Division

Hey, this is Tim Pratt Jr. and I want to welcome you to the Student of Life podcast. Listen, we're going to get into so many transferable truths throughout the content of these episodes that I believe God is going to use to help you apply, because he's going to reveal what's already been there the entire time.

Enjoy. What's up, this is Tim Pratt Jr. and listen, I want to talk to you a little bit about what's been going on. So this is not season 5 just yet, but This is just bonus content, uh, things that I wanted to share on my heart given a lot of recent events and things that's just been going on for a while. So the title of this episode is just simply Division. That's what it is, because the spirit of division has been running rapid within the context of so much that's going on. Like I said, you know, since the last time I spoke on COVID, um, you know, the vaccine has come out, the Delta variant and all this type of stuff. You have people that are very pro, being vaccinated, fully vaccinated. You have people that are very anti-vaccine. They think it's poison, they think it's a mark of the beast, and so on and so on. And the mark of the beast thing is not true because that's not even scripture. How can something be the mark of the beast when the beast is not here yet according to Revelation? Uh, we're going to know people that's left behind, and I'm saying we collectively. Now, I personally don't plan on being here when you look at in the context of the rapture because I believe God is not going to let the church endure uh, when it's basically called the tribulation period. The church is not going to be here. God is going to remove the church, but that's a whole nother subject for another day. In the context of this right here, while we're still here, uh, according to scripture, this shot is not the mark of the beast. So context matters. Now, how you feel about it personally, that's you. Like I said, I don't want to get into pro or anti. But if you are a believer, what I do want to talk about is the hatred that's rising up in many people's heart and how— I mean, people are starting to really get into it. You have people that are very anti, that are saying that the masses is stupid, that they're all going to hell, that they had, like I said, took the mark of the beast, uh, that it's lies and lies and lies. And then you have the people that are very pro-vaccine, that are fully vaccinated, saying that the other side, the anti, no, you all are the control group, you all are stupid. These people are just trying to help, and so on and so on. Now, I'm not too much worried about how the world responds to things because, like I say once again, they're not believers, they're unbelievers, so they're going to, they're going to respond or react in ways that's totally unbiblical. But to my fellow, fellow brothers and sisters as in the faith, in the body of Christ, if you are responding like the world and you're spewing hatred and your personal view of wherever you stand on it is causing you to disown people and feeling like they're less because they did something or didn't do something, you are in error. If hatred is rising up in you in the way you communicate, in the way you do things, that's just the truth. Let's go to Matthew 24 for context here. We're going to kind of go and kind of move through a couple of passages of scripture. Matthew 24 reads, we're starting in verse 7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there should be famines and pestilence and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver up to you to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. So you see this theme of hatred starting to take place and shape out as Jesus is talking. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. There it goes again. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity should abound, the love of many shall wax cold. And I apologize, that's my MacBook in the background, but I don't have time to edit this because I have to get this off my heart. But verse 13, but that shall endure up the end, the same shall be saved. And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, until the end come. So listen, this is Matthew 24 coming out the gate. This is Jesus basically laying it all out there. And we see, like I said, this theme of hatred starting to uncover where people now days. And like I say, the spirit of division, where I have yet to see it like this. And talking to people that are older than me, how like families and friends are literally separated because of this vaccine and unvaccine dilemma and debate. You have people that feel very strongly about it on certain things, and really truly any side can be challenged. Any side can be challenged to a degree, but a lot of it is just personal feelings getting in the way, and then people are feeling attacked and attacking others. But this is the thing: if you are in the body of Christ and you are doing things outside of love, if you are doing things without love and it is leading to you to hate people whether they have it or they don't have it, if it's labeling you to basically disown people and resulting into just foul name-calling and responding in a way because people are hating you or people are pointing to you, or whatever they're doing, and that hatred is rising up in the heart of a believer, you really might need to check yourself. You really do. And I— and like I say, this is hard. I'm being challenged, like, just being in the body of faith and trying to just exemplify and walk in the love of God that he has commanded me to and empowered me to do by the Holy Spirit. It is becoming more and more challenging, but I have to do it. John 15:12 says, this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. How did Jesus love? How did Jesus demonstrate his love? That you is all-inclusive to the believer. So if you're listening to this, you might say, well, you know, I feel like I was worth the love. No, you weren't. No, you weren't. None of us were. None of us were worth it, but Jesus did it anyway. And sometimes we can— and I don't know if this is a word— over-theologicalize certain statements and things like that. We can over— just overdo it and try to add so much of our norms, but this, but that, but— and we're destroying people and degrading them and so on and so on. And like I say, if you hate people, if you hate even the masses, if you hate people, you do not have the Spirit of God in you. You don't. I don't care how you look at it, what you agree with, what you disagree with, it is nothing according to scripture. Now you probably can go find a lot of reasons outside of scripture to do it. I understand the things with God destroying people and destroying, but a lot of things were one-time events when you get into the proper context of scripture. And God destroying, when he looked upon man and seen that the heart and intent was to do evil, so God destroys sin. He destroyed things and certain things, but it's Father-wise at the same time. For God so loved the world, meaning mankind, he sent his only begotten Son to save it on the cross. They're mocking Jesus, and so on and so on. He's simply saying, forgive them, for they know not what they do. This is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ basically saying, while they're doing it to me, God, I'm asking you to still forgive them. That's hard. That is very hard with the, the day and age that we live in. But will we let flesh get in the way of what God commanded us to do? And so I'm gonna say it again, if you are a believer and this is causing you to hate people because of the things that they're saying, the things that they're doing, that you agree or don't— this— that you agree or disagree with, and hate is rising in you, you really need to check yourself because you do not have the Spirit of God. And you need to repent. You need to repent, and you need to plug in and get with somebody and, and tap in into basically whatever you need to tap in, because that has to be driven out of you. That does, that does. So like I say, this is not pro or anti, this is just what I'm seeing because I'm seeing it on both sides, both sides here. And I, as I continue to do my own research and just talk to people and certain things, I'm coming to the understanding of why people are doing what they're doing. But at the end of the day, like I said, I'm not going to get into my agenda because I don't want things to get lost into the translation. But I do want to challenge you, if you're a believer, however you're doing things, are you demonstrating the love of God? Because Matthew 5, this is Jesus once again talking. You have heard, meaning that you heard this before, this is the way it might have— this is the way it was before I stepped on the scene. You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. So Before Jesus, you probably had a right to do that, man. You know what, I can hate them. I can literally hate that person. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is ongoing, man. People are going to persecute, people are going to hate you, but don't become a hater. Because the moment that you become a hater and you become more like them, you are in error. You are in error, man. We all are. It's all inclusive. But that you may be children of your Father in heaven. So I believe all scripture is intentional. Jesus said, but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. So I also think it's a possibility that within this context of scripture that it is people that are acting like children of the devil, although this scripture doesn't say this, but all scripture is intentional. Because he specifically switching gears, say that you may be children of your father. So it lets me know that if you're not practicing this, then you, you're not like your Father in Heaven, so you must be like the devil, basically. And so I just want to encourage you, man, like I say, whatever side of the fence that you lay on, I understand certain things. You have objective and subjective data and all this type of stuff, and some people are just feel adamant on certain things. Some people think that this is truly to help. Some people think that the government is a conspiracy and all this type of stuff. But whatever somebody— but really, anything, to be honest, anything can be argued. Anything. That's just straight up. But regardless of how you feel, especially in the body of Christ, especially in the church, I just want you to know that you are required to love. You are required to demonstrate love as you engage and encounter people. You can hate the sin, you can hate sin because God hates sin, but you cannot hate people. You cannot hate people, man. And so this is what I believe that's leading to just this spirit of division that's running rapid, man. Like I say, especially in the body of Christ. In the world, I get it, but in the body of Christ It is like the enemy is hijacking the church. He's infiltrating the church, and people are saying that I love God, he's Lord of my life, and we're not even doing what he instructed us to do, no matter how hard it is. He never said it was going to be easy, but he demonstrated it. And so I just want to encourage you, man, if you divided, or if you have let division creep in and you are a believer, just repent right now. Just repent. You don't have to start all the way over. Hit me up, call me, and right now, man, I'm just going to pray for you, like, straight up. So, dearly Father God, I come to you today, God, asking you to just— no, first and foremost, God, thanking you for everything that you've done. And God, if somehow, some way, we have allowed the enemy to infiltrate our spirit man through our flesh, God, and has led us to division, to, to dehumanize people, God, to pick them apart, to literally hate them, use derogatory words, and so on and so on. Not just with this shot, God, but anything, anything, God. And we are not loving our enemies as you have commanded us to, praying for them. It's hard to pray for people that's on our hit list. And God, right now I just ask you to just touch our hearts, God. Continue to touch our hearts, God, and guide us and drive these things out of us, drive these feelings and just these remorseful things out of us, God. These things that's keeping us from obeying you, God, and truly surrendering and setting our heart on you, God. Right now I ask you just to drive out these things out of the body of Christ through repentance. And God, wherever people lay, God, that they just have a heart, God, to truly honor you. For our heart without you is deceitful. We can't trust it no matter how good of a person that we think we are. We need the Spirit of God. We need the heart of God. We need a heart transplant. And so God, right now I just ask you to continue to touch this person, whoever it is listening. God, the things that they have allowed to creep in, God, in the falling of self-deception— we've all been there, God. Moments in my own life, God, I ask you to continue to just purge it out of them right now in the name of Jesus Christ, God, if they just ask you, God, and surrender unto you. Because hatred and division is running rapid in this world, but we as the church, we as believers, have to demonstrate the type of love that you say people will know us by. And right now, God, we are losing that love because self is getting in the way, because we're trying to protect our own self. We're trying to annihilate and destroy our enemies when you didn't call us to do that. And right now, God, I ask you just to continue to guide us, God, resource, helping us make wise decisions, Lord, in our life. And God, I ask you to touch every scientist and every doctor, God, everybody that has gotten the vaccine. God, I ask you to protect them, God, that they don't believe in the vaccine but believe in you. And the people that are unvaccinated, God, I ask you to continue to protect them and give them wisdom, God, that they wear their mask and continue to wash their hands and so on and so on. Even the vaccinated people, God, I just ask that you continue to protect people and guide them, God. Guide them in their decision-making, God, and give their souls peace to look to you, God, as the healer, God, and the redeemer, God, and the protector. That we don't believe in the science of the medicine, but also to God, even the intent of people's hearts, God, if it is meant for evil, if it is things that obstruct, I truly still believe, God, that you are in control. So whatever you do, God, when you lead people to make a decision, God, I ask that you protect them. You got us, God. I'm sorry, God, all of us. My apologies, all of us. It's all inclusive. And God, I ask this in your son Jesus' name I pray. Amen, amen, amen. Listen, I hope you were blessed. I hope you were touched by this. Uh, like I say, I'm, I'm not trying to push an agenda here at all. I'll talk to you offline if you want to know how I feel about things. Just reach out to me. But that's— I don't, I don't want that to get lost in translation here. I just want you to be safe, man. I want you to be healed, and I just want you to demonstrate the love of Christ. Don't let the enemy drive you to division. Like I say, especially if you are a believer and you're going to live by the commandment of God. It is scripture. No one can take that away from me because this is what the scriptures say. It is clear as day. Love as I have loved you. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. God bless.

Hey, what's up? I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to the Student of Light podcast today. If this content has impacted you in any kind of way, please take some time to share it on your social media feeds. And also, if you want to connect with me or just learn more about me, go over to www.timothyprattjr.org. Once again, thanks.