CARING WHILE CHRISTIAN // S02E03

There are lot of ways people show they care, but what is the Biblically sound way to show care, express faith, and act in love toward those around you?

QUESTIONS WE TOUCH ON IN THIS EPISODE:

• Are you helping others?
• What is the heart of Jesus?
• How are you caring for others?

VERSES FROM CARING WHILE CHRISTIAN

Romans 12:15,  2 Corinthians 10:2-5, James 1:19,  James 2:18, Hebrews 10:14, Philippians 2:4,1 John 3:17-1.

QUOTES FROM CARING WHILE CHRISTIAN 

“In those words, the power is also in how it transforms a person’s life. And when you’re looking at someone who’s been transformed by the gospel, it is undeniable of what the gospel can do. Cause you’re looking at a miracle that has come because of the gospel.”       

Michelle Watson, The Pantry Podcast, S02E03, Caring while Christian.

“We got to speak from the word of God. Job went through a lot, but you finally came to a conclusion after 19 chapters, 19 chapters. And if you look at it, there was mental anguish, confusion, anger, hopelessness, take my life Lord. But finally he snaps out of it and says, man, I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed in my flesh, I will see God. That is the hope. That is why I can wake up in the morning and say, you know what? Yesterday sucked, but today can be better. Today will be better.”

Shea Watson, The Pantry Podcast, S02E03, Caring while Christian.

TRANSCRIPT

Shea: I’m excited. This is a milestone.

Michelle: This is a milestone.They say that there are some people that won’t even go on a podcast until it’s had at least 13 episodes here. We are season two.

Shea: Well, I’m going to say it takes, takes a little bit of work. Oh yeah. That’s that adds level tonight. We’re going to kind of talk about one of those levels. Um, the time is right. The season is right. Things that are going on right now with a lot of hurt, angry, scared people, the unknown, whereas the world going, I mean, we’re start downsizing in the COVID right. And all of a sudden here we are confronted with another African-American killing. We’re looking at racism. We’re looking at injustice. We’re looking at all of these iniquities happening in the world. And I think sometimes it’s important to come from a point of understanding, caring while Christian, we don’t always understand it’s not really about right or wrong when it comes to someone’s emotions or their feelings, you know, it will be a biblical we’ll come around to it. But at the beginning, it’s about just being there. Romans 12:15 says be happy with those who are happy and weep with those who weep.

Shea: That is a very powerful verse. If we don’t know how to weep with people, if we don’t know how to dig deeper and really sit back and absorb what people are saying, what are we doing? I’m being real. What are we, what are we doing? I want to tear up right now, as I say this, because of what’s going on in the world, because a lot of people are hurting and there’s an answer, but it’s not always the one we grasp onto first. It’s not from a horizontal, it’s from a vertical because the horizontal gives us all kinds of noise sometimes. But we got to focus on what’s upstairs. What’s above what’s in our pantry. What we’ve been building over the last few months, you know, as we talk about our pantry, what good are we putting in there? And that good is from Christ.

Michelle: Yeah. We talk about being like Christ. And sometimes we forget that one thing that is just trademark Jesus, is that he listens to every feeling we have and doesn’t condemn us for those feelings. The corrections come lovingly in many ways, but he hears them. He takes them on. He faces them in a way, no one else can. And you know, Christian care sets the bar. You know, that’s how we kind of closed out last season, talking about God’s bar, being the perfect standards bar, you know, and, and Christian care when it’s guided by the knowledge of God’s word and a humble heart, it sets the bar, you know, and it, and it has this power that can literally just shut other things down. But in situations like this, you know, faith isn’t a staple of the world’s system. So the actions that manifest in believers, they can look different and be brought into question by people who don’t understand everything that’s working in our spirit.

Michelle: And it can cause some real tension. And because of that tension, because we want to show that we care. We want to prove that we care and we desperately want to help fix this. When we have a heart for Christ, you know, it, it can be easy to slip into good intentions that don’t bring God glory. So we need to hold his word above every other word we get when we’re discerning how to care for others. One set of verses we’ve been using recently is in 2 Corinthians, 10:2-5  says we are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do we use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God, we capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. You know, God’s mighty weapon is truth, but it’s not just knowing the truth. You know, like we know that water cures, thirst, but it’s about using truth to dictate our actions like actually drink when there’s thirst, actually offer someone else a real glass of

Shea: Over pour the glass. Don’t stop. Just have a pitcher waiting, man. Just keep it in our natural yard. Okay. I’m thinking it really I’m looking at my glass of water. I stopped that thing like a quarter from the top, but when it comes to our love and when it comes to sharing love, fill the cup, don’t stop. Right? Capture thoughts. That’s even for us, right? We’re supposed to turn them over to God. James is, is like James 1. If you guys want to hear about how to live it just in the opening chapter, it’s so full of life and it kind of goes into this. There is a way that we can kind of encapsulate and grab a hold of things. We need to be good to people. When we’re saying caring or Christian, we really have to dial into own emotions, right? We can’t just let go.

Shea: We need to reserve a little bit, nothing wrong with anger, but he says, don’t go to sleep on your anger in James 1:19. It says, so then my beloved brethren, let every man be Swift to hear slow, to speak, slow to wrath. Those are good words. We are supposed to fight for justice. But how do you fight that? If you fight it on your own, through self you’re throwing atmospheric garbage. If you fight it with Christ centered ideas, thoughts, truth than what you throw into the atmosphere might offend people, but it offends them towards the gospel and it doesn’t return void. Right? Amen. And so then that takes us to our next step. Right? We capture this. I will never say that it’s not. Someone’s positioned to be the prayer warrior. Oh my goodness. Sometimes that is the action. So sometimes when I hear people say, don’t just pray.

Shea: I’m like, hold up. There are people in churches that that’s what they’ve been called to do. They’re on their knees, their prostate. They are in prayer. I fail at prayer. I mean, I do it, but it’s not like those people who have been called to pray. I know people who will be on their knees for hours praying because they’re going to a supernatural weapon. Right? So I will never say that prayer is not an action, but let me tell you something about faith from James 2:18. Now someone may argue, some people have faith. Others have good deeds, but I say, how can you show me your faith? If you don’t have good deeds, I will show you my faith by my good deeds. See when I start to believe and I start to trust in God and I start to watch this word. This is the word that gets everybody.

Shea: When I start to submit to his word, now I am walking in him. I’m imitating him. And now I want to do things. I don’t know. It lights a fire inside of your life. Like right now, I’m telling you for the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to work with a group of guys. And I felt like a horse sitting in the, in the steeple or in a, I don’t know what they call it. No, no, no. Steve was the race. It’s the race. And I might even be wrong on the steeple, but who cares? It doesn’t matter. The point is the horses lined up, he’s ready to race. And he’s, he’s just dancing. He’s dancing, he’s dancing. He wants to go. And like, it never opens. That’s how it felt like the last few years. But you know, with God’s movement, when I trust in God and I submit to God and I sit there and God, and I say, okay, God, I trust you. Whatever it is that I’m going through right now in my desert, in my pain, in my desire to want to move, I’ll sit still for you and wait. And all of a sudden right now, and Michelle knows the doors have been opened.

Michelle: Yes, yes. Amen. Prayers for a conversation with God. You’re talking to him about anything and everything. And his word gives you back his answers. So you need the word because the word tells you how to submit. And the w when you’re praying for deliverance, out of something, help with something, a cure for some kind of personality, defect in yourself, how to handle someone who has a personality that affects you. You’re struggling to deal with all these things, the answers in the word, and the answers are not always easy to accomplish, but it’s always simple. You know, it’s not like a 50 step plan, right? So it’s important. Think that, but then also, okay. I think a lot of people and I challenged people to really think about what they think about the gospel. What do you think the gospel actually is? If you think it’s a couple sentences, you’ve completely limited the gospel, the gospel isn’t just those sentences, but everything, those sentences unlock in our lives and the power of those sentences is not just in the words, there’s power.

Michelle: In those words, the power is also in how it transforms a person’s life. And when you’re looking at someone who’s been transformed by the gospel, it is undeniable of what the gospel can do. Cause you’re looking at a miracle that has come because of the gospel. Yes. Pray. You should be praying about absolutely every aspect of your life, including when you see any sort of evil, but rather than just say, okay, God, I see this evil take care of it. I know that you can. Amen. Yes he can. But what he loves to do is use his people to do it, follow my word, you know? And it’s not just like follow my word. I read my words. No, like this is something that, again, is simple, not easy. Read his word, submit to him, treat people with respect. Don’t go to sleep on your anger. You know, do not close your ear, provide for others. Do good to everyone. Build one another up, et cetera, et cetera. Yes. It costs us something. If nothing else, time and effort where we’re spending time with the Lord and dying to self a little bit at a time. That’s what changes the world. The gospel unlocks what we need to fall in love with doing.

Shea: We’ve got to imperfect and imperfect trying to come up with a solution. Right? But watch and Hebrews 10:14, it says for, by a single offering, he has perfected for all time. Those who are being sanctified. So where does my perfection come from? Christ. See? So if I’m not taking my algorithm to Christ, how will I ever talk or have a conversation that goes anywhere? I have tried so many arguments that didn’t have the Christ angle in it. And I’m not talking about beating somebody with the word of God. Okay. So honestly, I think because of my history and the brokenness that’s been in there across the port, it’s amazing. Anyway, I love it. That’s a great testimony, but I see nothing but Christ as an answer mourn with people that more wheat with people that we cry with. People who cry. Yes. Love people to have the greatest commandments. Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor and love yourself. The order of that love. God, love my neighbor. Love myself. I’m last. I am not only second. I am now like third, fourth, fifth light.

Michelle: Right? My joke, your second to last, because God says he’s alpha and Omega,

Shea:  And what you’re doing is you’re, you’re serving. I know in this season, we’re to have a podcast on that. It’s huge. It’s huge to be a servant of God, to want to represent the kingdom, to want to dig in. We should not be complacent as a church. We should not be idle. We should not be still. What I wrote the other day, church, it’s time to move. It is time for us to be called to action. It is time for us to listen to the Holy spirit and move. When we’re told to move, stop. When we’re told to stop, pray when we’re supposed to pray. But you know what? Everything in the Bible is an action, everything. And if you’re sitting complacent, if you’re sitting still and you’ve been sitting still for a long, long time move, sit down, get on your knees, become a prayer warrior.

Shea: Sit there and talk to God for two or three hours. I don’t care, but get a fire started and they get up and move, go out and love your neighbors. And I’m not talking to your best friend across the street or your best friend down the block. I’m talking about every person who lives on your block. Even the person that right now, in your mind you say, but how am I going to do that with this neighbor? Love them too. There was an issue early on in Michelle’s childhood. And the neighbor that we have next door had a little falling out with Michelle’s dad. And it will kind of held there. The neighbor was kind of grieved by this. And so when I moved into the house, Michelle was like, yeah, he, you know, he’s had some issues and uh, you know what Christ called me to do though?

Shea: Love, I didn’t listen to the atmosphere. I didn’t listen to what wanted to be taped, brought into my temple. I let Jesus knock out those thoughts. And I said, you know what? I’m just going to love him. And now we have the keys to his house and we watch his cats when they go away. You know? So what did, what does it mean? I put myself down. I lower myself, but you know what? I don’t stop. No, I strive forward. And I push and I push and I push some more to love people and bring a message that doesn’t just put a tourniquet or a bandaid, but a restoration.

Michelle: There’s something a lot of us tend to forget. And all of that mess where like, I have to take care of myself. I have to patch myself up. I empathize because I’ve done it myself. But at the same time, when the church is healthy and functioning, the way God intended, you know, in Philippians 2:4 it says, let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. And you know what that solves when you let’s say you’ve got just 10 believers. If each of those 10 is all trying to fix their own struggles, their own shortcomings, their own needs. Even if they are praise God, talking to God, they’re all still working with this huge burden to take care of their own, every need. And they feel alone and isolated because they’re spending so much time taking care of themselves, but they don’t have time to, to even fellowship for fun.

Michelle: But God wants the other nine to be taken care of you. And you’re pitching in to take care of each of the other nine so that everybody using the gifts he gives the provision he gives that differs between each one of us. We’re all contributing something godly to one another. So no longer do we have this huge burden to fill our every need. But instead he’s allowing all of us to bless one another. You know, it says, whoever brings blessing will be enriched. And one who waters will himself be watered. And that is this philosophy found in Proverbs that reinforces this notion. Often we end up closing our hearts off to others because the immediate needs in our own immediate circle are just too great. And it’s because that, that focus has shifted inward. And is it just your fault? Are you just so selfish?

Michelle: No. It’s just because that principal has fallen off for so many reasons. At the beginning, when we start to have the courage to start trying to do it again ourselves, we might encounter that. Now we’re trying to take care of others, but we don’t feel it being reciprocated at first. And that’s often when the enemy comes in, how will you ever take care of anyone else before you take care of yourself? Like on a plane, like if you have a kid with you put the mask on yourself first, so you have, then can breathe and put the mask on your kid. That’s the philosophy the devil wants you to have about literally everything: take care of yourself first. Then you’ll be able to take care of others. God says the exact opposite. He says, if you’re taking care of others, you’ll be taken care of.

Michelle: He will provide for you. You know, if he can bring food to Alijah through the Ravens, he can definitely hook you up in 2020. So it’s so important to make sure that you’re not living in this, in this place where you have no you’re paralyzed on how to help others. You’re terrified of what to say. I mean, as long as you have God’s word, as what you’re going to say, you don’t need to fear, man, what can man do to you?

Michelle: Here’s truth. We live in a society that if I say green bill told me, I should have said blue. If I say red, they’ll tell me I should’ve said orange, but watch this. If Mike Ray is the word of God, they can tell me to say orange all day long, but I’m speaking the truth. Speak from the word of God, but speak with love. Speak with understanding, speak with compassion. This isn’t. What about, I like to call it the, what about stop that stop. What about, and here’s my example. Our black brothers and sisters are hurting right now. They’re hurting every day.

Shea: They go out into the street. Every day they get into their car. Every day they go somewhere. There is a possibility that they get pulled over. I’ve had friends that broke down on the side of the road and when the police come up and nothing against police understand me here. But the first question is, is this your truck prove it’s your truck instead of, Hey, do you need help? So we know that this happens, okay. There’s evil in the world on all sides, everybody. But we got to stop when we hear things saying, well, what about this? I’m sorry, stop saying, what about, what about me? What about this? That happened after the fact? What about this? That’s happening now? What about, what about no focus on what’s going on? They’re hurting, they’re hurting

Michelle: And the word of God can fix it.

Shea: So instead of that, how about loved them?

Michelle: Right? Don’t just look at your own interests. Look at the interests of others. You know, 1 John 3:17-18 says, if you have and see another in need and close your heart off to them, how are you reflecting God he gives you the words to address the pains that people are experiencing because of the evils of this fallen world. We don’t need to concern ourselves with defending our own points. Because again, he wants us to look after the interest of others, he will provide for us. We don’t need to defend ourselves. He will defend us, but we’re called to defend one another. In the sense of this world is evil and is spewing lies at them, defend them with the truth, defend them with the word of life, give them encouragement, build them up in what, in who they are in Christ, in what God can do for them. When we bring in, I’ve seen it a thousand times. When we bring in our own opinions, even if they are grounded in truth, it just snaps the atmosphere. It just steals and robs God of the maximum effectiveness. And now suddenly they can be defensive in a way that becomes a debate, both lose because neither is bringing up the actual pure word.

Shea: Man, we got to speak from the word of God. Job went through lot, but you finally came to a conclusion after 19 chapters, 19 chapters. And if you look at it, there was mental anguish, confusion, anger, hopelessness, take my life Lord. But finally he snaps out of it and says, man, I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed in my flesh, I will see God. That is the hope. That is why I can wake up in the morning and say, you know what? Yesterday sucked, but today can be better. Today will be better. That’s our hope. We know who our father is. We know amen. Amen. We love everyone out there. No matter who you are, no matter what demographic and I hope this message touches you as much as it’s touched me, because let me tell you by putting this together. I had to go to the hard questions. I had to challenge myself to love a man.

Michelle: We’re definitely both better for it. And uh, we want to challenge everybody to really dress, submit themselves to God’s truth. And we want to pray with you. We want to answer questions. We might not know the answer, but you asking the question will bless us because then we can go seek the answer. And we know we all know we’re going to be seeking it in the word of God. And we’ll definitely share the answer with y’all. 

Michelle: Remember to shoot us questions and comments and prayer requests on our Facebook page, on our Instagram, at the pantrypodcast.com and as always, you know, this is an action step to share something. That’s touched you, whether it be a sermon or our podcast. So if this has helped you, if you feel like you could help and bless someone, you know, share comment, rate, subscribe, all that stuff that helps get the word of God out there. Do that for everything in the word of God that touches you. Amen. Till next time guys.

KEYWORDS: FRIENDSHIP, SHOW YOU CARE, HEART OF JESUS, LOVE LIKE JESUS, WISDOM, PRAYER, BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FAITH.