Grateful for Godly friends that suggest such amazing books to read! I thoroughly enjoyed studying Philemon. Not just because it was short; but because this short "letter" packed a punch.

All right, you guys, welcome

back to I Can't, He Can.

2

We're here for another Sound Mind, not so

series, because this is just one episode.

3

This is a very short book, and we're

going to be reading through the Book

4

of Philemon today, which maybe it's the

Hispanic in me, I always thought it was

5

Philemon, but now I feel kinda ridiculous

after hearing, so many people and my

6

pastor say Philemon instead of Philemon.

7

So it's Philemon, you guys.

8

but we're going to be doing the

Sound Mind series today based off of

9

this book, and I wanted to say thank

you to my very good friend, Heidi,

10

for actually suggesting this to me.

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We had a very short conversation

a few weeks ago, and I told

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her, I was like, "I'm not sure

what to do after Ecclesiastes.

13

I have some ideas of some books,

but, I just, I wasn't sure what or

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take it," and she suggested Philemon.

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She gave me like a little brief,

description of what, she, was taking

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from it or what she had heard from it.

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And if truth be told, I

had never read that book.

18

I had no idea that it

was even written by Paul.

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It's one of the letters that, that Paul

actually wrote, which I don't know why I

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thought it was just like bigger letters,

not just like this very small one.

21

But that is neither here nor there.

22

I just, I had no idea, and I'm

very grateful because in this very

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small 25 verse, book of Philemon,

there's just, there's a lot.

24

There's a lot of valuable lessons,

and it's something that I can't

25

wait to share with you because- We

could use all the help we could get.

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We could use all the help we could get,

and I truly do believe that we face

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situations like this that Philemon and

Paul had to, face in this, it's not

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a short story, but in this situation.

29

and we could just, we

could take so much from it.

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So without further ado, I just want

to kind of preface this by saying,

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and rather asking you guys, have you

been faced with a situation where

32

you had to kind of out someone?

33

You kinda had to do the, the

righteous thing, or actually

34

just show good character?

35

You had to show good character and be

upright in doing the right thing, even

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if it meant kind of outing someone.

37

I certainly have had that, mostly like in

my professional life, as I was training,

38

different people several years ago.

39

And even now, I do have to keep a certain

accord as to how things are gonna go.

40

people have to do things the right way.

41

You can't just kind of slack off,

you can't lie, you can't, you

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can't do all sorts of things.

43

So you do have to be upright and follow

rules, and this is, in my opinion,

44

what Paul was being faced with.

45

again, you have to always read the Bible

in context, and you have to understand

46

that there are some things that are for

Jews in this time where the, the word

47

was written, and there are things that

obviously we can apply to ourselves today

48

because it was written for what they

call the Gentiles, which the Gentiles

49

are people that are not of Jewish origin.

50

So it was like people of other countries

that were then learning the gospel.

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So essentially, for whoever is

seeing this, I would like to just

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assume, that the majority of people

listening to this are Gentiles.

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We are not Jewish.

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and that's okay.

55

There's nothing wrong with being Jewish.

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I would just like to make that very clear.

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In today's day and age, everyone

is very sensitive about that.

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However, the point is that you must

always read the Bible in context.

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When I first read this, again, 25

verses, very short, but when I read it

60

the first time, I skipped through the

little summary that my Bible gives me.

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I didn't really do a deep dive

to understand Why it was written,

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I just read through the verses.

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And I would like to discern

that the majority of people

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tend to read the Bible this way.

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And you can, because there are things

that are always going to speak to you.

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However, when you understand where the

authors of these books in the Bible,

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came from, what they were enduring,

what they were going through, who

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they were speaking to specifically,

everything begins to connect a lot more.

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And that's why, a few episodes ago,

I think maybe two episodes ago,

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I did that, keep it in context.

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and it's so important.

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It's so important.

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It is relevant to reading the word,

it is relevant to everything that

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we have on social media platforms

today, and it's even relevant

75

into how we speak to our children.

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We can't, we can't teach our

children or, reprimand them

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without giving them a reason.

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They need to know why they are in trouble.

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They need to know, why things are done.

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And sometimes even for us, if we are

in trouble, if the roles are reversed,

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we need to be taught or we need to

be spoken to in a way where we can

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understand, "Okay-" Sometimes you

may not be wrong, but it could be a

83

situation where, "All right, I understand

your reasoning for why you did this,

84

however, in my context, in my job,

in my office, we do things this way.

85

Your way is not wrong,

but it's not my way."

86

So anyway, I say all these things to

say that context is important, and

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the more you understand why things

are written a particular way or why

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things are said a particular way, the

backstory behind anything, it will

89

make a lot more sense, and I truly do

believe it will help you grow as well

90

as an individual because you get to

put yourself in other people's shoes.

91

And, that just kind of draws me

to a little side note that we all

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suffer, through different things.

93

We all come from different walks

of life, and what seems very big

94

or very small to someone does not,

diminish that feeling for that person.

95

so I just kind of, I don't

know, had that thought right now

96

and just wanted to share that.

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especially me, I'm very emotional, so

a lot of times I have a lot of anxiety

98

for certain things, and those problems

are very real and very big to me.

99

But in hindsight, they end up being

very small because they're always

100

resolved, and we always come through.

101

So anyway, that's that.

102

But with Philemon in mind, I want

you all to remember that I...

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And I, off the top of my head, I don't

recall exactly, but some of the books

104

in which Paul wrote, he was imprisoned.

105

He was literally kept in lockdown.

106

He couldn't go anywhere.

107

he had to go basically plead his case,

to, whoever was ruling at that time.

108

I'm not gonna get into details because

I truly don't remember that right now.

109

But I do know that context, that

he was Under arrest, during the

110

majority of the time that he was

writing some of these letters.

111

So in this instance, there was a

slave, and I don't wanna mispronounce

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it, I have it circled right here.

113

It's a little confusing, and I

s- when I read this the first

114

time, I was like, "One-simas?"

115

O- Onesimus.

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Onesimus.

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I'm not sure how you pronounce that

100%, but read it for yourselves.

118

O- let's just call him Onesimus.

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Okay?

120

Onesimus.

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The more I say, the more wrong it sounds.

122

But again, neither here nor there.

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So Paul actually receives this

runaway slave, and this man, Onesimus,

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was actually a slave to Philemon.

125

Now, Paul is the common denominator

between the slave and Philemon.

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Philemon actually was a person

who Paul discipled, a person who,

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started, to be a follower of Christ,

so you know, thank, thank God that

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Paul came into Philemon's life.

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So Philemon has that, understanding of

forgiveness and grace because he heard

130

the gospel and he accepted Jesus, Jesus

Christ into his heart and into his life.

131

So with that being said, Paul

takes Onesimus into his home.

132

Again, this is already an individual,

Paul, who is under arrest.

133

He is dealing all of, with all of

these, situations where he's being,

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seen as a person who's preaching

the gospel and is a problem, and

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essentially he's already in hot water.

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So you would think any person who is

in this kind of situation would be

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like, "Nope, sorry, not today, buddy.

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you, you gotta go.

139

Gotta go.

140

I don't want any problems, and

you have to go back to your,

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your owner," in this case.

142

And he didn't do that.

143

Of course he didn't, he didn't

do that, because he's, he's Paul.

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and side note, I would love to say

that I am like Paul in that sense.

145

I don't know.

146

You know, one day if I encounter

something like that, I could only

147

strive to, to be like Paul, who

is also, very much like Christ and

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embody the Holy Spirit in that sense.

149

But anyway So he dealt with that,

and he took Onesimus in, and at

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that time, Onesimus, Onesimus, the

slave, let's just say the slave,

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the slave, the runaway slave rather,

was not a follower of Christ.

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So he ended up molding him.

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He ended up discipling him.

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He preached the gospel to him.

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He taught him how to be an upright

person and follower of Christ.

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So all in all, the end of the

story is that Paul basically says,

157

"Okay, slave, Onesimus," not really

in those words, but you get me,

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"you need to do the right thing.

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You need to go back to Philemon, plead

your case," and I believe that because

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Philemon is a man of God, is a follower

of Jesus Christ, I believe he will

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find it in his heart to also forgive

and give grace, and we're all good.

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in a nutshell, that is how

I interpreted the story.

163

now, before I read through the text,

I'm just giving this background

164

because this is such a crazy situation.

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You're already in hot water,

and you're dealing with a person

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who essentially committed a, a

big crime as well in that time.

167

you could, like, literally go through...

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I would say you could be

hung, but that's not...

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You could probably be crucified,

and Lord knows what else, they could

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have done to them at that time.

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And just put yourself in those

shoes, like, if you were dealing with

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someone who committed a crime, but

you knew the person that was gonna

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deal with them, could perhaps maybe

give them some grace because they're

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followers of Christ, would you do that?

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Or would you say, "I'm sorry,

figure it out on your own"?

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So just ask yourself that question.

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And I made a few notes on here,

as I was reading, that some of the

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things that really stood out to me,

the words that I got from these 25

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verses in Philemon, was that this is

a story of, number one, forgiveness.

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it's a story of redemption.

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It's a story of selflessness,

of knowing right and wrong, or

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acknowledging right and wrong,

rather, and also of discipleship.

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So if we are already strong in the Word,

if we are not just strong in the Word,

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but we really are making an effort every

day to be a better person, be more like

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Christ, and, really, carry the cross,

like Jesus did, or obviously not like

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Jesus did, but that we, we bear our own

cross and we die to our flesh every day.

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if we are truly being those kinds

of people, we can properly disciple

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other people and say, "Hey, I

know exactly what you're going

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through, but there is another way.

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There is the right way."

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And sometimes, even though the right

way may still, encompass having some,

192

Oh, what's the word I'm looking for?

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May encompass having some, some

lash back, s- consequences.

194

Like, you may have some consequences

from doing the right thing.

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At the end of the day, if you

wouldn't have done that wrong thing,

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you wouldn't be in that position.

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But Through the mercy of God and

through God's grace, if we do the

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right thing, we would most likely

still end up where we have to be

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and it's going to be good for us.

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Because even if there aren't

any consequences, we will

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learn and we will grow from it.

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not to mention that we will be testimonies

for other people, and that itself

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is just so amazing and so beautiful.

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So those are the things and the words

that kind of like I thought about when I

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finished Philemon and really understood,

what was behind the letter to Philemon.

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so again, Paul disciples this runaway

slave that belonged to his friend

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Philemon, and when he is already, firm

in, in Jesus Christ and the Gospel,

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he sends him back with this letter.

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So imagine, the runaway slave

holds this letter from Paul,

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'cause Paul again is imprisoned

and he can't actually go anywhere.

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He sends him back to face his

owner at the time, per se.

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and he's going to ask for

forgiveness and for grace.

213

So I'm going to go ahead and,

begin reading Philemon, eh,

214

I was gonna say chapter one.

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It's not even...

216

It's chapter one, but it's only 25 verses.

217

so we'll go back, eh, into some of the

notes that I had on here once we're done.

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But in a nutshell, that is basically a

summary, and I really wanted you guys

219

to know that because it is so good.

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Anyway, Philemon, verse one.

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Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and

Timothy our brother, to Philemon our

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beloved friend and fellow laborer, to

the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow

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soldier, and to the church in your

house: Grace to you and peace from God

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our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I love that little line.

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Sorry, side note.

227

I've been using that so much more.

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It's such a, a, a beautiful small

prayer, that just goes such a long way.

229

That was verse three.

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Grace to you and peace from God our

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Verse four.

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I thank my God, making mention of you

always in my prayers, hearing of your love

233

and faith which wi- which you have toward

the Lord Jesus and toward all saints,

234

that the sharing of your faith may become

effective by acknowledgement of every good

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thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

236

For we have great joy and

consolation in your love, because

237

the hearts of the saints have

been refreshed by you, brother.

238

Therefore, though I may be very bold in

Christ to command you what is fitting,

239

yet for love's sake I rather appeal to

you being such a one as Paul, the aged,

240

and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

241

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,

whom I have begotten while in my chains,

242

who once was unprofitable to you, but

now is profitable to you and to me.

243

I am sending him back.

244

You therefore receive him, that is, my

own heart, whom I wish to keep with me,

245

that on your behalf he might minister

to me in my chains for the gospel.

246

But without your consent I wanted to do

nothing, that your good deed might not be

247

my compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

248

For perhaps he departed for a while

for this purpose, that you might

249

receive him forever, no longer as

a slave, but more than a slave, a

250

beloved brother, especially to me.

251

But how much more to you, both in the

flesh and in the Lord If then you count me

252

as a partner, receive him as you would me.

253

But if he has wronged you or owes

anything, put that on my account.

254

I, Paul, am writing with my own hand, I

will repay, not to mention to you that

255

you owe me even your own self besides.

256

Yes, brother, let me have

joy from you in the Lord.

257

Refresh my heart in the Lord.

258

Having confidence in your obedience,

I write to you, knowing that you

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will do even more than I say.

260

But meanwhile, also prepare a guest

room for me, for I trust that through

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your prayers, I shall be granted to you.

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Epaphras, my fellow prisoner

in Christ Jesus, greets you.

263

As do Mark, Aristarchus, Aristarchus, oh

my gosh, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

264

The grace of our Lord Jesus

Christ be with your spirit.

265

Amen.

266

That's it.

267

That's all Philemon is.

268

This one book has so many lessons,

and I already explained what I had

269

gotten in the beginning, but now I just

wanna go through some of the verses

270

and the notes that I wrote on here.

271

As always, you guys can

see my little scribbles.

272

They're all over the place,

and I just, I love it so much.

273

I love it so much going back and just

getting these little details and be like,

274

"Man, like, Paul's a really cool dude.

275

Like, I wish I could do that."

276

But anyway, all right.

277

So as I said, I had some notes on here

that this is a book about forgiveness,

278

redemption, selflessness, knowing

right from wrong, and discipleship.

279

However, I'm gonna go towards the

end of the scripture, th- towards

280

the end of the, of the letter.

281

The biggest and most selfless thing,

that I caught on there, maybe you guys

282

caught it, too, but we'll go back to that.

283

the very first verse that I have

outlined on here is verse six, and

284

it says that, "The sharing of your

faith may become effective by the

285

acknowledgement of every good..."

286

Oh, excuse me, "... of every good

thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."

287

So, my little side note says,

"Paul's hope for Philemon."

288

So that's basically his hope.

289

He's saying that, "I'm sending this

guy back to you, and I truly hope

290

that because you are in Christ and

that acknowledgement of everything

291

that is good in Jesus Christ, I

hope you make the right decision."

292

so that was his hope for

Philemon, in my opinion.

293

and then I put that the word

consolation in verse 7, I underlined

294

it, and I put, "Has faith."

295

so verse 7 says, "For we have great

joy and consolation in your love,

296

because the hearts of the saints

have been refreshed by you, brother."

297

So I, like, when I read it, I,

consolation, obviously, like, to

298

console someone, like, we, we're

trying to, like, make something easier

299

or something better for that person

because they're going through something.

300

When I read it, to me, I understood

as consolation is that he has faith.

301

so read it again with that in mind.

302

"For we have great joy and consolation,"

or, or faith, "that in your love, in your

303

love, because the hearts of the saints

have been refreshed by you, brother."

304

So anyway, that was that,

little side note there.

305

And we move on to verse eight.

306

I actually have a few

things circled on here.

307

I have the word fitting, what is

fitting, which I circled fitting, and I

308

put, "What is right," meaning the law.

309

So what is fitting a lot

of the time is, the law.

310

Like, you have to do the right thing.

311

then I put, I circled, "Yet for

love's sake," yet for love's sake,

312

and then I put a little square

around, "I rather appeal to you."

313

all these things are just,

like, little keywords that,

314

jump out at me as I'm reading.

315

My side note on here says let me see.

316

Yeah, Onesimus, whom I have begotten.

317

Oh, in verse 10, "I appeal to you

for my son Onesimus, who I have

318

begotten while in my chains."

319

And then my side note to that

says, "Takes responsibility,

320

Christ-like, just like Jesus."

321

So the same thing.

322

So he even says that while he was in

chains, while he was imprisoned, he

323

took Onesimus as it was his own son.

324

So he's taking responsibility

for knowing that he ran away, and

325

holding him, and just trying to

teach him like a father would a son.

326

so let's read eight through 10 again,

keeping in mind the little things that I,

327

scribbled, and underlined, and all that.

328

Verse eight: "Therefore, though I might

be very bold in Christ to command you

329

what is fitting," again, what is right

or what is the law, "To command you what

330

is fitting, yet for love's sake," so even

though this might be right, the fitting

331

thing, the lawful thing, "Yet for love's

sake," because you have love in you, you

332

have Christ in you, you know right from

wrong as well, "I rather appeal to you,"

333

he chooses, instead of sending him to

whoever was going to detain him or if

334

he was also gonna be imprisoned 'cause

he ran away, Paul, "I rather appeal to

335

you," Paul rather appeal and write to

Philemon "Being such as, being such a one

336

as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner

of Jesus Christ," verse 10, "I appeal

337

to you for my son, Onesimus, whom I have

begotten while in my chains, who once was

338

unprofitable to you but now is," and I

circled is, "profitable to you and to me."

339

So Paul is clearly outlining

that before Onesimus was no good.

340

He was bad.

341

He did all things wrong.

342

He ran away.

343

But now he's sending him back, and he's

saying, "I am taking responsibility.

344

This is my son, who, while I was

in chains, I basically brought him

345

up and showed him a better way,

and now he is profitable to you."

346

So in a way, like, this is also kind

of like what we do for our kids.

347

One day our kids are gonna leave the

nest, they're gonna get married, and

348

this is basically what we're doing.

349

We're saying to their future

spouses, "Hey, you know, maybe

350

they weren't profitable to you

before, but I think I did a good

351

job and they're, they're good to go.

352

They're ready to be adults in, in society.

353

They're ready to get married.

354

They're..."

355

You know, you could only hope that they're

just good, upright, young men and women.

356

So it's basically the same thing

that Paul did for Onesimus.

357

Moving on, I have here in, let me

see, in verse 15, "This purpose".

358

I put to be saved, so I feel like Paul

meant when he said, "For this purpose",

359

I feel like he meant that the purpose

of Onesimus running away and going

360

through all of these things that, this

debacle that they're all in, is for him

361

to be saved, for him to come to Christ

and, and to be another soul saved.

362

So verse 15 says, "For perhaps he departed

for a while for this purpose, that you

363

might receive him forever," verse 16, "no

longer as a slave, but more than a, but,

364

but more than a slave, a beloved brother,

especially to me, but who much more to

365

you, both in the flesh and in the Lord."

366

So not only was he a slave to him, but

now he's returning, again, still as

367

a slave, he may still work for him,

but he's also a brother in Christ.

368

Now they have that even

bigger purpose for each other.

369

and they can carry each other in

other ways, not just, employee

370

and employer, for example.

371

my little side note here says,

"Not only as his slave again, but

372

also saved and brother in Christ."

373

So exactly I have verse 17, I put

side note, "We are all the same,

374

especially in Christ's eyes."

375

And verse 17, I put, the words count me.

376

I circled count me, and I put right

next to that, to accept or believe.

377

So verse 17, Paul says to Philemon

in the letter, "If then you

378

count me as a partner, receive

him as you would me," verse 18.

379

"But if he has wronged, if he has wronged

you or owes anything," and I underlined

380

this in bold, "put that on my account."

381

Okay, if you're listening audio only,

I, like, opened my eyes very wide.

382

"Put that on my account."

383

I just pause for a reaction.

384

Okay?

385

So my side note there, I, going back

like how I said, side note, we are all

386

the same, especially in Christ's eyes.

387

So if you count me as a

partner, receive me as you would

388

receive him, as you would me.

389

And in Christ's eyes, we're all the same,

so it doesn't matter what we do, doesn't

390

matter what we say, we are all the same.

391

One's sin is not bigger than the other's.

392

If we profess with our lips that

Jesus Christ is our Lord and

393

Savior, he is going to accept you

and take you into his kingdom and

394

reconcile you back to God one day.

395

So it doesn't mean, that, that

you're better than another person.

396

God loves us all the same.

397

Jesus will forgive all the

same if the heart is right.

398

so I don't know, I just had

that little side note there.

399

But in verse 18, where Paul says,

"Put that on my account," my little

400

side note says, "The ultimate lesson."

401

To me, this was the ultimate lesson,

and when I talked about selflessness,

402

this is where I got selflessness.

403

This is the most selfless

act that one can do.

404

Even though Paul has nothing to do

with Onesimus until now, when he was

405

discipling him and showing him the gospel

and how to be a, more Christlike and

406

how to be better, this is the ultimate

lesson because he is saying to Philemon,

407

"Listen, accept me," accept, pardon me,

"accept Onesimus as you would accept me.

408

Because we are brothers, you

know the gospel-" You should

409

know grace, you should know love.

410

Accept him as you would accept me.

411

But if he does owe you something,

if he did steal something, put it

412

on my account, put it on my tab.

413

I got it, don't worry.

414

I will pay you back.

415

So if there was a problem of theft,

if there was a problem of, also just

416

running away, okay, running away he

can forgive because he is in Christ.

417

He should have the Holy Spirit,

and w- we're called to forgive.

418

But what about the issue of theft?

419

Paul said, "If there is anything that

he owes, put that on my account."

420

And I'm also assuming that it may not just

have been, like, a theft, type, verbiage.

421

It...

422

I feel like it may also have been,

just to really ask him to truly

423

forgive and surrender that, and

just say, "Look, put it on me.

424

I'm taking the burden of this man to show

him and to teach him how to walk upright."

425

So however you wanna look at it, I do

think that this is the ultimate, ultimate

426

lesson, and it's the most selfless of all.

427

Because how many of us would take

other people's problems for ourselves?

428

How many of us would take

other people's debts?

429

Probably not many.

430

And if you think of the Man that

took everyone's debt, that washed

431

away and wiped away everyone's

sin, that was Jesus Christ.

432

So how beautiful and how grand and

how amazing that this one man, Paul,

433

would be willing to do something not

as grand as, as Jesus, but still a very

434

Christ-like gesture, in my opinion.

435

and selflessness

436

True surrender of giving your

all, in my opinion, is, is love

437

Oh my God.

438

And if you're watching, if you're

listening, I'm pausing 'cause I'm a little

439

emotional, but every time I think of Jesus

440

Every time I think of Jesus and

441

The magnitude of what he did

442

It just gets bigger every time.

443

I'm sorry that I'm struggling right now.

444

I'm trying not to, I'm trying

not to bawl my eyes out.

445

Love is action

446

Sorry, guys.

447

Love is action.

448

Love is selfless

449

Love is just giving your all.

450

And, and yes, of course, you know,

what was done to Jesus on the cross

451

was horrific and just wrong on so

many levels, and no one would ever

452

endure that ever again to that extent.

453

But, but the reason why He

did it Because he loves you

454

And again, very much like Jesus,

Paul had the Holy Spirit within him.

455

Paul was in him, and through Jesus, he

was able to, be selfless and disciple

456

Onesimus and teach him and also remind

Philemon of the gospel and put him

457

in a position where he had to make a

decision, as to what he was gonna do.

458

Was he gonna choose grace?

459

Was he gonna choose to,

give more consequences?

460

and Paul still said, "But if there

is, if there is something still

461

that you need, I will take it.

462

Put it on my account."

463

And that is exactly what Jesus did for us.

464

He took all our sins and

he put it on his account.

465

He put it on his account,

and we are now debt-free.

466

We live in a sinful world, but

there is no condemnation in our

467

sin because we are forgiven.

468

Our slate was wiped clean on that cross

469

So I hope that is clear.

470

I hope that is clear.

471

so thank you, Lord, for teaching all

of that to us through your sacrifice,

472

for teaching that to Paul, for leaving

him with that, and for him Through you,

473

through your Spirit, just leaving us

these nuggets and these books and these

474

letters, that can teach the world so

much of your love and grace and your

475

selflessness and everything that you are.

476

my side note here for verse

21 and 22, I wrote for verse

477

21, "Paul affirms his faith in

Philemon making the right choice."

478

So verse 21 says, "Having confidence,"

meaning him having faith in Philemon,

479

"Having confidence in your obedience,

I write to you, knowing that you

480

will do even more than I say."

481

So like Paul is saying, "I

already know because you're firm

482

in the faith, I already know

you're gonna do the right thing."

483

Verse 22, on my side note, Paul says,

"Paul even asks to have a room made for

484

him because through prayer, he has faith

that he will be released from prison."

485

so verse 22 says, "But meanwhile,

also prepare a guest room for

486

me, for I trust that through your

prayers, I shall be granted to you."

487

And man, if that's not

faith, I don't know what is.

488

But I pray that we can

all have Paul's faith.

489

I pray that we can all be as in prayer

and as just in the mud with our, our

490

faith and just, like, rolling around

in it, and just trying to continue

491

to cover ourselves in prayer because

the power of prayer is, is amazing.

492

And while we think sometimes

that our prayers go unanswered

493

and God is quiet, He's not.

494

He's working.

495

There's two choices.

496

He's either working or His silence is an

answer, but it's up to you and to me, it's

497

up to us to decipher what is from God.

498

Is it that He's just working and I need to

be obedient and patient, or is He silent

499

because deep down in my heart, I know this

is not for me, and the Lord is telling

500

me, "It's not for you," in His silence.

501

so anyway, so I truly hope, as I

always say, I truly hope that you

502

guys, learned something from this book.

503

There's just no way that you guys didn't

learn anything because this book was

504

short, 25 verses, but it was beautiful,

and it was amazing, and there's just

505

so many wonderful lessons that we

can also pass on to our children.

506

If there's something that we may want

our children to be, it's we may want our

507

children to learn from this book one day.

508

obviously, the Bible as a whole,

this right here, there's just

509

everything in here is worth

teaching to the entire world.

510

But- I say to you that there's a lot

of amazing lessons, especially of

511

selflessness and forgiveness, Too many

times we hold on to things of the past.

512

Too many times we hold on to grudges,

and forgiveness is the most amazing gift

513

that we can give ourselves in trials.

514

We don't have to blame ourselves

for other people's wrongdoings.

515

We don't have to blame ourselves

for our own wrongdoings.

516

Sometimes that's just

how we're gonna grow.

517

Sometimes that's just how we're going

to evolve and move on to the next level.

518

If we have our own businesses,

sometimes we have to test the waters.

519

We failed, it's okay.

520

It's okay.

521

Through prayer and supplication, ask

God to continue to guide you, and to

522

give you the tools and to give you

the knowledge to take your business

523

and yourself to that next step.

524

Through prayer and supplication,

if you have something that you are

525

struggling with, with your children,

with your couples, your spouse, your

526

husband, your friend, your family, pray.

527

And I myself need to follow that

because I've been praying a lot more

528

lately, but I wasn't praying enough.

529

I wasn't praying enough, and believe

me, the Lord Jesus Christ and God

530

the Father and the Holy Spirit guide

us, and they show us, and they speak

531

to us, but it's up to us to tap into

this, this gift that resides in us.

532

It's, it's up to us to u- to use

it, to use it and to call on Him to

533

give us that supernatural strength

that Jesus Christ can give us.

534

It's up to us.

535

It's up to us

536

to stand firm in our faith, to forgive,

to be selfless, to love, to teach.

537

So anyway, my friends, thank you all.

538

Thank you all.

539

I am so happy and so blessed that

you guys are here week after week

540

listening to the I Can He Can podcast,

to listening to the Sound Mind series.

541

I can't wait to have our next

episode, and I truly hope,

542

again, that this has blessed you.

543

I love you all.

544

Take care.