Walk With Me

Unpacking True Faith: What It Really Means to Believe

• JJ

Share episode
Speaker 1:

Hello everybody, welcome to today's episode of Walk With Me. I'm your host, jj. It's so good to have each and every one of you here, so good to have all of you new listeners and returning listeners. Thank you so much for liking and sharing the podcast. I love each and every one of you. You guys can be listening to any other podcast out there, but you've chosen to listen to this one and I thank God for each and every one of you out there. But you've chosen to listen to this one and I thank God for each and every one of you. Quick shout out to my sponsors Two Bars to Lyricist and Exquisite Creations. I got a big announcement for you guys. I'm going to try to save it for the rest of the end of the podcast. Let's hope I remember. But we are just. Things are just happening.

Speaker 1:

I didn't want to say it before we went, uh, because I didn't want anyone to ask afterwards, but, uh, we went to a family reunion last week. So during while you were listening, for last week, we were at a family reunion and I let me tell you guys that that really blessed me. It was blessed by god and I don't know if, if, if, if, you've been to a family reunion that sort of went south, it went sideways. Man, let me tell you, it can be a very bad experience and I didn't want to have to talk about it if you did. But let me tell you something God bless that family reunion. We had a wonderful time there, reunion. We had a wonderful time. You know how it is. Some people are living for God and some people are trying to find their way to God. You know how that can go. But let me tell you something Walkers, this thing was a great time. I can go on and on and on about how wonderful it was. But let me tell you something, something it was so great seeing them again. I hadn't seen them in a long time, but, uh, I know some of you guys listen to this podcast and I really appreciate. Let me tell y'all something I love you guys. I really do. Um, thank you all, thank you. It was such a great time. Um, and let me tell you something the trip going there and coming back, I'm going to be making fun of my wife for a very long time, but not on this show. Not on this show, you know what.

Speaker 1:

Let me go ahead and announce the other thing. Actually, it was so productive. We will be launching another podcast very soon. It's not going to replace this one, it will be in addition to this one and my brother and I are going to be hosting it. I can't wait to fully officially announce it, but I'm really excited about planning and getting it all together and it may even be a video channel, even if we do a VTuber sort of thing. I don't know. I don't know how this is going to work. We're just still going to pray about it, but I can't wait to get that on the road.

Speaker 1:

But today, I know we're still answering that question and I really do appreciate your patience and how methodically I'm answering this question, because and that question is what is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Really mean so, and the reason why I'm really I'm happy about your patience in this is because a lot of times, when we tell people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we think it's a one second thing Do you believe in Jesus? Yes, and then that's it. But the Bible tells us, if you just dig a little bit beneath the surface, that there's a whole different vibe to if I can use that word in this setting. It's a whole different mindset. That's what I'm looking for A whole different mindset, a whole different spiritual set, a whole different physical set to what really means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're going to pick up at the Great Commission Now, at the Great Commission and if you are not sure what the Great Commission is, don't worry about it, not a lot of people know.

Speaker 1:

Basically, the Great Commission is when, after Jesus walked around with the disciples, after he was resurrected, the Great Commission happened when they went to what is commonly called the Mount of Ascension. Some people say it was the Mount of Valor, some people say it was the Mount of Zion. Whatever it was, he went to the mountain. He went to the top of the mountain right and he went up there and three of the gospel writers record the last words of Jesus right. And the Great Commission is what he told all of the disciples that was gathered there to do. Three people reported.

Speaker 1:

Now I want you to look at Luke, chapter 24, 47, matthew 28, 19 to 20, and Mark 16, 15 through 18. Now, before we do that, just kind of get that there while I'm talking and then we're going to go through it. Now we have a rule on this podcast and I know I love saying the one rule that we have. It ain't about sharing, it ain't about sending JJ money. This is the rule of this podcast.

Speaker 1:

It is read a verse or two above the scripture that we're talking about, a verse or two below the scripture that we're talking about, but preferably the whole chapter. Why is that? And this is right. Here is where this becomes so important. It's important to read the entire chapter because context is very key into what these verses mean and a lot of times we we run into people and um, I'm not going to say they're maliciously they we run into people who take these scriptures out of the entire bible and they build a doctrine around it. But because they haven't read it in context, they sort of build the wrong doctrine and that it sort of starts to contradict different parts of the Bible.

Speaker 1:

So when you read that script, when you read that set of scriptures, you got to understand that there is something that Jesus is saying there and he's telling all the disciples and not just those, but all the disciples, of all the believers that were to come after that. We have a job to do and it's important to know what that job is because this is part of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, to know what that job is, because this is part of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ does not mean that you get to sit there and be quiet when people need it. Now I'm not saying to run around and bust people in the head with the Bible whenever maybe a four-letter word slips out of their mouth or something like that, but people will, literally, god will allow an opportunity for you to tell people about Jesus, and some people are church hurt and they don't want to hear about Jesus, but still that opportunity may arise and that may be God reaching out for them one more time.

Speaker 1:

So right before this happened, right before he ascended, you know, he led the disciples to Bethany and this was called Mount Olive, not Mount Zion, not Jerusalem, it was called Mount Olive. He instructed them to go back to Jerusalem and wait until they got power from on high. So then he blessed them and while he looked is when he ascended. And right after that they looked. They were kind of disappointed, they were kind of sad, and the two angels appeared to him. Well, the Bible calls it two men Sometimes the Bible calls it angels, sometimes they call it men, but I believe that there were two men and these are going to be the two witnesses that we see in Revelation.

Speaker 1:

That's just my opinion. I have something to back that up, but that's what I think. The two men that appeared to the disciples on the Mount Olivet are going to be the same two witnesses in Revelation, because God generally likes continuity. So he said Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up for you into heaven, shall so come in like matter. And Zechariah, 14 and four and here's where we got to start reading this thing in context tells us that when he comes back to earth again, he's going to stand on the Mount of Olives, in other words, mount Olivet going to stand on the Mount of Olives, and that's going to be the same place he was taken up. So even in the old Testament they were telling us where he's going to come back from, and this is why he went up from that same spot.

Speaker 1:

So I've heard of a legend that was told, and I think I heard a few a little while ago that Jesus, that he's going to return to his throne in heaven. And when he arrived. When he got up there, all the angels rejoiced to see him again, asked him of his plan and asked him how the redemption plan was working. And he told all the angels about it. And the angels asked who god redeemed. He said well, you know what? Um, so there was some fishermen guys and there was a tax collector. But what if? What if they failed to give the message to the whole world? What would happen? His answer was I have no other plan, so, and that's the legend. So the spreading of the gospel message is now up to you and me. That's part of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1:

So, now that the disciples did what they were supposed to do, they went out and they told everybody and they delivered the gospel. What are we supposed to do with that? What about us? Can God count on us to continue the great? They delivered the gospel. What are we supposed to do with that? What about us? Can God count on us to continue the great commission, because this is also a huge part of believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in other words, they literally went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do, even though at the time it made no sense. Yeah, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. They did not leave that mountain and start preaching everywhere. They went back to Jerusalem and waited. None of that makes any sense. It didn't make sense to us. It don't make sense to anybody else. It makes sense to us now because we know what happened later. Remember, during that moment they had no idea, but they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He said go and do a thing. They went and did the thing Exactly the way he said to do the thing, exactly that way. They didn't mix it up, they didn't soften it, they didn't change it, they didn't make it convenient. He didn't soften it, they didn't change it, they didn't make it convenient. He said go back to Jerusalem and wait. They went back to Jerusalem and waited, right. So now, the first thing they did when they got back to the upper room, when they got back to Jerusalem upper room, when they got back to Jerusalem, this was in Acts, chapter 1, chapter 1, verse 4 through 14.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to summarize this because we're going to get somewhere. We probably won't get there today either, but it's interesting to kind of show what, exactly what believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is. Now, this is the only book, the book of Acts, the only book that tells us about how the church was created, how the church was founded, how the church was formed. Before that, the word church was only used in a sort of a prophetic sense, like when Jesus told Peter on this rock, I will build my church. The church didn't exist yet and after that and everything else was letters to the church. That was formed in acts and in revelations. It was in about the judgment or the assessment of the churches. Okay, so this is in. Book of acts is where you understand the application of believe on the lord jesus christ, because this is where the church was founded. So we're going to get to something very, very important.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so the first order of business when they got back to jerusalem, to Jerusalem, was to select somebody to replace Judas Iscariot. Now, I don't understand why, I think I mean I don't know why they didn't let God do it, but they kind of did. So they prayed about it, they prayed about it and eventually they ended up choosing Matthias. Now, this word disciple means someone who learns or follows or listens to someone's teaching, so that's just anybody who was listening to Jesus. Of those disciples, only 12 were chosen to be apostles. Now they were the ones who were sent forth to a special commission. And now I sort of understand why they went and chose a 12th person, because they felt as if Jesus chose 12 and they should all go out with 12. See, they really, really believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They wanted to do everything exactly the way Jesus did it, based on what Jesus said and why he said it.

Speaker 1:

But the first thing they had to do was go back and wait, and while they waited, they chose the 12th man. Why? Because Jesus told 12, I believe on him and he did it this way, so I also am going to do it this way on him, and he did it this way, so I also am going to do it this way. All right, so they went up there and it was between seven to ten days, um, and they had a bunch of other believers there and they prayed and they prayed, they prayed, and we went from 12 to about 120 people. I like to think that it was probably a little bit more than 120 people, but only 120 people Survived the seven days.

Speaker 1:

As far as the waiting is concerned, and the reason why that is Because a lot of times, a lot of people want something Fresh off the press. Fresh off the press, but no staying power. Now I'm not going to preach here, but I believe that there were more people there, but they sort of all faded off. Day two, day three I got something I got to do and now you're at the day seven, day eight, and then you got 120 people left and then the Holy Ghost left. Now this descent of the Holy Ghost is only described for the first time in Acts, chapter 2. Now you got to read Acts 2, 1 through 4. We're still talking about what believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in.

Speaker 1:

Now remember this was not just the 12 apostles who received this experience, and I've heard it taught this way. Only the 12 apostles got the Holy Ghost. No, no, no, no, no, no. Everybody who was in that upper room was the whole 120, including the Mother of Jesus, mary, everybody. She needed the Holy Ghost too, and if she needed, we needed. They all stayed there and they prayed seven days, seven to ten days. I know some people like to say, oh, they fasted. I'm not going to go that far, because the Bible doesn't say that. They stayed there and they prayed and they prayed and they prayed, and they prayed for seven to ten days. And how it reasons them.

Speaker 1:

When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one court, in one place. What does that really mean? So these, remember these 120 people are sitting around waiting for this power that would empower them, enable them to preach and be witnesses to the Lord In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Mary and the uttermost parts of the earth. See, jesus knew right away that his church needed more than just enthusiasm. They need more than energy, even like in the military, that there would be military, there would be preachers, there'd be civil things and there'd be social things that would come against them. What they needed was power to overcome those things. And suddenly there was a sound. It was a deep, strange sound. That sort of filled the room all at once. Um, and it was a stillness. And then it was the rushing mighty wind. Now this is where we talk about. It filled all the house that they were sitting. It really filled the house. It had the beauty gripped. There was 120 people in the room and they were just in the upper room, but it filled the entire house.

Speaker 1:

Now, these disciples were only really just starting to understand what was happening here. And then, all of a sudden, before they could even get their minds around what had happened, something happened inside. And then, all of a sudden, before they could even get their minds around what had happened, something happened inside. Remember, they're still believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, because then they started speaking in tongues. They remembered the words of Jesus I shall be in you. This Holy One Is not content Just to you know, occupy you, know in you. This Holy One is not content just to occupy the cognizant forces of your brain. We're talking about taking over, taking control of your spirit, your mental faculties, your vocal organs and your body. It's just an amazing experience and so, because of that, your spirit begins to praise God. You want to know what speaking in tongues is about. This is praising God. This is still believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1:

Now, the reason why this is important and I'm just going to stop pause here and it's probably going to take us to the end of the episode, but we still got to talk about demonstration of divine power and all that stuff but the reason why this is important is to understand that this is a part of belief on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's because so many people have separated this, so many people have separated us, so many people have separated the idea that you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or you can speak in tongues, and not understanding that it takes one to do the other. You've got to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to speak in tongues, because that's how it happened in the book of Acts Speak in tongues. That's how it happened in the book of Acts and each and every time and we will go down through the book of Acts to explain, to point out, every time they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they start speaking in tongues. Now, the other side of it is that people say, well, just speak in tongues, just hook up my side, tie my tie, buy a Hyundai that is not speaking in tongues, and once you've gotten the real experience, once you've gotten it, you will instantly tell when somebody's faking it, and it will almost sound. I'm trying to figure out how to explain this in a way that makes sense. It would almost sound like you. Okay, let's put it like this you know how a person that's a doctor can tell when somebody's faking being a doctor. Or a person who's a lawyer can tell who's being a jailhouse lawyer or someone in the military can tell when somebody hasn't been in the military and it's not really something they can put their hands on, not really something they can put their finger on, but they can just tell immediately.

Speaker 1:

Somebody who talks a big game about being able to fight, but you know something about that person that they're not built like that. You know they can't fight. You know they've never had a fight a day in their life. They've been able to talk their way out of it a lot of times but they've never been able to fight. Somebody who you know how to ride a motorcycle and if somebody comes up and says something to you about riding and they try to portray themselves being motorcycle riders, but then you can tell them immediately that they're not.

Speaker 1:

This is what when somebody has gotten a holy, a real deal genuine spirit of god inside of you and somebody make this is what we feel. We can hear it. It's like I mean people say they like to use that word discernment Like a $4 word. That means nothing nowadays Because people just use it, throw it around, but it's literally something that you can literally feel when somebody fakes it, and sometimes people don't even know that they're faking it. And sometimes people don't even know that they're faking it, and that's the crazy part, because they don't really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They believe that they can talk the tongue on Sunday and Sunday morning and live like the devil Sunday afternoon, but you can't do it. It won't let you. It won't let you. You will have a fight on your hand.

Speaker 1:

And I'm telling you this because even when I got the holy ghost, I tried to go out and be the same person I was before, and it begins to drive you in different directions and, um, and it's subtle at first, like, like, I think the first thing I noticed three weeks later is that I wasn't cursing and that was just the beginning. And your experience is going to be a little bit different, because everyone's experience is going to be a little bit different, because God knows how different you are from your brother or your sister sitting next to you. You're different from your wife, you're different from your kids, you're different from your parents, but the end result is the same that Holy Spirit if it's really the Holy Spirit, because you really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is going to drive you into a new truth, into the truth, not the new truth. Let me get rid of that. It's going to drive you into the truth, the actual truth, the whole truth. Actually, it is going to expose you to some things that you're not really going to. If're not really going to if you've been going to churches for a while and you've been looking around, it is going to give you some cold realities and I hate to say it like it's going to give you some cold realities that you're going to be like man. I had no idea. But now, because you really, really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and not just saying it with your mouth, you really mean it with your heart, things are going to start opening up and I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm getting ahead of myself. But this is what happened. They were all in that room, they were all believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and they started speaking in tongues. The spirit of God came in there and we're going to end it here, because after, after that, we're going to talk more about what believing in the Lord Jesus Christ does, even after you get to know him, even after, and how you begin to become a different person. Right, we have an amazing time and I really do appreciate it.

Speaker 1:

I love each and every one of you and sometimes I just want to make sure. I just want to make sure that you guys, I'm not going too slow, I'm not going into too much detail. Sometimes I feel like I might be boring you guys, but I just want to make sure that I don't skip anything. Sometimes I may double back on some stuff, but I want to make sure this book of Acts is really the definition of belief on the Lord, jesus Christ. We're going to talk about some things next and, hey, I really think please understand y'all, this is all about somebody asking a question. So please understand, I love questions, I love comments.

Speaker 1:

If you're on the YouTube channel, leave a comment. If you have a question, leave a question. If you're on Facebook or anything like that, I would probably be getting a TikTok page. I'm not crushing TikTok, but leave a comment, leave a question. If I can find it, if I see it, I'll try to answer it. If there's something like a question like this that seems like an in-depth question, I will make episodes on it. I love each and every one of you. I'm here for you guys and I'm here because God told me to be here. All right, somebody out there God is sending this to, so I love each and every one of you. Thank you all for joining the podcast today. Thank you for spending a moment with us. If you're listening to any other podcast, go out there and tell somebody that God loves them. Tell them that you love them. That'll probably be the only positive thing they hear. Today. We're going into a very dark and depressing time in human history, so tell somebody that God loves them. Alright, talk to you soon. Love y'all.