Discerning the Path

In today’s episode, we dive deep into the distractions that consume our lives and the spiritual battle they create. From media overload to the constant busyness of life, it’s easy to lose focus on what truly matters. But we’re reminded of the good news: God is in control, and we have the tools to stand firm. Let’s talk about how to arm ourselves with discernment and prioritize what’s important in our faith journey.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Personal Journey
• 0:56 Distractions of the Modern World
• 3:14 The Importance of Discernment
• 5:56 The Role of Prayer and Spiritual Guidance
• 7:42 Navigating Life's Challenges with Faith
• 9:58 The Need for Spiritual Awareness
• 12:50 Living in the Spirit vs. Autopilot
• 15:11 The Real Enemy Behind Distractions
• 17:43 Personal Testimony of Change
• 20:05 Conclusion and Call to Action
• 26:45 Navigating Confusion in Faith and Society
• 26:52 Audible FREE Trial
• 33:29 The Importance of Discernment in a Changing World
• 38:52 Empowering the Next Generation Through Spiritual Awareness
• 42:40 Desperation and Deliverance: A Call to Prayer
• 47:40 Outro to World on Fire Radio
• 48:12 Encouragement to Share and Live Boldly

Transcript

Erika-Michelle Best (00:00)
Anybody feel like 2024 came in ready to compete with the last three years it's been absolutely kind of insane watching what's going on out there in the world.

who here has heard of that Gypsy Rose was released from prison? Who has heard of the Stanley Cup rush? Like y'all paying $3.50 for a cup?

Y'all gonna pay 350, but it's pink. It deserves $350. Who has seen or heard the viral Cat Williams interview with Shannon Sharp?

Has anybody heard about the aliens at the Miami mall, the eight to 10 foot beings huge massive SWAT and Miami PD showing up and craziness going on in Miami? The Epstein files released. The felon who attacked the judge in Las Vegas and did the Superman across the, I've never seen a man take flight like that, right?

Erika-Michelle Best (00:55)
I mean, we have seen it all. P. Diddy's headline grabbing arrest, the never ending buzz about Taylor Swift's love life, the fiery drama of the 2024 election debates, nature's fury at this point from the devastating wildfires to the bone chilling winter storms. These stories have dominated our airwaves, and sparking endless debates.

Erika-Michelle Best (01:19)
The enemy has done a great job at keeping us distracted Worn out and weary He can't take us out, but he can sure work to wear us out and He'll win if we let him the Bible says in the last days. He will wear out the saints

And I think that's exactly what he's doing. Because as long as we're staying wrapped up in Gypsy Rose and what her mama did to her and how she got out for murder but the boyfriend is still in jail for murder and she convinced him and Cat Williams and what's going on with this celebrity it's something to keep us wrapped up in the world so we don't have time to stay wrapped up in the spirit. Okay? And when the enemy succeeds at doing that very thing, he can create division, he can create

uproars and families and relationships and marriages he can get at your children so while we're girl did you hear about this y'all funny story I'm gonna tell this story so the other night

Okay, I have three children, y'all. I have Nala, she's my little wheelchair diva. I've got Micah, he's my gargantuan. God has a sense of humor. He gave me a little person and a gargantuan as children at the same time. So I've got one that's real little, one that's real big. And then I have a Tarzan. I have a Tarzan. He's my youngest. We call him Tarzan for a reason. Just take your pick on why that might be his nickname. It will be true. So the other night we're all sitting there and he's like, Nala's lucky, she's a girl.

Yes, and you're lucky you're a boy. And he's like, yeah, but she gets to do cool stuff. she gets to throw parties and stuff, which, ain't throwing no party, And he's like, but the reason I said girls are lucky is because all they do is sit around and talk on the phone to their friends.

That's when the fight broke out y'all. Do y'all hear me? That's... So at this point we're having a whole Bible study, okay, on the role of a woman and we done broke out the Word of God and I'm like, Lord, you better come get him because he about to come meet Jesus real fast, right?

as we're focused on the world We can get confused about what our role is in life We can get confused about what it is We're supposed to be doing and we can get confused about what we're seeing and what we're hearing And as long as the enemy can keep us focusing on all this and the the drama of the world and the real housewives And the take your pick throw whatever out there that's trending today Even as far as social media the tik-tok the reels that this I mean we're constantly being fed something in our face

And if it's not the Bible or if it's not the Word of God or if it's not some scripture or message or something like that It can be used as a distraction. It can create worry and fear. It can create compare-itis Y'all compare-itis is literally in the Bible It's like the worst thing we can do is try to compare ourselves to something else and so when these young children who are growing up with the media because we stand a chance our our Generation stands a chance because we didn't grow up with it in our face. We learned about it as we were getting older, but they

have something in their face telling them they're not good enough by this thing you must have this condition do you tick your leg often you might have ADHD ADD pulmonary disease that and say you need this app you need this tool you need this thing when really all we need is the Bible and I know that sounds so simple because there are some problems that are so big and sometimes you're just like I don't want the Bible sometimes I just want to stay mad you ever just want to stay in what you're in and you okay but

But what happens is, is when we do this, we are not going to the source that can solve all of that. And when all that's going on, it's so easy to get wrapped up and worried. But we as Christians, we have such good news because we know how the story ends. We know what happens. We win in the end. Well, he wins in the end, which ultimately if you're in alignment with God you win too.

The question we have to ask ourselves when we recognize all of the distractions is what are we going to do about it? Because we can do something about it. We do not have to succumb to the world. Because God is in control.

Now if I stay focused on all the news media and the outlets and the social media and all the things people use to divide us and create war amongst us and everything else, of course I'm going to stay worried and what are we going to do? Maybe we need to start selling this. Maybe we need start trying to help God. Well it's time, well we need to, and I did it myself so I'm speaking from experience. This is not from a judgmental place, trust me. Because I'm like, babe can we get a compound? I'm ready to just go off grid everywhere. I don't want to be on no systems no more. don't want the electricity

company to know where I'm at, I don't want the water company to know where I'm at, I don't want the phones to know where I'm at, can we just go?" you know compound is like a little cultish, right? I'm like, don't care at this point. Like, can we be a cult? We just not gonna drink no Kool-Aid. That's all I'm saying, okay?

So I'm speaking from experience. It's very easy to allow all of that to cause worry in your heart and things like that. But what we must do is we must arm ourselves to discern and stand against the distractions and busyness of life. And the busyness of life doesn't always have to be something bad, right? We are staying busy even with just our children because how many activities are your kids in? I know mine ran a ton and over the holidays,

the

day break I'm like I'm just enjoying not having anything to do after 5 p.m. because they were in swim and then martial arts and then boxing and piano lessons and all this stuff some of the things are good things we're not always consuming just bad things but the busyness when it gets to a point where you're staying so busy you don't have time to commune with God to get into the spirit to do Bible study with your family to pray over your children to pray in the spirit that busyness can be used against you it can be used as a form of distraction so

we have to arm ourselves to discern and stand against the distractions and busyness of life. Now what is discernment? It means to understand or know something through the power of the Spirit.

In other words, the ability to make

discriminating judgments to distinguish between and recognize the moral implications of different situations and courses of actions. if you don't teach your children why they believe what they believe, they can watch something for about 30 minutes to an hour and be convinced of something else. So you can go online right now and watch 30 minutes to an hour video. And they raised some pretty good arguments as to why the Bible is not a real thing. Jesus may not have existed, so on and so forth. This is where discernment comes in.

you start exercising discernment your spirit starts to rise up and get stirred up when you're in the presence of something that is out of alignment with the Lord and the problem we're faced with today

I'm gonna go back real quick. How do we arm ourselves with discernment? We pray for it. Psalms 119, 125 says, discernment to me your servant, then I will understand your laws. The psalmist is praying for discernment. So even then we knew it was something we needed. You have got to be able to identify when you're in the presence of something you should or should not be. And how we teach it to our children is knowing what's right and from wrong. Make sure you're surrounding yourself with good people.

decide to drink and drive that doesn't mean you need to. that's how we start teaching them at a young age what we're teaching them is discernment. We're teaching them discernment with worldly things but how you arm yourself with the Word of God with that is

You begin to pray for it. Discernment is a gift of the spirit. So that lets us know in the Bible that that is something we are all able to receive. But you won't get access to it if you don't take the time to live in it. And we're living in the world and getting comfortable with what's in the world. And we're not getting comfortable with what's in the spirit. So that

way the world when things are going on can stir up our spirit and we have that discernment like I don't think I'm gonna go there that and this this doesn't feel right you know something is shaken up inside of me first Kings 3 9 give therefore thy servants

and understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this thy so great a people. Notice Solomon asked for understanding to carry out his job. We should ask God to give us wisdom to know what to do and the courage to follow through with it.

we as a whole, ideally on average, we go through three lines of defense before we seek God.

Ladies, this is where Luca might possibly be right, but we're not gonna let him know that. First, we usually phone a friend, or we phone a parent, or we go to our spouse. We use all three of those lines of defense when we have an issue or something that's bothering us, when really our first line of defense should be prayer. It's the first thing we should go to. It's the first thing we should reach for, not something worldly, which yes, it's great to have supportive people. I'm not saying you don't corroborate with other people,

get advice and reach out to your elders, leadership in your church I'm not saying that at all. But what I am saying is first and foremost, we should reach for God. We should reach for the Spirit. Because then the Spirit can then convict us.

and press upon our hearts and give us the guidance that we're looking for where man might not be able to. As much as I love my husband and he is absolutely supportive and I go to him for a whole lot of things which most of the time he's like babe I don't know but it just feels good to be able to just go talk to him right so there's nothing wrong with that but we need to be in prayer

and asking for God to give us the wisdom and understanding to be able to carry out his will for our life, not what's going on behind the screen. We're so used to being in certain environments that our discernment becomes or already is muddled or weak. And then what we start finding is we start making justifications for things.

And I just went through this not too long ago because I like watching clips of this show.

because the show is funny and I like funny things. The things you'll learn about me, I don't like to cry. I can't stand crying. I hate it. I'm an ugly crier. I don't know why the Lord did that to me. I wish I could be one of them pretty people that cried, So a lot of times just to decompress my brain, my mind or whatever, I'll just start watching funny stuff because there's some heavy stuff that goes on in the world, right? Especially if you're a parent because your children throw some stuff at you and you're like, who is raising you? Where is this coming from? Lord help me, you know?

Sometimes I just want to end my night with laughter because I don't like all the heaviness and the just the of life sometimes, you know, but there's cursing in it. There's there's cursing in it. And so there's some things that they talk about that are just like inappropriate and things like that. And I'm just like, it's funny. It's just for comedic relief. Like it's not getting in my spirit. I understand the difference. you know, Lord, I understand where you convicted me at and I'm holding to that. But it started becoming comfortable.

Whereas before and I'm not getting ready to have a whole Session on cursing not cursing when I came to Christ the first thing he convicted me in was my tongue I used to curse like a sailor He said give me your give me control your tongue and I'll change your life. So for me that is a conviction That's what he told me to stay away from so this isn't even about that But it stirs up my spirit now and it's discernment because my spirit knows hey the Lord convicted you in that like we're not supposed to be and so I started watching this

Show and I had to put it down I felt like I had to repent not because of anybody else It wasn't like my husband was like you shouldn't be watching that it was my spirit My spirit was in control and I had to be obedient to that because that is the Lord letting me know Okay, you're shifting out of my it's the same with Samson. There was three things Samson couldn't do He couldn't cut his hair couldn't eat unclean things He couldn't drink of wine, right? And when he fell out of that he fell out of the glory of the Lord because he was Convicted in that and so that is what it was for me when you're not praying and in the spirit

your discernment can be off and you can get so comfortable in environments that your spirit is trying to let you know this is not the place for you. But we start turning it off. We start turning it off and we start kind of...

Ignoring it you ever have a time where you're like driving and you're headed to go to the grocery store or something like that or to go I don't know do some sort of errand and all of a sudden you realize you're at your kids school and you're like how did I get here you just kind of went on autopilot and Your brain just kind of just went to where it's so used to going that that's where it went That's kind of what we what we do with our spiritual walk

We put our spiritual walk on autopilot. We kind of show up because it's a part of the schedule. We kind of show up because it's the thing to do. and it's good. Don't stop doing that. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that at all. Keep doing that very thing because some days you're just kind of out of it. It's fine. Whatever. We get there. Like we're fine. I'm fine. You're fine. We're all fine. I totally get it.

But I think that's what we do with our Christianity is we go on autopilot and we just start going through the motions. it's Wednesday. We've got to go to Bible study or church or whatever Wednesday is. it's Sunday. We have to get up and go to church. it's Monday. I've got to get up and go to work. And okay, maybe I will read the Bible. Okay, maybe I'll do this, that or, whatever. But we put it on autopilot. And when our Christianity is on autopilot, we are no longer sensitive.

to the things that we're passing and coming into contact with to guide our spirit in the walk of God. So then what ultimately ends up happening is we're on the path, but we're not in the spirit when we're on the path. Stay on the path, y'all. It's a good place to be. But we have to take the time to stay in

the word of God to stay in the spirit so when all of this stuff rises up and the

I'm just going to go with the they's of the world. You know, they say, right? You know all the they's. When they start trying to do things to divide us, when they start trying to throw stuff out like, oh, well, you're this, so you're against me. you're on this side of the fence, so you're against me. Oh, well, our political views don't align, so I can't hang out with you. Oh, well, you're a Christian, so you're condemning me for whatever. so when all that stuff starts happening, we are able to discern and distinguish

Because what's going on up here is not what's important. What we're dealing with here in the natural is not the real enemy. The real enemy is what's behind the curtain.

The real enemy is what is orchestrating all of these pieces. So it can be so easy for me to come up to you and start a whole debate on something. But the debate is not the issue. It's not even important. It doesn't matter. It's all the things underneath that that's orchestrating the argument to create divide. Because the enemy knows. The enemy knows. The enemy knows. And people of the world have tapped into this. The enemy knows that when we are divided, we are susceptible to all sorts of mayhem. We are living it right now. It's what we've been living the last three years. Because the world has discovered.

As long as we keep them separated, we can do whatever we want to. Because they're so busy arguing over if it was aliens or not, if Gypsy Rose should be in jail or not, if Cat Williams is telling the truth or not, if a Stanley Cup is worth $350 or not. we're so busy arguing over all of that, that we just stop talking about what God can do for you.

how God can deliver you. That is the real conversation we should be having y'all. This is a temporary residence. We are supposed to be here recruiting people. to, our job is to make heaven crowded. Our job is to not make sure you vote the right way.

My job is not to tell you what you should be doing with your children and how you should raise them. My job, however, is to share with you the good news of the gospel so that you can find the light and love of Jesus so that you can want to come here so you can get close to him so your soul can be saved. Not so you can get a tax break. Which, thank God for tax breaks. Use them, please. It's the smartest thing you could do. I'm just saying.

But that's not my job. My job is not to make sure what we do here on earth is pleasing to man. It's to make sure what we're doing here on earth is pleasing to God. And that's a hard one, because I'm a people pleaser.

I have a servant's heart. We've changed that. We've changed the term people pleaser to I have a servant's heart. That's what it is I have a servant's heart and it is very hard, but can't always please people and it's not my job. I'm not Jesus. I'm not your Savior. It's not my job to save you either. It's my job to get you in the presence of who can though. It's your job to be receptive to that because the Lord shows up the Lord ushers the spirit in but how you respond to that is the difference because you can sit here all cute and like

Or you can just throw yourself to the Lord and just say, deliver me, free me, break the chains, Lord, But that's up for you. My job is to help you get there and be comfortable in that environment,

The Lord started dealing with me And I was doing all of these things and was at the peak of really really really massive success with what I was doing I was doing the podcast and I was doing business coaching I was doing all this stuff was going back to school to get my doctorate in psychology and I was driving down the road It was like 11 o'clock at night and I had gone to take my friends some homemade apple cider and I was driving back It was just me in the car

And God was like, this is not what I have for you.

to put all this down. He said, look at your children. And I was just like.

And in that moment I was like, when was the last time I really looked at their faces?

Like when was the last time I really just studied my children and just was in their presence? Now I homeschooled, so I was with my children 24 seven. But when was the last time I was actually with my children and they had 100 % all of mommy without, I got a message somebody, hold on, they're wanting to sign up for this coaching. hold on, I gotta record a podcast. Let me get this over to the podcast engineer. You know what I mean? They're there, I've got them. Okay, yeah, y'all finish your work and I'll be right there. And he said, look at your children.

And during that time all hell broke loose There was some things going on in our family, and my god had he not Shook me up and Said this is not what I have for you put all of this down which was very hard Because but God it's taking off the podcast is in other countries now it's global I've got business coaching clients What do you mean?

And it was hard, I didn't want to do it. But then when I started looking at my children and looking at how the enemy was infiltrating, she busy over there, I got carte blanche, let me go mess with these babies and get them now, because that's when he wants them, Because if you can get them down here, it's a long road. It's a long road. And I was obedient, begrudgingly.

I stopped recording podcast episodes, I dropped out of school, and I put the business coaching down and I just started being with my children.

And God started really moving in our family. He started moving in our church life. He started moving in our kids life and he started moving in our marriage. And I'm so thankful for that time and I'm so thankful for that still quiet moment. And I'm telling y'all it was as if he was sitting right next to me in the car. It was the same as if I'd be in the car with you right next to me and you were like Erica this isn't what God has for you. That's how loud and how and not loud because y'all know God is a gentleman. He's just a small still voice but that's how

just prevalent it was, as if I could physically feel that this isn't what I have for you. That is the type of discernment we should be fighting for and asking for. Because let me tell you, as hard as it was to put all of that down, my life has dramatically changed and I am thankful, so thankful that that's how...

he communicates and spiritually checks you lets you know, hey, this shouldn't feel right. This shouldn't feel right. There are times we treat.

our Christianity and spiritual walk, and we put it on autopilot and we have to stop and ask ourselves, is our Christianity on autopilot? We must be wise not to fall into the trap of just going with the rhythm of the week because it's ritual or habitual, but be in the present, in the moment and sensitive to when the spirit moves in our lives. Only through the spirit do we receive discernment and with discernment comes spiritual checks. In other words, we position ourselves for our

spirit to be stirred up when we are in an environment that goes against God's will. And I've got another story and y'all are gonna have to bear with me because when I start telling you what the story is, y'all are gonna be so confused, but I just need y'all to hang in there, okay? Can y'all promise me to do that? So my nephew, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and my nephews were in town and we were all sitting at the table. The younger kids were playing outside and he was telling me what happened, you know, it's a story what happened with his ex-girlfriend and why they broke up. And so we're all sitting at the table. I have this wooden farmhouse table.

important, you'll understand why in a minute. So we were sitting on this wooden bench and he's sitting there telling this story and we're all into it because the girlfriend had come down into Houston with him a couple times and so we met her and so I'm like where's your girlfriend at? He's like no we broke up and you know with the 19 year olds it's a whole story. So I was listening to it too right? I was all involved and everything. So he's telling this story and in the middle of the story he lets out this large loud rumbling through the bench fart.

I said, hang in there with me. I said, hang in there. I promise it'll make sense in a minute. I promise. And he just keeps talking and everybody's just still listening. Nobody responded, not a single one of them. So me and all my humbleness, I said, did you just fart? Right? And he's like, yeah. And he just keeps talking. I'm like, no, partner. No, no, no. You are not getting ready to sit here and vibrate this entire seat and then just keep talking like that just didn't happen. And his whole rest of his family are sitting there

what's the big deal, right? See, they're used to that. They live with him. I was in an environment I was not used to. So my spirit was like, no, sir. Do you know what I mean? So I was shook. I had to get up and walk away. I'm like, no, bro, you do not let something like that out. And then just we just going to carry on. Just y'all have people like that in your life. You understand what I'm saying? OK, I'm not the only one.

I promise y'all, I'm coming around to it, I promise. Much like the rest of his family sitting around the table didn't flinch or respond because it's their normal, some of us have settled into being worn out and worn down as normal and so we go through the motions of day-to-day life. We go to church on Wednesday and Sunday because that's the schedule, not because that's the need. So then what happens is we find ourselves on the path, which is great, don't ever get off the path but oftentimes we're not in the spirit.

And when we aren't operating in the spirit, we leave ourselves vulnerable to deception deceit falsehoods and straight-up lies

In the moment, if we're not teaching our children to be in the moment, somebody could easily come and convince you of something else. Because they may have very compelling evidence, arguments, they may have statistics, to try to convince you God isn't real, the devil isn't real, and that's the real thing they're trying to convince you of is the devil and the enemies and demons aren't real. They very much so 100 % are. 100 % are.

We can't look to the world for a reaction to something that should be stirring our spirit because they aren't going to understand. Just like they didn't respond to that the way I did because that's their normal. They're used to that and I'm not saying my nephew is an evil person, he's an amazing human being, but that incident for them is a normal thing and so for them there was nothing to be shook about and they thought I was absolutely crazy for even responding to it and I'm just like, this is weird. He just vibrated my whole seat. I'm sitting on this bench next

him like no first Corinthians 2 14 tells us but people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's spirit it all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it for only those who are spiritual can understand what the spirit means so you can't look to the outside world to have the same reactions you should be having because they're not even sensitive to it they don't understand it they don't get it matter of fact they think it's absolutely crazy it is so crazy to me that it is absolutely

100 % normal for somebody to paint their whole body and go sit and watch a bunch of football players, but you put your hands up and start speaking in tongues and they want to tell you something's wrong with you.

painted orange and blue here. you got a big finger in one hand and a drink in the other and you're half naked and painted, but I'm gonna speak and pray over you in tongues and I'm the weird one. Okay, whatever, that's fine, that's fine, whatever, we'll go with that. Some of our spirits are wandering around and going, look ma, no hands. And we're just on autopilot. We are being entertained.

by demonic forces and we're getting used to it. We are so used to it, our spirits have become numb to it and we start doing things like justifying the behaviors of the world as normal. 1 Timothy 4.1, now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, some will turn away from the true faith, they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. Y'all, we weren't made to go with the norm of the world.

We were made to call out, cast out, and clear out. Our job is not to affirm, it's to discern.

The world right now wants you to affirm them in everything. That's not my job. I love you. Now it's my job to discern in a loving way. I can't condemn you. I can't judge you. because that's not going to bring anybody to Jesus. Matter of fact, that's what's turned so many people away from Jesus are people condemning and judging people instead of lovingly letting them know, hey, there's a word for this. There's there's Bible that talks about this and bringing them to the word of God.

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So my job is not to condemn you or judge you, but it's also not to affirm

and we are supposed to be discerning these things that we're seeing out in the world, but we're not, because we gotta tiptoe around. Christians have had to tiptoe around for very long time. We have lived in a very long season of tiptoeing because of political correctness. And the thing is, is we've been doing that for years, I mean, probably every bit of 20 or so years, because I remember back when I worked corporate America, I used to have at the bottom of my email, God bless you as you live today, in my email signature.

And HR emailed me and said, you know,

We can't really do that because not everybody believes in God and we want to remain neutral The oppression of one side is not neutrality Neutrality is letting everybody put what they want So if you want to put a salam alaikum if you want to put God bless you if you want to put whatever the other denominations or religions their blessings are for you letting everybody do their thing That's neutrality, I'm not harming you. I literally just said God bless you

and this was back in 2006. So it's been every bit of 20 or so plus years that we've had to tiptoe around. even at the gym when I was operations manager at a gym, there was this lady who was playing a...

Christian podcast and she didn't have her headphones in and she had it turned down just in case it offends somebody and they're playing thug ghetto music in there dropping every curse word known to man and that's fine but she's in here with the volume turned down just in case the word Jesus offended somebody what it does not matter

what religion you are or what you believe or anything like that. Just the sheer...

Confusion of we don't worry about the f-word offending somebody but we're worried about literally salvation offending somebody that is so odd to me, but that's the world we've been living in Christians having to tiptoe around for so long and be quiet and thankfully Y'all you can say what you want to about the last three years. It has been hard It has been trying it has been divisive It has been a lot of things but one thing I'm thankful for because I had to start turning to an attitude of gratitude because in 2020 I prayed I was like I don't care who wins I'm not gonna pray for Trump to win

gonna trade for Biden, I don't care, that's in your hands Lord God. But what I am gonna pray is expose all the evil. That's what I prayed for. Expose it all. And if you think about it, the last three years, that's what we've been living. Everything being exposed. And as bad and as awful as some of the seasons have been, cause it's been rough for a lot of people, people got laid off, people got sick, people died, At the same time, people are also now like, the world has gone a bit too far.

need to find something else. And so a lot of people are coming back around to God. A lot of people are seeking and searching. So it is our job right now to start speaking and seeking because they're looking for you. They're looking for somebody who's going to let them know the answer to fill that void that they've been trying to fill with all this worldly stuff. They're looking for you to say, this is the answer. I lived that life. I used to do all the things that you're doing right now. I did. I lived it. I've lived it and I have been freed from it and you can be too. That's what the world needs right now. And that is

job but we can't get there if we're not living in the spirit of discernment. We need to be seeking these people out. It is our role. It is our job.

Romans 12 to do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

If the enemy can keep us in circles on what's real and what's not right now, how are we to tell then false Christs and prophets when they show up? And we know from Matthew 24, 24, there will arise false prophets for false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive if possible, even God's chosen ones. Do y'all know how we arm and protect ourselves from that?

discernment because when those false prophets start rising up our spirits are gonna know our spirits are gonna be shook up like don't go there don't believe that don't fall for the hype don't do it

getting ready to grow up with guess what they're getting ready to grow up with AI

So we came up in a world where they taught us believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. You can't believe none of it now.

They're not gonna know what they're seeing. So the big eight to 10 foot alien thing at Miami, anybody could have put that up right now. Anybody. They really could have actually saw the eight to 10 foot things, whatever they were, doesn't mean they were real. But how do we know what's real?

in a worldly sense. Discernment.

Their spirit has got to be in discernment. They have got to have that gift. It is the only way they are going to know the truth from the lies. And if we as parents are not arming our children to know the difference between the truth and a lie, we're all doomed.

they have to have a spiritual check and I told Nala this not too long ago we were talking about something and I was telling her I said Nala the devil does not show up as this big red-horned animal with a pitchfork it shows up with a gentle touch I love you

It shows up with a, girl, let's go over here. It shows up like that. And you're not gonna wanna listen to mommy, cause I'm gonna be telling you that ain't the dude for you, cause I see all over him. And you're not gonna wanna listen. You're gonna be like, but mom, love him. I wanna be with him. So you have to now start praying for God to give you discernment, cause you ain't gonna wanna listen to mama. And you surely ain't gonna wanna listen to your daddy.

But God, if he can check you internally, you ain't got to worry about listening to nobody in the outside world because, and I know as a parent, we want to think that we're in control of all the they're doing. We're not! It's the hardest revelation I've had recently. And trust me, there is nothing you want more for your child than to know they are operating by God's will. Not by this world, not by their neighbor, not by their best friend, not by whatever little boy decides he wants to show up or little girl decides she wants to try. No. You want to know that

they are in alignment with God's will so when they come to you and say mom God told me you can say thank you Lord and trust and let them go so that's why we have to teach them discernment we have to teach them how to tap into the spiritual blessing of discernment it is a powerful powerful powerful powerful thing to have because when people are trying to come you always like this in sales y'all know when y'all trying somebody trying to rip you off right

Somebody come to you this is the best thing since sliced bread. All you gotta do is take this pill and it's gonna make you 80 pounds lighter by tomorrow.

It's a lie, tried it. just kidding.

Y'all know when somebody is trying to pull one over on you, but think of these precious, innocent, naive, gullible, precious minds. They don't know. All they know is what they see. They haven't yet developed the skill set to be able to look at somebody and go, I don't think you tell them the Now they'll look at you as your parent who's telling them the truth and be like, I don't think that's right. Yes, it is. Listen to me, child. Listen to me. they don't understand it. And so it's our job to teach them and arm them with how

to tap into that so that they can walk in alignment and know when someone's trying to pull one over on them.

In order to fulfill this, we have to be spiritually cognizant and have spiritual discernment to even recognize the times we are to question what we are seeing. society has been on autopilot for a very long time, but the last three years, people started asking a whole lot of questions.

Okay, people started being concerned. People started waking up almost

That's what we need to be positioning ourselves for to know when to even begin to question things. And right now in the world we are living in, it's a whole lot to question. It's a whole lot. It's a whole lot. We used to live in a time, where you could believe half of what you see and none of what you hear, but that's out the window. With AI, we can't believe anything anymore. We can't believe what we're seeing or what we're hearing. Colossians 2.8, don't let anyone capture you.

with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ in other words have discernment But there's good news for us my fellow Christian brothers and sisters The spirit gives us discernment which we learn in first Corinthians 12 10 It tells us that discernment is a gift of the spirit when we level up our discernment we level up our spiritual

walk. We will jump on the bandwagon of spreading

crazy news of the world. mean, how many of y'all picked up phones like, girl, do you see these folks saying that or posted? Do you see these folks spending $150 on a cut? how many of y'all posted that or made a comment about it or shared or made some funny meme and then there were some people who were if y'all follow Jesus the way y'all following these cuts, the world would be a different place, which is really true. But you know what mean? We're quick to share all the crazy stuff going on.

I think it's a form of distraction. I think it's something else for people to stay stirred up about and keep somebody talking and keep you on a platform because now you want to see the next thing. it's just something else to keep us distracted. And we'll jump on the bandwagon and spreading the crazy news of the world, but don't let it cast a shadow on our job of spreading the good

news of the gospel. So as loud as the world is right now, we need to be louder.

We are in a time and a season where people are looking for it now. There was a time where people just, they were like, nope, they had church hurt, they had whatever caused them to go away from the Lord. Really they were going away from people. It's really not church hurt, it's really people hurt, but people align it with the church for some reason, but I get it, But now people are seeking it, they're yearning for it. I watched in the comments of this post, people were arguing, and I'm talking,

Christians were arguing because y'all know Kat Von D. Kat Von D came out and denounced Santanic stuff and she got baptized and found Jesus and I watched an interview with her and this is really sad to me. I watched an interview with her and she said that her husband is also not

a man of God, that when they were coming up together, they were both in the same thing. They were both into witchcraft and all that And so she was saying she was hoping through her leading by example that she would be able to bring him around as well. But what he saw, what she went through publicly, it's made it even worse for him. And it wasn't the world that was against her. It was other Christians. because she's tatted up and dark hair and whatever. we got to get away from all this.

Because how can I come to you with a heaven or hell issue when you worried about the tattoo I got on my body? Because I can't do nothing about that right now. Right? So if I can't be saved because I got a tattoo, how am going to come to you with the real issue? how am going to say, I'm struggling with pornography, with alcoholism, with drug addiction? How am I going to come to you with all that when you're telling me, your hair has to be a certain length? Or you're telling me, I'm sorry, you can't wear the art. Or I'm sorry, you need to be in church so long before you can serve. How are we going to get away from that?

of this post people were going back and forth and this lady said she goes this is so confusing to me I'm just trying to find where to go I want to go to church but I don't know what to do and watching y'all argue who's right we are confusing people where confusion come from

because this show don't come from God. That is the enemy. And again, as long as he can keep us arguing, and this is amongst Christians, this is amongst the same people, we all believe in the same God, we all believe in Jesus, that they're sitting here arguing in the comments and still confusing people. And when you have a large platform where you've got thousands of people tapping into your posts, your reels, and in the comments are people arguing and somebody in the middle going, I'm confused. Who do I go to? Who do I believe? I'm trying to find God. We got to stop and be real quiet.

And we got to say listen the Lord loves you wherever you live find a church get into the house of the Lord and let the Lord move upon those people It's not your job to convict me of my stuff It's God's job. My job is to get you in the spirit of the Lord so you will be sensitive to when he does convict you of something So you can be sensitive to when your spirit is trying to communicate to you. That's my job That's our job That's what we should be doing

We must be diligent, cognizant, and armored up. We must get off of autopilot and take advantage of every opportunity to tap into the power of God.

be filled with the Holy Spirit and fervently pray on a regular basis.

We do not have time to half heart our efforts because the enemy is going full force right now. The enemy has punched it into overdrive and is coming after and it is everywhere. You can watch any entertainer right now. You can see when you're in alignment and your spirit has discernment, you can see the enemies attached to all of these people who are now coming up with all these things and the music they're putting out in the, you can literally

Physically see and feel it and our job is not to judge that person our job is to step back pray and understand We need to be moving away from that. We need to start getting loud. We need to start being proud We need to start staying prayed up. We need to make sure our children in church We need to surround them with the good good good good goodness of God Because the bad bad bad bad badness of the world is trying to get it. Okay now

Obviously, we are in very fortunate positions. This isn't all doom and gloom, I promise. We're in very fortunate positions as Christians. We're here. We're trying to do what we need to do. asking for deliverance and lifting it up and cast your cares. We gotta cast our cares. We gotta cast our cares.

when you can do that. And this isn't some, gotta be on your knees, you know, all day for two, three hours praying, wailing out, you know, sometimes things call for that.

We talked about it the other day at Bible study. hosted Bible study and she said they're called popcorn prayers. So in the morning and in the evening, this is just a suggestion y'all by the way, in the morning and in the evening, you have your deep prayer. When your children in your house is calm and asleep and you're walking through and you're praying, you're praying, you're praying, you're praying. And sometimes I'm praying for stuff that

I don't even know what I'm praying for but all of a sudden the words start coming out and I start thanking them something must gonna happen in the future or there is some demonic force in the spiritual world that's trying to rise up and so now I'm praying for this thing and I'm going to war I am going to war for my family because I refuse as long as I got breath in my body refuse to lay down to the devil I refuse to lay down to the enemy and I refuse to let you just come in like a wrecking ball

and take my family. We have the power through prayer and through the Spirit and through God to deliver our families from strongholds and generational curses and all of those things that the world wants to convince you you're stuck with. I'm here to tell you you're not stuck. You're not stuck anywhere. God

is just waiting on you and just go to war with it and I'm talking get on your knees with it and I'm pray for it and I'm rebuke it and I'm talking refuse to accept it and I mean get desperate with the Lord and I promise you we're prepared for what's out there I promise you

The more you can stay in prayer and sometimes it's not a long prayer. Sometimes it's a thank you Jesus while you're washing dishes. Sometimes it's a thank you Lord for this laundry that I just washed the other day but my kids didn't feel like putting it up so they put it back in the dirty clothes and I want to beat them for it. Thank you Jesus for this laundry. Sometimes it's thank you Lord I got to change the oil again on my car. Thank you Lord I got to take this drive to work again to provide for my family. Thank you Lord. Sometimes it's just a quick and sometimes it's just Jesus.

Because that's all you have to strick the muster up. Sometimes it's just saying, Jesus. Because when you say Jesus, the devil has to flee. He has to get away from you. So I'm just saying, get your Christianity off autopilot. Pray for discernment. Pray for the spirit.

And we're gonna do that right now. Because I know, if you're like me, there's been some struggles. There's been some life that's happened that's bigger than you. And y'all, this is when I had the biggest breakthrough. I got desperate with the Lord. And I think sometimes He wants your desperation. He wants to know that you don't care about the tears and the snot running down your face and your nose. And I told Him.

I demanded God to show up for me because I knew what was going on in my family I couldn't do by myself and I said God show up for me show up for me right now because I can't do it by myself and he changed my life he changed my kids life

He broke strongholds. There's no sickness, There's no sickness, There's no sickness. I rebuke it in Jesus' whole mighty name. I promise you, if you can tap into it, it's powerful. It will free you. It will deliver you.

We have to stop being distracted with what's out there and start immersing ourselves in His armor and in the Word of God. If you have a need, When you choose to get up and give it to God, you're letting Him know, Lord,

You're worthy. I'm giving it to you. I don't care what's going on out here. I don't care who else is here. I'm desperate Lord. I'm desperate

we're just gonna pray for some strongholds to be broken, for some generational curses to be broken, for discernment to fall on all of us, for our spirits to shake up and let us know when we're in an environment that we don't need to be in. We're gonna pray that our children are protected. We're gonna pray that they are insulated with angels and that no weapon formed against them shall prosper.

We're going to pray for the Lord to let them know their identity rooted in Him and not in this world. We're going to pray for God to just lift them up and help them be strong in this world when it's trying to break them down and weaken them. We're just going to pray.

Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord for this day. Thank you for this message. Thank you that we are free today. Thank you that we are delivered today Lord. Your word says all who are weary come to you and find rest. We're asking for rest today Lord because we've been carrying some heavy burdens Lord and we're ready to just let them go.

We're ready to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, We're ready to walk with you in alignment with your will, Lord. Thank you for positioning us to hear your word and to be sensitive, to be sensitive to when you want to course correct, Lord. We thank you that we are delivered today. We thank you we are healthy, healed, and whole by the blood of the Lamb.

We thank you our sins are washed away. for forgiveness, Lord. We repent in your holy name. And we just thank you that we are free and we are cleansed. We thank you for correcting what's in our heart and showing us the error in our ways. And we thank you for lovingly wrapping your arms around us and letting us know, Lord, that you would never leave nor forsake us.

We thank you for the testimony, the testimony that's gonna come out of these addictions and these problems and these issues. We thank you for the testimonies that are gonna come out of this sickness. We thank you in advance, Lord, for the mighty work that you have in these children in this room.

for we know that they have a divine purpose that you have put on their life. And we thank you that they are able to come to the fullness of that, Lord.

We thank you that we are strong enough that we do not condemn nor convict anybody and we're able to just love them and let your light shine, Jesus. In Jesus' name, Jesus' name, Jesus' name.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don't know about y'all, but I'm so thankful when the Lord ushers in the presence of the Spirit. It's like a warm hug on a cold Sunday.

it takes bravery to ask for help. Especially when you're a pride-filled person like myself. maybe y'all aren't,

It's hard to ask for help sometimes and it takes brevity to ask. And then it also takes being brave to trust in Him with the things you're trying to hold on to. You're trying to keep it inside. The devil's keeping you locked with what feels like shame and resentment and hurt And y'all, that's just by design by the enemy.

It's to keep us separated from Him. It's to keep us from seeking Him. And we need to be brave and drop it all down and trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him.

Because you can trust Him. You know I have this thing where I tell my kids, Me and your dad are the safest place you'll ever have. We're the safest thing you'll ever have. Of course that means here on earth, right? But truly the safest space we'll ever have is with Him. Because He knows things even...

Your spouse doesn't, your child doesn't. He knows the inner workings of your heart. He's the one thing you can trust with all the things. So be brave and give it to him. Let him have it. There's no issue too small. There's no issue too big.

because God's bigger than all of it and He has made a way He has made a way He has made a way He has made a way Take it If you needed a bill to be paid and you had no money and somebody said here I'm paying your bill would you reach out and take it? If you were sick and the doctor said here

Here's some pills. This will help you feel better. Would you take it? If somebody said, here, you're unemployed, here's a job, I'm hiring you, would you take the job? God is literally before us saying, take it! I've got it for you! Take it! But we've got to be brave enough to give it to Him. Let it go!

Stop letting the enemy trick you. There's nothing to be ashamed of. There's nothing to be afraid of. The world condemns you. But the world ain't what's going to save you. So stop letting the world dictate when you give it to God. Give it to him. Let him have it.