After the Message: Heart for the House | Week 3

Thank you for joining us for After the Message.

To learn more about Celebration Church here in Orlando, you can follow us on social media under the handle at CelebrationORL or visit our website at celebrationorl.org.

Hey, welcome to uh After the Message.

If you are joining us for the first time or maybe you've stumbled upon this podcast, this is Celebration Church in Orlando, Florida.

And after the message, uh we simply talk about the message that was preached from this past Sunday.

Uh today I'm joined by Pastor Lindsay Brenner.

How are you?

I'm good.

Good.

It's weird when people say pastor.

I know.

You don't have to say that again.

I know.

But I never know how people feel about it, so I always just say it.

Better be safe.

Lindsay, you have been with Celebration Church for a minute, as they say.

Yeah, and a minute can mean a lot, but in my case it means 13 years, which is insane when you calculate it.

Um yeah, 13 years of celebration.

How uh I've been celebrating for 13 years.

How so for the people that maybe don't know, what's your role?

What what all what are all the hats that you wear?

Sure.

Yeah.

Um so originally when I ended up I grew up in Orlando, funny story, and then when I ended up in Jacksonville, it was more of like a response to an obedience thing that God was asking me to explore ministry.

So I did their worship internship in Jacksonville.

And what is that?

Like ten years later, I ended up in Orlando doing worship, creative.

Um, it's kind of ebbed and flowed and changed a lot, but I think the constant has always been worship in some context.

Um, so yeah, that's my primary hat.

Um, but that can be anything from worship to the production side of things to creative, and uh yeah, so for those who don't know the behind the scenes of the past six months, how crazy has it been as far as like learning all this new technology?

It's been insane.

So everything has been self-taught, which is typical, I think, for a church world.

Right.

You can think you know what to expect as far as like what skills to gain, and then a new season can come, and we use the word pivot a lot or flexible, and you can find yourself video editing.

And so that's been my world.

I never edited a video other than like a silly slideshow for like a friend's wedding.

And then I found myself Googling a lot about Premiere, and yeah, so church at home has been a fun little whirlwind of stretching and challenging, and so yeah, there's a lot behind the scenes and learning, but it's good.

Like I'm I'm not one that loves monotony, so anytime a twist and turn appears, it gives me a little bit of boost of energy and challenge, so and you'll never know like down the road whenever you're exactly it's like okay, I can add that to my resume.

Yeah, exactly.

Um and your second child is on the way.

Impending, yes.

Soon uh the 16th.

So like just like what is that?

A week and a couple of days?

Ten days from now, nine days from now.

Yeah, in my this recording.

My first child is turning to you tomorrow.

So we didn't time that very well.

So yeah.

Good stuff.

Um this past well, I mean, for the past few weeks we've been talking about Heart for the House and you being a decade over celebrationer, uh celebratione.

What I don't know what the term would be, but you are very familiar with Heart for the House.

And uh, you know, like I explained a couple weeks ago, it's just a time where we try and see, you know, what God has for us coming up.

It's almost like a vision for the next year or so, and what part we can play in that and and all that good stuff.

So in Orlando, we've uh Pastor Keith has kind of coined the phrase if it stirs your heart, it should activate your hands.

And I think that's applicable to pretty much anything.

Um but uh this past week specifically we talked about how that road can be difficult, you know, and how you can fa he use the word opposition a lot, and the title of his message was protecting the house.

And um I think one of the one of the things that I've been thinking about is what's my role versus God's role in protecting the house.

Yeah.

You know, like have you tried to weigh the scales on those two things?

And is there is one more than the other?

Do you work in tandem?

Like there's probably a lot of different views out there, but it's always fun for me to like talk about with others.

Yeah, there's definitely, I think when God has asked me to do things particularly, and I've been clear on that, there's definitely a time that if I'm not careful to reassess that I can shift and taking on the full responsibility myself.

And there's been moments where I've been checked by God that said, like, no, this is my burden, and I've just asked you to partner with me.

Um, I think that just takes like a you to pause and self-assess every once in a while.

But it always comes from a good place.

Like when you when you're stirred on something, I constantly believe that God put that on my heart to partner with him.

And so if I can keep that mentality, is this is me partnering with him, I can be more open to his changes and his directions and if what in my mind originally and that's that that would be my other point is if if I start adding too many of my expectations to it, that's probably when I've shifted from partnering with him and taking on the burden as myself.

It's hard to know though.

Um you kind of have to assess along the way.

Yeah, and I can imagine as a worship leader, that's probably a a almost a weekly uh tension to have to manage because you're you're wanting your role is to lead people, you know, into worship.

So you're wanting engagement, you know, and and you're wanting to you're wanting to do a good job and for it to sound good and stuff, but at the end of the day, like the person that you're worshiping is God.

Yeah.

And I'm I'm I'm sure that that may be something that you have had to to manage, or people in your position have had to manage more than maybe others.

Yeah.

I I wouldn't know because obviously my position has been what it is for so long, so I've haven't carried it for other people, but it is attention.

Um I don't know why, but I've always felt like growing up, faith was never a big issue for me.

And so, and like really just this What do you mean by that?

Like, like just a deep trust in God.

Like I just fully there have been times that I've looked back and thought that didn't make logical sense that I was that at peace or that secure in moments, but I think over the years I've more often than not the moments that I completely let go in worship and the moments that I completely release and surrender, which are all those like Christian coin terms, so I try to like be careful of saying them, but I do believe that the longer that I've seen his faithfulness in those moments of not trying to take control, like yes, I always want an outcome of engagement because the point is to connect his people to his presence, and I and I want that for people.

But as soon as I try to try to take control, like I'm doing it for them, or they're not they're gonna, yeah, I just can't kick take control.

And the more I've seen his hand, and some of the most like in my opinion, like train wreck situations, and then I get off the platform and somebody's somebody says, like in tears on their face, God spoke to me or God directed me, it's like, yeah, it really is about kind of an open-handed, open-hearted position when you're up there and just trusting that God knows best and he's gonna direct his people.

Um on the topic of like of of your faith and like not having to to really like struggle for that, maybe for someone who's new or to faith, or maybe who's someone who's you know, trusted Jesus for a long time, but they still feel a still feel like depleted in that area.

Is there like a a methodology to it, or is it like how if you could try and explain like hey, here's here's where I landed on this, or is it just kind of a natural thing, a gifting?

Something I do think there's something about like a person's natural makeup that could maybe help.

Um I don't know necessarily like a method, but I think my particular set of circumstances that I've grown up and walked through lots of different seasons with God, the times that I've freaked out, um, or the times that I've tried to take control, I've seen time and time again how it doesn't help the situation, it makes it worse, or um sometimes just my perspective is altered.

And so I think I've experienced that enough times that now it just feels like worrying, like the scripture, like worrying will not add another day to your life.

Like taking those things at face value and applying them every day.

Like I love just thinking through like step by step he leads me, like day by day, he's gonna guide me.

I don't need to know tomorrow, I don't need to know 10 days from now.

Um, ultimately, he has equipped me and he's gonna be with me.

And so those kind of truths I try to take at face value, and I think that has allowed play on words right there.

And I think enough times of using that approach versus the other approach, and I'm a little bit of a hippie, so I think the combination of the two helps me.

Um, but it is, it's so much easier if you can exhale and realize God's got it, and it doesn't mean it's gonna look the way I wanted it to or had it in my mind.

So yeah, I think that's it's not a method, but take God at his word.

Yeah, it's more like a uh I mean, it's more like an experience, like these this is what have I I experienced, and until I experience something different, I'm gonna continue practicing in this.

Yeah.

Um, and speaking of hippie, a little sidetrack, what's the most hippie thing you're on right now?

The hippiest thing.

So is there anything?

Yeah, I'm gonna try to give birth naturally.

So the most hippie thing right now is like I'm listening to all these like peaceful tracks.

I promise I'm not going down anything crazy, like different spiritually.

I've like there's a fine line, but um yeah, I have my essential oils all packed for the delivery room and yeah, my calming soundtracks, and yeah, that's probably the most sticky thing I'm in right now.

And love it, which is fine, love it, it'll be good.

So kind of the whole idea of faith kind of even segues into a lot of what we talked about with opposition.

Yeah.

What's your personal approach on opposition as far as where it comes from, where does it come from, how it manifests itself?

Like, you know, the Bible does definitely talk about there's spiritual things that are against us because we align ourselves with Christ, you know what I mean?

And and since the beginning of time, like that's been an opposition.

But where I'm at today, this could change tomorrow, but where I'm at today, I think sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot and we call it the enemy.

Yeah, you know, so and I'm not negating anything that anybody has said about the devil or the enemy or anything like that, because I believe that it's real, but how much stock, I guess, do you personally in your past experience put into that?

Yeah, I think that's a really good perspective, and one that I kind of came to after I grew up heavy, heavy Pentecostal.

For those that don't know, what is that?

Just like high faith, like very charismatic.

Everything very charismatic, and I think there was a lot of talk about the enemy, and like it was almost like over putting so much weight on that portion of our faith and our walk, our daily walk, that there was a lack of ownership at times.

And I saw in my own family some things play out as I got older where I was like, wait, no, you just needed to not spend money.

Like, we don't need to be praying for faith for provision for next week.

Right, manage the checkbook.

Exactly.

And so there were moments like that where as I got older and got more mature, that I observed as like, no, there was ownership that needed to be taken, there's responsibility.

Um, and then there's times where I feel like I've maybe sometimes swung the other extreme because I saw that so much growing up, that I'm now learning how to not negate the enemy and not negate the fact that there's opposition that's real, and um, because I'm choosing to walk with God.

And so I think for me it's a daily thing too of really trying to look at everything as clearly as possible and not put too many filters on it to decide, okay, is this is there something where's my responsibility in this?

And then outside of that, yes, there needs to be acknowledgement that the enemy is real and the enemy is working against us.

And so I don't know if I have the perfect answer because I I think I daily struggle with the same thing, but I did like how um how this Sunday, even Pastor Keith was saying, like, don't be shocked, like, don't be shocked when opposition comes your way, because that is something going back to the faith concept of opposition doesn't always mean I'm doing something wrong.

Right.

Sometimes opposition is indicative of me walking through something that um is challenging and obedience is hard, and you're gonna, you know, walk up against a wall sometimes and don't take everything as like, okay, maybe I need to change courses.

Yeah, and the flip side of that coin and what he touched on too was mass support doesn't always mean that it's that it's right or that it's where you should be.

Groupthink is what you're saying.

Yeah, and I think that that's that's so true, especially within the political climate that we're in today.

I mean, no matter what side of the aisle, just because there's massive support for an area doesn't mean that it's necessarily right for you, right for the country, morally right, whatever it may be.

And so that's where it gets tough.

And and I think the common theme that I'm seeing in this conversation currently is the the the daily, the acknowledgement of the daily surrender, yeah, as opposed to the monthly or the yearly or life, you know, like oh I'm I got Jesus, I'm good, let's just do my own thing.

And so I think it it's the same thing with with opposition, is you you even said it like today, like what where is this coming from?

Yeah, is this is this welling up from inside of me?

Is it a force that I have no control over, you know?

Yeah, I love using like the example of Jesus, and I think it was even Pastor Stovall, like many years ago, he preached a series about basically decision making, and that was something that Pastor Keith talked about was like your decisions, like what is your decision, make up your mind, don't be a double-minded man.

And I agree completely.

Um, but there was a a a sermon series that Pastor Stoval preached on, and he used these like guidelines.

But one of the examples he used was how even Jesus heard the crowd, like the crowd was a loud voice, and in a lot of decisions, he would be in a town and he was ready.

He knew the father's voice, he knew it was time for him to move on.

But the crowd thought he's doing all these miracles, he's bringing all this good to me.

And of course, like well-meaning crowd group think and well-meaning loud voices, they're going to, if you're if you let it, they're volume-wise, they're gonna be louder.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the right thing, it's not the truth thing, and um yeah, I just I think about that often when I'm trying to make big decisions, or yeah, I is like, am I listening to the loudest voice, or I'm listening to the voice of truth, which makes me think of that old school song I'm the voice of truth.

No, yes, I know.

Okay, yeah, you know old school.

Who is that?

Tells me a different story.

I don't know.

Um Casting Crowns.

Casting Crowns.

I was gonna say for him, but that's the first one.

Anywho, um sorry, I'm a worship leader.

That's okay.

That's okay.

Um so criticism.

Yeah.

There was a segue to that, but the voice of truth threw me off, so it's not as smooth.

Sorry.

But but we we we we talked about criticism a little bit.

And the quote was if we're doing things for the kingdom of God at some point you will face criticism.

Yeah.

Um like why are you doing that?

Like, why are you doing it this way?

Like, don't you know that if you did it this way?

And what's what's hard for what's difficult for me is distinguishing uh constructive criticism versus just criticism to criticize.

Um I think what uh feeds into a lot of our negative criticism, and this seems to be something that comes up on the podcast often, is the birth of social media because everything is a comment and not a conversation.

Yeah.

Or everything's a like, or it's a dislike, even, you know, or it's a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

It's just it's just difficult for me and something that I have to battle, like, okay, is this person it's like what Mike talked about, Pastor Mike talked about, like just because someone's with you doesn't mean they're for you.

You know, so and I have to battle in my own life, like, am I criticizing just to criticize, or do I really believe like this actually could help this person?

Yeah.

I don't I don't know what your experience has been, or like when you choose to speak up or not say anything based off of what how you're feeling or your opinion or or whatever.

I feel like for me it's always been grounded in relationship.

Um I'm not one to I'm not I don't love confrontation, I'm not built that way, but I do see the benefit and the and I actually love constructive criticism, but the more I've like assessed where do I receive it from the best, it's rooted in relationship that I really know the people want the best for me.

And it doesn't mean that truth, because like, yeah, people on the outside are gonna see things more clearly than you oftentimes.

But the receiving part of it and the walking out, the obedience part of those things a lot of times is best suited in the context of a trusted relationship.

And so on the flip side, I try to think about that before I open my mouth on criticism.

Is there a welcome like is there a relationship?

Is there a was it welcomed?

Was it asked?

Was it opened?

Um, was the door open for that?

And so I try not to step into that unless I feel like I'm being asked or invited into it.

I don't know if that's the right approach, but that's always felt to me like the most natural and I feel like always the most receptive approach.

Yeah.

I agree with that.

I I mean some people could argue like, well, why didn't you say anything?

Well, you didn't ask, you know, like that whole argument as well.

Um I think also too, it comes with a uh a level almost even on a practical level of age and wisdom, like, well, I don't really have the right to speak into this, you know.

Pastor Keith even mentioned like there's so many people that that criticize that have never done or what you're doing.

And so there's a lot of times when I may think, man, if I was in this position, I would probably do it the opposite of the way that you're doing it, but I've never done it before.

Because there's two sides to every story.

And one of my other favorite quotes that I've learned this past year is two things can be true at the same time.

Exactly.

And that's something I've never considered because I'm I'm pretty black and white in my approach to life, but that has that has moved me along more than almost anything is just knowing that, well, this can be true, and this can be true too, you know, and and that's it's hard for my brain to want to accept, but uh it's true.

Exactly.

And and Pastor Keith mentioned also to test the spirits, and that is very like it does call back on my old Pentecostal roots.

But the very core of that is take it back to God.

Like who is the most trusted relationship?

Hopefully it's it's God in your life.

And so I've learned too, yes, it's hard to hear some things, it's very like emotionally, it can take it can wreck you, but ultimately there could be something in it that God's going to reveal to you.

And so, even maybe if it was from an untrusted source, or maybe it was done in the wrong way, still take it to God.

Take it to Him and find out does He have something to say to you about it?

Um, whether or not it's through journaling or prayer, or write it down and come back when you're less emotional about it.

Um because maybe there is some truth in it that you need to receive, but um you're just not in the right place too.

Yeah.

Yeah, we've definitely lost.

I don't know if we've ever had it, but a humility in the you know the human race is is rare because in my opinion it's been perpetuated by social media and your opinion yes your opinion matters but not on every single thing you know and so I think um I think we're just getting used to the fact like well my voice can be heard and and yes don't get me wrong like you know the whole one one person can have an impact on a on a mass majority of people and yes like your voice needs to be heard and all that stuff but I guess not on every single topic and especially not on topics that maybe you haven't been experienced to know about you know um like the term influencer like we don't need to influence every area yeah yeah yeah tell me where I should shop yeah that's whatever that's perfect that explain that ex exactly explains what I'm thinking about but before I get uh any trouble and dig myself a uh shallow grave the there were some other the three things that he talked about like his three main points were and you mentioned it earlier like make up your mind guard what's yours and then stay where you are yeah so making up your mind like he we're in Nehemiah and he's talking about like well Nehemiah he just made up his mind like this is what I'm gonna do I feel like God has asked me to do this and it's stirring my hands to do it so even though I'm facing criticism opposition I'm still gonna I'm still gonna do it I feel like sometimes once my mind's made up then I'm good but it's the making up my mind part that is difficult for me and this has probably caused the most tension in my relationship in my marriage with Jen is because she's like can you just can you just say what you want to do but I'm so afraid of making the wrong decision that it cripples me to not make a decision.

Absolutely does that make sense?

Yeah a hundred percent I I feel like I'm an internal processor so I can ping pong around in my head forever before I land on a decision because I realize of that same thing I once I make the decision I'm a hundred percent and so then making the right decision is so important.

Um I do believe you said something like I don't remember exactly what you said but you it was almost like saying it's scary to finally make the decision because then you have to move forward and I remember for even making our family decision it was the first time I've had to make a really big life decision with my spouse and that was moving to Orlando we had not had to kind of walk through the so that it's already challenging to make up your own mind for your own life and big s decisions.

But then when you include a spouse with their own thoughts opinions their own processing of making decisions it can really be challenging and when we were praying through and deciding whether or not we were going to move to Orlando we kind of walked through it differently but um I remember this one particular morning I was it was literally every day we're definitely moving the next day we're definitely not like every day was a different day.

But one particular morning I was out on our back porch I was just praying and I was just thinking and I felt God release me in this way and that sounds so random like it felt like God released me but I just felt this really crazy piece that was like I just want you to make a decision and I realized in this moment the more I processed it I felt like I I needed God to tell me a clear do this or do that because I was so scared that if it failed that I would not have somebody to blame or does that make sense I don't know if this is theological or not yeah but God was like make a decision like I'm with you and I felt like in that moment I had been for so many other things if I could say God told me to do this if it went wrong then he was the blame like the scapegoat or that I could shift the blame on well I'm doing what God told me to do.

And there's so there I don't know what that is about human nature but that was my own personal experience.

So once I finally made my decision like we're going there was like this incredible piece of God's with me and he has equipped me for it regardless if the what is ahead pans out the way I think it should.

Yeah.

So I don't know if that's helpful or harmful for people but that was my own experience.

It's definitely helping me because I can totally relate to that and I think what it is is I feel like I look at life again black and white Nate where it's door number one door number two and God's going man I hope he chooses the freaking right door you know and so if I walk through door number two and it was supposed to be door number one it's like God's hand to his face like are you kidding me man like you know I where what I'm trying to what I'm trying to learn and understand is if I'm a child of God God's with me through door number one and God's with me through door number two.

You know and and maybe it's not maybe you can look back and second guess and say was that the best decision but at the end of the day you can still say that God was with me.

Yeah and God was for me no matter what.

So I don't know.

That's where I am right now is like I'm trying to take so much pressure off of myself and not in a not not in a scapegoat way like you mentioned like God are you serious look what you look what you made like let me do like you should have put something in my face you know but um but in another sense of like well if I if I go this road God's still with me and God's still for me and if I go down this road as long as I'm not like blatantly against God and that's the thing is like you're the fact that you are agonizing over a decision and you are seeking out God through the process how can he not honor that?

How can he not you know help you through that next season because you're approaching him you're seeking his face and and that's what he asks us to do.

And so yeah he will lead and guide us and uh so yeah.

Well and even I think you know this kind of triggers some stories in the Bible specifically Jonah.

You know God asks Jonah hey I want you to go to this city and I want you to preach basically and Jonah's like I don't want to do that and so he goes the opposite direction.

You know he obviously you know long story short he runs into all these problems but God still pursues him and says hey I still want you to go I still want you to go to this city like so even through all of that the grace of God still follows you and pursues you and I was reading about the lost coin and the lost sheep and all those things like sometimes we get lost just because we get lost and sometimes we get lost because I wonder what's down here.

Exactly and but God's still the same at that He still pursues us yeah the next thing was uh guard what's yours and you know there's a there's a couple things that Pastor Keith says that in the moment I'm like what guard what's yours like there was what was the other one the other one was like um oh man it was something it was when we were still doing church at home and he was talking about uh oh dominating like dominate where you are like we're called to dominate and stuff and when he first said that I was like okay I'm gonna need scripture I'm gonna need something else but when I went back and listened to it again I was like okay he's basically just saying like have dominion over your area like God you know has called you to to rule and reign with him you know like you know it in this in his kingdom so but hearing this again like guarding what's yours I I think it kind of goes back to the beginning like protecting the house and and guarding man God's entrusted us with with things and uh there's several parables in the New Testament where Jesus talks about that.

You know I I don't know if that struck you the way that it struck me at first like huh what's what's he getting at here but um I mean for me I think it's like a it's kind of a confidence thing like when when he says guard what's yours I think going back to like the voice of the crowd and all of these things if I know God said something to me I have to guard that like guard my mind a lot of times is the thing I'm guarding um guard it so that it doesn't get influenced by the things that aren't supposed to influence yeah and so I don't know if that's I mean I'm sure there's plenty of context that we could take that concept of guarding what's yours but for me I'm guarding my mind because oftentimes when the obedience part like walking out the obedience side of the thing he's asked you to partner with him that's when it's hardest and so I'm trying to guard and guard my brain my thoughts my logic that tries to come in and which is what he mentioned he said hey let's let's be people who respond as opposed to react yeah you know and let's be people that are prepared as opposed to as opposed to not and let's when things do come against us like let's be ready like oh yeah I knew this was coming.

Yeah I didn't know what form it may be coming in but I knew it was coming.

And so I have scripture to help me through it.

He talked about worship to help you know that helps you through it.

People yeah people that people that you can call on a in a on a moment's notice to so um I I kind of think that that's if you just listen to the first part you're like what the heck gar what's yours like no we should we should have an open hand like we even talk about it in the podcast but when you when you listen further um and then the third thing was was was staying where you are now this can be you could dissect this a million different ways probably too but if you listen to what he's actually saying he's saying if God says this is what I want you to do have you completed that before you can move on.

I mean I think about Noah that had been the weirdest obedience walk like walking through obedience because there was no sign of a flood there was no sign of the thing that God had asked him to do.

And so talk about criticism and talk about a length of time in which he had to follow through daily decide surrender daily decide obedience amidst he looked insane let's be honest and so I feel like for him he had to stay the course um yeah so I I I look at that example and think I don't know if I could have been Noah because that's a long time to have to walk through obedience every day when there's no sign of the impending flood.

Yeah that's an interesting perspective because I think a lot of times in in my life my it's the opposite it's I'm going through this and I don't see the end in sight.

Whereas opposed Noah everything looks fine like it's sunshine and you know no rainbows yet but it's sunshine and it's nice out and everybody's like dude life's good like what are you doing?

We don't even we don't even have any context for what you're trying to do when in my life it's more like this is a dumpster fire.

And who how's it gonna get put out?

Exactly.

Does that make sense?

And yeah and his was he was preparing for that what he knew was coming and um you know we all have heard that cliche thing is people think they become a Christian and everything turns rosy and you know whatever you use whatever cliche and obviously we know like cognitively that's not true.

Cognitively we're life is still going to be difficult difficult but in Noah's case he was preparing for the difficult so when it came he was good his family was good um he was responding in obedience he didn't stop and and question and change his course and so I think that's kind of what I was getting from that final point from Pastor Keith was um it's not and he wasn't doom and gloom like I don't think Noah was running around like freaking out which kind of goes back to my point of like taking it day by day um but he still was not far from the thought of at some point we're gonna need the boat.

Right.

And so that's okay.

That doesn't mean you know that you did something wrong.

It doesn't mean it's just we need to understand that with walk walking with Christ it comes with the full spectrum of life the great and the and the not great the dumpster fires and so instead of just trying to use your bad dumpster fires to try to get out of it but also when we're in the the peaks and everything's good knowing that at some point it's gonna turn um and be prepared I guess I don't know yeah um I think the uh the biggest thing to to kind of go back to and and the theme throughout this is just the grace of God and and how he's just he's with us.

He he understands his role as the father and I think sometimes we forget our role as the children.

Yeah you know like we want to take on the father role because but but within reality um God is for you so who can be against you you know and and reminding yourselves of those things are are are super important and and probably need to do it more often than not.

Was there anything else that you kind of took away from Sunday I know before we came on quote unquote air you had you were talking about you read an article about first Peter or something like that.

Yeah I mean it we kind of touched on a lot of the the truths from Peter but you know Peter was that passionate kind of off the cuff you know I'm sure he saw no shortage of hardships.

But maybe maybe for people here that are listening and are wondering like whether or not they're in the suffering stage or the opposition phase or maybe they're on the other side but they want to prepare for when they do I think First Peter is a really great book to walk through like read through to see Peter on the other side mature Peter and kind of how he walks walks through opposition how he looks at it at it and I think yeah there was just a lot of good things in that book but maybe that's something for people to kind of read through as a preparatory type of thing.

Like yeah build your playlist like Pastor Keith said know your people um but also the word of God man there's nothing that can parallel that and using using that as your first rule like first line of defense I guess in these moments.

Yeah that's a that's such a great point because man oftentimes we don't give the Bible the credit that it deserves and and we um I think we look at it with too narrow of a view.

Think about like the character development of people in scripture you know and in the story of God like Peter for example.

Yeah.

Think about like reading him in the gospels and then later reading him writing letters to the church like and you're like bro you didn't do it.

You weren't like who who are you you know and even I mean there's there's countless others obviously but um that's a really great point is compare and contrast you know it's simple simple things like that.

So well thanks for taking some time out of your day and before you have your second child appreciate that.

Hopefully this was helpful.

It's definitely helpful so appreciate it.

Cool thank you for joining us for After the message to learn more about Celebration Church here in Orlando you can follow us on social media under the handle at CelebrationORL or visit our website at celebrationorl.org