The Devil Party?

A lot of people claim the label “Christian,” but far fewer talk about the everyday reality of actually walking with God. In this episode, we close that gap by discussing what Scripture means by "growing and abounding," why being born of water and Spirit is the starting line (not the finish), and how real faith shows up in daily choices, not just beliefs. We get honest about temptation too. If you’re tired of surface-level faith and want a walk with God that actually reshapes your desires, habits, and direction, this conversation meets you there and points you forward.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Walking with God as daily surrender and alignment
• Being born of water and Spirit as the beginning of transformation
• How real change shows up in new desires and new direction
• Belief vs. a biblical worldview lived out through obedience
• Temptation defined as an invitation
• Common myths about temptation
• The real sources of temptation
• How culture feeds lust, pride, and self-rule
• Practical guardrails: awareness, habits, counsel, and boundaries

Transcript

Icebreaker: Best Day Or Worst Day

SPEAKER_05 0:13

What's up everyone? Welcome back to Kids in a Calling Podcast. Where none of us are kids, but we all have a calling. And that's to point people to Jesus. I'm your host, Audrey O'Show. With me is Hudson Walton.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Hey guys.

SPEAKER_05 0:23

Andrea Crater. Hi. And Lincoln Societ.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Hey guys.

SPEAKER_05 0:26

So, guys, would you rather know the date of your worst day or your best day?

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Probably my best one. Because if it's my worst one, I probably wouldn't want to remember it. No, no, no, no, no. I get what you're saying.

SPEAKER_05 0:42

Like, it could be to come. Like, you can know, like, oh, in 2027, you're gonna have the worst day of your life.

unknown 0:48

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 0:48

On January 15th, exactly. Like, you could know that.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

I'd rather know my best day. Because if I know my worst day, I'm just gonna think about it and be stressed. Yeah. And I'm assuming it's one of these situations where you can't change it. So, like, what's the point of knowing this is gonna be my worst day?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

I'm just gonna think about this day and be like, dang it, the worst day of my life is coming up.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

And I'm just gonna be stressed that whole month.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Yeah. I feel like if you think about your worst day, you're gonna make it worse than it actually should be. Yeah, because I'm thinking. Oh, well, tomorrow's gonna be the worst day of my life. And then you're just gonna be, oh, today stinks. I'm the complete opposite.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

And so by proxy, though, that like entire month is going to it's gonna be horrible.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

The whole month, the all the time proceeding up to that month.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Yeah, because you're gonna be like, the worst day ever's coming up. This is horrible. I do not think so. I agree with Hudson.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

See, but then I would overthink it. Like, if I knew my worst day of my life was like on this day, like I would always I would be like, okay, why would it be the worst day of my life? And then like think of all these ways why it would be terrible, and then it my life would be done.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Like on the opposite of that, if you knew that that day was your best day ever, that entire month you'd be like, dude, this is so awesome, man. The peak of my life is coming up, dude. This is incredible. I've taken off work.

SPEAKER_05 1:55

This is all literally taking the whole week. Yeah, I think I was wrong. I think I'm on the same page as y'all just for a different reason. That's what it okay. I thought it was opposite, but actually, I'm with y'all. I'd rather know my worst day because if I knew my best day, then not every day would be great. And I want to think that every day could be my best day. Does that make sense? Like, I want to go into every day thinking today could be the best day of my life. Because if you know that it's two years from now, then like two years till then you'll be like, this is sad. Like, this isn't the best day.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

I think we just have very different mindsets.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

I kind of agree with her too, though I'm not gonna lie. You could have a really great day, but it wouldn't wouldn't be your best day.

SPEAKER_05 2:32

No, but you wouldn't but you'd always be like searching for that feeling of like a best day, and it just wouldn't work.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Yeah, I can see it.

How to Walk With God Message Breakdown

SPEAKER_05 2:41

Anyway, guys, so let's talk about Bishop Pavlou's sermon on Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

So Bishop yesterday talked about how to walk with God. I thought it was it was a really powerful message, and I just want to dive right into it. He started off um highlighting the difference between you know just being religious and having a actual like relationship and walk with God. And he dove right in with 1 Thessalonians 4 1, where he said, where it says, Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. And that's kind of what I want to talk about first. I really pulled from that. Because if you look at the context of that verse, Paul is talking to people that already believe, he's talking to a church, he's talking to people that are already, you know, saved, they're already most likely spirit-filled, they've been baptized, and yet he's telling them to abound more and more. So he highlights that it's a continual walk with God. Yeah, it isn't just one moment where you get saved and then everything's chills. And so he's highlighting that it's a continual walk with God. And that's kind of what uh Bishop Pavl, that's what he was getting at, that there's a difference between, you know, how some religion may say that you just need to do this certain thing or have this certain moment, and that's it. But in the Bible, it obviously highlights that it's a continual thing to abound more and more.

SPEAKER_06 4:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yeah, he really put a lot of emphasis on the fact that it's a continual intimate relationship with God. It's not just you go to the front and say, God, I accept you as my savior. That's not biblical. That's not what they did, it's not what Jesus told Nicodemus to do. He said, You need to be born of the water and the spirit.

SPEAKER_06 4:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Well, how what does that mean to be born of the water and the spirit? I mean to be baptized in the only savior name of Jesus and to receive the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues. That's biblical. Yeah, that's how you be born again. Yeah. And then you but you also have to live a lifestyle that reflects you've been born again. Yeah. You can't just have these two steps and then live a mad woman. Like you can't do that. You have to live a righteous life.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Who's the mad woman?

SPEAKER_00 4:51

What? No, but it's like a crazy person. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

No, I love how Bishop put a lot of emphasis on there's a difference between being born again and then being quote unquote Christian. And I was like, that's so cool. So I did a little bit of research. And some Arizona researchers, they did it, they did a study, and 69% of American adults claimed like Christianity, they claimed faith. But in reality, only 6% of those same adults actually possessed a biblical worldview and demonstrated a consistent understanding of biblical principles. I was like, that's wild. So it just goes back to you can claim it all you want, but if you don't walk it out, how the Bible says to do it, then you're it doesn't mean anything.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, and the devil believes in God.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Yeah, and he truly, that's exactly what Bishop said. And I was like, whoa, that's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Yeah, because he he definitely highlighted that that like it's uh belief isn't the issue for I mean, all of us in this room, uh all of the listeners most likely will all say that we believe in God. Like that's not the problem at all. We have the belief, but it's about the continual relationship. And is my life actually pleasing to God? Am I actually walking with him?

SPEAKER_05 6:01

Yeah, you have to surrender to Jesus and walk with him. You can't just be like, Hey, what's up? I know you're real. Yeah, like I'm good. Because like even the demons know that Jesus is real. Yeah, it takes dedication to, you know, you have to dedicate your life to Christ and you have to be ready to drop everything and walk with him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

And actually have an actual relationship. Because if you're not talking to him and like actually engaging with him, then not what's the point, but like there, you there you don't have a point.

SPEAKER_05 6:30

Yeah, you have to be available because like that's one of the main things for your spirit, like you walk with God, being available.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

I agree. And so uh once Bishop he he makes that distinction clear, like we've been over that it's uh about a continual walk with God relationship, the difference between that and religion. Then he kind of starts talking about well, how do you walk with God? How do you start? Um, because in the verse he went over that he started with First Thessalonians, um, Paul is already assuming that the church is they're moving towards God, they're not uh they're walking. Yeah, and so like how do we get there? How do we uh well abound more and more? How do we how do we walk continually? In Micah 6 8, it says, He hath showed thee, O man, what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. So looking at it from the Bible itself, literally, walking with God will mean walking in humility, walking in obedience, and walking in alignment with his will. It won't be um about getting every single little decision perfect, making every single right choice. The main thing about walking with God is making sure that you are doing the best you can to be attuned and aligned with his heart.

SPEAKER_05 7:47

Yeah. Another verse that you know supported that, because I had that same point to talk about, um, was Romans 6, 1 through 6, which talks about how we can't stay in the sin that we're living in, and we have to crucify that sin and walk with Jesus. Yeah. And we need to walk in the newness of life. I think it's like it's a come as you are, but don't stay as you are type of thing. Yeah. You come as you are, you lay it down, and you walk with God. And it's it's different. It shouldn't be what do I want after that? It should be what does God want for my life?

SPEAKER_04 8:12

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 8:13

It should you can't look at it from a perspective of perspective of I'm in control still. Like, I believe in you, God, but it's still my life. I'm in control, I'm gonna do what I want. It's no no no. I believe in you and I trust that you have what I need and that you know what's best for me. And so I'm gonna walk with you and that you lead.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Yeah, because if because if I come to church for the first time ever and I'm like a serial arsonist, like I'm a bad dude, like I burn buildings all the time. Yeah. Um, and I go and I'd be like, I believe in God. But I leave and I have a moment with say I have a moment with God and I even I receive his spirit, but say I leave and two days later I burn down another building. Like I didn't change. I'm not living with God. Yeah, I'm not letting him change me. I'm just like, oh, I had that one moment and that was cool.

SPEAKER_05 9:02

Yeah, and that's not to say that change is easy, it's not gonna be easy to drop everything you've ever known. Yeah, but it's it's knowing that that's what's best and still trying.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

What if I really like burning down buildings? It's not gonna be easy to change that. You shouldn't. Like that's I have to trust God.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Yeah, yeah. That's what Bishop said. He said, at one point the murderer claimed Christianity or the adulterer claim to be a Christian, but that doesn't mean that they are one just because they claim it.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

We can we can all claim that. I mean, our current culture is all about labels of claiming anything. Yeah, we can label ourselves Christian. That doesn't mean we actually are.

SPEAKER_05 9:37

Yeah.

unknown 9:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:39

Another thing that he said, this was probably my favorite thing from the whole sermon, was when he was talking about how Eve was deceived and not Adam, but Adam knew that Eve was gonna die, and so he chose to die with her. I thought that was so beautiful, and then he tied it together how because he started saying how like a second Adam came. Yeah, Jesus. And it was Jesus, and so that's what Jesus did for us. He he was born into this earth and he knew his reason for being here, and he knew that we were gonna die and that there was no hope for us, and but he came down and he saved us from that and he gave us another choice and another option, and he sacrificed himself for us, and I think that's so beautiful. Because he knew his bride was gonna die, so he was gonna die with her.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

Yeah, I was like, that's actually so awesome. I started whenever I wrote down that note. The Bible's so poetic for that.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

And then after Bishop he finished, uh, like we were talking about earlier, he finished he finished talking about like well, how do you start walking with God? Yeah, um, how to do it. Um, he brought up the point of like transformation, like how do you actually start knowing that you're like changed or that you're walking with God? And like um, I think it was Lincoln had hashed this earlier where uh John 3 5, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That's um that's pretty much the first and most important step of transformation because you're literally born again.

SPEAKER_06 11:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:04

Um and you're able to enter the kingdom through that, and then you move on from there. Looking at it more practically, that's just the beginning. That's when you're actually. Those will start dying if you're truly aligned with God and you're walking with Him. Old desires that used to have a grip on you will start to lessen their hold on you. Um, your direction in life will change. Um, those are just some of the things that you can look at and see like I this transformation is actually real. It's not just something I'm thinking about or feeling. This yeah, parts of me are being transformed. Yeah, and so those are things you can look at to see that my life is being transformed through my relationship in Christ.

SPEAKER_05 11:50

Yeah, it's like a new life happen, like your new life starts whenever your flesh dies, and whenever the old one is gone, and you like start to walk with Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Yeah, because as you uh continue to walk in the spirit, things will just change, even if you don't want them to, they'll change.

SPEAKER_03 12:05

Yeah, once you start walking in the spirit, you're you're not gonna want to walk in the flesh as much because you realize like you there's a big difference in your mind and just in your well-being whenever you walk in the flesh versus the spirit.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah, you really start to like what God likes and hate what he hates. Like you're not gonna desire to do the sin that you've done before. Now, you might still fall into it once or twice every now and then, but you're not gonna stay down there. The Bible talks about a righteous man falls down seven times, but he gets back up.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Yeah, I think we can all agree that the most important point that Bishop made during the sermon was do not marry a spouse with bad habits. Yes. Most important point by far.

SPEAKER_03 12:47

Yep. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

Audrey does not remember that.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

I think he said the statistic was 98% of the time.

SPEAKER_04 12:53

They don't say that in Melane.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Was it?

SPEAKER_02 12:57

He said that in the first service. He was talking about habits, and he was talking about how uh, like you just said, he was like 98% of people uh find it hard to break a habit. I'm pretty sure that was a specific. And so he was like, if you're dating someone and you see a bad habit, uh probably not the best idea to form a lifelong relationship with them because they're not just gonna change.

SPEAKER_05 13:18

Doesn't everyone have a bad habit?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

No, he means like really bad habits.

SPEAKER_05 13:21

Okay, oh like biting your nails is like not counting. Like abuse abuse type. I'm talking about like things.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

He does like meth or something. Like that's a bad habit. Like biting your nails.

SPEAKER_06 13:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Drugs and biting your nails. That's the first thing I think of when I hear habit, like a bad habit.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Or like sex abuse. But like talk about it more realistically, like if they have an angry streak and you notice them getting too mad uh from time to time, like way too much, like they're punching holes in walls, and it could get dangerous for you. That wouldn't be good. Probably wouldn't be the smartest idea to marry this person. Yeah, it might be you guys can't see it, but producer Brian just punched a hole in the wall up here.

SPEAKER_04 13:59

Yeah, he did. He just put his fist to the wall.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

He just growled too. I'm gonna scare.

SPEAKER_04 14:07

Oh, but don't marry people with bad habits. Yeah, guys.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Um, really not smart. Like you can kind of see that coming, especially if it's a habit. So just don't marry people with bad habits, guys. Or don't try to marry someone if you have bad habits. It goes both ways.

SPEAKER_04 14:22

Thanks for habit. You you got that habit.

Definition & Myths about Temptation

SPEAKER_02 14:40

So we've covered uh we've we've covered Bishop's message about how to uh how to walk with God. Um let's talk about temptation. I think that goes along with walking with God, because if you walk with God, you're going to be tempted. So I just want to ask, let's define it. What is temptation?

SPEAKER_05 15:03

I think temptation no, I don't think. Actually, no. Temptation is the desire to do something, especially something that is wrong or unwise. So it's what drives us to make our decisions most of the time.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Yeah, no, I agree. I think that at its core, temptation is direction. It's something that is there that is trying to pull you away and misdirect you from the heart of God and from your walk in Christ. And um, to back that up in James 1, 14 through 15, it says, But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

SPEAKER_06 15:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. And you can clearly see it says, Every man is tempted when he is drawn away. Uh-huh. So the temptation itself is what is drawing you away. That's what it is. It's a direction change.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

It's a it's an invitation to do sin. Yeah. Yeah. I like I looked it up because I I didn't know the like actual biblical definition. So I looked up what is the biblical definition of temptation when it described it as an invitation to act against the will of God, uh-huh, resulting in acting in carnal or fleshly desires. And I like how it says it's an invitation because it's the devil literally inviting you to move away from God. He's inviting you to his um his little devil party, I'll call it the devil party of sin. Don't go to the devil party, do not accept the invitation to the devil party. Please, guys, don't do that. Please don't accept that. We don't do that around here.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

I was shocked to find out that the Bible only mentions temptation 16 times throughout the whole thing. I was like, that's crazy. So, like in one context, because it has two contexts. One can mean despair or testing. So, like how Job was tested to mock God whenever everything was taken from him, or testing like Pharaoh in Egypt, whenever God sent all those plagues. And then in another context, it means a trial of a man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, and consistency. So in this context, it means the enticement to sin, the lure of you to sin and rebellion against God. Although that's cool, but not cool at the same time. Yeah. Enlightening.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Yeah, that's it's like we've all said it's it's like the start of the sin, basically. It's the invitation, it starts the process of you falling into that sin.

SPEAKER_05 17:21

So would you guys say that temptation is sin?

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Absolutely not. Um that's the easiest one so far because Jesus was tempted. So if you say temptation sin, that means you believe Jesus sinned, and now you're just like you're a heretic, basically.

SPEAKER_05 17:38

Yeah, yeah. It can definitely lead you to sin, but yeah, it's only if you you know follow through with it.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

It's not sin itself because it's just yeah, temptation is the invitation, but to make it sinful, you have to accept it.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

I can be tempted to, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

And then like punch someone.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

Punch someone. But if I actually punch them, that's a sin. Me just thinking, I want to punch them, that's a sin.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Yeah, and then like on a more like solid, like actual like scriptural example of how it isn't sin, Hebrews 4.15, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Um, spoiler alert, this high priest is Jesus. Yeah, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. It literally says that he was tempted but without sin.

SPEAKER_06 18:24

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

So temptation and sin just aren't the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

I was listening to a message from uh brother Matthew Tuttle, he's a pastor inviter. He preached at the Arkansas camp meeting and he preached sour grapes rotting teeth. If you haven't listened to it, I would highly recommend listening to it. It's really good. And he talked a lot about temptation and uh generational curses in the message. And uh when it got to the temptation part, he said that the word thought is a noun. And um, he said, Everybody has bad thoughts. That's that's the normal part of us. We have bad thoughts. But the problem becomes when we take the noun thought and turn it into the verb of thinking. See, you have one thought, you're supposed to take the thought captive by the dominion that the Lord has given us over the devil. You take it that you take it captive, you throw it away. Now, the problem is when you take it and you start thinking on it, you're like, Okay, if I do this, well, what happens if I do this? Is it okay for me to do this? I'll it's just one little thing. That's when it becomes the problem.

SPEAKER_05 19:24

Yeah, that's good. It's good.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Yeah, dude, it's stuck with me like glue.

SPEAKER_05 19:29

What do you guys think are some common myths about temptation that you hear a lot?

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Um, my I have a myth that I kind of dealt with in the past. That's why it was the first thing to come to mind. Um, this one it applies to everyone, but I think it can really apply to uh guys, especially young men growing up. Um, if I'm tempted, I must be weak. Because especially for me as a young man, I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be a warrior of God. I like I was on fire, I was supposed to be unshakable.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

In my faith.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

And so just naturally, I would think if I'm tempted, it must be weak. I'm not praying enough. I'm not fasting enough. And I mean, now it seems silly thinking that because that is not true. Yeah. Because Jesus himself was tempted. Yeah. Yeah. And so if I think that temptation makes me weak, I think by proxy that it makes Jesus weak. And that's not true.

SPEAKER_06 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

Yeah. It's crazy how like when you're in the act of being tempted, the devil, like you said, he'll make you feel like you're weak. Well, then when you you're thinking to yourself, man, I'm weak. And then the devil's like, Well, since you're weak, go ahead and do it.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

He'll just compound on it.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

You can't stop it, might as well just do it.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

It's crazy how he does it. He's really good at being the devil, even though he's been defeated.

SPEAKER_03 20:43

Well, you were thrown down from heaven and you want to get in my face.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Yeah, you could say that the devil is the LeBron of being evil. I'll just say that. No one's better. Y'all heard it, folks. The goat.

SPEAKER_05 20:52

Yeah, I think another myth is that all temptation is from the devil. Because that's not true. Most of the time it's it's our flesh that wants that. It's the part of us that desires to do things that we know we shouldn't and things that go against God. And it's yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

I actually uh I think that's really good because I I do agree that that's a big misconception because I've heard that before. Yeah, yeah. Um it comes from I think it comes from within. Because, like you just said, that the devil will use your internal desires and he'll because we're all born with internal desires that aren't of God. I mean, we're all born with a sinful nature. Um like news flash guys, I'm not actually an arsonist. So the devil he he's not gonna use an outside desire for me to go burn down a building. That's just not something that I'm gonna struggle with. Uh-huh. But he can use something like anger against me, because that's a desire that I'm built with. So the devil will use an desire, uh what? The devil will use a desire from within me and he will strengthen that, and that will be the temptation. So I think it starts from within.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

Temptation really comes from two or three places. Like, like Hudson said, it comes from within our flesh. Um, but we have to deny our flesh, because in Galatians 5 24, it says, And those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. So it'll walk with God to, you know, we have to not hold up. Get not get we have to our flesh has to surrender. Or it could come from the world, right? We like Samson in the Bible. Um, so in Judges 16, one, now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went into her. Samson was in a place where he shouldn't have been in the first place, and then he looked at Delilah and realized, hey, I wanted her. He went out into the world and those things tempted him.

SPEAKER_04 22:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:43

So we can look out into the world and we can desire things that are in the world. Um, and so that's where it comes from, or just the devil. Because in Matthew 4 and 1, it says that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Yeah. So the devil does tempt, yeah, but it's not all from him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

And like he'll use like the the desires in us, our human, our fleshy desires to build upon that. Like the devil uh tempting Jesus, he could have been using pride. Yeah, like he'd be like, uh, if the devil tempted me in that way, I may not react the same way as Jesus. I'd be like, you know what? I am strong, I am mighty.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

I am hungry. Yeah, I do need a superhand. Maybe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:30

Or like in Acts 5, he tempted Ananias and Sapphira with greed because they were supposed to sell a piece of property and give all the money to the disciples for the furthering of the church. But in Acts 5 and 1, it says that he held back some of the money and lied to the apostle Peter and said, This is the full amount. And Peter said, Ananias, why would you let Satan fill your heart? You have lied to the Holy Spirit and you have kept some of the money for yourself. You are not lying to us, but to God. And then bro drop dead.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

So do not do what he did, guys.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Yeah, don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Definitely don't.

SPEAKER_05 24:06

Yeah, I think another one that we we kind of touched on already, just that temptation is a sin. That's another myth because it's not, it's just what leads up to sin.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

But just don't let it be sin. Exactly. Another myth is the devil made me do it. Um boom. And first, I hear that one a lot.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

News flash, you're contradicting the Bible.

SPEAKER_03 24:27

Yeah, the devil made me do it. Or like whenever you have whenever like you're babysitting little kids and they're like, So-and-so made me do it.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

You know, like, no, no one makes you do anything. Yeah. In First Corinthians 10 and 13, it says, No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond which you are able. But with temptation will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. So with temptation, there's always a way out.

SPEAKER_06 24:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Like you can say no. Yeah. You might be weak in that area, so it might be harder for you to say no to that temptation, but you can. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

It's like, no, bro, the devil did not make you cheat on your wife. You did that because you gave into that temptation.

SPEAKER_05 25:10

Uh-huh. Like, if someone said that, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

And the crazy thing is guaranteed you.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

It's like they're like, devil made me do it. God don't even make you do anything, He gives you a free will. So the devil's not gonna he can't have more power than God has over you.

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

But you don't understand. I'm not actually bad. The devil made me do it. Come on, guys, agree with me. News class.

SPEAKER_05 25:31

Well, actually, that's not how that works. A lot of times, it's just like saying that gives the devil more power over yourself than you even have. Literally in his place. I was too weak to look after myself, so the devil took over for a little while. Like, like on autopilot.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

If I hear that, we are no longer talking to each other, we are praying right now. Because you are very miserable.

SPEAKER_03 25:53

Another temptation, I mean, another myth about temptation is temptation is a sign of punishment from God. That's not true. That's not true.

SPEAKER_02 26:03

I think like where would you even come up with that?

SPEAKER_03 26:07

Well, like, I don't know, because if if you're in the the midst of a really bad season, the enemy could use that to put distance between you and God. And so in James 1:13, it says, Let no one say he is tempted for no, hold on. Let no one say, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor has he himself tempted anyone. And so you being tempted is not punishment from God. But if we look in the book of Job, Job Job was tempted and he got everything taken away from him. But that was not punishment from God, that was a testing of his faith to see will you still be faithful to me if you have nothing left? Like, will will you still run to me or will you mock me in my face? Type vibe.

SPEAKER_05 26:56

Yeah, I can see though where people, I know what you're saying, like, yeah, the first part, I can see where people think that. Like it's punishment from God. Um, obviously, like you just said it's not, but like a good example of that is like, okay, in the Garden of Eden. We were talking about this with the Bible study, uh, that I had, sorry, no context for that at all. I had a Bible study. Like, I was like, what Bible study? Like last weekend with Uncle Dustin and all them. And then my family. So, anyway, um continuing though, we were talking about temptation and all that, and then we got on the topic of how it almost seems like Jesus, Jesus himself tempted um Eve by calling it the the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Like, wouldn't you just want to automatically know about that? Like, isn't that so like knowledge of good and evil? And it's like, but it like you said, Andrea, it's not.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

Like, I think to I like to think good about myself, but if I heard that in Eve's shoes, bro, there would be massive dollar signs in my eyes. Talk about the knowledge of good and evil, bro.

SPEAKER_03 27:52

I want to know that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

I see what you're saying.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

Um, another myth that I came across was I can't help it, it's just who I am. So, like, you can't help being tempted, it's just ingrained in who you are. And so, assuming that most of us are either born again Christians or on our way to be born again, um, in 1 Corinthians 5 and 17, it says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. So, whenever you are born again, you are made new completely, like spiritually. The whenever you are baptized in Jesus' name and get filled with the Holy Ghost with the oath of speaking in tongues, you become right with God again in a sense, right? He washes all your sins away. And so now you have Christ in you, you are a new creation, and you now have the power to be like, nope, yeah, no thanks.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

I think another good one, uh a good myth, is good Christians aren't tempted.

SPEAKER_04 28:50

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:50

Because when I was younger, I found myself thinking that like I would think, oh, uh Bishop Pavlo would never be tempted with anything. Or now, Pastor Jared, there's no way he's tempted. He's my pastor, he's like the most spiritual person I know. Or a person that I look up to a lot in my life right now, uh Jordan Mata, he's been a close friend of mine for a few years now. I could look at him and be like, he he's like one of the most spiritual guys I know. He is following God like to a T. There's no way he gets tempted. Yeah, and I could try to compare myself like that uh to them and be like, Well, I'm going feeling these temptations, I must not be at the same level, yeah, or I must not be spiritual enough. And again, um, that one's a really easy myth to debunk because Jesus was tempted. If Jesus wasn't a good Christian, what the heck are we all doing here? Yeah, like that we don't even need to go into that. Literally, he is the Christian, like yeah, he's Christian number one, literally, top tier.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

I think if the devil has a favorite myth, it would probably be what you just talked about. Because I know I've dealt with that. There's a lot of other people that have been like, maybe if I was closer to God, I wouldn't be dealing with this. Yeah. That's not true.

SPEAKER_05 29:56

It's not that you won't deal with it, it's that you're strong enough to resist it. Yeah, uh-huh. That's the difference. And say, um, no.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

You will never be closer to God than God in the flesh. Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

So Jesus was tempted.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

So think about how silly it is to think about that.

SPEAKER_04 30:08

That helps apart from God, we all are.

SPEAKER_02 30:11

Some of my own thoughts that the devil has tried to use against me, if I just sit there and think about how silly they are when compared to the Bible, that really honestly helps me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:20

The devil is a silly dude.

SPEAKER_02 30:21

Yeah, like I'm I'm here judging myself because I think I'm not spiritual enough to not get temptations when God Himself, as Jesus with flesh, was getting temptations.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

What am I even doing?

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Literally. And like the devil was like in his face, like, turn the rocks into bread. Or jump.

SPEAKER_02 30:38

That's exactly what he sounded like, by the way.

SPEAKER_06 30:39

Turn the rocks into baby.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

Or jump off this really high mountain. If I don't eat for like half of a day, that I just start hearing that, dude. Turn the rocks into baby. Turn this rock into a subway sandwich.

SPEAKER_05 30:51

We need to just all stop listening to the devil. Hot take.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

That is just like run about his bone business. That is the end goal of sister. Let's just stop having conversations with him and just tell Bro to get out of my face.

Where Does Temptation Start?

SPEAKER_03 31:26

In your heart. Or in your mind. Because if it's from yourself and your internal desires, then it starts in your heart, right? But then if it's from the devil, it can start in your ears and in your mind. Because if the devil or the like is whispering something in your ear, then you know, there's two different places.

SPEAKER_05 31:49

Yeah. Like you said, um, like thoughts. I think it can I think it can come from you know the thoughts we have, or even the decisions we have to make. Like if you have a big decision coming up and you're like torn between two options, there's always the devil in your ear, like, no, no, no, you should choose this one.

SPEAKER_03 32:04

Because I like this one better. God doesn't necessarily like this one. Yeah. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

Sorry. I think it says it plainly in the Bible that it comes from within. Um, Mark 7, 21 through 23 says, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, and then he lists all these evil thoughts and all these sins. And he ends with pride, foolishness, and then all these evil things come from within and defile the man. So all of these things come from within our hearts, and the devil uses those as temptations.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Yeah, that's good. I think they can also, I think it also come from your eyes. That too.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

Yeah, if you see a pop-up, I mean one of the things in that verse, Lily, is an evil eye. Yeah, like it can start with eyes, it can start with any of your senses.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Yeah. If you have a pop-up come on your screen, or if somebody who has had an addiction to alcohol or drugs and stuff, and they see it from afar off, or see somebody they know doing it, and then it's gonna be like it opens the window to well, I should go do it. And I think if you wouldn't be able to see it, now I'm not saying go blind, I'm not saying go blind. I wasn't planning on it, bro. But I think it can also affect your eyes.

SPEAKER_05 33:15

Matthew 5 29 literally says, if your eyes cause you to sin, pluck it out.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Like yeah, he's got some facts I go in with this thing. Yeah, or it could even come from people that you hang around because the Bible says to keep wise counsel, and if you're not having wise counsel and you're hanging around these people who are bad influences, then you will be tempted to do the things that they're doing, regardless of what it is. It could be like gossip, you could just, you know, talk about other people for the fun of it, or it could even be as bad as substance abuse. Like, yeah, the people you hang around matter.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

I mean, think about it this way: if you're married and all of your friends have like if I'm married and all of my friends say I have five friends and they've all cheated on my wife, my wife is not gonna trust me, bro. If that's the people that I that I keep. Yeah. If those are my closest friends, she's not gonna trust me.

SPEAKER_05 34:06

Cheating on your wife or their wife? Mine.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

Like, I no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You confuse me. What are you saying, bro?

SPEAKER_05 34:12

You said my wife. You said if I have five friends and they all cheat on my wife.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

So you mean like cheat on their wife?

SPEAKER_02 34:17

Yeah, like they're all adulterers. Those are my that's my inner circle.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

So you're not hanging out with that.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

My wife is not gonna trust me, bro. I'm not a trustworthy person. Yeah. Let's see what you're saying.

SPEAKER_05 34:24

I think another place where temptation can start is I think we said it briefly, like feelings. Did anyone say that yet? Uh no. I think that it can come from your feelings. Like if you're having a heated argument with someone and you really, really feel like you just want to punch them in the face or spit in their face, but you have to hold yourself back. I think that's a place where temptation can really slip in with your feelings and your emotions because anger or sadness make you want to do things that you know you shouldn't. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 34:49

It's obviously already there. It's already in you. Like you're already feeling like slightly annoyed. Yeah. And the devil can just be like, wouldn't it be so satisfying if you slap that grin off her face? I mean, we gotta agree in the moment, yes.

SPEAKER_04 35:02

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

If you follow through, you shouldn't do that.

SPEAKER_00 35:06

Repercussions might not be great, but it'll feel good in the moment for like two seconds.

SPEAKER_02 35:12

But bad mojo.

SPEAKER_04 35:18

Thank you for that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

I want to talk about the relationship between culture and temptation, like our current culture.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

Let's go. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

So I think I bring this up because I've been thinking how our culture, especially in America today, how it can make us, it can make following your temptations and giving into them feel so much more normalized.

SPEAKER_03 35:44

Because it's justified, quote unquote.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Yeah, because if you look at, I mean, if you're alive in 2026 and you have ears and eyes, you've seen follow your heart, do what feels good. As long as you're not hurting anybody and you're happy, yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Be the real you.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

Yeah. Just you deserve it. You deserve happiness, you deserve to follow your heart. And I mean, that all sounds pretty. Like you hear that and you're like, thank you. I will follow my heart. You're so right.

SPEAKER_03 36:11

I'll do what makes me happy.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

But that is literally conditioning you to give in to your every temptation because, like we've discussed, temptations will start from within and the heart. And so if you are conditioned to follow your heart and do what makes you happy, you're just gonna chase every single temptation as long as I'm not hurting anyone, but you're hurting yourself, you're hurting your soul.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

You're hurting your eternity. Yeah, your eternity is hanging in the balance if you are following your heart and claiming all you know those things.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

And I just think that it's it it's dangerous as a Christian if you fall into culture and you get uh you let that shape you and shape the way you think because it directly contradicts scripture. Because scripture will say deny yourself and be disciplined, pick up and walk in the spirit. Yeah, and that goes directly against what our culture says. And Paul addresses this in Romans, he says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the removing of your mind. That's Romans 12, too. So God is directly our directly telling you in the Bible to not conform yourself to culture. Yeah, yeah. So I just think that we need to talk about that because as Christians, you need to be mindful of what culture is telling you and to not buy into that.

SPEAKER_05 37:26

Yeah. Culture is geared to pleasure mindset. The Bible says it this way in 1 John 2 16, um, for the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And the three places the Bible says it comes from in King James King James Version are lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. So, like it said at the end of that verse, they're not from God. These aren't things that are supposed to be happening. This is from the world, and this is what from the flesh.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Yeah, yeah. And I think uh at the end of the day, I think that because of our culture, temptation will feel normal because the your culture has trained you to desire it. Yeah, you've literally been trained by the culture around you.

SPEAKER_03 38:11

So go it up to desire it's a culture has trained you.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

It has because that's what you grow up. You grow up we need to follow our hearts. We are independent Americans. We need to do what makes us happy.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Yeah. And we're conditioned.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

You're trained to drop that barrier. You're you're trained to not think about it and just follow what makes you happy.

SPEAKER_05 38:28

Yeah, it's like a zombie, like a mindless zombie just doing everything it's told. Like a headless chicken.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

So I think that chicken.

SPEAKER_00 38:35

Chicken running with your head on.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

If you never heard that, I think I would be dead. I would have bigger issues to deal with if I was headless chicken.

SPEAKER_04 38:43

Oh, I was like, I got really headless chicken.

SPEAKER_02 38:46

I mean, dude, we're dealing with something entirely different here now. I I need my head back. Yeah, that's a whole nother issue, guys. And we're not getting into that because that's a rabbit hole.

SPEAKER_03 39:00

But, anyways, um, no, I agree. Our culture has trained like trained us to go after what I want. I want XYZ or I feel like. So then that means my whole world is crashing down because I feel XYZ. When in reality, we have to lean on God and trust on God. And in the Bible, it says that the say that Satan is the God of this world and he is the father of all lies and all evil. Because it says in John 8 44, um, he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks it from his own resources. He is a liar and the father of it. Our own selfish nature and the selfish nature of culture is an ally of Satan. I was like, that's crazy. It really is because Satan he'll go out into culture and he'll mix up everything. The Bible says there's no truth in him. So in culture, there's not gonna be any truth. In it because we see a lot of things happening in our American culture at this moment that is um has zero truth in it. There is not one drop of truth. But you know, don't we know it? But that that comes from the devil and him stirring the pot and be like, I'm gonna sprinkle a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

SPEAKER_05 40:22

The devil's the ultimate drama king for real. Like literally.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

I'm telling you, bro, do not drink or eat from the devil's pot, bro. You don't want anything to do with that pot. Do not be stay away from the potty stirring. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:32

Get away from the devil party.

SPEAKER_02 40:34

Yeah, don't go to the devil party.

SPEAKER_03 40:36

Don't accept your invite. I think we found our title. But we don't need we don't need any prompting to like not to and not to entertain, but to entertain our evil wants and desires. Like we we don't have to be like, hey, you really should do XYZ. No. Because it's not. Yeah, we are conditioned and trained to if we want it, go get it. You know what I mean? Yeah. And then a lot of the times that's that's not good.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

Um and I think that can tie into another question I wanted to ask. Um, why does

Why Does Temptation Feel so Sudden?

SPEAKER_02 41:36

inflation why can it feel so sudden at times? Yeah. Why can it feel like you're doing fine and then out of nowhere? Boom. You're tempted and you're doing you've fallen into sin.

SPEAKER_05 41:46

Um I think that you make so many decisions in a day that you are bound to get tempted to do something almost constantly.

SPEAKER_04 41:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:54

No matter what it is, whether it's to like it could be simple things like, oh, should I what's something like really minuscule that I could do?

SPEAKER_03 42:04

Um I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 42:07

Talking about like a temptation or a sin?

unknown 42:08

Minuscule. What does that mean?

SPEAKER_03 42:10

Tiny small.

SPEAKER_00 42:11

Oh mini.

SPEAKER_03 42:14

Small.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

Litter.

SPEAKER_05 42:16

There you go. That's a good one. Like, whether I'm just driving in my car and I'm like, okay, I just have this McDonald's wrapper from my burger in my hand. Do I wait till I get home and let it sink up my car or do I throw it out my window and litter? It doesn't seem like a big decision, but it's a little decision that I had an option for. And it could seem sudden in a way, but it's like, because we make so many decisions in a day that it's bound to happen. Uh-huh. Temptation. We're bound to get tempted. And obviously there's worse temptations, but it's like, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:45

I also think how you're doing that day affects like that makes sense. Yeah, I couldn't agree. Mentally or physically, because if I'm physically not feeling good, or if I'm mentally or spiritually drained, I've I have like found a pattern of I want to do more things that are against God, or I'm being tempted to re not rebel, but go against his law more often than on a day that I'm feeling good. Like I'm in my word and I'm praying.

SPEAKER_02 43:20

I think it can also have to deal, because my take on it, the reason I brought it up is because I think it deals heavily with awareness.

SPEAKER_01 43:26

Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_02 43:27

Not calling like not calling you stupid if you fall into temptation or sin, but say it's a habit you just don't see. Um say you're bored late at night, like you have nothing going on from like past 11 p.m. Uh you stay up late, you're bored. I don't know. Definitely don't do that. Um, but you're you're up late. Um, you're bored. Say that's a habit. Say that you've you've made that habit. Like that's your time. You're up late at night, you're not doing anything. Uh mine is idle. That's dangerous. Yep. Yeah, very dangerous. Idle words. You can feel like throughout that day you were on fire, you were good, but you don't see how you've allowed this habit where the devil can come in and use this space you've created um against you. You have this idle time, you pull out your phone, you look at something you shouldn't. Yeah, and it may feel in the moment like this came out of nowhere, but it's a habit that you've built that you don't even recognize. Like you've created this space that you're not you've let your guard down, and the devil can just come in in a moment and bring a temptation and you're not prepared for it. Yeah. So I think you can deal with awareness. I think you have to be aware of the little habits that you can make in your life that can seem big ammo to the devil for him to use.

SPEAKER_03 44:40

You're literally throwing the bullets over his fence. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

Idolness is a big one for sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Yeah, because like if you aren't aware of the habit that you're creating that is in that is like allowing the devil to come in and tempt you this way, it's gonna feel sudden because you just don't know that that's happening.

SPEAKER_03 44:56

You left the door open.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:58

Or I feel like another one is how active you are in trying to get closer to God, if that makes sense. Because I feel and like through scripture, um, the more often that people are striving to get towards God and they're taking leaps and bounds, and they're just trying to get closer to God, the more the devil like tries to come in between them and it's like nah.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

Yeah, causing more friction.

SPEAKER_03 45:22

Yeah, because if you're not trying to get closer to God, and if you're not trying to just, you know, get closer, then the devil doesn't have to distract you, he doesn't have to throw roadblocks and stumbling blocks and being like, hey, let's go over this way whenever you're already on the wrong path.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Epic Pastor Jared message callback, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 45:43

Literally, if you haven't listened to his series of stumbling blocks, you really should.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

That was an elite reference to it.

SPEAKER_03 45:49

Change is your life. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

Were you in this accent, bro? Is kill a accent?

SPEAKER_02 45:55

Uh God is working in me, brothers and sisters.

SPEAKER_03 45:58

Amen and hallelujah. But I think that's a big one, depending on where you are on God's radar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 46:07

I think it's like where you are on the devil's comfort, like whatever you were talking about, you were talking about. I was thinking of like comfortable. Like whenever you get comfortable, it's like you're walking with God and you're like, oh, this is like this is good. I'm chilling. And all of a sudden it's like boom, tempted. And you're like, wait, where did that come from?

SPEAKER_02 46:22

I think it that ties back into the myth we were talking about earlier where you think that super spiritual people aren't tempted. You can be feeling great walking with God and like you're you're on fire. Like you just prayed like 10 people through to the Holy Ghost yesterday. Like you're on fire. Yeah. You are walking in God's will, and you think that you're untouchable by temptation, and then it happens, and you're like, What the heck? Brother, where did this come from? Yeah. It can feel sudden if you have that mindset that it shouldn't happen to you.

SPEAKER_05 46:47

I think you also gotta be aware that it's hard.

SPEAKER_02 46:50

It's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_05 46:51

Yeah. Why does temptation sometimes seem individualized?

SPEAKER_02 46:56

I think uh easily because it is, and it says so in the Bible in James 114. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away by drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Yeah. Keyword of his own that comes from you. So your temptations are gonna match your personality, your wounds, your history, your trauma, what you've been through, is gonna match that.

SPEAKER_05 47:20

Like Yeah, everyone struggles with different things. No one's is gonna be the exact same thing as everyone. We don't all struggle with the same thing.

SPEAKER_03 47:27

Yeah, we all have things that our struggles can be alike in certain areas. Yeah, but they're not gonna like me and Audrey aren't gonna struggle with the exact same thing. We don't walk the same walk. We have because we're different.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

Yeah, like say I come from a background where I've been hurt deeply in the past, that will 100% be something that the devil uses to tempt me. But if you are blessed with, you know, good parents, a good stable upbringing, yeah, that's not gonna be a temptation that the devil's just gonna use. It's not personalized to you. It wouldn't make sense. Like, like the devil is not going to tempt me with arson because that's just not something I rock with. That's not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 48:05

Or like are you thinking about it? The devil will step up.

SPEAKER_02 48:08

Is trying to use me, guys, to reach an arsonist out there, and you are making fun of me.

SPEAKER_04 48:12

Oh, excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 48:13

And so that's something that you guys need to deal with on your own time.

SPEAKER_04 48:16

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 48:17

Oh my, or like, yeah, the devil does, and our temptations are individualized to ourselves because, like we said, we are all different. The Bible even tells us that we're all different and we're all gonna struggle with different things, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

And he knows our individual weaknesses and he uses that as his strength. Yeah, he's like, Okay, I see your weak in this area, now I'm gonna go and just pound you in that area. Like, I'm gonna blow it out the water. And he tries to he tries to literally destroy us by our weaknesses.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

Yeah, because you don't want to think about it. Like you don't want to think the devil's smart, but let's be real. He does he is he's gonna be. He's gonna find your weakness that pertains to you, he's gonna exploit that. Yeah, once he finds that, why would he move on if it works?

SPEAKER_03 49:02

The devil's been doing this thing for a many, a many, a many a year. And he ain't gonna stop now.

SPEAKER_02 49:07

No, he is smarter than you. I'm sorry, but he's smarter than you, he's smarter than me.

SPEAKER_03 49:11

Okay, but he did get kicked out of heaven, so is he smart? Yeah, for real. He did try to like exalt himself above God, and God was like, nah, and kicked him out.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

Well, smarter than you in making you sin, yeah. Definitely smarter.

SPEAKER_05 49:22

But he got kicked out, so we'll just keep going back to that. Like, devil, you're not good enough either.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

So Well, I'm not saying that you should be like, oh my gosh, devil's so smart. I should be afraid.

SPEAKER_04 49:33

I think we give him more credit than we should.

SPEAKER_02 49:35

You should be wary that he knows how to make you sin.

SPEAKER_04 49:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:38

That reminds me, y'all said he's smart. He is smart and he knows his word. Yeah, he does. Uh I heard one person say, I don't remember who it was, but they were talking about Adam and Eve. And uh, oh, it was Josh Herring on Saturday night. He was talking about uh the devil tempting Eve, and uh he asked Eve, he was like, You're not supposed to touch it. And Eve said, I'm not supposed to touch it, or um, he said you're not supposed to eat it, and Eve said, I'm not supposed to eat it or touch it. And the minute she said or touch it, the devil realized that she doesn't know her word because God didn't say you can't touch it. God never said anything about touching it. Then he started working on her and eventually she fell to the temptation of eating it.

SPEAKER_03 50:13

Yeah, she didn't even give a second thought. She was like, All right.

SPEAKER_05 50:16

She really puts the boundaries pushed the boundaries back on herself. Like he said, don't eat it. She's like, No, I can't touch it. Touched it. Like, why would you do that?

SPEAKER_03 50:24

Well, that's part of temptation too. It's over it's extending God's boundaries that he has originally placed, just going beyond them in any way, whether that's with lust, greed, or touching the fruit.

unknown 50:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 50:38

And Pastor Jared, two messages ago, I think it was, he was talking about that how we'll push boundaries back and then we'll let the enemy in and steal ground that was never meant to be his.

SPEAKER_02 50:47

Yeah, I was just about to bring that up because he did say, um, I think the quote was if you're if you find yourself flirting with the boundary and seeing how far you can push it in your heart, you've already crossed it. Yeah, you don't have to physically cross over the boundary.

SPEAKER_03 50:58

Yeah. If you're flirting with the boundary, then it's gone. Yeah. Go back.

SPEAKER_02 51:02

That was good.

SPEAKER_00 51:03

That is good.

Summary and Outro

SPEAKER_02 51:05

So we've talked about a lot today, guys. We talked about we've talked about Bishop's message. We talked about walking with Jesus, seeing that walking with Jesus is different from religion. Um, you know, how to see that walk in your life, how to be born again, what that means as a believer, and how to identify the transformation in your life. Um, so if you haven't heard the message from Bishop, uh go listen to it. He'll he'll explain it probably better than us. Um we were just adding our thoughts to it. And then we talked about temptation because if you're walking in Jesus, if if you're a new believer or if you're a believer that's been in it their whole life, walking with Jesus, you're gonna deal with temptation. So learn to be mindful of temptation. Know that temptation doesn't make you weak, it doesn't make you a bad Christian, it doesn't mean God's disappointed in you. It's gonna happen. So be aware of that. Be aware of how to identify uh bad habits in your life that can lead to temptation and stay trusted in God, brothers and sisters. That's what I would do with.

SPEAKER_05 52:10

Well, guys, I think everybody brought some good stuff to the table today. Um, thank you so much for listening. And make sure that you tune in next Thursday for our next podcast. Bye guys. Bye guys,