Is Something Missing in Your Walk with the Lord?

Do you feel something is missing in your walk with the Lord? Do you desire to go deeper—but don’t quite know how to get there? Do you want the answer?

The message you are about to hear was recorded at Calvary Chapel Mansfield Ohio’s Women’s Retreat in Port Clinton. It’s the third and final session of our Clothed in Strength and Dignity retreat.

Included in the message was a super cool thing that God began the night before during our time of prayer and worship when the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit came up. So in this message Janice and I tagged team as the speakers . . . and both of us totally went off notes and just shared from our hearts what God was impressing both of us to teach. You gotta listen—God’s so cool. He loves you more than you more!

Your host, Cherie Fresonke, has been discipling brokenhearted people since 1993 in both the United States and Eastern Europe. She is an award-winning author of 7 books, two being Clothed in Righteousness and Clothed in Righteousness In-Depth Devotional Study Guide, which inspired this podcast series. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Do you ever feel as if something is missing in your walk with the Lord? Do you desire to go deeper but don't quite know how to get there? Do you want the answer? The message you're about to hear was recorded at Calvary Chapel Mansfield, Women's Retreat. It's the third and final session of our clothed in strength and dignity retreat. Included in the message was a super cool thing that God began the night before, during our time of prayer and worship, when the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit came up. So in this message, Janice and I tagged team as the speakers, and both of us totally went off notes and just shared from our heart what God was impressing both of us to teach. You gotta listen. God's so cool, He loves you more than you know. Welcome to Embrace Truth, a podcast for the woman who desires to become who that God created her to be. I'm your host, Sharif Razinski, international speaker and teacher, and an award-winning author of seven books, one being Clothe in Righteousness, which inspired this podcast. Are you ready to listen to the message? Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

I am always so blessed to be with you. You prepare, you pray. It takes a year. We start right away after we finish this for next year, which we have, I don't have any idea what the theme is or anything yet, but God is always so faithful. But you come and you have the mindset, I'm gonna serve these ladies, and you know what happens? I get blessed so much because it's like you pour back to me. And what I just God is so amazing to us, and so I was just praying a little bit, had been praying like if this was the last time I was ever gonna see some of you ladies, you know, who knows, you know, what life brings us, or maybe the rapture's gonna happen, or who knows, maybe the Lord's gonna take me home because I'm really ready. Although I don't know if Ashley's ready for me to go. But the thing is, I I kind of thought of some of the people in scripture, like David, had those words of wisdom for Solomon, and Elijah with Elisha, um, Paul, and so many of his letters, especially some of the last letters that he wrote, you know, was that encouragement. You know, I may not come, be able to come to see you, but I want you to know this. And it's this urgency. And you know what? We're really supposed to live with that urgency. That's why God hasn't given us the hour or the day. Because we need to be living every single day in the fact that He may return at any time or take us home at any time, and that creates urgency in us, and every generation of the church was taught to live with that expectancy because we don't know the number of our days, do we? And and my husband, he left very suddenly, and it's left a hole, but he was ready, and we have no doubt about that. I know where he is, but so our theme, strength and dignity are her clothing. And what I really want you guys to know, what I felt the Lord impressed on me, it's his strength on us that it gives us that dignity, that royalty, that we have the privilege to wear this royal robe. But it caused me to think about the verses in Acts, though, when Paul is talking, and we might have already talked about this in our panel, but in um 2 Corinthians chapter 12, where Paul speaks of that thorn in his flesh and how he took it to the Lord three times, that it sounds like it was agony for him. It doesn't say what it is, and I think when scripture doesn't tell us, it's because we can put any of the agony that we've gone through and put it in that place, and so whatever it could be, we have that um agony, grief, difficult situation in our life. We can proclaim, like Paul has said in 2 Corinthians 12, therefore I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may completely enfold me and may dwell in me. So it's not our strength. It's and then God even says we can boast, or Paul's telling us we can boast in our weakness when we have that fear, when we don't know how to take the next step, where grief is overwhelming to us, that is where God shows himself so strong in our life. And what happens is we pull. I always like to say I um push into him. It's like we cling to him because we can't humanly take that next step sometimes. And have you ever felt that way, Lord? I can't do this, I cannot take the next step. And I've had a lot of moments the last couple of years in that, and he's oh, he showed up. Paul says, I'm well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecution. Have we have you ever dwelt dealt dealt with any of those things? With difficulties for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak in human strength, then I am strong, truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God's strength. And that is where he wants us to dwell every single day. And so if you feel like you've had such a difficult, difficult life, it's because God is doing a work and he is, and he you have to trust him. And sometimes we don't, sometimes we feel like we're being punished. And I'm not saying there isn't consequences sometimes for the sin in our life, and obviously Christ has taken all of that to the cross, but sometimes when we have walked out of his obedience, we do struggle and have to deal with some consequences. But you know, I Pastor Jack Hibbs at Chino Hills always used to say to us when God disciplines us, it's never a smashing down. He always spanks us like this up towards heaven. And I always loved his illustration because you know, it's always a towards him, you know, not a crushing, not a you know, not to a to, you know, we don't ever receive his wrath, I guess is what I'm trying to say. So um I mentioned last night that God's word is like, you know, each of the stories in God's word are um like a pearl. And then when we string these pearls together, and I want to encourage you, ladies, if you've never done it, and even it takes you years to do, try to read through the scripture from Genesis to Revelation. There's reading plans out there that can get you through in a year or two years, but if you can do that, carve out a little bit of time each day, you will be amazed how God shows up on every, or I should say Jesus shows up on every page of the Bible. And approach your reading, not what is God saying about me and how I need to change, but look for God in each of that of the stories. Because when we approach it that way, it's we don't need to keep our eyes on ourselves, but when we get to know him better, we change. And God does that work. So that's my encouragement. Um God, I mentioned last night how faithful he is, how amazing, and you're going to see that as you see the Israelite people in the Old Testament struggle, struggle, struggle. And God does that work and does that work, and really that's our lives. That is such our lives, that he continues that work until we are that beautiful piece of artwork at the end in Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. He promises he will come until that day of completion in us, he is doing that work in us. That's one of his amazing promises that we talked about. What was that? I don't have it in front of me. 7,847. And those those aren't all the promises in scripture. I didn't mention that last night. Those are just the ones from God to us. There are other promises that even Satan has a couple promises. He counted all the promises. It was over 8,000. But over 7,000, almost 7,500 of those were for us. Isn't that amazing? And for his children. Um so be in the word, ladies. That's what I want to encourage you. Be in the word. Um rely on the Holy Spirit. And I wanted to talk a little bit. We mentioned it last night about that baptism of the Holy Spirit, and there's a lot of confusion, and some people think, oh, that's that's out of my comfort zone, or I don't understand what you're talking about. Um, just real quick, the Holy Spirit is an amazing, amazing promise for us. And he, Jesus had just told us that to receive that spirit, he had to go. So he died on the cross for us, obviously rose on the third day, and he ascended to heaven. And after that happened, then you go to the book of Acts and you see where the day of Pentecost, and that they were filled, that is, diffused through the being with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues and different languages, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out clearly and appropriately. So the idea, when you do a deep dive of the spirit in scripture, there's three prepositional phrases that show up. And um it's para, en and epi. Para, n, p-ar-a, n, e-n, and then epi is e-p-i. And para is um the Holy Spirit coming alongside, coming alongside somebody that doesn't know the savior yet. But there are things, you know, after people get saved, they tell these stories about how this happened in their life and this supernatural thing, or somebody showed up in their life and spoke words to them, and or God surrounded them by people that spoke truth, or they might read something, and the Holy Spirit is prompting them, drawing them to him. And that's um an amazing work of the Spirit. And then when we get saved, we are absolutely filled with God's Spirit, and that is N. He fills us, and we are sealed with Him in the Spirit, and so that is a gift we receive right away on salvation. But Scripture also speaks in Acts, um, Acts 2. We're not going to go into a real deep dive, but somebody said about having homework. That's another homework because some of you have is to read that verse. But it's epi and what that is, and we ask for that gift, and it's a supernatural, amazing, overflowing of the spirit to others, giving the Peter that day the power to speak truth to 3,000 people, and they got saved. And that might have just been men. I don't remember that if it was men or other women were there too. I don't know.

unknown 12:23

What were the verses?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Um it's Acts 2 when it talks about the overfilling, oh not overfleeing, the overflowing of the spirit. And if you're in ministry, if you go even in going to work and you have asked for that supernatural filling of the spirit in your home, on your job, in ministry, if you're, which is ministry, isn't that our whole life really? I don't even like to separate it. Um, there will just be times when you know the spirit is moving, you know the spirit is speaking through you, you know the spirit is guiding you and telling you to do this and and turn here. And I there is an amazing book out there that Pastor Chuck Smith wrote that was living, it's called Living Waters, if you've not read it. But I'll tell you, um, my husband and I were grew up, well, yeah, we were going to a denominational church. We served many years ago when we were younger, we served at a denominational camp. And my husband was a strong, strong man physically, but also that's just his character. And he, you give him a task, it's gonna get done. It's gonna get done right. If you want it done tomorrow, he'll have it done today. It's just his mindset, and I'm not like that. He definitely put uh two opposites together when we were married, but we he was exhausted because I'm doing this great work for God, I'm gonna do this great work for God. And so when we left that camp, because we were so hurt by the denomination and everything, and it's just a long story, but we moved to California, and somebody recommended that we go to a Calvary chapel out there. And what happened was we started hearing what, like the pastor said from the pulpit, if you're overflowed with the spirit, you will never experience burnout. And Brian and I looked at each other like we were insulted by what that pastor said. You know, we worked hard. You're gonna get burnt out, you're gonna get tired, you're gonna, and so we actually and so we actually um made an appointment to see him because we're like, what are you talking about? And this is a you know pretty large church at the time. For us, it was about 3,000. Those west coast calvaries are huge, aren't they? But that was kind of a small cavalry, actually. But anyway, we went and spoke to the pastor, and he was so gracious and so kind, and he answered our questions and showed us the word. And then he said, Hey, if you want to read a good book, uh check out, you know, Living Waters by Chuck Smith. And Brian and I went home and we read that book together, and it was like a light bulb went off. It's like, oh, it's not our power, it's not our strength, it's not, we're gonna do this great thing for God, but he does it through us. His spirit overflows us to others, and suddenly we realize like it's all about our heart, and because we love you so much, Lord, we want to serve you, we want the spirit to overflow in us, and we want to serve you in amazing ways because we love you, and he does the work through us when we're yielded to him. So if you're doing uh um any kind of ministry, and I'm telling you, it is a constant, you know, fleshly battle of wanting to take those things on in the flesh, and hopefully, just you it you have that catch in your spirit when you're looking at something like, ah, you know, I don't want to whatever go to women's Bible study. I'm tired of that, I'm tired of this, I'm tired. You know what? There needs to be a check in your spirit, and you need to pray, take it to the Lord and say, Lord, I need a fresh spilling of your spirit, and He promises us that. So I just wanted to touch base on that. Um, and one other thing, and and I'm gonna keep this short because Shiri's gonna say a few words, but one thing I'm gonna challenge you, ladies, is what the Lord has really spoken to me. As the days grow darker, we are gonna stick out more and more like sore thumbs. And what I'm trying to encourage you is live by God's word. The world's gonna tell you things are okay, but if it's not in God's word, God's word is true today as it was when it was first given. And some things are not, people aren't gonna understand. But if the word says it, don't do it. If you love your God, if you love your God, then let Him speak to your heart and give up those things. And if it means you need to make a lifestyle change, then do it. If it means that you're gonna, you know, have to make arrangements, I don't know, where you're living, then do it. Go by God's word. I'm telling you, ladies, even you see no other way to do it or you don't want to do it, you be obedient to this, you are gonna be blessed. You are going to be blessed. And you know what? Sometimes I'll tell you one thing, God's been working on my life is to guard my tongue. You know, I don't need to be complaining and grumbling um uh about things because you know, and the Lord said to me, you know, you want me to bless you, then be obedient in this issue. Keep your mouth shut, be careful what you say, and um it's true. So if you have something in your life and you're saying today, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, then make that decision to choose obedience to God over what the world says is okay, because the world is going to tell you lies, and we let a lot of things slip in. Don't do it, ladies. As the days grow darker, you want to be walking in the truth, and that is my encouragement. I hope it's a you know it's a positive encouragement. Um, because ladies, like I said, if this is the last time I see you, this is what I want you to remember that I that Janice said to me, okay, bless you. I love you. Thank you for a great weekend.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Alrighty, to piggyback on what Janice was talking about about the baptism of the Holy Spirit before I get into my notes, because I just love that. Also in Acts chapter one, there's some really key verses. I used to go to the missions conferences every year at um for Calvary Chapel at Marietta Hot Springs, and Pastor Chuck Smith would always be there. He would be there. And, you know, the the conference center would just be packed out huge. I don't know how many hundreds of people came, but a lot of missionaries um would plan their furlough so they could go. It was always like the first week in January, so they would plan their furlough furlough sometimes to do Christmas in the States and then be there at that missions conference. And I remember one time Pastor Chuck Smith was teaching in Acts chapter one, and he was teaching in verse four that says, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. And that verse right there, when Janus was talking about the um para and the in and the epe, this is the epe word in Greek. When you look at it and it says, for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If you jump down to seven, it is not for you to know the dates or the times that the Father has set by his own authority. Verse 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit epays you. That's that Greek word, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And I could give you a whole Bible study on just those four places, but um, but anyhow, to keep it short today, that's what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is, and it's it's this fresh filling. And if you've never received it, some churches teach that you receive that the minute you're saved, you do have the Holy Spirit in you, E N in Greek, I N in English, you do have the Holy Spirit in you the moment you are saved, and some people do receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit at that moment, the epe, but not everybody does. But it's something that we can ask for. So Pastor Chuck's up there in this room full of Calvary Chapel missionaries, and this room full of Calvary Chapel pastors, because a lot of the Calvary Chapel pastors would come to this missions conference too, and Pastor Chuck Asked how many of you have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Now, this isn't just people who are new to the Lord, these are pastors and missionaries. And half the room stood up. Half the room stood up. And Pastor Chuck prayed for them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Is there something that has been in your life that you're going, something's missing in my life? My husband used to always say to me, for years, he would say, he'd go, you know, Cherie, there's something missing in my Christian life. And I would say, Yeah, it's the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And he'd say, No, it's not that. Because he was all freaked out when people would talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was sure that, you know, you'd speak in tongues and all of that. If you do a deep search on it in the book of Acts, that that's not always it. In Acts chapter 2, they did, they all spoke in tongues, but that's not it. When you really study this, in Acts 1.8, it says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It says that when you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is the outward thing. It doesn't say you're going to speak in tongues. Okay? So sometimes, yes, you speak in tongues, and some don't. Tongues is a separate spiritual gift. So is the gift of interpretation. Not everybody has it, like some of the church teaches. And so, and you will even read in Acts, if you do a deep dive, that there is um, I can't remember if it was Paul or who it was, because you know, these aren't in my notes. But um, one of the apostles or somebody went up to a group and it says that these people had all received Jesus. And the person asked them, Did you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit when you received Jesus? So see, it can be separate sometimes. And so, anyhow, my husband was always like, No, that's not it. And then, you know, months would go by and he'd like, something's missing. Yeah, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. No, that's not it. So when I was at that conference, because I was praying about moving back to Bulgaria, actually the first time, and my husband said never, and I knew there was hope, you know. And so never say never to the Lord. And so I had been praying, you know, to go to the missions conference, but you know, I was the Lord had given me to be a submissive wife, you know, and and so I wasn't gonna say, He would have let me go. I could have said, I'm going to the missions conference, and he said no. So this would go on for months, and I'm like, can I go to the missions conference? And he wouldn't answer me. So finally I said, you know, I know it's hard for you to say that yes, I can go to the missions conference because if you say yes, then you're worried we're gonna move to Bulgaria. But if you say no, you know, you're keeping, you know, the Lord from working in my life. All I want you to do is. I have so many stories I can tell you. He has so supported me in my ministry. But anyhow, so I said, all I'm asking you to do is pray about it. Am I supposed to go to the missions conference or not? So I finally prays about it, and he goes, he came home, he goes, Okay, I prayed about it. And the Lord put on my heart, I'm never supposed to get in the way of what God wants to do in your life. Yes, you can go to the missions conference. And so now it's starting in a couple days, and I said, Well, I don't have anybody to watch the kids, so can the kids come? It's like, okay, so the kids with us, which you know costs a lot more money, but now the kids are there at mission conference too. So, anyhow, when Pastor Chuck that night says, if you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and you want to stand up, and I grabbed the pastor's wife next to me, precious, precious woman who saw something in me before I ever did. She said, Sheree, you need years before this, you need to come to a pastor's wife's retreat. And I'm like, I have you noticed I'm not a pastor's wife. And she's like, You're gonna have a ministry like a pastor's wife does. And you need to come to the and she would take me to the big California pastor's wife's retreats. They were awesome. So she was next to me, and I grabbed her and I said, Jerry, Lord's putting on my heart. My husband's never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this is what's holding them back. And we just got on our knees and we prayed for my husband. And to make a long story short, my husband received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in less than a week. The moment that he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he knew we were moving to Bulgaria. He didn't tell me for three days. The Lord put on his heart, you're moving to Bulgaria. And he just wanted, he waited three days to make sure it was real before he told me. I'm looking for my Kleenex. And so, anyhow, so then we ended up because you know, in Acts chapter 2 it says, There was a great wind. Well, the wind came through our house, and my husband gave up everything. People would come up to him and say, Okay, I know your wife's ministry in Bulgaria, because at that point Keith had never been to Bulgaria. I only went, I went every year, he'd let me go every year, and I would come home and say, I think we're supposed to move to Bulgaria to make disciples. And so people would come up and say, I know the ministry your wife has in Bulgaria, but what are you gonna do? And he says, If all I do is drive her around, that will be enough for me. And my husband gave up everything. He went in to quit his job. We closed a hobby store that was gonna be for his retirement. He gave everything up to drive me around Bulgaria and be my sound man. This is an amazing story. But back to the question that Pastor Chuck asked. Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Are you missing something in your Christian walk that you wonder what it is? And do you want to receive that gift now? If so, stand up. This is all from the Lord. Here's one. Because this is not in my notes. Is she just she's just coming back to the room? Okay. Anyone else? Oh, we have two, Megan. Woo-hoo. Anyone else? Okay, you want, yes, if you want a fresh filling, we all need a fresh filling every day. So what she's mentioning is is if she already has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but now she's saying, fill me afresh. These are what the other women are standing up for. So if you want this in your life, stand up and we will pray for you right now corporally. Lord, we just come before you and we just thank you and praise you, especially for this anointed time right now that wasn't in any of our notes. It wasn't in any of our radar, but it was in your radar, and you know what we need in our Christian walk. And so for the women who who had stood up first and had never had this in their life, we pray right now that you would just pour down your Holy Spirit upon them, that you would fill them to overflowing, and that you would equip them. Each one of us has at least one spiritual gift, many more. And Lord, they have these gifts, but would you just make them become so strong and so prevalent in their life? Lord, will you give them everything they need for the ministry that you have for them, whether it's in Judea or Samaria or Jerusalem or to the ends of the earth? May they be your witnesses. Lord, we also lift up every woman who stood up and said, I need a fresh feeling. Even the women who might still be setting down, Lord, and my eyes are closed, so I have no idea who's doing what. But Lord, if any are still setting down, just pour down on them too. Lord, we ask that you would move across this room, that you would fill each woman to overflowing with your Holy Spirit. And may they just leave this place transformed. We thank you, Lord. We praise you, we give you the glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Woohoo! Now, some people feel something and some people don't. And it's okay when people get saved. Some people feel something different and some people don't. God's still okay. He still did the work and all is fine. So praise the Lord. So now to my notes. It's been an amazing weekend, and this session is clothed in strength and dignity. In Proverbs 31, 25, it says, She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come. I like that part. She can laugh. So there's three main points in this verse. She's clothed with strength, she's clothed with dignity, and she can laugh at the days to come. Now, clothed with strength is our first point. In Joshua 1:9, have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And so, like Joshua, God calls you and I to be strong and courageous. And I learned an important lesson in my life when God called me to go to Macedonia. Now, I had been working in um Bulgaria for many years. Macedonia is right next door. The language is a little bit similar. Um, and so during the Kosovo war, because I understood that culture a little bit, they asked me if I would go over during the Kosovo War, you know, and I prayed about it, and the Lord said yes. And so we went to my pastor and I said, you know, well, they asked, so I said, I want to go. And so my pastor said, Well, you have to go home and ask your husband this question, and he has to come into the office and tell me how he answered. I'm like, okay. He says, Okay, ask your husband if you can go. There's a possibility you could come home in a box. Can I go? In other words, we were gonna be very close to the border where the coastal war was taking place. So I had to ask my husband if I could go and I might come home in a coffin. And so he prayed about it and he came home from work and he said, you know, if I tell you you can't go, then you know you have to, you know, submit to me and not go. And I said, That's true, and I would. I said, however, Psalms 139, 16 says that every day has been ordained for me before one of them came to be. So you're not gonna keep me from dying on the day I'm supposed to die. If I'm in Temecula, I might just get hit by a truck. And he said, Okay, you can go. So we went into the pastor and he told him she can go. There was this guy one time at the gas station, and he comes up to me from church and he says, You have no right to be going. You are a mother, and you should not go to a war zone. And I'm like, Excuse me? He goes, You have no business leaving and doing something like that. And I said, Well, what about Deborah? And he's like, Deborah, who? And I said, My point exactly. She was a judge of Israel, and she was a mother, and she went to war. So if you have a problem with it, you take it up with my husband and my pastor. Good day. You know, those were words from the Lord, filled by the Holy Spirit, mind you. You know, so but anyhow, so I was asked to go to Macedonia to um work with the Kosovo refugees at a time when the U.S. Embassy was asking all Americans to leave. And this is what God taught me. Now, the first time I heard a bomb, we were like five kilometers from the border, and the first bomb I actually heard, you could feel the concussion from it. And I was passing out all these little pencils to all these kids that had to leave their homes, and they're like, and I just it shocked me, it didn't scare me, but I went like that, and they're going, NATO, NATO, it's okay, NATO, NATO. And I'm like, Oh, you're breaking my heart. No, war's not okay. But anyhow, um, but this is what he taught me. He taught me a courageous woman is not someone who has no fear, she is someone who is obedient to God in spite of that fear. We are going to have fears, right? God created us with emotions, it's normal, but a courageous woman is not someone who has no fear. It's someone who's obedient to God in spite of that fear and walks in that obedience. He also put on my heart, I know exactly where you're standing, and I know exactly where the bomb's falling. And it's not gonna be a mistake to him, you know, and we just have to hold fast, knowing that he knows the days, the numbers of our days, and it will be okay, whatever the outcome. I'm not saying horrible things don't happen. Horrible things happen to Christians, doesn't it? But God knows and he's having us walk through something to refine us and to mold us and to make us. Now, there's a song I love. It's called Evidence. It's by Josh Baldwin, and it was a song that really ministered to me when my husband had open heart surgery. That was a sudden terror. We weren't, we got the news that his widowmaker was 95% blocked. And because it was during COVID, he had to go on the elective weightless surgery for his surgery as the cardiologists rolled their eyes at us. And so, anyhow, it later then became an emergency. They told us he wasn't allowed to push a piece of paper across the table. You can't tell my husband he can't go pick up leaves in the fall. Oh, that was hard. But anyhow, this uh song really ministered to me. And here's some of the words All throughout my history, your faith has walked beside me. The winter storms made way for spring in every season from where I'm standing. I see the evidence of your goodness all over my life, all over my life. I see your promises and fulfillment all over my life, all over my life. When you are going through the storm, have you ever looked back on your life and remembered how God met you through the other storms? Do you look back to the evidence of what God has done in your life and through your life for those storms? It goes on and says, Help me remember when I'm weak. Fear may come, but fear will leave. You lead my heart to victory, you are my strength, and you always will be. So why should I fear? The evidence is here. And I just love that song. Why should I fear? The evidence is here. He knew whether Keith was gonna make it through the surgery or not, and the evidence is clear. He's still with me no matter what outcome he picked. Janice had a different outcome than I did. But God knew it wasn't a surprise to him. You know, God knew when Brian went in for his surgery, when my husband went in for his heart surgery, a different outcome, but both within God's plan, both to be used for his glory. Do we understand it? No, we don't. Can we call it cry out to God and say we don't understand? Yes. Do we grieve? Yes. But our grief as Christians is not without hope, like the world grieves. And so, and I've watched this woman stand so strong in her faith as she's gone through the trial that she's gone through, and it's been such a blessing for the women that have watched that. So, how can you and I be strong and courageous when we struggle with the normal human response to fear? Is there a tangible way? Yes, there is. In Ephesians 6, 10 through 18. I'm not gonna read it right now, all of it, but the beginning says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of your might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the day, having done all to stand. And so I have a special gift for you today. It's a book the Lord had me write, titled Clothed in Righteousness. And half of the book is based on Ephesians chapter 6, and it teaches you tangible ways to walk forward in the battle by putting the armor on tangibly. It's not something you imagine, it's something that can you can actually do to put it on. But I'm not doing that message right now, so I don't have time to tell you it all. But we do have the shield of faith here that's been added to our bride, right? And we have a crown, which I'm not gonna talk about today, but the crown is in a couple chapters here, and so each one of you are going to get this gift today. I didn't want to put it on the table because I didn't want you to be looking at that. I need all your attention up here, and then there's even each one has a different piece of armor, so you have maybe the helmet of salvation or the sword of the spirit or something. And so before you leave, we're passed that out. And it's pretty cool because Janice prays and picks the theme, and she didn't know that in two months I was having a companion Bible study coming out, and so this is actually on Amazon right now in ebook to pre-order, otherwise, the print will be in um in on on May 30th. And this is the only actual print one in cop in uh print, but it won't have this ugly not for resale uh because you you always have to get an author copy and see things get messed up when they lay it out, and so you just have to fix anything. So this is coming out. I've wanted I wrote this book years ago, but I wanted to write this for years and years, and finally, praise the Lord, it's almost done. And they will be an audiobook eventually. Oh, and I have a podcast called Embrace Truth that is all inspired by this book, and most of the podcasts are short, like 10 minutes. Um, and it's just a point for you to think of because this is also all about who you are in Christ. When you move the truth of who you are from your head to your heart in Christ, you will walk victoriously. But it also teaches you how the enemy wants to use you or who use who you are in Christ against you and cause you to stumble and fall. Because if you don't have your armor on, he wants to take you out, and so that's what the podcasts are all about, that's what the book's all about. So those are all tools that you can use. So I really want to challenge you to um to read it. Now, if you don't like to read in a couple months, in fact, I'm starting it tomorrow, the audio recording on the book. And right now, I've only had this in print for years and years. It's finally in an ebook for $2.99. So if you want to share it with it's an introductory price, if you want to share that with your friends. Now, I usually don't do ads, sorry about that. Please forgive me, but I just want you to really have the access to it. It's not because I'm trying to sell anything. I think I make a penny an hour as an author. I really do a penny an hour, maybe less, maybe a quarter. So I'm not trying to make money, it's more just I want to give you guys tools, I want to help you become all that God created you to be because He changed the reason I do it, He changed my life so much. I want the same for you if you haven't experienced that. Second point two, clothed with dignity. How are we clothed with dignity? In the Bible, dignity dignity means the inherent, inherent, God-given worth and honor bestowed upon a human being because they are created in the image of God. And so, our part it's one really cool part. I am gonna give you a cool little hint in this book. Do we have time? How long have we been going? Okay, it's almost 11. Okay, so one of the pieces of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Well, when I was writing this book, I lived in Bulgaria. We lived five hours from Philippi, and that's where Paul was in prison, right? So I'm like, hey, there's gotta be some first century armor in. This country. I want to find some first century armor and I want to see it because in my research there were some commentaries that were saying, Oh, you always have to walk march forward in battle because the breastplate is only on the front. Don't retreat because you're exposed. That's hogwash. Um, and then some were just saying, you know, you imagine this is one whole piece. Well, in the first century armor, the Roman soldiers' breastplate was actually made either from leather or super, super heavy cloth. And what they would do is they would sew 700 to a thousand little pieces of mail, it was called M-A-I-L, and it was fish scale-like construction that moved with them. Okay, and so in my research, it was saying that the breastplate was very expensive to produce because each one of those little pieces of mail had to be hand sewn on thick cloth or leather. And so, anyhow, I wanted to see the armor. So I went to the National Museum in Bulgaria and I said, Do you have any first century armor? And they're like, Well, yes, we do. And it was back when there weren't hardly any uh Americans in Bulgaria. They're like, Why do you want to see it? Well, I'm an author. Come right this way, you know. And you're like, Okay, if it opens doors, and so uh they took and they showed me some of their armor was out, and you know how stuff from museums travel to other museums, so some of it was out, but I got to see the I got to see the helmet, I got to see a full-size statue, marble statue of a Roman soldier, and his breastplate was that that um fish scale like construction. It was so cool, it was so cool. So, anyhow, as I was getting ready to read, uh write the chapter on the breastplate of righteousness, I picked up that research that it said, because I kept all my research back then on little three or four by six cards, and I pick up that card and it says that the breastplate was very expensive to produce because each one of these fish-like scale male, which actually sort of shaped like a little shield, right? You know, that each one is hand-sewn, and the Lord impressed upon my heart. Our breastplate of righteousness is very expensive to produce because each one of our little fish-like scale shields is hand-sewn by nailed, scarred hands. And each one, and the Lord just like put on my heart, it's like He engraves each I am statement of who we are in Christ on each one of those little shields. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am more than a conqueror. Just read the book of Ephesians. There's so many in there, and as I've done my research for years on this topic now, I believe that there's 700 to 1,000 I am statements in the Word of God, especially when you add I am able because of who I am in Christ. I like to say my three favorite that cover my heart right here is the middle. I am a wretched sinner. I never want to forget where I come from, who I was, and who I could be every part of my day if I don't repent. I'm a wretched sinner, just like Paul said. But right next to it, I am loved by God and I am forgiven. And that's you. And so many women, they understand this in their head. They might go, okay, I know I'm loved by God, but I don't feel like I'm loved by God. I know I'm more than a conqueror, but I don't feel like I'm a conqueror. We need to move the truth of who we are in Christ from our head to our heart. And when we move the truth from our head to our heart, that is a physical, tangible way that you put on your breastplate of righteousness. You don't get up in the morning imagining putting it on. I have a whole nother story about that. If you listen to my podcast, you're eventually hear that story. There's a tangible way to do it by moving the truth from your head to your heart. And you do that when you make decisions based upon that truth, whether you believe it or not. You might not feel like you you're loved, but if today you make a decision based on the truth that you are loved, no, forget I don't feel like it. I know I'm loved. I'm his child. I know these things. When you make that decision, you physically put on your breastplate. And the enemy has no power of shooting his fiery darts at your breastplate. I was teaching this once at a woman's retreat, and a woman came up to me after, and she says, So if I'm missing just one little I am statement in my life, I have a hole right here open up to the enemy to shoot that fiery dart. You see, the enemy shoots fiery darts at our minds and our heart, and he shoots fiery darts at our heart because he wants to destroy the heart relationship we have with God. And I said, Yes, it's true. So we need to believe the truth of who we are in Christ, all of them, and we need to walk in it. Also, we need to be a light by being a productive member of the kingdom here on earth. Now I have no idea why I wrote that, so let's find out. Let's read my notes. Proverbs 31, 27 says, She, oh, now I remember, she watches over the affairs of his household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Becca shared on that yesterday. And I love this. This is what I'm closing with. Charles Swindle writes in the book Living the Proverbs. To be honest, I never quite understood the dogmatic assertion that a woman's place is in the home. While I agree that the responsibility for provision falls upon the man of the house, I see nothing in Scripture that suggests a woman has no part in it. Don't you like that? Because so many times we're told the other. On the contrary, he says, the excellent woman of Proverbs 31 is nothing short of a business genius. Have you ever thought about that? And then it goes on, he goes on to write, far from being cooped up at home and relegated to doing only those restricted tasks, she's in charge of a significant enterprise overseeing inventory, sales, marketing, employment, distribution, and investment. So look at the list of her activities that are mentioned from verses 13 through 27. She looks for good product, she works with her hands, she invests her wages, she makes real estate decisions, she provides for herself and her family, she runs her own clothing business, and she even teaches others through wisdom. This woman, he goes on to say, this woman is not simply a drudge. Don't you like his word choices? You know? He says she is an equal partner in every aspect of administrating the family's assets. While a husband is responsible for leadership, and that's a whole nother class we could have someday. His responsibilities include supporting his wife's ambitions and helping her reach her full potential. In response, the fulfilled and excellent woman is resourceful, compassionate, strong, and secure. I love the line, she girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong in verse 17. Only a painfully insecure man wouldn't want this kind of wife. End of quote. She is neither insecure nor afraid. Which brings us to our last point of the message. From the verse, she is clothed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the days to come. Now, how can she laugh at the days to come? You know, when you think about it, how can she laugh at the days to come? What storms are coming? You know, and we jump on that hamster wheel again and we start wondering, oh, but this could happen and that can happen. But she doesn't do that because the future can be filled with storms and fear and that type of thing, and probably will. We're gonna walk through more trials, but they're also filled with peace and courage and strength and dignity and happiness. And when you're looking to God and relying on God, is that where you find the peace instead of anxiety? Is that where you get your strength instead of fearing, feeling weakness? Is that where you can laugh at the days to come? And um, so she ought not. So my answer to that, that yes, she can have all this peace and that kind of thing, and she can laugh at the days to come, it's because she not only knows the word, she walks in it no matter what is taking place. That's the difference. And so, are you walking in the word? So the last couple of lines, Charles Swindole's quote, is worth repeating. What a portrait of beauty and strength. Can you see her smiling as she looks towards the distant horizon of her life? She is neither insecure or afraid. And we started Friday night talking about fear, and so now hopefully you have tools in your tool belt, and you can move forward and not be in that fear and that anxiety and worry anymore. And why is she this way? Because she knows who holds her future. Do you know who holds your future? Let's pray. Thank you for listening to Embrace Truth episode from our recent woman's retreat. I'm your host, Sharif Rzonke, and I hope you enjoyed the messages. The teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit by both Janice and I was totally spirit-led, since neither of us had that in our notes. I'll have a link in the companion blog for Clothe and Righteousness, which was the gift I gave to the ladies in attendance that morning. And I'll have a link to the Clothing Righteousness in-depth devotional study guide, which will be released at the end of May. Pre-orders for the ebook are available now, and if you want a print copy, you have to order that on the release date. So check out the link for more information. And if you're looking for a retreat speaker and would be interested in either Janice or I or both of us, we can travel in a team. Feel free to look at my speaker flyer on my webpage at embracetruth.net. Now go ahead and change the world. Amen. God bless.