Awaken Your Faith

0:00:00 – (Steve Gray): Hey, are you asleep at the wheel of God’s car? Hey, you can’t be slumbering. You’re never going to get anything and you’ll never go more with God. I’m going to tell you how to get that on the next More Faith, More Life podcast.

0:00:11 – (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.

0:00:36 – (Steve Gray): When I was in my early 40s, 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.

0:01:11 – (Steve Gray): So if you’re ready to do more, subscribe to More Faith, More Life and hear an unfiltered biblical truth every week. It’s time to be and experience more.

0:01:23 – (Steve Gray): Hello everyone, and welcome to another More Faith, More Life podcast with Kathy and my wife. Together we want to talk about the great things of God and just pull you in tighter to what God is doing and give you understanding of what God’s doing. And you know, Kathy, a lot of. There’s a lot of Christian religious podcasts out there and they’re good. Everybody’s trying to do well. And I, I’ve been interviewed recently by a lot of them for the new book, Mighty Like Gideon.

0:01:50 – (Steve Gray): The new book’s out, by the way, “Mighty Like Gideon.” We might even mention Gideon today as we visit. But I don’t know, they. They’re pretty chitchat and you’re pretty predictable. It’s still on the level of I’m here to make you feel good about yourself.

0:02:06 – (Kathy Gray): Right?

0:02:06 – (Steve Gray): I know they don’t say that, but that’s. You tear everything else away. And I’m different. I like to throw. I like to do what Jesus did. He throws you into chaos and a crisis where you have to make a decision. And so he would tell parables or do things on purpose. Like, for instance, how about this did you ever notice how many times did he go, heal somebody on the Sabbath? And then it caused a fuss and a riot or whatever, and they wanted to kill him. He healed him on the Sabbath and they said, heal him on another day, not the Sabbath, because they felt like he was doing work that’s works, you know.

0:02:44 – (Steve Gray): And then I thought, well, why did he do it? Why? I mean, I remember I used to preach, say, why didn’t Jesus heal people on a Tuesday? You know, it’s because he was throwing them into a crisis to say, this is what the Sabbath is for. Right? Yes, the Sabbath is made for us, to help us and heal us and deliver us. So he did that. He threw him in crisis on purpose so he’d heal on the Sabbath just to upset him and then he could do a good teaching.

0:03:10 – (Kathy Gray): Well, you know, I know someone else who kind of preaches like that.

0:03:13 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, I know.

0:03:14 – (Kathy Gray): And put people in a crisis, which gets results.

0:03:16 – (Steve Gray): It gets results. They have to make a decision. A lot of people have made it. Thousands around the world have drawn just closer to the Lord.

0:03:25 – (Kathy Gray): Right.

0:03:26 – (Steve Gray): You know, I just inspire them to be closer to the Lord. And so you have a scripture today?

0:03:30 – (Kathy Gray): Yes, I do.

0:03:31 – (Steve Gray): I don’t know if I can throw us in a crisis or chaos, but let’s see what you got.

0:03:34 – (Kathy Gray): This is from Romans 13, verse 11. And it says, and do this. Understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because your salvation is nearer now than when we first believe it’s time. The hours come to wake up from our slumber.

0:03:54 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, right. And, well, if the time has come, then. Yeah, I mean, the time has come now. I mean, that’s a what? That’s a scripture. That’s forever for everybody. Forever. It’s always time to wake up from your slumber and get involved in what God’s doing. So there it is, understanding the present time. You know what? I could do another book ad for that one. That’s what this book is. I don’t know if they can see it or not, but if you only knew.

0:04:22 – (Steve Gray): A Guide for the Clueless Generation. Go to Steve GrayMinistries.com and you can get it. What is that book? That is understanding the present time. That we’re clueless. And people that are clueless can easily sleep away. And so Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans and said, you know, you need to understand the present time. What is the present time? Time to wake up from your sleep. And in the mighty, like Gideon book too, I have a Chapter that. I don’t know what the title of it, I can’t remember. But it’s about understanding your now moment.

0:04:57 – (Steve Gray): And you know what a now moment is? A now moment is now. If you wait too long, it’s no longer now. Do you know, I believe even our listeners and those listening to this, just the majority of people I’ve met miss what God is doing.

0:05:12 – (Kathy Gray): That’s right.

0:05:13 – (Steve Gray): And they think God’s not doing or not speaking.

0:05:16 – (Kathy Gray): They’re sideline Christians.

0:05:17 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. Yes. And the reason is because they’re not now people with God. They’re just not used to now moments. I’ll think about it or have. I’ll pray about it. I’ll dwell on it. I’ll seek the Lord and I’ll pray about it. And. Yeah, but, you know, you remember the story we told about our favorite lady who years ago helped us get started in the ministry and blessed us so much?

0:05:44 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. Sister Louise Copeland.

0:05:48 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, I can say her name. And she got us going. And remember that time we were with her and one of her workers or people in the church came with something that they wanted to do or should do or she should do, and they brought it to her attention and they said, when they said it, what do you think about this or that, whatever it was. And she. They said, she just gave him an answer. And they said, aren’t you going to pray about it? And remember what she said?

0:06:12 – (Steve Gray): You can tell them.

0:06:13 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. She said, I don’t have to pray about it. I have the mind of Christ and I’m in communication with him. And I know.

0:06:19 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. She said, I don’t have to pray about it. I have the mind of Christ. And so, yes, we’re praying people.

0:06:25 – (Kathy Gray): Yes.

0:06:26 – (Steve Gray): And. But most of our prayer should be communicating with God, reinforcing him, magnifying the Lord, glorifying the Lord and reinforcing him. Because we do have principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Evil spirits. Right. And so when we pray and magnify and just talk about how great God is, reinforce God, you’re great, God. You’re doing great, God. You’ve done great. You are great. You are good.

0:06:54 – (Steve Gray): We need to put that in the air. And so a lot of our prayer should be that direction. And there’s going to be times when we do need to ask for things. But slumbering people that pray, all they do is go and ask for stuff, tell their problems, ask for stuff, want help, and then go back to slumbering again. And they’re missing it. Like, God is speaking. God is Doing things.

0:07:16 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah, always.

0:07:17 – (Steve Gray): But slumber people that are in the slumber mode, they don’t hear and they don’t know because if God, here comes chaos. If God would tell most of our listeners, or a lot of them, even pastors and leaders and worship leaders, all the list, if God would tell them something today that he wanted them to do, they wouldn’t do it today. They wouldn’t start today. They’d think about it. Right?

0:07:43 – (Kathy Gray): Yes.

0:07:43 – (Steve Gray): And Jesus knew that because you remember what Jesus said, and I love this scripture so much, he said, you all say four more years and then the harvest, you know, four more months. I mean, I’m sorry, four more months and then the harvest. And he said, no, no, no, don’t give yourself four more months. He said, the harvest is ready right now.

0:08:07 – (Kathy Gray): Right now.

0:08:07 – (Steve Gray): And that’s the chaos that everybody, most people that I, that in Christianity around the world are in, they always give themselves more to. And if you give yourself too much time, you go back to sleep again and slumbering. And I don’t like to live that way. You know how I live. Obviously I’m seeking the Lord right now for some stuff. So, I don’t know the answer, I don’t know the direction on it. So yes, there’s time to seek the Lord, but I don’t seek the Lord for answers or blessings. I seek the Lord for Him.

0:08:42 – (Steve Gray): And once I get to him, maybe I can ask a question.

0:08:45 – (Kathy Gray): Right.

0:08:46 – (Steve Gray): But go ahead. You were going to.

0:08:47 – (Kathy Gray): But also when you get to him and you spend that time with him, the heavens are open above you all the time. And then you know, because you have that open relationship with Him. So lots of times when an issue arises or a decision has to be made, you are already flowing with, you’re flowing with God and you don’t have to say, well, let me pray four more months about it.

0:09:11 – (Steve Gray): Right.

0:09:11 – (Kathy Gray): Because you’ve established that part, part of your ministry to him, you get to think like him.

0:09:16 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. So the non-slumbering Christian, I guess the person who’s stay away but instead of the slumber, the person that’s just asleep to God mostly. And then they wake up to ask for something. Okay, I hope you get it. If it’s a good thing, if your motives are right and you’re in trouble, you’re sick or you need money or whatever, I hope you get it. But that’s not a good lifestyle. You don’t wake up just to ask for something like the kids, teenagers or whatever, or kids that ignore their parents and they’re in their own world and they’re always on their phone. But they wake up because they want to go to the prom and want to dress.

0:09:49 – (Steve Gray): I say that because, you know.

0:09:51 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. You’ve had daughters, you had girls in.

0:09:53 – (Steve Gray): Your life and, and I get, I’ve bought a lot of prom dresses for people.

0:09:58 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah.

0:09:58 – (Steve Gray): Girls over the years you helped me. Of course. You went with me. Remember? We would take a girl that I knew, she couldn’t afford it, couldn’t afford the dress.

0:10:05 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah.

0:10:06 – (Steve Gray): And. And they can be expensive and wonderful girls and teenagers that went to our church and you and I would take them out shopping. Well, we’ve done that. Not for prom, we’ve taken shopping. Just take them shopping. But we, you know, so I get all that, you know, but the kid who has a good parents, good home and everything and they just wake up. Cause they want something and then they go back to sleep again. To the family, parents and God and the, you know, youth leaders or whatever. Or church.

0:10:34 – (Steve Gray): I don’t like that.

0:10:35 – (Kathy Gray): No.

0:10:35 – (Steve Gray): And that’s why if you live in that lifestyle, the slumbering Christian, then you’re not ever going to really hear God. And you don’t get to do what God would have you to do. You don’t get to get. A lot of times, a lot of preachers preach on your destiny, you know, finding your destiny. But it’s time to wake up. And so Jesus exactly. Said the time is now. Stop your four month slumbering or waiting or waiting on God all the time. If God’s told you to go do be, do it.

0:11:06 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah.

0:11:07 – (Steve Gray): And you know, you and I were talking about this too. Now most of the stuff that God is going to talk to people about is not. I got to pick a country. South. I’ll just say South America is not a country. That’s a country. You know, all of a sudden you think, oh, I think God’s sending me to South America. I better go now. Bye. Everybody leave. Kids job. No, you know what almost everybody’s going to hear God wakes you up from your slumber or you wake yourself up from slumber and he’s going to talk about your character.

0:11:37 – (Kathy Gray): Yes.

0:11:38 – (Steve Gray): The fruit of the spirit, the person you are. The person he is. He’s going to share with you the person you are. He’s going to open your eyes to it. Cause the last thing we need is somebody going to South America to try to do something for God that has no character or they haven’t been developed. They don’t even walk in the spirit of the holy. Walk in the spirit and you’ll not gratify the lust of the flesh or the flesh, you know, the things of the spirit.

0:12:04 – (Steve Gray): Why. Why would we want them to go and be a jerk down there? I mean, if you’re a jerk here or you’re doing a nothing slumbering person here, why would we. Well, I guess we could send you there just to get you out of our hair. But I mean, get it. I mean, if you’re slumbering here, the last thing we need to do is represent our church or that your church or whatever and go slumber there. So what Paul is saying is, it’s time to wake up. Obviously, there were believers that he’s writing to in the Book of Romans.

0:12:35 – (Steve Gray): He wouldn’t have talked about slumbering if they weren’t slumbering. It’s time to wake up.

0:12:40 – (Kathy Gray): Wake up, oh sleeper. Wake up, oh sleeper. That’s what, you know, the Bible is full of that phrase, actually, even in the Old Testament. Wake up, O sleeper. So God’s shouting it.

0:12:51 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. And so we get to the point where, well, God’s no longer speaking. Have you had people say God no longer does miracles? God no longer speaks. We have the prophets of old, but we don’t have prophets today. That’s another subject. Some of them need to go back to. Go back to sleep. Some of the prophets that are walking around saying, God told me. God told me. But. But God does speak today, and he’s speaking to pe. He wants to speak to people listening right now.

0:13:18 – (Steve Gray): And if you’re having trouble listening, check. It could be your slumbering. And the reason it’s hard to hear is because God knows you’re not going to do anything anyway. Or my favorite, he already told you stuff and he never did it. You’re slumbering. You never got around to it. I don’t know what you’re waiting for. But you know, some people, Kathy, are waiting for God to do something else so they can do something now, to think, well, you know, you got to do something more, more, more.

0:13:50 – (Steve Gray): And really, what is there left for him to do? If he died on the cross, he sent his holy Spirit, right? And he’s given us churches everywhere, pastors and leaders everywhere. Whether you feel like you got a good one or not so good one, it doesn’t matter. You can just run the radio dial and hear people preaching and teaching on the Bible. So really, what do you. What are you waiting for him to do? He’s done everything he needs to do now.

0:14:19 – (Steve Gray): You need to get your now moment. And what can you do now? Now you say, well, I’m waiting for a door to open so I can be a missionary to Putin and Russia or somebody, whatever, you know, okay. But you’re never going to get there. God goes in stages, and he says, if you’re faithful in little, then I know you’ll be faithful in much. If you’ll be faithful in little, then he’ll give you more. Okay? So the key is when he says, if you’ll be faithful in little, he knows you’ll be faithful in much.

0:14:55 – (Steve Gray): So faithful is really important. But that means most people are going to start with little. Most people start with little. And if you’re faithful and little, then you graduate to that. So grab your now moment, wake up from your sleep, and do what can you do now? I referring back to the book, mighty like Gideon. That’s exactly what God the angel told Gideon. He said, go in the strength you have. He didn’t say, go in the strength I’ll give you.

0:15:27 – (Steve Gray): I probably would have been out of it, too, if I didn’t know that I’d be in the winepress Lu. Gideon, you know, you know, doing all the sifting and all that stuff with the grain and think, well, you know, when God makes me a mighty warrior, God teaches me. Or just how about this? I supernaturally comes on me, and I can throw a spear now, or I can slay a giant, or I can run really fast. You know, like there’s people in the Bible, like Elijah, Remember? He could run really fast.

0:15:56 – (Steve Gray): He ran down from the mountain really fast. And what about Samson? You know, he, I forgot the number, but he tied the tails of foxes together or something.

0:16:05 – (Kathy Gray): Yes.

0:16:05 – (Steve Gray): You know, I don’t. And I can’t remember how many he slayed, but, you know, so, okay, when I can do that, run faster, jump higher. Remember when we were kids and they had Keds?

0:16:18 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. Well, I think they still have Keds.

0:16:21 – (Steve Gray): Tennis shoes. I don’t know what they call the tennis shoes. Remember, the.

0:16:24 – (Kathy Gray): The brand still is.

0:16:25 – (Steve Gray): Okay. But when we were kids, I remember when they first came out. Yeah, you run faster and jump higher if you buy those shoes. And so we’re waiting for God to give us special shoes or special something. But most people, almost everybody, I can’t even think of anybody that doesn’t start with little.

0:16:43 – (Kathy Gray): That’s right.

0:16:44 – (Steve Gray): On your faith level, do what you can do by faith now, right now. And this is not my subject, but let’s be clear on this. And more chaos and crisis. You know, what most people can do now A lot of them can’t sing, a lot of them can’t preach. But what they can do. They know how to spend money.

0:17:03 – (Kathy Gray): That’s right.

0:17:04 – (Steve Gray): They already know how they’re going to spend money. Today, when this broadcast is over, podcast is over. A lot of them will go out and they’ll spend money. You already know how. And then when it comes to God, though, you don’t want to spend money on God, but that’s. You already know that’s something you can do, and that’s little to God spend giving gifts to God or giving tithes and offerings or whatever that is.

0:17:24 – (Steve Gray): However you believe that is, you can already do that. But they. People don’t. If they would be faithful in that little. And you know, here we got Steve Gray Ministries, you know, and Dot com and I. You can give gifts to our ministry. I can’t even think we’ve done. I’ve done a hundred of these, and I don’t think I’ve ever asked for any money. No, I should probably. I mean, some people are really good at it, too, but.

0:17:50 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, they are, but so gifted in getting money. Getting money out of people.

0:17:55 – (Kathy Gray): We never developed that little manipulative gift.

0:17:58 – (Steve Gray): Well, you remember. Okay, you remember we were in Detroit.

0:18:03 – (Kathy Gray): Yes.

0:18:04 – (Steve Gray): Years ago, and we were ministering in a church in Detroit, downtown Detroit—not a very safe neighborhood, but we ministered there after the service. I prayed for people and did all that. And, you know, and I liked the pastor. He was a good guy. But he came up to me and just startled me and I don’t know what I was thinking, but he came to me, said, you know, Steve, I’d like to pray and teach you. He said, I’d like to help you get the gift of getting offerings, collecting money.

0:18:31 – (Steve Gray): And I looked at him and I said, I was a fool.

0:18:35 – (Kathy Gray): I know you didn’t take him up on it.

0:18:37 – (Steve Gray): I didn’t take him up on it. I said, what were you thinking? You know, I was young and my mind wasn’t on getting money, but maybe I should have. But anyway, people. That is something the people listening today. You can do that. I know it doesn’t sound. Almost doesn’t sound Christianity, and you’re talking about money. And a lot of people think the spirit of the Lord leaves when you talk about money. And I’m.

0:19:01 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, you could give to us right now. Just load it on us. Just lay it on us. But that’s not my point. My point is it’s something you do every day. You use your credit card, you give cash you write a check, you go online and order something, and you already got your credit card in Amazon. That’s kind of fun doing that. Even I’ve got the gift of that.

0:19:24 – (Kathy Gray): You can’t do like this. Now I’m a grandma and I do. Instead of walking in my sleep, I Amazon shop in my sleep. And I buy all these toys and toddler crafts and little bulls. I wake up the next day and there I order them. So they arrive overnight. And the next day I have no recollection. And I open the front door.

0:19:47 – (Steve Gray): I know. And there they are. And also I need to, I need to admit something to you. I kind of like Amazon how it works. It’s so easy. I know, but I need to. You know why it’s so easy for me?

0:19:58 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah, why?

0:19:59 – (Steve Gray): Because it’s your credit card. You don’t understand. It’s yours. And my Amazon is mirrored yours, so it’s really your Amazon on my phone. So if I order something on Amazon, it comes under your name and your credit card. I never see what I don’t even.

0:20:15 – (Kathy Gray): Know, but what yours is mine and mine is yours. So. Honey, it all comes out of the same pot.

0:20:20 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, but it just in the end. Yeah, but when I do it, it feels so good because I feel like, hey, hey, this is free to me. But it’s so easy. It’s so easy today. Okay, so this is not about money. It’s about what can you do that’s little. But there’s other things you can. Well, you talked about grandkids and kids. You can minister to kids in your church.

0:20:40 – (Kathy Gray): That’s right.

0:20:41 – (Steve Gray): You can go change diapers. I know that’s no fun. I don’t do that anymore. Even for our grandkids. I got a smooth way of he takes care, but you know, takes care of kids. You can be an usher. You can serve people hospitality. You can give money to people that you know are in trouble financially. I like it a different way. I like people to alert. This is just me, alert the church, one of our pastors or me that somebody is in trouble financially and then give it to the church.

0:21:14 – (Steve Gray): Plus, of course you get tax break if you give it to the IRS type thing. Most people don’t care anymore. And then let the church bless them is better because then you’re not being recognized as the blesser. You don’t know who, where the money came from. But anyway, I want to get off money. I’m sorry, I’m on money. But giving, well, taking care of people, help people, slumber and.

0:21:37 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah, and help.

0:21:38 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, and help people. Just. In other words, pick something that may appear little that you can already do, and God will give you more. And he will. It might feel humbling because it’s like, you know, so little. Even I don’t even have that much money, you know, whatever. I don’t have that much giftings or whatever. Take the little and make it precious to God and do what you can do. And God will elevate you and give you more. Because he knows if you’re faithful in the little, you’ll be faithful if he gives you more.

0:22:11 – (Steve Gray): But it also says if you’re not faithful in the little, you’ll not be faithful even if he gave you more. So, God’s an investor. He doesn’t waste. He doesn’t want to waste gifts, money, whatever it is on people who are not going to do anything with it. So that’s what I like about this scripture. Understanding the present time. Time to wake up out of your slumber and do what you can do and be what you can be.

0:22:37 – (Steve Gray): Gideon had to go in what he already was. Go in the strength that you have, and God will bless you with more. You like that?

0:22:45 – (Kathy Gray): I love that.

0:22:46 – (Steve Gray): Thank you for chatting with me today and all you that watched. And I hope you just keep watching every single time. Go on to stevegrayministries.com, check out the books, and until next time, More Faith, More Life. Yep, you bet. Bye.