WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Gospel Truth Project podcast.

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I am your host, Jason. I do not have my co -host

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here, Dylan, with me, but I do have another guest

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here. Brandon, would you like to introduce yourself?

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Hello, everyone. My name is Brandon Kearns. I'm

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friends with Jason. We work together. More importantly,

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I am not just a Christian. I am a follower of

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a Christ on that constant journey to seek out

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the truth and to find people along the way that

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share my passion. for the word and the gospel

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and for our Lord and Savior and to help that

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guide and grow me. Thanks for having me, Jason.

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Yeah, thanks for being on. It's been cool because

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we were talking about it for, I don't know, probably

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about two or three weeks. We were like, oh yeah,

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we should do a podcast episode together. We should

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talk about this or talk about that. And I wanted

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to share the story because when we're talking

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about it, you're like, just name a topic so I

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can study on it, so I can make sure that I'm

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speaking truth and not. deviating from a topic

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or a subject. And I was like, I agree. So I prayed

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about it and I was like, we should talk about

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anxiety and trusting God. And you said that that's

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a testimony of yours that you've dealt with this

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and you've been through it and God saved you

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from it. So I was like, perfect. We can go on

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to this topic and talk about this stuff. Yeah,

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exactly. Yeah. It was a perfect topic, you know,

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cause I didn't know where you were going to go

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when you brought that up. You know, I think everybody

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has their testimonies and the things that they

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go through in their life and the things that,

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you know, their testimony can kind of be more

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specific or drive towards a certain topic. And

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yeah, this one, because I had just such a very

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specific battle with it, and I found healing

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from it specifically from bike walk. with Christ

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and my faith. You know, it delivered me from,

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you know, probably some of the darkest days of

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my life to the point that it brought me to a

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place that, you know, scripture says, you know,

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if you do it this way, you will come to this

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place. So I basically pulled out scripture. I

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pulled out the map and said, I don't like where

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I'm at. And it said, Well, then you need to jump

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on this highway and go and you'll be here. And

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sure enough, after a period of time, I arrived

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at that destination. Awesome. Yeah, I think that's,

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it is in its sense powerful because it's cool

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to see God intervene, step in and do something

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and show himself. And then you are able to talk

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about it and show people like, look, this is

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what God did for me. And it's a cool experience

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to be able to share with people so that they

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can see that God moves and God works. Just to

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kind of get into some of the verses, for example,

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do you have any verse off the top of your head

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that really stuck out for you during that kind

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of time? Yeah. I mean, I think there's so many

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great ones, and it's interesting as we'll go

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in, is how frequently and how much anxiety is

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discussed in Scripture, but more specifically,

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even how Jesus talks about it, you know, and

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the apostles record that, you know. But Matthew

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6, 25 to 27, therefore I tell you, do not worry

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about your life, what you will get or drink or

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about your body, what you will wear. Is not life

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more than food in your body, more than just clothes?

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And it just really got me to realize that you

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get so fearful of so many specifics. A lot of

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things I like to say, things that make you comfortable

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and you start to realize that. you can get really

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specific and almost petty about the things that

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create and cause your anxiety. And they can be

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big, but they can also be small things. Yeah,

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it's just, you know, Jesus's words, you know,

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in those moments, you know, I really fell on

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them and they really helped drive that. in any

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of you by worrying at a single hour to your life.

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And I remember that one. I was like, what am

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I doing? I'm literally trading this moment where

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I could possibly be happy and making a decision.

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And Jesus said, I didn't have to live like that,

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but seek first his kingdom. Yes. Okay. All right.

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So that's the thing is it's like my focus is

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in the wrong place. Matthew's a really good one

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for me. And I love Matthew, especially even in

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the TV show, The Chosen. Even just how they have

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shown him in that show. And I've realized that

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the specificity in his writing and the way he

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journaled things was really... Really fantastic.

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You know, and he's the one who, you know, wrote

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the Sermon on the Mount, you know, wrote down

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the Sermon on the Mount for us to really read

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it. But yeah, long story short, those were big

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ones for me. Like I said, there's a lot of others,

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but Jesus's words are in a lot of cases, especially

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in those moments when you're just on your knees

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are all you need. Yeah, especially with the Matthew

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that you mentioned, the Greek word there is merimento,

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which that word is like, to draw in different

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directions or to divide. Or if you look at the

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root word of that, you're seeing it's more than

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just I shouldn't care about something in the

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sense of like tomorrow, like I'm worried about

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tomorrow, but it's to be anxious, to be troubled

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with cares, to care for, to look out for a thing

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or to seek to promote one's interest even or

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caring or providing for within a given context

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that you're concerned about it. So it has like

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more of a deeper meaning than just, oh yeah,

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I'm not gonna, think about that it's not that

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it's like you gotta trust god christ first that

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he is going to help you through it and guide

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you through it because he is the lord of your

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life which means that you submit fully to him

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you trust in him i think a lot of it comes back

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to i think trust and anxiety are both really

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similar topics in the sense that you are trusting

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god so your anxieties cast upon the lord right

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because um Psalms 55, 22 says, cast your burdens

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on the Lord and he will sustain you. He'll never

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permit the righteous to be moved. So it's like,

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it's really important to know. It's like, yeah,

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this is what we're told to do. So what does that

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look like? Well, and those are great, especially

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in some, and you look at, you know, David in

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so many of those instances, you know, David had

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periods where he was just on a high and just

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living and praising God. And then he's in the

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valley and he's like, my God, you know, we're

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just all insurmountable odds against him. And

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I think those are good. a great reminder for

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us that praise him, you know, in the storm too,

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you know, and remember, you know, that our circumstances

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are just that they're circumstances and they're

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only temporary. And I think the problem is a

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lot of people get so focused and I did too. I

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think as human beings, our flesh, we get so focused

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on our immediate circumstances. We feel that

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those circumstances will never end. Right. And

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so. What happens when something, you know, the

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fight or flight kicks in, you know, we're all

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built that way. You know, most everybody, you

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have a fighter, you have a fight. And most people,

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when something happens, they're trying to figure

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out either how to fight the obstacle or how to

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get away from the obstacle. They put their hands

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on the steering wheel. They have the death grip

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on it. And sometimes, and what scripture continually

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reminds us is you gotta loosen up. You gotta

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take sometimes the hand completely off the wheel

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and give it to him. And your scripture recall

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is unbelievable. The scripture where I have plans

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for you to do good. Jeremiah 29, 11. Yes. And

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that's such a good one too. Yes. And we have

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to remember that. It's like God does have plans

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to prosper us and to do good, but he's not guaranteeing

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that. It's going to be easy. It's not going to

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be easy because, you know, we're constantly being,

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you know, we're a rough stone and we're constantly

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being polished and made better. And our sin is

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slowly being knocked off. And abrasion has to

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happen and friction has to happen to make you

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smoother, to make you basically to the point

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where you can accept your salvation and that

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you are a sinner and fully accept Christ and

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realize who you are. And I think that's the part

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where you get more and more polyp and you go

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into that rock tumbler. You have to submit yourself

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to the rock tumbler, guys. Right. I mean, uh,

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reminds me of a first Peter five, seven, right?

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First Peter five, seven says cast, casting all

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your cares on him because he cares about you

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because that written down. That was one of my

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favorites. I love that one. Yeah. It's good because

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Peter writes that we should take that fear and

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cast it, like throw it onto. our father, God.

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And in fact, he tells us to take all of our anxieties,

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everything that worries us and to give it all

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to God who cares so deeply for us. And this is

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not like a promise that God will fix everything,

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which worries us, but God is not obligated to

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follow, you know, whatever script we write for

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him, but it's a promise that the mighty God will

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receive our worries and care about them and he'll

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carry them for us. He is trustworthy to handle

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them in the way that is best according to his

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will. So Peter's words are a command. It's not,

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God's will for his children to continue to live

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under those burdens, believing that God is mighty

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and cares for us should result in our regularly

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handing over our worries to him when they arrive

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in our life and stuff happens. Right. I think

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me and Dylan touched up on this a little bit

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because there's a fine line between God's provision,

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which we see in Matthew, like you were mentioning,

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and the prosperity gospel. And that's kind of

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where there's a blurred line a little bit. Because

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the prosperity gospel lies to people by saying

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that if you have enough faith that you will never

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suffer or feel stress. But we know that in scripture,

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like John 16, 33, it says that in this world,

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you will have tribulation. You will struggle.

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You will have hardship. So discipleship costs

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us our right to worry because we following Jesus

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means accepting that we are not the protagonist

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of our own stories, if that makes sense. He is.

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So we must die to the illusion of control. Peace

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is not the absence of trouble. It is the presence

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of Christ in the midst of trouble. Right. Well,

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and he says that, too. You know, in this world,

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you will have trouble, but take heart. I have

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overcome the world. And I think that's a good

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reminder in the sense that he has dominion and

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sovereignty over the world. And you aren't guaranteed

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it to be easy. And it's not going to be. But

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he's saying, come to me. My yoke is light. You

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know, you are. whoever is, you know, weary and

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burdened. And, you know, it's a good reminder

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for people to remember that it's like, hey, you

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know what? Life's hard sometimes. It really is.

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And to be quite honest, a Christian life isn't

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easy. But one thing I can tell you is there is

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an awful lot of peace. And there's an awful lot

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of joy in it, especially when you realize it's

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like, you know what? These circumstances, they're

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not that great, but I got a good God that loved

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me, that died for me, that shed his blood for

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me, that left his heavenly throne to come down

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for me specifically, to die for me because he

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loves me so much. I'm not worthy of that. but

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he loves me so much. And boy, I tell you, when

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your days are dark, that's something you can

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always hold on to. When everything seems insurmountable

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and against you, just remember that the God of

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the universe left his throne, came down and paid

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for you because he loves you. And so nothing

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is ever that bad that you can't remember that

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argument for yourself. Right, it's Hebrews 13,

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6, where it says, The Lord is my helper, I will

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not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

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Romans 8, 28 reflects that a little bit, where

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it says, And we know that in all things God works

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for the good of those who love him, who have

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been called according to his purposes. And that's

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why you see the Lord's Prayer when it talks about,

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we pray and we ask for God's will be done on

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earth as it is in heaven, because we are... He

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is king. I'm not king. He's king. So I submit

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to his throne. I submit to his calling. I submit

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to his rules. I submit to what he's called me

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to do. And I reflect that to people around me,

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or at least to the best of my abilities and relying

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on him to show that to other people that he loves

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them. He loves me, but I am sharing that love

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with others. Yes. Those are great opportunities

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too, because when you go through a battle or

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you go through a time, even my instance where

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I've had my anxiety in the past, I was going

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through a lot, but I was saved from that. But

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the beautiful thing and the gift that you get

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out of that is you get to glorify God by going

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and telling somebody else, hey, there's a path,

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there's a light at the end of the tunnel and

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his name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He can

00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:45.000
get you through this. And I think it's that genuine

00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.159
thing too. When somebody looks at you and they're

00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:51.139
like, why are you so happy? How are you so happy

00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:53.820
even when things seem insurmountable? Because

00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:56.120
you're like, they're just circumstances. And

00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.360
I got the God of the universe that's pulling

00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:02.299
for me. That's the best coach ever, right? I'm

00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:05.200
out there. He's calling the plays. I'm just doing

00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.480
what he's saying. I know we're going to win the

00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.460
game because he's already won the game. I just

00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:12.960
got to go out and play and run the playbook.

00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:15.279
And that's what scripture is. It's the playbook.

00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.500
He told us, he gave us our plan. There's no secrets.

00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:21.700
That's why it's the living word too, is because

00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:23.480
no matter what you're going through, when you

00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:26.059
open up that Bible, scripture hits different

00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:28.159
depending upon what it's going to. It's because

00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:30.679
the spirit is speaking to you because it's God

00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.639
breathed word and there are no limitations to

00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:38.240
that. That's true. And I think something to emphasize

00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:46.259
is that With the priesthood of believers, we

00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:49.159
do not need a human mediator or a specific ritual

00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:53.299
to find peace because Christ finished work and

00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:57.240
every listener here has a bonus to enter the

00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:59.940
holy places. That's Hebrews 10 .19. It talks

00:14:59.940 --> 00:15:02.519
about that, that we can come before the Lord,

00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:04.840
the holy places, because we are confident that

00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.620
his work is finished. So when people, I talked

00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:14.019
to a lot of different like Catholics or Eastern

00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:16.700
Orthodox, et cetera. And they're like, you know,

00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:18.799
we talk back and forth and I see a Protestant

00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:20.240
say, oh, well, that's works -based. I'm like,

00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.259
well, salvation is works -based and the works

00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:24.679
is the works that Christ did, the complete work

00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:28.539
of Christ. So it's not like we rely on his work,

00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:32.139
what he did for us, rather than my work and what

00:15:32.139 --> 00:15:35.429
I. can or cannot do successfully in that sense.

00:15:35.549 --> 00:15:38.909
So I rely on his work. So it is works based,

00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:42.049
but it's his work. Exactly. The work's already

00:15:42.049 --> 00:15:45.190
been done. I mean, it's really, I think it's

00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:47.370
what's the script where he talks about the narrow

00:15:47.370 --> 00:15:51.450
gate, the narrow door. What is it? Yeah. So I

00:15:51.450 --> 00:15:54.059
think that's the thing. It's like. Heaven has

00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:58.419
a very narrow door and it's Jesus. He's the only

00:15:58.419 --> 00:16:01.379
way through. So all those distractions, all of

00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:03.480
this stuff that the world is telling you and

00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.399
lying to you, you need to do this, you need to

00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:09.320
do that. Jesus said 2000 years ago, what needed

00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:13.960
to be done? And he said, I am the only way. Nobody

00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:16.740
comes to the Father except through me. Don't

00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.299
listen to any of all that. I think that's another

00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:20.940
thing too that drives people's anxiety is they're

00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:23.440
constantly reaching out. I need to do this. I

00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:27.600
need to do that. Well, you know, yeah, sure.

00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:31.620
I mean, hopefully you, you know, if it's helping

00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:34.919
somebody or giving somebody money that needs

00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:36.440
it and you're feeling driven to do it, there's

00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:39.639
nothing wrong with doing that. But I think it's...

00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:42.230
Where are you in your spiritual life? How are

00:16:42.230 --> 00:16:44.429
you feeling about that? You know, is that something

00:16:44.429 --> 00:16:46.610
God's really calling to you? You know, if you're

00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:48.909
doing something out of a guilt stance, that's

00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:52.850
only going to exacerbate and agitate the anxiety

00:16:52.850 --> 00:16:54.669
because you're like, oh, here's just another

00:16:54.669 --> 00:16:59.009
place I'm failing, right? And that's, I think

00:16:59.009 --> 00:17:01.950
that's so difficult. People are like, you know,

00:17:02.029 --> 00:17:04.150
I'm struggling. I'm going to go to church. So

00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:06.170
what do they do? They go to a church and maybe

00:17:06.170 --> 00:17:08.980
it. It's a church. It's like, hey, the collection

00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:10.859
plate's coming around. Make sure you put some

00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:13.920
money in there so people don't look at you. And

00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.619
we need you to do this and you need to do that.

00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:18.539
And if you're not doing this, I'll tell you a

00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.940
story. I was married once and, you know, wonderful

00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:26.299
woman, you know, and still love her, you know,

00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:29.420
because I believe that, you know, we're to love

00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:31.500
everybody, you know, whether you're married or

00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:33.740
not or, you know, despite the circumstances.

00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:36.180
And she was going through a struggle. And we

00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:39.480
lived in Ohio and we went to this church. And

00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:40.900
the church was great. There were some great people

00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:43.700
in there, but there was a sect of a group, you

00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:47.009
know. in that church that basically she was struggling

00:17:47.009 --> 00:17:49.789
with some issues, you know, with postpartum and

00:17:49.789 --> 00:17:52.529
all of that. And these people were saying, your

00:17:52.529 --> 00:17:55.269
faith isn't strong enough and almost putting

00:17:55.269 --> 00:17:58.589
the blame of that stuff on her. And it exacerbated,

00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:00.769
it made it worse. And for anybody that does listen

00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:03.609
to this, I will tell you, if you are hearing

00:18:03.609 --> 00:18:06.599
that. That's not right. If you're hearing that,

00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:09.440
that you're going through this because you don't

00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:11.740
believe, you're not at where you need to be.

00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:15.259
That is wrong. That is not what Christ wants

00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:18.420
you to think. Christ loves you. He paid for you.

00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:21.839
He wants you. He's yearning for a relationship

00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:25.519
with you. All you need to do is just start praying

00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:29.480
and say, Jesus, I need you. I'm struggling. I

00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.000
don't know what to do. I don't even, and hey,

00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:34.349
I don't even know how to pray. Help me learn

00:18:34.349 --> 00:18:36.430
how to pray. And if that's all you do the first

00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:38.789
day, that's fine. The next day, say something

00:18:38.789 --> 00:18:41.170
again. He's there. He just wants to have that

00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:43.170
connection with you. And once that fire gets

00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:46.730
going, but there's so much church hurt out there.

00:18:46.849 --> 00:18:49.390
And I think people don't go to church and then

00:18:49.390 --> 00:18:51.710
they go to church when they get into these times

00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:54.690
and these moments where they're struggling. And

00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:59.269
we're all built for Christ. God designed us to

00:18:59.269 --> 00:19:02.079
not go through this life without. needing him.

00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:05.359
So we start to try and fill the God -sized hole

00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:07.539
with world -sized things. Then that hole never

00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:09.980
gets filled. Then they go to church when their

00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:12.740
life is completely falling apart. And what happens?

00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:15.900
They get convicted that they're not good enough.

00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:17.980
They told, and then what do they do? They're

00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:19.880
like, well, that didn't help. I'm not going to

00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:25.500
church anymore. And that's, it's a real tragedy.

00:19:26.650 --> 00:19:29.450
And so I think that's a difference. And remember

00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:31.910
that you and I talked about it yesterday. Marmari

00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:36.529
Emanuel said, I'm not a Christian. I'm a follower

00:19:36.529 --> 00:19:39.390
of Christ. And I love that because it's like,

00:19:39.450 --> 00:19:41.849
it's not saying, oh, I'm a Christian because,

00:19:41.890 --> 00:19:44.349
well, I'm not a Muslim and I live in the United

00:19:44.349 --> 00:19:46.970
States. And a lot of people throw that word around

00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:49.630
and they don't really know necessarily what it

00:19:49.630 --> 00:19:52.230
means. But when you say, I'm a follower of Jesus

00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:54.460
Christ, that says something. You know, that's

00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:56.900
a bold statement. And I love that. Yeah. And

00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:59.500
find people that are, find people that are living

00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:03.579
like that. Right. Yep. Cause, uh, so for a key

00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:05.759
verse on that one is Ephesians two, eight through

00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:07.859
nine. It's like for by grace, you have been saved

00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:09.740
through faith and this is not of your own doing.

00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:11.920
It's the gift of God, not a result of work so

00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.319
that no one may boast. The word grace there in

00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.220
original language is charity, which refers to

00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:20.410
unmerited favor. Right. Is God giving us what

00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:23.690
we don't deserve? Mercy is God not giving us

00:20:23.690 --> 00:20:27.269
what we do deserve. Faith is pistils, which is,

00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:29.690
this is more like the intellectual agreement.

00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:32.750
In the original context, it implies the trust

00:20:32.750 --> 00:20:35.069
or allegiance. It is the hand that reaches out

00:20:35.069 --> 00:20:37.559
to take the gift. And then... Within the historical

00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:41.200
context, first century salvation, which is soteria,

00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:44.000
was a term used for being rescued from a shipwreck

00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.960
or a battlefield. Paul applies this physical

00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.880
rescue to a spiritual reality. We are drowning

00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.720
in our own rebellion, and God is the lifeguard.

00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.920
So we see a threefold reality of salvation, which

00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.779
is justification, which is God, the righteous

00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:03.119
judge, declares us not guilty because Jesus paid

00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.700
our fine. Romans 5 .1. There he has sanctification,

00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:09.240
which is the living process. It's because we

00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:11.759
are saved, the Holy Spirit begins to change our

00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.480
hearts to love what God loves. This is the holiness

00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.059
of the heart and life. We see that in 1 Thessalonians

00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:19.799
4 .3. And then the glorification, which is the

00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.539
final hope. One day we will be physically resurrected

00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:25.619
and free from every presence of sin, which is

00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:28.880
Romans 8 .30 talks about. Is living a life outside

00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:33.660
of willful sinfulness. It is a constant focus

00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:36.660
on Christ and living for Christ and living to

00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:40.670
love others and show that love to others. John

00:21:40.670 --> 00:21:43.190
Wesley taught it once and he said, perfect love

00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:46.269
casts out fear because we become more concerned

00:21:46.269 --> 00:21:49.289
with God's glory than our own security. And that's

00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:52.750
the idea of casting our anxiety on him is that

00:21:52.750 --> 00:21:56.789
we no longer desire for control in that sense.

00:21:56.930 --> 00:21:59.109
It is sanctification is the process of the Holy

00:21:59.109 --> 00:22:03.009
Spirit surrendering our will to God's. Yes. So

00:22:03.009 --> 00:22:06.269
it's a lifelong process. It's not like overnight,

00:22:06.390 --> 00:22:09.150
like done kind of thing. It's a lifelong journey.

00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:12.000
And that's where it's like, no one's perfect

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:13.940
and we will fall short, but that's the beauty

00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:18.640
of grace, right? Right. God's always there, you

00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.960
know, and he created the universe and he created

00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:25.240
us and he transcends time. So he was in the beginning,

00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.220
he's in the middle and he's in the end. He already

00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:29.119
knows all the mistakes we're going to make. And

00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:32.359
every misstep that we make, he has a alternate

00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:35.579
route to get back on the highway of our life

00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:39.190
that he has created for us that gets us. to spending

00:22:39.190 --> 00:22:42.650
eternity with him. So every mistake we have,

00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:45.509
there's an option to get back on track, no matter

00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:49.789
how big or how small. Right. And I think, yeah,

00:22:49.829 --> 00:22:53.410
losing... you know, losing track of that, boy,

00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:55.809
that's really, I think that's where people get

00:22:55.809 --> 00:22:58.170
into that point too, that even people who were

00:22:58.170 --> 00:23:00.990
followers, they get so far off the pathway. Man,

00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:04.170
I am so bad. I'm so dirty. I can't come back.

00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:06.390
You know, he's not gonna love me. And I think

00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:08.930
that's the lie that Satan wants us. You know,

00:23:08.950 --> 00:23:10.950
the enemy wants us because, you know, really

00:23:10.950 --> 00:23:13.410
at the end of the day, I look at it like this.

00:23:13.450 --> 00:23:16.609
It's a numbers game for Satan. He's like, I'm

00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:20.660
gonna try and steal as many of you. from the

00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:23.240
kingdom, from salvation as possible. And why?

00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:25.599
Because he's mad because he can't get back in.

00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:29.000
He led a rebellion. He can never reenter heaven.

00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:32.279
And he's ultimately going to end up losing. And

00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:34.619
he knows that. But in the meantime, he's going

00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:38.900
to try and take as many souls with him. And that's

00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:42.900
why he hates us and works so diligently to destroy

00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:46.480
us and to keep us from the most beautiful, wonderful

00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.460
thing. And somebody, I heard it once, Yeah, they

00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:52.599
were like, it's like, yeah, Jesus, that's cool.

00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:55.099
You know, he seems like a nice guy. Oh, he's

00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:57.460
in the Bible. And yeah, he seemed like a good

00:23:57.460 --> 00:23:59.940
philosopher. I think actually it was Bishop Marmari

00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:02.240
Emanuele. He's like, Jesus is standing there

00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:05.319
saying, I loved you so much. I died for you.

00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:07.920
What more can I do? And you really think about

00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.460
it. What more can anyone or any, has anybody

00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:16.039
in your life? taken all of your sin, all of your

00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.420
imperfections, taken it to the cross and died

00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:20.259
for you. And that's what he's saying. He's like,

00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:23.519
that's how much I love you. I took and I paid

00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:27.799
for you with my precious blood. And boy, I tell

00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:32.380
you, that's a big thing, a big pill to swallow,

00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:34.700
but it's such a wonderful thing because you're

00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:37.539
like, my gosh, like, you know, it's like getting

00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:39.980
the best Valentine's Day present ever, you know,

00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:41.859
and Valentine's Day, it's like, oh, how much

00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:44.519
do you love me? I took her to a nice dinner and

00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:47.319
I bought her some flowers. And, you know, I told

00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:50.140
her I loved her 18 times, you know, and I think

00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:52.460
I did pretty good. Jesus, you know, it's like,

00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:55.019
well, what's the most loving thing that's ever

00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:57.559
been done for you? Christ died for me. He paid

00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:00.940
for me. He took all of that. I mean, you and

00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:03.339
I were talking about the pain and, you know,

00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:05.220
especially as we're in, you know, in holy season

00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:08.430
right now. The pain that Christ endured during

00:25:08.430 --> 00:25:11.910
the crucifixion and his trial and the beatings

00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:16.029
and all of that and just broken his body in the

00:25:16.029 --> 00:25:19.849
entire time. But the thing that broke him and

00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:23.970
broke his heart the most was, you know, the sin

00:25:23.970 --> 00:25:27.589
that he had to bear for us up on that cross.

00:25:27.670 --> 00:25:31.250
It wasn't the physical pain. It was all that

00:25:31.250 --> 00:25:35.099
he took with him up. Yep. It's like John 14,

00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:38.599
1, right? Where it comes back down to, do not

00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:40.880
let your heart be troubled, afraid, or cowardly.

00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:44.380
Believe confidently in God and trust in him.

00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.640
Have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going,

00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:51.720
and believe also in me, which is what Jesus said.

00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:53.619
And he was telling his disciples in the last

00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.900
moments before he was arrested and taken. And

00:25:55.900 --> 00:26:00.420
I think that's really important to understand.

00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:05.569
This is critical. You believe in God. Trust me.

00:26:05.670 --> 00:26:09.390
Trust in me. So I think that's a really bold

00:26:09.390 --> 00:26:13.150
part. I think the hardest part of salvation is

00:26:13.150 --> 00:26:16.670
admitting that we are helpless. Our culture prizes

00:26:16.670 --> 00:26:19.910
the self -made success, but the gospel requires

00:26:19.910 --> 00:26:22.150
us to admit that we are spiritually bankrupt.

00:26:22.809 --> 00:26:26.150
Matthew 5 .3 says that. And we cannot save ourselves

00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:28.269
any more than a person who has fallen into a

00:26:28.269 --> 00:26:31.329
deep pit can. pull themselves up by their own

00:26:31.329 --> 00:26:33.789
hair. You must look up and grab the rope kind

00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:37.930
of thing. So yeah, I really enjoy, we went from

00:26:37.930 --> 00:26:41.630
going from the anxiety to trusting to salvation,

00:26:41.869 --> 00:26:44.789
back to like trusting, back to like an anxiety

00:26:44.789 --> 00:26:47.809
and fear thing. So this has been good so far.

00:26:48.150 --> 00:26:51.210
Yeah, well, I think so. And you know, for those

00:26:51.210 --> 00:26:54.009
of you that are out there, anxiety, don't feel

00:26:54.009 --> 00:26:56.230
bad that you have it. Look at the world we live

00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:59.410
in. You know, The world was so bad even back

00:26:59.410 --> 00:27:02.450
then. At one point, God had to flood it, right?

00:27:02.569 --> 00:27:04.529
It was so bad, he had to flood it and get rid

00:27:04.529 --> 00:27:06.430
of a bunch of people. And then the world got

00:27:06.430 --> 00:27:10.529
so bad again that they were killing and hurting

00:27:10.529 --> 00:27:14.210
each other. And heck, even Saul, you know, got

00:27:14.210 --> 00:27:18.230
corrupted and he lost his blessing. And, you

00:27:18.230 --> 00:27:20.549
know, you get David, the line of David, you know.

00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:24.440
Jesus came from. Anxiety and fear and all of

00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:26.140
that stuff has been around. That's a part of

00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:28.559
our flesh. So don't feel bad about it. And we

00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:32.819
live in such a secular world that is just so

00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:36.619
full of negativity. And Jason and I were talking

00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:39.180
yesterday and I was sending up some of my notes.

00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:41.599
And I don't know if you've ever read Seven Habits

00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:43.839
of Highly Effective People, but Stephen Covey

00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:46.400
talks about a lot of fantastic principles that

00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:49.750
I think... All the really good things that really

00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:51.750
help us identify who we are, those things really

00:27:51.750 --> 00:27:55.089
do come from God because, you know, he gives

00:27:55.089 --> 00:27:57.710
us the tools. Anything really that's good in

00:27:57.710 --> 00:28:00.150
the world, nothing happens that God doesn't allow.

00:28:00.329 --> 00:28:02.670
So when a good thing, because God is good, and

00:28:02.670 --> 00:28:05.630
Jason, give us a scripture for that. God is good.

00:28:05.690 --> 00:28:08.890
He is the definition of good. Wow, shoot, there's

00:28:08.890 --> 00:28:12.089
a lot of them. Yeah, I know, right? Because he

00:28:12.089 --> 00:28:14.490
is, and that's the thing. But, you know, give

00:28:14.490 --> 00:28:17.190
us a good one, though. You've got... your face

00:28:17.190 --> 00:28:21.750
psalms psalms 38 8 or 34 8 there's a taste to

00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:23.650
see the lord is good blesses the man who takes

00:28:23.650 --> 00:28:27.930
refuge in him yeah that one's one of the ones

00:28:27.930 --> 00:28:30.569
that there's worship songs now about it i mean

00:28:30.569 --> 00:28:34.970
there's a consistency to he is faithful i think

00:28:34.970 --> 00:28:37.829
that is a big part of it and everything good

00:28:37.829 --> 00:28:41.519
comes from the father which is big It's huge.

00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:44.859
And my point was the fact that there are a lot

00:28:44.859 --> 00:28:47.299
of good things that when you do come across a

00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:50.039
good information or a beautiful morning, or you

00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:52.420
see a beautiful sunset, I think God does a lot

00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:54.740
of things to remind us that he's constantly here.

00:28:55.549 --> 00:28:58.509
and gives us glimpses of him. And when you notice

00:28:58.509 --> 00:29:00.150
something and it just stops you on your track

00:29:00.150 --> 00:29:02.269
and it just makes you feel something. Remember,

00:29:02.509 --> 00:29:04.609
the good in the world comes from God because

00:29:04.609 --> 00:29:07.069
God is good and he created good. And when you

00:29:07.069 --> 00:29:09.569
have something negative and bad, you know, that

00:29:09.569 --> 00:29:11.990
is the world. That's generally created by the

00:29:11.990 --> 00:29:15.849
flesh. So it's okay to experience anxiety because

00:29:15.849 --> 00:29:18.170
not everything in the world is good. There's

00:29:18.170 --> 00:29:21.529
a lot of negativity. Human will, free will, God

00:29:21.529 --> 00:29:25.390
gave us free will. And we're sinful by nature

00:29:25.390 --> 00:29:28.009
allows a lot of bad things to happen. So we're

00:29:28.009 --> 00:29:30.029
constantly worried about it. So we started talking

00:29:30.029 --> 00:29:32.869
about the circles of influence. And I started

00:29:32.869 --> 00:29:34.930
to think about, you know, we kind of had those

00:29:34.930 --> 00:29:37.289
same types of things, not really with the way

00:29:37.289 --> 00:29:39.650
Stephen Covey's talking about it, but the way

00:29:39.650 --> 00:29:43.569
that we surround ourselves with stimulus. And

00:29:43.569 --> 00:29:45.549
I had the, you know, the world -centered person,

00:29:45.690 --> 00:29:49.029
which I consider is a normal person, right? The

00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:51.829
world, it's not normal in the world to worship

00:29:51.829 --> 00:29:54.569
God, you know, anymore. It really isn't. It's

00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:57.309
become, you know, a taboo in a lot of ways. And,

00:29:57.309 --> 00:29:59.829
you know, you're seeing this revival because

00:29:59.829 --> 00:30:02.250
people were starving for authenticity and they're

00:30:02.250 --> 00:30:04.650
realizing, hold on, that's not right. That's

00:30:04.650 --> 00:30:08.069
a lie. But your social media, the media, everything

00:30:08.069 --> 00:30:10.849
that you see all the way to advertising is to

00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:14.250
let, you know, from drugs to art, everything

00:30:14.250 --> 00:30:16.609
is letting you know that what you have isn't

00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:20.019
good enough. Be fearful. Vote for me, you know,

00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:23.519
don't like that person because I'm better. People

00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.180
were posting pictures, pretty social media feed

00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:29.079
of their pictures of what they post as an actual

00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:31.319
reflection of who they are in the life that they're

00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:33.759
living. It's the life that they want you to believe

00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:35.720
that they're living. And think about when somebody

00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:38.279
takes a selfie, not one person I think in the

00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.619
history of humankind has ever taken one single

00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:42.359
selfie and then post it and be like, that was

00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:45.359
good enough. It was generally a series of. 12

00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:48.799
to 24 pictures. They picked it and they edited

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.859
it. So everything that we see is false and fake

00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:55.900
and it makes us feel inadequate. It makes us

00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.900
feel insecure. We're told to worry about if you

00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:02.559
vote for this person, the world's going to end.

00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:06.220
You know, if we don't give money here, then the

00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:08.640
world's going to end. And so what that causes

00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:11.140
you to focus in on your family and your friends,

00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:13.180
and you start creating yourself an echo chamber

00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:16.160
of people who share those same anxieties because

00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:19.039
misery loves company. It all does. So when we're

00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.900
miserable, we start talking and we want to find

00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:24.279
people that want to talk. You're never miserable

00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:25.700
and you're like, hey, I want to tell you about

00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.500
it. As you tell it and the person says, be quiet.

00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:29.240
You're like, oh, that was a perfect response.

00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:30.539
That's what I want to know. You're like, oh,

00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:32.039
I'm going to go to that person who's going to

00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:34.180
listen to me. And then you go to your coworkers

00:31:34.180 --> 00:31:37.539
and then it spills over into your spirituality

00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:41.200
and your walk and faith or self -help. And you're

00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:43.339
trying to figure out how to save yourself, but

00:31:43.339 --> 00:31:45.619
you're already a complete mess and you're a wreck.

00:31:46.089 --> 00:31:48.509
And you're already consumed, but you've created

00:31:48.509 --> 00:31:51.089
these habits and these people. God, everything

00:31:51.089 --> 00:31:53.609
with God, his math, everything is upside down

00:31:53.609 --> 00:31:55.750
from what the world is. Because it's funny, God

00:31:55.750 --> 00:31:58.289
is right side up, but the world is upside down.

00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:01.109
So we're living in the upside down, folks. If

00:32:01.109 --> 00:32:03.730
you're Stranger Things fans, we are living in

00:32:03.730 --> 00:32:07.309
the upside down, okay? So that's the thing, is

00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:09.529
we want to get out of the upside down. Christ

00:32:09.529 --> 00:32:13.119
is the way to get out of it. If you become a

00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:16.059
Christ -centered person, it takes discipline

00:32:16.059 --> 00:32:19.720
and it takes constant commitment every day. And

00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:23.299
that is to realize I am lost without Christ.

00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:26.359
And that drives you to scripture and reading

00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:28.859
scripture who starts to tell you more of who

00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:31.119
Christ is. And then the Holy Spirit starts to

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.140
work into you. And then you start surrounding

00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:35.319
yourself with the family and friends. Hey, I

00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:37.119
want to talk to you about this thought I had

00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:40.119
about God, about Jesus. And that spills over

00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:42.640
to your coworkers, which is how Jason and I started

00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:45.700
talking about the word. And then that spills

00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:47.460
over to your social media and your media and

00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:50.539
what you consume becomes different. And so that

00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:54.420
anxiety -ridden life of the world -centered that

00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:56.799
wants you to constantly be stressed and anxious,

00:32:56.900 --> 00:33:00.019
that's a normal reaction because your body is

00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:04.920
not designed to be subjected to all of that negativity.

00:33:05.630 --> 00:33:09.609
And God designed you for a bigger purpose, and

00:33:09.609 --> 00:33:12.640
that is for his kingdom. And you need to seek

00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:15.960
him out. But it does, it takes discipline because

00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:18.339
ladies and gentlemen, listening to this post,

00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:20.680
you're programmed from the time that you're a

00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:23.640
little kid in this world to do what this person

00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:25.940
does, to watch what this person, everybody's

00:33:25.940 --> 00:33:28.099
doing and following and playing the same games

00:33:28.099 --> 00:33:30.359
and watching the same TV shows. And you want

00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:32.660
to fit in because it's part of that tribalistic

00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:36.319
nature that we have, our socialization. But there's

00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:38.609
a way that you can wake up in the morning. put

00:33:38.609 --> 00:33:41.349
on the armor of God. We got a good scripture

00:33:41.349 --> 00:33:44.630
for that, which helps defend you against the

00:33:44.630 --> 00:33:49.269
world and will start to allow you to live a life

00:33:49.269 --> 00:33:52.809
in a more peaceful manner. This, what I'm talking

00:33:52.809 --> 00:33:56.349
about is what rescued me from debilitating anxiety

00:33:56.349 --> 00:34:01.809
and put me in a place where I gave Christ complete

00:34:01.809 --> 00:34:05.069
dominion over my life. And I just surrendered

00:34:05.069 --> 00:34:07.369
to him. Sure, I have to wake up in the morning

00:34:07.369 --> 00:34:10.090
and go to work and make jokes with my coworkers

00:34:10.090 --> 00:34:14.329
so they like me. But Jesus is in charge every

00:34:14.329 --> 00:34:17.530
single day. And if something is challenging,

00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:19.449
I give it to him. I'm sorry, Jason, I talked

00:34:19.449 --> 00:34:21.949
a lot. No, that's good. So that reminded me,

00:34:21.949 --> 00:34:24.269
because you mentioned in there, you touched up

00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:27.670
on Romans 12 too, actually. It says, do not be

00:34:27.670 --> 00:34:29.130
conformed to the stage. Intentionally, but it

00:34:29.130 --> 00:34:39.190
will work. Right. Sorry, go ahead. Paul here

00:34:39.190 --> 00:34:42.050
is urging Christians to respond to God's mercy,

00:34:42.210 --> 00:34:44.670
his forgiveness of our sin, and his inclusion

00:34:44.670 --> 00:34:47.309
of us in his family. The appropriate reaction

00:34:47.309 --> 00:34:50.309
would be offering to him our entire lives as

00:34:50.309 --> 00:34:53.550
a form of living, breathing sacrifice. But then

00:34:53.550 --> 00:34:56.210
here, next, Paul writes that we must no longer

00:34:56.210 --> 00:34:58.710
be conformed to the world, and the word world

00:34:58.710 --> 00:35:01.340
is often used in the New Testament. to refer

00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:04.659
to the world system or the way that every human

00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:07.539
being lives by default. And John describes this

00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:10.280
worldly way of living as the desire of the flesh

00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:12.860
and the desire of the eyes and pride of life.

00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:16.960
That's 1 John 2 .16. And by instinct, all of

00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:18.960
us chase those things in pursuit of happiness

00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:22.139
and meaning. So Paul tells us to abandon the

00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:25.039
chase. for pleasure, possessions, and status

00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:28.159
to stop living like everyone else. And instead,

00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:31.119
he urges us to be transformed from the inside

00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:34.440
out. Specifically, he writes that we must be

00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:37.119
changed in how we think to have our minds renewed

00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:39.519
so that we can begin to understand God's will

00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:42.980
for our lives. God may continue to provide us

00:35:42.980 --> 00:35:45.579
with pleasure, possessions, and status in various

00:35:45.579 --> 00:35:48.460
forms, but he urges us to learn how to look at

00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:51.639
life with a new question. What does God want?

00:35:52.190 --> 00:35:55.309
for me and what is truly a good acceptable and

00:35:55.309 --> 00:35:58.750
perfect use of my life for his purposes right

00:35:58.750 --> 00:36:01.750
and not just for my own purposes right and then

00:36:01.750 --> 00:36:04.309
obviously the armor of god ephesians 6 10 through

00:36:04.309 --> 00:36:07.769
18 if anybody wants to go check that out definitely

00:36:07.769 --> 00:36:10.309
recommend reading that because it's it's a good

00:36:10.309 --> 00:36:13.269
read those are great points i love all of that

00:36:13.269 --> 00:36:16.269
you know it's that reminds me so when you know

00:36:16.269 --> 00:36:19.690
again my my ex -wife uh you know god love her

00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:22.570
she's just such a You know, she just had such

00:36:22.570 --> 00:36:26.110
a good heart for people. And we, you know, she

00:36:26.110 --> 00:36:27.929
would always volunteer to get me into things

00:36:27.929 --> 00:36:29.869
I wasn't ready for. Listen, I'm not perfect,

00:36:30.110 --> 00:36:33.210
okay? I know I pretend like that at work, but

00:36:33.210 --> 00:36:35.130
I'm not. I know this is going to come as a total

00:36:35.130 --> 00:36:38.570
shock to you. But we had the Mongaza Kids Choir.

00:36:38.630 --> 00:36:41.769
And one thing I will say that is truly fascinating

00:36:41.769 --> 00:36:45.409
about that is living and growing up in the...

00:36:45.630 --> 00:36:49.369
Western society is probably, I think, one of

00:36:49.369 --> 00:36:52.349
the most challenging and difficult things to

00:36:52.349 --> 00:36:56.650
also have to try and coincide with living a faith

00:36:56.650 --> 00:36:59.150
-filled, Christ -centered life. And that's because

00:36:59.150 --> 00:37:04.570
Western society is, because it's Hollywood and

00:37:04.570 --> 00:37:07.429
everything, everything about our life, we are

00:37:07.429 --> 00:37:11.920
in a society of consumerism. And everything about

00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:14.139
you, you're a consumer. So everything, you know,

00:37:14.139 --> 00:37:17.079
in your life is based upon about consuming. I

00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:19.079
need this. I need to accumulate. Why? Because

00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:22.679
we're going to spend money. And it's all about

00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:24.960
money. And there's something wrong. You know,

00:37:24.980 --> 00:37:27.320
I'm not vowing for socialism or anything like

00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:29.940
that. I'm just saying we live in a society that

00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:33.099
really pushes us towards that. Getting back to

00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:35.360
my original point with the Mwangazi kids choir

00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:37.539
king, you know, you've got the young kids, right?

00:37:37.619 --> 00:37:41.929
And they're coming from Uganda. terrible things

00:37:41.929 --> 00:37:45.210
in Africa, you know, with these warlords. And

00:37:45.210 --> 00:37:48.010
these kids came over and they sing, they're just

00:37:48.010 --> 00:37:49.909
wonderful. And, you know, they had the handlers,

00:37:49.949 --> 00:37:51.789
Hendry McGullen, who's actually written several

00:37:51.789 --> 00:37:53.610
books. I think he's really fun. That would really

00:37:53.610 --> 00:37:56.329
be fun to introduce you to him. I think you guys

00:37:56.329 --> 00:37:59.230
would get along, Jason. But they just, they...

00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:04.000
Their belief and reliance on Jesus, on God was

00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:06.539
something that was truly inspiring. And I'm sitting

00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:08.460
here looking at it. I'm like, okay, I'm a pilot.

00:38:08.619 --> 00:38:11.639
I think I'm at the top of my profession and I'm

00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:15.099
so cool. And I look at these kids and I just,

00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:18.760
the faith and the passion that they had and how

00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:21.920
amazed and loving they were. But the fact that

00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:25.219
all of that stuff that we had, I'm like, wow.

00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:30.800
You've got a TV in every room. And wow, you've

00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:33.760
got, wow. You know, everything was amazing. It

00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:36.059
was, and you're sitting there and you realize,

00:38:36.139 --> 00:38:38.940
I'm like, my goodness, we are just collectors

00:38:38.940 --> 00:38:42.199
of things. But what they had was something that

00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:47.519
I was so envious of, you know, not in a sinful

00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:50.539
way, but I was like, I want to have that passion

00:38:50.539 --> 00:38:53.960
and that reliance where when I go to bed at night,

00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:57.199
I go to bed and I am happy and I am joyful and

00:38:57.199 --> 00:39:00.440
I am thanking God, you know, and I have nothing.

00:39:00.500 --> 00:39:02.519
And they had nothing. And some of these kids

00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:05.400
told me stories about their brothers. They saw

00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:07.900
their brothers and sisters taken away and killed

00:39:07.900 --> 00:39:11.219
by these African warlords. But they still were

00:39:11.219 --> 00:39:13.400
rejoicing and proclaiming Christ. You're like,

00:39:13.480 --> 00:39:15.960
my goodness, where does that come from? And you

00:39:15.960 --> 00:39:17.800
sit there and you realize you're like, that's

00:39:17.800 --> 00:39:19.420
where I was talking about. We live in the upside

00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:23.510
down because, you know. That's really what that

00:39:23.510 --> 00:39:27.449
God promises. And we think we have anxiety. They're

00:39:27.449 --> 00:39:29.969
living with nothing where they don't know when

00:39:29.969 --> 00:39:31.889
they're going to get their next meal in a war

00:39:31.889 --> 00:39:33.949
-torn country. And they're proclaiming the name

00:39:33.949 --> 00:39:36.369
of Jesus and not willing to back down from it.

00:39:36.429 --> 00:39:39.289
And that's just really inspirational. And it

00:39:39.289 --> 00:39:42.130
makes you realize it's like all this stuff we

00:39:42.130 --> 00:39:45.110
accumulate is nothing. Not one person on their

00:39:45.110 --> 00:39:47.849
deathbed, their final words that are written

00:39:47.849 --> 00:39:50.710
on their headstone is, I wish I had died with

00:39:50.710 --> 00:39:54.449
more money. No, people say, I wish I had spent

00:39:54.449 --> 00:39:57.070
more time with my family. I wish I had done these

00:39:57.070 --> 00:39:59.389
things. I wish I had lived a different life.

00:39:59.489 --> 00:40:01.909
They're not thinking about the meeting that they

00:40:01.909 --> 00:40:06.050
missed or the car they didn't buy or the fancy

00:40:06.050 --> 00:40:10.610
restaurant they didn't get a go to. You know,

00:40:10.650 --> 00:40:17.719
once we start to change, you know, our... art

00:40:17.719 --> 00:40:20.039
and our mind and our life to the accumulation

00:40:20.039 --> 00:40:23.940
of, you know, gathering up more souls for the

00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:27.159
kingdom of heaven than the gathering and accumulating

00:40:27.159 --> 00:40:29.920
of the things here on earth for our own personal

00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:32.860
pleasure. None of that's coming with us. And,

00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:35.219
uh, you know, that's really freeing. I talked

00:40:35.219 --> 00:40:37.300
a lot again. I'm sorry, Jason. I just, I'm really

00:40:37.300 --> 00:40:39.380
passionate about these things. No, that's good.

00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:42.360
That's, that's exactly a good point to touch

00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:44.780
up on because the difficulty the Western Christian

00:40:44.780 --> 00:40:49.159
walks. like walk lies in subtlety where you see

00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:51.079
more on the eastern believers are pressured to

00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:53.840
deny christ by force but western believers are

00:40:53.840 --> 00:40:56.659
tempted to ignore him through comfort and materialism

00:40:56.659 --> 00:40:59.860
extreme even extreme patriotism can create dual

00:40:59.860 --> 00:41:02.460
allegiances that fracture the soul leading to

00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:06.280
very anxiety like anxious stuff, as we discussed

00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:09.079
earlier. Like Matthew 6, 24, for example, it

00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:11.099
says that no one can serve two masters for either

00:41:11.099 --> 00:41:13.760
he will hate the one and love the other, or he'll

00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:15.579
be devoted to the one and despise the other,

00:41:15.659 --> 00:41:17.820
but you cannot serve God and money is what he

00:41:17.820 --> 00:41:20.420
specifies there. And the word for money there

00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:24.000
is memunas, which is not just cash, but it refers

00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:27.260
to in which one trusts. So it was almost like

00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:30.500
personified as a deity of security. And Jesus

00:41:30.500 --> 00:41:32.500
isn't just talking about like a budget. He's

00:41:32.500 --> 00:41:35.019
talking about a rival throne. in the heart. I

00:41:35.019 --> 00:41:37.500
think the hard truth to this is that comfort

00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:41.500
is often a greater enemy to the soul than just

00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:44.480
conflict, because Jesus warned that it is easier

00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:46.340
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

00:41:46.340 --> 00:41:48.340
than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom,

00:41:48.460 --> 00:41:51.619
which was Matthew 19 .24. And then discipleship

00:41:51.619 --> 00:41:55.840
in the West requires a deliberate daily fasting

00:41:55.840 --> 00:41:58.820
from the idols of productivity, wealth, and national

00:41:58.820 --> 00:42:02.460
pride to ensure Christ remains the sole master

00:42:02.460 --> 00:42:05.039
in that instance. And that's something that makes

00:42:05.039 --> 00:42:09.619
it difficult because it's so easy to be in comfort.

00:42:09.780 --> 00:42:12.480
It's so easy to look at the bank account and

00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:15.420
we're living in what's actually a terminology

00:42:15.420 --> 00:42:19.480
is practical atheism where we look at our bank

00:42:19.480 --> 00:42:21.639
account as that's the peace, right? Peace is

00:42:21.639 --> 00:42:26.110
our bank account. When we are called to honor

00:42:26.110 --> 00:42:31.449
our leaders in 1 Peter 2 .17, it does forbid

00:42:31.449 --> 00:42:34.059
us from conflating the kingdom of God. God with

00:42:34.059 --> 00:42:37.139
the earthly nation, but it says when we wrap

00:42:37.139 --> 00:42:39.360
the cross and the flag, we risk making the gospel

00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:41.880
a tool for national identity rather than a message

00:42:41.880 --> 00:42:44.440
of global redemption. Even the hardship of ease,

00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:46.860
for example. In the East, suffering forces a

00:42:46.860 --> 00:42:49.519
believer to rely on God. And that's why you were

00:42:49.519 --> 00:42:51.940
saying too, like stuff was happening and they

00:42:51.940 --> 00:42:54.840
rely on God and rejoice in God because he is

00:42:54.840 --> 00:42:56.840
there and they can rely on him in everything

00:42:56.840 --> 00:43:00.260
because they... They're pushed into that position

00:43:00.260 --> 00:43:04.300
because of their situation. And the West, prosperity

00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:08.420
allows us to forget God. The hardship here is

00:43:08.420 --> 00:43:13.199
the spiritual lethargy that comes from never

00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:16.440
being truly hungry. You see it in Revelations

00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:21.719
3 .17. And I recommend, for anybody listening

00:43:21.719 --> 00:43:25.039
too, I recommend watching the American Gospel.

00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:27.179
It's on Amazon. I think it's on Netflix right

00:43:27.179 --> 00:43:32.090
now. The American gospel is very, very good about

00:43:32.090 --> 00:43:35.849
talking about this thing in the West that shows

00:43:35.849 --> 00:43:41.849
that we tie our idealism of Christianity to not

00:43:41.849 --> 00:43:45.269
just nationalism, but how we treat others outside

00:43:45.269 --> 00:43:48.969
of the West, which is not godly in that sense,

00:43:49.030 --> 00:43:51.829
and what Christians should be focused on and

00:43:51.829 --> 00:43:54.130
how we should live a life according to Christ

00:43:54.130 --> 00:43:57.280
as him. being king, and that is our allegiance

00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:59.840
to Christ alone and making him our allegiance

00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:01.900
to Christ alone and what that looks like. So

00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:03.760
I definitely recommend watching that if you get

00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:06.380
the chance to. Yeah, you can't serve two masters

00:44:06.380 --> 00:44:09.320
at the same time. And you have to figure out

00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:11.539
who the master of your life is. Wealth can be

00:44:11.539 --> 00:44:14.300
a lot of different things. And you look at people

00:44:14.300 --> 00:44:17.360
and think about it. When somebody gets their

00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:19.420
tax return, what are they putting their money

00:44:19.420 --> 00:44:22.480
in, right? It's like, I'm going to go buy a new

00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:24.840
car. I'm going to go buy more shoes. I'm going

00:44:24.840 --> 00:44:26.699
to buy more clothes. We're going on a, whatever

00:44:26.699 --> 00:44:29.559
it happens to be. But, you know, that really

00:44:29.559 --> 00:44:33.639
gives you an example that where your money goes

00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:36.599
is where the heart is. I mean, quite frankly,

00:44:36.699 --> 00:44:39.960
that's because I think money is such a tangible

00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:43.159
thing because that's how we accumulate things

00:44:43.159 --> 00:44:45.639
on this earth. Like we're just programmed. It's

00:44:45.639 --> 00:44:49.150
such a great litmus test of. where your heart

00:44:49.150 --> 00:44:53.010
truly is. Where is that money going? And that's

00:44:53.010 --> 00:44:56.210
not to convict anybody to giving to, because

00:44:56.210 --> 00:44:59.070
that can be a whole other one talking about tithing

00:44:59.070 --> 00:45:01.010
and all of that, which is always a sticky subject

00:45:01.010 --> 00:45:02.769
because people are so sensitive about money.

00:45:02.929 --> 00:45:05.150
And trust me, I get it because the world's not

00:45:05.150 --> 00:45:07.730
easy right now. It's very difficult for somebody

00:45:07.730 --> 00:45:10.170
starting out a young parent right now to even

00:45:10.170 --> 00:45:12.869
make ends meet. And so I don't ever want to convict

00:45:12.869 --> 00:45:15.739
people on that. Yeah, you can't serve two masters.

00:45:15.860 --> 00:45:18.400
You can't serve the world and God at the same

00:45:18.400 --> 00:45:20.340
time. You'll have to choose. You know, going

00:45:20.340 --> 00:45:22.539
back to, you know, when we were talking about

00:45:22.539 --> 00:45:24.219
the circles of influence and we talked about

00:45:24.219 --> 00:45:26.179
a lot of the negativity and the things about

00:45:26.179 --> 00:45:28.730
Western society. And these are the things, and

00:45:28.730 --> 00:45:31.670
I tried to wrap my thoughts around like kind

00:45:31.670 --> 00:45:34.849
of how I reprogrammed my brain. And it wasn't

00:45:34.849 --> 00:45:36.750
intentionally like I'm going to reprogram it

00:45:36.750 --> 00:45:38.710
like this and I'm putting new code in there.

00:45:38.789 --> 00:45:41.190
This was the code that was fed into me through

00:45:41.190 --> 00:45:43.849
reading scripture and basically just constantly

00:45:43.849 --> 00:45:48.010
praying, you know, to basically have this burden

00:45:48.010 --> 00:45:50.829
taken from me. This is more than I can handle.

00:45:50.869 --> 00:45:55.500
I put this in your hands. I surrender to your

00:45:55.500 --> 00:45:58.019
will. Your will be done. And that's a big one

00:45:58.019 --> 00:46:01.360
because his will will be done. We just got to

00:46:01.360 --> 00:46:04.039
stop fighting him all the time. But you become

00:46:04.039 --> 00:46:06.980
hope -based. I was anxious. I was constantly

00:46:06.980 --> 00:46:10.659
fearful and worried about tomorrow and what was

00:46:10.659 --> 00:46:15.079
going to happen and where I was going to go.

00:46:15.179 --> 00:46:17.900
And it was just worrying about everything. But

00:46:17.900 --> 00:46:20.400
when you become hope -based, You just start to

00:46:20.400 --> 00:46:23.019
have that faith that God has a plan for your

00:46:23.019 --> 00:46:25.119
life to do good. And you realize, you're like,

00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:28.840
you know what? God, if I let go here, God has

00:46:28.840 --> 00:46:31.800
a plan for my life. And every morning, anybody

00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:34.380
who's listening to this, every morning that you

00:46:34.380 --> 00:46:37.019
wake up, God still has a purpose for your life.

00:46:37.099 --> 00:46:39.559
If you're still here and you're still breathing

00:46:39.559 --> 00:46:42.019
and you're still walking this earth, God has

00:46:42.019 --> 00:46:43.900
a purpose for your life and he's not done with

00:46:43.900 --> 00:46:46.619
you. He's not done. And you know what? I think

00:46:46.619 --> 00:46:48.559
that's a really great thing to remember. It's

00:46:48.559 --> 00:46:50.059
like, you know what? God still has a plan for

00:46:50.059 --> 00:46:52.000
my life. He's given me another. Every day that

00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:55.400
you are alive is a blessing. And it's an opportunity

00:46:55.400 --> 00:46:59.119
for you to do more or to realize his plan for

00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:02.159
your life. And no matter the obstacle, and there's

00:47:02.159 --> 00:47:05.239
a lot of obstacles, financial, the world, work,

00:47:05.579 --> 00:47:09.820
you know, people, and everything can be a tragedy

00:47:09.820 --> 00:47:14.300
to somebody. I'm never going to qualify or quantify

00:47:14.300 --> 00:47:17.179
what it is and is not a tragedy because everybody's

00:47:17.179 --> 00:47:19.500
life experiences are different. But no matter

00:47:19.500 --> 00:47:23.400
that obstacle, Christ overcame the world in death.

00:47:23.559 --> 00:47:26.500
And that's the thing. Like when we say like,

00:47:26.579 --> 00:47:29.820
this is a finite life. And that's what the world

00:47:29.820 --> 00:47:32.360
will tell you. So get your fun out right now.

00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:35.320
Go and get everything. It's okay if you take

00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:37.480
it from other people because it's about getting

00:47:37.480 --> 00:47:39.360
all the pleasure now because there's nothing

00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:41.920
after this. That's not true. We're living for.

00:47:42.759 --> 00:47:45.760
eternal life. And that's what we're seeking.

00:47:46.059 --> 00:47:48.000
And when you start to seek that eternal life

00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:50.219
in Christ, and you remember that he overcame

00:47:50.219 --> 00:47:52.820
death, this isn't the end. This is just the beginning.

00:47:52.980 --> 00:47:55.179
And you have an opportunity every day to have

00:47:55.179 --> 00:47:57.780
a relationship with, to be quite honest, like,

00:47:57.800 --> 00:48:00.159
you know, I'm single now and I love it. Like,

00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:03.480
you know, in a weirdly way, it's because it's

00:48:03.480 --> 00:48:05.239
like, I told somebody the other day, I'm like,

00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:07.559
the Holy Spirit is my best friend. Seriously.

00:48:07.860 --> 00:48:10.840
He laughs at half my jokes. Not all of them.

00:48:10.860 --> 00:48:14.880
I laugh at the other half. But you start to see

00:48:14.880 --> 00:48:16.739
the world through a different lens. You start

00:48:16.739 --> 00:48:19.679
to live hope and this peace. And you know what?

00:48:19.719 --> 00:48:22.199
I am. I'm happy all the time. And people are

00:48:22.199 --> 00:48:23.880
wondering. It's like, because I'm like, listen,

00:48:24.039 --> 00:48:26.780
you know, not a moment. And there's a scripture,

00:48:26.920 --> 00:48:30.400
you know, that I think we talked about it in,

00:48:30.400 --> 00:48:34.239
yeah, in Matthew where it's, you know, Can you

00:48:34.239 --> 00:48:36.519
add a single hour to your life through worrying?

00:48:36.639 --> 00:48:38.139
I mean, Jesus said that. And he's like, you know,

00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:40.400
what am I doing? And I'm like, it's okay to worry.

00:48:40.519 --> 00:48:43.719
You got a big medical procedure. Just at church

00:48:43.719 --> 00:48:45.880
before this tonight, that gentleman, he's having

00:48:45.880 --> 00:48:50.090
a... a heart monitor put in in the morning. He

00:48:50.090 --> 00:48:51.829
has a procedure. He's a little nervous about

00:48:51.829 --> 00:48:55.110
it. He's like 68 or 70 years old. I used to hold

00:48:55.110 --> 00:48:57.349
a gentleman and serve with him. Doug, please

00:48:57.349 --> 00:48:59.190
pray for him. It's at 8 a .m. in the morning.

00:48:59.309 --> 00:49:01.730
You know, he's nervous. But we know from the

00:49:01.730 --> 00:49:04.449
sense that, you know, from modern medicine, it's

00:49:04.449 --> 00:49:06.869
probably just a real simple procedure. The surgeon's

00:49:06.869 --> 00:49:08.829
probably like, yeah, I'm going to do that. I'm

00:49:08.829 --> 00:49:10.369
going to take this phone call. I'm going to go

00:49:10.369 --> 00:49:13.570
get a coffee, you know. But at the end of the

00:49:13.570 --> 00:49:18.519
day, you know, you start to see that there is

00:49:18.519 --> 00:49:21.739
hope and there are other people out there. And

00:49:21.739 --> 00:49:24.159
when you stop focusing about your anxieties and

00:49:24.159 --> 00:49:26.039
your problems, and you can start focusing on

00:49:26.039 --> 00:49:28.840
others and talking to them and praying for them,

00:49:28.940 --> 00:49:32.920
and then you start thanking God for all the blessings

00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:36.099
that you have in your life. And that's a really

00:49:36.099 --> 00:49:38.440
great thing to do. And Jason, you've probably

00:49:38.440 --> 00:49:40.860
done this. When you're having a rough day or

00:49:40.860 --> 00:49:43.400
you're feeling depressed, Thank you, Lord. Thank

00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:45.659
you so much for my life. Thank you, Lord, for

00:49:45.659 --> 00:49:48.079
my parents, that they love me. Thank you, Lord,

00:49:48.139 --> 00:49:50.260
for my children. Thank you that they're healthy.

00:49:50.480 --> 00:49:53.059
Thank you, Lord, that you provide me a job. Thank

00:49:53.059 --> 00:49:55.480
you for always looking out for our family. Thank

00:49:55.480 --> 00:49:58.159
you for always being there. Even when I've turned

00:49:58.159 --> 00:50:00.159
my back on you and I've walked the other way,

00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:02.300
you were there waiting for me when I came back.

00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:06.280
Thank you, God, for your hand. You cannot be

00:50:06.280 --> 00:50:09.980
sad and depressed at the same time that you're

00:50:09.980 --> 00:50:13.010
thanking God. and being thankful for your blessings.

00:50:13.070 --> 00:50:15.170
So I think that's a really good exercise. Fear

00:50:15.170 --> 00:50:18.670
and anxiety no longer drive your decisions when

00:50:18.670 --> 00:50:21.130
you start to get that Christ -centered life.

00:50:21.349 --> 00:50:25.670
You gravitate also to those who share your hope

00:50:25.670 --> 00:50:28.590
and your belief. You start getting rid of that

00:50:28.590 --> 00:50:31.489
negativity and that secular world that you're

00:50:31.489 --> 00:50:34.550
like, this is toxic. Yeah, they used to be fun.

00:50:34.730 --> 00:50:36.809
Think about it when you're young and you're going

00:50:36.809 --> 00:50:38.610
to the bar all the time because you're like,

00:50:38.690 --> 00:50:40.929
oh, I'm 21. I can drink. I want to go to the

00:50:40.929 --> 00:50:42.909
bar and hang out with my friends. As you get

00:50:42.909 --> 00:50:45.110
older, you're like, that's not what I want my

00:50:45.110 --> 00:50:47.929
life to look like. So you start to surround yourself

00:50:47.929 --> 00:50:51.409
with people who also are sharing your passion

00:50:51.409 --> 00:50:53.570
for the Spirit and sharing your passion for the

00:50:53.570 --> 00:50:56.449
Lord. Again, I could go through a bunch of different

00:50:56.449 --> 00:50:59.670
ones. These were a lot of those steps that changed

00:50:59.670 --> 00:51:02.550
me. I changed my friends. I changed my circle

00:51:02.550 --> 00:51:05.789
of influence. I changed how I watched things

00:51:05.789 --> 00:51:09.590
and what I watched. And I'm not perfect, but

00:51:09.590 --> 00:51:12.210
what happened was I started to become more sensitive

00:51:12.210 --> 00:51:16.670
to the things that I knew were driving me or

00:51:16.670 --> 00:51:19.250
would drive me further away or things that were

00:51:19.250 --> 00:51:21.809
sinful that I used to not really think were sinful

00:51:21.809 --> 00:51:23.929
because I was like, ah, that's probably okay.

00:51:23.969 --> 00:51:26.969
You start to have a different... moral compass,

00:51:27.170 --> 00:51:30.969
if you will. And it keeps you, I think, a little

00:51:30.969 --> 00:51:33.269
bit more sheltered. It's the same way. It's like

00:51:33.269 --> 00:51:36.650
walking down a dark alley street in the middle

00:51:36.650 --> 00:51:38.849
of New York City at night in the wrong side of

00:51:38.849 --> 00:51:40.710
town. And you're like, you know what? I'm going

00:51:40.710 --> 00:51:44.489
to walk on well -lit streets where there's other

00:51:44.489 --> 00:51:48.750
people. So you start to take less risky ventures

00:51:48.750 --> 00:51:51.030
in your life because you're like, you know what?

00:51:51.170 --> 00:51:54.030
My soul matters and my salvation matters and

00:51:54.030 --> 00:51:55.969
I'm not going to risk it because I don't want

00:51:55.969 --> 00:51:58.090
to risk it because I know the price that was

00:51:58.090 --> 00:52:01.230
paid for me and I love my savior and I want him

00:52:01.230 --> 00:52:04.289
to know how much I love him and I want him to

00:52:04.289 --> 00:52:07.159
know how much I know that he loves me. And I

00:52:07.159 --> 00:52:09.579
don't want to jeopardize that relationship. It's

00:52:09.579 --> 00:52:12.219
the same way that people who are married, they

00:52:12.219 --> 00:52:15.239
don't want to be unfaithful because I don't want

00:52:15.239 --> 00:52:18.860
to hurt that person. Same thing, only on a different

00:52:18.860 --> 00:52:22.199
level with Christ. Yeah, I think that does bring

00:52:22.199 --> 00:52:27.340
up Psalms 34 .1, which is focused on the continuity

00:52:27.340 --> 00:52:31.739
of praise. 1 Thessalonians 5 .18 says, give thanks

00:52:31.739 --> 00:52:34.460
to him in all circumstances, for this is the

00:52:34.460 --> 00:52:38.940
will of God. Christ Jesus for you. I think hope,

00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:42.500
a couple points is hope in Christ is the anchor

00:52:42.500 --> 00:52:45.139
of the soul. That's Hebrews 6 .19 that talks

00:52:45.139 --> 00:52:48.239
about that. That holds firm because it fastens

00:52:48.239 --> 00:52:50.519
the historical fact of the resurrection and the

00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:53.119
promised return of Jesus. It allows the believer

00:52:53.119 --> 00:52:55.539
to endure present anxiety and the pressures of

00:52:55.539 --> 00:52:58.300
Western materialism by shifting the goalposts

00:52:58.300 --> 00:53:01.000
of the good life from the present age to the

00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:04.880
age to come. So much so in 1 Peter 1 .3, it says,

00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:07.159
according to his great mercy, he has caused us

00:53:07.159 --> 00:53:09.480
to be born again to a living hope through the

00:53:09.480 --> 00:53:12.559
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The

00:53:12.559 --> 00:53:15.539
Greek word for hope is elpis, and in secular

00:53:15.539 --> 00:53:19.739
Greek, it meant expectation of the future. Good

00:53:19.739 --> 00:53:22.000
or bad, it was just expectation of the future.

00:53:22.119 --> 00:53:24.320
So, in the New Testament, it is strictly positive

00:53:24.320 --> 00:53:27.579
because the object is God. So, Peter calls it

00:53:27.579 --> 00:53:30.940
a living, like a zuisen, which is hope, living

00:53:30.940 --> 00:53:33.239
hope. It is an active, growing, and indestructible

00:53:33.239 --> 00:53:37.000
force. When it comes to Christian hope is that

00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:39.539
it is often requires a death of worldly hope

00:53:39.539 --> 00:53:43.079
to truly hope in Christ. You must give up the

00:53:43.079 --> 00:53:46.260
hope that you can save yourself, that money will

00:53:46.260 --> 00:53:48.400
protect you or that your country will provide

00:53:48.400 --> 00:53:51.659
ultimate peace. And hope often feels like waiting,

00:53:51.880 --> 00:53:55.559
like Lamentations 3, 25 to 26 talks about. And

00:53:55.559 --> 00:53:58.599
waiting is painful. However, as there's an old

00:53:58.599 --> 00:54:00.719
hymn that says, my hope is built on nothing less

00:54:00.719 --> 00:54:04.449
than Jesus. blood and righteousness. So everything

00:54:04.449 --> 00:54:09.469
else is sinking sand. So hope is not a concept.

00:54:09.570 --> 00:54:13.329
When we say Christ is our hope, and like in 1

00:54:13.329 --> 00:54:16.909
Timothy 1 .1, we mean that our future is as secure

00:54:16.909 --> 00:54:21.289
as Jesus himself. It's declarative in that sense.

00:54:21.469 --> 00:54:25.670
Yeah. I love it. Yeah. If you really just look

00:54:25.670 --> 00:54:27.869
at scripture and you look at the Bible, it's

00:54:27.869 --> 00:54:29.949
such a... It's kind of like people are like,

00:54:29.949 --> 00:54:32.289
I wish there was an instruction manual that I

00:54:32.289 --> 00:54:34.170
could have that just could tell me how to live

00:54:34.170 --> 00:54:36.489
my life. Oh, that's very funny that you bring

00:54:36.489 --> 00:54:40.409
that up because the Bible. Right. And it's like,

00:54:40.449 --> 00:54:43.110
listen, I know it's a little bit difficult to

00:54:43.110 --> 00:54:45.530
read at the beginning the same way anybody pulls

00:54:45.530 --> 00:54:48.789
out a new technical manual. But once you start

00:54:48.789 --> 00:54:51.289
reading it, you start listening, you start understanding

00:54:51.289 --> 00:54:53.909
it. It really starts to speak to you in ways

00:54:53.909 --> 00:54:57.170
that you never really understood were possible.

00:54:57.719 --> 00:55:02.360
And God knew what he was doing. And this is,

00:55:02.360 --> 00:55:05.199
I mean, all of this stuff, you know, again, you

00:55:05.199 --> 00:55:07.900
can tell Jason's amazing recall and how he can

00:55:07.900 --> 00:55:10.619
just go with scripture and associate things.

00:55:10.780 --> 00:55:14.719
It's a gift. And it's not one that I'm envious

00:55:14.719 --> 00:55:18.820
of, but one that amazes me because his brain

00:55:18.820 --> 00:55:22.179
is extremely full of a lot of really good information.

00:55:22.219 --> 00:55:27.349
And mine is just a bunch of jokes. You know,

00:55:27.409 --> 00:55:30.849
it really is. And it's a great way. But I will

00:55:30.849 --> 00:55:33.449
say for those of you, because I always think,

00:55:33.489 --> 00:55:35.929
you know, depending upon where you are with your

00:55:35.929 --> 00:55:38.829
spiritual walk, anxiety, let's talk about the

00:55:38.829 --> 00:55:41.349
medical side because Jason and I also work in

00:55:41.349 --> 00:55:45.230
a medical field. Anxiety is a medical diagnosis.

00:55:45.610 --> 00:55:49.030
It's diagnosed as a mood disorder. Believe it

00:55:49.030 --> 00:55:52.070
or not, anxiety and anxiety disorder is the most

00:55:52.070 --> 00:55:55.570
prevalent mood disorder that is out. the most

00:55:55.570 --> 00:55:59.030
diagnosed. And sometimes depending upon how far

00:55:59.030 --> 00:56:02.570
your anxiety is, you know, it's okay. It's okay

00:56:02.570 --> 00:56:04.889
to feel the way that you are. You're human, you're

00:56:04.889 --> 00:56:08.050
flesh. And we don't know how, what's going on

00:56:08.050 --> 00:56:10.869
in your life. There are professionals out there

00:56:10.869 --> 00:56:14.130
that can help you. Seek out some professionals.

00:56:14.210 --> 00:56:17.230
We're not saying don't seek out the word of God,

00:56:17.309 --> 00:56:21.030
but hey, you know what? There are good doctors

00:56:21.030 --> 00:56:23.710
out there. There are good professionals out there.

00:56:23.929 --> 00:56:26.730
that can help you. You can even find one that

00:56:26.730 --> 00:56:29.630
also is a believer. There are Christian counseling

00:56:29.630 --> 00:56:32.389
services. I would recommend that you go find

00:56:32.389 --> 00:56:34.349
that if you're like, hey, I'm really struggling

00:56:34.349 --> 00:56:38.110
because I know what a panic disorder and an anxiety

00:56:38.110 --> 00:56:40.190
disorder, what those things are because I studied

00:56:40.190 --> 00:56:42.869
them and how dangerous and scary those can be.

00:56:42.949 --> 00:56:45.909
And sometimes... you might need something to

00:56:45.909 --> 00:56:49.869
help you to get your brain out of that biochemical

00:56:49.869 --> 00:56:52.469
thing that's happening in there. So I'm never

00:56:52.469 --> 00:56:55.809
going to say don't do that. Listen, if somebody

00:56:55.809 --> 00:56:58.329
says you're just not bleeding hard enough, that's

00:56:58.329 --> 00:57:02.829
not right. And don't listen to that because we

00:57:02.829 --> 00:57:05.130
have to listen to our bodies. And when we have

00:57:05.130 --> 00:57:07.449
anxiety, that's because our body is setting off

00:57:07.449 --> 00:57:09.829
an alarm because it doesn't like something. And

00:57:09.829 --> 00:57:12.469
depending upon how long your fire alarm has been

00:57:12.469 --> 00:57:15.329
going off in your body, you might need a little

00:57:15.329 --> 00:57:18.590
bit of additional assistance to shut that alarm

00:57:18.590 --> 00:57:20.630
off. And that's all I'm telling you. But I will

00:57:20.630 --> 00:57:23.630
say this, during the pandemic, during the post

00:57:23.630 --> 00:57:27.150
-COVID world, there was a 25... percent increase

00:57:27.150 --> 00:57:30.630
in anxiety and depression in the united states

00:57:30.630 --> 00:57:34.449
in the western world that's tremendous 25 and

00:57:34.449 --> 00:57:38.150
the majority of mood disorders the highest percentage

00:57:38.150 --> 00:57:42.570
of mood disorders is anxiety and here's a really

00:57:42.570 --> 00:57:44.889
fantastic thing and i want to tell you because

00:57:44.889 --> 00:57:46.710
all of this stuff that jason and i are talking

00:57:46.710 --> 00:57:48.489
about it's the truth it's the word of god the

00:57:48.489 --> 00:57:53.170
word of god is truth but the national institute

00:57:53.170 --> 00:57:57.949
of health did a 20 -year study. And here's something

00:57:57.949 --> 00:58:00.809
that I want you to know that's really cool. People

00:58:00.809 --> 00:58:04.849
who frequently attend religious services, and

00:58:04.849 --> 00:58:07.429
I'm going to say, listen, be a follower of Jesus

00:58:07.429 --> 00:58:12.610
Christ, but you have a 43 % chance lower risk,

00:58:12.769 --> 00:58:17.730
mood disorder, or having that reoccur. So there

00:58:17.730 --> 00:58:21.110
is validity, even in the science of what we're

00:58:21.110 --> 00:58:24.090
talking about today. You might need a little

00:58:24.090 --> 00:58:26.809
bit of help. Maybe you need to come at this and

00:58:26.809 --> 00:58:29.889
it's a two -front battle for you. You need to

00:58:29.889 --> 00:58:32.489
start by getting some of the physiological effects

00:58:32.489 --> 00:58:35.530
because anxiety can be rough. The sweats, the

00:58:35.530 --> 00:58:38.389
cardiovascular, the heart palpitations, all of

00:58:38.389 --> 00:58:40.489
those things, those things are scary. But you

00:58:40.489 --> 00:58:44.150
know what? They give you that lifelong journey

00:58:44.150 --> 00:58:47.070
of peace that you want to start down that road.

00:58:47.190 --> 00:58:50.219
That starts with... Christ starts with scripture

00:58:50.219 --> 00:58:53.360
and he's going to take you to places that you're

00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:55.840
going to look back like I do. I'm like, my God,

00:58:55.960 --> 00:59:00.760
I was saved from that. Jesus, if you can do that.

00:59:00.860 --> 00:59:04.000
You can do anything. Right. I'm done. That's

00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:07.139
all I have. You made a very crucial point, and

00:59:07.139 --> 00:59:09.659
I do want to agree with you and clarify this

00:59:09.659 --> 00:59:13.119
for the podcast, is that we must avoid the spiritual

00:59:13.119 --> 00:59:16.199
bypass, which is the idea that if you just pray

00:59:16.199 --> 00:59:19.320
enough, a biological or clinical issue will instantly

00:59:19.320 --> 00:59:21.980
vanish just because of that. A classic Christian

00:59:21.980 --> 00:59:24.760
view recognizes that we are fearfully and wonderfully

00:59:24.760 --> 00:59:29.340
made, Psalms 139, 14, as integrated beings, and

00:59:29.340 --> 00:59:31.800
we are both dust, which is biology, and spirit,

00:59:31.940 --> 00:59:36.679
theology. We could see in like 1 Kings 19, 4

00:59:36.679 --> 00:59:40.619
-9, Elijah had a breakdown and he had to process

00:59:40.619 --> 00:59:43.880
it. You can see in 1 Thessalonians 5 -14, Paul

00:59:43.880 --> 00:59:46.860
tells the church to encourage the faint -hearted.

00:59:47.019 --> 00:59:49.960
The Greek word is literally means like small

00:59:49.960 --> 00:59:53.019
-souled or those who are withered spirit. The

00:59:53.019 --> 00:59:55.039
Bible acknowledges a category of people who are

00:59:55.039 --> 00:59:58.400
like... constitutionally or emotionally fragile

00:59:58.400 --> 01:00:00.719
and commands the church to support them, not

01:00:00.719 --> 01:00:03.480
to shame them. So from this kind of perspective,

01:00:03.639 --> 01:00:05.639
from a biblical perspective, we understand that

01:00:05.639 --> 01:00:08.340
there's a lens of total depravity and general

01:00:08.340 --> 01:00:11.059
revelation that sin corrupted the whole human

01:00:11.059 --> 01:00:14.139
person, including our neurochemistry, just as

01:00:14.139 --> 01:00:16.619
a believer might need insulin of diabetes or

01:00:16.619 --> 01:00:19.380
a believer may need medication to regulate a

01:00:19.380 --> 01:00:22.630
neurotransmitter imbalance. This is not a lack

01:00:22.630 --> 01:00:25.670
of faith. It's a stewardship of the body. But

01:00:25.670 --> 01:00:28.570
I think John Wesley was famous for his interest

01:00:28.570 --> 01:00:32.250
in medicine. He wrote Primitive Phys... physics

01:00:32.250 --> 01:00:34.250
or something like that. He believed God gave

01:00:34.250 --> 01:00:37.889
humans the intelligence to discover healing properties

01:00:37.889 --> 01:00:41.409
in nature. And modern psychiatry, when aligned

01:00:41.409 --> 01:00:43.969
with truth, like you were saying, there are people

01:00:43.969 --> 01:00:46.349
who believe who are psychiatrists, et cetera,

01:00:46.489 --> 01:00:49.309
is a form of God's grace to a suffering world.

01:00:49.510 --> 01:00:52.210
This is something that we need to understand

01:00:52.210 --> 01:00:54.489
that spiritual maturity does not always equal

01:00:54.489 --> 01:00:58.300
physical health. You can't just be a giant of

01:00:58.300 --> 01:01:00.079
the faith and still struggle with a clinical

01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:03.639
disorder. For example, Charles Spurgeon, I don't

01:01:03.639 --> 01:01:05.880
know if you've looked into him at all, but he

01:01:05.880 --> 01:01:08.980
struggled with deep depression. I didn't know

01:01:08.980 --> 01:01:14.099
that. Some of the best Christian quotes I see

01:01:14.099 --> 01:01:16.719
online are from Charles Spurgeon, but he suffered

01:01:16.719 --> 01:01:20.820
with deep clinical depression. We must stop treating

01:01:20.820 --> 01:01:23.539
anxiety as like a... barometer of righteousness

01:01:23.539 --> 01:01:26.840
but yes we must be careful not to let medical

01:01:26.840 --> 01:01:29.639
diagnosis become our identity because we are

01:01:29.639 --> 01:01:32.440
not anxious people we are saints who experience

01:01:32.440 --> 01:01:35.900
anxiety so our identity is anchored in christ

01:01:35.900 --> 01:01:38.960
finished work not our fluctuating brain chemistry

01:01:38.960 --> 01:01:41.460
i think is the way i'm trying to get it across

01:01:41.460 --> 01:01:44.780
here it's really easy because i grew up in a

01:01:44.780 --> 01:01:47.260
charismatic background very charismatic church

01:01:47.260 --> 01:01:50.699
background if people don't know reading and bethel

01:01:50.699 --> 01:01:53.000
church acquired a fire or something like that.

01:01:53.079 --> 01:01:56.099
These conventions taught that if you're not healed

01:01:56.099 --> 01:01:58.260
of something, then you didn't have faith enough

01:01:58.260 --> 01:02:00.360
or the person praying didn't have faith enough.

01:02:00.519 --> 01:02:03.380
And like Brandon said, rebuke that because that's

01:02:03.380 --> 01:02:05.579
not true. You know, there are people who are

01:02:05.579 --> 01:02:09.500
faithful to God, follow God, love God, and preach

01:02:09.500 --> 01:02:12.559
the word who suffer for things. And that is just

01:02:12.559 --> 01:02:14.980
a part of our biology, our humanity, and what

01:02:14.980 --> 01:02:17.219
we have to deal with. But the difference is that

01:02:17.219 --> 01:02:20.409
we do not find our identity in that. thing. We

01:02:20.409 --> 01:02:23.889
find our identity in Christ and that we live

01:02:23.889 --> 01:02:26.050
a life according to his will through what we

01:02:26.050 --> 01:02:29.230
are living. This is our life. This is what we

01:02:29.230 --> 01:02:32.250
deal with. This is what we are in and what we

01:02:32.250 --> 01:02:34.789
struggle with, et cetera. But this is how we

01:02:34.789 --> 01:02:37.590
rely on Christ and how we go to him is what really

01:02:37.590 --> 01:02:40.170
matters in that aspect. So I definitely don't

01:02:40.170 --> 01:02:42.940
want to condemn anyone. or make them feel like

01:02:42.940 --> 01:02:44.940
maybe I don't have enough faith because I struggle

01:02:44.940 --> 01:02:47.380
with anxiety, or I struggle with fear, or I struggle

01:02:47.380 --> 01:02:50.119
with this. That's not the case. Don't think that.

01:02:50.239 --> 01:02:53.360
It is not about that. It is strictly about knowing

01:02:53.360 --> 01:02:56.920
that we can go to God with those anxieties, go

01:02:56.920 --> 01:02:59.199
to God with those fears, and go to God with those

01:02:59.199 --> 01:03:02.980
things, and continuously... seek him follow him

01:03:02.980 --> 01:03:05.840
trust in him and he will give you rest it says

01:03:05.840 --> 01:03:08.179
come to me all who are weary i'll give you rest

01:03:08.179 --> 01:03:10.360
and it's like it doesn't mean that it's like

01:03:10.360 --> 01:03:13.340
instantly gone it's never seen again we will

01:03:13.340 --> 01:03:15.380
continue to struggle with what we struggle with

01:03:15.380 --> 01:03:17.699
it's just the beauty of it is that we can go

01:03:17.699 --> 01:03:20.119
to god with these things as a human being as

01:03:20.119 --> 01:03:23.340
someone that he has grace and mercy for I think

01:03:23.340 --> 01:03:25.679
that's, I think, actually, I do think that that

01:03:25.679 --> 01:03:28.019
is a good stopping point for this episode. Obviously,

01:03:28.139 --> 01:03:30.019
like, you and me probably could go on for a lot

01:03:30.019 --> 01:03:32.940
longer, I think, in the long run. I know, right?

01:03:33.239 --> 01:03:36.880
I know. I think it's something that maybe we

01:03:36.880 --> 01:03:38.719
could do a couple more episodes or something,

01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:42.820
too, because, yeah, I think this has been very

01:03:42.820 --> 01:03:45.260
good in the sense that there's a lot of information

01:03:45.260 --> 01:03:48.500
here, a lot of information unpacked. Once again,

01:03:48.619 --> 01:03:51.559
I appreciate you being on the Gospel Truth Project

01:03:51.559 --> 01:03:53.940
podcast. And yeah, this has been good. I think

01:03:53.940 --> 01:03:56.079
this has been really good. And I hope our listeners

01:03:56.079 --> 01:03:58.320
found it good. If they want to comment or anything,

01:03:58.420 --> 01:04:00.099
join our Discord. You can find our Discord at

01:04:00.099 --> 01:04:03.300
gospeltruthproject .com. Our Discord is a school.

01:04:03.840 --> 01:04:06.239
of sorts where it teaches apologetics, teaches

01:04:06.239 --> 01:04:08.199
you how to interact with people with different

01:04:08.199 --> 01:04:09.579
faiths or different backgrounds or different

01:04:09.579 --> 01:04:12.480
ideologies. That way, in a loving manner, but

01:04:12.480 --> 01:04:15.119
it's also respectful and also intentional in

01:04:15.119 --> 01:04:16.860
the sense of you understand where they're coming

01:04:16.860 --> 01:04:19.699
from. And that way, you're not going in there

01:04:19.699 --> 01:04:21.119
and saying, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're

01:04:21.119 --> 01:04:22.920
wrong. You don't know anything. It's like you

01:04:22.920 --> 01:04:25.159
can actually discuss and actually have a conversation

01:04:25.159 --> 01:04:28.239
that's fruitful rather than building up walls.

01:04:29.440 --> 01:04:32.019
And Jason has never told me and all the silly

01:04:32.019 --> 01:04:33.679
things I say, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're

01:04:33.679 --> 01:04:37.400
wrong. So I will admit that he's true on that.

01:04:37.480 --> 01:04:40.079
And Jason, it was such an honor to be invited

01:04:40.079 --> 01:04:42.079
and I hope you'll have me back. I really had

01:04:42.079 --> 01:04:45.239
a great time tonight. And will you just please,

01:04:45.380 --> 01:04:48.340
if you would, I think a great closing out because

01:04:48.340 --> 01:04:50.480
I think it's always best like we can put our

01:04:50.480 --> 01:04:54.559
closing out. Just I think Psalm 23, just verses

01:04:54.559 --> 01:04:58.690
one. through one through four is I think just

01:04:58.690 --> 01:05:00.869
a great thing because when you're in anxiety,

01:05:01.130 --> 01:05:03.889
you are in the valley. And I think it's, David

01:05:03.889 --> 01:05:06.090
was in the valley and I think it's just such

01:05:06.090 --> 01:05:10.130
a wonderful way to the closing thought because

01:05:10.130 --> 01:05:12.889
I prayed that and I thought that so many times.

01:05:13.070 --> 01:05:17.019
Yeah. Psalms 23, that's the Lord is my shepherd,

01:05:17.119 --> 01:05:20.119
I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green

01:05:20.119 --> 01:05:21.900
pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.

01:05:22.119 --> 01:05:24.239
He restores my soul. He leads me in the path

01:05:24.239 --> 01:05:26.739
of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, that

01:05:26.739 --> 01:05:28.460
I walk through the valley of shadow of death.

01:05:28.519 --> 01:05:31.840
I'll fear no evil for thou art with me. And your

01:05:31.840 --> 01:05:34.059
rod and your staff, they comfort me. He's the

01:05:34.059 --> 01:05:36.820
good shepherd. He's with you. You're not alone,

01:05:37.159 --> 01:05:39.699
even in your darkest times. Don't ever forget

01:05:39.699 --> 01:05:42.480
that. Yep. Agreed. So with that, I would say

01:05:42.480 --> 01:05:44.739
we're concluding this episode. It was a pleasure

01:05:44.739 --> 01:05:46.380
to have you. We'll definitely have you again.

01:05:46.659 --> 01:05:48.739
And hopefully you will get to meet Dylan that

01:05:48.739 --> 01:05:52.599
time too, honestly. I hope so. I want to. I think

01:05:52.599 --> 01:05:55.039
you and Dylan would hit it off pretty well. Good.

01:05:55.280 --> 01:05:57.380
All right. Well, good night, everybody. Thanks

01:05:57.380 --> 01:05:59.780
for joining us tonight. And Jason, again, thank

01:05:59.780 --> 01:06:01.659
you. It was an honor. Thank you. And everybody

01:06:01.659 --> 01:06:03.900
else, I'll see you on the next one. Bye -bye.