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0:00:00 – Jaime Luce

Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thank you for joining me today. I have a very simple but profound message I would love to share with you about not staying where we are, not being stuck in the circumstance that we’re in. I want to show you how to make the decision to get up and get out, and I’ve got several examples for you to go to in scripture. So let’s get started. Okay, we’re going to be looking at several passages of scripture today, three in particular, but the first one, and our main text for today, is going to be found in 2 Kings, chapter 7. And I want to give you a little background. Before we start, I want you to think about your life. If there have ever been circumstances where you were dealing with a sudden problem, something is or even if it’s not sudden, something that is come upon you and you’ve been sitting in it, you’ve been dealing with it. It’s been a long time. It’s a struggle that there is always something that God is wanting to teach us, show us and propel us into what he has for us. He never wants us to remain stuck.

If you look at the life of Joseph and we’re not going to be talking about Joseph today but if you look at his life, he had this promise and it took years before that promise came to fulfill it. And not only did it take years to fulfill it, but every possible thing that seemed contrary to that word was what would happen in his life, whether that’s betrayal, selling by his brothers, them not caring about him, not loving him, and lying to his father about his well-being. He’s sold. He’s now lied about while he’s doing a good job, I mean, he just seems to. He gets into prison. He’s forgotten about, even though he helps the prisoners. It didn’t matter what good things he did. It all seemed to be contrary to what the promise of God was for his life and he just seemed to get evil in return for his good. And you can feel that way. You can feel like why is this happening to me? Why am I in this mess? I didn’t choose this. I don’t want this. This happened to me. It came from the outside. I didn’t expect this. Someone else did this. Whatever the circumstance. It could be you, it could be somebody else, it could be just life, it could be finances dealing with our inflation and economy right now.

Whatever it is that you’re dealing with, just know that, whatever God has spoken to you, about you, for your life is going to take place, so you’re going to have to settle it in your heart that you really are a believer, that you really do believe what God has said about your life. We believe, according to scripture, that we are his children. We believe that, by salvation in Jesus Christ, that we have promise of what he has predestined us to have, what he has chosen for us to have, what he has designed for our life, that he has a plan and a purpose that is good. His will for us is good. He loves us. He desires good for us.

It doesn’t mean that our life is free from trouble. We do live in a sin, fallen world. We deal with people who walk after the flesh and not after the spirit. We are touched in our five senses. We feel and know what’s going on. If it’s raining outside and you go outside without a coat or an umbrella, you’re going to get wet, you’re going to get cold. If you don’t have coat on. If it’s hot outside, you’re going to feel it, you might sweat, you might get uncomfortable. Those are the natural things that happen because of the world we live in. But none of those natural things supersedes what God has spoken for your life, over your life, and has planned for your life. So go ahead and get in mind whatever it is that you’re dealing with or that you know is a struggle or something that you want to move past. I mean, we’re talking about going from, you know, surviving to thriving. You don’t want to just survive, and the story that we’re going to read is about four men who, literally, were just surviving.

This is in the days of Elisha, the prophet Elisha, and God has given Elisha a word. The children of Israel are under siege from the Syrians and they are in grave famine, and the price that they are having to pay because there is no food for even dove dung I mean that it’s atrocious to think that that’s what they were eating and how expensive it was to get it. Because you had nothing, you had no choice, this was what you had, this was their circumstance, this was what the children of Israel were facing. And when they are facing this and Elisha comes on the scene and he says that God says by this time tomorrow you’re gonna, bread is going to be plentiful and the prices are completely dropping. Nothing is going to be. It’s not going to be like this at all. It’s going to be a completely different world by tomorrow.

And of course, they don’t listen, they don’t believe. And but the word of God went forth. And because the word of God went forth, it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. You’ve heard me say this over and over again. If God has said it, it has no other choice. God’s word will happen. So cement that in your heart. What has God said? If you don’t know what God has said, then this today, I pray, is an endeavor to help you figure that out. What is God saying for you? So let’s read this passage and then we’ll dive in. Okay, we’re going to start in verse three.

Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance of the gate and they said to one another why are we sitting here until we die? So get the picture You’ve got a famine going on inside the gates and they don’t dare go outside the gates because they, not the Assyrians. The Syrian army is there. And so these four lepers who can’t go in the gates, they have to live outside the camp because of their leprosy. This is what they’re saying. They don’t have food either, they don’t have anything either, and their condition is even worse because physically they have leprosy. Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, let us enter the city, the famine is in the city and we shall die there, and if we sit here we die also. So now Let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives, we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.

So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another behold, the king of Israel has hired against us, the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us. So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was. And they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver, gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them. Then they said to one another we are not doing right. This day is a good day, a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now, therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household. So they came and called the gatekeepers of the city and told them we came to the camp of the Syrians. I Lost my place and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were. Then the gatekeepers called out and it was told within the king’s household. To finish that up.

Without reading the whole passage, you can go back and read it. Elisha’s word came to pass completely and One man he said that you would see it but you won’t get to enjoy of it he died right there in the trample into the city. That word came to pass. Everything changed. There was no longer a siege, every they had food, they could go in and outside the city. Everything had been done, just as the word of God had spoken.

But I want us to concentrate on these four lepers because they did something that we can learn from. You know, the Old Testament is given to us Not necessarily to follow the letter of the law, because we’re now under grace through Jesus Christ. However, the Old Testament is a type and a shadow of everything to come. There are lessons we can learn. There are principles of God that don’t change. God doesn’t change. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. He’s reliable, he’s faithful. So we can look at what was done, that was right, that was godly, that was holy, that was Of a prophet for our lives, and we can take that. That’s why I can read the Psalms and the Proverbs and they could be a blessing to my life. Now I can put those Proverbs to use. They’re still right, they’re still good. So we’re gonna look at the principles that these four lepers Used, because that will impact our life today, if we choose to.

If you feel stuck, if you feel like they did, we’re sitting here and we’re gonna die here. We’re gonna die here. There’s no hope for us here. We’re just gonna die here. If that’s the way you feel, whether that’s in your emotions, whether that’s in your circumstance, whether that’s job Relationships in your marriage or with your children Maybe you have a lost child and you feel like it’s hopeless. Maybe you feel like your finances are just crumbling. This economy is killing you, whatever the circumstance, if your body is dealing with sickness and you’ve gotten a bad report and you feel like if I sit here I’m gonna die, folks, we can learn from scripture how to not stay where we are but to move Forward. There is a way forward. They did a couple of things and I’ve got some notes here that I want to give to you.

You know, Dr Henry cloud, who’s a Christian psychologist, said growth isn’t about being comfortable, it’s about moving forward. That is so true. It’s. You’re not gonna be comfortable and if you are, you probably aren’t growing a whole lot. I’ve mentioned this before, but I just remember so vividly because the pain was real, the growth pains. When I was growing up and it didn’t matter how much work I did on my muscles and my legs, because the pain was in my bones. I was growing and it hurt. I could feel the growth like. But the growth is good. It’s a good sign that things are going on. I’m growing as I should. If I’m not growing, there’s a problem and folks we there’s.

There’s a Misnomer that we just, even though we know when we hear the words that that’s not true. We act out in the in in a way that believes it, that it is true and that’s that if we are not growing you, we think that if I’m doing nothing, that I’m actually Stag, that I’m right there, stay, that I stay there, that I’m able to maintain. But that’s not true. You are doing one of two things always you are either growing or you are regressing. You are not staying the same because the world is constantly changing around us and it is possible and necessary to continually grow, to continually be growing and learning and doing more things. That accomplishing more for the kingdom of God. We need to be busy about our father’s business. He said that when he’s that he is coming back, but that he expects us, until he comes back, that we are to occupy. That word occupy Means to be busy doing something. You are to be occupying taking territory. You’re to be growing and planting. He says marrying and and having children and continuing in your life. We are to be doing those things and building the kingdom of God. So there are three things that these men did and these things are Necessary for all of us to do.

They did what I’m gonna call take inventory. This is really important take inventory, and there are three things to do in taking inventory. The first thing to do is to look where you were, to acknowledge where you are, and look at where you’re going. We see this acted out in the lives of the children of Israel. This was a great example of them because, to look back, when Moses was dealing with them, he would constantly refer back to. We’re not going back to Egypt.

Yes, your history plays a part in having to reteach you. They were a stiff neck people because they were. They had lived generations for 400 years. They’re in Egypt. They are influenced by the land that they’re living in. They are influenced by those around them and eventually they were not only influenced but they became enslaved to it. Your environment matters. It is critical to your success in your life as a Christian, as a family, in your job. Your environment really matters and that environment, what they looked at the inventory was to look at where I came from.

Yes, I understand that that’s part of my life, but that is not where I am now. I am not who I used to be. I am saved. I am no longer the sinner If that means I have to deal with the shame and deal with the pain of my past. So be it. Let’s face it, let’s acknowledge it, but let’s also understand that it is now under the blood. Let’s come clean so that we can be free. That’s why the scripture tells us to confess our sins one to another so that we can be free, we can be healed. So we want to go through our confession of understanding our past. But we are now saved. We are now in the present. What are we looking forward to? We are looking forward to eternity. So you can see how that happens in our life Dead in sin, alive in Christ. And eternity awaits us once we leave this physical encapsulation, this physical life that we’re tied to.

Well, the children of Israel. They had an Egypt, a past. They had a present where they were in the desert. But where were they going? Why were they following Moses? Because they were going to the Promised Land. So you see this progression, right, we see that even I mentioned Joseph. It’s the same thing in Joseph’s life. He knew there was a word from God that was propelling him forward. That was his forward looking to the fulfillment of that word. But it started with a family history and a word from God that didn’t come to pass. His present life usually involved being a slave and forgotten. But what was he waiting on? Why did he keep? What did he? He continued to move forward. He continued to believe in the promise and eventually, the promise did come to pass.

Well, we look at these four men and you’re going to need to do this in your life. Yes, you acknowledge the past, you recognize where you are now, but you’re going to be looking towards the future. What does God have for you? If you feel stuck and you’re in a mess right now, you have to know that is not where God’s calling you. You’re not going to remain there. God doesn’t want you stuck there. God wants you free. He wants you living in the promise that he’s got for you. Yes, there are seasons in our life. There are timings in our life. God has purposes and plans that have timings in them.

Joseph was one of those. He needed to be in Egypt at a particular time because he had to be there at the time that God was ordaining for these circumstances to take place and this famine to take place, and Pharaoh’s going to have a dream and he’s going to need to interpret it, so Joseph needs to be nearby. All of this was a timing issue. So Joseph had to be patient on the will of God. And the word of God will test you that’s what the scripture tells us that it tested Joseph while he waited. You might be in a circumstance right now and you think but this is testing me. The word is testing me. I’m not seeing what God promised come to pass yet. Just know it’s still will. Your test right now does not nullify the fact that God’s word that was spoken over you is still true and will come to pass. This test does not nullify what God’s doing. Your present condition does not change your future possibilities and what God has for you.

Okay, so these four men, they recognize that. What is their history? They contracted leprosy at some point. That was their history. Their present was that they are now dealing with leprosy and starvation and they have no choice to go into the city where their kinsmen and family are located, because the famine is there too. So in their current situation, they recognize we’ll die here and we don’t have a choice to go in this direction. I kind of liken that to when we say, lord, help me to turn to the right or to the left, that there’s a place he wants me to go.

Well, let’s say that going inside the gates of the city was to the right. We didn’t turn to the right because that was death for them. There had to be another way, there had to be another option. So let’s look at what they said again. Okay, why are we sitting here until we die? And you need to ask yourself that question too. This is the examination of right now, where you are. Right now, if I stay here and if I don’t do anything about this, I’m gonna die. If we say, let us enter the city, the famine is in the city and we shall die there. So they know we can’t go there. It’s kind of like saying I can’t go back. The children of Israel could not go back to Egypt and these lepers cannot go back to the city because they were out of the city, they could not go back into the city. So you can’t go backward, you can’t stay where you are. But let’s keep reading. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives, we shall live, and if they kill us, we shall but die. So they understand.

Okay, to move forward has risk To move forward. Definitely it has risk and it’s gonna take some faith that we can even attempt. This is gonna take faith because they’re lepers. You’re trying not to be seen but you’re trying to get into a place that might have food and there’s a possibility of being captured and this could go wrong. And then our hope is that we have favor. I mean, you’re hoping for a lot when a lot is stacked against you.

Right, and sometimes it can feel that way that to move forward seems so scary and risky. It seems risky, you’re afraid you’re going to lose, but you have to face that right now you’re not winning. It’s not like you’re winning right now and you’re letting go of something that you have. You have to face that. What you’re, we can’t. We have to be those who are willing to look and say this is actually me being in denial, that if I stay here, stay like this. I am denying the state that I am actually in and that is that I am actually regressing. It is getting worse. I am not taking ground, I am not growing, I am not progressing. I cannot stay here.

Yes, there’s risk involved, but there’s faith. There’s faith in the word. There’s faith that God is who he says he is. We exercise our faith that says you spoke a word over my life or you’ve given me a promise and your word I have. Your word and your word cannot fail. We have to have faith while we take the risk, these kind of decisions that we have to make, to get up and go where it’s risky, to make a change, to do something that’s scary.

There’s also an element, though and this is very necessary which is hope, because there is hope that it’s not always gonna be like this. In God we have hope. It will not always be like this Child of God. Your circumstance can change. If you’re willing to step out, if you’re willing to walk by faith and not by sight, you have hope. You have hope, and then, with that hope comes possibilities.

God is the God of possibilities. What do we say? How do I know that? How do I know there’s possibilities? Because he says he is not limited. He is the God of the impossible. You might think it’s impossible. He says no, it’s possible. He is the God of possibilities. You serve a God who says all things are possible with me. There is nothing impossible for me. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me right.

I quote that scripture a lot, a lot, and you need your scriptures and your toolbox. That’s why the word tells us to hide His word in our heart. We hide that word. It becomes available, it springs forth. He brings it to our remembrance. He helps us to see what we need to see. He helps us know what we need to know. He helps to take care of us when we need to be taken care of. He’ll bring to your understanding something. He’ll help you to come up with the when you think but I don’t know what to do. Jamie, that doesn’t help me. I don’t know what to do. But God can all of a sudden bring your attention to something. He can show you something when you’re in a moment of distress. God can show you what you need to see in order to bring that freedom and bring help in your distress.

For instance, I was driving down the freeway one day. My husband happened to be in a separate car. We had went somewhere and we were going home in our separate cars and he was just a little bit ahead of me and he’s in the fast lane, the lane closest to the median, in the center, and I’m over in the far right lane, well, next to me in the second lane is a truck. It’s like a really old truck and you could tell this is like a work truck. It almost looked like a farming old truck. It’s been used a lot, the paint’s really coming off and it’s big and old and by looking at it at first you would think it’s a really old sturdy truck.

But as I was driving, my attention immediately went to the front passenger tire and I’m watching the tire and it dawns on me as I’m watching this tire, that tire because it can look like a tire is wobbly because there’s dirt on the tire and the rotation and how fast it’s going. And you’re seeing the dirt and it looks like the tire is wobbling. And it’s not wobbling, it’s on secure. And I’m looking at this tire but I’m seeing it and I’m saying that tire is wobbling, that tire is going to come off and when this shock hit me that that tire is going to come off of that car, immediately I knew I’ve got to get over Because if it comes off and I’m on the freeway it is literally going to hit me and that truck is going to crash down when that tire comes off and it’s going to skid and it’s going to hit me. I am in real danger if I stay right here. And so the Holy Spirit brought that to my attention and I immediately started pulling to the right to get off the freeway. And as soon as I did, sure enough, that tire came flying off of that and was speeding at me at a high rate, and I had to hit my gas and get over to the right as quick as I could. I barely missed that tire. I mean, I didn’t praise God, but I barely missed that tire. If I would have stayed in that lane I would have been injured. My car would have been damaged, to say the least. Something bad would have happened.

And it’s like these four lepers If we stay here like this, we’re going to die. And you’ve got to understand. You have to heed the warning signs. If God is pointing something out to you, or if your emotions are screaming at you that you can’t take this anymore, if your physical body is anxious or tired or stressed out, those are the signs, folks, it can’t stay like this. We’ve got to make a change. We’ve got to do something different. If I stay here, I’m going to die. So we need the courage. Yes, we can ask the Lord to help and give us courage. But we have to understand we’ve got to take steps to make those changes. We’ve got to assess where we’ve been, where we are and where God’s taking us. I wanted to point out, I want you to look at Philippians 3. And we’re going to look at verses 3 through 12, philippians 3, 3 through 12. Because Paul is a great example of this. He is giving us a snapshot of saying I know where I came from, I know where I am and I know where I’m going. That this is not just an Old Testament passage, this is New Testament principle. That we are to always be looking forward and going in that direction.

Do not get stuck when you stay in the position that you are. The number one devil you’re probably going to fight is self-pity, and self-pity is chains. It is a prison and it will not let you go. It will make you think you can’t get out. That prison of self-pity is a liar and you have to reject self-pity at every turn. You cannot fall into the self-pity. The reason you can’t is because it lies against the very thing that you need to do. Self-pity says I didn’t put myself here. This bad thing happened to me. Woe is me and now I’m stuck here. That’s not true. Something may have happened to you, somebody else could have caused something to happen to you, but self-pity will keep you there. And the opposite of self-pity is to say but I don’t have to stay here, I’m going to get up and move from here.

So let’s read this chapter 3, verses 3 through 12. For we are the circumcision who worshiped by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. He’s talking about his past. If anyone else thinks that he has reason for confidence in his flesh, I have more Circumcised. On the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.

As to the law of Pharisee as to zeal, a persecutor of the church. As to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, whatever I used to have, whatever gain I had, I counted. I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. So he’s talking about his present. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

To move forward is going to take faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. That by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect. My now says I haven’t already attained, I’m not already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. We press on, we move forward, we forget those things that are behind and we press forward.

You have to muster your courage. You have to say, like these lepers if I stay here, I’m going to die. I at least need to try. I need to at least take the risk that God is going to be for me and he’s not against me. I need to take the risk that his word is true. If I’m going to live this life as a Christian, I need to truly understand who he is, really, repent and walk away of who I’ve been and come to the knowledge of who I am in Christ and what is possible in God. If I move forward from this place, your current circumstance is not your final circumstance. What this is a great picture of because you will act in one of two ways.

Like I said, you’re either growing or regressing. If you think of this in terms of sports, there are two ways to play. You’re either on the offense or you’re on the defense. It takes two. You can’t be both. You can’t be on the offense and at the same time be on the defense. In football it’s real easy to know, because if you’re on the offense, you’ve got a quarterback, an offensive lineman, you’ve got receivers. All of those are great words for offensive, taking ground, being able to receive what God has for you. That’s the offense. If you’re on defense, you’re trying to stop somebody else from encroaching on what is yours.

So, folks, we have to get off of the defensive team here and get on to the offensive line. You’ve got to switch over here. You have to make a mental mindset that I am no longer going to sit here allowing myself to be beaten up by the enemy, beaten up by my past, being beaten up by old memories and old patterns and old addictions and old ways. The old man is dead. I have to literally I have to repent Now. You may not be thinking that you need to repent of sin You’ve already repented of sin but repent means to turn and go the other direction. You may need to do things differently. You may need to get up and go in another direction. These lepers could not go back to their land, to their city, to go back in their city. The children of Israel could not go back into Egypt. We have to sometimes turn and go another direction, something that is completely different than what you’re familiar with, something that’s contrary to where you’ve been. We have to go through that repentance in order to grow, in order to attain what God has for us.

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I want us to go, because I think this is a great picture of the, of how Paul shows us that you can’t remain in self-pity, that yes, you’re, you’ve gone through things. You may be going through things. Your hardest situation can be right now, but there is a mindset that we have to have. We have the mind of Christ. We have to go forward in the mind of Christ, not in the way that we’ve done it before, not in the mindset of the old man, in a renewed mind. We have to renew our mind daily. I think that we have to renew our mind daily, because every day we have to pick up our cross. Every day there’s a direction we need to be taking every day there’s a risk that we might need to be taking. If we’re doing it right, they’re most likely will be. They’re most likely will be.

If you look at the disciples’ lives, their lives were lives of risk. They were constantly being dealt a heavy hand from those around them. If we look at how they all died and were martyrs, you can see that everything they did was risky. But only what is risked for the Lord is what’s worth it. You know you get married and there’s risk, because now you’re responsible for this other person, if you’re the man and to each other you’re responsible, and if you have children, you’re now no longer responsible for your lives. You’re now responsible for these children. But those things are good things. Those things are blessings. Those things are the abundance of the Lord and the multiplication of the fruit that he’s given you. This is the seed that he’s given you. You’ve now produced fruit and our job is to continually be multiplying what God has given us.

We look at the talents that Jesus said. And what did he say To the one who did nothing with His talent? He buried it. He said I’m leaving it right here. Well, that’s certain death. Jesus said to him you are a wicked lazy servant that at least if you to put it in the bank you could have made interest. But the one who went out to make more would make some risky thing. Those who are successful whether that be Stark Market, if that’s working in the real estate and land and homes and apartments and whatever buildings people who invest are taking risks but they are investing so that they have a future, so that they are building something. If we put money into an account that doesn’t make any interest, we’re just sitting on it. It’s doing nothing for us. Your life, if you just sit there, will do nothing for you and God will say it’s lazy, it’s wicked to stay in that position. I know that strong language, but we’ve got to be stirred to get up and not stay in self pity.

Paul gives a great passage that we can look at that will stir us up to action and to have a right mindset to understand that it matters how I view what I’m looking, if I am looking at my circumstance through the eyes of possibility, that, with God before me, who can be against me If I go through life with the lens that God has a purpose and a plan for my life and it’s good that he is ordering my steps. If I put on that lens, my decisions are different, my mindset is different, how I look at those risks is different, how I look at the possibilities is different. So let’s go there. The scripture is 2nd Corinthians 4. So let’s go to 2nd Corinthians 4 and we’re gonna read verses 7 through 11. 7 through 11. Okay, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. So we understand our power comes through Him and it is a surpassing power, the above and beyond. And he says we understand that. So, with that mindset, now let’s look at these next verses.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed. Have you ever been really confused? I have. I have dealt with real confusion, but not driven to despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Can you see the difference? Can you see the right perspective? Can you see the eyes that are saying I am looking forward to the prize or to the promised land. I am looking forward. I mean to go back to what we said at the beginning. What was the inventory? Where do you come from? Where are you now and where are you going? Folks, we have an opportunity to be not just those who change our lives, but those who change lives around us.

When we read the passage of the four lepers here, they are going in and the enemy’s gone. God did exactly what he said he would do Through Elisha. His Word was already in motion, the enemy was already dealt with and taken care of. And that’s your current situation. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. You’re not fighting the devil right now. You’re fighting your memory of fighting things in your life. Maybe you are remembering things that before you came to Christ, that was a real battle. You had to fight the devil because you were living in sin. You were serving the enemy, but now, as a Christian, you’re not under that bondage anymore. You don’t have to fight that fight. He fights that fight. He fought that fight, he won that fight. So he’s taking care of the enemy. You don’t have to worry about the enemy. Your risk is not the enemy.

If you’re scared of what’s the enemy going to do, you’ve got the wrong focus, the wrong set of glasses on, because Jesus dealt with the enemy already. You don’t have to worry about the enemy. You’re not fighting for a victory over the enemy. That victory has been won. So you can just erase that right now. Take that fear and kick it to the curb. That’s not what you need to worry about. The risk might be okay, I have this much in my finances, but God’s telling me I want you to sow that. Or he might be saying I want you to sell that thing you love over there, because actually that’s going to provide for this thing I want you to do over here. But that’s the open door. So if you’ll do that thing that I’m telling you to do, you’re going to open the door I have for you.

It takes walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh to know what it is that God’s calling you to do, so that you can move forward and not stay in that stuck position, to lead you to the place of provision In fact, you know if you want more help in finances and knowing where your provision is, because for these men that’s what it was. They needed provision, they needed food. They were going to die. They, they, god took them not only to food. He took them to gold, he took them to silver, he took them to new clothes, he took them to horses and donkeys and every kind of other thing that everything that they could need was right there and that provision was found.

I wrote a book. You don’t need money, you just need God. I encourage you to get ahold of that. You can get that on Amazon. I lay out so many principles that deal with God leading in finances based off of real life circumstances that we walked through. It will be a true encouragement to you.

Do yourself a favor, and the holidays are coming up. They’d make great Christmas gifts. Get yourself a copy and get one for your friends and family. Side note, and commercial over. But I just want to encourage you that God has your provision in front of you and he has dealt with the enemy. He has dealt with the enemy, but there’s another principle that came into play that Paul is talking about here in this passage, when he says that these are all the things that are done for the glory of God, for the betterment of all the saints, right For all the saints. Well, these four lepers are indulging in all the goodness and provision that they have found and the safety and the plenty that they now have, and they realize this isn’t good that we have this and keep this to ourselves.

We need to share this, we need to put this out there. We need to let all of our brothers and sisters and family and kinsmen know. We need to go and make sure the king knows there’s safety now the enemy’s been dealt with. Folks, we have a job to do. We’ve got to share the good news. We have to make a march forward and you know, this is beautiful because we need one another. We need one another.

I think I mentioned already the scripture that says that we confess our sins one to another and then we’re healed. If I didn’t, I just did. But that scripture is to help us know we need one another. The body of Christ works together. We have the whole passage that Paul teaches us about the body of Christ and how one part can’t say that they don’t need the other. We need one another, we need the whole body of Christ and we intricately work together. All our parts are knit together and work just so, just so that everything works right. And so we need one another.

And if you think about these four lepers, they went in together. They said let’s do this together. If you need to call somebody, say, hey, I need some accountability, I need to move forward from this place and I need some help. Maybe you need to get some good counsel. Maybe you need to get around some people and change your environment, because your environment that you’re in right now might be bad for you. You might need to change your environment. It gets some people around you and those who will encourage you, those who can hold you accountable, those who need help too, said we can do this together. You got your buddy system.

How many times I remember back so many years ago. I used to be really, really faithful in the gym years and years and years ago, but the only reason I was was because my sister would go with me and we were buddies and we would push each other. I mean, if we would do something and we’d meet our goal and then the next one of us would do more well, then that challenged the other one and we weren’t doing to one up one another, but we were saying we can do it. We can do it. The scripture tells us that it’s good when two walk together, because if one falls, the other one can pick them up, one can be in the encourager, and then, when the situation is flipped, then now you’re the one being the encourager, lifting them up when they fall down, and we need to do that for one another. We can accomplish so much more if we will do that, if we will link arms with those who are like-minded, who understand.

Don’t go and ask somebody who has no idea and you know they’re not going to help you, just because you’re thinking well, I got somebody, but if they’re not going to help you, don’t go get on, get people who are like-minded and get good counsel. Talk to a pastor, a trusted mentor in Christ, somebody that you know will help you. If you need help, if you need help putting a plan together, then do that. You know brainstorm. Sit down and spend real time saying, okay, lord, bring to my attention the wobbly wheel so that I know what I need to do. Pay attention, help me, show me what I need to focus on so that I’m able to do what I need to do.

Folks, all of these things are important and they shared Once they attained and saw the benefit of the risk that they took. They shared the good news. We need to do that. Not only do we need to share the good news of Jesus Christ and how he saves us, but we need to share in our triumphs. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb in the word of our testimony. These men took their testimony and made sure the King heard it, so that all the people heard it and that they all benefited from it. And that’s what we need to do too. We share our testimony. We share with one another how we did what we did. We help one another, we encourage one another.

What does Jesus say are the two most important commandments? That we love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul, our strength, all of our might, but we also love our neighbor as ourself. We need to care for one another and be there for one another, not tearing one another down, not being critical of one another, not being the one to say you know, one of the four or two of the four or three of the four could have said I’m too afraid, let’s not do it, we’re going to die, they’re going to kill us, we’ll never have and have the Debbie Downer. We don’t want to have that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense if your name is Debbie, but you know what I’m talking about.

We have to understand that we need to be those who are encouragers, not discouragers. We need to be encouragers. What do we know about Barnabas? What does his name mean? He was an encourager. Why did Paul love having him around? Because he was an encourager.

Be an encourager. If that’s the first thing you need, encourage yourself. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. If there is nobody around and you feel totally alone, go get you some anointing oil. I know this sounds crazy, but go get yourself some anointing oil. Lay hands on your own self, pray over yourself. Pray over your mind that you have right thoughts, that you do not align your thoughts nor your words with things that are contrary to what the word of God says nor the plan that God has for you. And then, when you have that encouragement, go get help. Go get encouragement with somebody else, or be the encouragement. Give somebody a call today, somebody that you know might need to hear your voice. Send a text. I’m thinking about you. I’m praying for you.

We can do simple things, the simplest things. My daughter’s sister-in-law just had some babies and she was gonna go cook a meal and take that to her to be an encouragement. Sit with her and encourage her. Do you know? I heard of a study I couldn’t believe this that they had done a study on women with postpartum depression and it wasn’t really. There were no serotonin levels involved in it and it wasn’t even you go through hormonal changes, of course, but that was not the cause of depression. The cause of the depression was feeling overwhelmed. That they did a study and all of these women those who had somebody, who simply came to help them so they didn’t feel overwhelmed came out of that depression.

Folks, we need to be in courageers and not discouragers. If you need to sit with somebody and go through this process with them, all right, let’s talk about where we’ve been. Let’s talk about what’s affected us. Let’s talk about what we’re left with, where we’re at right now. But now let’s dream. Now let’s look to the promise of what God has said about our future. Now let’s put a plan down, let’s write it and make it plain so that we can run with it.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to do a vision board, put it before you look at it every day, if it’s put in a scripture that pops up on your phone every day. Set a reminder. Make sure you’re in your word, make sure you’re in prayer, bring your needs and requests to the Lord, but make sure you are wearing the right vision goggles to look at your life with. Make sure you’re doing like Paul and saying, yes, we were struck down, but we were not destroyed. You look at that through the lens of what God has called you to do and how he’s empowered you, and it will make all the difference. Thank you so much for listening.

Today. I wanna pray over you, heavenly Father. We just thank you for the gift of being your children, that you love us. You’ve called us by name. You have a purpose and a plan for our lives and you want us to succeed and to take ground for you, to bring you glory in the things that we do. Father, I ask that you bring help, clarity, where people need it, the focus that they need to write down the vision for their life, that you help them to process the old and to leave it there, to come into a knowledge of what you have for them and how to take them there. Help them bring focus to their mind. Let them see what they need to see. Help them understand what they need to understand. Father, and give them strength for the journey. Bring those encourages around them. Help them to cut off all of those things that are distraction or a lie from the enemy, or self pity or discourage us or the wrong environment. Give them wisdom, oh God, according to your word and according to your promise, and we will give you all the thanks and all the praise for it. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen, amen. I’d love to hear from you If you have walked through something like this.

I’d love to hear your testimony. If you’re going through this and God is bringing you through, I would love to hear about it. Send me an email at mail at jamieluce.com. Or you can go to my website and get ahold of all of my other material there. You can also find email and social media and all that there blogs, my book you can get there. You can also go to Amazon, but I’d love to hear from you and if you have read the book, oh, do me the favor, go on to Amazon. It would be a blessing to me if you would leave a review If you are listening to this podcast on any podcast platform.

Give me a review there. I’d love to talk to you and leave me comments on YouTube. I would love to hear from you on what’s happening, how God is using this to bless you. If this has encouraged you today and helped put you and set you in the right direction, I encourage you to share this. This can be the message that somebody’s waiting for the help, that somebody’s looking for the steps to know what to do and how to move forward from the place that they’re at. Thank you again for coming and spending some time with me today. I do appreciate you and love you so much. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.