Disobedience

Can spiritual setbacks deepen your faith? Join me in the premiere of season two of Guidance Light as I reveal the personal challenges I've faced trying to launch our ministry on YouTube. Despite these hurdles, I share how the trials have strengthened my resolve and commitment to spreading God’s word. Reflecting on our past successes, including our international reach and the thriving social media devotionals, this episode is a testament to God's unwavering guidance and the power of perseverance in our walk with Christ.

As we navigate through this chapter, we explore the profound significance of treating our bodies as temples of Christ. A compelling personal experience at a grocery store serves as a poignant reminder of obedience to God's teachings. The encounter with a man who had a biblical name reiterates the importance of daily interactions and how they can serve as divine reminders to stay true to God's word. This chapter will inspire you to reflect on your own actions and their alignment with your spiritual values.

Lastly, we delve into the crucial topic of choosing obedience over disobedience, highlighted through Deuteronomy 28:15. Disobedience has far-reaching consequences, impacting not just our lives but future generations as well. This discussion extends to the roles of men and women within a godly household, urging everyone to evaluate and prioritize God's will in their lives. We conclude with an empowering message, encouraging you to carry God’s presence with confidence. Together, let’s seek forgiveness for our shortcomings and remain steadfast in our spiritual journey, confident in the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Chapters

• 0:00 Returning to Guided Path in Christ
• 15:10 Living as a Christian Temple
• 21:35 Choosing Obedience Over Disobedience
• 37:14 Empowering Message From Guidance Light

Transcript

Jon: 0:00

Welcome to Guidance Light, where God is always number one. We talk about faith, spirituality, the battles of the flesh and the spirit, but mainly we are here for you to walk in Christ. We know how hard life can be, we know the ups and the downs, but we are a family in Jesus and we are here for you. My name is John and this is Guidance Light. Welcome back, welcome back, guys. Welcome to season two. It's been a little bit of a bumpy start, I know, because truth be told is that I've fallen off the bandwagon with the amount of attacks that have been coming from the spiritual battles that I've been facing financially, emotionally, physically, through my family and through other means. Things have just been hitting me left and right, and I just wanted to say that I appreciate your patience and that I am here to dedicate myself to the Lord, and that's what started all of this, and I'm going to continue to go down this path. I've had a lot of resentment and anger towards myself Because I have attempted to take on the platform of YouTube and try to record videos to make it more engaging, but in doing so, I have found myself angry at myself for a lack of knowledge and a lack of skill in order to do so, combined with all the efforts of the world to try to bring me down and things taking up my time, I found myself saying I could do it tomorrow, I could do it next week, and time has just ticked by without any remorse. So I prayed about it and I continued to ignore the calling that God had for me, knowing that the word of God is not meant for me alone, but for all of us. It's something that it's not for me to hoard, no matter how much I study it or read or part of bible studies. It's for you, it's for us, it's for all of us to be able to grow in our faith, in our spirit, to be strengthened and emboldened by the word of God. So I have failed you, and I know I have. I have asked God for forgiveness and I ask you for forgiveness as well, because this is something that I know that some people need to hear, others it's just a clue on your path and to some it might be a light or a revelation that you need to hear, maybe just right at the right time. But again, I digress. I don't want to get too deep into this and say that you know, make this 20 minute episode of just apologizing, but ideally, it's important to understand that this season is going to continue with my path in following Christ See season one. Total of 20 episodes.

Jon: 3:21

First time I had ever done this and it was a really, really, really big learning curve. There were so many things that I had to learn to do and I was I feel like I was successful to some point. You know, I was able to learn my software editing skills for audio recording. I was able to set up my equipment and season one started off slow, but it ended up in places that I didn't even imagine. We were airing in 10 different countries. I had following from Switzerland to Ireland, africa, china, and it was something that was so rewarding. And it was something that was so rewarding so rewarding that my wife and I decided to launch on our social media platforms and she took over being able to post daily devotionals, and that has grown beyond compare, and I'm so blessed by that, because I don't know every person that's seeing each verse posted every morning, but I know that at least one person needed to see that on that specific day and that is enough for me to be able to do what I'm doing tonight. So thank you guys for coming back onto season two.

Jon: 4:48

Right, I know that I've mentioned season two on another episode, but this is a true start of it. I'm going to more than likely, abandon the whole weekly YouTube situation for the time being, because, truth be told is that I have no idea where I even stand with video editing and it's really difficult and really time consuming and, unfortunately, my finances don't reach far enough to be able to do that. So, without further ado, I want to say welcome back, guidance Light family, I look forward to being your host and I'm honored by God to be able to be here and speak and be his instrument, because these words are his and not mine. In Jesus name, we're going to push forward through this and we're going to continue to walk down the path that Christ has laid out for us. See, it's important to get and to understand, comprehend, however you want to put it, that God lets us go through certain things in order to be able to walk towards him, to be able to learn how to walk in the way he wants us to walk, and that's what this ministry is all about. This ministry is not about painting rainbows and butterflies in people's ears on just how good God is, but also understanding that God is a jealous God, that he's an all-powerful God, he is the king of the universe, he is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and there is nothing that he cannot do. See as we walk, we all experience different things in our daily life, but it's how we react to it, how we go about our choices, that affect who we are as Christians. So, without further ado, let's go ahead and bow our heads and start this process out of talking about today's message.

Jon: 6:49

All right, father, we come to you tonight, lord, before we even approach your word. Lord, I sit here tonight and admit full-heartedly, lord, that I am a sinner. Lord, I come to you dirty, full of sin, each and every single day, lord. Sometimes I sin without even realizing it. Father, I ask that you deliver me from my sins, cleanse me with your blood so that I may be able to approach your words with reverence, awe, because they are holy beyond belief. God, I give you everything I am, lord, and I pray that you use my mouth and my body as a vessel, as an instrument for your words to be able to be delivered to those who need to hear. Grant us revelation, father, and guide us down this path that we're walking, this path that is so difficult that we call life. Teach us to be better and help us achieve that which you have willed for us. In jesus's holy name, I pray amen. I pray Amen.

Jon: 8:04

All right, guys. So one of the things that I want to start out is that I have been disobedient, to say the least. Right See, when I was studying and I know that I mentioned this in some episode in season one that when I was studying some of the books here in the Bible with my wife, I actually ended up reading the book of Timothy, the first of Timothy, and one of the things that stood out to me and it's just, it stuck to me because when you are preaching the word of God, when you're talking about the word of God, when you're spreading the news, the good news of salvation and the gospel, people are going to look at you and they're going to judge, even though the Bible tells us not to judge. But for those that have never known Christ, those who are not walking down that path even well, you know what. To backtrack a little bit who are not walking down that path. Even well, you know what. To backtrack a little bit. Even those who are walking with Christ have a moment where they fail and judge, even though we're told not so when you're in a position where you're talking about the word of God, when you're telling others about the word of God.

Jon: 9:22

See, the book of Timothy talks about that person and in 1 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 1, it says what does that mean exactly? Well, if you are a, let's let me see how I can put this into layman's terms. Say, you are a airline pilot, right, and you are known for falling asleep at the wheel. Is anybody going to trust what you're saying or what you're doing in getting behind the controls in a cockpit of a plane? If you are a teacher and you're teaching math for all those who love math and you continue to get the problems wrong on the board, are your students going to trust that you're doing the right thing?

Jon: 10:41

All this points to what preaching really is To be an overseer, to be a shepherd, to have a commission, a calling in Christ, to be able to guide people to God. See, that's the thing about it. Is that a preacher, pastor, minister, however you want to call it? We're humans just like you, we have everyday lives. We hide pains behind smiles and we bring it to God and say, god, help me cope, help me get through this. But see, in the book of Timothy, it talks about how an overseer needs to be above reproach, just like a pilot needs to be accountable for his health and his actions and a teacher needs to be accountable for their knowledge on what they're teaching.

Jon: 11:45

A pastor, a preacher, a minister, an overseer however you want to call it needs to be above reproach when they are looked at from someone who is trying to come to Christ. See what good is a preacher or a guide, a church guide that acknowledges Jesus with their lips but denies him by their actions. See, this is when we get what we call church hurt. You have somebody who is gun-ho for Jesus. On Sunday mornings, maybe Wednesday nights, they walk out the doors and they're a completely different person. This is exactly what the book of Timothy is referring to that that cannot happen. It should not happen. And if it is happening, you need it and you are that person. You need to evaluate what you're doing, because what's happening is that you are guiding other people away from the teachings that we learn from the word of God. So that kind of lines up perfectly into talking about disobedience.

Jon: 13:10

So if we are not and, guys, I want to take a step back here for a second this isn't just about preachers, ministers or anybody who is a speaker at a church. This goes for each and every single Christian you can be a leader, and the only thing you've ever led anyone to do is to walk through the doors of a leader, and the only thing you've ever led anyone to do is to walk through the doors of a church, or the only thing you've ever done is led someone in prayer. There are different ways to lead, but the important thing here is that all paths that you lead point to one thing, and that's God. So the book of Timothy teaches us that we need to be above reproach. Guys, I know as you're listening to this, you're probably thinking, hey, I'm not perfect, nobody is but we need to do everything in our power, in our conscious mind, to be more like Jesus, because Jesus was perfect. He set forth the example for us, and the funny thing is that if you read the Bible, you'll realize that Jesus was mocked. He was mocked all the time. He was doubted, he was made fun of. He dealt with all sorts of judgment, but he dealt with it with grace. He didn't answer fire with fire, but with truth. He held himself up and was able to guide those who were willing to follow, and even for the ones that he wasn't, that weren't willing to follow, he still died on the cross for those people as well.

Jon: 15:10

So, when it comes to us approaching our everyday life and looking at God in a way that says, hey, I know that I'm a Christian, but do I really need to behave all the time? The answer is yes. You do need to behave all the time. Behave in a way that honors your father. The Bible says to honor your mother and father See, it's not just talking about your biological parents but to honor your father in heaven, because we are all children in Christ, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we are a family, a body of Christ. Your physical body is a temple.

Jon: 15:58

If you went to church, to a physical building of a church, and you go inside the doors expecting to see the behavior of a Christian and everyone is partying, dancing, drinking and doing drugs, what are you going to think? See, this is what I'm trying to convey. Is that your physical body, the one that you wake up in every morning and that you go to sleep in every night, is a temple. And when you go out into the world that is full of sin and is designed to lead you away from everything Christ teaches us. You are that scenario you go out, you drink, you party, you lie, you steal, you cheat, you do all sorts of things that dishonor God, that are disobedient towards God.

Jon: 17:10

See, today I was out with my family. We had a moment where we had to go to the grocery store and we were going, and God has been placing it in my heart, through the Holy Spirit and conviction, to be able to get back on the microphone, to get back and to start continually giving back to the body of Christ, to you, to the listeners. And I had been, and I've been so disobedient in not doing so, just putting it off, saying I can do it tomorrow, I can do it the next day, I can't, because I don't understand it, it's taking too much time, I gotta go do this, I gotta go do that, and just putting so many things in. Between what God told me to do and what I thought I needed to do, there's a big difference. So I'm here tonight just to say that I was disobedient and it's been affecting me in a way that I didn't even realize.

Jon: 18:12

So I'm at the grocery store with my family today and a gentleman at the checkout line is scanning my products and another gentleman comes in and joins us and I noticed that he had a very peculiar name and I asked him hey, where did you, where's your namesake from? And he looks at me. He goes it's from the book of first Kings. He says this is the name of the last king that followed the God of Abraham, isaac, jacob, the last king, the last godly king of Judah. And I just I kind of stood dumbfounded at the answer. It was such a powerful yet simple answer and immediately as he said that I felt the claws, the grasp, the pull of the Holy Spirit saying listen.

Jon: 19:27

And as we pack up our cart, make our payments and are heading out, he says he turns to us, me and my wife, and he says hey, you guys read the Bible right Now. I want you guys to understand something. I don't know this man and he doesn't know us. He doesn't know about guidance light, at least not to my knowledge, and if he does, he never let on. That he did. And I said, yes, I do, I do listen, I do read the bible. I try my best to do bible study. And he looks at me and he says you know, you guys should really read this book. And I said what book? And he says Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verse 15 through 16.

Jon: 20:23

Now when he said that, it just burned into my mind I knew that the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something. I just didn't know what it was. Right then and there and I immediately wrote it down and I said, well, okay, yeah, I'll definitely, I'm definitely going to take a look at it. And when I got to the car, well, loading the products into my car, with my wife outside, I said that message is not normal. That's not a normal conversation to have with somebody at a grocery store packing your belongings into the car. And I was like this definitely came from the Holy Spirit, it's coming from God. Because I mean, who do you meet on a random day in a random grocery store who answers where their namesake comes from in such a way that leaves you already knowing that the Holy Spirit's going to speak to you, and then randomly suggests a book in the Bible with a specific chapter and a specific set of verses.

Jon: 21:35

So I got into the car, I climb into the car and I pull out my Bible app on my phone and I pull it to Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verse 15. And the very start of it says curse, curses for disobedience. And I immediately knew that God was looking at me and my disobedience, just like he looks at all of us. He looks at all of us. And just to read the just the beginning of this because 15 through 64 is a long read for a podcast, but I want to put this into your minds it says chapter 15, verse 15 says but if you do not obey the Lord, your God, god, by carefully following all his commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed, your offsprings will be cursed and your lands produce the young of your herds and the newborns of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

Jon: 23:05

This is saying that if we are disobedient to the will of God, knowing what God is asking us to do full well, and choosing not to do it, that the repercussions are damning, that the repercussions are everywhere. There's no escaping it. And it's not just for you but for your line, for your kids, for their kids, instilling generational curse, all stemming from a disobedience that you commit. And I went home after reading this and I fell to my knees and I prayed, asking God to forgive me, to guide me and to give me the strength to continue to be here on this microphone. Guide me and to give me the strength to continue to be here on this microphone, talking with you through this medium, renouncing the fact that I attempted and basically failed to be able to record videos, but knowing that at least in this platform, in this way, you can at least hear the word of God to some degree. You may not be able to see my face, but it is not me that you need to focus on.

Jon: 24:43

So, with that being said, I wanna kind of put this task in your minds for this upcoming week. I want you to take a look at what it is that you feel that God has put into your heart to do, and I want you to account, take accountability for everything that you have put before the will of God. God may have asked you hey, I need you to attend church this Sunday. And you may have said well, you know, I got this ball game saturday night, can't? I'm gonna be going to sleep pretty late. And then sunday I got I kind of have to cut the grass because I got to get ready for the week and I also got to throw out the trash and do some laundry and I just I really don't have a lot of time.

Jon: 25:45

You are being disobedient by just those simple actions. Follow the Lord first and all else will fall in place, knowing that he is the king of the universe, the God of gods. He will hold you up with his righteous hand. Our goal, our role in this world is to put God first and everything else will follow. Men, to be the head of the household, to guide the home in a godly way. That is what we are to do. And for my ladies out there, there is a place for all of us. See, god created Adam and Eve to support each other, and a woman's role not trying to be sexist in any way, but going off of what the Bible tells us is to support your husband and your family, and in the book of Timothy. It talks about that.

Jon: 27:06

The same chapter, chapter three. It says to honor each other, that your husband is to honor you and to never put you in a place that would dishonor you. And in the same return, you are to follow and honor your husband and to together you build a house and your children will follow the Lord. And in the book of Joshua says for my house and I shall follow the Lord. This is not possible with just one, but it takes two.

Jon: 27:42

So, knowing that we have to be above reproach when it comes to the word of God, when it comes to our lives in Christ, knowing that God calls us to fulfill different commissions and that we are disobedient in so many ways, it's also important to understand that when he calls one, he calls two. If he calls a husband, he will also call the wife, for you are one body, you are one flesh, and in Christ you are his children and in Christ you are his children. So take this moment and account for what's going on, because only you know what you're doing, and God does too. I don't, but you know where you can shape up, because I know that I can shape up. We all can in some way shape or form and for all the ways that we fail. Well, that's where the good news comes in and his everlasting faithfulness and forgiveness grace comes into play.

Jon: 29:12

Asking for forgiveness from a humble heart is gonna lead you down the path of forgiveness and putting that effort, striving to actually make it to be better. Well, that's pretty much all I have for you guys today, in the sense of this topic, because it can get really in-depth as we continue to dive down into it and pick at each and every single way that we can be disobedient or how we are not above reproach, but it's important to understand the concept that God wants us to be accountable and to put him above all else. So, bow your heads with me and let's pray. Father, we thank you. We come today, lord, knowing full well that we are not everything that you want us to be.

Jon: 30:12

We fall so short all the time, father, and we sit here today, lord, and ask for forgiveness, father, for when we pray, your will be done on this earth, god. We are giving our will up to put yours in our place, lord, and then somehow, someway, and in so many fashions, we let the world confuse us to be able to step into our own path and mess things up. Father, guide us and grant us wisdom, revelation in everything we do, father, so that we can put your will above anything that we may have. Give us the strength to hold on, because we understand that your path is difficult and we understand that, as we walk in your light, lord, that the enemy will not stay calm, he will not stay down, he's going to attack, lord, but your word says that there is no weapon that is forged against us that will prosper, father, and in you we trust and in you we trust.

Jon: 31:29

Thank you, god, for knowing me and having mercy on me, even though my disobedience has known no bounds. I give you all that I am and ask that you save me, even if it's saving me from myself, and, like David says, humble me, oh God, so that my arrogance doesn't get in the way of my want to follow you. In Jesus' name, I pray amen. And if you haven't keeping our eyes closed for just a moment, if you haven't accepted Jesus into your heart, if you haven't started your relationship with him or your walk with Christ, it's easy to do. It comes from a place of a humble heart, of a place where you want to be better, where you want to give your life over to the one who saved us, and it comes freely. You don't have to pay for it because it's already been paid for. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid your fee, my fee, all of our debts were paid in full through the blood of Jesus Christ on that cross.

Jon: 33:09

So bow your heads with me and you can say this prayer in private. You can say it out loud, but the point is that if you feel like you're not there with God, or maybe you've fallen away from him because there's either going towards him or pulling away there's never standing in the same spot Say this prayer with me. Father, I know that I'm a sinner, lord, and today I repent of my sin. Lord, I know that you sent your son, jesus Christ, to die on the cross for me and for my sins, lord, and I'm willingly giving up my life for you. Lord, be my Lord and savior and let me follow you each and every day of this life. Lord, in Jesus' holy name, I pray amen. I pray Amen.

Jon: 34:10

Guys, if you said that prayer, I'm here to say that I'm extremely proud of you. See, in the book of Luke it says that there are more angels rejoicing over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance. So I want you to understand that there are choirs of angels praising over the decisions that you made today and if you've come back to Christ, welcome back. You are now a brother or sister in Christ and I'm honored to call you my brother or sister. Welcome to God's family and welcome to Guidance Light Ministries, where God is always number one and the walk and the episodes and the talks we have are always going to be about striving to be better in Christ, not necessarily what you're doing wrong, but to highlight what was done wrong and how God teaches us to be better at it.

Jon: 35:17

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode and do me a favor, help me get this channel to grow, because through you, god can also work. See, you heard this episode today and you never know who else might need to hear it. So pass it on to your friends, family, colleagues, random guy at the grocery store. Let people know that God is there for them and that the words of God can be accessed for free through these episodes. It's something that you can do to save a life and, more importantly, possibly, save a soul, because only Jesus can do that, and we do that by ushering people and leading them in to what God has in store for them. We're just ushers. He is a light. Thank you so much, guys.

Jon: 36:22

Do me a favor, check out wwwguidance-lightcom. You can take a look at the listens page. It's going to have our podcast episodes. It's going to have the two YouTube videos that I uploaded. Feel free to take a look at them and, if God willing, I'm able to start doing some more episodes.

Jon: 36:40

I will attempt, but I'm not going to promise that they're going to be coming out as often as these episodes for the podcast channel. That being said, I am going to try to stick to the schedule of every Friday again to be able to upload. Generally, I will record late at night and upload early in the morning into Saturday, so just be on the lookout for that. If I fail to do that, just be on the lookout because it will upload no later than Saturday afternoon. So again, guys, thank you so much. Please share this channel and help us grow.

Jon: 37:14

Spread the word about the ministry, guys, and may God bless you to the fullest extent. I hope that you were able to receive something from this. I pray that the Holy Spirit spoke to you and that you are walking a little bit taller, a little bit prouder, just because God has touched your life today. Remember, take him everywhere you are, because there's nothing that you do that he does not see. So God bless you guys, and I'll see you guys on the next episode. This is John from Guidance Light signing out.