The Hope Hotline - What's the difference in being meek or being weak?

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

The Hope Hotline | S04-E14 | 03-11-2026Send questions to: [e-mail]: https://www.foundationmerch.net/Subscribe to my podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/thehopehotline/

Hello and welcome to the whole potline. It is a wonderful Wednesday, and I'm hoping and happy you are here with us. Tracy is moving about, so you just totally distracted me. Oh, my word. I didn't like seeing the little wires that was bothering me. It would have bothered me all day. You could see the wires. All right.

Corner. I couldn't see the wires. I could see the wires. Sounds good to me. How's everybody doing? I'm doing excellent. Great. So good.

So good. The sun is shining. We have longer days. I know. I'm very tired, but I'm very happy at night time. I know I slept in today. Yes. Totally. Me too. Not me. I set my clocks. I slept set my clocks forward right around three o'clock on Saturday, went to bed at the appropriate hour. I've been fine. I still hate it. You're an amazing human being. I love it getting up and the sun is out. I don't like it. Six o'clock in the morning. I literally woke up at six. I agree. And I was like, I can't do anything. It's dark outside.

Right. So you're back to sleep till seven. Like me. That's exactly what I did. I'm not kidding you. But you know what I hate is when it's 6 p.m. and it's dark out. Right.

And I'm ready for bed. So if I have to pick and choose, I'd rather have longer days. I can find so many things to do at 6 p.m. outside. I went to, I went grocery shopping. Look at that. I normally don't. I know. What happened to Instagram?

But there was still so much like daylight out there. I'm like, Emma, you want to go to Publix? Oh my gosh. It's the day is young. Oh my goodness. It was like 6.30. It is weird when I'm like, how is it already 7 o'clock at night? I have a little bit thrown off. Yeah. I mean, I'm not, I'm not hating it completely. I just prefer one or the other. Okay. I heard that. I prefer the other. I heard that though. I mean, who was it at my house recently that were saying to me they were sad about it too.

Your husband? He said it at church on Sunday. Tommy. Yeah. I think it was Tommy. He's been dramatic. Remember, he was like, I can't stand it. Tom said it too.

He's a night owl. That's why. But we all like, my whole family, maybe not Norma. We're all Dracula's. And she is a bright morning star. She is. The sunshine person. I'm not saying she's a sunshine person.

No. She is not a sunshine person. person. She's a bright morning star. Wow. Okay. But not sunshiny at all. There must be one in the mix.

No. There's that. I mean, if anybody is and I mean, it's like not even, I'm pushing it when I say this, it would be Taya. That's pushing it. Because Taya ain't a sunshiny person either. No. It depends. No, it really doesn't depend.

I was a sunshine person in that. Like, I will say this. Like, there are certain people that walk in the house and they're always like, and that's like Brunley or something. That is none of us that walk into my house that, not one person. Yeah. Like, if you saw Drew, Drew's probably always going to be like, always.

Always. Lee Bend. Hi. Yeah. That's a sunshine person. NAS, yes. So no. Everybody else?

No. You're dreaming. You're dreaming. You wish. Uh-huh. You wish. It's not going to happen. Okay.

You can't carry it that long. Long enough. You know? Life. Life. All right. I'm going to do the sponsors really quick and then I'm going to have you do your thing really fast. I'm going to change it up a little bit.

Okay. Hold on. What are we doing? Okay. All right. It is, uh, la la la la la. Which one are we going to do first? I don't know.

I thought you said you're changing it up a little bit. Oh, you were like, like, no, not the order. Okay. I don't know. I was like, hey, all right. Do something different. Changing it up from when you do it. Okay.

Okay. Gotcha. I don't know. I don't know. That's what I was saying. Okay. This one or the other one? That one.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Real estate appraisal associates of Southwest Florida. When it comes to

knowing what your home is really worth, precision matters. Since 2005, real estate appraisal associates has been one of Southwest Florida's most trusted names in certified residential appraisals. They combine accuracy, integrity, and efficiency, so you're not left guessing or waiting weeks for answers. With transparent pricing, no surprise fees, and most reports completed in just two to four days, they make the entire process smooth and straightforward. When should you get an appraisal, selling your home and want to price it right, settling in a state or inheriting property, challenging your property tax assessment, preparing to list and avoiding costly overpricing. With more than 10,000 appraisals completed a state certified expert team and over 30

years serving Southwest Florida, their reputation speaks for itself. And they stand behind their work with 100% money back guarantee, proudly serving Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Lee counties. Hope Hotline listeners, receive $50 off when you mentioned the show at booking. Real estate appraisal associates of Southwest Florida is clarity that you can count on. Let me swallow my spit. The number is 941-343-3-3-3700. 9-4-1-7-4-3-3-3-700.

Hanson automotive has been serving Southwest Florida since 2017. Hanson automotive brings over 20 years a real-world hands-on experience to every vehicle that rolls into their shop. whether it's a quick oil change, brand new tires, AC repairer in the Florida heat, major engine work, or even a full engine replacement, they've got you covered. No shortcuts, no guesswork, just honest work done right. At Hansen's integrity isn't a slogan, it's the standard. And yes, they're truly automotivated to keep you and your family safe on the road.

Their foundation comes straight from Proverbs 163, which is commit to the Lord, whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Hansen's automotive services, it's dependable, repairs, trustworthy service, and peace of mind every mile. Their numbers 941-4-60-3962. 941-4-60-3962. You will not be disappointed if you call other company. There we go. You go, girl. Do your thing. All right. Here we go. All right. So if you guys are watching on Facebook and we are saying hello, Telia did her job this morning or this afternoon. Good job. She shared the link so you can go to Rumble. We've got our live chat over there. So we love having you guys over and Rumble.

YouTube's available as well. And, you know, some weeks they work for us and some weeks they don't. And this week, it looks like we have no problems. So praise God. But Rumble is the place to be. So if you can head over to Rumble, that would be great. And of course, if you are listening to the replay and it's more, it's easier for you to listen to a podcast, then those are options as well.

Anywhere that you can find a podcast, you can find us. Natalie will be coming next month. So you have some time to think about your questions. I actually have a little theme, I think, that we're going to do. Yeah. And I asked her and she said, sure. I was like, I was like, Natalie, be excited. Like, this is fun.

She's unexcitable. She's, yeah, she's a physician. You know, it's just, it's a you be you kind of situation. But I think that's going to be really cool. So we'll do that. So if you have questions too, please send them in. We love hearing from you guys. And I think there might be, there was one question that we didn't get to last time.

we will definitely get to that one from Anne-Marie. So we'll send that one into her. And of course, we're on TikTok. So we've got all the different options for you to follow. Pastor Tom has his two pages. So definitely follow those and share. He's tick somebody off on his most recent. On the TikTok.

Yeah. It was the red shirt one. It was Eternal Security. Ooh. Fired up. Okay. I'll have to check it out. Fired.

I like when TikTok gets mad. I don't like when Instagram gets mad. I just, yeah, TikTok, I feel like it's a wild wild west. Nobody, it doesn't like, for some reason, doesn't like catch, I don't know, it doesn't end up in the other stuff. Instagram ends up on our Facebook and in the things and blah, blah, so anyways. But yeah, so foundation, foundation worship, there it is. We are also on there as well. So you'll want to follow all of those.

This week, we've got Chris Ann Hall coming on Friday. So she'll be here at 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. and on Saturday, March 14th from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Definitely want to come. Definitely want to hear what she asked to say. Hope, do you have anything specific that you want to share about this? You'll regret it. We're not taping it, so it's not even live streamed. Right. But like, no, but you will not want to miss it. That's for sure.

Yes. Because you think you know. But, I mean, literally, it's the difference between, I'm not trying to be dramatic here or something, even though it sounds dramatic. But it can be as big a difference between being arrested and not being arrested. And if you are arrested, how do you make sure you don't go to jail? I mean, it's literally that smarts, I mean, that's skilled of information across the board. So you're crazy if you don't come.

Yeah. And the other thing is, like, there's a lot of information out there. right now and like what who do you trust you know what I mean like that's why I love pastor Tom's podcast because I know if I listen to him he's not pulling from something from a third party person that we don't know it's like he's getting the real information and he's backing it to the Bible and he's spirit led and so she's a believer she's a constitutional attorney she's studied she's done all her things um like it's kind of you're getting it from the source yeah um I always love that I feel that's the efficiency inside of me instead of like having to hear a TikTok and then having to go see if that actually is true or not,

you can sit under somebody that you can actually trust, which is ideal in this world. Perfection, where nothing is really trustworthy anymore. Okay, next actually, let me, well, I'll do this one first. It's fine. It's time to start sharing our service. So if you go onto our social media page or if you come live on a Sunday, we have invites and you can get those at the merch store. Is there anywhere else they can get that?

The greeters, I think, are supposed to be passing them out. Okay. Yeah, I saw them at the merch store. So yeah, the greeters are passing these out. And if you missed it for some reason, they're at the merch store. You can just grab a few. Make sure you're praying over them and make sure you're handing them out. Don't let them get, like, lost in the car. But really do this because you never know. Like that one invite might be somebody's salvation. And it is that serious. And if you could register, if you're part of our team and our church, if you can register and let us know which one you're coming to, that's super helpful. But yeah, really be praying about who you're going to invite this year. We don't want to miss this opportunity.

And before Easter, not very shortly, before Easter, but we have Crave coming up. Today at Foundation Church, I'll be asking the worship team what they're excited about for Crave. Kristen, what are you excited about for Crave? For Crave, I am just so excited for whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do, it's going to be really powerful. Hey, man. Hey, Joe. Yeah. What are you excited about for Crave?

I'm excited because I feel like a lot of people, including me, just need a night. to do nothing but worship. Just go there just for worship. Because sometimes on a Sunday, it feels hectic. You might have other things going on lunch plans later, but on a Crave night, it's meant just for worship. So that's what I'm most excited about. Andrea. Get that cord out of my face. Andrea, what are you excited about for Crave? I feel like everybody can worship in their own way without having any eyes on them, any judgment. It has a different vibes in Sunday mornings. and I'm just really excited because I think we're going to have a great time.

Hey Deb, what are you excited about for Crave? I am most excited about the body of Christ getting together and worshiping in one heart and in unity and in one voice. I'm getting out of y'all. Josh, what are you excited about for Crave? I'm just excited to see how many people show up because it gets bigger every time. We've got to pack this place out. Hey, yo. Casey, what are you excited about for Crave?

Let's see here. Great people, great music. Encounters with God. Fun night. Hey, yo. Kyle, what are you excited about for Crave? I'm excited to play some crazy piano with our worship leader. To the Red Country!

Oh, my gosh! I could have guessed what basically every single one of them that I have like some form of relationship with, I could have guessed like how that was going to go down. Like, the only person that surprised me was Kristen. I was expecting her to do something wild and crazy. And she was so... You know you're black right now. Yeah, well, it's the Crave thing.

Okay, there. Okay, Crave. A night of worship. Here, I'll put Norm on. There. Okay, there it is. So, yeah, because we're still talking about Crave. And so, yeah, Talia, I mean, Kristen was the only one.

I was expecting something crazy from her. But she was so serious. They put that camera in your face. And then you're, like, supposed to say something. They interviewed me on Sunday. Exactly. Exactly. And I was nervous, too.

Why? Because. Vanessa. You were nervous? Yes. So many There's so many bloopers What?

Yeah I forgot the English language Well it is your second So there might be a reason for that I promise I'm not retarded I mean I know No judgment here

Did you see me Vanessa I know Oh man what I'm doing. Huh? I'm zipping my lip. That's it. And I'm throwing away the key. Right, because of, yeah. I beg to differ. You zipped your lips, Hope. That's all I'm going to say. You almost did it. You grabbed the key. I unzipped it. She didn't see it, so I. Hey, hey, hey, hey. But yeah, very good. I can't even, but why are you nervous to talk? You talk in front of people. Like, why would you be, like right now? It's so weird. I don't know.

it is different when there's like a camera like literally like this in your face now go and I'm like oh my gosh he should just broke out in song yeah right oh my gosh okay last one so crave is coming up don't miss that um and then we will not have podcasts next week Friday we will be here so don't don't like not show up but next week we're not here so that's that's all I offer today that's it That works for me. I was like this. As if I'm bored. I'm bored.

We'll say late maybe. As bored as the rest of all of us are. I mean, announcements, they have to be done. They have to be done. We've got to know what's going on. They have to be done. We've got to have people showing up. Because I don't want to hear.

I didn't know. Right. Which is what we normally hear. No. I didn't remember. I didn't know. You can't say. Set an alarm.

I've got like $5,000 on this thing. Oh my gosh. Even people forgot that it was spring forward. That's crazy. that's crazy it's 2026 people yeah we would have people that would show up late yeah it was it was definitely lighter very early on but it definitely filled up again so I'm wondering if people they forgot show it up a little bit late that's right okay but how can you forget like your phones immediately do it right yeah unless you're not putting an alarm on right I know no maybe that's true I'm like because

I was thinking insane but if you didn't put your alarm because you're used to your body clock. I don't trust my body clock. I never do. The Norma just said hers does not exist. I do not trust my body clock. I wake up at the same time all the time. I just, I'm afraid that one day.

That one day. I won't, so. Yeah, I always have an alarm. Because it has happened to me. That one day has happened a few days. I know. A few times. Yep.

I don't like it. I don't either. I hate that feeling. Especially when you think you said it. Oh, yeah. And then you find out, you didn't set it because you find out you didn't wake up. Or you set it. it for 6 p.m.

Done that so many times. I've done that. So many times. That was not fun. So I always triple check. Yes. Yeah. All right.

Ready to go into the topic? Let's do this. All right. So I thought, I prayed about like, well, I don't know if I prayed or I was just talking to the Lord.

Let me see that shirt you got on there, Vanessa, really quick. Oh, my gosh. Okay. that's yes go and stand so people can see it that is so 80s 90s listen I graduated high school and the day of my last day of high school I wore a vest sweater vest very similar to that we have a picture of me going leaving for school my last day of school and it was not with a t-shirt underneath it just a sweater vest like that that's what I was like what reminds me

Rachel of friends. That's what I thought when I saw it. Yep. Right? I'm going to find it. Yeah. There you go. Now back to more serious business.

Although that's very cute. Thank you. That's girls. If guys watching this right now, sorry. Oh, wow. I'm sorry. That's how we work. So I told the girls yesterday, I said,

we're going to do the podcast on biblically, like, a lot of times people in modern Christianity think that the biblical way to handle things is to be weak, not meek. And there is a very big difference between meekness and weakness. And we're going to find out what that looks like because there is a definitive difference between the two. And weakness is like being a coward. I liken it to being cowardice, whereas meekness is strength with self-control.

Very different. The two are very, very different. I'll read some of the things that I wrote down. Many people think being a good Christian means being passive, quiet, and never confronting anything. But the Bible never calls believers to be weak. Never. If it did, then it wouldn't say that the coward will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. And being weak is, again, a form of cowardice, depending on what the serenario is that you're in.

Let's look at what the scriptures say. Matthew 5, 5 in the Amplified Classic says, Blessed on the Meek. And if you look up the, I'm not going to delve deep into it, but if you looked at what that word blessed means and it's broken down, man, you would want to be meek. When, you know, the beat attitudes, which is blessed are those who, and it lists all the things, and everyone starts out with blessed, to find out what that, I mean, it tells you your reward at the very end of the things that it says, if you are this, then you will reap this reward.

But the blessed part is pretty powerful, which, you know, I never paid attention to. it until I did this study. I never looked at the word blessed. And I was like, holy moly. It's so powerful. I almost left it in, but I was like, that's not what we're learning, so I'm not going to keep it. But it was so good. It's like, it's a power pack punch at the beginning and at the very end of how good God is for those of us who walk these traits out. Blessed or the meek. And the word meek here is the mild, patient, long suffering, for they shall inherit the earth. So meekness is controlled strength submitted to God.

In my opinion, that would be a great way to define it. It's submitted strength controlled by God. or controlled strength submitted to God. Control strength submitted to God. It's not the absence of strength. You are strong, but that strength is submitted to him. Hold on. Let me read. I want to only hit some certain parts right now.

Do you guys want to say anything? Or keep going. I heard that we always said strength restrained. So yeah, you have your strength. and it's restrained by the Holy Spirit. Didn't we? And that's also, what were we talking about last week? Because that was also of the very same thing.

Because I said the same thing. It's you're restrained. What was that? When silence is more spiritual. So we were talking about controlling the tongue. Yeah. Controlling the tongue. Having your opinion, but keeping your opinion to yourself,

knowing when to give your opinion and when not to give it. And most of the time, you don't. need to give your opinion. Most of the time. Which last week's is very difficult for me. I'm way better than I used to be. Yeah. But in being fully transparent, that's if you are anything like me, you may be on the other side of learning how to not give your opinion on everything, but in the midst of getting to the other side of that, it's dagam hard. I can imagine. What do you mean?

You can imagine. Because I like saying words. So like sometimes just not like I don't have to always say what I think. So it's not always an opinion. But there is definitely times where I like want to say like, oh yeah, yeah. And like I have also have an example. It's not necessarily an opinion, but I have words. So I.

Is that? And that's hard for you on that side of things. Yes. Yes. Like because I'm like, ooh, ooh, like it pops into my brain and I want to say it because I like relate to you or I have like an idea. So it's not necessarily an opinion. But I can.

You have words and you want to say them. Oh, gosh, so many. Right. Yeah, that does apply to so. I mean, that's the reason why I says let your words be few. But yeah, I never thought about it like that because I probably am like that too. Yeah. Like I have examples that.

Right. Like they pop into your head as somebody's talking. All the time, yeah. And some people feel like it's like you're being disrespectful. It's taking away from what they're saying. The importance. Yeah. Yes.

And you're bringing the spotlight to you. Right. And whereas you are. you are like, I just want to relate. I want you to know that I know what it feels like to be in that situation because of this one story. But it's like, no, no, no. And then sometimes I think you're one-uping them too. Right.

Like you're just like, it's an example. Stealing their thunder. Yeah. Yeah. So you should just listen. When you should just listen. Whereas you can listen to a someone story and then ask questions and be curious about their, their first.

Their perspective or what that story is. And then at the very end, you can say, well, you know, something similar happened to me. Yes. Right. That is a healthy way to do it. It's using tact. Yeah. Knowing when to say, see, that's another problem I've had in life.

I've got a lot of problems or had a lot of problems. It's just for finding. It's refining. My mom used to say to me, when are you going to learn to be tact? Yeah. I'm like, I don't know. I think she was saying that to me in my late 20s, early 30s. Yeah.

Right. Yeah. Makes sense. Oh, yeah. With me? Yeah, because, like, I can say anything and I move on. Right. Right.

It's the person I'm saying it, too, who can't. Yeah. There's like a filter that's off. Right. There was no filter. Okay, there was no filter. There wasn't even a filter that was off. The filter did not exist.

Okay, that's part of the problem. And those of you, there are people that are listening to this right now, and you don't think it's you. It's you. You're delusional. You're like, you just need to own it. Yeah. what a lot of people. And then once you own it, please do something about it. Right. I hate when people

tell me things that they realize about themselves and they do squat to fix it. That's just who I am. That's just who I am. Or they're like, they won't even say that this is who they are. They'll acknowledge it and that it needs to change, but then they don't change. And I'm like, that's worse. That is worse. It's better for you not to know and do nothing than for you to know and do nothing. Yeah, I agree. I hate that. Yeah. No, I agree. Literally hate it. I cannot stand it. Yep. Oh, everybody's, everybody's going over there for you. You got your peanut

peanut gallery, both sides. Hold on, I'm doing this one. This one? Okay. Okay, tell everybody what that one means. Because I didn't know what we've added this was our old one. This one, this is, well, it's still the same. It's still the same. This is sign language for eight, for

eating. So when you say something that's pretty like, like, like mic dropped worthy, like you ate that and you left no crumbs. No crumbs. Nothing on the table. I'm not sure. I don't do that very often. So when I get one of these, it's going to be really good.

Otherwise, we're just doing the, our normal one. Right. Then this one is like one, like a degree lower. You know, like that was good, but it didn't eat. We like that. Yeah. It was good, but it didn't eat. You left some crumbs. You left some crumbs.

crumbs but it's okay plat might drop yeah yeah yeah exactly I love that okay okay and you know another thing is is I love this because it reminds me of my husband about because I think he's a very meek person in a lot of a lot a lot of ways yes um you know like he this is where I think he defines meekness is when you have the ability to retaliate yeah but you don't and it's not because it's not because you're afraid and it's not because you're unwilling it's because you choose righteousness over yeah yes retaliation correct and to vindicate yourself you're allowing the lord because he said he would do that and revenge is his vindication is his and when you don't do that and you are meek in those situations and you don't retaliate.

Yeah. Man, that's a powerful thing. It is. Strength reserved. Strength reserved. Strength restrained. Strength restrained. Okay.

Strength restraint. It's so good. Meekness is also describes as a horse that is trained. Really? The horse still has all of its strength. Right. But it's disciplined. Okay.

Interesting. Uh-huh. Okay. It's not weak. It's controlled. It's not. Yeah. Uh-huh.

That's good because it's powerful. That is a beast, man. A horse is powerful. I see why that would be a great. And, you know, Jesus was also extremely meek. He's the definition of me. Oh, yeah. Well, that's true.

He's the fruits of the city. Outside of the Holy Spirit, he showed, modeled it. Modeled it. Because, like, in the midst of everything, he could have called Thoule. He could have called angels in, like, what was the number of angels that said that there were? A multitude, I guess is...

Yeah, that sounds right. A legion. A legion of angels when he was going to the cross or when the devil was trying to... When he had been fasting for the 40 days. He could have, in the midst of all these things that came his way, he chose not to. He had authority over him.

And he still didn't call them in and make them submit to his authority and take him out of the issue or whatever the situation was. It was more than 12 legions of angels, which would have been 72,000 angelic warriors. Oh, my gosh. Isn't that crazy? Right. And I think it was Psalm 91 that the devil was telling Jesus about in the wilderness. I'm trying to... He used the scripture of Psalm 91 to go against Jesus

about how it said that he could call the... Right. Yes. Yes, I believe that's true. I think it's that Psalm. Yeah. But I'm not 100% sure. A thousand may fall at your side.

No, wait. I don't think... I'll find it. Oh, yeah, here it is. If you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the most high your... loving place, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Thank you. Thank you for finding that. Yeah. Yeah, he had access to angels. And he didn't, and he did nothing. That's, I mean, he could have avoided the cross at all costs, and he did not, which is so, like, if we truly understood like the power we in authority we walk in and the tools that have been given to us in order to help us walk in the power and

the authority along with the great examples I have lists of great Bible characters that we're going to go through at the very end that exuded these traits or meekness for us to be able it's like all different things these strong and mighty people of the Lord did when they could have retaliated or they could have gone a different route they chose to be meek in that situation and we can look at that and we can use that for us and say I can do that

he did that I can do that because a lot of times people will use Jesus well that was Jesus well yeah I get it but he said we would do greater works than him but he was also 100% human right Two. You know what I mean? Like he... Holy Spirit slash human. Yeah. He was 100% man and 100% God. Like he... Second Adam. Yeah.

Yeah. So, I don't know. Matthew 26.53 in the New Living Translation says, don't you realize that I could ask my father for thousands of angels to protect us and he would send them instantly. Yeah. And the thing is, is for you, it's not really much different. If you find yourself in a situation where you're going to have to strap on that fruit of the spirit, which is to be meek. You need to understand that really you could be eradicated or extracted out of that situation by asking the Lord, I mean, we all do, we have angels that go before us and that are with us. There are certain situations where you could say, Lord, I don't want to go through this. Help me.

And that particular situation could be eliminated for you. But is that the best situation? or do you just like need to take on that situation and be meek through it? And when you get to the other side of it, you are so much stronger. There's so much faith. Because a lot of times people can't handle what they're about to walk through. So they'll go either sidestep it or they'll go backwards so they don't have to. Face it.

Just face it head on. And you'd be shocked at what God will do for you. Let's see. In 2 Timothy 2.24 and 25, it says, A servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.

So like I said about Tom, he's very meek, even though he doesn't retaliate. He can be meek without retaliation, but that's because of righteousness. And that is right there, same thing. You can confront without losing righteousness. You can be meek in the midst of all these things without like a lot of people don't like this part. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Okay, you can be meek in doing that. And a lot of people, that's where they find they're weak

because they're too afraid to instruct, gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Most people, don't want to tell anybody the truth about anything. I just was talking to somebody several days ago who was having to tell somebody that they love dearly that spiritually speaking, they're very wrong. And it was going to be a very tough situation. They obviously did it and are going to do it. But how they did it would show how meek they are.

and because a lot of people like to confront and be aggressive when they when they have to instruct or rebuke incorrect and sometimes people will take you there like you're going to have to like really stand your ground but there's something to be said there are scenarios where it's a gentle instruction you know won't be received I don't know how to explain this. No, it's true. I don't know how to say what I'm trying to say the difference between the two, but. I think sometimes the underlining thing, I think what I've noticed is with people,

when they do have to get into a place where they have to, you know, go against the situation, if there's any insecurity in the way that it might out, like the outcome might come, it sometimes comes out aggressive because it's like you're not 100% sure. I've noticed when we do apologetics that, um, sometimes when we're doing the role play thing, sometimes when the ones like start to get kind of aggressive, they don't, they're not 100% sure. So they kind of like get flustered. And then the ones that are 100% sure and they know exactly where they're going next. They like smile. They sit back. Their demeanor is different. And so I do. Super confident. Yeah. And that leads to meekness

because you know, like at any minute you can like attack if you need to. But you know, you already know what's coming next. You know the next question that's coming. You know the rebuke you're going to get. You know they're going to be upset. But you already know how to like unfold. that and you're going towards salvation. Like you're going to try to see if you can get them saved. So when you do it so much, there's that confidence that comes from it. And the position of your heart. That posture.

Oh, my gosh. In why you're rebuking that person matters too. True. You know what I mean? If you're doing it because you want to prove it, prove yourself right or whatever, then you might, it might come out more aggressive than if your, if the main goal is, is for that person to be restored, like you would approach it differently.

You would communicate in a way that they would receive from you and not like close the door. Well, you know, I think too, it really, it shows how strong your character is by how restrained you are in response. Fleshy or Carnally. Do you know what I'm saying?

No, I do. For sure. Because I think there is a time where you have to like stand your ground and you have to be. For sure. But I think. I made a whip. But I think for the most part, it's like let your words be few, which is really where we're supposed to land most of the time.

I think we're supposed to land most of the time on meekness, which really shows the strength of your character. and like your carnality doesn't win. Your flesh doesn't dictate. Right. Like how you're going to respond is that's one of the reasons why. Like I am so impressed with Tom a lot of times because I'm like, man. True.

Like you could like when people are really nasty and rude and mean, like he could literally pound them into the ground. Yeah. And he just doesn't do it. but I also I think being a cop and knowing for so long that you know they don't matter it's not that the person doesn't matter it doesn't matter what they're saying yeah yeah yeah exactly that does the end of the day it's just not worth it it's not worth your piece it's not going to change anything anyway yeah it is not worth your peace so yeah honor like honor yourself I guess yeah Proverbs 1632 says better to be patient than powerful.

Better to have self-control than to conquer a city. And self-control is another fruit of the spirit. It is. Sure is. Anyone can explode, react, or defend their ego. Ouchy, mama. But meekness requires emotional restraint, spiritual maturity, trust in God's justice.

That reminds me of a story that Jeff shared recently where it was brought to his attention that this one person like cheated the company. Almost $8,000. And it was revealed to Jeff. And months later, they're sitting at the same table. They're at the same conference sitting at the same table. And Jeff had an opportunity to like, like, really. Give him an earful. An earful, absolutely.

And Jeff chose not to. And he sat there. And turns out that person who cheated Jeff of $8,000 or cheated the company, not Jeff personally, that year, it actually cost that person's company over a million dollars. He lost a million dollars. Because not because of cheating. Right, but he sowed some bad fruit or bad seed. Yeah, you reap and sew.

And so that should show, like, don't mess with God's people. Oh, my gosh, all the time. Don't mess with God's people. And the thing is, they're crazy because you're going to get seven times back whatever stolen from you. Yeah. Right. He lost a million dollars that year.

Holy moly. I know. I'm not surprised. It's wild the stories that I hear when people do certain things to Christians. I sit back and watch when I hear about certain things and it hasn't the the the Lord hasn't moved down that direction yet but I sit back and watch when people have been done wrong I sit back and watch and wait and see how God vindicates them it makes me nervous for those people like I know I know you know if you only know yeah but they don't

you don't want to go down that road yeah you just don't And going back to this, well, here's the thing. Well, I'm not going to even go back to it. If you look at that situation, like the self-control, holy moly. But he just proved to the Lord. Like, he just proved to the Lord, spiritually speaking, how much he trusts in the Lord. Right. And like God fights our battles, you know, like overwhelming victory belongs to us, the word says. And so if we know that to be true and we really like read our word and take it and believe every single thing in it, like you don't have to fight your battles. You don't have to be the aggressor because God's got your back. The war is not yours. The battle is not yours. That's one of the reasons why I love when a normal.

or the worship team sings, this is how I fight my battles. Yeah. It's because that song is so true. It is. True. Like, if you really think about it, it's,

if you focused on worship, praise, rejoicing, and you allow that to be the thing that fight your battles, then you, when you do those things, then you know that you've given it to the Lord.

It's not even yours. So you're not, All you're doing is focusing on him and then he takes care of the rest. It's such a life of peace. It's crazy, like, to not worry about things, to not be fearful about things. But a lot of times, here's, I'm going to be honest with you, a lot of times people who are fearful are weak people. They are weak, weak people. They are controlled by their fears, and their fears,

make them weak. Yeah. And they're tossed to and fro. Like they're not consistent. Double-minded. And they'll basically tell you it's not true, but it is true. 100%. Proverbs 29, 25 says,

fearing people is a dangerous trap. But trusting the Lord means safety. So that, I mean, you just got to know that you know that you know that the battle is not yours. Like meekness, like if you're meek and you're handling it like Jeff did, like when somebody comes and is in your face and they don't touch you and you know you could pound their face in and you just kind of are like Jesus was with the devil.

Literally. I'm just going to give you the word, dude. I ain't buying what you're selling. I'm not falling for your crap. I could have this dealt with in a different. way. I could take care of this myself, but I'm not going to. I'm going to let God deal with you. It's powerful. But the reason why people don't do it this way in their weak is because oftentimes their fear is rooted in rejection. It's rooted in fear of conflict because they're not,

they're too afraid to confront. They're afraid of people, which is what this proverb clearly states and guys that is not good because weakness will bow to people but meekness vows to God and like that's good it's good that was good that was good good good one liner yeah i mean i'm not going to bow to a person it is never going to happen yeah you guys have proved it too true you proved it over the years mm-hmm yeah mm-hmm mm-hmm It's true. And like right now, I don't feel like I'm, you know, it's so funny because you're always dealing with something and it's always different, right, to the degree in which it is. But like right now, I feel like Tom and I are kind of walking through something. It's not bad or anything. It's just like, and then having to trust God to get to the other side. and it's all based on other people's decisions, which affect,

it isn't going to affect our future, although it looks like it could affect our future, but other people's decisions, like, affect, could affect, if we allow it, our response to growth and what God's called us to do, and things like that. And I sit there and I'm like, this isn't meekness, but this is just trust. Yeah.

Like, but the thing is, is Tom could have bowed to people and it would change the results for him. And he will not do it. He will not do it. But if God has said something, he's going to do it. And there's nobody that's going to stand in the way. And even though you don't see the results that you want immediately or in the manner and time that you know, you should be getting it, that's again where you got to do what Jeff did. And you have to trust. It's not your job. You got to walk by faith and not by sight, literally. Because there always

will be another thing. Always. I always think like once I'm done this, then I'll believe because I saw God, no, they'll. Or I will have arrived. Right. Yeah. That's crazy. But yeah, if you think that you're, no matter how old you are, it doesn't matter. There will always be something because if you have people in your life. Like you said, there's going to be people in your life, especially if you're in ministry, people make decisions and you have no control over it. And it will affect you sometimes outside, but still, like if you love people, it's going to affect you. So you just, yeah, you, you just got to stay the course. Stay the course. And just know that you know that you know. And the rest of it just doesn't matter. Yeah. True. And you can't, like, even though you want to like yell at the roof, yell from the

rooftops, the injustices and stuff like that, it does nothing. I know. Yeah. So. So. So just let God handle it. Because if it was going to do something, he would have said that in the word. Like, go to the rooftop and start screaming as loud as you can. It would be in like John. That would be. Exactly.

To the new church. But it's not. God says, I got it. Which stinks. Let it go. Instead, he says, now fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable.

Think on these things. And then the God of peace will be with you. Amen. It sounds good to me. I like that. It's so true. I like it. And here's the thing.

Being on the side of this, I will not let anything or anyone steal my peace. And you guys that do let people do that to you, you're crazy. Why allow someone or something to have authority over you? You're the righteousness of God in Christ, Like that's insanity that people allow people to control them. Right. And take up like space in their mind. Don't do it.

No. Don't do it because you, that's how you don't walk in peace. But that's like you're letting, I don't know. I don't know how people. I like myself too much. Right. I like myself too much. And I have the ability to allow or not allow certain things in my life.

Why would you like yourself more to say they don't deserve that? I'm not giving that to them. So I'm in a unique position where I know what peace feels like and I know what anxiety feels like. And I much rather peace. And I guard it. You have to. Because there is no going back to the way of life. that I used to.

It's not good. It's not good. No, thank you. It's not good. But then people literally, and it's not even, like anxiety is one thing. Holy moly.

I don't even know. I couldn't live in anxiety. Right. It's not fun. It's not my makeup, first of all. So it's not my nature to go to that direction. My nature is to kill,

steal, and destroy. Okay. I have to control that temperament. What? Yeah. Exactly. You're a nature of Satan? Uh-huh.

Like, I literally have to, back in the day, not let people, not to destroy them. And like, because they irritated and took me off so much. Right. Yeah. To allow them to have that much authority in my life that I would go to great lengths to hurt them, make them feel a certain way, to belittle them. And then I didn't really care about the other parts of it. like I live rent-free.

I usually didn't walk in a fence, but there are people who do walk in a fence. So all of them are bad. Anxiety is bad. Feeling like you have to be this destroyer and you have to like anything that comes in your path, you got to like make sure that you protect and guard yourself and make sure nobody hurts you.

That's a whole other thing. And then a person who walks around in a fence, like all dangerous stuff none of it is from the Lord and none of it is a fruit of the Spirit not one true there's nothing good that comes from it and you're giving it something or someone authority when you do that and if it ain't God it doesn't belong right it's as simple as that Galatians 522 and 23 it says but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. The world offers two extremes.

I'm going to list you the things that I think that the world offers. It offers aggression and passivity. Aggressiveness is where you dominate. That's what I'm talking about. Okay. I was referring to myself, all these things right here are what I was referring to. That's who I was. I was aggressive.

I dominated, I canceled people out, and I retaliated without hesitation. I was a very angry, hostile, not nice person at all. And it felt good to do all of those things. To be perfectly honest with you, it felt good to do all of those things. Because I allowed heart that was done to me to allow me to have a hard shell and to make sure that I protected myself, instead of protecting my peace, I protected myself instead of letting God do it. I protected myself so that I would never get hurt again.

I just a dangerous place to live. But a lot of people won't walk in meekness because of these things, passivity. That makes me want to throw up. And there are so many passive people. And here's the thing. I'm going to talk to the passive aggressive. right now. That's a whole other level.

I cannot flippin' stand passive aggressive. I could sniff it out so, like, quick, too. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Because a passive person is not the same as a passive aggressive. Not at all. No.

A passive person, you stay silent, you avoid the truth, and you appease. Yeah. Okay? Not attractive, just so you know. No. a passive aggressive person does all those things and then has something to say with a negative response. And so they really want to say it, but they don't have the balls to say it. So they put it through a passive vein of speech, which is they'll say something passive, then they'll say the aggressive thing that they're afraid to say.

And then they'll go, I was just kidding. Yeah. Yeah. Or if you tell them to do something, or yes, or you tell them to do something or you ask them about something. And their response is very catty, very much like, oh, okay. And then they'll, they'll okay it. And then they'll say the aggressive thing behind it.

Wait, wait a minute. Why don't you just start with the second part of that sentence? Let's eliminate the first part, which was sweet and acted like everything was okay, and then your aggressive part behind it, I can do without that. Yeah. It's one or the other. It's either you really mean the first part of the sentence or you really mean the second part of the sentence. Which one is it?

Because I'm not taking both. You can't have both. But that's what a passive aggressive person does. Yeah, I ask chat for example. I did too. Oh, please. Please. I have a bunch of my head, but they're too specific.

Yeah, you'll see. Oh, okay. I don't have any in my head. I have a lot in my head. I have none in my head. But it's okay. Go ahead. I can't stand passive-aggressive.

Wow, you actually did a great job this time. That outfit is brave. I could never pull that off. I like it. You're so confident to wear your hair like that? I think that's what I said to tell you, but I told her that I was going to wear the same. I'm just joking. Okay, what else?

I want a good one. Sure, take your time. It's not like anyone else has to do anything. That's more of what I'm talking about. Things like that right there. Must be nice to have that much free time. It's mean. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Do you have any? I have a ton, but I can't. I don't know if I can say them. That's so specific. I have to deal with, it's always a narcissistic behavior. Like a person that is so narcissistic that the world evolves around them when they're passively aggressive. So for example. Yeah.

Give me one. Yeah. For example. So if somebody's like excited about something and you know, but you haven't said anything. So this person just had a birthday party and you're like, and like you're set up to fail. And you're like, yeah. Why didn't you tell me? because it's not my birthday party.

And there's always this like, they're just waiting to get you. And it's not like they really want to know if somebody had a birthday party. And it's not like they really care enough to be invited to the birthday. But something about it, they got hurt because they saw something

on social media or they saw something that was big and grand and they weren't a part of it. So the response is always super passive-aggressive. So I just, I know somebody very specific that I have to deal with through somebody else.

else and it's never to it's never to actually like find out information it's never a question it's already they already know the answer to it but they want to beat somebody up because they weren't told first so we deal with that a lot oh that's rough yeah that's rough that sucks passive aggressive instead of just saying like oh wow I saw somebody had a birthday party did you they did you go how was it it's never a that it's always like what about me oh yeah what about me like but it's like oh yeah you know what i find too is if this is what if this is what i find a lot if somebody corrects somebody on something mm-hmm how do i say this because this is an example that's been given to me so let me figure this out and it's not so like like when i say

correct somebody. I mean like a person corrects family or something, right? So let me, if somebody corrects a family member on something, okay, then that family member, as soon as the person that they corrected or that corrected them does something remotely similar or I'm trying to think of a great example, because I can't pull one off in my my head right now. If, so I'll just say it like this. Say, because I think it'll be easier if I explain it and I pretend it's me. Because sometimes I don't explain things greatest, the greatest.

Let's say I correct somebody, okay? Now tell me if you don't understand what I'm saying. Okay. Okay. I will. I see this a lot. I mean, I don't personally see it a lot because I can't stand passive aggressive. And if I remotely think, if you speak to me in a progressive or passive, or passive

aggressive way, I will ask you. I'll, I'll, I'll ask you. Was that passive aggressive? I don't care. I don't want it. I'm not taking it and I'm not receiving it. And if the person says yes, which nobody ever has, because they're shocked that I asked them, I think. If for some reason, they say yes, I'm going to, I'm like, you don't, you don't need to talk, you don't need to ask me like that or you don't need to tell me like that. We can communicate without that. Right. Right. If they, but, I don't think anybody ever has because they always say, no, I didn't mean that. And inside, I'm like, how could you not have meant it?

Not always, but literally almost every time I've been like, your explanation makes absolutely no sense as to what you're saying to me. But I will say this. For example, if I were to go and say to a friend, if I was to go in and say to a friend, listen, this wasn't correct, that what you did wasn't correct, and here's the reason it wasn't correct.

And then you tell them why. And then later on, down, I mean, it could be a year from now. They feel like I've done the very same thing and we're talking about the scenario. They use your words that you said to them and they're like, well, you know, we can't do it because of whatever you were you used. Does that make sense?

I know exactly. I'm against you in a passive aggressive way. To make sure that you know, that they know, you're doing the same thing that you corrected them off. Yeah. And they're not letting you get away with it. Even though the scenario probably isn't the same way, but they're still harbbing bitterness towards whatever.

Do you, I'm making sense, correct? It's the position of the heart. Thank God. Thank God. I've seen. That makes sense. And the bitterness thing is huge because I'm like, why? How do people even remember stuff from a year ago?

Like my brain, I'm like, get over it. But there is a bitter root, which I don't typically struggle with bitterness. And if I do, I try to reconcile it because I don't, I hate that feeling. I hate anxiety. I hate bitterness. So I usually try to deal with it immediately. If not, like I cool down and then I deal with it. So if you are like that and you struggle with bitterness, like deal with it right away.

Or like Pastor Tom said, either talk to the person or let it go. Let it go. If it's not worth it, no, let it go, especially if you are over 25 years old. Married couples do this all the time, though. They are so passive.

I know. I mean, oh my gosh. Please don't do that if you're a married couple. Married couples are so passive, aggressive with each other because it's tit for tat, tit for tat, tit for tat, tit for tat. I know, I know.

Under the guise of, I'm just kidding. Are you kidding, though? Are you really kidding? Are you? Because I've sat at dining room, I said at tables, like I'm so glad Tom and I

don't go out to dinner with hardly anybody anymore. You don't. Thank you, Lord. You used to go out to dinner with every new person that walked through that door. If they asked, we did it. If they asked us, we always did it. Oh my gosh.

It was, I can't even get it at dinner. So often it was torture because people and their marriages are so bad. And they would just, and I'm like, they're so used to this behavior that they don't even know. That they're doing it. That this is uncomfortable, this is embarrassing, and you should shut up. They don't even know it, though, because they're so, well, this is how we are. Yep. You shouldn't be.

Yeah. But marriages are very passive aggressive, I find. Very true. And they wonder why. They're not happy. Right. Why would you be? Yeah.

Or they pretend they are. And they do what Tom always says, my beautiful bride. And it's like, no, you guys are nasty to one another. And you just don't even know. You think that's what marriage is supposed to be like. Those are the people that say marriage is hard. Yeah. Sorry, it's not.

It doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be. It can be awesome. I'm going to finish this up. And then, well. Let's talk about marriage next week. Let's talk about gas lighting. Oh my gosh.

Should we? Let's keep talking about passive aggressive. I've got plenty of examples now. You know what we'll go into it on Friday. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm all in.

Okay. Okay. I'm all in. Here's what the kingdom says about, there's a third way. Okay, I gave you the world's way, which is two ways. Which, confession, I can write the first one with aggression very easily. I mean, it takes nothing for me to figure out what the aggressive person is going to do. Okay.

I got that one down. Passive person, not so much. But I do can't, I can't stand passivity. Like, if you're a passive person, you're probably, not going to be my friend and that's the God's honest truth I can't stand that because oftentimes I always wonder am I getting the real truth from this person are they really telling me what I want to hear are they really telling me what I need to hear right there's a difference yeah but the kingdom offers a third way and I'm going to and I mean and the thing is is we are to operate in the kingdom's

way right everything we do I say this and I'm going to and I'm going to and I'm going to and I'm going to Maybe I don't say it enough, but we should be kingdom-minded. Okay? When you think about what you're going to do, it should be kingdom-minded. It's easier for me to say that than God-minded, because it's kingdom-minded is the Trinity, right? Meekness. When you are going to handle things meekly, it's truth without being cruel. Okay, and that was a tough one for me.

Truth be told. Authority without being arrogant. Yeah. And strength without being hostile. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah.

If you can't, if you have a hard time, listen, I've gotten way better on all those things, but I'm still not there yet. Okay. I'm working for, blessed are those who are meek, they will inherit the earth. I want to inherit the earth. Okay. And in order for me to inherit the earth, I got to tell the truth and not be cruel while I'm doing it. I have to show authority without being arrogant while I'm doing it.

I need to show strength. That's God's strength, okay? That's righteous strength, not the world, without being hostile while I do it. And we all know the difference. I will show some, I'll share this really quick on Friday. who was kingdom-minded of the Bible characters because I'm telling you right now

once you see them you're going to go I will use that for the rest of my life when I get into a situation that might be similar that's how I'm going to handle it because a lot of times we are like I don't know how to do that but if you have an example you absolutely do because you can use that example

that's what the Bible's for so with that being said we are almost five minutes over you guys want to add anything got any two cents to give I'm going to hold all my thoughts till Friday. For gas lighting. I'm going to come with a bomb. We're going to talk about gaslighting on Friday.

Okay. Let's do it. And that seems to be like. That's part of the passive aggressive behavior. It's more trendy now, too. I don't know. It's so. Oh my gosh.

Vanessa, is exactly what I was going to say. It seems to be the thing to do nowadays. Yeah. For sure. Mm-hmm. It's not cool. Not cool.

Not cool. I wouldn't be friends with people who do that. No, absolutely not. You're not doing it's me. But sometimes it's like family members that you can't get away from. Yes. Truth. But there's a way to handle that.

Yeah. There is. And there's a godly way. Yes. A kingdom-minded way. Yes. It reminds me of when I say it like that because I love that way, but it reminds me of what the river does, which is kingdom business. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. And really, that's such a great term. Yes. for how we should conduct everything in our life. Kingdom life. Kingdom-minded. Kingdom-minded. Kingdom-life.

Yeah. So love you guys. See you on Friday where we're going to gaslight you. Bye.