Show Notes
This podcast concludes the meaning of relationships lesson. What are you willing to be safe with the multitudeOR are you willing to allow yourself to be completely seen by a chosen few. Listen in!
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Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:13 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 Foundation's.
Speaker 1 00:00:53 Welcome back to Life Refresh podcast. This is your host, Ryan Robinson. It's been a long time. Um, I want to go ahead, I'm gonna jump right into the content today. Um, I think it's really, really good. I think we left off, um, at part two talking about the meaning of relationships. And um, I want to really at this point get to one of the pivotal, actually the easiest level of relationship, uh, in this case, which is the multitude, the multitude. Um, it is actually the largest and actually the safest kind of relationship you can have, period, point blank. Um, lemme give you an example of this. Um, many of us are fans of an artist, fans of a television show, and they're the lead stars of those television shows. And essentially what happens is they have created what we call a following, okay? Uh, a following. And these individuals that follow this particular individual
Speaker 1 00:01:57 Are a part of this multitude because they've seen one facet of an individual, okay? They follow them for the level of creativity they've seen, the content that they deliver, the music that they release. There is something tangible that there's, uh, that we relate to. We may not relate to them on a personal level, but what they talk about relates to us in a personal level. So we actually have some kind of need from, from these, these folks. Um, or they've given us language for things that we feel inside is kind of like, um, uh, I think everyone has a heartbreak song, a song that a boy or a girl broke up to you on, and you just listen to that song. You're like, man, they put into words what I was feeling, and they, you become a lifelong fan, okay? Those are instances that make you a fan.
Speaker 1 00:02:59 Followings fans, there are certain things that we want from these individuals because they do something for us. Perfect example. Jesus was in a crowd of individuals and he had a following. He had a following. And the thing is, there are moments in time where Jesus was just, all people needed from Jesus, or wanted from Jesus was a word, a healing a miracle. They wanted something from him. Some of them, there might have been a case where someone's heart was, uh, postured correctly, or they had a lot of faith to push through the multitude, uh, like the woman with the issue of blood to get to the hymn, untouched the hyn of, of Jesus' garment to receive a healing. Uh, and, and the Bible says that when the woman touched the hymn of his garment, it says that she was immediately healed. And Jesus says, who, who touched me?
Speaker 1 00:03:56 And the disciples are like, Jesus, we're in a crowd of people. Everybody's touching you, <laugh> or bumping into you. Uh, but this particular woman in this case drew faith from him and essentially was be, was able to be healed from her infirmity. So the thing is, there is a situation by which crowds only can, they can get close to you, but they can't get in front of you because they don't have a deeper relationship or a deeper connection that relates and actually pulls upon the relationship. That's why it's so easy for us to be fans. There's no risk involved. If they mess up, it's on them. We're mad at them. They can't get mad at us. It's easy for us to throw darts at them, but really hard for them to throw darts back at us because why They don't know us on an individual basis.
Speaker 1 00:04:54 I'm sure there are fans that are, um, that are, are closer friends, uh, that are those who have a voice in those individuals lives. Those are easier to manage because they're close in proximity. But the thing about relationship is the further away it is, the safer it is, but the closer you get to it, the more dangerous, the more vulnerable you become in it. That's why you can't have too many people in your, in your view. Um, it's difficult for many of us because a lot of times we share personal items, and I think that's what social media does. It gives us a full view of followers that may not necessarily care about who we are as person. Personally. They may, maybe may or may not be, but they initially followed us because there was something that they got from us that fed them. And you know, it's dangerous when you've fall into the, the, the fold of the following or the multitude because you can be enamored very quickly because just as quickly as you get a fan, you can lose a fan too. I'm gonna say that again. As quickly as you can gain a fan, you can lose one.
Speaker 1 00:06:17 Celebrities do it all the time. <laugh>, they lose a fam cuz they said something crazy. Uh, they've done something wrong and they've lost followers because of it. They're human. But because we're, because those that follow, follow because of a personal need. If there's any kind of issue with that, they will turn on you in a quick second. And those are the most dangerous relationships to be in. I wouldn't even call them acquaintances. They're little further away than acquaintances. At least, you know, an acquaintance, um, acquaintances you have familiarity with. You may not deal relationally with them all the time, but you do have and do share a few circles of common interests amongst one another. Therefore you see them, but you don't necessarily engage with them. But I want to focus on multitudes because multitudes, we usually get lost in it because it feels really good to have a lot of numbers, but not a whole lot of substance.
Speaker 1 00:07:28 Lot of numbers, not a whole lot of substance. Okay? Um, so the multitude, we, we talked about the multitude. I'm gonna go to the next level because I think that next level many people have challenges with. Um, and it's the 12. It's the 12. Um, Jesus had 12 disciples, just like I said before in the previous podcast, 12 disciples. And, um, those 12 disciples went and lived life together with Jesus. Um, it, it, it is something that many people, uh, they all came from different lifestyles. Some are fishermen, some are tax collectors, some were physicians, some, some, um, uh, financial, uh, have financial, uh, aptitude. So Jesus got a whole rag tag. I won't say, I won't call him rag tags, but I will call him. He got a plethora of different skillsets in his friendships. And the thing is, Jesus lived life with them.
Speaker 1 00:08:32 Okay? Now, what's the difference between living life together and, and, uh, being super, super close? Um, I think it's really important for us to know that we can share friendships. There may, we may not have as deep conversations with other individuals in this close knit group of individuals we live life with together. But there are moments in time where you do grow together. Uh, you identify, you have the same values set, you have the similar outlook on life. You all want the same thing. You all are also against the same thing. So there's a lot of commonalities, but maybe they're not, might, there might not be a lot of shared interests at the same time. So, uh, I'm a techie person. I think I talked about this before. I love my gadgets. Um, but there are some people that may not like gadgets, but we want the same thing. Without our life, want a healthy family, wanna honor God with our gifts and talents. Uh, we also want to be the best that we can be in our lives at the time we shared football or whatever the case is. You might have this similar situation too, but that doesn't mean you guys aren't
Speaker 1 00:09:51 Friends, that you guys can't live life together. That doesn't mean that, it just means you all have different interests that you hang out in different spots. But that does not negate the fact that you all are very interested in the individuals that you all are becoming, not necessarily what you're interested in. I think many people cut off different, uh, cut off our friendships, cut off different, uh, cut off friendships because they don't, because they don't think they're their ride or die, or we share everything together. That's okay. It's okay to have friendships where you don't share the same interests. It's, you have to come to a point of maturity to recognize, you know what, not everyone's going to like. What I like, some people like oranges, some people like apples. Some people like apple devices. Some people like Android. That doesn't mean we can't all get along, you know what I'm saying? So I, I think it's, I think what we do in, in those respects is we, because people aren't like us or word for word or precept upon precept or methodology, ideology, uh, with one another, we don't do a good job dealing with that level of dissension. Therefore, we have to cut somebody off because they're not a hundred percent aligned with us. And honestly,
Speaker 1 00:11:26 I don't want everyone a hundred percent aligned with me <laugh>. I, I, I need someone to al also ask me some questions to question and ask me like, do you know what you're talking about? Or, or, uh, do you understand what the implications are of a decision like that? Or you need to have friends like that that will give you some unbiased conversation, um, that again, that are interested not in just the outcomes, but also interested in you as an individual and as a person. And those values by which you make those decisions, those individuals
Speaker 1 00:12:06 Are your 12. Um, it is said, you only have a good five to six friends, really close friends that you can live life together with. Um, and, and it's really hard to find maybe two or three. Um, but god bless if you're able to find five or six, um, let alone 12 <laugh>. Let alone 12. Um, but you know, once you know, I, I hate to use the Drake phrase, but once you get those group of people, you don't, you, there's no new friends. That's a hard wall to breakthrough. Uh, that's a real hard wall to breakthrough. I don't think anybody put in applications, uh, at that point in time to be another apostle. Um, as, as they were living life with Jesus. No one said, many people said they did, but they didn't want to pay the cost that their friends did. And you know what, sometimes relationships do come with the cost, the loss of vulnerability, the loss of anonymity, the ability to be seen, the the opening yourself up to questions, to be challenged, to be encouraged, to be exhorted, to be rebuked, to be corrected. All of those expressions are expressions of love in different forms and fashions. But we love how love makes us feel good. We don't talk about the love that corrects us when we're wrong. That disciplines us when we're
Speaker 1 00:13:41 On our ups and downs. Okay? Um, so then I'm gonna get to the last, the last circle of of relationship. And this, this one is a hard one for many people because, um, the, the, I mentioned this in the last one, last podcast, but this one's a really hard one because it is the most vulnerable time for many of us. Um, this is, is the chosen few, uh, Jesus in the 12, he had three that he was really, really, really close with. Um, and, and Peter, James and John. Those are the, the, the three that he was really close to. Peter, James, and John. And essentially those three had seen Jesus at his most glorious form on the Mount of Transfiguration, where they saw Jesus in all of his glorious heavenly glory that the other nine couldn't see. Which means that there was a level of, of trust that he had in them. But also Peter, James, and John were also with him during his greatest moment of agony in the garden of Yosemite, where the Bible says that he sweat as drops of blood, uh, in, in the garden for the persecution and crucifixion that he was about to experience on behalf of the sinful world that we were in. And,
Speaker 1 00:15:26 And then, uh, uh, Peter, James and John stood with them. And they weren't perfect in their, in their, their their attempt to be with Jesus during those troublesome times. But, um, when Jesus chooses someone, it's important relationally because there's something that he's trying to get to us, uh, by who he connected himself to. And just like Jesus being the individual that I believe is the example of how to live, but also how to live in relationship with individuals. Uh, we all have to have a few, a few good ones that, um, that even in our, our circle, our 12, whatever that number is for you, that there are some that see you in your most vulnerable space. And you know what? Honestly, so a lot of those don't happen intentionally. Uh, they either happened by accident or they just happen to be with you. And you, you find out, uh, you build enough relational equity over time that compounds itself that lets someone know, you know what?
Speaker 1 00:16:44 I can trust you with this bit of information. Um, I'm risking some information. I'm risking your opinion of me. I'm risking the ability for you to, to see me in a, in a sanitary light <laugh>. Because at the, at the end of the day, we all have some dirt that we are not proud of, but also could be ashamed of even sharing with individuals. So I, I think having those, a small group of people, you can only share those pivotal ups and those distraught, ugly down in the dumps down points in your life. Like you can only share those with a few people. Cause only a few people can handle 'em. Think about all the things that you have gone through in your life and do you think that more than three people could handle it? I can wait here for a minute, minute as you process that probab, I'm gonna just help you out. Probably not to really get down to the real nitty gritty, you, the ugly crying, you the very happy, ecstatic joy to the world, happy joy, that you don't want to even have to share that a person that can go and celebrate with you, that kind of friend.
Speaker 1 00:18:19 Do we have that kind of friend that will celebrate the highs with us, with as much joy as us, but also be down in the low lows with us? Because at that point, you don't need a friend. When you get three close friends within that small group. You don't need anybody to like uplift you. I just need somebody to be with me when it's messy. You know, that I'm not alone in my, in my dysfunction. That I'm not alone in my happiness. That I'm just, just somebody. Just be here with me for a minute. That's all I want. Just be here. And sometimes being here speaks more volumes than any word of exhortation. Any word of comfort can give me. Just letting someone know you're there. I think that qualifies for someone being in, in the chosen few. And, uh, again, I I think those are some pivotal details upon relationship. And again, use some of this to evaluate your current relational statuses with others. Do you have a deficit of chosen few? Do you have too many fans? Do you have too many acquaintances? Matt masquerading as the 12? You gotta do the work for you.
Speaker 1 00:19:57 Cause I think, and I believe truly, I know that people say that you're, you're as, as, as strong as the the five people you spend the most time with. I completely agree with that. With the amount of information, ideals, all those kinds of things. Exposure, all those things. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about. Do you have someone you can be 100% honest with? Forget all the information I can get to them, <laugh>, get from them. Am I able to be honest, transparent, and vulnerable with them that they can speak truth to my life? And I don't get offended,
Speaker 1 00:20:44 The the word offended off ended. If you, you break it out, off ended, meaning someone threw you off your track because we were offended. A lot of relationships get damaged because of offense. I can go there all day, but I, I want to really just, again, nail home how meaningful relationships are because those meaningful relationships are something that will help sustain us for the other ones that we build in. If you have a strong core, a strong chosen few, that gives you everything you need to deal with, with the 12, with the acquaintances, with the multitude, the fans, the followers, because you got a, you got a home base that's consistent and not flaky like fans.
Speaker 1 00:21:39 All right, so this was gonna conclude the meaning of relationships. Part three. I, uh, again, I really, especially in this season that we're in, uh, in the holiday season, taking time to evaluate family, friends, relationships. What, who gives you energy, who you can go to, who who can come to you, I think is really, really good exercise to do for yourself because God is a God of relationship. And through Jesus, he sets the perfect example of how we need to manage the relationships in our lives. And doing that is a great exercise for us. And again, this is not saying to cut people off. I'm just saying you need to put people in the proper category so that you do not put more weight on someone than they're capable of handling or not utilizing someone in relationship who's available and you don't give the heavy weights to them to help you carry.
Speaker 1 00:22:45 Um, again, I hope this is very helpful to someone. The next podcast that we're going to talk about is a vulnerable one. A vulnerable one, uh, that I want you to stay tuned to. It is one that I think has, will challenge many of us. Um, and again, it it's, it kind of piggys back piggybacks off of this, but, uh, I think you will really, really be challenged by the next podcast. So, like I said, keep it locked, keep it tuned, subscribe, share. And you guys know what to do. Catch you guys later. In the next one,
Speaker 1 00:23:26 Thank you for tuning into the Life Refresh podcast. There are three things I'll need you to do before you go. One, subscribe to this podcast, whether it be through Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts. Make sure that you subscribe to get the latest episode in your feet. Two, thank the podcast. If you like what you heard today, make sure you give it a great rating on these platforms. It'll help give us the exposure we need to make our message much and reach audience in three. Make sure you share this episode. I guarantee you value in it. Someone you're with.
