"Choose Your Hard: The Truth about the Grind" S4 Ep12

Transcript

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,760
Welcome to Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and Christa Smith.

2
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:12,360
Join us in this space where we take on real issues with real insight and real inspiration.

3
00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,640
This podcast is for those not looking for temporary relief to change circumstance but

4
00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,040
revelation to forever change lives.

5
00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,920
Hey, welcome everybody.

6
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:22,920
This is your boy Sean.

7
00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,480
Hey everyone, it's Christa here.

8
00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,760
Hey, we just want to welcome you guys to another episode of Keep It 100.

9
00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,160
We're super excited for this episode as we are talking about this theme called Choose

10
00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:33,160
Your Heart.

11
00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:36,640
But before we do that, we just need to let you know we have a healing and deliverance

12
00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:43,200
masterclass coming up July 28th and 29th in Oakland, California at Sequoia Community Church,

13
00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,400
4292 Keller Avenue.

14
00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,920
But this is going to be amazing as we are going to have some profound folks with us.

15
00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,480
We're going to have Joanne Moody and Jeremy Nelson.

16
00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,280
Joanne Moody is used phenomenally in the area of healing.

17
00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,440
She's associated with Randy Clark's ministry.

18
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:03,360
She is an equipper that is literally being called upon to minister and teach and equip

19
00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,800
by the Christ in healing all over the globe, Brazil, Latin America, UK, all over.

20
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,760
Jeremy Nelson is holding deliverance and healing crusades in Africa, Asiatic nations.

21
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:19,360
He's used profoundly to see people get free, to minister deliverances, to expel the demonic

22
00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,280
and he is going to come and equip.

23
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:22,760
So this is a masterclass.

24
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,400
So you want to be there for that.

25
00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,440
You know, we're really passionate about people getting equipped and trained specifically

26
00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,160
in the area of healing and deliverance because we recognize this is something that the church

27
00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:32,920
is going to have more and more of.

28
00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,680
And so we really want people empowered and confident in having tools in order to know

29
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,080
how to navigate situations specifically in partnering for healing and facilitating deliverance

30
00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:42,080
of people's lives.

31
00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:43,840
We want people walking in their freedom.

32
00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,080
And so we want you confident on how to pray someone through that.

33
00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,760
And so that's something we're really, really excited about.

34
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:50,880
So grab your seat today.

35
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,000
Go to Seanacrisesmith.com and register.

36
00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,240
There is only so many seats.

37
00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,360
And so we really want people to get in the room because there's something about when

38
00:01:58,360 --> 00:01:59,920
you get that hands-on practical training.

39
00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:04,800
So there's going to be seven training sessions, a Q and A, some hands-on activation, opportunity

40
00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,160
to pray for people and minister to people.

41
00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,560
So we're really excited because when we've done these masterclasses, we've had incredible

42
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,760
feedback and testimonies that people's lives were not only changed, but people really felt

43
00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,560
empowered in that skill set to be able to move forward in it.

44
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,120
Hey, Christa, too, I want to share with our listeners.

45
00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:25,760
We just was recently in the New Jersey area and a guy walked up to us before we jumped

46
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,280
into this Holy Spirit Conference.

47
00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:28,280
Her name was Carly.

48
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,520
She had some friends with her and then she immediately got tears in her eyes.

49
00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:36,000
She talked about how I prayed for, called her out and prayed for at actually another

50
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,520
conference that was in Pennsylvania and that she had cancer.

51
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,080
I remember she had a head scarf and wrap on it at that time and the cancer was pretty

52
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:45,160
advanced.

53
00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:46,160
And I love this.

54
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,960
They actually were trying to get another person to come pray for them and that person was

55
00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,000
in there and they go, okay, go get Sean's.

56
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:53,000
I love it.

57
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,280
I kind of was a second choice.

58
00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:55,280
Make a long story short.

59
00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,720
She walks in and shares the testimony just recently.

60
00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,000
In fact, this is the last weekend that she went back to the doctor.

61
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,080
They're going inside doing the exploratory surgery stuff with the cancer and it's already

62
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,720
been diagnosed, already advanced stages.

63
00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:13,640
And they said the cancer had turned on itself and this never happens in the natural.

64
00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:17,400
The disease cells were eating up the disease cells.

65
00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,400
So it's like what happened if you would curse cancer and command it to wither and die that

66
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,520
literally she came back, no cancer in her body whatsoever, whatever the levels were.

67
00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:27,520
She knew the medical talk.

68
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,160
I didn't know she starts crying.

69
00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:30,920
She's completely healed of cancer.

70
00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:36,480
And I say that because all of us probably perhaps known someone that has battled that

71
00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,320
disease and many of us know people that have lost that battle as we've prayed.

72
00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:41,880
And so it's so awesome to know.

73
00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,000
Number one, Jesus is still a healer.

74
00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,200
He still intends to release healing virtue in this day and age.

75
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,040
And when you get a testimony like this, it is a breakthrough moment that you can latch

76
00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,160
on to and see breakthroughs for others.

77
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,560
So let's just continually believe for healing and that God would use you and I more greatly

78
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,560
as it relates to cancer in other areas because he is the healer.

79
00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:07,080
You know, it's so powerful because just seeing even her share the testimony, the journey

80
00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:11,000
you just saw, obviously the emotion that went with that, but how that's going to impact

81
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,360
so many lives because so many people unfortunately are battling cancer.

82
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,000
But what a victory and what a win and what a story of hope because what I love is after

83
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,920
prayer and just her faith partnering with what God was already doing in her life.

84
00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,040
Just seeing that promise come to pass and she's going to be able to share that.

85
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,680
That's a testimony that will go through her community, through her family, through the

86
00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,800
church and our testimonies always impact much more than us.

87
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,120
And so that's why I love the power of testimonies.

88
00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:37,120
So awesome.

89
00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,280
All right, we ready to dive in for this conversation today?

90
00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:40,280
Let's do this.

91
00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,000
So y'all, we're bringing a really cool topic.

92
00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,720
It's a little bit different, but I'm excited to talk about it because I think it's going

93
00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,880
to be a paradigm shifting conversation for many people.

94
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,080
I think they're going to hear this and go, okay, I like that.

95
00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:57,840
I like the shift in my paradigm that this causes me to have or challenges me to have.

96
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,640
And that is this, you and I have the choice to choose our heart.

97
00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,520
So let me start with a quote that's from unknown.

98
00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,120
It's not my quote, but I found it.

99
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:07,280
I thought it was really good.

100
00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:08,280
Marriage is hard.

101
00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:09,280
Divorce is hard.

102
00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:10,280
Choose your heart.

103
00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:11,280
It's hard.

104
00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:12,280
Being fit is hard.

105
00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:13,280
Choose your heart.

106
00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,560
Being debts and hard being in debt is hard.

107
00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,360
Being financially disciplined is hard.

108
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,000
So choose your heart.

109
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:20,800
Communications hard, not communicating is hard.

110
00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:21,800
So choose your heart.

111
00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,200
Life will never be easy, but we can choose our heart.

112
00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:26,400
Pick wisely.

113
00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:31,840
So I found that quote again, author unknown, but I thought it was such a powerful statement

114
00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,600
and it's such a truth and a reality of this.

115
00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,720
I was in a conversation with my best friend recently on Marco Polo.

116
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,240
Any other Marco Poloers in the world here of keep it 100 tribe, but my friend and my

117
00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,880
friends and I, we stay in touch via Marco Polo and she was making a statement in one

118
00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,920
of her Marco Polo's and she's talking about, we got to choose our heart.

119
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,080
And I walked away from that conversation and I was challenged because it's really true.

120
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:58,000
When you recognize that you're actually owning and choosing, no one's forcing it upon you,

121
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,040
but you're like, I'm intentionally and choosing that hard.

122
00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,960
It kind of shifted on how you view your heart.

123
00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:09,240
And so I think kind of like what I just said, any area that you want change in your life

124
00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,160
in is going to be hard, right?

125
00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:16,600
So working for someone can be hard, but being a home, you know, your own business owner,

126
00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,280
an entrepreneur, that's hard.

127
00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:23,000
You know, I think like we talked about being in debt, that's really hard.

128
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,680
Getting out of debt really hard.

129
00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,880
You know, it's like parenting is hard, but not having kids is really hard, you know,

130
00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:34,200
and having that mundane life is hard, but then going after the dreams and taking a ton

131
00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,320
of risks to live out the call of God in your life.

132
00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:38,320
That's hard.

133
00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:43,240
So it really comes down to you get to choose what your heart looks like.

134
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:47,800
And I don't know about you, but our hope today is that you choose the God hard.

135
00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,560
You don't choose the you heart.

136
00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:50,880
You choose the God hard.

137
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,520
And so I want to talk to you just kind of about a little bit of a myth that I had.

138
00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,360
And my myth was, I think I kind of grew up thinking that when I followed Jesus, things

139
00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,400
were going to be a little bit easier, right?

140
00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,720
But I quickly discovered life is hard, you know, Sean and I joke around and Sean will

141
00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,320
kind of share his thoughts, but Sean and I kind of joke around like, you know, it's like,

142
00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,960
I have to, I have to make the choice of what kind of hard I want and the decisions we're

143
00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,520
making at this point in our life is really, really, really, really key.

144
00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:24,120
And so Sean, what do you feel like for you has been kind of that you've chosen that hard

145
00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,560
thing just so we kind of give an on ramp into our story for the listeners today?

146
00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,800
Well, first of all, I just like to say, I think this is going to be exciting theme.

147
00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,600
And I love the way you started off that quote is phenomenal.

148
00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,080
I think, you know, when you're a kid, at least when I was a kid, I couldn't wait to

149
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:39,960
shed adolescence.

150
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,280
And that is exactly the apropos term.

151
00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,320
I was trying to shed adolescence.

152
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,320
I was tired of being told when to go to bed, when you had to do this, when you had to make

153
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:49,520
your bed, when you had to.

154
00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:54,560
So I just envision this utopic thought in my head to where I'd get to this like nirvana

155
00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,040
place where I can set my own rules.

156
00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:58,800
The term now would be adulting.

157
00:07:58,800 --> 00:07:59,800
But you know what?

158
00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:01,880
No one tells you how hard it is to be an adult.

159
00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,640
And I know I got some people snapping fingers with me there with me, shot me down.

160
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:06,640
I am.

161
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,480
Because as you get through your childhood years, you don't realize those are the easiest years

162
00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:15,000
of your life, you know, you, you get to be an adult and all of a sudden reality can kick

163
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:16,000
your booty, right?

164
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:17,000
You got to pay bills.

165
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:18,000
True.

166
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,720
You get to live with people at work.

167
00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:20,840
All of a sudden your car broke down.

168
00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,120
You get unexpected bills.

169
00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,040
You get around people that try to be critical of you in a different way.

170
00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,840
And you have people that will speak against your faith.

171
00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,680
Even if you stand for God, they'll try to limit, limit God in you.

172
00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:33,800
They're disappointed.

173
00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:38,880
And so all of a sudden you realize that as you get older, life becomes hard.

174
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,680
It doesn't become more easier.

175
00:08:40,680 --> 00:08:46,040
But I think the bottom line is it's a fallacy to think that Jesus Christ got up out of a

176
00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:50,320
tomb on the third day, went through what he went through so that we would just be playing

177
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,240
harps and floating on clouds.

178
00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,760
Like that's just not real realistic.

179
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,600
So I love this whole theme of you've got to choose your heart.

180
00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,480
There's going to be a hard, but you have to choose and it's part of growing up.

181
00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,560
It's part of living on a fallen planet, dealing with fallen people.

182
00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:11,160
But I also believe there's a genius in there of what God wants to do to grow us up.

183
00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,320
I think it was Paul that says when I was a child, I did childish things.

184
00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,920
Because I grew up, I put childish things away.

185
00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:22,120
And so it's a challenge that even in the spirit, there's a place of adulting as a spiritual

186
00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,200
person who has found, obviously truth in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you've got to make

187
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,840
decisions and choose wisely.

188
00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:29,840
I love that phrase.

189
00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,440
Yeah, it really is true.

190
00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:32,440
And Sean, you nailed it.

191
00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,040
I mean, adulting is not easy, right?

192
00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,360
There is a difficulty that comes with adulting.

193
00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,760
There's a responsibility and a reality and it's hard.

194
00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,640
It's not easy, but it's worth it.

195
00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:46,360
Because I think when you find out your end result is what your goal is, you're going

196
00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,440
to choose that thing that gets you that end result.

197
00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,800
And something that got on a very personal note that we've experienced where we've really

198
00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,200
had to choose hard this year, but it's absolutely worth it because it's the God hard.

199
00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,000
The Lord led us in last September to do a prophetic masterclass.

200
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,200
We weren't quite sure the fullness of what these gatherings were going to begin to look

201
00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,800
like locally because we had primarily been itinerant up until that point.

202
00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,080
And then there was such success and just so many God testimonies that happened from the

203
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,040
prophetic masterclass this last September that we really felt the Lord lead us to do

204
00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:18,440
momentum in January.

205
00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:23,160
And again, just kind of walking that plank of faith with God and it was hard.

206
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:24,160
It took time.

207
00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:25,160
It took money.

208
00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:26,160
It took resources.

209
00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,780
We had to put ourselves out there.

210
00:10:27,780 --> 00:10:32,200
And had we not done that though, we wouldn't have experienced all that God has for us.

211
00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,400
And so it was hard.

212
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,760
It was sacrificial, but we knew it was God.

213
00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:37,520
So it was the God hard, right?

214
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:42,480
So we choose that God meets us in a spectacular way, way more than we thought he was going

215
00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:43,480
to move.

216
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:44,480
He moved.

217
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:45,480
It was beautiful.

218
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,080
And we really felt like we were supposed to begin to have these like regular gatherings

219
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,880
and they haven't made this, they've been every month, but they've been pretty consistent.

220
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:58,400
We're having a regular touch base now gathering here in the Bay and we're doing that intentionally

221
00:10:58,400 --> 00:10:59,560
here in the Bay.

222
00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:03,560
And our calendar for 2023 was already set before God moved.

223
00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:08,400
So where our year is already set on a travel level before the year begins, right?

224
00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,400
And so here we are in the middle of this God moment.

225
00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,120
We feel like God's like gather the people and we're like, we already have a full calendar,

226
00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:19,120
but we have like one weekend off a month, you know, and God's like, I felt, I really

227
00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:20,120
felt God on it.

228
00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,280
And so I have felt the sacrifice of it.

229
00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,960
I have felt the push of it, but I've also felt the God in it.

230
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:31,720
And I have felt like it's, I'm, I'm consciously and intentionally choosing this hard because

231
00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,480
I want a generation to experience and move a God.

232
00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,320
I want a generation to experience revival here in the Bay.

233
00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,480
And so you have to really weigh what is the hard that you're choosing, but are you choosing

234
00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:44,600
the God hard?

235
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,160
Because there is a spiritual component that is necessary that when you have the word of

236
00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,440
the Lord, it's worth that push.

237
00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:51,760
It's worth that hard.

238
00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:56,000
And yeah, there is a moment in times where it's sacrificial, but you recognize it and

239
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:57,880
result is the promise of God.

240
00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,400
You know, it's so true because the question is, we're all going to leave this planet at

241
00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:02,400
certain point.

242
00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:03,880
The question is, are you going to leave a mark?

243
00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,520
If you're going to leave a mark, chances are you're not going to be able to do that from

244
00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,440
a sedentary spiritual position on your couch.

245
00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,000
You're going to have to step out.

246
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,040
And you know what you were saying, Christa, just about the whole aspect of from our momentum

247
00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,080
conference, we didn't have a vision immediately to do momentum nights.

248
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:25,240
So we did our big conference in January, which we're going to have one again next January

249
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:30,680
that we're excited about, but we saw the momentum and we made a decision and it was taxing, but

250
00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:33,000
we're seeing fruit every single momentum night.

251
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,080
We're seeing people get saved, get healed, get filled, baptized in Holy Ghost, people

252
00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:42,200
get radical, but you could feel the water level rise in hearts of people that are saying,

253
00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,320
I'm hungry for the more of God.

254
00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:45,800
And we're seeing younger people.

255
00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,920
I mean, we're getting the generations in terms of the bandwidth of so many age groups, but

256
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:56,400
predominantly the younger generation are latching onto these meetings, but it's again, back to

257
00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:57,400
that thing.

258
00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:58,960
We're all going to leave, but are you going to leave a mark?

259
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,760
We're all going to check out, but will you check out leaving a reference point for the

260
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:03,760
following generation?

261
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:04,760
I love that.

262
00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:05,760
You choose your heart.

263
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:06,760
I love that.

264
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:07,760
And you're so right.

265
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,560
In order to leave a mark, it's not going to be easy is it?

266
00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:10,560
Right?

267
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:15,960
I mean, no mark is left in history from an easy process and an easy choice and easy path.

268
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,560
And so I think there's just the reality of when you're making that mark, which Sean pointed

269
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:25,160
out really well, you know, I think we have to understand there is a hard in leaving your

270
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:26,160
mark.

271
00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:31,160
I think the great biblical reference to this whole thought of choose your heart is in Matthew

272
00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:32,320
seven, 13 and 14.

273
00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,400
And if I could say it this way, before we even kind of talk about that passage is your

274
00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,160
entire life is really going to come down to this decision.

275
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,640
Jesus gave us an example and gave us a metaphor.

276
00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,080
There's a subtext within this thought.

277
00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:49,440
And it is the question that when you answer it will set your life apart.

278
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:54,040
It will either ring for eternity in the most positive way, or it will be a classroom to

279
00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,240
the next generation as to what not to do.

280
00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,760
Here's the passage Matthew seven, 13 and 14.

281
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,400
Jesus said, enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads

282
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:04,400
to destruction.

283
00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:08,960
And those who enter by it are many underscore that many for the gate.

284
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:10,640
This is now speaking of the second gate.

285
00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:11,960
The gate is narrow.

286
00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:13,760
This other gate and the way is hard.

287
00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,640
Remember, we're talking about choose your heart that leads to life and those who find

288
00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:22,840
it a few Jesus is basically finishing this brief teaching by telling us that few find

289
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:23,840
this road.

290
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,640
I believe that few find this road.

291
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:26,640
Why?

292
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:27,760
I mean, let's, let's play psychologists here.

293
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,560
Why do few find this road?

294
00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:34,240
And I think it's because so many people are satisfied in this life with the easy.

295
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,560
They're satisfied with the no effort, low effort.

296
00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,160
Just give me a partition, participation trophy in the spirit for life.

297
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,000
And they just get satisfied where they're at.

298
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,600
And so if you never become divinely dissatisfied, you don't begin to realize you need more of

299
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:48,600
Jesus.

300
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,880
And even once you come to Jesus, you need more of Jesus.

301
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,560
And they begin to think the world is kind of the cotton candy.

302
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:55,560
It's kind of the glitter.

303
00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:56,640
It's all that stuff.

304
00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:02,080
It's not if they, it's not until they realize that the life, Kona Co found in the world

305
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,480
only leads to their demise.

306
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:09,400
Whereas the life found in Christ has victory over death and that gate is narrow.

307
00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,560
And so is it an easy gate to walk through?

308
00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,480
No, there is no easy road to walk.

309
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:20,200
It's not easy because the narrow gate demands, and here is the hard part.

310
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,360
It demands that you leave self at the entrance.

311
00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:25,680
Take up your cross, walk down the narrow road.

312
00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,800
You surrender everything you do, everything you say, everything you are to Jesus.

313
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,680
But when you're passionate, when you've found the pearl of great price and you sell out,

314
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,480
it doesn't matter the cost.

315
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:41,600
And once you make that decision, that hard becomes the most enjoyable life you could

316
00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:42,600
ever find.

317
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:48,120
But Jesus said, there is a broad way that's easy, broad as in wide road.

318
00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,800
There is a narrow road that's hard.

319
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,160
Jesus is saying, choose your heart.

320
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,920
One starts off easy, but ends up in the worst hard position ever.

321
00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,800
The other one starts off hard, but it leads to glory to heaven.

322
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,240
And so it's a very interesting metaphor, but actually illustrates a powerful, profound

323
00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:06,240
truth.

324
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:07,240
And you said it so well.

325
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,400
I love what you share, the narrow road versus the wide road.

326
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,000
And I think it's the believer that's really what it comes down to on the hard, because

327
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,080
really everything we're doing is filtering through that place of living a life that is

328
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,720
surrendered to Jesus, requiring us to surrender our flesh at times, surrender our appetites

329
00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,120
that are ungodly or our desires that are ungodly and becoming more Christ-like.

330
00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:33,160
There's a narrowness that happens in our life, but you nailed it right when you get a hold

331
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,440
and have a clarity and understanding of your passion for Christ.

332
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,120
When there's a passion because you've had an encounter, you've been marked by God.

333
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,320
When you've had that moment with God that we've had, like many of our listeners have

334
00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:45,480
had, you've been marked by God.

335
00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:46,480
You're like, there's no going back.

336
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,640
There's no plan B. Nothing else is going to satisfy.

337
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,160
It's only Jesus done deal.

338
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,160
Like passion is like sealed, signed, delivered.

339
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,480
That is what makes the narrow road doable.

340
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,600
That's how you're able to actually walk it.

341
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,480
It's because your passion for Christ makes it possible.

342
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,120
And I think that's really what's so important because in this wide road versus narrow road,

343
00:17:05,120 --> 00:17:09,560
really understanding, there's going to, that crowd that was with you in the wide road isn't

344
00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:11,560
going to make that journey to the narrow road.

345
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:17,840
So there is a diminishing factor that happens in your life that is of God and it's not a

346
00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:22,200
bad diminishing, but there's a diminishing at times of people in your life that you were

347
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,680
able to do life with at one season.

348
00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,640
But when that passion, when that marking, when the invitation, even the beckoning of

349
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,600
the narrow road happens in your life, all of a sudden you realize, I can't actually just

350
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:33,600
hang with them.

351
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,400
I can't just go to the party and like be wall candy.

352
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,880
You know, I just, I can't even associate with that stuff and not that, not from a place

353
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,600
of legalism, but a place of passion.

354
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,960
Like I'm so devoted to Jesus.

355
00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,040
And when that happens, what could look hard to the world?

356
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:50,800
Man, you don't do that stuff anymore.

357
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:52,160
You don't, you're not participating in that.

358
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,160
You're not going to the party.

359
00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:54,160
You're not hanging out.

360
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:55,640
That stuff actually isn't hard anymore.

361
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,120
Can we just put it on the table?

362
00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:02,040
It's actually not hard when you've actually encountered and tasted genuine love because

363
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,560
the counterfeit stuff has a bitter taste.

364
00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:05,560
You know, you're right.

365
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,760
It's important to distinguish there's a right hard and a wrong hard from an eternal perspective.

366
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:10,760
Exactly.

367
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:11,760
This is what Jesus was saying.

368
00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,280
It's going to be hard, but there is a right heart and a wrong hard.

369
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,720
And I think when you're on the right hard, just an encouragement to keep it when under

370
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,240
tribe, it's important to understand this world is not our final destination.

371
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,480
You don't hear too many people preaching on that right now and talking about that at length.

372
00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,960
This life is, this world is not our home.

373
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,120
This isn't the final destination.

374
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:37,240
All of the hoops and the brass rings to be grasped at the world puts before a generation.

375
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:38,840
You can't take any of that stuff with you.

376
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:39,840
It's gone.

377
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,560
You're going to leave the Gucci bag behind.

378
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,240
You're going to leave the Tesla behind.

379
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,240
You're going to leave the six figure annual income behind.

380
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:53,080
You're going to leave behind the wife, 2.3 kids and your French Bulldog is costing $6,000

381
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:54,080
behind.

382
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,120
You know, when I was young, my wife's laughing right now.

383
00:18:56,120 --> 00:19:00,040
When I was young in the Lord, the Lord just really breathed on me a scripture.

384
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,080
It's second Corinthians 417.

385
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:06,400
Paul says, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving in us an eternal weight of

386
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,360
glory, which far outweighs them all.

387
00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,400
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.

388
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,160
And Paul says, this is it.

389
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,360
When it comes to hard, it's about perspective.

390
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,000
He calls them light and momentary troubles.

391
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,400
But when you're going through, it didn't feel light and momentary.

392
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,000
It feels hard and forever.

393
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,400
But he goes on to say, they're achieving in you an eternal weight of glory.

394
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,920
So all of us, you know, the term today, hashtag grind.

395
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,920
No, we'll grind if they know that at the end of it, they'll glow.

396
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,460
And that's kind of my phraseology.

397
00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:39,200
If you'll grind, they'll, they'll come a glow.

398
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,040
And so what, what do you mean by hard things?

399
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,200
I think, you know, one of the things I think about when you think about hard things as

400
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,120
it relates to kingdom, walking with Christ and being a follower, is that you got to do

401
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,760
things outside of your comfort zone.

402
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:55,560
When Jesus saying go down the narrow path, he was basically, and it's comfortable to go

403
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:56,800
down the wide road.

404
00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,640
The wide road is the path of least resistance.

405
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,280
So that means you're going to do what you find easy and natural.

406
00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,240
But when you're asked to go down the narrow road, you're invited to come down the narrow

407
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,080
road, you got to step outside your comfort zone.

408
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,160
And some people fear stepping outside of their comfort zone.

409
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:13,480
Some people fear rejection.

410
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,920
They feel fear, the opinions of others.

411
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:22,120
But you think about Moses, I love that Moses, God calls Moses Exodus 3, 11 and 4, chapter

412
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:23,120
verse 10.

413
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:25,760
He calls him to do one of the greatest works of all time.

414
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,720
And Moses' response was, who am I to do this?

415
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,520
Like a lot of times when God calls you into stuff, you start thinking of all the reasons

416
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:33,520
why you're disqualified.

417
00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:34,520
He says, I'm not eloquent.

418
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,560
I'm so a speech, all that kind of stuff.

419
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,320
But then Hebrews 11, the faith, all the fame, Moses makes it.

420
00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:41,320
And I love it.

421
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:46,880
It says, he chose the ill treatment of the children of Israel over an paraphrase in the

422
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,640
plush lifestyle being born in Egyptian royalty.

423
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,000
And I think talk about choosing the hard.

424
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,560
This dude could have stayed with Egypt, but nobody, Charlton Heston would not play him

425
00:20:57,560 --> 00:20:58,920
in a movie had he done that.

426
00:20:58,920 --> 00:20:59,920
No one would have known.

427
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:04,720
He would have been the dude in the Bible that failed, but instead he chose what was hard.

428
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:10,680
He chose to identify it with people who were on the bottom end of what was popular in Egyptian

429
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:11,680
culture.

430
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,120
And as a result of that, he literally changed an entire nation.

431
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:20,440
And obviously he was used to lead a nation of Israel out of servitude.

432
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,920
It's incredible, but you got to do things outside your comfort zone.

433
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:23,920
No, it's really true.

434
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,480
And I think when we really apply this to our walk with the Lord and really as Christians,

435
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:31,960
we understand that God's actually called us away from the easy path of least resistance.

436
00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,160
And that, you know, we have to understand that that easy path is actually not our call.

437
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:37,160
It's not our destiny.

438
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,160
And he's actually called us to walk a higher road.

439
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:40,840
He's called us to walk the hard road.

440
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:42,480
And he's called us to even do hard things.

441
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:43,480
I think I love this.

442
00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:46,240
Havala wrote a book called, you know, I can do hard things.

443
00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:47,320
I think it's something of that effect.

444
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,640
And I love that idea that she took that on.

445
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,000
It's like, and I've even preached that before.

446
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,960
Like God created us in the midst of a global pandemic.

447
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,520
I saw the church cowering.

448
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:57,880
I saw the church afraid.

449
00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,040
I saw the church intimidated full of fear.

450
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,080
And the Lord had me begin to preach prophetically.

451
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:03,800
Like you were created to do hard things.

452
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,120
You were created to thrive in crisis.

453
00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:10,080
You have the spirit of God and you have the same spirit, the raised Christ from the dead

454
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,080
in you.

455
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:12,480
You can do the hard things.

456
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,640
We have a God that makes the impossible possible.

457
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,840
And so when we understand who dwells within us, we understand we can do the hard things.

458
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,360
And the hard things actually shouldn't make us afraid or intimidate us.

459
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:24,680
And even if they do, that's okay.

460
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,180
We understand Jesus is in us.

461
00:22:26,180 --> 00:22:30,000
But I think that we really understand that choosing to do the hard things is going to

462
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,600
strengthen our weaknesses and our current strengths are going to become even stronger.

463
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,960
And I think we just keep doing things we're uncomfortable with because we recognize it

464
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,800
just makes us better and it makes us more Christ-like.

465
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,920
You know, it's like, you know, is it uncomfortable for you to share the gospel?

466
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:45,920
Well, that's okay.

467
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:46,920
Keep doing it.

468
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,680
You know, is it uncomfortable to invite people over to your home and build communities or

469
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,560
invite people out to coffee and put yourself out there to build new friendships in your

470
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:55,560
church?

471
00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:56,760
Okay, do it anyway.

472
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,400
You know, are you uncomfortable praying for someone and asking someone if you can pray

473
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,160
for them when you see that they're sick or they're on crutches or they have a cast?

474
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:05,160
Well, that's okay.

475
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,160
Do it anyway.

476
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,800
It's like, if you only do what's comfortable, you'll never grow.

477
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,440
I have to share this story and some of you have heard this.

478
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:19,560
But when I started doing Krav Maga, I had the decision within that first month, I was

479
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,880
literally learning a completely different culture, verbiage techniques, all the things.

480
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,640
And it was really important because I remember I said, they're going, I don't really like

481
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:27,640
this.

482
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,400
And I remember God saying, Christa, when's the last time as an adult, you intentionally

483
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,520
chose to do something you were terrible at?

484
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,720
Seriously, because as an adult, we always choose to do things we're, well, we're good

485
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:38,720
at.

486
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:39,720
We always want to be successful.

487
00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:41,240
So we're always going to navigate to our strengths.

488
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:42,640
We're already going to lean into our strengths.

489
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,760
We're always going to choose the thing that we're going to thrive at and be our best

490
00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:46,760
at.

491
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:47,760
That is human nature.

492
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:52,440
But the Lord said, I want you to do this because it's a parallel picture of a spiritual

493
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,080
journey that I want to take you on.

494
00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,480
I didn't know that journey was going to be five years deep and I didn't know was going

495
00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,640
to lead me to my black belt.

496
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:05,680
But what was so important in that journey was all these small steps of making hard choices,

497
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,560
week in and week out, when I didn't feel like it, when I came home from a plane, excuse

498
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,800
me, when I got off the plane, came home from a ministry trip and I didn't want to go to

499
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,760
class or I wasn't in the mood or I had all the excuses, but I looked at my husband, he

500
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,200
was already packed up, he's going to class and I had the choice every single week.

501
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:23,600
If I was going to go or not.

502
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,760
And then here I am at the face of my black belt, which came at a really busy season this

503
00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:28,760
year.

504
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:29,880
We had a packed schedule.

505
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,760
I didn't get a train leading up to my test as much as I'd wanted to.

506
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:38,440
I was able to do some of it and even on that some of it, I was cramming in bike, a bike

507
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,400
ride on my one day off when I just wanted to be home resting.

508
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,160
I had in my mind fully deserved rest and it was like, but I made a commitment.

509
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:52,160
I chose what was hard and I did it because I felt like I created a goal for myself.

510
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,240
My goal was to be a black belt.

511
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:59,080
And so going into that, I had to make the choice that I was going to continually choose

512
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,040
the hard thing and all my little hearts led to a big win.

513
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,680
And so I just want to tell the listener today that you might be in the middle of your own

514
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,440
Krav Maga process where you're not really liking it, but you feel like God's invited

515
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:16,060
you in it, but I became strong at something I was terrible at at the beginning.

516
00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:21,080
But as an adult, I've now see myself differently because I did something I didn't think I was

517
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:22,080
going to do.

518
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:27,480
I've now become a new goal of mine to continually do things I don't think I can do.

519
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,520
I want to break down my own boxes of how I see myself.

520
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:36,440
That's going to continue continually require me to do things that I would view as hard,

521
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,600
but I choose hard because I want to grow as a person.

522
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,440
You know, Paul talked about, I learned to be content in plenty.

523
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,920
I learned to be content in less or lack.

524
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,120
And yet right after that, he says, I can do all things that Christ who strengthens me.

525
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:53,880
The actual context of that verse is not like, Oh, I could be an astronaut.

526
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:54,880
I'll go to the moon.

527
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,280
I will invent, you know, AI at a whole another level.

528
00:25:58,280 --> 00:25:59,280
Yeah.

529
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,520
But actually the context is, is that you could be content in the toughest of circumstance

530
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,080
or you could be blessed in the most amazing circumstance.

531
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:08,200
I love that.

532
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:09,200
So good.

533
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,240
You know, and it's like, when you start thinking about hard things, what is another facet of

534
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:14,240
that?

535
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,400
And I think in really choosing to do hard things, you have to do things that go beyond what's

536
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,440
even expected or required.

537
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,640
And I think in a world that's always kind of looking for the bare minimum.

538
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,320
Remember in school, there was always a students that were like going for the extra credit

539
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,400
and like in the college prep classes.

540
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,640
And then there was always those kids that were just like, what can I do to get a D plus

541
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:33,720
and pass?

542
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,600
And there's this spectrum in our society.

543
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:37,840
You can really choose your place in that.

544
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,000
But I think that mentality can go into every sphere of our life.

545
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,560
And I remember like even at the end of my black belt test, I know I keep using it, but

546
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:45,560
it just happened in April.

547
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,480
So it's like a new example in my life.

548
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,960
But at the end of it, I ended the black belt test doing one exercise that I had to do a

549
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,280
ton of burpees and pushups.

550
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:54,800
And I didn't like the way I did it.

551
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,200
I didn't, I didn't feel like I was able to do it in my fullest because I was in so much

552
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:00,320
pain in my shoulders.

553
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,320
I was so exhausted after three days.

554
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,520
I just, I felt really good about my test, but that was one thing I wanted to change.

555
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:12,040
So the day after my three day black belt test, I literally got up, Sean's still sleeping.

556
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,040
I went downstairs.

557
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:14,920
I don't even know if you know this baby.

558
00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,400
And I did a ton of burpees.

559
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,760
Just for myself, I redid them.

560
00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:24,160
I didn't do the full of them, but I probably did about half of the set that was required

561
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:30,080
because I just wanted to do it right to know that I can do a proper formed burpee even

562
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,720
when I'm tired, even when I'm sore, even after a three day test, I got up and I went downstairs

563
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,560
that morning, not for anyone else, but for myself.

564
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,000
And that's because I'm not going to just do what's required and I'm not even going to

565
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,600
do what's expected and I'm not even going to do what's good enough.

566
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:45,920
I'm actually going to do more than that.

567
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,960
It's not for anyone else, but God and me because it's like, I want to live at a place

568
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:55,960
where I know like I'm giving it my best and your best looks different in different seasons

569
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,640
and I'm a big believer in that truth.

570
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,680
But I'm also going, you know, I woke up that day and I just wasn't happy with it and I

571
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:02,840
was like, I can't fix it.

572
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:04,360
And then I had this idea, yeah, I can.

573
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,640
I can go downstairs and redo it to myself.

574
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,200
No one else is going to see it, but I feel better about it.

575
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,120
And I think there's something that changes your mentality when you begin to go, I can

576
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:14,120
do better.

577
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,480
I'm actually going to expect better and I'm going to get out of the, this is good enough

578
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,240
mode and actually be like, no, I have more to offer.

579
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,920
And it sounds silly, but even when I'm in public restrooms, like I always make sure

580
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:25,760
like I throw away my stuff.

581
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:27,400
Like, or I'm in, you know what I mean?

582
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,360
Like my napkins or different stuff, I'll like, you know, my tab paper towel, you know, I'll

583
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,280
throw it and if I miss it, I'll go pick it up.

584
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:38,680
It sounds simple, but I genuinely have a mentality that God created me to make things better than

585
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:39,840
how I found them.

586
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,320
And it sounds simple, but I just have this mentality that I clean up messes.

587
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:44,680
I put stuff away.

588
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,280
I make stuff better in the natural, but I also do it in the spirit.

589
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:53,120
And I think when you just have this parallel life that your natural matches your spiritual,

590
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,360
that's when you begin to have a convergence and that's when you take on the hard things,

591
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,920
but you take it on with passion and intentionality.

592
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:00,960
You know, older and that's, that's profound.

593
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:01,960
I love that analogy.

594
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:02,960
And it's so true.

595
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,360
I think so often if I could take what you said in academics, people just trying, what

596
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:09,280
can I do just to barely pass?

597
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,400
I think there are a lot of people that are looking for the bare minimum spiritually.

598
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,120
That's the least I could do to get to heaven.

599
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:19,120
I think the mindset that we have currently in modern North American Christianity and

600
00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,040
other advanced nations, I think it's totally different.

601
00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:26,000
Like in Fox's Book of Martyrs, there's some dude that literally Nero was torturing him

602
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:31,840
and then martyred his wife, martyred his kids because they wouldn't deny Jesus and confess

603
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,720
Nero this wicked bloodthirsty king as the sovereign.

604
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:35,880
So the story is in there.

605
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:41,240
One dude is about to be executed and the guy says, alas, but I have but one life to

606
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:42,360
give for my savior.

607
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:43,760
And it's like, stop, what?

608
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:48,720
This dude has seen his wife killed because she would not deny the Lord Jesus Christ.

609
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,640
His children come on, your dad, you've seen your wife, love of your life, your children.

610
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,200
And now, you know, most people would have long before that been in the midst of being

611
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,480
angry at God and they would have written a blog and they would do some sort of crazy

612
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,520
stuff and just be blasting Christians on social media.

613
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,960
This dude rises up and says alas, but I have but one life to give for my savior.

614
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:11,800
And I just think, man, you know what?

615
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,160
The grace of God isn't for the comfortable.

616
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,120
The grace of God is for the grind.

617
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,680
The grace of God is a path of growth.

618
00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,640
You don't need grace if you're doing the bare minimum.

619
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,800
Grace, great grace comes upon a person that's willing to step in the great sacrifice.

620
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:30,520
And a great example of this is Philemon, which is who was actually a contemporary of Apostle

621
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:31,520
Paul.

622
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,560
Philemon, it says in the only, there's only one chapter that Paul wrote as a letter to

623
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:36,560
Philemon.

624
00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:42,520
And Philemon 121, he says, having your confidence in your obedience, I write to you knowing that

625
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,400
you will do ever more than I say.

626
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,080
So here's Apostle Paul, right into this guy Philemon.

627
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,240
He says, I know you're going to do more than I say.

628
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,080
So whatever I'm telling you, Hey, this is what's required to walk with Christ.

629
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,480
Man, I know you're going to do more.

630
00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:01,800
And I say that is the Christian mindset to do the hard things that whoever you're going

631
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,320
to go beyond was expected or required.

632
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,080
I remember they told me as a baby believer.

633
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,400
I should share my faith.

634
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,840
And in week three of being saved, I stood up in front of my entire student body as a

635
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,000
student, University of Pacific, and I preached the gospel.

636
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,840
And I'm not even trying to break my hand, pat myself on the back over that.

637
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,040
I just felt like, well, if I'm supposed to witness, I'm not just going to witness just

638
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,160
to people I know, I want to witness to everybody.

639
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,560
And that led down the way to where I would stand up at UC Berkeley.

640
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:28,560
It was not easy.

641
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:32,520
I could see there was the hardcore atheists over there on the other side.

642
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,360
It was the LGBTQT.

643
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:38,240
On this side, it was just the party fraternity sorority folks over here.

644
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,160
It was the people like, what are you doing bringing that out here?

645
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,760
Even religious types that was mad because I was preaching destiny and grace, calling

646
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:46,880
people to repentance.

647
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,560
But I wasn't angry enough as some of the religious types would want me to be.

648
00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,400
And I just thought, wow, this is wild.

649
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,320
And I did it without a big, huge Christian backing.

650
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,760
I would go over there and support a guy I was mentoring that was doing a Bible study

651
00:31:58,760 --> 00:31:59,760
at the time.

652
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:04,880
And I thought I want to let this campus know about Jesus and it was the hard, but I felt

653
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:05,960
great grace.

654
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,800
And I can't tell you how many times it led to people making commitments to Christ.

655
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,480
And as I would do that in front of the masses, I didn't know that years later, I would stand

656
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:18,320
in front of a thousand people on what they call Renovate Berkeley on a night.

657
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,360
Jesus culture artists came and led worship at a thousand people on a weeknight as we

658
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,280
saw a bunch of people get saved.

659
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:30,200
Keylings, a girl took off a brace, a guy was a Muslim guy, literally walked forward, dropped

660
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:32,160
his subway sandwich, gave his life to Christ.

661
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:37,320
But I think to get there, you got to go beyond what's expected or required.

662
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:42,120
And I would add to this too, Boo, is it when I think of hard things, you got to do things

663
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,440
against the grain of cultural narrative.

664
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,800
You can't follow the cultural norm or cultural narrative.

665
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:54,240
You know, it's like in the book of Revelations, the seventh church, Laodicea, it was a lukewarm

666
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:59,000
church because they were only halfway on fire for the Lord.

667
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,560
It suggests that they were influenced by their surroundings.

668
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,160
And it's kind of like, you know, if you get coffee, you know, the way you get your ice

669
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:10,760
coffee is it's hot coffee and then they throw ice in it and it meets the temperature of the

670
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:11,760
air around it.

671
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:14,800
The Laodiceans had let the culture do that to them.

672
00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:20,280
And so hard thing is you got to go against the grain of cultural norm and you got to

673
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:27,040
understand that you don't want on one end to become the super judgmental, angry at everybody,

674
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:31,600
religious person, but at the same time, you don't want to become the licentious, compromised

675
00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:32,680
person on the other.

676
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,120
You got to do things that go against the grain of cultural norm and that's part of doing

677
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:37,120
the hard.

678
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:38,120
It's really true.

679
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,600
When you are going against the cultural norm, the world isn't going to understand, right?

680
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,600
I mean, I think there's a reality where we choose to read our Bibles, we pray when we

681
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:50,080
could be watching television, when we're going to that church service, when all our friends,

682
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,920
they maybe used to party with, you're not going to party with them, you're going to

683
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,880
church, you're, you know, you're going to your home group, you're going to your prayer

684
00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,360
group, you're, you're getting connected, you're building community relationships, you hang

685
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,440
out with all your church friends and your family and friends who may not be serving

686
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:06,880
God or maybe casually serving God, they're not going to understand that because they're

687
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:08,600
like, why are you with all those people all the time?

688
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:12,680
But they don't understand how life giving it is because they haven't experienced that

689
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:14,920
and it's, there's a hardness in that, right?

690
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,840
Cause there's, there's that element and I kind of talked about it earlier.

691
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,200
It's like where you go deeper in the things of God, the world's not going to be able to

692
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:22,200
go with you.

693
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:27,080
And so there is that natural misunderstanding that's going to happen that will feel initially

694
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,560
hard, but when you walk in the God hard, there is a God grace.

695
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:37,360
You know, William Barkley is a Bible scholar and he points out many reasons as to what's

696
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,760
the difference between the two roads, going back to Jesus metaphor of the wide road and

697
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:46,840
the narrow and he brings up multiple differences, but I think it's important that maybe we hit

698
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:47,840
a couple.

699
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,440
And when I was thinking about, he talks about the narrow road is discipline.

700
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:56,920
The wide road is undisciplined and I just think nothing great is ever achieved without

701
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:57,920
discipline.

702
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:02,040
You know, the root word when we say we're disciples of Christ, the root word there is

703
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,520
discipline and I, it's just observation.

704
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:10,280
There are untold millions of people that have squandered their lives by being undisciplined

705
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:17,000
and literally not being disciplined in terms of just devotional life, prayer life, just

706
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:21,160
disciplining your thoughts, disciplining what comes out of your mouth, disciplining who

707
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,280
you hang with, a lot of different things.

708
00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,760
But the key thing is that there has to be disciplines.

709
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:32,200
And so I feel like, you know, people say, are you disciplined or they will say to me,

710
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:35,720
Sean, you seem like a very disciplined person, disciplined, disciplined, disciplined.

711
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:40,240
But one of the things, and we had this conversation earlier, I think you create rhythms in your

712
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,640
life and those rhythms ensure that you remain disciplined.

713
00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:49,200
You know, it's really true because I see that, you know, there is a discipline that's required,

714
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:50,800
which I think is really interesting.

715
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,600
I think when you again kind of compare that wide road versus the narrow road, something

716
00:35:54,600 --> 00:36:00,200
else I would observe is the narrow road would be something you have to be intentional about.

717
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,120
And the wide road, I would say is aimless.

718
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:04,840
You know, you don't really have to think about it.

719
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:08,480
You have to give no thought, no intentionality if you're just going to live your life and

720
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:10,360
you're not concerned about salvation.

721
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,840
If you're just like, I'm cool if I go to hell, doesn't matter.

722
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:13,960
I don't really care.

723
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:15,880
You don't have to give any thought to it.

724
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:20,080
You don't have to actually think about what's right or wrong, what's moral or immoral.

725
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,040
You don't have to think about consequences.

726
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,440
You don't have a conscience.

727
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,040
You have no moral compass within you.

728
00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:30,080
And you're not having to think about whether God approves or disapproves.

729
00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,200
You're not thinking about like the impact of your words, your actions, your priorities.

730
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:34,840
You're just living for you.

731
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,960
You're not giving it any other thought beyond that.

732
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:37,960
So there's not an intentionality.

733
00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:39,520
It's very aimless, right?

734
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:43,720
You're just, you can do whatever you want to do if you're not concerned with going to

735
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:47,840
heaven and giving your life for Jesus, being forgiven of your sin, Jesus Christ being your

736
00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:48,840
Lord and Savior.

737
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,720
There's an aimlessness, but as soon as you ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior,

738
00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:57,600
as soon as you make that decision to follow Jesus and become a disciple of Jesus, there's

739
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:02,800
an intentionality that is immediately required once that prayer and that decision and that

740
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:04,760
life is surrendered to Jesus.

741
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:09,720
And that intentionality is actually what causes you to go on the narrow road, right?

742
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:13,560
The intentionality is actually that entrance point to the narrow road.

743
00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,460
And the intentionality is now you have a filter.

744
00:37:16,460 --> 00:37:18,280
It's called an unseared conscience.

745
00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:20,080
It's called a conviction of sin.

746
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:25,920
It's called a moral compass from the Holy Spirit where you are actually running things

747
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:26,920
through God.

748
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:30,400
You're beginning to dialogue through a prayer life, reading the word and having the word

749
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:35,240
of the Lord wash over you, filter you, refine you, heal you, transform you.

750
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:39,800
And that whole process, whether it's reading the word of praying, worship in relationship

751
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:46,040
with Jesus, that begins to create an intentionality that shifts everything on how you live your

752
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:50,480
life because it's really easy to go to hell, but it's an intentional life that gets to

753
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:51,480
heaven.

754
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:52,680
You know, I'm impacted lately.

755
00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:58,000
There's been a lot of ex-Bose's and they're looking at different ministers and denominations

756
00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,000
or movements.

757
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,600
And I just think about, you know, this thought, you have to check the finished product of

758
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:03,600
your philosophy.

759
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,480
What is the finished product of your philosophy?

760
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:10,200
Like if it's just partying, if it's just making money, it's just being popular.

761
00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,800
If it's just having more junk in your trunk than the next person.

762
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:18,120
I mean, if it's a married person, not really thinking through what happens if I just go

763
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:22,280
get with this person and hook up with that person and I'm not married to, how's that

764
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:23,880
going to tear my family apart?

765
00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:25,560
What's that going to do to my destiny?

766
00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:28,840
How will my spouse, if they stay with me, how will they look at me from that point

767
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:29,840
on?

768
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:33,760
Yeah, you can be forgiven if you genuinely repent, but you've sacrificed something.

769
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:38,080
And in that moment, I believe the devil wants to hold up your spiritual carcass before God

770
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,600
and say, look God, I got another, what's the finished product?

771
00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:45,280
Hey, the Bible says there's a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is destruction.

772
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,160
Like you have to be intentional.

773
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,680
I love what you're saying with this because without that, so many people, they just get

774
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,520
in the moment, live for the moment and they lose sight of eternity.

775
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,800
You got to be intentional and you got to understand that.

776
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:01,760
Hey, I just want to take this moment as we're going to begin to wind down and just give

777
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:06,120
you a couple of thoughts on why you choose your heart or what keeps you in the grind,

778
00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:07,120
spiritually speaking.

779
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,720
I would say one of the things is that you have to move from Kronos to Kairos.

780
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:13,960
And it's kind of like what I was talking about earlier is that you can't just live for the

781
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:15,160
moment, be in the moment.

782
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:17,600
Yes, you want to be in the moment, but you don't live for the moment.

783
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:21,280
You got to live for eternity and you got to understand that some moments are more valuable

784
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:22,520
than other moments.

785
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,360
And I think what that helps you do is you got to steward your season.

786
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:31,360
My understanding is that if the Bible often likens the Christian walk to agriculture,

787
00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,880
that was the common occupation of Jesus day.

788
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:35,760
And you understand, you have to till the soil.

789
00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:37,480
You have to break up the fallow ground.

790
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:41,120
There is a season where you do that and there's a season where you plant, but then down the

791
00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:43,160
road, there's a season where you read.

792
00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:47,880
And so in the world that we're in today, you got to understand in Kronos, nothing lasts

793
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:48,880
forever.

794
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,040
Everything is going to come to an end.

795
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,080
Every season brings a new challenge, new opportunity.

796
00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:57,840
And you might be in a different place than a month from now, but the Bible says redeem

797
00:39:57,840 --> 00:39:59,800
the time for the day is evil.

798
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:04,720
It's another way of saying, move from Kronos to Kairos, move from just, whatever the clock

799
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:10,800
is saying, I got to do, I do, move out of that to a Kairos to understand the unique positioning

800
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,360
and strategic-ness of where you're at.

801
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:17,600
And when you recognize that, it gives you a why in your choosing your heart.

802
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:19,040
Like, whoa, this is a Kairos moment.

803
00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,320
This is a unique window of opportunity.

804
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,320
You know, what is it?

805
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:25,960
Leonard Raymell says, the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime

806
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:27,160
of the opportunity.

807
00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:28,800
That's a man that understood Kairos.

808
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,160
So I would say kind of one of the thoughts of what keeps you in the spiritual grind or

809
00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:36,800
why you choose your heart is you understand that you're moving from Kronos, which is a

810
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:42,280
word that just describes the 24 seven clock, just what the calendar says, Greco-Roman calendar

811
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:43,320
to Kairos.

812
00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:44,720
That's a God appointed time.

813
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:47,280
So you got to move from the Kronos to the Kairos.

814
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:48,280
I love that.

815
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:49,280
It's so good.

816
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:53,800
And you know, I would say why you choose your heart and really what keeps you in the grind.

817
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:59,280
For me, it would be that why it's the God why that keeps me going because the why is

818
00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:03,400
really essential in order to motivate you.

819
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,880
It's not maybe the only motivating thing, but for me, the why is actually what helps

820
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,760
me stay disciplined, what helps me be intentional, what keeps me motivated.

821
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:17,360
And it actually helps me keep showing up, keep pushing through, keep praying, keep preaching,

822
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:21,200
keep prophesying, keep praying for the sick, you know, keep loving, keep shining, you know,

823
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:25,520
really just keep worshiping, keep, you know, in my word, you know, it's like, keep leaning

824
00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,960
into Jesus be why, because I'm believing for revival.

825
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:29,960
Why?

826
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:31,880
Because I want a generation to experience the move of God.

827
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:32,880
Why?

828
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,560
Because I want our nation and the nations of the world to be different.

829
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:36,560
Why?

830
00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:40,520
Because I know that my life is short, but I want my life to have a mark.

831
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:44,000
And if I want my life to have a mark, then I have to understand there's a hard that I've

832
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,680
got to choose every single day.

833
00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:49,880
I got to keep showing up, I got to keep preaching, I got to keep prophesying and not out of my

834
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,560
strength, but out of the spirit of God within me.

835
00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:57,960
But every day I'm just leaning into the intentionality of who God has called me to be for this hour.

836
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:02,760
And my hope and prayers is you're here in this podcast today that Sean and I, prayerfully,

837
00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:07,240
hopefully have challenged you guys to really evaluate what's the hard you're choosing and

838
00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:08,600
is it the God hard?

839
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,360
Because that to me, friends, is really why God put you on this earth is to spread the

840
00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:17,480
gospel, to release the kingdom of God and to go make disciples, right?

841
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:19,520
And that is the why that keeps me going.

842
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,920
And that's the why in which I believe God has us here on this earth.

843
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:27,880
And really to sum it all up too, I think this, when you're talking about choose your hard,

844
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:32,600
when you choose your hard, you have to understand that your friendship base and who you fellowship

845
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:34,120
with will play a big part.

846
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:38,080
You have to decide what kind of person you want to be in God, that you want to be all

847
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:39,440
out, peddled with a medal.

848
00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:45,320
You have to decide what attitudes you're going to have and then as I read in one blog, someone

849
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,240
said, you have to hold up the destination sign.

850
00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:51,000
And when people come around you, they know where you're going.

851
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:55,280
So you don't accidentally get quote unquote wide friends in a narrow walk.

852
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,200
You know, the Jesus talk about there's a wide road and a narrow road.

853
00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,520
You can't take wide friends on a narrow path.

854
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:05,160
And so you have to understand, make sure you're showing up for the right kind of hard, the

855
00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,440
kind that will lead you to exactly where you want to be.

856
00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,560
Thanks so much for tuning into the keep it 100 podcast.

857
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:15,440
Make sure to rate review and refer us to your friends and be sure to click that subscribe

858
00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,360
button so that you're alerted as soon as new episodes drop.

859
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,760
Help us get the word out, share this link on your social media platforms and check us

860
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:24,040
out at seanandchristasmith.com.

861
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,560
You can also find us on Facebook at Sean and Christa Smith ministries.

862
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:30,560
We would love to hear from you on how this podcast has impacted you.

863
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:32,200
So be sure to show us some love.

864
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:33,240
Hey, keep it 100 tried.

865
00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:37,640
Make sure you do not miss our next episode as we're going to have some exciting guests.

866
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,320
Wait to interview them and to tell you about it.

867
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:44,600
And in the meantime, remember relief may change your circumstance, but a revelation will change

868
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:45,600
you.

869
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:51,640
We hope you enjoyed today's episode of the keep it 100 podcast with Sean and Christa Smith.

870
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,920
Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram and Seanandchristasmith.com where you can

871
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:57,360
discover more resources.

872
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:09,880
If this podcast has impacted you, please subscribe and review wherever you listen to your podcast.

"Choose Your Hard: The Truth about the Grind" S4 Ep12

Listen On

Recent Episodes