what that hurt my feelings I'm gonna go talk to them about it. Because they'd expect you not to be defensive. They would expect you to say I'm sorry what can I do to fix it? You know well can you not do that anymore? Probably 90% of the time but I just feel like I'm gonna do it again. So can I go ahead and say I'm sorry now you know um but when we're working together in that unity that's one thing but when we're getting our circle against their circle that is that's gonna destroy us and that's the Satan's plan for all God's church. But the great thing is that Hebrews chapter 12 says when God comes after you over these things it's not to punish you it's not to I'm gonna get you back for what you've done it's gonna be you're missing out right I've got some great things for you this is this is just dumb don't do this I've got more for you you don't need this I got more for you this will never satisfy you I can let me do that so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna let you do that.

SPEAKER_01: 51:06

I'm not gonna let you get in that position it's the same thing as when your kid wants to play in the highway you know no that's not gonna end well come play in the driveway I'll put a car across the end of the driveway and you guys can just go crazy right here and we'll have snacks and pizza and movie night and the whole thing and we won't end up in the emergency room you know and that's that but a lot of people you know defy that and say you know what I'm just let's just go to the emergency room and the Lord says well that's what you want here we go and we have a this this is not as big a deal as we make it out to be now if we could step back and just talk about the exchange that you you laid out there just a few minutes ago would I give up a life that I love for that thing and if we would see all these interactions that way would I give up a life I love just to make them hurt? Of course not wouldn't do that. Would I give up a life I love just to say this juicy bit of gossip no I mean how silly the the problem man we we are so bullheaded man we just plow right into these things right without ever stopping to to look back take a step back and be like what am I giving up in all this the weird thing is we get defensive about it too.

SPEAKER_03: 52:35

What well I'm right so right so what's a big deal you're right and you know it it's a tough thing if you if you said I'll give you a million dollars if that person that you can't stand gets 10 you okay with that well let me think through this it's like they'll get 10 is that fair well wait a minute I'm gonna give you five but they're gonna get 10 um shut up and take the five right like that's what we're talking about here just shut up take the five and and live a great life I I don't know and we make it a big deal I made it a big deal when we started this series when I came to you and I said hey like oh boy I was like I think the Lord wants us to to preach on this and I don't I I don't wanna and um you're like well if you think the Lord's calling us to preach on this you go first yeah you go first and you wrap it up that way the last the first thing people see is you the last thing people see is you and they'll remember Tim Tim taught us this right um no man you know there's there's not very many times you come to me and say hey I think we need to preach on this um you know you I over the years I've kind of got to pick a lot of the servants and we do a lot of it together but you know I've I've had the freedom kind of to do those things and um so when you said man the Lord I think the Lord's saying we need to talk about this I was like man we need to lean into that then um and this is man it it's felt heavy at times but man if if we would just say Lord I'm I'm not gonna fight you on it I just want to cooperate with you because I believe that there's more you have more for me and what you have is more important than this this envy this thing this grudge that I've developed you know this this thing that I that I just gotta share because you know it's gonna hurt them what you have is more it's better and if we would get ourselves to believe that um and when God corrects you on this stuff and he will all the time he'll he'll correct you and you find yourself in a situation boy I should have kept my mouth shut or I should have took my mask off these my small group should have known who I was in the first place um if you if God's correcting you in that situation he's not rejecting you he's refining you that's right he goes you know what you can receive more blessings if you grow into this and the more you grow the more blessings the more your roots go deeper they get more food you get more sunshine it's just growth opens your life and if you want to love life and see good days keep your tongue from evil keep your heart clean this is probably something that every time we have a communion that in our heads we should say all right we're getting ready to have communion I need to where am I failing in these these situations? And uh but I tell you what if you do the envy thing and just get up in the morning and thank God you'll live in joy and once you get to see the difference of that life and the life you're living now your enemy will be malice, hypocrisy, envy, deceit, and uh slander. They will be your enemy because you'll realize this is what I experienced when I wasn't involved in that stuff. And when I am involved in that stuff that goes away and you'll get jealous of a happy life.

SPEAKER_01: 56:37

You know it makes me think of there's this old Jewish rabbi who was talking about the Ten Commandments not Peter's list here but he said commandment number ten is is more of a promise than it is a command that if you'll do the first nine you won't want anyone else's life. Right so commandment number 10 thou shalt not covet and he says if you'll do the first nine you won't want anyone else's life because you will you will have a life that God can bless you'll have a rich satisfying abundant life life to the full you will love your life and all you got to do is start pulling these things out. When you catch yourself stop speaking you know when when you're all fired up oh man Lord I'm just you know what I'm I'm grateful for all that you've done you start doing those things and man you won't want anyone else's life you'll live a life that God can bless and you will grow.

SPEAKER_03: 57:34

Pastin will you pray for us well Lord I I want to thank you for us uh leading us to preach on this and um I'm also really grateful we're done I never liked weed in the flower beds uh but sometimes it's got to be done I want to thank you for that thank you that um this is something that refines us and makes us better and more equipped to receive your blessings and to live in joy. We want to love our life and we want to see good days. So Lord I pray that you'll keep us hunting these things in our life so that we can rip them out. And we can be the person that you want us to be but more than that that you can give us what you want to give us in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00: 58:26

Thanks again for joining us for this episode of the Midweek Podcast. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know how God is using this resource in your life or send any podcast questions or topic ideas to podcast at a freshwind.org. If you would like to support this ministry financially and help us continue offering new resources that equip you to discover more in Christ simply text any amount to the number 84321. We're so grateful for your support. Make sure to tune in next week for a brand new episode of the Midweek Podcast. Be blessed and have a great week