Noah and Elizabeth

Noah Medrano and his guest, Elizabeth Castro, discuss Elizabeth's journey from growing up in a non-religious household to joining a new age spiritual group. Elizabeth explains that her family never talked about God and her mother had a more eclectic belief system. She eventually sought out spirituality on her own and joined a new age church in Beverly Hills. The group emphasized the importance of believing in something greater than oneself and promoted concepts like love, peace, and joy. Elizabeth took classes and even presented on Jesus as a mystic figure, but did not acknowledge him as the son of God or her Lord and Savior. She was part of the group for a few years before stopping due to the pandemic and a lack of interest in virtual services. Noah reflects on how COVID may have been used by God to pull people out of dark situations. God speed Spiderman. Thank you. Bye. Are we supposed to pray before? Yes. You know, invite God into our conversation about God. Good. Thank you for reminding me. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Even though it's going to be on camera now. That'll be fine. We won't include this part or we may. Depends. It's all good. All right. I'll go ahead and open us up in prayer. Yes. Father God, we just thank you so much for this opportunity to be able to speak about you Lord and about to be able to warn people about what life is like without you and apart from you Lord and how horrible and dark it is Lord. So we just pray Lord, would you anoint us Lord to speak your truth Lord. Would you speak through us Lord? We do not want to speak on our own accord Lord, but we just want your Holy Spirit to speak through us Lord. So give us the words to say Lord. Just give us discernment on what to say, when to say it, how to say it Lord. Just speak through us Lord. We want you to just be in this room with us Lord and we just pray that this podcast, this video would just be a blessing to anyone who listens to it Lord and that you would define what the success of that looks like Lord, whether one person hears it or a hundred Lord. We just want you to be the one who determines what that looks like Lord. So just use us Lord for your glory and just give us peace Lord and give us just your Holy Spirit to speak through us Lord. We pray for all these things in the name of our mighty Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Okay. I'm going to introduce myself first because it's been a while. Okay. Okay. Do I need to look at this when I'm answering? Um, no, it's, it's just whatever you feel like. So like, you'd be like looking a little bit of this, a little bit of that, you know? Okay. Okay. It just natural. All right. Okay. It feels very natural. It gets more natural when you keep going. Yeah. Okay. Hello you guys. My name is Noah Medrano and I am here today with a very special guest. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? Hi everyone. My name's Elizabeth Castro and I'm very excited to be here and to answer some of Noah's questions. Hopefully to talk about God just maybe a little bit, a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, the reason why I felt compelled and led by God to have you on the podcast today is because you had told me a little bit about your testimony. It was just like a short bit, but oh my goodness, you have a really powerful testimony. Um, and something that I think a lot of people can relate to nowadays, um, which is, uh, that you used to be a part of, let's say the new age ideology. Um, and not just like you dipped your toe in a little bit, you were, you were pretty deep into it. So with that being said, I just want to kind of pick your brain a little bit and hear some more about what that was like and how the Lord rescued you out of that dark situation. So we're just going to start with some introductory questions. Um, so for the first question, I'm just going to ask, what did your religious background look like when you were growing up? That's a good question. Um, growing up, my family never talked about God with me. It was never even a word. I remember like being mentioned in my household by my parents. Um, later on in my life, I learned that my dad was raised Catholic and my grandma was like a very devout Catholic, but you know, raising his family, you know, he didn't bring that to us. So we never went to church as kids. We were never really introduced as that. Um, and so all throughout my life, any type of conversation about God or religion or what I was researching or going about myself was all because I sought it out. It was never brought to be brought to me by my family or my parents or anything like that. Um, so also I would say my mom has shared with me like her religious beliefs, I guess, or just whatever you believe, like that's great for you. And like, she wants that for you and she just will kind of like take different pieces from different religions or belief systems of whatever she feels works for her, but she's not necessarily devoted to one thing. And so that's like kind of who I look up, who I looked up to in my life of like what God is, how you seek God out, um, how you look at religion. Um, so it was all just whatever I wanted to believe. I was like, Oh, then my mom says like, that's okay. So I'm just going to do whatever I want to do. Yeah. Wow. And that's something that unfortunately, um, is so common of people just picking out little bits and pieces of, I'll have a little bit of Buddhism. I'll have a little bit of Christianity, a little bit of Catholicism, just picking out the parts that they want, which I just think is so, so contrary to how we're supposed to seek truth. You don't get to just decide what you want to be true and then follow that. You have to find what, what is the actual truth. And so I think that's such a shame that so many people are going that route of creating the God that they want to worship. When, where is that going to get you? That's a self-made God and that's not truth. You need to seek truth. And so that's something that I stress with so many people that I talk to who go that route is that I'm not trying to just follow the religion that seems the most fun or that seems the most, um, like rewarding. That's not what it's about. It's about what is truth and then following that. So that is really such an interesting and unfortunately not all that unique anymore, um, to have that kind of an upbringing. But you had mentioned before that you ended up joining basically what I think would be considered like a new age church. Um, so what kind of led you to going that route? Yeah. So once I was about, I would say 18, 19 years old, I, you know, at the time I had been spiritually seeking and I understood the importance of having something greater than myself, um, guiding me or, um, helping me, you know, through hard times in my life, hardships, things like that. So I had that concept, but I, you know, was still being brought up in, you know, a group of people that would allow me to believe in whatever God I wanted and that was okay and acceptable. As long as you had some type of God, I mean, literally it could be a doorknob if you wanted. So it was literally whatever you wanted as long as you had some conception of something greater than yourself. And so I, um, I'm trying to think of how I even got introduced to this group. It was in Beverly Hills. It was, they had a like amphitheater or a theater that they would rent out like every Sunday and that's where they held their services. And it was very much set up like church except it wasn't Christian at all. Um, and they had like a quote unquote like leader or pastors you would say that would like go and give the talks. They would have like music. It was just as you would think of like a church service would run. Um, but what they were teaching was new age spirituality. Um, and they did allow you to believe whatever you wanted to. So it was very much a place where they were, they just wanted you to believe in, again, something greater than yourself where you like love and respect other people. Um, you, you know, you could do whatever you wanted, I would say. Um, and it was also built on like quote unquote love and peace and joy and like all those spiritual concepts. But now I see how those, they really didn't have those things. Right. Um, you know, true love is, you know, what Christ did on the cross. It's not a feeling I have or me being accepting of someone or the acts, you know, that I do for someone. It's, you know, beyond that. And so they had classes even, I took a lot of their classes. Um, and I even remember, um, I took like a mystics class and we were learning about all these different mystics and funny, funnily enough, I chose Jesus as my mystic. So like they consider Jesus like a, like a mystic of our time, but like not our Lord and savior or anything like that. And so I like gave this whole presentation on Jesus and I said that he was like our great example of like what it is to like love and serve other people. But like he was just that just an example, not like, you know, the son of God and not our Lord and savior. And I didn't acknowledge any of that. And I just looking back on things like that, I think it's funny cause I'm like, Oh Jesus is so patient with me. And he was trying to like knock on my door, but like I wasn't ready to like let him in. Um, so yeah, I was part of that group for probably, I would say like a couple of years and then I stopped going, you know, when the pandemic happened in 2020 just cause I didn't find the virtual services interesting. Um, and looking back, I think I was just, I was hungry for community and like they had community, they had people there. And, um, I think it didn't last for me through the pandemic because you can't really have online community like that. So I just stopped going. For sure. Wow. That is so interesting thinking about it now, hearing you say that because of, um, COVID was kind of what pulled you away from it. I'm just thinking about like, wow, the Lord really used COVID. I'm sure not just for you, but for a lot of people to get them out of really dark, bad situations. So that's something that I hadn't really thought about how the Lord could have used that to pull people out of, um, really just bad situations. So that's awesome that that kind of, even though you, I'm sure you didn't realize it at the time, but the Lord used that to bring you away from that. I'm actually just realizing that now, um, I'm thinking about the timeline and you're so right. Yeah. Yeah. That's so awesome. Yeah. Um, so you said you were in that group for about two years. Yeah. A few years, I would say. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And so that's cool. That's funny because you answered a couple of the questions that I was going to ask. So I'm like, Oh cool. No, that's good. So yeah. What, was it the kind of thing where you like walked into it slowly, you like dipped your toe in and then like, before you knew it, you were underwater or did you kind of just like go all in all at once? So, um, I had a moment, I had a brief amount of time when I started going where I would just go every Sunday just cause it was nice to have a community and be spiritually seeking. Um, and then the community that I was part of, um, I decided to, to leave them. It just wasn't for me anymore. Um, and so I was seeking answers and seeking God through that time. Um, just to give some context, you know, I was in 12 AA recovery for, since I was 16, I was sober for over five years. So about three, three and a half years in, I started to feel God tell me like, I need you somewhere else and I need you to leave. And I was very confused because I had built my whole life in AA. I grew up in AA. You know, it helped me so much get out of, you know, alcoholism and addiction and really turn my life around. And so to have a moment where I'm so comfortable and I feel like I'm at the top then for God to say like, now I'm calling you elsewhere. I was like, I told him no. Initially I'm like, no, I'm not going to leave. This is, these are my people. I feel like I'm making a difference here. I'm in my routine, you know, I'm doing good work, I'm helping others. And he was very persistent. And so finally I said, okay. And then I went to this, I continued going more and becoming more involved in this sort of like new age spirituality church thing. And I, after one of the services they had, they called them spiritual practitioners that would pray with you after the service. And so I was seeking answers. So I went and they would just tell you to go to a certain person so you didn't choose who you prayed with. And I sat down and it was this guy and we prayed and I didn't tell him what I wanted answers about. I just said, you know, I'm just seeking some answers around, um, what I should do with my life. And so he started, you know, praying about that and he didn't know that I was seeking like, you know, should I stay sober or not? Should I stay in AA still? Like, is that for me or is God calling me somewhere else? Is he removing my, you know, problem with alcoholism and drug addiction from my life fully? Something that, you know, AA says is not possible, but, um, I, I don't believe that there's anything that limits what's possible for God. I, I do believe that many, most people do need to stay sober if they struggle with that. But, um, I felt a clear calling that God was telling me that he can remove that from me and that he needs to remove it from me because there's other things that he needs me to do for his kingdom. Again, this is before I knew Christ, but now looking back, I am seeing, you know, more of the full circle picture of what he's doing. So I had received prayer from this guy, a spiritual practitioner. Then I went the next week and they paired me with the same guy and I was like, wow, that's so wild. What are the chances? I asked for the same type of prayer. I didn't tell him what it was about specifically. And then he ended up telling me, he's like, you know, like I was part of a community for like, I think it was over 20 years. He was like, I was part of Alcoholics Anonymous. Do you know what that is? And I was like, are you kidding me? He didn't even know that that's what I was talking about. And I was like, yes, like I've been sober for, you know, over three years now. And that's the community I've been asking about. And he just told me, he said, you know what? He said, it's okay for you to leave, but you can still stay sober. Just keep seeking God no matter what. And that always stuck with me was no matter what, I should always seek God above all else. And I could change the community of the people I was with. I could ask certain questions because I was afraid to even ask the question as if it was a possibility. And I said, I will seek God above all else. And like, I will always be taken care of. And again, that wasn't necessarily a Christian church, but I believe like God was speaking to me in those moments of me earnestly doing my best to seek him. Because that's what I was doing. I was earnestly seeking. And there's some people that maybe don't have the opportunity to be around Christians or to be around Christ. And it doesn't mean that they can't hear from God in different ways too, or that that wasn't God. God can reach us anywhere, even through people that maybe aren't Christians or aren't trying to like evangelize or minister to us. So those are the ways that I've, I've seen God work, you know, through my story and find me because I wasn't seeking Jesus, but he was seeking me for sure. That's awesome. That's so encouraging to think that even in a place where people are, I mean, worshiping demons, ultimately, whether they realize it or not, even in those dark, dark places, the Lord can still use that. And he can still speak to you through those people and those situations. That's so awesome. And the fact that he kept seeking hard after you, even when you wanted nothing to do with the God of the Bible, he just kept chasing after you. So that's, that's so sweet. That's awesome. Yeah. So what were some kind, some of the like practices that you guys would do in that community? Yeah. Part of New Age spirituality is in a way like making yourself God and they, it's very subtle. And I always think about like Adam and Eve and how like this, the serpent is so like 98% true, but like there's that 2% lie that will like make it a lie. And New Age spirituality I see as that is like this, this tempter that will paint this picture of this glorious thing. That's quote unquote truth. And like, yeah, well it's right to want peace and joy and love and acceptance and all of that. But how you go about getting that, like there's a price to that ultimately. And it's not necessarily actually true. So it was very much like you almost like cherry picking what you wanted from, to hear from God or what you wanted to ask God for, or even who God was. Like you got to cherry pick those things and then you would almost like worship or ask for those things through like manifestation or like different rituals in that way. You know, reading different kinds of books in that way. Journaling and things like that. And so that was probably the biggest thing that they were doing. And then as you got connected to different people, you know, I also was part of another, not necessarily a group, but I had a mentor that was part of that community as well. And he was into like shamanic medicine and things like that. And got into like channeling different spirits and even had a whole business. So a lot of them will have like these businesses where they'll meet with you. It's almost like counseling and they'll do like channeling spirits to give you messages or they'll do like energy healing or like energy reading, things like that. And really paint it as this thing of like, I have answers for you, or like, I'm going to give you hope, or I'm going to, I'm going to heal you. Or I'm going to like give you all the things you could ever want. Like, just tell me what you want and like, I'll do some thing to give that to you, whether it's a prayer or it's like a ritual or a ceremony. And so I was actually mentored by this person and taught different shamanic medicine techniques. So we were doing like full on ceremonies out of our friend's house where it was, I don't know if you want me to like go into full detail of like what we were doing. So, and I also want to preface this by saying like, looking back now, I understand that this was all like demonic magic, dark work, whatever you want to call it. But like in the moment, like, we're almost like innocent children seeking, like we're truly seeking answers. And that was one thing about the community was like, yes, there are people that may actually be aware of what they're doing, that this is dark, that this is manipulative, that this does come at a cost, that this is not truth. But there's a lot of broken people that just fall into these communities, people just seeking community, people seeking answers, people broken and lost, people wanting a better life. And so when you walked in there, like it didn't feel dark and heavy, you know? And so I also like, I still have much respect for these people and much love for them. And even like my own experience with, you know, I ended up doing ceremonies and stuff out of my house and had my own business working with these shamanic medicines. And like, I'm even one of those people, like I was trying to help people. And I just was so misled by the enemy and other people that were also misled by the enemy. And so I just want to say that because sometimes it's like all spoken about of like, oh, these like dark, horrible people. But like, it's so easy to fall into that and be misled because it sounds so right in a lot of ways, unless you have spiritual discernment and you really know truth, then it's going to seem true to you if you're desperate. So we worked with this medicine called Cambo and it's collected, it's a secretion collected from a specific type of frog in the Amazon. And it's like, it almost looks like boogers. Like it's like kind of like that. And they would dry it and put it on this stick. And then my mentor would go and like buy it from some guy and he'd bring it back to us. And then we would get clients that would come in for these ceremonies. And basically what Cambo does or what it was sold as was it's a way to basically facilitate a spiritual experience. And it makes you, they call it purging, but it makes you throw up and also gives you all different kinds of sensations in your body. It's also supposed to work on like your spiritual body is what they would call it, your energy, things like that. And yeah, it's basically a facilitation of a spiritual experience. And that's the other thing about New Age spirituality is it's painted as like, do you want a spiritual experience? Which I think we all do, right? Like we're all created and geared towards having a connection with God, having a spiritual experience. And so they're selling you this experience almost. And that's what we were doing. And so you would actually, to put this, they called it medicine on, is you would burn the first layer of your skin off. And then you would activate the medicine. You would scrape it off of the stick with water. So it was water activated. And then you would put it on the like opened wound, you would say. And then you would drink, I think it was about, so you would have to fast before, so you wouldn't have any food in your stomach. And then at the time of the ceremony, right before you put the medicine on, you would drink like 20 ounces of water, I'd say. And then you would have like a, everyone would have a bucket and you would purge. Like it would make you throw, like you would get so sick. And I've done it many times. I think I've done Cambo, you know, self-administered, been, you know, part of ceremonies more than I could count. And every time is different. And so they would call upon, we'd call upon the spirit of Cambo, the spirit of the frog. We would invite other spirits into the ceremony. We would actually like do a ritual where we would like, quote-unquote, seal the space because we'd be opening up different portals and like things within you. So we were trying to, quote-unquote, protect ourselves because we'd be in a quote-unquote, like spiritually vulnerable space, like on this medicine or whatever. And then we would, like me being a facilitator, I would go around and like facilitate the ceremony as well, make sure everyone's okay. And it was, yeah, it would get really intense sometimes. And like I witnessed a lot of things. And that's the other thing is like, there are other spirits out there that are very real and things happen when you call upon them or when you channel them or when you work with these types of medicines or do these types of magic things, like you will witness things happen. And sometimes you're then misled into thinking this is real and like this is God because you're witnessing power. Like it is a powerful thing to watch, you know, all of these things happen. And also for me, like taking this medicine, like I did have experiences where I did feel like things were healed in me. Like it was very intense. It brought about a lot of physical pain. And, you know, I had different things from my childhood brought up in memories. And then I'd like, quote-unquote, purge it out. And I'd be like, oh, I'm healed. I'm better now. You know, these things inside of me and even the understanding of like how, like your spirit and your soul and your body are all connected and how you're created. There's a way that it's explained to you or this ceremony will make sense that is healing you or working on you. So, yeah, I did that for a few years too. I ended up having my own business and I would do these ceremonies out of my own house. And that was a lot of stories of weird stuff happening there too. And I thought that I was, I was the one doing it. That's the thing of being taught as a facilitator is you think that you are the one orchestrating someone's experience with God. Yeah. Even just being a part of it. And that's the other dangerous thing about new age spirituality. And like where you see all these people like selling crystals or selling books that they've written about their views on spirituality and like, this is how you're going to manifest your dream life and money and whatever is you think it's coming from you and you give yourself credit. And, um, that's so wrong. Like the Bible speaks against that entirely. You know, like you've made yourself into an idol. You've completely rejected God. Um, or you give something other than God or Jesus credit to healing or to an answer prayer or whatever it may be. Or you, or they'll also do the thing where they're like, Oh, it's the universe. It's like this very ominous thing. And I'm like, what does that mean? And they're just like, Oh, it's so God is so vast and big. Like you can't possibly put, even put words into it and they'll just make it this ominous thing. And I'm like, you're not giving credit to anything. And so as a practitioner and a facilitator of that, I would also base my value on the kinds of spiritual experiences I was able to facilitate or bring about in people. And I would, it's, it's very addictive because you, you feel powerful and then when you're not doing that, then you don't feel powerful. And so your belief about your own value and where your value comes from is very misconstrued because you have no God that's like actually telling you who you are. It's you are creating yourself and there can be this like power in that where it's like, Oh, I have the power to like create myself into whoever I want to be or like help someone do that. But then it's also very disempowering because we know now like our power is limited. Like it's nothing compared to God. And that is a big thing about new age spirituality that I think is very dangerous is it's, it's selling you something so false. Like God is not in the picture at all. It's you worshiping yourself basically. Absolutely. Wow. Yeah. That's, I think that's the danger with putting your identity in anything besides Christ is that like you're talking about anytime that something happens, anytime that things don't go your way, anytime that things are skewed, all of a sudden your self worth and your self identity is just out the window and you're like, who am I now? And that's why I'm just so grateful that we can have our identity in Christ, which he never changes. We are always his. Once you give your life to Christ, you are his forever. We were bought with a price. And so I just love the fact that we're able to have that stability of always knowing who we are because who we are is not identified by whatever culture says or whatever society says or whatever we say about ourselves or whatever, um, happens, whatever we're able to accomplish. It's not based on our works, but it's based on what Christ did for us. And because we have identity in him, our identity never changes. It's, it's always, I am a child of God first and foremost. And that is, that is my identity. Anything else that people try to put their identity in, it's just, it's hopeless. It's always changing and it will fade away. Everything on earth will fade away, but God's word is the only thing that remains. And something else that you had talked about, um, about how real these experiences are and how real the spiritual aspect of it is. I think that's something that people don't realize. Like you were saying, there are other spirits. Um, it's talking about in first John, I think it's chapter four, test every spirit. There are many, many spirits and we need to test those spirits against what the word of God says because they can be so misleading because they are real and they do have power. Their power is nothing compared to God's power, but it can be very deceiving. And especially when you don't really know like who God is, they can act like God. They can pretend to be God. They can call themselves God. And it's just something that people don't realize is that demons are real. There is a spiritual, there's spiritual warfare going on all of the time. And anytime that you may be pursuing new ageism and feeling like, Oh, well, I felt like I had this experience. I do not doubt that you had that experience. I do not doubt that you had that feeling. I do not doubt that you were healed of something because those, excuse me, those demons, those unclean spirits are very real and they do have power and they will use that power to mislead you and to make you think that that's God and that's who you should be worshiping. So it's so important to hear stories like yours and to hear how those things are real. And just because you feel that way and you have that feeling doesn't mean it's God. The Holy Spirit is very distinct from all of the other unclean spirits. Yeah. Um, so I think that's just like so important for people to realize. People typically either think that, um, it's all just nonsense. Like, Oh, people using crystals and people summoning things and using tarot cards, they tend to think like, Oh, none of that's real. It just doesn't work. But then when people put that message out into the world that, Oh, it's just nonsense and there's no actual like power to it, then it makes people think when they do feel that power and when they do have those experiences, Oh, well, then this must be like God because people, we don't teach people that there are demons and unclean spirits who will use these things that seem good, like fame and wealth and all these things. They'll use that to deceive you. So I think that's something that we as a society need to acknowledge that Satan is real and demons and unclean spirits are real and they do have power, but we don't have to fear because I know that can be a little bit scary for people to think about. Um, but we don't have to fear because the Lord, the Yahweh God, his power. Oh my goodness. No other. He has no rival. He has no equal. There is no other spirit, but the Holy Spirit who has the ultimate power and the ultimate authority. So thank you for sharing that because I think a lot of people need to hear that. Um, so why do you think that so many people today are kind of falling into that new age mindset? Hmm. I, I really think that people rightly so are seeking answers to problems that they have, hurts that they have, their, their dreams and how to accomplish those things. Um, there's real things going on in their lives that they need help with. They need hope. They need faith in something, right? They, they have an understanding that it can't all be on them, but then they're like, well then what else is there out there for me? Um, and so that's all, that's all great. We should be seeking. Um, but what happens is we get deceived, right? And it could be because someone else in their life, you know, is involved in it and they're like, well, I see change in you, right? I see some kind of power working in your life. So like, I guess we'll see what that's about. There's a curiosity. And I think another thing is they, new age spirituality, it sells a very enticing power to you. Yeah. And it makes a lot of promises and it might show some quote unquote results, but it also doesn't tell you the price that you're paying for those things. And that's another thing that I believe needs to be put out there is the price that's being paid for believing in these things, worshiping these things, you know, calling upon these unclean spirits. Like you said, there's a price to be paid for that, which we know is it results in death. It results in you loving darkness and a, you know, possibly not being able to truly know Christ and know eternity and know life, um, which is a really heartbreaking thing. Um, and so I think people are just desperately looking for something, also something easy because Christianity, as we know, is not easy. Following Christ, being a servant to him is not easy. Um, and some people don't want to put in that work and be in a real relationship with Christ. They don't, some people don't want to know God or they have previous experiences with quote unquote God that put them off. So they seek this other thing that says God can be whatever you want. Yeah. Wow. Um, so I think there's a lot of reasons and I really believe that as Christians, um, it's important for us to go and meet people where they're at and to truly understand what is going on in their life so that we can tell them who Christ really is. Cause you know, even myself, I didn't know who Christ was. It took me a long time and probably at that time when I left AA, if I would have known who Christ was, I probably would have been a follower of Christ. But you know, my story is my story and you know, Jesus came into my life, you know, at the perfect time and called me by name back to him. But, um, I think that we as Christians also, there is such a responsibility because there's so many broken people out there that are seeking and sometimes, you know, try evangelism and, and trying to minister. It feels some non-Christians can feel so unapproachable, but I always try and think of, well, they are seeking and I just want to tell them the truth. Um, and you know, Christ is the closest thing to us. And sometimes it can feel intimidating to want to tell someone about Jesus because you're like, how do I explain this to them? This feels so like, I don't know, woo woo or whatever, but I'm like, well, what's the alternative? Very other woo woo things that are actually foreign, right? They're not really true God and we're created in God's image. And so we just need to, to tell them, you know, who God is truly. Um, and, and the Holy Spirit will put it on our heart the best way to communicate to someone. Cause it can be different for every person, right? Depending on their, their current situation or who they, who they know God as falsely, right? And how to work with that or to just bring them that community, show them true Christ-like love. A lot of people are so broken in being loved, not how love actually is. And so they have misconceptions about those things. So I really think if we just start by truly loving people, um, and capturing their heart and, um, that is really where God is going to move. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, like you said, I mean, it talks about that exact thing in scripture, the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. So like you're saying, people are seeking, people are wanting to seek what the truth is and seek this quote unquote higher power that they, they want to know what that is. And we are beings that we were created to worship. So we're going to worship something, whether it's ourselves, whether it's creation, um, idols, or ideally we want people to worship the almighty creator, God, the one true God. And so everyone worships something, whether they admit it or not, everyone worships something. And we as Christians need to be those laborers to go out into the harvest field and to find those people who are seeking and direct them toward the truth, direct their worship toward the one true God. Because if, if we're not there to preach the gospel to them and to show them who Christ is and what you did for them, then they're going to worship something else. Everyone worships something. And so I think what you're talking about is so important that we, we just need more Christians who are bold, who know the word of God. And even if you don't feel like you have that deep of an understanding of God's word, your testimony is so powerful. If you are a Christian, then you have experienced God's love for you. And even if that's all, you know, even if you don't know scripture, you can go up to someone and tell them, Hey, Jesus loves you. He died on the cross for you. He paid the price for your sins so that you could be in relationship with him. And you can just share them your heart and your testimony. So evangelizing, going out and preaching the gospel is something that every single Christian is called to. How selfish would it be for us to find this peace and this joy and this hope in Christ and not to share that with other people. So we need more laborers in the harvest field. And like you're talking about, we can't be afraid. You cannot be afraid to share your faith. We were not given a spirit of fear, but of love and of a sound mind and of power, the power of the Holy Spirit. So we just need to speak boldly and authoritatively and bring people to scripture and show them why the things that they're worshiping are contradictory to what God's word says. This world that we live in is just so confused. Everyone is just so confused and misled and misguided. They have questions and we as Christians need to be the one to answer it because other people will answer those questions and they will answer with lies. They will answer with half truths like Satan in the garden. And so we need to be the ones going out and answering people's questions and directing their worship toward the one true God. So any Christians out there, I know that it's hard and I know that it can be scary to share your faith with others. But I think now more than ever, the world needs hope. The world needs to know that there is an almighty God who loves them and who sent his only son to die on the cross for them and that they can have relationship with God and that all other paths lead to hell. People can sit here all day and say, oh, any, you know, Buddhism and Islam, all these different roads, they all lead to heaven. God's word says something entirely different. God's word says Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through him. That only by believing in Jesus and putting your faith in him, that's the only way that you can have eternal life. So that's, I didn't make the rules. That's what God's word says. That's what truth is. And so you just have to, you just have to, we as Christians have to show people, direct their worship toward the one true God instead of all of these other unclean spirits. So I know we're running out of time here. Probably didn't get through half of the questions that I had for you, but I think this was a really fruitful conversation. So let's just skip past some of these questions. And last question for you is just going to be, what is your message to anyone out there that might be slowly falling into a new age mindset? Yeah. I think part of what took me so long to come to Christ was I didn't understand Christ. And I had a lot of questions that I didn't know how to get answers to. And so I sought easier answers. And part of that was because I also didn't at the time have the tools I felt like to really get the answers. And so if you are seeking, which, you know, if you're seeking new age spirituality and you're in that, you are seeking, we're all seeking. It's important that you ask those questions and that you get your answers. And so it's okay to have questions and it's okay to not understand all at once. I'm almost two years into knowing Christ and I still don't know the whole Bible. I still have questions. It's about building a relationship with God and that can take time and that's okay. And most importantly, like have a community of people around you while you are new and while you do have questions. And even if you don't believe everything they say, or you're like, I just want to have my questions answered, but that doesn't mean I'm going to become a Christian or anything like that. I think at the end of the day, God is the most important thing to all of us in our lives. It is something that we go to, whether it's a false God, new age spirituality, or Christ, we all go to God for different things. And so it's probably worthwhile to make sure that you know who your God is and you know that you're talking to the all powerful, almighty God. And so ask questions and be open minded because for me, if I didn't ask questions and if I didn't have a curiosity, I wouldn't have been able to truly know Christ and have him reveal himself to me. And God is, Christ is patient. He's very patient. He was patient with me. And he was, you know, that's what I believe makes him so loving is he's not going to force a relationship onto me. He's not going to force me to follow him. He wants me to, he wants me to know him. He wants a relationship with me, but he won't force it. And so if you are seeking, ask those questions and allow God to reveal himself to you. One of my prayers at the beginning was God, I'm open minded, but like, you're going to have to really show me who you are and he will reveal himself to you. Be bold in asking. And like the Bible literally says, if you ask, he will answer. If you knock, he will open the door and show you. And so that would be my number one, you know, recommendation is, is be curious and ask. And like, God will tell you, God will give you the answer. Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's so important to emphasize the fact that you have to be asking from a place of humility, from a place of genuine, genuine desire to know the truth, because I know a lot of people will be like, well, I prayed a prayer and God didn't answer. So guess he's not real, right? He knows your heart. He knows if you're earnestly, genuinely desiring to know the truth and to find God and to know who he is. And so it's when you genuinely seek him, that's when he will reveal himself to you. So like Elizabeth is talking about, absolutely ask questions, but do the work to find the answers. I know a lot of people who say like, well, I just have so many questions. And then my question to them is, well, what did you do to find the answers? And 99% of the time they're like, oh, I just, I just have questions. And I'm like, then ask the questions, then do a Google search, ask what the Bible says about this, ask how Christian apologists would explain this tough question that you have. There are answers, but you have to seek, you have to be willing to ask those questions, because if you just keep those questions to yourself, then you're just going to be sad and confused, really. You have to actually seek the answers to the questions that you have. And that's what I ended up doing, was asking questions. And for a long time, I just said, well, I have all these questions, I have all these doubts, and I wasn't actually seeking to find the answers. And one day I actually sat down and I was like, well, what does the Bible say about this? And how would other Christians explain this tough topic? And to my surprise, there were answers. These questions have answers. And yes, there's always things that we can't fully understand, because we are human, and God, His ways and His thoughts are so much higher than ours. But nine times out of ten, there are answers. You just have to seek, and you just have to be willing to ask the right questions. So, thank you so much, Elizabeth, for sharing with us and for being so open about your experience. The Lord has really used you in such an incredible way, and He will continue to use you. I mean, you're only two years in, I can't wait to see what all that God has in store for you. So, thank you for being here today, and we will see you guys next time. Bye! Well, thank you so much, Noah. It was so fun to do this. Also, because I've never really shared my testimony that much, and I'm still understanding it, so I'm realizing things as we're talking. I'm like, oh, that was God. Oh! Yeah, that happened. I love that. Yeah, I mean, the only way to start sharing is to start sharing. So, thank you for being willing to... Of course, yeah. Austin, we're done. Can you stop it so I don't lose it? What are you doing? What are you doing? You put it on the chair. You might blend it with the TV. I know. What's so funny? No, I was like, oh. No, you do it.