REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Wednesday Night Bible Study- Pastor Holly Dazey- (June 11, 2025)
Imagine walking into spiritual battle wearing the wrong footwear. You wouldn't last long, would you? In this powerful exploration of Ephesians 6:15, we dive deep into what it truly means to have your "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
This isn't about physical shoes—it's about spiritual readiness. Like Roman soldiers who needed proper footwear to march effectively into battle, Christians need spiritual preparation to stand firm against the enemy's attacks. The gospel of peace becomes our foundation, making us strong and stable as we navigate life's challenges.
But here's the critical insight many miss: you can't effectively share the gospel of peace if your own heart harbors bitterness. As James 3:11 reminds us, "bitter and sweet water cannot come from the same source." Our words reveal our true heart condition. When we allow unforgiveness, anger, or pride to take root, we compromise our ability to represent Christ authentically.
The spiritual battle begins within. Many believers experience what scripture calls "hardness of heart" or "spiritual dullness"—a condition where we become resistant to God's truth and leading. Even the disciples, who witnessed Jesus walk on water, still doubted His ability to feed the multitudes. Their spiritual senses had dulled between miracles. Sound familiar?
God offers a solution: "I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19). This divine heart transformation changes us from the inside out, replacing stubbornness with receptivity and bitterness with peace. When we allow God to soften our hearts daily through His Word, prayer, and worship, we become effective ambassadors of His peace with "beautiful feet" that bring good news.
How's your spiritual footwear? Are you ready to march forward in the gospel of peace? Pray daily for discernment, maintain a soft heart toward God, and watch how effectively you represent Christ to a world desperate for His peace.
Thank you All.
Speaker 1:Right. Well, I want to welcome everybody here tonight. I think it's a very interesting teaching. Tonight it's on having your feet shodded with the gospel of peace, and we'll just read Ephesians 10.
Speaker 1:Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the whales of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness and heavenly places. Verse 1. Righteousness, and having shotted your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace and above all, take the shield of faith, that which you will be able to cringe all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of the, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayers and supplications in the Spirit, being watchful to this end, with all perseverance and supplications for all of the saints, amen. So tonight we're putting on our third piece of armor, which is we're shotting Our feet with the gospel piece. And so you can see our armor. Guy, he has on His spiritual shoes and he has his Breastplate held out and he's got his belt of righteousness on, which draws him close to God. Those are his guards guarding his shins. So the phrase shotting your feet with the gospel of peace comes out of Ephesians 6 15, which is a part of Paul's description of the full armor of God, meaning that we should be ready and prepared to share the gospel, the message of the salvation, through Jesus Christ, at all times, like a soldier to march. Do you got my marching feet up there? I got marching feet. It has sound too. So Now what do you think the devil thinks when he hears that coming? He's like I am a defeated foe. Amen, I am under their feet in the name of Jesus. So we're soldiers, ready to march. The gospel is the foundation for our spiritual footwear, making us strong and stable as we proclaim the message of peace.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 6, 10 through 18, where Paul uses a military description of Christians in spiritual warfare. Description of Christians in spiritual warfare. He encourages us as believers, to put on the whole armor of God to withstand the fiery darts of the wicked one. And so when we are clothed in the armor of God, there's not a place that the enemy's fiery darts can hit us because we are covered with the blood and the armor of God. You know, the fiery darts, those are the things that knocks us off our games the lies and the deceit and the. What are they? He has tactics, he has scams, he makes ambush, all those things that he does to knock you and I off our game.
Speaker 1:This, this verse, isn't literally about wearing shoes like it ain't about these shoes. It's about our spiritual shoes, just like it's our spiritual shield and our spiritual belt. Standing, therefore, had girded your waist with truth and have put on the breastplate of righteousness and had shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel peace. To shod means to have under one's feet, to be bound Like these shoes, these I like. I could never run a marathon in these shoes, for one thing, they're extremely loose. There ain't nothing. It ain't going to work out.
Speaker 1:So you know it's the shoes of God are bound to our feet and they are um, tied and winded and and knitted to be one, to have your foot and the gospel of peace, to be one in Christ, it means to be ready to share the good news of Jesus, to share his life, his death, his resurrection and what that brings? You know, what did Jesus' life, death and resurrection bring? It brings salvation, it brings forgiveness and it brings a reconciliation with God, because before we ask Jesus into our heart, we're not in right standings with him. But when we ask him to come be in our heart and in our life, then we become in right standings with him. It's not just about having the knowledge. It's not just about having the knowledge of the gospel, but also being ready to be willing to speak about it. And so the way God took me on this is we have to have a heart knowledge of the gospel, understanding the fact of the gospel and our intellect, but also being able to experience his truth through life experiences. It's being transformed in our hearts, going beyond our head knowledge and understanding the gospel in our spirits. Okay, it's knowing in your knower. You know it. Nobody could take it from you Because you know it, you've lived it. He's proven himself or and or to us, amen. Now we're going to talk about head knowledge versus heart knowledge. Okay, this is what I'm going to ask Can bitter and sweet pour out of the same spout?
Speaker 1:No, bitter and sweet water cannot come from the same faucet or the same spring. Sorry, what Heart. James 3.11 says A spring of water does not pour fresh and bitter water at the same time from the same opening. And another way of saying good and evil, blessings and curses should not come from the same source, which is our mouth. Because when we are spreading the gospel of Christ, that's coming from our mouth. It's our words that are going to draw people to Christ, the anointed words that we speak that will draw to Christ. Okay, such as a fig tree cannot bear an olive, an orange tree cannot bear apples, a grapevine cannot bear figs. True, the water source that bears bitter, like salt water you ever been to the ocean? Get a big mouth of that? You know that is bitter water, it is not fresh and I know I've said it a dozen times, but I'm going to say it again Bitter and sweet cannot come out of the same spout.
Speaker 1:James 3.11.12 says that A human speech arguing malice, contentment, discontentment should not flow out of our mouths. What that word does when we speak bitter, it shows our nature, it shows our heart. Like you know, you could just be having a great day and somebody bring up somebody's name and your head turns around and you're like what Do you ever have? That. Do you ever have that? See, it's important that our heart and our nature aligns up with God's word, that we speak what God speaks. And we're all human, we're all flesh. You're going to speak and be ready and bring forth the word of God to this world with your shoes of peace. You got to have peace in your heart because people are smart and they'll catch on right away that you're playing, that you're not serious about God. God's word says that you'll know them by their fruit Matthew 6, 7, 16.
Speaker 1:A tree and its fruit, to how a person's character is, the way their actions are, the way they say things, implies that a good tree produces good fruit, while a bad tree produces bad fruit. And so, when we are shotting our feet with the gospel of peace, we need to be speaking what is good, what is true, what is honest, what is pure. We need to be walking it, we need to be living it, because whenever we act one way and say another, that makes us hypocrites. And so we be very, very careful of the bitter water that comes out of our spout, out of our mouth, out of our opening. You know, there was a time in my life when I had a lot of bitter water in me and I would speak to you, slice you up, leave you lay alongside the road. A couple days later you'd be like what, what did she do? What did she do? Did she say that to me? But I was clever, I was witty and I did exactly as the devil wanted me to. But thank God for the day that I learned to put that nasty old tongue away and begin to operate in the spirit of the Lord. Did that happen overnight? No, many hours on my knees changed my heart. Oh God, put a right spirit within me. So you know, our words are like containers that are like dynamite, and we can blow people, things, areas up. And we can blow people, things, areas up. And so if we're going to have this armor on and we're going to be shod with the gospel of peace on our feet, we've got to be talking the right talk. Okay.
Speaker 1:Fruit reveals to the outward manifestation of a person's characters and actions. It suggests that people are judged not by their words or their appearance, but the tangible result of their life. The word says that you will know them by their fruit, meaning that a person's actions impact others. Do you believe that your words can impact somebody Can stop them in their tracks, can hurt them, can make them turn from their walk with the Lord. I would hate to be guilty of that before God someday, because everything that you and I do, good or bad it, will be had before everybody. That's what his word says. I don't want that. I want to walk up to him and he say very good, well, faithful servant, you've done a good job. I don't want there to be a well, here we go, because now that I'm saved, the things of the past have been passed away, but now I'm on a new journey.
Speaker 1:Okay, so God's word in Proverbs 29.1 warns us that a stiff neck can be a consequence of refusing to listen. Head knowledge causes us to be a stiff neck. People. That means that all you have is this word in your head. It's not operating or flowing out of your heart. I don't know, nita, you're just drawing on my well tonight I'm just going to talk to you. Without obedience and willingness to submit can lead to a hard heart and that can lead to being greatly corrected. I don't want to be corrected either. I try to keep my nose clean. I try to stay out of the limelight. Really I do, and I try to walk the walk and talk the talk, and if I ever think that I've hurt your feelings, you can bet you I'll be right there. Did I say or do anything to offend you? If I have, I am sorry Because you see, I have a spirit of discernment and I can pick right up on when anything is out of key to her. I, I want, I want you to forgive me if I have so.
Speaker 1:Stick stiff-necked, people are stubborn. People know anybody stubborn, unwilling to submit, and they resist God's counsel. So you know, when you receive counsel from God or from a leadership and you blow that off, that's stubbornness and unwilling to submit. Because you know, sometimes you think, well, well, what do they know? Well, hopefully we hear from god and we're able to guide, lead and direct the congregation in the right way, amen. So what causes us to get that hard heart? Rebellion against god, operating in stubbornness. You ever have see that where it says she might tell me to sit down, but on the inside I'm standing up, right, right. A lack of receiving God's word and his will. You know most of us want our own will. You know I want my own way. But when God puts his thumb on me and tells me that direction is changing.
Speaker 1:When Dave and I lived in Philly, I did not want to come back to Yerkesville. And when God said I need you to go back, I need you to go back to Yerkesville, I need you to go back to Twin Cities, I got to work for you to do there and I was just like that's not God. I had to be that piece. I just said because I mean he had to push on me hard. And when we came back, I come back kicking, screaming, crying, bawling. Listen. We lived in Philly. I was seven minutes from everything, seven minutes from work, seven minutes from downtown Philly, not even seven minutes from Walmart. Dave was 20 minutes from work. I mean it was, and we had a nice house. Not that I don't have a nice house now, but it was more convenient, it was more opened. You know what I mean. Like I could house 20 women in there easily. I had an office upstairs. You know I loved it.
Speaker 1:And when he said not only that we was using our house as a ministry home and we had a lady living in there that when she moved in she had 43 cents to her name, and you know God, she got a job, she got a car, she became a manager of the place that she worked. I mean, god just blessed her. And when I had to go tell her that we were coming home, she says Holly, it's okay. She says my daughter just moved to a new area and has asked me to move in with her. So see how God is.
Speaker 1:But I was still pretty upset. I mean, our house, we tore our house completely apart. We took the walls right down to the bare minimum, took out the windows. I mean, probably for a year and a half all we had was a card table and two chairs, a TV on an old stand, you know nothing. And so when God says move, don't mean it's going to be an easy transition. But he brought me here. You know, look at all the good God's done. And you know you just got to follow his will, get out of yourself and get into him, amen. And so don't be stubborn. I was being stubborn, see.
Speaker 1:You know Satan, he was cast out of heaven for his rebelliousness and for his pride. You know he challenged God's authority and because of that, him and I think a third of the demons or they were angels, but they get kicked out of heaven and pride and rebellion. Um, you know, satan's name is lucifer. He had a position and a high, high honor in heaven and he developed a power hungry spirit. I want it all, I want to be it, and because of that he got kicked out of heaven and down to the earth.
Speaker 1:So hard-heartedness stops your spiritual growth. Hard-heartedness will stop your relationship with Christ. You take and get yourself mad at somebody I mean really mad at them. You take and get yourself mad at somebody I mean really mad at them and try to speak with your feet shrouded with peace. Ain't going to work. It's not going to work Because you've got anger in your heart. It's bitter. No sweet can come out when the bitter's rolling.
Speaker 1:What does God's word say about a hard heart? It's rebellion, it's stubborn. Look at the Israelites 40 years Around, an 11-day trip Around and around and around. Huh, yeah, if we would have stayed in Philly, we'd still be going around that mountain Until we caved and gave in to God's will and not ours. But you know, moses is saying let God's people go and Pharaoh is saying no, no, no. And he held on and finally, when he did let go, they barely got away and they're just like we got to go get them. We can't let that happen. You know, they hardened their heart right back up. Even after he lost his child, he hardened his heart right back up.
Speaker 1:Jesus also speaks of a hard hearted heartedness people that are unwilling to listen, to receive God's teachings. That's sad whenever you so harden your heart that you don't hear what the man or woman of God is trying to speak. I'm going to tell you exactly what that feels like. When you're trying to minister to a group of people that have hardened their heart, your words come right out of your mouth and they fall directly in front of you. You feel they don't penetrate the atmosphere and so in your heart of hearts, whether you're preaching, you're still praying. Father God, give me the breakthrough, give me the breakthrough, give me the breakthrough. But that is a horrible feeling when you know, as a teacher or a preacher, that your word is not being received, when your heart is hard, you have a lack of compassion for others. You just you know well, they should have known better to do that. Well, I could have told them that would happen. Would that be Jesus' heart? No, even though he knew that, you know he'd love you through it. He'd love you through it.
Speaker 1:And whenever our heart is hard, we discard the spirit of truth. We won't even let the spirit of truth come in. Do you know why? Because the spirit of truth will set you free. But whenever you shut that door to the spirit of truth, then you're going to live in your bondage, your agony, your bitterness, your unforgiveness, whatever it is that's keeping you from being able to shod your feet with the gospel of peace. Hardheartedness can be like dawling of the spirit. It's D-U-L-L-I-N-G dawling of the spirit, making it difficult to discern God's voice and to understand his will.
Speaker 1:A spirit, a spiritual dullness, is sleepy thinking. You know, you just kind show, he's a slaw, ice Age the slaw. He has a sleepy thinking. You know, he's just kind of there, kind of not just drifting through. You know it's a lessless state of thought that fails to get anywhere or accomplish anything. You ever have those days, the faster I go, the behinder I get. That's the enemy Just taking your time. So you know you put, put your foot down to him, put your arm around, put your foot down to him, ask God, arm around, put your foot down to him, ask God. You know, I thank you that my hours are multiplied unto me when I used to work. That's what I prayed Multiply my time unto me Two hours before. Four be six, six be eight, because I got a lot to get accomplished in this day. Anybody who works. Ask God to multiply your time To cause you to be able to be, uh, more of a on tax, to get things done, because if you don't do that, it won't happen.
Speaker 1:When you're busy, busy, um, when you have a dullness in the spirit, you have a loss of hunger for god's voice. Like you don't hear him no more. Because you know what, you shut your spiritual ears off and you stop expecting to see a miracle. I'm telling you, I expect to see a miracle every day of my life, because there's no big, there's no small. They are miracles, amen, amen. They are miracles, amen.
Speaker 1:And you find it hard to sense the Spirit. You ever have that times when you're like I don't know where God is, I don't even feel him, I don't even sense him around me. It's because you've become dull in the Spirit. Maybe you have stepped back from your Bible reading. Maybe you've stepped back from soaking. Maybe you've stepped back from your Bible reading. Maybe you've stepped back from soaking. Maybe you've stepped back from worship, maybe you've stepped back from Bible studies. You know you become dull in the spirit and then you're just like well, what's wrong? Well, you know, you say, holy Spirit, show me what's wrong. Show me in my life where I'm missing it. Have I sinned against you in the kingdom? Show me how many of us have to do that once in a while. I have to do that once in a while. Show me where I'm missing it, god, because I ain't, I ain't tracking with you.
Speaker 1:That's why it's so important that we keep our hearts pure before the for God, before the Holy Spirit, before Jesus, keeping our heart intact. You know, one time for years I sung that little song Change my heart, oh God, make me ever true. Change my heart, oh God, make me more like you. I was in a prayer room we actually call it the red room, but it's just this wee little room and I'm just singing that song and everybody left after intercession and the Holy Spirit said lie down on the table. I'm like what he's like. Lie down on the table. I'm telling you, he gave me a spiritual, open heart and he gave me that heart I've been seeking and it changed our marriage. When God gave me a spiritual heart surgery. It changed, because you know what it changed me. You see, when you're upset with somebody and you're like, change him, lord, no, no, no, no, no, no, change me, then everything around me will change. Believe that so.
Speaker 1:Mark 6.52 describes a lack of understanding, a spiritual hardness. This hardness of a spiritual dawling. I've got to get where I'm going, okay. So the disciples we're going to talk about the disciples a little bit Now. I'm sure that they wanted to have their feet shodded with the gospel, peace of anything with their armor. So they had just seen Jesus walk on water. Now, think about that. Think about they saw it. They saw him walk on water. They saw him say peace, be still to the winds and the waves. They experienced that.
Speaker 1:And yet, when they go to the Mount and there's all these people that need fed and he has two loaves of bread and five fishes and they're just like, what are you doing? There's 5,000 men, not counting women and children. What are you doing? See, somehow or another, their senses got dulled from one miracle to the next. They missed it. Are we like that? From one miracle, one experience, one move of God, of god, to the next? Well, can he do it. I don't know. I don't know if he can do it, but I'm telling you what the same jesus and matthew, same jesus today and he could do it back then, he can, can do it this moment, whatever needs to be done, amen.
Speaker 1:So they had a lack of understanding of Jesus's miracles and they needed a spiritual discernment. Now I'm telling you, every day of your lives, pray, bless me with knowledge, wisdom, understanding, great discernment. Because, especially, pray that for your children and yourself, your husband, your family, because where in the world are we going to be if we don't have great discernment? I mean, we know the difference between good and evil. But the enemy's clever. He'll bring a tactic, a scheme, an ambush right around to you and you get engaged with it before you realize it. Nice and shiny, yeah, get your hand stuck in the jar. And while you're trying to get the hand out of the jar, he wipes out. And so you know, don't let your spirit become dull, stay in the word. I don't feel like reading the word today. Now, who's telling you that? The enemy? I don't have 15 minutes to sit and listen to worship this morning. You do. Put it on in the car while you're driving, put it on, while you're doing the dishes, while you're sorting the clothes, whatever it is, you do, put your ear pod in, take away and have some time with God.
Speaker 1:Their hearts were described as hard or blinded, the lack of understanding to Jesus' actions and his teachings. Now, on Sunday mornings, you know, father God, I thank you that everyone's heart is soft and pliable before you this morning. I thank you, lord, that they have spirits, ears that hear what the spirit of the lord is saying this morning. But see, what happens is and I'm not saying nothing bad. I'm a part of it.
Speaker 1:You know we're busy when I come to church. It's probably one of the busiest days of it. You know we're busy when I come to church. It's probably one of the busiest days of my life. You know, I come, I get coffee, I go to the prayer room, I come out, we come in church, we have worship, we have who knows what God's going to do.
Speaker 1:But I can't be dull in my spirit. I have to be sharp, and you know what. So should all you Be tuned in, you know, like a radio, get your antennas up and tune in to what Jesus is doing. Amen, because that's a day that we could be shotting our feet with the gospel peace Every day. But there's people right here in these pews I mean these chairs that could use the gospel peace. But that's when we need to say Father, god, let me hear the silent cries of your people, let me hear their broken hearts. Give me discernment, father, to be able to reach out to those, because you know what we all get on this fault space. Everything's great, it's a wonderful day.
Speaker 1:How are you? Fantastic, Right? How are you really? You know? Well, I drug myself here this morning. I'm here, by the grace of God. What if somebody was just honest? We would be what, right? It would knock us off our socks, because that's not what we're expecting. You know, last Sunday I was here, by the grace of God. I was tired, I didn't feel good, I wanted to stay home. I'll be honest, but I will. I always know that the moment I don't show up, that's gonna be the day God shows up in the house and I'm gonna miss it to. You know. Keep that in your, because you know we never know what's going to happen here and, sure as anything, it was Pentecostal Sunday and he showed up. We had church, we were the church, amen, amen.
Speaker 1:So you know, there's dangers to spiritual blindness and the need to open our hearts fully to receive what God has for us. Matthew 13, 15 says For these people's hearts have become callous. Now y'all know what a callous is. Listen, when I used to roller skate when I was a kid, friday night, saturday afternoon, saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, let me tell you what I had myself some kind of I still have a callus on my foot and it hardened up so that my foot didn't hurt when I skated Right. And so this is what happens to our heart it just builds. Well, that hurt me. And it builds Well they shouldn't have said that Well, he don't come with me Builds what's everyone think of me? And pretty soon our hearts has got hard and got a callous on it.
Speaker 1:That the word of God it, that the word of God bing, bing, bing instead of penetrating it. Is this true? Am I telling the truth? Okay, we become insensitive or hard towards God's truth and towards the Holy Spirit, because, you see, he's the one that brings the truth of the word. Anytime you see spirit, it's talking about the Holy Spirit and so he guides. It's, like you know, that callous. It hardens our hearing, it callouses our eyes so that we're not seeing and we're not hearing what the word of God is. And when that happens, then we don't understand, then we don't have the knowledge, then we don't have wisdom and then we're not receiving the healing.
Speaker 1:I think we need healing every day of our lives. My heart needs healed every day of my life, every day of my life I get a little older. Every day of my life I need Jesus to come and rejuvenate me and heal me. Correct, see, jesus teached with parables Because the people harden their hearts and they do not receive or understand his messages. He says that they are actively preventing themselves from understanding and being healed when we allow our hearts to become hard and calloused, when we become blinded, when we become spiritually dull. You know we talk about the parable of the sower. You know the farmer. He went out and he sowed seeds. Some fell on a pathway and the birds came and ate it, and some fell on rocky ground and it quickly dried up and died. Some were thrown in the thorns and they were choked out by the concerns of this world, suffocated. But some fell on good soil, became fertile, took root, growed and produced a beautiful harvest, amen. So what is a great harvest.
Speaker 1:It is a period of our spiritual growth and transformation. That often describes a time of abundant fruit and blessings in your life. I think it's walking in the fullness of God. A large number during that time, a large number of people may come by faith to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's a spiritual awakening when people wake up. You know how many times do we in the prayer room say wake up, wake up, oh sleeper, wake up On Sunday mornings. Be awake, be alert, come expecting God to do something, you know, and these things can change people's lives forever. See, I'm all about transformation. That's what I want in everyone's life. I want everyone to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. I don't care if that takes six years, 20 years, 30?. It's a process. It isn't going to be instant pudding, because we have to learn how to put our flesh down and walk in the spirit for transformation to take place.
Speaker 1:Our spiritual fruit, what are they? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The seed is God's word, the soil is our heart. You know, is your heart in some areas hard tonight In certain circumstances. How about? Is it rocky? You know, is the seed eater, which is Satan, come and eat that seed. The moment you receive it, you know, does it fall into areas of our heart where the cares of the world push it out? Instead of us gleaning to it and having it work for us, we work against it, you know? Or does the word of God fall upon your heart and does that word take root? You read it, watch them little seeds grow, you know, and you put it in. It gets those little little feet on it and then it pops up a little bit of green. And then you know what it does. It grows evenly, because if the fruit gets bigger than the root system, it will tip over and die. And so you want a balance. You want your root and your fruit to grow together.
Speaker 1:The Word of God is sown so that it impacts people, that it brings a result, and you see the heart of God's people changing. That's the beauty of the cross is when you see God's people's heart begin to change with good fruit. God's people's heart begin to change with good fruit. God can soften any heart to a person that's willing, but you have to be willing. You can stay stubborn, you can stand when you've done all, but stand and not change at all. Those are your choices. He didn't make us robots. If you are willing for transformation, transformation will come and change you into his likeness.
Speaker 1:Ezekiel 11, 19 tells us God takes away the stony heart and gives a heart of flesh. That is spiritual transformation. God's mercy and grace can overcome the hardness of a heart allowing people to experience I know this word, it just won't come out repentance and new life in Christ, living out the gospel, obeying God's commandments, living life of faith and sharing the gospel with others. Having a heart knowledge of God means that one's actions and emotions align up with the truth of God. That means that I ain't out here today fighting with my neighbor, cussing him out, and then Sunday morning I'm in here in church giving God all the glory, because what is it, sweet and bitter, will not come out of the same spout. This is how we live out our faith, sharing God's mission of reconciliation to the world.
Speaker 1:A heart of reconciliation is more than a quick fix, because that's what everybody wants. Slap a band-aid on it and you're good to go Not with God, because God wants to take that Holy Ghost flashlight. Go down the corridors of your heart. You slam that door shut. He'll go on to another corridor, but until you open that up and let him down there you will deal with unforgiveness, bitterness. You know he wants to restore relationships. It's not about proving who's right or wrong. It's about coming together in unity and love to spite our differences.
Speaker 1:You know, spaghetti, broken spaghetti, whole, what's it come out? Spaghetti. Do you crack your spaghetti, tina? Crack your spaghetti, tina. Yeah, I break mine. I break mine three times. I don't like long spaghetti, I like it broken. But what is it? At the end of the day, it is spaghetti. So that means I can have an opinion, you can have an opinion and we can agree to disagree. We don't have to be upset fluffing around with one another. We can agree to disagree.
Speaker 1:Choose your battle. Shod your feet with the gospel peace and choose your battle. Is it worth it? Sometimes? Nah, it's not worth it. I don't have to have a say. You know I'm going to go vent to God over here. He'll listen to me. And then I didn't have to have that battle, I didn't have to have that war, I didn't have to repent over things that I said that I shouldn't have. You know I didn't let bitter come out of my sweet vessel, right. And so sometimes you know, it's just like, okay, I'm done, I'm done here and just walk away. Amen, amen. That's when you shod your feet with the gospel peace, amen. I don't have to be right, you don't have to be right. Greed, discreet, reflecting the heart of the Father. That's what we're doing. When we choose our path. We're reflecting the heart of the Father.
Speaker 1:Isaiah 52, 7 says who brings the good news as having beautiful feet. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion your God reigns. Beautiful are the feet who preach the gospel. I love to have beautiful feet before the Lord, preaching the gospel, the good news, the peace of God. Our God reigns and his message of salvation brings truth and healing to whoever allows it to be invited into their heart. And as we shot our feet with the gospel of peace, that's the blessings that we bring to this world. Beautiful on the mountains speaks of joy and having a place of holiness and importance up on the mountain. The good news is about restoration and returning to God's solventry. The message of salvation and deliverance is to set the captive free. You ever see anybody? Just totally bound in themselves, they can't get free from themselves. Ask God to shod your feet with the gospel of peace and go minister to them the salvation message of Jesus Christ. It'll bring restoration and wholeness and peace to that person.
Speaker 1:Did you know that you and I are called to be ambassadors of peace, sharing the gospel message and word and action? A person who acts as a representative or a messenger of God shares his message with value to the world. They are called to live a life that reflects Christ's love and encourages others to reconcile with God. I want to be an ambassador of peace. They are a living example of their faith and are actively involved in sharing their belief of Christ with others. A spiritual ambassador's life should be a testament to their faith, demonstrating the values that God has put in them that they can share with others and them that they can share with others. They actively share God's message of hope and reconciliation with others, inviting them to reconcile with God. Now, when we prayed Sunday, we had salvation in the house. That was beautiful, just beautiful, and I think last month we had three salvations in the house.
Speaker 1:God is on the move. He is about turning people around and bringing them into the salvation knowledge of him. When we are an ambassador of peace, we represent. We're a representative of God, working to build bridges, fostering understanding between different people and different cultures, compassion and understanding. You know they are people that have sympathy in whatever you're going through.
Speaker 1:But you've got to be careful with that Because, you see, god made Holly to be able to bore Holly's issues. Okay, so Dave has an issue and he tells me about it. I can't pick that up and carry it because God did not design me to carry Dave's issues, but he did design me to help him, to encourage him, to uplift him. If I went around and carried everybody's burden in this room, I would be flat, because God didn't make me to do that, he didn't make Teresa to do that, he didn't make Beth to do that. He only designed us to carry our own burdens. You know, being humble as an ambassador of peace, recognize the importance of seeing other people's perceptions, because we get tunnel vision. We only see what's in front of us. We don't even think. Front of us, we don't even think.
Speaker 1:Now I overthink in this area because I'll think I'm just going to say Anita, anita seemed like she was down in the dumps Sunday. I need to call her and see what's going on. I hope she's okay. And so I tend to overthink. Like Dave was watching a reel the other day and he said Holly, this is you 100%. And this man had a dream and he was apologizing to his wife for the dream he had. And I'm telling you, I do that Because it hurts me inside if in my dream I hurt Dave, because it hurts me inside. If in my dream I hurt Dave, it's a look he gets on his face when I hurt. It's just a look. I can't bear it. I'm sure you all experience that with somebody in your life, and so in the dream, if he gives me that look, I apologize in the flesh. So, like a soldier, soldier, be ready to march.
Speaker 1:The gospel is the foundation for our spiritual footwear, making us strong and stable as we proclaim the message of peace. Ephesians 6, 10 and 18, where Paul says Clothe yourself in the armor of God, put on the breastplate of righteousness, put on the belt of truth, shod your feet with the preparation of peace and go share the gospel with every man, woman, boy and girl To nations, amen, amen. So, father, god, I thank you and I praise you for this time we had together. I thank you, lord, that this word that you put in my heart, lord, that it just was planted. The seed was planted, father, and I thank you for its growth. I thank you that it roots and, father, god, that it does bring a great harvest.
Speaker 1:And, lord, as we go out the rest of this week and into the rest of our lives, lord, let us shod our feet with the gospel of peace. Father, let our mouths be a place where sweet water comes from, that bitter water will not spout out. I thank you, father, for your love, for your grace, for your mercy. I thank you for everyone in this room, lord, that they would have godly knowledge, wisdom, understanding and great discernment. And I thank you, lord, that your love and your peace rest upon us, give us travel and mercies, and we give you all the praise in the mighty name of Jesus, and everyone says Amen.