Your Joyful Order With Leslie Martinez

#82-Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts with Pastor Bianca Juarez-Olthoff

• Leslie Martinez • Season 5 • Episode 82

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What if you could uncover your spiritual gifts and harness them in ways you never imagined? Join us on the Joyful Order podcast as we host my mentor and Pastor Bianca Juarez-Olthoff for an enriching conversation about understanding and utilizing spiritual gifts in your faith walk. From her upbringing in a pastor's family to her deep-rooted familiarity with church life, Pastor Bianca shares how these experiences shaped her understanding of spiritual gifts. We explore how these divine gifts are recognized within the Christian community, emphasizing the importance of discerning God's voice in a practical and relatable manner.

Explore the depths of spiritual gifts with us as we dive into their theological foundations and practical applications. You'll hear personal stories of discovering the Holy Spirit and how these powerful encounters transformed our faith.  This episode will equip believers with a deeper insight into how the Holy Spirit operates in our lives.

If you'd like to learn more about Spiritual Gifts Click Here:
https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/women-leadership-spiritual-gifts-growth-service

Connect with Pastor Bianca
Website: https://www.biancaolthoff.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biancaolthoff/
Get her Book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/hqWu9FW






Connect with Leslie:

Follow on IG: @yourjoyfulorderstyle

Website: https://www.yourjoyfulorder.com/

Email: lmartinez@yourjoyfulorder.com
to schedule- Speaking Events, Interviews or Life Coaching Sessions

Shop my SOAP the Gospels Journal on Shopify:
https://shopjoyfulorder.com/

Listen to this Episode on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsXoAYIM2mfclNtYiaOzIUw

Shop my Journal (Gratitude, Goals & Prayer Journal) on Amazon:
https://a.co/d/09Djvaw

Book a FREE 30 Minute Discovery Coaching Call: https://tidycal.com/joyfulordermedia/30-minute-meeting

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, I'm Leslie Martinez and you're listening to your Joyful Order podcast. Each week I will bring you joyful stories that will motivate and inspire you and, at the same time, bring order to your everyday life. Let's just say the show will be a mixture of preaching and teaching, with a kick of motivation from your girl here. Welcome to your Joyful Order podcast.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to another episode of your Joyful Order podcast. Today. I am so honored, I'm so privileged and I am just so grateful. I hope y'all can hear like the pure joy in my voice because this guest that I have, she's been on my dream list, like bucket list of guests to have on the podcast. And not only is she my pastor, not only is she a mentor to me, not only is she a leader to me, but I swear that she is my sister from another mister. So can y'all welcome Pastor Bianca Juarez-Olof to the podcast.

Speaker 3:

I am so excited to be here, especially after that introduction, like, come on, leslie, I'm here for it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I'm so excited. Now, pastor B, I have to be totally honest with you. I was so nervous for this podcast and I don't get nervous to talk with people, I don't know why. I just because people that I just like have the utmost respect and honor for I just I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't want to sound stupid in the conversation, you know, and in our conversation that I want to have with you today. This is actually something that I I'm going to be honest, I feel a little ignorant too, and this is why I feel like God is just bringing people to have tough conversations.

Speaker 2:

I themed our podcast this year and I wanted to be strategic in certain conversations that I had, and I could have talked to you about anything. I mean anything from you know. Why is the sky blue to you? Know, whatever else? But God really put in my heart to have this conversation with you about understanding spiritual gifts, and this is something that I think people need to hear, and it's a tough conversation to have. I'm not a theologian. I didn't go to Bible seminary. I know that kind of the same to you. You speak a lot about that also, but you have such a heart for this and I want you to share and us just have a conversation today about how can you define spiritual gifts in a way that the listeners can really just understand and then talk to us about what the Bible says about spiritual gifts.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I promise you I will get to that, but I think the listeners also need to know that you're an amazing woman of God. You are making an investment in people's lives. I have seen you take strides to go after what you believe that the Lord has called you to, and I'm just really proud of you. There has been little in your way that has stopped you, but there have been a lot of hurdles, some that I know about and some that I don't know about, and I just want to say thank you for having me on the podcast, thank you for creating content that is going to be a gift to people, and thank you for creating content that is going to be a gift to people and thank you for not stopping. You are, you're tenacious, and what people also don't know is that we go to church together and you know sometimes when people say like oh, this is my pastor, but they don't have a relationship with them, like I think the listeners need to know that we probably every Sunday we'll sit next to each other in our rally before first service. People need to know that you're the real sanctified saints, because you and your amazing husband, steve, get to church early before first service. So at 8.15, we gather for a rally, and that's where we talk about vision and heart and the why, behind the what, and you and I just happen to sit. We're creatures of habit and we sit in generally the same spot all the time. So this is not just I'm not just popping out your show because you invited me. I'm investing in you because I love that you're creating a gift for people, a gift that's going to drop in their ears, and so with that, I think people need to know what an amazing human you are, an amazing follower of Christ, and somebody who's walked with Christ for a really long time still has questions about spiritual gifts and discerning the voice of God. So let's dive in. I'm going to keep this kind of high level and then I want us to get a little bit more granular, as you see fit. You know your podcast listeners, and so I want to be a service to them.

Speaker 3:

Before I go to the technical or the theological, I will start with a personal aspect, and the personal aspect is I have been raised in church my whole life. My dad is a pastor in East Los Angeles, california, still to this day. He's 72 years old and still serving Jesus and so I've been around the Bible, I've been around church. I've been around Christians for a really long time and as a kid growing up, I was familiar with the things of God. I was familiar with Bible stories. I went to vacation Bible school, summer camp, winter camp. I was in kids' church. I was familiar with Bible stories. I went to vacation Bible school, summer camp, winter camp. I was in kids' church. I was in youth group. I was in college ministry. I led in college ministry, god Bible, women's ministry.

Speaker 3:

All of this today is like I think I should have a handle on, like this idea of following Jesus. However, it wasn't until probably around the age of 24, 25, 26,. It wasn't until probably around the age of 24, 25, 26, that I started to realize that people were using language and nomenclature in words like God told me. God said I felt God, I had a dream, and then I felt like I was kind of the odd man out, like all these people are super holy and they must be like having manna for breakfast and hovering on holiness, because they're having these conversations with God and they're hearing God and I'm on these streets like the struggle is real. Like what do you mean? God said what do you mean? You heard. What do you mean? You saw. And it wasn't until a conversation much like the one that we're having today.

Speaker 3:

Right now, we world was rocked and the conversation was about the gift of the holy spirit, the gift that was promised by jesus in john chapter 14 to his disciples and then the followers of jesus. That john chapter 14, jesus makes a promise. His promise is that he will never leave them or forsake them. He's going to send a comforter, an advocate, his spirit that will be with them when he ascends to the Father. That promise in John 14 becomes a presence in Acts 2. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is given to the church and from there there is a radical, a radical breakout of what we would consider the biggest church plant start ever. Acts 2, you were on church on Sunday, we just preached this. So it's hot in my bones right now.

Speaker 3:

But Peter gives one of the amazing theological dissertations on why Jesus is Messiah. People are struck to the core, they're moved to their hearts and Peter tells them this repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit. So this concept of receiving the Holy Spirit is not just acknowledging the Holy Spirit Father, son, holy Spirit but receiving the Holy Spirit. And so around the age of 26, my faith became very real. Now I said yes to Jesus. I received Jesus into my life when I was seven years old, at the age of 13, I got baptized.

Speaker 3:

I've been a follower of Jesus, but my love for the word and my love for like the law and legalism, instead of the trinity being father, son, holy spirit, it was like father, son, holy bible 25, my eyes were open to the gift of the holy spirit. So I'm there. Might be some listeners out there that are like I want to know what God is telling me, I want to know what spiritual gifts I have. So, leslie, now that there's like kind of like a foundation of, like the promise of Jesus, my personal journey, will you kind of steer and lead when do you want us to go? What do you think would be most beneficial?

Speaker 2:

to your listeners Basically where you are laying that foundation of. What are those gifts I want our listeners to know, like are spiritual gifts just given to all believers? Does anybody have them? And also, how does the Holy Spirit play a role in the development of your spiritual gifts? So I mean, there's so much to unpack but let's just start by what are the spiritual gifts? Like you know in 1 Corinthians that they're listed, I know. So just maybe kind of starting there and then going into like is this something that all believers get?

Speaker 3:

Okay. So I'm going to say I'm going to lay some theological foundation and then I'll create a framework, the foundation that we get. I'm using air quotes for our podcast listeners that can't see. But the gift list, if you will, that some people might refer to it are found not just in 1 Corinthians 13, but in Romans, chapter 8, 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, and Ephesians, chapter 4. And Paul writes these manifestation gifts, these ministry gifts that are to various churches. Now some people have curated the gifts that Paul lists in each of these references and they say these are the gifts. Now, some are natural gifts, like the gift of leadership, like the gift of helps, like the gift of administration, and then some are supernatural gifts, like the gift of tongues, the gift of healings, like the gift of administration, and then some are supernatural gifts, like the gift of tongues, the gift of healings, the gift of prophecy. And so I love that we have a reference point and I have created a gift list myself. Like Leslie, you're part of this community. You know I'm passionate about this and I don't want people to be ignorant.

Speaker 3:

Paul the apostle, aka my Bible boyfriend, says dear brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant considering the gifts. What gifts is he talking about? He's not just talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit. They've already received the Holy Spirit. He's speaking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, people listening if they want to know more. You can literally Google spiritual gift list and you'll get one. So let's just I'm going to save this a lot of time and let's maybe get a little bit more granular.

Speaker 3:

One of the things that I'm a little concerned with and a little no, I'll say cautious with is some people will say if Paul didn't list it as a gift, then it's not a spiritual gift. I'm not going to say that they're wrong. I just have a different dexterity around interpreting scripture for this, because it's proven with scripture. Paul does not list dreams or visions as a spiritual gift. However, we see joseph in scripture dream a dream. They were prophetic dreams that came to pass and god used it. God's in the. That was in the old testament. In the new testament, the spirit of god gives joseph a dream to go to egypt and he listens to that dream. In the new testament, peter gets into an axe. Peter gets a vision that will unleash the gospel reaching the Gentiles, and Paul does not reference dreams or visions. However, we see that in scripture as being something supernatural that God will use. So I'm just a little cautious.

Speaker 3:

I'm going to say whatever means that God wants to use to speak to his people. Let me back this up with scripture. Jesus said even the rocks will cry out. In the Old Testament, balaam's donkey spoke to him. So I'm going to say whatever means that God wants to speak to his children, he's going to.

Speaker 3:

But I love the theological framework that Paul the Apostle gives us. So I'm going to rattle off a few Again. I'm going to rattle off a few Again. I'm going to encourage listeners Google it or, if they want information, you can email info at T-F-H-O-C. And we actually have that document that we love to share with people. It's very, very simple.

Speaker 3:

But in that let's talk about some natural gifts. I mentioned them before. There is the gift of administration, there is the gift of leadership. Some people will say that teaching is a natural gift. Now, as a Bible teacher, I'm going to push back a little bit, because we've all been in elementary school, junior high school, college or university where we had a boring teacher. I think that teaching, specifically teaching the word of God, is a supernatural gift, but it's debatable Supernatural gifts, gifts like healing, gifts like miracles, gifts like the interpretation of God is a supernatural gift, but it's debatable Supernatural gifts, gifts like healing gifts like miracle gifts like the interpretation of tongues. And so what I think that maybe might be beneficial is how do we you started this when we were talking earlier how do we discern the gifts of the spirit? Do you think that that would be a good springboard to kind of talk about?

Speaker 2:

Oh, definitely, and this is, like you said, just listing them out and the listeners. You definitely can go and kind of unpack and go deeper with each of those. And one of the things that I think I really want to kind of unpack in our conversation is how can people understand their own spiritual gifts, but also how can that contribute to one's personal growth and their maturity? I know that once I started to unpack my own spiritual gifts and understand and learn about them, I started to see where God is using me in leadership and administration, in teaching, in all of this, you know, and I started to understand like, hey, these are gifts that God gives me. And then I also started to see how it started to contribute to my personal growth as a whole in being, you know, a believer, a woman going after what God called me to do. So can you just speak a little bit into that and how it helps us as believers?

Speaker 3:

Yes, so this is a huge question and I want to make this as simple as possible. Now I'm a little hesitant in sharing this, but I think it's worth having the conversation. You could actually Google spiritual gift test and there is a test of around 50 questions that you can take and, based on your personality type and the things that you're inclined to, it could help point you at a possible spiritual gift. For those that just like give me a to-do, that's what to do. However, I'm going to make this work and I'm also going to push us to believe that God will give us the gifts that we need when we need them and before we go into gifts.

Speaker 3:

I want to separate this idea of talents versus gifts. Leslie, you've heard me teach on this at church before, but people think, oh, I'm talented, that's my gifting. Well, maybe I don't know. Talents are genetic. Gifts are spiritually given. Talents cannot be revoked. If you are insane at right now, people are competing in the Olympics If you're insane in sprinting, that you're still going to be insane in sprinting, even if you are in sin.

Speaker 3:

Spiritual gifts can be taken away. Scripture is very clear about that. We see that in the life of Saul, when David sinned with Bathsheba. He says in the Psalms do not take your spirit from me. So there is a difference between talents and giftings, and so I want to clarify this. How do we determine, how do we discover our gifts? I want to stir the waters, if we will. When you go through the list that Paul creates in the epistles and in the New Testament, there's going to be some that naturally jump out to you For me. I love helping people, I have the gift of helps, I love developing people. So that one, as I went through the list, I was like I think this is me. What's another one I think is natural for me? Exhortation. I've always been an encourager.

Speaker 3:

Ever, since I was little, I've always been an encourager, and that encouragement leads to motivation for people. So I read that and I'm like, okay, I could identify with this. However, it wasn't until I started actually serving that I realized that there was more gifts that God had actually given me and that he wanted me to cultivate. So, for example, I was 25 years old, I was in graduate school. I had no intention on working for a church, being part of a church, being on staff at a church. My dad was a pastor. I loved church, but it just wasn't something that I felt like I was going to do for the rest of my life. I was in grad school because I wanted to get my PhD and I wanted to open up an art gallery. I wanted to be insanely wealthy. I wanted to live in Larchmont in Los Angeles.

Speaker 3:

I had my whole life planned and then God hit me with this amazing invitation to serve at a youth camp. I volunteered as a just a girl's youth coordinator and it just so happened that all the girl leaders all got either sick or something happened. They couldn't go. So I was the only girl leader. Well, the youth pastor, who didn't know me, had said hey, do you think that you can come to youth camp and like volunteer as a leader. I said, yeah, sure, no problem. I thought I was going to like make some breakfast and make sure the girls didn't go buck wild while in Lake Havasu. And what I came to find out is on the second day in. He said hey, we're going to separate the guys and the girls and you're going to teach the girls Bible study. To which I said hold up, wait a minute, my dad's a pastor, but I don't know how to teach a Bible study. Are you kidding me? He's like oh, you're fine, you're a Christian, teach the Lord of God. I was petrified and I vividly remember my very first Bible study was out of Psalm 52. And there was probably, like I don't know, 18, 19, 20 girls that I had opened the Word of God with and they were so excited about the Word of God and I was so excited that they were getting excited and they were saying things like wow, the Bible feels like it's come alive. Wow, this is so easy to understand. Wow, the Bible, it feels like it's come alive. Wow, this is so easy to understand. And if a 13-year-old, a 15-year-old, a 17-year-old girl is saying they're enjoying the word of God. It might be a gift, Because I had not. I didn't have any training, I didn't even have a desire. You know what I'm saying. And yet the Lord showed that it was something that he was gifting me. He was gifting me the ability to teach the word of God.

Speaker 3:

Now some people I get this often, leslie where people will come up to me like, hey, I want to do what you do. I have the gift of teaching. I want to be a pastor or I want to be on platform, I want to speak at conferences, and my first thing, my first thing, is hey, I want to affirm that. That's amazing. Now let's test it serving kids ministry, and that's when they're like no, I want to. I want to do what you do and I'm like great. But you don't know if you could do what I do unless you can keep a 10 year old interested. I started out teaching fifth and sixth grade. Okay, if you can keep a fifth grade boy paying attention to the word of God, you might have the gift of teaching on your life.

Speaker 2:

I tell pastor B.

Speaker 3:

So we have these things at church called community groups and people are like hey, I want to teach, I'm a pastor, Okay, great, Start a community group. If your community group drops from 15 to three you start off at 15 and then you end at three you probably don't have the gift of teaching. But if you start a community group and you have 15 when you start and you got 20 when you end, guess what?

Speaker 2:

You might have the gift of teaching hitting it because, okay, Pastor B, I know you know a little bit about my background, but I've been 22 years in ministry, okay, and I started as the children's director for early childhood at Faith Community Church. I was there changing diapers, like changing diapers. My husband and I, Steve and I, served in children's ministry together. I was children's director. He just, you know, by default, being my husband, he was there every weekend. Do you know what it takes to engage a room of three and four year olds and we're talking like 50, we weren't a church like just three and four year olds, we would have, on our largest given Sunday, 53 and four year olds serving in there. And we are dancing Like we doing the wildest things, Pastor B, to engage this audience. And Steve will attest to this day. Like he, he goes into boardrooms and presents these, like you know, to two districts and to these big corporate companies. You know for his day job of what he does and he's always giving like fantastic meetings and presentations and all of this. And he gets like kudos and they're like how did you learn to be such a great speaker and presenter? And he's like I had to entertain three and four year olds on any given Sunday. People do not understand what you learn in children's ministry.

Speaker 2:

My entire being of where I am today is because I was humble enough to say I'm going to change dirty diapers, I'm going to let crying baby cry on me, throw up on me, I'm going to teach Bible to a three and four year old, to a middle schooler. I mean middle school and three year olds. There's not much of a difference between them for being real. But if you can engage a three year old and a middle school young boy into the Bible, that's where it starts, Completely where it starts Like you hit it right there. And I know a lot of my listeners, of a lot of listeners that I've developed relationships with them serving at our church and serving along with me, and they're probably snapping their fingers and saying yes, praise the lord.

Speaker 2:

Now, pastor B, I mean with this I want to kind of transition our conversation a little bit because I want to value. With this I want to kind of transition our conversation a little bit because I want to value your time here and I want to look. So we've unpacked so much in gifts and talents and what these spiritual gifts look like One of the things that I really want to kind of start to unpack is just how can we cultivate the resilience of moving forward to taking action in your calling? And you wrote a fabulous book I got to tell all the listeners. Y'all got me to go read grit, Don't quit.

Speaker 2:

But in your book you kind of emphasize the importance of perseverance, of resilience. Particularly in chapter five you really get into the spiritual gifts. Now there's two things that I want you to touch upon in all of this. From your book you said two things so pivotal. First is how to understand a holy hunch and the second is God doesn't speak to be heard, he speaks to be obeyed. So those are two things that I just want you to unpack in this whole conversation of resilience and perseverance from your book.

Speaker 3:

And I'm okay if we go up until it's over, because I have to say this, because, leslie, I mean people, your listeners are going to think that I'm just your hype girl, and I don't care if they think I'm a hype girl.

Speaker 2:

I really am.

Speaker 3:

Don't make me cry again, but I need people to understand that when I point you out, it's not just you, but what you're hitting on is I, oh man, people are going to think that I'm biased because I serve in the local church. But I am biased because I serve in the local church. I am seeing people awaken to new callings, to giftings, to anointings, because they're in a place to serve. And so if there is somebody listening and they go to church, but they're not serving in their church in some capacity, I'm just going to ask why there?

Speaker 3:

is such a gift that we not when we give our gift to others. It's this weird symbiotic relationship where we give our gift to others and then we receive this blessing. It's insane. So to hear you talk about you know, you and Steve serving kids and speaking to kids and breaking down concepts for kids and now that's being employed for employment is bananas. But you're not the only one, you aren't just the anomalies.

Speaker 3:

I was just talking to two people on the creative team. I'm going to say their names and you're going to know who they are. One of them is Victor served on our creative team before he moved up to the San Francisco area. He was lightly messing around with video and editing and storytelling. He started serving on our team and he now is contracted and has a full-time job doing things that he was trained to do while serving in our ministry. There's a girl that was on audiovisual lighting team, AVL. She had zero training whatsoever but she was always interested in environments for lighting. Well, she came and she started serving and she was trained at our church. Well, the person who oversaw our AVL team has a contract business and because he trained her and she was so good at it, she now has employment in this gift that was developed in the church.

Speaker 3:

Now, maybe our church is extra special, Maybe we're extra cool. I don't think that's the case, though I actually think that's the case, though I actually think that when we serve others, so much of our calling, so much of our anointing, so much of our destiny is realized and actualized. What you learned in that season is serving you in this season and is now you get to serve others in this, and others are gonna be blessed, and what I speak life to the word is prophesied. What I speak life over is that the things that you do in this season are just simply going to prepare you for what God has in your next season. So thank you for coming to my TED talk Now I will answer your question. Okay, I just had to give that because it was too good. No, I mean it is.

Speaker 2:

You're so right, Pastor B, and I can, because, being that I've been in ministry for so long, I have seen that happen so many times. I mean the gifts that we have or the things that I'm able to do now. I would not be able to do these if I wasn't changing diapers or Bible scripture to a three year old. You know, you know, and you said it too, you know, having the gift of teaching it. Teachers, just we rule the world. I'm sorry, I'm just going to say being in a classroom, and it wasn't just Sunday school, Like I mean I to today, I just had a teacher orientation for the district that I worked with. You know, I am still teaching today. It is that talent that God has gifted me. It just continues to grow the more that I put it to work, you know. So, okay, let's get back in. Let's get back in with resilience.

Speaker 3:

Okay, my ADHD brain like Fritz.

Speaker 2:

What was the question About? I want to talk about your resilience in building your spiritual gift, oh yes. Holy hunch, particularly your holy hunch, and how God doesn't speak to be heard, he speaks to be obeyed.

Speaker 3:

For some, of the out there that's like hey, I don't know how God speaks to me. I actually break this down theologically. I'm not pushing the book Leslie did but I break this down for practical handles in the book. And if you want Grit, don't Quit. You can get it at Barnes and Noble, targetcom, amazon. But we don't have time to fully break that down, so let me leave our listeners with the concept of a holy hunch. What is that holy hunch? It's that feeling, it's that knowing, it's that sensing that God is having you do something. Okay, I wanna break this down to make it so simple. Maybe you have this feeling that you need to text that friend just a word of encouragement. Maybe you sense this feeling that you need to text that friend just a word of encouragement. Maybe you sense that your coworker is feeling a little blue or depressed. Maybe you have this urge to just reach out and invite someone to church. Let me remove the concept of Jiminy Cricket and say that is a holy hunch. That is not Jiminy Cricket, that's the spirit of God. Now, how do we know it's the spirit of God?

Speaker 3:

I always like to say I am, I'm a person of faith, and when God says it, I'd like to say that I do it. However, inviting my friend to church or texting a friend is a little simple. If the Lord is saying, bianca, I want you to a church plant and start a new church, that's a bigger ask. If the Lord is asking me to start a business, that's a bigger ask. So for me, I want to do one trust that I could hear the voice of God, but I want it to be confirmed. So I always believe in the power of threes. I ask the Lord if there's a big thing, so I can't give too many details. But there are some decisions that we need to make for church. We are looking for a building, and the process has been arduous and scary. So for me, I'm asking the Lord for threes. My threes are always the same and I hope that people get clarity on listening to the Holy hunch by copying, using borrowing this concept.

Speaker 3:

The first thing is I will sense that the Lord is inviting me, calling me, nudging me to do something. We need a new building. Leslie, you know that we are busting at the seams, we are having a fourth service, and so the nudge is we need a bigger building. My second thing is Lord, I need you to confirm. We're putting in some bids at a couple of places. Lord, I need you to confirm externally, like from somebody else, that this is the wise move.

Speaker 3:

So I'm not waiting for someone to beat Amazon to my door, ring my doorbell and say thus saith the Lord. No, I'm actually going to reach out to trusted people with no vested interest into this decision. I reached out to Pastor Craig Rochelle. I said Pastor Craig, I need seven minutes of your time. I came so prepared. I told him this is our capital, this is our need, this is our size. What do we do? So I'm speaking, I'm asking wisdom from other people, and then my third level of confirmation is in my community. And so I'm reaching out to a couple of people and I'm saying, hey, I'm sensing that the Lord is saying this Do you agree? Can you co-sign? What's your wisdom? So, if the Lord is, if the Lord is, let's step on some toes. Leslie, let's step on some toes, let's do it. Okay, there's going to be a podcast listener out there that's like should I continue to date this person? This is good betting test. This is a good moment for you to if you sense that the Lord is asking you to break up with this person. What will you do Now? We're gonna segue to the comment that you said earlier when God speaks, he doesn't speak to be. He doesn't speak so he could be heard. He speaks to us so that we can obey him, because delayed obedience is still disobedience.

Speaker 3:

So let's use a story of a girl. Let's call her Taylor. Taylor is dating a boy that doesn't love Jesus, or nominally loves Jesus, and she's sensing that the Lord is calling her to break up and end this relationship. That's the holy hunch. Taylor's then going to go to the word of God. Oh, actually, I'm sorry, that was number one. Number one was the word of God. Number two is wise counsel. Number three is vetted through friends.

Speaker 3:

So Taylor is going to be going through the word of God and she happens to come across the scripture that speaks about not being unequally yoked. What does that mean? If he is not a believer, he doesn't love Jesus, he ain't the one for you. But she still doesn't want to do it. She's going to reach out to a trusted mentor or a small group leader and say, hey, I'm dating this guy, he goes to church, but he still does A, b and C. If that person says, hey, he might not be the one for you and Taylor still doesn't want to listen to it. Taylor's going to go to her trusted friends and if her friends are like girl, he don't have a job, he doesn't love Jesus, he doesn't show up to church, he doesn't respect you.

Speaker 3:

Guess what? That holy hunch isn't just a bad burrito that you ate the night before. That holy hunch is the voice of God speaking to you. So I also love that. I'm not saying that we should ask for signs. God, if you want me to do this, give me a sign, because Jesus spoke about you, wicked generation. You are all demanding signs.

Speaker 3:

However, we see in the Old Testament a man by the name of Gideon that tested the holy hunch. God was telling him to go to battle against his enemies and he said I just need you to confirm it. I don't think the Lord looks at his children in shame and saying why do you need confirmation? I think, when we go to the Lord and say Lord, I'm sensing that you are calling me to start this business. I'm sensing that you're calling me to write this book. I'm sensing that you want me to go back to school, go to the word of God, go to a trusted, wise mentor. Go to your community and let the Holy Hunts be the voice of the Lord. That's confirmed by those external resources that you have in your life, and when God speaks, we must obey.

Speaker 2:

I love that and you know, I want to add to this too and I wish that we had more time to kind of go into this a little bit.

Speaker 2:

But I think it's so important for the listeners to know also is that for you to get to that place of kind of unpacking your spiritual gifts, these holy hunches, knowing when God is speaking to you, god speaks in a whisper, he doesn't shout, and oftentimes we are so loud and things are so chaotic that we don't sit to be quiet with God, like he's not going to holler or bark to get our attention, you know, and if you're kind of sitting here and wondering, well, how do I figure out my spiritual gifts, you got to sit and be quiet with God, turn down the volume of the external things that are going on around you and start to really, like Pastor B had said earlier, start to really dive into the word, god's wisdom and so much of this, the holy hunches, the perfect what, pastor B, what you were just saying about the three ways to just confirm and have that discernment and understanding is this really from God? So thank you so much on that and I just want to, as we begin to wrap up, I, we can sit and talk forever. Pastor. B time goes, time is I?

Speaker 3:

feel like we just scratched the surface, Leslie. I mean, you did such a good job at setting up a podcast.

Speaker 2:

I know we did, we did, but I just I want to honor your time and I want to kind of wrap up with a couple. I always end with some fun questions and I I'm really interested to see what your answers are for this. So this is kind of putting aside what you know, our conversation of spiritual giftings and all that. So now it's time to have, like, bianca come out. Not, you can take off the pastor hat here. So I want to know a little bit about Bianca because, like I said earlier, we are I swear you're my sister from another mister. I have lots of friends that often tell me they're like you know, you kind of remind me of Pastor B, because we're spunky, we're sarcastic, we both love hip hop. We, you know like we love, we love to talk. There's so much, but I want to ask can you share and just tell me what is something that you do that brings you joy?

Speaker 3:

You know, I really I hope it annoys some people, but I love working out. Like I am now on day 39 of working out every single day, I prior to that I worked out about five days a week, but it's just been. It's actually in this season. It's probably such a joy and clarity of mind, so I'd have to say working out.

Speaker 2:

I love that, but it kicks off those endorphins. It just it brings you those oh yeah, well, endorphins. Yeah, no, totally makes sense. All right, now I want to know this. So you're into working out right now. You have AirPods on, you're listening to music, you're trying to get into beast mode, so name a song or an artist that might be on your playlist while working out that we might be surprised by.

Speaker 3:

I I'm pretty sure I know some of them because I think we have the same musical taste. But just for the listeners, you don't have to be okay. I'm over here talking about paul the apostle, the gift of the holy spirit. I'm gonna have to go with eminem, like I freaking love eminem and I'm so embarrassed and I have to say that I will listen to the edited version because this man drops the F-bomb like he's getting paid to so but he just hypes me up. I just I love him and Missy Elliott, I want to go. Yeah, I'm dating my girl totally and I don't miss.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I love it, and see my like my beast mode hype playlist will go from I, I'm, I'm gonna be embarrassed to tell this even to you because you're my pastor, but my goodness, it will go from Wu-Tang Clan to like Hillsong, pastor B oh my gosh, me too.

Speaker 3:

I was just about to say like it's between Elevation, justin Timberlake, eminem Drake, like pray for pray for us. We've got issues Awesome.

Speaker 2:

I don't know. But that's why I say, like you're my sister from another mister, because we just get it. And you use so much, you know, kind of like lyrical lingo into your sermons that I'm just like, yes, I'm here for it, I'm here for it. So, pastor B, thank you so much. Now to the listeners I am actually going to give away a copy of your book. This is something that you do on your podcast all the time when you have guests on. I had the honor and privilege of being a beta reader for your book. Then I had it on audio and then I went back and I didn't fully read every page again, but I went back because there were so many nuggets that I'm like I need to highlight this book. So I want to gift a listener and I'll plug it on social media when we have you on but I'm going to give a listener your book. I'm going to buy it on Amazon and send it to them as something that you do, Leslie.

Speaker 3:

I got one better for you. I got one better for you. I'm going to. I have a book here at my house that you're on the shelf. I'm going to sign it and I'll give it to you on Sunday and you can give a signed copy away.

Speaker 2:

Thank, you, thank you, thank you, cause I do have a signed copy that you gave me, but I'm not giving that one away. I'm sorry, that's my copy that I want to keep. So thank you, thank you, thank you Now again. Thank you so much, pastor B, for my listeners. Y'all go get her book. If you need a home church and you're a local here in the Southern California area, come on out to the Father's House, orange County. You get to hear this amazing, beautiful woman and a spiel of other amazing leaders that we have there. And thank you again for your time, pastor B, and for my audience. Go into the show notes. You guys can get connected with Pastor Bianca. All her information is there. Go follow her on social media. Go listen to her podcast as well. Go on YouTube, listen to her weekly sermons that are posted there. And until next time to my wonderful audience, continue to go chase joy.