pod 7: pt 3

I'm sorry, that's the wrong line, I don't know if that's the right line. Alright, are we ready? Yes. Yep. It says in Matthew 6, 26, 27. Oh my goodness, the gospel. It says, look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into bond, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Oh my. Come on, we did it in the end. Oh my days. How good is that? How good is that verse, bro? And that verse is, man, like, how good is that? Like, what do you think about that verse? Like, just even saying it, like. What? Bro, I think it's amazing. Because whenever you're thinking about, like, I guess your value as a person, and worrying about the future, it's so easy to worry about the future. I don't know about you, but do you worry about the future? All the time. All the time. But it's just spot on in the head. Yeah. And it's like, it's saying you are enough, like, you don't have to be anything else. Like, I don't want people to ever feel like, to even just have a relationship with God, you have to be some specific person, or even like, know Him, like, and be like this. I feel like so many people are really like, I have to be in this specific lifestyle, I have to be living life good. But don't realize the only way you're going to live life good is if you actually have the relationship with God. Seek first the Kingdom. Yeah. Oh my days. Get that in your hearts, ladies and gentlemen. Trent is shaking his head right now. It's true, though. Like, you have to, like, seek first the Kingdom. Don't try to be someone else. To know God. God knows who you are. There's no point hiding. There's no point doing an Adam and Eve and covering everything up now. He sees the sin and the dirty part of me. You ran naked. What? What? Okay, okay, okay, okay. We're doing one of these ones. That was crazy. That is hurting my ears. Nope. Yeah, that's one of those ones. Yeah, read Genesis if you don't know what he's talking about, because that was kind of out of pocket. Out of pocket, my bad. Yeah. But... Seek first the Kingdom. Seek first the Kingdom. You've got to seek it first, man. Um, I also, I think I lost it, but I think it was, like, Psalms, um, 128, um, and it's just, it's a Psalm of David, right? Yeah. And I think the whole time, he's just praising God, like, the whole time, knowing nothing else other than praising God. How long did it take you to realize that they were all songs? I didn't even realize that the Psalms were written as songs by David and other people for, like, until, like, a year ago. Did you know that, that they're all songs? Well, not really. What? No, because apparently, I know they're... Like, I thought a Psalm was my song, I didn't think all of them were songs. Yeah, apparently they are. All of them? I think, well, majority of them, at least. Because apparently, well, I know a few of them have been turned into, like, Hillsong tracks and stuff like that, and also City Church's Hope, Psalm 22, you know. I haven't listened to that. God of Hope, yeah. Is it good? No, yeah, Real One's no God of... It's not Real One. Did you find it? I just... You opened it up and then shut it. It was Psalm 138, Psalm 138. Is it a song or is it not? We have to wait and see when he opens it up. It's Psalm 138's song. I don't know if it, like, none of them really sound like a song, but I don't know. I know. But it was also written in, what, like, Aramaic or Hebrew or Latin. No, yeah, whatever it is. And, you know, they might sing it in different languages and stuff like that. Look at the mosque. Oh, yeah, we went to a mosque last week. No, Respect to Islam. Yeah, their religion is, like, quite... I genuinely like how they phrase it. Yeah, it's really, really... Yeah, it's very, um, how would you say it? It's, like, it's very spiritual. I like it. It's cool. It inspired me to not become Muslim, but to grow in a connection like that with Christ Jesus. Yeah, I mean, just because at the end of the day, like... And I hope I don't get hated for this, but... Anyway, it's just, it's all about work. Yeah. From my interpretation of when we're at the mosque. Like, to me, it seems like it's all about work. Like, you have to work, work, work, and then maybe you can be saved. Yeah. All you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ. Yes. God for everyone. Psalm 138 says, I praise you, Lord, with all my heart. Before the gods, I'll sing your praise. I think he says praise, like... And then later on it says, May all the kings of the earth praise you. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. Before that, he says, I'll bow down in your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness for you have so exalted your solemn decree. So, yeah, he's just praising God the whole time. Sometimes it doesn't have to be just about what you want or what you need. Yeah. But just praising God. Yeah. I notice, like, sometimes, like... I don't know if you do this, but sometimes something so good happens and I will just take a minute to talk to God and be like, Thank you, Lord, for all of this. Or even, like, I'm doing something really stupid, I'll be like, Lord, I'm so sorry and I repent to you for all of this and stuff. And I notice, like, that's not even... Like, even that, like, that's a few sentences and that means everything to the Lord. He doesn't want it to be some big, you know, eight-minute novel or something of you just yapping and yapping and yapping and yapping. You don't have to yap. You can just be... I mean, you can yap. You can yap. But just make sure it's genuine. Yeah. Make sure it's not just you trying to get some, like, English prize award by talking to God with the best prayer. Like, be genuine and actually speaking words that are coming from your heart, not trying to impress the Lord and stuff, because, you know, as we said, like, the Lord is a bit like, what are you doing when you do do it? Do you ever, like, pray for something and then in the moment that it actually happens and then you kind of forget that you prayed about it and then later on you, like, remember you're like, Yeah, yeah. I think one of the major ones that happened in my life was a lot of people, like, I pray a lot for, like, seeing my friends find Jesus but also even grow closer to Jesus. I remember a couple of years ago, I was like, I hope my friends grow closer to Jesus. Me? Yeah, and then some of the other boys. And I can see that they've grown closer to Jesus. Like, obviously, you're on a Christian podcast now and Trent is doing stuff to become a youth pastor at Youth Live Academy. And I know Nathan wants to go over to YWAM Kona soon, and so do you, and then so many other people as well. I could go on for hours speaking them any name and stuff like that. But now that I see it, like, the Lord is so good. Like, and He's blessed me to be able to see people grow closer to the Lord and stuff like that. And the fact that I might not have done much to help plant that seed, but I know that the seed, that I was able to help that seed grow. And that was really sick. And I have a blessing of being able to see it now, you know, harvest and stuff. And it all speaks in the Bible. Sometimes the seeds you plant, you might not always see. Like, it says, like, look at most of the prophets in the Bible. You know, when they were writing the Gospels, they didn't know how the people were going to react to the Gospels. Most of them got crucified before the book would really be given to God's people. But look at it now, like, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are probably the most recognizable books in all of history from the Bible. And all those names are so, like, they're probably some of the most common names for most children and stuff like that. And the mark they left and the seeds that they have planted in people's lives. Like, it's a book in the Bible. Like, it plants seed in every single one's life. Like, sometimes you're not always going to be able to see the harvest grow, but you can know that you planted it for God's will. Also, just going off. I think you were talking, like, about us, like our friend group. And bro, how good is it to have, like, a group of, like, actually Christian mates? Yeah. Bro, I'm just so thankful to God for that. Yeah. I guess before I came to Wycliffe, I didn't really have that. I don't know about you, if you really had that before you came to Wycliffe. Yeah, it's exactly the same. It wasn't there. It just took that leap of faith of changing schools. And, I don't know, were you nervous going to a new school? Bro, I was so nervous. But I was also, actually you keep going, because I could go on a whole testimony. Yeah, I was just going to say, like, just even taking that small, what might seem like a small step of changing schools, it can seem massive in the moment, but then the reward is so much greater. Yeah. Like, ten Christian friends, like, all in one friend group is crazy. Yeah, it's so good, like, being in a friend group. Because when you have Christ-like friendships, like the disciples were with Jesus, like, the disciples didn't just walk around Jesus, like, Jesus leading people around, and he kind of just, like, forgot about them. Yeah. You know, it's not like he was some, like, special sunset, and they were kind of just, like, he's the leader of Cobra Kai, and they were kind of just, like, the people and stuff. This is getting crazy now. I love this episode. I know. But, like, he was real. He was talking to them. He had friendships. And it says in Proverbs 27, verse 9, in the Passion Translation, a very special translation, it says, Like, God is in those relationships you have in a Christ-like friendship. Like, when you have a friendship that is built on Christ as a foundation, or even a relationship, you know, God is there. You know, God is actually in that relationship, and he loves it, and he wants to grow in it, and he can also help your friends grow together through worshiping. Like, we went to one body with a massive group of just people that were ready and willing to praise and worship his name and stuff. And it's so good, because it's so uplifting as well. And as I said, it's so good. It's good for the soul, and God dwells and is happy with that. You know, he actually wants us to have friends that help us build and grow in our relationship with God. It's so good. Yeah, also coming off that, it says, it's important to have, like, meet with other Christians, because it says, So, yeah, just being around other Christians, like, God's going to be there. If you're gathering for him and for the purpose of praising and talking about him and worshiping him and learning more about him, God's going to be there, right? Yeah. And that's the part of being in a friendship with the Lord, is he's going to be friends with your friends as well, because they're all friends with God. We all are. You know, there's that one song by Hillsong Kids, I remember growing up, is, God is our best friend and stuff. I've never listened to Hillsong Kids. Bro, I grew up listening to that all the time, man. I could, there's some bangers, Jesus, you must be, we're going off track again. But, like, he's in those friendships, you know, he's always working on friendships. It's so good to know that those friendships you have are actually, like, you know, the creator of all things is happy with that. Like, those are real friendships. Those are friendships that will last you to eternity and to heaven. I remember I was reading that verse recently, and I was like, imagine, like, it almost gives you a grasp of what heaven's going to be like, you know, when everyone's there and praising the Lord and stuff like that. It's like, although we are on earth and it's, you know, there's so many bad things and there's sin, and we are all sinful in our earthly bodies, just having those Christ-like friendships with God in it can just give us maybe even just a little bit of a sense of what heaven's going to be like when we all are with God. Bro, there's 500 people there, and I was, bro, this is mad. Yeah. So many people. So good. I wanted to ask you about fasting. Okay. Do you fast, and, like, what, how do you think that helps you in, or does it help you? Yeah, I need to find the verse why I do this, because I was actually reading about fasting last night, because fasting, I do do it. I need to do it more because I can see that I definitely need to do more fasting every now and again. But I feel like it's basically getting your focus back on the Lord after you realize you've lost that focus. And I feel like so many other religions do fasting as well. It's not just Christianity. Like, Christianity, they obviously do it to get their focus back on the Lord and what their plan is for them. But look at Islam. Like, they do fasting for Ramadan, and that's, like, a full, like, do they do it for a month or something? It's very long. But it's, like, I feel like it's good to take time to reflect on God and just look back on what he's done and also look what he's going to do now by finding that focus on him again, which can be really hard. But there's a verse that comes here in Matthew 9, Chapter 14. And this is when Jesus is questioned about fasting. It says, Then John's disciples came and asked him, How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast? Wait, who's asking Jesus this? John the Baptist. Yeah. Jesus answered, How can the guest of a bridegroom mourn while he is still with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken for them, and then they'll fast. But in this moment, Jesus was still there, so they didn't need to fast. They could still look to him, and they could still know him and follow him because, you know, he's right there. But why it's important now is because the bridegroom isn't here anymore. At the point when this was being written, when Jesus was walking the earth, there was no need to mourn him not being here on earth anymore because he was there. Why would I, like, walk around school and be like, Oh, Jesse's leaving at the end of Year 12, Yeah. The rest of the school term, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like, it's saying that when the time does come, and it has come, we are living in that time now, that we fast so we can actually build the connection with God while he isn't here and found the order in our life through giving up. You know, it could be one of these things. It could be video games. It could be even, like, simple things like, I don't know, food. And that sounds really weird. It's like, isn't that dieting and stuff? But even that can be fasting. I know people that fast coffee, people that fast sweets, people that fast their phones and computers and stuff like that and fast all different things because it's basically saying the things in your life that are stopping you from getting to God and fasting those things so, you know, you can have that focus on God. Yeah. I mean, they might not even be stopping you from, I mean, most likely they are, but it could just be something that you really like doing and just taking that out of your life so that you can intentionally spend more time with God and be more focused on him. Yeah. I was sort of thinking about Matthew 6, verses 16 to 18. Oh. You've got five minutes. This is, Yeah. Don't just do it in front of everyone. Yeah. Guys, I'm going away from all social media for a month. No one speaks to me. I think everybody's done that before. I've done it so many times. You think you're some celebrity. Trent did it like a week ago or a month ago or something. Everyone does it, you know, we're like, Oh, sorry, that was a bit like rebuking. Good on you though, eh? Yeah. Yeah. I think he has it back now, but it is what it is. But he fasted. He did fast. Yeah. But, yeah, like, you don't have to be like, oh, guys, I haven't been on my phone this entire week. You don't know how hard it is and stuff like that. The Lord actually says, you know, don't be able to be all braggy and stuff about it or even just like mopey about it, you know. He will reward you. That's all that matters. You don't have to be like trying to make everyone feel bad for you to get a bit of satisfaction that what you're doing is good. Yeah. Or like feel validated by it, you know, yeah. Yeah. What would you say, like, as an example would be in your life, like how you fasted and seen growth? Yeah. I remember one time I'd been going through something, so I started fasting my phone. And I'll be honest, it wasn't like fully locked off because I was still trying to, like, obviously sometimes I have to use it to connect with youth stuff and church stuff. But with it, what I did is I stopped bringing, and this is good, I actually recommend anyone to do this. And I really want to, I'm going to start doing this again. I'm going to tell myself to start doing this again. Is stop bringing this to school, stop bringing your Bible to school. Because I feel like when we go to study sessions, bro, this thing is like the first thing I'll pick up. I think everybody is in there. Does anybody actually like be studying in their study sessions? Does anyone actually study? Yeah, you guys. Oh my gosh, we've jinxed ourselves. But what I was saying is, like, if you switch this for your Bible, like, obviously study, but when you're not studying and you want a moment, how good is it to have a refreshment of the word that brings you life? That's actually going to bring you a true refreshment in those moments of study and probably help you not to burn out either. Because I noticed, like, I stopped in this period where I was fasting my phone. I was reading my Bible on the book, on the book, on the bath foam. I was on the thing, the book foam. In my study periods and a lot more. I remember I was reading so many chapters a day and I was fully grasping it as well because my mind was so focused on it. Not just skimming over it. Yeah. Because what I did is I would just, I wouldn't touch my phone until just before bed so I could check any urgent messages. And what I did is I was probably getting, like, below 20 minutes a day. Same time? Yeah. Wow. I know. And that's how good fasting is. And I loved it and I really want to do it again because I remember I was, the only thing I would watch is just videos about God. I remember it was like two weeks where I was so focused. And I heard more from God in those two weeks in probably about five years of my life. And that was two weeks, man. Was that recently? Yeah, it was at the start of this year. Okay. And I want to do it again because it was so good. And obviously, like, fasting is important. You don't have to do it 24-7. And yes, it might reveal a lot to you, but you can also do that by just having the self-control to not be distracted. But it's so good. Yeah. What do you think? I think I'm going to do that. I reckon we challenge each other. Yeah. From this afternoon. Mm-hmm. To fast our phones. Yeah. And fast any distractions. And we challenge you as well. Yeah. From the time you're here. If we don't talk about it next week, we're doing it. We don't want to post. But if we do talk about it, then we haven't been doing it. Yeah. Yeah. We'll let you know on what happens. Mm-hmm. But how good is it? Yeah. But what time are we sitting up, Trent? You can cut this out. 1 minute 22. Should we wrap up now? I think it's a good place to wrap up at. Okay. Do you want to wrap it up? Yeah. I think this is a good spot to wrap it up. Yeah. It's been such a good episode. I love talking about having a friendship with God. Yeah. And just friendships in general. Yeah. Fasting, we'll try to do that. Repentance as well. Repentance. Yep. Renewal of your mind, man. Seek first the kingdom. Yes. Right. That's some bangers from the word today. Yeah. We'll hope you guys had a blessed week. Do you want to pray, actually, before we end it? I would love to pray. All right. Thank you, God, for allowing Jesse and I to just speak about you, just speak about everything about you. I pray that we would just speak the truth about you, not for our own glory, but all for your glory. And that anybody that would be listening would just understand, if they're not a believer, how great God wants to come into a relationship with them. And if they are, just to continue seeking the kingdom first. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. How good. How good. Yes. Get it. Well, thank you. Thank you guys for another episode. Have a great week. We'll catch you next time. And we'll see you guys later. Bye. Bye. Absolutely, man. Absolutely, man. It literally just stopped running. Do you think that was more cheerful? That's my favorite episode we've recorded so far. Yeah. I think that was the most fun I've had out of it. Yeah. So, I was going to kill myself, too, ain't I? Not like that, bro. All right. All right. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.