Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Truth Of The Matter is Episode 182: Starling Discoveries Part 6
16 Plays4 days ago
There comes a time when you read the scriptures that you are going to have more questions than answers. Does that mean you should be concerned? No. Here's why: what makes the Word of God interesting and such a mystery is that it will leave you with the opportunity to search for those answers. It will give you the opportunity to get on your knees and ask God for his to reveal things to you. Matthews 7:7 NLT says, Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” So if you don't receive an answer at first, give it time. This episode was inspired by a Bible study I had with a friend. Yes this could have easily been a Bible reflection solo or with friends but this conversation made me go back and revisit the text and learn something I might have missed with deeper insight. I love the practice of thinking deeply and that's exactly what this passage did for me so I share it with you today. The text was Luke 8:1-3 ok. Enjoy!
Recommended
Transcript
Welcome and Podcast Commitment
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Truth of the Matterist podcast. I'm the host Jonathan, and this is episode 182. Let's begin by recognizing and appreciating all of our new and consistent listeners.
00:00:22
Speaker
Of course, we thank you all in advance for continuing to press play at your own convenience. And I pray that this podcast, regardless of the episode that you decide to press play on, can and will be a blessing to you. So I'm back.
00:00:38
Speaker
I know I've been missing for the last couple of weeks, but you know, I've had some time to reflect and I thought that going into the new year, I want to put out produced quite a bit of content every week for quite some time. We're looking at probably a duration of over three years.
Importance of Full Episodes
00:01:06
Speaker
And I really wanted to encourage some people to go back and listen to some of the when it comes to podcasting in general, in the long forms that we have approximately with 182 episodes, you have the estimate of about 54 minutes. So yeah you're looking at approximately an hour, almost for every episode.
00:01:37
Speaker
on average. And obviously, if you look at the YouTube space, so you look at podcasting in the YouTube space, a lot of the things are broken up in sections. And of course, hearing the truth of the matter is podcast, because we are diving into the scriptures, I don't necessarily want to take pieces out and give it to you. And small pieces, I like to give it to you in the whole form. Why? Because I think the whole form is important.
00:02:04
Speaker
I think when we're breaking down scripture and we're starting in the beginning or ending or adding in different elements within the whole time of a podcast, I think all those things need to be processed as one complete episode as opposed to taking out sections and trying to get you to listen to portions of a whole entire episode.
00:02:31
Speaker
here on the Truth of the Madness podcast. We are much more concerned
00:02:44
Speaker
not only inform you, but give you something to think about in real time. And I think it doesn't take away what else other podcasts are doing. But here, I like the idea of giving it to you, the whole thing.
Scripture Reflection and Upcoming Messages
00:03:03
Speaker
Even the whole part one, part two, part three aspect of a conversation, I'm not
00:03:17
Speaker
i had with somebody was two plus hours is actually and a conversation house or by that three hours has had to put that out but the point is i wanted to make sure
00:03:35
Speaker
I don't want to take a portion, save it for next week. I don't want to tease you and I don't want to give you portions of episodes. I want to give you the whole episode entirely. This is the reason why I give you the segment of how the Lord has blessed me.
00:03:50
Speaker
I do a prayer in the beginning, I do a prayer in the end, I do a devotional time, right? I think the whole conversation should be digested in one. And obviously, if you have things going on and you can't get to it all, right, you pause it, you come back, but I don't wanna separate it.
00:04:11
Speaker
And I don't want to give it to you in portions. I want to give it to you as a whole thing. So thank you so much for your patience. The next three episodes that come out, I believe are promising because I took the time to make sure that not only did I study myself proved that I spent some time with the Lord, but most importantly, I'm also using my time to do other things.
00:04:33
Speaker
right one of those things is I'm actually holding the Bible study or some seniors and I thank God for that opportunity and I'm doing that weekly on a Saturday right and I'm also taking the time out to read the scripture with quite a few people right and the hope of doing that is to inspire them and motivate them and see that we read one chapter a day and we chose three verses that stood out to us. How much more interesting will it be for us, not just to process the things that stand out to us, but to encourage us to go back and read those chapters once again with a different perspective and lens, okay? So that's what I've been up to. And I thank you for your patience. I appreciate it. No, I did not go away for a long time and plan on coming back.
00:05:30
Speaker
in the next year 2025. No, I'm going to be here. I have a message to share with you today. I have a Christmas message. And of course, I have a message for the new year.
Gratitude and Deeper Reflection
00:05:44
Speaker
Okay. So with that being said, we begin the segment, of course, with how has the Lord blessed me this past week?
00:05:52
Speaker
And I would say that, you know, God continues to always present me with new opportunities. And those opportunities has always been about being a blessing to others in so many ways. That could be something simple as giving someone a ride.
00:06:12
Speaker
or something complicated such as assisting someone with an important decision that they are struggling with on their own. To be honest, I'm just thankful. And I love to be of help in whatever way is needed for an individual, especially, of course, during the holiday season or any season for that matter.
00:06:37
Speaker
Over the last few weeks, I've been doing some amazing things with and for people and see the smiles, the relief on their faces has done nothing but bring me joy. And that's one of the ways that I'm thankful for God and what he's been doing and how he's been using me, right? He's using me honestly as an instrument.
00:07:01
Speaker
and an ambassador for righteousness. And in those moments and situations, I'm thankful and appreciative. And when I put my hand on my pillow and I close my eyes, I love the fact that God is moving me in areas to where I can be a blessing to other people. There's no greater feeling in the world than to be a cheerful giver of your time, your treasure,
00:07:31
Speaker
your talents, your gifts, your abilities, either to expand the kingdom or to bless those within the kingdom or to bless those who eventually and hopefully will find their way into the kingdom. The second way the Lord has blessed me is that he keeps on reminding me to dig deeper in the scriptures.
00:07:53
Speaker
Right? There is so much to unpack and it's because of this, I was inspired to share this because this, you know, this discovery with you today. Again, it's because of this, I was inspired to share this discovery with you today. And I hope that this blesses you as much as it has blessed me personally. Now, of course, as a reminder, that's of course, the second way.
00:08:22
Speaker
The Lord has blessed me. So as a reminder, the reason why I always begin this podcast with reflection is because I believe that God is continuously blessing us each and every day, hourly, minutely, weekly, monthly, yearly, honestly believe that God can bless the believer and the nonbeliever. I believe that God deserves the glory, the honor.
00:08:50
Speaker
and the praise and if you just sit back and observe, you will see what God has been up to on your behalf. Well, we don't do enough of this reflection. So I say reflect daily and then you will notice the presence of God with you on a daily basis. It requires you to really pay close attention to the details of your life. Again, it requires you to pay close attention to the details of your life so that if you begin reflecting, you will start to easily notice that God is blessing you and that God is looking out for you. So I say, give it a try and see his grace and mercy over your life.
Prayer and Gospel of Luke
00:09:40
Speaker
It's the little things. Amen. Amen. Now let's take this because it actually leads us right into prayer. So let's pray.
00:09:51
Speaker
Heavenly Father in Jesus name, I thank you for all that you do. I give you glory, honor, and praise. I thank you for my family. I thank you for friends. I even thank you for my enemies. I thank you for tests. I thank you for trials, situations, circumstances. As we go to the word today, I ask you for wisdom and for understanding. I ask you for discernment.
00:10:17
Speaker
and I ask you to encourage and inspire me and motivate me to live out the Christian difference. Lord, I say this with honesty and with surety in who you are and what you're capable of doing, not just for me, but for everyone who calls on your name. Lord, I thank you because if I act and believe in faith, I know that if I ask you anything, And it's according to your will and it's within your character. You would do it. And on that Lord, I say these things in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. And Amen. So for the last two to three weeks, I've been in the gospel of Luke and because of that, I had the opportunity.
00:11:09
Speaker
The privilege to look at a couple of passages of scripture that made me think deeply. And it was because of this, right? It was because of this. I was an inspired.
00:11:21
Speaker
to come back with another startling discoveries and this is part six and of course if you know anything about startling discoveries is when you look at the scripture and you have questions and in some cases you probably have more questions than answers and the reason why this is so important is because the scripture is going to cause you to ask questions. And in some cases, it's going to cause you to reflect. And in a lot of cases, it's going to require you to adjust.
00:12:00
Speaker
And the reason why the scripture's going to do that is because sometimes our lifestyles, right the way we're living, the way we're thinking, and the way we're operating, isn't always aligned with what God is asking of us. And if we're gonna be true stewards of his word, we have to take it seriously. As a matter of fact, we have to constantly, if I'm not mistaken, Paul says we have to constantly continue to evaluate ourselves.
00:12:28
Speaker
our actions, our motives, our thoughts, right? And in doing so, make sure that we are doing these things with the right intent. And therefore, I thought today that I would bring this particular, you know, passage to you. Of course, the other passage of scripture will be something I'm sharing for Christmas, so give me some time.
00:12:58
Speaker
and i want to say that the truth of the matter is the art of thinking deeply has really changed my life right study and philosophy has made me ask questions but the word of god has answered many of those questions of course there's still many more questions that i have but I believe those answers are in the scripture. Whether I get that immediately, whether I get that in time, I believe the answers are there because I believe God left his word there for us to examine it and for us to learn from it and for us to apply it.
00:13:35
Speaker
So today I want to take the time and share with you something that I came across in scripture. It was interesting and I thought it could be a blessing to someone out there, which is why I'm going to share it with you. You see the word of God, and I've said this several times, but it's worth sharing again. The word of God is full of patterns, principles, and precepts. And I believe what the word of God does, if you allow it to,
00:14:02
Speaker
is make you think deeply in ways you may have never thought you'll find yourself doing. So today, I want to invite you to think about this passage as I open it up to you and make you aware of it.
Understanding Scripture Context
00:14:17
Speaker
So let's go to the Gospel of Luke chapter 8. And for context, I want to unpack and walk you through verses 1 all the way to verse 3. I'm reading this simply out of the NIV, no specific reason, I'm just going to read it out of the NIV.
00:14:37
Speaker
it says after this Jesus traveled with him and also some women who have been cured of evil spirits and diseases
00:15:03
Speaker
Joanna, the wife of Suzay, the manager of Harris household, Susan,
00:15:18
Speaker
So again, this is the gospel of Luke chapter eight, verses one through three. Okay, so let's up back this. So from verse one, we know based on the scripture that Jesus was doing what? Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
00:16:28
Speaker
we know from that statement, that the 12 disciples, who were with him at the time, must have witnessed a method, an approach, and a teaching that very well could or is absolutely effective. Why does a lot of this matter? Because I think in any story we're reading,
00:17:25
Speaker
effective is because looking at this figure that believe we should stop we should listen we should learn we should take notes and we should remember who this particular
00:18:42
Speaker
his being. If we go to another supportive text, Colossians chapter two verse nine, it says, four ah for in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. So I love that it says in Christ, not in Buddha, not in any deity, but in Christ, all of the fullness of the deity Meaning divine nature, right? Is eternal omnipresence, omniscient, omnipotent, right?
Distractions and Spiritual Insight
00:19:16
Speaker
Is immutable, right? Dwelled in bodily form. That would be Jesus, man. That's powerful. A fear takeaway is that the disciples are learned a thing or two while walking with Jesus, right? I believe that is a fear takeaway.
00:19:35
Speaker
that the disciples learned a thing or two while walking with Jesus. I mean, what else could they have been doing? i We could also conclude that some didn't learn anything. I think it's more or less human nature if you think about it.
00:19:52
Speaker
right we need to be reminded of things right we have short attention spans we get sidetracked we are forgetful these disciples were humans they were human beings just like you and i and so if you know anything about yourself and me and many more we make mistakes right they're going to be points and times even in this recording that i'm going to make a mistake that i'm going to trip on the word that i'm going to mispronounce the word and therefore a mistake
00:20:28
Speaker
is definitely on the horizon. And so, if you know that about yourself, you also have to believe and know that these disciples were also making mistakes. So yes, the fair takeaways that they learned a thing or two. Another fair takeaways that maybe they did not remember or know, everything that was being stated to them. Think about it. How many of us have sat in a classroom, knew something was being taught,
00:20:58
Speaker
but once the class was over, we probably couldn't tell you anything.
00:21:04
Speaker
However, we were physically present the entire time, right? It's very possible to be present when the teaching is taking place and just not mentally be there, right? You're mentally not paying attention and can't fully recall a lot of what was said. Maybe some of it went over your head. Maybe because you didn't take notes that you don't recall everything. Maybe it was so overwhelming that your memory was not active, right? Maybe you lost it. And we do that as well, right? We're in the middle of a conversation, somebody cuts us off, we'll be an ax to resume from what? We'll pick up what we were saying before, and we don't remember. Here's another thing to be remember.
00:21:57
Speaker
The text does say that Jesus went from town to town. So it wasn't one teaching, but we can conclude or I believe there were several teachings and lessons the disciples witnessed.
00:22:13
Speaker
And so all of it couldn't have fallen on deaf ears. As a matter of fact, there had to be some kind of takeaway. I believe that must be true, right? Maybe in the beginning, it was hard for them to remember, or it was hard for them to process things. But I bet you towards the end, they began to understand and therefore process a lot of what Jesus was teaching them during this period in time.
00:22:44
Speaker
Now, what we know is based on the book of Acts, it's safe to say that the Holy Spirit reminded these disciples what they heard. Because remember what Jesus said. I believe Jesus said something very profound in the gospel of John. And I believe we go to the gospel of John chapter 14 verse 26, it says the advocate, the Holy Spirit, who the father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have said. I read that one more time. Gospel
Role of Women in Jesus' Ministry
00:23:19
Speaker
of John chapter 14 verse 26 says, the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. So it's possible that the disciples heard a lot of what he said, but just couldn't comprehend it.
00:23:43
Speaker
And I read i believe we've read that quite a bit as well. When the disciples p plenty of times asked Jesus to explain a parable that they heard and didn't quite understand it. It means that they're teachable. It also means that they're human. Now check out the ending of verse one while also reading into the first half of verse 2 it says the 12 were with him comma verse 2 says and some women who have been cured of evil spirits and diseases may recall Magdalene from whom seven demons had come out so the key word here is some and why am i emphasizing the word some here well it means that there must have been other women who were there present and
00:24:38
Speaker
they were with the 12 not to mention they were cured of evil spirits right they were cured of evil spirits they were among the 12 if we go back it says the 12 were with him verse 2 says and some women who had been cured of evil spirit and diseases mary called magna from whom seven demons had come out. So some from not mistaken is four. So to be cured of evil spirits from Jesus, right? I believe that we don't have the exact information in writing obviously here.
00:25:28
Speaker
But it does come across to me that this portion of the text did not let on who those other women were, obviously. You don't get names. We just know that they were among the 12. I think when reading a text like this, it's important that you pick up on clues, and the clues are,
00:25:58
Speaker
that those other women that were cured of evil spirits, we don't necessarily have to know their names at this moment in time because the main one that Luke decides to tell us about is I think on its own a very powerful and effective testimony.
00:26:25
Speaker
I think in this case, this was something that i think was done intentional and i'll get to that in a second to why i say that but assuming that there is other women there based upon the fact that the scripture says among them were other women who were cured of evil spirits that were among the 12 I want to make this suggestion. Now again, we don't have the exact information in writing, but an educated assumption that we can make is that this did happen. And that's because there's a verse that kind of tells us there are many things that
00:27:11
Speaker
I think have happened, but weren't written, right? Let's go to the Gospel of John chapter 21 verses 25. Again, Gospel of John chapter 21 verse 25 says, Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world cannot contain the books that would be written.
00:27:36
Speaker
So based on this verse, I believe it's very possible. It's very believable. Women, men could testify to. Right. That were present in those moments and times that Jesus did, but it wasn't written down for consumption for you and I. But I think the whole idea of just saying.
00:27:57
Speaker
that he did many of the things, points out that if we're being honest, if we wrote down, right, if I was a disciple who decided to write down everything Jesus ever did, I don't think we have enough paper and pens to put that into something very practical. I think more or less, there's so many miraculous things that he did.
00:28:26
Speaker
that it will blow your mind, right? And more or less, I think that should address some of our concerns as it pertains to how amazing and how out of this world Jesus was, right?
00:28:45
Speaker
for someone to say there were many more things that he did but the whole world could not contain or there aren't enough books in the world or there aren't enough things enough paper and pen something that we could process I don't think that we could right it just speaks to who Jesus is now
00:29:18
Speaker
the Bible decided not to mention the other women who occurred to the evil spirits. And the reason I'm not sure, right? The word of God does decide to mention one person and that's Mary called Magdalene, right? From whom seven demons came out of. Now, here's something interesting to think about.
00:29:35
Speaker
Luke mentions maybe the most obscure story in Addis Mary who had not one, not even two, not even three, but seven demons. Why is the question? And I would say here are my thoughts. Luke, I believe doesn't bother to tell us about a woman who had one demon.
00:30:03
Speaker
that left her are two demons that left her not even three demons that left her instead he decides to tell us the most obscure situation and I think that's because I maybe the story of just one is less likely to be believed either way we don't have that answer we just know that Luke decided to share a story where you have a person that had seven demons leave her now the scripture does not tell us about the women who had diseases and that's okay right we just know that whatever woman that was part of that crew they were cured right let's be honest about
00:30:56
Speaker
you know, demons being cast out, maybe the whole idea seems crazy and maybe believing just one being removed might be more conceivable, right? Might be more convincing than seven, that's possible. But this is why I think it's important to ponder on these things because there's a lot to process and consider, right? Let's be clear about something. When no when a person no longer has any diseases,
00:31:26
Speaker
that's a blessing that's a relief that's a miracle right and what i love the most about these women coming along is they have powerful physical testimonial experiences where they were delivered by jesus firsthand of evil spirits and diseases so They have powerful testimonies to share right where their souls Were in serious jeopardy right and now they are saved And when their health was uncertain Now they are healthy Those are stories worthy to be told right Honestly that touches my soul that Jesus allowed them to come and be part of his ministry
00:32:16
Speaker
As we get to verse three, which is where I wanted to end up eventually, I want to pause and say that I hope some of the things I have mentioned to you thus far has been eye-opening, right? Has been a blessing because it was and is for me, even talking about it right now in this live recording. It has made me realize the strategicness of God. I think it's truly on a whole nother level when you think about it. You know, verse three says,
00:32:47
Speaker
Joanna the wife of Susanna the manager of Herod's household Susan and many others these women were helping support Jesus out of their own means so I have to read in verse 3. I had some questions, right? Why would the manager of Herod's household be following Jesus? Why will Joanna be following Jesus, right?
00:33:13
Speaker
And I believe that Herod's manager was keeping tabs on what was going on with Jesus, right? Jesus, think about what's the context, the moment, the time, what's going on, right? Jesus was rising in popularity and and he influenced people around him. And she was there to report back to Herod. Again, this is my belief. How does it look when someone is rising in fame And Herod, who was a complex ruler indeed, doesn't know about it, right? Herod's job was to maintain Judah as a peaceful and productive member of Romans' growing empire. And so that means being aware of the new surrounding the area and Jesus Christ was the talk of the town at times.
00:34:06
Speaker
Right? How else?
00:34:09
Speaker
Would Herod have known one about Jesus if it wasn't for his manager being there? The text we have of their one and only encounter happens later on in the Gospel of Luke chapter 23 verses 7 through 12. And I think this text proves my point where it says, when he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, of course, this is the time when Jesus was you know arrested and then they're looking for opportunities and ways to crucify him and therefore they start taking him to leadership outside of their own because again if you've listened to episode 71 in terms of politics playing a role in the crucifixion you learn there
00:34:55
Speaker
that they could have crucified Jesus. But due to the Passover, they didn't want their hands to be dirty or blood. And as a result, because if you think about it, Pilate said, based upon your law, you have the power to crucify him. But what were they trying to do? They were trying to pass the buck on to somebody else to do that.
00:35:16
Speaker
so during this time if i'm not mistaken what they did was they put him through their own governmental system and they couldn't find a consistent testimony of two or three witnesses that agreed upon him jesus was and what happened. And so, they then went to other political systems that were above them during this time, pilot being one of them, Herat being the other.
00:35:46
Speaker
They went to Pilate, Pilate told him to go to Herod, and that's why the text says that Herod was under the Jewish diction that they were under. So we go to verse seven. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's Jewish just jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at the time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased because for a long time he had been wanting to see him.
00:36:14
Speaker
For what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He piled him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answers. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there vehemently accusing him. The inherent inner soldiers re recruited accrued him and mocked him, dressed to him in an elegant robe. They sent him back to Pilate.
00:36:44
Speaker
That day, Herod and Pilate became friends before this day had been enemies. So it's interesting how you have two rulers that become friends. Why do they become friends? Don't know. Again, Herod only heard about Jesus up until this point, so I believe his manager reported that information.
00:37:04
Speaker
back to him and that's why she was nosingly hanging around and being a part of what Jesus was doing. Could she have told some money there? Probably. Which is why she was among the women that followed Jesus in the 12th.
00:37:24
Speaker
in the ministry from town to town. Let's talk about Joanna, who was a member of the high society who had the freedom to move around and speak her mind in the in the palace. Why would she be following Jesus? And my thought is to share the news about what was going on in Jesus' ministry throughout the palace with no repercussions, right? So to have the freedom to speak your mind is one thing.
00:37:55
Speaker
To speak your mind of Jesus within the context of a palace where everyone kinda was being told about this up and coming individual who's making a difference, I think made religious leaders even more angry and upset and frustrated.
00:38:13
Speaker
Right? You see, what's undeniably true in Jewish tradition is there is a deep respect for rabbis, right? The rabbi and the Jewish community is the spiritual leader. When you have a community of people interacting and supporting you, well, you must be doing something right. And that's what was happening for Jesus. And so I can see why the support of Jesus and his ministry rose to unimaginable heights.
00:38:42
Speaker
right a rabbi in a Jewish setting it's not just impacting your thoughts right not just impacting your thought like they're guiding souls to either the truth or or having them arrive at the doorstep of falsehood looking at verse three i think it's about motive right the text says the manager of harris household susanna and many others were helping to support them out of their own means. So we have to ask the question, what were those means? What were the implications of those means, right? And I think the conclusion that I came to is that to do things out of personal means essentially means to do something using your own resources, money and efforts. And no more and more I thought about it.
00:39:38
Speaker
I had more questions, right? Here's another question. Why were women funding Jesus ministry only? Why not the men as well? Honestly, that's a good question, which I don't have the answer to, right? The only thing that came to mind is personal means. Because when a person does something personally, it's led by their own personal beliefs, feelings, or experiences rather than, you know, the external factors like societal expectations or financial gain. I believe these women were acting based on what mattered most
00:40:18
Speaker
to them individually. Even if it means going against the norm or making a personal sacrifice, they deeply believed, I believe, in what Jesus said and felt compelled to act on those beliefs, even if it required personal effort or risks. I still have many more questions, especially with the value of women being attached to a man back in those days, which begs the question, him right?
00:40:49
Speaker
How did these women obtain their wealth to support Jesus? Those are the answers at the moment I don't have, which is why regardless of the text that you're reading, there's always much more to get answers to. And it's okay to read something and not know the answer because what that enables you to do is to study up on it, to look at the history, to look at, you know, those factors.
00:41:20
Speaker
that play a role in shaping how you see something. So what I believe is learnable here, right? And is the composure of Jesus Christ, right? You have all these women around for different reasons. Some are supporting you for the reason that are good and other means are selfish.
Focus and Determination
00:41:44
Speaker
right And yet, Jesus was not found, distracted. He was focused. He was a man on a mission. He was not sidetracked, rather than addressing all of these things.
00:41:58
Speaker
Jesus permitted it and remained silent and allowed these things to happen around him. Jesus continued with a purpose maneuvering in a mixture of chaos. I'm sure you had several different narratives. right You had spies asking questions, looking for ways to trap Jesus instead Jesus I believe thrives in this type of environment and did so perfectly in fact, right? He was never caught tripping over his own words. He made sure how he answered he addressed both situations. Just look at the story with the Daenerys.
00:42:35
Speaker
right? He said give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give God what belongs to God, right? jesus Jesus knew a lot more than he let on, right? In Matthew 9.4, right? Matthew chapter nine verse four, it said he knew their thoughts. And another passage in the gospel of John chapter two verse 24, it says he knew what was in their hearts.
00:43:02
Speaker
And as we turn the focus to how we can apply this text, what is obvious is that we don't know what ah are in the thoughts of men and women. What is obvious is that we don't know what are in the hearts of men or women. I believe we can learn how to be focused and move with a purpose to get things done without being bothered.
00:43:26
Speaker
by outside noise around us in front of us behind us to the left or to the right. I don't believe everything requires a response. I don't believe everyone should be checked or told off. I believe the lesson here from Jesus is to be unfazed in the moment. We need to concentrate.
00:43:47
Speaker
and complete the task or mission that is in front of us. The perspective we have to have and everything is to be focused. How we look at things that will make the difference. And my takeaway from that text is to keep it moving. Don't be easily moved off your spot by distractions, but more importantly,
00:44:13
Speaker
Look at this as an opportunity to train your mind, to train your actions, to train your purpose in life and where you're going to be. And I take these things out of this text because all these things are going on. Jesus knew about it and said nothing.
00:44:32
Speaker
All of these things were happening. Jesus knew about it and said nothing. In fact, he kept on moving. And with that being said, this is the perfect transition into devotional time. Again, I hope that what I have shared with you today is a blessing as much as it was for me. And I believe within every major story in the Bible, there are little lessons to be talked about, taken, applied, and implemented in our own personal lives. And with that being said, we enter right into devotional time. The Gospel of John chapter 6 verse 7 says, have I not chosen 12 of you yet one of you is a devil. The question that is often brought up is if Jesus is God, right, and knows everything. What drove him to pick an ally of Satan to be among them?
00:45:29
Speaker
There are many answers to that question, but I think the better question is, what do you want us to learn from him as he took a ally of Satan among the 12? I believe it's about learning how to thrive, right? How to be able to maneuver among beasts that are around you. It's about learning how to operate with people who don't like you or have it out for you.
00:45:57
Speaker
I believe that's life, right? It's about focusing and maneuverability. There's so much to take away when we are in unpredictable circumstances. Things that help us for the future, things that remind us of the past, things that can help us in the present time. And with that, here's a short prayer that I want to close out with. Father God in Jesus name, I thank you for your love and compassion that you have for me.
00:46:26
Speaker
I thank you for your grace and mercy, and I pray this word and this example that you have given us won't fall on deaf ears, Lord, but that it will make a difference in how we see tests, trials, and hardships. Instead of being down, we will be encouraged, uplifted, and overcomers. All those in agreement say, in Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen. And of course, until next time, on the Truth of the Matterist podcast audience, be careful,
00:46:55
Speaker
Be vigilant and watchful as we depart from one another, but never the presence of the Lord. God bless. And I'm looking forward to talking to you next time. Have a good one.