¶ Intro / Opening
The world is changing and time is running out . This is Renewed Mindsets , where we confront Biblical truth head-on , no sugarcoating , no compromise .
We expose false doctrine , reveal fulfilled prophecy and shine light on the demonic deception of these last days , but we also stand firm on the hope of Christ's return , the call to holiness and the urgency of true salvation . It's time to renew your mind , for the time is now . Let's go , boys . Hey , welcome to Renewed Mindsets .
I'm Rick and I'm so glad you're here and today we have Lauren with us . Lauren , how are you ?
I'm great , rick , how are you ?
Are you excited ? I'm very excited , yeah , same . Here we're jumping into something that I think hits home for a lot of people right now . We jumping into something that I think hits home for a lot of people right now . It's part two of the latest episode of Finding Peace in the End Times .
Oh yeah .
And we're not talking about just any kind of peace , but we're talking about God's peace , the kind that holds you steady when everything around you is shaking .
Yes , especially during this time where nothing seems certain , everything is going to chaos . Some people might find it hard to find a steady peace . It's like the whole atmosphere is just heavy right now , isn't it ?
Yes , yes , there's worldly peace that people are searching for , that people are finding comfort in all their materialistic things and all their money and houses and relationships , but none of that is going with anybody when we all check out of here . There's a greater peace that surpasses all understanding . Ultimately , that comes from Jesus Christ only .
Exactly . Jesus even warned us about this in John 10.10 . He said the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy . Peace is one of the first things that the devil goes after . If he can get your peace , he can cloud your judgment , kill your joy and distract you from your purpose .
That's right , and his biggest weapon is fear . Fear is something he will get you with every single time if you let him , no matter what it is , no matter what life circumstance comes your way .
If it's fear of losing a job , fear of losing somebody you love , he's going to get you with it every single time and it plays on your mind heavy if you let it , and that will ultimately steal your peace and your joy .
Yeah , the peace that Jesus offers is so different than what the world offers , right , right . John 14 , 27 says my peace I give you , not as the world gives , and that's huge , because the world's peace depends on circumstances , when everything's calm and everything's going your way . But God's peace defies circumstances .
Right . God's peace is when the storms and the wind and the seas are raging around you . God's peace is knowing that he's there with you , no matter what's going on .
The world offers you a temporary peace by giving you , you know , comfort in your , your family , your job , your money , even things such as like people turn to alcohol , people turn to drugs , people turn to all of that worldly stuff . The cheeseburgers , yes , yes , all the cheeseburgers . Food . Food is a big one that will get many , many people .
Well , the difference is that you can be in the middle of global chaos and still have stillness in your spirit , because you know who's really in control , and that's kind of where we are right now , in these times , and that's . The challenge , though , is to keep your eyes fixed on God .
Isaiah 26.3 says you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you . We got to keep our mind stayed or fixed on God , even when it feels like everything's falling apart . But , that's also our strength . The devil can't steal what we surrender fully to God .
Right
¶ Marker 3
and like in Hebrews 11.10 , it says Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations , a city designed and built by God himself .
Yeah , true . So what we're going to talk about today is how to do that , how to hold on to God's peace in a world that's falling apart , because peace isn't passive . Peace is powerful .
Let's do it , I'm ready .
So stick with us , we're just getting started . If you've been struggling to find your rest , or find rest in your soul , or if fear has been creeping in more than you'd like to admit , you're not alone . You got two people here who have experienced it recently . But there's a way to fight back , and it starts with remembering who your peace comes from .
So I'm just going to jump right in , Lauren , with everything that's going on in the world wars , disasters , you know weather situations we just had flooding from a couple hours of rain in the morning .
Yeah , we did .
Moral confusion . Do we even want to get into moral confusion ? Men , women , who can define that ? How do you personally define peace in this season ? How do you ?
personally define peace in this season . For me personally , when it comes to the wars and all the disasters and moral confusion with everything for one , I just have to remember that the Bible tells us that this stuff will happen . The Bible prophesies that all of these things will happen , from the wars to all the disasters .
It's the birthing pains that this world is going through . But you have to know that word , you have to be in your word and reading it to know that these things will happen .
Give me an example . So , like I love putting you on the spot .
All of the wars .
No , I mean , give me an example of scripture . Oh gosh , how about I throw you one Second ? Timothy 1.7 . For God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and of a sound mind . It really to me that tells us it doesn't matter what's happening yeah , war is bad , and if bombs were exploding around us ? Yeah , I'm gonna be scared yeah .
I'm gonna be scared , but there needs to be a peace in that . I mean , it's all well and good to say it because bombs aren't going off around us , but we have to know that if that bomb lands right on our heads , that that next moment we'll be standing in front of Jesus .
That's right . A lot of things are easier said than done , because I would definitely be scared .
Well , I was watching the house of David and it was the final episode . Boy , you are making a lot of noise over there . Someone doesn't know podcast etiquette . I was watching the house of . David , it's okay , you're , you're , you're little , you're young .
Again , I was watching the house of David it was one of the final episodes and that girl that David likes , I can't think of her name . What's her name ? The princess what's her name ? The princess yeah , you hadn't seen the last episode no , oh well , I'm not caught up so he's about to go fight Goliath . And she said are you scared ?
And I'm like , ooh , I got to hear this . And he said terrified , I'm terrified , he was terrified Physically in the world . Our flesh has got to be scared and fearful . Yeah , but our inner man needs to know there's something different . That's the only reason that David was able to stand against Goliath is because his faith in God .
He knew that God was there to protect him , no matter what . Even if he got hurt and died , he knew that God was there to protect him .
No matter what ?
Even if he got hurt and died , he wasn't fearful of that . But everybody's going to be scared going up against a giant that can break him in half like a matchstick .
right there was a stronger man inside of David that was able to help him defeat Goliath Right .
But we all have that man in us . Yeah , we all have that man . And we all have that man in us yeah , we all have that man . And that's what that , timothy says for God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and a sound mind .
Those three things power , love and a sound mind counteract the fear right , you're going to have some , you're going to be scared .
I would definitely be scared .
I think pastor was talking the other night about the covering and having a blanket that's too small and that happens to me all the time . I'll be half asleep and I'll hear my name . I don't know where that sound comes from . I don't know . I want to think it's God , but I'm like . I don't think God's voice would scare me .
And what's the first thing I do before I say Jesus , I pull my feet inside the covers because it can't get you when you're under the covers , right .
Or have you ever been like so asleep that you wake up out from under the covers completely and you're freezing ? You wake up freezing cold .
Yeah , I like that , though , cause you can put those covers on and you're freezing . You wake up freezing cold , yeah , I like that , though , because you can put those covers on and you're warm again .
No , that's not a good feeling , though , to wake up cold .
Well , I'd rather wake up cold than hot and sweaty . Yeah , that's true . That's a nice . Anyway , man , you are the noisiest person on that microphone , so , gosh , i'm'm gonna have to edit all this out of . People gonna think I'm mean to you ? No , keep it in okay , I'll keep it in people need to know that you're mean , so how ?
Do you think that peace from god differs from the kind of peace that the world promises ?
so the peace from god , it firstly , the world is going to offer you materialistic things to give you peace . It's going to offer you , you may find temporary peace , which is the world's peace , is comfort . That's what the world's peace is . You can find that in relationships . You can find that in jobs , financial situations , financial situations .
But the peace of God differs from the world in the fact that you don't none of that worldly stuff is going to satisfy you like God can , what he does for you , what he can give you , all his promises that he promises to us . There's nothing like I'm not playing really bad .
What you're playing . There's nothing like what . Well see , what you just said was you were talking about relationships . Let's back up to that .
I'm going to tell you something .
I'm a year or two older than you right ? Yes , so . I spent a lot of years looking to find peace in relationships . And what did I say in that verse from 2 Timothy ? What did that say ? Peace , peace , lord . How did I just forget it ? God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and a sound mind .
Well , I looked for power and love and a sound mind in relationships , and every single one of them crumbled . Yeah , until the last couple , where I started to finally get it and found my peace in God and my life wasn't controlled by the relationship .
And even this last time , when the relationship ended , it was sad and I'm sure you noticed , along with other people , that it changes you in ways . But it got better a whole lot quicker because I knew to put my faith in God .
It got better a whole lot quicker because I knew to put my faith in God that the fear of not having that relationship , the fear of not having that love , the fear of not having that comfort , isn't what I needed to be striving for . I need to be looking for that love and that comfort , that sound mind from God himself .
So the spirit that I have , the spirit that I've been walking in now , is a spirit that is born from knowing Jesus rather than the world . It still sucks . Yeah , I can't tell you that that , um , and if you listen to the episode yesterday , I told a story about Sarah , who she and her husband were , were Christians in church and her husband died .
I can't tell you that she just had this peace all of a sudden and wasn't sad and wasn't worried about the future until she surrendered all that . When she surrendered that relationship and all of that fear to God , she still was sad . She still missed her husband .
Yeah , she still grieved .
But she said she had a peace that she couldn't understand , she couldn't explain it , that there was just a piece about it . It's kind of the place I'm at now there's missing somebody . You grieve for the life that you think you're going to have . You prepare yourself for a future that's not going to happen now , but there is a peace there .
Yeah , and it said she didn't hear a voice or see anything , but she felt like a peace wash over her Because , like you don't sometimes , you might not always hear God speak .
You might not always . That's God calming your inner man . Yeah .
You might not always see him , so to speak . You might not always in your inner man . Yeah , you might not always see him , so to speak . You'll feel that peace .
Cause we right now are in the world .
Yeah .
We're not of it but we're in it and our flesh is going to respond the way the world wants it to Right . But our inner man , god , is speaking . The Holy spirit speaks to that inner man . That's why we can't explain that peace , because it comes from inside . There's nothing external about it . The external stuff is my husband's dead .
How am I going to raise these kids by myself ? You know all of that . That's the world and that's coming at you from the outside . But that peace from God is from the inside and it's so much more powerful than the fear from the outside If you surrender to God . That's the thing .
What happens with people that don't look for that peace from God is they'll find a way , like you were talking about earlier . They'll find a way to mask that pain . You know
¶ Marker 4
I mask mine with .
Big Macs I've been good at that .
I used to mask it with cigarettes and Skol and maybe a little bit of alcohol . I really wasn't a big drinker . But all that's temporary , because what eventually happens with that ? You smoke cigarettes long enough , trying to keep yourself in that piece . Well then , all of a sudden , you're going to get lung cancer .
Yeah , it's even worse .
Yeah , or in my case , those Big Macs add up . Yes , they do . Hey , I don't need you to say that .
No , I'm speaking for myself too .
Oh well , you're not fat , I'm fat .
Well , we ain't getting on that , but I'm good looking .
Okay , and I'm humble . Okay , lauren , let me read some scripture . It's from a Psalm 34 , 17 and 18 . The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them . He delivers them from all their troubles . The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit . Is there something in your life that that speaks to ?
Yeah , actually . So about a year or so ago , my family experienced kind of like a extreme falling apart point . I'm just going to be real . My dad was in here with us . He was in the church with us . Things seemed to have been going , you know , as they should . He seemed to be into it .
He seemed to have really wanted to serve God at first and dedicate his life to God . God healed him of his leukemia medically documented , and everything . Something one day just snapped , it flipped completely and one thing led up to another .
There were some things that I did , something that I did , that I carried a big weight , like a big weight , rested on my shoulders . With that I felt like I had a lot to do with him leaving . Inevitably , he ended up just falling off all of a sudden . Everything that we ever saw , everything that he ever did apparently he wasn't all in .
It was , all you know , a show . Yeah , it was a show and none of us could really like understand how it happened , or we were all confused by it . It was very . There was just no solid answer as to why it happened . He fell off and never came back . My mom decided to go through with a divorce and completely split in two For a while .
It was really ugly . Me and my brother , we were the ones who were in contact with him the most . It was like fighting against Satan himself almost at the early stages of this . Just constant fighting , constant , just verbal , just it was terrible . There was no peace at all during , you know , the early parts of this .
There was no sound mind , no , nothing whatsoever . It was constant , just torment and turmoil and fighting and strife . And then , before we knew it , it was just me , my mom and my brother , and we were what to me ? What felt like we were on our own for a while , and we were not .
We were not on our own , but I was without my dad and I was very close to my dad for , you know , all of my life I was what they call a daddy's girl . So emotion , I would close up and I didn't want to let people in , I didn't want to let people help me , I didn't want to even talk about it in any way .
I kind of just let it eat away at me on the inside and I let it destroy my heart . I let bitterness just take such a deep root inside of me and I let anger build and build , and build and build , and there was unforgiveness , not only toward him but , you know , towards my mother too .
There was just a lot of internal strife , I guess , for lack of a better word I definitely had no peace . I definitely had no peace , but it took a long time to fully even begin to surrender all of that to God , to let him heal my heart and to let him become a father to me , when my earthly father was absent .
I know he was not , he's not dead , but he's not here and there's a high chance that he's not coming back . So what I needed during that time was the love of a father , and it was a love that only God could provide , first and foremost .
And then he placed us here and we have Pastor Chip and Pastor Kelly of our church at home for the lost , who took us in .
They let us stay with them and chip has been god , I love him nothing short of a father to us , to me and my brother , and there's been so many other men in our lives that have become more like spiritual fathers to us and even spiritual mothers , Pastor Kelly , she's become that for me too . During that time the peace was absent and there was absolutely .
I didn't know how to find it . I really wasn't looking for it . Honestly , the first part of that I was at a point where I was just going to close up and stay recluse and stay wallowing in all the negativity and all the hurts and all the pain and all the anger until I finally had to let it go .
While I've let most of it go , I hadn't let it all go because as time went on , it's still . It was something that would nag at my heart . If you've ever heard somebody say something's nagging at your heart or whatever it , constantly I would find myself still hurting . So that led me to know that I hadn't really let it all go like I should have .
But you still grieve somebody , even if they're not dead . You grieve their absence . When they remove themselves from your life and then try to turn the tables on , you try to speak all manner of evil against you , and you know your church and where you come from and all the people who genuinely love you and have been in the trenches with you .
It hurts bad , yeah .
And then they get your own family you .
It hurts bad , yeah . And then they get your own family , you know , to turn against you . Even in that we inevitably found peace , because once you fully surrender something to God , you give it to him . It's in his control , now it's in his hands . You give the person to him because you can't do anything with anybody in your own power .
It has to be God , it has to be the Holy Ghost , it has to be by his power alone . You are powerless . You can't fix anybody that don't want to be fixed . You can't lead them anywhere that they don't want to be led . You have to give it to him .
You have to give it to him .
You have to give it to him , you have to give it to God , because only he can bring them to their knees , only he can yank the rug out from underneath their feet to where they have face plant on the ground .
And it has to be at that point in their life , where they have nowhere else to go , where they have nothing left , where they are the most desperate , that only he can do what he can do .
Well , it takes you getting to that point where you're at rock bottom . I've been at rock bottom a few times in my life . Every time I'm at rock bottom , I think I'm at rock , and then I find again 10 years later there's another level below . So , I think I hit it and all my bottoms have been higher up .
Now I do want to say that I feel like a lot of your healing for you and your brother and your mother happened because of where God placed you to begin with . God knew all this was going to happen and put you around people . Isaiah 26.3 says you will keep in perfect peace with those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you .
You're in a church , You're in a place with a family . This church I've talked about it before and now she's talking about it it's the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced . A true family , A true family that is there like your real family never really was .
That's exactly right .
You know and it's not saying anything bad about my , my blood family nobody was trained in that , nobody had any experience in the spiritual , the spiritual upbringing that I've had since I've been here as a grown man right same for me who remembers richard nixon being president . I'm still still , can have my spiritual mother yell at me and brings me to tears .
You know , yeah , but it's a , it's only a good thing , it's all done in love . So I commend you for commend you . What a word .
I don't commend you because commend you what ?
a word . I don't commend you because I can't give you the definition of that . I'm proud of you for speaking all that here and opening up , and I'm sorry that you had to deal with all that , but I've seen the progress that you and your brother and your mother have made throughout all this and I can't do anything but point to God as the reason for it .
Right , and this is something that has been difficult for me , because I've never been one to open up at all , I've never
¶ Marker 5
been one to be vulnerable .
Well , you've done it now .
Exactly , I've done it for the whole world to hear .
Leave it to me to get you involved in something to make you spill your guts in front of a million people .
But I absolutely would do it again , because people need to hear a testimony , people need to hear a piece of something that you've been through and how God got you through it , and because you never know who may be out there that can connect to that , or who is going through something similar , who may need to hear something , because everybody's searching for
something and that something is God . They're searching for him .
So , lauren , thank you for opening your heart and sharing your story . It's such a powerful , powerful conversation that we've had today . It's a reminder to all of us that , even in the middle of pain , even when everything feels shattered , god is still writing a story of peace , his peace that passes all understanding .
Yeah , and for anyone listening who feels like they're in the middle of a raging storm , I just want to say don't give up . God sees you . He knows exactly where you are . His peace isn't about perfect circumstances . It's about his perfect presence and he will meet you there .
Ooh , his peace isn't about perfect circumstances , it's about his perfect presence . That's good I came up with . Peace is not the absence of problems , it's the presence of God , and I think you outdid it , that's good I like that one too . Yeah , they're both good .
So Lauren , tell me where we can hear more from you . Well , rick , I'm part of the Wisdom for the Day everyday show . It's a daily podcast with short five minute devotions that helps start or end your day with God . I'm also the host of a new segment called Weekends with Lauren , which iss Spotify , good Pods or really anywhere you listen to your podcasts .
Well , that sounds awesome . I think I will listen to that . I know that's so stupid that was just a shameless plug , wasn't it ? That's fine so if today's episode spoke to you , share it with someone who needs to be reminded that peace is possible and remember , no matter what's behind you . With God , peace is always ahead of you .
Until next time , stay rooted in the word and keep renewing your mindset .
Bye .
You did good , lauren . That's all for today , but I'll be back with more unfiltered biblical truth and undeniable prophecy . The time to wake up is now . If today's episode challenged you , don't keep it to yourself . Tell someone . Please Text them a link . Share the truth while there's still time .
Visit renewedmindsetscom to stay connected and to listen to past episodes and check out our merch at renewedmindsetsstore . Jesus is coming soon . Stay watchful , stay holy , stay renewed Until next week . I'm Rick . Be an encourager , not a discourager . I love you , see ya . The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are you Ready by Floodgate ?
See ya .