Revitalize Your Life With Faith

About the host: 

Steve Gray is the founding and senior pastor of Revive Church  KC. He has been in the full time ministry for over 40 years and  was launched into national and international recognition in the late 1990’s as the leader of the historic Smithton Outpouring, and again in 2009 when he lead the Kansas City Revival which was televised nationally on the Daystar television network. Steve is also a veteran musician, songwriter, recording artist and published author. His books include When The Kingdom Comes, Follow The Fire, and My Absurd Religion.

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Transcript:

**0:00:00** – (Steve Gray): Hello everyone, and welcome to More Faith, More Life podcast. On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about why are you so tired and how can we get you energized so you can live the life you’re called to be.

**0:00:12** – (Steve Gray): You were made for more than the status quo. I’m Pastor Steve Gray, and this is the More Faith, More Life Podcast. This podcast is for Christians with an ambitious heart who want to be more for their family, do more with their career, and see more of God’s promises in their life. I’ve spent many years as a worship, artist, minister, nonprofit leader, bold, truth speaker, and most importantly, father and spouse.

**0:00:37** – (Steve Gray): When I was in my early forty s, I was craving more. More from God and more from life. I’d done everything I was supposed to do. My life was good, but it wasn’t good enough. So I spent the following years diving into the word of God and searching for the biblical principles that would bring me closer to God and help my purpose and life flourish. That’s what I want to share with you. In every episode, you’ll get practical tools based on real life experiences that you can put into action to redefine your faith and ultimately your life.

**0:01:12** – (Steve Gray): So if you’re ready to do more.

**0:01:14** – (Steve Gray): Subscribe to More Faith, More Life and hear an unfiltered biblical truth every week, it’s time to be and experience more.

**0:01:24** – (Steve Gray): Have you gotten my book, my Absurd Religion, by which I make my living? You need to get it. It’s going to help you understand a whole lot of things about the world and what’s happening today, especially in the church world. Go to the website More Faith, More Life and download the ebook with the study guide. Hey everyone, and welcome to More Faith, More Life, because we want to get you to learn how to walk by faith so you can have more life. Today we’re going to talk about what’s going on in our country with people and maybe what’s going on in your life. You know what? Because Americans are just flat tired.

**0:01:57** – (Steve Gray): People are tired. It doesn’t matter where you go to look. You can look at people that go to church, don’t go to church. They’re religious. They’re not religious. I say that because that’s my department. The spiritual side of things, that’s my department. That’s what I do and that’s what I want to help you with. But it has nothing to do with church or anything. It has to do with your personal life becoming who you’re supposed to be and how to get rid of the things you don’t want.

**0:02:24** – (Steve Gray): And one of the things you don’t want is to be tired all the time. But people are. I’ve never seen people so tired. And part of the workforce is late to work. Sometimes getting a good job just means showing up on time. One of the things that people who hire are concerned about will you show up, will you show up on time? Will you work? And then will you go home and you’re a good employee? Well, people don’t show up. People don’t put all they can into it. They’re just tired and it’s complicated to some people. But I want to uncomplicate why you don’t have the energy that you need to have. And I’m not going to advertise an energy drink. I’m not going to talk about, well, you need to practice yoga in yoga pants or something like that.

**0:03:13** – (Steve Gray): I’m not going to do that. What I’m going to talk to you about is what causes you to lose energy. And most people don’t know that. They don’t understand it. For instance, setting your right priorities will energize you, which we’ll talk about in a minute. But did you know worry makes you tired? See, worry eats up energy. Worry eats up energy. The Bible teaches us, and Jesus said it too, that we shouldn’t be anxious for anything.

**0:03:40** – (Steve Gray): And we learn to pray, we learn to talk to God, we learn to walk with Him till we get the miracle we need or the help we need or whatever. But worry is a waste of time. It doesn’t solve anything and it wears you out. Did you know this? You know, the Bible teaches you’re supposed to forgive everybody? Well, most people don’t know you’re supposed to forgive everybody, but it’s everybody, not just a few. All right? But unforgiveness is draining.

**0:04:07** – (Steve Gray): It drains you of life, it drains you of energy. It drains you of power that you could be putting somewhere else. All right? So unforgiveness being offended, right? Being bitter, you’re bitter, you’re offended, they did me wrong. And that’s going on and on in your head. And every time somebody brings up the person, the situation, whatever at work or family, there you go. And if you don’t get a chance to tell somebody, you’re telling yourself in your head again and it just drains you of power and energy that you could have. And so add to it anger, you get it. And what happens is we become consumers of energy, right?

**0:04:53** – (Steve Gray): Consumers of energy. Like on my house, I have you have it at your house or whatever, you have a meter that says how much electricity you’re using. Well, just imagine that thing’s just spinning, spinning, spinning out of control energy. You’re using all this energy. You’re upset, you’re worried, you’re in conflict, you’re directionless, you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re a complainer, whatever. You’re unforgiving.

**0:05:20** – (Steve Gray): The list goes on and on and on. And as you do that, you’re actually consuming energy rather than producing energy. And like I said, maybe at that point, then you try to get an energy drink or something, or you try to change your diet, or you’re going to go to the gym and start working out, get more energy. And you’ll find out it might have some relief for a short period of time. But it doesn’t change you because you’re consuming more energy than you’re producing, because you’re consuming it through priorities, activities, mental, soul activities.

**0:05:56** – (Steve Gray): Like, your soul is just tired. Your mind, your will, your emotions, you’re just flat tired. And so you don’t realize that you’re trying to have energy. You’re trying to live out the life you’re supposed to have, but you just don’t have it. You don’t have the strength. And so you got to stop consuming your energy by doing things that consume energy and instead do the things that produce energy. All right? And we’ll talk about that in a minute so that you can start thinking about producing. And I think there’s a little deception there, too. We have a deception that if we start producing, we’re going to be tired.

**0:06:40** – (Steve Gray): If you’re not producing and you’re tired, well, you know, that’s not true. It’s consuming that is tiring you out, not producing. If you find what you’re really supposed to be doing with your life or with your priorities or with your energy. And if you have to go to work and you don’t even care for your job that much, do it the best you can, be a great employee. But then when you’re off work, think differently. Think differently. Don’t think like, I can’t wait to get off from work so I can go home and do nothing.

**0:07:12** – (Steve Gray): Because you’re not going to go home and do nothing. See, you may sit in a chair and do nothing. You might have TV on or a movie on or something, but in your head, you’re still spinning, you’re still unforgiving, you’re still worrying, you’re still agitated. And you’re trying to block all that out by watching some superhero or whatever on TV. But it doesn’t work because you’re really still consuming. When you get home, you go to work, you’re consuming. You go to even church, you’re consuming. So you listen to a sermon and it’s a good thing you go to church, right? I’m glad you do, if you do.

**0:07:46** – (Steve Gray): But you’re still listening as someone who consumes. And so you’re listening, okay, he just taught me how to keep going, and he’s saying, do this and you’ll be able to keep going. Yeah, but you’re going to keep going as a consumer. So you’re trying to take shortcuts that you don’t have to be a producer. And so even people who are aware of God, they’re aware of spiritual, they’re trying to be good people, they’re not trying to be bad people and can even tell you their story.

**0:08:17** – (Steve Gray): I used to have this life, I used to have a rough life, I used to have a drug life, I used to have a drinking problem, all that stuff. And they can tell you your story and say, but I’m really changed. Really? Are you? Are you still a consumer? You’re just not doing bad habits. So you don’t produce any more than you did before. You just relax more. Maybe you don’t spend as much. Maybe you don’t make as many stupid mistakes, but you’re not a producer. You are a consumer. And what you’re consuming is your own energy.

**0:08:53** – (Steve Gray): So if you want to not be part of the tired group, then you have to change what’s eating up your energy. And we’re talking more than anything else, your mental energy, okay? Physical energy, okay. Some of you are young enough, though. You can keep going and going and going. You don’t have to have as much sleep as you think, and you don’t have to eat as much as you think. And you don’t have to have as much leisure time as you think because you could go, go, go.

**0:09:25** – (Steve Gray): But you don’t feel like go, go in this generation. And many, many people, because they have the mental drainage going on, and it’s all draining your energy out, mentally, emotionally, your will is wanting to do, wanting to produce, but you just can’t seem to get around to it. So you become a dreamer rather than a producer. And the drainage draining of power is still there. So one of the things that we need to do, you need to do to help stop being a consumer and move on as a producer of energy and life and everything else, whatever is, you got to start thinking like a person who produces a person who’s successful, thinking success.

**0:10:17** – (Steve Gray): How do other people who are doing things, getting things done, producing good things, moving their life ahead, how are they doing? What do they do different? Okay? So you’ve got to get rid of the mental drainage, the emotional drainage, and move on. And one of the ways is you have to change your mind on something big. Okay? A lot of you may not know you have this. We’re talking about if you’d have more faith, you could make some changes by faith, your faith says do it, and then you’re going to have more life, you’re going to have more energy.

**0:10:52** – (Steve Gray): Okay? So what we need to do is make some mental, emotional willpower changes, okay? And one of those changes you need to make is deciding what success is. What is success? A lot of people could say a lot of different things, but in the back of most people’s minds who are not producers, in other words, if you’re a producer and you already feel successful and you’re a go getter and you do what your life’s calling is, okay. But most people are not. Most people are drained, as I said.

**0:11:25** – (Steve Gray): And so it’s affecting their marriage. It affects them as parents. I know I should be a better parent, but I’m just so tired. That’s common, right? So we got to close this hole up that’s draining you of energy and decide what is one of the mental things that needs to change in your life. And so one of the mental things is that success means doing nothing. In other words, I want to have enough money to be waited on, and I don’t have to do anything.

**0:11:53** – (Steve Gray): So the drainage is there because of your definition of what success would be to you or what your dream is to you. Now, you can catch yourself doing it by there. You’re at work, and I don’t know what job everybody does. Maybe you retail, maybe you work in a store, maybe you work online, but a restaurant, whatever. But you catch yourself and realize, my mind is not living the moment. Let’s say you work at a restaurant and you’re coming up to people and you’re trying to be friendly.

**0:12:27** – (Steve Gray): Here I go again. Take their word. I got to make them happy. I can’t seem to make them happy. You’re not thinking of anything but just getting through the day. And through the day, you’re not enjoying the day. Instead, you’re thinking about doing something else. So I can’t wait till my work shift is over, or I can turn off my computer, or I can get in the car and go home, because then when I get there, I’m going to do nothing.

**0:12:56** – (Steve Gray): I can’t wait to do nothing. There again is the reason why you’re drained of energy, because you’re missing the point of life. So while you’re at work, you’re not thinking of a producer and you’re a consumer, so you’re consuming energy because, boy, I hate serving people. Boy, I hate that I have to make them happy. They always want more coffee, and then they frown if I don’t bring it. Okay, but thinking those way is costing you energy.

**0:13:27** – (Steve Gray): So turn in producer. I’m here. I’m here to make them happy. That’s why I get a paycheck. I’m here to make these customers happy. So they’ll eat and they’ll drink and they’ll be merry, and they’ll come back and I’ll get a paycheck, and they’ll love to see me. So I’m just going to produce joy, happiness, friendship. I’m going to look like that I’m on the spot. I’m going to look like I don’t have a care in the world. Even though you might, you’re going to produce something.

**0:13:53** – (Steve Gray): And while you’re doing it, listen, your mind is thinking on producing, not consuming. So your mind doesn’t go, oh, I can’t wait not to do what I’m doing. I can’t wait to quit doing what I’m doing and go home and do nothing. Because you do that. Your anxiety of boy. I’m tired. Boy, I’m tired of working with these people. I’m tired of having to wait on other people and do what everybody else wants. I’m just using restaurant as an example because I’m a pastor. I can do that. Like, I’m so tired of just hearing people’s problems all the time. And so you become a consumer because while they’re telling you your problems or your counseling with a marriage or whatever inside, you’re going like, boy, oh, boy, I can’t wait till this is over. Those people, all they do is bring their problems and make me listen to it.

**0:14:41** – (Steve Gray): And you’re eating up energy, consuming energy by those thought patterns. Rather than produce energy and say, you know what? I’m going to give them all I got. I’m going to enjoy doing this. I’m going to be the best they’ve ever talked to, and I’m going to start producing energy for myself and for them. And you do that, and you’re living in the moment, saying, and then when it’s over, you’ve done a good job.

**0:15:08** – (Steve Gray): You produced energy because you go like, yeah, I think maybe I really helped them, or, I did the best I could. At least they really appreciated my attempts. And you feel good about it, and you produced energy in yourself rather than sit there and think, I can’t wait till this thing is over. People do that at church sometimes. They sit in a sermon, not getting anything out of it and all they think, I can’t wait till this church service is over.

**0:15:30** – (Steve Gray): That’s costing you energy. You’re draining yourself of energy by thinking anxiety of, I can’t wait to go do something else. So you’re not living what you’re doing, and it drains you of energy. So you have to change your thinking and think the best life is a producer life. You produce, right? You do things not the best part of life is doing nothing. And so you can do you can drag your family into the do nothing lifestyle. You do it yourself.

**0:15:59** – (Steve Gray): And now everybody’s drained the relationship. The marriage is strained and drained because everybody’s just wanting to do nothing of their own accord. Like, I can’t wait to quit so I can go and personally do nothing. So I’m going to be on my phone, my iPad, watch a movie, be with my friend. I’m not going to be with my family. I’m going to go, Zion my help. Zion is here. I almost said, I’m going to go play golf.

**0:16:24** – (Steve Gray): Zion has become a golf fan this summer, but whatever. And it becomes like, I’m going to go do that so that I can relax or I can feel better about myself or whatever. But while you’re playing golf, you’re enjoying it to a certain point, but then your mind keeps going back to who you’re mad at or you’re paying too much money, or the person you’re playing with cheated or whatever, and, oh, that really upsets you.

**0:16:50** – (Steve Gray): Why? Who cares? Who cares why? Let those things take your energy instead. Play golf and be a producer. I’m going to produce when I walk get out of the car, when I walk into the clubhouse, when I pay my fees, I am going to produce attitude. Good attitude, joy attitude, powerful attitude, successful attitude. I’m going to produce that. I’m going to produce that. I know when Kathy and I, we’ve taken up a new habit pretty much for years.

**0:17:20** – (Steve Gray): Of course, when we were first married, we’d go grocery shopping together and I didn’t care for it because you work all week and then Saturday you’re going grocery shopping and pushing that cart. I didn’t care for it. Later, as our lives got bigger and our ministry better and our lives and our ministry got bigger, we didn’t have to do that anymore because we didn’t have time to do it. Well. Now our schedules have changed and lifestyles, especially through the pandemic, everything changed.

**0:17:46** – (Steve Gray): And so now every once in a while, we laugh at each other, says we go on a grocery date and we go late at night when nobody else is there. And so we just wander and buy things. But when I enter that store, I’m entering as a producer, even though I’m buying stuff to consume, but I look for people. I look for people in the store. I look down the aisle at somebody that’s stocking shelves at 1130 at night, and there we are walking with our cart and say something to them, produce something, ask how they’re doing. And then it’s big time when we get to the checkout, right, we watch every checkout person that is in front of us and even the person doing the bagging and all that stuff. And we look and we produce in them. We ask questions, we talk about ourselves, we joke about ourselves.

**0:18:29** – (Steve Gray): We present our attitude about ourselves, success and caring and greatness and smiling, and we’re getting along and our life is good. People know that and they remember that. And you produce energy in them when you get done. But you’ve produced energy in yourself. Because I came in not to say, I can’t wait to get done shopping with these stupid groceries so I can go home and do nothing. Well, you got something to do right now besides groceries. You got people, you got attitudes, whoever you’re with or not with or somebody you see in the store.

**0:19:00** – (Steve Gray): I think you got to be getting what I’m saying is being a producer, so you got to get rid of that idea that robs you of energy, and that is doing nothing is the best part of life because that’s not what you’re made for. Now you’re just consuming, you’re eating, eating your snack, watching that, and you’re consuming a movie or whatever and say, no, I am a producer and I’m going to turn my life into producing.

**0:19:27** – (Steve Gray): Even if it’s going and doing some I have people once in a while. I don’t do much, going out much, but over the years, being a pastor, they’d ask me to go do something or maybe go to the baseball game. Would you go and see the Royals play in Kansas City? And I’ll say, yes. And we’ll get a group together and go, okay. So everybody else is eating popcorn or peanuts or whatever, and they’re watching the game and they’re consuming the game, but not me. See, I’m at the game. I enjoy the game and I enjoy the people, but I am on alert as a producer. I’m watching the people we’re with.

**0:20:09** – (Steve Gray): Is everybody having a good time? Does anybody look like they’re hurting? And I need to say a few words to them. So, yeah, looks like I’m watching a game and just relaxing and doing nothing but letting somebody else run the bases. No. I am running God’s bases by looking and producing. Who can I help? Even strangers, even the people that come around and sell stuff. Strangers behind you, strangers around you, people at the stand that you buy a hot dog or we buy these big chiboy and big old fat hot dog things and they’re not good for you, but I like them. When I go to the ball game.

**0:20:45** – (Steve Gray): But there’s people serving you, and they’ve done it all day long. And it’s hot behind that thing. And they’re sweating, they’re rushing, they’re trying to keep up with everybody. And there is you the producer. I’m going to produce Life Energy Concern. I’m not going to make this a problem for that person. Even if my food is slow, anything like that. So if you’ll change your mind from consumer to producer, you’re going to energize yourself.

**0:21:12** – (Steve Gray): Because if you don’t, you’re actually out of sync. You know what that means? Out of sync, synchronized with yourself. The other day, I turned on a news channel of something I wanted to check on. So I just turned on the TV, went to the news channel and there was something wrong with their equipment. Or maybe mine. I don’t know. I have another speaker and it wasn’t in sync. You ever done that? Where the people, their mouths move, no words. And then afterwards, the words come and you go like, I can do this for a few minutes, but I got to fix it. So I turned off the TV, reset this. Did that turn it back on? And their mouths were in sync with their words. They were saying, and it worked. Well, we can get out of sync with ourselves, right?

**0:21:55** – (Steve Gray): Because we don’t realize what we’ve been called to do. So God told the first man and woman can you name him? Of course you can. Adam and Eve. He said, Go, be fruitful and multiply. Take Dominion. A lot of people don’t know that part. They know. Maybe they’re fruitful and multiply, but they don’t understand. Take dominion over this garden. If there’s anything comes in that doesn’t belong there, you produce dominion.

**0:22:24** – (Steve Gray): You produce power. You produce the attitude that nothing can come in and rob us of our relationship, of our food, or the production that we’re supposed to be. Be fruitful, multiply. Take dominion over your life. And so God told him that now you’re out of sync. If your goal is not to be fruitful in life, And I’m not just talking about having kids. I’m talking about fruitful at work. You may not be the boss, but you’re going to be fruitful.

**0:22:52** – (Steve Gray): And you’re going to be remembered for that. You go to the Royals game or whatever, ball team you follow, whatever, if you get to go, okay, yes, you’re there, you’re enjoying the game, you’re trying to relax, but there are people sitting all around you. There’s people maybe you went to the game with, and you look and say, this is a chance for me to produce to the guy that’s holding cotton candy up on a pole. What can I say? What can I do? I’m not going to eat the cotton candy, but I might buy it for somebody else, some kids.

**0:23:21** – (Steve Gray): How would you like this? I want to buy you some cotton candy you just produced. And then the guy holding the cotton candy knows. And you can leave him a tip, too, if you want to. And that kid knows. The parents of the kid know. You just produce something, kindness and noticing other people. And so you can turn yourself into a producer. And when you do that, then you get in sync with the reason you’re created, and you get into sync, then what is God’s will?

**0:23:52** – (Steve Gray): Well, let’s see. Am I supposed to move here? Am I supposed to go to college? Should I quit my job and go back to school? Maybe I should learn a trade. What’s God’s will? Okay, I get it. Those things are important. If you quit your job and go back to school, but you’re a consumer and not a producer, you’re still not going to have any energy. It’s not going to change your life at all. You can change churches, you can change jobs. Some people change partners, right?

**0:24:19** – (Steve Gray): But it doesn’t change them, because wherever they are, whoever they’re with, whatever they’re doing, they’re still in consumer mode. Oh, I can’t wait to get this over. Oh, I can’t wait till I can relax. Oh, I don’t want to have to think about somebody else. I don’t want to think about somebody else’s problems. I don’t want to think about somebody else’s hurts. I just want to relax and take it easy.

**0:24:41** – (Steve Gray): Quit at 05:00 or 04:00 and go home, right, and sit and just sit. And especially if you’re a husband, you want to do that. You kind of got the culture thing of you come home and sit, and the wife comes home and works after she’s worked. Right, but that’s what I want to do. I’ve worked all day. And even if your wife doesn’t work except at home and raises kids and stuff, you come home and still think, well, I work in the office all day. I shouldn’t have to come and work at home.

**0:25:08** – (Steve Gray): Yeah, but that’s a consumer. You’re having no energy. You don’t even want to do anything. So instead, let me end this now. Instead, God created you to be a producer, all right? And when he talked about his family, he said, These are my mother and brothers. They said your mother’s outside. No, these are my mother and brothers. Those that hear the word of God and do it so right at the end of the statement is doing, doing, doing.

**0:25:42** – (Steve Gray): What are you supposed to be doing instead of being entertained and doing nothing? You will energize yourself if you find what you should be doing and do it if you find the wrong thing and say, oh, I guessed wrong at Watson. I need to do something else. Okay, do something else, but do be a doer of the word of God. Be a doer in your house. Be a doer as a father, be a doer as a wife. Be a best doer at work and think about living and doing right now.

**0:26:10** – (Steve Gray): Not I’m not living now because I’m living in the future when I don’t have to do anything. Did you get that today? I hope you did because this is life changing. You’re never going to have the energy you need. We’re going to continue to be tired. Oh and by the way, a lot of people are tired too because they stay up so late playing on the internet, playing games on their phone, whatever. So the internet and their iPhones or whatever, Android or whatever is draining them of energy because they’re trying to make up as a consumer. But you’re still consuming. You’re not doing anything but watching other people movies, watching other people giving the idea, watching them do stuff, right?

**0:26:54** – (Steve Gray): I had a thing yesterday, a day before I went on to YouTube for something else. And there was this little square came up and it popped up and it says, watch boat failures. Boat failures. Because I used to have a boat and love to be on the water. And so you know what? I didn’t have a boat failure. But boy did I get to see a lot of people fail as boats and their boats sank. People fell out of the boat because they were bouncing up and down. They crashed that.

**0:27:21** – (Steve Gray): But I wasn’t producing. I was consuming because I was just enjoying watching them be in a boat. If I want to really do it, go do it myself, right? Learn how to boat or be a pilot or something, right? Okay. So anyway, that’s my speech for you today. This is how to get more life into your life. By faith you become what God created to be not a consumer, which drains you of energy. But how can I at work, at play, at home, wherever I have to produce energy or something?

**0:27:54** – (Steve Gray): Or else I’m going to join the tired, worn out American people because I have my priorities and I have a dream of what success is. My priorities are wrong and my dream at success is wrong because I want to just sit and do nothing. I hope you got that today. It’ll work for you. Do it, do it, do it, believe it and let it work for. You. And then you’ll get more life by having more faith. It’s so great talking about these things. Where do you hear stuff like this?

**0:28:24** – (Steve Gray): Well, you hear it right here on this podcast. More faith, more life. Till next time. Bye.