Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Welcome to the Life Refresh podcast. My name is Ryan Robinson, and if you are looking for a podcast that is designed to uplift, encourage and revive your heart, mind, and spirit. You're in the right place. Welcome to the journey of Becoming the version of You God designed from the foundations of the earth. Now, let's begin.
Speaker 0 00:00:26 Hello and welcome to the Life Refresh Podcast. You know who it is, Brian Robinson. Hope you are doing well and doing fantastic. As we're getting into the spring season, I'm sure many of you all have been battling these things called allergies. Um, I am as well, so pardon me if I sound a little nasally today, but, you know, I wanna continue on our conversation, um, talking about, uh, shattering ego. And, uh, I want to, you know, close on a, on a note here that I think is important to note, to discuss. First is ego isn't always bad. Um, the thing is, ego without boundaries is dangerous. So if you don't have proper, not just boundaries, but qualifications, people in your life to help you manage it, it, it could be really rough for you. And you need to have ego to some extent to protect oneself so that you're not subject to, uh, people being manipulative to you and, uh, taking advantage of you.
Speaker 0 00:01:33 But there is a balance to everything. Um, but over-inflated ego, and again, it can be insidious, it could be places where you don't have ego, but there's also areas where you do have ego. Um, you might be competent, feel like you have adequate education that makes you superior to, uh, someone else. But you know, when you're, um, trying to learn something because you have a desire for it, whether it be music or dance or whatever the case may be for you, you could completely approach that subject in a different matter and in a way that is actually humble because you're a beginner. You haven't reached any kind of level of accolade or competency. So it's easier to be humble. It's easier for your ego to be bruced because you're a beginner. It's something that is to be expected. But as you get, uh, more and more confident and more comfortable in a skillset, it makes it much more difficult to bring ego down.
Speaker 0 00:02:37 Um, I want to touch on this particular topic before we go into the subject, but, um, sometimes it's really hard to understand that even when you're competent, you still have a lot to learn. No one really arrives and no one knows everything. And you may know everything in your circle, and many of you may have heard that if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room <laugh>, you have nothing else to learn yet. You want to be looked at as the sage of your people group or friend group or work group. And essentially, you make yourself the expert that people come to you instead of giving the opportunity for someone to learn for themselves and be able to be self-sustaining, develop a new skill, develop a new perspective. And in sense, what we do is we rob them of that because we need the satisfaction of getting our ego stroked and knowing that we're needed in an actu when all actuality, in order to continue to add value, you have to grow yourself.
Speaker 0 00:03:38 And then in turn, you help continue to grow others around you because you're getting new learnings, you're growing as long as you're growing the other op the opportunities will be presenting themselves to other people, the opportunity to grow as well. So to button all this up is a word that many of us don't like <laugh> and is shattering ego by surrender. I used to years ago, loved watching WW f wrestling. I am, I am one of the, I was not like warrior, the ultimate warrior state. I was close to the end. But like I was in the age when Dwayne the Rock Johnson and Stone Cold, Steve Austin and, uh, the Hardy Boys and all the people that are, uh, in the hall of fame of <laugh> of wrestling are now were where they were in their early portions of their career. And, um, I loved watching Monday night, uh, wrestling and Thursday night wrestling.
Speaker 0 00:04:48 And, uh, it was something I always looked forward to because they had some terrible story, some terrible plot, um, going on. But at the end of the day, it was really, really intriguing. And, uh, there were, um, you know, everyone had a finisher, had some kind of finishing move that, uh, was like when it happened, all, you know, it's over. You know, the rock had the people's elbow and the rock bottom stone coasty of Boston had the stone cold stunner. Triple H had the pedigree. But you know what, there were some other finishers that I, I hate it <laugh> because it took so long. Uh, it, it was, it had no power. It wasn't explosive. It was super boring to watch. And those were the submission moves <laugh>, the submission moves. Um, I, I, I remember, gosh, I'm dating myself really bad, or you listeners may have no idea what I'm talking about, but Chris Jericho used to have a finisher called the Walls of Jericho, which is kind of like a bent back.
Speaker 0 00:05:59 I don't know, you call like a, a back breaker, if you will. Sting had like the figure four, either that or it was Bre Hart, I don't know who it was. But anyway, they had these submission moves and it took people forever. It took them forever to tap out. Now, this is to think like if you knocked me out in a wrestling, that's different, right? If you just got completely obliterated in the ring, that's like, you know what? You, you deserved it, <laugh>, you deserved it, it's over with, you're done, right? But submission is hard because you are in a position that causes pain and you, you may not be tired, but you are restricted by the movement that you have. And because you've been restricted by movement, you are subject to actually damaging yourself if you don't tap out. And that is such a very hard position to be in.
Speaker 0 00:06:58 Um, and again, like you may not, even the guy who may not even be tired, they're not even knocked out. They just got caught in maybe punching and they caught 'em and they twisted their arm or wrapped their leg up, and that was it. And sometimes, and actually many times, um, life has a way of making us tap out of stuff. And, and essentially, God, in many ways, it makes us or needs us to, in order for him to take control of our circumstances, situations and challenges. Because the thing is, if we continue to go our own way, we could really do a lot of damage to our lives. Th there could be missed opportunities. It could be damaged relationships, marriages, relationships with children. If we are left to our own devices, if we think that our preference is better than someone else's, we could essentially damage opportunities to build relationship with them in the future.
Speaker 0 00:07:57 And the hardest part, even when it comes to serving, is surrendering and submitting to someone else's preference for your life. And I think to me, those are one of, it's like the last piece of sanctification, even though we know that it is a, a lifelong process and sanctification meaning, um, being more like Christ, going through the spiritual and physical and emotional challenges and changes that come with now walking a life with Christ and allowing God to be Lord over your life, meaning that you take his preferences, his will over yours. I'm gonna say that again. It means that we prefer God's will over our own. Now let me tell you, this is probably the hard, I mean, I'm, I'm speaking this from a, from personal <laugh> personal, uh, examples and personal experience. But it is hard to have faith. And we talked about this in early podcasts, but you, you'll start seeing that the threat of this is that you have to put your trust in God.
Speaker 0 00:09:05 And the hardest part is the only vantage point that you have is right now. That's all you have. You have today. You have today. Yesterday's over can't reflect on it tomorrow. We don't know what's gonna happen. But the moment right now is what you have, what I have. And we have to make the best of that. So who knows the beginning from the end better than God, cuz he knows you. He created you, he fashioned you with all the gifting skill and ability that you need to walk in your purpose and what that is for your life. And it is difficult to tell the manufacturer because we want to be in control of our life. But the thing is, the only way that you will be able to function in the way that you've been designed to function is that you go back to the creator, the manufacturer, the one who fashion created you and designed you with specific gifts, talents, perspectives and insights that you need to be able to surrender what your life was and what your thought for your great life is, for what God has in store for you.
Speaker 0 00:10:12 It's a very difficult, um, process. I'm not saying this is an easy one because we have worked our whole lives, perhaps in degrees in education and experiences to build up something that we think was best for us. But really, we may have, and again, God never wastes anything, but if we had the clarity of thought to prepare ourselves to surrender our lives to Christ sooner, we might be in a different place. Maybe just maybe. And the only person that I can speak about or at least think about that exemplifies this lifestyle change is Saul. People know him as Paul <laugh>. Um, not the Old Testament of Saul, but the New Testament Saul. Um, that to me is a very important scripture for us to, to read into today. And it is Acts chapter nine, verse one through 19. I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but um, I'm gonna read a piece of it and you'll be able to read it at your leisure.
Speaker 0 00:11:18 But the important thing about this is that Saul was a bad dude. He was in many of his epistles, uh, to the early church. He was considered the Pharisee of the Pharisees studied under Emilia, who was the top kind of Pharisee that you can study under. He was a Christian killer. He felt advocated, convicted that the way that Christians, at the time these people were called, the way they were following the way the term Christian didn't come until several centuries later. But the ability to correct, to know the law, to be able to articulate that in a way that made him extremely astute, nimble of thought, very competent, be a, being able to talk to multiple people groups. That's what made Saul so such a, uh, an interesting individual. And the thing is, everything that he studied culturally and religiously told him that we need to kill these Christians.
Speaker 0 00:12:30 We need to kill them because they are not following what the law of Moses is saying. The Messiah isn't here yet. They're go, they're doing it all wrong. And you know what, some of us are very convicted. We have our convictions. Everyone does. I don't know if you go to the extent that Saul went to, but this is the man who has written two thirds of the New Testament, Saul of Tarsis. He wrote two thirds of the Bible, or excuse me, two thirds of the New Testament. Everything that we discuss in regards to how we should love one another, how we should function in spiritual gifting. All of that came from a person who wasn't willing to surrender his life because he thought his perspective was the right one. If we, if he hadn't surrendered y'all, we'd be in a completely different space and time.
Speaker 0 00:13:27 The Bible wouldn't be in the world like it is now because Paul wrote to Gentiles, those who are not of Jewish heritage and was able to reach outside of the Jewish culture to influence the Roman culture. And multiple people groups in those letters and epistles are key canon and doctrine for all of us, uh, as we believe that that is God breathed through the letters of Paul. Okay, so let me read, um, acts chapter nine. I'm gonna read through, uh, probably the verse 10. Um, it'll, it'll help me kind of give you some context. So, uh, Saul still breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any there of the way either men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Speaker 0 00:14:25 As he went, he drew near Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shown around him, he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute? He said, who are you Lord? He heard him. The Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the gods trembling and astonished. He said, Lord, what will you have me do? The Lord said to him, rhymes up, go into the city and you'll be told what you must do. And the men traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one saw rose up from the ground. And when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand, brought him into Damascus for three days. He was without sight and neither ate nor drink. It is really interesting that immediately when he saw the person that he was persecuting, stand up to him, <laugh> in, in many cases, he said, what, Lord, what, what would you have me do?
Speaker 0 00:15:24 Then I, I thought I was doing the right thing. He said, why are you persecuting me? And the ultimate deciding factor of surrender is not knowing the right answer and asking, what should I be doing Instead? Have we asked ourselves, if we don't feel as if we are walking and doing the things that we've been called to do? Have we asked ourselves, Lord, what should I be doing? Now, I'm not saying you quit <laugh> anything. Don't say that. I didn't say that. What I am saying is that there has to be a clear definition as to what you need to be doing. And again, you have to go back to the manufacturer for that. It is such a important piece here, because had not, Saul said, you know what I, what do you want me to do? He would have missed out on an opportunity.
Speaker 0 00:16:15 He would've missed out on an opportunity. And this is the, this is the other part. He did exactly what the Lord Jesus had told him to do. Literally he told him, even though he was blind, couldn't see anything, he said, rise up and go into the city and you'll be told what you must do. So the thing is, if he wasn't fearful, <laugh>, if he hadn't surrendered, if he the answer to his question, here it is, y'all. The answer to his question was for him to get up, go to the city and wait, get up, go to Damascus and wait. He didn't say how long. He didn't give a determination. He did not say who. He didn't say all these things. He didn't, God didn't tell him anything. But the ultimate sign of trust and surrender is that I will go off of what you've given me.
Speaker 0 00:17:13 And when you send the person, I'll be ready, I'll be ready. And it says for three days, imagine not seeing at one point and not seeing anymore and you're waiting for three days for someone to tell you what you must do. You probably start thinking them. Was I crazy? Was I, was I I don't know. You just won't be able to do anything of significance if you don't surrender to a bigger purpose. It's such a a, a difficult thing for us in this day and age because everyone likes to lead. Everyone wants to be in front. Everyone wants the acknowledgement, they want the spotlight on them. They want all the things that come with being in the front. But this is the thing y'all, we talked about humility for ego, how to just share, shatter it with humility with service. But lastly, you can do all, you can do the first two pretty well and no one really think that you have an ego issue because you can be self-motivated in all of these.
Speaker 0 00:18:14 But the surrendering part, the part to surrender that is necessary in order to move forward in any area of your life. Cuz if you do, you can't serve. If you don't surrender. You can't be humble if you don't give in and you have to. This is the thing y'all, I'm not saying you just give into everything. It's giving God the authority over your life because essentially you trust him with your life better than you trust your own self with yours. Many plans a man has, but God directs the steps. It's so hard y'all to, you have a mul. We all have plans. I think we've all had ideas of what we think we should be, where we should be, how we should be doing them. But ladies and gentlemen, some of them have worked out, some of them may have not. But until we surrender, I'm talking to myself too, we will never really become everything that we've been called to do.
Speaker 0 00:19:11 In order for that version of you to show up, we have to shatter our ego. Such a deep, hard topic with humility, with service, with surrender. But all these are necessary y'all. Cause if we don't get all three of these, we'll be short changing ourself. Cause at the end of all of these, these are some amazing moments. Life changing interactions by which God can use to help impact people and give you the opportunity to serve with some amazing people. But as much as we don't want to, as much as it's so challenging to, sometimes we gotta tap out because sometimes holding on actually causes more damage than if we just gave into it and just knew it was part of the process. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our teaching around shattering ego. If you found this valuable, share it with someone. Let someone know that you care about 'em through this podcast. Hopefully this teaching was useful for you, helpful for you. Uh, this has definitely caused me to rethink some things <laugh> for me in my personal life. Tune in, make sure you subscribe This next podcast, I think really, really be amazing. Take care, talk soon.
