Victim to Victor Part 5 - Next Steps Part 1

Full Throttle Part 2 - Where We Get Stuck

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/fan_mail/new] Click here to support Talk About It! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support] For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com [http://www.donmsmith.com/] Buy us a Sweet Tea and a Little Debbie Snack Cake [https://venmo.com/u/Don-Smith-337] We continue our Full Throttle series by tackling the uncomfortable place where so many of us get stuck: spiritual no‑man’s land. You know the feeling. You're too Christian to enjoy sin—it just doesn't feel fun anymore—but you're too sinful to fully enjoy Christ. You've got just enough Jesus to be informed, but not enough to be transformed. You want everything God has to offer without giving up anything. You want to buy in without selling out. Here's what we've done: we stopped calling sin "sin" and started calling it "our weakness." But sin is denouncing God and choosing the world over Christ. Repentance means turning from your old ways and bowing to Jesus as Lord. And the fear underneath? "If I sell out for God, I'll miss something good." But Psalm 84:11 says, "No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." If you hold out on God, you'll miss everything He wants you to have, do, and become. Full Throttle demands absolute consecration. Consecration means setting yourself apart, dethroning yourself, and enthroning Jesus. It's surrendering all of you to all of Him. We see this in the story of the rich young ruler (Mark 10). He kept all the commandments, but Jesus looked at him and said, "One thing you lack. Sell everything, give to the poor, then come follow me." The man walked away sad because his money was his real lord. Jesus wasn't against wealth—He was against anything that sits on the throne of your heart instead of Him. How do we break the power of sin? Not by screaming "Stop it!" but by crying out "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" When you make Him Lord, He governs, controls, and steers your life into safe places. It's time to stop playing church and be His church. Stop pretending and start practicing. Stop playing it safe and play to win. Stop being logical and get a little radical. We close with the story of A.W. Milne, a "One Way Missionary" who sailed to the headhunters of New Hebrides—where every previous missionary had been killed. He said, "I don't fear because I've already died to myself. You can't kill a dead man." He spent 35 years there, and when he died, they buried him in the center of their village with this epitaph: "When he came there was no light; when he left, there was no darkness." Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. In your sphere of influence, are you letting your light shine? Key Scriptures: Mark 10:17-31; Psalm 84:11 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support]

Full Throttle Faith

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/fan_mail/new] Click here to support Talk About It! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support] For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com [http://www.donmsmith.com/] Welcome to Season 10! We’re kicking off a brand‑new series called Full Throttle—and this season is all about what it looks like to live wide open, pedal to the metal, all in for Jesus. Let’s be honest: too much of modern Christianity looks like a casual Sunday afternoon drive. We coast. We take our foot off the accelerator. “It’s not convenient to go to church today.” “I don’t have time to read my Bible.” We’ve lost our fizz, our bubble—we’re lukewarm, and Jesus said He’d rather spit that out. But within every one of us is a call to run—not just to finish, but to win. Paul says, “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Of over 300 leaders in the Bible, only one‑third finished in the will of God. I don’t want to run hard and finish soft. I want to reach full stride at the finish line. Full Throttle is an all‑or‑nothing proposition. No middle ground. You can’t keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom—you’ll just get hurt. We’ve turned the Gospel into a buffet: “I’ll take forgiveness and heaven, but skip sexual purity, honesty, and tithing.” That’s not following Jesus—that’s inviting Jesus to follow you. Many call Him Savior but have never surrendered to Him as Lord. They’ve bought in, but they haven’t sold out. God, on the other hand, went all in for us. He didn’t hold back His only Son. Jesus didn’t go part of the way—He went to the cross for all our sin, all our sickness. The Gospel costs us nothing, but it demands everything. It’s free, yet it requires your life. So here’s the question: Are you daily having a Bible time that changes you? Are you daily worshipping, submitting, and saying, “Search me, God”? Are you sacrificing your time, money, and comfort for the King who gave everything for you? It’s time to quit living as if the goal is to arrive at death safely. I don’t want to coast into heaven. I want to go in full stride, pedal to the metal, running to win. Let’s shift into First Gear. Let’s go Full Throttle. Key Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Acts 20:24; Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support]

Victim to Victor Part 8 - It Aint Over Part 2

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/fan_mail/new] Click here to support Talk About It! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support] For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com [http://www.donmsmith.com/] We've reached the season finale of Victim to Victor, and we're ending exactly where we need to be: standing face to face with the stone that says "The End. Hopeless. It's Over." In this episode, we return to Lazarus in John 11. He's dead. Four days dead. Mary and Martha have rolled the victimhood gravestone over the door of their faith. They met Jesus not as victors, but as victims: "If you had been here, our brother wouldn't have died." But Jesus doesn't rebuke them. He speaks to their faith. "Did I not say that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" The first resurrection that day wasn't Lazarus—it was the faith of Mary and Martha. Maybe you're looking at your own victimhood gravestone today: * A marriage hanging by a thread, no spark left. * A relationship with your child that feels dead. * Sickness that has ruled the day. * Financial struggle with no way out. * A walk with God so cold you don't even feel His presence anymore. The devil wants you to call it done. Pull the plug. Roll the stone and walk away. But this is the moment for Holy Ghost paddles. You've been praying and seeing nothing but flatline. Don't quit. One more shock, and you could have conversion—from sickness to health, sorrow to joy, bound to free. You're on the verge of a breakthrough. On the edge of a miracle. When Jesus finally said, "Take away the stone," Martha wavered: "Lord, by this time he stinks." Translation: We've moved on. We don't want to be victims again. But Jesus jolted them back: I'm not afraid of the stink of victimhood. Then He cried out, "Lazarus, come forth!" And the dead man came out, still wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus gave the final command: "Loose him, and let him go." That's what God is saying to you today: Victimhood, loose him and let him go. We close with the rest of the story—Lazarus sitting at the table with Jesus, and people coming not just to see Jesus, but the man who was dead and raised. They couldn't dispute the miracle. And they believed. Psalm 126 says, "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." God is about to do something so magnificent, you'll say, "Somebody pinch me—this is too good to be true." No, it's not too good to be true. It's because we serve a too big God, a too much God. Not just the God of enough—the God of too much. I prophesy: You're next in line. Say it with me one last time: * I don't believe it's over. * I am not a victim. * I am a victor. Key Scriptures: John 11:38-44, John 12:1-2, 9-11; Psalm 126:1-3 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support]

Victim to Victor Part 7 - It Aint Over Part 1

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/fan_mail/new] Click here to support Talk About It! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support] For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com [http://www.donmsmith.com/] Have you ever looked at a situation that had "done, finished, just give up" written all over it? We've all been there. The devil thrives on our pain and frustration, but God specializes in taking the worst and making it a doorway to His greatest glory. In this episode, we turn to one of the most powerful stories in Scripture: the death and resurrection of Lazarus (John 11). Mary and Martha watched their brother get sick, then die. They sent for Jesus. He didn't come. He waited—deliberately—until Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Why the delay? Because God was going for a greater glory. If Jesus had healed Lazarus before he died, people would have said he wasn't really that sick. But raising a dead man? That's undeniable. Here's the hard truth we rarely recognize: When we cry out for a miracle, we assume God's full attention is on our need. But God's ultimate desire is to grow us up, reveal Himself more fully, mature our faith, and be glorified. He is more committed to your confidence in Him than to your immediate comfort. Mary and Martha had "we believe you can heal him" faith. But when Lazarus died, their faith died too. They rolled the stone over the tomb—not just a boulder, but a victimhood gravestone that said, "Our victory ends here." When Jesus finally came, they met Him as victims, scolding Him: "If you had been here, our brother wouldn't have died." But Jesus wasn't after a healing. He was after the focus of their hearts. This is hard to swallow, but it's the key to moving from victim to victor: God loves you dearly, but His ultimate reason for everything He does is His own glory. That means when He does it, how He does it, where He does it—even if He doesn't do it at all—everything is determined by the degree of glory it will bring to Him. Your victory has everything to do with His glory. If God leaves you as a victim, it robs Him of glory. So hold on. Don't roll the stone closed on your situation. The battle isn't about you fighting the devil—victory is ultimately about worship. Who will you serve? You serve what you worship. Fear, doubt, bitterness, hopelessness—these are symptoms of victimhood. But when you intentionally worship God, even in the delay, you step into victory. It ain't over till the Victor sings. And the Victor is Jesus. Key Scriptures: John 11:1-6, 11-44 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support]

Victim to Victor Part 6 - Next Steps Part 2

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/fan_mail/new] Click here to support Talk About It! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support] For more information or booking details, visit www.donmsmith.com [http://www.donmsmith.com/] We've talked about the need to cross over—to stop standing still and start moving forward. But howdo we actually make that transition from victim to victor? In this episode, we unpack five concrete steps from Joshua 3–5 that show us the way. 1. Keep your eyes on God. Joshua told the people to focus on the Ark of the Covenant—the visible symbol of God's presence. Today, we have the Spirit living in our hearts. In every transition—marriage, parenting, career, cancer, empty nest—God says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Don't look at the giants. Look at the Guide. 2. Prepare your heart. "Sanctify yourselves," Joshua commanded. Not because holiness is earned, but because transition demands renewed consecration. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). In times of change, we need to become even more conscious of God's presence and set ourselves apart for His purposes. 3. Move out! The priests had to step into the overflowing Jordan before the waters stopped. Not after. God often waits for our first step. Don't be the person who always prepares but never pulls the trigger. There comes a moment to commit, to risk, to get your feet wet. "He who began a good work in you will complete it" (Philippians 1:6). 4. Make a testimony. God commanded Israel to take twelve stones from the riverbed as a memorial for future generations. Why? Because we have poor memories. Those times when God provided at the last minute? Cherish them. Pass them on. Your testimony isn't just for you—it strengthens others facing their own Jordan. 5. Surrender. Before Joshua could face Jericho, he met the Commander of the Lord's army. Joshua asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The answer? "Neither. I've come to take over." The question isn't whether God is on your side—it's whether you're on His. Joshua fell on his face and worshiped. That's surrender. And that's where victory begins. We close with the rest of Lisa's story. Her next step was forgiveness—years before that phone call ever came. When the moment arrived, she was ready. What is your Jordan? The full surrender that must precede taking hold of God's promise? Focus your eyes. Consecrate your life. Move out. Remember. Surrender. The path from victimhood to victory is simply the next step. Key Scriptures: Joshua 3:1-5, 4:1-7, 5:13-15; Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 2:9; Isaiah 43:2-3 (The Message) Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2510215/support]