Are You Living With The End In Mind?

You won't.

You won't.

You won't.

Fail.

I have a testimony, I have a story to see this is my story, this is my song have a testimony, I see my testimony Rain came when blue My house was built for you I faith with you I feel somebody's faith rising. This is the reason you made it. Get my mute off here. Good morning. Good morning. How we doing, guys?

Good morning. Good morning.

Morning. Good morning. Come on. Morning. Let's go, let's go. Good morning, Alan. What's going on, brother? Good to see you, man. Got you a little praise report you sent to Christian, so that's fantastic, dude. Absolutely appreciate you, brother. Yes, thank you. Loving that. Just had a little good time of prayer with everybody. As, as most of you know, Christian's got the week off and I, I fill in for him when, when he is not able to, to be on him and Lucy is their anniversary this past Monday. So he's got just a couple days with him and his bride taking some time off. So much, much deserved on his part. So I'm happy to fill in here if you got the email or saw the social posts or anything like that. We're going to take a little break in Revelation. I'm not trying to, to dive into that. As deep as Christian is, I love to be the recipient of that in what he dives into. But we are going to talk a little bit about what Christian has even touched on a little bit over the last week or two on the fear of the Lord today, which I am very excited to dive into with you guys. Roger, I think has the notes available for us if you guys want to. Awesome. Roger, you're the man. I love you. Raj. Can we just give Rog a little love too? He doesn't get paid for any of this. This is just his time and, you know, it just him wanting to steward into, to serve you guys. And so he's the one who kind of does all the behind the scenes things, get the zooms going, gets us on live stream and things like that. So, Roger, we love you, man. You are, you're amazing human beings. So thank you. I appreciate you, man. And for everybody else that's hopping on here too, it's just good to see you guys again. For those that don't know, I mean, most of you know, know me to an extent, but Christian and I are great buds and, you know, just have had this heart with the King's council and continuing to, you know, do this, this Wednesday Bible study. We kind of started out as like A coaching company transformed more to just ministry. And so our heart is to, you know, we've got. We've had the King's Council podcast that we've put on hold for this just kind of season of our life. And we still just do this Bible study, though. And so we're just grateful for you guys to hop on and continue just to ask too, just to share it with people. I mean, the intent of this is to dive into the word of God. Hopefully most of us are all connected with a local church, local body of believers, and if not, we want to encourage you to do that or reach out to one of us and we'll be able to help you kind of get plugged into a local church because there's nothing like just community and, you know, being in person. And second best, I guess, would be zoom, right? And that's thank God for technology. As evil as it can be, we're going to use it for good, right? What the enemy uses for evil, we can use for good. And so that being said, I'm just praying for continued Internet. I think we're good. But I'm in Las Vegas today. It's bright and early here out here working for the week. And so, yeah, it's 5, 5am Here I on prayer. I was just telling people I have great respect for them that are out here on the west coast that get up as early as they do for us every morning, so. Or every Wednesday at least. But that all being said, guys, we're gonna, we're gonna dive into this. I feel like. I feel like God's really just been in this season of my life, has. Has really. And I want to keep. Make this kind of interactive as much as possible with you guys. I know the last time I had spoken maybe a couple months ago on here, I went the whole time just because you guys kind of know how sometimes I get. I get fired up and excited. And then I realized what time it was and it was like, crap, we don't even have time to open for discussion or anything like that. I had to get running to an appointment. So I want to do just a kind of a continuation for those that were on that. If you remember, I ended up talking about briefly, well, the kind of title, what it was of that was like an abundant entrance, right? And what it means to, you know, one day we are going to be accountable to our Creator. And, you know, whether you're a believer in Jesus, you've received him as savior or not, you're going to face him one day and my heart in that. And I think most of us understand, like, okay, we put our mind on the eternal, and it's like, yes, we want to experience heaven. We want to. We want to have eternal salvation with our Creator. And I want to really just dive into that. But also my hope or intent within the notes. I'm probably not. We're probably not going to get through all of them. But I've got a number of different references of scriptures regarding the fear of the Lord that I'm hoping you guys will review. You know, even if it's after this, to really just dive into that individually of like, okay, what, what does it mean? What is this, this fear of the Lord? And why does it matter today and now? And. And I'm kind of starting out with that because I want us to. To really think. At church this last Sunday, my pastor was awesome. It was really interesting to me. He started this, his message out with an understanding of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. And most of us have all maybe at least heard the word orthodoxy, right? That's like, what we believe, okay? But the orthopraxy is like the actions that we take, right? And the orthodoxy that most of us have should affect our orthopraxy, right? If we really believe this, if we're convicted. And this is something that. I don't know if I struggled with it, but I wrestled with it, right? God says we are to work out our salvation with fear. Not necessarily like this. I'm petrified, terrified. But this fear of God and trembling, this, oh, my gosh, when you have this new understanding, now we can start to work this salvation out in our process of sanctification, which is ultimately, if you received Christ as Savior, that's next, right? If you want to know the will of your life, it is sanctification, right? Now some of us want to know the minuscule things like, okay, what job should I take? Where do I go to school? All these things, which is great. We should be seeking the Lord on all of those. But it should all fall under this umbrella of sanctification. I think it's in someone maybe help me. I think it's in maybe first or second Thessalonians. Like, this is the will of God, your sanctification, right? Like, it's very clear that that's what the will of God actually is for our life. And that is sanctified means to be set apart. Yes, you are set apart as a believer, but also it is a continual process, right? We are to continually, continually be sanctified. Right? And that's just to become more and more like him, right? To be transformed into his image. And if we have the proper belief so system, our practice should actually follow that. Problem is, I think sometimes we get jacked up with our belief system, right? Because this is just what the enemy does. And he comes at us and the enemy cannot block our blessing, but he can infiltrate your mind and cause you to block it yourself. Right? We're sometimes our worst enemies when it comes to some of this stuff of like, you know, what he did from Adam and Eve very first in the garden. It's like, did God really say this? If Eve would have just said, yeah, he did, right? Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess or turmoil that we're in now. But thankfully, God works all things for good, even the mistakes, even the junk, even the bad decisions we've made. As long as we love him and we're pursuing him, he will take our ashes and turn them into glory for his glory. As long as we're committed to right. Sometimes we make some wrong decisions and we mess up, right? But as long as we're continuing to repent, to turn around, to put our heart and our disposition towards him like he will continue to, we can continue to grow through those processes, right. As we go through this process. And so, again, orthodoxy, my intent with this is that we understand what we really truly believe. So ultimately it'll affect the actions that we actually take. Right? You guys with me so far on this? Okay? So that being said, a few months ago, when I talked, I talked about this, this understanding of the difference between really two main judgments that we as Christians are gonna face, right? So if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, we. You are going to experience the, the Great White Throne Judgment, right? And this is in Revelation 20. Christian will get to this here in the next five or six weeks, assuming he gets to, you know, one of these chapters each week. But the Great White Throne Judgment is. That's a judgment for unbelievers. And, right? This, this is literally like, hey, did you receive me as savior or not? If you did, amazing, right? Enter into, you know, the eternal gates of heaven, right? And if you did not, it's. It's despair. It is, it is this, this. It's going to be utter torment for eternity, which. That. That in itself is just like a hard for us to even comprehend. But this, I'm hoping, should spur our passion and our hunger and desire to love on others, right? To love well, but also to be convicted, to have the hard conversations, right? Not necessarily like bullhorn guy Turner burn type of thing. As true as that actually is, we are called to do, to be able to evangelize with salt, right? With grace. But at the end of the day, truth is truth and God will, His word will never return. Void. As much as I think those guys on the street corners are causing chaos in most of people's lives when they're up there, just not actually having conversations with people, but threatening them essentially. As real as that is right there, I don't know what their, their, their success rate is, is getting people to actually turn to Christ. But I do know that God's word will not return. Void. Right? If we're speaking truth at, at some point, maybe there's a seed that's being planted that somebody else can steward, right? We know Paul tells us that, you know, Apollos planted the seed, he watered it or whatever the situation is. It's like that's a part of the body. Believers, like we are all called to do our part. And that being said, I kind of getting off track a little bit. But the Great White Throne judgment is something that if you are a believer and you've received Christ as Savior, we are going to experience then a second judgment. If you guys remember this, I talked about this a few months ago. This, what's called the Judgment seat of Christ, right? Or the Bema seat, B E M A. And this is something that I don't think really gets talked about enough, but it is referenced multiple times throughout Scripture. And I think it's unfortunate that I think this doesn't get talked about nearly enough. And you know, I have my opinions, I guess, of, of why maybe places don't. But I think it is something that we really need to, to understand as believers that, you know, we are salvation in itself is something that is going to be. It's, it's. We are saved by, by grace, by faith, you know, by grace through faith alone. That's, that's it, right? There's not. Our works are not going to get us any into heaven any more than anybody else, right? Everybody has sinned. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. But what's radical to me is that we are saved to do good works. Scripture tells us this and in Second Corinthians 5, 10, it actually says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due, whether good or evil, right? And it's like again, it's not a matter of if I'm Getting into heaven or not, but we are going to give. And I have to give an account at some point. And this, my hope and intent, when I really started to dive in this, to this, it was this like, oh, snap. This should affect the way that I live, right? But this orthodoxy, this belief that I have, because if I believe that, that all scripture is God breathed and it's to be used for reproof and correction, I think that's. Second Timothy says that, like, if, if I believe that, then I, I have to take this seriously, right? If I'm, if I'm going to just try to cherry pick certain scriptures that I like that fit into my path, then, hey, that's a judgment that you're gonna, you're gonna have to be accountable for, right? And, and I want to take the word of God very seriously. And I, if I'm going to believe the, the whole thing, I'm going to abide by the whole thing, right? And, and I know that everything that I do, every action that I take, every thought that I have, oh, Lord, all of those are. We are going to have to get an account for, right? And, and we're going to receive what is due. And there are different rewards in heaven, right? Again, something that doesn't get talked about a lot. We're not going to go into all of that today. But there are different rewards, right? The rewards Roger has and Christian has and Gita and all of us on this call, we're going to receive different rewards in heaven. That's just the reality of it, right? You might not like it. I mean, you might be like, well, that's not fair. No, it is, right? What's not fair is that God had to die, right? But in his love and his mercy and his grace, he died and rose again because he wants relationship with us, right? And now once we have this understanding, it's a new responsibility that we take as believers, that we need to walk this thing out. We need to take this thing actually seriously, right? Because he is absolutely going to judge how we lived. And, and that is something that, again, I'm hoping from the orthodoxy standpoint, once we believe this, once we understand this, it's going to change the practice that we take. And so I read in Second Corinthians, but if you go back into First Corinthians, which again, is still Paul writing this, First Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 10 says, this is a little bit longer here, but 10 through, I'm going to read through like 15 here says, according to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation. So this is Paul saying he laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care of how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Right? Christ is the foundation. Verse 12 says, now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw, each one's work will become manifest for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. Okay, this is the rewards that I'm talking about. If anyone's work is burnt up, he's going to suffer loss through himself. They'll be saved. So again, it's not that they're not getting into heaven. You're still going to be saved, but only as through fire. Which is kind of crazy, right? You're going to be saved, but only as through fire, right? It means that the works that we're doing here, are we truly laying up treasures in heaven or are we only working for ourselves for what we think is success? And this is what God has radically transformed my life over the last five, six years of, like, what I thought success was, right? We all have this, this understanding. I think that, you know, as believers, we usually fall into, like, one of two camps where it's like, woe is me. You know, I don't, I don't need much. I'm just, you know, I just, you know, I'm not greedy. Is our, Is our justification. And so they're also the ones saying, well, I'm just waiting on God, you know, I'm just, I'm just waiting this thing out. And then there's the others that go to the extreme side, which is again, going to be more like prosperity gospel. God wants you to be a millionaire. And like, what is this healthy? I don't necessarily like the word balance, but what is this? What is truth? What does this actually mean? Right? Because Paul tells us in other letters, like, hey, we are to run this race. Well, if we're going to run this race, we should run to win, right? Otherwise, why are we running it, right? Because if the only point of this life in itself was salvation, why are we doing anything else if there wasn't any other important aspect, don't you think God, we got saved. Boom, he'd just take us to heaven right then and there. But that's not the point, right? The point isn't to get into heaven, right? The point is like, okay, I've received this revelation now God wants to work in and through us to be his ambassadors here on this earth. And when we understand that, like that gets me really fired up. Does that get anybody else excited? Like, God wants to use me of an all time of creation. It's 2025 and God wants to use me and he's chosen me to be alive specifically on this day, this time, this purpose, right? The God, the Creator of who placed the stars in the sky. And our tiny little minds can't even comprehend this. We take this for granted. He literally had every drop of water in his hand, every sand, pebble of sand that we see on the earth. Like he created that. It's just mind blowing when we really think about this, who God is, what he did. But he knows the amount of hairs on our head, the amount of moles on your body, right? He knows the ins and outs. He's omniscient, he's omnipresent. He knows all things about you. There's nothing that we can hide from him. Yet he still wants to use us. Like how cool, how cool and exciting is that? That we have that person in our life, right, that knows all of our junk and that he still wants to use us for his glory, right? Not for our glory. And this is where our pride and our ego. I want to be the best again. I've struggled with this tremendously. Like if I'm going to do anything, I want to be the best, right? And that, that selfish ambition is something that God has had to completely destroy in my life, where now it's more of a holy ambition that I understand that it's not a. I'm not running the race to win a prize for myself, but I'm doing it because ultimately these rewards that we are going to receive in heaven, there's these different crowns, right? These different rewards that we're going to be experiencing, that we're going to be receiving. But the beautiful thing is it's not like we're walking around heaven with all these crowns on our head. The only thing that we're going to be doing at those crowns, as scripture tells us, is casting them down at the feet of Jesus, right? Like that's that. That should be our ambition, right? Self is ambition is not good. But this holy ambition of like man, I get to do this thing here not for my glory, but for his glory, right? And if we really believe this, our orthodoxy should actually Affect our orthopraxy, right? And how we go about waking up in the morning, taking care of this body, this temple that he's given us, how we go about into every single meeting, right? How we go about if people are in school, like writing a paper, are you doing it? Excellent. Because that's what you're called to. You're called to excellence. And sometimes we just try to get things done and we think that having a checklist checked off is what success is. But no, did we do it well? Did we actually do things in excellence with an attention to detail, with care? Because think of the attention to detail that God actually used in creating us as individuals, right? So being mindful of these things, whatever we do, if it's cleaning our house, if it's raising our kids, if it's parking cars and valet, like, are you doing it? Well, because you're doing it for the Lord, not for anybody else, right? And when we have this understanding that, okay, I'm not here just to get into heaven, right, Just to be saved through fire, because I don't want to be that guy. I mean, does anybody want that? Where it's like, I got in, I was saved through fire. Believe me, it is absolutely 100% better than any than the alternative, right? And that's why if we have friends and family members that you know, that have yet to receive Christ as savior, like there is never, it is never too late. There is a sense of urgency, right? We're to redeem the time and use that time wisely because salvation is never too late, right? And, and people can be saved as through fire, right? But no matter again what your age is, if you, if you come to that revelation at a new, at a young age, or if you're 85 years old and you're brand new believer in Jesus Christ, like now we get to walk this thing out. We get to, right? This is understanding. It's like, all right, I'm going to take this seriously. I'm going to be responsible with this too now. And in coming back to second Corinthians, in verse five, Paul actually continues. So our chapter five, excuse me, verse ten is what I was referring to earlier where it says that we're going to have to give an account, right? And we're going to receive what is due, whether good or evil. And then in our Bibles, our modern day Bibles, where the chapter breaks are and things like that, that was all man made, right? We created those things. And so chapter verse 10 ends and then it goes into like this, this next new title, I forget what it even was, but it continues like the original writing of Paul was. It continues. And in verse 11 it says, Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. And this is what I want to dive into here for the remainder of the time. And then I want to open this up here is like, if I know these things, this new fear of the Lord should cause me to change my orthopraxy, right? We're going to persuade others, right? This, this, it, it, this should be something that is going to ultimately factor into things. And, and I've got a number of scriptures that I'm not going to run through all with you guys, but the Fear of the Lord. And if anybody has not heard or listened to the John Bevere in any of these messages, he does an incredible job. He has a book called the Awe of God which is really just. He does an incredible job at just going into what does it mean to have this holy fear? It's not this I'm afraid of, even though, yes, I think that is truly a reality though, but this fear, right? Because we know that God doesn't give us a spirit of fear, but a power of love and a sound mind. Right? But there's a difference between this spirit of fear that is rampant on this earth in this holy reverence and this awe of this like, oh my God, right? Like, what is it gonna be like when we. I think Chris Tomlin has an incredible song that is just like, what is it going to be like, right, when I, when I see you face to face, right? Moses, when, when he, when he asked to see God's glory, like, he's like, God's like, you, you can't handle it, brother. It's like, you know, the, Was it men? I forget the movie. You can't handle the truth, right? It's like, it's like we can't even. You mean we would be God being an all consuming fire? Like if we think about what that actually is and like the sun. If I, when I think of an all consuming fire, I think of the sun, right? Like if we were any closer to the sun than we are here now, we would completely burn up. And this is again just how the awe for me when I think about these things and I meditate on these things and it's been a struggle for me to really understand this. And so what I'm my encouragement to all of you on this is when you do have that quiet time with the Lord and you're spending that time Just meditate on those things. Like meditate on God who literally placed the stars in the sky, right? Like Scripture tells us, I think in Isaiah that like God, the universe is within, from God's pinky to his thumb, the universe. And when you start to like meditate on just this, this awe, this like holy reverence of who our Creator is, I really believe it starts to just tear down these walls and these mindsets of just like lack and like this woe is me mindset. It's like, no, no, no. God who moved mountains, right? God who put everything into existence. He loves you and wants what's good for you and that should stir up in us just again, this holy awe, this reverence of who he is, the awesomeness of God. I actually heard somebody had mentioned this as their definition of the fear of the Lord was an awareness of his awesomeness and reverence. And I like that, right? Because a lot of us think it is just like this, I'm afraid of which there is a healthy fear, right? You know, we should have a healthy fear of snakes and scorpions and you know, gross things like that, right? That's healthy fear. Like, that's, there's wisdom in that, right? But the fear of the Lord, I think that we need to understand isn't like I'm afraid of God, but I am afraid of being eternally separated from Him. And, and I think when we have that, that mindset shift of like, okay, that's what this is really truly about. It's going to change because I, I really believe our, our viewpoint, right? Or, or how we view God is ultimately going to bring out the best of us or the worst of us, right? So if you're viewing him as this hard man, as the parable of the talents tells us, like the guy who just buried that talent, if you're viewing him as, that's your mindset is a hard man and he's, he's just ashamed of you and he's like, ah, you know, just frustrated with you, right? Some of us maybe grew up with, with a dad like that. That's not, that's not our Creator. That's not our dad, right? Our Abba father is, is. He's. He's constantly wanting to pour into us, constantly drawing us near to Him. But we need to be the ones that are going to take that step, right? And our fear, a holy fear, I think it really grows proportionately with our comprehension of his greatness when we start to comprehend, okay, how great he is and not just the love of God. Because I think what the church does today, at least here in America, is they're talking about the love of God. The love of God. The love of God, right? And then I even think of, you know, Satan, Lucifer. At one point, he loved God, right? He loved him. He literally led worship in heaven, but he didn't fear him. And I think this is, this is what, what's. What we're seeing in just American Christianity is like we love God. And, you know, love is, Love is great. And yes, that is a, an attribute that is a characteristic of God. But you don't get to just pick, right? There is, there is. Who is God? Yes, he is loving, but he is just. And he is to be feared because he is holy. And I think Lucifer at one time loved God, right? Satan loved him, but he did not fear him. And pride welt up within him and was cast out of heaven, right, with a third of the angels. And if we as human beings start to just really, I think, meditate on this, this holy fear of the Lord, and it's not like this dread of punishment, but the weight of knowing that we are going to stand before our king one day, we're going to stand before him, right? We're going to stand face to face. And with that, I want to even just ask and then, you know, I'll come back into some more topics or teaching that I have here, but I want to just open it up in here. Like, if you knew that you were going to sit face to face, because this is going to happen, right? So we all know this now, but if we took this seriously, would what we do today even, is that going to adjust how we go about doing things, right? If this orthodoxy, this belief now, it's like, I know I'm going to stand before my Creator and I'm going to be accountable. So that stirring in the spirit Jonathan mentioned, like on Bibles or on prayer, it's like he feels like there's a stirring, doesn't know what it is, right? But the moment, Jonathan, that you get that like that, oh, that's from God, your next step is obedience. If we're not obedient, right? Obedience over sacrifice all day long, every single day, right? And when God gives us that inkling, that gut feeling that I have, your job is obedience, right? To go talk to that person on the street corner, right? To go pick up that phone call, whatever it is. I mean, we could talk about anything like that. But if we had that holy fear of God, that I'm going to be accountable to this. Is that going to change our life and, and affect what we do next in that situation? So I'll open it up here and just ask you guys, like, how does that change your thought process? Or what's your, your, your thoughts coming out of that? Raj?

Yeah, Riley, great, great insight on. I was just, I was just really pouring over First Corinthians 3, that 12 through 15, talking about, about, you know, building on the foundation and, you know, the, the gold and silver precious stones. You know, those are things that are going to last and then other things that, you know, other things that, that aren't precious that are going to burn, like the wood, hay, straw. And I think about, I think about the things that we do on a daily basis, and it comes down to, like, kind of our motivation. So things that burn, like going to church, checking a box. We go to church on Sunday because, well, that's what we, that's, that's what we do, you know, you know, you're in worship and every once in a while, you know, you catch, you catch a feeling, you know, and it's not like you're not really truly worshiping or understanding what that is. No. Or, you know, how you serve and how, you know, like, what's it, what's it motivated? Is it a selfless motivation, like you're actually here to serve and a holy motivation? Or is it because, you know, of your recognition and things like that? And it's like, okay, if that's a filter, like, okay, what's burnable and what's not burnable? Like, that's a filter that I need to be putting everything that I do through. Like, yeah, yeah, I'm doing this. And I'm, you know, yeah, the church needs help on, on this event. And yes, I'm, I'm going to do it. Am I doing it because I'm obligated or am I, am I actually serving the kingdom of God? Because that's my heart and that's my will. And is that something that I'm, Is that something that's not going to burn up on the altar? So it's like, that's a really good filter. Like you, you had mentioned, you know, you know, kind of your, your, this trans, this, this transition that you've gone through of, like, realizing, you know, your motivations and things like that, that's just, that's really, really. I guess I've never really dove into. I mean, I've read that scripture a bunch of times, but I've never really like, stopped and went, huh? And so that was what. That was what really stuck out. Stuck out to me.

Awesome. Yes. Thanks, Raj. Leslie, hi.

Yeah, so I like what you were saying about, like, the sanctification on a daily basis and, you know, the judgments. And that's where for me, you know, I was. I got a book on the names of God, and I read a Kalash, and I just really resonated with that, and I brought that into my everyday life. And the way that I meditate on that, to make every thought, you know, captive to Christ, is when I experience something that I'm like, is this feeling, you know, of God? Thank you. Thank you. Is this feeling of God, you know, like, you know, this judgment I'm feeling if God, you know, God is here always, and just keeping that in mind that he's watching how I'm doing this and I am going through the fire in this difficult, like, moment of judgment or, you know, taking a right or a left in terms of what I'm saying or what I'm doing, you know, should I look for comfort right now or should I sacrifice and, you know, buy the flowers for somebody when I'm in a rush? So kind of constantly, you know, saying, how. How am I being purified now so that when that fire comes, you know, is this a good work that will burn up, or am I doing it through that holy ambition that is more purific, purified and precious to him? So just kind of having that in mind of, like, the Akal Esh is always with me. That consuming fire.

Kalash. Yes. I love that. Great. Thanks, Leslie. As believers, that we need to walk this thing out. We need to take this thing actually seriously. Right? Because he is absolutely going to judge Jonathan.

Yeah, well, you're speaking here. It just. God's been speaking to me a lot about identity, how we lived, and.

And that is something that, again, I'm hoping from the orthodoxy standpoint, once we.

Believe this and how, like, what does that look like? Where's your identity? And how is that flowing out into the good works that you are doing and prepared for?

And just once we understand this, it's going to change the practice that we take.

It's this idea of, like, faith is believing God can do great things, and.

Identity is so I read in Second Corinthians. But if you go back into First.

Corinthians, knowing God can do great things through you. And so, like, what's the good workings?

Which, again, is still Paul writing this.

First Corinthians work that God has prepared in you.

Chapter three, verse Ten, which I believe.

Are the bedrock of our identity should be sons and daughters.

Says, this is a little bit longer.

Here, but ten daughters of God, right?

And so I'm going to read through like 15 here. Says, According to the grace of God given to me like a skilled.

Oh, I'd rather be do reading.

In my father's master builder, I laid.

A sandbox like what he's given me then. Then having the pressure foundation.

So this is Paul saying he laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it.

Let each or trying to make this work, right? Like, I'd rather be a patreon 1.

Take care of how he builds upon.

It at a concert, who has to. This is kind of morbid, but who does?

Like, for no one can lay a.

Foundation CPR on a victim other than.

That which is laid, which is Jesus Christ, right?

And like the paramedic, who is Christ is the foundation there, who does CPR on a victim because one is responding.

And verse 12 says, now if anyone.

Moment and the other one is responsible for the moment. And.

And so builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and straw.

Like, if I can run back to Psalms 91 every day and say, like, run back to the secret place and abide in the shadow of the Almighty every single day, then I can, I can respond from that place of certainty. And my confidence is not in, like, how I'm performing, but I'm like, responding to what my Father is giving me and knowing he can do great things through me. And so I feel like there's like, more power that can come from that.

Yeah, that's really good, John. Yes. I love that he can do great things through you, Right? Think of just every story in the Bible is from this. This woe is me person, Moses, like, not me, God, right? Like, it's like every. Each one of these individuals that God used, it's like he wants to use the least of these, right? Because, like, that is more glorifying to him, right? Than anything else. It's like, you did what? Right? Like, I mean, I know my speech teacher is like, hold on, you speak to groups of people. When I was in high school, I was petrified, terrified I would just shake it talking in front of people, right? It's like, that is by God's grace alone. And even I mentioned John Beaver earlier. Like, it is the anointing on his life that he actually preaches the way that he does the first sermon he ever gave. He says he put his wife to sleep. She was sleeping. A friend had drool on her shirt, sitting by him like it was the worst thing on earth. And he keeps that. He listens to it every now and then because that is a reminder that it ain't him. Right? It is God's anointing on his life that he is able to do these things, and that's why he stewards it well. Right? And same with all of the books that he's written, right? And every single one of us, there's a call in our life, right? And God wants to use us, but we got to make ourselves available to be used by Him.

So anybody else, Riley, 100% that goes back to identity, right? Like, some of the things that we've talked about so much in the King's council, it's just.

It's just.

Just barely just praying to get a glimpse of how God sees us, Right? I mean, because it's so, so different. You know, it's like a prayer that I have daily is God, just show me a glimpse, just show me just a piece of what. Of who I'm supposed to be. Because, like, the biggest terror in my life is to get to heaven and, you know, to be shown this life that was available to me if I would have just acted in the way that God had intended or. Or stepped into the identity that he had created, that he created for me. And we're limited by our own. Our own false beliefs and the crap that we're fed, you know, in. In this world.

Yes. Yes. That's good. I even just see, was it you? Roger wrote that in here. That's why fire is such a good reminder to check your motivation. Yeah. Because even just serving while we think it's good, right? Like, is it. Is it lasting? Is it going to be. Is it a godly work or some of this, like, these good things, these good intentions, like, are they really eternal? Are they. Are they going to be burnt up? Right? So, Zach, what you got, man?

Yeah, I was just thinking on what Roger and Jonathan both said, man, they were. They were both bringing some fire this morning, too. And so, Jonathan, what you. What you were saying about identity, and Roger, what you were saying about serving, you know, out of obligation versus, like, out of this desire to serve out of love. I was just thinking about how, like, you know, like, a slave serves because he has to, right? A servant, sir. A servant serves because he's, like, kind of obligated to, right? He owes a debt and then. But a son serves, you know, because he wants to, right? There's a freedom in that. And and when you have a freedom to do something, you do it with a different passion, with a different fervor. There's meaning and purpose behind it. And where the. I just heard, like the Lord was saying, you know, I can't remember the reference to it, but where the spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom, right? Where the spirit of the Lord is, there's victory, too. And, and in that, when, when we start serving as. As sons rather than as servants, then it's like, that's when we step into that anointing. I feel like that's when we step into, like that, that level of excellence you were talking about, Riley. Not because. It's. Because it. It's not to tell me who I am. It's not that ego, but it's. It's because of who I am. Right? And. And so all three of you are just. You guys are hitting it hard today. So I want to say I appreciate it.

Yeah, that's good, Zach. And I think for those of us that are even parents, you know, I have my 13 year old. Obviously we want our kids to do well in school. And the hope is they get straight A's, right? If they go to traditional school versus homeschool. Homeschool, they always get straight A's, right? I'm just kidding. But if, you know, my daughter Ellie, she's like, if she sometimes gets a B on something, she feels like, you know, she failed. And I think it's something, you know, my intent and this is. Which is even just the understanding that God's worked through me is that success in life isn't about being number one, right? Success is. Was I obedient to purpose? Right? What, like, am I. Am I learning? Right? Am I continuing to get better and better? But it's. What am I going to do with that information next, right? And was I actually obedient to purpose? And that comes back to, like, that's what success is, right? If all of us want to hear one day, well done, good and faithful servant. And I'm at the point where I don't care if God has me living in a van down by a river or, you know, leading tens of thousands of people, like, was I successful in the calling that God had me? Because that's all that matters. The 70, 80 years, this, this, this, you know, fame, success here on this earth, like, it done, it. It is meaningless, right? As Ecclesiastes tells us, it is meaningless, right? Also in Ecclesiastes, what I love, too. Let me come back to this. Chapter 12 it says, in the end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Like, dude, that's it. Like, fear God, keep his commandments, right? That's incredible. Right again. Then it goes on for. For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. That's back to what Second Corinthians tells us. Like, we are going to be held accountable for those works of whether it's good or evil. And anybody else have anything on that? Otherwise I'll. In the notes that are in there, I've given another. Multiple other references of like, let me just re. Pull them up. Of like, what the fear of the Lord produces. You know, I have obedience, wisdom and understanding. You know, with scripture references to all of these things. Fear of the Lord is going to produce confidence, right? It's going to produce protection in our life. Proverbs 19 says it leads to life and satisfaction, right? The fear of the Lord. We have this on all of our sales reps, new binders that we've got them. We put Proverbs 22:4 on there, right? The fear of the Lord produces riches, honor and life, right? And it's like that's. It doesn't necessarily mean these earthly riches, right? But it's these riches, these treasures in heaven, right? That's what the fear of the Lord actually produces. Again, just that understanding should affect how we take action, how we speak to people. And we're gonna mess it up, right? That's just. That's part of the process. But the goal is sanctification, right? I want to continually get better in my decisions, in the heat of the moments, being able to control my emotions, right? To take them, to take every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. Like this is, I think, just foundationally if we have this fear of who God actually is. Yes, he is love, right? Yes. That. That isn't an attribute, but God is love. But we don't get to remove the fact that he's just. And he's holy, right? And like that, I think, is just an attribute that the church, at least here in America, is really getting away from. And it's affecting a lot of these decisions or affirming a lot of things that are sin, right? And. And it's just we shouldn't be okay with it, right? I forget the guy's name goes to the turning points events, but he. He calls, gosh, now I even forget the phrase was right there on the tip of my tongue. Oh, silence is consent, right? Like, if you see the, these sin happening in people's life and you're just silent about it, like, I really think that's going to be something that we're accountable to, right? Like, did we, did we put people back on track? Did we continually point them to Christ? Right? It doesn't have to be in a turn of burn, you're going to hell, but like in a loving manner in a way that's going to draw them in of like, man, you're right, I should get better at this, right? And are we going to be accountable to each other? I have multiple dudes in my life that I want them to pour into me and hold me accountable to these things that I can get off track at times. Every single one of us can get off track. And I think again, that's just part of the beauty of community and family and part of why God gave us spouses. It's to help keep us accountable, to continually be sanctified. I'm not going to go through in some of the notes it talks about, you know, what are the. What happens if there is no fear of the Lord. Obviously we've kind of just mentioned that, but I really want to get into. On the. The bottom section that I laid out in the last few minutes here and then open this up is that this holy fear again should produce these good works, right? This eternal mindset in Rewards and Ephesians 2:10. Obviously this is, you know, very, very common scripture for most people is that we were created for good works that God prepared beforehand, right? Like he already knew that we were going to ultimately receive him as a savior one day. And now he created these works and he knows. He already knows even if we're going to make the decision or if we're. And this is again, is just like the. This omniscience of God that our puny Brian's can't. It's hard to even comprehend, right, that if he already knows the decisions we're going to make, yet I'm still supposed to make those decisions. This is what part of me and my faith journey here was. Just like, that's how I had to work out my salvation, with fear and trembling, right? And if we know that God has prepared those things, like we are saved on purpose, for a purpose. And it's not just to go to church, right? It's not. And then to have six days of just doing whatever I want, right? It's not just to survive, but it's to truly thrive in this walk this race that each and every one of us is running, right? And in Matthew 6 talks about storing up treasures in heaven, right? 6:19 says, do not lay up yourself for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, right? Thieves are going to break in, they're going to seal it, right? But lay up for ourselves these treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy, where thieves, they don't break in, right? Because where our treasure is, that's where our heart is going to be also, right? What I love for this, in this particular verse is God doesn't do that part for us. If we kind of read into this here, it's like we are to lay up those treasures like God, God got us the treasure chest in heaven, right? But now we are the ones. He's not going to do the rest for us. We are to lay those. To lay those treasures up, right? We store those treasures based upon how we live, right? The orthopraxy in our life always just coming back to the fact that we are ambassadors here on this earth. And I love that in sec. Is it Second Corinthians that we are ambassadors for Christ. Correct me if I'm wrong, somebody knows it. But when I really like dove into this of like, what does it mean to be an ambassador? If you think of like, you know, the United States ambassador that's in whatever other country that's out there, like, they are, they're protected, number one, right? They are a foreign person of that kingdom, right? And they're there in that particular area and they have that protected territory. And I think of all of us in the same way. Our citizenship is no longer here even in America, right? Or Pakistan, right? Sharon's over there. Like our citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven and we are ambassadors here on earth, right? In God's kingdom, right? His rule and reign is in our life. And where we go, we take that authority with us. And understanding we are Christ ambassadors here. So we're not saved just to sit around and wait until Christ returns that there's an intent and a reason because again, if that was the case, he would snatch us up to heaven immediately. But we've been saved for that purpose and now we get to walk this thing out, right? There shouldn't be this, oh, I'm going to part time do this or I'm an engineer five days a week at this job, or I'm a sales rep this week and then I'll be a Christian. No, no, no, no. This is a new identity as some of you had spoken like this is an identity that we walk into, right? First things first. Like there shouldn't, there should never be a, an adjective before our identity as Christian, right? It's not like I'm a, I'm a cussing Christian. Nope. It's not like I'm a, I don't know, whatever part time Christian, right? No, you are a Christian, right? Which sometimes is even just a derogatory term that's used. But you are a follower of Jesus Christ. You are a disciple of Jesus Christ. That's who you are. And our job now isn't just to avoid sin, but it's to actually advance the kingdom, right? This should be again the orthopraxy that we actually take on, right? We're not here just to finish the race, but to win the race, as Paul tells us. And this should be our motivation through that healthy reverence or awe of God that we have in Colossians 3 tells us everything that we do. Work at it with all your heart, right? As if you're working for the Lord. Not for anybody on this earth. No human masters, because we are going to receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Another reference to those rewards, right? And I don't know about you, but I like rewards. Like, I mean I love going to the, the arcade when I was little and waste all the stupid money on all those games. Like I wouldn't play the racing games because you didn't win tickets. I wanted the tickets, baby. I wanted the rewards. Does anybody else like that? It's like I would play the, the silly game because I didn't want to waste time on the racing game because I didn't get a reward. I knew I could go to win or go beat my buddy, but I wanted the reward. I wanted to go spend my, you know, what I spent $400 on to get this 30 cent trinket. I wanted those things. And I think God's created that hunger and that desire in many of us and so know that what we're doing there are rewards, right? And I think that there's a healthy balance there where it's like, am I doing it for the reward or am I doing it because of the awe and the reverence of who God is, right? Like that, that should be the, you know, we're forever indebted to him, but he gives us his, his authority and that, that the, the hunger and desire to be able to do those things through us, right? He's not, it's not, we're not, we're not to do it. On our own, we get to do it with him, which I think is. Is just the cool thing. So any. Anything else that anybody has. I mean, I could talk for days on this just because I. It's. It's a fun topic. But I do want to. We have another five minutes or so if anybody else has anything to share or any other thoughts on this. Hey, Riley.

I'll jump in there, brother. Yeah, I was having a thought. I was reading, reading in. I think it was 1st Kings 17, about how when Elijah was sent to whatever city he was in and was told to encounter and find the widow, right? And, and that. That example of obedience with the small tasks, right? And the widow, she just had that little bit of oil, little, Little flour, right? She was expecting to just go make her last meal and die. But, you know, she obeyed what, what God was ultimately calling her to do, though she wasn't even a believer at that point. And then God took that and then multiplied that first step of obedience. So I feel like, you know, what God was speaking to me through that was. Was, you know, don't despise the, the small things that I'm calling you to obey it, right? Because God. God is the. He's the God and abundance, right? So it's like sometimes I think as, as Christians, we. We kind of. We look to the big, you know, to the big picture that God's got for us and, you know, some of the visions or goals that he has for us, which is great to, you know, to, to keep, you know, in our sight. But at the same time, there's like, what is the. What are those daily little, you know, in our minds maybe seem like little small tasks of obedience that he's calling us to do, that ultimately, you know, when we trust him and follow through on those, then, you know, he leads us to those, Those larger opportunities or, you know, opportunities just to serve and to build a kingdom. So I feel like that was. It, was. It stuck out to me because I think, you know, in fearing the Lord, it's like, you know, this non believer had that, you know, had that trust that just, you know, all right, this is the man of the Lord. I'm going to trust and do what he says. And then God, you know, gave her, you know, basically a whole new business really, you know, started to fund her needs and, and create, you know, an endless supply of oil to supply to the community. And it was like, wow, that's. Yeah, it was a great example that just kind of popped out at me. Just obey him in the small things, you know, he bleeds us to the bigger ones.

Yes, yes, absolutely. Over everything. That's great, man.

For sure.

Yeah. So, you know, as we wrap up, I think just the big question for us, I'm hoping that you'll even just contemplate or consider is like, just, hey, what are we doing with our salvation? Right? Because that's what we're stewarding now, right? Because the intent everybody on here is, I believe, hopefully we're saved. Right? And now the treasure in heaven that we have is not our salvation. It's the reward for our obedience. Right? It's the reward for our faithfulness. It's the reward for our. Our spirit led works, right? Like that. That's. That's those treasures in heaven. So how are we going to steward our salvation, right? Are we living with this. This holy awe of God, right? And knowing that, again, it's not. It's not the earning, the salvation, but it's the steward standpoint. Salvation's free, but our reward, that, like, that's what cost us, right? That's what takes that commitment and that, you know, burn the boats mentality. You know, I don't recommend Kathleen telling that to your boss, but, hey, you know, if the spirit leads you, you do what you want to do and to be held accountable for those works of whether it's good or evil in that situation. So is it all right if I just close this out with prayer, guys? Unless you guys have anything else.

All right.

All right, cool. Oh, Father God, just thank you, Jesus. Thank you that we again, just get to. To spend time diving into your word and just, you know, wrestling with. With truth that you've given us. God. And I just pray for continued revelation for everybody on this call that there would just be this new sense of holy fear, of holy awe and a reverence of who you are. Also just an empowerment with that. This shouldn't be a weighty thing or. Oh, man. Anybody else have anything on that? Otherwise, I'll. In the notes that are in there, I've given. Now I've got to do all these other things. But a freedom, right, that you provide liberty, God, you provide. The spirit of the Lord just provides freedom for us with a new renewed mindset that we get to do these things. We don't have to, right? We don't have to. And we know we're still going to have eternity with you, God. But may there just be a stirring and a hunger and desire for everybody on this call that, oh, man, I get to do these things, right? Because of who you are. Abba Faith Father. Lord, we love you and we praise you, God, just for your holiness, your vastness of who you are. You're incomprehensible for us, God. And may we just continually be reminded of that. And we meditate on multiple other references of like let me just re. Pull them up. That of just the vastness and the goodness and the holiness of whom. Who you are, Lord, of like what the fear of the Lord produces. You know, just continue to make yourself more and more real in our life that. That you. You aren't just this fictional character in the sky, but you are. You are God. You have created each and every one of us with a purpose. And God, I just pray that you would just continue to stir up those passions within each and every one of us, individually and collectively, here as a church church, Lord, that we would usher forth in advance the kingdom of heaven, the mandate that you've given us to be fruitful, to multiply, to have obedience, wisdom and understanding. You know, with scripture references to all of these things, dominion here on this earth, God, that when you return, we would hear nothing other than well done, good and faithful servant. Fear of the Lord is going to produce confidence. Teach us your ways, God. Teach us your ways, Lord, that we may know how to. How to walk. Not just walk, but run this life out. To continually pursue sanctification, to become more and more like you. In Jesus name, Lord, we love you. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen.

All right, guys. Well, it's six o' clock Pacific time, so I got a full day ahead of me. It's just wild, these time changes. Yo, you're on the Pacific coast, right? It's going to produce protection in our life. Proverbs 19 says it leads to. To life. Yeah, bro. Oh. Oh, man, it's bright and early here, man.

Right?

Sun's just coming up in satisfaction. You got.

You got time for a workout and some breakfast.

You know it. Yes. You know exactly what I'm doing next, so. And I was late to this call. That's all right.

Have a great week.

Love you guys.

Great week.

God bless. Back dive into revelation. Yeah. Thank you guys. See you guys all next week. Right. The fear of the Lord. We have this on all of our sales reps. New binders that we've got them. We'll put Proverbs 20.