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About The Episode:

Unlock the essence of Jesus’s teachings as we walk through the transformative Beatitudes and the wisdom of the ‘narrow gate.’ This episode promises to reshape the way you interact with the world, drawing upon the seminal principle of treating others as you would like to be treated. With the Word of God as our compass, we navigate life’s peaks and valleys, paralleling the clear-cut instructions for mundane tasks with the rich guidance embedded in Scripture. Join us as we offer insight into living a life in accordance with the kingdom of God, facing our joys and adversities with divinely inspired wisdom.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• A study into the Beatitudes 
• What is the Golden Rule and its implications for our daily choices
• The importance of looking through the lens of the fruits of the Spirit
• Why having a strong spiritual foundation is vital

Where to dive in:

(0:00:00) – Instructions and Warnings for Life (8 Minutes)

This chapter explores the profound significance of living by the teachings of Jesus, particularly through the lens of the Beatitudes and the concept of the ‘narrow gate.’ I share my reflections on how these teachings inform our interactions with others and our approach to life’s challenges. I emphasize the importance of treating others as we wish to be treated and consider the Word of God as our guide for navigating both the good and difficult days. Additionally, I draw an analogy between the clear instructions and warnings provided for the use of everyday tools, like a blow dryer, and the guidance and cautions found in scripture. This chapter aims to provide encouragement and insight for those seeking to align their lives with the kingdom of God, highlighting the value of scriptural wisdom in both times of joy and adversity.

(0:07:55) – Power of Asking, Seeking, Knocking (8 Minutes)

This chapter examines the importance of approaching scripture with the intention to understand God’s perspective, focusing on Matthew chapter seven, verses seven through 29. I highlight the significance of the attitudes we should embody as outlined in the Beatitudes, emphasizing the need to ask, seek, and knock with a genuine heart and diligence akin to that of a scientist or inventor. We explore the idea that asking for God’s guidance should align with His will and be for His glory rather than for selfish motives. Furthermore, I stress the value of seeking with persistence, assuring that true seeking leads to finding, and I encourage listeners to be attentive to what the Holy Spirit might be revealing to them through these verses.

(0:15:46) – Fair Treatment and the Narrow Gate (13 Minutes)

This chapter examines the biblical principle of asking and receiving, emphasizing that God, like a parent, knows what is best for us and will not give us something harmful when we ask for help. I discuss how this understanding applies to our interactions with others and the significance of the ‘Golden Rule.’ Furthermore, the chapter reflects on the narrow gate metaphor, suggesting that choosing the right path in life and in dealing with others can be challenging. I explore the idea that enduring hardship is often part of pursuing what is right and life-giving, encouraging listeners that the difficulty of the journey is acknowledged and expected in the pursuit of a righteous life.

(0:29:17) – False Prophets and the Fruit (10 Minutes)

This chapter explores the concept of false prophets and the broader meaning of false prophecies beyond the literal sense, focusing on the importance of recognizing wrong insights and instructions that could affect our future life and prosperity. I explain how scriptural passages guide us to discern false teachings by their fruits, highlighting that true prophecy aligns with the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. By reflecting on these qualities in ourselves and others, especially during challenging times, we can ensure that we’re on the right path, avoiding false teachings and embracing a life of faith and obedience to divine guidance.

(0:39:39) – The Road to Success and Life (15 Minutes)

This chapter examines the challenging journey of walking the narrow road that leads to life and success, emphasizing that true indicators of success are not miraculous deeds but the fruit of the Spirit within us. I stress the importance of adopting a heaven’s perspective to understand the righteousness of this path, citing the stark warning that not all who perform deeds in Jesus’s name will be recognized by Him. We consider the necessity of this narrow road and the resilience it builds, akin to a house founded on rock that withstands storms, as opposed to one built on sand that collapses. We explore Jesus’s authoritative teaching style, as one who not only enforces but creates the law, and conclude by reflecting on the astonishment of the crowds at His unique and empowering teachings.

(0:55:08) – Engaging Audience via Website and Email (1 Minutes)

This chapter, I share my latest blog post and encourage you to visit my website for more content. I remind you to subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay updated on new episodes. I also open the lines for communication, inviting you to send me an email with any comments or questions. It’s been a pleasure spending time with you, and I look forward to our next session together.

About your host: Jaime Luce’ testimony has daunting personal mountains and treacherous financial valleys. She was trapped in day-to-day stress and couldn’t see a way forward. But how she started is not how she finished! And she wants you to know God has a plan for your life too, no matter how tough it seems. Today, Jaime has been married to the love of her life for almost three decades, owns two companies, and has become an author and podcaster. God’s way is always the blessed way! 

Free chapter of Jaime’s new book: You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God: https://jaimeluce.com/book/

Connect with Jaime: 

Website: https://jaimeluce.com

Facebook:  / jaime.luces.page  

Instagram:  / jaime_luce  

LinkedIn:  / jaime-luce-00395691  

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

00:00 – Jaime Luce (Host)
Do also to them, for this is the law of the prophets”, and we know the golden rule. But let’s keep all this in mind asking and receiving, understanding how we deal with people, how we’re supposed to be dealt with, how we do to others what we want done to us Enter this is what really got me this morning, that the Lord really opened up to me today, verse 13, enter by the narrow gate. Okay. Keep this all in mind seeking, asking, knocking, right, okay, and that I am to treat others the way that I want to be treated. So, when we’re talking about dealing with people and our families or circumstances, no matter who we’re dealing with, this is people. Enter by the narrow gate. The Word of God. Welcome to the Jamie Luce podcast. Thanks for joining me today. I hope you’re having a good day today. My prayer is that I will help to somehow make that even better. The Word of God is our answer, no matter what our day holds, no matter what we’re facing, and God has provided for us all that we need for life and godliness. That is what he has promised us, and so today, my hope is that I will give you something that will surely make the whether it’s difficult or not. If it’s a good day, make it better. If it’s a hard day, make it maybe a little bit more able to carry, a little bit easier to get through. By this Word have you ever?

01:52
I’m into hair, I like doing my hair and I have a very particular blow dryer that I like to use. And I always laugh when I see random warnings on things that would seem obvious, but they’re not to everybody. And on a blow dryer, even though the instruction manual comes with instructions for use, there is a tag that is not removable, that is attached to the cord. This warning says do not put this in water while it’s turned on. So for those who maybe want to take a bath and think they’re gonna hold a blow dryer, you’re going to shock yourself to death. There’s a warning there for a reason. It doesn’t mean that the tool that you’re going to use is dangerous. It doesn’t mean that the tool that you’re going to use is difficult to use. It just simply means that there is a proper way to use it. So instructions are given, and then there’s a warning that you need to make sure and not do this, because in the event that you do do the thing that you’re warned against. Now it’s dangerous. Where in and of itself, it wasn’t dangerous, now it’s dangerous, and I wanted to give that analogy just to kind of give us a clue to where we’re going today.

03:22
I was reading in the Beatitudes, and I don’t know about you. I have pondered a lot about the Beatitudes over the years and tried to unearth and make more sense of them for myself, because if you just simply read through them, you probably are going to miss quite a bit and maybe not understand a lot of what Jesus was saying. And yet this discourse that Jesus is giving goes to the heart of every type of emotion and thing that we would feel and be dealing with. And Jesus is giving us instructions for life. His instructions are not just instructions. His instructions are ways of living if you are one who wants to be a part of the kingdom of God. It’s how it works. It’s the instructions for use. And yet there are warnings in these instructions that we need to follow. And if we don’t heed the warnings, well then, what good are the instructions? It’s, they go hand in hand. I don’t get one without the other, and it’s important for us to look at our life and not think that just because we have God’s word that he’s going to show us how to get what we want, and think that there aren’t warnings and things that we need to not do, things that we need to keep ourself from for our protection, for the better use of the instructions to help us, to further us along our journey. And as I was reading today, it was very sobering. I had a very beautiful time with the Lord talking about this to him and him speaking to me about this, and I really felt it necessary to share it with you because I think it will really benefit all of us, especially if you are asking the Lord for things, if you’re in a time that’s not all mountain tops and roses and you’re feeling the thorns instead and it’s a valley time, or things are just not what you expected them to be, which is normal. You’re not abnormal. You’re not doing something wrong, at least maybe, and if you are, then I’ll give you instructions and warnings today that maybe will help that, but it doesn’t mean that things are wrong, and I really wanted to encourage you today. I know that when I’m gonna read this scripture, you’ll think well, jamie, how is that encouraging? And yet it is.

06:10
If you understand, in a strange way, those who prepare for battle. If you’ve been called up and you are in the military, you don’t consider your military training your boot camp. You don’t consider that to be fun or enjoyable. That’s not a mountain top experience for you, unless you’re someone who loves to fight and train and do all those things. Maybe then for you it is, but for most people it’s hard. It is a discipline that is learned, that goes far beyond any disciplines that have been learned prior to. It pushes every boundary, it forces growth, even in its most uncomfortable state, and so you wouldn’t consider that joyous and enjoyable. However, if you are called up to battle, you will then look back and you will be so grateful and treasure that boot camp training. You’ll look at it with different eyes. It will no longer feel the same way it felt while you were in the midst of that training and you will understand that it was good. And sometimes, folks, we go through things and it’s hard, it’s really hard. I understand me too. It’s hard, but it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It doesn’t mean that we should be looking at it with negative eyes and that there are positive, good things that are coming from it.

07:54
So with that, I want us to turn to Matthew, chapter seven, and I’m gonna read you a good portion of scripture today, verses seven through 29. We’ll take it a bit at a time and I really think this is they call them the be attitudes, because they are the attitudes that we should be Be attitudes, and it really does help us to have a God perspective. You know, if you read your Bible to read it, if you’re reading it just to read it so that you can say you read it, you’re probably not gonna get a whole lot from it. But when you read something and you read it with the endeavor to know who God is and how he thinks not how I think, and not just what I should do, but how does God think If I know how he thinks, then I know how I should think. It really does give me more tools to use. It really does help me to live in his kingdom now and not waiting for eternity to do that.

09:04
So let’s look at chapter seven, matthew, chapter seven, and I’m gonna start with verse seven because in this new year, I know that we are asking things of God. It’s not wrong to ask, it’s actually right to ask, and so I wanted to start here. And yet, if you will listen closely, you know the scripture says how many times he who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit is saying. I’m challenging you today. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you as you hear these verses? And I’m hoping to give you something deeper, new insight, revelation, something more pushing beyond the boundaries. Okay, it says ask and it will be given. You, seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened. Now, before I go on, I want to kind of hone in on that just for a moment.

10:20
If you’ve ever lost something that you needed, whether it be your car keys, whether you’re like the story that Jesus gave the parable of the little woman who lost her coin whatever is lost, things that are important, important papers, things that you need you look with diligence. You look in places you think it shouldn’t be. You unearth things. You have to move things out of the way. You know, there’s always the joke that no one’s in the house knows how to find anything but a mom.

10:57
Right, and this morning I had a funny thing happen. I had taken the trash bag out of the trash can to put it aside so I could take it out. And while I did, my son came into the room and he noticed that there was no bag in the can and he said you want me to put a new bag in here? And he opened the cabinet and I was so appreciative that he was coming behind me without me asking to finish the job for me and to put the new bag in. And he opened the cabinet and this particular son he can never find anything, it seems, and he’s always asking me to help him look. And he’s looking under the cabinet where the trash bags are kept. But he’s looking and he doesn’t see them. He says, do we not have any trash bags? And I said, yes, they’re underneath the role of paper towels that was sitting there. And so he moved the paper towels and saw the box. But he would never have moved the paper towels had I not told him to. He wasn’t diligently looking, he was just looking. It’s you know, and we can be that way and we could say but, lord, I do, I did look for the answer, I did read your word, I did. But were we really looking.

12:07
There’s a difference. There is a difference and there’s a diligence behind that difference, if you so, if you ask so, there’s a particular asking. Well, are we asking according to the way God has taught us to ask? Are we asking according to the will of God? Are we asking for things that we know God has designed for us matches what he has for our life and what he’s promised us? Am I asking for selfish motives, for personal gain, or am I asking to glorify God? Am I asking? There’s a different kind of ask when it’s selfish or when it’s for the sake of giving and being generous, or whatever that is that we’re trying to do, to really look at our motives. So, when we ask, there’s a certain way to ask, right, and it’s a seek. I just explained seeking.

13:06
When you seek for something, are you really looking? I you know, when I read this today, what popped. The image that popped into my mind was a scientist or an inventor, and how they are looking for solutions through their scientific methods or through trial and error and trying different ways, different. These people end up finding and they failed at finding multiple hundreds, thousands of times. I wish I had the correct number. I know the story is kind of famous, for I believe it’s Alexander Graham Bell. But anyway, one of our great inventors, who invented whatever it was that we needed, failed however many times before he got it right, but he never considered those failures because they were all the unearthing of what was not the right way until he found the way that worked. And so we tend to look at our seeking and finding differently. We tend to think I looked, I didn’t find, instead of realizing that my it’s almost a job, as if I was a scientist, as if I was an inventor.

14:26
I dig through the word and I’m seeking for God’s will and I’m seeking for his answers, and I seek him in the things that I don’t know and I seek him. How do I seek him for things that I don’t know and answers I don’t have? He’s taught us through prayer and the spirit, because when we don’t know, we know he does. So there’s a particular kind of seeking him I seeking in the right way, and if I seek, he promises that I will find. Okay, so it’s also we’ve.

14:58
I didn’t do it today, but I’m sure you’ve heard this taught before, that the way that this is used, the actual grammar and proper usage of the words here means that we ask and keep on asking, we seek and keep on seeking. It’s continual and it is always present, and so, because of that, we are to always be doing that, not it. It’s not a one and done. We do this regularly, we continue this and then, for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. So we continually knock, knowing, having faith, trust in the God who never lies, that that door will open at its appointed time. I’ll talk about that in our next episode, but so let’s continue reading verse nine.

15:46
Or which of you, if his son asks him for bread? Now Jesus is backing up what he’s just talked about asking, seeking and knocking Of which of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent. If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? So we, god knows what’s good for us.

16:23
In that knowing of what’s good for us, I know, as a parent, no, that’s not a good gift. I shouldn’t give that because of this, that and the other. I know that’s how this will have an impact. I know what this looks like down the road. My experience tells me that this is good for them, based off of them, and what’s not good for them. I am to know my child and based off of my knowledge of my child, I know what is a good gift for them or not.

16:49
Well, that knowledge of knowing and understanding that is also how we need to understand the father deals with us. I know what’s good for you and I will never give you something that’s not good for you. You might ask for bread, but if I know that it’s gonna be a stone, I’m not gonna give that to you. If you ask me for fish but I know that really that’s a serpent I’m not gonna give that to you. But on the flip side, if I know that’s good for you, you’re hungry and bread is your answer. I will give bread to you. And if I know that that fish is what will satisfy and that provides the means to the end for you, I’m not gonna give you a serpent. I know that’s good for you, I will give you the fish. So you have to understand both sides of this, of how the father deals with us, how he deals with answering these requests. Then he moves to this next thing and these things all flow together.

17:47
These are not just separate thoughts from one another. They actually go hand in hand with one another. So let’s continue. So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law of the prophets and we know the golden rule. But let’s keep all this in mind asking and receiving, understanding how we deal with people, how we’re supposed to be dealt with, how we do to others what we want done to us Enter. This is what really got me this morning, that the Lord really opened up to me today.

18:29
Verse 13, enter by the narrow gate. Okay, keep this all in mind seeking, asking, knocking right okay, and that I am to treat others the way that I want to be treated. So when we’re talking about dealing with people and our families or circumstances, no matter who we’re dealing with, this is people enter by the narrow gate. Oh, I hope you have ears to hear today. When you’re dealing with people and you deal with how you treat them and how you want to be treated enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard. That leads to life, and those who find it are few. Now I’ll keep reading in just a few minutes, but this is the verse that I want you to really think about today, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard. That leads to life, and those who find it are few. Now we know, just based off of the whole gospel we’ve talked about the narrow road, we’ve talked about a wide road that we need to be on the straight and narrow path. Other scriptures also talk about that, but I’m talking about the context right here in dealing with people, and this really gets to the heart of who we are, to the motives of our heart when we deal with one another. So, whatever you wish for others to do to, you, do also to them, for this is the law, and the prophets enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard. That leads to life, and those that find it are few. Folks. Our deep, deep, deep, deep, deep dealings.

21:05
And the right way to deal with things, the right way to look at the difficulty that we might be experiencing right now is to understand that Jesus himself is saying that this way is a narrow way. Narrow usually means that you’re hemmed in. You don’t have a lot of wiggle room. You’ve got to stay the course. You might even have to squeeze through. You’ve heard, I’m between a rock and a hard place. That can be a very narrow place. And it says and the way is hard that leads to life. And this, right here, is why I use the analogy of boot camp, because the way is hard that leads to life.

21:54
Sometimes doing the right thing is really hard. Having a right heart, having right words with someone, having a right understanding and a right mentality and a right motive in my heart is hard. And many don’t use this way and they give in to themselves and they think only of themselves. They are not treating others the way they wish to be treated. They aren’t dealing with life and looking at their circumstance in this way and they think it should be easy. And the minute it gets hard, they think something’s wrong.

22:30
Folks, jesus is saying it is hard and that’s encouraging.

22:35
Please hear me, that’s encouraging. It’s encouraging because Jesus is saying yes, it’s hard to do the right thing. Yes, it is hard, it’s not easy to do what we’re called upon to do. Jesus doing what he did was not easy, but boy was it love, and boy did it accomplish what only it love could have accomplished. Only then was life truly found. And we cannot be so discouraged by the fact that it’s hard that we give up, and we cannot let the fact that it’s hard make us think that this isn’t worth doing or that we’ve done something wrong. We need the word to encourage our spirits. Yeah, it’s hard, I get it. It’s hard to do this, but it’s right and it’s the way that leads to life. If I knew? I mean, I love watching those shows kind of like N C I S and you know those, those shows where they have to figure out all the things that nobody else can figure out and it takes every method possible to find it out. And on an episode recently that I watched, there was a bomb that they had to deactivate and it’s very that’s hard to know what wire to cut is imperative and what wire not to cut is imperative. And if you mess this up, it could lead to massive destruction.

24:17
Folks, knowing what to do and doing it the right way is important. We need to be more critical and more strategic and more full of purpose in the way that we decide to speak and walk and live. It takes that for life to come about. If you are dealing with a very difficult, frustrating circumstance, it is important that you know the instruction and the warning. It is important that you understand what you’re going to need to do and what path you need to follow and what things you need to avoid in order to gain the advantage and know how to make it to the end successfully. This is so important. Don’t just take the wide road because it’s easy.

25:18
Change is hard and people don’t like making the changes that they need to make in order to see the results they need to see. That’s why people are not successful. The most successful people understand this and make the course corrections that they need to make and make the turns and the changes that need to be made, even though they’re painful. If I have put on a bunch of weight over the holidays and I need to get that weight off, it’s going to mean that I have to stop eating the way I’ve been eating and make the changes and probably exercise if I’ve not been exercising, and tell myself, no, we live in a society that does not want to be told.

25:55
No, I mean, we used to be. The worst thing was that we wanted things, now instant gratification. It’s gotten worse than that. Now it’s. You can’t tell me anything is wrong. There are no warnings. They want all the warning labels removed.

26:11
They want to say that the road to what you want is wide and is easy and you can do whatever you want. But, folks, that leads to ultimate destruction. It does not lead to life. We need to follow God’s instruction in order to make it, and that is a hard road. If you just make up your mind, you know what this is going to be hard. I know it’s going to be hard and it’s going to be worth it. It’s going to be worth it. This thing that I have to do, it’s going to be worth it. All. That’s all that matters. The success of this is what matters, not my temporary comfort. Yes, it’s hard, but, folks, with Jesus, you’re able, you are capable. You will get what you ask for. You will receive what you need. When you seek, you will find. When you knock, the door will be opened and good things your Father will give to you.

27:21
Let’s go ahead and read on. We’ll start in verse 15. Beware of false prophets, for who? For sorry? Who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits, are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits.

28:17
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29:16
So there are two things that we need to look at in this particular group of scriptures and, like I said, I want to be able to show you the difference in what a false prophet can mean, because we can get so stuck on just knowing the literal, but I think there’s a bigger context here and, like I said, a false prophet means a particular thing. So false prophets are. If you look at the word false, it means it’s an error or it is wrong. So it is wrong insights, because prophecy is supposed to be about things that are unknown to us. We usually tend to think it means things in the future, but it’s things that are being said that will impact us, about things that we don’t know. So what that is is wrong insights and or wrong instructions for future life and prosperity. So how do we then, if we understand that we can take this passage of scripture and open up our eyes, open up our understanding to what a false prophecy is. I’m not talking about the the obvious of a false prophet someone who gets up in the name of God and gives a prophecy and it is false, and that person falsely represents God. But I’m taking the words here to give us a bigger understanding of false meaning, a wrong, an error, not accurate prophecy, information about what is ahead, about things in our life that we need to understand, that we might not know. So again, I’m writing down that false prophets is wrong insights and instructions for our future life and prosperity.

31:17
How do we know if it’s false? So we go back to this passage in the scripture. It says that you will recognize them by their fruits. Our grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear fruit, good fruit, is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits.

31:55
So I wrote some notes here to myself because I felt like this is something that we need to pay attention to. I started off by giving us information about under having a right perspective on when something is good, even though it’s hard, and that sometimes, especially in this particular passage, how we are dealing with other people in the circumstances that we might be facing. And I wrote this note in my Bible, the fruit of the spirit, because you recognize false information, false prophecy, false oh gosh, what’s the way I want to say this to you. You know how we can worry about tomorrow. We don’t even know what tomorrow holds, but we’re worrying and we come up with all these scenarios in our minds about what’s going to happen, and that’s why we’re worrying. We’re worrying about all these different things and we’re anxious, and the Bible tells us not to be anxious, especially Now.

32:59
I can understand being anxious. If you have not asked the Lord. If you’re doing things that you know you shouldn’t be doing, then you then, of course, you would be anxious, but if you have asked the Lord we’re talking about asking, seeking, you know, knocking If you have asked the Lord, your father is not going to tell you wrong instructions about what to do going forward. He’s not a false prophet. And so, if you keep all of this in context. What I’m trying to tell you is that when you worry, when you know you’ve heard from the Lord, then you’ve now moved yourself out of faith. You’re no longer trusting the Lord. So these need to be signals for us.

33:49
Okay, because the fruit of the spirit how I am acting in the midst of whatever I’m facing shows my position. The fruit of this, of the spirit, is how I am to decipher, because a good fruit will not come from a bad tree. Bad fruit will not come from a good tree, and this is really important because so many times, this is what we get wrong. We need to examine our own fruit and the decisions, judgments, words and actions that we are making. What does the fruit show us? What does our fruit show us?

34:44
If the fruit of the spirit found in Galatians 5, 22 and 23 says love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. What is that? Telling us? That if I am doing the thing that I am supposed to be doing and it’s hard, because this narrow road is hard, this is not an easy thing Dealing with people in the right way, saying the right things, holding my tongue what I’m saying is that I can have a right understanding of what’s happening. I can know the right prophecy, not false prophecy, based off of the fruit that’s coming forth. So, yes, of course this is from others, but this is something that we need to be looking at for ourselves, because I have to make sure that I’m walking that narrow road, and it’s hard, it’s really hard Now if someone else is showing me the fruit of the spirit in a hard situation, that is so much easier to take.

36:01
So that’s not the hard part. It’s not hard for me to receive when someone is doing good. The hard part is for me, when I’m receiving bad, for me to turn and return good for evil, not evil for evil. Okay, so I have to look to see am I in love? Am I showing love? Do I have any joy? Do I have any peace? Am I giving peace or am I bringing confusion? Am I bringing dis-ease? Patience, kindness, goodness, am I remaining faithful in faithfulness? Am I gentle in what I’m doing? Am I exuding and using self-control over myself, my mouth, my actions, my thoughts, all of these things?

36:43
The word teaches us that there is no law against, so there’s nothing that would then none of the fruit of the spirit. None of these good things will ever hinder me on my narrow road. I will never be kicked off of this road. I will never end up in destruction by using these things, because there is no law against these things. So we have to examine the fruit, because it is the fruit that indicates your success. This is really important. It is the fruit of the spirit in your life that is what will cause success, not the outcomes, the indicators of success is the fruit of the spirit. That the fruit of the spirit indicates if you are successful, not the outcome. Not the outcome, because the outcome, we would think then, would make this not hard. We would think that the right outcome and doing the right thing would mean that I’d make the hard thing go away. But the scripture we just read says that there is a narrow road, it is a hard way to go, and yet the way the indicates success is actually the hard thing. The fruit of the spirit is produced in those hard things. That lets us know what’s really going on inside of us, what the work that the Lord is really doing inside of us. So I wrote down this example for us.

38:13
If you think of somebody who has been either severely injured in an accident or they have to overcome a severe illness, something that has truly changed the way that they are living their day to day life. If you realize, let’s say, someone’s in an accident and in order to gain function back, mobility back in whatever limb or part of their body that was injured, they most likely must do rehab, even if it’s your lungs. On the internal of your organs, there are breathing things you have to exercise as you have to do, and the things that you have to do every time. In fact, I was just with some family, some in-laws my brother and sister-in-law, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law was talking about when he had an injury to his rotator cuff in three different places, but because the tears were internal, he was not able to do surgery. Instead he was doing rehab and he said that rehab was so incredibly painful that there were times when he would just have to yell out I cannot do this anymore. The pain was so great and then the woman who was doing the exercises with him said oh, does that hurt? Yes, it hurts Sometimes.

39:39
Walking this narrow, hard road hurts. It’s hard, it can be painful, but it is the road to life, it is the road to success. The fruit of the spirit is your indicator, not the outcome. We’ve got to get a right mindset. We have to have the heaven’s perspective to know what is right. Let’s go on, because if we continue to read, we’re going to see why this is necessary, why this narrow road is necessary. Again, it’s a hard road, it’s necessary, but let’s keep reading. Go to verse 21. 21.

40:21
Not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father, who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name? What were we just talking about? False prophets, false prophecy. Did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? That’s so sobering when you think of so many giving prophetic words, so many who say they cast out demons, so many who say they are seeing miraculous happen. And I believe in all of those things. But there are those who will say and Jesus himself said, this road is wide. Keep in context he’s saying there’s a wide road. Many find it. That’s the way they go and we have to be those on the narrow road. It is a hard road.

41:38
And he’s saying there are those who say we did all these things in your name, lord. You’re my Lord, lord, lord. They’re doing it saying in Jesus’s name. He says and then I will declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

42:00
Now, why am I saying that? Because I just read to you the fruit of the Spirit. It says there is no law against them. So how do I know? How do I know what category I fall into? Again, it is the fruit of the Spirit. What is coming out of me? Is the fruit of the Spirit coming out of me in my hard place? Then I can know my success is in the fruit of the Spirit. My success is not indicated by casting out demons, by giving prophecy, by seeing mighty miracles happen. That is not the indicator of my success, folks. The indicator of our success is the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit that is being produced by the Lord himself in our narrow pathways, in our difficult roads. That is the fruit of our success. Let’s continue reading. And why is that necessary? Verse 24,.

43:00
Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. Did you just hear that? This is the person who was wise? This is the person who built their life on Jesus Christ. But this person understood I have to do the hard thing, I have to build on this narrow road. I have to do it the way that God has instructed me to do it. And it is in that hard place, in that road, by doing what Jesus has said that the rain still comes, the storm still comes. Let me read that again. Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house. Folks, the storms are going to come to all of us. It’s a false prophecy to think that it will be all good all the time and there will never be a battle or a storm to get through.

45:07
Let me finish that sorry Verse 27,. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell, and great was the fall of it. But it doesn’t have to be this way. And Jesus doesn’t end it on this down note. He encourages us with all encouragement and he says and when Jesus finished these saints, the crowds were astonished at his teachings. Why? Because it’s narrow, it’s different, it’s not the way everybody else says to do it, for he was teaching them. He’s giving the instructions with the warnings as one who had authority and not as their scribes.

46:04
Now, I looked this up because I wanted, of course, we know what the word authority means, but I wanted you to see this. So let me go back and find my little notes here. The word that I looked up was authority, because what was interesting is why they are astonished. And when they’re saying he speaks with authority, it’s obvious they mean that he’s saying this from a place of power. We think of the word power when you say it, like you know what you’re talking about, but this word actually means a couple of different things, and it means that it is the oh, let me pull up the right. I got half of it. I had half of it. Hold on one second. There we go. I’m sorry, folks, give me one second. I’m looking it up. Be patient, let the fruit of the spirit be in you as I look this up. Here we go.

47:07
So it is a state of control over something. That’s the obvious, that’s the one that we know, and that actually means to act, decide or dispose of one’s property as one wishes. So what that word means is that Jesus is speaking from a place of being not only the one who has authority, like a police officer, to enforce the law, but the authority saying I’m the one who makes the law, I have the right to dispose of this at my will. This is me telling you. I’m not just telling you how to do it. I’m the manufacturer. I’m giving you the instructions in the mornings because I made it this way. Okay, this is how we are to do it. There is no other way. When Jesus says this is the way that leads to life, there is no other option. There is no other option. But that’s not the only thing it means.

48:01
It also means potential or resource to command, control or govern, capability, might, power. It’s. The king can do what he pleases because he has the capability to do so. It also means to indicate that the thing that one is able to do, it means he has commanded this because we are able, through him, through his spirit, we are able to do this. You are not incapable. I know this seems hard. It’s the exercise of the rehab. It feels like it’s impossible. It is not impossible. Child of God, you are well able. The Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, is what will carry you. God himself in you. Resurrection, power in life will empower you and enable you to do what you thought you could not do.

49:01
This also meant and this was really interesting it talks about Romans. I believe it’s 12. Let me see if I can find it real quick for you. I believe it was Romans 12. If I could turn the page. Oh, was it Romans 8? Oh, I’m almost there. Give me one more second. Oh, my goodness, okay, maybe I’ll see it here in my notes. In this one, yes, okay, romans 9. Sorry, I had the wrong, wrong chapter, romans 9, verse 21.

50:23
This is the same word being used and it says has the potter know, right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? So he’s saying this is the Creator, he’s the one who has the power overall. What came to my mind when I saw that it was the same word talking about a lump of clay? My mind went, of course, to Jeremiah. And God sends him to the potter’s house. And I love this, because if you today have gone the wrong way, if you have found yourself on the wide road and not the narrow road, if you have been looking at success through the eyes of your outcome instead of the fruit of the spirit being evident in your life, I want you to think about this passage in Jeremiah, because when Jeremiah says he’s watching the potter make the pot and it’s marred in the potter’s hand, god had him.

51:21
This person thought they were serving the Lord. They just recognized they’ve been doing this in their own strength. They’ve been doing this. You’ve been doing it wrong, you’ve not been relying on the Holy Spirit and you’re wanting to get back on the right road, the road that leads to life, not a road that leads to destruction and it’s marred. The pot was marred and it said it seemed good to the potter to remake this pot, and so God’s not throwing you away. He’s not saying you blew it and you don’t have another chance, and he’s saying come to me, submit yourself into my hands, submit yourself to my will. And he made the pot again.

52:04
God can take whatever circumstance we are dealing with, no matter the pain and the suffering that you have gone through, nor the mistakes that you have made and the choices that have caused the path and the destruction that you’re dealing with. God can take them if you will submit them into his hand and say Father, what I care about is that I become more like you. That is our only job, folks. To be made in his image, to be his image bearers. That is what we’re called to do and that is done by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. So I want to encourage you today, first and foremost.

52:46
If you are in a hard place, god is not against you. He’s not mad at you, he’s not doing this to you. He is showing us today, by instruction and by warning. There is a way. What does the scripture tell us? There’s a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that is death. We cannot go by our own reasoning and our own understanding. We have got to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have got to do it by the instructions, following God’s instructions. We have to build our house on the rock. Let’s get on the right course this year. Let’s quit doing it in our own, our own way.

53:32
The flesh will lie to us. Our flesh is a false prophet. Your emotions are false prophets. Your anxieties and your worries are false prophets. It is God, and God alone, who determines our tomorrows. And if we will set our hands, our ourselves, in his hands, our will in his hands, and say, not my will, but your will, be done, have your way in me, do your work through me, make me like you. Let the fruit of the Spirit be evident in my life. If you will do that, I promise you a year of success. 2024 will be successful. Your prayers that you’re asking will get answered with good things from your Father.

54:22
Take these beatitudes and mull them over, meditate on them, chew on the word of God. Allow his motives to be your motives. Allow his methods to be your methods. Allow his choice of path to be the choice of path that you take and watch what God will do for you. I pray this was an encouragement to you. I encourage you to share this message. We all need to be on the narrow road and not the wide road. Let’s choose wisely this year. Let’s make the changes we need to make and watch God do what only God can do.

55:07
If you can, I would love for you to go to my website. I’ve got things available there to you. I put up a new blog recently, if you want to get a hold of that. If you’d like to send me an email, you can do that at mail at jamieloosecom, that’s J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E dot com. And if you have not yet subscribed, hit that little bell, get notified and we’ll make sure and let you know when a new episode is available. Thank you again so much for joining me today. It’s my pleasure to spend some time with you and we’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.