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About the episode:

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!  Learn more.

Related reading:

• How To Heal Through Responsibility and Faith
• How To Use Your Kingdom Authority In Prayer
• Plug Into A Warfare Prayer Source
• Have a Different Spirit
• Be A Good Gardner

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Full Transcript

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

0:00:03 – Jaime Luce

Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. I’m your host, Jamie Luce. Thank you for listening today. All of my blogs, social and YouTube links can be found on my website, jamieloucecom. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it by liking, subscribing, getting notified and sharing this broadcast. Another way you can help is by rating and reviewing on Apple Podcast. My hope and goal in every episode is to give you tools found in Scripture, either by teaching, discussions, testimonies or interviews that encourage and equip you as you navigate living a real Christian walk in a difficult world. I would love to hear from you Whether you have a comment, question or prayer request. You can email me at mail at jamieloucecom. If you’re watching on YouTube, drop me a comment. I’d love to partner with you on your journey of faith. If you’re listening today on any podcast platform, take a screenshot and tag me and I’ll post it to my Instagram story. And now join me for today’s episode. Welcome to the Jamie Luce podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in today. 

I’m sure that your day is stacked up and there’s lots to do, but I appreciate that you are taking time in your schedule, your busy lives, to hear what the Lord would be saying to us through His Word. And today I am going to be talking. I’m going to give you a lot of Scripture today. So let me say, like I always say, please get yourself, if you’re able, if you’re not driving, get yourself your Bibles out, pens and paper, maybe some highlighters. I’m going to give you a lot of Scripture today, but the main text that I’m starting from is in Jeremiah, and that’s chapter six. We’re going to read verse 16 and 17. And then the second major part that I will be turning to, if you want to turn there is Romans 12, one through three. Like I said, i’ll give you a lot more than that, but this is where I’m starting today, and I guess my thought today is have you ever been at a crossroads? What do you do when you’re at a crossroads? 

And I have been in my own study time over the last week really devouring the book of Isaiah, and I was reading it in very large chunks, you know, maybe 10, 12 chapters at a time, and I wanted that for the continuity, because it seemed that he was just on this flow of a continuous thought And I didn’t like to break that and then think, oh, i’ve got to go back and figure out what was he saying and start all over again. But his heart was really, he was in distress. He’s giving the word of the Lord and he’s trying to bring correction. And I know a lot of us don’t like to hear correction. We have an issue with being corrected. We are the generations of those who say you’re not the boss of me And we don’t like to be corrected. And our nation I think this is happening all over the world but the nation, the nation of the United States, has divided largely in half And each side says to the other you’re not the boss of me And and it’s a fight And it’s a, it’s a. It’s a difficult thing to navigate. 

When we become so hardhearted about whatever the issues may be And I’m not just talking about political, i’m talking about in our own personal lives and our families and our relationships And with the Lord, we can adopt such a stubborn mindset that that in our stubbornness we don’t allow for correction, course change, we don’t allow for a new voice, we we put up blockers on our ears and covers over our eyes And we end up choosing, for one reason or another, deafness and blindness, and I couldn’t help but see so much of in the Old Testament with the children of Israel and and Isaiah’s cry from the Lord saying so many times over and over again I would have helped you, but you refused to listen to me, that you chose to basically close your ears and cover your eyes, that you wanted to do it your way. And he equates their activity to being someone who is unfaithful in their marriage, someone who prostitutes themselves, those who go after every other possible thing but God. And I was so gripped in my spirit because I’m afraid that we find ourselves doing this without recognizing we’re doing it And we are just as guilty in so many areas And we can see it in other people. I mean, why did Jesus say you have to take out the plank in your own eye before you can worry about the speck in your brothers? Because we can be so guilty And we are people who choose to not see our blinds. We have blind spots and we refuse to see what’s in those blind spots. We don’t want to look, we don’t want to know, we don’t want to address our own issues. And it troubled me because, folks, i desperately want to see people live In fact. In fact, isaiah says it and Jesus then steps into it and says it of himself. 

But it was in Isaiah when he says that I’ve come, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the good news to the poor, to set at liberty those who are captive, to bind up the brokenhearted to. In fact I should read it to you, but I believe it’s Isaiah 6. Let me just look real quick and see if I can’t find it real quick for you, because I don’t have it marked in my Bible. So we’ll see how quick or as slow I am. But this is so important. Let’s see. I know it’s in the 60s. Give me one second. Folks, be patient with me. I promise you you’re going to want to hear this word. I really have an encouraging word for you. I know at first this sounds like I’m laying out something to browbeat you and I’m not going to. I can promise you that It’s Isaiah 61. I really do have an encouraging word for you and I hope you’ll stay tuned and really listen to the end, because I’m going to take us through and point out some things to us to help us so that we can get free. 

But in Isaiah 61 it says the Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They’ll rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. I mean, it goes on and on. You can read that later for yourself, isaiah 61. But I mean that is my hope that when you hear the word of God, that you understand the power of God, because when you allow faith to connect with God’s word, all of heaven is backing that word. That word has to accomplish what it was set out to accomplish. And so I have that for you today. I have a word for you today, but it’s going to take you being willing to have open eyes and open ears Because, like I asked, have you ever come up on a crossroads? 

Have you ever been at a crossroads. Are you in a situation that you don’t know which way to go? The roads are crossed in your mind. Things are confusing, there are different paths you can take And you want to know what to do And you want to make the right choice. I mean, you do want to make the right choice. 

And that was so gripping about parts of Isaiah and parts of Jeremiah that I was reading, because there were people In fact in Jeremiah again it’s in the 60s, I don’t remember exactly where it’s at but he says you know, god’s going to come and He’s going to judge because they’ve done just horrible things. But on the one hand, they honestly think, because they’re still going and giving sacrifices, that that makes it okay, that they think they’re pleasing God. And in his judgment he’s going to judge. And Isaiah is saying but don’t those who have. When it’s time to tear up all the old wine. He’s going into their vineyards and he’s going to tear everything up. And he says but wait, don’t, don’t harm the good grapes with those that are bad. And everyone knows you don’t if they’re still good ones. You want to have use of the good ones and not the bad ones. And he can be very confusing, and I want to. I want to remove the confusion. I want to remove some of what the enemy does, one of the tactics that he uses to bring that confusion on what decisions you should be making, because he does use this all the time, and I want to remove that. But that means that you have to be willing to see and to hear. 

Okay, and so, before I even begin, i want you to know that today, god sees you and there is a way. There is a way. There is a way. So let’s begin. Let’s go to Jeremiah 6, verse 16 and 17. And it says this this is what the Lord says stop at the crossroads and look around. So I want you to do this in your life whatever, whatever situations that you are facing, whatever is in front of you that might be confusing for you, or whatever decisions you have to make, or whatever things you’re up against. Look. It says stop at the crossroads and look around, ask for the old godly way and walk in it. Okay, this is what the Lord says Stop at the crossroads and look around, ask for the old godly way and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply no, that’s not the road we want. Stay with me. Verse 17,. I posted Watchman over you who said listen for the sound of the alarm. But you replied no, we won’t pay attention. And so, right off the bat, i want us to see before I dig into the next piece of text. 

The Lord is saying something very specific to his people when they’ve come to a crossroads And he’s saying I want you to look around, take a look where you are, and I’m pointing and telling you what road you’re supposed to take. I’m telling you to take the old, godly way and walk in it, travel its path and you’ll find rest for your souls. But what God keeps hearing from his people, these are his people. What he keeps hearing from his people is no, that’s not the road we want. It’s not the road we want So many times. 

This is the issue, folks. We live in a world that says if it feels good, do it. Do what makes you happy, it doesn’t matter what other people say. We live in the generations that say I do what is right in my own eyes. I don’t like that, so I’m not going to do that. We have trained ourselves to not be hearers, to not recognize God’s warnings to say if you take this path, if you make this decision, this destruction lies ahead on this road that you’ve chosen, and I have a way for you, i have a right way, and the way that I’m telling you is going to lead to total peace in your life and rest. You’d want this road if you understood what was on this road. But you don’t want. 

What I’m saying is good for you. You’re not wanting to choose what I have for you, and we have to be people that say Lord, i meant it when I said I was going to serve you. I meant it when I chose a life of servitude to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I will follow you. Listen, folks, i know you want to help. I know that you want help. You’ve even been praying and asking God to help you. I know that you have. You may even have been doing certain services for the Lord giving in your offerings, serving at church, recognizing who your neighbor is doing service for your neighbor. And you’re making sacrifices. Okay, or at least they. You feel like it’s a sacrifice to you. Okay, i want to quantify that, qualify that You feel like it’s a sacrifice to you. But we must be willing to actually see and hear what the Lord is asking. 

I’m not going to turn there, i’m not going to give you the reference. You can look it up. But this is the same situation that King Saul faced, and the lesson that came through Samuel was it is better to obey than it is to sacrifice. So, no matter what you feel like you’re sacrificing, no matter what you feel like you’re giving, no matter what you feel like you’re doing right, i want you to hear me, hear my heart, please. I’m not trying to be upset with you or or make you feel bad, but I want to open your ears, if you can understand that. I want to open your eyes and open your ears because the Lord says he’s always giving out these warnings Part of one. 

I wish I would have written down this particular reference, but one of the references, one of the scriptures, said that he has been giving these warnings all the time. He’s been saying this nonstop. They just don’t listen. God never comes in. I mean, the whole the Old Testament is riddled with God saying just do what I ask you to do, just do what I tell you to do, and it’s going to go well with you. You’re going to have blessing on every side. I’m going to take care of everything. I have plans for you. I have good blessings for you And they’re all yours if you’ll just do what I tell you to do. 

And they refuse. They want their own way. They’re called a stiff neck people for a reason, and folks so are we. If we look at the children of Israel and think that we are better. We are wrong. In fact, i’m getting ahead of myself. I want to make sure I stay right on target, but we blind ourselves, we deafen our own ears by our determination to hang on to what we want. And what did that scripture say? They didn’t want to take that road. That’s not the road we want. 

If I determine, i’m putting on my little teacher hat right now, but if I determine that I’m not going to do something, it won’t matter If I’ve already determined it in my heart, it won’t matter how good an opposing argument is or how persuasive someone can be with me if I’ve already determined and chosen Because I’ve already made up my mind. It’s true, it’s very true. There is power when you make up your mind, but you need to make sure that the power of a made up mind is made up to follow God and obey his ways, or it will, in essence, be the opposite. To not choose his ways is to disobey and walk in disobedience, whether we like that or not. We can say I’m just choosing something different. But the truth is, if you’re his, if you belong to him, and he tells you to do something, to not choose, that is to choose disobedience. 

So I have to come honestly. I have to be honest with myself. I’m not fooling God. So I’m fooling myself if I think that not obeying is okay. By not doing it God’s way, i’m fooling myself. I’m lying to myself to think that it’s okay and it won’t have its consequences, because it will. 

So I want you to ask yourself this question today What have you about your situation, about what you’re facing, about the crossroads you may be dealing with, about the arguments that are going on in your mind, what? I want you to ask this to yourself. Please, in fact, write it down so that you can really determine what you’re facing. I’m not going to deal with this question, but what have you already chosen to believe about that situation? What have you already chosen to believe? Because if you’re already believing something, whatever you’re believing, that’s the direction you’re facing. If you’re at a crossroads but you have a belief about something, you’re already facing that direction, you’re not following one of these tactics, but one of the ways that the enemy hides is in your thought patterns. And if this wasn’t true, if he didn’t hide in your thoughts, then we wouldn’t need to renew our minds, right? I mean, we’ve heard it said a million times about a field of the mind, right, and that’s a great book, by the way, by Joyce Meyer, if you want that another reference. 

But Romans 12, verses one to three this is what this says and it’s really power packed, and I’m going to read it to you first and then I’m going to go back and I’m going to hit a couple points that were made in it. Okay, so I’m going to read it first and then we’ll go back through it a little bit with some extra teaching and extra scripture references. But Romans 12, one to three, says this therefore, i urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy So he is I’m begging you and I’m begging you through the lens of knowing that God has been merciful, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Another translation says your reasonable service. 

This is something that is what you honestly, truly need to do. It’s your proper response to what God has done, that he saved your life for all eternity, saved you, rescued you from your sin, rescued you from the consequences of death and hell, and has given you a rock to stand on, a new life, a new beginning, a new chance, a white, clean slate. He’s given you a new opportunity and continued new opportunities. And with all that he has done for you, for giving you of everything, not holding it against you, not reminding you of your sin, casting it away as far as the east is from the west, and in doing that, in his doing that for you, it is only righteous, it is only reasonable, it is only what is, what is your? the proper response is to give your life to live as a living sacrifice. 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world. We’re seeing how they do it, folks. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by what? The renewing of your mind. You will not be able to live out the promises of God transformed, a new creation, a new creature in Christ, without renewing your mind. Then, once you renew your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. Which road do I take at this crossroads, his good pleasing and perfect will? For, by the grace given me, i say to every one of you Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 

Okay, so there are a couple things that we need to address here. Number one our sacrifices are living, a right sacrifice. It’s living. It’s my life, it’s something I’m continually doing. It’s a lie, it’s breathing. It’s me. I have to live this sacrifice. It’s not something that I offer, it’s not a thing, it’s not. You know, the Old Testament picture, of course, was that they brought the sacrifices and it was an animal, it was a blood sacrifice, but they brought it living. It had to die. It was a living sacrifice. 

So it’s not the things that I do. Those are the good works that prove they should. They should prove my works should prove that I serve the Lord. That’s an the outflow. The obvious outcome would be that I would do good works, but the actual sacrifice is not those works, the things I’m doing serving my church. Those are not my sacrifice. I am a living sacrifice. They are. 

They are those things that a living sacrifice is how we live our life in accordance to his, god’s good, pleasing and perfect will. So when I come to recognize what his will is for my life, what he’s determined for me, what he says to me, what he asks of me, now, if God says to you, i want you to give your time, your effort, your energy to serving at this particular thing, now that might be a sacrifice for you, because you may not have the time, you may be tired, you may think that’s one more thing, lord, why are you asking this of me? And that part can be the living sacrifice. So don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that none of it is. But it’s not in things, it’s not in my offering that I give, though it may be a financial sacrifice, it’s in my living of the obedience. The living part of it is is the part of me that walks according and in obedience to his good, his pleasing and his perfect will for my life. It is my act of obedience. So what does that look like and mean for us? Well, that means that we are willing to turn over our will for his. So when we read in the previous scriptures that they’re saying that’s not the road I want, well, that’s not a living sacrifice, because I’m saying I don’t want to do what you’re asking me to do, right. So to do his will is the right way to to live according to his ways. And what are his ways? We see them, the old ways, the holy ways, god’s ways, the lives of righteousness, the things that he should. Those are the ways we need to go. That’s the way we need to walk out that journey. Luke 22, 42. I want us to go there because what it means for us is that we are willing to turn over our will for his Right. Let’s look at Luke 22, 42. 

What did Jesus say, father, if you are willing because there was a road Jesus didn’t want to take, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. So what is our pattern? What has Jesus shown us? He said I’ve been there. I didn’t want to go that road. I knew that was a hard road. I knew that road was sacrifice. I knew that road was a living sacrifice. I didn’t want that road, he said. 

And he, he wasn’t afraid to express what he felt, and he asked the father if you’re willing. Do you hear it, though? Do you hear the difference in? It’s not an I don’t want to do this. He’s asking the father. He’s saying, lord, is there another way? Are you willing for there to be another way In your good, pleasing and perfect will? Is there another way that I can go? And it’s okay to ask that question What if God says yes? what? what if he says you know you can choose this or you can choose that. 

I’ve been in that position before. I have been in a position where I felt in from my spirit that the Lord was saying you can choose either way. There is no evil consequence to these choices. This is a personal thing. I am allowing you choice. You may have your choice Sometimes. That’s that’s a true thing, but you have to come to that Honestly. You cannot come to that thinking God. He’s just so good to me And I know he’s giving me this choice. He’s just going to let me choose. You’ve got to make sure you’ve come to that Honestly, because either, if I’m not, then I’m coming with deaf ears and blind eyes. Then that means I cannot hear the warnings, and I cannot then, when I go down and pay those consequences, turn around and blame God and say God, why did you allow this to happen? He didn’t allow it to happen. He warned you. I gave you the scripture These. I put a watchman on the wall to warn you, but you would not hear that warning. What was that scripture? Let’s read it again. I just feel like we need to read that again Verse 17, jeremiah 6 17. I posted watchman over you who said listen for the sound of the alarm, but you replied no, we won’t pay attention, we have got. We have a choice, folks. God can show us the way, but we have to choose to walk it. We have to choose to agree with God. If you want what God has for you, you have to walk the road he’s chosen for you. 

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The problem is that we don’t want a bitter cup. Jesus didn’t want a bitter cup. I don’t want a bitter cup. We don’t want an unfair trial. Jesus went through an unfair trial, unjustly accused and beaten, publicly humiliated. Who wants that? I don’t want that. We don’t want a crucifixion. We don’t want to carry across. We don’t want to carry across and we don’t want to get on that cross. We don’t want to pick up our cross and follow Him. And when we don’t want to, we’re saying I don’t want that road and we choose a different road. But we can’t blame God for where that road leads. Matthew 16, 24 to 26. 

Then Jesus told his disciples if anyone would come after me, let him deny Himself it’s gonna take us, saying it doesn’t matter what I want, i am a living sacrifice. Deny himself and Take up his cross and follow me, for whoever would save his life Will lose it. Listen, this is so important. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will profit a man? What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? or What shall a man give in return for his soul? The enemy will hide. If you don’t have that renewed mind, if you have not determined that God’s way is the best way, that hidden enemy Will tell you all kinds of things and he’ll tell you you’re gonna lose your life, you can’t go down this road, this will kill you. I mean, he’s going to help you not want to go through all the things that we just talked about. You’re not gonna want to carry across. You’re not gonna want to have public humiliation Who does? you’re not gonna want to go through things where people know, people find out things about your, your life and know things, or that you’re unjustly accused, and you’re accused of things You didn’t do and and and you’re having to deal with enemies that were your friends and betrayals and and have to drink That bitter cup. Nobody wants that. But if you understand as a living sacrifice that God is only calling you to that because he has life on the other side This is where the enemy hides He’ll tell you there’s no life on the other side. If you choose this way, this will be your end. 

I remember This happened in my mother’s life two different times, where she was and because because we like to think this is all terrible, horrible, awful stuff And I want to give you some context because this can be in every and any area of life but she had given her life in ministry to teach the word of God and she was serving as the adult Sunday School teacher of a class at art, at the church we were attending, and It was the ministry God gave her and there were times when God told her I need you to. This was a time when we had major adjustments in life. You’re going to change Churches. I am moving you, i am changing your. The cloud is lifting. That means I got a breakdown the tent and follow the cloud and he’s saying I need you to go. And she’s thinking But if I go that way, if I take that road, that’s the end of my ministry, that’s the end of what I do for the Lord, and she thought it meant the death of what she was doing for God. 

This isn’t always about, you know, stuff that’s just I like doing that thing, or this is my favorite. You know, group of friends, and I don’t want to leave this group of friends, or or I don’t want to My folks. it could be anything, it can be. I don’t want to do it God’s way because I’m afraid I won’t be able to live The life I want there, won’t you think? God’s life for you means you won’t have any fun And you don’t want to turn away from your fun. You know it could be things like that, sure, but these can be decisions that have to do with your service to the Lord. You can think, lord, if I do this, if I go down this road, then I am, i’m walking away from serving you the way that you’ve called me to serve you. How can I walk away from my call? How can you? how could this be? you Do you see how the enemy could bring confusion on things that are godly, on righteous decisions, not just earthly decisions, not just, not just fleshly decisions, godly decisions, but we have to know which way to go. 

Now. That happened to her on two occasions and In both of those occasions, when God took her to the new place, he almost immediately opened up to her a Place to serve him in the same capacity, in way that she was serving him. So there has to be this trust of Lord. This isn’t my call. If you called me, it’s your ministry, it’s. It could be your Isaac having to be laid on the altar. You could, god could be calling you to something. You’re thinking I. But if I put this on there, every dream, every hope I ever had, if I take this and offer this to you, god, i have no hope of ever having this again. 

But then that leads us into what real faith was. What was, what was Abraham’s faith? That, if need be, that God would resurrect right? So then let’s continue. Let’s look at that. If I Understand that My choice is between God’s will and my will, i Have to be willing to Take a good look at what’s really happening. And What’s really happening is the verse we just read, verse 26. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul, and We see this all the time, sadly, in the music industry. 

There are people who have actually verbally said That they have and I’m quotation fingers for those listening on a podcast But they have sold their soul in exchange for success. That there are people who, in saying I will not do God’s will, i want my own will. You are making an exchange. I know that we don’t sometimes recognize it. 

People who say that fully have their eyes open and They are recognizing they are choosing the enemy’s way. They’re not even saying it’s their own way. They’re saying I want success and to get success I’m gonna do it the devil’s way versus God’s way. They understand that what they want isn’t even their way. See, this is the lie of the enemy that you think that taking the road you want, you think that’s your will. The enemy’s lying to you. There are two choices, and two choices only. You are either choosing God’s way or you’re choosing to go against God. There’s only two. And And for me to say I want God’s will, no matter what it costs me, means I want all that he has for me. It, it is the road to blessing, it is the road to freedom, it is the road to healing, it is the road to New life. But to choose and not to not choose, god’s way is to Exchange. 

I Am giving an exchange for my soul. Whatever I’m trying to gain by saying that’s what I want, whatever is in my will, that thing, that’s what I think my soul is worth that choice, whether that success, whether that sin that pleases for a season, whether that’s ministry Because what am I really? if I’m really, if I’m not willing to give God what belongs to him, what he offered to me, if I don’t Understand that it first came from God and then I’m giving it back to God, then I don’t understand. I’m thinking it’s mine. Well then, what am I really wanting then? am I wanting fame? Am I wanting recognition if I’m not willing to give it back to him, if it was for him and not for me, if I was serving him For him and not for me? Do you hear the difference? are your ears open? Can you hear the difference? 

If I’m not willing to lay down my will for his will and I want something, i First, i’m, i’m, i need to face the fact that I think that that thing, whatever that is, is worth my soul. Second, i need to recognize that if, if the thing that I’m wanting is cloaked, clothed, wrapped in Christian words, in in Christian service, in, in service to the Lord, if I have wrapped it in that, then I am lying to myself, because I am saying that I want it for God. But if God’s the giver and he’s saying, give it to me, then you’re not wanting it for God, you’re wanting it for you. You have to understand there. There is no other choice. It’s either you want God’s road or you say no, i don’t want to take that road. There are two choices. Do you hear me? Hang on with me, i promise. I promise I have something encouraging for you. I really do. 

But this is where the devil lies, this is where he hides in your thoughts. You believe a lie that if you don’t protect your life, if you don’t protect the thing you want, if you don’t protect the road You’re wanting to take and stay away from the cross that is being asked of you, then you will Live and have life. You. That’s his lie, that if you will hang on to it, that’s the only way to guarantee that you keep your life. But, folks, that’s a lie and the opposite is true. Jesus said that to lose your life is the path to finding your life. There is no resurrection without a cross. There is no new life without burying the old. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. So let’s go back. 

Let’s look at the text in Romans. Let’s read it one more time. Therefore, i urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve What God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. For, by the grace given me, i say to every one of you do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith, the faith God has distributed to each of you. 

Paul teaches us that we cannot think more highly of ourselves than we are. Why is this warning given? Why am I bringing this up? Well, let’s look at the preceding verses. If we think ourselves wise and right and Think that we know best, what we are really saying is that we already think, we know the way. We have already decided, we’ve made up our mind already, we have committed to the way of what we’ve decided. 

This is dangerous. It is stubbornly holding on to self will. But Paul says instead Think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with faith. So how am I to view myself? I am to view myself With sober judgment, to look honestly At what is in my heart. What are my motives? Why do I want this? What am I afraid of? And in accordance with faith. So I have to then take what I see with sober judgment and I have to say am I looking at that with faith? Am I looking at my situation or these determining factors all around that are making me feel this way? Am I looking at them with faith? I mean, we just read that that’s how we’re to Accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of us. Right, we’re supposed to look at ourselves. God has given us a measure of faith We are to determine by that faith. Am I looking at this right? Am I dealing with myself with righteous eyes? Am I in this life of a being a living sacrifice? Am I Determining and using discernment Righteously, with the faith that God has given me to see If we think ourselves wise. We have to understand we have already made up our mind We are in dangerous territory and That it is stubborn, it is self-will. 

Without faith, you won’t follow the will of God. 

Without faith, you won’t believe there is life after losing it. Without faith, you won’t believe in a resurrection after the crucifixion. And, beyond all of this, without faith It is impossible To please God. That’s Hebrews 11 6. The last part hits anyway. So I’m gonna say that again. I want you to hear why faith is necessary. This is so important. 

Without faith, you won’t follow the will of God. 

Without faith, you won’t believe that there is a life after losing it. Without faith, you won’t believe in resurrection after a crucifixion. And, even more importantly, without faith it is impossible, possible to please God. That crucifixion, folks, is necessary. There is no new life Without burying the old, that old man, his selfish ways. They have to die, they have to be crucified, they have to be dealt with. The lives of the enemy have to be dealt with. You can’t allow him to hide in the thoughts of your mind. You can’t allow him to hide in those crevices and keep you bound and keep you from the path that God has for you. 

So how do we rightly align our lives with God’s will that leads to God’s promises? We must renew our minds. We need to think right, think sober, think God, think his word. We have to see our situation through the eyes of faith. All through the book of Isaiah and Jeremiah, we are told and warned about the outcome of turning from God’s ways. God’s way is God’s will. So if you’re thinking I don’t know how to do this, i don’t know what that is. The first and foremost You have to approach whatever the confusion is that you’re facing By saying if I walk this way, is this the way of God? Is this the way God has always told his people to walk? Is this the way that God expects me to live my life? Does this line up with God’s ways, with God’s character, with who God is? What is it? Is it congruent with scripture? Does it look like the life of someone who follows God? I mean the way you see people follow God in scripture. Does it look that way? Does it look like the examples that Jesus gave us? Does it look like him? Is it the path of God’s ways? because if it is God’s ways. It is God’s ways. It is God’s will. Okay, god’s ways are his will. His will is that you do it his way. Do you understand? They go hand in hand. God’s will is God’s way. God’s way is God’s will. 

I won’t believe a lie if I know what the truth about that already is, and I won’t know the difference between a lie and the truth without God’s word. You’re gonna have to go to the word. If you don’t know, go to the word. If this is new to you, the answers are found in God’s word. He is his word. His word is him, his thoughts expressed. His word is his will. So I need to know his will, i need to be praying, i need to be reading his word, i need to be understanding how he thinks. I need to understand his ways so that I know the way that I should take. I won’t receive instruction or course correction or the direction I should take without knowing God’s way. They go hand in hand. They cannot be separated. Let’s look at Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14. 

Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. Why is that? That’s because a wide road seems comfortable. I don’t know about you. Okay, so I used to live in a town that had most part of the town was very old and the biggest part of the town was all very new. In fact, there’s still newness happening in that town. They are still building, they’re still doing it, but that meant that there were brand new roads that are really nicely brand new, paved wide roads, and then there are old, dilapidated, bumpy, full of pothole roads And I used to purposely drive the new roads, even if they took longer to get there than the old road, because I did not like driving on that old road. 

Okay, and so I get it. I mean, we look at life this way, we think, but that road looks so pleasing to me. It’s the wide road, it’s comfortable. Look at, everybody’s going this way. This must be the right way because everybody’s going this way. Well, i was also raised to know if everybody jumped off a cliff, would you wait? Just because everybody’s doing it doesn’t make it right. They could all be plunging to their death. Is that just because they are, does that mean you’re going to do it? I mean, we have to understand that there is a narrow road and narrow gate. So let me read that again Enter through the narrow gate, for why? it is the gate and broad as the road that leads to destruction. That comfortable big road that has no potholes and seems smooth and looks like the best option could be leading you to destruction. And there are many who enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. 

To say the word find means that you have to look for it. This road is an obvious. This isn’t the road people take. You have to find this road. That means that you are earnestly seeking the Lord for this road. To know this way is to seek God in his way to find that road. Don’t allow the lies of the enemy to lead you any longer. Don’t be uncorrectable like the children of Israel. Don’t think more highly of yourself than you are. And on the flip side okay, this is. I want you to hear this because on the flip side, this is what people do. 

Don’t allow false humility to tell you that God doesn’t love you, to tell you that you can’t and won’t ever get delivered, or that God won’t or can’t ever use you. That is a lie And the heart of that lie is self-pity, and that self-pity leads to hell just as fast as pride does. So this is where the enemy loves to trip us up, and if you’ll get ahold of this, this will bring you great freedom, Because you’ll be free to make the right choice And you’ll be free then to experience the blessing that God has for you. There is just as much pain on the pride, on the self-pity side, as there is on the pride side, because self-pity says that I deserve to be here. I did this, i caused this, and now, because of that, i have to go this road. 

That lie tells you that you think that you have no choice. That’s why it’s an enemy, a lie of the enemy. And you think that having this humble attitude, that I’m worthless and unworthy, is the reason why you need to stay on that road And that somehow there’s some righteousness in that. That’s a lie. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. If that was true, then you’re saying that God’s sacrifice and what he did for you is not a payment enough for you, that his sacrifice wasn’t enough, that his blood isn’t powerful enough. Well, that’s a lie. He can deliver you. I read you Isaiah 61. He came to do exactly that deliver. You bind up all those broken places, heal all those wounds to set you free to bring freedom wherever you’re bound, to rebuild whatever’s been torn down. That’s what God has for you. 

So if the road looks like destruction, by carrying your cross, you have to understand that that means that there is resurrection, life on the other side of that cross. That cross is not your ultimate death. If every one of you, to any of you right now who have said yes to the Lord and you feel, like Jamie, i am living, that I am the one who was carrying my cross I said yes. And this road is hard, this road has cost me greatly. This road of obedience has really beaten me up. I wanna encourage you because you have a great resurrection still to come. That’s not the end. That’s not where the road leads. That is not how God finishes your story. That is not the end. That road leads to beautiful resurrection, life that supersedes and takes away any pain of death and sorrow and sacrifice that you could have ever have given. 

Let’s look at Deuteronomy 30, okay, verses 19 and 20. Because we all have a choice. You have this choice to make. You’re facing a crossroads because it’s a choice, and this is what it says. Verse 19 says I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord, your God. Listen to his voice and hold fast to him, for the Lord is your life and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give your fathers, abraham, isaac and Jacob. 

Now I’m gonna back that up with a few more, but I wanna emphasize this He says choose life. Now I’m not contradicting myself. I’m not saying, on the one hand, choose life. When God says that if you choose your life, you’ll lose it. He quantifies this. He says that to choose your life means that you are doing so by loving God and listening to his voice. That is the choice of life. That’s how you find your life, by listening to what he says. That’s where the choice of life comes. 

You might think that this crossroads that you’re at to choose one means death and to choose one means life, but the truth may be that the path that looks like choosing death may very well be the choice of life. That when Jesus said that if you will lose your life for my sake, you’ll gain it. How do I know? by listening to his voice. What is the Lord saying? Am I following his ways? Is this the will of God for my life? What do you have for me? God, let’s go. 

This last scripture I wanna take you to is in Romans Romans 4, 16 and 17. Because I know you need the promise of God in your life. I know you’re hanging on, i know you are, and if you will choose what God has for you, if you will rock the road that he has for you, all of those promises not curses all those blessings, and that you get to enjoy them for a long time. This is what God says. But let’s look at Romans 4, 16 and 17. Therefore, the promise comes by faith. Remember we said that we have to see it through eyes of faith. 

The promise comes by faith so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. That’s all of us. He is the father of us all. As it is written, i have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 

That sacrifice, that death that you think that you are offering on the altar, that thing that you think you have to lay down, that road that you’re not sure and you think that road is scary to take, that road of obedience, that road, god says that when you do, by faith in obedience, what he tells you to do, he is the one who gives life to the dead, he is the one who brings resurrection after the crucifixion. It doesn’t end in death, it doesn’t end in the crucifixion. It ends in victory, it ends in resurrection, it ends in new life and living the promises that God has said to you and giving to you the abundance of what he has promised to live that freely and abundantly, many days, as he said. That is what God has promised us, but we must choose him, We must choose his way. 

If you find yourself at a crossroads today, choose his voice, choose to look at the situation, choose to see what you need to see with open eyes and open ears. Make sure that your judgment and your decision is not a pre-concluded decision, but that instead you are saying Lord, let me see this through eyes of faith. Our God is a good God. We serve an amazing Savior who has your best interest and the most fulfilling purpose of all in mind. But it’s found in his will, not in our own. Today, i challenge you Choose his way, let him lead you through. Obey his commands and live Today. 

Choose life. If you do, he promises to be with you and to take you through. He promises to bring you through to the other side, no matter what fiery trial you find yourself in. Like the three Hebrew boys, you will come out of this fire without the smell of smoke on you. You will be a great example of God’s deliverance. I love that. 

Moses had to be delivered from the Nile, pulled out and delivered from the decree of death over his life from Pharaoh, and then instead was raised up in Pharaoh’s house and then brought deliverance to all of God’s people. The deliverer first had to be delivered, and God will deliver you from this circumstance and then make you a helpful person to deliver others out of their trouble too. This isn’t the end. There is life on the other side of this. Do not exchange your life. Do not exchange what God has for you and the blessings he has for you. Don’t make the wrong exchange and exchange it for what the enemy has. Don’t believe the lie of the enemy. To think you’re getting your way isn’t getting your way. Choose life today. Let God bring abundance and healing. Let God bring the blessing for you today. 

I thank you so much for taking the time to listen today. I hope you received instruction, but I do hope that you were encouraged to know God has a better way. He has an answer for your life. You just need to agree with God, partner with him. If you haven’t already, i encourage you to like and share, to subscribe to this channel so that you are notified every time that a new episode comes out. If you have any questions or want to contact this ministry, you can do that at mail, at jamieloosecom That’s J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-Ecom And at my website. You can find everything I’ve got there Podcasts, blogs, when I write them, my book. 

You Don’t Need Money, you Just Need God. If that’s your financial crisis right now and you need help and direction in that, i encourage you to get ahold of that. That will be a great help to you. We give you tons of biblical. I mean so many, not just the true life stories of what we did and how it worked, but it’s a playbook of God’s word on how to use God’s word and to see God answer and provide for your needs. He is our provider in all that we need. He’s your provider today on knowing which road to take and what to do and how to choose. 

So make that decision today. And if this was a blessing to you, i do encourage you. Please, if you’re listening to this on podcast, would you give us a good rating and help us spread the gospel, and if you will share this, that helps us with spreading the gospel and getting the word out. So I encourage you to do that as well. Thank you so much again for joining me today. It was my pleasure to be with you and we will see you next week. Bye-bye.