55: Don't Panic, Prepare: Building Community for the Next Season

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Welcome to the Positioned Podcast.
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I am your host, kimberly Knight, and today we're going to continue with our Don't Panic Prepare series, and our topic today is about building community for the next season.
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So hello, dear ones, welcome back.
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I'm so glad you're here today because we're going to be diving into something that I believe is absolutely critical for the next season that we're walking into Today.
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We're going to be diving into something that I believe is absolutely critical for the next season that we're walking into.
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Today we're going to talk about building community, and I want you to hear my heart on this.
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This isn't about having nice friendships or you know people to grab coffee with.
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I'm talking about the kind of intentional community building that can weather storms together, that can stand strong even when things feel uncertain.
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I've been sensing, and I've been sharing, that we are entering into a season where the body of Christ is going to need each other in ways we haven't experienced before.
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We are already seeing economic uncertainty, spiritual warfare is intensifying, cultural pressures are mounting, and I believe God is calling His people to prepare not in fear, but in faith and wisdom.
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So let's talk about how to build the kind of community that doesn't just survive hard times, but thrives and becomes a beacon of hope for others.
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So just take this moment to think about why community isn't just nice to have, but it's essential.
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I don't believe that God ever designed you to walk through life alone.
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If you remember, back in Genesis, when God was creating, he said everything was good until we got to the point that he said it was not good for man to be alone.
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And that's not just a scripture we use for marriage.
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That's just also a scripture about doing life together and staying connected to others and to God.
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Community is not about just having people around when things are good.
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It's about having people who can stand with you when everything else fails, when everything falls apart.
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The enemy of your soul wants you to be isolated, because isolated believers are vulnerable believers and when we're not connected in authentic community, then we become vulnerable.
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But when we are connected in community, we become exponentially stronger.
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I do believe that it is God's design for us to walk through the valleys and the mountaintops together.
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If you look back in Acts 2, it talks about the early church not just meeting for services, but they also did life together.
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They shared their resources, they prayed, they supported each other through hardship, and this wasn't just casual friendship.
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This was a covenant community that could function no matter what happened.
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So we want to position ourselves the same way.
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Jesus modeled his inner circle when things got intense.
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He didn't isolate, he didn't just run off into his prayer closet.
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Now, he was good for going into the prayer closet, but he was also gathering his supporters around him Even when he went into the garden.
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He didn't go alone, and I think it's God's heart for us to bear one another's burden.
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So let's start looking at this as being important during this season.
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I also want to say that now is a time to start building, because I'm sensing in my spirit that this is the time to start building connections.
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You don't wait until crisis hits to create your support system.
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It's like trying to dig a well and you're dying of thirst, or waiting to build the ark while it's raining.
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The glue is not going to stick because it's too humid.
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Now you need to be like the wise versions in Matthew 25, who prepared their oil before the bridegroom came and they didn't wait until the last minute.
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Or like Noah, who built the ark wait for it before it started raining and not afterwards.
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You also want to create networks that function during disruption.
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So we need to think beyond normal times and at this point I don't even know what's normal.
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We have a new normal.
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Start thinking about what kind of community do I need?
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What kind of support systems do I need if other systems disappear or are dysfunctional?
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What relationships do you want to have with people who share your values and your sense of prophetic preparation for this season?
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It also means creating communication systems that don't depend on everything working perfectly.
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Think about the early church again.
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They met in homes.
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They had networks that could function under extraordinary circumstances, and your community needs to be resilient and not just comfortable.
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These are not people you're.
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They had networks that could function under extraordinary circumstances, and your community needs to be resilient and not just comfortable.
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These are not people you're just going to go shopping at the mall with.
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These are people you really want to be able to do life with, even when life gets hard.
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The other thing I want you to think about is building this community now, because it's important to start building it now so that it has time to develop and grow.
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You have time to build trust and shared experiences before you need each other.
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That means approaching people that you may or may not normally approach, and you need to do so without sounding alarmist or paranoid and I know some of you are thinking how do I talk to people about this without sounding crazy?
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Right, I'm glad you asked.
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And here's the key Share your heart and your sense of what God is showing you, but let Holy Spirit do the convincing.
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You might say something like you know, I've been sensing something in the Spirit that we're entering into a season where we're going to need each other more.
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And would you be interested in praying about building a deeper community together, or something like that.
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You know, lead with love, not fear, not pressure.
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Let Holy Spirit do the convincing.
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If they say no, say thank you for considering.
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If you change your mind, holy Spirit speaks to you.
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Let me know the right people will have a witness in your spirit about what you're sharing.
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I can tell you that in these last few months, I have been meeting people and building a new community around myself that I normally wouldn't have, nor would I have been reaching out the way I have been.
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Why?
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Because I am sensing that this is the time and the season to build.
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Before we meet each other, let's start having relationship, and I'm not trying to convince anyone.
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I can tell you, everyone that I've met and I've approached has been sensing something similar.
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We just want to be faithful, to share with those who have the same thing on their heart, or who God puts on your heart, because it'll be speaking to that person too.
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It's the same spirit, it's the same Holy Spirit that would be speaking to that person.
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When you begin to build these relationships, I want you to focus on not just being a taker but also a giver.
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Community is about shared support, not about handouts and greediness.
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I think it's like in Galatians 6, it says to bear one another's burdens.
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That is mutual, it's not one-sided.
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So, as you're building this community, ask yourself what skills, what resources, what support can I offer?
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Not just what do I need, but what can I offer?
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Because true community is about everyone contributing what they can, everyone bringing what they have to the table.
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And if you're thinking only about what you can get, you're not ready for covenant relationships.
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You're not because that's not the way it looks, and that's the other thing I wanted to talk about again.
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I'm going to say this again this is not about just building.
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Hey, let's go do a Zumba class together.
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I mean you can do those things right, because that does help build relationship.
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But there's going to come a time that you may need this person for more than a Zumba class.
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Be the kind of person also that people can lean on.
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The Bible says that in order to have a friend, you must first show yourself friendly.
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Be that kind of person that people can lean on and that when God surrounds you with these people, they can depend on you, and that you are your word.
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Very important, also keeping in mind that these relationships are both practical and spiritual.
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They're practical and they're spiritual and if you know me at all, I'm very much about being practical, because sometimes my former bishop used to say we're so heaven-minded we're no earthly good.
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Your, your, your spiritual stuff also has to play out in your practical, natural actions.
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So your community that you're building and yourself that you're bringing to this community, you need to be able to function both on the spiritual and the practical level.
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So practically that might look like people having a different skill set, other than you do, and bringing different things to the table, and spiritually it may be about covering each other in prayer, intercession, encouraging each other in the word In Hebrews 10,.
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It says do not neglect the assembling of ourselves together, especially as we see the day approaching.
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My God oh, that's a whole message right there.
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The other thing that just dropped in my spirit is if you're going to encourage someone in the word, you need to know the word.
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Please let me say that again If you're going to encourage someone in the word, you need to know that word.
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So it is now time for you to start getting that word and hiding it in your heart and also communicating with people and building relationship with people who also are looking to build the word into their heart, into their spirit, and letting that pour out into their practical applications.
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How they treat people, how they interact with the world, their thought process they would bring to community.
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How they interact with the world, their thought process they would bring to community.
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Not only do you want people who will pray you through the spiritual battles, you also want people who are going to help you through the practical challenges, and I think I've said that, but I'm going to do a separate episode on preparing spiritually, so stay tuned for that.
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Be sure to check out the other episodes in this series, because I am going to be looking at making sure that we're well-rounded and that we're prepared as much as possible.
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Also, keep in mind that a prepared community can also be a witnessing tool.
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Not everybody's going to listen to these episodes.
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Not everyone is going to be ready.
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Some of you are going to listen and say okay, okay, okay, and still not prepare.
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I love you anyway.
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But when we're prepared and we're functioning in that role and in strong community, it becomes a powerful witness to the world.
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And when everything else is shaking around us, if we can be that beacon of stability and preparation and support and steady, and they see us walking these things out in practicality, it's going to be things that people want and I'm not talking about resources, I'm talking about the peace, the confidence of God.
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All those things are going to be very important moving forward.
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Let's see if there's anything else I wanted to share.
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Oh, I think I talked about it, but I just want to hit on it again about moving from the casual to the covenant.
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So there's a different depth of commitment when we start talking about that and casual friends are great for good times.
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But covenant is about a deeper depth of relationship and trust and it's about being able to depend on each other during hard times and being our word to our inner circle, and it means being honest about their expectations and your boundaries, and having those conversations on purpose.
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On purpose, so that you're able to be with each other no matter what comes All right.
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So thank you for listening to this episode.
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I want to leave you with this.
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Building community for the next season is not an option.
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This is essential, and it's going to start with you making a decision to move beyond the casual connections that you may have towards meaningful, purposeful relationships, and those take time.
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That is why I'm going to encourage you to start now.
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Start now, start small, ask God to show you who he is calling you to build community with in this next season, and then be the kind of friend you want to have, be willing to give as much as you hope to receive, and trust that, as you step out, god is going to be with you every step of the way.
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He promised to never leave us nor forsake us, no matter what lies ahead.
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So remember we don't panic.
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We prepare, and in this case, we're going to prepare together.
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So until next time, be blessed and stay positioned.
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Bye now.