Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 7. I will then introduce you to my special guest for the day, Joshua Crisp. Joshua is a fellow 2nd year Charis Bible College student. Joshua talks about his early childhood and how he strayed a bit during his high school years. He then talks about how he felt called by the Holy Spirit to go to Charis Bible College. He has really grown these past two years and is looking forward to returning for third year next year.
[00:00:05] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this
[00:00:12] podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.
[00:00:15] According to this podcast today, Lord I pray that you give them ears to hear and a
[00:00:29] heart to receive everything you have in store for them today. I ask this in Jesus
[00:00:35] name, Amen. This is Proverbs 7 beginning in verse 1.
[00:00:41] My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands
[00:00:48] and live and my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers. Write them
[00:00:55] on the tablet of your heart. Say to Wisdom, you are my sister and call
[00:01:01] understanding your nearest kin. That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
[00:01:07] from the seductress who flatters with her words. For out the window of my house I
[00:01:14] looked through my lattice and saw among the simple I perceived among the youths
[00:01:20] a young man devoid of understanding. Passing along the street near her
[00:01:26] corner and he took the path to her house in the twilight in the evening in the
[00:01:33] black and dark night. And there a woman met him with the attire of a harlot
[00:01:39] and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious. Her feet would not stay at
[00:01:45] home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square lurking at
[00:01:52] every corner. So she caught him and kissed him with an impudent face. She
[00:01:59] said to him, I have peace offerings with me today. I have paid my vows so I
[00:02:06] came out to meet you diligently to seek your face. And I have found you. I
[00:02:13] have spread my bed with tapestry colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I
[00:02:20] have perfumed my bed with Mer, aloes and cinnamon. Come let us take our fill of
[00:02:27] love until morning. Let us delight ourselves with love for my husband is not
[00:02:34] at home. He has gone on a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with him
[00:02:41] and will come home on the appointed day. With her enticing speech she
[00:02:47] caused him to yield. With her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he
[00:02:54] went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the
[00:03:00] correction of the stocks till an arrow struck his liver as a bird hastens to
[00:03:08] the snare. He did not know it would cost his life. Now therefore
[00:03:14] listen to me, my children. Pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let
[00:03:20] your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths for she has cast
[00:03:27] down many wounded and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is
[00:03:35] the way to hell descending to the chambers of death. Friends I have a
[00:03:41] treat for you today. I have a fellow second year Carats Bible College
[00:03:45] student Joshua Chris and Joshua I'd really like to thank you for coming on. I
[00:03:50] appreciate you taking the time. Thank you Bill for having me on today. You
[00:03:55] know Joshua we just finished Proverbs 7 and Proverbs 7 mainly talks about the
[00:04:02] crafty harlot but which verse spoke to you today that you'd like to talk
[00:04:06] about with the audience. Well personally most of the end of the verse I had
[00:04:11] multiple verses today but verse 7 kind of re-inter kind of starts off my point
[00:04:17] where I reflect on that verse and realize that I am that man who was
[00:04:22] devoid of understanding because I've personally gone through issues of
[00:04:29] sexual immorality as myself so see reading this chapter and reading these
[00:04:33] verses especially near the end in verses 21 to 22 it's like I could see myself in
[00:04:39] this position of me being this man going through the situation and seeing what
[00:04:44] this woman actually is and you know who that woman was in my life when it come
[00:04:48] to the situations that I have to come across. All right well thanks for sharing
[00:04:52] Josh and you know some of the people listening today Josh may not know who
[00:04:56] you are. You're a young man you're 22 years old so if you would just tell
[00:05:00] the audience a bit about your upbringing and some of your fondest times growing up.
[00:05:05] Okay yeah so I grew up in Tennessee which some of you may know as part of the
[00:05:11] Bible Belt and I grew up mostly in a Baptist background but my mother grew
[00:05:17] up as a Jehovah's Witness so early growing up was kind of like new for
[00:05:21] all of us because she wasn't used to the church environment you know the true
[00:05:25] nature of God and all that stuff but so I grew up Baptist you know grew up
[00:05:29] being forced to go to church is what it seemed like at a young age and you know
[00:05:33] looking back I'm thankful for it but at that time it's like I felt so pressured
[00:05:38] and to go to church and like I would always get in trouble for not and
[00:05:41] it's like you know and then it got to the point where I just said God I
[00:05:47] don't know if I can do this you know if I'm having to do this because I'm
[00:05:51] being forced to enough because I want to it's like it's not worth it so
[00:05:55] about 2016 into 2016 I am just turned away from the Lord and I was like you know
[00:06:01] what I think I think I want to just do this on my own and not being the smartest
[00:06:07] man and as I said earlier not being a man of understanding I experienced
[00:06:12] probably the two and a half most painful years of my life and this
[00:06:16] chapter is a reflection of probably the biggest downside downfall of my two
[00:06:22] and a half years in that period but thankfully that Baptist upbringing kept
[00:06:26] me strong I knew that God was real I knew that you know no matter how I felt that
[00:06:33] I wasn't going to change who God was and how we and how we did things and
[00:06:37] thankfully as soon as I got out of that two and a half period I just
[00:06:41] recommitted myself to church and recombinant myself to the Lord with my
[00:06:45] whole heart and yeah now I'm attending Carys Bible College like my brother
[00:06:49] said and it's just been a great experience so far all right Joshua if you would go
[00:06:54] ahead and talk about those two and a half years and try to be specific I want
[00:06:59] people to know exactly what you've been set free from okay yeah sure so I
[00:07:05] remember so this was about going into Christmas break at this time I was a
[00:07:08] sophomore in high school I believe at this time and you know I didn't see the
[00:07:14] effects of it like immediately the same day but I remember going to school
[00:07:18] after the new year came back and I didn't know this at the time but because of
[00:07:22] the commitment I made in my heart what came out of me was just so wrong because I
[00:07:27] remember going to school that first day back and I just had so much hatred
[00:07:31] towards everything like I didn't want to be at school I didn't want to be around
[00:07:35] people I just didn't want to do anything really because I was just so
[00:07:39] upset and frustrated and I had no idea why really but looking back up that's
[00:07:44] commitment in a heart that I made to that was what caused that and that led
[00:07:48] down to a spiral of events that lead to Proverb 7 man version of me which
[00:07:54] throughout the months I just started growing more towards the world and focused
[00:07:58] on that and then you know me being a not 17 year old man at this point I
[00:08:04] started getting into late dating and relationships and so I was pretty much
[00:08:09] open to anything I told myself I was going to commit to marriage but I
[00:08:13] didn't have a strong enough foundation to stick with that and the first girl I
[00:08:17] met in that time period we met through rugby which was a club sport at the
[00:08:23] time and we just got connected we started talking and you know we started
[00:08:29] dating and just things led you know you start talking you start talking
[00:08:34] about serious things and she just casually mentioned like hey you know we
[00:08:39] can do these things you know she set the boundaries for what she thought
[00:08:41] was good in the relationship and I would me being a curious 17 year old hormonal
[00:08:45] boy I was like you know that would be interesting to go along with that you
[00:08:49] know it seems like an interesting thing so I doubled into dangerous territory
[00:08:54] and that's when pornography started in my life because you know this was a new
[00:08:58] concept for me and I didn't know how it worked and she kind of introduced it
[00:09:03] but she wasn't a big fan of it later on and I'll go into that here in a
[00:09:06] minute but so pretty much that's when the pornography started and all that
[00:09:10] stuff and then not too long after that we started engaging in that kind of
[00:09:15] activity thankfully with this girl wasn't too much but that
[00:09:19] that was just the beginning really but the pornography kept getting worse
[00:09:23] you know it started affecting our relationship
[00:09:26] and I didn't see it at the time how dangerous it was
[00:09:29] because I was just so caught up in how it felt and like all the emotions of
[00:09:32] it but you know so that relationship ended because I just became too
[00:09:36] emotional I became too attached and just became too clean too toxic as you
[00:09:42] could say and then you know time went on again
[00:09:46] but now I was in like a even worse mindset like I was
[00:09:49] willing to do anything to get that feeling and that
[00:09:52] physical sensation again and that led to me to my next girlfriend at the
[00:09:58] time she um I met her through archery my
[00:10:02] senior year so sometimes passed between the first
[00:10:06] and the second girlfriend you know the pornography was still raging on I was
[00:10:10] still going through some mental issues going through other things in the
[00:10:13] world gotten involved with some friends who did
[00:10:16] drugs thankfully I only ever smoked anything once and it was marijuana
[00:10:19] which was probably the lowest it could have been
[00:10:22] thankfully and then I also dabbed a little bit into alcohol but that was
[00:10:25] a one-time experience because that was that was just an awful
[00:10:28] experience but so that was where I was in a mindset
[00:10:31] and where I was living in a lifestyle but so the second girlfriend I met
[00:10:37] you know it was way worse with her because I'd heard stories about this girl
[00:10:40] and what she's done that built my curiosity up even more
[00:10:44] and in that relationship so we started we met at
[00:10:48] McDonald's because we both worked at McDonald's at the time
[00:10:51] and she just started showing me things she had friends who showed me things
[00:10:55] he had friends who encouraged it we would always do things at her
[00:10:58] friend's house because we couldn't do it at her house for obvious reasons because
[00:11:01] she had parents too and so I learned even more things the
[00:11:06] pornography just got worse my mindset got worse towards
[00:11:10] its issue the immorality just grew and grew because I had more things to work
[00:11:14] with now and at this point this is about
[00:11:17] the end of my senior year I just was starting to get so fed up with what
[00:11:22] how things were going and I was just so upset with life
[00:11:25] and this was I believe the Holy Spirit was convicting me in this time because
[00:11:29] at the end after I graduated I had made the decision that like I can't be with
[00:11:34] this girl anymore for one because it was just too dangerous to my health
[00:11:38] and but then also the Holy Spirit brought me back to church as well
[00:11:41] because he had a thankfully I had a friend in my life who was a labor
[00:11:45] across my path and she was guiding me and trying to get me back on the
[00:11:49] right track which I'm not going to say I was getting
[00:11:52] better well too much better but at least I was
[00:11:55] moving towards the right direction now so this was about
[00:11:58] summer 2019 I found this church and she got me involved with and thankfully I
[00:12:03] moved past some of the mindsets I was in before
[00:12:06] the pornography had gone down just a little bit but not too much
[00:12:10] but and then so I started growing I started going to church more started
[00:12:14] to serve in the church a bit more grow more in the word and understand
[00:12:18] who God was and that my life was not going to be the way
[00:12:23] it was before which thankfully ended that painful two and a half year period but
[00:12:28] now I'm kind of in a transitional phase of
[00:12:32] place of growing and figuring out what I need to do
[00:12:35] now moving forward and so you know I was doing my own thing living
[00:12:40] life for a few months and then I met another girl at a football game
[00:12:45] because I was working I think one of the archery boosts at the time
[00:12:48] to help the team and so I ran into her we started you know
[00:12:52] boy-mates girl that whole situation happened I started liking her and
[00:12:55] everything and then this girl was a little
[00:12:59] little worse than the last one because she had done so many things even more
[00:13:02] things you know got my curiosity up again but
[00:13:05] now instead of doing it from the world's perspective I was doing this
[00:13:09] knowing it was wrong and I had a better understanding
[00:13:12] of it even though I still committed to it so it was in this time the Lord
[00:13:17] really had to like the Holy Spirit was really convicting me in this time again
[00:13:21] but now because of this time instead of ignoring the Holy Spirit
[00:13:25] the way I did I put it before I started like
[00:13:31] thinking to myself it's like why am I thinking like this like why is it that
[00:13:34] when I do these things with her I don't want to do them anymore or
[00:13:38] why do I feel so bad when I do it and it just got to the point where
[00:13:42] it's like no matter what I was doing I just couldn't
[00:13:46] stand doing it anymore and it got to the point where I just cut it off in the
[00:13:50] relationship without even communicating that to her
[00:13:53] which led to some issues obviously and I just got to the point where the
[00:13:57] Holy Spirit convicted me so much that I had to tell her I'm like look
[00:14:00] you're a nice girl but you know I believe I just need to focus on my
[00:14:05] faith growing up my faith because what I'm doing is wrong
[00:14:09] and I just had to cut that relationship off and it hurt for a little bit
[00:14:13] because you know the physical connection is pretty dangerous and you as you'll
[00:14:17] see in the work because it's more than just physical it's spiritual and emotional
[00:14:21] so I had to develop cutting those ties off over time
[00:14:25] but it was in this time after the scroll this so this was about
[00:14:29] 2020 so the COVID pandemic was in full swing at this point
[00:14:34] so we had to deal with lockdowns we had to deal with all the situations
[00:14:38] so I had a choice to make in that time to just focus on the Lord and really grow
[00:14:42] and seek Him and while I didn't do it perfectly or
[00:14:46] or anything I did it I was a lot more focused and a lot more
[00:14:49] committed to it this time around and so you know some time passed you know
[00:14:54] I was committing myself focusing on Jesus and
[00:14:58] so I was working in Amazon the night shift at this point now this is
[00:15:02] going into I believe 20 late 2020 early 2021
[00:15:07] just randomly the one one night the Lord spoke to me
[00:15:11] as I was just working I just came back from break and the Lord just called me
[00:15:14] to go to Bible school and you know I didn't understand
[00:15:18] what that would entail but I knew it wouldn't tell me having to take a step
[00:15:21] of faith so I said Lord you know I'll go wherever
[00:15:25] you want to so I started looking at schools you know trying to get my
[00:15:28] start walking in that direction you know and
[00:15:33] that eventually led to me finding a church friend of ours from the Baptist
[00:15:37] Church I was in my deacon introduced me to him and because he was a second year
[00:15:41] Bible college student at the time this church friend and he invited me to go
[00:15:45] to the campus days conference in 2021 and you know
[00:15:49] I was looking more about it like a vacation really because you know working
[00:15:52] 40 plus hour nights kind of gets to you every now and then so I was like
[00:15:56] yeah it'd be cool to take a break and the and I knew it was the Lord
[00:16:00] because I remember I had to take the time off but I didn't have any
[00:16:05] pto or non pto so I had to use like an extra form of currency which you only
[00:16:11] get I don't remember what the case was but I remember I didn't have any of
[00:16:15] this time but I talked to HR and HR was like yeah you
[00:16:20] know if you want to go ahead and put it in now because by the time you
[00:16:22] leave it'll be there so praise the Lord I had
[00:16:26] enough time to actually take off by the grace of God in that time so I
[00:16:29] was able to go to the conference and I just knew there was something about this
[00:16:33] Bible college and being under the word that was going to help take me away from
[00:16:37] this life because I'm not going to say I was free at the time
[00:16:41] before I came to Bible college because I was still doing with the mindsets
[00:16:44] but I was not going through with the actions like I was before I was not
[00:16:48] following through 100% like I would have before I was
[00:16:52] it was more of a mindset thing than actually committing to it my body
[00:16:57] like the pornography at this point was like way lower
[00:17:01] I didn't have as many issues the mental capacity was like
[00:17:07] the mindsets were still there but I was able to
[00:17:11] overcome them a little easier this time as I committed
[00:17:15] to the Charispible College you know the pornography maybe
[00:17:19] I can maybe think one or two times maybe at most
[00:17:22] that I've ever done it in my time here the mindset to
[00:17:26] gradually decreased you know the word is coming alive in me and I'm learning
[00:17:31] more about who I am and the authority I have over this
[00:17:34] issue this issue and I remember second semester of my
[00:17:39] first year we took an elective called prophetic activation
[00:17:42] and I remember just talking to the class about this you know
[00:17:47] because they were saying that our testimony is the most prophetic thing we
[00:17:49] can say and I just remember speaking it over the
[00:17:52] class well you know a little bit of my testimony
[00:17:55] with the time I had and just the Lord had set me free from that because I had
[00:18:00] actually read Proverbs 5 that morning talking about how the
[00:18:05] harlot I'm trying to remember the words how the harlot
[00:18:09] pretty much our ways were like a double-edged sword then the Lord reminded
[00:18:12] me of Hebrews 4th where the word is sharper and quicker than a two-edged
[00:18:16] sword as the King James would say and it just set me free because I knew in
[00:18:20] that moment that not only did I have to not deal with this
[00:18:23] anymore but no matter how many times it came against me the
[00:18:26] God in me was so much more powerful and was much more
[00:18:29] able to overcome this and that just really truly set me free
[00:18:33] from this issue. Wow that's that's really good I'm a little bit curious
[00:18:37] you haven't mentioned your family you haven't really mentioned your mom much
[00:18:41] where's your mom in all of this and all of your decisions about coming to
[00:18:45] Bible college was she involved at all or you were just going to do what
[00:18:49] you were going to do? Yeah so when I first started looking at the
[00:18:53] schools I don't think I told her immediately because I was still
[00:18:57] figuring it out but I remember looking at schools like Liberty
[00:19:00] University you know trying to keep it close to home obviously because I
[00:19:04] didn't want to step out too much you know because
[00:19:06] God's not that powerful you know at the time of my set
[00:19:10] but I remember telling her and I remember telling her after coming to
[00:19:13] campus days that I knew the Lord wanted me to go to Woodland Park
[00:19:16] Colorado for school at Carousel Bible College and I remember like the week
[00:19:21] before I left if not days before my mom was like yeah you know if they haven't
[00:19:27] campus in Atlanta you can just go to that because it's closer to home it'd be
[00:19:31] cheaper and I was just like mom
[00:19:34] that's not what God called me to he wants me to go to Colorado because I was
[00:19:38] going through I think what I felt like was a car
[00:19:40] issue at the time and she's like oh we're not gonna make it we're not
[00:19:44] gonna make it you're gonna like crash or something halfway through and I'm like
[00:19:48] mom
[00:19:50] I know I'm gonna make it to Colorado and like even if my car breaks down the
[00:19:54] moment I cross the border that's fine but I'm called to Colorado
[00:19:58] I knew I was going to make it to Colorado and
[00:20:02] we you know so we made it to Colorado she rode with me because you know
[00:20:05] I'm her baby boy so she had a ride with me
[00:20:08] but you know the involvement with her after the fact is just that she's
[00:20:11] been so supportive of me because she knew that I was in God's will she knew
[00:20:15] that I was here for such a time as this and that she's
[00:20:19] she's not been able to financially support me in like a huge way but
[00:20:24] she's definitely been my number one financial supporter even though
[00:20:27] it might not be a whole lot of money you know it's the heart behind it that
[00:20:30] really I can really see it in her through the support that she's given me
[00:20:33] in this time so and she's and she's also encouraged me
[00:20:37] you know especially at the end of this year because you know you can get
[00:20:40] burned out at this point in the school year she's just like you know just keep
[00:20:44] focus you know you got third year to go to just keep your eyes on what's
[00:20:48] what God's called you to and she's just been so encouraging in this time
[00:20:52] wow that's so good you know joshua I appreciate you and I've seen you grow
[00:20:57] since last year and you know if you would you know
[00:21:00] you I can't help but ask this question you talk
[00:21:04] about coming back to the Lord and knowing that when you're doing these
[00:21:08] things in your life that you're not pleasing God and
[00:21:12] and you just felt drawn back to him how well did you know the word of God
[00:21:18] you know because I know a lot of times Baptists just don't
[00:21:22] really know the word of God that well and it's yet it seems that you did
[00:21:27] so how did you really feel and how did you understand
[00:21:31] that what you were doing was wrong well I'll say I'll say this when it
[00:21:37] comes to my personal time with the word and like how much I knew of the word I
[00:21:41] can say I really didn't know that much like I probably couldn't tell you what
[00:21:46] half of the books of the Bible were at that time much less any of the verses
[00:21:49] within it but I just knew in my heart that no
[00:21:52] matter how much I didn't know that I knew that the word of God was true
[00:21:56] that I knew that God was real and that he was true
[00:21:59] and that even though I was doing things wrong and that I wasn't doing the
[00:22:05] right thing and I knew that there was more to the faith than what the Baptists had
[00:22:07] taught I just knew that if I wanted answers the word of
[00:22:11] God had what I needed I just needed to commit myself to that and set that time
[00:22:15] to read that and so yeah that's what that's why
[00:22:19] Charis has been such a big help because now it's not only oh you have to
[00:22:23] read your Bible we know yet to listen to Pastor
[00:22:25] Preach yet to listen to him worship it's
[00:22:29] you know I get to experience word-based principles and how worship
[00:22:33] truly is and how the word is truly broken down what the word really means
[00:22:38] you know like how effective the word is in my life whether I see it or not
[00:22:42] because that's something I've seen like I said earlier about how the Holy
[00:22:45] Spirit can make to me I thought I wasn't saved at this point
[00:22:49] but because I knew you know as I've been learning Charis you know
[00:22:54] even though I didn't fully understand that the Holy Spirit was still there
[00:22:57] with me the whole way looking back I've seen God move so many times in my
[00:23:01] life and the Holy Spirit convict me of so many things that I may have probably
[00:23:06] avoided at the time it's like now to the point where it's like
[00:23:11] now I knew the word was true but now I can see the reality of it in my life
[00:23:16] after growing in it so much. Wow that's really good and
[00:23:20] you know I know first year we are required to read through the entire
[00:23:25] Bible I'm just curious was that the first time
[00:23:28] you had read through the entire Bible?
[00:23:32] Yeah actually I believe that was also the first time I've ever actually even
[00:23:35] opened some of the books of the Bible like I know I may have heard of a
[00:23:39] little bit of Joe open a little bit of this and that but I believe like most
[00:23:43] especially most of the Old Testament books because you know as a beginner
[00:23:46] of the Lord I never really saw the value of the Old Testament
[00:23:50] prophets especially the ones near the end of the book
[00:23:53] but you know just being here and like listening to Andrew and with
[00:23:56] windowpars class and Old Testament survey it's like
[00:23:59] you know now not only do I have I read the books and see the value that they have
[00:24:04] but you know like they say this is a book about Jesus and it's like I can
[00:24:08] see Jesus in all of those books in a different way that I never had before
[00:24:13] all because Andrew encourages us to read the word and you know he makes it
[00:24:16] a mandatory thing to do first year as a
[00:24:19] Charised Bible College student which you know
[00:24:22] props to Andrew because you know this is a Bible college and I like how
[00:24:25] those thoughts are that if you want to be in a Bible college you got to know the Bible
[00:24:29] and they get a window park for really breaking it down
[00:24:32] to a point where it's like now I understand not only the base story
[00:24:37] like the understanding of just the tale of it I guess
[00:24:41] but like the spiritual reality of what each of those books entails
[00:24:45] I can say that even though I may have never touched some of those books
[00:24:48] before I've now reached a place spiritually where
[00:24:52] when I open those books I'm not expecting some boring tall tale
[00:24:55] expecting Jesus and the spiritual realities that each of those stories have to tell
[00:25:00] well that's so good and you know if you would
[00:25:04] because Josh will there's there people listening to this podcast that just don't
[00:25:08] read the Bible that much and you know they may know it a little bit
[00:25:12] kind of like you did but how much are you reading the Bible now
[00:25:17] that you're a you know sophisticated second-year Bible college student
[00:25:22] and we're getting ready to close out second year
[00:25:25] but you know now we are not mandated to read the entire Bible during the year
[00:25:30] I'm just curious that we're not required how often do you just dig into the word
[00:25:35] and how important is it to you yes so you know compared to the mandatory we
[00:25:43] have to read the word it's like now that I understand
[00:25:46] the realities of it and now that I understand that they're not just
[00:25:48] random stories I find myself actually trying to
[00:25:52] dabble in a little bit to older Old Testament stuff as well but mostly
[00:25:56] understanding my identity in the gospels and in
[00:26:00] the epistles in the books following those because
[00:26:04] it's like instead of reading a chapter like okay I read my
[00:26:08] chapter of the day it's like now I'm trying to fully understand
[00:26:11] sometimes maybe even read multiple chapters or like maybe different books
[00:26:16] you know just depends on what the Spirit's leading me to do but
[00:26:19] now I find myself reading it a lot more often
[00:26:24] you know like maybe a little bit here and there on a daily basis but definitely
[00:26:27] a lot more involved a lot more curious to see the spiritual realities of Jesus
[00:26:33] and everything I read and you know incorporating like I said incorporating
[00:26:38] Old Testament a lot more in my new Testament reading because
[00:26:41] you know you could be in the mindset of oh well it's the Old Testament
[00:26:45] you know those are that's not the same covenant we're under but it's like
[00:26:49] when you understand that Jesus and Paul and
[00:26:52] all the writers of the New Testament you know reference
[00:26:56] the Old Testament it's like now I want to understand
[00:26:59] what's in the Old Testament for me without having to live in the Old
[00:27:04] Testament and it's like so pretty much that was a
[00:27:08] long answer but to kind of sum it up it's like
[00:27:10] yeah maybe not strong like multiple chapters multiple books a day
[00:27:15] but definitely when I'm reading even if it's just a chapter or even a verse
[00:27:19] if I just don't have the time it's like I'm getting so much more
[00:27:25] from it because I'm reading it from a different perspective
[00:27:29] you know I'm not I'm not reading to be approved I'm
[00:27:32] reading because I am approved and that I want to understand and learn
[00:27:37] who God is you know who I am in God and you know just those realities
[00:27:42] and so yeah I would say it's definitely a lot
[00:27:46] different compared to who I used to be and I'm still improving you know
[00:27:50] I'm still young still figuring this out you know don't understand things but
[00:27:54] praise God we're all still understanding things so
[00:27:57] yeah I'm just growing every day trying to seek improvement on my reading but
[00:28:02] you know the reading I do get and even if it's just a chapter it's
[00:28:05] like I see it so much more differently and I understand a lot more than I
[00:28:09] would have before just reading it okay well that's good that's a good
[00:28:13] answer you know and and a lot of people Josh who are
[00:28:16] listening to this like I said that they don't really know
[00:28:19] I think one of the main reasons most people don't open the bible and look
[00:28:22] is they don't know where to go and and it's such a big thing
[00:28:26] and you know to me if you really don't know the bible at all
[00:28:30] there's really six books that I would recommend and first of all
[00:28:35] I would I would start with Proverbs because to me Proverbs are the instruction
[00:28:39] manual life and if you read the Proverb of the day every
[00:28:42] day your life is going to go better I mean it says it over and over and over again
[00:28:47] in Proverbs that you know you'll have a long life
[00:28:49] and you know things will go well with you and then we have the book of Psalms
[00:28:53] which are soothing and there's songs you can sing but they
[00:28:56] lift you up and then the four gospels and if I had a choice I would
[00:29:01] begin with John's gospel but what I want to know Joshua is
[00:29:07] you know what if you felt like second year because first year is mainly
[00:29:13] foundational you know I don't think you knew the bible that well and I think
[00:29:17] as you're starting to get it in second year we have a lot of practical
[00:29:21] application to what we've been learning you know we get a chance to
[00:29:25] speak in groups called IEGs and if you would just share with us
[00:29:30] when those first started and how you've grown in your development
[00:29:35] yeah so me I'm the I kind of came into Cares as an introvert with an
[00:29:40] introverted mindset and you know started a little bit piece by piece
[00:29:44] breaking off first year but when we got thrown into the IEGs and even our
[00:29:48] mission strips even it's like now I was put in a position where
[00:29:52] you know I had to trust God and rely on God to be like
[00:29:56] you know I'm putting myself out in the open I don't know what I'm going to say
[00:30:00] even though we had like you know they gave us little things to work with
[00:30:03] little subjects and topics to talk about but it's
[00:30:08] like I knew that even though I was awkward and
[00:30:11] scared to talk about it talk about certain things especially some of the
[00:30:15] deeper personal things it's like I'm I've come to learn
[00:30:20] that you know everything I have to say is not for me
[00:30:23] you know I can't just listen to myself and say hey you know
[00:30:27] you're not good enough because you didn't sound good or you said something off
[00:30:31] or you know this might not relate to someone in the room but it's like
[00:30:36] I've come to learn that I'm not going to limit God because of who I am how I
[00:30:40] talk you know what my body language is
[00:30:44] it's like you know the Holy Spirit has something to say at any given time
[00:30:49] especially for each of the individual topics there's always something new
[00:30:52] and different to say each time but it's like I know when I step up in front of
[00:30:56] my little group of people or when I even step in front of people I never
[00:31:00] seen before like I did on my mission trip it's like
[00:31:04] I know that whatever I'm going to say is going to be from God
[00:31:08] because you know I'm not the kind of person I would stand up in front of
[00:31:12] any any group of people and say anything for any reason
[00:31:15] so it was just you know the Lord's really been working on me that you
[00:31:19] know this isn't about me this is about his people
[00:31:23] what I need what he needs to get across them through me
[00:31:27] and that I have something to say even if
[00:31:31] I'm scared and terrified or I feel like people are going to judge me
[00:31:35] or just any of that thing any of that stuff and it's like
[00:31:41] it's easy when you're in bible college with a bunch of people you've gone to
[00:31:44] school with for two years because they're like your family
[00:31:48] which essentially as Christians everyone every Christian should be part of a
[00:31:51] family but here it's you know you've grown so
[00:31:56] close so connected that you feel comfortable but it's like for me
[00:32:00] I'm still still growing on that a little bit with personal
[00:32:03] areas but it's like just some encouragement it's like
[00:32:08] no matter what group of family you're speaking in front of me or if
[00:32:10] you're just speaking in front of a group of strangers who you may not even
[00:32:13] know if they're safe and on it's like just know that the message
[00:32:17] that you have and the message you're going to present is not for you
[00:32:21] but it's for the people you're speaking to and you may be blessed from it
[00:32:24] afterwards you know I'm not saying you're not gonna be blessed from it but
[00:32:27] you know you're you're sewing the seat you know
[00:32:31] you're called to speak at any given moment for any given reason
[00:32:35] you know by the Holy Spirit you know we're all here for such time as this
[00:32:39] as I mentioned earlier and yeah that's pretty much it
[00:32:44] all right good and let me ask you this you know
[00:32:48] my favorite verse now is to be currently minded as death
[00:32:52] and to be spiritually minded is life and peace
[00:32:56] that's Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 8 verse 6
[00:32:59] but Joshua what does that verse mean to you and do you feel
[00:33:03] that you are being led by the Holy Spirit as you walk every day
[00:33:08] you know I think I definitely would agree that I am walking more and
[00:33:12] listening to the Holy Spirit more every day I'm not going to say I do it
[00:33:15] perfectly but to the way compared to how I used to do it and where I am now it's like
[00:33:20] now I'm starting to see like hey this is Holy Spirit tell me to do this this is
[00:33:24] you know tell me not to do this or you know I'm not looking for just that
[00:33:28] audible voice of God anymore I can now rely on the
[00:33:31] inward knowing of God in that like I know when something happens
[00:33:36] I may not get it right every time but now I'm more aware of like
[00:33:40] hey this is a bad thought Holy Spirit you know like I need to focus on God and
[00:33:44] the Holy Spirit or like hey you know I feel
[00:33:48] like this was for you know I'm more comfortable in giving
[00:33:52] words now because now I know it's like hey
[00:33:55] I think this is for this person but now it's like now I don't just keep it to
[00:33:59] myself now it's like you know even if I get this wrong
[00:34:02] this may minister to some way to this person
[00:34:06] and now it's just like even though
[00:34:10] I'm not hearing them as perfect as I could
[00:34:14] I know I'm hearing them a lot better and I'm seeing a lot of that fruit in my
[00:34:18] life I'm like when I try to understand you know
[00:34:21] because that's what it comes down to it's like you can hear God but if you
[00:34:24] try to hear God you know read study really tune into
[00:34:29] that's when you're really going to see the results and
[00:34:32] truly know that you're here okay good I've got a question for you
[00:34:36] in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8 it says be sober be vigilant because your
[00:34:44] adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion
[00:34:48] seeking whom he may devour. Joshua I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you a question
[00:34:53] if somebody who does not believe in Jesus
[00:34:57] made that comment to you what would you tell them?
[00:35:02] You know and just from my experience and what I've seen not only in my life
[00:35:05] but those around me it's like I am definitely more spiritually especially
[00:35:10] spiritually aware of the enemy and who he is and what he's trying to do in my
[00:35:14] life because it's like when you live in the sins and
[00:35:17] when you live in these evil things it's like you don't really see it initially
[00:35:21] but like when you really know who God is and when you
[00:35:24] start to hear him even if it's just a little bit it's like
[00:35:27] you truly start to see the work of the enemy in our lives because you know
[00:35:31] God is great and he does great things for us but we also have an enemy like
[00:35:35] like the verse says he is running around like a roaring lion it's like
[00:35:39] the thing about lions is they hide in the grass until they pounce on their
[00:35:43] prey when they find a vulnerability and it's like
[00:35:46] it doesn't matter if it's sexual it doesn't matter if it's drugs
[00:35:49] when any kind of addiction really it's like the enemy is just waiting for you
[00:35:54] to stumble and he's going to try to pounce on your first chance he gets
[00:35:57] but the thing about the Holy Spirit is it's like he's
[00:36:01] he's the lion of Jesus he's going to be even quicker like I said earlier
[00:36:04] Hebrews 4 12 he's quicker and sharper every time the
[00:36:09] enemy tries to come against you but you acknowledge it that it's not good and
[00:36:12] that you know it's not a God that's when you can say God I need you know
[00:36:15] that's when you turn to God and that's when the enemy has lost his power
[00:36:18] because you know that God is going to be your strength in that situation
[00:36:22] you know that he's going to help you overcome in the situation
[00:36:25] and you know that even though the enemy may keep on attacking you
[00:36:29] that the lion of Judah not only protects you and surrounds you but he lives
[00:36:32] inside of you and you can turn to him at any given moment and say
[00:36:36] that you may be a you may be a lion but you are not the most powerful
[00:36:39] one you know we serve the ultimate lion of
[00:36:42] Judah and it's just comforting to know that even though
[00:36:46] the enemy will pounce on you every chance he gets that we can
[00:36:50] turn the tables on absolutely that's good okay we are almost finished with
[00:36:57] second year and first of all I'd like to know your thoughts about that how do
[00:37:02] you have feelings that second year is almost over you're
[00:37:05] going to go home for a couple weeks but are you
[00:37:07] feeling excited are you sad how are you feeling emotionally
[00:37:11] about the end of school year you know there's a bunch of mixed feelings I'd
[00:37:16] say but I'd say I'm definitely more excited because it's like
[00:37:20] now that I've really gotten to dip my toes in the water with like the practical
[00:37:23] stuff he said with the public speaking
[00:37:26] mission strips just being able to administer to other students in general
[00:37:30] it's like even though I'm not like ministering to people worldwide it's
[00:37:36] like I'm seeing that growth in my life right now and it's like
[00:37:39] I know that when I go home for two weeks here in May it's like I know
[00:37:43] that I'll be able to stand more firm on the
[00:37:47] on the bible and the word and like be able to stand against the evil things of the
[00:37:51] world you know especially in the bible belt for those who may have
[00:37:54] heard that earlier it's like it's it's becoming you know
[00:37:58] the light is growing but the darkness is still growing a little bit too
[00:38:02] so it's like I know I'm going to be able to fight against that a lot more
[00:38:05] better you know still growing and definitely the excitement comes more
[00:38:10] for being ready for third year because now I'm being equipped to do what
[00:38:14] I'm called to do and it's like it's just awesome to see
[00:38:19] the growth not only from first to second year but now
[00:38:22] to see what happens in the summer now that I'm not in school five days a week
[00:38:26] four hours a week well four hours a day it's like now I can see
[00:38:30] the true growth in this time and to see the growth that will come
[00:38:35] after I leave this after I leave Colorado to go back home full-time
[00:38:39] to do what the words call me to do and I can just say yes it is sad that the
[00:38:44] school year is ending but I'm excited not only for me but for
[00:38:48] everyone else I've seen grow alongside me to see where the way takes each and
[00:38:52] every one of us and the growth that has happened in each and every one of our lives
[00:38:55] because of this college well that's good that's really good Josh that's a
[00:38:59] good answer and you know for those of you listening
[00:39:02] you know like Josh has kind of touched on it but God has a plan
[00:39:06] for every single one of us you know whether you know that or not you're
[00:39:11] walking in that or not is really beside the point he does have a plan
[00:39:17] so Josh what I really would like to know is what has the Lord been talking to
[00:39:21] you just say the last two weeks the last month
[00:39:25] what has he really been telling you and where do you feel you're going to
[00:39:28] go moving forward yeah so over the last few
[00:39:32] weeks and months really the Lord's been like revealing to me my calling like
[00:39:38] now that I'm so grounded in the word I'm starting to see bits and pieces of my
[00:39:42] calling and now that I have a better understanding of what I'm doing
[00:39:45] you know he's really leaning me towards the future right now
[00:39:49] showing me like what third year you know like what the third year I'm going
[00:39:53] to take which is a leadership program what it's going to do for me
[00:39:56] you know after I'm done with school and you know like what I've learned
[00:39:59] so far this year where it's taking me you know when I go back home because
[00:40:04] the Lord's really been showing me like my call for being a pastor
[00:40:08] you know really serving where I'm at because
[00:40:12] I get to serve this wonderful ministry as one of the employees and I get to
[00:40:16] see things that not every student here gets to see
[00:40:19] with the away events but it's like just really teaching me to be humble and
[00:40:23] to be um not only have humility and to be
[00:40:29] able to have fun but to also serve justice and you know to
[00:40:34] find the balance of the spiritual and the natural to not only be the best
[00:40:39] and most fun Christian but to also be the most powerful
[00:40:43] spiritually led leader that God has called me to be in this time because
[00:40:47] we've uh you know I've been struggling with the balance
[00:40:51] of you know the spiritual and the natural but now the Lord's been
[00:40:56] the Lord's been really teaching me like how to balance it you know
[00:40:59] what I need to change in my mindset and my heart sets you know like
[00:41:03] what I need to focus on when it comes to the word and like what he wants me to
[00:41:06] start focusing on what he wants but they not focus on even because
[00:41:11] one of the speakers at the conference we had recently he talked about
[00:41:14] how we hold something up in front of our eyes and our whole and our
[00:41:17] destinies like on the wall behind us but because
[00:41:21] we could put one little thing in front of our face we lose focus on our
[00:41:24] whole entire destiny and you know that's something the Lord was showing me
[00:41:27] that I've been really limiting my destiny because I've been so focused on
[00:41:32] natural things that have been getting in my way and it's like even
[00:41:35] minuscule things it's like even good things really but not all good
[00:41:39] good things or god things and it's like when you really put your focus
[00:41:43] on what God actually has for you it's like that
[00:41:47] that really takes away anything that can distract me from my from them my
[00:41:50] main focus which is to seek Jesus and fill my calling that he has for me.
[00:41:56] Wow that's good and you know josh you know first year we've learned the bible
[00:42:01] a lot second year we've learned to apply it
[00:42:04] but what I'd really like to know is what is your favorite scripture verse
[00:42:08] right now you know based on all the stuff we've done we've learned so
[00:42:12] many books so many this so many this what verse is
[00:42:16] really speaking to you and really kind of guiding your life as we speak
[00:42:20] you know for me personally all the enough it's actually josh hole one nine
[00:42:25] have I not commanded you be strong in a good courage
[00:42:28] do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the word your God is with you wherever you
[00:42:31] go and it's like you know this follows you
[00:42:34] know meditate on the word day and night that it may make on my way
[00:42:39] prosperous and successful but it's like this person and
[00:42:43] of itself beyond verse eight it's like there's so many things that i'm about to
[00:42:47] walk into in my life spiritually naturally just whatever it may be
[00:42:51] but it's like especially as a young person you know especially like josh
[00:42:55] hole was he was put in a position where he had to be thrown out
[00:42:59] into his calling but I can be encouraged because not only was this
[00:43:05] the first you know a popular saying this is the fourth time when you had
[00:43:08] to be told this and I feel like that's how I am
[00:43:11] I have to be told multiple times not as a bad way but you know because I'm still
[00:43:15] seeking the word still trying to understand it and it's just really been
[00:43:18] encouraging because you know as I've thought about this verse and
[00:43:22] meditated on it it's like I'm starting to see
[00:43:25] you know like but walking into those things those new things
[00:43:31] walking from glory to glory you know seeing these new things that I'm
[00:43:34] encountering that you know I may not have been able to do it before but
[00:43:38] I can be strong and be courageous because I know that whatever I do wherever
[00:43:41] I might go whatever I might say I know the Lord's going to be with me
[00:43:44] he's going to give me the words to say he's going to give me the things to do
[00:43:48] and it's just it's just encouraging to know that no matter what I do
[00:43:52] good or bad the Lord's going to be with me the whole entire way I can be
[00:43:56] encouraged by that well that's so good and I'm going to
[00:43:59] expound on what you said on Joshua chapter one
[00:44:03] because the second verse of Joshua chapter one it says Moses my servant is dead
[00:44:10] and you may mention that he's now thrown into this
[00:44:14] but he had been under moses for 40 years
[00:44:17] you have to remember that he had gone through that program
[00:44:21] and yet in chapter one God tells him three times
[00:44:28] he tells him be strong and courageous and he also tells him as I was with my
[00:44:36] servant moses so I will be with you for anyone listening today that goes for
[00:44:42] you too God is not a respecter of persons if he
[00:44:47] was with moses if he was with joshua he is also
[00:44:52] with you as joshua mentioned he will never
[00:44:56] leave you nor forsake you and I know there are times
[00:44:59] and we go through hard times we all do when you don't feel the presence of God
[00:45:05] but his promise is that he's always there with you
[00:45:09] even if you can't feel him joshua what I'd like for you to do
[00:45:13] today right now is take about two minutes three minutes if you want to
[00:45:20] talk to somebody who yet has to make the decision to receive Jesus as her Lord
[00:45:25] and Savior they've heard about Jesus they haven't
[00:45:28] committed to him yet what would you say is the compelling argument that you need
[00:45:33] to receive Jesus today well I'll use this illustration
[00:45:38] I heard when I was on my mission strip and I'll use a different example
[00:45:41] because this was out of country so it's like I know you may have
[00:45:45] heard about Jesus and you may have like oh yeah this Jesus guy you know
[00:45:48] he's God or you may have heard different things about him but it's like
[00:45:51] it's when you experience Jesus that makes a difference in your life
[00:45:55] you know it's like the number one beer in America I now I believe is Budweiser
[00:46:00] you've heard about it you may have even smelt it been around it
[00:46:03] but you've never actually experienced it or you may or you may have but you
[00:46:07] know just an example you know you may have not
[00:46:10] actually partaken of it you know you taste and see you've not tasted and
[00:46:13] seen what it's like so it's like I encourage you it's
[00:46:17] like even though you may have heard different things about Jesus whether they
[00:46:20] were right or wrong you know that's for you to see between him and
[00:46:23] you but you know it's really when you really see the life of Jesus moving in
[00:46:28] you that will make a difference and I just want to encourage you that like
[00:46:32] even though you may be seeing and hearing different things about Jesus I
[00:46:36] just encourage you to really see that life giving
[00:46:41] abundance in your life that he can offer you and you know
[00:46:44] I pray that if you don't have Jesus you know or if you're just questioning
[00:46:48] whether you do have Jesus or not I just want to speak
[00:46:52] blessing over you that you understand that you know Jesus isn't just this
[00:46:55] character or historical figure he's he was a real person
[00:47:00] but he was also 100 god as well and he
[00:47:03] died on the cross over 2,000 years ago for you
[00:47:08] not just everyone in the world but he died specifically for you so that
[00:47:11] you may understand the richness of his glory
[00:47:14] and that you may see the abundant life through your life not just through
[00:47:18] Andrew Walmart or Bill Kelly you know you can see it in your personal life
[00:47:24] today you know as you and you know as you receive him you'll also be walking
[00:47:28] on a journey you know what I mean yeah there'll be a little thorns and
[00:47:31] thickles along the way but you know he's with you like we like we
[00:47:34] talked about earlier he's with you the whole step of the way
[00:47:37] he's going to get you through it and you're just going to see so many
[00:47:40] great things as you continue this journey with Jesus
[00:47:44] one last favor if you would go ahead and lead
[00:47:47] anyone in the sinner's prayer if you would invite them into the kingdom of
[00:47:52] God all right wherever you are I just ask that you please
[00:47:56] repeat after me maybe you whisper it just speak it over yourself right
[00:48:01] I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin that he lived a lot that he
[00:48:08] lived those 33 years that he had three years of ministry that he died on the
[00:48:13] cross for our sins and that he rose again so that we may be
[00:48:17] free in his freedom and that he will that he heals you that he
[00:48:22] prospers you financially he prospers you in your health
[00:48:26] in your in your soul that he prospered that you may
[00:48:30] walk in the abundance of the spirit that he has given you
[00:48:34] and that you may know who he truly is as you experience him
[00:48:39] right now in Jesus name amen that's good josh you know if there's any one that
[00:48:45] said that prayer today I ask that you reach out to me in my
[00:48:49] facebook page bill kelly if you have any specific questions
[00:48:53] please reach out to me on messenger and josh i'm going to say one more thing
[00:48:57] if you would let people know that this is just the first step
[00:49:02] that they need to actually go further and actually join a church
[00:49:07] and give you around people who are like-minded people
[00:49:11] and keep them strong yeah so it's like maybe somebody be wearing like a
[00:49:16] denominational church and i just want to encourage you that it's not just
[00:49:19] about going to church sunday morning sunday night
[00:49:21] wednesday morning whatever wednesday night whatever the case may be it's
[00:49:25] like when you receive salvation your your life is
[00:49:29] not your own you know god has called us to serve he's called us to
[00:49:33] minister to those around us and to share his love and his joy and all the
[00:49:37] fruit of the spirit with others so i just encourage you that if you feel
[00:49:41] led to you know maybe move churches if that's what god's calling you to do
[00:49:44] maybe move churches to where you can be spiritually fed maybe
[00:49:47] serving the church you're currently at you know god's called us to serve
[00:49:51] you know if you want to be the most in the kingdom you have to be the
[00:49:54] least of all and i want to encourage you to serve in a
[00:49:57] local church whatever your church is maybe you already have a church
[00:50:00] you know and if you are serving you know really look at your heart and see if
[00:50:05] you're serving with the right heart set because
[00:50:08] you can attend you know you can teach kids class every sunday you know show up
[00:50:13] every time not miss a beat but it's like if you're not doing it with the
[00:50:16] intent to actually truly serve the people
[00:50:19] and to truly give them the gospel message through what you're doing in
[00:50:22] that service whatever it may be you know i just encourage you to look at
[00:50:26] your heart in this time and just really understand that this is a journey
[00:50:31] this isn't going to be an instant change instant process your spirit has
[00:50:35] been instantly changed but your soul hasn't understood that yet
[00:50:39] so i just encourage you to really seek the lord for what his next steps for you
[00:50:44] are and just encourage you to be in the word
[00:50:46] and understand that it's not just a book with
[00:50:50] black and white words there's really life and each and every one of the words
[00:50:54] in the book as i believe it's first timothy
[00:50:59] two three second timothy three 16 and 17 second timothy three 16
[00:51:06] you know i'm still growing and this is what you could tell that
[00:51:09] you know just really really understand that scripture isn't there
[00:51:14] to bore you it's there to give you life but and i also want to say there's a
[00:51:19] double there's a side of the other coin on the side of the coin here it's
[00:51:22] like you have to really want to receive what god has for you
[00:51:27] you know you can read the you can read the bible every day pray every day but if
[00:51:31] you don't really mean what you're saying or you don't really put
[00:51:34] commitment and a diligence into this you're not really going to see
[00:51:39] as much fruit as anyone else might but be encouraged that even if you don't
[00:51:44] that because you have confessed with your mouth that jesus christ is lord
[00:51:47] that he will abiding you and you and him no matter how much you
[00:51:51] may be abiding him when in his word or in prayer so
[00:51:55] all right now may the lord bless you and keep you
[00:51:59] the lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you
[00:52:03] the lord lift up his countenance upon you and
[00:52:07] give you peace friends please join me again tomorrow
[00:52:11] as we further explore wisdom
[00:52:21] you