Living From Sunday 2 Sunday
Living From Sunday 2 Sunday
EP 171: Back It Up: Staying True When It Counts
Have you ever boldly promised something, only to find yourself caving under pressure when the moment of truth arrives? Pastor B delves into a timeless Holy Week story that exposes our human tendency to talk big but fall short when tested.
Drawing from Matthew 26, where Peter confidently declares he would die before denying Jesus (only to deny him three times that very night), this episode uncovers the mechanics of why we fold under pressure and provides practical wisdom for living with authentic integrity. "Pressure busts pipes," Pastor B reminds us, "and whatever is inside of you is what's going to come out whenever pressure comes."
The heart of this message centers around three essential practices for aligning our words with our actions. First, check your why – understand the true motivations behind your stated positions. Are you standing on conviction or simply seeking approval? Second, build daily habits that reinforce what you believe, because "you won't rise to the occasion, you'll default to your habits." Finally, surround yourself with truth-tellers who hold you accountable rather than those who simply echo and amplify your words without substance.
What makes this message particularly powerful is the grace-filled reminder that even after Peter's spectacular failure, Jesus never removed his calling or purpose. Our momentary weaknesses don't define us if we learn from them. As Pastor B concludes: "It's easy to say the right things, but God is looking for people who do the right things." Ready to strengthen your walk between Sundays? Check your why, build the right habits, and walk with the right people.
Welcome to the Living From Sunday to Sunday podcast with your host, pastor B. This podcast is designed to help you walk faithfully with God through the various trials and challenges this life presents. The truth of who we are is revealed in our lives in between Sundays. You will be inspired, challenged and equipped to live a victorious life that will bring glory to God himself. Come on, let's get started. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Living from Sunday to Sunday podcast. I am your host, pastor B. Thank you so much for listening and tuning into today's episode. I believe this is the best 15 minutes of your day, because real change happens 15 minutes at a time, so please make sure that you like, share and subscribe to the podcast. It's available everywhere where podcasts can be found, so today's episode is going to be an interesting one.
Speaker 1:I'm recording this in the middle of Holy Week. Of course, holy Week is the week from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday on Easter, and so naturally, as a Christian, we've been thinking about this particular week and just going over some of the scriptures, and I found an interesting story that I believe will help us. And I found an interesting story that I believe will help us in living from Sunday to Sunday. All right. So it's found in Matthew 26. And it starts at verse 31. Here's what it says. It says Then Jesus said to them you will fall away because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. And Peter answered and says, though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to them. Truly, I tell you, this is this very night before the rooster crows. You will deny me three times. She would deny me three times. And Peter said to him even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all of the disciples said the same. So Big talk, it means nothing if your life doesn't back it up right.
Speaker 1:Many times we say that we're going to do something, we say that we're going to behave in a certain way, we say that we're going to stand for truth, but when pressure comes, it can be really, really difficult to hold on and to back up those words that you said before. And I think this particular story. Jesus, he knows his people, he knows his disciples, he spent time with them actually Right, and additionally, um, he's also, um, he's God, he's Jesus. So he has a level of insight, um, that they are not aware of. And so Jesus knows that as much as they uh, his disciples love him as much as they say, his disciples love him as much as they say that they are ride or die, that when this pressure comes, when this particular test comes upon his disciples, that all of them, with the exception of one, all of them are going to scatter and all of them are going to flee. And Jesus tries to tell Peter hey, you're going to do it too. But Peter is so confident, so brash, so confident in his own abilities, that he says no, jesus, even if I got to die, I'll die before I deny you. And Jesus is like no, that's not the way that it's going to be. And so what I think happens, man and we deal with pressure all the time, and you know, growing up we heard the phrase pressure bust pipes.
Speaker 1:Right up, we heard the phrase pressure bus pipes right and whatever is inside of you is what's going to come out whenever pressure comes. And I think it's important for us to think about, man, what is it that can keep me from not always caving in whenever things get tight, whenever I'm pressured, whenever all of my options have gone away and I'm forced to deal with the reality of my work. I think the first thing we have to do is we have to check our why, check our original position and why we held that position, because when you know why you believe, then you won't fold under pressure. Peter, he had a leading position with the disciples and it's possible that that Peter valued that, that position. And because he valued this position, he was one that wanted to be known as the leader. He wanted to be known as this proud, confident man when there were serious insecurities inside of him. And so pressure always exposes motives.
Speaker 1:We always have to ask ourselves are we trying to impress people or are we living from our convictions? Right, galatians 1 and 10,? It simply asks this question. It says are you trying to please people or are you trying to please God? And I think it's important for us to ask ourselves that question Right? Because if we never answer the question of why, we never take the time out to read scripture, to journal, to really make it clear as to what our why is, it can be really, really easy for us to cave under pressure, for our thoughts to leave us, for us not to have the sure footing that we once believed that we had, right.
Speaker 1:And so, because of that, I think the second thing that we need to do, and what's most important, is for us to kind of rehearse in our mind what we stand for, rehearse in our mind everything that we believe. Right, because there's this famous quote that says you won't rise to the occasion, you'll default to your habits. Right? Do we really have an understanding of why we believe what we believe? Do our patterns of our lives, does it match who we are? Doesn't match what we do. Really, because habits many times, are the results of what we believe and what we commit ourselves to do. Yeah, our patterns and our daily habits will always speak louder than the words that we say. So it's important for us to build these small habits, to retrain our brains, to retrain our minds, to reinforce what we believe. So we should start by saying no, right, saying no to taking shortcuts, by committing to the long process that's required in order for our words to match our actions.
Speaker 1:And then, secondly, you want to speak truth, even when it's inconvenient. Right. You want to be able to have integrity, regardless of the pressure. It's easy to say truth and be loud and brash when there's no opposition, but if you have rehearsed every single day the truth of your situation, the truth of who you are, the truth of a specific circumstance, that, regardless of the outside noise, your truth is going to come out. And part of like our daily walk with God is building a habit of praying when we don't feel like it, reading our Bibles when we don't feel like it. Right, these are things that can enhance our character. They can enhance and strengthen our identity in Christ, so that there's no wavering, there's no questions whenever we are confronted. All right.
Speaker 1:And then the last thing that I think is really important is that you surround yourself with people who want to tell the truth. I think what's so interesting about Jesus and his disciples is that he specifically stated that all of you are going to deny me. Now, john the Baptist is the only or John, sorry, he is the one disciple that stayed with Jesus when he was crucified. Everyone else deserted Jesus, and what's crazy is they repeated the same words that Peter did. Right, this is Peter said to him even if I must die with you, I will not deny you, and all of the disciples said the same thing. So they echoed a position that their heart wasn't really ready to back up.
Speaker 1:Right, and I think it's important that you examine your community. And I think it's important that you examine your community Are the people who are around you? Are they as committed to the truth as you are? Right, because you need people who know you, who will tell you the truth, who will not just be flattered by your words and they won't hype you up, but they will be able to call you out on your bluff or to fully support you when you're speaking the truth. Right, because one of the other things about pressure is sometimes you have to stand by yourself and your community oftentimes may not. They will support you in isolation, they will support you in the background. They will lift up your hands and lift up your arms, and sometimes that means more than being a public face.
Speaker 1:And I think what's interesting is that Peter becomes the lead spokesman for the disciples moving forward. And even in his moment of weakness, and even in everyone else's moment, a weakness Jesus never removed their calling, he never removed their anointing and their purpose. He just knew in this moment they failed, right. And so Peter and his community failed. They failed each other.
Speaker 1:But I think it's important that you got to gotta keep you. Gotta keep people around you who will hold you accountable. Like I mentioned, man, they. It's so easy to be impressed with words, so it's so easy to be impressed by the wisdom of me and the flattery of men and having itching ears and being attached to people who make you feel good and that impress you with their language, right. But it's another thing to be connected to people who know the authentic voice and who are able to hear and seek out truth. And if someone in your circle is not speaking truth, if you love them, you got to call them out. You just have to Right. One of the questions I think you should ask someone, if you're trying to determine if they are a troop teller or not, is ask them have I been consistent, right? Have I been the person that you need me to be every single day? Don't just celebrate my wins, don't just celebrate those large moments, those public moments, but a true friend loves at all times, right. They're with you every single day, highs, lows, in every critical moment, right. So I think it's important, it's important that we don't just talk about the life, but that we live it.
Speaker 1:Peter's brash and bold statement was one that even with good intentions, he could not deliver intentions. He could not deliver Right. So we should stay less, do more. In the words of Hamilton right, let your word mean something. Right, let our words mean something. And I think if we commit to do that, then we will have more respect in the streets, more respect in our homes and we can lead people in the direction that they need to be.
Speaker 1:All right. So you know, it's easy to say the right things, but God is looking for people who do the right things. All right, so this week, do three things for me Check your why, build the right habit and walk with the right people. All right, so again, thank you so much for tuning into the Living From Sunday to Sunday podcast. Of course, this podcast is available and if this helped you stay grounded in between Sundays, if this podcast is doing there for you, please share it with a friend and leave a review. It really does help more than you know. All right, so until next time we'll see you. When we see you y'all, when we see you, have a great one. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel, as well as this podcast everywhere where they can be found. Have a great one.
