374 | You're Being Played

Welcome to the Crazy Blessed podcast where we use biblical principles to create a life and business that's blessed like crazy. I'm your host, Hannah Keeley. Let the craziness begin. Welcome to the Crazy Blessed Bible Study. This is where we dig into the word of God and figure out how to practically apply it to our lives. See, we are here to get real results. We're here to bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. So come on in, make yourself at home because God wants you to have him in your life. He wants to make his home in you. And how do we do that? How do we get this God life? How do we live out this abundant life? How do we live out this crazy blessed life? It's all in his word. So we're going to dig in that word. And what I want to tell you today, it's a news flash. Ready for this? I don't know if you're ready for this. You may not be ready for this, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. Here's the news. You're being played. What? You're being played. You are. And you don't even realize it. But what kind of tune are you playing? That's what we're going to talk about. See, when, when we think about you're being played, we think about that being like you're being taken advantage of, right? You're being taken for a ride. You're, you're, you're the pawn in this game, right? You're being played. You don't even know it. Some people are getting head, getting ahead at your advantage, right? Well, that's what's happening here. See, played means someone's taking advantage of you. But what if it didn't always mean that, if it could mean something different? What if you could be played and it actually was yielding a really profitable, wonderful, fantastic, crazy, blessed life? See, when we're being played, what really matters is who's playing us, okay? Because when it comes down to it, we are an instrument. I want you to think about that. An instrument. We're just an instrument here in this physical kingdom. Now think about a, a clarinet, okay? A drama. Saxophone, piano. It can't play itself. Well, unless you're talking about self playing pianos. But I mean, that's a different story. Someone had to program it, right? And so when you think about being a, being an instrument, someone has to play you. You can't play yourself. So whether we realize it or not, we are being played in this kingdom. So I want to share with you something. Colossians, chapter 1, verse 13. And as usual, I draw from the classic amplified version because I love to get all that meat in the Word. I love the meat. The. So it says here, Colossians 1:13, the Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself, out of the control, into the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the kingdom of His Son and of his love. So here's what I want you to understand. This first premise that we're going to get into is you're either living in a kingdom of darkness or a kingdom of light. Okay? You've either accepted Jesus as your savior and you're living for him in this light, or you're still in darkness. Now, you can debate with me all you want, but here's what I know to be my truth and the truth as I perceive it. Every single path to God in this world is always us trying to make a path to God. And people say, well, all paths to, to God are the same. They're just like everyone's interpretation, everyone making their own way to God. Okay, yeah, sure. But Jesus is the only path that God made to us. When you think about it, every other school of thought, every other religion, every other theology, every other whatever you want to call it, is always us trying to reach God. Us putting forth our rules and regulations and our doctrine and our theology and how to become better. Even, even the church is caught up in this religiosity of we have to perform, we have to be obedient, we have to obey these rules and regulations and commandments in order for us to reach God. A lot of, a lot of even churches are holding on to this theology and it's whacked out theology because if we could reach God, we don't need Jesus. Christianity, if you're talking about the real relationship, not the religion, but the relationship with Jesus, that's the only path that God made to us. See, we couldn't reach God, not in our fallen state. We couldn't reach God. So what did God do is he reached us through Jesus. So the first premise we have to understand is we are either living in a kingdom of darkness at the King of Light. And I want to talk to you if you are living in that kingdom of light, if you have asked Jesus to be your savior and he transferred you out of darkness into light, we're going to start there because I hope you're there. We're going to start there. Now, why is it it seems like you can't get ahead, you can't get results you're living in turmoil, you're living in not enough, whatever that looks like for you, but yet you're in this kingdom of light. It seems like it should be better, right? It seems like things should be working out for you a little bit better, but it's not. I want to show you something. When we come out of a kingdom of darkness, up into the kingdom of light, one third of us is made perfect. That's our spirit. But we are a three part being. We are spirit, soul, body, okay? This is the body, the physical manifestation, like your representation here is the body. Your spirit is that part of you that's been born again, that lives forever. Now here's the thing. In between those, there's this bridge called the soul, which is your mind, your will and your emotions. Just because you have received Jesus as your savior, just because you've been in church for whatever number of years, just because your great grandmama was a. Was a prophetess, whatever, that doesn't mean your soul has been transformed. Romans 12:2 tells us that we're not supposed to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed. How are we transformed? By the renewing of our mind. So even though we have been brought out of a kingdom of darkness, put into a kingdom of light, our soul can be still trapped in that darkness. Our mind, our will, our emotions can still be trapped in that darkness where we're confused and we're frustrated, overwhelmed. We're. We've got addictions, we've got anger issues, we've got self hate, we've got. You name it, right? The list is a mile long in our culture today and we just write it off as well. That's part of being human. No, it's part of being human. But guess what? We are supernatural because of who lives in us. So let me break this down for you. God has a will for you. What is his will for you? Jesus said in John 10:10, I have come that you may have life in abundance to the full till it overflows. But guess what else he said in John 10:10? He's showing you what his will is for you. What God's will is for you. And that Satan has a will for you as well. The beginning of John 10:10 says the enemy comes to steal, kill, destroy. What is Satan's will for you? To steal from you. To kill you. To destroy you. What is God's will for you? That you have an abundant life. That abundance is not just, not just physical, but it is emotional, it is mental, it is Everything. So why is it we're still getting pain and suffering when we're supposed to be living in this kingdom of light? Because we haven't done the work of transforming our soul, our mind, our will and emotions. How do we do that? We have to recognize when we're being played. You, my friend, are an instrument. And you're being played. Either being played by the will of Satan over your life or the will of God over your life. And you might be thinking, no, no, Hannah, I'm making my own choices. I'm an independent creature. No, your spirit is directing this. And either your spirit has been transformed through salvation through Jesus, or not. But we've got to understand that even when we think we are operating independently, we are still pulling from the old indoctrination that we've been through. We're just pulling from it subconsciously and we're not even realizing it. Okay, I want to share this with you. It's this one premise. I want you to get this. We cannot, cannot do anything that is. That is abundant and fulfilling without God. Those goals, those dreams, awesome. We can't do them without God. And guess what? God will not do anything without us. So when we are thinking God, why are you still letting disease run rampant on this earth? Why are you still allowing pain? Why are you still allowing suffering? He could be asking you the same question. Why are you allowing pain and suffering? If you have the power and the authority to operate as he is, so are we in this world. So if you have that power and authority, why are you not operating in it? Why are you allowing suffering? Why are you allowing pain? Why are you. Why are you allowing pain in your own life and suffering in your own life? We have power. We're just not using it. We're being played. Because he will not do anything in this world apart from your participation. He won't. He is sovereign. And in his sovereignty, he has limited himself to co create with man. That's why in Genesis, he gave man power and authority. He said, he blessed man. And he said, now you go, be fruitful, multiply, expand. You go do this. He blessed us so that we could go be a blessing that happens inside us and then it radiates out of us. And he will not go against his own covenant. If he made a promise and if he made an agreement and a covenant with you, he's not going to go against that. That's why he couldn't with when Adam and Eve screwed up. That's why he couldn't intervene and say, all right, Time to wipe the slate clean and let's have a do over. No, he's not going to do that. Because he would break his covenant on giving his power and his blessing to man to now expand the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus came not just to rescue us from hell, but to show us how to live in heaven, on earth. To show us how to do the will of God here on earth as a. As a flesh and blood man or woman. He showed us how to do that, how to perform miracles, how to walk in power, how to walk in authority, how to yield Himself to the Father. He showed us all that in his life. So yes, he came to rescue us from hell, but he also came to show us how to live, what to do after we die, we what to do while we're here, while we're alive, everything. If he did it, we can do it because we have that same power at work in us. Jesus said, this power I give to you. Now you go perform miracles. But we have to realize when we're being played and who's playing us. See, we work in partnership with God, and if we're not careful, we could be working in partnership with the enemy because we are instruments. Check this out. I want to read this to you. This is Romans 6, and I'm going to start in verse 13. Check this out. It says, do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members and faculties to sin as instruments. Hold on to that word, Instruments, tools of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to perpetual life and your bodily members and faculties to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. He's saying, you are an instrument, now use it. Allow God's glory and his power to operate through you here on earth. Verse 14 says, for sin shall not any longer exert dominion over you. Since now you are not under law, as slaves, under grace, as subjects of God's favor and mercy. What then are we to conclude? Shall we sin because we live not under law, but under God's favor and mercy? Certainly not. Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey? Whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness, right doing and right standing with God? So check this out. There's two words in there that I want to call attention to. Yield and surrender. Says right there. If we continually surrender ourselves to anyone to do his will, we are slaves to that person. We're surrendering to that person. Now, surrendering is a word that is used when it is two opposing parties and one realizes they're losing, so they surrender to the other party. Right? That's what happens in the kingdom of darkness, the enemy. Even though we are saved by the grace of God, we are still. We haven't done the work in our soul, our mind, our will and emotions to be able to make decisions that yield to an abundant life. So we could still be like, we're trying not to sin. We're trying not to sin. And eventually it's like, all right, I surrender. I'm just gonna sin. I'm just gonna go ahead and gossip about that person. I'm just gonna yell at my husband, and I'm just going to go ahead and go back to that addiction because I can't fight it any longer. That's what it looks like to surrender. And we don't even know this, but when we are surrendering to the enemy, we're being played by him. He's like, I got you now. All I had to do was keep on tap, tap, tap, tap, tapping at you, and eventually you surrendered. And now look, you're binge eating at midnight. Look, you just. You're. You're doing the silent treatment to your husband. Look, you're not doing that. That commitment that you said you would. You're not writing that blog anymore. Look, you're not sticking to your budget. All I had to do is keep tapping you. You're being played. But guess what? You're an instrument that can be used by the kingdom of God to do mighty wonders and miracles. And yes, he wants to play you. You are an instrument. Think about it. That's called yielding. See, we don't really use the word surrender when it comes to God. Sometimes we do, but it might be an error that we do that, because we really don't. We don't just surrender to God because he's not fighting us. He's not opposing us. He's like, I'm fighting for you. I'm on your side. I want you to win. So that's what God is doing. He is fighting for us. And he knows how to operate in us so that he can come through us, so that now we can be an instrument of his glory, of his miracles, of his wonders here on earth, as is in heaven. So we don't have to surrender to God because He's not battling us. What we have to do is yield to God. We yield to Him. Yielding is the conscious decision to Follow someone else, to allow someone to go in front of you. And that is what we do. When we yield to God, we are allowing, making a conscious decision to allow him to go first in this situation, in this and this frustration and this anger and this confusion, whatever it looks like, I'm going to make a conscious decision to yield to you, God. I want to yield to you and let your mighty wisdom, love, glory pour through me. I want to display you. See, sometimes if you look at your goals, sometimes they're so wrapped up in self. It's like what we want to do and what we want to accomplish. Nothing's wrong with that. But I'm saying it can be a little incongruent with the kingdom life. Because Jesus, I mean, we even know actually through Ephesians, the letter that Paul wrote to the Ephesians, God will do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond anything we can think or hope or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, through us. So if we allow, if we operate in our own power, guess what? You might be able to accomplish some stuff. But is it going to be fulfilling? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Maybe it's like, wow, I reached that goal and nothing changed. I'm still frustrated, I'm still unsatisfied. I'm still discontent with my life. But guess what? When we yield to God, it means we are allowing his power to pour through us, to be at work in us and through us. You are an instrument. So think about it. What are you playing and who's playing you? When the enemy is playing you, he's going to make you think they're all your decisions, that this independent spirit is like, well, no, I'm deciding to do this. Screw that, I'm gonna do this. Is it really you? Are you being played by the enemy? Is he. Is he using you as a pawn in his game to expand his kingdom? See, the enemy wants to expand his kingdom. Satan wants to expand his kingdom, just like God wants to expand his kingdom. Which team are you on? And of course you'll say, well, I'm on God's team, right, because I gave my life to Jesus. However, remember, that is your spirit that was made perfect. But your soul could still be stuck in a place of confusion where you think you're operating independently, but you don't realize you're being played. You're being used as a pawn. You're a puppet in Satan's game. You think, well, I'm just going to be independent. I'm just gonna. I'm Just gonna dump him. I'm just gonna, like, screw that. I'm just gonna, like, keep on with that bad habit. I'm just gonna. You know what? I'm. I'm just gonna call him back. I know I shouldn't, but I'm just gonna call him back. You know what? I'm just gonna take out the loan. Whatever. I'll be in debt forever anyway. You're being used the whole time. So how do we change this? Yield to God? It might just be a simple prayer. God, show me today how you're at work in my life. Show me today how I can show up for you. Father. God, before I make any decision today, I want to hear your voice. Because here's the truth. You can do a lot on your own, but working with God, being played by God, you become an instrument of his glory. You become an instrument of his miracles, of his unsurpassing power. And that's how you'll show up. You'll show up just like Jesus here in this world, doing miracles. And before you know it, you're living a life that is full of joy, full of abundance, full of freedom, because you're finally yielding. See, you can't do anything on your own. I know you think you can, and you've done a lot on your own, but think about it. Did it really leave you pumped? Freedom, abundance, did it show up in every area of your life? Maybe not. Truth is you can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond. A lot of times we'll camp out in that. Ephesians 3:20. Exceedingly beyond, abundantly beyond anything you can think or hope or imagine. God, do that in my life. He's like, no, no, I'm not going to do it for you. I'm going to do it through you. That's what we have to have to get a grasp on. It's not about us showing up and being like, kick butt in our own glory. Look at everything I achieved. Thank you, God. Look at this. I won all these awards, won all these medals. All that's good, but it means nothing if you're doing it in the flesh. It means nothing. It will not provide ultimate joy. It will not pro. It will not be sustainable. It will not outlive you, and you'll die with all that potential in you. So here's what I'm saying. What will it take to yield to him? What will it take? I want to read this to you. We're going to be wrapping it up in just a little bit. Second Corinthians 4, 6 and 7. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts so as to beam forth the light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. However, we possess this precious treasure, the divine light of the Gospel and frail human vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. So we have to think about this. Are we showing up for ourselves? Are we showing up for Him? God wants to show up in your life, through your life, in ways that will astound you. But he's not going to do it without your participation, without you yielding to Him. He wants to collaborate with you. He wants to work with you. That's why we are called instruments of his glory. Like I said, a clarinet doesn't play itself. A piano doesn't play itself. And you can sit there and try to, like, do things in your own power. And yes, you may get some results, but you also may get some pain, too. And I doubt it'll ever be sustainably satisfying for you. And plus, you'll never tap in to all the abundance that God has for you. But here's an idea that typically comes up. God, if I let you have your way with me, okay, If I let you have your way with me, you're gonna send me off to some foreign country and I'm gonna have to, like, sell everything I have, and I'm gonna. And you're gonna, like, take my kids away and I'm gonna have pain and suffering. You know who. You know when you got that message from? Satan. Satan wants you to believe that so you don't yield to him and you keep on being played by him, by the enemy. That's where that came from. That is not Godly. God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond in your life. He wants to give you faith upon faith, favor upon favor, gift upon gift, grace upon grace. That's the life we have with God. But we will never, ever know that until we learn to yield to Him. See, as big as your dreams are for your life, guess what? God is dreaming up something bigger. He is. And guess what? When you tap into that, when you tap into his dreams for your life, it's going to be so satisfying. It's going to be. It's going to show up so abundantly in your life. There's going to be so much freedom in your life, and you don't even have to know how. That's the trap we fall into sometimes. God just. I just want to know how. Just show me your plan and I'll follow it. And all that sounds good, it sounds very righteous. But the truth of it is, God's like, no, no, I'm not. I'm not going to lay out the blueprint so you can see it all from beginning to end, and then now you do the work in my kingdom. No, no, that's not how this works. What happens is we call the end from the beginning. We don't have to see the end from the beginning because what we can see is his Word. And God is alive in his word. So when we see his Word, we can see the end from the beginning. We can call the end from the beginning and we start to operate in faith. God, I don't have to know what this is or how it turns out, but I know, know, know, know that I know that. I know that. I know that, God, you're good and God, you love me, and God, you're faithful. So whatever today looks like, I know you're good and God, I'm doing things your way, even if I don't know what that way looks like sometimes. This is a moment by moment life we live. And come on, I know you would love to have it all planned out, but how boring would that be? You're not here to dine on Wonder Bread your whole life. You're here for the grand adventure of being human and being used for the kingdom of God. And showing up as his glorious instrument to play his beautiful music, to perform miracles, signs and wonders here in this world, to be as he is in this world. What more could we want? So, as big as your dreams are, I want to challenge you right now. Whether you're watching this live or later, you're listening to it, you're watching whatever. I want to challenge you right now. Because God knows when you're watching or listening to this, what would it look like to yield to him? What would it look like today to say, God, I know I. I want this, but God, I'm going to honor the desire you put in my heart. I know you put in there for a reason. But God, I want to do this your way. I want to do this and show up for your kingdom. Because as much as I want this desire in my heart, I know you put it there for just to expand, to be bigger. So, God, I'm going to trust you. See, a trumpet has to trust in order to yield itself to the trust. Trumpet player can you yield yourself and know that God is a good God, that God loves you, that his design is to bless you and that he wants to give you an abundant life? Can you yield to him and say, God, I don't have to know how this turns out. I just want to do it your way. God, show me every moment of every day how to tap into that power that resides in me. So I'm not doing it in the flesh anymore, trying to scratch everything off my to do list, that I'm showing up as an instrument for your glory because it's gonna turn out better than I could have ever imagined. You're being played, friend. Just make sure the right source is playing you. Yield to him and I know you're gonna live a life that is blessed like crazy. I love you, friend. Make sure you subscribe, turn on your notifications so you know when I'm turning live, when I'm going on live. And also make sure you leave a review for me. I would appreciate it. Thank you so much. Bye.