Our Guest Misty Edwards

Sid: Now I believe that we’re coming into a time in history right now where you know Jesus said “I rather you be hot or cold but if you’re lukewarm I’ll vomit you out of my My mouth.”  Well that’s the time in history we’re in right now, I mean choose, if you call yourself a believer and you’re lukewarm well, you heard what Jesus said what He’s going to do.  There really is only one option Misty Edwards and that’s to be red hot for the Lord. I was reading on my notes about you that you like to talk about God’s kind of love versus the Love that’s in the nations. I would have to say that a prayer I prayed for a long time is “Lord, I want to have Your compassion, I want to have Your love and it’s not a natural love.” Tell me what God is showing you about love.

Misty: Yeah, oh this is one of my favorite topics is the topic of love, I believe it’s the topic of God Himself ultimately.  But I believe that the word love we need another word sometimes because in our culture it can mean so many different things.  A lot of times it just means toleration, it means passivity, but I believe according to scripture the word love when speaking about God is the all-consuming fire of God Himself.  So to love God and to love people on His terms is to be in agreement with His truth.  And sometimes that’s the negative side of truth meaning His perception of what’s going on in the earth and sometimes it’s the positive side.  And it doesn’t involve the compassion as you mentioned and also it involves passion.  It’s not a passive kind of what will be you know that kind of love, it’s not the hippy kind of love it’s the aggressive kind of love.  That’s loyal to the truth and loyal to Jesus.

Sid: Now one of your favorite stories is about Corey Ten Boom this is a whole family that literally either died or went into the concentration camp because of their love for the Jewish people.  But her sister Betsy had a major impact in your life, tell me about that.

Misty: Yes, and this is a great illustration of what it means to love on God’s terms you know it’s not just loving people that are like us or loving people who love us.  But the story of Corie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy you know in the prison camp, and Betsy is just fearsly beaten by one of the guards for no reason and instantly Corrie says that she feels murder in her own heart and she wants to assault this guard and defend her sister. She felt rage and she runs at the guard you know she just feels so much anger and Betsy looks at her and says “You know Corrie love, love if you take on the hate and the anger you become like the very thing that you hate.”  And that story from the time I was a child and I read that book just became so impactful in my mind of a love that’s divine; I mean humans you can’t make that kind of love happen.

Sid: Do you walk in that kind of love?

Misty: Awe, I want to walk in that love, I have experienced you know touches of that love and it’s my biggest prayer that the Holy Spirit says in Romans “Pours love into our hearts.”

Sid: Now Jesus walked in that kind of love.

Misty: Yes!

Sid: Twenty-four seven so that means if He did it we can do it.

Misty: I believe that, I believe that and I believe that I’m in a process of becoming one with that love and that’s my life mission; that’s my life goal that’s my primary dream is to embody that love.

Sid: Well the two most important commandments is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.  And He says “You fulfill everything if you do that.” Tell me about the song “All I Know.”

Misty: Yes, “All I Know is a response to Jesus’ command and I believe it was more than a command I believe it was a prophecy when He looked you know He was talking to the children of Israel in His day.  And then beyond He was looking at the nations that would read these words thousands of years later.  And He said “You shall love the Lord your God, with all of your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength.”  And it says in the same thing you know in the Shema Israel you shall love the Lord your God.”  It’s just a testimony of why God created in the first place.  He’s like this is why you exist and not only is He commanding us to it in the command is the promise of the enabling that I mean “Can you imagine loving God with all of your mind?  I mean your mind, that would be phenomenal and I…

Sid: You know in this day of cell phones, smart phones, computers, iPads, TV, radio, entertainment, books, book readers, I think people have a great deal of trouble finding time for God.

Misty: I agree especially on the loving God with your mind part, I believe that there is a sacred space in the mind that is actually designed for prayer.  I mean our actual mind was created to interact with God but you know if we’re constantly being interrupted that ceaseless conversation stops but it’s a real struggle in this age.

Sid: Well, the anointing breaks the yoke, destroys the yoke and the anointing on this song is going to break the yoke in your life; “All I Know” by Misty Edwards

Misty:  Singing “All I Know” by Misty Edwards

Sid: Misty, what does it mean audience of one to you?

Misty: Ah the audience of one means the world to me and beyond.  I believe that there’s one pair of eyes you know one applause that we are living for and if we can make the evaluation of Jesus as our primary reward, our primary dream, our primary goal and vision it changes everything.  So what I mean by the audience of one is knowing that He’s looking at me and He’s looking at my heart.  And I think of a person that is in a sickbed who can’t move, who can’t do anything can be as great as the person who has a global worldwide ministry.  They have equal opportunity so to speak in the eyes of God because He evaluates us by our heart responses in love.  And I love that this is the kind of God that we serve and I want to get in front of His eyes all of the days of my life.

Sid: You know I had to laugh when I read about the first time you had an opportunity to lead worship before a very large group of people.  What was it something like 10,000 people.

Misty: Yes.

Sid: Tell me we’re you nervous and then afterwards what did you think?

Misty: Yes I was nervous and I thought in my soul I thought this is my moment I’ve made it and I lead the worship in a big arena and I walked off the stage and I thought “This is it.”  This is the pinnacle of my ministry and what I’ve been working toward and I felt so empty and disillusioned.  I like being used by God so I don’t want to sound ungrateful that, you know I like the opportunity to lead people but there’s more.  And the only time I feel alive is when I lock into His eyes.  And then if I’m giving a cup of cold water I feel the power of it, or if I’m leading in a stadium I feel the same power because the power is in His eyes not in what I’m doing.

Sid: But after you finished did you say “Ah, this is it this is what I want to do the rest of my life!”

Misty: Well, after I finished I said “I want to do this if I can do this in front of Your eyes because I felt so again so disillusioned that it’s not enough to do the ministry, it’s not enough to have a big following.  It doesn’t satisfy the emptiness that I was feeling on the inside.  So yes I want to do it as long as it’s in His will and before His eyes.  And that was the conclusion I came to after leading in my first time in a big arena, I decided it wasn’t going to satisfy me.

Sid: Well, you know when you first started in leading worship and prayer and mixing the two together you would spend hours and hours and you know what hours that you spent and soaking in the presence of God it shows on your music…