Living From Sunday 2 Sunday
Living From Sunday 2 Sunday
EP 180: Honest Discipleship
Truth has a unique way of making us uncomfortable before it makes us free. In this transformative episode of Living From Sunday to Sunday, Pastor B dives deep into the concept of "honest discipleship" and why true spiritual growth demands radical transparency.
Drawing from John 8:32, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free," Pastor B unpacks a profound spiritual principle: "You can't conquer what you won't confront, and you won't confront anything that you can't confess." This framework creates a roadmap for authentic spiritual transformation that begins with acknowledgment and ends with victory.
The journey toward freedom requires three levels of honesty: with God (confession), with ourselves (confrontation), and with others (conquering). Each step builds upon the previous one, creating a foundation for sustainable growth. Pastor B vulnerably shares his own discipleship journey with financial management, revealing how pride kept him cycling through the same struggles until he embraced mentorship and accountability.
While our culture champions finding your "own truth," Pastor B reminds us that God's way remains the ultimate path to freedom. Jesus never promised absence of pain but offered something better—hope, help, and comfort through life's inevitable challenges. When we abide in God's Word and allow it to influence every aspect of our lives, we experience the freedom that comes from living authentically.
Ready to experience meaningful spiritual gains? Identify areas where you're resisting God's conviction, pray for discernment regarding potential mentors, and commit to transparency with someone who can handle your vulnerability. Your discipleship journey doesn't have to remain stuck—honest reflection paired with committed obedience leads to the transformation your heart truly desires.
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 guys so much for tuning into today's episode.
Speaker 1:I believe that this is the best 15 minutes of the day, so make sure that you like, share and subscribe. Real change happens 15 minutes at a time. So you are in the right place to be impacted, to be challenged and to have someone help you live from Sunday to Sunday, all right. So today's episode I want to talk about honest discipleship right, honest discipleship, one of the things that I've learned. I've had some pretty good mentors. One of my best mentors mentioned something to me many, many years ago that has just stuck with me, and so he always says you can't conquer what you won't confront and you won't confront anything that you can't confess. And so I believe that when you're looking at discipleship, when you're looking at the development and the process of spiritual growth and spiritual transformation, there's a level of honesty that has to apply, that we have to utilize in order for us to get to the place that we really, really want to be. So today we're going to talk about honest discipleship, all right. So I want us to kind of look at John, chapter eight, verse 32, right, John eight and 32. So it's a scripture everybody knows, we're very, very familiar with it, but I want to talk about it and send our conversation about it today, all right. It says and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free or make you free. That's what the king james king james version says that the truth is going to make you free, all right now. Like King James Version says that the truth is going to make you free, All right Now.
Speaker 1:The only way that we can really experience the freedom that's already been secured for us is that we have to embrace truth, right, we have to. We can't live in the comfort of lies, we can't be OK with being deceived, because the search for truth, the journey for truth, really involves us being uncomfortable, us getting rid of the facade that we've grown accustomed to and us facing the reality of our situations, facing the reality of ourselves, right. So it is when we embrace this truth, that is when we can honestly say that we need Jesus, that we need help. Right, that we're incapable of redeeming ourselves, incapable of really forgiving both ourselves and other people. That's one of the difficulties of life. Is forgiveness right? Because it's easier to hold a grudge than it is to release it and set someone else free? Right, because it's easier to hold a grudge than it is to release it and set someone else free? Right, because everything that has been done to us, we want to, in turn, do that to other people. But that is not the way that Jesus did it for us, right? When he forgave us, he literally took our sin and he cast it away. Right as far as the East is from the West. That is, how far our sin is from from Jesus, right? So we have to embrace truth as well as understanding that the truth of the matter is that we need God, we need help, we need a savior and a Lord. Ok, so anytime that we want to be discipled, we have to first know that we need help right Now.
Speaker 1:In this particular text, in John, chapter eight, jesus is actually speaking to. He's speaking to Jewish believers, right, and it's important that we understand that they're Jewish believers, because there is a culture, there is a context of earning your place with God through circumcision, through certain rites and traditions, and that was the only way that the Jewish people felt that they were close to God is by their traditions and by their practices. And so these Jewish believers, they have heard Jesus and they believe that he is the Messiah, right, and so they're following him, but they still have this heritage that they're working through right. And so Jesus is trying to explain to these Jewish believers that it is not our heritage, it is not our culture that saves us, it is not our um, us striving to be good people. That's not what saves us, that is not what makes us free right, because all of us, every man, has sinned. Every man has the desire to go against the word of God, to go against the things of God, that is, the bonds of chains that everyone goes through right. And so, because we all struggle with sin, then, even no matter how much we try to live great, we will always need Jesus, because sin cannot be ratified, cannot be washed away, cannot be overcome without Jesus.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus is, um, this group of believers, that the only way for you, um, to really be my disciples, the first thing you got to do is you have to abide in the word. Right, you, the word of god has to be paramount, it has to to be preeminent in your life. Right, it can't just be a book of you can't see the word of God as a book of suggestions. Right, we must see the word of God as commandments that enrich our daily lives, that allow us to get closer to Jesus, that allow us to be the best representatives on the earth that God has wanted us to be. Right, and so, again, the freedom that we're after. Right, because Jesus says, again, you will know the truth, and it is the truth that makes us free, the truth of who Jesus is, the truth of the value of the word of God.
Speaker 1:Right, this is a discipleship discipleship, excuse me journey that we are walking through. Right, we're, we're wanting to be disciplined followers of God. That's what Jesus gives in his final commission to us. He tells us to go and make disciples. Disciples are disciplined followers of Jesus, and so the discipline part. That is what we're focusing on today, right, we're focusing on how do I develop into the people, the person, the man or woman, the boy or girl that God wants me to be.
Speaker 1:It starts with honesty, right. It starts with us being. It starts with us agreeing that I need a savior, I need God, right, so that's one of the first things. And so we talked about abiding in his word. Right, we're talking about allowing the word of God to dictate my actions, to control what I think about, to influence what I think about, right, whatever things are of good, report, if it be any virtue, if it be any praise, think on these things. That's what Philippians 4 and 6 says, right, so all of these, every part of our lives, when we are honest and when we live in the word of God, we allow the word to have access to every part of us, and so what that means is nothing is off limits. So it will impact how we see the world. It'll impact how we see others. It'll impact how we see our sales, and we have to be, we have to allow god to do that right.
Speaker 1:Secondly, I think we have to acknowledge that God's way is the ultimate path to truth. Right. In today's age, we all know that we are trying man is trying to define its own truth. Right, and the trap of searching for your own truth is that it is the easiest path to destruction. It is the easiest path to to really harming yourself. Overall, overall, right. There's so much deception and so many tricks and traps that await those who try to seek for truth outside of God and outside of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Right, because to know the truth, to understand the truth, is to acknowledge it. Right. Jesus says if you acknowledge the truth of my word, if you acknowledge the truth of my purpose, if you acknowledge the truth that you need a savior and that I am the one, jesus Christ, who can save you and can redeem you and can help you to experience the freedom that you desire, so well then, freedom is yours, it's your birthright. Right. And so we can't really experience that freedom if we don't acknowledge God's way, if we don't follow him step by step and wherever he leads us. We know that his way is the right way because, man, whenever we follow jesus, it really is, um, it's the same path everyone else takes but it.
Speaker 1:But we have hope, we have help, we have comfort, we have um a way to navigate the ups and downs of life, right? Jesus never promised us that there wouldn't be rain, or he didn't promise a sunshine. He didn't promise a life absent of pain and suffering, but he did say be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. He says. In this life you shall have tribulation, we shall have trials and heartache, but to be of good cheer, I overcame everything that you are experiencing and that you will experience. So, because I did it and I'm leaving a comforter to direct your path and to help you through that, you can make it as well. So that's the comfort, that's the solace that I think we have to hold on to, is that God's way is the best way. He's going to keep me as I navigate through this life.
Speaker 1:Now, I think there's three levels of honesty that I think we really have to utilize if we're going to be consistent, faithful disciples of God. Right, because again, we're talking about honest discipleship. We're not talking about trying to impress people, we're talking about the nuts and bolts of what it really means to be a disciple of God, right? So the first thing you have to do is you have to be honest with him, right? That quote I mentioned earlier, right says that you won't confront. I mean, you won't conquer what you won't confront and you won't confront what you won't confess.
Speaker 1:Right, it really starts with the confession. So, being being honest with god, that is the very first thing that we have to do. Right, we literally have to acknowledge man, god, I really need you and you are the one that can help me. Right. And I think if we acknowledge, if we're honest with ourselves, then that is when God will allow us, will come and give us the help. Right, we must confess that we've sinned. Right. That's what Romans 10, 9 through 10 says that if you confess with your mouth, right, the Lord Jesus. Right, confess that you've sinned, confess that you need a savior, then we shall be saved. Right, confess that you sinned, confess that you need a savior, then we shall be saved. Right.
Speaker 1:Man, in all types of addiction programs or self-help programs, it all has the same beginning you can't get help if you don't accept that you need it Right. So the first thing we have to do is we have to be honest with God, all right. And then the second thing that we have to do is we have to be honest with ourselves, right, that's the confronting part this is the part that requires the most work is confronting ourselves and confronting the errors of our ways. Right, there's a scripture and this is what I was just looking up James, chapter one, and I'm gonna look at verse 23 and 24. Okay, it says for if you listen to the word and do not obey, it's like glancing at yourself in a mirror, for you see yourself, walk away and forget what you look like.
Speaker 1:How many times have we had access to spiritual teaching? We've listened to a preacher on YouTube, on Instagram, on TikTok, and we knew that that person was speaking truth to our hearts. But it was such a difficult call. It was such a difficult word and a challenge that we didn't want to really obey and listen to what was being said. We can't hope for change if we never put in the work of pursuing said change right. We have to not just be a hearer of the word, but a doer as well. It doesn't help us if we think about it. We have honest reflection. It doesn't help us if we have honest reflection without obedience Like.
Speaker 1:We need both honest reflection and a commitment to obey, a commitment to put in the work, a commitment to saying, no matter how long this takes. I'm committed to see the change that my heart desires. I don't want to look like this anymore. I don't want to think like this. This addiction has gotten out of control and it's impacting every other part of my life. I need to change. So there's work involved. Right, you can have a great wish, but if you don't commit to putting in the work, it's, it's a futile desire, right, right.
Speaker 1:And so so we talked about being honest with God. That's the confession. We talked about being honest with ourselves. That's the confession. We talked about being honest with ourselves. That's the confrontation. And then, lastly, we want to be honest with others, and that's really how we conquer the faults and the sins that have kind of tripped us up forever. Is that we're open and we're honest with someone. We allow someone to walk alongside with us. Right, discipleship takes time, right, and so we have to be open to allow others to walk with us to see our scars. We've got to be open, because if we're not open to help, then I promise you it'll never, never, ever happen. So I want to talk to you about, I guess, a personal story or testimony here, about this process.
Speaker 1:So I am currently, like right now going through a mentorship challenge and there's some areas in my life that I've tried to manage on my own Right. And in my attempts to manage managing these things on my own, nothing got better. Right, and I was too ashamed to ask for help. Right, I needed help with my finances because, no matter how much I wanted to improve financially, I still was trying to do it on my own Right. I was trying to make ends meet and robbing Peter to pay Paul all of the cliches financially. I was trying to do it because, in my pride, I wanted to be able to do it myself.
Speaker 1:But someone else saw in me that this particular area of your life you've been circling around the same drain forever, and he wanted me to be able to be free in this area. So he said hey, let's sit down, let's look at your budget, let's see what opportunities we can find so that you can set yourself up to be different in six months, to be different in 12 months, because you may want to do these things and you may want to be a certain way and have a certain amount of financial freedom, but those things do not happen overnight, and so for me, the journey of financial freedom was something I didn't really want to embrace because, honestly, there are some things that I love and I spend money urgently and rapidly and I didn't really want to give that up. If you've been listening to this podcast long enough, you know Chick-fil-A is a blessing and a curse, because I'll get Chick-fil-A just randomly and it doesn't even matter. These are things that he's helping me with and I'm very appreciative because we're having honest conversations. And I'm looking at it in black and white and I'm like, oh my God, I've really been wasteful in this area. I thought I was in a better position in this area and I'm really not Right. So he's helping me through this and so that's the value of honest discipleship, of honest discipleship Me being honest with God. Lord, I need help Me being honest with myself. I need to attack this from a different way. So let me agree with the mentorship and so when I'm honest with because it doesn't help me when I'm having these conversations with my mentor, I'm the one putting my financial information into this budget. If I'm lying and putting false data into this budget spreadsheet, that does not allow the mentor to help me get to where I need to be. I need to be honest with how much money I'm spending, right, right. So that's the, that's the purpose, that's the value of this particular process that I'm going through, and so I really want you to think about your walk with God.
Speaker 1:Here's your, your takeaway in your homework today. All right, I want you to identify the truth of where you are in your walk with God. Are you avoiding something that God has told you that you need to accept, that you need to change, that you need to stop doing? Are you avoiding it? Pray and ask God who you need to connect with. That can challenge you to be honest, and you need to pick someone that can handle your transparency, because we all know not everyone is capable of handling the truth of who we are. If we are, if we open up ourselves to be vulnerable, then that also opens up the possibility for people to mistreat us, and so that's why our discernment and our choices must improve. It must matter, all right. So you have your homework for today, all right. Be prayerful in your choices, and I really believe that, if you agree to be honest about your discipleship journey, that you'll begin to see meaningful spiritual gains in your life and it'll turn you into the person that God has already created you to be All right. So that's it for today, y'all.
Speaker 1:Thank you again for listening to today's podcast. Of course, this podcast is available everywhere where podcasts can be found, so that is Spotify, apple Podcasts, goodpods. Wherever you listen to podcasts, make sure that you like, share and subscribe if you're watching on my YouTube page, and make sure that you hit the notification bell, because I know you're already subscribed, right, right, so subscribe, hit the notification bell. That way, anytime that a new episode drops, you will be the first to know. Right, so, until next week, I'll see you when I see you. Bye, y'all. Week, I'll see you when I see you. Bye, y'all. 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.
