Back to One
You were meant for a full life. However, whatever you experience over and over while you were growing up, becomes your "normal" and we humans are very good at reproducing whatever is "normal" to us. That is fantastic for a few, but really stinks for so many others. Between what you believe about life and the losses you've faced, you may want to break up with your "normal" and discover a life that exceeds your expectations. Imagine getting comfortable with a better "normal".
We can become whole inside, and life can exceed our expectations. Let hope arise as we talk about healing and wholeness in every area of life.
Note: The former name for this podcast was "3Ps in a Pod". You'll hear that in the introductions of older episodes from 2020-21; "Back to One" better fits my hope for us all.
Back to One
God talks to Everyone: A Conversation with Pastor Darren Stott
Embark on an enlightening journey with us, joined by the charismatic Pastor Darren Stott of Eden Church in Newcastle, as we unravel layers of faith, forgiveness, and the quest for inner peace. Pastor Darren paints a vivid picture of his personal odyssey to pastoring, highlighting an emotional encounter that sparked a transformative moment of forgiveness. This candid conversation unravels the power of redemption, and the pivotal role forgiveness plays in life.
We venture into a riveting exploration of world religions, dismantling common misconceptions, and discovering the unique paths many faiths follow in their attempts to find favor with the divine. Experience an open dialogue about how upbringing shapes our perspectives of a supreme being and how Christianity, with deep roots in Judaism, stands out from the crowd. Unlike many, Christianity is not a faith of performance for acceptance, but rather a celebration of unconditional love and acceptance.
As we traverse deeper into Christianity, we open a treasure trove of its distinct aspects and the ways in which it stands apart from other religions. Together, we delve beneath surface, discussing the common strongholds of fear and shame, and how faith can serve as a beacon of hope. We provide a unique invitation to experience the peace and love of Jesus, underscoring the importance of forging a personal relationship with God. Through this heartfelt exploration, you'll find a fresh perspective on faith, forgiveness, and the journey to inner peace. Tune in for an engaging, inspiring, and deeply moving conversation.
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Does God talk to everyone? This pastor says so. Welcome to this episode. We talk about a number of different things. I hope you listen to the whole thing. I recorded this because I care about you. I'm Lenora. Welcome to the podcast. Hey, I want to say welcome to the audience. Back to my podcast. For those of you who have been listeners, I haven't had one for a while, but this was a prime opportunity to reach out to you because it's Christmas time and that Not so much the season of December, but the reason for Christmas means a whole lot to me. So I've invited Darren Stott to be a guest, and Darren happens to be the pastor of the church I go to, which is Eden in Newcastle. Newcastle is a city I don't know why I said it that way Newcastle versus Newcastle but, darren, welcome to the podcast.
Darren Stott:Thank you so much, and I think I'm actually gonna start calling it Newcastle like that. It is better the newest of castles, the Washington area here. It's an honor to be on this on this podcast. It's so great to connect with you in this way.
Lenora Turner:And I have enjoyed. I've been going for about a year to the church and I do think you're funny, so you have to make sure and be funny on the podcast so people will understand. Yes, ma'am, yeah, yeah, but I Know your story a little bit about how on earth you end up being a pastor. In some ways it makes sense, in other ways it doesn't. So can you mind Sharing a little bit about who you are and how you are doing what you're doing?
Darren Stott:Yes, my grandpa was a pastor, my dad was a pastor. I said I would never be a pastor and now my wife and I've been Pastoring and not just pastoring but pastoring the same church for 14 years, going on 15 years. And if anybody knows anything about pastoring, 15 years of pastoring the same church, I mean in church years, that's like. That's like 80 hundred years, you know.
Lenora Turner:Like dog, years right?
Darren Stott:It's kind of a big deal In that you know, I most, most pastors I think the average state of church is around seven and Not only that, but my grandpa actually pastored this specific church in the in the 70s and 80s and my dad pastored my mom and dad or here in the 80s and 90s, and then my parents actually ended up going through divorce in the late 90s and my mom and I left the church, as well as my dad, and the church actually went down to just about nothing. In fact, they almost, they almost lost the church. It was during that time that I said that I would never go back, never denied God, never denied the existence of God, but certainly became quite anti church. So I was never anti Christ, thank you Jesus but but I was definitely anti anti church. That's just because of my own hurt and my own brokenness in trying to process how my own parents if they are kind of the Picture or prototype of what holiness looks like, and all the time I was being let down by my own parents and yeah.
Darren Stott:Then how could I ever trust? If I can't trust my own parents, how could I trust anybody? And so that was a huge journey of Healing and forgiveness. I'll tell you the way it happened actually real quick.
Lenora Turner:Yeah.
Darren Stott:I wasn't necessarily open to forgiveness. I was quite enjoying just kind of just being done with that whole part of my life. And there was this. There was this lady. I've known her my entire life and she actually became a Christian underneath the ministry of my grandpa. She was like this wild hippie back in the 60s and the friend invited her to the church and she ended up having this crazy encounter and and became a Christian. Her family became Christian, her husband left her.
Darren Stott:So I don't know, for people that are familiar with kind of like the whole kind of Christian scene, divorce isn't necessarily like a celebrated thing, let alone Becoming a minister after becoming divorced and within our tradition or within our denomination, that was a huge no-no. In fact, she couldn't even be ordained as a minister within our Denomination. Yet God spoke to her and called her. So, like our church is down to nothing, I've left it, we're about to lose it and God speaks to her and says I've called you to be the pastor there. And then God speaks to her about me being the pastor. I'm not even living like a Christian. And so she, she comes back and they ordain her. This denomination says we believe in the call of God on your life and she was the only divorced Ordained minister with the assemblies of God in the state of Washington. Maybe since that time there's been others.
Darren Stott:But she asked for a meeting with me at just that a respect, I'd met with her and she got together with me and she said hey, I want to apologize to you for all this stuff that happened to your family, to you. And I said, well, gail, you haven't done anything wrong. Like it makes no sense. You can't apologize for something if you, if you, haven't done anything wrong. She said, well, someone needs to, and I was like what? And she goes will you forgive me? And it was the weirdest thing and for people listening to probably actually makes no sense. But I said, you know, just had a respect for her. I said, okay, fine, I forgive you. Right, you happy now? And that was a big deal because I hadn't forgiven anybody and I didn't realize the spiritual power of Words, of just saying something even if you don't mean it.
Darren Stott:And and what. What happens. When I said I forgive you, it actually opened up my heart To where I would be open to returning back to the church and everything else that God had me from that point. So I just thought I'd share that with you real quick, because it is the holidays and this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But for a lot of people, and especially at a time of my life, the holidays Was certainly not the most wonderful time of the year. There's actually quite a difficult time of the year, and so I think tis the season to maybe focus a little bit on the power, the supernatural nature of forgiveness.
Lenora Turner:Well, Darren, thank you, and you've said it so much because I did grow up in church I know a lot of people didn't and I went to quite a few different churches. Honestly, I think I started with the assembly of God, which did have some power in it. In other words, there seemed to be some real life and Joy and, for sure, clearly saying yes, I want Jesus as I accept him as Lord, that believed that he was raised from the dead. But I also went to community churches where I learned literally how to hold my head and fall asleep, so my head wouldn't bob. You know, I could fall asleep at the in the balcony when I was through, like in high school. Yeah, I got good at it.
Lenora Turner:I went to Lutheran school in when I was in California, as a like a pre-teen or right around that young age. What was I like? Fourth, fifth and sixth grade? And we went to Lutheran church. Because we went to Lutheran school, because the public schools where we lived were so bad. We weren't Lutheran, but we went to a Lutheran private school because we went to that school. My parents went to the church and for me, some churches were boring, some were really fun and but I always knew God was, was there.
Lenora Turner:It's just whether or not they actually invited him or would actually do much to talk about him or his, the Bible. But you also said something earlier, because you said a lot. Depending on your background, people are going. I can really understand what he said, or what God talking to somebody, what a woman minister, what divorce matters or doesn't matter, whether they think that's a big deal or not. So heck where to start. I mean, I know I heard God talk to me off and on and it's not like you hear voices on the outside Other than I. My ears work and I hear people talk. But what do you mean when you say God talked to Gail and said I want you to pastor?
Darren Stott:Yeah, absolutely Well. I think that God actually speaks to everybody, regardless of their religious background or beliefs. The problem isn't that God isn't speaking. The problem is that your beliefs determine your ability to be able to process through all the noise of the culture of the world, to actually be able to discern his still small whisper amongst the white noise that we live in. However, once you begin to learn of who Jesus is and you begin to see this very interesting dynamic between Jesus and whom he would call the Father, all of a sudden stuff begins to explode within your spirit and you begin to discern not the data just in the present and into the future, not just from this point forward, but you begin to reevaluate your entire life and you begin to realize that God's been speaking to you your entire life and you begin to even remember points in your own childhood where God was speaking.
Darren Stott:A lot of times, when we hear the word speak, we think that we hear with our ears, right, but the truth is that we hear with our mind. Our mind processes through all the data. In fact, the primary way that we communicate is actually with our eyes. Body language is actually louder than even words. So the reason I say that is because we hear with all of our senses. Our mind takes in all of this information and then it tries to articulate to us what we really need to know. It's important. That's how we hear God's voice. We hear God's voice with our eyes, our ears, all of our senses, and even believe it or not, even with our own emotions.
Darren Stott:That's a bit overwhelming.
Darren Stott:I love superhero movies and it's like in these superhero movies there's this moment where they become aware of their power, and it's always incredibly overwhelming at first because all of a sudden it's now. Superman can hear every thought that's happening in the entire city and it's too much for him to handle. Well, the same thing is true when you begin to be kind of awakened to the fact that you aren't an orphan, you're not an outsider, that you were created by God or the Earth for such a time as this, and when you begin to hear you know, for a lot of people actually they're not just listening to this podcast Something will begin to actually explode within your spirit. There'll be a sense of enlightenment, if you will, and all of a sudden the spirit of God will begin to testify to your spirit of the things that we're talking about that are true, and all of a sudden it will click and it will fill, as though you've had amnesia and all of a sudden you're beginning to remember. King Solomon would say like this is my own paraphrase version of it.
Darren Stott:The record of eternity has been embedded into your heart and so that's pretty big. So all of a sudden you listen to a podcast like this. And you're driving down the road and you see a billboard and it says something and you realize, oh, that's not just a billboard, god's actually speaking to me through that billboard. You're listening to this podcast and realize, oh, wow, this isn't just a pastor on a podcast. Wow, god's actually speaking to me through this man. All of a sudden you have a conversation with your child and you realize, oh, my goodness. And then it's a little overwhelming at first, but you're like God is working really hard to get my attention. He must love me. And that is true. God loves you, he is speaking to you and he wants for you to know his voice.
Lenora Turner:That's powerful, I know, for some people. You get so caught up in the busyness or business of the world and intense lives full of things and full of some scary things right now, and to get caught up in, okay, where is God? What, if there even is a God? Or how many people are used to thinking about him I think a few more are now because of some scary things that have gone on and saying I hope there's a God. Is he actually good?
Lenora Turner:Speaking of hearing God's voice, I was a little kid and I was one of those times I got in trouble, for something ran into my room just feeling very much like a little victim, just very mistreated, and I ran in there and said, "nobody loves me and I hurt and I just hurt inside Nobody and I knew it was God.
Lenora Turner:I mean, I was fortunate to grow up in a house that did believe in Jesus, that did yeah, he's God, and he came because he loved us and he gave his life so that I could come back to my relationship with God the Father, which was the plan in the first place. Anyway, I didn't have all that figured out in my head as a kid, but I go in there and I hear "nobody Okay, you do, but nobody else does because I really wanted to feel sorry for myself. But there's times where it's like he's so nothing moves him, nothing scares him, it's a calm voice. There's times where he's kind of warned me a little bit more clearly. One when I was you're talking in my early 20s, thinking about dating. I was frustrated. I wasn't dating at the time and I knew this guy that was probably someone to stay away from. That was at the church I was going to and I made a joke like fine, maybe I'll just go out with him. And it was very clear inside, like a father saying don't you even joke about that.
Lenora Turner:And I was like, "yes, sir, and there's times sometimes you wish you could hear and you're not hearing so clear, but other times so simple things that he would just direct me, or he's so real, you don't have to manufacture some perfect prayer, you can just talk to him.
Darren Stott:Wow, yeah, that's so good. I think that we live in a world filled with world religions and I think that what a lot of people do is they say, well, especially them that are more agnostic in their spirituality, so they would acknowledge that there are spiritual things. They would acknowledge there there is some sort of heaven, there is some sort of afterlife, and so all the good religions are essentially the same in that they have a deity and and it's based on some sort of love. And then the bad religions are based off of some sort of deity, but it's based off of selfishness and war and evil or something like that. And then within the culture there's a massive kind of cancel culture to say, well, that is what Christianity is. Christianity is a male dominated white bread kind of the reason for all war on the earth, and so there's been a very strong kind of move.
Darren Stott:You know, kind of cancel anything that's related to kind of Judeo-Christian kind of kind of roots. But I think that to do any of that is to grossly misunderstand just the nature of religion. I think that we can simplify religion to state that most religions have the same sort of sequence and the sequence is okay. So you have a deity or the deities, and if you have favor with them, good things in your life will happen. But if you don't have favor with them, bad things in your life will happen or you'll make yourself vulnerable to the evil side of the force. And so then people live their lives either in order to win the approval of the positive deities or they live their lives in fear of the evil deities, that they'll be vulnerable to demons or something like that. So you can go to various parts of the world right, and I've been.
Darren Stott:I've traveled quite a bit to various nations. I've stayed at some amazing kind of five-star hotels in Asia where there are these very scary kind of gods, if you will, that are 20 feet tall and that are on the steps of the hotel. These are specific gods with names and there's offerings out in front of them and in that case it's both, and it's a wonderful god If the god is appeased with you. It's a terrible, evil god if the god is. So many people, even in the Christian faith, live their lives in fear, in fear of this god, in the same way that many people live their lives in fear of their own biological father that if they could make their father happy, if they could win the approval and love of their own father, then this father could be quite kind and benevolent. But if, for some reason, you made this father angry, there could be really terrible repercussions. I also think that the that are upbringing and the fathers that we had in the natural kind of shape, the way that we view the possibility of there being this supreme, this supreme being. So, for those who have had really kind, wonderful fathers, they tend to have almost a more positive outlook on religion and for those who had very absent, terrible fathers, it's a lot easier to deny any sort of supernatural supreme being, you know, at the end of the day, let me just say that I believe that Christianity can contrast greatly from a lot of the world religions and not to not to say it's in an offensive way in that Christianity really is not a sequence developed whereby you perform in order to get the acceptance of God, and our roots are are founded in Judaism, and so you've got 2000 years of Judaism before even the foundation of Christianity, which Christianity is quite a young religion. It's only just over 2000 years old. But if you go back to our roots within Judaism, it is a sequence of laws and expectations and very limited access to to God. Only the priest could have access to God.
Darren Stott:What makes Christianity so, what I would say radical and quite different from the typical religious structure, is that the Bible basically states that the laws and the expectations underneath the, the Jewish kind of context, were actually impossible for any human to actually really fall. There's a close to 600 laws or something, something in there and that that was good, because it showed humanity the need for a savior. It showed humanity the need for a true and perfect high priest, and so the entire, what we would refer to, you know, the law, the prophets, the Torah, what we call the Old Testament, which can be kind of offensive to some, is essentially the great setup. It is this place of hey human. Good luck at this perfection sequence by which you can be in good standing with this supreme being. Good luck, in fact, it's impossible. Your perfection attempts are impossible. But don't worry, because the perfect one will come and he will be made flesh and he will come to atone for the sins of not just good people but all of humanity.
Darren Stott:And that's why we celebrate Christmas. We don't say within Christianity that Christmas is the literal time that that God became flesh. It was born to a virgin laid in a manger. It is the time that the Roman Catholic Church said that we're going to take what has been a pagan holiday and we're going to flip it. And now we're going to use what was traditionally a pagan holiday as a moment, as Rome, to acknowledge the birth of God becoming flesh. That offends some people. They say, well, christianity is rude and paganism and I would say no, christianity is that one time of the year that you can go to Safeway and hear gloria, away in a manger.
Darren Stott:It's the one time of year you go into the malls and hear the proclamation that we have 2000 years of a promise. He's coming, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming. 2000 years with Israelites waited for Messiah and then, on that starry night, the proclamation of the way it is over Messiah has come, it's Yeshua. He has come as the king of the Jews, yes, but he has come as bigger than that. He'll be the king of the nations. He's come to be a reconciler so that this will not be a religious thing. You do not have to perform to win the approval of this supreme deity that Yeshua would come of age 30 years old. His ministry would begin 33,. His ministry would only be three years at 33. He would go to the cross. One would say that that was injustice and that his life was taken. But Jesus said no one can take my life, I'm going to give my life.
Darren Stott:And on the cross he says it is finished. You know, Buddha? Before he died he said strive without ceasing. You know, perform, do everything that you can in order to make the most of yourself.
Darren Stott:But Jesus, just before he died, basically says I have done it. I have done it all, you who couldn't live up to the expectations of the law. I have lived up to the expectations and yet I'm taking on the consequence of sin and injustice. I'm taking on debt, I'm taking on your shame, so that those who feel disqualified because of their own moral imperfections or et cetera, et cetera, they can be qualified because now there is a sufficient Savior. And it's pretty radical. I'm sorry that took a lot of time to frame out, but what I basically did there in the last hour was tried to paint with a brush the entire Bible and the storyline of the entire Bible. And it's a storyline of a kind father who loves the entire world so much that he would give the greatest gift that humanity has ever known, that's the gift of his only begotten son. So that whosoever, so that anybody, anybody, regardless of their past, can have a fresh start. And that's pretty radical.
Lenora Turner:I appreciate what you just said, because I couldn't have said it like you did and even though I grew up in a quote Christian home and somewhat of a religious home, I think it's hard not to to get into performance Like I used to picture God. If I thought of God the father, because I heard about him, he was kind of like an old man and really not even having a face. And then, as I started to learn more about God, I was like late teens when I turned my life around because he loved me, when I knew I was doing anything but performing. For that I, in fact I was asking him for help with no strings attached. I was a dumb, sweet but dumb 18 year old or however old I was, and my gosh and I was remember getting on my knees and just saying God, help me, I'm scared, I'm scared.
Lenora Turner:And I really sensed actually two things. One was it's like if you had those little things on your shoulder a little demon and an angel or something One side was saying Leonard, how can you ask for help? You knew what you were doing, you're guilty. How dare you ask for help? You knew other people don't know, but you know because you're supposedly a Christian and I was that pressure to just feel like, nevermind God, and just be condemned. And then the other sense as a pull, a drawing towards not even the words. It was just, let me love you, just let me love you. And it was a little bit back and forth and then I ended up going. I know I feel I have no right to ask for this, but I so desperately want to be loved that I just yielded. That's the only way I can really say it. I just yielded to. I need you to love me, I need your help. And it was just. I don't even know what happened. That was something inside and I let it happen and I was different. The stuff I thought was really cool in the world where I just love my little party life I had at the time was the next day. I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted to go home. It's like you know, you're looking for love, people are looking to be loved, and you're going oh my gosh, this, this is what I've been looking for. And I knew I was coming home. I was coming home to Jesus. You know what times I thought about doing that, when I would be in high school, of course.
Lenora Turner:I was very young and I remember thinking at times convicted, to say you know, when they say repent, meaning just turn back to this God who loves you, and I felt like I can't, I want to, but I know I won't stick with it. And anyway, at this time I just let him love me and I just went towards him. It was really his strength. Something broke loose and I and I was like I could see again. They talk about that. I was blind. Now I see, but it's that inside eyes, in my understanding. I'm like this is what I've been looking for all my life.
Lenora Turner:Now, thank God, I'm so thankful I was introduced to Jesus, but I didn't. I didn't, I didn't know a lot. I knew stories, I knew some Bible stories, but I had no idea how to walk this life out and it's really about getting to know him better. And we talk about hearing the voice of God because I love the Bible. I read it and when we so many times, when people say things to me, if they do about the Bible and isn't it this or isn't it that I went, you don't actually read it, do you? I don't say that, but I realized they don't. Most people that have complaints don't even, don't even read it.
Lenora Turner:But what changed my life is him loving me with no strings attached. The love was what drew me. He didn't have to require of me and and sometimes people think, oh, you're, you're, you're kind of religious, lenora or not. And they're not trying to be insulting. They're saying oh, you're religious, I'm just not, I go. Or you love God and and I see that you do you don't get it. It has zero to do with my virtue. Zero is everything to do with someone who loved so much that I went. There's nothing else like this. There's just nothing. I want this. I want to come home and I'm going to stay home, meaning I'm going to walk with you.
Lenora Turner:It's like a marriage in. I know because later on I studied covenant, blood covenant. When I was in Bible school I did my my second year. We had to do a 30 page term paper and I did it on the blood covenant. Western society knows very little about that. We, thankfully we can at least compare it to marriage.
Lenora Turner:But sadly, what about? 50% of marriages end in divorce. I went through a divorce what 12 years ago I never thought I'd go through. That was devastating, incredibly painful and I thought how can this be my life? I believe in covenant. This can't be me. I couldn't wrap my mind around it and yet there I was, you know. And so it is like marriage. In fact, he said this to me talk about hearing God's voice in a time where I needed to hear it.
Lenora Turner:I was in the car when my ex he actually since passed away, but when he'd said to me and it wasn't like him, if you knew him he would never talked about divorce but he told me he wanted a divorce and I felt like I was tearing apart inside and going numb at the same time. And if you'd have been in the car, it's a. You can only explain this afterwards Because it happens at the time, but it takes longer to explain it than to understand it happen. And it's like here I have my husband of 20 years, maybe 21 at the time saying I want a divorce and I'm going numb, I'm tearing inside and I it's like I know that I've got the spirit of God in the car with me, hands on my face, looking me eye to eye, and said I'm your husband too, and I don't want a divorce. Wow, and I was like God is walking me through this. He will walk me through this. Wow, I'm telling you he's real, he's so good and even the most difficult things I've walked through. There's times I have it's spun my head for a while, but he is God and he can. Times he can totally turn something around. Other times you walk through things and it's like, like the Old Testament, the three Hebrew children, the way they were thrown into a fire but they came out not smelling like smoke. You can come through a tough thing and you come through it and people wouldn't know you've been through that thing.
Lenora Turner:I went through seasons of crisis and some anxiety and I'd never faced that before and I was like God, I will not live a life full of anxiety. Show me how to get out of this. I can't. I must be free. I don't care how common it's talked about, I'm not going to live like this. And I tell you, sometimes it was about grieving, sometimes it was about tears, it was talking to somebody, it could be counseling. I don't care what it is, but I was going to get free and Eden was a part of that.
Lenora Turner:Absolutely a year ago, when I first came, I kind of felt like I was walking through World War III in my life and I was getting prayer from anybody who'd pray for me and I thankfully had some amazing colleagues too that were supportive and stuff. But God is real. That's why I wanted to even do an episode like this, especially at Christmas, when maybe people are more open to hearing about it and life's a bit of a challenge now and I think it's easy in the US, maybe in various cultures, to think we're so smart, we don't need a God, we figured it out. And yet it's like, yeah, I figured out, squad.
Lenora Turner:When it comes to it, when you start seeing the world be shaken, you start realizing maybe I don't have near as much control as I think, but for me, I don't care about religion and the sake of rules. For the sake of rules or doing something, because I'm looking good to you, I have a life with Jesus, because I wouldn't ever want a day without him. It's like I'm in love with someone who is in love with me, but it's because of his virtue, not mine. I'm smart enough to want this, I felt it and I and I. You can't find it anywhere else, not like this.
Darren Stott:Wow, yeah, that is so good. That is so good, and I think that what you were talking about and just in your own journey, in your own story which is incredibly powerful, because I think probably every person listening there's gonna be aspects of your story that they're going to be able to relate with. I think what we all have in common is that we all want to be okay with ourselves, we all want to be able to kind of look ourselves in the mirror and the question is, you know, am I a good person or am I a bad person?
Darren Stott:I want to be a good person, I want to do good things, and yet most of us look in the mirror and say I don't think I'm a good person. Right, we all want peace. We all want that sense of calm within our soul and knowing that things might not be okay, but we want to. We want to be okay inside of us, like our outer space might be nuts, it might be just chaos, but we all want to have. You know that Hebrew word for cosmos means order, and we all want to have cosmos within the chaos. We all want to have that peace. The last thing is we all want joy. We all want to be happy.
Darren Stott:That's why holiday depression, you know Christmas blues. This is the time of the year when depression meds start flying off the shelves right, and the reason why is because the whole hallmark kind of culture of Christmas says you know, this is when the world falls in love, this is when you meet that one and you're underneath the mistletoe, like this is the time of the year when everybody is so happy and then you're sitting there saying, well, why am I not happy? And then everybody's else's happiness just compounds our own kind of self obsession. You know, in November we weren't that bad, we didn't feel that depressed In December. We feel like we're just, you know, chronically depressed. Why am I so depressed is because everybody else's happiness, if you will, is being shoved in our face, you know, and that's because nobody takes a selfie when they're, when their mascara is running down their face and they're you know, we celebrate only the best parts of our life.
Darren Stott:So we all want the same thing. We all want peace, we all want to be good, we all want to be happy, we all want joy and so and so there's no. The problem is is that we are also all facing the same villains. The two massive villains are fear.
Darren Stott:This is what we all have in common, every single one of us will battle a giant of fear in our lives, and that doesn't get easier the older you get. The other one is shame, and it's this idea of the constant reminder of the stupid things you've said and done, or the things that you should have done, that you didn't do. So you have fear and you have shame. Now here's the thing that people don't realize Fear and shame are not natural. They are supernatural In that they existed before you and they are interwoven into a spiritual blueprint in your life, and that means that you are far more connected to your mother and your father than you have ever wanted to admit. That is why, when we think on who our mom or who our dad was or is, and we said I swear, I swear to God, I will never be that man and then, the older I get, the more I realize I am becoming my father and I hate myself for it. Like all of a sudden, we realize why is it the very thing I said I would never become. I am becoming, and why do I feel so ashamed for it and about it? To the degree that people are willing to be honest, every single person that's listening to this. If you're honest, you'll say yes, that's absolutely true, and the reason why is because these things aren't unique to any individual.
Darren Stott:This is a part of the default fallenness. So then, what does that lead to? It leads to control. It leads to a place where I say I am terrified that what happened in the past is going to happen again. So I will insert my control, I will control who I hang out with, I will control what I wear, I will control every variable that I possibly can, and and so, because of fear, because of shame, because I hate this part about me, I will cover it up. I will cover it up with my performance, with my career. I will cover it up with my family life. I will cover it up. I will create a brand around who I am, so that I will cover up my nakedness.
Darren Stott:And and this is the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, yeah, so say you're back to the Garden of Eden, covering up your nakedness, what you lost and yeah, and so, and I think that when we all realize that we all want the same thing, we all, we all, we all want to be all right, we all want peace, we all want joy, we realize we're all. We're all battling the same demons, the same giants, and it's not personal to us, even though it feels so radically intimate, so radically personal. This is stuff that our parents had to fight against, that our grandparents fought against. And then when you hear the good news that you don't have to conquer these things, that that 2000 years ago on the cross, jesus conquered shame, he took on the shame for you so that you can be shame free, so you don't have to have a religion shame you into its belief structure.
Darren Stott:When you hear that you don't have to perform, that, that within the true Christian narrative experience encounter. We don't obey so that we can be loved. We are awakened to the revelation that we are so radically and infinitely loved. Therefore, we obey. That's pretty, that's pretty radical. So this is not an invitation into some sort of self help. You know, fix yourself
Lenora Turner:Uh huh.
Darren Stott:No, this is an invitation into a mystical adventure where, when you come in, when you're awakened into your union with Christ Jesus, you begin to supernaturally transform and change from the inside out, believe it or not, without even, without even trying. And one analogy that that's used in the scriptures is it's like fruit and fruit tree is funny in that nobody watches fruit grow. One day the branches were empty and then the next day the branches are full of fruit. And this is the invitation for people to step into. Today. You won't really know when it started, you won't really be able to say and this is when they grew. All you'll know is you begin to say yes, your spirit begin to say yes, you begin to literally, physically say yes, I believe, I believe, I believe. And all of a sudden, one day you look at your life and you're a radically different person.
Lenora Turner:Yeah, so powerful and so relevant for the time. Right now you're talking about the mystical or supernatural, some of the terms you use. People are hungry for something that is bigger. Look at the Marvel the movies, the superhero movies. We want something more powerful than ourselves.
Lenora Turner:So, as we try to intellectually talk ourselves out of how we were so smart and yet we're hungry for something way more powerful than us, but we don't want to perform for it. There's a part of us that says I want to be loved just because you love me, and yet we know we've done things that are wrong. And so you go how do you reconcile this? And he's the one that says I'm the one who's reconciling it and I am bigger than you and I am Talk about supernatural, but that's not a weird thing, that's a very normal thing. Like you said, parts of the world it's so normal and they can get into all kinds of bags of inversions of what is not going to help. You quote supernaturally. But for those who are, think you're too smart for that and get honest with yourself. You're hungry for God to be real.
Lenora Turner:So I remember hearing a story recently and I loved it because it was so simple. I won't tell the whole story, but it was about a guy years ago who pretty scary guy, who used to come to church and cause a lot of problems and people were afraid when he showed up because he'd come and disrupt. But this woman happened to be preaching and he came in and they were all like, oh, what's going to happen? But she was talking about just call on the name of Jesus. The scripture says if you call on the name of Jesus, you'll be saved.
Lenora Turner:Then he ended up running up there and they thought, oh, what's he going to do, because he's done that before and literally tore things up. But he comes up there and falls on his knees and just goes Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He did it four times and there was no disruption, no, anything. And they went oh my gosh, he's actually calling out to God. Now we need to pray for him and have him say this certain stuff and he goes no, I don't. You said I just have to call in the name of Jesus. I called him four times, I'm saved. So I want people to know it's call on him. It's not even doing the prayer, right?
Darren Stott:Right Wow.
Lenora Turner:But, darren, I do want to lead this with the prayer for anyone who's saying God, I need some peace. I'm hoping there's a God that's real, or maybe they're coming back home to him like I did. Would you lead us in something like that?
Darren Stott:Yeah, absolutely. I'd love to just bless everybody today and I believe that, as a response, you're actually going to experience peace today as a result of just making it this long into this particular conversation. So if you're still listening, I believe it's not even so much by your choice as much as you're being wooed by your Creator. I just want to add you know, a lot of people think that good people go to heaven, but that's not true. Forgiving people go to heaven and we are all in need of forgiveness.
Darren Stott:The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So we have all screwed up, we've all done a lot of stuff Right. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life, and so that's God's gift for you is life, and his life is righteousness, its peace and its joy. So let me just bless you here real quick. So, father, I just pray for each and every person that's listening today that your perfect peace would come right now and that you, that you would walk into the room, or, if people are driving their cars, I pray that they would sense your presence, your spirit, come right into the car with them and I rebuke all anxiety in any way that there has been a demonic reminder of past torment and trauma.
Darren Stott:There's somebody and you're listening, and you experienced something so traumatic, but it happened decades ago. But it feels so real and it feels so recent that every day you relive it as though it's happening that actual day. And if that's you, I rebuke the tormentor right now in Jesus' name, and I speak to that spirit of torment because we can actually do that using our authority. And so I use my authority in Jesus to speak to that spirit of torment and I command you, I bind you, to be silent right now and to let go of my friend that's listening right now. And now I ask, father, for your peace and your love to rush into every atmosphere, in every car, in every house. Lord, and as people are jogging, exercising whatever they're doing right now, that your presence would come, that it would verify it'd be the blue check mark on what we are stating as fact today that you would verify it. All right. So for people that are listening, most likely you can feel a contrast now between what you were feeling and what you're experiencing right now. Some of you are actually feeling heat. Some of you are feeling heat on the back of your neck and your heart. Some of you, even your hands are starting to burn. Some of you just feel the love of God right now.
Darren Stott:Now, let me just speak into this. These aren't feelings okay, they are, but this isn't just an emotion. The peace that you're experiencing is a person, that's Jesus, and we're about to wrap up this podcast, but you don't have to step out of this encounter that you're having. You can step into a relationship with the Prince of Peace, and so, if you want this peace to remain, some of you even feel like a joy that's completely foreign to what you're used to. But you feel like this. Don't think of it like a happiness, like a giddiness. It's what it feels like. It feels like a hope that's starting to swell up, like a fountain in your heart right now.
Darren Stott:Listen, that's Jesus. Okay, that's him knocking on the door of your heart. That's him actually speaking. You're actually hearing his voice in a very unique way, and if I'm speaking to you, I want to invite you into not into a religion, I want to invite you into this family. So are you willing to step into this house.
Darren Stott:If so, the doorway is Jesus. Are you willing to step into this doorway, to come in through his name? If so, I just want you to say it out loud. You might be by yourself, you might be with somebody, but I want you to just respond by saying yes. I want you to just say it out loud right now, yes. And if you said yes, I'm going to lead you into prayer, and I actually want you to pray this with your mouth out loud. Okay, you might seem crazy, you are crazy, we're all crazy, okay, but here we go. So say it out loud.
Darren Stott:Say I believe with my heart, I confess with my mouth that Jesus is God, that he's my deliverer. Forgive me of all my sins, break the power of sin darkness. Say this out loud. Say Jesus, break the power of fear, break the power of shame in my life. I am done controlling things and now I surrender to your love. And now, as a priest, I declare over you because you need to hear this your sins have been forgiven, all of them, and now, by his grace, you can go and make new, powerful, wise choices, and I want to welcome you into the family of God In Jesus' name, amen.
Lenora Turner:Amen. I'm so loved that you heard this and that you've those that have done this and prayed this welcome. Also. And because you want to get to know Him better. That's why you want to get a Bible if you don't have one already, why you want to read start maybe the book of John, the New Testament, because you want to get to know God better. You've got everything, but now you want to know what did I get? Who do I have as God? And find yourself a good church that's teaching out of it and believe in the miracle power of God. Because, again, it's to get to know Him better, get to know what you have and who you're a part of, and all that. But thank you, Darren, Absolutely Thank you. This was fun, this was great. You do a great job.
Darren Stott:Excited about your podcast and about doing this with you today.
Lenora Turner:. So this is a great way to say, yeah, I live with this God every day and I wouldn't live without Him.
Darren Stott:Wow. Come on, come on.
Lenora Turner:So thanks, Darren, and of course I'll see you soon and for those of you, again, when the next podcast comes out, subscribe, you'll know.