Transcript for:
Church Mission and Personal Testimony

hi I'm Ari and I'm an Ang and this is Girls Gone Bible and today is one of the most special episodes we will ever have today a episode that you guys have been requesting that we have been patiently waiting for an amazing man of God a pastor a husband a father a amazing man of God that is absolutely changing this generation pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell thank y'all ladies for having me i really appreciate it thank you i'm honored to be here can I just take a moment yo I don't even I can't even believe I'm sitting across from you right now m I somebody asked me the other day who who's your who are your favorite pastors and I immediately said Philip Anthony Mitchell um I said he every word that utters out of your mouth is the love of Jesus you speak rawness you speak truth you come from such brokenness and it's helped me and so many other people feel less alone in my brokenness you see the hurting you see the broken you see the lost because you've been there and because of that your heart beats to bring his people home and you have such an urgency because you love God's people and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts because what you are doing in this generation is something I have never seen and your love is so authentic and it's r rare and we thank you so much for what you're doing and I can't even imagine how pleased God is looking down at you thank you and I thank you you know and I thank y'all you know for just your kind words and for your cander but I want to say thank you for your voices you know and for your biblical stance in the culture you know I remember uh being on IG one day and seeing uh just a clip of y'all two having a conversation in the studio come through my news feed and I leaned into that clip i listened to you ladies talk and immediately I knew that there was kindred spirits there you know I could hear a deep well of love for the Lord Jesus Christ i could hear a deep conviction about the scriptures i tell I knew automatically you had a fidelity for the word of God and I knew listening to y'all that y'all was anointed for the hour that we're living in right now i knew that y'all were non-compromising and that the Lord was going to use y'all voices mightily uh in the culture you know and I would find out that my daughters knew who you ladies were you know and I just continued to watch and continue to follow and uh and I am uh a supporter and a fan of your ministry um both of you and what you guys have done and what you are doing right now in the culture so um the respect is mutual you know I mean that from the bottom of my heart and uh and I believe that God has anointed y'all two ladies um to be very very strategic voices in the culture in this hour that we're living in right now so I thank y'all for y'all ministry and what y'all are doing thank you so much very impactful very impactful your tour that means so much coming from you cuz you have you you don't do any fluff you're real so the realest one out there so thank you Jesus well thank you Pastor Phillip we're so grateful to be with you today we have we were going through questions and we were it was ranging from like mental health to end times because we want to hear everything that you have to say about everything um first I want to ask you so your church is 2819 church right and it's based off the verse Matthew 28:19 would you just give us a little bit of a background on that yeah so uh I pastored a church for about 10 years it was called Victory Church and I feel like during that season while I was pastoring I was faithful to the Lord i do believe I had fidelity to the scriptures but I think inside there I knew that something was missing on the inside i felt that there wasn't a deep sense of clarity in terms of some type of clarion call for my voice like Lord I'm pastoring but to what end and in retrospect I look back on that and I could be transparent i feel as if there was some vanity that was in my heart during those season you know I felt that I was jealous of a lot of other pastors wow i had a lot of envy of a lot of other pastors i felt that a lot of my prayers were very shallow and some of them were superficial um I felt that my preaching uh was faithful to the word of God but I felt like there wasn't a depth in my preaching there wasn't a fire there i had not yet been burned by the Holy Spirit and maybe about um 2018 um around then um maybe sometime before the pandemic um I had taken a trip to Israel um that had changed my life i had an encounter with God in Israel that radically changed my heart uh it changed my preaching it changed my view of God um I think it was the first time I saw God as immensely holy and I think it was the first time I had a deep understanding of my sinful nature before him and that encounter changed me coming back from Israel and going into the pandemic uh I lost that church that I first pastored we lost all of our members lost uh leadership lost a facility lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and coming out of the pandemic having not preached live for 2 years the Lord was dealing with my wife and I about changing the name of our ministry but I couldn't find a name and we're just praying about it and so we was in a in a staff meeting and there was a consultant in that meeting and uh we had like 30 names on the board of what we was thinking was going to name the church and the consultant he pushed back from the table and he said "Man listen um when I think about your preaching and when I think about what I'm hearing coming out your mouth I think I have a name that fits your church." And he said "Um what about your name Young Ministry 28:19?" Like from the verse the great commission and at first I thought that was a very ridiculous thing to say i said "I mean this is the stupidest thing I've ever said nobody's going to name their church a number." And we just wrote it on the board and uh the longer we stared at that name we prayed about that name uh we can feel something shift in the room and for the first time I felt like this is something I can stand on you know victory was cool but this name really concretizes what's in my heart it concretizes my core message and I said to my wife I think this is what we need to do and so 6 months later we changed the name to 2018 in January of 23 and we whiteboarded everything we got rid of everything from Victory Church we completely started over with 183 disciples in January of 2023 and so I feel like that name has given us at least for my my church our staff and our teams and the people who gather under the ban i feel like what it has given us is a core sense of identity it reminds us of the final words of Jesus it reminds us that we do not exist to play around we're not just gathering to have Sunday morning services no we are people that want to be serious about the great commission we want to be serious about the proclamation of the gospel we want to be serious about the harvesting of souls we want to be serious about the multiplying of disciples there is nothing else happening right now in the earth that's more important than the great commission of the Lord Jesus Christ and so I feel like what that name did for us was give our church a sense of identity and every time we name that name it reminds everybody of the vision that Jesus gave not just to 2019 wow the vision he gives to all of us who are followers of Christ we all have been given that mission and so it changed everything and and we saw God just breathe uh on the ministry and breathe on the church and and what we're doing right now is doing our best to um for lack of a better terms trying to uh steward um what I believe is is a revival happening in Atlanta and uh we're just trying to be faithful to steward that to the best of our ability we feel like Jesus is building something and we're doing our best to steward what he is building does that if that makes sense right and uh we're not owners of it um I'm not an owner of it i am a servant in 2019 i am a steward of 2019 and I just want to do my best to honor the Lord Jesus Christ um with the ministry he's entrusted to me um I want to be able to give a good account uh when I see him and that's what I'm trying to do right now yeah you're insane [Music] you know those products you try once and then suddenly you're telling everyone about them that's exactly how we felt about La Pure this episode is sponsored by Laure Naturals we've tried a lot of skin care but this one actually lives on our bathroom counter it's called the Beef Tallow Face Cream and before you scroll past stay with us because it's not trendy it just works la Pure uses beef tallow which sounds old school but it's actually one of the most nourishing ingredients you can put on your skin it mimics your skin's natural oils helps with hydration and gives you that soft dewy glow without needing 10 different products it's packed with ingredients like colloidal oatmeal aloe vera raw honey and essential oils no parabens no fake fragrances no junk just real clean skinare and what we love most it fits into a super simple routine morning or night and it's gentle enough for sensitive skin one jar has replaced a shelf of products for us if you're someone dealing with sensitive reactive skin or eczema flare-ups it's time to start something different this is a premium grass-fed beef tallow face cream made with soothing ingredients like colloidal oatmeal raw honey and essential oils no synthetic fragrances no harsh chemicals just pure calming nutrition and the best part it comes with 100% money back guarantee so you can try risk-free go to www.lpurnaturals.com/gggb and use code GGB for 40% off your first order [Music] this show is sponsored by Better Help we talk a lot about women's mental health on this show but we can't forget about the men in our lives because here's the truth men are under a lot of pressure to show up to provide to stay strong and still so many are struggling in silence over 6 million men in the US suffer from depression every year that number doesn't include the ones who've never gotten a diagnosis because they've never told anyone but there is strength in reaching out there's power in talking to someone whether it's a friend a mentor or a therapist therapy helps you set boundaries build healthier coping skills and stay grounded betterhelp makes it easier than ever to talk to a licensed therapist with over 30,000 professionals on the platform they've helped over 5 million people globally and they've rated 4.9 out of five in the app store it's easy to get started and flexible to your schedule you can even switch therapists anytime talk it out with Better Help our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/girlgonebible that's betterhelp.com/girlsgonebible so you have such an incredible story you're originally from the Queens New York and you used to actually deal drugs and come from a lot of darkness and a lot of brokenness you were a Riker's inmate and now you pastor and and and you lead a body of people and you do such an incredible job and your ministry is incredibly pure and holy in a time where like hype man pastors are in and relatability is in and it's like I'm just so excited to talk about all that but can you just tell us a little bit about your background your story that encounter that you had in the bathroom that changed your whole life yeah yeah yeah so um you lived in the Bronx for a little while right Angie and from Queens New York and you know anybody who's familiar with my story they I mean they know this background um my family were immigrants from the island of Trinidad uh I was the first person in my family born in the US um my parents were believers i was not um so I was raised in a Christian home um I seen my parents praying and reading the word and so I always believed in God but just did not have a relationship with the Lord for myself i feel like my environment outside of my home had a stronger pull on my soul uh than what my parents taught me and uh I spent the majority of my life until age 24 um in the street and involved in every manner of darkness um that is very possible and and I regret all of that you know I I don't take no glory and pleasure um in my time in the street or the lives I damaged or the people I hurt while I was out there and um but I was living a delusion um the delusion that the enemy fed me um the delusion that the enemy is feeding people right now all across society um I saw no hope i saw nothing beyond the street um I never thought about the next day i only live for the day that I was in i had no concept of the future and um I had no hope beyond um the day I was in and for all of the external trappings of worldly success you know I had a a beautiful girlfriend and you know I had a luxury car and you know I had an apartment and house I had money and you know sold drugs and all those things i was empty on the inside and I knew that something was missing i just could not put my finger on what was missing and so like so many people right now who you know we are praying and believing for I'm trying to medicate all of that with drugs and with alcohol and with partying and with women and all the things and um none of those things will satisfy right and and we we learn over time at least on this side of the kingdom that these things are um temporary and they betray right all these things betray everything we think is going to satisfy the soul more than the Lord Jesus Christ will betray you right so material things will betray us and and those things betrayed me i thought I would find satisfaction in them but they betrayed me i thought I would find happiness in them but they betrayed me i thought I would find identity in them but they betrayed me and and so they left me empty and in a season of um feeling suicidal you know I I don't know if I can talk like that on the podcast right um in a season of feeling very suicidal um very empty um I had I had come to my apartment one day and um was feeling very very um hopeless um I remember pulling out a shotgun and I was sitting on the floor with a shotgun on my lap and I I didn't had the courage to pull the trigger and so you know I got a a bottle of alcohol and I I drank that alcohol until I was drunk and I remember raising the barrel of that shotgun to my chin and uh at that time I used to have locks and this young lady used to twist my lock she was a believer and uh I would sit in her chair and she would talk to me about the word of God and I would ignore everything she said but for whatever reason by God's divine providence she came to visit my house that night she came to my apartment and my door was unlocked and I could see it now when she she she walked through the door and she saw me sitting on the floor with that shotgun and tears in my eyes and uh she walked over to me and she sat down next to me and she held my hand and she didn't say one word right it was like just a ministry of presence she didn't say one word but her presence talked me off the ledge right and I put that shotgun down and she and I we sat there and we just wept together and we didn't say any words and she would end up leaving and sometime after that in the same season within a couple months or so um I'm living with my my girlfriend at the time we move into an apartment and uh she gets into this car accident and she comes home and she she had some you know semblance of Christianity but she was still in the world and she comes home from that car accident and she puts on gospel music and it was the first time in my life I'd ever heard gospel music and she's she's worshiping the Lord and thanking him for protecting her in that car accident and as I'm watching her walk back and forth praising God she had her hands lifted in the air i had this thought in my mind that I know had to been the grace of God i said to myself whatever that is in her I want that for myself and so I crawl into that bathroom um on my hands and knees and I started yelling at God and not really knowing that he existed beyond what my parents told me uh God met me in that bathroom in a very strong and powerful way and um I I can't I didn't have any framework or language at the time for what happened but I knew something had happened in my heart i knew that my tears of sorrow um became tears of peace i knew that I felt um God's presence in that bathroom and the evidence that something had changed in my heart was that night I went into our bedroom to try to have sex with my girlfriend and for the first time I felt convicted for sin it was the very first time in my life I felt convicted for sin and I knew that something had transpired in my heart and so I began to sleep on the couch for 6 months until Lena and I got married wow and that really started the journey um for me into the kingdom of God so I feel like God came I love him because I feel like he came and got me personally for himself right and this is no shade to anybody's story right like if somebody's walked the aisle or you know they heard the gospel and you know praise God for that you know I call people to repentance but you know you know I think about all the times I've all the times I I could have been lost right i think about uh I think about all the times I could have been lost the bullet that grazed my right ear could have hit me in the back of my head the car accident I've been in the times I've drove home drunk from the club i just think about all the times I could have been clipped beef in the streets shot at in the club been shot at like three times right and so I just think about I think about all the times I could have been lost before that day in the bathroom and uh and where I would have been you know and I think like for whatever reason God was gracious towards me when I was far away from him when I was his enemy he was gracious towards me you know and when I was a blasphemer you know he was gracious towards me and when I mocked his church you know when I mocked Christianity he was gracious towards me when I was in the Nation of Islam he was gracious towards me you know he kept me all them years where I was out there being a blasphemer and ignorant until he won me to himself and so when I think about that encounter in the bathroom when I think about uh my early failures in Christianity when I think about what the scripture says about the Lord Jesus Christ that he is long-suffering and that he's kind and that he is merciful and he's patient and that he is loving um that he came and got me for himself m um I just think very deeply about that often you know and it takes nothing for me to just get a flashback of where I was and where he rescued me from and you know I say to these guys a lot of time and to people in our church I feel like God came and got me from the dirt like I was trash and I feel like he got me from the trash he picked me up from trash i was nothing i still am nothing apart from him and uh that's why just everything in my heart you know I want to just I want to be pleasing to him with every ounce of my being right you know I even you know people might think I'm weird for this but you know like these guys are driving me here today i'm sitting in the back seat and I'm looking out the window and I'm staring at the clouds and and I'm thinking to myself like one day I'm going to see him right i'm going to be beyond these clouds i'm going to see him i'm going to have an opportunity to thank him for how he rescued me i'm going to have an opportunity to lay my crown at his feet i'm going to have an opportunity to stumble into his arms and I'm going to have an opportunity to see my labors be rewarded my persecutions be rewarded my sufferings be rewarded you know that is the day I'm looking forward to more than anything more than a platform uh more than a big Instagram following more than a bag or a dollar amount you know the thing I look forward to more than anything in this life is the day I'm going to see my savior i look forward to that more than anything there is there is nothing in me right now that is more satisfying um than just intimacy with him and and wanting to see him and I actually look forward to that day right and so and so just you know just asking me that question when I think about it every time I have to recount that story I just feel a little overwhelmed you know for where I know I I should have been or could have been that makes sense so good and I love that you talk about that because you don't sit in the shame like you you understand the love of God i think so many people that listen they stay stuck because of their past they feel like they're too far gone do you agree with that i do i do agree with that and I think the enemy does a good job of persecuting us that's what it is without shame you know and and I think some of that too some of that too Ari is our biblical illiteracy right i think it's our lack of having sound biblical theology and a lot of believers don't have a good hermeneutic for dealing with suffering and shame from the past and so if we don't have a good hermeneutic for dealing with the shame of the past we would not see the cross as enough you know and so y'all y'all ladies have a background y'all have a past you have I've heard you say both of y'all come from darkness just the same and you know the the love of Jesus just the same and you know the pardon of Jesus just the same and you ladies know the word and I think about so many people who who God rescues the Lord brings them into the kingdom but they don't have a good hermeneutic for how to deal with their past or they're not sitting under good biblical teaching that teaches them how to deal with their past and so the enemy is going to do his job persecuting our soul he's going to do his job constantly reminding us of the past i mean in Greek one of his names is to mean he's the accuser of the brethren right and so we saw how he stood before the Lord and accused Job right and so he knows he's going to stand before the Lord and he's going to he's going to accuse us and he's going to try to constantly remind us of who we did and even in the kingdom the failures that we have made and the mistakes that we have made he's going to constantly keep reminding of those things and for the believer we have to have a hermeneutic of the power of the cross and what Christ accomplished on the cross and we have to believe in our hearts that the blood is enough and will always be enough to fully pay for my sins and my mistakes and my past both before Christ and with Christ we got to have enough confidence that the blood was not enough and to just live forever um in our shame I almost think is an offense against the cross it is almost to say wow your sacrifice is not enough to pay for what I did and I've struggled with this personally if I could be transparent and then what we do is we go on condemning ourselves and persecuting ourselves and maybe there's even somebody watching right now that just needs to be reminded to forgive themselves right that if Christ has forgiven you you can forgive yourself if he has pardoned you you can forgive yourself if he if you are under the cross you can forgive yourself and that the blood is enough and and I think not only do we need a good hermeneutic but I also think we need good biblical community that allows us to confess our sins and our shame and we need people around us who love us enough to give us a safe space to be honest about the things of our past i think there is a great damage in the kingdom of God and that is I feel like we live in a culture that is so masked with a veneer of false perfection that you almost can't be honest about the fact that I am struggling or I came from something right and because modern Christianity I would go so far as to say western Christianity which I disdain western Christianity creates this this veneer of perfection on the outside that makes it so difficult for people to just be honest it comes from our idolatry of pastors and our idolatry of leaders and our our believing that everybody's perfect like no one has a story no one has a background no one has made a mistake no one has fallen into sin no so so because we put on this veneer it makes it difficult for people who I call silent sufferers Mhm to find spaces for them to just say "I'm struggling with shame or um I'm struggling with some sin or I'm struggling with memories from my past." It's hard for us to do that so I feel like when we don't have a proper bibbical hermeneutic of the power of the cross and the blood and when we don't have biblical community where we can be honest and transparent and where we don't have brothers and sisters who know how to honor the words of what Paul wrote to the church in Galatians in Galatians 6:1 how we should deal with one another and a type of mutual grace and gentleness where we've seen people trapped in these things if we don't have those things um then it's going to be very difficult for people to overcome their shame they will they will sit in dark spaces and let the devil and their flesh persecute them for things the Lord has forgiven them for and so I think um I think we need to be reminded of the power of the cross we need a a solid theology and biblical hermeneutic for what the cross has done for us and I think we need good biblical community and people around us who love us who allow us the space to be able to confess and find that freedom wow well what does hermeneutic mean it's just a proper study of the scriptures love it right it's the proper study of the scriptures and I feel that what we have today is we have a a increase in biblical illiteracy and at the same time we have an increase in poor teaching from the pull pits and when you bring these two together what we have is an emerging generation of believers who don't know the scriptures and a lot of them have created a Jesus in their mind that does not exist and a God that does not exist and and one of the things I see happening is that I feel like sometimes we blame the people sitting in the chair for that you know we use this passage you ladies know this passage where it says we should study to show ourselves approve um you know a worker who need not be ashamed of rightly dividing the word of truth and we kind of throw that on the entire body of Christ and say everybody should be a theologian right i don't know if God intended for everyone to be a theologian he did intend for us to know his word but I don't think he intended for everyone to be a theologian and I think in context who wrote that paul right in context who did Paul write that to timothy in context who was Timothy the pastor of a church in the city of Ephesus he gave a pastor an instruction to study those scriptures thoroughly and then he would go on to give that same pastor another instruction watch preach the word not preach opinions not preach man-made doctrines not preach traditions of men study the scriptures preach the word so I think when we look at the culture of where the western church is I think myself and spiritual leaders and pastors and shepherds I think we have to take some measure of accountability for the pulse of the Christian culture and so when I talk about having a proper hermeneutic of the cross and all these things I think it's on us the shepherds of our time to properly feed God's sheep in such a way that they would properly understand the scriptures and who Christ is and what he's accomplished for us and his return it's on us to properly feed God's people these things and to not condemn them for what they don't know solely but to also take some accountability for what we're not teaching right and and so I think I think where the scriptures are not known and where people are not going to study for themselves and where shepherds are not taking the onus to teach the word we just have an emerging generation of believers who have a concept of God and of Christ and of the kingdom that is just not factual and as a result they persecute themselves they persecute others and we have a Christianity that is disconnected from the orthodoxy of the scriptures and and I just pray we would see a revival and a turnaround in that area that's why I love that's why I love listening to y'all too on your podcast right one of the things I love so much about your podcast is that every time I lean in to you ladies and I listen I hear just scriptures pouring out of y'all i hear the Bible just pouring out of you it's like the word of God has been tattooed to your hearts and when I listen to y'all talk let me tell you what I don't hear right i don't hear opinions i don't hear man-made traditions i don't hear warped theology what I hear is two women who have come from darkness themselves who recognize the deep work that Jesus has done in their hearts through his saving work who recognize who they are in Christ who have found a deep love in the word and who are constantly pouring out the word even when y'all are not saying the scripture says or even when you're not quoting a verse I hear the word of God pouring out of y'all pouring out of you so it just makes sense to me why God would pour out his favor on your podcast it makes sense to me why God is raising up y'all voices in the culture it makes sense to me why your tour is is completely tearing up the country right now it makes sense to me why people are streaming to the altar and shedding tears it just makes sense to me why God's hand is upon y'all so much because y'all are being trusted and I feel like God is trusting y'all because you are honoring his son and you are honoring his word and y'all are almost like this morning um I don't know when this podcast would air but but at the time of this recording I made a post this morning and I said you know I was praying for the church and I was shedding tears in my prayer time and as I was praying for the church you know I I got up from my prayer time and I posted on my on my feeds and I said you know I'm I'm praying for an awakening for the church and then I I said "Lord I pray that we would all be like the sons of Issachar who rightly discerned the times and they knew what to do about it." And when I listen to you ladies talk I feel like y'all are like the daughters of Issachar y'all have rightly discerned the times and y'all know what to do about it that's why you're not using your platform for foolishness that's why you're not using your platforms for game playing that's why your platform is holy it's pure it's Christ exalting it's full of the word it's full of humility and I feel like God is breathing on it because it is necessary right now in the culture like right now as I'm talking to you right like like this clock right here like this clock that's counting down on us right now i mean there's a clock on humanity right there is a clock on humanity and it's counting backwards it's going to hit zero and at that time there will be no more second chances yeah we talk about that there will there will be no more lord I did not know yes there will be no more excuses when that clock hits zero and the Lord cracks the sky when when that clock hits zero it will be He's not coming back like the baby in the manger to you know to play around no he's coming back to make war and he's coming back to settle everyone's account right and if we are not using the time we have now to try to warn and awaken as many human beings as possible then what are we using our time for that's right and so when I listen to your podcast when I listen to Ari and Angie speak I hear two women who are like the daughters of Issachar who understand the times and your voices god is using your voices to awaken as many people as possible before time has run out and that's like why even you and I when we first connected in the DMs and we're having all these gospel conversations and I'm telling you I'm praying for you and Angie and you know you're saying you know Phillip I'm praying for you in 2019 we have in these gospel conversations and what I'm sensing from you and what I'm sensing from your partner okay these two women they've been burned right like here are two women they have been burned by the fires of God these are kindred spirits i have not met them but these are my sisters these women are among the remnant these women are among the 7,000 who haven't bowed their knees to Baal well these are the women who are among those whose God has anointed their voices for the times we live in and because right now what we need is to be awakened we need Christ to be exalted we need the scriptures to be honored we need the Lord to be made holy yes colossians 1 right verse 28 him we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature yes in Christ i'm going to say before he comes right if we're not busy doing that then we are wasting our time right and that's why you know I just I just celebrate what y'all are doing you know and I'm going to tell y'all this now that we here together for the first time in person i'm going tell y'all I shed tears over y'all i do true story i shed tears over y'all ladies i literally have put tears on my carpet on my face for y'all ladies i have put my face to the carpet and I've shed tears over y'all i have cried out to God immensely for y'all i have prayed that God will put a hedge of protection around y'all relationship i have prayed that God would protect your ministry i have prayed that God would elevate your voices i have prayed that God would continue to pour out on your divine favor i have prayed that God would keep y'all humble and pure i have prayed that God would protect y'all from being led astray i have prayed that God would keep y'all from being led astray by dangling carrots and people will say "Oh if you do this for money we'll come do." I have prayed that God would just keep his hands on y'all because the culture needs your voices thank you the culture needs your voices the culture needs this podcast you know when I think about my daughters this is what I want them watching right when I think about my daughters I got two teenage daughters who I love Israel and Abigail this is the content I want them watching you are the voices I want them listening to the type of voices I want them listening to and so when I when I when I when I just think about even this moment we're having right now where we're sitting together in person for the first time you know and I think about the amount of spiritual work I've done in my prayer closet on y'all behalf right i'm going to continue to do because can I just like talk freely or am I talking too much no please are you kidding me we don't want to say anything i've never Yeah when I when I when I when I think about when I think about um when I think about how the culture is saturated with so many voices right and how some of these voices Satan has planted to lead people astray this is what Jesus taught us in the parable of the wheat and the tears in his parabolic teaching he has taught us that Satan has planted people in the earth who operate on behalf of the devil and they're doing everything they can to lead people astray away from God so when I think about the amount of voices in the culture that are leading people astray how much more valuable it is when God has anointed voices in that culture that he has set apart and assigned to be heralds in this dark hour right and against all of the winds of adversity of the culture and the winds of adversity of persecution and social persecution and if it may come in the United States physical persecution even if we may have to suffer like our brothers and sisters outside the United States I think it's very valuable when God has anointed a voice for a generation and I recognize them and in my humility I want to cry out for them with the same intensity that I pray for my own voice and that I pray for my own ministry and so I am not 2819 selfish no you're not right that's not that's not my heart right i am all of 2019 and Girls Gone Bible like I'm all of 2019 and Ari and Angie i'm all of 2019 and any other voice that God has anointed for the hour that we're in and I'm going to cry out and pray for them with the same earnest fervor that I'm crying out and praying for my own ministry and praying for my enemies because I know that time is running out wow right so and just to sit here and look at y'all in your eyes and know man these are y'all are my sisters right like y'all are my y'all are my sisters right and I feel like like y'all are my co- lababorers in the gospel right and that we get to do this right and we get to do this and not take it for granted and not treat it like a game and it's not fluff right and and people may not understand that now and they may you know you know have what they need to say now but in the end the Lord is going to reveal who was real and who was not he's going to reveal who was his chosen and who was not and and I was to stay on that wall and be serious about the proclamation of God's word and that's what y'all are doing you know and I just celebrate y'all for that so kind that's one of that's one of the most special things about you Phillip is this the way you love his people it's so rare it's so rare your heart I see it how you are with his people [Music] our best friend is obsessed with her cat and honestly same she started feeding him smalls and let's just say he's very into it since making the switch to smalls he's had fewer hair balls more balanced energy a healthier weight a softer and shinier fur coat and a less stinky litter box you can tell he actually enjoys his meals now it's made with real high quality ingredients you recognize no weird stuff and it shows up right at your door it's packed with protein free of preservatives and even Forbes called it its best overall cat food so clearly he has good taste he's currently obsessed with the fresh ground bird and the bird net what are you waiting for give your cat the food they deserve for a limited time only because you are a Girls Gone Bible listener you can get up to 35% off Smalls plus an additional 50% off your first order by using my code GGB that's an additional 50% off when you head to smalls.com and use promo code GGB again that's promo code GGB for an additional 50% off your first order plus free shipping at smalls.com [Music] this episode is sponsored by Jeopardy okay you guys real talk taking care of your health can feel so overwhelming between all the advice online busy schedules and trying to figure out what's actually worth paying that's why we love Jevity no more guesswork jevity's advanced testing listens to your body's unique signals then tailor everything from supplements to lifestyle advice around what you truly need so you can stop guessing and start thriving for $129 a month you get comprehensive blood work 40% off your personalized supplements and significant savings on prescriptions plus unlimited access to a team of experts dedicated to helping you feel your best so if you're tired of guesswork and ready for a clear data driven plan specific to your body check out Jevity today and receive the same level of detail and cars me use code GGB for 20% off your first 3 months just visit go jevity.com that's go o ge vi to learn more about how you can start optimizing your health without leaving home today locationbased restrictions applied [Music] okay so you know when your furniture shows up in 42 pieces and suddenly your living room becomes a construction zone yeah this is not that the M1 sofa by Rooflab was designed with real life in mind no tools no confusing instructions you literally unbox it slide it together and you're done it's cozy elevated and makes your space feel like home without the hassle it's also modular which means it grows with you whether you're in a tiny apartment now or planning for your next season the fabric's durable the cushions are plush and yes it's as comfy as it looks getting a good modular sofa was never so easy make the switch to M1 today unbox Comfort at rolab.com/gb and get $200 off only for the next 7 days sit back relax and enjoy M1 you talk so much about things that resonate with us so deeply and I think it's just such a it's just the most important thing that we can be talking about is anti-rossperity gospel like I'll just give you a little bit of my background so I I live in LA right and I'm going to LA churches and there are beautiful amazing spiritfilled churches in LA obviously but something that I experienced for a while was I was so on fire for Jesus like so on fire for Jesus i had no fear of the Lord none because I'd show up to church and I would get a TED talk hyped up like God's got your back he's on your side where is death to self where is crucify your flesh like where are the things that actually lead you into a fully surrendered and submitted life and where is the holiness like this is what I think we notice so much is that like relatability right everybody talks about relatability in the church but what they don't understand is relatability comes from you being open about your brokenness you being open about your struggles that's relatability not wearing specific outfits or talking like culture does or acting like culture does or watering down the gospel that's not relatability people relate to Ari and I not because we look like the rest of the world but because we're open about our struggles and that's what you do and so yeah can we talk about how church is not supposed to be hypy and fun it's supposed to be sacred and holy and we actually don't need pastors to try and relate to us on like a surface level we need reverence and we need holiness because I can walk into church and I don't even need to hear a message about not having sex outside of marriage but if it's just an atmosphere of reverence if the Holy Spirit is there he convicts you regardless of if it's being talked about or not so can we talk about that yeah i I think I think well first off I think that's very very powerful right and I think that there may be people who would try to give us push back about that and I would say to the person who gives push back about what you just shared Angie is this is that there would be an argument for different expressions of church on a Sunday morning and and I get that right and I know that we have different expressions but the blanket argument I would make is is how close are we to what we see in the scriptures right i think the purest model of church and its purest expression has to go beyond a Philip Anthony Mitchell beyond a Angie beyond a Ari beyond churches in LA beyond churches in Atlanta the purest expression we have to go to is back to the book of Acts when the church was born right and if we just go back to that pure expression I feel like this is where we have to find some semblance of unity around the pure expression of the church right now there's going to be widespread disagreements about expression and we probably would never come to a place of unity in terms of expression but I feel like if we would get close to unity in terms of expression we have to be honest about the foundation of what Jesus intended right so we got to go back to the book of Acts and if we go back to the book of Acts myself every pastor all of us we have to take a look at that and we have to be honest about how far away have we moved from that the original church was born of fire it was born of prayer i mean a group of disciples spent 10 days in a room praying and seeking God and so it was born of prayer it was born of fire it was born of intensity the first Christian message ever preached was rooted in the scriptures it was rooted in sound doctrine and theology we did not see Peter that day stand up and preach his opinions he did not preach articles from Josephus he did not preach all these things he stood up and he preached the word of God he exalted the Christ he called sinners to repentance he called men to turn from their sin he did not back away from the culture and what do we see on as a result of his proclamation we see revival break out in the streets of Jerusalem right and then we see the church grow from 120 disciples to 3,120 disciples this is important so we know that man a church can be small with 120 and be pure it could be large with 3,120 and still be pure and so now this large church now and then we see this beautiful expression of the church acts 2:42-47 and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching not to just traditions not to just opinions not just the stuff we're reading on social media they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to prayer to fellowship and community to generosity they're gathering small to keep each other accountable in community they're gathering large for biblical proclamation instruction watch they're meeting in homes right cuz that's all they had they're meeting in the temple courts where they know they're around unbelievers so there is evangelism there is a focus on the unbeliever and in its most purest form how does God respond to that and the Lord is adding to that church daily those who are being saved and so when I listen to you talk Angie what I'm hearing in your heart right is a longing for that pure expression of what Jesus gave us right jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles gave us the purest expression of what he wanted his church to be and for all of our arguments about expression and what we should be doing I think we can agree on the model we see in the book of Acts and although very early in Christianity within the first decade into the first century we see the infiltration of worldly doctrines and different type of theologies and false prophets and all these things invading the church and so very early on the church gets corrupted and since then it has been corrupted but if we would all just be honest with ourselves all of us we got to go back to Acts and say this is what Christ wanted and this is what we should fight for this is what we should be striving for we should strive for a church where the teachings of the scriptures we are devoted to the teachings of the scriptures we are devoted to prayer we are devoted to community and not isolation we are devoted to evangelism we are devoted to generosity and not selfishness we are devoted to we are devoted to these things and we are devoted to caring about the unbeliever they are not our enemies right we are devoted to them and if we would be devoted to these things have fidelity to these things have loyalty to these things then in every city around America we can see Jesus pouring out his spirit on houses of worship we can see the Lord stepping in to breathe on houses of worship right it's like 2018 is not the model what we see in book of acts is the model and all we're doing at 2019 is just trying to follow the model we see in the book of Acts right so nobody should just exalt us as the model so when I when I hear your cry Angie I'm thinking man I hear a cry for the model and the reason I hear cry for the original model is because you have a deep intimacy with Jesus and because you have a deep intimacy with Jesus your spirit cries out for what the Lord gave us you see that because the Lord is so alive in your heart you naturally yearn for what he gave us right you're yearning for the water that he gave us you're yearning for the purity of what he gave us and although the church will always have challenges this is a glorious gospel mess we have to fight for the purity of what Jesus gave us he gave us the model he gave us the blueprint he gave us the playbook on what we should look like and all we got to do is run that play in our various cities and contexts right and trust Jesus to build his church while we be good stewards of his word and his instruction from his spirit and be good stewards of the souls that he's entrusting to us that's all we can do we have no control over the rest so when I listen to when I listen to you talk about LA the same thing is happening in New York the same thing is happening in Atlanta and in Chicago and in Houston and in Dallas is happening all across the country and my prayer is that there will be a mass revival of repentance yes and a return to gospel proclamation fidelity to the scriptures yes to prayer as our dependency upon God to our fight for biblical community our love for the unbeliever our seriousness about evangelism and the spread of the gospel where we would give grace to each other for non-essentials we would be united around all of the essentials and we would strive to honor the last instruction that God gave us that great commission if we could just return to that I think something can shift in our nation something has to Yeah shift in our nation has to thank you can we stay on the instructions of following his word one of the things Angela and I are so passionate about is is laying your life down in sin and it's one of my favorite teachings that you teach oh the urgency of it can you talk about it can you talk about sin can you talk I mean some people I mean we were living in ignorance for a long time but when you know better you do better yes so many Christians are just picking and choosing what they want to follow in the Bible and they're in continual sexual sin and they think "Well God Jesus loves me." And can you also talk about grace yes the like the the difference between grace and truth grace and sin yes absolutely i think that's a powerful question and I think it's a timely question for where we are right now in society and I would even go so far as to say Ari I think that is probably at the center of one of the things right now I feel is poisoning the church the most it is it is both our knowingly and unknowing uh compromise and dishonor of God in the church and here's here's what I want to say and I want to be very careful how I how I I present this um the scripture teaches us that God came preaching Jesus in grace and truth um grace and truth i think we have to have both um I think what has happened in the church in the west is that there has been an overemphasis of grace and there's been a watering down of the truth and I think when the culture only hears teachings on grace simultaneously while there is a watering down of truth it creates a desensitization in our hearts to the holiness of God where we think that because he is gracious we can do Christianity and live lives of immorality and sin and debauchery and lentiousness and we think that because he's gracious that he is comfortable with that mhm and I think some of that is because of what we're hearing in the culture right and we even look at like the woman who was caught in the act of adultery right how the Jesus dealt with her with grace he did not condemn her but he did not condone what she was doing either right and I think if we don't have an understanding of the holiness of God Yes and his hatred for sin we would think that it is okay for me to name the name of Christ and then live a duplicitous life of lentiousness at the same time i think this is an offense of the cross i think it dishonors God and I think if we are truly growing in biblical maturity we will grow to the point and this is where I am where sin hurts you yes right and they might not like this part of the podcast please okay we love it all right whenever I talk like this I get accused for being self-righteous and I want people to understand that I fight everything in my heart to be self-righteous not to say I've never struggled with that but I repent and I don't talk about holiness because I am perfect and I don't talk about holiness because I've never made a mistake and I don't talk about holiness because in my Christian walk I've never made a mistake i have made mistakes in my Christian walk i have hurt people in my Christian walk i have hurt Jesus in my Christian walk i've done things in my Christian walk I'm not proud of these I'm talking about like the early days of my Christian walk right before my heart was burned when I talk about holiness I talk about holiness because I know the pain of sin i know the consequences of sin i know the damages of sin both to my soul and to others and I know how it grieves the heart of the Lord right as a earthly father of four children when I see my children do wrong it brings pain to my heart because I want them to do right and so our heavenly father is grieved when we name the name of Christ but we watch this word choose choose choose not not not I not I just fell or made a mistake well I willfully choose to live in sin and rebellion that grieves the heart of God and if we are growing in Christian maturity watch if we're growing in intimacy with Christ if we're growing in the knowledge of his word there is no way we would be able to enjoy sin you cannot be intimate with Christ and sin and go to sleep and it not bother you i just do not believe that i do not believe you can have a deep intimate personal relationship with Christ be full of his word full of his spirit and growing in maturity and then sin and sleep and not bother you i just don't know how that is possible i think the closer we get to Christ if he is a consuming fire Then the closer we get to him the more he will be burning these things out of us right if he is a consuming fire you cannot touch fire and remain the same it is not possible if you touch fire it would change whatever it touches it changes you put your skin in there it's going to be changed you put your hand in there it's going to be changed so you cannot play with fire and remain the same so if he is a consuming fire if he has eyes of fire if I'm staring into his eyes if I'm drawing near to him in prayer if I'm drawing near to him in his word if I'm drawing near to him and coming if I'm getting closer to him in my walk the closer I get to him that fire is going to burn things off of me and one of the things that fire should be burning off of us is a love for sin and debauchery and lentiousness and all these things that we know grieves his heart because if you love someone you do not want to keep hurting that person that's right right you don't want to keep hurting the person that you love and so and so when I think wrong Philip Anthony Mitchell I feel grieved mhm if I have a lustful thought I feel grieved if I have a jealous thought I feel grieved if I have ill will towards my enemies I feel grieved if if I have a thought that passes through my mind against my wife or my kids or another brother or sister I feel grieved if I say something I know that's not right I feel grieved if I make a mistake in the pull pit or if I come down from preaching a sermon I say "Man I didn't do that right." I feel every time I know I hurt the heart of my savior I feel grieved and what that does it keeps driving me back to the foot of the cross back to his back to the cross back to his presence back to that deep well of repentance watch and that's where grace is enjoyable where grace should not be enjoyable is when I'm whing out and I'm living reckless in sin and I'm lentious and I'm living in debauchery and I'm a rebel against God and I'm just saying "Well he's gracious." No that's that's not where grace should be enjoyed that's where grace is being abused and taken for granted and that's where grace has been mistaught grace has not been given to us for us to live a life of sin grace has been given to us to pardon us so that we can stand in the presence of God because of the blood of Jesus and been declared righteous because of the blood of Jesus that's what grace has been given us for grace has been given so we don't end up eternally separated from God but grace has not been given for us to have a life of sin and rebellion it has not been given for Paul teaches us man that in Romans chapter 6 symbolically we've died with Christ we've been raised with Christ to live a new life john teaches us that no one who claims the name of Christ can continue to go on living in sin peter teaches us that we should be holy as your father in heaven is holy i mean this is all in the word of God right so we either have a cultural Christianity or we have a biblical Christianity this is the issue right now i I agree it's like okay tell me this so there when people like what keeps coming to my head is mixture like there's just mixture like people like they love Jesus but they can't for some like like sure the big sins they're not having sex all this stuff but it's just mixture what do you do when just the life isn't fully surrendered i have so many I know so many people who like they love God they do but there are parts where maybe in the name of not being religious in the name of not being legalistic there's just a mixture like there's one drop of impurity that contaminates the whole cup of water correct i think that is a pervasive problem in Christianom and I think we overcome that problem incrementally as we journey towards intimacy with Christ so you said something very powerful and I don't remember if you said it on camera or off camera when we were talking before we put on the cameras but you may have said this on camera but you shared with me Angie you said that when you when you when you was first a believer cuz I was I asked you ladies how y'all met right and you told me you know your salvation experience your salv and I think you said off camera that early in your walk you still you still had a little bit of worldliness there but that was early in your walk right but you're not the same woman you're a completely different woman right when I when I see you and when I listen to you talk on the pod I see a woman who has been burned i see a woman who the Lord has placed his finger on your heart i see a woman who has walked with Jesus long enough to see him as holy and to love him with this depth of love where you just want to be pleasing to him in all of your ways that's what I see in you that's what I see in Ari right and so what may have began for mixture for you has become more pure incrementally over time yeah the closer you have got with Jesus your heart has become more pure and I think for people right now who are watching and struggling with that mixture this this area of darkness that they want to keep as a pet or this sin that they want to keep as a pet or these shelters that they make for sin our prayer for them is that we want to pray that that the Lord would woo them in just a little bit more right and that he would he would put hook and jaw and just and just reel them in just a little bit more and that they would they would begin to see him just a little bit more clearly and they would come just a little bit more closer and I think the closer they come the more lucid his image becomes to them the more lucid they see his heart the more lucid they see his ways and I think the more lucid they see him they see the sinfulness of their heart and then they have a natural desire to want to live holy this is the beautiful thing that happened with Isaiah right when Isaiah saw the pre-incarnate Christ for who he was Isaiah's response was not praying for a material thing he did not ask God for anything when Isaiah saw the pre-incarnate Christ in Isaiah chapter 6 how does Isaiah respond woe is me the first thing Isaiah sees when he sees Christ right see and this is the challenge if we don't see Christ right we won't see ourselves right that's right when Isaiah saw Christ right for the first time he saw himself right unwell and his response to the incarnate Christ was woe wow is me right and woe is my nation and I think if more followers would see Christ right our natural response would be woe is we would feel broken over our personal sinful behavior and we would feel broken over the sinful patterns we see in the church and in the world and where that brokenness does not exist for our own sinful patterns and for the sinful patterns of the world where that brokenness does not exist we probably have not yet seen Christ right so we need scales to fall off of our eyes and we need our hearts to be burnt and when Isaiah saw Christ right and how did he see him he saw him as supremely holy and it was the magnitude of the holiness of the pre-incarnate Christ that made this young prophet see himself right that's what we need in the church right now wow that's what we need we need to see Christ right can we stay on this for a minute and can you just talk about your intimacy with the Lord and how your heart burns for him cuz it takes a lot of intimacy can you get into that and for a new believer that's watching yeah i I want to encourage somebody that's watching right to not see uh myself or you ladies as um the standard right philip Anthony Mitchell is not the standard and we are just three individuals who are pursuing Christ with all of our hearts for me in in full transparency I think what I feel now and what I experience now began with um it began with that encounter I had in Israel it began with that encounter I had in Israel where through that encounter in Israel for me at least was the moment for me it was my Isaiah 6 moment where through that encounter in Israel was the it was the moment for me when I had my deepest revelation of the holiness of God wow and it was in that moment when I had that deep revelation of the holiness of God i felt the most brokenness for my sin and flying back to our nation at 17 hours from Tel Aviv is when I felt the most brokenness for our nation and that for me was the beginning of a journey of a deep pursuit of two things simultaneously a pursuit of deep intimacy with Christ and at the same time a pursuit of purity of heart and so I'm deep in Isaiah chapter 6 but I'm also deep in Psalm chapter 24 psalm chapter 24 there's a powerful question there it's like how many of us are willing to answer that question who can ascend the hill of the Lord who can ascend the hill of the Lord who can go up there the one who has clean hands and a pure heart right and so if there's no ascent right then our hands are still too dirty and our hearts are not pure right and I think when Jesus said "Blessed are the pure in heart," watch watch when Jesus said "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." He was not talking about just physically seeing God right he's preaching to people in the moment who have not seen God physically right blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed are those who are pursuing purity of heart they will have a greater vision and revelation of the purity of who God is they will see Christ they will see the father they will see God and the more we pursue purity of heart the more we see God and the more we see God the more our heart is burned and the more our heart is burned the more things in this life does not matter and the more our heart is burned the more we drift from sinful patterns the more our heart is burned the more we drift from materialism the more our heart is burned the more we realize how everything right now is fleeting and temporary how it's all going to come to an end and the more our hearts are burned the more we find our deepest satisfaction in Christ we get to the point where I am right now in my 40s i am at a place right now in my 40s where a Instagram following is not going to satisfy me a platform is not going to satisfy me preaching at a specific conference is not going to satisfy me a newer car is not going to satisfy me a big a house is not going to satisfy me a certain dollar amount in salaries or earnings is not going to satisfy me no no i am most satisfied with Christ i really am i am I am most satisfied with him i when I listen to y'all talk I'm going to assume and I believe my whole heart y'all are most satisfied with him he is the greatest gift I will ever have there is nothing I will know in this life that's going to be more satisfying than him and I would rather be in my prayer room than on a podcast than on a platform than on a stage then on a panel when I walk off the stage on Sunday mornings I am thankful for the opportunity I get to proclaim his word when I get in my car to drive home is when I feel the most satisfaction cuz it's just Christ and I and I weep and I talk to him and I think about his word and I think about what he and I are doing together and and if only Ari and Angie we could convince more people even the million people that follow you the million people that follow this podcast if we could convince the million people that follow this podcast to be most satisfied with Christ just that just that 1 million how much better would the church be right if we could just do that that's all I'm trying to do right that's all I'm trying to do i'm not trying to win people to myself i'm not trying to win people to I'm trying to win as many people as possible to Christ and to lead them in a deep intimate personal relationship with him when they get to the place where they realize nothing is going to satisfy them more than Christ right and if we can do that man we can change the church one person at a time 10 people at a time a thousand people at a time at 2018 maybe 5,000 people at a time on this podcast a million people at a time hopefully we can change the country and the world right that's We need intimacy with Christ yeah we do can I ask you a question you can ask me anything you want your podcast thank you um yeah just the journey of purification because you have a heart that is so like so pure towards ministry so pured towards people but I imagine at some point in your life when you're young in your 20s 30s you're not you were not where you are now far away yeah and I I think like for example the past year of my life I've had so like that Isaiah story just rocked me because over the past year I've had so many of those woe is me moments where like I feel like the Lord has spoken and like called me to a place and just like my heart breaks because I become so aware like I am so far Yeah from where you want me to be you know like and it's it's so painful and it's so beautiful because there's nothing more beautiful than God loving you enough to call you higher and call you to a more pure place in your heart but come on i I guess my question is like on the journey because it's a journey every single one of us has so much impurity in our hearts and what I've noticed is like you lay down the big sins you're not cussing anymore you're not drinking anymore you're not having sex anymore but then you realize there's so much deeprooted sin that's so much harder to attack because it's like it comes out in every little day moments where it's like "Oh I shouldn't have said that why am I feeling that way towards that person?" There's those hidden sins in the heart yeah i have comparison in my heart like there's so many things that you're able to cover up but that's what he wants like that's And so the journey in him purifying you and just like how to not condemn yourself when you have a woe is me moment but and you realize like I'm not where he wants me to be i I think I think I'm I'm I'm struggling with that too and I think we are going to struggle with that until we die because we will not be made perfect until Christ has come and I love the fact that you're honest about that both of you and that you're vulnerable about that and I think that gives people hope and I think about I see the pictures of how y'all have laid hands on women at altars as you've been on your tour all around the nation and and I think about how your honesty and your transparency it gives so many women and so many men just hope especially when you guys are respected in culture and I think when you think about people like you who's respecting the culture but you're being honest about your sinful struggles and things of that nature it gives people who are watching hope that you know if Ari and Angie is still struggling then there is hope for me that I can struggle and still journey right i think the challenge is not struggling the challenge is yielding right i think the bigger issue is when we yield i think struggling is glorious the back half of Romans chapter 7 the Apostle Paul is confessing a struggle right the thing I don't want to do mhm i keep find myself doing and what I want to do I don't do and here is the great Apostle Paul right the writer of maybe twothirds of the New Testament the man that we have all respected for the mysteries that God has given him and yet as an older man in the faith he is honest as he writes the back half of Romans chapter 7 that he is still struggling with some sin he does not tell us what it is he does not give it a name he just the man the thing I don't want to do I keep doing we don't know if it's external we don't know if it's something in his heart but that gives us hope that it is open right and so Paul is struggling right we are we are struggling but I think the beauty in the struggle is is when it hurts us right the beauty in the struggle is is when we feel grieved over it and the beauty in the struggle is is that it is actually the love of the father to keep punching me in my soul when I think wrong so good right like so right it is it is the love of the father to punch me in my soul when I think wrong when I do wrong when I live wrong if I if I botch something in the pull pit in a sermon it is the love of the father through the power of the Holy Spirit and the conviction to punch me in my soul that is the love of the father the most dangerous place to be in is when we are having sinful thoughts or having sinful patterns and we feel no conviction at all yes that is the most dangerous place to be in so I would even say to somebody watching if you feel conviction for your sin you are in a good place wow if the Lord is punching you in your soul you are in a good place if you're still having woe is me moments you are in a good place cuz you're still journeying towards intimacy with Christ and being conformed and dealing with the ugliness of our soul that is in there the person I'm more concerned for Angie is a person who's watching this podcast who claims the name of Jesus who attends church however who's whing out in sin going to sleep and feel no conviction at all that is the person I'm more concerned about i'm more concerned about that person based on your question because that person is coming for a rude awakening that person is going to die if they don't repent if they don't repent they're going to die in their sin wow they're going to wake up in eternity and they're going to stand before the one they claim they loved and he's going to say to them he's going to hear them say "Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and do podcasts in your name and preach sermons in your name and sing songs in your name did we not go to conferences in your name and read books in your name and we sip lattes and did Bible studies in your name?" And they're going to hear him say "Depart from me you work of iniquity." Watch the words Jesus said not you who made mistakes not you who were struggling that's not what he said you worker of iniquity you who enjoyed and took pleasure in the ongoing unrepentant practice of sin you he's going to say "I never knew you depart from me." You see that is the most dreadful and terrible thing that any human being is going to hear and notice he's not talking to the atheist he's not talking to the person who's in an alternate religion he's not talking to the person who was in Islam or the person who is a Hindu or the person who's a Buddhist or the person who's new he's not he's not talking to that person he's not talking to the person that outright does not believe he doesn't exist listen to who he's talking to he's talking to the person that calls him Lord he said "Many will come to me that day and say Lord Lord." Who's calling him Lord people who are quote unquote followers quote unquote of Jesus people who claim to be Christians who claim to say Jesus is my savior and my lord they have his name in their bio they may throw up a scripture every now and then on social media mhm but they love sinfulness and darkness if there's no repentance there's going to be a root awakening right so there is a difference between journeying towards Christ and struggling with sin and claiming the name of Christ and loving sin these are two different categories altogether for one there is grace and for the other there is temporary grace but when they die that grace would have run out on them and then it would have been too late now is the hour for repentance so good does that make sense yes so good now is the hour for repentance yeah he's um Wow i just I'm sorry i'm just like wow um can I ask you something because one of the things we are experiencing with these kids is tormenting thoughts depression anxiety even I keep hearing so much infertility um and those are two different subjects but there just seems to be such an attack on the mind can you talk to us about that i think there's a rise in suicidal ideiation mhm and mental unhealth mhm i think it's going to continue to increase i think a lot of it is spiritual a lot of it is cultural and a lot of it is because of the generation we're living in right now is the first generation in the history of the world in which we have windows into everyone's life through social media and so there is an increase in comparison there is an increase in jealousy there's an increase in envy while you're watching everybody's highlight reels on social media while there is a decrease in vulnerability and honesty we're watching everybody's life and so what that is creating in us is a addiction for an approval an addiction for likes a comparison with other people and so when you have all of this happening at the same time searches for affirmation people pleasing addiction for likes windows of comparison demonic attacks against people's minds a decrease in biblical proclamation you put all these things together and then our easy access to all of these things on our phone and you put all these things together you have a generation that is dealing with a lot of mental struggles right i think we need to attack that spiritually and with God's word and sometimes with counseling but if we don't want to have a conversation about it if we're so ashamed we don't want to talk about it then people continue to be silent sufferers and I think there's a lot of silent sufferers because we feel like in the church we can't broach this conversation we feel like it's awful sinful to say I have mental health issues and because there's a stigma on it it's hard for people to find freedom but I could confess right can I right here on this podcast that I know what it is to preach for 3 years and battle with depression and be on medication for depression and come off a pool pit and drive home and feel ashamed that I'm preaching the gospel to people and driving home battling depression at the same time this is all of 2018 2019 and 2020 going into the pandemic i'm preaching to my church and driving home battling depression i'm seeing a therapist i'm on medication and I'm feeling embarrassed as a result of that and I've never really talked about this publicly but I felt embarrassed and I'm struggling with mental health and felt like where can I get it out man if I if I tell somebody that's how they're going to feel the man of God is battling with mental issues right so because of the shame and the stigma we attached to that a lot of us are doing ministry but struggling at the same time without knowing man there is freedom for that if we could just be honest with one another to say that it is okay to serve Jesus and have mental struggles because if we don't talk about it we just stay bound in it right and even I was driving here I was just thinking about the power of just freedom like this word I have on my hat right now freedom and where there is honesty and where there is community and where there is biblical fidelity and where there is humility man we can help each other journey towards freedom is what we need right and I am finally not ashamed to say that I did ministry for 3 years and struggle badly with depression at the same time sitting in dark rooms sometimes not wanting to live wrestling with suicide and preaching at the same time i am not ashamed to confess that and watch and if someone listening right now if they judge me for that I'll take that and if they persecute me for that I'll take that if they call me a hypocrite I'll take I'll take all of that i'm just being honest i'll take all of that but you know who was with me in that jesus you know who came alongside me in all of that jesus you know who did not condemn me in all of that jesus you know who did not make me feel ashamed in all of that jesus you know who walked me out of that prison jesus you know who worked through people to get me the help I needed jesus you know who brought a godly counselor into my life jesus you know who who has not weaponized that season jesus the only person that tried to weaponize that against me is my adversary but Jesus has not condemned me so I will not allow men to condemn me and watch and if it's under the blood it is now a weapon now for the gospel right if it's under the blood man somebody needs to hear this right now i'm in my spirit somebody listening needs to hear my heart hear my voice if it's under the blood it is a weapon now for the gospel if it's under the blood it is a weapon for the gospel and is for us now to use as a testimony of the love of Jesus and the mercy of Jesus and the grace of Jesus and the power of Christ to bring us through these dark seasons and for us to use them now as testimonies to bring other people out and so if it's under the blood it has now been weaponized for the power of the cross and the power of the Christ and the power of the great commission and we can say with confidence that we will not allow Satan to persecute us for what Christ has walked us out of and we will not allow our enemies to weaponize our past against us if it's under the blood it can be used now to set other people free and my prayer is that someone anyone listening to this moment right here would find the word that's on my hat through Christ they will find freedom freedom through the grace of Christ who is always willing to step into fully all of our suffering and our pain and only if we would do the same for our brothers and our sisters and not condemn each other for our struggles but lean into each other's pain man some of our silent sufferers can become champions for the very things that had them bound and that my brothers and sisters man man that's what we need man we could become champions for the things that once held us bound champions for once was what shame was once shame was once bondage no we could be champions for those things now champions for those things now champions thank you so much for sharing that you know I think just men struggle so much they struggle so much and there's so much shame for men yeah and so to hear a man like as truly powerful as you and as strong as you to know that you dealt with that like even just that is going to free so many people so I pray so I pray so i pray so um can I ask you a question what are you feeling right now with your tears both of you i'm just want to know what you're feeling what are you feeling i just have so many people in my life who struggle and I've had I had such an intense battle with anxiety and panic attacks um that I thought were going to completely take me out like I thought I was going to die for sure jesus and Jesus healed me he really did and um but I know so many people men specifically who struggle so much and I think I live in a really weird tension sometimes with my own testimony of Jesus radically healing my life and my mind and um praying day in and day out for people men that I love for the same thing to happen so to know that power in your own life but to not see it manifest in the lives of the people you care about most no matter how much you beg God and like the tension of being like I can handle that mental health cuz I know myself they can't can we switch like if you if it's only for one of us can I like that's what I live in a lot so Wow man i uh man your heart is so beautiful you know and I can't believe you said you you would switch with someone just for them to have freedom you know and I think about how the Apostle Paul said you know and almost he would almost be willing to give up his own salvation that his kinsmen would be saved and I'm going to join you in prayer for those people you love you know and I'm going to commit to you that I will I'll cry out for them and come alongside you in the spirit to believe God for them that he would he would meet them right where they are and he would bring them out yeah I'm going to do that for you what about you Ari what are you feeling um well a couple things i feel like I turned to the host right brian I just wanted to know what you It's so nice but I think it just feels so nice to hear that you too struggled because no one prepared us for ministry and the spiritual warfare that we faced the warfare and the anxiety and depression coming off those stages not understanding what's going on the warfare and just the people i cry out for them every night i think about them every day i see the way they they battle with suicide and I grieve every day and it's hard to sleep at night and I know I need to give it to Jesus but these kids are in so much pain and it's just really been difficult and so I battle because I'm like I know God you caught me i need to be tough but I just weep over I weep over this this country the suffering that I see at the shows when I meet these people and I go through the same thing in my family where I would switch places i think Ari like I think the beauty of your heart and your what you ladies have seen out there in the country and um when I see a tears when I see a tears I am reminded of when the Lord was getting ready to leave Jerusalem and he looks out over the city and he weeps he cries over his nation how desperately he said he wanted to gather them like a mother gathers their chicks and and so I think what y'all ladies have experienced you know having been on tour for all these months traveling the whole country gosh man this is Y'all are seeing the brokenness of the American church you have you are witnessing firsthand the brokenness of God's people in our country you're seeing firsthand the condition of the souls of God's people in the country and in this moment right Matthew chapter 9 is welling up in my spirit where the Lord focused his disciples he said "Look they're like sheep scattered without a shepherd." And that the harvest is so ripe and what y'all have been seeing out there you've been seeing sheep scattered without shepherds and that scattering in its original language talks about people who are just dealing with spiritual neglect they're wounded they're broken they're tired that's what y'all been seeing out there right i've seen the images of y'all embracing people at the altar and I've seen the tears you shed over people all around the country right and you're seeing the state of the American church you're seeing it firsthand in cities all around the nation and I think the tears that y'all are shedding as y'all have been traveling even the tears you shed right now the tears that I shed I feel like uh these are the tears of our savior I feel like these are the tears that he's shedding and how do we respond to that right back to our knees back to the proclamation of the gospel back to loving as many people as we can and exalting Christ as best we can you know and and uh and I just um seeing your tears in person and seeing your tears on camera watching your podcastes and feeling the depth of your intimacy and the depth of your purity and the depth of your transparency and the depth of what Christ has done in your hearts um man God protect Angie and Ari god protect this podcast man God watch over your souls thank you you know God protect your relationship and order your footsteps god keep leaning into your suffering and protect your minds and your hearts from every line every attack of the enemy i feel that because y'all are on the front line of battle you're going to deal with a lot of warfare and as I'm praying for you I'm going to ask you to pray for me yeah of course right because I feel like right now in this season of my life I was sharing with people around me people I love I'm dealing with more warfare than I've ever dealt with in my entire Christian walk wow you know the last 6 months for me from January until at the time of this recording is June right now from January to June has just been warfare that's all I've known all I known is warfare in the middle of a growing church in the middle of a growing platform in the middle of all of that all I've known has been warfare and attacks and arrows i've seen my wife cry i've seen my daughters cry i've seen my sons cry i've seen I've shed all we know all I know is warfare and misunderstandings and arrows being thrown at my name and my ministry from every direction right and my response to all of that is love and praying for my enemies because I don't have enemies they think they're my enemies i don't have any i pray for them and and all I've known is warfare and it was a point I'm like Lord why am I dealing with so much warfare like why like you were saying like why all these arrows you know and the Lord has to remind me woe is you when all men speak well of you so some will not and blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake he told us some way somehow we have to rejoice i'm still trying to figure that part out i don't have that part figured out yet right like I don't have that part figured out rejoice how am I going to do that and be glad how am I going to do that for great is your reward great great in heaven if y'all figure out that rejoice part that suffering y'all let me know i'll let you know call me we'll call you yeah call me and let me know cuz that part I don't have that part figured out yet maybe it's the the street in me um y'all help me figure that part out but we're going to be going to bat for you in prayer every day yeah I appreciate that have our word i wish we could go for 10 more hours we probably could but we can't we We could well we family we're family you are family thank you you are i just want everybody who's watching and listening to know like there's just there's something about watching someone over a podcast or a sermon on YouTube and there's something that crystallizes when you're with somebody in purses person like you are the real deal you are who you say that you are like the you speak in the presence of God fills the room it is oil from heaven that is on your life it is the anointing of Jesus Christ that comes out of you when you speak thank you Jesus for your life thank you thank you Jesus for your life everything that you've gone through everything that you continue to go through it is all it is all none of it is in vain because of what comes out of you so we bless you Pastor Phillip we bless every single person that tries to come against you in your ministry and we speak we just speak the blessing of Jesus over your life in Jesus name over your ministry over your family we speak the protection of God over you and we plead the precious blood of the lamb over your mind body and spirit in Jesus name in Jesus name thank you wow we bless you Pastor F thank you for this opportunity yeah you want to close it oh yeah sure i'm so Someone's got to close it we're very amateur we don't know how to open or close thank you guys so thank you guys so much may the Lord bless you and keep you may his face shine upon you and give you peace