Beyond Sunday
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the Podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week, with your Host Pastor Lee Day.
It's Time to Inspire, Uplift, and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now!
Beyond Sunday
Pastor Lee and Brother Frankie Pt.1
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Comfort doesn’t always mean you’re safe, sometimes it means you’re drifting. Pastor Lee Day sits down with men’s leader Frankie Brown to open Jeremiah 2 and ask a question God still asks today: what did you find in Him that made you walk away? We talk honestly about how “following what is worthless makes us worthless” in the sense that our attachments shape our fruit, our focus, and our spiritual hunger.
God brings His people into a plentiful land, yet they still defile what He provides, and that pattern shows up in our lives when gratitude turns into entitlement. We name the real threat: comfort can lead to complacency, and complacency makes faith feel optional. Pastor Lee puts it plainly: when there’s no pressure, there’s no press, but we can’t wait for crisis to rebuild a relationship with God.
Then we move to Revelation 3 and Jesus’ warning to Laodicea about lukewarm faith. Why do believers ride the fence? Frankie points to core lies and worldly thinking that keep us from trusting what Scripture says, even when we read it. We end with hope that is both humbling and freeing: you cannot buy redemption, you cannot earn forgiveness, and you cannot afford righteousness, but Jesus already paid in full and still stands at the door and knocks.
Subscribe to Beyond Sunday, share this with a friend who feels spiritually stuck, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one “worthless” thing you need to let go of to get your focus back?
Welcome And Setup
SPEAKER_00What's going on, everybody? Welcome to yet another episode of Beyond Sunday. I am your host, Pastor Lee Day, and I pastor Christ Family Outreach Church. It's been a little while since I've had a guest at the table, and the Holy Spirit had just been pressing this particular individual on my heart. He's a men's leader at Christ Family Outreach Church. He's been here before. You're going to recognize his voice if you're a fan of the show. Brother Frankie Brown, how are you doing, my good brother? Man, I'm blessed to be here again, brother, with you. Amen at the table, bro. Amen. I'm so glad that you have come in, Brother Frankie and I. We've we're coming today out of Jeremiah chapter two. If you've got your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn there. We're gonna be kicking off with the first verse. Gonna read a handful of verses to you, then I'm gonna throw this over to Frankie, see what he has to say about it. And we're gonna see how this word can transform our lives today. We're gonna have a lot that's gonna lift us up. There's gonna be a lot of warnings in the text, uh, kind of things that we see Israel go through that that we should be learning life lessons off of. So by now, hopefully you're already turned to Jeremiah chapter two, beginning with the first verse, and this is what the word of God says. The word of the Lord God came to me, saying, Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, thus says the Lord. I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt. Disaster came upon them, declares the Lord. Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, what wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me and went after worthlessness and became worthless? What's your thoughts right there on the fifth verse, Brother Frankie?
SPEAKER_01Man, um that fifth verse, right off the jump, it just hits me that that following worthless idols leads to worthlessness. And that really hit me, man. Um, and when I think about the word worthlessness, I know that it's it has its own definition. But when I think of something being worthless, I think of something not having any worth or or being able to add any value to something. So right off the jump, we're seeing that the Israelites, um, as they follow these worthless idols, you know, yeah, they they're losing their value. Nothing, they don't have anything to put it in because nothing can stand. That's right.
SPEAKER_00What we attach ourselves to is gonna have impact at the end of the day on how we live, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01It is.
SPEAKER_00What we put in comes out.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00And if we're celebrating something worthless and we're following something after something that's worthless, then that's that's the type of fruit we're gonna produce, worthlessness.
SPEAKER_01And hot pursuit of it too. Yeah. The Israelites are in hot pursuit of worthlessness.
Worthless Idols Drain Our Value
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, man. The sixth verse goes on to say this they did not say, where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells, and I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. You know, Brother Frankie, I hadn't planned on saying this, but but I'm just feeling led to do this. It just kind of you ever read the scripture and something just really just like jumps off the page? Absolutely. The Holy Spirit's just speaking to you in in that particular moment. Absolutely, brother. The seventh verse says that God brought them into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. And isn't that so true with our walk with God today? You know, God is willing to walk us into a land of blessing, of plentiful, of harvest and fruit. He gives us good things. And how many times, just like Israel, do we as his people squander it and don't take it, you know, don't take advantage of it? We take it for granted, really, don't we? We do. And and it's really tough because God, being our faithful father, he wants the best for his children. You know, just like any earthly dad, you know, we want the best for our children. Nobody wants to have children, raise them up, and watch them fail.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00You know, I would I just think about it like how many times God sets back and he's like, here's the plan, here's the course, stay the course, trust me, and I'll get you through it. You know, but then oftentimes our flesh and our mind causes us to wander and our feet follow after worthlessness, doesn't it? That's right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, my brother, he had asked me uh earlier today, he said, What Frankie, what is what's your idea of like blessing? Like, what does that look like? Right. And I I just told him that blessing to me in many ways is simply um the reward for being obedient to what God had commanded us to do. And yeah, in the text right here, we see that that this was a land that was thriving, it was fertile, yeah, it's it's got a great fruit to eat, it's bound, it's bountiful. Yeah, and that was the blessing. And that all they had to do was be obedient and walk in it.
SPEAKER_00It's it's like the land that God prepared was ready to be occupied. And I wonder like what God is calling us to occupy because it's ready. And and just our silliness, our folly, our foolishness, you know, our desire to please flesh rather than the spirit of God keeps us out of that land of milk and honey, if you will.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And even the seventh verse in my text from the CSB, it says, I brought you to a fertile land to eat his fruit in bounty, but after you entered, you defiled my land. So I think about that too. If if we're not correct, even as as we're being guided into that land, man, we can defile something good that God had for something great, and we could defile it based on our attitude, our perception. Yeah. If it's not in alignment with his with his spirit. Absolutely. Or his word.
Comfort Turns Into Complacency
SPEAKER_00Pressing on, the eighth verse says, The priest did not say, Where is the Lord? Those who handled the law did not know me. The shepherds transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. Therefore I contend with you, declares the Lord God, and and with your children's children I will contend. For cross for cross to the coast of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care, see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord God. You know, Frankie, this is what it comes down to. God rescued Israel, and they had still chosen to be unfaithful to God. So here's the deal, right? The book of Exodus lets us know that God entered a covenant with the Jewish people. And the Jews, they they were, there was a time where they were devoted to the Lord. However, once the older generation died and the younger generation was able to enter into the promised land, the people then become comfortable. And that's what we're dealing with right here. That's what we're talking about in this episode, partially anyway. They had become comfortable and they were even tempted, they were so comfortable, Frankie, they were even tempted to serve false gods from surrounding nations. So I just want to bring this to light here. Being comfortable, Frankie, is not always a good thing. It at times it could even lead to failures, just like it did with the Jewish people. Being comfortable caused them to lose focus and buy into a lie, causing them to commit adultery. You got any thoughts on that, on just being comfortable?
SPEAKER_01Uh, spirit's just ministering to me right now. Like being comfortable takes you, it gets you off edge. Yeah. You're not alert. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. You got complacent. Absolutely. And that's right here, you got it written that, you know, it's right here to lose focus or buy into a lie. Yeah. So we're takes us off the edge, man.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. If you look at the 11th verse again, Jeremiah 2, 11 says this has a nation changed its gods even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. So God is basically telling them this nations that choose to follow false gods, even though they are wrong, at least they're faithful to them. So God's really calling out the faithfulness of his people. Yes, he's saying, but these people, these other nations, they're they're serving false gods, but at least they're faithfully serving. At least they're being faithful. He's like, What are y'all's problems? He said, You're you're my people. I I've I've walked your ancestors through all of this. You know what I've done. I've I've brought you into the promised land. Uh, you know, I have given you this land for you to dwell in and to occupy, to live in and to be blessed by. You, my people, and yet you have exchanged your God, the one living true God, for a false God that, by the way, scripture says brings no profit to your life. Amen. It it brings no profit at all. And and and those gods didn't bring their ancestors out from Egypt. I understand why Yahweh is upset right here. I understand why he's upset. Those false gods didn't show themselves by cloud by day and fire by night. That they don't have the reputation that Yahweh has. Those false gods didn't split the waters open so the Jewish people could cross over on dry ground. So, so God said that you've you've changed, you've changed your glory for what does not profit.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00You've you've changed it for what does not profit.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna ask you, Pastor Lee, talking about like the verse 11 and 12, kind of got this idea of like a spiritual trade taking place. You know, oftentimes we we're in the physical realm, we got the five senses, you know, and when we trade, we barter. But maybe just uh based off your experience, like what you think would cause, like what are some things that would make a person want to trade in, like make a spiritual trade, like Yahweh for a false God?
SPEAKER_00Man, lack of relationship. Lack of relationship. Amen, bro. You know, um they in in in my opinion, even today, so not just pointing to what Israel was going to back then, but even today, when I when I see people that are slipping, when I see people that are falling and walking away, maybe missing church on a regular, yeah, you know, uh maybe you used to see them at Bible study all the time and all of a sudden that they're vacant. Slipped out, yeah. Lack of relationship. Because I feel like the closer we are with the father, the more we want to be in those father places. I'll just call it. You know, the the more I want to be around other people that believe in the same father I believe in, the more I want to be in that house of God, the house of my father. You know, I I want to be in the place where everyone is collectively in unity, sound mind and one accord, worshiping the father. Yeah, you know, and and here's the thing, man. Those who are fathered oftentimes act fatherless. And so I could see God just like looking down, you know, being like, what is your problem? I I I sent my only begotten son, Christ, to save you. And he did.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00And and you have forsaken that first love. You have felt my spirit, you have heard my voice, you have felt my touch. Yeah, you know, you have experienced me in worship, you have experienced me through the preaching and teaching of my word. Like I could see God saying all these things, you know, and like so the fathered are guilty of acting as though they're fatherless.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that hits home. Yeah. That hits home to me, bro. Yeah. I'm sure that's hitting home to a listener as well.
SPEAKER_00I I'm I'm trusting it is, man. And look, the truth is, Brother Frankie, like we've all been there, right? Like, we've all been there where we've had those, those, those moments, those, those seasons where we find ourselves reading the word less and not building upon the foundation with the materials that God has called us to build upon. Like we've we've all been there. Uh that that place when everything is going great and we become really comfortable because of it, you know, and we we begin to slip, we begin to slide a little bit, and we begin to spend less time with God than than the way that we should be spending with Him. It's it's really easy. It's really easy to press into God when we feel the pressures of the world. And that's that's the danger of being comfortable because it's really easy to hit our knees and and cry out when we're going through something, when when we get a bad report, you know, when when there's a bad news comes in, when when we're struggling in relationships, when we lose someone. It's really easy to hit our knees and and and cry out to God then. But it but uh but it can be difficult to remember to do that when everything seems like it's been going right for a long time. When there's no, hey listeners, if you're taking, if you're taking notes, you can write this down. When there's no pressure, there's no press. You know what I mean? Oftentimes it's pressure that causes us to press into God. And what we what we cannot do is wait for the pressure to press. We should be pressing into God all the time.
SPEAKER_01Before we press on, brother, um, what would you say to somebody right now who's feeling desperate enough to try to make this spiritual trade? What what would you say to them, just like in short?
SPEAKER_00Man, I would just tell them, remember what God has done for them. Amen, bro. He he is the only one living true God. But even when you stack up all the other false gods that that man has made, Yahweh, God, is the only Father who gave his only begotten Son. That's right. And isn't that enough? That's enough. So I would remind people that are being tempted to trade God in for whatever pleasures that this world has to offer or whatever pleasures that we have conjured up on our own behalf and our flesh to remember what God has done through his son Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01Amen, bro.
Lukewarm Faith And Fence Riding
SPEAKER_00And nothing or no one, Brother Frankie, can measure up to that. So he is a God we're serving. Amen, bro. You know, and we have to be faithful to him. Here's another reason, Brother Frankie, that the the New Testament tells us that God remains faithful even when we're not faithful. So come on, man. You know what I mean? Like if he's willing to always be there for me, then then I I gotta be there. You know, I I want to be walking with him. And he invites us, Frankie. The scripture says, I know you know this, but the the scripture says that we're to stay in step with the Holy Spirit of God. So he invites us into relationship with the man, the God of heaven and earth, the creator of all things good, invites us to walk with him. Walk with me. And when we don't, man, we're not we're not thinking right, bro. Like when we don't walk with them, we're not we're not thinking right. Um I I want to deal with the with the issue that God brings up to the people real quick before we move on. Absolutely. Concerning basically what you just said, concerning their trading, trading gods. Uh, if you're taking notes, you can write it down like this. They were god hopping. You know, what can please me today, what can please me tomorrow? They're guilty of god hopping. And and and basically, Frankie, whatever looked good, whatever felt comfortable, and whatever made sense in the moment, that's that's what they were guilty of doing, you know, just just god hopping. You know, they're god hopping, and and the one living true God, Almighty God, Yahweh, he calls them out on it. Yes, he does. He he calls them out on it. Says, look, who who who are y'all to be doing this? And who are those man-made, handmade idols that y'all are serving? Like, you've traded me in for what? God hopping. You traded me in for who? You know, just just just straight just straight God hopping. Uh, if you if you still got your Bibles open, folks, go ahead and turn to Revelation chapter three for a moment. When you get to the third chapter of Revelation, we're gonna get going in the 14th verse. We got so much to still cover, man. And already I feel like I've been blessed by this episode, Brother Frankie. I mean, I just enjoy having you in here, bro. I'm gonna be able to do that. Revelation chapter three, beginning with the 14th verse, it says this, and to the angel of the church of Laodicea right, the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth, for you say I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see those whom I love I reprove and discipline. So be zealous and repent. Behold, here's good news. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, Jesus says. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me. That's good news, Brother Frank.
SPEAKER_01That's good news, bro.
SPEAKER_00The twenty first says, The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit, capital S. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. So if we get back to the charge that we find in the 15th and the sixteenth verses, Jesus says this, I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot, so because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Brother Frankie, I don't know how the Lord may be ministering to you in that, but this is this is just one of the things that I'm catching from it that Jesus is saying here. Make up your mind. Yes. Yes, make that mind up. What do you feel, Brother Frankie, is some of the most some of the more larger things maybe that gets in the way of Christians making their mind up? What's the what's the problem that you feel most believers have when it comes to making up their mind to get off the fence to not be lukewarm? Why do people ride that fence, man? What's the problem with that? Because we've been there before. Yes, we have. We've been there before. What what is it that keeps people on the fence?
SPEAKER_01I believe it's uh maybe some core lies that we believe about ourselves, uh, such as like one could be like I'm unlovable. Right. Another one could be like I'm helpless. Yeah. And we don't realize that, but we we stay locked in on those core lies that will not lead us to open up God's word. We may open it up and read it, but if we're being honest with ourselves, we don't truly believe what the text is saying, what God is saying unto us. Yeah. I think something else also is like these preconceived ideologies that we have that we don't even recognize that that we've learned from the world, like worldly behavior and worldly wisdom. We still carry that a lot in our minds. And I think that holds us back so much because we don't want to let go of what we think that we know to be right.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01When God's word could be telling us something completely different.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01But we never walked in it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, so so many things from the old lifestyle want to creep in and keep us striding that fence. You know, just just just keeping us from making a decision that you know what? I don't want to be cold, I don't want to be lukewarm. I'm ready to turn fire hot for God.
SPEAKER_01Amen, bro.
SPEAKER_00Fire hot. Fire hot for God.
SPEAKER_01Bro, if we got a second, can we just touch on 18? Um, verse 18.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, brother. Go ahead and hit it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it says, I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes, so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed. I'll stop right there just for a second. Um, I think it's interesting, bro, right here from the text. God is uh he's he's advising them, Jesus is advising them to buy from him. But if you back it up just a second, he's telling them that you're that you're broke. He's pretty much telling you broke, you're pitiful, you're poor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So in other words, bro, like he's asking them to like to freely buy because he's going to freely give. You got anything on that, bro?
You Cannot Earn Redemption
SPEAKER_00Bro, he provides everything we need, bro. I had so many people over the course of ministry say, Well, you know, um, I I'm just not good enough to come to church. I'm just not good enough to do all that. And it's like, no, no, no, no. You you ain't the one that God is expecting to bring forth your own forgiveness. Like Jesus bled so that your sins could be washed, that we would be made whiter than snow, and that so that we could be forgiven. It's it's it's God's power and what he did through his son Jesus on the cross that offers us forgiveness. That's right. And people get blindsided by that. It's like, no, you don't have to go get your godly garments, if you will. You know, the Bible says we're to clothe ourselves in Christ. That's right. So, so, bro, the point you make is so right on. Everything that we'll ever need has already been provided to us through the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. So, so what we're called to put on, we don't provide for ourselves. Can't do it. We couldn't afford it anyway. We can't. We couldn't afford it anyway. I remember when I was young, uh younger anyway, uh, in high school, the the shoes. That I wanted to get started getting a little more pricey. Air Force Ones, bro. No, no, these particular ones, for those that remember, this is when the Timberlands first came. Okay, nice. And uh I I remember going into the store telling my mom I wanted a pair of Timberland boots. We walk up to them. Mom didn't know how much it was gonna cost. And back then they were around$100. Okay. Now, that's still expensive, but for listeners that maybe don't have children right now because they've grown and gone, um, shoes are expensive, and$100 is cheap now. Yes, sir.$100 is cheap for a name brand pair. Well, well, this was like the the name of the name brand when it came to boots back then. Cool boots anyway. So we walk in, I get sized up for these boots. They're$100. And my mom looks at me, she says, I don't know what your daddy's gonna say when we go home, and he finds out that I paid$100 for a pair of boots. She says, So this is what we're gonna do. As long as you want shoes or boots that cost over$100, I'm gonna buy this first pair. But from here on out, it's on you. I said, okay, that's a deal. That's a deal.
SPEAKER_01Nice.
SPEAKER_00Uh now, I say all that to say I couldn't afford those boots at that time. I had to save up. And then I started saving up to be able to afford the more expensive garments and clothing and jeans as I got into high school that I wanted to afford. But I think oftentimes, Frankie, we we we ourselves and other people, Christians, we fall into this mode of thinking far too often that it's almost like we have to work in order to earn something spiritually when it comes to our salvation or when it comes to going from faith to faith and glory to glory. Like we've got to work ourselves up. And at the end of the game, the at the end of the day, the only one that can provide it is God. That's right. Now we have to be faithful and we have to be obedient and we have to be willing to walk with him in righteousness, but we still can't afford it. Can't we can't afford it. So yet here is our heavenly father saying, I've paid the price, and the price has been paid in full, and you'll never be able to make that payment anyway, no matter how many works you do, right? And no matter how much you save, you're gonna have to rely on the Heavenly Father because He's made full payment for you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And to put it, I guess to put it another way to the listener would be you cannot buy redemption. No. No.
Chapter Two Tease And Prayer
SPEAKER_00You can't buy, you can't earn redemption. No, you can't, brother. You you you you really can. Amen. Well, I tell you what, folks, it already is coming on right at 25 minutes in this episode. So this is what we're gonna do. This is the first time we've ever done this on Beyond Sunday. We're gonna turn this, Brother Frankie, and we're not playing on this, but it's just been so good. I don't want to leave it here. We're gonna we're gonna turn this into uh chapter one. Tune in next week for chapter two as we take a deeper dive into this topic. We're grateful that you've tuned in. We hope you're gonna look forward to tuning in next week. Let's pray. Father, in the name of the blood of Jesus, I lift up these listeners. I'm grateful for Brother Frankie being here at the table. Father, I pray in the name of the blood of Jesus that what we've discussed today from your word and through testimony, uh, Father God, that that it would have encouraged every person who hears it. Father, that Lord, I pray that your word has drawn them closer to you. And Father, that those who are not yet walking with you would cry out to Jesus Christ, asking, asking Jesus to come into their life and save their soul in the name of the blood of Jesus. All God's people said, Amen. Amen. Amen and amen. Brother Frankie, it's been a joy. It's been a blessing, brother. And uh, we'll get around this table for chapter two next week. Praise God. Amen. God bless. And until next time on Beyond Sunday, stay in the word of God.
