Special Episode - How Do They Know Who You Are
How do they know who you are?
Speaker 2: Let me ask you a question. How does someone know you're a photographer? I want you to think about that for a second.
Speaker 2: How do they really know you're a photographer? Is it just because you say so?
Speaker 2: Today is gonna be a different type of podcast.
Speaker 2: And for those who can hear me,
Speaker 2: I truly hope this resonates because this episode is not for you to hear with your ears. It's for you to hear with your heart.
Speaker 2: A lot has been happening in our world. A lot.
Speaker 2: But it didn't just begin this year. It started a long time ago
Speaker 2: When someone planted a seed.
Speaker 2: The seed was fake news.
Speaker 2: Back then, there was no such thing.
Speaker 2: The opposite is true today.
Speaker 2: Today, many people are staying quiet because of fear.
Speaker 2: But as a person of color, I cannot stay quiet.
Speaker 2: Seeing everything that I have been seeing, hearing everything that I've been hearing. You've heard it. You're seeing it too.
Speaker 2: Some are taking it seriously,
Speaker 2: Some are saying, "Oh, just wait till the end of the year."
Speaker 2: The truth is, no one knows the future.
Speaker 2: I told you this was gonna be a very different type of podcast.
Speaker 2: Let me turn back to that first question.
Speaker 2: How does someone know you're a photographer?
Speaker 2: Do they know that just because you say you're a photographer?
Speaker 2: We are living in a world where people are saying a lot of things.
Speaker 2: Taking on all types of labels, and people are believing them just because they say it.
Speaker 2: Someone very wise once said,
Speaker 2: "You know a tree by its fruit."
Speaker 2: Let's say you're walking by a bunch of trees.
Speaker 2: All these trees are packed with fruit. The fruit's red. You recognize it. You know what it is.
Speaker 2: But somebody mislabeled all the trees and said, "Oh, these are lemon trees." You can see with your eyes they're apples. You can tell.
Speaker 2: By just looking at them. You recognize the apple. You grab the apple, you take a bite, it's sweet.
Speaker 2: You recognize that taste.
Speaker 2: But the person who labeled the trees comes and tells you, "No, that's a lemon tree."
Speaker 2: But you saw it with your own eyes. You took a bite to taste it for yourself.
Speaker 2: You can hear what it sounds like as you take the bite.
Speaker 2: There is nothing that tells you that what you've just tasted, what you've just seen, what you've just heard is anything but an apple.
Speaker 2: But then a thousand people stand behind the person who said, "That's a lemon tree," and they all say, "Oh, no, that's a lemon tree."
Speaker 2: Don't be fooled by the crowd.
Speaker 2: Just because the majority says, "That's a lemon tree," doesn't make it so.
Speaker 2: Like the wise one once said, "You will know a tree by its fruit, by what it produces."
Speaker 2: So if someone says, "I'm a photographer," but they've never touched a camera, is that a photographer?
Speaker 2: Today, many people are saying they are Christian.
Speaker 2: But have no idea what that means.
Speaker 2: To be honest, you don't have to know. All you have to do is look at the fruit, what they produce. That will tell you everything.
Speaker 2: Yes. I told you this was gonna be a very different type of podcast today.
Speaker 2: We are living in very dangerous times. I, for one, I've seen enough. I know you have, too. This, of all the times in our lifetime, is not the time to stay quiet.
Speaker 2: Or to be confused because somebody says they're one thing,
Speaker 2: But the fruit that they are producing is showing something entirely different.
Speaker 2: It's not about what anybody says, it's about what they do and the fruit that they produce.
Speaker 2: There's a very wise book that talks about a time when people will be able to hear but not able to hear. See with their eyes but not be able to see what's happening right in front of them.
Speaker 2: I actually never thought that I would see that in my lifetime, but now we are.
Speaker 2: Don't be fooled.
Speaker 2: By people who tell you that they are one thing and they show you the opposite.
Speaker 2: I don't know what's coming. None of us do.
Speaker 2: But I don't want you to be fearful.
Speaker 2: Don't want thoughts and prayers.
Speaker 2: Unless you really believe in prayer and know the power of it.
Speaker 2: So we are seeing a lot that's happening all over the world.
Speaker 2: If you feel anything,
Speaker 2: And if you are the person who believes in prayer, I know there are a lot who don't. For those of you who do, I want you to do something that's more powerful than anything that we know. Join me in prayer. Don't pray with your mouth.
Speaker 2: Pray from your heart. It's a very different thing.
Speaker 2: I, for one, I know the power of prayer.
Speaker 2: Not lip service for people. That doesn't count. It doesn't matter. It doesn't do anything.
Speaker 2: Pray earnestly from your heart.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, anything that's bothering you,
Speaker 2: Your career, your personal life, your life in general, the lives of people around you, your country, the world, anything that's affecting you right now, that's bugging you, I want you to pray about that right now.
Speaker 2: Not in front of anybody else. Go into your secret place and talk to the Creator about exactly what you're feeling. That's the only way you'll be heard.
Speaker 2: I had a person ask me the other day, "Matthew, well, how do you pray?" And this is what I said.
Speaker 2: You talk to the Creator the same way you're talking to me.
Speaker 2: From your heart, not from your mouth.
Speaker 2: Pray from your heart.
Speaker 2: You see, we are always trying to figure things out on our own.
Speaker 2: But there are a lot of things that are beyond our understanding,
Speaker 2: Beyond our control.
Speaker 2: So don't be afraid. Pray. But really pray.
Speaker 2: Not going through the motions, 'cause that, that does nothing.
Speaker 2: Talk to the Creator the way you talk to your best friend.
Speaker 2: And let's watch what happens. I told you this is going to be a very different type of podcast.
Speaker 2: I hope you heard it.
Speaker 2: Bye for now.
