[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] It's Rick. Welcome back to the Nomad Pastor Podcast, man. It feels good to say that. It feels good to hit that record button again.
[00:00:16] You know, it feels good just to sit down and talk to you all. It's been a while, and what I want to talk today about is really, you know, the. The whisper from the Enemy.
[00:00:29] You know, it's been, like, five months since I've done this podcast, and.
[00:00:34] And I really got in my head, to be honest with you, and. And so when I started this podcast, you know, it's been like three years, I said something that's kind of been the heartbeat of. Of every single episode that we did. And. And that was. It didn't matter how many people listen.
[00:00:51] It didn't matter if this ever blows up or gets big or gets thousands of downloads or just never leaves this small corner of the Internet that it's in today.
[00:01:03] And what I've said from the very beginning is, even if one person comes to Christ because of all this, it was worth it.
[00:01:11] And for years, I stuck with that. Every other week, without fail, I'd post an episode. It started every week, but times change, and there's different seasons, and we went through books of the Bible together, and we had conversations about hard stuff. Batman joined for a while, and I was steady until I wasn't, until I just slipped.
[00:01:36] You see, life has this crazy way of getting loud.
[00:01:41] Life has this crazy way of just getting in the way of things that you do. Work gets busy, responsibilities pile up.
[00:01:50] And so what happened is I missed a week, and then two weeks, and then I missed a month.
[00:01:56] And before I knew it, that consistency that had marked what this podcast was turned into silence.
[00:02:04] And it was in that silence that the enemy started to slip in.
[00:02:10] I don't know if you've ever been there before.
[00:02:14] I'm sure you have.
[00:02:16] Maybe you set down your Bible or you stopped serving somewhere, or you let some good habit just slide, and the gap between what you used to do and what you're doing now gets wider and wider.
[00:02:32] And when that happens, that's when the whispers start.
[00:02:36] And for me, it sounded like you messed up.
[00:02:41] It sounded like no one ever noticed that you even stopped, or it doesn't matter anymore, or it's been too long. You can't start doing it again.
[00:02:55] And the worst thing about it is that whisper, the ones that I heard started to feel true.
[00:03:04] I almost could hear them louder than God's voice.
[00:03:11] It's hard to Admit that in 2 Corinthians 10:5, it says, we are Destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God. And we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
[00:03:29] That verse hits me really hard, especially when I realized the enemy wasn't attacking me with circumstances, he was attacking me with thoughts.
[00:03:42] He was trying to build a foothold in my mind, and I let him.
[00:03:47] So it made me think about different times in the Bible. Look at Eve back in Genesis.
[00:03:53] The serpent didn't show up with a sword or a spear.
[00:03:57] He just asked, did God really say that?
[00:04:00] A whisper.
[00:04:01] Just enough to plant doubt.
[00:04:05] And that whisper grew into disobedience.
[00:04:10] That's how it started for me, just to whisper, did God really call you to this podcast?
[00:04:19] And even though, I mean, I hate to admit it, I entertained it. And before I knew it, that foothold, it became a stronghold.
[00:04:32] But this week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I was at a pastor's retreat called Refresh.
[00:04:40] And it reminded me why I started this podcast.
[00:04:44] It reminded me that even if one person comes to Christ, it was all worth it.
[00:04:51] And then I thought about Elijah in First Kings 19.
[00:04:56] The man who called down fire from heaven, standing on Mount Carmel, praying a prayer. And then, boom, God shows up in fire.
[00:05:08] That victory right there, that kind of victory that should carry you throughout your life, right?
[00:05:13] I mean, it's not just, you know, if I prayed and God showed up with fire, I tend to think it would be, as my pastor says, my pastor's name is Gary.
[00:05:30] A marker moment in my life, and it should be for Elijah. But the very next chapter, Elijah is running for his life, and Jezebel threatens him, and he says, lord, I've had enough. Just take my life.
[00:05:48] He goes from fire to despair.
[00:05:52] You know why?
[00:05:53] Because the enemy whispered, you're alone. You failed, hopeless.
[00:06:00] And God had to meet him there.
[00:06:02] Not in an earthquake, not in a fire, but in the whisper, the whisper of truth that reminded Elijah, you're not done. I've still got work for you, man.
[00:06:15] I can picture myself right there. I still have work for you. Stop hearing the lies.
[00:06:23] I mean, look at Peter. He was bold, sword swinging, trying to do everything he could to defend Jesus. Loud.
[00:06:33] And Jesus told him.
[00:06:36] Well, he told Jesus, even if everyone else denies you, I never will.
[00:06:41] And he's the same guy who denied him three times.
[00:06:49] That. That is the whisper, right?
[00:06:52] You'll die with him. They'll arrest you, too.
[00:06:57] I know the feeling that it. Not that Peter knew, but I know the feeling of that crushing weight of failure.
[00:07:04] I failed to keep this podcast going. I failed to sit with God when the Whispers got louder and louder.
[00:07:14] But what I love is Jesus didn't leave Peter in that shame.
[00:07:20] After the resurrection, he looked Peter in the eyes and he asked him three times, do you love me?
[00:07:30] And each and every time, Peter said, yes.
[00:07:35] And the way that Jesus responded was, then feed my sheep.
[00:07:42] There was three denials. There was three restorations.
[00:07:47] The whisper that said, you're disqualified, but the truth was, you're still called.
[00:07:58] So that's where I've had to land with this podcast.
[00:08:04] That whisper from the enemy said, you failed, and it's too late. Nobody cares.
[00:08:11] But in that refresh retreat, God kept pushing me back to the truth. It's not about numbers. It's not about perfection.
[00:08:20] It's about obedience.
[00:08:23] And even if one person comes to Christ, it's worth it.
[00:08:28] You know, maybe you're listening right now, and you've got something in your own life that you've set down.
[00:08:33] Maybe it was ministry that, you know, maybe it was some ministry you served in. Maybe it was some dream that you felt God placed you in. Maybe it was prayer. Maybe it was, you know, maybe you used to be this bold prayer warrior, but now you've let that slip, and that whisper is telling you just like it told me. It doesn't matter.
[00:08:55] It's telling you just like it told me, you. You've gone too far or it's been too long.
[00:09:01] It's just the lie that plain and simply is a lie straight from hell.
[00:09:11] God hasn't changed his call. He hasn't revoked the mission.
[00:09:16] He has not said, it's too late.
[00:09:22] In Ephesians 6, which I'm going to go over in a couple episodes as I pick back up, I did Ephesians 1:4. I still have 5 and 6 to do, so I'm going to pick those back up.
[00:09:33] I'm working on the outlines and writing those right now, and it'll take me a week or two to get both of them. I'll do five. I'll make sure that I post that. But in Ephesians 6, it reminds me about putting on that full armor of God.
[00:09:48] And the first piece he talks about is the Belt of Truth.
[00:09:52] And that's first, because truth holds everything together.
[00:09:57] The enemy's weapon is lies, and God's weapon is truth.
[00:10:05] In John 8:32, it says, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
[00:10:13] Those whispers only have power if you let them live unchecked.
[00:10:20] But when you drag them into the light of God's word, there is nothing that they can hold on to. They lose their grip.
[00:10:30] So that's what I'm doing right now. I'm dragging those whispers into the light. I'm saying out loud that I allowed them to keep me silent for too long.
[00:10:39] But I am done listening to the whispers of the enemy enemy. I'm taking back what God has asked me to do.
[00:10:50] It's not easy.
[00:10:52] It's hard, yeah.
[00:10:54] Because for me, I still feel like I let a lot of people down.
[00:10:59] I still feel like I failed.
[00:11:02] But at the end of the day, obedience is better than perfection.
[00:11:11] And I've got to get back to the reason that this all started.
[00:11:16] If just one person can come to Christ, it was all worth it.
[00:11:24] If you are letting the whispers win, then ask yourself just a simple question.
[00:11:32] What do you need to pick back up?
[00:11:36] What have you laid down because the enemy convinced you it was too late?
[00:11:42] What whisper have you believed has held you hostage?
[00:11:48] It's not too late.
[00:11:50] You're not disqualified. You haven't failed too far.
[00:11:56] If the thief on the cross can look at Jesus in his last moments in here today, you will be with me in paradise. Then there's no such thing as too late for you or for me.
[00:12:13] So for anyone listening, I don't care if this episode reaches 10,000 people or 1.
[00:12:22] If one person hears it and says, I need to take back what the enemy is trying to steal, then that's what I'm doing this for, because that's why I started this podcast in the first place.
[00:12:37] Now, I know this is probably a short episode. It'll be 12 or 15 minutes at most, but I felt like I had to do this before I just jump right back into Ephesians or jump right back into releasing podcasts. I need people to recognize that the enemy is out there. The enemy is trying, and he's doing everything he can to stop the growth of the kingdom. He's doing everything he can to prevent people from coming to Christ.
[00:13:06] And I listened to the whispers and the lies for far too long.
[00:13:10] So today I'm taking it back.
[00:13:13] Today I'm taking it back.
[00:13:15] And I'm not going to listen to those whispers. I'm going to drag them to the light of God's word. And we're going to be in this together.
[00:13:22] I want to take the time to say thank you for listening.
[00:13:26] If you've been waiting and expecting an episode to come out, I'm sorry.
[00:13:33] I'm sorry that it's taken so long.
[00:13:37] But we're back and we're going to do everything God is calling us to do again. This is Rick with the Nomad Pastor Podcast. I want to remind you you can subscribe to every major platform of choice. Like it, share it, subscribe, tell your friends about it. If you have questions or concerns or thoughts you need prayer, send us an
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[email protected] sorry. And I wanted to remind you, like always, to love God and love people.
