"Clapback, Casting Shade and Criticisms: Turning Intimidation into Determination" S1 Ep6

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,280
The modern world is not self-esteem friendly. This is evidence that we have a call-out culture

2
00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:09,440
where anger can often seem like the tone of the internet, office, and classroom.

3
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:14,080
Meanwhile, the aggression surrounding social issues today causes many to be silent because they

4
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:19,680
fear a landslide of haters and thumbtugs. Yet to this backdrop, Nikola Tesla says all that was

5
00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:25,120
great in the past was ridiculed, combated, only to emerge all the more powerfully from the struggle.

6
00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:30,400
In this episode, we talk about turning your intimidation into determination. Stay tuned to

7
00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:36,160
the end as we ask one of the top 100 most influential Christians in America today,

8
00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:58,560
how do they handle criticism?

9
00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:06,240
Hey, my name is Noma Headman and the Keep It 100 podcast has been like water to my soul.

10
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:11,600
Each week I spoke right to where I'm at. Sean and Christa bring truth with practical tools

11
00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,640
to equip and empower the body of Christ to live out the calling anointing on our lives.

12
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:21,680
Its discipleship across the airwaves and the ripple effects will be felt for generations.

13
00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:28,800
What up everybody? We are so excited. This is Sean and Christa Smith with Keep It 100.

14
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:34,960
We are so excited and today we have some fresh content to help you remain strong in the face

15
00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:40,400
of FLAC. I am so pumped up. All right, it may be a little TMI for our listeners, Christa,

16
00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,800
but we have both gotten sized and I've gotten my invisible braces on and it's funny because people

17
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,920
may notice it. It gives me a slight lisp. So just give me a little grace, y'all. Just give me a

18
00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:57,600
little grace. But it's funny because both of us have had crowding up teeth and so we got these

19
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:03,040
invisible braces to make space. We also have had some remodeling in our home and we've done purging,

20
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:08,560
we've taken some extra stuff out of our closet, we've donated and in the midst of it, we've made

21
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:14,560
more space in our home. That's good. Yes. And then also we all find ourselves in this shelter in

22
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:21,280
place where God is kind of removing the clutter of our schedule, I believe for the same reason. So

23
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:26,000
I found a common thread. The common thread is that we had crowding in our teeth, we had crowding in

24
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:32,880
our house and crowding in our season and God is saying it's all about making space, making space

25
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:37,840
for what God is about to do. And I believe this episode is about making space for your growth

26
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:44,160
and your spiritual walk, but it will require that you acquire the skill of how to deal with clapback,

27
00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:50,800
casting shade and criticism. It's funny how this negative retaliatory atmosphere blankets this age,

28
00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:57,440
Christa. So true. We have it in amongst musicians and hip hop artists is called Distracts,

29
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:02,880
where a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack another artist. I think this was popularized

30
00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:08,640
through the whole two pot biggie West Coast, East Coast rappers. West Coast. It's so true and

31
00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:14,960
celebrities, athletes and man, are we seeing in politicians. We're an election near America and

32
00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:20,720
there is so much clapback, which is that strong comeback to answer any opponent's insult. We've

33
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,520
seen it in brands casting shade that, you know, that's really what we call the subtle expression

34
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:32,160
of contempt or disgust with someone brands like Coke versus Pepsi, Mac versus PC, Wendy's versus

35
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:38,480
McDonald's. It's funny you'd say Wendy's versus McDonald's because Wendy's tweeted McDonald's.

36
00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:43,360
So you still use frozen beef in most of your burgers and all your restaurants asking for a friend.

37
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,960
I know that's clapback, but that's straight up comedy. That's gangster right there. That's

38
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:57,920
our core. It is. You know, today's call out culture is so seductive that you could see just like Wendy's

39
00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:03,680
so many can't resist the overwhelming temptation to strike out at people on social media. Callouts

40
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,880
for those who don't understand the definition happen when people publicly shame people online

41
00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,680
or wherever they have beef with other people. It's so true. And as humans, each of us have a

42
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:19,520
fundamental desire for social inclusion and all of us want to be well received and affirmed. You

43
00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,240
and I do. Every one of our listeners does. That's what we all want. We all want to belong. We all

44
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:30,880
want to feel accepted and because of that just core value within all of us, it can take one frosty

45
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:36,880
comment, one verbal jab to completely devastate or derail our day. And I know we all know that

46
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,840
because we've had those stories in our lives each and every one of us where we have a clapback moment,

47
00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,960
we have a critical moment where someone say harsh things or and sometimes we respond so well and

48
00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:53,920
then sometimes we do not respond well. Perfect segue to my story. You know, in keeping with the

49
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:58,560
spirit of keeping at 100, I want to be real and I want to share you about a time that I didn't do

50
00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,280
so well. My baby girl, Brittany, when she was young, she had a basketball game and in her basketball

51
00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:08,560
game, it was like a city league. As a young girl, she was probably an elementary. She's playing a

52
00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:13,040
basketball game and an opposing girl tripped Brittany. She was dribbling, bringing the ball

53
00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:18,880
up court for a team, tripped her and as a result of tripping her, the other girl stole the ball.

54
00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,480
Well, the referee should have called an infraction. It should be a foul for those of you that don't

55
00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:27,040
know basketball. You can't trip people. This is not hockey, but the ref didn't call anything. And so

56
00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,960
I'm kind of like, oh man, I can't believe he missed that. So the little girl on the other team

57
00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,280
recognizing, hey, I wasn't penalized. I'm going to come back and do it again. So this other girl

58
00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:39,680
tripped Brittany and the second time Brittany fell on the ground, looked like she kind of hurt herself

59
00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,920
and the ball was turned over. The girl got it again and the ref didn't call anything. So I stood

60
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:49,520
up and I said, ref, you can't trip people. That's a foul. And the moment I said it, another guy,

61
00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:54,720
just across in the stands, I think he was the dad of the other girl says, hey, pipe down over there.

62
00:05:54,720 --> 00:06:00,000
And before I knew it, I stood up on my feet and I said, hey, am I talking to you? And I just stared

63
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,120
the man down. And then as I realized as I'm standing up in front of a gym full of people,

64
00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:09,840
I looked around and saw about three different churches represented that I preached at in our

65
00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:15,360
area here. I sheepishly sat back down and this one, all the listeners to know since that time,

66
00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,560
I've had to come to Jesus moment. That was not the way to respond. That is the definition of

67
00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:25,200
clapback. I clapped back on that dude. You clapped back on the clapped back. You know,

68
00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:31,600
I tell you what, that story is so hilarious to me because it is so not you. I mean, I've known you

69
00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:36,880
for years. I have never seen anything remotely like that come out of you. So all the more it's

70
00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,280
hilarious because I'm like, that is just the farthest thing away from your personality because

71
00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:46,240
you're such an exhorter and you're always encouraging everyone around you. And it was that perfect

72
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,560
storm moment for you. Right? It was all those factors. It's your baby girl and you're like,

73
00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:55,680
this is not right. I'm going to advocate for her. And we all have those moments and those where you're

74
00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,880
like, don't even realize and you have that reactive moment and then you have the sheepishly

75
00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,760
sit down moment. We've all had them. And that's what I feel like God's like, Hey, come on, let's go

76
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,320
higher. That's right. You know, and that's the hard part. But I feel like that it is available.

77
00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:15,200
And it's certainly possible with the Lord, you know, in my story, because we were kind of talking

78
00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,680
about stories like where we've seen this in our life. This actually happened really recent.

79
00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:24,320
I mean, we're in August right now and this happened last March. It was right, my last sermon that I

80
00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:30,320
preached before COVID. And we were with a ministry and I preached a sermon and unbeknownst to you

81
00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:38,400
and I, the sermon really went viral. And it had like 680,000 views. It was shared 9,000 times. It

82
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:44,800
had like crazy amounts of comments. I've never had a sermon go viral like that. And we had no idea

83
00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:49,040
because I released a sermon, but then I come home and I didn't go on the ministry page to find out,

84
00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:54,480
you know, that it had done what it done. And so we got contacted by the media person of this ministry

85
00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,800
and he's like, Hey, have you seen what's been going on with Christa's sermon? It's going viral.

86
00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,640
And he's like, Hey, be really good for you guys to get online, interact with people, thank people,

87
00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,960
and just, you know, respond and interact. We're like, Hey, we can totally do that. So we were,

88
00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,720
you know, it was early one morning, we got up, we're still in bed, we pull out our laptops and

89
00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,480
we're like looking like, Oh my gosh, this is so awesome. And majority of the comments were

90
00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,200
super positive and really encouraging. And then all of a sudden there was like one really negative

91
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:23,680
comment and then another and then another and there was like this list. And you know how it is,

92
00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,240
it's like when one hater comes out, like they all join in and there's usually like this, I call it

93
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:33,120
like the clump of negativity. They like cluster, they come together. And all of a sudden there was

94
00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:38,160
like this litany of negative and they were mean. They were like things about me, they didn't like

95
00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:43,520
about me. And then theologically just, I mean, tearing me apart. And then of course, the fact I

96
00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:50,160
was a woman, oh my word. I mean, it was so mean and I just wasn't expecting it. I wasn't prepared

97
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:55,040
for it. I never had anything on this level. And I got, boom, I got hit and I remember sitting in

98
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,280
bed and without even realizing it, I was reading it. All of a sudden tears just overcame and I

99
00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:04,960
started crying. I was like sitting in bed, I started crying like they're so mean because my mentality

100
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,880
is, Hey, you can disagree with me, but you don't have to be mean or hateful, right? You don't have

101
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:14,000
to like everything I say. I'm okay with that. I'm comfortable with that. But like, don't tear me apart

102
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,560
in the process, right? And so I'm, and it's coming from Christians quote unquote. And I'm like,

103
00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:23,840
Hello, where is Jesus in any of this? He is nowhere in this conversation. I realized in that moment,

104
00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:29,600
because as Sean took my laptop, a kindly away from me, he's like, you're going to not read this,

105
00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:34,080
and you're not going to go back on and check. You're not going to even entertain any of this

106
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:39,280
dialogue or conversation. I'll go on. I will handle this. I will cover you. And I realized,

107
00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:44,960
who I felt so protected and covered in that moment. And I realized, had I stayed in that place,

108
00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,600
and I continued to read and really digest what they were saying, which means absorbed what they

109
00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,320
were saying, it really would have wounded my spirit, I think long term, because it was,

110
00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:59,760
it was stuff about my identity, it was stuff about who I am and what I carry. And it was personal.

111
00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:06,160
And I really realized in that moment, in this clap back, critical casting shade culture,

112
00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:12,480
there has to be a wisdom of covering ourselves and guarding our peace.

113
00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:17,040
True. So true. I almost wanted to rise up in that moment and go, am I talking to you on Facebook?

114
00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:23,440
Trust me. I did too. I tell you what, and we learn in those moments how important it is,

115
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,760
because I could have, I could have like shrunk, you know, I could have just limited myself. I

116
00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:32,320
could have been like, Oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again. And then I'm like, no, this comes

117
00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:38,320
sometimes when you have something that gets seen by a lot of people, that comes with the territory.

118
00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:43,600
And it's worth it when the gospel gets released. Yes. You know, as followers of Christ, your

119
00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:48,640
exclusive allegiance and witness of Christ would generate criticism. You know, if you're doing

120
00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,800
anything significant, people are always going to cast shade. That's, that's what we know. And that's

121
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,560
certainly what I experienced. That's why you have to be prepared for it. That's why we're talking

122
00:10:56,560 --> 00:11:01,680
about it today. And when we learn how to harness it so that it propels you into your purpose,

123
00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:07,440
and we want to turn intimidation into determination. Speaking of determination, I think it's important

124
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:12,160
to delineate. There are different types of intimidation. You know, the Old Testament closes

125
00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:17,360
by saying that God would send the spirit of Elijah. Well, Elijah has his origin in 1 Kings,

126
00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:23,280
chapter 18, and his rise to prominence comes at a very interesting time. It's at a time where there's

127
00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:28,960
a wicked coalition of a wicked king by the name of Ahab and a wicked queen that brought

128
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:34,320
Phoenician worship into Israel, worship of Baal. Her name was Jezebel. And I think of them as two

129
00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:40,640
types of persecution. It says in 1 Kings 18 that Jezebel massacred the prophets so they hid in

130
00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:46,080
caves. So Jezebel is overt persecution. We've seen that throughout history. She threatens,

131
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,960
the threat is a message that projects a negative outcome. And Jezebel was going to follow through

132
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:57,120
on that. But also, Ahab is a little bit different in his intimidation, and it's more of a subtle

133
00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:02,560
control. It's more of a manipulation. It's more of social conforming. Yes, we think of our kids

134
00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:08,480
and our teenagers in terms of one of their biggest battles is peer pressure. But you don't age out on

135
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:14,080
that. It just simply becomes social conformity. And Ahab was a master at using it to the point where

136
00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:19,520
when Elijah comes on the scene, God speaks to him and says, you have to go show yourself to Ahab.

137
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:25,920
In other words, you can't run from the intimidation. So Elijah shows up and he soon finds out that

138
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:31,680
ultimately the battle is going to be 850 to 1. And so even Elijah has to fight the intimidation of

139
00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:37,680
being in the minority versus the majority. But what Ahab uses is intimidation. And intimidation is

140
00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:43,040
such a powerful weapon because it can cause you to put down God's purposes and compromise. It's so

141
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:49,840
true. And this dynamic of Elijah, Ahab and Jezebel of that intimidation. And here Elijah, he takes a

142
00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:55,360
strong stand. He does a bold exploit. One of the greatest demonstrations in Old Testament

143
00:12:55,360 --> 00:13:00,800
when they're on that Mount Carmel. And there's a command of who is the one true God. And of course,

144
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:06,720
we know the God of Elijah, our God, comes through and he defeats the prophets of Baal. And in that

145
00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,440
next moment, there's a death threat for Elijah's life. He's run into the caves. And there's this

146
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:16,480
dynamic and this going back and forth that I think we all wrestle with. But I feel like God's

147
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:20,560
like, I want to break the sway of intimidation where you don't have to run anymore. You don't

148
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:25,520
have to hide in the cave anymore. We're going to stand in the face of opposition. And the opposition

149
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:31,680
has to cower because what is in us is greater than the sway of the culture of today. So true. And

150
00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:38,960
even to illustrate that type of intimidation in verse 16 of 1 Kings chapter 18, Ahab says to

151
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:44,640
Elijah, is that you, you troubler of Israel. And so I think about what intimidation tries to do is it

152
00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:49,760
attempts to use labels to get you to back down from your stand. So true. In other words, the world

153
00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:55,200
today will try to label you as intolerant. The world today will try to say you're not inclusive

154
00:13:55,200 --> 00:14:00,240
enough. The world today will try to say that you're far right wing conservative, whatever,

155
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:05,520
whatever, whatever, all the different labels. And what happens is intimidation at the end of the day

156
00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,240
is a result of someone trying to gain control over you. So the moment you see it for what it is,

157
00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:15,200
you can begin to defend it. And then in verse 21, it's interesting because the rest of the cast

158
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:21,920
and this amazing story of 1 Kings 18 was the people, the populace of Israel and Elijah turned to them

159
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:27,520
and said, how long will you sit on the fence? Because nobody said a word and nobody made a move

160
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:33,280
because the intimidation immobilized them. You know, that is so familiar to what we are seeing in

161
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:39,280
today's Western world Christianity because intimidation shows when people are immobilized from doing

162
00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,440
what we know is right. And there are so many people that are on the fence. They're not moving,

163
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:48,160
they're paralyzed. And there's like these people, there's, you know, there's definitely believers

164
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,680
that are like, come on, where's your voice? Stand up for truth and righteousness and what God is

165
00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:59,680
saying in this hour. And there's like crickets and God's like, Hey, you have to know who you are in me.

166
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:06,000
And you cannot cower anymore to the intimidation. And I love that God wants to shift us from a place

167
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:12,400
of resolve and our identity. So when the clapback comes, when the criticism comes, when that culture

168
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:18,880
of cancel wants to hit us, if the enemy knows there is a word or a label that will shut you down,

169
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:24,960
don't you think you'll hear that? But when you rise above and you, you do not give authority to the

170
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,320
labels and the titles of the word curses that the enemy tries to put on you, that's where you're

171
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:35,680
going to walk in your greatest place of identity. I'm going to do a first here, keep it 100 tried.

172
00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:40,640
Obviously, the first book I've ever recommended that you read is the Bible. Okay. But now here's the

173
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,400
first other book, Fox's Book of Martyrs. Because Fox's Book of Martyrs gives you the history of

174
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:52,240
your spiritual ancestors that spilled their blood and guys that would say quotes like, Oh, but I had

175
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:58,720
a thousand lives to give for my savior, but alas, I have but one as a guy literally was decapitated

176
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:05,360
in Nero's backyard. And I think when you have spiritual ancestors that refuse to run from Nero's

177
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:12,240
guillotines, we can't be those Christians that run from the butter knives of ridicule. We have to

178
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:17,680
know that we're cut from the cloth of people that literally were torn asunder. They had their heads

179
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:23,600
chopped off. They were torn between chariots. And when you recognize that that same DNA is in you,

180
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:29,440
it causes you to rise up. And that leads me to another story. Christa, I can remember when I

181
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:34,720
given my life to Christ, I was being mentored by probably to this day, one of the boldest Christians.

182
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:39,680
I mean, he was bold, so bold, and I was so challenged by the boldness of his life. He would preach

183
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:44,000
open air. He would walk into frat houses and witness the little I've never seen a back down

184
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,400
anything. And one time church was putting on an outreach actually here in the Bay Area, and they

185
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:54,000
invited Oakland public schools to do their cheerleading contests. And it was an annual contest,

186
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,880
but this church hosted it because during the halftime they would give like a gospel presentation.

187
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:03,120
And so all these cheerleader teams were out and then all of a sudden they started it. And so it's

188
00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:07,520
on the steps of a church, but it's outside. I think many people show up. They don't know what

189
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,720
they're walking into. They don't know this is an outreach. And so I'm with my mentor and we have a

190
00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,880
little hook before we're going to share the gospel. He did some feats of strength. I did

191
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:22,800
martial arts and broke some boards. And then he began to preach. Well, almost about the time we're

192
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,920
finishing up breaking some stuff, you can hear guys go bring the girls back on because the girls

193
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:34,640
were not just doing rah rah rah, RDP, OU&D rebound. These girls were gyrating. It was very

194
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:39,520
sensual, it was very provocative. So they had raised up the spirit of flesh. And so they were

195
00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:45,040
saying, shut up, sit down. We don't want to hear that stuff. And then my mentor, he starts preaching

196
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:50,320
the gospel and they just thoroughly disrespected them. They said all kind of inappropriate things.

197
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:55,600
And I remember my mentor saying, you know what? I preached in prisons and was treated better than

198
00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:00,560
I'm being treated here. And he just handed me the mic and he was just kind of walking away from the

199
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,600
stage. I didn't even know what to say. And I'm like, man, I've never seen this happen to my mentor

200
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:10,640
before. He's bold. And so I just shared my testimony and somewhere in sharing my testimony, I just

201
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,640
kind of fought through. And I remember there was one sister that said to everybody else, hey man,

202
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:19,440
y'all shut up, listen to him. What he's saying is real. And so I finished my testimony and I think

203
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:24,320
my mentor got back up after that and he gave an altar call. And we ended up praying with two people

204
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:29,840
that gave their life to the Lord. But I just thought in that moment, the power of criticism

205
00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:36,400
clapped back in shade that in that moment, one of the boldest Christens' day that I met was stymied

206
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:42,160
for a moment. And that's when I kind of stepped up. But really, it was a combination of him fighting

207
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,720
through and breaking the ice for me to come through and be able to share after that. It's so true. We

208
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:53,440
have to realize that this critical spirit, this casting shade culture has truly become the demonic

209
00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,320
weapon of choice. Many would be testimonies in the making have been assassinated because of this

210
00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:05,360
dynamic. And the reality is we have to understand there is a force that comes against us, but we

211
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:11,840
don't have to cower and we recognize that anytime we are always operating from a higher place. And

212
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,080
that is so important for us to understand because when we empower the wrong thing, we empower it

213
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:21,200
through fear, we empower it through intimidation, when we understand that we have nothing to cower

214
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:26,720
at, and yes, we can be uncomfortable. Yes, our reputations can be affected. We can lose followers

215
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,680
on social media. There is consequences sometimes, but the consequences are nothing compared to the

216
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:36,720
glory we're going to give to God. That's right. The goal is not to be liked, even though you try to

217
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:42,000
get that on Instagram, you try to get that on Facebook or whatever. The goal for a born-again

218
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,960
spirit-filled follower of Christ, your goal is not to be liked, like LED, but your goal is to be

219
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:53,440
liked, like HT. So good. I love that. And you know, the reality is we want to talk about two

220
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:59,760
downfalls of caving into criticism. Number one, you will be in a position where you will deny

221
00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,560
what you know to be true. This is one of the biggest dangers of criticism is not to your

222
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:09,520
reputation, you guys, but it's to your heart. Come on, tribe, we have to understand when we are in

223
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:15,760
a clap-back, casting shade, criticism culture, it doesn't just damage your reputation. We're talking

224
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:21,280
about your heart. This is so important for us to understand that the biggest danger of criticism

225
00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:26,960
is not to your reputation, but it's to your heart. The second downfall of caving into criticism

226
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:31,600
is you will be in a position where you will make false concession. In other words, you're no longer

227
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:36,320
going to make a decision based on what is right or wrong, but you'll be making decisions based on

228
00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:43,280
who is around you. And second, Thessalonians 2.4 says, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted

229
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:48,160
with the gospel, which that's an honor. And it goes on to say, we are not trying to please men,

230
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:53,680
but God who tests our hearts. And when I think about that passage, number one, we have to be

231
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:59,200
reminded we're not trying to please men. That's not our goal. Our goal is not to please them. At the

232
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,360
end of the day, that's not how it will be weighed. That's not how it will be evaluated. It's about

233
00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:07,360
pleasing the Father. And second of all, I think it's interesting that passage ends, Christa, by

234
00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:12,320
saying, but we're not trying to please men, but God who tests our hearts. And the way it's read,

235
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:17,600
it really kind of speaks to the fact that sometimes God will allow some clap-backs to test

236
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:22,640
your heart. What are you really in it for? Are you in it to be popular? Are you in it to be

237
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:28,080
powerful in God? Are you in it so that you could look good in your reputation or you're going to

238
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:33,680
lay down your reputation that God's reputation can shine through you? Oh, so true. I know I

239
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,920
experienced this early on in my ministry when I was in my 20s and I was really finding my voice,

240
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,760
and I was really discovering, and we talked about this in earlier episodes, I was really

241
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:46,880
discovering who I was in the Lord and like what I carried and my gift mix. And I really discovered,

242
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:53,280
I loved to preach and I loved to minister. And I was often told, tone it down. I was too fire,

243
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:58,320
I was too this, to that, that message of you're too much was just reiterated again and again.

244
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:04,800
And I really saw it as a tactic of the enemy to dole who I was created to be. Had I cowered to

245
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:11,200
the criticism, had I cowered to what people were trying to make me be, it was like that David and

246
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:16,960
Saul's armor moment. Everyone's trying to make me more digestible or make me more palpable.

247
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:22,960
And the reality is, I am going to be who I'm called to be. And the reality of that is us

248
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:28,080
understanding, if we're just true to who we are, that's going to be our greatest display of God

249
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:33,840
in us and through us. I love that. You know, there's a song and I'm not taking exception to it,

250
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:38,880
but I just had a thought on it. It used to be an old campfire song, Christian camps this little

251
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:43,040
light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. But the Bible says we're the light of the world. So I don't

252
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:48,560
know that we have a little light. I think we have a flamethrower. But what happens is, is the enemy

253
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:54,320
tries to use criticism and tries to employ, clap back and casting shade so that we will dull our

254
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:59,280
shine and turn down the pilot light of our fire instead of being a flamethrower, like you see in

255
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:05,200
these like movies, that we are reduced from the flamethrower to a bit lighter. Now, when I think

256
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,520
about criticism, there are three options in criticism. And I think it's important to see the

257
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,760
three options. So when someone criticizes you, because we've already established you're going to

258
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:19,040
face it, it's going to come, have a plan. Well, the first option in criticism is maybe they're

259
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:24,080
right. Maybe they're right. True. And if they say it and maybe they say it in a way that you don't

260
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:29,760
like it, it still shouldn't excuse you from a place that maybe you're losing an opportunity to

261
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:34,080
learn something. So what you have to say is, I may not like the package, but is there something that

262
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:40,400
I can hear that they're saying that God is speaking to me, that I can grow, I can adapt, I can progress.

263
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:45,920
So the first option of criticism is maybe they're right. The second option of criticism to consider

264
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,720
is maybe they're hurting. And the truth is hurt people hurt people. And there's people that are

265
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:56,080
often in fighting battles unseen. We don't know what they're going through. And I have learned in

266
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:01,600
life that there has to be a compassionate empathy that you and I constantly give people the benefit

267
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,840
of the doubt. We recognize that everyone's in their own fight. They're struggling through their own

268
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:11,360
things. And so at times maybe they're just simply hurting. Maybe what you released or shared is

269
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:16,480
triggering. It has nothing to do with you. I learned this in pastor and in pastoring people,

270
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:21,440
I realized I can't own their hurt, nor can I fix their hurt. But I'm going to do everything in my

271
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:26,640
power to not contribute to their hurt. And I think that's so important because we don't want to be

272
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:33,520
people that fuel the cycle of hurt and trauma connected with who Jesus is. We want to break

273
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,600
the cycle and bring them back to a place of encounter and love with the Lord. And the third

274
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:42,960
option of criticism is maybe they're convicted. Matthew 10.22 says you'll be hated by everyone

275
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:48,400
because of me. That maybe the reason why they're critical of you is that they feel convicted.

276
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:53,040
So it's not about you. And sometimes we think, oh my God, what's wrong with me? Well, in fact,

277
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:58,000
it's that God is pointing out what's wrong in them. And so they're under conviction. And so as a result

278
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,720
of that, because they're running from it or not wanting to deal with a conviction, the conflict

279
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:08,160
that rises up in their heart, they begin to aim at you. Now, in order for us to thrive in this

280
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:14,320
clap back culture of fear, the key is you can't allow it to set up real estate in you. Because if

281
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:20,000
you do it every turn, you're going to be bombarded. And then you're going to have excuses come to feel

282
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:25,840
secure, to stay in safe mode, to settle, to sell out. But that's not what God's called you to do.

283
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:32,400
Hebrews 6.19 tells us that we have hope as an anchor for the soul. The reason why this is important

284
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,640
in the early Roman catacombs in the first century where early Christians were buried,

285
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:42,240
many of them martyred, you will find carvings of a dove, which is Holy Spirit, a fish, which is the

286
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:47,440
word Ithicus in ancient language. It's the symbol of Jesus Christ. That's why people have fish,

287
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,680
bumper stickers on their car. And an anchor. And here's what they would say about the anchor,

288
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:57,200
that the early Christians saw an anchor as hope in the midst of persecution. And so we have to be

289
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:02,320
anchored in our soul. That's what that verse says, anchor for the soul. If you're anchored in your

290
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:08,400
soul, you're not going to be pulled by the sways of people that are giving you flat or having a time

291
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:14,000
where they're criticizing you. And so this is so important to see. We want to also give you now

292
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:21,200
five ways to combat clapback. Number one, the first way to combat clapback is to decide what you

293
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:27,280
stand for. If you don't know what you stand for, you become unsure in convictions, any amount of

294
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:32,800
clapback will cause you to take a step back. But if you decide what you stand for, you are going to

295
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:37,680
be in a place where you will be strong. And if you decide before the fight, many times people

296
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,480
don't realize if you don't make up your mind before the crisis, you'll be unable to make up your

297
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:47,040
mind in the midst of the crisis. So good. And you know, I think of the scripture, a double-minded

298
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:52,640
man is unstable in all his ways. You have to know who you are in Christ Jesus before the crisis

299
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:59,200
comes, before the ridicule, before the criticism come, or you'll sway underneath the spirit of

300
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:04,320
this age. Number two, we're talking about five ways to combat the clapback in your own life.

301
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:10,240
Value God's opinion above all others, because when you embrace identity, it neutralizes when

302
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:14,960
others think less of you. People's opinions will sway. People's opinions one day will love you,

303
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,600
and then you're not their favorite the following day. We've all experienced that, but if we put our

304
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:24,400
identity and our value and our self-esteem and the opinions of others and not the opinion of man,

305
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:28,560
we will find ourselves on an emotional roller coaster. But when we're rooted and grounded,

306
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:33,760
in who God has called us to be, and we value people, we love people, but our identity is not

307
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:39,200
rooted in people, what a more healthy place we're able to be from, because we're living from our

308
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:44,640
fullness and not from our lack. Let's go. Let's go. Okay. Number three, I hear this so often,

309
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:50,640
and let me say the phrase, and then I'll express it. Number three, you have to recognize influence

310
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:55,760
has a price tag. Say that. I hear so often amongst the emerging generation, I'm called to be an

311
00:27:55,760 --> 00:28:01,680
influence. I'm called to be a cultural influencer, social influencer, style influence, a communicator

312
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:07,840
influencer. Well, I believe that. Absolutely. I champion that. I cheer lead. I want to mentor that,

313
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:13,120
but you also have to recognize that influence has a price tag. And here is the price tag that every

314
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:19,440
true influencer understands. You have to lay what you value on the line for what you value more.

315
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:27,680
So part of that is you lay your reputation on the line because you value God's move and his

316
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:33,120
gifting and purpose in your life more than your reputation in a minute in that moment. And so

317
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:38,640
what you have to do is you have to ignore criticism because you're recognizing influence's price tag.

318
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:44,960
Number four, minimize exposure with toxic hurtful people. Say that. Come on people. I'm not talking

319
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:49,600
about people that are just different than you or believe different. I'm talking about toxic hurtful

320
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:56,560
people that when you walk away from interactions, conversations with them, you question who you are,

321
00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:01,360
you feel bad about yourself. It goes after your worth, your self-esteem, your gift mix, your destiny.

322
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:08,000
It brings you to a place of hopelessness and discouragement. I want us to really evaluate

323
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:14,080
who do you allow to speak into your life and the interactions even on a social media online world.

324
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:20,560
There is such a bait to toxic interactions, toxic behavior and toxic conversations. I want us to

325
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:26,000
use wisdom if there are relationships and or interactions that are not with the fruit of the

326
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,880
spirit. That's not the fruit that is coming from those interactions or conversations. That fruit

327
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:36,560
has to be cut out of your life. Guard your peace, guard your identity and recognize you don't have

328
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:43,200
to give place to people that are against you. The fifth and final way to combat clap back is to use

329
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:48,800
your purpose to get back on your horse. There was an old saying is you got to get back up on the horse

330
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,600
that threw you and it's kind of that thing of before you allow fear to set in even though it

331
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:59,680
didn't work out great previously, jump back in it. Well, I think sometimes it's not for the lack

332
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,000
of understanding that you want to be on a horse. It's a lack of why you were on the horse to begin

333
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,080
with. So let me give you a good example. Use your purpose to get back on your horse. This is very

334
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:13,360
dear to my heart because I remember being impacted as a baby Christian young believer that Jesus is

335
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:18,000
in a garden and he's sweating drops of blood because he knows he's going to be separated from the

336
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:23,360
father. I don't think in that moment drops of blood was about so much the physical punishment.

337
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,920
It was more of being separated from the father as he would say on the cross, my God, my God,

338
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:33,040
why have you forsaken me? And he is describing this. May this cup be passed from me and he's

339
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:37,680
talking about this in the garden. And then he says this phrase and I love it. He says,

340
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:42,560
but what shall I say father saved me from this hour, but for this purpose I've come into the

341
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:48,320
world. Jesus operated in the principle that he used this purpose to get back up on his horse.

342
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,800
And those times when sometimes criticism does get to you, sometimes a clapback does knock

343
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:57,600
you off your horse. Sometimes like Christa described in that moment that she was in bed and

344
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:02,400
in those hurtful comments on Facebook and tears flooded her eyes. Sometimes you are knocked

345
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:07,600
off your horse, but what I've learned and what I want to share with you, keep it 100, a tribe

346
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:12,400
is that you use your purpose to get back up on your horse. And when you use your purpose to get

347
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:17,440
back up on your on your horse, you've just taken a bullet out of the enemy's gun. You know, there

348
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:24,160
really is a call for you and I to be a contrast in the midst of a clapback culture. I believe that

349
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:29,920
in this clapback critical culture, you and I are called to live from a place that is higher. You

350
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:35,680
know, when I reflect on the life of Jesus, he was not intimidated, discouraged or angered by

351
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:41,040
people that were different than him. In fact, he actually ate with the tax collectors and ate with

352
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:46,160
the prostitutes. He actually shared a meal. He created space at his table for people that were

353
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:52,720
different rather than shaming, shunning and disqualifying people in his interactions that

354
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:58,320
were different than him. He actually welcomed them into his space. And wouldn't that be such a

355
00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:04,640
different approach in a world that is so critical and shuns you and cuts you off if you're different.

356
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:10,320
If there's, there is zero tolerance for anyone that may sound different, may believe different.

357
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:15,440
I want you to know in the church today, there is so much division, whether it's over social stuff,

358
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:21,200
whether it's over politics, whatever it may be. But I believe whether when unity comes back to the

359
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:27,600
church, we're going to look a lot more like Jesus because Jesus was not afraid of differences. In

360
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:34,800
fact, he refused to allow defense responses to become his default and he was not reactive to the

361
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:40,960
culture. Instead, he was committed to transform the culture and we transform the culture when we

362
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:47,360
become a contrast to the clapback where we're not engaging in the bait of the negativity. And I

363
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:53,120
want you to know friends, we have to reevaluate how we respond in the midst of this clapback culture

364
00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:58,800
because it's never worth it to lose our witness. We're talking about casting shade. In Acts chapter

365
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:04,560
3, Peter and John being led in and power of the Holy Spirit prayed and they saw a guy who could not

366
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:09,920
walk, get up and walk and a witness was spreading all around Jerusalem that the man at the gate

367
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:14,720
beautiful is now walking and no longer on a mat begging for coins. As a result of that,

368
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:20,800
the enemies of the gospel in Acts chapter 4 called Sanhedrin called Peter and John in and they began

369
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:28,240
to cast shade by urban definition. In fact, it says in Acts 4, 17, they said to keep this from

370
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:35,040
spreading any further. And then later on in Acts 4, 21, it says, so they threaten them further to

371
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:40,800
not speak in his name. And it's interesting because remember the reason why Sanhedrin, the hater group

372
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:48,000
did this is to keep it from spreading. And I wonder if really the sinister motivation behind casting

373
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:54,160
shade on you that you feel as an individual is an enemy trying to keep God from spreading. The

374
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:59,040
Bible says that the gospel is like leaven and leaven is in bread, it rises up. Your purpose is meant

375
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:04,480
to rise up inside of you. The gospel is meant to rise up in culture, but the enemy wants to threaten

376
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:09,040
you and cast shade. But you know what Peter did? Peter said, hey, you could decide whether or not

377
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:14,480
obey man or obey God. But as for me, I'm going to obey God. And he goes back to his companions

378
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:20,640
and they pray and there's a power shows up in terms of Acts chapter 4 boldness. And then it's

379
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:27,520
interesting, Christian, Acts chapter 5. Remember Acts chapter 4, Sanhedrin cast its shade by trying

380
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:34,480
to bring the shade of hindrance. But in Acts chapter 5, it says in verse 15, it says that Peter cast

381
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:40,080
shade, but a little bit different when he cast shade, it says that Peter's shadow was healing

382
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:46,720
people. So what I love is if he would have got mad and try to strike back or either shut down,

383
00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:52,240
he would have never have cast his shade and his shade healed, their shade hurt. And so you have

384
00:34:52,240 --> 00:34:57,200
a choice right now that you can cast a shadow. And of course, Peter's shadow is a metaphor for

385
00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:04,960
influence. You're an influencer and your influence is to make sure in this hour you're casting the

386
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:10,320
type of shade that brings healing. As promised, we told you that at the beginning of this episode

387
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:16,240
in our introduction that we were going to allow you to eavesdrop on a very private conversation.

388
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:22,880
One of the 100 most influential Christians in America today. It is my friend, Pastor Samuel

389
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:29,840
Rodriguez. He has spoken and prayed for presidents. He heads up the Hispanic Evangelical Association.

390
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:34,960
He's been on major syndicate networks. He is also one of the producers of the movie Breakthrough,

391
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:39,280
and he has a couple other movies that's coming out. And so I want you to listen as I ask Pastor

392
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:45,600
Samuel Rodriguez, what do you do to face criticism? Hey, everybody, I got Dr. Samuel Rodriguez.

393
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:51,520
Our friendship goes back to the 90s. Pastor Sammy, how do you handle criticism,

394
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:57,280
clap back, or people casting shade? Here's the understanding. If their praise did not make me,

395
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:03,360
their criticism cannot break me. If their praise did not make me, did not define me,

396
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:08,480
then their criticism shouldn't bother me. I literally shake it off. Criticism in the 21st

397
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:13,840
century speaks to communities that are advancing an agenda of righteousness and justice. If you're

398
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:19,280
committed to truth and love, you will be criticized. If you're committed to the prophetic, the pathetic

399
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:25,280
will arise against you. So you shake it off. I'm not defined by my followers. So I'm not measured.

400
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:31,440
I'm not defined by the number of people that follow me. I am defined by the one I follow.

401
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:37,680
And because of that criticism, God bless you. I don't hate them though. I pray for salvation,

402
00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,920
transformation, for God to quicken their spirits and turn them around. But again,

403
00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:46,880
they don't define me. They don't lead me. They don't in any way form or shape obstruct my

404
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:51,680
fulfillment of God ordained destiny. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Come on. Keep it 100

405
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:56,480
podcast tribe. We love you guys. We're so honored to be able to just have these conversations with

406
00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:01,520
you. And every week you're tuning in. Make sure and subscribe so you're alerted as soon as a new

407
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:07,040
podcast drops if you haven't already. And don't forget to rate, review, and refer. That really

408
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:12,000
helps us get the word out because we want more people impacted for Jesus. Everything Sean and

409
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:17,280
I are doing on this podcast is to equip and disciple this generation. We believe God is going to do

410
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:21,920
something new and you and I are a part of it. If you want to connect with us during the week,

411
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:25,840
check us out at SeanandChristasmith.com. You can of course find us on Facebook,

412
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:29,920
Sean and Christosmith Ministries, and we've even been doing some Facebook lives called

413
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,920
Mentoring Moments. And they're things that we're talking about from the podcast. We're taking even

414
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:39,680
deeper on Facebook live. Check us out. You would do yourself a favor by tuning in next week as we

415
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:44,160
talk about sanctifying your imagination. It will give you a win in the battle for your mind

416
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:49,280
while positioning you for an increase in revelation. Can't wait to be with you guys next week. And

417
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:56,240
remember, keep it 100. We hope you enjoyed today's episode of the Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and

418
00:37:56,240 --> 00:38:01,440
Christosmith. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram and SeanandChristasmith.com,

419
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,760
where you can discover more resources. If this podcast has impacted you, please subscribe and

420
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,760
review wherever you listen to your podcast. Keep it 100!