Celebrate Freedom ONLINE, Who is M T Clark, anyway? - Our Intimacy with God - Purity 1535

Welcome to the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast. I am M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Good morning. Today's photo of the light of the new day on the horizon over the darkened pathway of Waite Road in Easton, New York, comes to us from yours truly, as I captured the scene last Sunday morning. Well, it's Saturday, and while I am so glad to be officially on vacation until January 2nd, the Lord has put it on my heart to offer Celebrate Freedom, my heart-focused Celebrate Recovery/Freedom in Christ/Deeper Walk/Christian Recovery and Discipleship Ministry as an online group coaching event, uh, and now I'm working, uh, and now I'm working to promote it. It would be nice if someone signed up. Uh, anyway, uh, while I really think that the Lord is calling me to do this and prompted me to even sow a seed of a few advertising dollars to boost the Facebook event I created to promote this online Christian life coaching Recovery Discipleship event, I realize that there are probably very few people who know about me and may be asking, uh, and who is M.t. Clark anyway? And why should I trust him with trying to help me to get set free from my hurts, habits, and hangups? It's a good question. Uh, so to try to introduce myself to people who learned, uh, who have only learned of M.t. for Christ.com or me for the first time, Uh, I crafted the following mini testimony and list of credentials and posted on Facebook this morning with some photos of my new life in Christ journey. I wrote— let's see, what did I write? I wrote, saved by a David Jeremiah Gospel Radio message in 2010. The Lord has called me out of the darkness of a life of unbelief, false religion, and sin. Uh, Jesus set me free from a lifelong alcohol, drug, and sex addiction and demonic oppression. Since being saved, I have done recovery or freedom ministry since 2015. Graduated from Vision Christian Bible College and Seminary with a bachelor's degree in biblical studies in 2018 and a master's degree in Christian counseling in 2021. I have been blogging to share my testimony and to encourage others to follow Jesus since 2015 and began the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast in 2021 and created the M.t. for Christ 24/7 YouTube channel in 2022 to share the message of freedom in Christ. I became a Community Freedom Ministry Associate with Freedom in Christ Ministries in 2021. Um, began teaching online, uh, for them in 2022 and, uh, got certified as a Deeper Walk prayer minister in 2024. Um, also became a certified mental health coach and professional Christian life coach through Light University in 2024, and most recently graduated from Bob Larson's University of Inter— his International School of Exorcism, Advanced Academy of Deliverance, College of Apologetics and Demonology and, and the Institute for Supernatural Studies in August of this year. I've dedicated my life to follow Jesus and to share the gospel and help others to experience their freedom in Christ. I was lost and was found. I was a slave to sins of the flesh and I have been set free. I have been doing recovery or freedom ministry since 2015, and I would like to share what I've learned to help others to be set free. I've been there and I've done that, and I have a heart desire to help others to know the Lord like I do. I want to help people to discover that with God's help, living a Christian life free from addictions, guilt, and shame is possible, and that they can have a deep personal relationship with the Lord that is defined by peace, love, and joy. Speaking about our relationship with God, uh, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional for today is about our intimacy with God, and I'm sharing it on the blog today to encourage all of us to draw closer to the Lord. Dr. Charles Stanley writes, Intimacy with God. Uh, don't miss the blessing of the deeply personal relationship God offers. Does God ever seem far away? If so, we might wonder how involved in our life he actually is. At such times, we should rely on the truth of scripture, and the gospels are a good place to start. Jesus's life testifies to the divine desire for intimacy. He consistently reached out to strangers, inviting them to draw near to him. He spoke words of encouragement to his followers. At the same time, he taught them the profound truths he'd received from his Father and held them accountable for their actions. And Jesus invited certain people to accompany him for deeply personal experiences, such as the Transfiguration and his last prayer retreat in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Savior's sacrificial choice to die in our place made it possible for us to join him in God's family. Holy Spirit, um, each believer's indwelling companion and guide, also witnesses to God's closeness and detailed knowledge of those who are his. Yes, God has made intimacy with him possible, but all too often we hold back, distracted by earthly concerns. We put limits on his involvement in our life and set family and friends as higher priorities. Let's commit to placing the Lord first and pursuing him with our whole heart. That was from Dr. Charles Stanley, and I say amen. Intimacy with God is possible. Jesus came to set the captives free, and when you put your— when we put our faith in him, we are set free from sin and death. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us the moment we put our faith in Jesus, and when we are obedient to walk in the Spirit, we will draw closer to God and start to become the people God created us to be. God has a new life of freedom for every believer in Christ, but the world, the flesh, and the devil will do anything to prevent us from experiencing it. So we have to ask God to help us to go the way we should go. When I— while I can't set you free, I can encourage and help you to learn how to follow Jesus and to overcome whatever bondage you may be in. I have been there and done that and am willing to help you online in 2025. So go to mt4christ.com/groupcoachingevents to sign up for Celebrate Freedom online today, and we can see how your intimacy with God and your freedom in Christ increases in the new year. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Crews. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on hope, and, uh, today's verse is 1 Peter 1:3, which says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Today's verse falls under the 9th point of our, of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on hope. And that 9th point is believers have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today's Bible verse reminds us that through our faith in Christ, God has has shown us mercy and provided us with his grace to give us a living hope. Our living hope means that it is an active and continuous hope. We don't just hope for heaven or some eternal blissful state in eternity. God's word tells us that he's working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And all things includes our lives right now. God leads us into a good and holy life, and our living hope means that we can improve and be transformed into the people God made us to be. When we follow Jesus, we can make progress. That's a living hope. So pick up your cross and follow him. Not only do we have a living hope, but the Spirit of God also lives in us and can help us to receive the desires of our hearts and to realize our hopes and dreams. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mt4christ.com, where we always offer, um, encouragements and insights, um, and from Christian theologians and, uh, counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue to share from Day by Day Along the Way by J.E. Adams. Uh, it's a 365-day devotional. We're on day 34, and, uh, where Jay Adams shares a portion of 1 Peter 2:25, which says, but now you have turned back to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. And then J.E. Adams writes, you were a lost sheep wandering far from the shepherd's fold, but since you turned back, repented of your sins, you have been walking in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Sheep are dumb animals. Perhaps that's That is why God uses the metaphor to speak of us. They wander from the flock and get lost. You have a Great Shepherd who, as the one overseeing the flock to which you belong, cares for you and sees to it that you never wander too far away. If you tend to wander, you can be sure that he will tend to you. With his rod and his staff, he will protect and guide you into the proper way. That doesn't mean that there is no responsibility on your part. The image of the Father disciplining his erring children is also encountered in the Scripture. Care for you often may involve protecting you from yourself. Apart from a shepherd's rod prodding you away from a cliff, you may stumble and fall over it as you climb along rugged mountain passes. As the Good Shepherd, he knows the terrain and your foolish tendencies. Be grateful for his careful oversight. Amen. The Holy Spirit in us guides us in the way we should go. We do, we can, we do have free will, and we can choose not to follow the Lord. We can choose to live in the flesh instead of living in the Spirit. The Lord will guide you into repentance, but you can quench the Spirit. And so I, uh, I don't recommend, you know, going your own way. I recommend going the way that the Father, uh, gave us to follow— Jesus's way of freedom. And, uh, that's why we always ask the question: have you fully surrendered to God? Uh, if you put your faith in Jesus, um, that's great. Did you decide to follow him as Lord as well as Savior? Um, we hope so. Um, if so, that means you're you're in a deep— well, hopefully you're in a deep personal relationship with the Lord where you try to do his will for your life. We recommend it because, as my testimony states, he led me out of the darkness. I was a very worldly, sinful person. I was a skeptic and didn't really have any faith, even though I grew up in a liturgical church. I ran away from it in my young adulthood and went into all kinds of confusion. And even ended up in a false religion beyond— well, anyway. But one day a radio message from David Jeremiah came in and changed everything. He told me about the grace of God and the forgiveness of sins and a new life that's available through us and faith in Jesus. And the big thing was I didn't have to earn it. That's what I always thought. I had to earn my way into God's kingdom. But God welcomes us, and all we have to do is put our faith in Jesus, and he invites us into a new life. Um, that lasts for eternity but starts right now. And, uh, it led me out of the darkness and led me to my new purpose for living, uh, which, um, part of it is to lead the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church on Wednesday nights. Uh, we're on a break for the holidays, um, and we'll begin again, um, on January 8th, 2025. Uh, we meet on Wednesday nights at the church. It's K through 3rd grade classroom, uh, 6:30 PM. Uh, if you'd like to check it out, you can always just show up, although I wouldn't recommend it. Uh, if you— well, I recommend you show up on time because they have electronic locks now, so you got to be there, otherwise you might be knocking and not get in. Um, but we'll put a number out there so you can. And anyway, you can register for our support group basically at, uh, Starpoint Church's website. You can Google that and, uh, find us under support groups. Um, beyond that, I made the announcement, um, yesterday or the day before, I, I don't even remember now, um, it's all blur, uh, for Celebrate Freedom Online. Uh, we're taking our little, uh, Disciples Recovery Discipleship Group and bringing it online, and hopefully there'll be some people to join me. Um, I sort of committed myself to doing this, so I, I think I'll be doing the teachings whether or not people show up or not. Um, and I'll share them with anyone who, who wants to, you know, join the group. Um, so we'll be doing that Mondays in 2025, starting on January 6th. Um, so if you'd like to join, we highly recommend it, and we encourage you to go to mt4christ.com, the group coaching events page, and you can, uh, put in your information to register, and, uh, we'll, uh, we'll get you set up, and we'll, uh, get you the Zoom link and everything, and we'll, we'll get you You know, basically, well, we'll encourage you to follow the Lord and get yourself free. Um, I'm looking forward to it. I really hope, uh, you know, the Lord blesses this endeavor, um, to, uh, to help set the captives free. Um, beyond that, uh, if, if you can't sign up or you won't sign up, we encourage you to check out our, our free online teachings that we put on YouTube. Um, they're available at our YouTube playlist page. Uh, we've done teachers on Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, Freedom in Christ, and our very own Celebrate Freedom Discipleship course. Um, that's all free, uh, at, at mtforchrist.com, our playlist page. Um, or you can go to YouTube and find our playlist page. But on that one, there's a lot because I've shared, uh, lots of playlist pages basically from us and from, uh, you know, from other Christian theologians and counselors to assist you in your walk. So we try to help because God helped us, and all we can do is try to share what we've learned with others to encourage people to go the way they go. It's tough because not everyone is really receptive to the message of putting your faith in Jesus and following him into a new life, but for those who are touched by the Spirit, You know, hopefully that'll burn within you to, uh, tell others about this and to, uh, lead them or you to, uh, to sign up for our, uh, well, to check out one of our teachings or, you know, groups or whatever. Uh, anyway, uh, today is Saturday. It is vacation. I'm going to try to relax a little bit. Um, but, uh, let's pray first. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day. Dear King Dibwe, thank you so much for how you set us free and how you've led us to step out in faith and try to, try to help others. Um, Lord, we pray for you to bless our latest endeavor to, uh, set the captives free with the Freedom in Christ, uh, uh, Celebrate Freedom online. Uh, we pray for you to, um, get people to sign up. And, um, Lord, we pray for you to help, help them And we also pray for you to, well, help me and help them, uh, but, uh, anyone listening or reading this message today, Lord, we just pray for you to come alongside them, their prayer request, their walk of faith, um, to help them in the way they should go. And while you're at it, Lord, we also ask for you to guide us today, uh, open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead us in the way you should go. Because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, Lord, and we need a lot of help with that. Um, so we just ask for your help and guidance today, Lord. Well, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.