Being locked down in our homes or in our confined spaces for a long time, certainly made me realize how much I missed human connection, how important it was to get together with people that we love, that we work with, that we have in our lives to push our lives forward. The lessons we learned in 2020 were vast, deep, and important, and guess what? They relate to things that God teaches us right in his word. And that’s what co-hosts Renée and Theresa are going to discuss in this week’s episode! 

Free Resources:

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Things We Cover in this Episode:

  • Lessons learned in 2020
  • God’s teachings
  • Scriptures on growing your faith
  • AND SO MUCH MORE…

Here is a full transcription of Episode #055 (This transcription was auto-generated!)

(00:00): 2020, it's almost a bad word in everybody's vocabulary, but let's talk about the lessons that we learned in that glorious year. Being locked down in our homes or in our confined spaces for a long time, certainly made me realize how much I missed human connection, how important it was to get together with people that we love, that we work with, that we have in our lives to push our lives forward. The lessons we learned in 2020 were vast and deep and important, and guess what? They relate to things that God teaches us right in his word. And we're going to talk about that today. So let's look at the bright side of 2020 and stay tuned. Welcome to episode 55 of the well-versed woman podcast.

(01:07): I'm Renee teller and

(01:08): I'm Theresa Morgan. You see Renee and I are two perfectly imperfect women who have a heart to share our life's journeys and are safe with you.

(01:18): What we love to share about is this God, this creator that created the entire universe and the power that is within us because of the relationship with him. But before we get started,

(01:33): We know that we need to plug

(01:36): Into that creator plug into that power source. And we do that by being still for just 20 seconds before we listened to what he'd have to say today, those 20 seconds are going to start now, close your eyes, take some slow deep breaths. Here we go.

(02:16): [inaudible]

(02:17): That's it. That's 20 seconds. And I like to think back about how we grew, how we matured, all the

(02:27): Things we learned in 2020 Theresa that have helped us mature in life. I really think that for so many of us, we gained some beautiful, deep, deep insight into ourselves, into the world, into each other and our relationships. Don't you feel that way now? I sure do. And whether they were mountain topic's experiences or valley experiences where we struggled, you know, there's always in Christ, there's always purpose. We can find purpose in the pain. We can find purpose on the mountaintop. And I love what God God's word says, Renee, especially in the book of second Peter chapter one verses two through four, it says grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God enough, Jesus, our Lord, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. I'm just going to stop right there. And I'm just want to express to our hears today that you know, the essence, the life is maturation.

(03:37): Everything in life that has life grows, we can see plants grow. We can see animals grow. You know, anything that is in this universe that God has made, that has a life cycle has maturation to it. And the thing we need to understand as we walk this walk of faith is that God wants us as his human beings to mature into grow in him. And he doesn't just create us and leave us what he does is so beautiful. He gives us the owner's manual. If he, if you will. The Bible in my kids learn Renee back in the day, the acronym for Bible basic instruction before leaving earth, which I really, I really love, but that if we get into the pages of that book and we allow the holy spirit to lead us and to teach us which he promises, he will, we will grow leaps and bounds and we will find our life going.

(04:44): As he says in his word from glory to glory, from one area of maturation and value in life to the next, it's just a beautiful, beautiful occurrence that happens in the life of a Christian. It it's not that one is more valuable to God than the other. It's that the gifts and the talents that God has put in each one of us, he wants to grow them. He wants to sharpen the pencil. If you will hone those skills so that we can serve humanity in the way that will bless them. Does that make sense, Renee? Absolutely. And I love this idea that we don't have to do it alone. And we talk about that probably week after week, it comes up that we need the community, we need the Bible, right? But we need the community surrounding us Theresa to help us understand. You know, we, we, like you say, we mature, like just even think back at the simple viewpoint of that, we go to kindergarten and then we go on to higher education, whatever that may be.

(06:02): And we graduate. There's a process there, but guess what? We weren't handed the textbooks as kindergarteners or even high schoolers and said, go figure this out. Here's the book. So what you're saying with the Bible is, yeah, God gave us the book, but he didn't say, oh, here's the book. Each of you, each of you go figure it out on your own. So it, this maturation process is key. It happens in every facet of life, just like you said, but the other point you're making Theresa is we do it together. Right? We do it together. That's absolutely right. And we can look it at this fact, this beautiful fact in the realm, they had the holy spirit. He is the master teacher and he dwells in believers. And then what the holy spirit does. I just love it. He has also given human gifts to man, if you will, he's equipped individuals in life, men and women to then teach his word.

(07:14): And that when you're sitting under a man or a woman who has been gifted to teach his word, who's been equipped. Then as you're listening to that word of God, be taught the holy spirit. That's inside shows you how to apply it, how to understand it. And then off we go. So I'd like to look at the scriptures that are found in the book of Ephesians chapter four and where we're going with this is that God says, I've given you, I've given you knowledge. I've given you all things that pertain to life and godliness. And we're going to look at today that in part, we get this knowledge through his church and teachings of the church. So Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 through 16, say this, he himself, Jesus Christ gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers while Renee.

(08:20): So we see that God called from eternity past God called some individuals to be teachers, to be pastors, apostles, prophets evangelists. In today. I'd really like to go through and explore this verse, these verses, because we're going to see, okay, why is it important that we listen, that we sit under a good teacher? Well, the first reason Renee that this chapter teaches is for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Isn't that neat? So we might say, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've gone to a church all my life. I denomination where I came. I sat in the pew. I listen, I went home. Well, how do you mean that as a believer in Jesus that I need to be equipped for, for his work of the ministry. Absolutely. Right. Theresa. So we as St. So the first thing is, you know, the word of God calls us saints.

(09:24): Saints are followers of Christ. We have to be equipped for the work of the ministry. Meaning I couldn't just come on here, trees without the years of actually you tutoring me so to speak. And then the other churches that I've been part of, where I actually sat in lessons and really learned what the words in that book were talking about. So I love that. Absolutely. Because when we understand is a Christian that we've been all called to share our faith, the great commission before Jesus left earth. The great commission that he gave really to all who believe is to share the gospel, share the gospel with every creature, because the Bible says it is God's will that none should perish, but all should come to, to the knowledge of eternal life. So I'll should come to not only the knowledge of it, but have eternal life, you know, and we've talked so much about salvation and about being born again and about the truth that Jesus came to take our place, take our place and pay for the wages of our sin.

(10:47): He took that through his death, the shedding of his blood, when we put our faith in that we are born again, we are now we have right standing with God. So once that occurs, then God says, okay, you are my disciple, indeed. And now just like the disciples of the new Testament in the book of acts that went around, sharing their faith in bringing others into the kingdom of God. That is still your mission today, disciple. And so that's why Renee, we go to church because we learn what is in the covenant, right? What is in the new, the old and the new Testament, but predominantly for current believers, we look to the new Testament that explains all that Jesus provided all of that knowledge so that we can, is the Bible says, lay, lay, hands on the sick, exercise, their faith, and see them recover so that we can pray for people who need maybe a deliverance who need freedom from is in strongholds of addiction.

(11:58): We can go out and do that. Knowing that the holy spirit with in us is going to be leading us in. When we put our faith in what the pages of this book hit the Bible say, and we do the works of the ministry, great things occur in the lives of the people. Can't tell you how many times I've been in a church service or been in a group of Christians where ministry one to another is going on. Somebody needed a healing. And the Bible says, lay hands on the sick. They will recover. We lay hands on the sick. And before you know it either immediately or over time, the God does the healing. So we are being equipped for the work. And then the holy spirit does the actual healing or deliverance or provision in that person's life that is being ministered to. Yeah.

(12:58): And I want to just mention that when we talk about, and you listened to Theresa and I, that doesn't mean that that's what you need to do, that everybody needs to go out and start a podcast, or everybody needs to do the work of the ministry in the same way. That was the opening of this scripture, which is he gave some to be a possible, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers Theresa, and I don't have the same gifts, but we have the same love for God. And so that's what we're developing. That's what we're sharing with others. So when you go out in the world and you're talking about this God that you have seen do so many wonderful things in your life, that's really all you need to do and have the knowledge because we're in a community of knowing the other people that have the parts like me, knowing Theresa that have the part can deliver the rest of the story to the people that you are going to touch and rage.

(14:12): So again, the importance Theresa of being in this community, this idea of, for me, like in 2020, realizing the difference between watching my pastor on a zoom call or on YouTube and being in the church where I get to know different people. Sometimes we don't even get to know them. Sometimes it's a matter of being in church on that day and seeing what's going on with somebody else and then saying, oh, there's Theresa and, and John over there, wow, that's what John. And then we know what the rest of the body of Christ has for their guests and what we do know. And I think what you were saying is the one thing that we're all asked to do is what we say every week, develop our own relationship with this amazing God, our creator, so that we can then get to know him and want to share him.

(15:22): You know, Theresa and I are doing this because we have this big secret in our lives. And we can't wait to impart this beautiful savior in our life to the world. And the same will happen for you. Just need to walk with him consistently and longer and longer. And don't give up on that relation. That's so true. I love that encouragement, Renee. It, you know, nothing is the Bible says nothing is impossible with God and he never will give up on us. No matter how many times we seem to startle, he's always there as the best coach, the best teacher, the Bible says, he'll teach us all things. He brings back to our remembrance, what we need to remember, thank God, but he's a great equipper. He has given us all things and he will teach us how to use those all things. If you will.

(16:23): You know, I also want to lay a foundation for our listeners because we're scriptural people, right? They've comes by hearing and hearing these scriptures. So, um, I do want to give this practical scripture. So the scripture is in mark chapter 16, verse 15 in Jesus is speaking. And this was right before he ascended into happen. And he said to his disciples, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe we are all those of us who, who know the word. We are believers. This verse is talking to us. Those who believed Renee, myself, all of you on listening to this. If you're a believer in Jesus, this will occur. When you put your faith into it.

(17:18): In my name, they will cast out demons. They will speak with no new tongues. They will take up serpents. And if they drink anything deadly, it will, by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. You know, when I saw this, I said, wow, that's for me, I'm a believer. And you know, how many friends and family and people we know are dealing with physical ailments and sicknesses and wow. Do you mean COVID? Yeah. COVID is included any sickness that is plaguing a human being on this earth. I've had situations I can think of one time, a friend that I know came to my home. She had a migraine headache and she said, Theresa, I suffer from these migraines quite often. And I said, really kept me. I pray. She said, yeah, I laid my hand on her head Renee.

(18:16): And after I prayed and took my hand off, she, she was like nervously laughing, saying, it's gone, it's gone. And then I was able to share the love of Jesus and say, yes, you know, that's the love of Christ for you. And then the door opens we can share. I could share my faith. I believe she invited Jesus into her heart that day. So God is working with us. The Bible says that signs and wonders will accompany his word. Isn't that beautiful? The same Jesus who the Bible says is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same Jesus that was performing the miracles in the first disciples of the first church, when the church was birthed, that same Jesus is still performing the signs, the wonders, the miracles today, because he loves people. And when we're equipped, when we open the pages of the Bible, when we're taught by a, by a pastor, a teacher, we're listening to a great podcast of teaching and with today's technology, wow.

(19:33): So many churches are streaming their services and we can get the word of God all the time. We can then say, okay, that's what God is equipping me to do the work of the ministry. And when an opportunity arises, the holy spirit will give you a leading to go ahead. Remember that verse that's for you today. And now this woman that I'm thinking about not only were her headaches cured, but she also is now a believer in Jesus. And that's, that's how it works. And God goes from one person to the next improving life in giving eternal life. So great. But I love what we've talked about before Theresa, where you've said the church is, is a safety dat. It's not perfect because it's made up of us humans. And regardless of what, all the type A's out there are thinking, we are not perfect.

(20:36): We, humans are not perfect. You know, there's only one perfect. And that's who we call God. But the church is important, even though it's made up of all us imperfect people. Like we say, at the beginning of our podcast, Teresa, it's a place where we can be taught the principles of God so that we're not deceived. And you talk about that a lot Theresa, and the fact that we, you know, again, we need to use this body. And that 2020 lesson for me was how much I missed being in that space with all us imperfect people altogether. You know, so many people, I think Theresa looked from the outside and say, oh, well, the, you know, those, those Christians, like there's some bad people or they're not good or there, the reality is we're not right. We're not perfect. And we make mistakes and we're together because we understand, and we've raised our hand to say, there's gotta be something bigger than me.

(21:47): There's gotta be a God, can I, can I get in a room with a bunch of people and get some help on this? As they say, can I get an amen? That's so very true. It's so very true. You know, we're all in a process, right? We can look at our lives and say, we are a construction project that God is working on. And when we are all in, in process, the, you know what I say, people who have been disappointed, you know, with other members of a church, let's say who have been hurt. You know, I say, okay, well, they're learning and growing too. God always wants to bring resolution and resolve. But the very, very important, important thing in life is to get the word, get the word of God. I get it daily. I'm listening to the word of God. Why? Well, because like Jesus says, man does not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

(22:42): So as we feed our natural body with good nutrition, we feed our spirit who we are, our spirit man, our spirit woman, if you will, with the word of God, it feeds us at fuels us. And as we're going to go back to, uh, her scripture of today, Ephesians chapter four, you know, as the word says in, uh, we're gonna, I'm gonna read again, you know, verses 11 through, I think 16, again, he himself, Jesus gave some to be, as we sat apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers, we talked about for the equipping of the saints, but listen to, uh, what else the, the verses say for the edifying of the body of Christ, edifying is a word, a word that means building up, right? Like an edifice. When we come together, we build one another up. We encourage one another. The Bible then goes on to say in verse 13, till we all come to the unity of the, and of the knowledge of the son of God, to a perfect neon, meaning universal men and women to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

(23:56): So you can say, oh my goodness, I have to be perfect. Right? No, perfect. In the Bible means to a mature person, right? God wants to bring us there. It goes again with tour us, right? So, so we can act in a loving manner so that we can be a conduit of his grace, his mercy, his love. But then it goes on to say, which I think is so key in the world in which we live. It says again so that we can come, right? It'd be equipped so that we can mature that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men in the cunning, craftiness and deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ. So we really have to look at this.

(24:56): The church is a safety net. God's word is a safety net. Well, well, how is it a safety net, Theresa and Renee. It's a safety net because when you know truth, it will keep you from deception and error in the world of technology, in which we live, where boy, all sorts of thoughts and theologies and intention are there good or bad are streaming through our devices all the time. If we're not rooted and grounded in the truth of God's word, we really can get pulled off into deception, into error in when a person is pulled into deception and error. That really is unfortunately the breeding ground for a lot of destruction in a person's life. So we want to always know God's word so that when that thought comes or when that proposal comes, if you will, from someone to say, Hey, try a little bit of this, or, Hey, you know, you can go down this path and God doesn't care.

(26:05): And now I, when you know the word of God, you say, no, God does care. And I'm not going down that road. You know, something as simple as gossip, right? The Bible says, do not gossip. It's really character assassination. So when you're in that arena in the holy spirit is, you know, knocking on your heart saying, no, no, remember gossip is not good. You don't want to so that, because you don't want to reap that in your own life, you can then say, okay, I'm not going to continue in this place that I always have. Right. And that alone shows a person can say, Hey, why, you know, why did you walk away from this? You can say, you know, that's gossip that isn't becoming, it's tearing down the character of another person. And then that shows great strength, fortitude, and character, where they could say, wow, you know what?

(27:01): You're right. Can you tell me about that? And then you, again, you share, I've, I've learned, I've grown. You know, the Lord has shown me. That's not the way of love. And before you know, it, the world is starting again to turn to a place of godliness. And isn't that what we desire. So all these little lessons, Theresa, the gossip, just, just these little daily life things, you know, we got ingrained in us over years of time. And I say ingrained in our gut that we're able to respond and react and notice it immediately. So something like Theresa was talking about, you know, the minute we get in a conversation in our spirit, you know, I get a little upset when I start feeling like, oh my God, I don't want to be talking about somebody. It's not what I want to do. And it's because of all those years of being part of my community, trees of being part of the churches, the different churches that I've been to over the years, you know, I live in different places.

(28:11): So I go to different churches. I think the point you're making Theresa too, is it's a church where the word of God is talked about where a pastor is speaking from the Bible verse of God, and then teaching us further on it. And again, being in that community where you see the different people sitting next to you, sitting in front of you, sitting behind you, um, and how they're gifted and what you can gain from them. And I think, again, back to the 2020, that's what I missed most even I was saying the other day to a friend, the singing at those kinds of things and being shoulder to shoulder with people singing. And I'm not a singer, but when I get in church, I sing anyway, I shout from the rooftop. So the importance of being in that community, where the word of God is taught is so key, right?

(29:17): That's, that's so true. And I love how, um, Paul put it in first Timothy chapter three, verse 15. He says, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar in the ground of truth. Wow. You know, as we have said before, Rene, the Bible is the Bible of the contains patterns and principles that will bring success in life. That will make your life everything that God designed it to be. And we learn and grow with one another in a church that's equipped by, uh, pastors and teachers that want to expound on the word of God. And as we said, bring that good word into our life. So the holy spirit can then help us apply it. And before you know it, wow, the struggles and the challenges of old are, are forgotten.

(30:17): Renee. My life has grown so I can remember, you know, sitting on my kitchen floor one day, crying, thinking my goodness. I have so many problems in the scripture that came to my heart as God wanted to perfect. Every one of them. And he has one by one. And most of that has come from sitting in a good local church where I've been taught the word of God. And I've been able to grow in terms of mature the way the Bible says, that's so great. And if you are looking for a church or you don't have a church reach out to us, we talk about how we're on Facebook in a well-versed woman community. You can actually comment back to us on the podcast platform that you're listening to. So there's a lot of ways to reach out to us and we can help you with that. So that's a lot right there today, Theresa, what is our well-versed woman foundational scripture that we like to recite? And I bet many of our year-long listeners know this and are raising their hand saying, I know, I know what I know Renee, what it is. Absolutely. Renee Romans 10, 17. It says. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

(31:40): Thank you again for listening. We so, so appreciate it. Please do leave us comments, especially this week about looking for a church or wanting to be part of a church. You can join our well-versed woman, Facebook community, simply

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