Conversations: Stewarding Encounter

[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the YA podcast. Lean in as we dive into the practicals of life with Jesus as spirit filled young adults. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the YA podcast. I hope you're all doing well and I hope you're all doing well after conference. Oh, my gosh. This is our first episode back after conference. And I have no doubt that each of you have walked away with fresh encounters with God, fresh revelation of who he is, fresh revelation of what he's doing in his bride. You know, all the good stuff. I'm sure we could sit and talk for a long, long time about all the testimonies of what God's doing. But today we want to talk about something that we hope is really helpful for us coming out of conference, which is a topic of stewarding encounter. How do we steward encounter that we have with God? Why do we have encounters with God? What is his heart in that? But then also, what are we doing as his children to steward that on the other side of the encounter? So to talk about that topic today, we have a very, very, very special guest, someone I love very deeply, Miss Chelsea Turner. Hey, mate. [00:01:29] Speaker A: A fellow LC. [00:01:30] Speaker B: A fellow Elsie, the LC gy here. [00:01:33] Speaker A: Hello. I am very excited. [00:01:34] Speaker B: Yay. Chelsea is one of our beloved young adults. You'll see her around everywhere. She's on staff here now with Doctor Ali, but she also serves in our youth ministry. She leads our youth worship team with Declan, which they're doing an amazing job at that, raising, discipling young people in the worship space. But also, you'll see her on Sundays on platform doing worship and other things as well. So she's very beloved in our community, and the Lord's using her in mighty, mighty ways. And she's just a fun girl. She's a fun time. I'm very happy to have her on the podcast with me today. So, I guess, Chelsea, I mean, is there anything you want to say? Like, to start, is there anything you want to share with the people? [00:02:16] Speaker A: Hello, everyone. So excited because the young adults community is my family as well. And so I just feel so excited to be speaking on this with you, Kelsey, and to be like, a part of this. I'm just very honoured, actually. And I want to thank you because we're going to have an amazing conversation. It's going to be so good, especially after conference. I feel like it's perfect to talk about. [00:02:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Disclaimer. We are recording this before conference. [00:02:43] Speaker A: We have to say it. We have to say it. [00:02:47] Speaker B: But prophetically, in our spirits, we know conference 2024 has been amazing. Come on. But actually, I'm really excited to have Chels here talking to us today because she's someone that I know you guys all know and love, but I've got to journey quite closely with her over the last few years. And as well as just seeing you grow, Chelsea, as a human being and seeing you grow up out of high school, 18 years old, and now you're 20, you're going to be 21 soon. Seeing you grow has been such a joy. But also, you're someone that I look at the way the Lord's moving in your life, and you're someone that I've definitely seen have pretty crazy encounters with God, both in the quiet, I guess, secret moments, but also the shaking, rattling and rolling moments. But you're someone I've seen have those moments, but I've also seen the moments that I guess, like, follow on from that, where you have stewarded those encounters well, and not just that you steward them well, but now, even at your young age and even in the spaces you're in now, like, I see fruit of the way you've stewarded those encounters. So I honour that in you. And the reason I wanted to get you on the podcast today is to share some of those testimonies and have some conversations, I guess, about what's happening in this space, what you've learned in this space, but also, I guess, like, some keys that our young adults can take away in, I guess, what are we doing on the other side of all these encounters that we've had? Because we know that God doesn't just encounter us for no reason. We have a very intentional God. We have a God who cares about every facet of who we are, and he cares about us knowing every facet of who he is. So encounter is never a mistake, it's never an accident. God's always very intentional in it. But there's also very different reasons for why that happens and different things the Lord's doing in us through those spaces. [00:04:37] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:04:38] Speaker B: So I guess that kind of leads me to our first question or thing that I kind of want to discuss with you today, which is, why does encounter even happen? I think that's something that even as a bit of a forefront, I know I've had times in my life where I've seen people having crazy manifestations, and I've almost genuinely been a bit judgmental in my heart, being like, why is that even happening? God doesn't need to do that. It doesn't have to be that dramatic, like, blah, blah, blah. But he's definitely spoken to me about reasons why, and he's corrected the judgment in my heart. But, I mean, I guess to throw to you, Chelse, what are some of the reasons that you see of why Jesus encounters us the way he does? [00:05:16] Speaker A: Yeah. I also just want to firstly say that Jesus wants to encounter you. And so even as we're speaking about this, I just feel led to say you could be encountering the Lord. [00:05:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:29] Speaker A: And that that happens right now as we speak. And that's actually okay, because I think we think encounter has to look a certain way. So, first off, God wants to encounter you, but also, again, it looks different for everyone. So before, like, we even asked the question why he wants to do it, and it's different for people. So it could look like one thing to the person sitting on your left, but it's going to look different for yourself, which is totally okay. And that's the perfect picture of heaven, is it's going to be everyone praising and worshiping the Lord, encountering the Lord in a different way because we're all unique. But also when, like, you even just asked that question, it brings me to just a verse in Matthew 610, and it speaks about your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And I think it's so important to think about this in the sense of he wants to do it because he's wanting to bring heaven to earth. So an encounter is heaven to earth. [00:06:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:36] Speaker A: And part of that, when we encounter God, is his love. And that's one way that literally we can encounter God. And he wants to come and meet us. He wants to come encounter us because he loves us. It's out of overflow of love. And I think it's so awesome because at the end of the day, that specifically reveals Jesus, because Jesus is love. [00:07:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:02] Speaker A: Wow. So I think it's so special, especially when we can have those private encounters coming back to what is Jesus whole mission. And even when he was living on this earth, it was about heaven, and it was about bringing that to earth. And as he went about what he did, it was all about, okay, how can we bring that to this person that's encounter. [00:07:26] Speaker B: Yeah, that's so good. And I think, yeah, even, I mean, this season, we're talking about the corporate body and what God's kind of doing in the corporate body. And I think, yeah, you definitely have those moments where, like, God's doing something on the whole congregation together. And often, like, we know what's happening in those moments. Cause someone might get up on platform and be like, the Lord's breaking out of joy right now. Like, or the Lord's bringing healing, or blah, blah, blah. Like, there's sometimes moments where it's very clear, like, okay, this is what God's doing in the room. But actually, more often than not, I've started to find there's. God could be encountering ten different people in the same room, all in different ways. Yep. And what that manifestation, I guess, or that encounter might look like from the outside. We don't necessarily always know what God's doing on the inside of that person. So, I mean, say, for example, I can think. I mean, I was having a conversation with someone even just before who was saying that they encountered God in a way that they'd felt insecure in themselves to be wild and to be free, and they'd always felt like they had to keep themselves put together. And, like, in this perfect little box. And in an encounter they had with Jesus, he actually gave them permission to be free. And we go, well, that's a characteristic of heaven. The heaven is freedom. Heaven is Jesus has come to take captivity captive, that we're not held back anymore, but we actually get to experience freedom in him. And so then you see someone, like, running around the room screaming and carrying on, and you might go, wow, that person's being really distracting. But that could be their moment of Jesus setting them free from bondage or setting them free from a moment of insecurity or brokenness. Or, you know, it could be a moment where they got told as a child that they were too much. And now Jesus is saying, no, you're not too much, because that's exactly how I made you so be. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's so awesome. But then in exactly the same moment, like, Thomas and I often use the example of, like, when you talk about what is freedom? And you could see, like, a lady in the corner who's just completely still before God. And you might go, oh, like, almost the opposite of, like, she's not manifesting at all. Like, she must not be encountering Goddesse. And then you realize in a conversation afterwards that she's a single mom and she's got three kids at home and it's never silent in her house, and the enemy's constantly in her head saying, you're not enough, and blah, blah, blah. And in that moment, while God's ministering freedom in the room, she's feeling stillness, which is her freedom. [00:10:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Which is her encounter. [00:10:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Because in that moment, Jesus wants to come and meet her in the stillness and the silence going, you are enough. You know, your children are enough, blah, blah, blah. So, yeah, I think that's an important place to start in. Yeah, I guess realizing why he encounters us the way he does. And like, I think even there's like so many scriptures that talk about and we're gonna put together a bit of like a resource to give to you guys of a whole bunch of scriptures around signs and wonders and blah, blah, blah, so that you can kind of look into it for yourself. But, you know, there's moments where Jesus came and did a sign and a wonderful to help the people believe. And so even in those moments in our church services or on the streets or whatever, often a sign and a wonder is to reveal who Jesus is to. Like at the wedding in Cana, it says that that was the first time he manifested his glory and the disciples believed. So the purpose of him manifesting his glory is so that people would believe he is who he says he is. And that does something to us in the building, our faith and our faithfulness before God of going, oh, you are who you say you are, and you're encountering me in this way that I can't understand because you're an almighty God, you're a sovereign God that we're experiencing here on earth now. Yeah, I don't know. Do you want to add anything to that? [00:11:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's so interesting in terms of how we define encounter and because really what we're talking about here is like, where are you boxing God in to fit into your encounter when actually it's about God coming and being the sole person that we're meeting. Because when we're encountering God, we're not encountering ourselves, we're encountering our creator, we're not encountering the creation. And so I think it's so interesting that you speak to that because, I mean, and this could really go off on a tangent here, but just for a quick thought, when you think about our westernized society and how we've defined encounter to be is actually boxing God in. And I love those moments that we have that, you know, what we would label as encounter, but there's also different ways that we encounter. So, for example, I think most of us, or I definitely can speak for myself even throughout this last year, probably defined encounter as someone with a microphone on a platform calling out someone in the crowd to come forward and to give them their prophetic word or pray for them. And then they fall down the spirit, and it's this massive encounter that they have. But when you think about it, and this is funny to think about, but follow me here. When we get to heaven, are we going to have a pastor up on a stage holding a microphone, calling the first person that walks into the door into heaven's gates being like, oh, come here, I have a word for you. And then we label that as that encounter. And if we go back to what we were talking about before, if encounter is supposed to be heaven meeting, earth, a meeting, then we want to know what's happening in heaven. And I think that's not what's going to happen in heaven because there's not going to be a stage, there's going to be one throne, and that's for Jesus, and we're going to be worshipping that. So there's not going to be any human interaction. And so I think it's so interesting how we can label what encounter is and in step that actually causes us to box. How we see God is going to encounter us constantly. It's that echoing between heaven. I see it as an echo. Earth to heaven, heaven to earth, it's a constant echo. And that's something that we should be, I think, really following in terms of how we're seeing encounter, because also those moments when people get brought to the front is also amazing. And that's also encounter. [00:13:48] Speaker B: I guess God has an intentionality about that as well. Yes, it's like he can meet you in a moment where no one sees it, but then there's also intentionality in calling someone out and honoring them publicly. That just reveals more of the heart of Jesus as well. [00:14:02] Speaker A: And like you're saying we don't know what's happening for that person. And I think encounter is so special because it's a mystery. So actually, we're not supposed to know the fullness of it because it's a spiritual thing and we're natural, physical human beings, and we're experiencing a supernatural reality. And so, as you said before, we're not actually supposed to know or figure out all of the things that are going on in the encounter. It's actually okay if you don't. And there could be a time in your life for a couple years down the track. Oh, my gosh, that's what that meant. So for me, even, and I know we'll get into this a little bit later, but that was something that happened to me last year. I was having all these encounters. Only now am I just living in the fruit of those encounters. And so I think when people are getting called down to the front. That's also a very special moment because we don't know what's happening in them. We don't know what's being seeded in them. But that's also not just where God encounters people, which is so special. He's so cool. [00:15:04] Speaker B: Yeah, so true. There's so many things I want to say out of that, but I think something before we get into the stewardship side of it, and I mean, this kind of segues usher a little bit. But I think something that is really important for us to, I guess, understand and it comes into the mystery as well of who God is and how he works is we can't expect a moment of, you know, a glory encounter to fix everything. [00:15:31] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:15:33] Speaker B: You know, Doctor Al, in his Life Keys series talks a lot about the difference between power encounter and process. And he'll talk about how there's some moments that, you know, in an encounter with God, like, God can do so much and we always say, like, God can do more in an encounter in his presence than man can do in, like, you know, 50 counselling sessions, which is so true, but I often find that it's both. Yeah, God can do so much in you in a moment, in his glory and in his presence. But I believe that the way that I guess we work in covenant with him is that there's also a responsibility we bring to steward the encounters and go on the process of healing or preparation or whatever it is that you kind of feel the reason is or some of why you feel like the reason is that you've had that encounter. It's us partnering with that to see the fullness of what God is doing in us actually come to pass. And I think even, like Chelsea were talking the other day after prophetic summit, which was earlier this year, you know, I don't want to speak on your behalf, but even for me, like, you know, I was in my own spaces with God and, you know, facing my own challenges in the secret place where it's like, you know, I'm getting up to read my Bible in the morning and not really feeling his presence and blah, blah, blah. And, you know, like, I had amazing encounters over that weekend where God really touched my heart, but it didn't automatically fix all my problems and it didn't suddenly, you know, there's sometimes you have encounters with God where then you're like, I'm still on fire and like, blah, blah, blah. But for me, like, in all honesty, I was still wrestling with those things in my own heart, that while God touched elements of that. There was still a responsibility. I had to continue to submit myself in discipline to him through the process to see fullness and wholeness and transformation come to those things that I hadn't seen the breakthrough in yet. And I know we had a similar conversation where you sort of, I guess, like, we're facing some similar things as well. Hey. [00:17:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, honestly, over that weekend, the encounters were crazy. And I don't know all of the things that the Lord was fully wanting to do in that moment because I, you know, very similar in the sense of there's things going on in your life. And so when you come into something like that, of an encounter with God where it's that weighty or it's that impactful, you almost get upset that it isn't fixing things. [00:18:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:09] Speaker A: Which, you know, at the end of the day is also another box that we're putting God in, because I know God can fix it in a moment. I know God can do that. I've seen him do that in my own life. But actually, what if it wasn't about that? What if it was about God teaching us things and bringing us along a journey, and our lives are journeys and walks with God? And I love what you're talking about, the fullness and the wholeness of the human, because I think we're all broken vessels. We are all, you know, having troubles in areas of our lives. We're all experiencing these, you know, quote, unquote, bad things in life that we want to be fixed. But I think the encounter, when it comes to the encounter, it's actually just about revealing heaven and revealing Jesus, almost like revealing the fullness of heaven to the wholeness of the human and being. Like, okay, this is what heaven looks like. This is not something that you have to strive for or that you have to, like, win over, but this is a part of it being revealed to you, that is showing your whole lifestyle, that is revealing the wholeness and fullness of the person that you are. So there's actually, you know, because you think about that, you could think, oh, there's pressure for this and for that, but that's more about Jesus and him doing the revealing than us doing anything. And so I think about how I've faced so many things in my life that I'm like, I'm even unworthy of this encounter. But the Lord's like, that's the point. The point is to be a broken vessel, and the point is not to be perfect, because if we were perfect, we would be God giving the encounters. [00:19:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Wow. [00:19:56] Speaker A: Whereas God is the perfect image. God is God. He's the big G God. You know, he's not even just, like, a little g God like it talks about in the Old Testament. He is the God of gods, king of kings, lord of lords, Alpha and Omega. And so he is the one that. That's his job. Our job is actually receive partner with whatever we need to do, and that moves us into, you know, what we have to do to steward that. [00:20:22] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. [00:20:23] Speaker A: So, yeah, I think there's so many things that you could say about that, but, yeah, those are some points. [00:20:28] Speaker B: That's so true. And, yes, I mean, I guess moving more into the stewardship side of things is kind of. It's asking the question what I do now that I've had this encounter, which is sometimes a really hard question to bring before God, because sometimes it's really clear in an encounter what God's doing, and sometimes it's really not clear. Yeah, exactly. And there's that element of embracing the mystery of what God's doing. But, I mean, as a starting point, Charles, do you want to maybe share, I guess, some experiences you've had of going on that journey of stewardship, of encounters you've had? Yeah. Do you want to maybe share a little bit in that space first? [00:21:07] Speaker A: I have two examples. The first is revival conference 2023. I had a massive download of public, prophetic words from speakers. And a lot of the BSSM students that were coming to the conference, they weren't just, you know, encouragements even, but they were fully speaking into what was to come in my life. A lot of them spoke about worship. A lot of them spoke about this generation, gift, intercession, heaven, my own calling, identity. So they were really weighty words. And I remember I would come into a session, and I would get a word, and I would go to the next session and get a word. And so these words were piling up, and I was almost like, oh, my gosh. Like, what am I supposed to do? I remember having a mentoring session with you, Kelsey, next week after conference. Or it was like, just after, and you were like, girl, like, what do we do with these words? [00:22:13] Speaker B: What am I even supposed to do with you now? I don't know how to help you through these words. [00:22:18] Speaker A: And we literally had a conversation about, we don't know what to do. And so I think just even in answer to your question, over that period of time till now, I look back at probably the things that I've done right and wrong, and I would say the main thing that I have probably tried to really steward in terms of the encounter is my intimacy with the Lord and not boxing in that. This has to fix everything that's going on in my life, because the words that were spoken were actually speaking into things that I'm only living in now. And so that time, after I got those words, I actually almost went into a bit of a cave season where I wasn't actually really doing a lot in the spaces that was prophesied over me. And I was so confused because I was like, what? Like, this was prophesied and spoken over me. And I had this encounter with the Lord, and I saw this. But this is not even happening right now in my life. And it's been months since this encounter. It's been months since this word. But I'm just going to remain faithful and obedient to where I meet the Lord every day. And whether that looks like me crying and on my knees and on my face, or whether that looks like me just reading, you know, a chapter, actually, I'm gonna steward that with what's already in my hands, how I'm already beholding the Lord. And I think that it's more about obedience, and it's more about reflecting, even. Like, I did a lot of reflection in that season where I would actually speak out loud the words that were spoken over me. So I had all of these words written, and I would actually just on certain days or specific times throughout those months, pull up the word and literally, like, speak it out, talk about it, and declare it over my life, because I was like, I am not seeing this now, but the Lord has promised me this, because also, I see encounters as promises from the Lord, that this is his promise to meet with us, he's promised to return. And so we're waiting for the ultimate encounter. When Jesus comes back, we're waiting for the ultimate coming, which is how we're going to encounter God as a whole body, as a world. And so I think, yeah, that was kind of the first example that I had, and the second example that I have was at prophetic summit. And I know Kelsey spoke about this, too, the other day in terms of, I had this encounter where my brothers were down at the altar, and I wasn't there at this point, and they were having this encounter. And Kellis actually came and grabbed me and pulled me down to where they were having this encounter. And I sat down, and immediately it was almost like we had this joint encounter with Goddesse, um, which I've never really experienced before. And it was so interesting, because Josh was experiencing God in one way, Zack was experiencing God in one way, and I was experiencing God in one way. But it was this united encounter. And the Lord was speaking to me about this encounter in terms of how to steward it, because I was like, this is massive. It feels really big, really weighty, and I don't know what to do. And I felt him speak to me about sharing of encounter, because when we encounter God, it's also not just about us, but it's about others, and it's about sharing that with others and bringing people along in that journey, whatever that looks like for that person. And as I said, it looked different for us three. So I had joined, and Josh was really experiencing this weightiness, and all these sounds were coming out, but Zack, beside him, was interceding and was praying quietly. And then I came in and I started praying as well. And then Zack felt this breakthrough in the spirit. So then he got up and started dancing, and then Josh grabbed on. It almost linked onto that encounter, and he started dancing. And then I was still on the ground having my whole encounter. And I almost see it as, like, Christmas day dinner or Christmas lunch, when you bring food to the table. And I know this analogy has been spoken before, but in the context of encounters, when you bring food to the table at Christmas lunch, it's to share with people. And so in that moment, I saw basically us all sitting around a table together as a church and as, you know, me and my siblings, and we were eating off each other's encounters. We were eating off what that person was experiencing, but then they were eating off my plate, too. And that's what was happening with Josh and Zach. Zack was getting this massive injection of joy, and Josh jumped up and went into that for himself. And so I see it as almost a feast. And every time we're together as a body and as a congregation, we are feasting with each other. And so that's why I'm always wanting to be open to where is God moving in the room? Because it's not just happening on stage. There could be, as you said, a mom at the back of the room experiencing freedom in a way that I would never have thought you could experience freedom like that. But I want to learn from other people. I want to glean from other people's experiences and look for the key in the room. [00:27:40] Speaker B: Yeah, that's so good. And I actually love that you bring those two examples, because I actually think they happen in tandem in the sense of, I think we're always as a corporate body, enjoying what God's doing in the corporate space and mutually benefiting from each other's encounters. But also simultaneously, there's things that God entrusts to us that we need. A steward in our secret place. Exactly. And I think even, you know, I'm, like, reading these words now, and, like, if you don't mind me sharing, I'm gonna be out of this word, of course. Cause it's from Hayley Braun at revival conference. [00:28:16] Speaker A: Yep. [00:28:17] Speaker B: And she's talking about, like, intercession in worship. And the Lord has given you a heart of intercession, and a heart of intercession molds a worshipper. [00:28:24] Speaker A: Yep. Yep. [00:28:26] Speaker B: The Lord has called you to the secret place so that the public space can be holy. And even, you know, even a word like that, you go, okay, well, there's the element of the secret place that the Lord's obviously calling you and ushering you into a deeper place than a secret place, which is a level of stewardship you need to carry in your own private place that literally no one else will ever see. And you could get up and worship, lead on a Sunday without doing that and bring a level of something that people get to benefit from or not benefit from if it's not holy because you haven't stewarded in the secret place. [00:29:00] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:29:01] Speaker B: But then also, at the same time, if you fully lean into that word and steward it according to what God's asking you to do to prepare your heart, there's a cultivating that happens in the secret place and an intimacy that produces the fruit that then you're bringing into the corporate place that people get to eat of. [00:29:17] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. [00:29:18] Speaker B: And, like, I think this is one of the biggest testimonies that I see in your life, and I've benefited from, is seeing the way that you've grown in that worship space. And I know it's because there's stewardship happening in the secret place that is cultivating the heart of intercession in you that then people are getting to enjoy of that on a Sunday. And it's actually then leading them into their own encounter with God that they get to steward. And it kind of just. It's, like, flowing on and on and on and on. And, I mean, we were talking before about the analogy of marriage and covenant, and, you know, majority of the time, if a family wants to have children, the covenant of marriage brings about a baby. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Yep, exactly. [00:29:56] Speaker B: The love that a husband and wife share brings them to a place where they conceive a child. And in the same way, our intimacy with God and the covenant we have with God both as individuals with him, but also the bride and the bridegroom. When there's intimacy there, it should produce a baby. It should produce a fruit. Yep. And I think that's both in the corporate setting, but also the way that we steward the secret place that if our encounters aren't producing fruit, there's something that's going wrong. Yep. And whether we understand or whether we don't, that isn't the factor that determines whether fruit will be produced or nothing. You could have an encounter with God that you fully don't understand and choose to go away and go, God, I don't know what happened that I knew you were moving, and I want to steward that. And God, would you reveal to me, God, would you show me, would you lead me to scripture? You know, actually taking that away, submitting it to spiritual covering, take it to your mentors, take it to your pastors and go, I don't know what happened in me. Can you help me understand journey that with people, pray with people? It's that willingness in our heart to actually submit to the work that of, you know, being the clay on the potting wheel. [00:31:10] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. [00:31:11] Speaker B: And actually allowing ourselves to get on the potter's wheel and say, jesus, I don't know what you're doing, but I pray that you would help me to understand and actually see fruit come out of this. And like you said before, Chelsea, it could literally be that you have an encounter and, you know, 612 months later, you're then going, oh, now I understand why I had that encounter. Like, God might take twelve months of stewardship to reveal that to you. There's something I was reading, and I guess we'll kind of finish here. I was reading yesterday in Luke eight when Jesus is explaining to the disciples the purpose of the parable of the sower. And he talks about all the different ways that seeds are planted, but at the very end he says, as for that, in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience. [00:32:07] Speaker A: Wow. Patience. [00:32:08] Speaker B: And that patience is, you know, patient, enduring perseverance, steadfastness, faithfulness, like they're all those similar words. So out of that, I see, number one, there needs to be good soil in your heart to receive of the encounter. Number two, we need to hold fast to the word. Number three, we need to have an honest and good heart. So I think that's another thing, too, is if you receive a word and then you're trying to pursue it in selfish gain. You're not going to produce fruit. You're not going to produce the fruit that God wants out of that encounter, because he wants to entrust it to an honest and good heart. And finally, that you would bear fruit with patience, which we don't know the times and the seasons. We don't know exactly what God's doing, but we embrace the mystery and steward the word of with patience, knowing that he's a good God who wants to see fruit in our lives. And so if we keep a good, pure and clean heart before him, we will see fruit produced in the timing that he has for us. [00:33:08] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah. Oh, gosh, I love that. You gotta check your heart. [00:33:12] Speaker B: You have to check your heart. That's so true. [00:33:14] Speaker A: When I brought those words to you, kells, I did that act, that practical act with my encounters where I brought it to you, and I was like, oh, my gosh, what do we do? What do I do? And I remember it was, where did the encounters fall in your heart? What's the soil in your own heart? And that is almost a foundation that I carried when I stewarded the encounters that I had. [00:33:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it's so true. And, I mean, like, we've already talked about in this season so far with being the corporate body. Like, Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless bride, and Jesus entrusts his encounter to a pure and spotless people. And so in the same way, when he entrusts a word to us, he wants to find pure vessels to entrust his words to and to entrust his heart to. So I feel like that's. Yeah, a really important thing to take away as well is we can receive a word. And I know there's been seasons in my life where I've received a word and felt like I'm such a boss because I just got that really cool. [00:34:13] Speaker A: Word in front of everyone. [00:34:15] Speaker B: I must be so powerful and anointed. But the reality is, and I feel like more and more, the further I go along, the further I go, oh, my gosh. Every time the Lord entrusts something to me, I'm like, I can't do this without you. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:34:28] Speaker B: Like, it's his grace that he dwells with us, and it's his grace that he would want to move through us. And his power is made perfect in our weakness, and his power is made perfect in our brokenness before him. Not that we remain broken in our sin or in our trouble, but actually that we remain broken and contrite in spirit, going I actually can't do anything aside from you. And part of that stewardship is going, okay, God, if you want to entrust this to me, then you're gonna have to show me how. And I just pray for our young adult community that when we have encounters with God, number one, that we would celebrate it in each other, and that we would get excited about one another having encounters with God, because we know that that means there's a baby on the way. It means that there's fruit on the way, and we should be excited about that for one another. We shouldn't be judging, oh, that person has ten encounters or ten words, and I have none. Or, you know, I feel silly because I'm the one rolling around on the floor and everyone else is so put together, like, it should never be in comparison. We should never feel shameful or guilty, but we should actually celebrate one another and come together in unity together about what God's doing. But actually that we would also be a community that doesn't. That doesn't allow the seed to fall on hard soil or to fall on the rock. We want it to fall on good soil, and we want to steward it with a good and honest heart before God and to be patient for him to bring about the fruit. And I know that when we do that, we'll see testimony on testimony of the things God's doing in our young adult community and in our church and in his church, the body of Christ, that we would see so much good fruit from it, because we're a people who take ownership over our own secret place, over our own stewardship of what God's doing in our hearts. Is there anything else you want to add before we finish up? [00:36:20] Speaker A: Just loving Katherine, God. [00:36:22] Speaker B: Amen. Bring it on, Lord, do you want to pray for us before we finish? I feel like that's a good way to finish this episode. Of course. [00:36:30] Speaker A: God, I thank you so much that you love to encounter us. And, God, I just pray right now for every single person listening, I thank you that you want to encounter them, you desire to meet with them, and I just welcome your presence into wherever they are right now. God, I thank you that you are the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the king of Kingsley, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. You never end. And so, God, I thank you that encounters with you are all about heaven, are all part of heaven, and we welcome that into our lives as a community and as a young adult family. I thank you that you are bringing a freshness and a newness to this young adult community. I even thank you, God, for the coming times that we meet as a community. That, God, you are going to bring a newness to this community where we meet you in a fresh way, in a different way. God, I thank you. It's not going to fit the mold anymore, but God, I thank you. It's going to be different, God, it's going to be fresh for people. I thank you right now that there's going to be an injection of encounter. There's going to be injection of faith, injection of fruit. I thank you that there will be fruit to follow these encounters. I pray that there will just be such an assistance from the Holy Spirit to others where they can steward the encounters that they have, that they can steward and know. God, what am I supposed to do with this encounter? And for those who may not know all about what it means and are in the mystery right now, I pray for them. I pray for their hearts. I pray for the soil of their hearts. God, I thank you that it doesn't have to look a certain way, but, God, it only has to reflect what heaven is and what's happening in heaven. And so we call that upon our family, we call that upon our church, we call that upon every single person listening. And we commit. We commit all of our encounters to you. It's all about you, Jesus. We thank you, Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. [00:38:43] Speaker B: Amen. [00:38:44] Speaker A: Thanks, Charles. [00:38:45] Speaker B: This has been fun. [00:38:46] Speaker A: Oh, I'm. I'm so excited that I was able to speak and I do more. Let's do more. [00:38:54] Speaker B: If you guys want Chelsea to come back, drop us a like, awesome. Thank you, guys. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next time.