Destroying My Idols

Could your daily pursuits be quietly steering you away from your spiritual path? This episode of "Stepping in Faith" dares to ask the hard questions about idolatry and its subtle grips on our lives—from our desires and cultural beliefs to the relationships we hold dear. We open up about our own spiritual journeys, sharing how we uncovered these hidden idols and the pivotal moments that led us to re-align our lives with God at the center. It's an invitation to reflect on what might be quietly replacing God in your heart.

We take a candid look at how our culture often elevates relationships to an almost sacred status, sometimes overshadowing our spiritual priorities. With the foundational wisdom of Exodus 20:1-6, we explore the spiritual pitfalls of idolizing relationships and how societal norms and media have complicated this further. As we discuss the need for balance, we emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong spiritual focus, drawing from our personal insights and the teachings of Jesus. Maintaining God as our primary focus can prevent the spiritual consequences of misplaced priorities.

Our conversation doesn't stop at identifying the idols; we also explore the transformative power of scripture and the Holy Spirit in overcoming these spiritual hurdles. Reflecting on passages from Ezekiel, Joshua, and Romans, we discuss the liberation and guidance found in surrendering to God's will. We share how our spiritual journeys have been shaped by direct encounters with God, away from traditional settings, encouraging listeners to seek their own personal relationship with the divine. As we wrap up, we reaffirm our dedication to sharing God's message, hoping it inspires a blessed and spiritually nurturing week for all our listeners.

Ready to dive deeper? 🎧 Join us on YouTube for the full video podcast where we explore faith, love, and relationships through a Christian lens. Whether married, single, or seeking spiritual growth, our episodes offer practical advice and profound insights to strengthen your walk with Jesus. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a powerful episode. Let’s grow together in faith and purpose!
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Episode Transcript

Walter (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of Stepping in Faith,
where we explore the importanceof having a relationship with
God and how that relationshipcan impact the relationship you
have with others.
I'm your host, Walter, and I'mjoined here alongside my lovely
wife.
Shania.
All right, sound a littledifferent than what I typically

(00:23):
would say, but we're going to gogo with it what do you mean?

Shanea (00:26):
like the intro oh, it's normally different.

Walter (00:29):
Oh, it sounded the same to me did it yep it didn't sound
the same to me, but hey, we'regoing with it all right so this
is episode eight, right?
What's the title for thisweek's episode?

Shanea (00:45):
Destroying my idols.

Walter (00:48):
Destroying my idols, and for this week's episode you
came up with that.
That was given to you right?
How did that happen?

Shanea (00:58):
So, you know, we always ask the Lord what it is that he
wants us to speak about, and wewere on a walk and we were
praying and we asked God to letus know what it is he wanted to
speak about.
I don't remember what happened.

(01:19):
I think you were talking toyour sister I was talking to my
sister, you were talking to yoursister and as you were talking
to your sister, I was prayingand I got idolatry and actually
the day before God was dealingwith me on idolizing people and
I had to renounce some things.

Walter (01:41):
That you idolized, that I idolized or people that I
idolize.

Shanea (01:44):
I had to name some names of people that I idolized that
I put before God.

Walter (01:50):
It's so easy to do.

Shanea (01:51):
Yeah, and so, while you were talking to your sister,
while I was praying, what cameto me was idolatry, and that's
what he wanted us to speak about.
I'm like God is that what youwant us to?
Speak about.

Walter (02:02):
I like idolizing relationships speak about, oh my
god, is that what you want usto speak about, like idolizing
relationships?
And that's interesting because,uh, when we got back to the
house, just a whole bunch ofstuff just started kind of
flowing in oh yeah yeah, a wholebunch of stuff started flowing
was that when we got back to thehouse?
Yeah, because we, oh, we gotback and we started praying.

Shanea (02:24):
That's right.
We started praying and we werejust like, oh yeah, this is
exactly what God wants us totalk about, because everything
that was coming out of ourmouths was idolization.
And then it just kept going forthe last couple of days.
Yep.

Walter (02:38):
Yeah, especially this morning.

Shanea (02:41):
Yeah, for sure this morning?

Walter (02:48):
Yeah, for sure.
So, um, since God gave that toyou first, thing we always open
this up by prayer.
Uh, we are believers, as wealways state.
This podcast is not somethingthat we created because we
wanted to create it.
This podcast is something thatwas created because God told us
to.

Shanea (03:01):
Absolutely.

Walter (03:02):
And we did not want to do it.

Shanea (03:04):
Did not.

Walter (03:05):
And he kept making us aware of the importance of doing
what he says.

Shanea (03:08):
Yes, because he's God.

Walter (03:10):
Yes, okay.
So, babe, last time I opened itup in prayer, so we'll hand it
over to you.

Shanea (03:17):
All righty.
Father God, we thank you forthis day.
We thank you for your love,your grace and your mercy.
Father God, we thank you forall of our followers and
listeners.
Father God, we ask, father,that you will open up their eyes
, open up their hearts, so thatthey may be able to hear and
receive your word.
I pray that this word ofidolatry that we are speaking

(03:42):
about today will bless those whoneed to hear it, who need to
receive it, to destroy everyidol and put you first.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.

Walter (03:55):
Amen, amen, amen, amen.
A little bit longer.

Shanea (03:59):
Was it.

Walter (04:00):
But to God be the glory, to God be the glory.

Shanea (04:01):
You always talk about me .
You always talk about me beinglong.
I was going to go a littledeeper but I was like all right,
let me stop.

Walter (04:08):
You always talk about me being alone.
Okay, so let's start this off.
What is an idol?
So, an idol is anything thattakes the place of God in our
lives, including desires,cultural values and mindsets,
including desires culturalvalues and mindsets.
It's so interesting because whenwe read the Bible, we think of

(04:29):
idols as being like these goldstatues or statues made of wood.
But it goes so much deeper thanthat and that's one of the
things that God was dealing withme on and you when we were
discussing this earlier thisweek that idols could actually
be a mindset, an idea yeah, youcan make an idea an idol yeah,

(04:51):
anything could be an idol,anything that, um, you place
above god or you consult with ordo before you consult with god.

Shanea (05:01):
So that's you consult with God.
So that's shoot everything.

Walter (05:05):
Yeah, it's literally so we have here.
Of course, it's not justphysical objects, it can be
desires, it can be thoughts orpeople that we elevate above God
, so anything like you said thatwe elevate above God.

Shanea (05:23):
It's essentially an idol .
God, it's essentially an idol.
Yeah, well, it's uh uh what'sthe?
Word.
It's like a, a manifestation ofof what those gods represent.
So like money.
The god of the god of money ismammon.
You're worshiping an idol.

Walter (05:37):
That's the idol, that's the god but you don't realize it
if you esteem your career or acertain uh financial status or a
certain amount of money thatyou want to achieve, and I've
been there above god, that'syour idol, yeah so, even as we
speak on these things, these arethings that we've struggled
with in the past.
We didn't realize it yeahbecause, once again, we we

(05:59):
discuss this all the time.
Culture teaches, teaches youthat it's okay to, it's okay to
pursue those things, that youshould be someone who desires to
set goals.
You should be someone that goesafter a better lifestyle.
You should be someone that goafter a better career and being
in this relationship and beingand getting married and all of

(06:21):
these different things.
But at the end of the day Iheard that at the end of the day
, from the biblical perspectivewe don't realize that culture
teaches us to idolize things.
So where do we begin, babe,with this?
Because there's so much goodstuff that I guess we can start

(06:45):
at the beginning uh, or we areum we've explained the
definition of idols.
Um, I want to dig into yeah,actually let's, and we've dug
into that too.
First, first and foremost, wehave so much information.

(07:06):
We do as we were going throughthis, god was just like
downloading so much stuff andit's the same thing as it was
with Relationship Covenants Likethis could be multiple episodes
because of all of theinformation.
So it was really like God,provide us with wisdom on how to
narrow this down, because it'sso much that we're trying to

(07:27):
cram into our podcast.
So I think we'll start off withthe spiritual dangers
associated with making idols outof relationships or making
relationships our primary focus,because this is a relationship
podcast.
Yeah.
So you want to go ahead and goto Exodus 21 through 6.

(07:49):
Do you have that pulled up ordo you want me to read it?

Shanea (07:52):
I don't.
You said where are we going?

Walter (07:54):
Exodus 20.
One through six.

Shanea (08:00):
Exodus 20.

Walter (08:02):
One through six.
I have it pulled up.
You want me to read.

Shanea (08:06):
Oh yeah, sure, but what Go ahead?

Walter (08:12):
We are under part one, segment one what is an idol?
Exodus 21 through 6 is there.

Shanea (08:21):
Oh, okay, I see I didn't see it highlighted.
I'm sorry we're going to getthis together.

Walter (08:27):
The first commandment yeah, and it's the best way to
start yeah.
So Exodus 21 through six.
We'll read in the NLT version.
It says then God gave thepeople of all these instructions
.
I am the Lord, your God, whorescued you from the land of
Egypt, the place of your slavery.
You must not have any other Godbut me.
You must not make for yourselfan idol or any kind or an image

(08:50):
of anything in the heavens or onthe earth or in the sea.
You must not bow down to themor worship them, for I, the Lord
, your God, am a jealous God whowould not tolerate your
affection for any other gods.
I lay the sins of the parentsupon their children.
The entire family is affectedeven children in the third and

(09:13):
fourth generation of those whoreject me.
But I lavish unfailing love fora thousand generations on those
who love me and obey mycommands.
Yeah.
So here's the thing.
The challenge that we have,right is this right here, we
believe that the covenants nolonger apply to us, right?

Shanea (09:39):
Right.

Walter (09:40):
We believe that the new covenant.

Shanea (09:44):
They teach us to believe .
Yeah.

Walter (09:45):
The new covenant did away with everything else.

Shanea (09:48):
Yeah, but it did not that Jesus did away with the law
.

Walter (09:52):
He didn't.
Jesus came to fulfill the law.

Shanea (09:54):
He came to fulfill the law.

Walter (09:55):
And so, and we're jumping ahead.

Shanea (09:58):
Yeah.

Walter (09:58):
But that's not the case.
The biggest thing that we seethat took place with Christ,
with his death, burial andresurrection, is that he came to
reconcile man back to God.
So once you accept him as yourLord and Savior and believe it

(10:19):
in your heart and you have faith, what that is?
The Bible says Jesus statedthat he's the stairway.
He's the stairway to God, andso he allows us to have that
relationship with God, placingus back in right standing with
God as we go through the process.
What they would say, is work outyour salvation work out your

(10:39):
own salvation through a life ofholiness, consecration and
sanctification, through a lifeof holiness, consecration and
sanctification.
But these covenants that Godset in place.

Shanea (10:52):
They still stand.
They still stand.

Walter (10:54):
Yeah, we talked about this in the last episode, and so
I think that's really importantthat we touch on that.
So this covenant that Godstated and it's so, there's
people that don't believe ingenerational curses, right, but
the scriptures just said itexists.
God said that it would go uponyour children, your children,

(11:14):
children, the curses that'sassociated with you idolizing,
making an idol out of something,placing something above God or
before God.
Yeah, and Jesus came to fulfillthe law, so without him, those

(11:35):
curses ain't going to be broken,and cultural right Idolize
relationships.
Yes.
They idolize marriage.
Yes, they idolize relationshipsin general.

Shanea (11:48):
Yeah, if we're talking about relationships, yeah, you
get the wife, uh, wife orhusband for women, a lot of
women, many, it's like that's,that's, that's the goal yeah,
that is the goal, specificallywomen.
Yeah, you're taught for that tobe your goal yeah, I mean we're
taught that because that's whatwe watch that's what you watch
all the disney chant, all thedisney toys they make, yeah

(12:09):
that's the toys you're brought,the cartoons, the movies,
everything basically teaches youto make an idol.
Everything is centered aroundbeing in a relationship yes, and
so it's.
So, then, like back in the day,like you weren't anything if
anyone didn't marry you.

Walter (12:26):
It was like frowned upon .
So what's interesting to me isand you got this earlier this
week, but what God was sayingbefore, he was essentially
saying that we literally don'trealize.
But the very idea of marriageand relationship can become an

(12:46):
idol, or has become an idol.
The thought or the ideaassociated with the idea of
relationship and marriage isbecoming an idol within our
hearts.
Yeah, the idea.
Yeah, the idea.
You're not even married yet.

Shanea (13:00):
It's just the idea of being in a relationship can be
an idol, because you're puttingeverything, you're doing any and
everything to get that withoutconsulting God.
So, you're putting yourself insituations and doing things you
should not be doing.
That goes contrary to God'sword, god's law, and that is an

(13:26):
idol.

Walter (13:27):
Yeah.

Shanea (13:28):
That is an idol, because now you're making marriage a
God.
You're worshiping it with yourbody, with your finances, with
your thoughts, and then you makethat person a God.

Walter (13:40):
Yeah, james 4, 1 through 8.
What is causing the quarrelsand fights among you?
Don't they come from the evildesires at war within you?
You want what you don't have,so you scheme and kill to get it

(14:00):
.
You are jealous of what othershave, but you can't get it, so
you fight and wage war to takeit away from them.
Yet you don't have what youwant because you don't ask God
for it.
And even when you ask, youdon't get it because your
motives are all wrong.
Right, you want only what willgive you pleasure.

Shanea (14:16):
Right.
So even if we stop there,you're asked.
Marriage is something that weshould naturally desire, because
God said that we should not bealone, and there are plenty of
men and women praying and askingGod to give them a partner.
But why?
Why?

Walter (14:37):
We see the original design and we have to always go
back to that, because this iswhat Jesus came to fulfill.
Bring us back to the originaldesign.
Bring us back to that, becausethis is what Jesus came to
fulfill.
Bring us back to the originaldesign.
Bring us back to Genesis 2.
Yeah, what's your reason?

Shanea (14:49):
for getting married.
Is it just for because a lot oftimes we see a lot of people
get married for selfish reasons?

Walter (14:54):
It can be For their own pleasure.

Shanea (14:56):
Like I need someone to help me with my business.

Walter (15:00):
I need someone to help me with my finances.

Shanea (15:02):
I don't want to be alone .
I need someone to help me withmy finances.
I don't want to be alone.
I need someone I can build with.

Walter (15:06):
Or an even greater one.
I have trauma from my childhood, so I want someone and need
someone to help me give thatchild what I never had Because I
never dealt with the healingprocess of becoming whole.
I never went through theprocess of allowing God to heal
me.
So now I need someone who I canbi-curiously live my life

(15:30):
through and help me createchildren so I can live my life.

Shanea (15:35):
Or create a lifestyle that I've never had.
I create a lifestyle that I seeother people have.

Walter (15:41):
That's a big one that people do.
Yeah, people get marriedbecause of lifestyles and so
lifestyle change.

Shanea (15:47):
And, that said, I don't lend itself.

Walter (15:50):
And James said that you have to be mindful of this,
because your motives are wrong,so you're not going to get it.

Shanea (15:55):
So you have all these people out here praying and
asking for God to give them aspouse, and it's not coming.
So now you're going out of yourway, out of your way, out of
your way, out of God's way, andin doing whatever you can do to
make this happen.

Walter (16:11):
You don't realize that the enemy is there as well.
So he sends someone your wayand you're so desperate to be
with someone because that'sbecome an idol that you get into
something God never intendedfor you to get into.

Shanea (16:25):
Yeah.

Walter (16:26):
And it's only the enemy's desire, because the
greatest thing and we talkedabout this earlier today on the
phone the enemy wants to takeour time.
Yes, he desires to take ourtime.
Yeah, but we don't understand,and the scripture lets us know
this.
You can research it, and I mean, I guess, if we have to, we
could put it in the footnotes.

(16:46):
But everyone knows the fall ofSatan Believers at least, you do
.
But what we don't realize, andthis is what the Holy Spirit
placed in my spirit, he wasdealing with me on in 2023,.

(17:13):
The beginning of 2023,.
He said that what people don'trealize is that the enemy was
there prior and during thecreation of everything he was
there, prior to this whole worldbeing set in place.
Yeah, he was there as Godcreated everything, which is why
he was able to go and influenceEve within the Garden of Eden,
and so the thing about it is theenemy is what he existed with

(17:34):
God, and he exists with Godoutside of time.
He's a part of the heavenlyrealm.

Shanea (17:39):
Yeah, and he knows.
God gave us free will which isnot really free will, but he
gave us options to choose, andso if the enemy can influence
your thoughts on who and whatyou should choose, then he got
you.

Walter (17:55):
Or if he can get you to think on something so much that
you esteem it above God or placeit above God.

Shanea (18:01):
he got you Because he knows that, or make you think
that you can be your own God.

Walter (18:05):
Yes, yes, make yourself an idol, and that's so good.
Yeah.
Make yourself an idol.
Make your own choices an idol.
Make the decisions you make anidol over God.
Right.
We have, so people listen to us.
We have to get out of thisplace and this mindset of

(18:27):
picking and choosing where wewant Jesus to be our Lord.
Right.
We talk about this all the time.
We have to get out of that,because that is something that's
very dangerous.
We get into the space of sayingI want you to be my Lord and
Savior over these particularthings, and that's something
else that God was dealing withme on, with you and I.
There were some things that Godwas revealing to me earlier on,

(18:54):
prior to us coming backtogether, and he dealt with me
because he was saying that I wasstruggling with the idea.
Right, I was struggling withthe idea.
And God was saying to me thatyou still haven't given that
over to me, and I'm like whathe's like.

(19:15):
You haven't given that over tome.
And he started to play backevery instance in my mind of me
saying, yeah, I've accepted thefact that you've called me to be
with her, but the instances ofsaying, you know, but maybe,
maybe I could do this.
Well, god, if you did this, youdid that, and it was like it

(19:37):
wasn't.
I didn't rest in it.
Resting in it is like, okay,god said this is so, so that
becomes your yes.
So, whenever you speak about it, this is my wife, whenever you
speak about it, this is what Godhas called me to and you stand
firm on that.
With Mary, we saw the exampleof her right she, immediately
after the angel told her whatwas going to take place, she
said let it be so.

Shanea (19:56):
And the.

Walter (19:56):
Bible says immediately that she was pregnant.

Shanea (19:58):
She was impregnated.

Walter (20:00):
And so what God was saying to me is with us, a lot
of times will take place isbecause we don't accept it and
we don't walk in it.
We stop him from being able tomove in that area of our lives,
and so he loves us so much.
To basically try to get us tothe point of understanding, I
need you to accept my perfectwill within this particular area

(20:23):
of your life.
Right, so I can give to youwhat I have for you?
Yeah, but you're stopping itand the enemy deceives us
because we think we've acceptedit, but we haven't.
No, we've partially acceptedthe idea.

Shanea (20:35):
Yeah.

Walter (20:35):
Which stops God from doing what it is that God wants
to do?

Shanea (20:38):
Right, because we have a lack of faith.

Walter (20:39):
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, it boils .
It boils down to a lack offaith.
It also boils down to a mindsetof you still, because in that
instance and in that moment, Istill wanted to do what I wanted
to do, right.
I wanted to do what I wanted todo Because you've been told
that you should do what you wantto do yes, but then it was like
it was self-righteous at thesame time, because it's like but
I've accepted it.
Yes, that's yes, that's whatGod said.

(21:01):
It is so, but God knows ourheart.

Shanea (21:04):
Right, your mind was still saying I don't know about
this.
But I'm going to do it becauseyou said so.

Walter (21:10):
Exactly.
So we have to really get pastthe point of picking and
choosing, where we want to makeGod our Lord and Savior and give
him everything we literallyhave to lay down our life and
die yeah.
Die to ourselves.
Yeah, so, um, that starts outwith uh letting us know in the

(21:33):
beginning, the uh firstcommandment, right where it all
began god don't want us to haveany idols right and he tells us
what happens with idols.
So we move on, babe.
Um, you were looking at ezekiel.
You want to read that?

Shanea (21:49):
yeah, ezekiel, um 14 through 16, read what all of it
you can.

Walter (22:00):
You can summarize it if you want, um you can you know,
because it's a lot.

Shanea (22:05):
Well, I mean.

Walter (22:06):
We can, let's see.

Shanea (22:08):
So right here we're, hold on, let me pull Ezekiel up.

Walter (22:12):
Because we do have a breakdown.
We got Ezekiel 14, 3 through 5.
Ezekiel 16, 15.
Ezekiel 14 through 16.

Shanea (22:19):
I just got so much revelation reading that on
idolatry.
Hold on, let me pull it up.
Ezekiel 14, right?

(22:54):
So ezekiel 14 starts withidolatry of israel's leaders,
and so I have here, note ezek,ezekiel 14, 3 through 5.
And they go to a prophet askingfor a message.
So I, the Lord, will give themthe kind of answer their great
idolatry deserves.
I will do this to capture theminds and hearts of all my
people who have turned from meto worship their detestable

(23:17):
idols.
And so that last part lets usknow that when we create idols,
it creates a barrier between usand God.
It separates us from Godbecause he says, right here,
you've turned away from mebecause you're worshiping
something right.

(23:37):
And then Ezekiel 16, this wasthe meat, meaty part 15 through
16.

Walter (23:48):
Yeah, verse 15 through 16 chapter 16, verse 15 and as
we're going through this, um,read all of this.
Yes, because this is some goodstuff.
Read everything, I mean I I gotcaught up in reading this
morning and I just couldn't stop.
And it's so much it's like it'shard to pull out particular

(24:08):
scriptures out of it or verses,because all of it is just kind
of it's a lot to take in.

Shanea (24:14):
Yeah.
So Ezekiel, I'm not.
I'm not going to read the wholething cause it's kind of long,
um, or it's not that really long.
But ezekiel 15 says but youthought your fame and beauty
were your own, so you gaveyourself as a prostitute to

(24:37):
every man who came along.
Your beauty was theirs for theasking.
You used the lovely things Igave you to make shrines for
idols where you played theprostitute Unbelievable.
How could such a thing everhappen?
So it's like what was placed onme is that God created.

(25:03):
If you go back, go back a fewverses.
God talks about how, and thisis it's titled the unfaithful
wife.

Walter (25:12):
Ezekiel talking about yeah.
It's titled the unfaithful wifebut it's God talking to him,
yeah.

Shanea (25:19):
But God was saying that you were naked and I grew I.
Basically, I grew you, I grewyou, I grew your breasts, I grew
every part of you.
I grew you, I grew your breasts, I grew every part of you.
I grew the hair on your headand I clothed you.
I clothed you in the finestlinen, I clothed you with
jewelry.
I gave you fame, I gave youfortune, I gave you money, I fed

(25:42):
you.
It's like it goes back to I fedyou, and now you're using all
these things that I gave you togive to somebody else to worship
another god.

Walter (25:57):
that's adultery that's what the children your body they
did that in the, the wilderness.
They did that when he deliveredthem from egypt.
They took everything that hehad, that that the e, the
Egyptians.
They blessed them with rightand they carved out gold statues
to commemorate the gods thatthey worshiped in Egypt.

Shanea (26:18):
Yeah, yeah, we act like unfaithful spouses.
That's what I got down here,and what I wrote is that,
instead of seeking God'sguidance, we make decisions that
glorify idols, leading tospiritual adultery.

(26:38):
As a bride of Christ, we arecalled to remain faithful to him
, yet we often act likeunfaithful spouses, spiritual
adultery.
Yeah.

Walter (26:44):
Committing adultery against Christ.

Shanea (26:46):
He loved us, he nurtured us, he adorned us.
But we use all these gifts tochase after false gods.
Mm-hmm, he loved us, henurtured us, he adorned us, but
we use all these gifts to chaseafter false gods, just like a
prostitute.

Walter (26:57):
Not only do we do that, we try to find scriptures or we
try to justify what we're doing.
We try to justify and say, okay, well, grace is there, grace is
there to help us through this.
He knows we struggle with this.
He knows that this is astruggle of ours.
But the Bible lets us know.
I believe in Romans 8, all ofRomans.

(27:19):
It touches on the fact thatChrist came to free us.
The Spirit of God it frees usfrom the power of sin, that
we're no longer bound to sin.
We're no longer bound to ourfleshly desires.
It's you choosing to be led bythe spirit of God so you could
be freed from your idols.
One of the things that God wasdealing with me on this morning

(27:41):
is that the wilderness part ofthe wilderness experience we
talked about, I think we done.
Did we touch on that before?
I feel like we did.
Going through the wildernessexperience oh yeah, I think we
did.
Did we touch on that before?
I feel like we did.
Going through the wildernessexperience.

Shanea (27:52):
Oh yeah, we talk about it all the time.

Walter (27:54):
Yeah, because, of course , after Jesus received the Holy
Spirit, the Bible lets us knowthat he was immediately ushered
in to the wilderness by the HolySpirit to fast for 40 days and
40 nights, the way he was alsotempted by the enemy.
And then God brought back to my, my attention this morning.

(28:15):
He brought back the children ofIsrael and how they were in the
wilderness.
And part of the reason, of thepart of the greatest thing with
the wilderness experience, orone of the greatest things is
letting go of those idols.
Yeah.
It's a process that God wants totake you through of letting go
of those idols.
Yeah, it's a process that Godwants to take you through of
letting go of those idols.

Shanea (28:34):
Yeah, I mean we're jumping ahead a little bit, but
we're just going to go with it.

Walter (28:39):
And so I'll leave it at that, because it's getting good.
It was good when you said it.

Shanea (28:46):
Yeah.

Walter (28:47):
It's like, oh my gosh, yes, yeah, no, it's a said it
yeah, like it's like.

Shanea (28:49):
Oh my gosh, yes, because yeah, no, like it, just like.
It was a great revelation.

Walter (28:52):
Yeah.

Shanea (28:53):
Because we use the wilderness season all the time
for a ton of different things,but when you really get to the
meat of it, it's literally justputting you in a place where you
have to rely on him.

Walter (29:07):
So it breaks down the fact that you had these gods
that you relied on before itremoved those gods, like you
stated, and it places you in aposition of totally relying on
the father.

Shanea (29:19):
I mean we can go ahead and talk about it.

Walter (29:22):
We already hear it.
No, let's continue, because youfound some good stuff in
Ezekiel.
I see you have Ezekiel 16, 38through 39 on here.
The consequences of idolatryWas that God's judgment upon
idolatry, allowing people toexperience the consequences of
their choices.
What is it that you found inEzekiel 16?

Shanea (29:46):
15 through 16?
Oh, 16 was basically talkingabout god's judgment.
Um, I will sentence you, uh, Iwill sentence you the punishment
of women who commit adulteryand who shed blood.
I will bring upon you the bloodvengeance of my wrath and
jealous anger.
Then I will deliver you intothe hands of your lovers and

(30:08):
they will tear down your moundsand destroy your lofty shrines
which is crazy, right here,right?
So when we talk about in thecontext of relationships you and
we already talked about howit's prostitution it's adultery.
Yes, because we use our bodies.

Walter (30:27):
Well, that's the other revelation that was given early
and I don't think it's in here.
Because we use our bodies Well.
That's the other revelationthat was given earlier and I
don't think it's in here.
But the other revelation thatGod gave to me earlier was what
that we don't realize that whenwe are having sex.
Right, you are literally.
It's the ultimate sacrifice.

Shanea (30:42):
Yes, your body.

Walter (30:43):
You're giving everything , all of yourself, to this idol.

Shanea (30:48):
Your body was created by God.
It is supposed to be a templeand an altar for God.
You're supposed to be in alikeness in the image of God.

Walter (30:55):
Especially post new covenant.
Yes, especially seeing that thespirit of God comes into well
within you.

Shanea (31:02):
So what disrespect prostitution?
What disrespect adultery?
What disrespect adultery?
What disrespect when we go outhere looking for a relationship
because we're supposed to?
God gave us the ability to, to,to know intuitively we're

(31:22):
supposed to be with someone.

Walter (31:26):
We're not supposed to be alone, right, but it starts
with the relationship with him.
Yeah, the first relationshipthat we should be focused on
growing and focusing on heavily,is the relationship with him.

Shanea (31:35):
Yeah, and that is the point.
But when we go outside of God'swill and we do what we want to
do, we get into some trouble.

Walter (31:47):
Yeah.

Shanea (31:47):
We get into a lot of trouble.
We get into a lot of we getinto a lot of trouble.
We become adulterers of God,and I'm going to keep saying it
because I thought it was justsuch a great revelation this
morning that we commit adulteryagainst God, spiritual adultery,
because he gave us life and weuse it.
We're using our life to lift upsomeone else.

Walter (32:09):
Well, you know what comes to mind, to mind as you
touched on that Ezekiel 8 and 9that I was reading this morning,
and it's a lot, but I just wantto read some points on here, or
read some of this.
Let's start at verse 2.
And this is basically anencounter that Ezekiel had with
a vision from God.

(32:30):
I was taken to the north gateof the inner court of the temple

(32:54):
where there is a large idolthat has made God very jealous.
Suddenly, the glory of the Godof Israel was there, just as I
had seen it before in the valley.
Then the Lord said to me Son ofman, look toward the north.
So I looked, and there to thenorth, beside the entrance, said
to me son of man, look towardthe north.
So I looked in.
There to the north, beside theentrance to the gate, near the
altar, stood the idol that hadmade the Lord jealous.

(33:16):
Let's skip down, because let'sread this.
We're going to read the son ofman, he said do you see what
they are doing?
Do you see the detestable sins?
The people of Israel arecommitting to drive me from my
temple, but come and you willsee even more detestable sins.
The people of Israel arecommitting to drive me from my
temple, but come and you willsee even more detestable sins
than these.
Skip down to verse 9.
Go in, he said, and see thewicked and detestable sins they

(33:38):
are committing in there.
So I went in and saw the wallscovered with engravings of all
kinds of crawling animals anddetestable creatures.
I also saw the various idolsworshipped by the people of
Israel.
Seventy leaders of Israel werestanding there with Jehazaniah,
son of Safran, in the center.

(33:59):
Each of them held an incenseburner, from which a cloud of
incense rose above their heads.
Then the Lord said to me, sonof man, have you seen the
leaders of Israel?
Have you seen what the leadersof Israel are doing with their
idols in dark rooms?
They are saying the Lorddoesn't see us, he has deserted
our land.
Went further down, then theLord added come and I will show

(34:23):
you even more detestable sinsthan these.
He brought me to the north gateof the Lord's temple and some
women were sitting there weepingfor the God of Tamas.
Have you seen this?
He asked.
But I will show you even moredetestable things.
And God kept showing themsituation after situation.
He talked about how, even at thealtar, they were having idols

(34:47):
all throughout the temple of God, even into the holies of holies
, and verse I mean in chapternine touches on the fact that he
destroyed them.
It goes into the fact that hemarked the heads of those and
anyone that did not carry thatmark.
They were taken out.
Women, children, men, everybodywere taken out because of

(35:11):
idolization.
Yeah.
And so what we don't understandand this digs into what you
were talking about we are nowthe temples of God.

Shanea (35:19):
Yes.

Walter (35:20):
Right.
We are now the temples of God.
Yeah.
First Corinthians, just forscriptural reference.
I believe that is 1 Corinthians3, 16 through 17.
Right, and I'll read that realquick and then get your thoughts
on it, babe.

Shanea (35:37):
Oh, I didn't even know you had that in there.

Walter (35:39):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
1 Corinthians.
What is that?
I had that in there because wehad to put that in so people
could know that this, you nowbecame the temple.
Yeah.
You now became the temple.
So three, let me see.
So this says right here,beginning at verse 16.

(36:02):
Don't you realize that all ofyou together are the temple of
God?
And the spirit of God lives inyou.
together are the temple of God,and the spirit of God lives in
you.
God will destroy anyone whodestroys this temple, for God's
temple is holy and you are thattemple.
We're the temple we are.

(36:26):
So if the spirit of God dwellsin us and we are creating idols
in our heart, what does thatmean?
And we keep forgetting that.
God is still God.
We misconstrue God and Jesus.

Shanea (36:47):
Yeah, we get the two confused sometimes.

Walter (36:49):
They're one, but they're different offices.

Shanea (36:51):
Yes, you have the head, head which is God, god who is
holy?
Yes, and then you have.

Walter (36:57):
Jesus.
You have Jesus, who is also God, the Son.

Shanea (36:59):
Who is God the Son.

Walter (37:00):
But he has compassion to say listen, I died for him.

Shanea (37:03):
But they're two separate .

Walter (37:04):
They are two separate entities, but they are one
entity, it's literally Jesussitting there trying to remind
God, god, I died for this.
It's God being like.
You see what they're doingright now.
Right, even the heavens is likeyou see what they're doing
right now.
Jesus is there basically sayingI died.

Shanea (37:20):
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I died for this.
Yeah, you can get to a point towhere even Jesus is looking
like bro.
Don't do this again.
Don't do this again.

Walter (37:31):
Don't do this again, and so I think that's the issue,
when you understand that you arenow in the temple of God.
When you do things as far asidolizing things and, even worse
, sex outside of marriage or sexin marriage with someone God
never intended for you to bewith, you are literally creating
sacrifices towards other gods.

Shanea (37:50):
Yes, when you put something, you idolize something
so much, or you want somethingso much that you will do
anything to get it.
That is an idol, because youneed to be doing anything
impossible.

Walter (38:05):
You would even send up prayers.

Shanea (38:07):
To get yeah.

Walter (38:08):
You would even send up prayers To get.
Yeah, you would even send upprayers, I'm serious.
You would even send up prayersbegging God to bless you with
anybody, somebody, something,when the reality is all you have
to do is focus on him and hegot you Because he already has a
plan for you.

Shanea (38:27):
He already.
He said it in the beginningit's not good for me to be alone
.
I'm going to make you a helper.

Walter (38:33):
It's so dangerous because we have to be really
careful, because when you dothat and you get whatever, this
person is especially someoneoutside of God.
Now you have a person thatbecomes your God.

Shanea (38:49):
Yeah, now you have a person that becomes your God.
Yeah, you have a person thatbecomes your God and God will
allow you to continue to be inour relationship.
I mean, you will deal with theconsequences.
It says it right here, ezekiel16, 15, 16, 16, specifically
that, um, you will experiencethe consequences of your choices

(39:10):
and he will lead you right intothe hands of your very idols,
only so that you can feel shameand humiliation.
That's Ezekiel 61 through 63.
Those who turn away from Godeventually face shame and
humiliation as their idols, failthem, leaving them empty and

(39:32):
broken.
And that's why there's so manypeople out here, broken and
empty, empty and broken becauseyou fell into the arms of
another God.

Walter (39:45):
And what was that?
We were reading it today and itwas a scripture.
I think you saw the scripture.
What.
Where it was talking aboutchoose you this day.
What scripture is that?
Choose you this day, who youwill serve.

Shanea (40:02):
Oh, that should be in the notes, right?
I don't know.

Walter (40:12):
That is because I want I think that's really important
to let people know you have a.

Shanea (40:18):
Is that Joshua?

Walter (40:19):
It's Joshua 24.
Joshua 14 through 15.

Shanea (40:22):
Yeah.

Walter (40:26):
I want to read that real quick to let people know you do
have a choice.
Joshua was speaking.
Joshua 24?
Mm-hmm.
Joshua was speaking, joshua 24.
Joshua stated here.
He said 14 in LT.
So fear the Lord and serve himwholeheartedly.
Put away forever the idols yourancestors worshiped when they
lived beyond the Euphratesrivers and in Egypt.

(40:48):
Serve the Lord alone.
But if you refuse to serve theLord, then choose today whom you
will serve.
Will you prefer the gods ofyour ancestors serve beyond the
Euphrates or will it be the godsof the Amorites in whose land
you now live?
But as for me and my family, wewill serve the Lord.

(41:11):
Yeah, you got a choice, you canchoose.

Shanea (41:16):
But for me and mine, we're going to serve the Lord
Because we don't want anyproblems.

Walter (41:23):
Okay, we Gucci.

Shanea (41:24):
We good over here we.

Walter (41:25):
Gucci, we Gucci, and it's really this the Bible talks
about the law being written onyour heart, right?
The baba also touches on thefact that, uh, and there's so
much stuff that we can dig into,so um, we can really go deep
into all of this we can just doa whole video on ezekiel alone

(41:47):
yeah, because, um, it was sayingthis because and this is Romans
2.
Romans 2 referred to the lawbeing written on your heart.
We're saying this because a lotof people argue that Jesus came
and he did away with the law.

Shanea (42:00):
No, but he even said he didn't come to do away with the
law.

Walter (42:03):
No.

Shanea (42:03):
He came to fulfill the law.

Walter (42:05):
Yep, that's Matthew 5, 17 through 19.
Let's read that, because Godgave me a revelation on that too
, and listen, we, we all aboutthe scripture.

Shanea (42:16):
Yeah.

Walter (42:17):
It's just really our thing is, as we read the
scripture, the biggest thing welook at is like allowing the
Holy Spirit to really speak toyou, because outside of the Holy
Spirit, I don't know what I'mreading.
I'm just serious.
I don't know how you read thescripture without the Holy
Spirit.

Shanea (42:33):
Right.

Walter (42:34):
When the whole Bible was inspired.
By the Holy Spirit.
Yeah, I don't know how you doit, you don't know what you read
and it seems like foreign stuff.
But compared to when I used toread the scripture when I was a
quote unquote Christian andbefore my true conversion, my
encounter with the Holy spirit,my encounter with God.
I didn't know what I wasreading.
I was just reading.

Shanea (42:55):
Yeah, you was reading like repetitively so that you
can remember what it is that theBible says.
But now you're reading it andit's, it's, it's life to you.

Walter (43:05):
It's a revelation.

Shanea (43:06):
Yeah.

Walter (43:07):
It comes out.

Shanea (43:08):
It literally a revelation.

Walter (43:09):
Yeah, it comes out.
It literally is food.
I told you it was so crazyInitially when my encounter
started back in 2022, I wouldread the scripture and my spirit
that was intertwined with thespirit of God would jump.
I can't explain it, but itwould jump at the scripture.

Shanea (43:25):
Yeah.

Walter (43:25):
As I read the scripture, it would jump.

Shanea (43:27):
Yeah.

Walter (43:28):
It was so crazy, yeah, even when I started reading it
it would jump.

Shanea (43:29):
Yeah, and like it was just like it was so crazy.
Yeah, like even when I startedreading it, I'm like why am I
crying?
I'm crying reading readingJesus's crucifixion.
I'm crying.

Walter (43:37):
All of that I'm crying.
It's an encounter, because itmade me realize that the
scripture is truly alive.

Shanea (43:44):
It's alive.
It's like when I'm reading this, I'm I'm feeling all the
emotions.
I'm like I don't even know I'mcrying and I'm like this is
crazy.
I think I was reading a passagefrom jeremiah one time and I'm
like I don't even know why I'mcrying, but that's the same
thing I was reading the uh, likeyou said, the crucifixion of
jesus, like everything he wasgoing through yeah the garden of
gethsemane and all of thatstuff and it was literally

(44:05):
breathing me, I.

Walter (44:07):
It was, but it wasn't like emotions.
It was coming from within.

Shanea (44:11):
Yeah.

Walter (44:12):
Like my spirit was crying out yeah.
My spirit was crying out forwhat he was going through, and
so you can't read the scriptures, please.

Shanea (44:23):
And we pray that you will get to experience.

Walter (44:27):
And encounter the Holy Spirit.

Shanea (44:29):
Man.

Walter (44:30):
Encounter God in such a life changing way, because it's
nothing greater.

Shanea (44:34):
No, it's the greatest miracle.
It is.
It's the greatest miracle.
People don't tell you that andthey just tell you to read your
Bible, but they don't.
They don't know, they don'thave the Holy Spirit living in
them.
People are going to disagreewith this.

Walter (44:46):
They're going to disagree with this, but when I
started my encounter with God,god had me, not people.
God had me because I didn't getsaved.
I didn't rededicate my life, orI believe, truly get saved in a
church or anything.
It happened in my apartment,with me and just God.
It happened in my apartmentwith me and God, and so one of

(45:08):
the first things that he had medoing, he had me praying.
I was praying.
I didn't even realize at thetime I was travailing.
I was birthing something forthin the spirit.
The Bible touches on that.
I found scriptures.
I didn't even know what I wasdoing at the time until I found
a scripture later on and I didresearch and I'm like, oh my
gosh, I was travailing, I waslistening to worship music.

(45:29):
Finally, it got to the point ofGod saying you need to get word
in you.
And as I began to read the word, it hit differently now,
because now the spirit of Godwas alive, my spirit was alive,
and so the word, as I read it,it was just coming up off the
pages and revelations were justflowing and it became life and I

(45:52):
could hear the Spirit of Godspeaking and I can hear Him
providing revelation afterrevelation and scriptures from
the Old Testament tied to theNew Testament, and he would take
me to scriptures and be likethis is what I meant and this is
what I was saying and I couldsee the revelation.
And then, on top of that, whenI started listening to different
leaders who actually have arelationship with God, they

(46:13):
started saying the same thingsthat God was telling me, only
confirming what God was sayingto me.

Shanea (46:17):
Yeah, and then it's like when you went back and listened
to the people that you werelistening to prior to your
conversion.

Walter (46:22):
You realize they didn't know what you realize they
didn't know what was I listeningto.
And they're missing out on somuch greatness, so much
greatness, but let's get back tothis, okay, because we're
geeking out.

Shanea (46:33):
Yeah.

Walter (46:34):
Did we?
do that, quite a bit yes,matthew 5, 17.
This is Jesus speaking.
This is the NLT version.
Don't misunderstand why I havecome.
I did not come to abolish thelaw of Moses or the writings of
the prophets.
No, I came to accomplish theirpurpose.
I tell you the truth untilheaven and earth disappear, not

(46:57):
even the smallest detail ofGod's law would disappear, until
its purpose is achieved, right.
So if you ignore the leastcommandment and teach others to
do the same, you will be calledthe least in the kingdom of
heaven.
Yes, but anyone who obeys God'slaws and teaches them them will
be called great in the kingdomof heaven.

(47:18):
When I was reading this and I Itied this into the other
scripture what God was droppingin my spirit and what he said to
me is that Jesus cameessentially to give us the power
needed by the spirit of God tokeep the law.

Shanea (47:34):
Right, because we couldn't do it in our own
strength.

Walter (47:36):
No, and what that ties into that scripture because that
came up afterwards is Romanseight, one through four, and
Romans eight, one through 4 saysthis Romans 8.
You want to read it, baby?
You want me to do it?

Shanea (47:54):
You got it because I.

Walter (47:56):
So Romans 8, 1 through 4 , says this.
So now there is no condemnationfor those who belong to Christ
Jesus, and because you belong tohim, the power of the life
giving spirit has freed you fromthe power of sin that leads to
death.
The law of Moses was unable tosave us because of the weakness
of our sinful nature, so God didwhat the law could not do he

(48:37):
sent his own son in a body likethe bodies we sinners have, and
in that body God declared an endto sin's control over us by
giving his son as a sacrificefor our sins.
Right Romans 8, paul isessentially saying, and all
throughout Romans, that theSpirit of God has now given us
the power, or provided us withthe power, to be free from this
power of sin.

(48:58):
Yeah.
The power that sin had over ourlives.
Right, he literally came togive us the power to infuse the
law with the power as we accepthim.
Yeah, so that we're able toliterally fulfill the law.

Shanea (49:17):
The law still stands.

Walter (49:20):
It still stands.
The only difference is betweenthose who are religious versus
those who have a relationshipwith the father.
Those who are religious, theystill rely on their own works.
Those who have a relationshipunderstand that it is only by
faith in Jesus Christ, faiththrough the relationship, faith

(49:40):
through the Holy Spirit, thatyou're able to fulfill the law.

Shanea (49:43):
Yeah, they rely on their own works and then, when they
don't have a solution for yourproblem, it's like that's normal
and it's not, and it's so, it'sso they write it off as oh,
that's normal, that's normalbehavior.
You're gonna feel like that.

Walter (49:57):
You're gonna be like that you're supposed to struggle
with these desires?

Shanea (50:01):
you're supposed to struggle with these desires?

Walter (50:03):
and I'm telling you it's , I've been there, we've been
there, we've dealt with it.
Yeah, I'm telling you thisbecause I know the life prior
when I was trying to make myselfrighteous by keeping the laws.
Yeah, it is impossible it'simpossible.
You will fail because it wasnever meant to be something that

(50:25):
you did out of your ownstrength.
God knew this.
The whole bible shows usexample after example after
example of this family.

Shanea (50:34):
They tried, they failed, time after time after time.
That's why we have Jesus Christ.

Walter (50:38):
It was not enough animals that could be sacrificed
to make up for the amount ofsin they did, because we are in
a world full of sin, where theenemy is the prince of this
world.
It's not enough world.
Yeah, it's not enough animals,no, it's not enough sacrificial
offerings.

Shanea (50:53):
No, it's not enough animals, because then you have
to sacrifice.
Then you start sacrificingpeople.
Yeah, and that's what they didfor those other gods they
started sacrificing children.
Mm-hmm.

Walter (51:07):
So Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice to provide us
with the power that we neededby way of the Holy Spirit, once
we believe and we accept him asour Lord and Savior, to be able
to fulfill the law through him.

Shanea (51:20):
Yeah, because we couldn't kill people Through
faith in him.
That's called murder.

Walter (51:23):
Why are you still on that?
I know I was just thinkingabout it.
Yeah, because we couldn't faithin him.
That's called murder.

Shanea (51:25):
Why are you still on that?

Walter (51:25):
I know, I was just, I was just thinking about it so,
um, and you said the word thatwe're not supposed to be saying
oh dang, you're supposed tounalive so we're gonna let that
be okay, unalive, all right, so,um, that's good we can't say it
we're not gonna get sidetracked.

(51:47):
So we've that's a lot that we'vekind of brought out.
Sheesh, that is a whole lot.
We've dealt with all of that.
We've dealt with theconsequences um, we've dealt
with a lot today.
We've went through a lot ofscriptures and I believe we've
done it in record time have we?

Shanea (52:05):
I mean, we could still keep going.
Where are we actually anyway?

Walter (52:09):
we've.
We went through a lot of stuff.
We've touched on a lot of stuff, have we?

Shanea (52:14):
I mean, we, we did kind of generalizely, general
generalizely generalize.

Walter (52:21):
I'm not taking that out either.
General Generalize.
We did kind of generalize somestuff, no, but I believe we've
given a lot of meat.
Yeah.
And the scriptures.
I believe is really importantthat you go back and just kind
of reflect on that.

Shanea (52:42):
Read those scriptures for yourself, yeah, and just go
back and really ask yourself amI idolizing marriage?

Walter (52:49):
that why I'm not married .
Is that why I'm still single?
Or um?
Am I married and idolizing mymarriage?
Yeah, you really have to.
Or what, in general, are youidolizing?
Am I idolizing my career?
Am I idolizing money?
Am I idolizing particular goals?
As believers, specifically, weknow that God comes first and we

(53:11):
can put nothing above him.

Shanea (53:16):
Even I'm not even going to get into that what I was
saying about like, even like theword, you know, like not
consulting with God but juststrictly, just going to
scripture and not having anunderstanding.

Walter (53:35):
You're not going to like that, but it is possible for
you to place.

Shanea (53:42):
esteem the word above God.

Walter (53:43):
There was something that it's like using his word
against him.
I have to find the man of Godthat said it.
It was so good.
He said you have to combine theword of God with the word of
God.
So you have the spoken word ofGod that you combine with the
scripture.
So a lot of times, even with us, for example, god will speak
something to us and later on wewill find that thing in the

(54:06):
scripture.

Shanea (54:07):
This happened today as we were going through it.

Walter (54:09):
God would speak things to me, he would speak things to
my wife and as he did thosethings, we found the scriptural
evidence to back up what Godsaid.
He would even just playscriptures or say a part of a
scripture in my ear or I wouldhear it in my spirit I'm sorry,
and I would find that scriptureand it would back everything up.
And so the two goes together,what my wife is saying, that we

(54:32):
have those out there.
And even I was that way.
I looked at the scripture and Ithought the scripture was the
end, all be all.
I did not prior.
I didn't prior prioritize myrelationship with God, because I
didn't know to prioritize myrelationship with God, because
no one told me, no one told me,hey, you're supposed to
prioritize your relationship,you should be encountering God.

(54:56):
It should not just be scripture.
You should be hearing from theHoly Spirit, should be providing
you with revelation from thescripture, because, if not,
you're no different than anybodyout any other.
Occult out here.
Right.
That have a Bible Right that'susing that said Bible.

Shanea (55:12):
Exactly.

Walter (55:13):
Because the occult does use scripture and, yes, satan
used scripture.

Shanea (55:17):
Yes.

Walter (55:17):
Satan gave scripture back to Jesus when he was trying
to get Jesus to fall duringJesus' 40-day fast.
Yeah.
He used scripture to try totempt Jesus.
He used it out of context.

Shanea (55:31):
Yeah, he misconstrued, it.

Walter (55:34):
Yes, he misconstrued it and then he used it out of
context, but he still usedscripture.

Shanea (55:41):
Yeah.

Walter (55:42):
So, scripture aside, I think the greatest way to put
that babe, scripture outside ofthe holy spirit can be very
dangerous yes, because you don'thave a revelation and you're
just reading it's the holyspirit that brings forth the
revelation.
Scripture outside or scriptureaside from the Holy Spirit can

(56:05):
be very dangerous.

Shanea (56:06):
Because now you're just looking at the law.

Walter (56:09):
And hear us.
We're not saying scripture isdangerous.

Shanea (56:12):
Yes.

Walter (56:13):
We're saying let me say this one more time because
there's going to be people inthe comment section Scripture
aside from the Holy Spirit isdangerous.
It is.
Because scripture Timothy letsus know, is inspired by the Holy
Spirit, is dangerous.
Because scripture Timothy, letsus know, is inspired by the
Holy Spirit.

Shanea (56:28):
Right, so if you don't have the Holy Spirit, it's like,
it's literally like a coded.
It's a coded book.

Walter (56:32):
It is a coded book.

Shanea (56:35):
We touched on this.

Walter (56:36):
In an episode previously , apostle Selman said what
there's the historical side ofscripture, there's the
theological side of scriptureand there's the spiritual side
of scripture, and most peopleonly go as far as the
theological side.
Yes, and we know that, and weknow Paul stated what the wisdom

(56:57):
of this world is foolishness incomparison to the wisdom of God
.
Paul was not in the world, paulwas a theologian.

Shanea (57:04):
He was a theologian and he was out here killing
Christians.

Walter (57:07):
He was a theologian, so he said that wisdom Unaliving
Christians.
Dang.
He said that wisdom.
You got to stop saying that.

Shanea (57:14):
I got to stop saying that.

Walter (57:16):
He said that wisdom is foolishness in comparison to the
wisdom of God.
So we have to understand thatit is really important that we
have the Holy Spirit, that weare baptized in the Holy Spirit,
so we can truly understandscripture.
Yeah.

(57:36):
We have to understand that.
It is very important that as weare going to leaders, they have
the Holy Spirit as they areteaching you scripture.
They have the Holy Spirit asthey are teaching you scripture.
They have a relationship withGod.
They have a changed life.
They show and display thecharacteristics of the Holy

(57:56):
Spirit.
You are where God has calledfor you to be.
So you don't have people outhere that's giving you tainted
word.
You don't have people out herethat's giving you word that's
been infused with their ownselfish desires.
You don't have people out herethat's using the word of God to

(58:18):
manipulate you, to get you to dowhat they want you to do.
What Nothing.
That is very important.
That is very important.
That is very important becausethe Bible is so powerful in the
wrong hands and the right hands.
That's good.

(58:39):
It's powerful in both.
It's just a greater level inthe right hands.
Yes, the Bible says what theword of God is a sword.

Shanea (58:55):
Yeah, I was just thinking.
You know, I always say thesword of the spirit is the word
of God.

Walter (59:00):
And what does it cut between?
It cuts between your flesh.
Yeah.
Your spirit and your soul.

Shanea (59:10):
Right, Flesh, spirit and soul.
I know it was flesh, but I knowwhat the other one was like.
I don't remember.

Walter (59:18):
I don't know why Siri was speaking just now.
Yeah, nobody's talking to her.
No, no, I don't know why sheanswered and so I'm trying to um
find that scripture.

Shanea (59:31):
It will um yeah, but as you were saying that, that
popped up my head.
The sword of spirit is word ofgod.
You know, I got that from bibleman.

Walter (59:39):
So if you have children, so that's Hebrews 4 and 12 and
Hebrews.
Hebrews in general and I'm notgoing to geek out Hebrews in
general is good.
Please read it please.
I love Hebrews.
There's so much good stuff inthere.
Hebrews is good, so Hebrewssays this, says this and this is

(01:00:11):
the NLT 4 and 12, for the wordof God is alive and powerful.
I love that, for the word ofGod is alive and powerful.
We just talked about this.
Yeah, we literally just said it,for the word of god is alive
and powerful.
It is sharper than the sharpesttwo-edged sword, cutting
between soul and spirit, betweenjoint and marrow.

(01:00:34):
Yeah, it exposes our innermostthoughts and desires.
Nothing in all creation ishidden from God.
Everything is naked and exposedbefore his eyes and he is the
one to whom we are accountableIn the right hands.

Shanea (01:00:54):
Yeah, because they can.
People can use it as a weaponagainst you.
It's still a sword.

Walter (01:01:01):
It's still a sword in the right hands, the word of God
is extremely powerful.
It is the greatest thing thatyou can do, if you're going to
be digging into this Bible, ishave a relationship with God.
No one who wrote it the one whowrote it the one who inspired

(01:01:27):
it you have to because if not,you are missing out.
So if we could leave you allwith anything, baby, what would
you leave them with?

Shanea (01:01:44):
I honestly, I really think like the most important
thing.
Idolizing a relationship or aperson is just one thing, but we
have tons of idols.
There are many things that weplace.
We place before God as apriority, and in order to

(01:02:14):
destroy these idols, we have togo through a wilderness season
of allowing God to remove thoseidols from us free us from those
idols from us.

Walter (01:02:27):
Free us from those idols and place us in a position
where we have total relianceupon him.
Yeah, we have to die to self.

Shanea (01:02:32):
Yeah, you have to die to self.
But, and the thing is, a lot ofpeople don't really understand
what the wilderness season is.
It literally is just you andGod.

Walter (01:02:42):
Nothing else.
No, because we see whathappened with the children of
Israel.
It was a bunch of it wasextended.

Shanea (01:02:50):
It was a lot of them, yeah, but they all had the same
mindset.
The only people that didn'thave the same mindset of them
was Moses, and whoever was veryclose to Moses.
Everybody else.
They got out of the wildernessthe minute Moses would leave
their behind.

Walter (01:03:05):
They would be quick to put an idol together.

Shanea (01:03:07):
Exactly so.
You can't be around the samepeople.
You can't be around the sameplaces.

Walter (01:03:13):
Yeah, you have to allow God to lead you, because if I
would have done some of thethings that I did myself, like
having to distance myself frompeople, I would not have been
able to do it because, forexample, my friends were my
family oh, absolutely so.

Shanea (01:03:29):
It was very family was your family yeah.

Walter (01:03:32):
Yet my friends were so close, same.
So when god um took me throughthat process of saying, no, you
got to cut all of this off.
He had to remove the desires toeven speak.
And there were moments whereI'm like, okay, god, can I at
least just tell him he's like no, yeah, and while I'm saying
this to say to remove thedesires to even speak, and there
were moments where I'm likeokay, can I at least just tell
him he's like no.

Shanea (01:03:47):
Yeah, and while I'm saying this to say that a lot of
people say they've gone or beenthrough a wilderness season,
but they're still doing andbeing in the same places.

Walter (01:03:57):
Yeah doing the same exact thing and part of going
through the wildernessexperience or the wilderness
season is he removes everything,and the scripture tells us is
that john?
I believe that's john, but ittouched on that when jesus left
the world.
It may be john.
I don't think it's mark.
It could be.
Um, which one is it it talkedabout when he?

(01:04:21):
It touched on the fact thatwhen Jesus left, he left with
the power of God.

Shanea (01:04:29):
Oh, is that Matthew?

Walter (01:04:32):
I don't think it's Matthew.
You can check.
I don't think it's Matthew.
I want to read that becausethat's the beauty of the
wilderness experience.
The beauty of the wildernessexperience is meant to place you
in a position, and it probablyis, luke, let me see.

(01:04:53):
Yeah, well, luke, and this is.
We touched on this and I'llread this real quick.
Luke four and one says thenJesus, full of the Holy spirit,
yes, return from the JordanRiver.
He was led by the Spirit in thewilderness where he was tempted
by the devil for 40 days.

(01:05:13):
Jesus ate nothing all that timeand became very hungry.
So the first thing that we willsay to you is that when you
receive the Holy Spirit by theexample of Jesus, the first
thing it's going to do, thefirst thing he's going to do,
the first thing the Holy Spiritis going to do because the Holy
Spirit is a person the firstthing the Holy Spirit is going
to do is lead you into thewilderness.

Shanea (01:05:35):
First thing, yeah, lead you away, set you apart, come
out from among, out from among.

Walter (01:05:42):
But the beauty with all of that is verse 14.
It says Luke 4, verse 14.
Then Jesus returned to Galileefilled with the Holy Spirit's
power.
Yes, reports about him spreadquickly through the whole region
.
Yeah, he taught regularly intheir synagogues and was praised

(01:06:04):
by everyone.

Shanea (01:06:05):
Yeah.

Walter (01:06:06):
He was ushered in.
He was ushered into thewilderness.
Yes.
With just the Holy Spirit.
Exactly.
He left the wilderness.

Shanea (01:06:14):
Yeah.

Walter (01:06:15):
With the power of the Holy.

Shanea (01:06:16):
Spirit and he was able to return, but he was a
completely different person now.

Walter (01:06:20):
With the power, because he had the power, the power of
the Holy Spirit.

Shanea (01:06:24):
To break sin.

Walter (01:06:26):
To do everything that God called him to do.

Shanea (01:06:29):
Yeah.

Walter (01:06:30):
But that was impossible outside of Jesus, going through
the wilderness experience.
So with us, whom God has called, and we have different
assignments, we have differentmandates.
Yeah, we have have differentassignments, we have different
mandates.
Yeah, we have a differentpurpose, you have to go through
the wilderness experience sothat, when you are finished with

(01:06:52):
your wilderness experience, youhave the power, even with the
children of Israel, to overcomeanything really Even with the
children of Israel where God wastaking them.
The land was occupied.
Yes, the children of Israelwhere God was taking them.
The land was occupied.
Yes, Part of what they weresupposed to be doing is
receiving the power as they wentthrough the wilderness

(01:07:12):
experience to take that land.
Yes, you're right.
So this is so powerful.
He went in full of the HolySpirit.

Shanea (01:07:22):
Hallelujah, thank you, thank you, holy Spirit he left
with the power of the HolySpirit.

Walter (01:07:25):
Hallelujah, thank you.
Thank you, holy Spirit.
He left, with the power of theHoly Spirit, your wilderness
experience, and we're going toleave you with this.
Yeah.
Your wilderness experience iswhat gives you the power of the
Holy Spirit.
You completing your wildernessexperience is what provides you
with the power of the HolySpirit to do everything that God
has the Holy Spirit to do,everything that God has called

(01:07:46):
for you to do.

Shanea (01:07:47):
Exactly.

Walter (01:07:49):
Outside of that, it's not going to happen and take the
land.
And take the land by force.
Of course, by force.
So, reflections, our desire andour hope is that with this, you
will examine your heart, youwill examine your relationships.

(01:08:11):
Have you created idols out ofyour relationships?
Yeah, have you created idolsout of the idea of marriage?
Yeah.
Have you created these idolsand, if so, we hope we pray that
you will go to God and ask Godto free you from these idols

(01:08:32):
that you've created.

Shanea (01:08:34):
To show you where these idols are.
Who these idols?

Walter (01:08:37):
are, so that nothing will stand in the way of you
becoming everything God hascalled you to become, everything
God has called you to become,so that nothing will stand in
the way of you encountering andexperiencing God like never
before, especially in these days.

Shanea (01:08:50):
So there is nothing that the enemy can use to get you
out of God's perfect divine willbecause you still have
something in you that's tyingyou to a God that's not God.

Walter (01:09:08):
Mm-hmm.
So the scripture list says knowwhat?
So when the enemy comes, hefinds nothing in you.
Mm-hmm.
He finds nothing in you that hecan use against you.
Mm-hmm.
He finds nothing in you that hecan use against you.
If you still have idols, he canuse those idols against you.
Yes, he can use those idolsagainst you.

Shanea (01:09:36):
I think that's everything.

Walter (01:09:37):
Yeah, I think that's.
I was trying to find thatscripture, but you know.

Shanea (01:09:41):
Isn't that?
Isn't it the same place?

Walter (01:09:43):
No, no, I think it's John 16 and 33.
Let me see, and I keep tryingto end this, but we keep going.
I mean.
John 16 and 33.
Um.
What is that scripture?

Shanea (01:10:05):
Yeah that's good too what you reading 1633 no, what I
wrote down here, that elevatingrelationships in marriage above
god leads to spiritualunfaithfulness and brokenness,
and idolizing anything, evensomething as good as marriage,
results in separation from Godand, eventually, disillusionment
.

Walter (01:10:27):
Touch on it.

Shanea (01:10:29):
Because we see marriage as good.
There's a lot of things peoplesee as good, but you can still
make it an idol, even food.

Walter (01:10:40):
Marriage is good Marriage is Godly.
Marriage is of God.
Marriage was designed by God.
We see that in Adam and Eve.
He designed the first marriage.
Money is good.
When Marriage is godly,marriage is good.
Marriage is of God.
Marriage was designed by God.
We see that in Adam and Eve.

Shanea (01:10:46):
He designed the first marriage.
Money is good when you have it.

Walter (01:10:51):
But money can literally become your idol.
The Bible says money is alsothe root of all evil.

Shanea (01:10:56):
The root of all evil.

Walter (01:10:59):
So John 14 and 30,.
Jesus was speaking in LT.
John 14 and 30.
Jesus was speaking NLT.
I don't have much more time totalk to you because the ruler of
this world approaches.
He has no power over me, but Iwill do what the Father requires

(01:11:32):
of me.

Shanea (01:11:32):
So that the world will know that I love the Father okay
, eating.

Walter (01:11:36):
Listen, oh my gosh, right now.
Oh, holy spirit, you're soamazing.
You're so amazing.
Let me read this again, and Ipromise we're about to end.
I don't have much more time totalk to you because the ruler of
this world approaches.
He has no power over me, but Iwould do what the father

(01:11:57):
requires of me so that the worldwould know that I love the
father.
You show the world know that Ilove the father, you show the
world that you love the fatherby being obedient.

Shanea (01:12:13):
Yeah, it's a love language.
That is, that's the scripture.

Speaker 2 (01:12:21):
You show the world you love the father by being
obedient to him.

Walter (01:12:23):
That's how you show.
You show the world and God.
Yes.
You show God, you show thecreator of the heavens and the
earth, that you love him.

Shanea (01:12:33):
Jesus literally said this, so that we will know what
God's love language is it'sobedience, it's obedience.

Walter (01:12:43):
We said this before, but this hits so much.
Yeah.
Because Jesus subjected himselfto say I'm going to show the
world.

Shanea (01:12:50):
Yeah.

Walter (01:12:51):
That I love my father.

Shanea (01:12:53):
And how do we show that we love God, the father?
Obedience, being obedient.

Walter (01:13:00):
And the thing that I want to leave people with.
Jesus said the ruler of thisworld approaches.
Yes.
Yet he said he has no powerover me.
You want to get to a place inthe wilderness.
Experience will allow you toget to that point where the
enemy has no power over you.
Yeah.

(01:13:20):
Get to that place.
That's the encounter in God.
That's through receiving theHoly Spirit and allowing the
Holy Spirit to usher you intothe wilderness experience.
Yeah.
And that's what we're going tostop tonight.

Shanea (01:13:38):
Yeah.

Walter (01:13:39):
So we pray that this was a blessing to you.
We thank you for listening.
We've seen the comment sections.
We've been responding.
We see that it's been ablessing to everyone.
If this is blessing you, pleaseshare it yeah, share it.

Shanea (01:13:54):
Like it.
Comment.
Comment your experiences.
Yes, we want to hear Anyquestions.
Anything else, Comment how thisis blessing you all of it.

Walter (01:14:04):
We are here for it.
This is a mandate that we'vebeen placed on by God, so we are
going to see this through.
This isn't about us.

Shanea (01:14:13):
No, not at all.
This is about us being obedient.

Walter (01:14:16):
This is about us putting forth the information that God
told us to put forth.
This is about us allowing theHoly Spirit to speak through us.
Allowing us to be a vessel Toreach those that God has called
for to reach.
So anything you want to say, nomatter how many, people it
reaches.

Shanea (01:14:32):
It can reach five people , seven people.

Walter (01:14:34):
God bless this isn't monetized.
Nope, it's not and we're notable to.

Shanea (01:14:40):
We're not going to be able to.
It's cool.
It's not ours, it's the Lord's.

Walter (01:14:45):
Yes, he will provide.
So anything else you want toadd, babe.

Shanea (01:14:51):
No, I think we're good.

Speaker 2 (01:14:53):
Okay, Well we will see you all next week and we
hope you enjoy your week.
Bye.

Walter (01:15:00):
Bye.