The Word Became Flesh
Welcome to "The Word Became Flesh," where we focus on John 1:1 and dive into the transformative power of Scripture. Join us on a journey of spiritual discovery as we explore how the Word of God can reconnect us with our faith, inspire us to deepen our relationship with Him and build a supportive community of believers. Each episode features heartfelt testimonies from guests whose lives have been changed by the Word, offering insights and encouragement to listeners on their spiritual paths. Whether you're seeking guidance, inspiration, or simply a sense of belonging, "The Word Became Flesh" is here to guide you on your journey of faith. Tune in and let the Word come alive in your life.
The Word Became Flesh
Church Hurt/Healing
Have you ever felt the sting of rejection from the very place that should embrace you? The latest episode of "The Word Became Flesh" podcast tackles the painful reality of church hurt with raw authenticity and healing wisdom.
Grace Kapongo welcomes special guest Queen Shimona, host of the "Salt and Season" podcast, who opens her heart about being excluded from youth group activities at seventeen when she became pregnant. This painful experience led to six years away from faith before finding her way back to Christ—a journey many wounded believers can relate to.
The conversation delves deep into recognizing genuine spiritual authority, which Shimona describes as "trifold"—consisting of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and human leadership working together. This balanced perspective offers listeners a framework for discerning healthy spiritual environments from potentially harmful ones. Shimona shares a miraculous testimony of how being under proper spiritual covering literally brought life in a moment of crisis, demonstrating the power of divine connection through appointed leadership.
Both women explore what it means to find your spiritual home, with Shimona describing her "church dating" phase before discovering where her spirit was truly nourished. "When God has brought you to an appointed place where you are meant to be fed, it will hit different," she explains, offering hope to those still searching for community.
Perhaps most powerfully, Shimona addresses those struggling with church hurt directly: "You have a right to be hurt... church hurt is real and no one has a right to downplay how you feel. But it's important that you allow yourself to heal." Her compassionate wisdom reminds listeners that while offense is real, allowing it to separate you from community is exactly what the enemy desires.
Ready to begin your healing journey? Whether you're reconnecting with faith after church hurt or seeking deeper spiritual growth, this conversation offers practical guidance for moving forward while keeping your heart open to divine connection and community.
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welcome to the word became flesh podcast. Saint, happy monday. This is your last monday of the month of april. Happy monday, I hope you guys are. You had a wonderful April so far. I mean, april was wonderful. We had Resurrection. Sunday, our King was risen. We thank God. We're so excited for the Resurrection King. Welcome to the when we Came, flesh podcast. If you're new in this podcast, I'm your host. My name is Grace Kapongo. You are welcome, welcome, welcome. So today, I'm so excited.
Speaker 1:But if we, before we go further, you guys all know, like I need to welcome the King of King, the Lord of Lord, the only one, our heavenly father, and then we're going to go. What's ahead of today, what we have today. So if we can just open up in word of prayer, simply you can close your eyes. Or if you're working, you know just that, let's just open up with a word of prayer, simply you can close your eyes. Or if you're working, you know just that, let's just open up with a word of prayer Amen, father. In the mighty name of Jesus, lord, we want to say thank you. Thank you, my Father, god, for January. Thank you, lord, for February, thank you, father, for March. And now, father, we thank you, my Lord, for the month of April. Lord, father, we invite your presence into this place. O God, we ask my Father God that your Holy Spirit will come and take over my Father God. Lord, where your children are listening, my Father God, whether it's in their room, o Lord, whether it's in the bathrooms, my Father God, whether it's in their office, whether it's in their car as they're driving. O Lord, holy Spirit, you are welcome. My Father God, come and take the glory Jesus. O Lord, father, that you are welcome. My father god, come and take the glory jesus. Oh, lord father, that we ask my father god that same resurrection power. My father god that has been leaving from age to age. Oh, lord father, if it's anybody, my lord that is just right there and said like lord, I want to see you again, I want to see you, lord, may you come, may you, father, just as you. You heard the voice of lazarus. Oh god, oh lord, may you come into their room. Oh Lord, whatever they are, my Father God, may you reason upon them. Oh Lord, father, that we commit this episode today into your hands. Oh Lord, my Father, god and Lord, simply, we ask my Father God for your healing my Father God. We ask my Father God for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us, oh Lord, and lead us. Oh Lord, holy Spirit, come and have your way. Absolute, take control. In Jesus' mighty name, lord, we pray, amen. Amen.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Word Became Flash podcast. Saint, I am so excited. So last March we introduced a brand new series that is called Church Heard. Okay, I know y'all been heard by the church, I've been there. I've been heard by the church too, but we are rising up again, all right. So today I'm super super excited because today I am not alone. So today I have the only and only Queen Shimona right here on the Word Became Flesh.
Speaker 1:But before we go further, please let me open for the scripture for the day and then I'm just going to read you guys a little bio about who is Queen Shimona. Who is Shimona? Like you know, like most of you guys will be wondering like, who is Shimona? But, yeah, after when I read her bio and when she come in, you guys will get to know who is queen shmona, all right.
Speaker 1:So the scripture today that we're reading um, oh, jesus.
Speaker 1:Okay. So our scripture for today it's peter. First peter 2, 9. Okay, first peter 2 9, it says but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a God special position. That you may declare the praise of him who call you out of darkness into a wonderful light. Ok, that's the scripture for today and for a topic that we're going to be discussing here with the queen. So now I'm just going to read a little bio about who is Queen Shimona. All right, so Shimona Kazito is a wife, a mother of four and the voice behind Salt and Season podcast Okay, where faith meets real life. Through her podcast and ministry, she shares raw, autistic conversations that encourage listeners to trust in God in every season and embrace his purpose for their life. Behind the mic, shimona serves as an evangelistic leader at her church, passionately helping others deepen their relationship with Christ. Her heart beat for authenticity and vulnerability and creating a space where people can encounter Jesus in real and transformed ways. Queen Shimona, you are welcome to the Word. Became Flash podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. It is an honor to have you. I'm honored to be here, girl.
Speaker 1:Thank you it is an honor to have you. Actually, I want to share a little testimony about how I got to know you a little bit yeah sure. So actually I got to know you a little bit back in the day in your YouTube videos. Really, yeah, I had no idea.
Speaker 2:Really yeah, your.
Speaker 1:YouTube channel. Yeah, so that's why I get to like get to you a little bit, I'm not soft falling. I was like I like what you were saying. I was like, okay, I need to listen to this girl more I need to listen to this girl. But when I walk into cccg and I saw you and I was like that's shimona. No, that's how, uh, that's how I got to know you a little bit, you know. So I'm just super, super excited that's so full circle, that's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow, god is so incredible.
Speaker 1:I mean I did not know that God's gonna connect yeah, like what your testimony was crazy.
Speaker 2:God is good man.
Speaker 1:And then, when I saw you as a CG minister, I was like that's Shemona, yeah, that's her, so you're very welcome. Thank you for having me. I was like that's Shemona, that's her, that's her, so you're very welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I'm so honored to be here Is there anything that we miss? No, nothing you miss. First of all, it's always weird like hearing your own book when people be talking about you. You just sit in there like are y'all talking about me? Like it's always a little weird, but no, I'm so honored to be here like I've. I've been listening to your podcast for a while and I'm so proud of you and super, super excited to just see what god has continued to do.
Speaker 1:So I'm honored to be here, girl, thank you, I'm excited, so excited today, as you know, like we're, we're digging into the topic of church hurt. I've been hurt by the church, many have been hurt by the church. Sometimes, when you get hurt, you're like do I really actually want to go back into that room? Have you ever experienced church hurt?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say the first time I experienced it is so I grew up in the church and then I actually got pregnant when I was 17. So in my last year of high school and this is when the first time they actually called me to take a step back from the church. So I had got pregnant and I was a part of my church's youth group and my youth leaders were celebrating all of the other graduates in the church and because I was like seven months pregnant, like heavily pregnant, they decided to opt me out of it, and so I felt so ashamed and just like pushed to the side and ultimately, just like embarrassed and forgotten, and I was really, really hurt by, like, the actions of my leaders and the other people that were around me. Nobody stuck up for me. I just felt kind of shunned because of my choices and, you know, the decision that I had made in the season that I was in and ultimately that had led me to a point of leaving the church for quite a bit, quite a few years. So that would ultimately be the first instance.
Speaker 2:I eventually found my way back to Christ in 2017. So that was 2011. And so six years I was away from God. You know you have your Bible bedside table. Open up that book of Psalms, you know not really in a relationship with God.
Speaker 2:You just be doing things for the sake of doing things. So that's what had driven me into that and away from Christ, ultimately. And then I found my way back to God in 2017 and have remained since then and there's definitely been lots of instances from then till now where I've experienced church hurt, but I've learned and grown a lot in my capacity and in my ability and understanding to navigate those different things, because I feel like church hurt is inevitable, but we just have to have an understanding of how to navigate that.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, Now one of the things like when you really hurt by the church right, you're really hurt by the church. You're like because I, when I got hurt by the church, I was like, screw church, I don't need church, I don't need, I don't need, I don't need none of that. You know, and for me, the deep knife that was for me it was spiritual authority. You know to be under spiritual authority. Now you're a person that I observe you. I see you like you know how to submit to authority, and not just authority by your own husband too, and you know also to our authority apostle. Like what is the definition for you? Somebody like, nah, I don't do authority anymore, I don't do church, no more, I don't trust pastor, no more. Like what would you say to that?
Speaker 2:person. First of all, girl, I would just say, yeah, I did not start there. I sure did not. If y'all only knew like I was, I did not have any understanding of spiritual authority prior to coming to Cornerstone.
Speaker 2:Um, I didn't grow up with that understanding. It was never taught to me. So when I came and I started learning and understanding that you're meant to submit to somebody, it was a crazy concept to me, to be frank. Um, and I even had, like you know, family members who I'm Caribbean, of Caribbean descent and in Caribbean culture, like we don't we don't be let's just be so for real. Like us, as women, we don't be submitting like that. Like a lot of Caribbean women are very dominant and very independent. Um, that it's ultimately like vice versa, where we're not really led but we're more so leading. So it was a completely different dynamic shift for me and a completely different understanding of something to learn.
Speaker 2:So I definitely did not start that way. I even had family, like once I started to adapt to submitting to authority, be like you're doing too much, you let somebody lead, you let somebody run your life, and it was a lot of these outside voices that were challenging, ultimately, the way in which God intended for us to operate right with being under authority. So how did I grow in my understanding of that was? I was open to the thought of it first, right, I didn't hear it and ultimately shut off from it. And ultimately shut off from it, I started to divulge into scripture for myself and pick up spirit-led, anointed books the Blessings of being Under Spiritual Authority by Emmanuel Erebusi. I'm going to just throw that out there.
Speaker 1:Every time I don't want to submit, I just go back to that book.
Speaker 2:I'm going to just say that. So that book was really helpful for me in the early stages, even up to recent. The Holy Spirit had encouraged me to go back and read that book. As a wife, I was spending some time with God a few months ago and he's like I need you to go back and read the Blessings of being Under Spiritual Authority. But everywhere you see it say spiritual authority, put your husband's name and I was like, oh, I said OK, lord, ok, we're going deeper into this.
Speaker 2:But ultimately I opened myself to the concept of spiritual authority because I had no understanding of it previously. So I took time to open myself to that and started to, you know, intentionally seek out understanding of it in the sense of anointed books asking a lot of questions. I feel like oftentimes we can like get into a church setting and just feel like you just have to take everything as is, like what's presented to you is just this is what it is and that's what it is. I'm sorry, but that's just not me and I'm heavy on authenticity, like if I don't, I'm not just going to do things for the sake of doing things or because other people are doing it. If I'm doing something, I need to have my own revelation, I need to have understanding of what I'm doing so I can come from a place of being genuine and a place of authenticity.
Speaker 1:uh, so I think that was the question that you asked, I think hopefully I answered that yeah, yeah okay, yeah, yeah you definitely did. You did that. You answered that question. Um so, um, how did you come up to a term that for you like to know that CCCG was your church, like, like, you know, as you like left church, you know. How did you come to the point? Okay, like when somebody's searching for a church, like, what are the steps that they should be doing, what steps that lead you to Cornerstone?
Speaker 2:so I actually wasn't looking for a church when I found cccg. Um, I had given my life to christ on the sunday and I had a friend who had been inviting me to cornerstone for a while. But I was. I was going to my youth pastor's church at the time and I was like, no, like I'm good here, um, this is where I get my life back to christ, like I'm gonna just settle down here, like I'm I'm Gucci, I'm good. But she had been inviting me for a while and I was like yo, let me just get this girl off my my neck. Like her foot was on my neck, inviting me to Cornerstone and I was like you know what, let me, just, let me pull up and let me come. So I came on a Thursday, my life to Christ a Sunday.
Speaker 2:The Thursday I was at Cornerstone, which was very intentional. I walked into the, the community league. At the time. There was like seven people in a boardroom. I was like, is this a church? Because I was coming from a place where church building and more so established for lack of better terms. So, pulling up to a church in a boardroom with seven people, an apostle at a desk, I was like, is this Cornerstone Is this CCCG Walked in, sat down and I heard the word. And from that first service, that first ministration I heard it impacted my life in a way that I'll never forget. That 90 minutes of that Bible study, that 90 minutes of being under the teaching and the ministration of Apostle Adewusi, was more impactful than the months of sermons that I had listened to online. I was listening to a lot of sermons that summer because I was going through it and that's ultimately what the Lord you know, I was listening to a lot of Stephen Furtick.
Speaker 2:Stephen Furtick is ultimately the one that the Holy Spirit had used to drive me back to even being open to going back to church. I love Mike Todd girl, mike Todd, girl, mike Todd, you're a.
Speaker 1:Mike Todd girl, I really honor Mike Todd.
Speaker 2:I really really honor him Like yeah, I really, really honor him, but during that season it was heavily Stephen Furtick from Elevation Church. So I was just listening to a lot of online services and such and they were all very impactful. But when God has brought you to an appointed place and the place where you are meant to be fed, it will hit. It'll just hit different. You know, like you can be encouraged online, you can be encouraged by particular services and encouraged by particular words, but there's always an appointed place where God has called you to be and you will be fed in such a capacity through that place that nowhere else can feed you, because that is where God has brought the nutrients for you. That is where God has brought you everything that you need and there will be no vitamin deficiencies. There will be no deficiencies in what is meant for you through that appointed place.
Speaker 2:And that is what I experienced walking into Cornerstone, that first ministration that I was under of Apostle Adewusi. It did more for me. It built my spirit and it sustained my spirit, more than my months of listening to sermons online, more than my months of sitting under anointed men of God. But I was not meant to be in that ministry and that was one of the ways that the Holy Spirit made it very clear this is where I needed to be. After I had gone to that Bible study I then, you know, had continued to go back to my other church and then back and forth through Cornerstone, back and forth Go to Cornerstone in the morning, go to the other church in the afternoon, but over time like kind of like church dating.
Speaker 2:I was church happy, I was hippity hoppity, hop, hop, hop.
Speaker 1:Ok, I was happy because I was like you know.
Speaker 2:I had to settle and I felt this. I felt a sense of loyalty to my previous church. This is my youth pastor, this is the church my parents raised me in, and you can almost feel obligated to remain in a particular place and it can often be challenging to break that dynamic because of, ultimately, outside opinions. You can be afraid of what your parents will think, what the people in the church going to think, yada, yada, yada yada. But if God is calling you to be somewhere else, you will know Right and like.
Speaker 2:Ultimately, what it came down to for me to make a decision is like OK, if I'm going to do this walk with God, I don't want to do it in partiality, I want to do it wholly, fully. And if it's clear and it's evident that this is the place where I am being fed, I'm leaving here encouraged, leaving here with actionable items, leaving here with ministrations and words that have spoken to my spirit. Where may I go? Why am I going to go anywhere else? This is where God has called me to be and ultimately, I just had to make a decision, honorably, to step away from where I previously was and step into where his God has called me, and since that day I never look back.
Speaker 1:And that's what it's been. Amen, amen. You hear that saints, like there is a, there's a church for everybody. Yeah, like that's what that's. That's really.
Speaker 1:God really ministered for me. Like there is no way, if you believe that jesus is your shepherd, there is no way a shepherd is gonna lead you without, without that, for you, for you, without for you to be, have a leader. You know that is gonna lead you to the light, right, and that's what the scripture that's done today, that you are the light, right, but in order for you to be the light, um, queen shimona just did an episode it's called becoming and like on the on the on the sultan season podcast, which she was, um, what, there's something that she said to apostles. She said that you'll be coming, may my becoming becoming so, like. So you're a, you're a sheep, but there is a shepherd for you, so there is an, there is a church that god has ordained, has ordained for you, for you to be under and for you actually to be undercover. So that is why it is really important to be undercover and to be on the spiritual authority while you're waiting, while you're waiting for Christ to come. So I really really love that.
Speaker 1:All right, I think you already answered the next question. How did you know that Dr Emmanuel Adeusie was your spiritual leader?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I had submitted to him as my pastor and I had accepted where god was bringing me to cornerstone. But the journey of going from pastor to spiritual authority and spiritual father to daughter was quite the journey. It was it was quite. It was quite the journey. There were days I was like there's a story that a apostle always loves to tell about how somebody was in his house and was just like this is stupid. I'm leaving and like stood up. Yeah, that was me.
Speaker 1:That was me every time. It was me like that's what.
Speaker 2:I tell you I was just like uh, uh, like what you like it was, I had done something crazy. And then this man got booked and I was supposed to go on a little vacation, had my flight booked, bags packed, I was ready to go and the man got to you ain't going. I said, pardon me, me and my big age, I'm a grown woman. You gonna tell me where, mckay, I'm going, where I can't go. He's like no, you're not going. I was like this is stupid, I'm living. He's like sit down. And I was, yeah, it was crazy. And so, from that to now, being like oh, yeah, ok, like fully submitted. That's why I say like it's possible and it's a journey, because there's just anybody who was, you know, given the resistance Apostle would call my phone, I would ignore it, like it was. Like again, I didn't have no background understanding.
Speaker 2:So that's why the stories are galore.
Speaker 1:OK, the stories are galore, they're becoming galore. Okay, the stories are galore, they're becoming, they're galore.
Speaker 2:And so it took time, like it's not an overnight process. And again, it wasn't just. This is not my home church Automatically. Everyone else is calling you dad, everyone else is calling you the spiritual father that I'm now to hi daddy, how's spiritual father? No, please, like I need to. What is a spiritual father? How are you my spiritual father? What does that look like? What does that dynamic like? What does I? I have a father, so what is like?
Speaker 2:I needed to understand and grow my revelation, understanding of that. So how did I begin to know that this was the person that god had brought into me? Ultimately, there was a few different things. One it was the patience, the love, the time and the intention that this man he did not have to deal with that. He did not have to deal with any of the things why he got his degrees, he he doing what he doing why? But there was an intention and there was a genuine love that was without manipulation, it was without, it was without looking for something in return. It was a genuine consistent pouring, a genuine consistent picking up. Even after that instance where I was like this is so bad, I'm leaving, I was at his house for like three hours at that time after that, yeah in his office for like three hours after that and he was just ministering to me and just pouring love into me and helping to simmer down that anger.
Speaker 2:And after I was just like why is he pouring into me this way? Why is he showing me love this way? It was without manipulation, it was without anything in return, it was pure, it was genuine, it was the love of a father and, ultimately, it was the Holy Spirit at work in and through him that helped me to see that this is someone that God has intentionally brought into my life. There's something that I'll share, another revelation that the Lord has given me. There was an instance where I had gone through when I was pregnant with my first son. He had actually died in my womb at that time, and this just speaks to the value of being under spiritual authority and covering. I was having severe pains throughout the day. I was instructed by spiritual authority to go to the hospital. Again, it's important to have someone who can tell you to go and come, someone who can tell you to sit and stand, and it's ultimately yes, it's not weakness, it's ultimately strength to be able to sit down and have somebody who can tell you to sit down and tell you to stand up, where to go and where to come. And in that instant he had said go to the hospital. And I went to the hospital and ultimately, long story short, my son was dead in my womb. I reached out to my spiritual father, my authority, my covering, and he, simply, over the phone, spoke a few words. My covering and he, simply over the phone, spoke a few words. And through those few words, while the doctors were in the midst of telling me that my child was without life specifically their words, there are no signs of life in the midst of that, while an ultrasound machine was on my stomach, while a doctor was on my stomach, while you could visibly see that there was no heartbeat, when my covering and the authority over me spoke and someone who has a head of me spoke, my son came back to life.
Speaker 2:Okay, after that, the next day, I had to now process and understand what just happened, because it's so easy to rationalize and you know, oh well, this, that, maybe this or maybe that, maybe the regime broke up, or maybe the doctor, maybe the doctor tired, like you can justify and rationalize a million reasons.
Speaker 2:And in that moment I'll never forget what the Holy Spirit had said to me. He had said one of my greatest expressions of my love towards you is Apostle Emmanuel Adeusi, and so he has put this man of God in my life as an expression of his love. And it is that initial love. It is not the love of apostle, it is the love of Christ through apostle that helped me to see the love of God. It helped me to see the nature of God, it helped me to see the strength of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God. All different dimensions of God were made manifest and visible and present through me, to me, through my spiritual father, and so it was through those different things, and ultimately just discernment as well, that I was able to identify that this is my spiritual father.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know me every time, like, every time like I hear like, because once you start being like much on me and I hear the voice would say go, go, go, go, and then I'll be like where are we going?
Speaker 2:Where are?
Speaker 1:we going, and then the voice would be like you, your destiny is connected to him.
Speaker 1:yeah, and I'll be like, okay, I guess I better say, and I know that, like I know, like that's the holy spirit, like because the enemy always come, like I'm free to run, I'm free to say you know, and then, because my trust with men of god, it's a different, it's a really different story.
Speaker 1:But uh, with apostle, like I remember the first time he met me, the first time he met me and I was just sitting quiet in his office and then he looked at me and then he said he said I see the discourage in you. I was like I was just like looking at him, I was like okay, but the patient that he showed me, like even the attitude that I was giving back to him, you know, but just the patient. And then he just sat quiet, you know, like he's, he's the apostle of meditation. He just sat quiet and then we just sat quiet and then I was just like we were just looking at each other and and when he told me, like god's gonna restore, and I was like okay, and I just walked out of his office like, okay, but he's patient and he's kind like how we deal with us because he has so many children you know, but the way he deal with each one of us, I'm like wow yeah, it takes lots of grace 100.
Speaker 2:It takes a lot of grace for him to continue leading us.
Speaker 2:And I'll also just say that spiritual authority is trifold. This is one thing that I've come to learn that being under spiritual authority is. There is the aspect of human authority which is our spiritual father, and that's the aspect that we're speaking to right now. But spiritual authority is so much more than just human authority. It's trifold in the sense of human authority the word of God and the Holy Spirit. And when I speak to that and we're speaking to our spiritual father, you will notice that a lot of the things that we're saying is all aspects of a spiritual authority are made manifest and shown in that. The word of God Again, I've given you shepherds after my own heart the love of God, all of those aspects and all of those dimensions of authority are made manifest through your human authority. So if you're not noticing the fruits of the Spirit, if there's a lot of things that are contrary to one another, then maybe there's some some. Some peel back the layers a little bit. But spiritual authority is trifled the Word of God, so the Holy Spirit and human authority, and ultimately that is the exact structure.
Speaker 2:You want to first check with the word of God, check with the Holy Spirit and check with your human authority and you can be under authority in each of those ways, simply meaning what does the word of God say? Whatever the word of God says is what you do. It's how you should aim and how you should desire to live your life. If the word of God says, don't do this, that's authority, that is instruction and a desire and grow and aim to abide by that Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit has given you specific instructions, there's something the Holy Spirit has told me to do specifically that I now have to abide in, because they're now instructions in the same with my human authority. But just check through each of those. If what your human authority is saying is going against what the word of God is saying, red flag. If what your human authority is saying is going against what the Holy Spirit has genuinely said to you, red flag. So check each of those things and use those as a safety net to just help guide you in that, that journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good. Yeah, okay, so our scripture for the day um first peter 2, 19 and I believe this is part of your scripture too that was sent for you. So how do you think this verse can apply to those who have been hurt by the church and struggle with their season of belonging?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. Do you want to read the verse? Okay, so.
Speaker 1:I'm going to read it for you. The verse says people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, god's special position, that you may declare the praise of him who pulled you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Speaker 2:Amen. That's my favorite scripture. That's the scripture that I base my life off of. That's the scripture that I would use to describe me. But how would I correlate that scripture with those who have been hurt?
Speaker 1:by the church who have experienced church hurt.
Speaker 2:Church hurt To know that you are called by God, to know that you are chosen by God and to know that God has been very intentional with you and where he has placed you. That's how I would use that scripture to correlate with church hurt is that you are chosen people, you are royalty, and God has called you for a purpose and he has called you to shine his light. And in order for you to grow in your ability and your capacity to shine your light the way in which God intends, in whatever field or dynamic or way he intends for you to do so you must be rooted and planted in the place where he has called you to be fed and the place where he has called you to flourish. So if you desire to be all that God has called you to be, then you must remain in the place where he has called you to be.
Speaker 1:And also I'm going to ask you, I'm going to put you in your evangelism place. I just want you to look at the mic, speak to somebody right now who's listening, who's going through pain after church and say screw church people.
Speaker 2:I don't want to be part of them anymore.
Speaker 1:Just because they've been hurt by the church.
Speaker 2:Just go ahead there, yeah let me talk to the people then hold on, hold on, I'm gonna sit down and get comfortable. Okay, let me talk to people now. Um, if you're experiencing church hurt, I want to first just validate you that you have a right to be hurt and the way you feel is is valid. So don't feel invalidated in your feelings and don't feel as though you don't have a right to feel hurt and the way you feel is valid. So don't feel invalidated in your feelings and don't feel as though you don't have a right to feel hurt by the church. Church hurt is real and no one is downplaying that and no one has a right to downplay how you feel. But it's important that you allow yourself to heal, first and foremost.
Speaker 2:There's so many different aspects of church hurt. It can be from being led by wolves in sheep's clothing. That is so real. There are people out there who are intentionally and deliberately preying on men and women who are genuinely seeking Christ, and so, just as there's always good in this world, there's also evil in this world. Just as there's always light in this world, there's also darkness, and unfortunately, some of those people have found their way into the church and are using the church for personal gain and are using the church for manipulation, who are people who love him and people who seek him and desire to help you grow nearer to God and grow in your walk with God and grow into who God has called and created you to be. That's the first thing that I want to say.
Speaker 2:Second to that, I want to say that often, church hurt is often rooted in a place of offense. If we're to be so real with ourselves, church hurt is often rooted in the way in which people in the church made us feel. Whose auntie looked at you crazy? Who made that slick and sly little comment? It can be rooted in so many different things, but ultimately the foundation and the root of it is more than often coming from a place of offense. But offense is such a dangerous thing that the root and the cause of that and the intention of offense is to draw us away from our Heavenly Father and to separate us away from God. So if you've allowed what other people have said and done to pull you away from Christ, I just want you to shift your perspective. God has appointed the church, but people in church are healing. There are people in church who are growing. Nobody is perfect. So to say that you allow those people to pull you away from the place where God and because God has called and intended for you to be, is really I don't want to say it's irrational, but it's not ideal, okay, church is a family. That's something that I've come to learn and, just like any family, everybody got a crazy uncle. You may got a crazy auntie. There's something that I've come to learn and, just like any family, everybody got a crazy uncle. You may got a crazy auntie. There's always someone in your family who you may have to stay a little far from and stay a little away from.
Speaker 2:I don't want to say that you should now fully separate yourself from the church. Just set boundaries in place with those people who have caused you hurt, those people who have put you in a place of offense. But you have a right to be in the place where God has called you to be, regardless of what other people have said, regardless of how other people make you feel. You have a right to be in the church and the place where God has called you to be. There is something there for you. There is a reason why God has brought you there and if someone or something has offended you. Acknowledge that offense, deal with the offense and put the right boundaries in place in order to protect and guard your heart. But there is no one and there is nothing that should ever pull you away from your appointed place where God has called you to be.
Speaker 2:If you have separated from the church, be it to offense, be it through trauma, be it through wolves in sheep's clothing, whatever the reason or the cause may be, please acknowledge your hurt, acknowledge it.
Speaker 2:Don't downplay it, don't cover it up in front like, oh baby, I'm good, I'm going to do this church thing on my own. Again, we look at the word of God to guide our steps. The Bible says that he has appointed the church, he has appointed pastors, he has appointed people in prominence. Do not forsake church, do not forsake the gathering of saints. There is a reason for it. You don't have to have full understanding, but you can acknowledge the hurt that you are feeling. You can acknowledge the offense that you have and let it bring you to a place that allows you to heal and get back into a church. There is power in community. There is power in gathering. There is power and humility in being under authority and in being in a place where God has called you to be. If, for any reason, you have separated from the church, I encourage you to get back rooted in the place where God has called you to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Wow Queen Shimona.
Speaker 2:Oh God, I love you, I love it. Thank you, thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1:Thank you so like Karina already wrapped it out of everything, so but today I want to.
Speaker 1:I want to make an invitation for the people that you've been hurt by the church, or the people you simply don't know who is jesus and you're wondering what are they talking about? You know? But uh, I just wanna, I wanna take this moment to awaken you and take time, um for you to just say this little prayer with us and then, in order for rededicate your life again back into Christ, okay, so, if you're out there Ooh, this lights are really literally blinding my nose. It is out there Just simply invite Christ into your into your heart again, you know, and simply invite Christ into your heart again, you know, and simply invite Christ into your life again. So, just join us by just saying this prayer Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God and I believe that you died on the cross of Calvary for my sin.
Speaker 1:Dear Father, thank you for on the cross for my sin, for my sin, dear father, father, thank you, thank you for loving me, for loving me for accepting me, accepting I accept you.
Speaker 1:I accept as my personal, my personal lord and savior, amen. So if you just say that prayer you're like okay, this sounds simple. Like you say the prayer you're like okay, I am good, this is a good prayer. You know, trust me, I was once like you. I would just sit in my room, I'll pray in my room, I'll do my bible around my room I'll do, I'll be hyping with my, my room, with my dad, you know, be like, yeah, this is church, but there are days that the holy spirit hurt me.
Speaker 1:I was like, nah, this is not true, you need to get back to the church. And I was like, ah god, ah God, I'm not going to church, I'm not going to church anymore. So, but if you simply say that prayer, my encouragement to you. And if you simply um, you're just new in Christ. My, my prayer to you is like find a home church, plug yourself into a home church, find yourself a community and find yourself a spiritual father and find yourself a spiritual authority. Okay, so simply um, if you have heard um shimona past story, you know how she land into the greatest church.
Speaker 1:It's not the greatest it is the greatest for me, right I mean, I mean all church are, but literally all church are great, all ministers of God are great, but literally what we're trying to say, that there is a church for you. Okay, there's a church out there for you and then I'll say for me, the greatest church that is going on right now Cornerstone Christian Church of God, aka CN Nation. I will simply invite you Come join us to our church. Okay, you come join us our church. Okay, come join us our church.
Speaker 2:We simply have how many services? Three services, oh can you? Give the types 9, 30, 11, 30 and a 1 30 like you.
Speaker 1:Literally, you can't have no excuse for you to not come to church. You know whether you're a morning person, whether you're not a morning church. You know whether you're a morning person, whether you're not a morning person, whether you are you know, your afternoon person you like to sleep Like we have all cover for you. And the most important thing on Saturday what do we do on Saturday?
Speaker 2:Going to home. On Saturday we go to our meditation. Don't even get me started.
Speaker 1:Yo, we just came off of a conference.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's insane's insane, honestly, y'all if you guys haven't tried meditation, god's way I'ma. I'ma just, i'ma just leave it at that. Just go type in hour of meditation on YouTube and thank grace later. That's all I'ma say. Drop the mic.
Speaker 1:That's all I'ma say, yeah, we just had a conference, the river, it was fire.
Speaker 2:So I encourage you. What is the river? I encourage you, go to.
Speaker 1:Cornerstone Christian Church of God, Actually, no, the river conference. You will find it under our father's YouTube page, Apostle Emmanuel at Deucy.
Speaker 2:Search there, go there and then you will find the playlist of the river.
Speaker 1:It will give you an experience.
Speaker 2:It's an experience.
Speaker 1:It's an experience that I can't explain to you. Well, I can, but I won't, because I want you to watch it. Therefore, I won't explain to you because I want you to watch it.
Speaker 2:So we just came out from a conference the river.
Speaker 1:It was fire, like fire, meditation, like literally. And then when you're saying in meditation, what are they talking about? Meditation, yo, like, we're not meditating on. Buddha should have, could have. No, no, no, that's not the kind of meditation we're talking about.
Speaker 2:we're talking about the meditation of the word of god.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like literally you go in deeper experience with God's word. But under the leaders of Apostle Emmanuel Adesu, the way he leads you in, you will meet Jesus. You never seen Jesus. Through his leading, you will meet Christ. You will definitely meet Christ. So also to that and then on Thursday too. Thursday, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:What happened at Bible Studies? My goodness, what happened to Bible studies?
Speaker 1:Bible studies. What happened there?
Speaker 2:Bible studies be happening honestly, I love Bible studies. I think those are one of my favorite services because it's a different dynamic than Sunday services, pull up in your sweatpants, get a look of comfy cozy and there's an opportunity to ask questions. That's my box. Any question, like when we say question any.
Speaker 1:Any question, don't be shy so you're welcome to join the cornerstone nation, and if the nation is not, it's not. It's not your church. At the end of the day, I just encourage you to find yourself a home church and connect into a church as you're waiting on christ to come. So be blessed. Happy monday, thanks for listening to the word became flash podcast. While you finish, listen to this podcast, please, please, please, go listen to the episode of salt and season becoming that episode was and that the other episode that you were talking to about anger in the airplane oh yeah, when I was listening to you, I was like.
Speaker 2:I would love that it's the love, because I was like, yeah, I feel you like what kind of spirit? Is this. I was like yeah, okay yeah, anyways, you know what I'm talking about when you go to Salton like what kind of spirit is this?
Speaker 1:I was like yeah, anyways, you know what I'm talking about when you go to Salton and just listen, and just listen to incredible word that our queen have available for you and also where can they follow you?
Speaker 2:on IG on TikTok at salt and season. Salt and season, there we go, amen guys. I swear On IG on TikTok at Salt and Season.
Speaker 1:Salt and Season. There we go. Amen, amen. Guys, I swear, when you listen to Punshimona, you all receive a light.
Speaker 2:You're like yeah yeah, yeah, I gotta get out. There's no more excuse. You can't give excuses. No, we move. We just speak about the Holy Ghost. We move.
Speaker 1:So thank you for listening to the when we Came Flesh podcast. As we say, we're in a new series. We're talking about church hurt and today we hope that your soul is healed and you're rising again in Christ and you're serving and you're staying rooted and you're staying planted and you're connected with the body of Christ. God bless you. See you last Monday, alpha May. We will see you in the month of May. God bless you. God bless you, amen. There we go, you.