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Covenant Diaries| Season 1 Episode 8| Diary of a Pastor's Kid-
20 Plays11 months ago
Eve If You Slay Me
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Series Overview
00:00:02
CODES
Hi everyone, good evening or good morning or a good night or good afternoon from wherever you're tuning in from. We're Covenant Diaries.
00:00:15
CODES
Thank you so much for joining us again on a special episode. I know last episode was special. We got to learn a lot about transparency, intimacy, and vulnerability with God.
00:00:28
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:00:28
CODES
But we're going to take it to a different dimension in this particular episode. I believe we're currently on episode eight. And do if you have not caught up, you're not all caught up with the episodes that we've released.
00:00:44
CODES
What are you still waiting for? Are you really an OG if you haven't really caught up on all the episodes?
Where to Find Previous Episodes
00:00:50
CODES
But anyways, if you haven't listened to other episodes, you can definitely get them on YouTube. We are Covenant Diaries on YouTube and also um Covenant Diaries on a Spotify platform.
00:01:04
CODES
And to be able to get links to those platforms, you can follow us on our Instagram page at Covenant Diaries on Instagram. And There is a link on our bio for our YouTube channel and our Spotify channel as well.
00:01:20
CODES
So we do you feel free free to follow us on those platforms. And also if you have any questions or concerns, definitely send us a DM or email us. Our email is also on our YouTube page and also on our Instagram. So send us an email prayer request, whatever it may be. Okay.
00:01:42
CODES
we're We're here for you guys. We've viewed the platform and a community where we can be vulnerable and transparent with each other.
00:01:48
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:01:48
CODES
So whatever it be your concerns, definitely send us a DM.
Introduction of Special Guest: Pastor Eric
00:01:54
CODES
And down to the real, real gist. Before we start, I'm going to introduce to you guys, as always, our special guest. And by the way, as always, my sister Rebecca is here with me.
00:02:08
CODES
I'm the special guest.
00:02:13
CODES
Sorry, Pastor Eric. Becky is too much. I cannot. Yes, we have our special guest. Well, he's been here before. He's the first returning guest, actually. So we need to we need to create an award for our first time returning guest.
00:02:31
CODES
If you haven't caught up on the episode with the first episode with Pastor Eric, I believe it's episode four. where we interviewed Pastor Eric as a pastor's kid, but now he's coming in as a minister who's going to encourage all pastors' kids.
00:02:47
CODES
So he's passed the interview and now he's back as a regular guest. So if you haven't watched that episode, please definitely listen to that episode. It's I learned a lot from that episode. I cannot, I'm still yet to recover from that previous episode.
00:03:03
CODES
And I'm praying and believing God that this episode will be even much more of a greater blessing to you for the glory of God. And without further adou please welcome our special guest again, who is no longer a visitor, our brother, Pastor Eric.
00:03:19
CODES
Pastor Eric.
00:03:22
Arik Nabie
I glad be back.
00:03:23
CODES
yeah it Yay!
Discussion on Job's Faith and Trials
00:03:30
CODES
All right, today we're gonna be talking some about a really important topic to me. So I've been feeling the leading to this discuss
00:03:43
CODES
the narrative of Job.
00:03:45
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:03:46
CODES
You know, i I recently was going through a lot of circumstances that I cannot really go into details as yet. But it made me really think about Job in the Bible. When Job was going through a lot of afflictions, he got one bad news after the other.
00:04:06
CODES
And for some weird reason, there was always one person who survived to be able to tell the negative story. Just something, ah ah different story for another day. But he kept on getting negative stories after another.
00:04:23
CODES
First, his field caught on fire, all his possessions and everything that he owned caught on fire. Then it was his children. Then it was his livestock, all his workers, the the shepherds who were guiding the sheeps, all of them died.
00:04:38
CODES
Everything that he ever earned or was blessed with, he lost all of them in one day. And in that moment,
00:04:49
CODES
I don't know about how many people would be able to have that same confession that Job had when he was pressed against the wall, when he felt like he was pushed back against the wall.
00:04:58
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:05:01
CODES
what the the wall He made such a profound statement that I'm still still even processing and thinking, like, are the Christians in this generation up to that level of having that affirmation and trust and and full confidence in God that even if you slay me, yet I will still hope in you.
00:05:26
CODES
Let's go to that scripture because I want to read it word for word so we can be able to understand exactly the narrative that I'm and speaking on.
00:05:39
CODES
So it's in Job 13 from verses 15.
00:05:42
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:05:44
CODES
We're going to go to Job 13 verses 15. I want to read this word for word as he says. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. it says, God might kill me, but I have no other hope.
00:06:00
CODES
I am going to argue my case with him. but this is what will save me. i am not godless. If I were, I could not stand before him. Let me read it in a different translation.
00:06:13
CODES
I wanna get that translation that says, even if you slay me.
00:06:19
CODES
The New King James translation says that, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before him.
00:06:40
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:06:48
CODES
developed as we we we didn't didn didn't have a deeper understanding of God as we do right now. In their understanding back then, every good thing comes from God and also every bad thing.
00:07:01
CODES
So sometimes when bad things happen, though you would see in some scriptures where it says, evil spirit spirit from the Lord. The Lord does ah ah does not send evil spirit, but didn't really have any that deep concept or understanding of the activities of Satan and or the devil.
00:07:18
CODES
So they believe that that moment that good and bad came from God. But we know that all good and perfect gifts comes from God. However, God sometimes does let the enemy afflict people.
00:07:37
CODES
Sometimes people give themselves into the affliction of the enemy and sometimes God allows trials like that to come to test our faith in him. He does not send them. To clarify, God does not send afflictions.
00:07:50
CODES
He does not tempt us, but he tries our faith. He allows afflictions to come to try our faith and test our faith in him. And one important thing that I wanted you to know that even though that the enemy afflicted the life of job The Lord instructed the devil to not touch his life because God is the owner of life.
00:08:16
CODES
I wanted to give that clarification because I know sometimes people would get all like, oh, how
John the Baptist's Bold Faith
00:08:22
CODES
can God send bad things and blah, blah, blah. but But that was the understanding the Old Testament.
00:08:27
CODES
But we know now that God, ah ah every good and perfect gift comes from God. But In some cases, God does allow things to happen to people to test their faith and try their faith.
00:08:39
CODES
And we'll find out eventually sometimes what the result of those trials would lead to.
00:08:47
CODES
going straight into it, there are three people that I would love to bring the their narrative on and Pastor Eric would also bring his own narrative on whatever person, very person in the Bible that he wanted to talk about or probably give us a different whole completely entirely different narrative from this.
00:09:07
CODES
But the beauty of this podcast is that we all have different way that we understand things and see things. The beauty of perception is that it brings liberation.
00:09:20
CODES
Hearing things from a different point of view brings a lot of eye-opening event and and makes you see things in a different way. And it would strengthen faith, it would encourage people. But to my favorite people, okay?
00:09:34
CODES
I'm gonna talk about one of my favorite ones that really, takes this whole narrative ah deeper. Like I did mention the the narrative of Job.
00:09:45
CODES
The other person that I wanted to mention in this case, where he was very persistent, even though he was faced with a lot of difficult situations, he was faced with, in the face of that, he still made the statement, he did he still stood in his conviction.
00:10:06
CODES
What really worries me in this generation is that I don't see that there's a lot of Christians who are really to that point that they're a dead to self, that they're willing to give up everything for the Lord.
00:10:22
CODES
You know, it's very common in third world countries where are people would get persecuted, the church could get burned down, but guess what? You will still see people return back to church the following Sunday.
00:10:36
CODES
But in the Western world, God forbid anything happens in a church, I don't know how many people are going to return back the following Sunday. It's a whole completely different.
00:10:48
CODES
It makes me wonder if we're all serving the same God, you know.
00:10:51
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:10:53
CODES
While we have the privilege that we have a freedom of religion and we have the freedom to express our faith in religion, and who will believe in, even though people take it to the extreme of believing in like the randomest things.
00:11:10
CODES
I'm like, people can choose a tree to be their God, you know? I'm like, and that's freedom of religion. But we who know the truth that there is only one God and there's only one way to be saved through Jesus Christ.
00:11:29
CODES
We have that so much freedom and power because we we have a God who controls the whole, like who's it who owns the whole universe, like who created everything. You know, if anything, we should be the ones, right, who are more bolder, who are more courageous, who are more fearless because we have one who has the ultimate power.
00:11:51
CODES
But it sometimes feels like it is those... who are serving things that are not powerful, that are limited, things that they created in their own hands that have more faith in that thing when that thing cannot save them.
00:12:06
CODES
But we who have God who can always save, sometimes it feels like we're a little shaky in our belief. I wonder why that is. But today I pray and hope that this podcast or this episode will really challenge your faith in God would really be a catalyst to like strengthen your faith in God and push you to really evaluate where you stand with God.
00:12:30
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:12:35
CODES
Why you're not willing to go full fully surrender fully to God. Why you're not willing to go the extra mile with God. What exactly is holding you back?
00:12:46
CODES
I'm praying that you would have that self evaluation today when you listen to this. What is that particular thing that is making you afraid of surrendering completely to God? What is it that is making you feel like when you're faced with even the littlest
Why Christians Struggle to Fully Commit
00:13:04
CODES
setback, you completely you just ditch God?
00:13:07
CODES
You completely just be like, I can't do this no more. If this is what Christianity means, I'm out.
00:13:15
CODES
Why is it and that
00:13:17
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:13:18
CODES
What is it that is making you afraid of fully submitting to God? Are you afraid of people's perception of you? Are you afraid that you're going to be persecuted? Are you afraid of that people would think that you're too fanatic or you're too psychotic or you're just too obsessed with this person called Jesus?
00:13:40
CODES
Would you think that people will call you weird a weirdo? I'm wondering what exactly would be that setback, that limitation that is making you not commit wholly and fully and surrender fully to God.
00:13:56
CODES
And I'm back to the person that I was going to talk about before I went off tangent, which was necessary.
00:14:00
Arik Nabie
you
00:14:03
CODES
John the Baptist. We call him, excuse me, sorry. We call him the forerunner of of Jesus. e He was there to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus is coming, in right?
00:14:18
CODES
And we see how significant his ministry was in people knowing Jesus Christ. Even some of his disciples went to be the disciples of of Jesus Christ as well.
00:14:31
CODES
And we find that he was very bold in his faith, in his statement of who he believes in. He was a very, very radical preacher. I'm here to see one, ah preacher who was as radical as John the Baptist.
00:14:48
CODES
Literally speaking his mind, not afraid of the consequences. He saw King Herod at the time who married his brother's wife and he blatantly told him that's a sin, you cannot do that.
00:15:02
CODES
Obviously the king was so furious, like, what does this guy think he is telling me what to do? Of course, he was not he was he wasn't able to kill him at that point because he was afraid of what the disciples of John the Baptist were going to do to him.
00:15:15
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:15:17
CODES
He was more terrified of what they were going to do. so Although he was like brewing hatred and like, I cannot stand this man, but he couldn't do anything. However, on the side of John the Baptist, his faith was tested.
00:15:35
CODES
He was arrested, sent into prison, for what he for speaking against the king eventually. But one day, when it was the king's birthday, his daughter danced in a way that pleased him.
00:15:50
Arik Nabie
you
00:15:53
CODES
And he made a vow that he would give his daughter anything that she requested for, for dancing so beautifully on his birthday. And if we understand the way rulership was back then, you know how the scripture says where the word of the king is, there is power.
00:16:10
CODES
Literally, that's what it implies. When the king says something, that's what it's going to be. So because he's made that vow before everyone, that he would give his daughter anything that he she requested because of the way that she had honored him and danced before him.
00:16:28
CODES
And obviously, this was an opportunity for wife or his brother's wife that he took as his wife.
00:16:41
CODES
she saw an opportunity to get John killed and she told the daughter when he asked you what you want. Now you tell your daddy that we need the head of John the Baptist.
00:16:56
CODES
Because King Herod had already made that promise and vow to give anything that the daughter had requested and couldn't go back to it. When she did make the request of the head of John the Baptist on a tree,
00:17:08
CODES
he had no choice than to have John the Baptist killed in the prison.
00:17:15
CODES
Now, let's try to imagine being in the shoes of John the Baptist, hearing that you're going to get killed because of standing up for the truth, saying what is right.
00:17:22
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:17:34
CODES
Because obviously he he was in the prison for that reason. And then being in the prison, obviously it it ended in him dying. What would go through your mind in that moment?
00:17:45
CODES
Would you renounce your faith at that moment?
00:17:50
CODES
As you're going to be beheaded?
00:17:53
CODES
In that moment, would you say that everything that you said was a lie? Just to be cool before every everyone? It's a hard thing to... to picture, you know, if you're not in that shoes, it's so hard to imagine that, especially in the difference of how things are in in the and and the society.
00:18:15
CODES
But it's something for us to think about. When you say that you are serving God and you're faced with a lot of adversities, are you blaming everything on God?
00:18:28
CODES
Or you trusting the process? Are you trusting His will and his plan for your life? It's something for us to think about. Now I'm going to give i'm i'm gonna give the the mic to Pastor Eric to bring his own narrative.
00:18:44
Arik Nabie
well Well, you know, I think you raise some great observations there, you know, and
00:18:44
CODES
Evan is blaming.
00:18:56
Arik Nabie
this is a this is a subject that I've actually been thinking about for quite a few months now.
00:19:02
CODES
Mm-hmm.
00:19:03
Arik Nabie
actually started dealing with this topic since the, I would say, since around November 2024. And
00:19:13
Arik Nabie
and
Job's Self-Righteousness and Young Christians' Challenges
00:19:14
Arik Nabie
you know As I ponder this, you know i wonder in my own life, what what does this look like in my own life? you know
00:19:28
Arik Nabie
The thing is is that if we if we start from Job, have some problems with Job 1315.
00:19:34
CODES
yeah mm-hmm
00:19:36
Arik Nabie
problems
00:19:39
Arik Nabie
with joe thirteen fifteen
00:19:42
CODES
mm-hmm
00:19:45
Arik Nabie
and Now, if you if you do the the scholarly work, you would you would understand that there is some controversy amongst that statement.
00:19:58
Arik Nabie
Right? In terms of what's you know what's there in the ancient writing and and you know from where it's translated. But when I look at the connotation of what Job is doing here and what he is saying,
00:20:16
Arik Nabie
i I sometimes wonder, you know, what was Job's real intention there?
00:20:26
CODES
Yeah.
00:20:28
Arik Nabie
Right? Because at the end of the day, Job wasn't trying to make a statement to us today.
00:20:29
CODES
Yeah. yeah
00:20:36
Arik Nabie
Right? What Job was trying to do was get back at his hot-headed friends.
00:20:48
Arik Nabie
Right? Simply put, Job was getting ticked off with what his friends, or so-called friends, were saying to him and accusing him of.
00:21:00
Arik Nabie
And, you know you know, you could almost say that in a sarcastic tone, he says, well, even if God were to slay me, I would still put my hope in him.
00:21:10
CODES
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:21:14
Arik Nabie
Right? Right? But when when you look at that, what what what gets me is that second part of that verse where it says yet, and and I'm reading in the the ESV, yet I will argue my ways to His face.
00:21:34
Arik Nabie
And I'm like, Job, dude, come on, man. what What is that?
00:21:41
CODES
But he's being realistic though, you know?
00:21:41
Arik Nabie
Right?
00:21:43
Arik Nabie
He's being realistic.
00:21:45
CODES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:46
Arik Nabie
But he's also being really cocky.
00:21:48
CODES
Oh, yeah.
00:21:53
Arik Nabie
All right? But if you if you want to be real and realistic, I can draw the same in parallel to Gen Z's alphas and even millennials today. A lot of them are just cocky when it comes to God.
00:22:06
Arik Nabie
a lot of them are willing to just say, hey, I'll challenge God to His face. I mean, look at what we see in media. you know
00:22:12
CODES
hmm
00:22:12
Arik Nabie
i don't know how you can say, hey, I have a third sex without challenging God to His face.
00:22:19
CODES
hmm
00:22:24
Arik Nabie
Right? This, to me, is where Job struggled, but he didn't realize he was struggling.
00:22:35
Arik Nabie
And it's where I see a lot of young people struggle with the fact of have something to prove.
00:22:45
CODES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:47
Arik Nabie
Right? Job felt he had to prove himself to his friends. Job knew he did nothing wrong. job Job was right.
00:23:02
Arik Nabie
He was right. But this whole argument here is him trying to defend himself to his friends who were trying to convince him he was wrong.
00:23:14
Arik Nabie
And in a moment of frustration, he utters this statement that even if God were to kill me, I would still put my hope in him so that I could make my case directly to him. And Job had the assumption that God would vindicate him.
00:23:36
Arik Nabie
Right now.
00:23:36
CODES
In other words, sorry, go ahead.
00:23:38
Arik Nabie
you go ahead What were going to say?
00:23:40
CODES
I was gonna say and in in the contemporary words, it would be like, whatever happens, like do your worst, like regardless, whatever, however bad it gets, whatever worst could happen, I would still trust God and I would still be able to prove my case to him.
00:24:00
Arik Nabie
but In a sense, he he he was saying, well, it doesn't matter if God kills me right now. I would still go to heaven and I would make the case that I'm right.
00:24:13
Arik Nabie
Think about that for a second. What does that remind you of?
00:24:19
CODES
don't know if to if to push it down to the the idea of being self-righteous you know
00:24:25
Arik Nabie
That's exactly it.
00:24:26
CODES
and hi
00:24:28
Arik Nabie
That's exactly it. he to That to me, that's what I see there.
00:24:29
CODES
and
00:24:31
Arik Nabie
That there's that still that hint of self-righteousness. So what does that tell me, right? That shows me a lot in Job's life. We kind of come into this connotation of Job that Job was pretty much perfect.
00:24:46
CODES
That's how the Bible described him as an upright operate man. oh That's true.
00:24:52
Arik Nabie
I said he was an upright man. Didn't say he was a perfect man because my Bible only describes one person as being perfect.
00:25:00
Arik Nabie
right You can be upright, but still have some self-righteousness in you.
00:25:06
CODES
Hmm.
00:25:08
Arik Nabie
right What would God do in here? right and and this is my theory. now I'm not saying this is theology.
God's Silence and Deeper Truths
00:25:16
Arik Nabie
I believe God was silent the whole time.
00:25:20
Arik Nabie
right The whole time, every time Job tried to call God out, God was stayed silent until...
00:25:25
CODES
You actually, you're literally speaking on the other notes that I had on here, but go ahead. I'll repeat that. I read that in my book, but.
00:25:37
Arik Nabie
God stayed silent until he exposed what needed to be exposed in Job's life.
00:25:44
CODES
Hmm.
00:25:46
Arik Nabie
Right? Because if you skip to the end of Job, when you get to like chapter 38 and so on and and and down to the end of the book, what does God do?
00:25:57
Arik Nabie
When God speaks, God puts Job in its place and humbles Job.
00:26:04
Arik Nabie
right
00:26:06
Arik Nabie
So if Job didn't need humbling, why would God have to humble him?
00:26:15
CODES
So, following up with what you said, literally like it's written up from my note, but this is like the spirit is one. But and it goes back to when you mentioned that, it makes me think about when he was making all of this statement and obviously, I mean, let's be real, his friends were really pushing his buttons because everything that they did there since they came was accusing him, there must be a sin in your life because God doesn't afflict the righteous. blah They did not understand that even though that good gift comes from God, the devil also afflicts righteous people.
00:26:52
CODES
right and then they're like oh there must be some sin in your life because if they're sinning your life then it means that you're going through what you're going through it's something that people would say not when they see bad things happen to pastors kids or bad things happen to the pastors family oh they're probably not living their life right that's probably why all of this is going on but anyways i digress how
00:27:14
Arik Nabie
I think that that's a ah ah really great and valid point because I look at and look at these friends as if they're they're coming to kind of hold Job down, right?
00:27:17
CODES
yeah
00:27:22
CODES
but
00:27:25
Arik Nabie
They're coming to say, hey, you're not as perfect as or upright as you pretend to be.
00:27:29
CODES
help yeah you're living a fake life
00:27:33
Arik Nabie
Right. And, you know, sometimes that could be one of the faces of PK.
00:27:38
CODES
yeah
00:27:39
Arik Nabie
Right. You know, there are some of us who, you know, we go off the deep end and we just go the rebellious route. Then there are some who are trying to do the right thing, trying to live right, trying to have relationship with God.
00:27:51
Arik Nabie
But yet you're you're. held to that magnifying glass where everyone is looking for just the little bit of dirt they can on you to say, yes, you see, you're not as good as you think you are.
00:27:59
CODES
Yeah. but
00:28:03
Arik Nabie
You're not as perfect or as holy or upright as you think they are. And that's kind of how I see what these friends are doing to Job.
00:28:12
CODES
yeah
00:28:15
CODES
I love where this is going. But anyways, when he was making all of those self-righteous profession, obviously we know in all of the things that he was saying, how exactly did God respond to Job's questions? He was asking Job's a lot of questions, but we already know that when God did respond,
00:28:38
CODES
It's like saying that if even if He was to ask Job a thousand questions, if he was to ask man a thousand questions, man would not be able to answer one.
00:28:38
Arik Nabie
so
00:28:48
CODES
But how did God respond exactly to Job's question? Like Pastor Eric mentioned, there was an initial silence, right?
00:28:57
CODES
mean, think about it. God is such a good father and a ah a patient father. He was silent to let Job take out everything that is in his chest.
00:29:11
CODES
Sometimes when we say that we're in a waiting season and God is silent,
Maintaining Faith in Silence
00:29:15
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:29:17
CODES
even though He's silent, look within you, what is coming out from you in the moment of God's silence?
00:29:25
CODES
He's silent as He is watching your heart content in that pruning season. What are you saying out of your mouth when God is silent? When you're waiting and you're requesting God for a particular thing, you're you're presenting this particular prayer your request to God and it seems like nothing is happening.
00:29:46
CODES
Literally no show. What are you saying in that moment? How is your attitude towards God when He is silent, when you pray to Him
00:29:55
Arik Nabie
Thank
00:29:59
CODES
What do you usually say? Are you blaming everything on God or are you, what are you really saying to God? What is your heart revealing? Because in the moment of that silence, heart content is revealed.
00:30:13
CODES
Are you angry at God when He's silent? Are you kind of rebellious in that moment? Oh, if He's not going to talk to me, why should I work for him?
00:30:26
CODES
If he's not going to answer my request, why should I keep serving him? Why should I keep serving and in in church? Why should I keep talking about God to other people when he He's not even responding to my request? He's not even answering me.
00:30:45
CODES
It's not even like He's there.
00:30:49
CODES
God allowed Job to vent.
00:30:50
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:30:52
CODES
And it goes back to what we mentioned in the last episode, transparency and vulnerability.
00:31:00
CODES
I think with God the relationship with God, God wants intimacy with him such that you're free to tell Him everything that is in your heart. Not that he doesn't already know.
00:31:12
CODES
already know the content of your heart, but you saying it to Him One, it is telling you when you're saying things from your heart, Your mind is also paying attention to, if you're really honest with yourself, your heart, what you're speaking will tell what exactly is in your heart.
00:31:25
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:31:33
CODES
Is it showing that you're very rebellious in nature? Whatever is coming out of your heart when you're frustrated, when what you are desiring is not being granted, do you throw out a tantrum, a spiritual tantrum?
00:31:52
CODES
Do you backslide in that moment? Do you stop following God? Are you really transparent and vulnerable to God that, oh, I know that I've been praying, I've been asking you of this so many times,
00:32:10
CODES
but i don't understand why I'm going through what I'm going through. Are you being real to tell God that I feel really frustrated in this waiting season? I feel like really giving up.
00:32:23
CODES
I feel like nothing is really happening, but I really, even though I don't feel like going forward, moving forward, I feel like I want, I just want you to help me and and and give me the grace to trust in you.
00:32:29
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:32:37
CODES
Are you being vulnerable so him? Or are you feeling like you got it all when you don't really got nothing? Do you feel like you're hiding a lot of things from God in that moment when He's silent?
00:32:52
CODES
That's something I want us to think about. And then the other way that God responded is after He was silent, it was God revealing himself to Job, right?
00:33:01
Arik Nabie
you
00:33:06
CODES
Even though that God did not offer an explanation to Job's suffering or answer his questions, but He did reveal his power His wisdom.
00:33:18
CODES
You know, it's more, that shows to me that it's so important to know who God is than trying to understand His ways or His plans. Because in our time of wait
00:33:31
CODES
we like to want to rationalize things because it's that part of human nature to exert control, to have control over situations. I think that's really the breaking point of a lot of Christians.
00:33:42
CODES
When they're not able to control things, when they're not able to understand what's going on, in that moment is where the breaking point is. Is that moment going to refine their character as a Christian?
00:33:56
CODES
Or is it going to take them back to the world?
00:33:59
Arik Nabie
you
00:34:00
CODES
And it shows if they're really are going to mature as a Christian or they're going to just fade out. It shows that whatever seed that was planted in them was probably not rooted.
00:34:14
CODES
In that moment of waiting, in that moment where you're going through a lot of trials, in that moment where everything is just falling apart,
00:34:28
CODES
It's like, I see it that, you know, this there was a time where there was this viral test of trust where people are asked to fall and see if they trust the other person to catch them.
00:34:42
CODES
I kind of see it it spiritually as us when we're going through a lot of afflictions. Are we willing to just take our hands out of kind trying to control the situation and just like fall straight in the arms of God, trusting that He would hold us as were as we're just like relaxing in his hands?
00:34:58
Arik Nabie
Thank
00:35:01
CODES
Or are we trying to hold on to our own rope, hanging on to it because we don't trust that God is going catch us when we fall?
00:35:13
CODES
You know, like I said, it's very important to know God more than trying to rationalize why you're going through why you're going through what you're going through or trying to understand what God is doing in that moment.
00:35:24
CODES
We can never understand the ways of God. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So it's something that I've i've come to understand that
00:35:31
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:35:32
CODES
Instead of really trying to make sense of everything or trying to, because sometimes when we understand something, it gives us a sense of comfort or hope in what we believe to be the answer.
00:35:44
CODES
But when we don't know, we don't understand something, that's a test of humility if we're going to accept what we don't understand and trust God or trying to rely on on our own understanding.
00:35:58
CODES
Right. And then the third way that God responded was through restoration.
Job's Restoration and Faith Without Results
00:36:05
CODES
So we don't know why exactly Job had to go through what he went through, but we know that he did have a happy ending. Everything was restored. His family was restored. His business was restored. His possessions was restored.
00:36:19
CODES
But my question back to us all as Christians, whoever is hearing in this,
00:36:21
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:36:25
CODES
If we go back to the narrative of John the Baptist, where it was not a happy ending, what happens to your faith when things doesn't end well?
00:36:38
CODES
But also remember that the most important thing that you should keep in mind is that your heart posture towards God when you're going through what you're going through, because the the the life that we live here earth is temporal.
00:36:51
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:36:53
CODES
We should be so in tune with God and trusting in God such that even when life is no more here on earth, we have that confidence that we will still see God in heaven went when death comes, right?
00:37:11
CODES
So maybe that's probably the root of fear why people do not fully give everything to God. Maybe there's that fear they don't have that good relationship with God for God to really you know have their back. They don't think that God cares about them. They don't think that God loves them or they don't think that they're going to be with God in eternity.
00:37:37
CODES
And so they don't feel fully persuaded to stand up for God, to stand up for the word of God or to to stand up for their Christian faith in God.
00:37:49
CODES
Maybe there's that fear that, all If I'm probably dying, I'm probably not going to go to heaven. So what's the point? So what exactly is keeping you back from submitting fully to God?
00:38:10
CODES
Yeah, that's that's something that we you know we need to think about and and ponder about.
00:38:19
Arik Nabie
Well, there's a couple of things I can ah can point out, you know, as to what you're saying. You know, when God finally does speak to Job, God questions Job.
00:38:37
CODES
Yeah.
00:38:38
Arik Nabie
Right? And, you know, says Job, well, where were you?
00:38:45
CODES
When I created that.
00:38:45
Arik Nabie
When the earth, yeah, where were you?
00:38:47
CODES
For
00:38:48
Arik Nabie
Right? Where was your self-righteousness then?
00:38:52
CODES
reals.
00:38:53
Arik Nabie
Right? And, you know, what what God is is showing here is that my interpretation is this, that God is sovereign.
00:39:07
CODES
That's right. He is God.
00:39:10
Arik Nabie
and You know, the whole time, Job is expecting God to vindicate him. Right? But why? he was expecting God to vindicate it to his friends to prove them wrong.
00:39:28
Arik Nabie
What happens when our expectations of God clashes with the reality of who God Right?
00:39:34
CODES
Word.
00:39:37
Arik Nabie
When we expect God to do something in our way or on our behalf, but then God has to remind us, hey, I'm sovereign.
00:39:42
CODES
Mm-hmm.
00:39:46
Arik Nabie
I don't work according to your way do You work according to mine.
00:39:53
Arik Nabie
why He says, you know, seek ye first the kingdom.
00:39:59
Arik Nabie
Seek ye first the kingdom. And all of these things will be added unto you.
00:40:09
Arik Nabie
Right?
00:40:10
Arik Nabie
the the The problem here is that even as mature believers, we can fall into this trap of saying, hey, I expect God, when I'm going through this, I expect God to do this.
00:40:10
CODES
yeah
00:40:18
CODES
Yeah, it's not easy.
00:40:25
Arik Nabie
Right? That's all well and good. But God is sovereign. God will do what God will do.
00:40:35
CODES
That's true.
00:40:36
Arik Nabie
right And I don't say that to negate what someone is going through or to diminish a problem. you know
00:40:43
CODES
Yeah.
00:40:43
Arik Nabie
When you're dealing with sickness, when you're dealing with loss, you're dealing with grief, you're dealing with you know financial instability and all these things.
00:40:48
CODES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:50
Arik Nabie
I mean, you know you could feel like your real world is crumbling and and I completely understand that.
00:40:57
CODES
yeah
00:40:57
Arik Nabie
you know But God is God. And I think you know that's where had to get real for Job. You know, you you say that Job had a happy ending. You know, to me, i don't and don't think that was a happy ending. Because you you you you use the word restoration.
00:41:21
Arik Nabie
But that word restoration implies that there was loss.
00:41:26
Arik Nabie
Job lost his kids. Yeah, he got more, but he lost his kids.
00:41:32
CODES
Yeah, nothing obviously can can um can um compare to that loss, obviously, but I say happy ending in a sense that even though like it felt like everything all was crumbling down and everything was all, it seemed like it was in a dark tunnel, right?
00:41:39
Arik Nabie
okay
00:41:52
Arik Nabie
hey
00:41:52
CODES
Happy ending in the sense that everything was beautiful again. Everything was perfect again. And I'm sure that from my experience with God, when God restores something, He restores it better than it was before.
00:42:11
CODES
from my own experience. And that's my own journey with God. Cause He said in his word that he will restore the yeas that the locusts have eaten, the canker worms and the caterpillars have destroyed.
00:42:21
CODES
And also He said that the later shall be greater than the former. So I wouldn't think that God restore and and would restore it in the same magnitude that it was before. There has to be something better and greater, cause that's the God that we worship.
00:42:33
CODES
No matter how much struggles and no matter how how how you waited or the trials that you went through, When God restores something in your life, it's never the same way as the blessing that you originally had.
00:42:45
CODES
It's 10 times better. Because that's the good God that we serve. He never gives it the same way that it was before. There has to be something better that you would never you would never remember, almost not even remember the pain that you went through.
00:43:00
Arik Nabie
Because that restoration is not human restoration. That restoration is based on God's sovereignty.
00:43:11
Arik Nabie
It is based on who God is. right Man's restoration says, well, okay, you lost this.
00:43:14
CODES
Oh
00:43:20
Arik Nabie
Now you can replace it with this.
00:43:23
CODES
my God.
00:43:24
Arik Nabie
Right. I recently was someone was sharing a story of, you know, that they they were facing the loss of their newborn child.
00:43:27
CODES
Okay.
00:43:36
Arik Nabie
And a doctor, the doctor said, well, you're young, you can have more. That's man's idea of restoration. Right.
00:43:49
Arik Nabie
Well, you lost it.
00:43:49
CODES
one
00:43:50
Arik Nabie
You can get it back.
00:43:50
CODES
you know know we Exactly.
00:43:51
Arik Nabie
Right. But thankfully, that's not how God views restoration.
00:44:00
CODES
i think I kind of know where you're going with that. Taking it deeper in that lane that you're heading into Restoration, not only that it was physical, but there was internal healing and restoration, spiritual restoration as well.
00:44:16
Arik Nabie
Exactly.
00:44:16
CODES
Cause sometimes we see things, you know, in the physical realm, a lot of us go through. let me Let me backtrack a little bit. Even though we we see physical trials and and temptations or whatnot, we're not neglecting the internal battles that people go through in their mind, right?
00:44:38
CODES
When God restores, when God restores, He brings healing. to your mind, to your soul, that it appears that you never went through any mental attack or any internal struggles, right?
00:44:54
CODES
So restoration in that sense, not only just physical, but healing also in the mind that even as your soul prospers, right? That deep healing, spiritually, reconciliation with God, restoration way more healing than what it was before.
00:45:17
CODES
So even though that all around you is well and all around you is better again than it was before, but also when people go through wars and and and spiritual attacks, there is also a bruise in their mind.
00:45:24
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:45:33
CODES
There is also a bruise in their walk with God. They get bruised in their journey with God. So when God does visit them physically and financially, he also heals that part of them that was bruised, that part of their faith in him that was bruised. He also heals them by reassuring them, I'm here for you.
00:45:58
CODES
I want you to know that I'm restoring everything because I was never gone. i am here for you, my daughter. I am here for you, my son. and That thing that you went through got nothing on you because I'm still here.
00:46:13
CODES
That deep healing of knowing that He is there. Healing in your relationship with him. That healing of trust in Him That healing in your mindset towards the situation around you. Knowing that the situation around you cannot destroy you because you have God.
00:46:35
CODES
Yeah.
00:46:35
Arik Nabie
The Bible describes that as the peace that passed it all understanding.
00:46:39
CODES
hi my God that's it that's it
00:46:47
CODES
god is so i think with that word don't you slay me you know i've been i've actually been thinking about that a lot
00:46:48
Arik Nabie
You know.
00:47:00
Arik Nabie
you
00:47:01
CODES
Because I know in our generation, right, it's completely different from the generation our parents grew up in, right? I mean, look at our parents, for example, right? They've been through a lot.
00:47:12
CODES
And yet they're holding so tenaciously onto God, right? But since our own generation, right, just one little thing that just happened. Some of us usually God, Really? Really?
00:47:24
CODES
god why really Why would you let this happen to me? thought I trusted you. How can you do this to me? It's almost like we're talking to little of kid.
00:47:35
CODES
Yeah, we're all like Job in some way because we're like, God, I've been serving you for so long. Yeah, why would you give up on me right now? You know, if something bad happens, you're like, God, where are you?
00:47:47
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:47:47
CODES
did this for you and I did that for you. Yes, it's not easy. I feel like using the word, you know, even though you're slay me you have to come to a point of death.
00:48:00
CODES
Right. A place of total death. Because you're saying even though you slay me, you're not even ready to be slayed. Oh, okay.
00:48:14
CODES
That's a problem. Because you actually give up very easily. You'll be very frustrated. It's not easy to come to a point of saying even though you slay me or though you slay me.
00:48:31
CODES
It is a place of death.
00:48:35
CODES
And yes, our generation is completely different. It's so different. I'm not going to lie. you know i've come I've come to that point where... let's say that something happened today. Before being really honest, like, listen, I'm still a work in progress in that area. know. That's what i'm saying. I'm not perfect. Like today I'm like, I'm going like, Oh God, you know, want to serve you, you know, just slay me, slay me. And then tomorrow something happens. Like, really, really God, what's going on?
00:49:03
CODES
Listen, we're nothing but transparent here. Like in as much as we're, we're, trying to be encouraging to you guys. We also do have our struggles and we're and it's coming from a place of experience knowing that we also go through things too.
00:49:20
CODES
If for anything, the enemy does target, passes kids times 10, right?
00:49:25
Arik Nabie
Thank
00:49:27
CODES
Everything that he want he he he would like to do to discredit the gospel that the parents preach or the gospel that they stand up for, you know?
00:49:39
CODES
We go through it in different ways, maybe not in the severity that you go through it, or maybe you don't go through it in the severity that we get it, you know? But it it goes to say that it's something we we're bringing this narrative and Pastor Eric is also bringing that narrative to so so give us a balanced view that yes, we get what we understand, right?
Evaluating Faith During Challenges
00:50:03
CODES
We may not really wear and put on everyone's shoes in in the magnitude of what experiences they're going through.
00:50:09
CODES
But yes, we go through a stuff, but we also need to do a self evaluation every single time that we're going through things, when we're but when we're afflicted, are we so quick to be self-righteous?
00:50:23
CODES
Lord, I've been serving you for so many for so many years. Why is this happening to me?
00:50:28
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:50:29
CODES
You know, i've I've heard that that would take me into the questions that I saw that I would like us to answer for the audience, right? You know, it makes me just really, well, let me just answer ask the question so that we, because I don't want to answer the question for anyone.
00:50:48
CODES
But I'll just quickly throw the the mic back to Pastor Eric to pick a number from one to three to answer the question.
00:50:59
Arik Nabie
group.
00:51:01
CODES
Okay. Two, number two. Let's see. that goes to the question of what role does suffering play in faith
00:51:19
CODES
what role does suffering play in faith
00:51:24
Arik Nabie
All right, I'll tell you this. We'll answer this question and we'll shut this whole thing down now because what I have to say about that, you won't even want to ask the other questions.
00:51:34
CODES
I love how controversial Pastor Arik is. sir.
00:51:41
Arik Nabie
And then you want the answer to that question?
00:51:45
CODES
yes sir
00:51:46
Arik Nabie
Are you sure you want the answer to that question?
00:51:49
CODES
I mean, however you're going to answer it as the spirit leads, but I'm sure people want to know because, you know, I guess the whole narrative is that people just it would be nice that we give a life to Christ. Right.
00:52:01
CODES
And we believe that that's the end of a whole problem in the whole world. Right. Let's be honest. Okay, God, I gave my life to you. That should automatically end every problem that I'm going through. Because obviously I was going through what I was going through because I did not identify with you because I was unsarvended to you because I was a sinner.
00:52:17
CODES
That's probably why I was going through what I'm going through. But now I'm in the light. I'm standing for you. I should be protected from even even the littlest fly that's passing by. Even the little mosquito passing by should not hurt me because I'm a Christian now.
00:52:32
CODES
Right?
00:52:32
Arik Nabie
All right.
00:52:33
CODES
Right? So why do we have to suffer?
00:52:35
Arik Nabie
all right.
00:52:38
CODES
We're children of God, right? We're in the light. really We have our Father owns everything. Why? I'm just playing the bad advocate right here, okay?
00:52:51
CODES
I'm speaking in the minds of people like who are going through stuff. why do why Listen, why are we suffering if we're Christians? Because if we we just mentioned we just saw how Job's friend, all date just all that literally the entire thing they were telling to this guy was, bro, you're going through all of this because you you have some you you definitely are have something up your sleeves that you're not telling us, right?
00:53:03
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
00:53:16
CODES
Because you can't tell me that. you're a christian you're righteous right although were christianity back then you can't tell me you're upright man and you're righteous man and bad things like this are happening to you that's that's unheard of that's so bizarre like how how could something bad like this happen to you when you claim to be righteous there must be something wrong with you So why are we suffering? We're Christians. We shouldn't be suffering.
00:53:44
CODES
Everything should just come at our beckon, right? So why do we need to suffer? What role does it play in our faith?
00:53:52
Arik Nabie
You ready for the answer?
00:53:54
CODES
yeah Knockers off our feet. Not literally, but knockers off our feet.
00:54:01
Arik Nabie
All right.
00:54:02
CODES
All
00:54:02
Arik Nabie
Read it. 2 Timothy 4.7.
00:54:06
CODES
right. Let's go to 2 Timothy 4, 7. Let's see how, what table is going to be shaking right now. 2 Timothy 4, 7 says, I have fought the good fight.
00:54:23
CODES
I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.
00:54:32
CODES
Well, that really, that really kind of like,
00:54:36
CODES
throws off everything I just said. Because I mean, why do we have to even fight?
00:54:43
Arik Nabie
Well, why do you think we have to fight?
00:54:44
CODES
when but why like or but i I'm literally
00:54:45
Arik Nabie
That's a good question. why Why do we have to fight?
00:54:52
CODES
Jesus's princess right now. Like i'm i' I'm a princess of the Lord. you know i can i I should be pampered, right? And the love of God, why do I have to fight for anything?
00:55:03
CODES
when I have my awesome daddy fighting my battles and everything. Why do I have to fight?
00:55:08
Arik Nabie
oh
00:55:09
CODES
Literally.
00:55:09
Arik Nabie
One, what would did Jesus say?
00:55:16
CODES
shit
00:55:19
Arik Nabie
um What did Jesus say? If they treated me like this, what do you expect they're going to treat you? How do you expect going to treat you, right? I'm paraphrasing it.
00:55:31
CODES
You know, that's that's that's that's something that's really hard for the contemporary Christians to understand, you know, it's not in the vocabulary, right?
00:55:40
Arik Nabie
Maybe maybe they they they need to stop describing themselves as contemporary Christians and just call themselves disciples and followers of Jesus Christ.
00:55:49
CODES
There you go.
00:55:53
Arik Nabie
I was never called to be a contemporary Christian, but I was called to be a disciple of Christ.
00:55:58
CODES
oh and what what is a disciple a follower you're legit following the footsteps of jesus died on the cross guess what you're gonna die that's right
00:56:06
Arik Nabie
out that Well, you know, there's the other scripture that says, you know, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Yeah, there's that.
00:56:17
Arik Nabie
But if you go back and understand what Paul is saying here, I have fought through the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. You know, this verse, typically the only time you hear this verse is at funerals, right?
00:56:32
CODES
oh
00:56:32
Arik Nabie
And it's usually so reserved for the the funeral of a believer. But this verse, if you understand the context of this verse, this verse will change your life.
00:56:46
Arik Nabie
Right? So, yeah this, you know, that Paul here, you know who he's talking to?
00:56:57
Arik Nabie
He's talking go to Timothy.
00:56:58
CODES
worthy his spiritual son yeah
00:57:00
Arik Nabie
Right? His spiritual son, who was a young adult.
00:57:05
CODES
Mm-hmm.
00:57:06
Arik Nabie
Who was pastor in the church?
00:57:09
Arik Nabie
Right? Who was Timothy?
00:57:10
CODES
Ooh. Mm-hmm.
00:57:11
Arik Nabie
If Timothy is Paul's son, isn't he technically a PK?
00:57:17
CODES
o
00:57:19
Arik Nabie
Right? So what is Paul telling Timothy? One, that he's at the end of his life. This is a statement of policy. He knows the end is coming.
00:57:35
Arik Nabie
So if he knows the end is coming, what brilliance would you leave to someone?
00:57:35
CODES
Okay.
00:57:41
Arik Nabie
This is the statement he leaves. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the fate. You know,
00:57:53
Arik Nabie
if you want to break it up, fight. What happens in a fight?
00:58:01
Arik Nabie
If you look at a really good boxing match, I typically don't watch like boxing matches, but I, I, I love the Rocky movies.
00:58:12
CODES
Mm-hmm.
00:58:13
Arik Nabie
And particularly the my favorite one is in part five of Rocky, where he fights the the guy in Russia.
00:58:26
Arik Nabie
And they're just going at it. And and and Rocky's character, he's taking blows and he's taking hits. And there's a certain point where you're thinking, man, Rocky's not going to make He's not going to survive this fight. He's getting knocked out and knocked down,
00:58:44
CODES
Your
00:58:44
Arik Nabie
But yet, here's the thing. In the movie, what made Rocky different is that after every knockdown, kept getting back up.
00:59:00
Arik Nabie
And it came to a point in the movie where he's almost taunting his opponent, right? Telling him, hit me, hit me. And the opponent is just giving it all he's got.
00:59:15
Arik Nabie
And there there's that point where the momentum shifts into Rocky's favor. Because what happens, the opponent who was bigger, who was badder, who was, you know, if they were putting money on the fight, everybody had the money on the opponent.
00:59:31
Arik Nabie
But yet, what happened, he started to get tired.
00:59:32
CODES
with their strength because this is us that is strength and hitting him
00:59:38
Arik Nabie
He exhausted all of his strength. And what Rocky did was that Rocky endured.
00:59:43
CODES
you're onto something with this yeah
00:59:46
Arik Nabie
Right? He endured. And this is what Paul was saying, that I went through stuff.
00:59:57
Arik Nabie
Right? If you look at Paul's life, Paul's life was not easy.
01:00:03
CODES
That's true. Yeah.
01:00:04
Arik Nabie
Paul even writes it, that he was in prison, he was flogged, he was exposed to death many times, he received lashes, he he he was beaten with rods, he was once stoned, he was shipwrecked, he spent a day and a night in the open sea, all right?
01:00:21
CODES
yeah
01:00:22
Arik Nabie
he He was in danger from the elements, from robbers, from other Jewish people, from the Gentiles. His whole Christian walk was chaos, if you think about it.
01:00:37
CODES
Yeah, that's a lot.
01:00:40
Arik Nabie
Right?
01:00:43
Arik Nabie
But then he makes the statement that even though he went through the fights, that he endured the race, he said, kept the faith.
01:00:57
Arik Nabie
And when he said that,
01:01:00
Arik Nabie
It meant that I have kept on taking Christ at his word. I kept counting on what he said. I kept counting on trusting in his words and his truth.
01:01:13
Arik Nabie
And I kept having confidence in his promises that he is God, that he is sovereign. And that what happened is that after every every fight, every time something bad happened to him, all it did for Paul was to prove to him who Jesus was.
01:01:41
Arik Nabie
All it did was to increase his confidence in God.
01:01:48
CODES
Good God.
01:01:52
Arik Nabie
You see, sometimes we can live as if we say, yeah, Christ's death, his resurrection, all that is important to me.
01:02:03
Arik Nabie
But the moment something bad happens, we live as if that promise is not true.
01:02:09
CODES
a
01:02:13
Arik Nabie
Right? It's easy to say, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. But when we don't get those things added unto us because we weren't seeking, then everything goes haywire.
01:02:26
Arik Nabie
Right? What Paul was saying is that keeping the faith can be difficult. There's going to be stress. There's going to be strain. There's going to be discomfort. There's going to be you know times where you get hit in the face. A boxer gets hit in the face.
01:02:39
Arik Nabie
right The boxer, you know they they they they blood is drawn. Sometimes bones are broken. right a runner in a race, what does a runner do? A runner pushes their body to the limit.
01:02:52
CODES
Yeah.
01:02:52
Arik Nabie
Right? They train, they train, they train. They pull hamstrings. they They torment their muscles. Right? They push their body to the brink.
01:03:03
CODES
Endurance.
01:03:06
Arik Nabie
And yet, for what? Paul says he did it because he kept the faith. All that was for him to keep the faith.
01:03:21
Arik Nabie
Right?
01:03:23
Arik Nabie
You know
01:03:23
CODES
You're cooking, bro. You're cooking. You're cooking, bro.
01:03:26
Arik Nabie
it know, there's something about this, right? This statement.
01:03:33
Arik Nabie
When Paul says that I've kept the faith, why is it that so many of us, young, old, alpha, Z, millennials, right?
01:03:36
CODES
Yeah.
01:03:45
Arik Nabie
Even the older the generation. Why is it so many people struggle with keeping the faith?
01:03:47
CODES
Mm.
01:03:51
CODES
That's a very good question that I have answers to.
01:03:53
Arik Nabie
Right? Think about it because on paper, what could be easier than faith?
01:04:03
CODES
Lack of faith, really.
01:04:05
Arik Nabie
Well, you know, if you think about it, right? Faith should be easy for all of us to do because all we have to do is say, hey, I'm going to trust in Jesus.
01:04:16
Arik Nabie
Right? But yet, When Jesus says, the gate is wide and the the way is easy, which leads to destruction and many enter it. Yet the gate is narrow and the way is hard, which leads to life.
01:04:32
Arik Nabie
And those who find it are few.
01:04:36
Arik Nabie
Then he says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.
01:04:46
Arik Nabie
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
01:04:49
CODES
Yeah.
01:04:51
Arik Nabie
Right?
01:04:54
Arik Nabie
You think about it. Safe is easy yet hard at the same time.
01:04:59
CODES
yeah
01:05:01
Arik Nabie
It's easy because All we have to do is trust in Jesus, but yet it's hard because look what Jesus says. The gate is wide, the way is easy that leads to destruction. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.
01:05:14
Arik Nabie
He's saying, come unto me all who are labor and heavy burden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. The problem that we have in faith is the condition of the human heart.
01:05:28
CODES
yeah that's true
01:05:30
Arik Nabie
Right? And without transformation in our heart, we will never be able to make the statement that I have kept the faith.
01:05:44
CODES
that's true
01:05:45
Arik Nabie
What was God doing for Job? God was working a transformation process in Job.
01:05:51
Arik Nabie
That's what God was doing because he was rooting out that little bit of self-righteousness that was there.
01:06:01
Arik Nabie
What God is doing to us, why do we have to go through the fights? Why do we have to go through the race Why do we have to go through? Because transformation is needed.
01:06:14
Arik Nabie
Because God is rooting out things in us.
01:06:20
CODES
not so true because some some some of us instead of like looking to god entirely you know when we're when we are to say associate things going well with us because of our walk with God, because of our righteousness.
01:06:36
CODES
But sometimes things happen to shake us off of that mindset and know that it's not based on the works of righteousness, but by the mercy of God.
01:06:38
Arik Nabie
Thanks.
01:06:46
CODES
Because there are times where your righteousness cannot save you. We're alive because of the mercy of God. And the fact that you have things going well for you is not because of how much, how much,
01:07:00
CODES
things you've done for God or there's nothing done for God that would ever compare to his ultimate sacrifice for your life. No one can now ever outdo that, right? So instead, it's a moment for us to shift our mind to see not everything that we get in Christ as an entitlement, but see from a place of God's mercy to us.
01:07:25
CODES
Because none of us really, if we're thinking about it, none of us deserve any good thing because of our sin nature. None of us deserve anything good at all.
01:07:34
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:07:37
CODES
It is the mercy of God that we're alive. It is the mercy of God that we do not get the punishment that we deserve for our sins. So like Pastor Eric is saying, like, instead of us focusing on that self-righteousness that, oh, I shouldn't be going through this because I'm doing this for God.
01:07:57
CODES
More of thank you, Lord, that it hasn't, you haven't granted the desires of the enemy, right? Because ultimately, if it was left to the enemy, would not be alive because the enemy's plan is just to like destroy the whole human race.
01:08:10
Arik Nabie
so
01:08:13
CODES
But it cannot obviously do that because God is sovereign, right? We should see from the point of, oh it could have been bad. It could have been worse. But thank you, Lord, for your mercy. Thank you for your goodness.
01:08:25
CODES
But in in actual sense, do we really do that? No, I'm also, I'm literally also talking to myself too. i just But the Lord will help us. ah ah digress again, sorry.
01:08:38
Arik Nabie
Well, let me make this statement. And you guys tell me what you think about this statement. All right, let me put the question to you. Life is not about our wins.
01:08:55
Arik Nabie
Life is not about our
01:08:58
CODES
Oh, you got caught off a second ago. Please say the line.
01:09:01
Arik Nabie
wins. Life is not about our wins.
01:09:09
CODES
That's true. Mm-hmm.
01:09:10
Arik Nabie
right Think about what Paul said. I have run the race. You don't find that that that that that statement a little bit odd?
01:09:23
CODES
That's true because we're so used to that when we, you know, there are some times in our walk with God that we we find ourselves winning a lot. We get a lot of wins and we, you know, our mind is so conditioned to that winning streak. Like we just got to keep the streak and not break it, right?
01:09:38
CODES
So when one circumstances come and break that streak and we find o ourselves losing in that area, all the times that we've won before completely diminishes from our mind. we We just immediately have that amnesia for the times that God has come through for us.
01:09:53
CODES
Because that one time that it looked like it hasn't come through is going to be louder than the times other times that he's come through because our mind is so conditioned to that. But thank you for bringing that up because that goes back to the previous episode that we we talked about where I mentioned how God had to deal with my mindset.
01:10:11
CODES
regarding what Pastor Eric just mentioned, because we always see things from a perspective of always winning, right? We see o ourselves that when we're winning, it means that God is with us. I had a season in my life where God had to teach me that the presence of negative things happening in my life doesn't necessarily mean His absence.
01:10:29
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:10:33
CODES
I had a lot of unlearning to do in that season. It was one of the worst season I would say it was really uncomfortable but God was pruning my or changing my mindset and that's so easy for a lot of people who have ah ah tendency to be pessimistic in nature or negative mind mindset like every little thing that happens they always have a negative connotation to things not everything that happens in your life is negative if we have that mindset I'm telling you mindset is so powerful in your walk with God there's a way that you position your mindset
01:11:09
CODES
And because the scripture says as the way a man think in his mind so is he and scripture also says that we shall be judged by a confession. There's a way that you position your mindset that even by the way you think things positively, even though that situation is negative.
01:11:26
CODES
your positive mindset, trusting in the word of God and believing in the word of God is powerful enough to change that situation because of that word of God that you're meditating on in your mind in the presence of those difficult circumstances.
01:11:41
CODES
God had to teach me that in that season where I felt like everything bad was happening at school, in my personal life. Everything was just, I felt I was seeing it from a perspective of negative things are happening.
01:11:54
CODES
But God worked on my perception in that moment that even though those things were happening, He trained my mind to see positive things out of it.
01:12:06
CODES
So when I started seeing positivity in in those situations, naming out and being grateful to Him in the positive things that I was calling out in those situations, all of a sudden those things that appeared negative to me were no longer negative.
01:12:22
CODES
It became a training ground for me. I saw it from a place of me growing in faith.
01:12:31
CODES
I was going to say that life may not necessarily be all about the wins, but the suffering is what brings about the wins. oh you know
01:12:44
CODES
Obviously, and not everything comes too easily. but at least the the the suffering like the suffering that we've been through and the challenges that we've experienced right it's what actually brings about the wins that people see on the outside right and that's true the mind doesn't necessarily know what have what have transpired of what or what went wrong and also you know going back to paul and uh our little pastor timothy
01:13:14
CODES
Even though he said he's won the race, you know, I think about it on a whole different level. Right. So when you guys talked about it, what came into my head is that, you know, it was a form of encouragement.
01:13:26
CODES
Right. If I, Apostle Paul, can do it, so can you, Timothy. Right. Even if you've seen me, I've been through a lot, you know, punched in the face, you know, persecuted by people.
01:13:33
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:13:38
CODES
You might not necessarily end up going through the same thing that I went through. But with that. Right. Don't lose faith. Right. Eventually, you also go through the race and you also win as well.
01:13:51
CODES
I just saw that more more of as an encouragement. Right. I'm sure Timothy was probably very scared of what Paul has been through. That's true. Because if he went through that, like, what's the hope from me? Yeah.
01:14:04
CODES
You know, watching Paul probably go through all the things that he's gone through. Like, how can I even endure this thing that Apostle Paul had gone through? Mm-hmm. Right. And that probably shook Timothy a little bit like, oh, my goodness. Like, is this what the walk of Christ looks like?
01:14:19
CODES
You know, pretty much encouraging him that if I've gone through that, guarantee that you would you would also, you know, make it through as long as you follow God, as long as you flow through the first step of Christ, you would also succeed.
01:14:32
CODES
You know what that makes me think of? A lot of us pastors kids who are afraid of that calling because what we we see our parents go through in ministry. hmm.
01:14:43
CODES
yeah Because we associated the negative things that they've gone through that we think that that's the whole whole narrative of walking with God. you know By the negative things that they go through, they think, oh, if my parents are going through this, why should i what's really there for me? like Am I really built this?
01:15:07
CODES
And also, yes, like I said again, the wins may not necessarily be the winds. It might be might actually look on the outside that you know you've never experienced anything, but the suffering is what birthed the wins that people go through.
01:15:21
CODES
you know Because from the outside, people can see, oh, you know people don't even know the journey. You've been through, oh look at this. They just started all of a sudden. and Look at how they're going far and da-da-da-da-da.
01:15:32
CODES
But they don't know. think Pastor Eric just opened the whole... deep narrative because it really goes down to what people consider to be a win. Because coming from someone who was who God has been working on and a negative perception, you know, what I consider a win is different from what anyone who is very optimistic would consider a win right.
01:15:58
CODES
Because what I had considered win is the absence of anything negative or bad situation happening. But that's not the way God considers win. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, right?
01:16:10
CODES
In that moment, people will consider that as a loss because someone's life was lost. But that was a win because that death on the cross gave life to every believer, gave redemption to every person who would accept Him and follow him.
01:16:30
CODES
So although we're so focused on the physical manifestation of things, and we may seem may see it as being a loss,
01:16:44
CODES
even though it seemed like someone else, it looks like some, a Christian who's living for God is losing outside. But what you're seeing outside is not what God is seeing inside. God is looking at that person's heart.
01:16:58
CODES
Because if the person have everything going good good good, but your heart posture towards God is wrong, that's not a win.
01:17:05
Arik Nabie
you
01:17:07
CODES
But if someone is going through some difficult situation, like Lazarus who was poor in the Bible and the rich man who never shared anything with Lazarus. Poor Lazarus was literally fighting enough of fighting food with the with the dogs of the rich man.
01:17:24
CODES
His heart posture towards God was different and he ended up in heaven. That was the biggest win of all time even though it didn't look like it was winning on earth. He won in heaven through Christ.
01:17:36
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:17:38
CODES
And also too, sorry to digress a little bit, you know, moving him back Pastor Eric caused this because then it's not... You know, going back to how difficult it is for us as Christians to have faith in God.
01:17:52
CODES
You know, what we're we more, you know, more attuned to seeing before believing. Right? I have to see the manifestation before I can trust God. I mean, take a look at Thomas. It's a Thomas faith. Yeah.
01:18:06
CODES
right how how How can I know that you actually died and you were crucified? Where is the hole? Can I see the hole? right Where is it? If I can actually believe.
01:18:16
CODES
And that's what some of us usually do.
01:18:17
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:18:18
CODES
but I have to see if I trust you. I have to see if believe. and and And it's so funny that Pastor Solomon always used this example.
Analogy of Trust: Chair and Faith in God
01:18:29
CODES
Right. You get into a place and you, you sat on the chair, right? You sit in a chair without even thinking that this chair is either going to hold you or not hold you, but you trust that the chair is capable of holding your weight, right?
01:18:41
CODES
Regardless of how big it is. So, and then he's saying that if you can actually trust an object, why can't you just trust your heavenly father? It doesn't translate so easily. No, it really doesn't.
01:18:52
CODES
it's But that's, that's, that's the way that's a sad reality. Yeah.
01:18:59
Arik Nabie
not to go against the great Pastor Solomon, but to take that and and and and and rephrase it, I would say this, you know, you can believe all you want that that chair can hold your weight.
01:19:17
Arik Nabie
What if you never sit on it?
01:19:19
CODES
true.
01:19:20
Arik Nabie
It's of no use to you.
01:19:23
CODES
That's just true. that's true
01:19:25
Arik Nabie
The problem is is that people, why people don't keep the faith is because people want the wins for themselves more than believing that the ultimate win was Jesus Christ dying on the cross, right?
01:19:36
CODES
Mm-hmm.
01:19:44
CODES
God. True.
01:19:46
Arik Nabie
Because no win that I can do can compare to that. Why? Because the win on the cross remove my eternal separation from God.
01:19:58
Arik Nabie
The win on the cross bought my healing. The win on the cross brings me eternal joy and peace with the Creator.
01:20:06
CODES
That's right.
01:20:08
Arik Nabie
My win with God has restored me and reconciled me back to Him. You see, we're all all out there trying to chase wins to make us feel good because we we we we have this tendency to overcome the obstacles to our happiness by ourselves.
01:20:31
Arik Nabie
Faith then requires that I give control to something else.
01:20:31
CODES
that's
01:20:36
CODES
to And that is the hardest part. Word up.
01:20:39
Arik Nabie
right I can believe the chair can hold my weight. But if you think about it, it is not until you sit in the chair, when you sit in the chair, you are given control to the chair to support you.
01:20:57
CODES
wo up
01:20:58
Arik Nabie
That is what faith is. i can Listen, you can believe in God all you want. But the Bible says, until you have faith in who Jesus is, you're not saved.
01:21:07
CODES
that's
01:21:12
CODES
right so so ah try
01:21:15
Arik Nabie
because even the devil believes in Jesus.
01:21:17
CODES
yeah
01:21:19
Arik Nabie
If you don't have faith in Jesus, you're not saved. This is why this statement was so paramount that as Paul is now believing this to his own disciple, to his young protege, Timothy, right?
01:21:34
Arik Nabie
To his young adult, to this young leader, to this young pastor, to this young PK. He is saying, Timothy, You need to keep the faith because the faith is the ultimate win. It doesn't matter what you've been through.
01:21:51
Arik Nabie
It doesn't matter what you're going through. And guess what, Timothy? It doesn't matter what you will go through because you will go through things.
01:22:00
CODES
Yeah.
01:22:00
Arik Nabie
The ultimate thing is the win of Jesus Christ on the cross.
01:22:06
CODES
Woohoo! Yes! That's our victory.
01:22:11
Arik Nabie
right You know this, 1 Corinthians 15, 57. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory.
01:22:17
CODES
Yeah.
01:22:21
Arik Nabie
He doesn't give us a victory. He gives us the victory. There is only one victory. And that is what Jesus Christ does on the cross.
01:22:30
CODES
That's right.
01:22:30
Arik Nabie
Our life is all about Jesus' win.
01:22:30
CODES
Word.
01:22:35
Arik Nabie
Right? What did God tell Job? right God humbled Job and asked him, where were you when I did all these things? Because you and I are not on the same level, Job.
01:22:46
Arik Nabie
So you can't demand of me.
01:22:51
Arik Nabie
We are not on the same level as Jesus, but yet Jesus humbled Himself to take on the form of man that he would come and die on a cross for our sin. That is the ultimate victory.
01:23:04
Arik Nabie
That is the ultimate win.
01:23:07
CODES
And that's why the motto of this platform, Covenant Diaries, is Codes to Victory, because this is where we share those codes to victory.
01:23:12
Arik Nabie
It's to be a little bit.
01:23:15
CODES
Nothing outside of Jesus Christ. And that's your cheat sheet there. That's the victory, faith in Jesus Christ.
01:23:24
CODES
You know, Pastor Eric actually literally answered the rest of the questions, you know? I'm not literally making this up, because the other question was, The other question was, why does a righteous person suffer? you already answered that.
01:23:38
CODES
So you actually picked the perfect number.
01:23:43
CODES
I promise I'm not making this up. and That number that you picked answered the first in the last question.
01:23:53
CODES
i'm I don't know where to even start from like this entire episode. um I'm sure that the Lord, I pray and trust that the Lord would use this to be a blessing and liberation to a lot of mindset, you know, a lot of believers because
01:24:11
CODES
it's it's really a lot ah ah lot to unpack. And there are times that we we need to hear things from a different narrative.
01:24:17
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:24:19
CODES
It goes back again to perception. What do you really consider a win in Christ? Because if you're seeing it, like Pastor Eric said, if you're seeing it as your own personal win, you're going to be frustrated in your waiting season if you're waiting for your win and not waiting for the glory of God.
01:24:38
CODES
If you're not waiting for God to be glorified, you're going to be frustrated in your wait. But if your wait is unto God and not unto you winning,
01:24:49
CODES
Trust me, your wait being for the glory of God, you would have peace in that weight.
01:24:49
Arik Nabie
you
01:24:56
CODES
You would have comfort in that weight because you're waiting for God to be glorified and not waiting for you to be glorified or for people to know that you you have a arrived. right
01:25:08
CODES
And then I think the last question that was here that I'm sure Pastor Eric already answered is if humans can truly judge God's actions. Like he had mentioned earlier,
01:25:19
CODES
The ways of God are higher than the ways of man, right?
01:25:22
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:25:24
CODES
He also did mention that, you know, it's because when when we see that the way of God is not aligned to our own expectations, we see that as us not winning.
01:25:38
CODES
But we can never understand God's ways. And God is sovereign. We should never, you know, base our understanding of God to be who entirely, who, what God is entirely.
01:25:57
CODES
You can never entirely understand God. You can never put God in the box. And I think this is what really frustrated a lot of Christians, that they are serving a God that they can never fully understand and they can never fully have a control over situation.
01:26:09
CODES
Because that we like to give God our situation, but we also like to take it back. We're like, okay, Lord, you you have the other piece and i i'll I'll pull the rope on this other side. You're literally pulling the rope so together with God.
01:26:22
CODES
like My mind is picturing some weird, random, I don't know, vivid imaginations. And it's it's hilarious because that's ah ah literally literally what we're doing when we give God our problems.
01:26:36
CODES
We're also taking it back because we see, we we sometimes we feel like God is taking too long to respond. So while I'm waiting for him to respond, I'm also going to be figuring things out on my own.
01:26:48
CODES
Jesus, help us.
01:26:49
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:26:50
CODES
Help us, Lord, including me, Lord. Help me, Lord. Help me out here.
01:26:56
CODES
praying that this episode will really be a personal call to really evaluate our walk with God and our faith in God.
01:27:07
CODES
What do you really consider as a win? Remember, it's not your win. God already won everything on the cross of Calvary. Our duty is to trust in Him and appropriate that victory that he already has brought in the cross of Calvary and appropriate it to every situations that we're going through.
01:27:29
CODES
It's not your win. It's the glory of God.
01:27:35
CODES
Thank you so much, Pastor Eric, for joining us in this wonderful episode. don't know. Every episode, I just think God just keeps working through every episode and it just keeps getting better. But thank you much. we need to invite him every episode. I know, right? But he has a life, okay? He does have a life.
01:27:52
CODES
I know. Well, that's up to him. If we will, if we may, mayest we, would love to have him on every episode. But as the Lord wills, and depending on his schedule, if he would permit, if the Lord permits, if the Lord wills, not our will.
01:28:12
CODES
Let me stop. I'm sorry. Essentially, I'm saying that if the Lord wills and if Pastor Eric is willing to, would keep having him on this episode. of story but please pastor Eric would you a quick word of prayer thank you so much again for honoring this platform and sparing your time out of your busy schedule to be here and for being a blessing to as many listeners that are here we're very grateful having you as a brother having you as a ah big brother we look up to a pastor and you know thank you for always being there so please share a quick word of prayer for our viewers
01:28:52
Arik Nabie
Absolutely. And I'm really thankful for the opportunity to be on here. And I can't promise I'll be on every week, but I'm happy to, you know, join in when I can.
01:29:03
CODES
Definitely, whenever you get the chance to, it's okay.
01:29:06
Arik Nabie
Yeah. Yeah. Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, so grateful to you that you did not see it equality with God. ah ah you came and took on the form of man, and that you went to Calvary's hill, and you took cross, and you died in our place, that your blood was shed ah ah break every bondage, every stronghold, every thought, every imagination, everything that that has been put up in our lives, that has been set against you.
01:29:43
Arik Nabie
That, Lord, we plead the blood of Jesus over it. That it would destroy it right now.
01:29:49
CODES
Amen. Amen. Amen.
01:29:50
Arik Nabie
I ask that your love would permeate through the darkness, through the fog, through the things that have separated us from you, Lord. That we would experience your love, your mercy, your grace.
01:30:05
Arik Nabie
That Holy Spirit, Lord. that you would you would water those seeds that have been planted into the lives of of pastors, kids, oh God.
01:30:18
Arik Nabie
Lord, strongly believe in that scripture. What would the profit a man he gain this whole world and lose his own soul? But Lord, i ah ah I also think that we don't want to lose the soul of our children either.
01:30:32
CODES
Amen.
01:30:33
Arik Nabie
So Lord, we ask that even now, Lord, even now, that all of our PK brothers and sisters out there, God, those who we know are hurting, those who have been through a lot, those who have been suffering, those who have been through the fights and have been running the races and don't know where to turn to, God, we pray that, Lord, you would be there for them.
01:30:59
Arik Nabie
that they would remember you, they would remember your victory on the cross, that they would not lose sight of who you are what you've done, because you are sovereign, that you are God and you are in control.
01:31:09
Arik Nabie
And so we ask the God of heaven, we ask, Lord, that even right now, that your Holy Spirit would come with your love, with your joy, with your peace, with your comfort, oh God, and rule and reign in our hearts, oh God.
01:31:11
CODES
Okay.
01:31:25
Arik Nabie
I pray over our generation right now, Lord. And if all I can say is that, Lord, may they be the generation that will keep the faith, O God. Let them be the generation that will keep the faith, Lord, that if you should come back tomorrow, that this will be the generation that will say, we have kept faith, O God.
01:31:46
Arik Nabie
Lord, let it be done. Give us your wisdom. Give us your understanding. and Give us your power and your spirit, Father.
01:31:54
Arik Nabie
the precious Holy name of Jesus we pray.
01:31:54
CODES
amen
01:31:57
CODES
amen amen thank you all for joining us in this episode with with um covenant diaries please do all to subscribe to our channel don't just watch like comment Share.
01:32:15
CODES
Share. Because listen, if you want to help us spread the gospel, that's the way to do so. Because then and the the platform that we put this on uses algorithms, you know, the more their user engagement, they would put it out to other people.
01:32:30
CODES
So say it as you share in the word of God to other people as well. When you put, just push, it's just a tiny button, you know, under the video. it's It looks like a thumbs, you know, just in case you're wondering where it is.
Engagement and Community Interaction
01:32:46
CODES
just Just push the like button, right? Just click it. Maybe there's something, just pretend that there's something on your screen and just just push it, clear it out and push push that like button. and then put share it to a friend.
01:32:58
CODES
comments Comment something about you learned about the episode, right?
01:33:01
Arik Nabie
Thank you.
01:33:02
CODES
And then you also subscribe. Turn on your notification button so that way when we do post new episodes, you'll be able to be notified as soon as we post them.
Closing Blessings and Gratitude
01:33:13
CODES
With that, God bless you you spread the word, as you like, and as you comment.
01:33:20
CODES
More blessings to you. God bless you all, and thank you for joining us again.
01:33:26
CODES
with Covenant Diaries. Bye.