The Spirit Unleashed Podcast

Seeking After God w/ Pastor Mike Braswell | The Spirit Unleashed Podcast Ep. 9

• Josh Cox • Episode 9

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In this episode, we dive deep into what it truly means to seek after God in a world full of distractions. Whether you’re in a season of strong faith or struggling to find your way, this conversation is a reminder that God is never distant—He is always near, waiting with open arms.

We explore the beauty of His unending mercy and the depth of His amazing grace—grace that meets us in our brokenness, restores us in our weakness, and carries us forward with purpose. No matter your past or present struggles, God’s love is not something you have to earn—it’s freely given.

Join us as we share honest reflections, encouragement, and truth that will strengthen your walk and remind you that seeking God isn’t about perfection—it’s about pursuit. And in that pursuit, you’ll discover a love that never fails and a grace that never runs out.

✨ If this message speaks to you, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more faith-based conversations.

#christianpodcast #holyspirit #faith #seekinggod 

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Music: Skyline Sparks 
Musician: VN VideoEditor 
Music: Whispers of the River 
Musician: VN VideoEditor

SPEAKER_04

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Spirit Unleash Podcast. We are so excited for you to be here with us today, listening to this very podcast. We have a wonderful episode for you today. We're going to have Pastor Mike join us here in just a moment. I just wanted to take this moment a few seconds before the episode starts and take a moment, like, comment, and subscribe to this podcast. Turn on the notifications for the channel because we want you to see this podcast anytime a new episode drops. Please share it with somebody. Share it with anyone you think the Lord can speak to because I believe that the Lord has a word for somebody through this podcast tonight. And I thank you for watching. We love you guys. Please enjoy the episode. In that Bible study I mentioned, he's closer than a lot of people think he is, because a lot of us pray to a God that's super far away, you know, in heaven watching over us, but they don't realize that he actually lives on the inside of us. We are the living temple of the Spirit of God.

SPEAKER_01

Well, he is as close as the mention of his name.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So whenever you speak his name, that's immediate. Sure. So I've always likened that scripture into whenever he says he's as close as the mention of his name. I've likened that as him being present at all times. I feel like we don't have to, you know, search as far as we think we do imagine in our imagination. I think our imagination takes over sometimes and we feel like we've got to search for him. But he said, Seek me and you shall find me. It's different than, you know, like whenever y'all used to play that game. What was it?

SPEAKER_05

Siege.

SPEAKER_01

No, Manhunt. Oh yeah, manhunt. Yeah. And hide and seek.

SPEAKER_04

It's advanced hide and seek. Oh, sorry. My bad. Anyways.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. But y'all would play that outside, and and it would be, you know, seek and sometimes you didn't find.

SPEAKER_03

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

You were very good at it, by the way, from what I heard. I was, yeah. Seek and you shall find. So in other words, I feel like that the Lord makes Himself available. So when you seek, you immediately find. Yeah. Do you feel like you searched? Maybe you searched and didn't know you were searching. But yet when you when you stopped.

SPEAKER_05

I think there was a point in my life where, you know, I searched, but I didn't want to find at that point. Oh, well, there's a good thought. You know? Um because when you do search, just like with the hide and seek, you know, you don't find. Well, maybe it's because you don't want to be found.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well then that then I think that's another thing, is too, is that what you call distance. Yeah. You distance yourself from the truth. Right. And because you're not ready to accept the truth. And so there is a you know, that's the thing is, is that we want to say, Well, I found Jesus. Yeah. Well, he never was lost. So it was that he found us. We accepted him. We, you know, gave our lives over to him. So when you seek, you shall find, knock and it shall be open, which he is the door that leadeth to life everlasting.

SPEAKER_05

I think when I was looking or was searching, I'd get a glimpse. But then I won't go no further.

SPEAKER_04

Just wasn't ready to release the old life. No, scared of what you're going to find in the new life. Or you're scared of if the thing you find is going to fit into the life that you're comfortable in. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01

Or finding yourself of who you really are. Of what you have been, I guess you might say. Sure. You know. That person you actually have to confront the old man. Yeah. You know, the old self. You have to confront the old self in order for you to be able to uh move forward.

SPEAKER_05

Yes. And we talked about I uh spoke to someone about this yesterday. Matter of fact, about the self, right? You know, you can forgive others. Forgive and ask for forgiveness, right? Yeah. But the one of the hardest things to do is to look that person in the mirror.

SPEAKER_00

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05

And forgive yourself.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I I think it's I think it's the hardest hurdle people could have is to forgive themselves.

SPEAKER_05

Because I can't get the thought out of their mind, well, what what I had done, what I did the past, that I had all the hurt, all everything, they can't get past it. Some of them can't get past it, and that's the hardest thing to do is look at themselves in the mirror and say, Yeah, I need to forgive that person.

SPEAKER_04

Maybe I feel like something a lot of people fall into is they understand what Jesus can do for their life. They understand that He has a incredible transformative power through his mercy and grace. But they don't feel worthy of accepting that true identity in him. Because they feel like what they've done is so terrible, horrific, you know. Um but the truth is if you weren't worthy of that true identity, he wouldn't have died for you. He wouldn't have gone to a cross for you if you weren't worthy enough to accept his mercy and grace. The truth, the difference is that you don't deserve it, but he deems you worthy of it by way of the cross. Right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think the cross of course has always been the the common denominator in man. The cross is what brought that. You know, of course you refer back to Noah's Ark when it was just, you know, two and then a family, you know, they could brought, of course, all the animals in by two and then and then the only one family uh was saved out of that. Um I think that it wasn't that there were other people didn't have an opportunity because the door was opened to all of the other people. But they rejected that and let doubt take over. And so they began to believe in themselves more than they believed in God or believed that this massive boat being built was actually the escape uh out of destruction. Yeah. And um I think that if you say the common denominator is the cross, at that point it wasn't that God did not want to save mankind, it wasn't that he wanted to destroy mankind. He made a way of escape, but it turned out to be too late. And when he said once the door is closed, you know, mo the the thing is Noah didn't quit preaching because he was building a boat. He was letting everyone know, you know, hey, there's a rain coming, yeah, and there's a flood coming. And, you know, um the prophecy of that. But uh I think the cross then moving over into the New Testament, you find the cross as being the common denominator in mankind, and and people have to accept uh the cross because you can't skip you can't skip um you know you can't skip the cross, that's what I'm trying to say. So when you you you come to the common denominator of the cross, um that particular area is the most revealing of who we are and the most humbling experience. Yes. So so to humble ourselves before the cross before we move into the resurrection part of our lives of the Spirit of God flowing into us, then you you have to know that we've got to stop and evaluate who we are and look upon ourselves and say, Who am I? As the one man said in the Bible, you know, I mean, who am I that you would you would give me this opportunity? No, I'm not worthy of any of this. But yet the cross makes that opportunity to all of us, gives it gives that opportunity to every to all of mankind. Yeah, yes, yeah, 100%. That repentance. I'm gonna repent and I'm gonna understand that there was blood and water flowed from the side of of Christ at the cross. It's where we first saw the light.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. The cross is a beautiful thing. And um a lot of people take the cross for granted sometimes. And I feel like that's that's one of the biggest convictions people have when they do come to God is how they took for granted the sacrifice that he made and you know how they've just felt like they've stained that prophecy or something like that. Um but you know, we all fall, we all make mistakes. Uh I'm dealing with a situation right now. Um at work, you know, I'm not gonna say any specifics. I mean, I'm sure you two can figure it out, but people watching won't. Anyway, but um I'm dealing with a situation right now where um, you know, there's uh a coworker of mine that, you know, may possibly, in my opinion, I was getting frustrated on some of the things that were being said to this person and the way this person was being treated because I felt like the punishment had already been dealt.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yet there is still things happening and things happening. And I feel like to compare that back, you have to understand that even if you take the cross for granted, even if you are convicted of that, he already bore all the weight. He already took all the punishment, he already took it all for you. You just have to be willing to let yourself go and give it up to him.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, the punishment has done been dealt. You've already been, you've already laid everything down at the foot of the cross. You don't need somebody to keep hounding you, beating you up, telling you about it, and keep on at you about it. Keep reminding you of things because he's not reminding you of anything. The enemy will try. He's not keeping a tally up there, okay. Well, you done this, will you done this, will you do that? Well, once you have laid it at the foot of the cross and you've repented, you've turned away from that, and you've started a new direction, that's it. It's under the blood. Yeah. That's it. The punishment you've already had your punishment, and now you start living like you should.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that even happened in the old testament, whenever they would have what they call the escape goat and they would send that goat out all of the sins upon that particular animal as it would be. I think that we have to understand that you know there is such thing as as as Jesus, whenever he said that they're forgotten. Your sins have been remitted and they are forgotten. So they're no longer to be addressed anymore because they're under the blood. And there's only one that still seems like wants to keep a record, and that is the devil, the enemy, if you want to say it that way, the enemy of our soul wants to keep a record. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and so he's the accuser of the brethren. So if you're constantly being accused of something that you've already repented of, something that keeps being brought back up, more than likely it's the enemy that's really wanting to keep you pushed down and saying that you're not ever going to be any more than what you already, than what you are right now. Yeah. You know, or what you were then. Yeah. Um overcoming the past, I don't think anybody can overcome the past without I mean, I don't think they can. Anybody can overcome the past without Jesus in their life. Nope. And the blood of Jesus. I just don't think anybody can. I mean I think it's a recurring thing. And uh that can constantly in their in their mind.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, the the enemy will certainly bring it up to try and keep you down. But you know, we you spoke about it a couple Wednesday nights ago. What makes you a righteous man? Yeah. The fact that you get back up. The fact that you get back up. Yeah. The fact that you keep going. I brought up a scripture on Sunday that Jesus is speaking in the book of Luke when he says that um those who are I don't remember the exact wording, but he's saying basically those who are pushing the plow forward in their relationship with God and looking back are not fit for the kingdom of God. You're constantly looking back, looking back behind you, getting knocked down and staying in that.

SPEAKER_01

Then you're not fit. It's because you can't benefit anybody else either. I mean, how do you say that you're going to be a witness, um, a witness for God? How do you say you're gonna be a witness for the cross or a witness for his saving grace? How are you gonna say that you're gonna be a witness to that, a witness for that if you're constantly looking back over your own shoulder of all of what you've done? And feel like that it's, you know, I I feel like that uh he's called us out. He said you're a chosen generation, you're a royal priesthood. Um, all of those things, of course, were prophetically spoke, but uh and for a particular nation, but yet we as Gentiles can know that we've been brought out as well at such a time as this, so that we can be the witness that we're supposed to be, but you can't do that by looking back. Yeah, there's got to be a reason why we push forward. And um I I I think that trials are here, and tests are here, problems, situations, family problems, life. You know, I spoke with someone just today and he brought up things, he said, you know, he said, I tried to help someone the other day and just let them know that you know, some things are just life.

SPEAKER_00

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01

Life happens in our lives, and then sometimes life gets so heavy that we do fall down and we don't trust like we're supposed to, and we do let doubt come into our lives, you know. But then it's those times that I understand that if I can pray, ask God to help me, or He actually I let Him be the friend that sticketh closer than the brother. Someone said, Can he be a friend? Well, he is a friend. It's the he's your best friend, you know. And uh so what greater friend to have than one that you could pour your soul out to, your heart out to, I should say, and say, This is what I'm dealing with.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. You'll find people, I mean, most of the time, yes, you can you can pour your heart out to him in prayer, but sometimes he'll send somebody you can pour your heart out to oh I agree with that. You know, um he'll send a vessel to you to be a sounding board or uh and to speak through them into your life, and uh that's the beauty of the bride of Christ and how he can use anybody.

SPEAKER_01

Well, brother Kyle's devotional uh this morning, uh his text that he sends out spoke a little bit about that. About help. About help, you know, and how do you how do you reach out for that help? Oh, that's a that's something that I even work on and struggle with because wanting to ask for help or be able to, you know, really say, you know, are you here to listen and get all the information you can and then you're gonna you know put a blog out about it. Right. Or can I really trust you that right, you know, you're here for the right reason, right person. And so people have been hurt, you know. I I didn't respond to that today, but it I got to thinking along those lines of that people that have been hurt so bad in asking for that help, and when they get the help, that's really what I and I was gonna talk to you about that today, by the way. Time got away. But it yeah I it did, it was thought-provoking for me for that reason. You know, we got to be careful. We're we're the church, uh, we are the body of Christ. Yep. And it's important that if somebody got up from the cross that you don't run to them and say, Hey, you know, you want to tell me all what's going on? Sure. Then you want to hold on to things and say, Oh man, I remember that. You know that guy? Yeah, yeah. And well, I mean, this is what he just You got to be so careful with that because you don't want to break the trust of people. You want to be able to listen to them and for all the right reasons, yeah, to give that help when they ask for it.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. If if somebody should be able to confide in the father, they should be able to confide in you and you stay if it's confident if you need to stay confidential about it, and you know, that that should be something that you do, you know. If you're going at it, you know, talking to somebody, they're speaking their heart to you, and then you're going off and gossiping about it, well, you're doing it for the wrong reason.

SPEAKER_01

Well, you I think you'll be reprimanded for thank God will take care of that. Yeah, absolutely. Um because it's just it's you can't how could we judge people whenever we've done what we've done? So you know, I I don't want to judge anyone else. No, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_05

Well, and people are, you know, they're very, like you said, apprehensive about asking for help because of people that have hurt them, you know, people that they've confided in and talked to and you know, and talked about, you know, spoke about whatever it is that they spoke to them about. But you also have those ones where they won't ask for help because they're prideful.

SPEAKER_01

That's right.

SPEAKER_05

Um, me being one of them. One of those used to be very bad about that, about being prideful. You know, yes, there are some still some things that I won't ask for help if I'm cleaning the yard or cutting the trees or whatever. I mean, that that's that's one thing. But you know, spiritually, we're going through, you know, you know, emotional trials, you know, I have found that, you know, you you can't be prideful. You know, the Bible says pride comes before the fall. If you're prideful and you don't ask for that help, then you're gonna fall on your face and you're gonna find your your uh self in a situation. You're also some people need help and they don't even know it. Sure. They're struggling with things and they look and they don't know what they're struggling with. They they they're they're they're clueless. Yeah, you know, and they need that help. Um and that's where we come into the picture. You know, we see it in their body language or whatever they may be having going on, we see it. You know, even if it's just going up to them and saying, hey, whatever you need, I'm here for you. That's right. You know, just just that that quick conversation with them. And it man, it it it probably changed their day. And then that's when the conversation probably will turn around and say, Okay, well, can I talk to you about something? And then that's when the help begins.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that for sure. I think that it that wraps it all up when it comes to the whole help situation because we are, you know, we we really do allow ourselves to handle things that we're not supposed to be handling by ourselves. We try our best to say I can handle it. Um I tried and I hit the floor. Yeah, you'll find you'll find out how hard it is, how hard that floor is when you hit it. Because you will go down.

SPEAKER_05

Yes, you will.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it can't handle the pressure, stay under that pressure for that long of a time.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Well, it's like you were saying, and this is probably a different in a different context, but after uh it was last Sunday or the Sunday before, um, we were all physically exhausted. Yeah, because our physical body just couldn't take the anointing. I mean, the the spirit of God was so strong, our physical body was so exhausted. It's the same thing with things in life. Your physical, your flesh cannot handle everything that life throws at you. You just can't do it. It's impossible to do it without God's help.

SPEAKER_05

And you can't handle anything, everything that God can put on you either.

SPEAKER_01

Not at one time.

SPEAKER_05

No, no, that's why he deals with portions, right?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Matter of fact, uh, I can't remember which one said it, but he said, You are my portion, oh Lord. You're my portion. And that meant he was his his daily portion. Like that's I walked in today to work and um heard someone holler, Preacher. I turned around and looked, and he said, Man, it's a great day. I just got done praying, and it's wonderful. It's a wonderful day. And I thought, well, that lets you know that he's received his daily bread. Every day that you have is a daily bread. That's pretty refreshing walking into work, hear somebody say that, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, especially at that place.

SPEAKER_01

It's not that bad. No, it's not that bad. It really is not. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05

No, but the thing about it, what you see and it uh it's amazing how God works, but you know, at at that place, honestly. Right? It really is. Yep.

SPEAKER_01

I thought that was pretty refreshing.

SPEAKER_05

It's amazing. You know, I mean it is, it is just it's and I'm a preacher of, you know, I was like, it's another day. Well it all day you know, it almost All it is is just us as believers walking like we should. Be in the light. And they see in the light. And when they see the light, they want to be, they want some of that light. It's it's uh it's addicting, you know, it's like uh it's like poison ivy, it'll spread. It will do that, you know, it'll spread. If you keep scratching it, it's gonna keep spreading. I promise you. Yeah, you know, and and and that's the way it is, and you know, and the more people see that, and the more be able and the more people be able to see that in you every single day, and know that you know the way that you're at work is the same way you're at home and you're at church, and they see that that constant, right? They don't see a person at church, and then when you're at work, they see a total different person. When they see you at church and you're the same way you're at work, man, that just builds their faith as, okay, that's that's who I want to strive to be like that's who I want to be like.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yep.

SPEAKER_04

And that's how many people I believe, many people that maybe they've never known God in their life, maybe they've never been to a church service, maybe they've never heard a Bible study, maybe they've never read a word in the Bible. But that's how they seek God is through seeing how other people are in their relationship with God. That's how they seek after him by trying to become the example that's being set by that vessel, you know. Um man, hopefully the wrong people don't hear this at work, man. That'd be so funny. Don't bother me. I'll tell you what, man. But it you're 100% right, though.

SPEAKER_05

I mean, it's uh No, I'm I'm I mean, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I don't think it's just our workplace. I think it's every workplace. You know, so you wouldn't want to just say it's pinpointing that. I think it's every workplace has things that you know, people are struggling every day in some area, something of their life. I I don't want to pass this up. I know we're headed down a certain road there, but I don't want to pass this up because it just came back to me again and I had forgotten it came back to me again. That you, you know, have often said that the first step, the best step that a person can take to overcome certain addictions or whatever in their life is for them to first of all acknowledge that. So it's the I know I really regressed back to our conversation, but I didn't want to miss this because I feel like maybe somebody needs to understand that that initial acknowledgement has to be extremely tough. That is got to be the biggest hurdle, I think, out of all of it, that you've got to acknowledge that I've got a problem or I've got something going on. And then being able to ask for help after you've acknowledged that that there is an issue, that there is a problem. Because don't you think that it just keeps on escalating and keeps on going, kicking the can down the road, as we say, if you never stop and acknowledge I've got this issue and I really don't know how to take care of it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

It it that's exactly right. You got to acknowledge it. And you know that that's that's one of the things that that's the very first only thing that I struggled with was acknowledging that I had a problem. I didn't never think the entire time that I had a problem.

SPEAKER_01

There you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Because I had others, and this goes back to people that you surround yourself with, right? I had people that remember, you don't have nothing wrong with what you're doing. It's fine. It's okay, you know, and in my mind, you know, okay, there's nothing wrong with what I'm doing. That's what I want to do. But then, you know, have a family that's at home, you know, it's it's tough. And then when you finally realize and say, okay, I got a problem. Gotta acknowledge it. And then when you finally admit that you have a problem, it's that's a whole nother story.

SPEAKER_01

So it'll just well, so I didn't want to just hang just get or hang our head on addiction, but I wanted to say that if I have a bitterness problem, I have to acknowledge that. If I have a gossiping problem, I have to acknowledge that. I mean, if I have a doubting problem, I need to acknowledge that. All of those things, and and we could go on and on of whatever it is. But in order to make a step toward Christ is what I'm trying to get at. You've got to acknowledge that there is an issue. I'm having an issue with something, and I've got to figure that out. The lady with the issue of blood comes to mind, you know. She had acknowledged her problem though, but she had acknowledged it with doctors. Yeah, she's acknowledged it with other people. Yep. She had exhausted all of her resources in order to get this problem fixed. But the embarrassing moment was whenever she had to make her way through a crowd that did not want her there. Yeah. That she wasn't supposed to be around, and she had to crawl to touch the hem of his garment. And then when she he turned around and said, Who touched me? So she had acknowledged that, that this is my issue. I have an issue in my life. But man, to come through the press, as it as it said, she had to press her way through that crowd to acknowledge what the problem that she had a problem.

SPEAKER_05

And this just came to me. The acknowledgement takes action.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Sure. Yes.

SPEAKER_05

The woman with issue of blood. She acknowledged she had the issue of blood and it took action. Issue of blood, it took action, her to press through the crowd to touch the hem of the garment. Right. The people with, you know, people that struggle with addiction, they acknowledge they have an addiction. Now it's going to take action for you to fix the problem. Right. For you to take the next step, for you to go to whatever it is, a meeting or whatever you're reach out to somebody. It takes action.

SPEAKER_01

It takes action. She took actions. What's really amazing is though, is she took action with purpose in the right direction. A lot of people will take action maybe in the wrong direction. That's right. Sure. They'll acknowledge it and go, this way, that way, and then they begin to search. Yeah. She took action, as you're saying, and purpose and went in the right direction. She went toward Christ. Yeah. If we could learn what it is to take action, have purpose in it, and go toward Christ. Yeah. The right direction. Now you can get your problem taken care of. You know what? I just wonder at what moment, whenever he stood her up, that she didn't care who was around anymore. She didn't. No more embarrassments, no more listening to what they had to say. It was all over with because she had touched the hem of his garment. She made it to Christ. That just shows you what Christ does. He stands you upright in the midst of all of those that was trying to keep you away, trying to push you down, trying to create doubt into your life that you're never going to be any better than what you are.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And he clothes you in his righteousness and stands you upright and shields you from all of that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Well, think about this in that scenario, too, about what the crowd, the difference the crowd thought of her before she made it to him and after she made it to him. Right. Because when he stood her up, he complimented her and he said, It wasn't my clothing that healed you. That's right. But it was your faith. It was your faith. And to hear the Lord say that in front of that whole crowd, boy. They were probably looking at that woman like, oh my goodness. The Lord just told her that she has an unbelievable faith.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So everybody's probably like praising her now and seeing her as a different person because Jesus spoke something into her life. Now they want that same thing. They want that same thing. And we're talking about acknowledgement and taking action. I liken it under this the acknowledgement of a problem. I compare that to repentance. You acknowledge that you have something, you take it to God, you repent. In the salvation plan, what is the action after repentance? You seek after God and He washes you of your sin through baptism. That's right. After the acknowledgement and the action, the word says in Acts 238, you shall receive the blessing, the gift of the Holy Spirit. His Spirit in your life. Yeah. So that acknowledgement and that action, it's you can apply that to any issue that you're having in your life. It will deliver you from any issue that you're having in your life. It's vital.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. It's vital that that happens. Just in that order. Yeah. Just kind of in that step, in that process. Yeah. It's it's uh that's that's beautiful. Yeah. Uh there is a way. There is a way to God. There is a way to this life, to having this life. There is a way. It all comes through repentance, acknowledgement. I've got to have this life. I want this life.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And take the action. Take the action to do it. You know, I've had a lot of people talk to me about um the action about baptism and uh specifically water baptism and you know what it symbolizes, what it does for their life. After you do that repentance, after you take that acknowledgement. Baptism is just you displaying your faith by taking that action, saying, Lord, I believe in your salvation process. I believe that going through this is going to wash me of my sin, and I believe you are going to fill me with your Holy Spirit. That's all it is. If you can't grasp anything other than this, if you're coming into a relationship with God, grasp this simple plan. Just repent, be baptized, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Take acknowledgement, take action, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_01

Baptism is a confession of faith.

SPEAKER_04

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

It's a confession of faith. Exactly that. Yeah. And you're just going to be buried as he was buried. Right. And you're going to be resurrected into a new life. It's it's a symbol, it's symbolic of death, burial, and resurrection. Repentance is death, and baptism is burial, and the spirit of God living on the inside of you is the resurrection. Yeah. And so that is the symbol, this symbolic meaning of that. But baptism alone, we found that out. The Bible lets us know baptism alone does not save us.

SPEAKER_04

Right.

SPEAKER_01

But however, that confession of faith is huge.

SPEAKER_04

It's big. It is.

SPEAKER_01

Mixed with repentance and his spirit living on the inside of you. That is a it is that that gets you uh that gets you through. That's right. That gets you uh gets you started. Gets you started, but it gets you past some things. Yeah. And you uh, you know, the road after the acknowledgement and the purpose and all that gets a little dicey. Yeah, that's where the work begins. That's right. When the work begins. But you now have a helper.

SPEAKER_05

That's right.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Yep. Got a helper. The spirit of God is your helper.

SPEAKER_05

The friend that sticks closer than a brother. What you've already had, but just acknowledge that in that took the action. Now you have it. That's exactly. Now you know you have it.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah. Now you've recognized that he truly is living within you, that he truly is beside you. And the beautiful thing about that is when you get through the acknowledgement and the action as you're seeking him, he'll show you where he was behind that acknowledgement and that action. He'll show you how he was there even when you weren't acknowledging God.

SPEAKER_01

I know that's that and that just came to me. I'm glad you said it because that's so true. So true.

SPEAKER_04

He's always been there. Yeah. You truly understand after you get through that, you truly understand what he means when he says, I know the beginning from the end. Oh, yeah. And I've had a will for your life the entire time. Yeah. Even when you weren't acknowledging me. I was there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Just like we read the back of the book and we know we win. Yep. He's read the back of our book. Sure. He's read the entire book. Yeah. He knows who we are. Yeah. And uh he's here to care for us. Yeah. Every day.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And just, I mean, and that's the thing too, is you know, he knows our life. There's been things come up in my life where I'm like, Lord, I mean, this, I don't know if this is your will or not. I mean, this is a little ridiculous. But just understand that sometimes the Lord will use those trials to bring you into something new. To help somebody else who's acknowledging something different that you've never dealt with. Maybe he'll bring you through it first so that you can save another soul. Yeah. Yeah. So that he can use you to speak a word to somebody.

SPEAKER_01

That's a beautiful thing. That is a beautiful thing. Uh this last well, I know you're tell us whenever it's over because you know how I am. I talk, talk, talk. I'm having a good time. But but the the I liken it under this. I went to go get a haircut the other day and he asked me if I needed a two or a four, you know, on the guard. Sure. I didn't remember. I don't know. And I'm sure he's not going to remember because he cuts a lot of hair. And so I said a two. Oof. We got a little close, a lot shorter than a four. I I was it's way shorter than a four. Whenever I thought about that when you just got what you just got done saying is is that we we don't know how it is that we get to where we are. Right. And we don't know really what it looks like to be groomed as a child of God.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And we don't know if we need a two or a four. Right. Or for some of us, nothing, but just a one.

SPEAKER_05

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

But a two or a four, right? But you're being groomed. And that's whenever I look at the Lord and I go, Whatever your will is, sure. I'm good with it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And what you just got done saying, you're like, Lord, I don't know if it's will or not. Well, that may be a two. Sure. And you wanted a four. Yeah. But he's like, I gotta groom this. Yeah. Pull this away, get rid of that, and then you're gonna love it.

SPEAKER_04

When it's over with, you're gonna love it. Sometimes he'll take the guard off. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Oh boy. Those are the days.

SPEAKER_01

Those are the days you're like, wow.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my lord. Been through a few of those. But he is your strength and he'll he'll get you through it every time.

SPEAKER_01

Every time. Just know that he knows what's what's right.

SPEAKER_04

He knows what's right.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Even when you don't. No, that's right. You know. And when you need him, he'll be there and he'll reveal to you the way of escape every single time.

SPEAKER_01

Every single time. You know. He said that. There's always a way of escape. Yeah. Yeah. There's always. He said, I'll never put on a thing any more than you can bear without making a way of escape.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I think that that's really the main thing. When we're seeking after God and uh man, I love how we've stayed on on this whole thing this entire time. But seeking God is just the first step is acknowledgement and then take action from there. Just seek it. I mean, if you I've started to do this thing now where I have um it's truly open my eyes to what God can do. I've started um fasting before uh church services. So I stop eating it uh it's either we usually have an early dinner Saturday, but won't eat in all the way until after church and just do a full fast through the night because I'm a I'm a big late night snack guy. Oh, are you? I'll eat all the time. Really? Oh yeah, yeah. If I'm if I'm up there watching, yeah. Still there. Still there. Yeah. So I started um just fasting before church services, and just what he's done and revealed to me through that simple sacrifice, yeah. Just and the point I'm trying to make here is after you get through that acknowledgement and your action, he'll show you what you need to do to seek him even more.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He'll show you what you need to lay down to seek after him like you never have before. Um, and it's truly a wonderful thing when you realize what it is to really seek after God without a good thing.

SPEAKER_01

To be led and guided by the Spirit, yeah. It's what really we should all strive for.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, just be led and guided by the Spirit of God. Yeah. And you know, doing the hard things whenever you really don't want to. Right. Sure. The old flesh says, really?

SPEAKER_04

You don't gotta have that conversation right now. Yeah, right. You don't gotta talk to that person. You don't have to do that. Yeah. That's right. That's right. You don't have to tell her no right now. You can just say yes. Yeah. Every time. Yeah. But that's a conversation for another episode.

SPEAKER_01

There you go. Yeah, we need to get back to the saving grace.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Uh thank God for grace. Yeah. And mercy. Oh, yeah. We wouldn't be saved without it. We really wouldn't. He dropped something into my spirit the other day. He's like, I felt like he said, If I can give grace and mercy, can you? Wow. So true. And so then you go back to acknowledgement. Yeah, right. Then you go back to purpose and action. Yeah. And I'm not there yet. But I'm on the way. We're striving. We're striving for that.

SPEAKER_04

You get a word from him like that, you're just like, yes, sir. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yes, God. Yeah. All right. Yeah. That's so crazy though, because it that's so true. I mean, I can give grace and mercy, can you?

SPEAKER_01

Isn't it a sobering thought? It's just like, yeah. And you walk around with that one going, hmm.

SPEAKER_04

Nobody in this world has been through half of what he's been through. No. Yet he's still dealt it.

SPEAKER_01

I know. It's a message for an upcoming Sunday, by the way. Yeah. I can't wait. That's gonna be great. But it's it really spoke to me. Yeah.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

You know. But I'm like I said, I I mean, I feel like living in the world we live in right now, you're everyone struggles with that.

SPEAKER_00

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

You know. We struggle with handing that out so freely. And that was the next thought is he let me know because I gave it for free.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It was free. Freely given.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Oftentimes as our human self we feel like people have to earn it from us.

SPEAKER_01

Well, what we do is we say, but do you remember what I did for you? He never hangs the cross over our head. He never does that. Now we preach it that way. But he never hangs the cross over our head and says, Yeah, but you're supposed to serve me because this is what I did for you.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He never hangs the cross. Throughout his word, he never hung the cross over nobody's head. No. Like, well, you will serve me because look what I did.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

No. All he did was said, I came to seek and to save that which lost. What that which was lost. And it had to go by way of the cross. Yeah. And I freely gave my life. And it's up to you. You have a choice.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

Kind of heavy?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, a little heavy. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04

Heavy. No. And the thought that just came to me is that we feel like uh you know, we say, Oh, well, you know, remember what I did for you, remember what I did for you. But when it comes to dealing out mercy and grace, oftentimes we can be like, Well, I'll never forget what you did to me. Right. So I'm not gonna give you that.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_04

And that gets back to forgiveness.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it gets back as well to the cross. And so we end up there again as we are as our conversation started about the cross. And it becomes the calm denominator. And when you kneel before the cross and understand the cross and understand what happened there at Golgotha's Heel, when we are to get up from there, if we truly had a cross experience, a salvation experience at the foot of the cross, that's whenever we get up from there and understand that we have received something that is greater than any other gift that we could ever receive, and that is the grace and the mercy of God on our lives. And I think that's really kind of where I'm at right now. I'm learning what the grace and the mercy of God is. And you say, Well, dear Lord, you've been preaching this for 28 years or whatever. You've been I've been living for God since I was nine years old with in church. And when you think that you know what the grace and mercy of God is, but when you start to study the actual grace and mercy of God, what it really means, and then can you give that much? Can you give that back? Can you, after you've got it, can you give it? Yeah because see, it was never was that he said it was greater to give than it is to receive. So when you give that back out again, that's the purpose, that's the acknowledgement, that but that's also the direction that he's wanting us to go in. And then this day and time, it's becoming harder and harder to find in this world. Or well, I don't live in this world, I live in America, but all across this world we can see a peek into or peer into certain places. And there's not a lot of grace and mercy to be found. No. And even though people are calling themselves Christians, they're not finding that they're giving out that grace and mercy as well.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So it's important that no, we can't go around with our just you know, grace and mercy and love and everything's gonna be okay. There is things in the Word of God that teaches us right from wrong. But thank God, by way of that, we can have the grace and mercy to help us do that, right? So it's just a thought I want to drop in there. That's okay. I can't keep talking about it. We don't have time. That's okay.

SPEAKER_04

We'll save it for another episode. There we go. Yeah. This has been awesome. It's been fun coming up here talking about the Lord. I feel the Spirit on us right now, and I believe that uh I've said it in the past couple episodes, that I believe God is uh really drawing right now. And I believe that He's preparing uh to do something big, whether it be a revival spirit, whether it be deliverance, you know, I'm I'm just being obedient and I'm prepared for what he's going to do. Yes. And I can't wait to see it. Let's go before the Lord. Lord Jesus, we thank you, God, for tonight. God, we thank you for these two men up here. I thank you for them, Lord. I thank you for them joining me to have a conversation about you. Praise God. Lord Jesus, I thank you for your spirit most of all. I thank you for residing on the inside of us, being a helper, being a guide, being a provider for all of our needs. We know that you are everything that we could ever have need of. And without you, God, we can do nothing. But with you and through you, all things are possible. We know this according to your word. And Lord Jesus, I speak to the one who is struggling to acknowledge their problem right now. I pray that you bring a revelatory word into their spirit, whether it be by way of this podcast, whether it be by a sermon, a church service, I pray that you break that heart of stone and transform it into a beautiful heart of flesh, as your word says. Pray that the revelation comes upon them to acknowledge that problem, but not only acknowledge it, but to take action and seek you like they never have before. And Lord Jesus, when they begin to seek you, I pray that you bless their life in abundance. Lord Jesus, lastly, I want to pray for all three of us, all four of us in this sanctuary here tonight. I pray that you continue to use us as vessels for your kingdom. Use this podcast to bless somebody, bless multitudes with it, Lord, for we want nothing more than the glorification of your holy name and what you did on the cross. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your mercy and grace. For without it, we are not saved. But we thank you for dealing it out to us and giving us that mercy. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, this has been fun. Yes, it has. I thank you both for being up here. Taking time. Um, like I said, we're gonna be taking this on the road for those of you watching at home. If you're watching the YouTube channel, if you're just listening in the car, whatever you're doing. We're gonna be uh here in the coming weeks. Might take a little bit to get it up and running, but uh we're gonna be going into some homes, trying to bless some people, um, getting some new faces on the podcast. And we've seen it through our men's meetings from shifting from having it at one desired location to going into somebody's home. There's just something about going into somebody's home and just having a conversation in the school and how it how it blesses the home and how you can bless the owner of that home and just anoint that place.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_04

It's gonna be a good thing. Um, but we've had a good conversation in this episode, and I'm thankful for that. Amen. Um, if you guys enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and comment. Please subscribe to the channel, turn on the notifications so you know when new episodes drop. Share this conversation with somebody if you believe that the Lord can speak to somebody, if you believe that it's helped you today, how about you leave a comment and let us know how it did down below? We love you guys. We'll see you next week. God bless. God bless.