179. Best of 2023

As your guide on this spiritual journey, Brother Nic, I want to share with you tales that have the power to transform. Today's solo special is a celebration of faith and fortitude, featuring the compelling narratives of Sister Chambers, Sister Kelly, Sister Cooper, and the insightful Sister Elizabeth. Their stories are not just accounts of personal trials and triumphs but beacons that illuminate our path to a deeper connection with God. We travel through the power of faith, the importance of spiritual growth, and the courage to face life's darkest challenges with hope and tenacity.

Episodes:

• She's a Survivor
• Lord Make Me Over, Part. 1
• BUT God, Part 1
• Enough Is Enough, Part 1

Recommended Book:

• Joyfully Courageous: 17 Stories of Awakening to Courage, Joy, & Grace

You can support the show by donating in 3 ways:

• Buy Me A Coffee
• Support the Show
• PayPal

Plan of Salvation:

• Hear: Romans 10:17
• Believe: Hebrews 11:6
• Repent: Acts 17:30-31
• Confess: Matthew 10:32
• Be Baptized: Mark 16:15-16
• Be faithful unto death: Revelation 2:10

A Call to Salvation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome world to the call by God podcast. I'm yours truly, brother Nick, and today I am doing a solo. Actually, this is a special episode. I handpicked Well, actually, I didn't handpick the listeners, handpick the top four episodes of 2023, so that's what we'll be hearing today. It seems to me that the audience, you guys, can get enough of these episodes that I'm about to play right now.

Speaker 1: 0:34

And, first of all, I want to thank God for all the episodes. All the episodes on a CBG podcast platform are really good. Everybody has their unique story or their experience, or they're called by God podcast story, or testimony or conversion story, as most would call it, and Adne and I really enjoy all the episodes, but you know, I just can't ignore when certain episodes are getting more traction than others. So, because everybody could relate to everyone story differently, so I get it, but I want to just highlight some of these episodes that are getting traction, at least the ones that gained traction in 2023. So, first of all, before I start the episode, I want to thank Jesus Christ for giving me and Adne had me and me the strength and afforded to to continue this podcast. We started this podcast in 2020 and it is now 2024. So obviously it's something that we're doing right and, of course, we want to credit whatever that we're doing to our Lord and our Savior, jesus Christ. And also, it wouldn't be possible with you guys. If you're listening to this episode right now, or if you're in your car, in a gym or at work, wherever you at, I want to say thank you. I want to personally say thank you to you wherever you are, if you're in Asia, if you're in United States or use some Caribbean, or wherever you at. I just want to say thank you for listening and also I want to thank you also for subscribing to our podcast and also we encourage you, if there's any podcast that you have listened, to pass or present, we ask that you share it with a friend, a stranger for anyone, because, again, adne and I are not doing it. We're not doing this podcast to become famous.

Speaker 1: 2:34

We just want people to get into the Ark. We want people to be saved. So I know, when I say Ark, I know most people think about the Old Testament, about Noah and the Ark, when God told Noah to build an Ark. So the thing is, when God told Noah to build an Ark, noah proclaimed, noah preached and in the end it was only eight souls. Eight people got into the Ark. So, as a result, only eight souls were preserved and they were saved from the flood of the water. And everybody that was found outside of the Ark, of course, they perish.

Speaker 1: 3:11

So in this day and age, so when Christians say, get into the Ark, so when we tell nonbelievers to get into the Ark, what we're really saying is that we want them to be saved so they could be in the spiritual body called the body of Christ, which is the church of Christ. So in order for one to be saved, you got to hear believe, repent, confess and be baptized for the remission of your sins. So I'm going to say it again you got to hear, you got to repent, you got to know. You got to hear believe, repent, confess and be baptized for the remission of your sins. So that's how you get into the spiritual Ark, which is the body of Christ. So that's what Adne and I were so passionate about the podcast. Because what happens? We invite Bible believing saints to come on our show and they share with us their conversion story when God called them into the body of Christ.

Speaker 1: 4:14

In addition to that, we also talk about these biblical characters that I was called by God in. I love talking about the biblical characters because we could always find our personalities in one of those characters in the Bible Although everybody is unique in their own right because God made everybody unique but there's some similarities that we could find in some of these biblical characters. So again I want to thank you guys and also we ask that you please visit the website, leave a review. Go on our website on www I hope I said the W's right because Adne always get on my case because sometimes I'd be saying four W's, so it's wwwcalledbygodpodcastcom. Go on our website, check out additional episodes, both past and present, and also you can leave a review, leave a review and by leaving the review it helps to even push the podcast to even more countries.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Also I almost forgot please go on our YouTube channel and subscribe. Please go on YouTube and go to calledbygodpodcastcom YouTube channel, youtube handle and please subscribe, just a simple subscribe, like share, so you could do all those things. By doing those things, you're helping spread the word and remember all we do, the only thing that we do as believers in the body of Christ. All we do is sowing a seed. We sow somebody else come water and it is God that does the increase. Okay, so we could. That seed is really the gospel, the seed is Jesus Christ. So we sow the seed, somebody else come back in water and, of course, god will give us the increase.

Speaker 1: 6:02

So, with that being said, let me just dive right into these four episodes. So the first, so I'm going to say the first. Well, actually, I'm going to say all four episodes. So, episode number one that I'm going to play is episode 131, she's a Survivor. Now, this episode was a really really, of course, all of them good. So if I said really really good, I really said really really good to all nearly 200 episodes that we got on the platform. So she's a Survivor episode was. This was episode by Sister Chambers. This was a good episode to me and obviously, if I'm talking about it, it's made the top four of 2023.

Speaker 1: 6:46

And also, we'll be talking about when I say we Adne. See, I'm not used to talking about myself on a platform. Typically, I usually have Sister Adne, but Adne is not here with us presently. But Adne is here with us in the spirit. I'm saying we, but please ignore that, it's just me, okay. Episode 140, lord, make Me Over by Sister Kelly. I'll be talking about that and but God, part One from Sister Cooper and episode 160, enough is Enough. So stay tuned, sit back and enjoy the ride. You, you, you, you. All I can say is wow, wow, wow. It wasn't until her grandmother passed away, and if you wonder in what episode that you just heard the snippet, that was Sister Chambers, episode 131. She's a survivor and her episode was a eye-opener.

Speaker 1: 10:54

And I can recall when God gave Moses the commandments, the 10 commandments, while they were in the wilderness. One of the things that God mentioned and I believe is the first thing that God mentioned to the children of Israel and that even applies to Christians as well. He said it in Exodus 20, verses 3. He said you shall have no other gods before me. Now, do you know that God is a jealous God? God is the Creator, he's the maker, he created all things and the one thing that God. Obviously there's plenty of things that God does not like, but to put another person or people, places and things before God, it's not a good thing. That's why he told the children of Israel don't put no other gods before me. Like God, want to be at the, the pentacle, at the top of your list and everything else comes after. So when it comes for me as a, as a man, I got to put God first, then my wife, then my children, then everything thereafter. God has to be the top of my list and I believe that applies to pretty much everybody.

Speaker 1: 12:37

God is a jealous God and and that's why one of the things that sister chamber said and it really touched me because she and you got to go back and listen to it it's what she said about her grandmother, and not trying to shame her grandmother, anything, but her grandmother was like a God to her. I mean, she was living for her grandmother and not for God. So whenever you give someone or something power over you, that becomes your God. You know, god is our God, god is our father, that's who we adhere to, that's who we listen to, because he is the God, he's the Creator, he's the maker, he's the Savior, he's a counselor, he's the God of all wisdom. But when you put other fallible things before the Almighty God, that becomes an issue with God and that thing becomes your God. You just have to go back and listen to episode 131. So the next episode I'll be playing is a Lord make me over a part one from a sister, kelly, episode 140 so you know how you can be.

Speaker 3: 13:59

You attend worship, you attend worship, but you're not so much as active and you're not so much as close to God as you should be. So even though I attended worship every Sunday, even though I attended Winstonite Bible class, there was not an intimate relationship with God. You know, I was just going through the acts of service, right Attending. I always desire to have that close relationship with God, but in my life at that time I put other things before God. So I idol the relationship, I idol the world's perspective of how life should be and I did not have God in his rightful position and place in my life. So at that moment I knew that I was at a distance from him, if that makes sense, because I allowed other things to come before him and he was not first in my life.

Speaker 3: 14:57

I didn't go to him to consult with him for this, that or the other. I didn't consult with God when it came to the marriage. It was just not the hey, this is what Kim won't. So this is what Kim is going to do, and I'm just being honest about it. So you know, being close to him now is what made me realize that, kim, you was distant from him, even though you attended worship, even though I was not in ministry at the time like I am now. But I was just a distant from him because I know now what it feels like to be close to him, to be in an intimate relationship with him. Compared to years ago, I was like nah, dad, I didn't even know you. I thought I knew you, but I didn't know you.

Speaker 1: 15:42

Powerful, powerful, powerful. She said a mouthful Same thing. It goes back to the previous episode that you know. I talked about, episode 131. She's a survivor about not putting things places place or things before God. Same thing applied to Sister Kelly on episode 140. Lord, make me over If she was attending worship and I would. The way that I would put it. She was empty, didn't feel fulfilled and she was just pretty much doing the acts of service and putting other things before God.

Speaker 1: 16:24

Like we said, and I think it got to come to the point in each of our Christian lives, or even if you're not a Christian, it got to come to a point where you got to really look at yourself in a mirror and say like, do I have a relationship with God? I think about when David, when he was at odds with God because of the sin that he committed against that man's wife, he put the man on the front line and just so he could have another man's wife. So of course God confided in him about that and you know that didn't go well for David. But David he was remorseful, he was sorrowful for what he did against the woman's husband. But and I think about the Psalms, what David said in Psalms 51, verse 10. David said create in me a clean heart, o God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. And that's what I think about when I think about the title, episode 140, lord, make Me Over. Because even though we could be in a body of Christ, sometimes we could take being a Christian for granted, and sometimes we may need a cleansing or a new heart or a new mind or a way of or a new way of thinking. And David came to that point in his relationship with God when he knew the sin that he did. And again, we're all fallible. But at the same time, every opportunity we get, we have to try making effort to better our relationship with God, because God is not a part time God, how some preachers will put it.

Speaker 1: 18:23

God desires to have a relationship with humanity, with man, especially you. So, but the more, the closer you get to God, the more you want to be around him, the more you want to talk about him. It's like you can't stop thinking about him. It's like he's on your mind from the more, from the time you get up to the time you go to bed, and it's one of those things, like you could be a Christian just going around with the notions, or I want the church check. I talked to Christian friends today.

Speaker 1: 18:57

Check and what, what else? Whatever you, you, you pray what? For a few seconds, one or two, three times a day, just for a few seconds check, that does not make one right with God. You know God desires our attention. In fact, when you're called by God, god is expecting more out of us. God wants to prune us, god wants to use us. You know we, we are his servant. You know we're his servants. And he call us for a reason is he call us first of all not to be complacent. He call us to fulfill a God given will. That's what he call us for.

Speaker 1: 19:43

So I like Sister Kelly's approach and it's a humbling experience because when you realize that you're, you're married and you got a house, you got a child, you got a career, and then when you check your spirituality, you're like man, I'm not right with God, like I thought I was right with God, but I'm not right with God. I got all these tangible earthly possessions and all these things, but when you are spiritually depleted, all those earthly possessions don't mean anything. So I would encourage you to go back and listen to episode 140. God, make me over as a part one and a part two, but the episode you just listened to was part one. Now this episode. I'm going to play episode 153, but God, part part one. Now this one right here again. All the episodes are great, but this one right here was an eye opener for me as well.

Speaker 4: 20:45

So the thing was, I wasn't convicted. So that's why it went on for so many years, because I never was convicted of what I was doing and the fact that I wasn't convicted for it. It was like it was okay, it's okay to check and it's okay to drink and it's okay to live in the world, but you got to make sure you go to church too. So it was like everything was okay, but it really wasn't okay. And I can remember, as time went by, I began to get tired of the shaking and I remember getting nights I would cry because it was like I want it out, I want it out. It was like I didn't have a way out.

Speaker 4: 21:36

So my thing was I used to pray. Now would ask God to give me out this situation, because I had a relationship with God, because, you know, like I said, I was still in church and I just remember I used to cry like God, please get me out of this situation. For is you know me shaking? You know, but it was like this. All I had this, this, this. I was depending on that. So it was like my faith was in man and not in God, like I would have to Be there, because if I wasn't there then where would I go? I didn't have a place to go. So it was at that time that I was like God, just keep me out of this situation. But it was like the more that I would Ex God to give me out this situation. I wasn't doing anything to get out this situation, if that makes sense, I still was there. So it was like you know you have to. I Realize you have to help yourself in order for someone else to help you.

Speaker 1: 22:38

I hope you enjoyed this snippet that I just played of but God, part one, by sister love Cooper. Pretty much what sister love Cooper shared with us. She said she was living a double life. Just just put in a layman term, she was living a double life, drinking club in Shacken, and I believe that excerpt, or that snippet that you just heard she was crying out loud for change. At the same time it's one of those things where she was living with an individual, unmarried, shacking and saved and pleading the God how to get out of this. You know the the situation Obviously always see.

Speaker 1: 23:32

A house that works is a house that have the structure of God. So what I mean, the structure of God, is the foundation of God. You got God as the foundation number one. Then you got husband, wife and children. That's the design of a family husband, wife, children.

Speaker 1: 23:56

So when you talk about a man and a woman living together and they're not married, we you know, I'm sure you're an adult, I'm an adult. We we know that's fornication. And Fornication is one of those things that when you that sin, that sin of fornication, that's a sin. Not only you sin against God but you sin against your own body. You become spiritually one with the person you're not even married to. That's the danger of Fornication and this is why it is imperative that one should be married to an Individual before they moving into a house together. So I could understand where sister Cooper is coming from, because she knew that she wasn't in the right way, god, because she was living the same house with opposite sex. So of course you know she wanted to do what was right in God's sight.

Speaker 1: 25:06

And, and just hearing her testimony again, you got to go back to listen to all the episodes. You also have a part two of the same episode, but God, episode 153. That her episode touched me because I could see the hand of God, how she went from Living a double life to how God delivered her from that situation. And I believe if, if you're listening to this episode and you find yourself in that self-same situation, I would highly encourage you to go back and listen to but God part two. And If you need assistance and guidance how to get out of your situation, pray to God. Pray to God. Or, and I'm telling you, if God did it for my dear sister, sister Cooper, he could do it for you, because God is faithful in that way. So I'm gonna just fast forward to the next episode. You just have to go back to listen episode 153. I'm not gonna talk too much about it, but it was a episode that was it's up there on the list I'm talking about.

Speaker 1: 26:14

People are listening to it globally, so if you are the ones that's listening to it, thank you and, again, share the episode if you feel someone could benefit from the episode. So last episode is Episode one six zero. The episode is called enough is enough, part one by sister Elizabeth. Now this one, I believe, will touch a lot of sisters, a lot of sisters, and I'm gonna explain why after you listen to the episode.

Speaker 2: 26:52

And the way and the way I even in school there was never a I respected people where they were, but I just I. So people didn't cuss around me because of the standard that I set. Like the standard was just like. I used to count how many cuss words people would say I know, I know, I would literally be like do you know? You just said like 32 cuss words in like four sentences and they would be like I said, hey, let's try some different words, and people got to the point they wouldn't cuss around me.

Speaker 2: 27:33

So it wasn't so the way that I would come, because I never wanted. I know people have different backgrounds. The way that I grew up is not the way that others have right. So I wanted to be respectful of the, of where they were in this journey, and I believe everybody is on this journey. So I wanted to be respectful of that.

Speaker 2: 27:53

But then, at the same time, it was a standard for me to where I was just like like hey, can we use a different word? Like what other word would you use besides the 14 that you just used, you know? And so it wasn't offensive. They were just like oh, and that's what they call me such, oh, you're so sweet, like you know, and it was like, okay, and it just became a standard, like you know, cause I didn't cuss you know, you know I don't, I didn't, you know, those things were just that that became a standard, but I wasn't judgmental.

Speaker 2: 28:27

I still, to me, you can be respectful of where people are and still proclaim Christ and give them the opportunity to elevate, which again it goes back to that, that transformative Cause. Every like I said, everybody does not come from where you come from, so you have to give God, gives us God. One thing that I've just learned, that I love, that I've learned God gives us space. He doesn't even understand our time, so he gives us space. So we should give space to people, not even time, like, give them space to be able to see that journey.

Speaker 1: 29:05

So man, my sister is a gifted sister. She has so much accolades I don't even know where to begin. So I know, I know the little snippet that I just played, she was counting folks cussing speaking. We call that speaking French. So, sister Elizabeth, if you listen to this episode I might have to, I might try that, you know when these worldly folks start cursing and I might have to say, hey, you know you cuss about X amount of time, right, but anyways, enough is enough.

Speaker 1: 29:41

This episode the reason why I said it's near, it could be near and dear to sisters because her episode dealt with domestic violence. You know, she's pretty much has a nonprofit organization called IAMPROSAIDorg and that talks about how African-American women that deal with domestic violence and how this is something that is ongoing and something that is not even talked about within African-American communities. And I like how she's an advocate for this nonprofit organization, an advocate for domestic violence issues, and what she does in her community. Does her organization, does she bring awareness to African-American individuals, females and I believe there are few men, I believe but her aim is really towards the women because, according to studies have shown that when African American woman is engaged in a domestic violence situation, most of those cases end up in the African American woman's demise. So African American women tend to end up dying as a result of domestic violence. In other words, their partner end up killing them, if I would be so blunt. And what sister Elizabeth is bringing awareness to of this situation that's ongoing even within our country, and we know there are other groups or other races that deal with domestic violence. But her thing is African American women. There's no voice for African American women, there's not enough voices that are speaking on behalf of African American women that's going through domestic violence. Now we know Caucasians go through domestic violence, we know Asians, we know there's different races, but and also we know that men, men, go through domestic violence as well.

Speaker 1: 31:56

So when we talk about domestic violence, we talk about physical, verbal, and I think there's a whole list. You just have to go on her website. I am prosaorg. I believe it's sexual, verbal, physical, physical. I said physical already spiritual, emotional. So it's a whole list how one could get abused. But I believe mostly people tend to hear about the physical aspect, the physical aspect, and at times you hear about the verbal aspect, the verbal abuse. But Sister Elizabeth dropped a mic on my show man she has. If I could remember, she had like about five or six episodes.

Speaker 1: 32:44

We dedicated a whole entire month for Sister Elizabeth. So if you go back and you click, enough is enough. Or you listen to the first episode, episode 160, you go back and listen to it. Enough is enough. We dedicated a whole month to raise awareness to this issue. So I will continue to talk about it and I'm glad that this episode was one of the episodes that's on the top of the charts because that tells me a lot of people are listening. So the more people listen, the more aware that people become of this issue. So please, please, please, please and I will continue to say this please, if this is the first time listening to me, go back and listen to episode 160. If you believe that, if you know somebody is going through domestic violence, please share the episode, share it. And if you believe that it may not benefit, you share it to a co-worker or a family member, just anybody. Just share it. Okay, because we just want to bring awareness to this issue. So I think that does it. That does it. All four episodes. I talked about all four episodes.

Speaker 1: 33:55

Episode 131, she's a survivor by Sister Chambers, and speaking of Sister Chambers and Sister Kelly. They are co-authored. I forgot to mention it. So, sister Chambers and Sister Kelly, if you listen to this episode, I do apologize, but I'm mentioning it, right, I'm mentioning it, isn't mentioning it. I'm getting my words twisted. Is that even a word? I'm going to mention it right now. So they are co-authors of joyfully courageous is 17 stories of awakening to courage, joy and grace. Now this book was written by a few sisters I believe it's 17. Obviously, it's 17 stories. So 17 authors wrote this book and Sister Chambers and Sister Kelly is included in this book, so they have like an excerpt of their story in this book. So again, it's called Joyfully Courageous 17 Stories of Awakening to Courage, joy and Grace. Please check it out on Amazon, and I believe it's Amazon bestseller. Check it out, share it, share the link with loved ones. Let's continue to support our dear sisters, our Arthur sisters. That's creating great content for the female community.

Speaker 1: 35:19

Also, another thing that I want to say I am Procé, check out SisterElizabethI am Procéorg.

Speaker 1: 35:27

That deals with domestic violence.

Speaker 1: 35:32

And also you could check out sister Cooper, sister love Cooper.

Speaker 1: 35:37

She has inspirational messages every day on her page.

Speaker 1: 35:42

So she has a fake Facebook page and also an Instagram, and she always posts golly content. She believes she give her what should I say? Her viewers Is it viewers? Whoever's on her friend list? She give them a daily dose of love. In her words, how she'll put it she give them a daily dose of love, in other words, a daily dose of God's word, cause we all need a word of encouragement and I know I've read her page, her Instagram texts or scriptures and they're so encouragement, it's like they're so timely and that's how I know they're from the Holy Spirit and they're by the Holy Spirit, cause they're so timely. So I think that does it All right.

Speaker 1: 36:27

Well, remember to always put Jesus Christ first. But I want to say this, like I always say remember that Jesus Christ, he is the King of Kings and he's the Lord of Lords. Be blessed and have a wonderful, wonderful 2024. That's it for now, but before we go, please continue to listen, subscribe, share our podcast. Also, if you want to support our show, please scroll down to the bottom of the show notes and click on the link that says buy me a coffee. We were greatly appreciated. Thank you for listening. And remember God is good all the time and all the time God is good and also Jesus Christ loves you. Thank you, truck, for my included core.