Stop Delaying What God Has Told You To Do!

Hey fam 🤍

I hope all is well! You can’t lie we’re 2/2 right now in terms of consistency lol 😭

In this episode, we talk about the importance of doing what the Lord has called you to do in faith and without fear. We speak about being the hands and feet of Jesus, and what an honour it is to create with The Creator Himself.

What are ways in your life that you feel like you’ve been reluctant to start certain projects, conversations, or steps of obedience that the Lord has placed on your heart?

I pray this episode encourages you to move in faith even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it’s uncertain, and even if it feels small right now. God can do a lot with simple obedience 🤍

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

We just gonna go for it, y'all. We're not moving in no perfectionism, we're not moving in fear of man. We are just going to literally vibe. Hold on, let me get a little comfortable. Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but hopefully this don't look crazy. Hey guys, what's up? My name is Rachel Niles. If you're new here and you don't know who I am, I simply literally just love the Lord. Um, and I love to have the opportunity to make videos, content, um, to encourage and edify the body of Christ to share with you guys a little bit about my journey in hopes to encourage you to go deeper in the Lord. Um, and to that being said, welcome back to another episode of Image Bearers. Y'all, we're really out here doing this. If you know, then you know this is kind of big for me. I normally only film in my room. Like, you can literally ask any one of my friends when it comes to you know the Holy Spirit putting anything on my heart to post. I literally tell everybody clear the room. Just because, like, and they never gay performative for me, and not to say this is performative, but like I just don't like eyes on me for real. And yeah, I like to be in my own space, I just don't like having to think about what other people are thinking. And I think if you guys have watched any of the videos, you know that the Lord has really dealt with me on fear of man, and I literally just met up with a sister. Um, big shout out to Leah. But we were just talking about how, like, oftentimes the Lord will call us to do certain things or we'll gain instruction, but where the issue is is actually applying it to our life, actually taking the steps of obedience in order to create with the Lord. Um, and I think it's so much. Honestly, let's get into that. That's what I felt led to like really talk about, and so I'm gonna title this episode Just Do It. Do it in faith, rather. Um, because I think faith is such a big thing, especially given that you know, this is a faith walk. You know, we have the word of God, we have the Holy Spirit, praise God for the helper, but it's a faith walk, and I think I've been in places where having the wrong kind of fear of the Lord has led to me being so fearful that I actually don't move forward in what God's calling me to do. Um, and that was honestly the conversation that Lee and I were having today, and I think it was so encouraging to just be real and raw. I think too, sometimes um we can get in Christian environments or like in church settings and try to put on like face, but in reality, we have to remind ourselves that we are genuinely all just broken people trying to figure life out by the grace of God. Um, and so when there's real raw conversations of like girl, actually, this is what I'm dealing with right now, this is what I'm struggling with. It's so beautiful because when you bring things into the light, the enemy actually cannot continue to try to beat you over the head with that. Like, if you think about it, his kingdom operates in darkness. So when you bring things into the light, I promise you, you will see how he actually has no power, no authority. It's just so important to be just real. I think authenticity and genuineness is so important in this walk with the Lord, but I think there's balance to it so that we don't glorify like our flesh and we're just focusing all on how we're feeling and this walk being hard. But there's a real aspect of like this walk is hard, but I give God glory because I get to know him more. Um, and so I really wanted to just talk about faith and what it looks like to actively walk this walk out in faith and accordance to what the Lord is calling you to do. Um, and so during this conversation, Lee and I were just talking about how you know we both feel called to YouTube, but it's like the Lord will give us instruction, praise God, but at the end of the day, the Lord can only give you so much instruction. But if you don't actively move in faith and obedience, taking steps in order to birth the vision that God has placed in your spirit, in your mind out, then the reality is it's just gonna be sitting on the shelf, and you can gain all this revelation and all this wisdom. But again, if it is not actively lived out, then it's of no profit, it's of no edification, whether it be for you or for the people attached to your life and attached to the call or something or whatever the Lord has placed inside of you. And so this is a big step for me, you guys. Like, I'm in public right now, um, recording, and people are looking and walking by, and I'm like, you know what? Praise God because this is growth, okay? This is growth, and yeah, I think if I'm being so real, I've talked about it in episodes. Again, I don't know the format in which I'm gonna drop episodes. Again, y'all don't mind my voice. My voice is a little crusty. I'm getting over a sinus infection, so not too much. I think something or an excuse that I've often used is when you see a lot of people doing the same thing, I don't really want to be categorized in that. So I think I see a lot of content creation around Christianity. Um, and to be quite honest, I don't want to consider be considered a content creator. Like for me personally, that's just not my cup of tea. To me, like posting these videos, going on live, reading the word, it's ministry. Like to me, this is evangelism, and it's my hope that it's an encouragement again for everyone to go as deep as they possibly can in this life with the Lord. But I think I would use that as an excuse to be like, well, Lord, like I don't want to be associated with it. I think there's just a lot of things going on on social media, to be fair. Like, I just social media in itself is just a lot. Um, but again, I think back to when I was in the UK with my sister Deborah, and she was really just sharing some of her experience because she does content creation full-time, and I just I love how the Lord uses her to um just show glimpses of her life and how fun the Christian walk can be, but how real it also can be um as a means of encouragement to the body. I remember she had said, like, sometimes we get so surrounded by um a Christian community that we forget actually the world that we live in is secular, and so spaces like YouTube, spaces like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, these are secular spaces, and the word of God needs to go forth. The Lord will be glorified everywhere. Like, think about it before he comes back. The word of God, the gospel will be preached among all nations, and now we're living in a time like the book of Daniel was talking about, where it's like everything is so accessible, right? And so the same way the enemy is working overtime on social media, no doubt about it. The Lord is also using platforms like YouTube, like TikTok to get his word out, and I think in the midst of that, there is a lot of noise, a lot of chaos, a lot of confusion, a lot of just discord, right? That we're even seeing in the body, which is just like sad, but it's real, and I think I would use that as an excuse, like, oh well, so-and-so is posting, so-and-so is posting, like, I don't need to post. And the Lord was like, Rachel, you just need to be obedient to what I'm calling you to do. Stop trying to compete and compare with other people, rather be obedient to what I'm calling you to do because it actually has nothing to do with you, anyways. And I when I look back at my life, I realize a lot of the time that I've actually gotten in the way when it comes to God wanting to move in my life, whether it be for me or for someone else, for him to get the glory. And when I get in my head, I get in the way of what God wants to do. And so oftentimes the Lord will remind me in such kindness, like Rachel, just get out of the way, like, just get out of the way and do it in faith. And I think again, after today's conversation, I'm like, you know what? We just gotta do it. Like, we were just even reminiscing on like how, like, for example, the platforms literally the Lord just breathed on it. The heart posture was not okay, let me build this to my best ability. Because the Bible even talks about unless the Lord builds a house, you're building in vain, and so that's my heart. Like, I don't want just another movement, you know what I mean? I want the Lord to be glorified and I want it to actually carry weight. Again, I don't care to call people back onto the platform and onto me. If you watch this video and you leave encouraged, like you know what, I'm actually gonna move in obedience to the Lord, I'm gonna move in faith, I'm gonna move with the understanding that He graces me to obey, and I'm excited to see how the Lord's gonna move. If you leave this platform and never come back again, but you've gone deeper in your walk with the Lord, then praise be to God, assignment complete. And that's just my heart when it comes to social media. But you know, in order for me to be able to even see God glorified in that way through obedience and to see the fruit, I have to obey as well. I have to live a life where I don't just have the head knowledge and I'm just preaching, but I'm actually living it out actively. And so honestly, what you guys are watching is the activation of that because for me to be recording outside my room, it's like dang, you know. Um, but I really want to read from Hebrews chapter 11. This is my brother's Bible, he left it in my car, and this is ESV. Normally, I don't read ESV, no shade, love ESV. I'm an NKJB girl, but um, this is actually so good. I feel like this could get very deep very quick, but we're just gonna vibe. We're gonna vibe. Um, so I'm in Hebrews 11, and I'm honestly just reading through verses one through three, and it says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it, the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible, and I think that in itself, I wasn't even planning to really like dive into these verses because my mind was going to when you think about Noah, but we'll get there when we get there. But even the fact where it literally says the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible, right? Which hits deep for me because it's like you know, when the Lord gives you an idea, he gives you a vision that has not yet obviously come to pass, but it's like he's giving you a glimpse into what he desires, and it makes me think of in Genesis when he said, Let there be light, and light appeared. Now we are the ambassadors in which he gets to continue to accomplish his work, he speaks his word to us, whether he gives it through his word, a vision, an idea, and we actually get to create with the creator. I think it's such a level of intimacy, like there's such a beauty of like when the Lord gives you an idea, you have no idea how all the pieces are gonna get together, you have no idea how everything is going to fall into place, but you know that it's going to happen because he spoke it. It reminds me again of Isaiah chapter 55, where the Lord says that um his word will go forth and accomplish that in which it desires to accomplish, it will not return unto him, null and void. And I think when we put our faith in the lies of the enemy, that's essentially fear. Like fear is putting our faith in the lies of the enemy over the word of God that is truth, which is crazy because I think a lot of the time, too, the lies of the enemy are also outcomes that have not yet happened, but based on the things that are visible, we come more into agreement with that lie rather than what the word of God speaks and spoke. Um, which is just convicting because it's like, why am I going to listen to the father of lies rather than the father of truth? And I say that in regards to when the Lord gives you an idea that seems far-fetched, it seems impossible. And it's like, well, if God gave you the idea, he's not gonna give you something that seems easy in your own strength, lest you be able to boast in your own ability. You know what I mean? When the Lord desires for you to dream with him, he's going to give you direct instruction, he's going to give you faith, and by that faith you get to tap into the grace that is accessible in him. But a lot of the time when God gives you an idea, you have no idea how it's going to happen. But the beautiful thing is when you see that thing come to pass, you get to give God glory, you get to realize, wow, in this process, I've actually learned to know God more. And it's in the process I've realized is where the pressing happens, is where the oil is produced, and you then get to be able to pour into other people where the Lord might be giving them a vision, they have no idea how it's gonna come to pass. But because you've actually lived in that process, your words carry more weight. There's actually authority in what you're speaking, it's not just head knowledge, you've actually actively lived it out, and again, I think that's so important. Like, even when we look at the word of God, you can tell the difference with someone who's actually living in the word of God, breathing in the word of God, their character matches the one who called them rather than someone that just has a lot of head knowledge and the anointing may have fallen upon, but are they stewarding the anointing within? Um, and so yeah, that's kind of where my mind was going as I was like just sitting here thinking. I'm like, when I think of, for example, Noah, right? Think of the amount of faith Noah had to have, and it's crazy because like the world says, be delusional, like believe in yourself, block out all the noise, and it's like they take this aspect of truth in the faith and they make it about self. Where in reality we have to block out the external noise of the world and be so tuned into the voice of God that even if everybody around us is mocking, is scorning, is coming for our faith, we are not shaken or moved. Do you know what I mean? And of course, there's levels to it, like of course, we have beautiful wise counsel, we have community to bounce ideas off of. But again, when I think of Jesus, when I think of Jesus, when he was about to go onto the cross, everyone around him that was in his face was like, You're not the son of God, you're blaspheming this, that the third crazy accusations being slain or or or or thrown at the Lord, but he was so steadfast in his identity, he was like, I'm actually not living for the approval of you guys, so I don't care what you guys say because I'm so rooted in my identity. Like, think about it. How often do we take heed to the lies of the enemy as he throws accusations and we are not confident in our identity? Or the Lord will give us vision, he'll give us an idea, and we will so quickly succumb to the loud noise around us rather than the small, still voice of God. The same way the world tells you to block out all the noise, bet on yourself, and be delusional. We need to block out the world's noise and be so rooted in the voice of God that we are not shaken when things of this world try to come and attack us, when accusations come and attack us, just like Jesus was, just like Noah was. I mean, think about it. Noah had to sit there and build this ark, and he's telling everybody what's about to happen. That's why the Bible says the last days will be like the times of Noah. We'll be like, Y'all, Jesus is coming back, you gotta live right. And people be like, girl, we're weren't we saying this 2,000 years ago? When, like, why are we still here? Kind of thing. And so, what I'm trying to get at is Noah had to have such faith in the voice of the Lord. Because think about it, it did not rain, it didn't rain up until that point. So, do you know how much faith you have to have in the voice of the Lord to be able to be like, no, I heard the Lord on this, I am going to do this in obedience, and it's literally through his obedience that not only him but his entire family was saved from the flood. And so I also want to encourage us with this be more confident in my ability to speak to you rather than your ability to hear me. Because I've been in seasons where the Lord begins to sound different. Maybe in a past season he was speaking a lot through dreams, or maybe it was through deep revelation in the word of God. But in this season, he seems silent, and sometimes I can revert back to listening to the lies of the enemy, the accusation of the enemy that says, Oh, he's left you, he's forsaken you, even though we know that's not what the word of God says. Or I'll hear the enemy say, Oh, you're out of alignment, this, that, and the third. But in reality, the Lord is actually like, No, be still and know. The word of God says, be still and know that he is God, meaning I trust more in his ability to interrupt my life the same way he did when I was living for the world, to interrupt my day and say what he desires to say in that moment. And I think a lot of the time when the Lord seems to be silent, we have to ask ourselves the question, was I obedient to what he previously told me? Because think about it, if you're constantly telling somebody something and they're not listening to you, eventually you're gonna be like, Okay, I don't wanna keep saying the same thing over and over again. You know what I mean? But in regards to the title of just do it in faith, if the Lord has called you to do something, do it in faith. He gives you the grace to even do it, do it to the best of your abilities, but understand that if he's giving you the direction, it's for a reason. And a lot of the times it really has nothing to do with you. And literally today, when I was talking to Leah, she literally said something that's so true. Everything about you is intentional from the Lord. Your age, your ethnicity, the way you look, the way you carry yourself, it's intentional for the people that are attached to you. And so, again, don't compete and compare with people and be like, oh well, mine's not gonna look like this person, or maybe people won't receive me. Stop looking in the natural, stop looking in the carnal, stop looking to the left and to the right. But be a dweller in secret, and the Lord will reward you openly with his presence, meaning when he gives you that direction, you can have faith that he will reward you openly, and the reward is his presence. The reward, if you're carrying the Father's heart, is for people to be impacted by your obedience and give God the glory. Not glorify your obedience, but give God the glory that he's even graced you to be obedient enough to start. If the Lord told you to do something, do it in faith. If you know that you know that you know the Lord told you to do something, do it in faith. And I think there's wisdom when it comes to hearing from the Lord. Again, we have community, we have elders, we have leaders, we have the word of God that never changes. Praise the Lamb of God. We have the Holy Spirit, our helper, our advocate. We have prayer, we have fasting, we have communion. But when the Lord continues to confirm something to you and you continue to put it on hold because you lack faith in yourself, it's because you're too busy beholding you and your flaws rather than beholding the Holy One without blemish. He's the one without blemish. So if he told you to do it, he desires to move through you to glorify his name. Don't you know that he uses the foolish things to confound the wise? I mean, when I tell people my story, my testimony, it doesn't make sense. When I look at my track record, I still to this day do not understand why the Lord chose me. Because I wouldn't choose me. But again, the word of God says that he uses the foolish things to confound the wise, right? He uses the foolish things of this world to confound those that are wise in this world. You cannot fathom the ways of the Lord in your carnal mind. So the more time you waste trying to comprehend and lean on your own understanding, you are wasting valuable time. And I share this not to um have you feel like you're carrying a heavier weight or condemnation or shame, but rather to encourage you, like take your eyes off of self, take your eyes off of the things in the natural and allow yourself to dream with God. Ask for Him to give you the grace. And so, yeah, I think, especially taking things one day at a time. I think too, I psych myself out because I will think so far down the road. So it's like, okay, the Lord says, go on YouTube. I'm thinking about dang Lord, the amount of effort that has to go into me making these videos and editing these videos and things of that nature. And you know, Lord, I don't know if I can faithfully be consistent. And the Lord's like, Rachel, just take it one day at a time, take practical steps moving in the direction that I've called you in, and trust and believe that He will give the grace sufficient enough for today. He will give you enough for today. Just make sure you are moving in that direction. Because I think it's so true. Literally, I was talking to another friend today, and we were just like, It's so frustrating how we'll constantly ask the Lord for confirmation. But it's like, what are you gonna do with that confirmation? If the Lord gives you another confirmation that he wants you to write that book, start that podcast, work that job, serve at church, whatever the case may be, what are you gonna do with that information? If it's the same thing he's been trying to tell you to do, you know what I mean? Um, I really hope my car is gonna be okay, but yeah, y'all. I just think we need to remind ourselves that if God be for us, who can be against us? Like, for real, if the Lord of hosts, God Almighty, the one who created everything that we see here, is telling you to do something. Why are we like, oh, I can't do it? It has nothing to do with you. Like, you know what I mean? Like, he wants to move through you, and it reminds me of this scripture. Um, I'm not gonna go through the whole parable. It is Luke 16, 8. Um, this is actually crazy. This is about the parable of the dishonest manager, which again, I'm not gonna go full depth into this, but this is T right here. It literally says in verse 8, the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness or his wisdom. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. Why is it that the world's mindset, again, that bet on yourself, like be delusional, block out the noise? They move in that when it comes to their own ways, their own ideas, but when it comes to the ways of God, the sons of light move in fear rather than faith. Like, we don't move in that wisdom of like, you know what? No, I'm gonna block out all the noise. I'm gonna block out all the opinions, and I'm gonna move in obedience to what the Lord of all lords is telling me to do. Bro, this is crazy. I have a KJV in my car, but I'm not getting up to do all that, respectfully. Look at this. Luke 16, 8 in the KJV says, And the Lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely. For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. So you're telling me, like, that's actually so insane to me. Because again, that mindset of, oh, I'm gonna do me, I'm gonna put my all into what I wanna do, I'm gonna block out all the noise, I'm gonna be so delusional and believe in myself. But we don't carry that same kind of energy when it comes to the things of God as sons of light, and we have God on our side. Do you know what I mean? Like, that's actually so crazy to me. Um, I do want to look back at the Greek for that for wiser. Look at this. It says, Okay, the definition for this is intelligent or wise, or it's prudent, mindful of one's interests. Like, that's a bar, like. What are you mindful of? Are you mindful of the Lord's interests? You're telling me someone who is of the world is moving more wise in regard to what we were just talking about. Y'all, let's really take that in. People of this world, sons of this world, use the term faith as in having faith in themselves, and they will get it by any means necessary. But when it comes to the things of God, we be moving in fear or shyness. And I'm preaching to myself, I hope y'all know. I was just telling y'all, this is a big step for me. Recording in public like this. But God willing, you're gonna see more of this because I kind of like this setup. Praise God. And so I'm encouraged, just even thinking of that, like, wow, Lord, God forbid, like why is that? Like, let's change that narrative and let's move um as gentle as doves and as wise as serpents. You know what I mean? And the beautiful thing is if we feel like we don't have the wisdom, the Lord says, ask and you shall receive, but don't be double-minded, aka don't be one foot in faith, one foot in fear. No, ask knowing that he will grant you wisdom, he's he will give you answers to your questions without reproach. He's not angry at you for asking, you know what I mean? Um, and so yeah, you guys, that's it for today's episode. I probably have announced already that we will be doing gatherings in Toronto. So if you are from Canada, you are from Toronto, pull up to these gatherings. You can go on the website to get more information. A location will be dropped soon. Um, and the heart behind it is literally to fellowship. Fellowship, if you're new to the faith, maybe you don't know anything about the faith, but you're interested in learning, come through. We're gonna share meals together. I don't know if we'll do it in the first couple of weeks, but we'll be sharing meals together, doing fun stuff, especially it's summer, it's nice outside. If you also have a heart for evangelism, we will be going through evangelism training um and hitting the streets and spreading the gospel because praise God. So, yeah, you can also follow the table fellowship on Instagram. I will put that all in the bio, and you guys can keep up with the socials if you desire to, you know, keep up with what I got going on. Praise God. Um, but yeah, that's all I have for you. Again, I pray I was not rambling, but you know, yeah, that's all I have. So I love you guys. I will see you guys next time in Jesus' name. Bye. Honestly, low key, this is kind of a good way to evangelize because if somebody comes up to me, like while I'm in the word or like recording, it's the whole testimony, you know what I mean? So yeah, honestly, it makes me so happy to see kids outside. Like, you know, okay, we're done.