The Hope Hotline - The Hope Hotline | S01-E98 | 01-10-24

Episode Date: January 23, 2024

The Hope Hotline | S01-E98 | 01-10-24

Real Talk. Real Talk. Real Talk. Real Talk. Hello and welcome to the Hope Hotline. It is Wednesday, January 11th. 10th. Yep, 10th today. January 10th. It is already the 10th day of January. I know. How?

January is almost halfway gone. That is incredible to me. Time seriously flies. And I would say when you're having fun, but that's not always true. We're not always having fun. Are you not having fun? Well, what? Are you not having fun? I that's not always true. We're not always having fun. Are you not having fun? Well, what? Are you not having fun?

I am having fun to a certain extent. But, I mean, some days are really long, especially when you're fasting. Correct. Some days, the days are really long. Yes. So, but the reward is great. The reward is great.

And I keep reminding myself that. Yeah, the reward is great. The reward is great. And I keep reminding myself that. Yeah, the reward is great. You can't beat it. So if you're not fasting right now, first, hey, I don't say you have to do the first 21, but listen, you should start your year off, start your year off right. And you might find out that you follow through with it

for the remaining time of the year. You'll pick it up and you'll do it the whole year through. Absolutely. So yes, it's already halfway. January is already halfway through. And I am stunned and amazed. I would say lots of great things have happened in 10 days. But I can't think of a daggum thing.

It's just been really pretty even, Stephen. Not so crazy. Okay, so on a personal note, It's just been really pretty even, Stephen. Yeah. Not so crazy. Okay, so on a personal note, before we get going, I have three little girls that when I walked into studio, before I even walked into studio, were clamoring for me. Now, here's the thing. You guys already know I'm not a grandmother. I have no grandbabies. I mean, outside of Miss Brindley, I'm not a grandmother. I have no, like, grandbabies.

I mean, outside of Miss Brindley, I consider her to be my grandbaby. But then I have two other girls. There's Tootie and then there's Charlotte. And Charlotte I've known since she was a baby. Tootie for, I mean, gosh darn, how old was Tootie? Yeah, she was six when you met her. She was six. So these girls were itsy bitsy.

Get over here really quick. So they all come running to me. Like, if you're not loved like this, I feel bad for you. Because I am one blessed woman. Look at all these beautiful girls. These are the ones that sang for us for Christmas Eve. If you watch the Christmas Eve service, you'll see these three beauties. They sang. You guys sang beautifully. They killed it.

They won her in the hits of the night. But they came and they made me this little, and they wanted me to show it to you guys. Go this way. This is what they made for me. It's the Hope Hotline. And then, look, let me see. I can't really see that very good, but the logo. Look at how great they did on the logo. Hold it in front of your face. Front of my face? Yeah, it'll try to connect.

There we go. Yeah. It's perfect. That's the best. That's the best. You didn't get any better than that, girls. Hide me, show you. Yep, yep.

There it is. Yeah, I mean, look at how cute that is. They did such a good. That's me. Wait a minute. Down here. There it is. Yeah. I mean, look at how cute that is. That's me. Wait a minute, down here. This is me, but they had to put a turtleneck on me because they gave me a double chin and a turkey neck, which at any, if, Hey, listen, I'll take a double, I'll take a turtleneck if you're going to give me a double chin. Exactly. All day long. They had to fix that. Lots of crosses because they love Jesus. Lots of flowers because, I don't know, they love flowers.

But I love you guys in the background. And they did Foundation Church over here with the logo right there with the logo. I love you all. You did a great job. Kudos to Hard Rock. I told them they're all three artsy-fartsy. Like, how does that happen? Usually you don't have three people who love to do art,

but they're all best friends, stick together like glue, and they love to do the same thing. And they're all different ages. They are. Very close. And they still. Brinley, who is the youngest of everybody, acts the oldest of everybody, except for Charlotte every now and then.

Sure, we'll show her age and then some. But, yeah. All right. That's I'm done with the personal side of things. Go, Tracy. All right. So as you guys know, we need you guys to like and share and comment and subscribe. And I'm going to head over to my personal Facebook as

well. And since we have a love hate relationship with Facebook, mostly hate, no offense, Facebook, we are going to use them and allow this to be a platform that we can let other people know about. So I am sharing right now. So it's shared on my Facebook page. You can like it on Facebook when you get to Rumble, which is where we want you guys to be. So fine. We show it up on Facebook. We're there, but head over to Rumble once you get it shared and it's, you know, everybody can kind of see what's going on. Head over to Rumble. We got a whole conversation going over here. Mom's in the house. Bob, she's in the house. And we got Anne-Marie and Galena. And we have Anne-Marie and Talia and Sean.

And yeah, we got the whole crew. And thank you guys for being here. YouTube, we have available as well. However, if you're on YouTube, head over to Rumble real quick. Let's make a little shift. You guys will love Rumble. I know there's a lot of people that have a hard time with change, but listen, Rumble is great. So let's head over there. And then if not, if Rumble's not your thing, find BlackRobeTV.com. We're over there. Brian's on right now and Sharon. Hey guys,

I'm glad you're here. So if you can share on these things, if you can like on it, whatever you can do on the platform you're on is really helpful to us. And it's great for other people to be able to have a place to share their questions. So send your questions in, askhopeathopehotline.com. We are always ready for more questions. And you can send them here in the chat. If you don't know, Rumble's live chat does go away. So if you want to put it in the comment in case, you know, Talia and I somehow miss it, or this is a replay and we don't see it, the live chat will be gone. So just head over into the comments and just drop them in there. If not, send them to askhope

at hopehotline.com. Every single one gets over to Hope and she will see it. Moving right along, we have our merch. So if you want a mug, if you want a spoon, or if you want a UBU t-shirt, FoundationChurchFL.com. Click shop and it is available today to purchase. We will be adding some new merch in the very near future. We are fasting, as Hope said earlier. We're following, some of us are doing different things, but I'm personally following Jonathan's 6 to 6, and he's got biblical scriptures of why it's 6 to 6. If you've never fasted before, it is definitely doable if you are a very healthy person and there's no issues there. You're able to do

that. And if you can't fast for all the rhymes or reasons why you can't, you can definitely pray all day long throughout the day. Jonathan has different meetings available. At 10 a.m. he's on, and then they do a 12 p.m. prayer live and then breakthrough meetings in the evening. He's either in Pittsburgh or in Texas, depending on, I guess, where he chooses to be. Hope is doing her dare to be. And the next meeting is January 29th. And she does that on the fifth Monday of the months that have a fifth Monday. And very exciting. If you guys didn't notice in the comment or in our little

like caption things, we have season one episode. Today is 98 and we are heading to a hundred. So when we hit a hundred, it will be season two and we have some fun things in store for our hundredth episode. So make sure you're here on Friday. Love for you guys to hop on live if you can. That's not this Friday. Not this Friday. Next Friday. Correct. Because there is no podcast this Friday. So hope I'm going to let you jump on real quick. And just so everybody has a heads up, there is no podcast on Friday. So next Wednesday will be 99. And then next Friday will be our hundredth episode. It was going to end up if I did the podcast. We're not doing the podcast on Friday because if I did it on Friday, then the hundredth would be on Wednesday and we can't do a party on Wednesday. It has to be on a Friday.

Always. I'm lying. That's not the reason why. I really don't care when we celebrate. Me and Tom have to be at a wedding. Not in a wedding. At a wedding on Friday. At a wedding.

It's in the daytime. Yeah. So, and I'm not, I mean, I'm not up for pre-recording anymore. Tom told me that would happen to me. I mean, we could have pre-recorded, but I don't got it in me. I know. Once you go live, he told me, he's like, if you go live, you'll never pre, you'll never record it again. It's true.

It stinks. And I'm like, he's like if you go live you'll never pre you'll never record it again it's true it stinks and i'm like he's right man i don't think i ever will go i fought him tooth and nail on going live and i hate to say this but once again he's correct and i was wrong oh i cannot believe the record either because i was really dogmatic about not going live just did not want to do it so the peanut gallery show the peanut gallery who's with us today alright we got me Talia and Sarah Sarah's back people

better than ever she was MIA I just said to her when Tracy was doing the thing I was like where you are you been, girl? Yeah, girl. And she gave me the biggest eyes. Why are you mad? That's what I thought she said.

Oh. Both great questions. We'll talk later. Oh. So you're mad. Currently, she's angry. Apparently. Yeah.

I just found that out. But I'm like, where you been? Yeah. She's MIA. MIA. She's back people so hey listen you're you're a business owner and your husband's a business owner so lord knows what could be going on with that lord knows that's like that'll keep you busy that keeps you hopping true tracy a business owner her husband a business owner work her husband, a business owner.

Work for yourself, people. Amen. Work for yourselves. That's the best way to go. But it's very difficult. Which goes right into the first question. Perfect. Perfect.

We're going right into the first question. When do you know when to give up? We know you hate quitters, but is there ever a good time to walk away? Happy New Year. I literally was like, this is like a Happy New Year question. Yep. Oh, my gosh. Ten days in. Because I wasn't answering these questions at Christmastime.

That would have been a downer for people at Christmas. Right. But seriously, this is the best question ever. I read this question, and I was like, I mean, Tracy, were you the one that asked me this question? Or did somebody send this to you, and then you said it to me on the phone. And I was like, I love that question. No, it was me. And we were in your office. Oh, you asked me this question.

And I probably said, send it to the Hope Hotline. You did. I love it. I love, this is the best. Can I ask you a question? Yeah. Because you don't ask me a lot of questions. No.

Why did you ask me this question? Well, we were talking about something specific that day, and it reminded me of this question. But I've had people in my life that have been like, at what point do you give up? And I was like, I wonder what Hope would say about this, because she always says, I hate quitters. Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up. I hate quitting. Is there a point in time when you've like literally like, like at what point do you have to say like, I mean,

sometimes, sometimes at some point in life, it's, there are, will be things in life you have to throw in the towel. You throw up the white flag and you say, okay, I've done all I can do.

But there are certain times that that's never the case, which will hit. Okay. And then there are times like that's never the case, which will hit. And then there are times, like, biblically speaking, there's scriptures that clearly talk about pushing through, fortitude, and things like that, which we're going to touch on. But I was, so I was like, this is so funny, because I couldn't remember. I was like, did she ask me that question? Or did somebody ask her that question? But I'm glad it was you, because now I know why you asked the question. I'm always interested in the reason behind somebody

asks a question, but I hardly ever get to ask the person, why did you ask the question? Because I never know who it is, which sometimes people come up to me. Some of the people that do attend the church that ask me questions, they'll be like, hey, that was my question you answered on. And I love that because then I put a name with a face. A lot of times I don't remember the question that I answered for them. Of course. And sometimes I'm hoping, oh, my gosh, I hope I didn't offend. But for the most part, I never even think about did I offend

because normally I don't care because normally I don't get offended. So it doesn't bother me. So it's not even a blip on the screen. But Tracy, I probably have to say this is my favorite question anybody's ever asked. I'm not kidding you. Like this is probably my favorite question ever. Cause I am passionate about not quitting. I am passionate about it. I'm as passionate about not quitting as I am about speaking truth because trust is again foundation for everything friendships marital relationship counseling if you're giving counsel to somebody truth is like hands down the most most pivotal thing that you can offer anybody is honesty and truth.

But quitting is, like, right on up there for me. Like, and I have seen amazing things in my life come to pass because I didn't quit in the midst of greatest difficulty. Like, thinking that this is it. This is it. There's no way. There's no coming back from this. I'm going down with the ship. And then you don't.

So that's why I am dogmatic, obstinate, obstinate about stick-to-itiveness. But the scripture is so clear about dogmatic, obstinate, obstinate about stick-to-itiveness. But the scripture is so clear about if you do that, the outcome, the things that you gain from it. And we're going to talk about that. So I will tell you this, and probably, definitely Tracy knows this. Sarah, if she doesn't know it, I would be shocked.

And Talia, who almost lives at my house half of her life, she definitely knows it. But if you're going to be a close friend of mine, the odds are you're not going to be a quitter. Because I cannot take people who, like if they have moments of wanting to quit and then you can walk and talk them through that and then they come on the other side and they don't quit and they keep pushing through,

I can handle that all day long because people have moments in time where they're just like, can I? I mean, I've had moments in time where I'm like like, can I, I mean, I've had moments in time where I'm like, can, I don't know if I can do this. Like this is more than I can bear. And somebody was there just in the right time and just the right moment because God set you up. He will set you up for success and just at the right moment and just the right time in life in that moment. And they were like, no, you're not quitting,

and here's the reason you're not quitting, because this is the future. This is what God says. Either they speak life to it, or they just say, you're not a quitter. We don't quit. So for me, I can handle people like that. If they have moments of that, but then they keep going on. That's fine. But if somebody is a person that starts something and they never finish it,

I'm probably not going to hang out with you for very long because I doubt whether or not you'll stick with me through thick and thin when the hard times come, you know, because they're going to. And in ministry, it speaks volumes about somebody and their fortitude, if they can handle things, especially if they're seeking leadership. If they want to move forward in ministry, how do they handle adversity? If they handle, if they crumble and want to just like fall apart and then walk away. I mean, the statistics, I still think that they're true to this day. People who go into ministry as far as pastoral positions, the statistics of people staying in ministry is so low. But most pastors that go out into ministry last between three and seven years. And then after that, they walk away.

It's a tough job, but it's the people business, and the people business is pretty tough. But a lot of times, if you're called to ministry and if you're called to be a pastor, then how can you quit? That's your calling. So for me, I sit there and go, were you really called? Because it's like Paul said, it's a fire shut up in your bones. You can't not do it. So I oftentimes think to myself, it's either a family business for someone, or they went into it as a profession,

not as a calling. And there's just, we're pumping out pastors left and right in colleges. And I wonder if like the first class, the 101 classes, is this your calling? Is this your calling? Because if it is, you ain't quitting. You're not quitting. And Paul is a perfect example of a person who did not quit. So you really just, I mean, you got to go the distance. And I'm going to tell you when it's time to quit. I believe when it's time to quit is when you have done all you can do,

when you have tried your best. Like, you know inside that there is not one more thing that you can possibly do within your might if it's like, if it's a business that isn't, you know, like, I don't know, like if it's not a spiritual thing or something like that and you've pursued every single thing and you've gone the distance and there is absolutely not one thing, one stone unturned that you cannot make this work. And you have to know that, you know, that, you know,

that this is true. Then I say, throw in the towel and call it a day. And you've learned things. You can take this to the next thing that is going to come your way. Most of the time, though, I will say, especially if you're a believer, what's going to happen is as that door closes, God's going to open another one up, and it's going to be so in your face that you've tried and you've gone the distance with this thing. And God's going to say, okay, this door is now closing. You've done all you can do.

Shut that door. Move into this. And then it'll be such a peaceful, calm situation instead of calamity and confusion. And God doesn't operate in confusion. So the odds are if you're confused right now and you're all anxious and stuff like that about something, you're probably not supposed to quit. You're supposed to endure.

You're supposed to persevere through it. And wait things out, pray things through, and see what God tells you to do and see if that calamity and confusion and everything dies down, calms down. And then like you wade through the valley to get to the mountain and then voila, especially if it's a business. Sometimes you got to walk through some, you have to grind through some serious stuff. I know Tracy knows what I'm talking about, but sometimes you got to grind through some really deep crapola. And then you come out of the crapola and you're like on the mountain and you're like, thank God I never

daggum quit because man, oh man, the other side is sweet as sweet can be. So that's why I say not always is, you know, tough times and some things that are super tumultuous. And you feel like you're really anxious about things. First of all, take it to the cross, take it to Jesus because he'll help you through it. But that doesn't mean that you're supposed to quit. That just means that you're supposed to persevere, endure and wait till you come out to the other side. And if you're letting to quit. That just means that you're supposed to persevere, endure, and wait till you come out to the other side. And if you're letting him lead the way, meaning Jesus lead the way, the Holy Spirit to lead the way, then again, when the time's right, he'll say, this door is closing. I'm opening this door for you. And then you walk through

the other thing and you'll have such a peace and calm about it. But I would say this, never quit going after it. Never once, never quit. Always, always persevere, especially when it's a spiritual thing. There are certain promises in the word of God that you should never quit on. And one of them is if you're paying your tithe and you're giving of tithe and offering, there's promises that you can stand on and you never quit believing in those things. Those aren't quittable things. They're not. Because if you're doing your part, he'll do his part and you'll see the other side. And when you see the other side, you'll be 10 times better off than you ever thought was possible. If someone steals from you, the word says, if someone takes something from you, seven times you get back.

So what you do is you stand on that. You'll receive a hundredfold back in this lifetime, whatever you give. You don't quit on believing that. You stand on that. You do not waver. You do not doubt and unbelief. Double-minded. Double-minded.

That's exactly doubt and unbelief, exactly what I was thinking, which is clear what James says. If it's healing, you do not quit. That is a promise that was purchased on the cross. The stripes that Jesus bore on his back was for healing. So you stand, you don't quit. Those are items that are never quittable. They don't. There's no reason. They are promises. It's a covenant to you and to me. So those aren't quittable things. So there's three things that were purchased. Your salvation, that's a promise. Your finances

are a promise. And healing are promises. There's other covenants in the word of God too, but those are the three that I'm going to touch on. You never quit on. If you're doing your part and you're standing and believing and not double-minded, then it's coming to pass. Do not quit. Do not waver. You stick to it and you go after it. And going after it means getting in the word of God, building yourself up on your most holy faith so that you can endure and persevere through some maybe tough times. But when you get to the other side, it'll be more beautiful, more sweet, and you will be stronger for it. Let's look at Psalms 3419. These are your promises. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

That's Psalm 3419. Now, I didn't give Tracy these scriptures because I was actually working on this this morning. I was looking up a whole bunch of stuff for this. I literally love this question. So I was trying to cover like think of everything I wanted to say about it. We'll put it in the comments. Yep. I figured Talia was going to be putting them in the comments.

Isaiah 40, 31 says, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Those who wait on the Lord. So maybe what you need to do is get in the word, get in your prayer closet, wait on him.

Because in that time of prayer, in that time of being in the word, it says you'll renew your strength. You will mount up with the wings like eagles. You will run and not be weary. And you will walk and not faint. Those are promises for you. So if you do that, then again, it's like somebody who's out in the woods and they're hiking.

And they're thirsty. And they're like, I can't go on. I'm so thirsty. I'm so hot. I'm so thirsty. I'm so hot. I'm so tired. You find the stream, the cold stream, the waterfall, and all of a sudden you drink, you drink to your heart's content. And what happens? You're rejuvenated. It's like, that's the same thing. You hunger and thirst after righteousness, right? And with that,

it builds yourself, it will build yourself back up. But the problem is, nobody gets in the word every day. So they're weary and they're weak, and you're hungry and thirsty. And you wonder, why am I so hungry and thirsty? Why can't I get what I'm believing for? Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And if you're not doing that, then if you're not praying and you're seeking him first, seek ye first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Like, if you're not seeking him first, those things don't get added unto you. But a lot of people are walking around confused and dazed and wondering, why is it not happening for me?

Well, because you're not doing what you should be doing. And it matters. All these things matter. They're like, how can that little thing matter? It's because it's not a little thing. It's saturating yourself in the Word, saturating yourself with the Holy Spirit. And that's not a little thing. Actually, that is life. The word is life.

Actually, it says that the Bible is a living, breathing document. Okay. If it's a living, breathing document, then that means that it brings life to the very soul of you. And that's what you should be filling yourself up with, life. This is one of my favorites. Galatians 6, 9 says, and let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart. And these are scriptures, like if I'm like trying to work through something or like feeling like kind of discouraged myself at times because everybody has moments like nobody has a perfect life. Everybody thinks people have perfect lives because they they walk around. It's so funny to me because

it's I'll say this. It's so funny to me how you'll meet people and you'll talk to people and they'll look at other people that they think have it all together, right? And I'll know these people and I'm thinking, they don't got it together. It's because it's a perception that has become the reality. Nobody has it all together. The thing is, is what are you doing while you don't have it all together? Are you getting in the word? Are you praying? Because if you do, it clearly says in due season, you'll reap if you do not lose heart. Those people may not have it

all together, but how are they handling why they don't have it together? Apparently, they're doing something right. Because people think that they have it all together, and they don't. Do you know what I'm saying? Sarah's giggling. Because it's true, correct? Yeah. I mean, from the outside looking in, you think, man, I wish I had their life. And in reality, if you knew what they were walking through, you might be like, oh, maybe I don't.

Never mind. And in reality, if you knew what they were walking through, you might be like, oh, maybe I don't. Never mind. But it's how they handle what they're walking through makes all the difference in the world. You might not be able to handle it as well as they do. Because what they do is the whole entire time they're walking through that tough scenario, they're chasing after God. They're standing in the gap and they know that they know that they know that on the other side of standing in faith, they're going to have a victory at the end of it. But through that process, they're having to not faint. You know, if you do not lose heart, if you do not grow weary, you know, let me tell you this.

So I would say this. Don't quit until he tells you to do it. And my favorite, probably my favorite scripture out of all scriptures as far as never quitting is in James 1, 2 through 4. And it clearly talks about perseverance and endurance with adversity, right? Which every single person within the sound of my voice deals with adversity. At some point, sometimes it's daily, depending on the house that you live in. Like some people's homes are like not at peace. And the thing is, is it might be you like not at peace. And the thing is, is it might be you're not at peace because there's somebody in the household that is very sick and they're fighting through believing for healing. And so it's not a peaceful home.

It's a piece of waging war and trying to get victory over health issues. There's some people who have marital issues. It's a daily war on a daily basis because their husband or their wife doesn't stab. I'm thinking of a woman right now who is fighting daily because the husband, and we just had a question last week or two weeks ago, well, the lady has been married for 35 years, and the husband wants nothing to do with Christianity at all. And she goes to church by herself.

She does everything by herself. She's learned to be content in that. But through that process, I mean, that can be tough. And that's adversity. Some people have kids that want nothing to do with God. And when they come in, you know, they live out of state or whatever, when they come into the house and they're trying to win them to the Lord in a short period of time while they have them, you know, while they're visiting.

Christmas just came and kids are like, I don't want to hear anything about Jesus. And you're like, that's adversity. Like everybody faces it to a certain extent, to a certain degrees. And sometimes it's not daily. Sometimes it's here and there. But at the same time, it's irrelevant. All of us will face it, and all of us need to be able to persevere and endure through it, whatever it is. James 1, 2 through 4. Best scripture ever. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect will, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Amen.

And then the one that tops this one, as if it could, Romans 5, Romans 5, 3 through 5. And this one, I'm telling you right now, this one you need to like put on a mirror with lipstick. It never comes off if you're a girl. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character. Now understand what each of these things create in you as you walk through them. The tribulation produces perseverance. The perseverance creates character and character hope. How good is that? That's good., hope does not disappoint because the love of God has poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has given to us.

Amen. I mean, that's the best of the best of the best. Those two scriptures will take you through anything. But Romans 5, 3 through 5, that's the cherry on top. So I would say that most people, the fact of the matter is about quitting, most people have a microwave world mentality. If something doesn't go their way, most of the time, if it's not resolved or if it's not fixed rather quickly, they just quit. Because there's no perseverance for people.

And in Revelation, it says, those who endure to the end will be saved. That's exactly what it says. So if you don't have endurance, good luck. You better learn it because you're going to need it. That's all there is to it. If, like, I think about, like, your business, Tracy, when, what was it, two years ago, when you guys went through a really tough, like, it was tough what you guys walked through.

People have, like, it was rough. have like it was rough yeah it was rough and it was rough there's some that have little difficulties and then there's what i would call in your case monumental yeah it was trial yeah monumental like it's almost seems like outside of god it will not go your way. I don't know if it would have without God, honestly. I don't know if it would have. No, it wouldn't have. Yeah.

Because, but the righteous. Yeah. But the righteous. Exactly. And outside of that, because of your righteousness, God saw you through it. That's the only way. Because knowing the situation that it was, it never goes.

No, it never goes the way, because the way it looked was not to your favor. No. You know what I'm saying? I wish I could tell you guys, because your mouths would probably drop and you'd be like, holy mackerel. But you guys stood strong. You didn't waver. No.

And you fought the good fight of faith. Yeah, and we worked our butt off and wouldn't take no for an answer. That's right. We wouldn't. That's exactly what you said is that you get to a place where you've done everything you could, and we did everything we could, and we were successful. And you did everything you could. And we did everything we could and we were successful. And you did everything you could and you just stood.

I remember saying to Jer, I'm like, when all else just stand. You just stand. Because that's what the word of God says. And you don't waver on that. But most businesses fail. Most businesses, new businesses and even ones that have been successful,

most businesses will fail and they'll close up. And I talk about businesses because really that seems like so often that's the toughest thing. When you go into business for yourself, I've always pretty much worked for myself. There have been a few times in my life, but they've been sales jobs, even when I have worked for other people. So basically I work for myself

because it was commission-based, right? So anytime you start your own business, there's a grind because there's a period of time where it's tough. You're building something and building something is more times than not, not an overnight success. It's tough. You're building something. And building something is more times than not, not an overnight success.

It's just not. There's little reward at the beginning. There's very little. Correct? Oh, yeah. I'm 100% correct. You guys too, right? There's little reward in the beginning, especially. Sarah's like to business, you guys to write, like there's a little reward in

the beginning, especially if it's in sales. Yep, it's a lot of fortitude, a lot of pushing through. And you, you really can't like, Tom makes fun of me because he says I'm soulless. But if you're in sales, you kind of got to be soulless. And the reason you have to be is because if you if you wear your heart on the sleeve, your sleeves, all the nose would totally defeat you. You hear more nose than you hear. Yes. And I used to think to myself, oh, look at you. Look at that. Put that up, Trace. That's phenomenal. So the survival rate of most small businesses, 80 percent with employees will survive their first year. Right, so 20 won't. 20 won't.

And then it gets worse. Second is 70% of businesses with employees will survive their second year, and then 30% close. Yeah. Fifth year, 50% of businesses with employees will survive their fifth year, and 50% will close. Yeah. I mean, that's crazy.

That's wild. It's just like being in ministry. Right. And then the 10th year, 30%. So 70% close in their 10th year. By the 10th year. But it's because people, I used to always say when I was in sales, how I would not get defeated. Every time I heard a no, I would literally say,

okay, that means I'm one step closer to the yes. Because you literally have to think about that. Think about it. It's like they would say the statistics are for every 10 no's, you'll get your one yes. And so for me, I'm like, okay, on the eighth, I'm like, okay, I got two more no's. And'll get your one yes. And so for me, I'm like, okay, on the eighth, I'm like, okay, I got two more no's. And I'm getting my yes.

Because that's how it was. But a lot of times is the higher you climb in sales, which depending how successful you are, you're like pumping out a lot of no's, right? I know this for a fact. The more successful you get, the more no's you get and you get a lot more yes's, that's true. But you have to work so much harder

to keep that high yes rate that you get a lot of no's. Just because you start being successful doesn't mean the no's changed. It just means that there's just a lot of no's. Just because you start being successful doesn't mean the no's changed. It just means that there's just a lot more yes's because you're now pumping out a lot more. Does that make sense? It does. Does that make sense?

So you may get referrals and things like that, which helps your yes rate. But at the same time, you're still like, your speed is much faster. So you have a lot more no's with a lot more yes's. I don't know how to explain it. You're grinding. You're still like your speed is much faster. So you have a lot more no's with a lot more yes's. I don't know how to explain it. You're grinding.

You're still grinding, but you're grinding a lot faster a lot of times the higher you get in a business and success rate. But a lot of times people quit because the comfort zone is not there. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me, especially commission-based, like they don't want to do commission-based because it's uncomfortable. They rather have the comfort in knowing

that they have a paycheck and they can count on that paycheck. Right. The problem is, is I will tell you this. If you count on that paycheck, if you're willing to risk things, and this is in anything in life, not just sales or whatever, the more you're willing to risk things and this isn't anything in life not just

sales or whatever the more you're willing to risk the higher risk the higher reward because like there's a lot of people who start out and i'm thinking of one person right now they started out and i think they made their first year like twelve thousand dollars and now they're making six figures three three in front of six figures. Do you know what I'm saying? Because they were willing to do the $12,000. Then they were willing to do the $30,000 and they were, you know, and they climbed every year and now they are making way more than somebody who had been comfortable with making sure they have a sure paycheck, you know,

high risk, high reward. So I will tell you this when we we planted, and ministry is the same thing, when Tom and I planted Foundation Church and there was nobody coming, it would have been really easy to quit. And Heather just walked in and she's laughing because Heather actually was with us when we first started and she knows nobody was there. Heather is probably the only member we have left that started with us. Would that be accurate, Heather?

I don't think there's her and Travis. I don't think there's anybody that attends. I mean, we have some people that were with us the first year that still attend or call this place their home. But really, the very first Sunday, really, I think Heather's pretty much it. And Travis wasn't either because he was over in Iraq. So he missed it too, but he was with us in heart. But I remember there were times that we literally like,

can we keep this up? Because financially it was rough. And I remember crying. I'd be like, I don't know. Financially, I don't know how we're going to do this. Like I got to make a rent check and we ain't got nothing in the account. Like God, how we're going to do this. Like I got to make a rent check and we ain't got nothing in the account. Like God, what are you going to do? And I will tell you this, that somehow, again, we didn't quit. We were just like, God,

you told us to do this. You told us to rent this place. This is your church. If you want it to close, then you won't have the check there. If you want it to stay open, then the check will be there. And then he just like, I'll give you an example of what he did for us. There is a friend of mine, very successful business person and businesswoman. And it was our, I think it was like, like in our first year, she called me up and she said, hey, listen, the Lord told me that your rent check, your bill for your mortgage or your rent every month is to be a part of my bills, my monthly bill. I'm like, what?

Now this rent check was like ten thousand three hundred and something dollars and we had forty people coming and it does the math didn't make sense you said why would you rent that place okay I understand you would say that but that's what the Lord told us to do and even though things don't make sense sometimes and it didn't make sense, but other places were way more expensive at the time to rent. They were outrageous. So this was the cheapest place, but it was the best place, and we made it work.

And we knew that we knew that we knew. And even the person that we rented it from, they were supposed to rent it to somebody else. Those people cheated them, and even though they had a bad taste in their mouths towards churches, somehow this man's like, I don't know why. I feel different about you guys, and I am going to rent this place to you.

And we were like, wow, because we were told pretty much not going to happen because we're a church, and he wasn't a big fan of that because he had been burned. So we're like in our third month. And this friend of mine says, the Lord specifically told me, whatever you don't have every month, I'm to make up the difference. And I was like, oh my gosh. And do you not know that every month, whatever we were short, she called me up and she say, Hey, I'm sending you X amount of dollars. And it was basically to the T, the dollar amount that we were short. Sometimes it may be like $2, $3 here, maybe $10 difference.

Always in the positive, never in the negative. Never. And that's when I tell you, if the Lord tells you to do something, even when it doesn't make sense, even if you're like, how are we going to pay that? We got 40 people coming. Because if the Lord tells you to do it, then you do it. And he'll make up the rest. Every single time.

And there were times where I would say to her, I don't know. I don't know if we're going to do this. Because he's like, this is rough. And she would say to me every single time, you're not quitting. You're not quitting. You got to do this. The Lord has a plan for you guys. I know it in my spirit.

You guys cannot quit. And if that woman had not, and I'm still friends with her to this day. If she had not pushed, because she's not a quitter. That person never quits either. If she would have not pushed me like she did, I don't know if we would have Foundation Church to this day. And I am blessed beyond measure for her.

I tell her that too when I talk to her. I'm like, what would we have done? God always sends somebody, like I was saying at the very beginning, which I totally forgot that I was going to talk about, but God will send people your way when you are weak. He will make it so through them, you'll be strong and they will help you get through something that you just think is more than impossible. It's just not possible. He will send somebody your way and help you through that process.

You will not quit. You will succeed, and you will be victorious. And that's the plan. That's his plan. If he has set you up, he will see you through. That's the way it is. So I'm going to tell you this story. This is one of my favorite stories. I got 14 minutes. I'm

hoping I can do it. I'm pretty sure I can. It's not my story. It's a Bible story. It's my favorite like quitting story. Like it's my favorite quitting story. Not to quit. So I'm going to take you, write this down towel for people. First Samuel 31 through 20. Now you're going to take you, write this down, Tal, for people. 1 Samuel 31 through 20. Now you're going to sit there and go, are you kidding me? You're going to read me 20 verses? I'm going to read you 20 verses. And when we're done and we get to the other side of all this,

you're going to sit there and go, the best 20 verses I've ever heard in my whole entire life. Well, maybe not the best verses you've ever heard in your whole life. With perspective to quitting, it's the best 20 verses you'll ever heard in your life. With perspective to quitting, it's the best 20 verses you'll ever hear in your whole entire life. Let me take a sip really quick because I'm about to read.

Okay. This is about David, right? David's being chased by Saul and he's actually Achish. Was it King Achish? I believe it's actually Achish. Was it King Achish? I believe it was King Achish. He was a Philistine. And so he's kind of like the Philistines are not.

The Philistines and the Israelites, they're not friends. We know this, right? But King Achish is a part of the Philistines. And while Saul is chasing David, he's kind of aligned himself with them. He's living in their territory that he's finding. He's finding that he's got a little bit of protection. The Philistines don't want David to be their enemy because he's such a force to be reckoned with.

So they're liking that he's kind of come alongside of them. So the Philistines are going to go fight, and I can't remember who they're going to fight, but they won't let, or they were going to go fight the Israelites, excuse me. They won't let David come because they think, well, he might turn on us. And so even though King Achish wants him to come with,

the other kings, they're like, no way. He's not coming. So David turns around and he's coming back to Ziglag to his home because he can't go fight with them. This is where we're going to start. It says, three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziglag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziglag, and they had crushed Ziglag and burned it to the ground. So his city is burned to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else,

but without killing anyone. Now, David has 600 fighting men, right? That go and fight, that have teamed up with him. They've said, we're on your side. We know that King Saul is wrong and that you actually should be, you will actually, maybe they didn't know it, but I think that they did. They knew that King Saul was wrong in trying to kill him and that he was heir to the throne. I mean, Jonathan knew that, you know, Saul's son. When David and his men, so 600 men, when David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families,

they wept until they could weep no more. And that's like, for a guy, that's a lot of crying. David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. So David's wives are also gone. David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him.

So now, not only is King Saul and everyone on that side wanting to kill him, now his own men are ready to take his life. Now, I'm going to read, this is very important, these verses that I'm about to read to you, okay? It says, but David found strength in the Lord his God. So instead of falling apart, like a $2 suitcase, as Andrew Womack says, instead of falling apart, what did he do? He found strength in the Lord his God. What do we do when we're found in these situations?

Let's make a mental note, okay? What we do versus what David did. And then let's listen to what David did following this. And then he said to Abiathar, the priest, bring me the ephod. So Abiathar, the priest, bring me the ephod. So Abiathar brought it. And then David asked the Lord, should I chase after these band of raiders or will I catch them? So he built himself up on his most holy faith, right? And then on top of that, he sought counsel from the Lord.

What do I do next? What do we do when we're faced with adversity, when things are falling apart around us? Most people do not build themselves up on their most holy faith, and then most people don't seek counsel from the Lord or the Holy Spirit. What they do is they set up a plan, and it's usually a very carnal plan. And then most of them weep and cry and moan and groan. Let that not be us, because there's no victory in that.

Let's keep going. So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Bazar. But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men. So now he's down. He's about to go after some men, whip some butt with 200 men less, with 400. Along the way, they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David, and they gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.

They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long, his strength returned. To whom do you belong and where do you come from? David asked him. I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. He replied, my master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. God will set you up for success. And you're sitting there going,

why are you reading what this guy ate? And why are you reading that he met this guy? Because God sets you up for success, even when you don't know. Waymaker. I think of Waymaker, right? You don't know what's going on. Sometimes you think nothing's going on, but he's making the way for you, right? Then the man goes, we were on our way back from reading the Akiratites in the Negev, the territory of Judah and the land of Caleb,

and we had just burned Ziglag. Huh. Huh. So this guy was present at the burning of the very town that David owned or was staying in. And David says to him, will you lead me to this band of raiders? God will set you up. The young man replied, if you take an oath in God's name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them. Do not be weary. So now this one, this highlight this, okay? Highlight this, because this is very important what I'm about to read to you. So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields,

eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night, 400 men, slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. David got back everything that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else had been taken. David brought everything back.

He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. This plunder belongs to David, they said. Now let's ask this question. What if David had started moaning and groaning, crying and complaining? What if he hadn't built himself up on his most holy faith? What if he quit? Could he have been stoned to death by his very own men? If he hadn't sought counsel for the Lord, would he have gone after the plunder and gotten everything back, not only for himself,

but for his people? But it gets better than that. It gets way better than that for David. Because his decision to go after God, build himself back up, and then to seek counsel from the Lord takes him to the next level. Because victory comes within 14 hours. Not only victory over the very people who stole from him, but he's about to be made king in less than 48 hours. 2 Samuel 1, 1 through 2.

Read this. When David learns of Saul's death, this happens right here. After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziglag. On the third day, a man arrived from Saul's army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning.

He fell to the ground before David in deep respect. He says, where do you come from? David asked. I escaped from the Israelite camp, the man replied. What happened? David demanded. Tell me how the battle went. The man replied, our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead. In that moment, when Saul's life was taken, God had already anointed David when David was much younger, and he started, and Saul knew it. Even when David was in the kingdom with Saul, Saul knew that when he died, Jonathan knew when Saul died, that David was the heir to the

throne. So it says at the very beginning, after the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziglag within 48 hours of getting everything back and almost being stoned to death. And if David would have quit, and if he would have just thrown in the towel within that 48-hour period of time, he would not have been crowned king, and he would not be the king of Israel.

And what we do and how we respond to adversity matters because this story is a perfect example of what victory looks like when we fight tooth and nail for what we know God has told us. If God's given you a word, then you stand on that word. David knew he was the heir to the throne. He was not. He did not ever dishonor Saul. He honored Saul through the whole process. God honored David. And again, with 400 men, gets him everything back. But Saul was an imperfect man,

but he was a man after God's own heart because always without pride, there became repentance. He was always repentant of his actions. So you may sit there and go, well, David was different. No, David was an imperfect man, just like the rest of us. But what he did with his imperfections made everything, made all the difference in the world.

And so I would just say to you, what do you do when you're faced with adversity? How do you respond to it? Do you quit? Or do you do what David did? Because he found a strength in the Lord. He found that when he inquired to the Lord, the Lord told him what to do next. And through doing what he should do next,

he regained everything that he lost. And then on top of that, he gained the heir. He was the heir to the throne. So it's so much more to it. And that, and you say, well, my situation is not similar to that. I'm like, how is it not similar to that? Okay. It's very similar to that. How you respond, you may not be the same exact scenario, but it is a scenario where you're facing trial and tribulations. And what do you do with that? How do you respond to that? And my thing to you is, you know, you don't fight it the right way.

You don't learn endurance and you don't learn perseverance. And I gave you great scriptures, especially in Romans, that talks about how perseverance creates character and character creates hope. And if you learn to walk in victory, victory equals power. Power equals healings, winning the lost, discipling believers, people seeking you out because they know that you have the hope and the answer through the Lord Jesus Christ that only he can provide. Power is all the difference. What does it say? That Paul worked in power, right? Anybody who's ever done anything for the Lord faced trials and tribulations

and how they responded to them showed who they were in Christ. And then through that, it created such faith in them that that faith is what gave them power to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. They would win the lost and disciple believers and take on the world. I look at COVID, oh no, I don't want to say that word. I look at 2020, right? And that really shows where people stood with their walks with the Lord. It showed whether they're quitters or

whether they're fighters and who has the power and who is weak. I mean, it really, really did show all of those things. I will say this, like if you, like, can you pull up that thing that I showed you? I was telling Heather about this. Heather, you watch these. I've told a lot of people about it, but I'm going to share this with you guys. If you want to know about great men and women of God that faced great adversity, did mighty things for the Lord, walked in power, like the miraculous, but you think, well,

life was easy for them. And I, and I like, you don't know them because it wasn't. If you go to God's generals, right, Heather, there's this,

if you can, you, you, you can go on YouTube, but it's also books. But I mean, YouTube will give you the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, the, the, the, the, the, Cliff notes, Cliff notes, Cliff notes, is Tales of the crypt notes. Isn't that what they call them? Crypt notes? Yeah.

Cliff notes. Cliff notes. Crypt is tales of the crypt. Like, that's dying. We don't want that for you. Cliff notes. Yeah. So the YouTube version is the cliff notes.

Thank you, Heather. Go on YouTube. Look up God's generals. This one actually is five hours long. and it will open your eyes and ears to things that you, I mean, you don't know what people walk through, but then when you see when they walk through things, how they don't quit

and the fortitude that they have through the things that they, I mean, it is astounding some of the things that these people did for the Lord and how they had to fight tooth and nail to get to the other side. And they just did not quit. Like I sat and listened to some of them.

I'm like, man, I don't know. I don't know if I would have like had what they had. Like, it's amazing. But it built me up. Like it made me even be more of like, I'm not, I'm not going to quit because I want to see the other side. So go and watch God's Generals. It's just these, I mean, if you've never heard of Smith Wigglesworth, I don't know what world you live in, but Catherine Kuhlman. I mean, there's all of those guys. McPherson, she's amazing.

But all of those guys right there, you're going to also learn about A.A. Allen. There's just so many great men of God. Dake is on there. There's so many amazing men and women of God that you're going to learn about, and it's going to really make you feel like, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And you can. So take some time, go on YouTube, turn off the daggum TV because that's not going to help you very much with your walk with God. Go on and

learn about some strong men and women of the Lord and see what they did. And then say, if they can do it, I can do it because it's true. So do you have any questions? Or if you live in 2024, you can actually keep your TV on and just run YouTube from your television. Oh, that's true. If you got a smart TV. Yeah. I forget about that. I know. I never watch YouTube on my TV. I know. My mother does. I do all the time. You do? You do too do all the time you do you do all the time my mom like like she watches rumble from her tv i'm like oh let's look at looky at you woman i do not clearly that's all right i just watch tv from my tv okay i think tommy watches what it doesn't matter doesn't matter do you guys have any questions you got to want to anything? That was so good.

Just around the whole, you touched everything. Thank you for answering my question. If you didn't know, Tracy's a great rah-rah girl. Yeah. She's a great cheerleader. There's never hardly anything negative ever that she said. She probably would have, even if it stunk, she'd be like, that was really good. No, no.

Thank you, Tracy. Thank you, Heather. Heather agrees. Sarah? Yeah, please, Sarah. Because you know who else didn't give up? Who didn't give up? Jesus.

Oh. Hebrews 12. Amen, girl. Which I keep going back to. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us I love that one. the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary

and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And who wrote Hebrews? Do we know who wrote Hebrews? Well, they suspect they know who wrote Hebrews. I feel like there's a lot of speculation on that,

but some people think Paul. I'm almost positive it was Paul. If you look at the verbiage that is used, it's almost, and this is one of the reasons I believe it, but it's consistent with his other letters that he wrote to the Galatians, the Ephesians, Timothy. If you, like, just those verses that you read, that's what he talks about running the race of endurance. Like, and I think that's in Corinthians that he talks about that.

So he uses the word endurance a lot. Okay. I like that. But, yeah, that's one of the reasons why they believe it's Paul, based on using the same terminology. Pretty great, though. That is. To me, and that's like he speaks volumes about, like, that man did not quit, which is what I'm going to dare to be.

Yeah. Is one of the things like when I I cannot wait to share like with on dare to be my message, because it will be it will be speaking about Paul. But there's a lot of stuff. Good. It's some there's some good stuff that's good like i my eyes have like through studying this i was like when i was studying some stuff out i was like oh my goodness i did not know this it's shocking it's shockingly good stuff so hopefully you come to that anything else guys but that's great sarah because i love that that. That's true. Great scripture right there. Yeah. Never quit.

Never give up. Even when it looks like all things are lost. I mean, it goes back to David and Samuel, 1 and 2 Samuel. When it looks like there's nothing else, you know, I mean, none of us are being threatened with stoning. Even when it looks like there's not a day more for you, God will see you through. Amen? Amen. So if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior,

and if days seem more tough than they should be, and you feel like quitting, you won't need to if you have him as your Lord and Savior, if you have him as your lord and savior if you have him as your brother um if you have him and as somebody who walks beside you it says that he holds us in the palm of his hand and if you don't want to walk through something alone then it's a simple asking him right now either to come back into your life if you walked away and fallen away from him, or if you've never known him before. So say this prayer with me, and let's start you off at the beginning of the year on the right foot,

and let's make every day a lot easier. And you won't have to quit, because you don't go it alone. Amen? Heavenly Father, we come to you right now. Father, we thank you for what you purchased on the cross for us. We thank you for dying on the cross, for dying for our sins, for dying for our healing, for dying so that we would be rich and not poor. We ask you to forgive us of our sins. We ask you to be the Lord and Savior of our life.

That you will direct my path. You will show me where I'm to go. I will do what you tell me to do. And I will not do what you tell me not to do. I will honor you the days of my life. And when I grow old, I will be with you forever. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.

If you said that prayer, let us know. We want to help you get hooked into a really good church. There's not a lot around there. There's not a lot. But there's certain areas that we might be able to help you find a really good church. Otherwise, tune in to Foundation Church or just come to Foundation Church, whichever one's easiest. I don't know. If you live in the area, come and be with us.

Sundays at 10.05 is the start time. We will not have podcast on Friday. So have a fantastic weekend. Next week is a big week for us. It's going to be fantastic. Wednesday be normal. Friday will be special and you won't want to miss it. Have a great weekend. Thank you so much for tuning in and I will see you on Wednesday.

Bye.