and we'll be right back.
Don't get down
when you're seeing the worst
because the last will be the first
What a day I'm telling you
all things will be new
living up in a down world
Yeah we're living, yeah we're living
living up in a down world
Oh
This is Jimmy DeNette
and we want to welcome you
to Living Up in a Down World
episode number 56
believe it, 56 episodes
and once again we're missing somebody
a very important part of the equation
We're never going to be able to bring him
I don't know how
We want to
I don't either
But there's not a place to put him
There's so much traffic in the building now
and so much coming and going
People are voting in our building today
That's right, we hosted the primary here in Texas
in Gillespie County in Fredericksburg, Texas
So we're one of the precinct hosts
and so yeah we've got a lot of people
coming and going today
but we've got construction going on too
and that's another reason why
we feel like if we were to bring Chevy
it would really be hard on him
Very, it would be very hard
Sorry I'm fixing my phone
Are you texting?
Nope, I was timing
Are you texting Tina again?
No, no I have not talked to Tina today
At all?
No
Okay you need a remedy to that
Text her right now
No
Hey what you doing?
We're doing the show
Hey we want to welcome you all
to Living Up and a Down World
Again like I said I'm Jimmy
This is Ned
We're actually pastors at Bridge Church
and you're seeing us right here
in the Bridge Church studios
the Living Up studios
We'll call it whatever
If they're watching it
If you're watching on YouTube
If not you're listening to us on
Fountain or Apple
or whatever your favorite platform is
and we want to welcome you to today's show
Living Up and a Down World
Living Up and a Down World is really more
than just a clever name
which I thought it was
since I came up with it
when I was in college
I know
A long time ago
I always liked just the
I like what it says
that no matter how the world is going
and by the way the world seems
a little upside down to me
I don't know about you
but it seems pretty crazy right now
that no matter how things are going in the world
that you can live up in it
because we are in Christ
and if we're in Christ
there's always hope right?
That's been your motto
I know
That's what I love about you
That's what drew me to you in the first place
Oh my
Living Up and a Down World
I'll just say it over and over
I like that
Well when you've lived in a negative world
like I did growing up
and you know everything was
you know that glass was half full
and then you marry someone where the glass
I mean half empty
Your glass was half empty
Yeah
and marry someone whose glass is half full
it changes everything
Yeah
Well tell me how difficult is it living with somebody
where every day is Friday?
Well it's not difficult
it's actually uplifting
I know you want to think it's difficult
but it's not
it's uplifting
Because I tend to be pretty high on life
I tend to be
I am living up and down
You are
I mean that's my mentality
I think part of the reason why I'm like that
is I'm so grateful
I'm so grateful to God for saving me
I'm so thankful for the friends that are in my life
and the people that are in my life
I get to do what I love the most
which is talk a lot
for a living
You can do that well
As a pastor
I get to do what I love to do
and I get to help people
and that makes me live a grateful life
I was visiting with a friend earlier
and who needed some ministry time
and we were walking through the church
and she was just like
Oh you have a wonderful job
and I said you know I really do
I really do
Because she was so worried
she was taking some time away from the schedule
and I said
This is my number one
What I do with you is my number one job
What I go into the studio for is my number two job
So I said don't ever look like
or feel like you're taking time away from my work
This is my work
I have to tell people the same thing
because they'll say
I know you're busy but
and I'm like everybody's busy
It's the nature of life
living in a fast paced world
We're all busy
but our number one thing
is to make much of Jesus
and if that means sitting with you for coffee or lunch
Coffee, don't bring up coffee
because I want coffee right now
And this one, product placement by the way
This one is empty
which is sad
Do we need to pause the show?
We need to go make coffee really bad here
But yeah that's product placement there
So we pastor Bridge Church in Fredericksburg, Texas
and we are in an amazing season right now
We're getting to live a miracle right now
Would you say that?
Would you agree with that?
Describe that a little bit for folks
that maybe don't understand what we're even talking about
Well, I mean we're just
like we said we live a grateful life
We have a good church
Not a perfect church
because there's no such thing as a perfect church
But we have an amazing church
I was sharing with my friend earlier too
When we came here and we had about 300 people
we just thought, you know, this is good
We'll just have, you know, it'll be just us
and 298 people, you know
For a town of 11,000 people
That's a good sign
That's a big church
We'll kind of coast in
and the Lord said, no
I'm going to double that
and even probably quadruple that
and you're not going to coast in anything
but I'm going to let you enjoy life
and I'm going to give you something
that you're going to be proud of
because I'm proud of you
and you know, well, he sees us that way
It makes me happy just hearing that
I was sharing that earlier
how much he loves us
and how he sees the end from the beginning
and so he, you know, even though we might live in shame
or regret or something from our past
he doesn't even see that anymore
because once we give that to him
you know, he sees the end from the beginning
He sees us in such a different way
than we can see ourselves
and so just talking with her reminded me
of how good God is
He's just so good
So when we drive up to the church
and when we come here to go to work
in the morning like other people
they go to the office
or their office or their whatever
their field of work
and I get excited when we turn into the parking lot
to this day, this morning
Of course, when I turned into the parking lot
there were already a ton of cars here
and there were people with signs
Vote for so and so, vote for
I mean, just people out, you know
who are trying to get people to vote for their candidates
at the last minute
So there's people with signs out there
and lawn chairs
They're having a party out there in our parking lot
and I thought, how fun is this
that we get to host something
that's a blessing to our community
It's also a part of the heritage of our nation
to have the gift of voting and the right to vote
So for those of you who don't know
today, which is the 7th, right?
7th of February
No
March
Wow
It's the 5th, March 5th
Is it the 5th?
Yes
Whatever today is
Edit that please
What is this? July 4th?
I don't know
March 5th
So on March 5th
that is our primary voting day
They've had early voting up to now
Of course, it's different for different states
and so this is a big day for Texas
as we vote for our candidates
and we make no bones about it
We're voting for those that will most promote
biblical values, conservative values
the intent of the founding fathers
which by the way, I did a little research
Of course you did
I'm a nerd
and I found out that four of the original 56 signers
of the Constitution of the United States
four of them were working pastors at the time
but there were many, many more that were retired pastors
so they had had a lifetime of ministry
and many of the signers had been pastors and shepherds
and served in churches
and here they are, they become the founding fathers
of our nation
Most people don't even know that
That's what's sad about revisionist history
where we try to retake God out of everything
and what happens is if we forget our past
and this is not original with me
that means that we are doomed to repeat it
and that's why history is important
That's why history has repeated itself over and over
because we forget
and then we go down the same roads
and we make the same mistakes
and we do that on a personal level
we do that on a corporate level
we do it on a national level
and so our heart is to vote for people
that are going to uphold the values
the love for the Constitution, the value
because it was founded on the Bible, the Word of God
it was founded on an idea of freedom from tyranny
and so that's us, that's who we are
and we want to welcome you to the show today
we've got some things we want to share in our heart
some good things going on
First of all, just a couple of kind of normal life things
believe it or not, we got to go out with Adam and Tina Curry this week
Really?
How many times?
We're getting together, it's to the point now
we're getting together more than once a week
it used to be once a week, now we're like
we need to get together more often
so we went out with Adam and Tina
and they have a great podcast
we highly, highly recommend
in fact, I always say this is my favorite episode
but last week really was my favorite episode
and I'm going to have to listen to it today
because I literally have not had a chance
It's okay
I know, I will
I do, I do
I've got to
I keep telling you, you need to hear it
because it was so good
Adam and Tina, for those of you who don't know
they have a podcast called Curry and the Keeper
and it's how we got to know them before we got to know them
they were attending our church
our Tina was
Adam works on Sunday with his podcast No Agenda
which is another great one
and someone came to us and said
hey, you've got some really influential podcasters
in your church
and we're like what?
I mean, we're getting to a size where sometimes
I don't get surprised anymore at who's sitting in our church
we had an ex-Major League baseball player
in our church this last week
I got to meet him, he was like 6'5
he looked like a baseball player, looked like a football player
but anyway, you never know who's sitting in there
I mean, attorneys, lawyers, Rick Green from the Patriot Academy
you just never know who's there
so I wasn't overly shocked
but I was like that's cool
and I wasn't into podcasting at the time
I'd listen to some here and there
we wouldn't even be here if it weren't for them
exactly, it's where I'm going with this
you stole my punch line
oh, sorry
no, not really, it wasn't a punch line
but anyway
so that's how we
so someone said hey, they're talking about your church
on their podcast
I'm like what?
who's talking about us on podcasts?
so they sent me a link and said
start listening at this time
and we did
and we were like oh my gosh
Tina
it's Adam and Tina
she's re-preaching your messages
and then Pastor Jimmy said
and then he put a bucket up on the pulpit
and said hey, you gotta have leaky buckets
I mean
and I was just shocked
and excited
and I thought
we've gotta get to know these guys
and turns out
Adam Curry
found out later
the name was familiar
he was actually a VJ on MTV
back in the 80s and 90s
oh, that's Adam Curry
okay, I remember that guy
but anyway
we got to meet them and hang out
and we've just become the best of friends
and our life is richer
richer for having known them
so we love
love their podcast
they taught us how to get this going
Adam was our executive producer
Tina became our complaint department
if anybody has any issues
reach out to Tina
Tina and I are about to start our own
that's right
two girls and one God
I am totally pumped about this
we have a women's luncheon
that we're hosting in the next couple of weeks
oh my gosh
after that
her and I are gonna be coming in here
and or her studio
either one, either one
or we might just need to build our own studios
oh, you know what
your podcasts will probably take off
it'll probably skyrocket
because first of all
it's gonna be interesting
both of you are lovers of Jesus
you adore your amazing husbands
and I had to get that in there
yes you did
and you have a lot to help people with
because both of you all have gone through
a lot of things personally
we're gonna be able to talk about it
from a female perspective
our Christian faith
powerful
I'm really excited about it
I don't know exactly
where we're gonna go with it
but I don't think we need to know
I think it's one of those things
we'll just know once we sit down
and start chatting
and God will just let it evolve
I cannot wait
I really mean it
I'm more excited about your podcast
than I'm in ours
I love doing it
it's gonna be interesting
now Adam and I
we've been kicking around a couple things too
we may have something up our sleeve
the problem is
I'm the only person on the planet
that can out-talk Adam
so I don't know if he can handle it
oh, well I don't know
it's gonna be hard on him
yeah, because John Dvorak doesn't out-talk
yeah, John's chill
yeah, he's chill
that would be an interesting podcast too
it really would
I mean, a pastor and a...
people say ex-atheist
that's a terrible moniker for somebody
unless they say that because it
shows such contrast
of where he was to where he is now
he had the seeds of Christianity
sown into him as a kid
from his grandparents
so did you
I did too
and it just took us to later in life
to figure it out
it took me till I was 18
when the ball dropped for me
but for him
57
58
and man, when it dropped for him
it dropped big time
so I'm super proud of those guys
so we went and hung out with them
went out to one of our favorites
so you have to understand where we live
we live in the Texas Hill Country
right smack in the middle of it
and it is wine country
in fact, it is number two in the nation
in wine production
and it is very...
we're hearing rumors
that we are fast closing in on Napa
in terms of production
and so, I mean, they're building new wineries
as fast as they can throw them up
it's crazy
every time I drive out highway 290
towards Johnson City
and Blanco and that area
I just can't believe
how many new wineries, distilleries
I mean
and restaurants finally
speakeasies and now finally
I want some new restaurants
yeah, me too
so, but one of our favorite wineries
a vineyard that we love to go to
is called Grape Creek
and it's just
it's one of the oldest ones around here
one of the originals
and it's like a little Tuscany
I mean, it's just beautiful
although it doesn't look like Tuscany anymore
yeah, with some tree damage
from snowpocalypse or icepocalypse
what, three years ago now?
it's just barren
yeah, it just really damaged a lot
it did not look good
yeah, so
and then we're members of Augusta Venn
so I'm going to name drop here
and we got to...
we need to just give a shout out
to Trey Blocker
oh yeah
Trey has this cool place
it's a speakeasy
if you know what one of those are
a speakeasy
it's such a neat, chill atmosphere
and it's called Salvation Spirits
out on Highway 290
we went out to his place a couple of weeks ago
and that was amazing
hanging out with great people
we talked about it a little bit last week
but this week
so what's the name of the restaurant
that's connected with the Grape Creek
that we love so much?
um...
uh...
what?
no, Heath's is...
Stout's
I had to think
Stout's
by the way Faith, our daughter is with us
there's no way we can turn one of these three cameras around
without messing everything up
but you can wave Faith, wave at me
hey yeah, she's waving
so she's helping us out
Stout's is a pizza place
pizza, sandwiches, salads
it's like brick oven pizza
it's really good
it's wood fired
so when we have a treat meal
we go out there
and of course we went a couple of weeks ago for the first time
had pizza
first time in eight months
and did it again last week
and then said
nope, not going to be doing that for a long time
not a long time
but here's what's interesting
so we did two treat meals
kind of back to back
like we did a Sunday
then we did a Saturday
right?
same place by the way
and so we're out there hanging out with them
we're enjoying this amazing pizza
and I thought
I'm going to gain ten pounds
that's how my mind tells me this
step on the scale
two days later
the lowest I've weighed in decades
I mean mind bending
how that
it trips your metabolic system
it's because of all the waste that leaves our body
after we eat that kind of food
yeah, there might be something to that
yeah
I didn't like how I felt
that's the difference in
when you're doing carnivore
and you feel so good
so there may be people listening and watching
who've not heard of this
and by the way
we're merging our carnivore YouTube channel
with our podcast
so we're living up in a carnivore world
I don't know how to say this
wow
we're you know
you're funny
it's not a carnivore world yet
so meet, pray, live up in a down world
I don't know
we've got to combine this somehow
but it'll be the same YouTube channel to host
because it's just too much
trying to maintain extra channels
but the thing is
the carnivore we feel so good
but
people have told us
that it's good to kind of reset your body
every now and then
so we've did it two weeks in a row
but I don't want to do it again for a while
it was too much for me too
I really enjoy not feeling the heaviness
that's the difference
that I have felt
I agree
which is so odd
I can eat a pound of bacon
and not feel heavy at all
but in my mind I'm going
you just ate a pound
you need a little bit of bread crust on a pizza
it's so weird
it feels like it blows up inside of you
it's gluten
yeah it's gluten
no doubt
I've always had a bad issue with gluten for the years
yeah
anyway so yeah
we had a great time with them
as usual
it's always amazing
and so
yeah
so our carnivore journey
just a short version of that
that is a huge piece of our life
and we call it the W.O.E.
way of eating
so it's not a diet
now
anything you look up online
in terms of carnivore
you'll see the carnivore diet
but for us
it may have started as that
just as we were trying to figure it out
back in July
we're now over eight months now
into this
actually over eight months
and so we embrace this way of eating
and I gotta tell you
it's been a game changer for us
it's changed our lives
it's reversed several things in our lives
especially the inflammation in the body
the reason why you have so many aches and pains
and you think old football injuries are hurting you
right?
old football injuries
wrong
so
old ski
your ski accident
or whatever
you know
what a lot of that is
it's not actually an injury
it's inflammation
around the scarring
you know
the damage that happened
but once the inflammation is gone
a lot of that
most of that pain
or all of it goes away
yeah
it's amazing
and so it's amazing
how much better you feel
I had somebody ask me at lunch today
we're doing
we've gone from one service
when we got here eight years ago
to we're now doing
three back to back services
on a given Sunday
that's how much growth we've experienced
and I was asked today at lunch
by PB
Pastor Ryan
our new associate
executive pastor
he says
how are you
handling it physically?
how are you holding up?
and I said
I actually feel amazing
I said this Sunday
I felt better
out of all of them that we've done
and I had energy to burn
and we came home and watched
how many of the chosen
four
oh
gotta talk a little about that
Jonathan
what is it?
it's called Jonathan and Jesus
the chosen docu-series
oh my gosh
we watched all four
all four of them back to back
and we didn't fall asleep
no
I thought I would be
out
I felt great
it's really
really good
so we did a treat meal
so that's where we started
so we did a treat meal
some people call it a cheat meal
I thought I would be
out after having that
I did too
but I was okay
we're doing good
it wasn't too bad
yeah
not too bad
so check it out
the chosen docu-series
it's on Amazon Prime
am I correct?
and it's a four episode docu-series
called Jonathan and Jesus
it's about Jonathan
go ahead
no go ahead
go ahead
it's about Jonathan
and it's about Jonathan
go ahead
no go ahead
well it's basically about
Jonathan Rumi was given the role of Jesus
in the chosen series
which is now in season four
and this is a documentary of how
he prepared for the role of Jesus
and then Jesus Revolution
he played Lonnie Frisbee
in the movie Jesus Revolution
it's all about his journey to get there
it was so good
it's very real
it's very raw
it's very emotional
yes
because can you imagine
you get cast to play Jesus Christ
first of all it's a heavy thing
and he's very deeply Catholic
I mean like committed Catholic
but he's not your typical Catholic
no he's very evangelical
very outgoing
very out there with his faith
he doesn't hide
he doesn't hold anything back
so that was a big deal for him
but they had no idea how the series was going to take off
they thought they'd have a few thousand viewers
turns into the millions and millions
now it's being translated into other languages
it's going all over the world
it's on the movie screen now
it's on the movie screen
all the episodes
he had no idea it was going to blow up like that
never dreamed that a Jesus movie show
TV show would blow up
and there's still so many people out there
especially Christians who've never seen it
I know
so if you've not watched The Chosen
you need to go online
my gosh
and watch The Chosen
because I literally
start with episode one, season one
I thought it was going to be some cheesy
oh here we go another one of those Christian films
that is boring
there's been some bad ones out there
this is phenomenal
it's not anything like I thought
and so we highly recommend it
so this docu-series
they're now in their fourth season
it sort of goes this crew
basically lives in his apartment with him
and goes on these trips with him
and he gets real raw
and real honest about the weight
of playing Jesus
because he wants to do it right
he doesn't want to
he knows that there will be people that
their image of Jesus will be his face
right
and how he portrays Jesus
will imprint people
and yet he's such a humble man
he is
boy the humility he has is
it's really remarkable
I would say
get you a box of tissue to keep close
because it is
it's real and it's raw
I love it
and relevant it's all those
and so anyway
we highly recommend it
and so
yeah so
man
got to have two treat meals
and we got to hang out with the Currys
which is awesome
go check out their
their podcast amazing
and
and then we had church
and we had church
which was amazing
wow
I just still
we set a new record
a new attendance record this week
and
it's just
keeps growing
and
we just
we realize this is not about us
this is about Jesus
and we're making him famous
and
that seems to be working
so we're going to stay the course
dance with the one that brought us
so to speak
and just stay humble
and keep doing what we're doing
and seeing lives transformed
it's just amazing
so God's got great things
we always just say
Aslan is on the move
which Aslan was the
the lion
from the lion
the witch
and the wardrobe
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
and
we always say
Aslan is on the move
and he is
Jesus is on the move
and God's working
revival literally is breaking out
all across America right now
and we're here to all over the world as well
but I know here in America
there's things happening on college campuses
seminaries
I heard Liberty University recently
yeah
breaking out there
blowing up there
it's
it's unbelievable
yay God
and here in Fredericksburg, Texas
we're experiencing it
everything is getting touched right now
just every area
every arena
and it's exciting to just know that
we're part of something
way way bigger than us
it's humbling
but it's exciting too
and it's tiring
it's exhausting
because the bigger our church grows
we've doubled
I mean it's like
that's a weight load
that none of us expected
and here we are
and we just say
thank you Jesus
and go God right
so speaking of Jesus and God
we wanted to talk about
just something briefly today
and it's about this
because we're getting to experience
so many people come into faith
not just young people
not just children
and that's happening too
but also we're seeing adults
a large significant number of adults
who maybe had a faith journey in the beginning
maybe they were raised
in a traditional Christian home
or Catholic home or whatever
and at an older age now
with what God's doing all around us
and all around other places
they're coming back to their faith
like coming home
we get emails all the time
and we want to encourage you
if you're listening or watching
write us
go to our website
livingupinadownworld.com
and you could write us
right from the front page
we love hearing from you
any questions you have
we want to encourage you
maybe we can connect you with resources
or if you have questions
that we can't answer
we want to help you
in any way we can
on your faith journey
but we have people writing into us
saying, wow, you know
when I was a kid
we went to church
and then I got away from God
and now I'm coming back
and sometimes because of
listening to Adam and Tina
on Courier and the Keeper
or listening to us
or both of us
they're finding hope again
and they're finding
it's okay to come back
it's okay
God doesn't reject me
so in saying that
what I wanted to throw out there
is because again
a large number of people
right here in our orbit
in our relationship sphere
are coming back to Christ
but some of them are not
getting all the help, support
and excitement that they thought
they would get from their friends
so we want to kind of throw that out there
and what do you see in that dynamic
when sometimes not everybody's
excited about your new found faith
as you are
it can be hard
because it can hurt you
because a lot of people
don't want to go where you're going
and so they don't want to hear it
and so it can be kind of disheartening
on the person that's just newly
come to the faith
and so we don't want to
burst your bubble
but we do want to prepare you
that not everybody's going to be as excited
I remember when you came to your faith
and your dad said, you know
hey, don't get so excited
and I remember Tina talking about
someone in her life who said
are y'all going to be cool still?
like really we're only cool
happened to Adam too
so it can be difficult
it can be really difficult
you found something that changes your life
and that lights you up again
and you're like, oh I have hope again
I have a mission and a purpose in life
I have a reason to get up on Tuesday morning
and Thursday morning and Sunday morning
where I didn't before
and you think and assume
that everybody's going to be excited about it
as you are
and when they're not
it can be really disappointing
it can be
disillusioning and deflating
and so we want to encourage you
if you're coming back to your faith
or maybe you're new to faith
just know there will be people who are not excited
and that's for various reasons
sometimes it's because they have a wound
well I was going to say
they were hurt in the church or by the church
or they felt disappointed in God
because they prayed
and God didn't appear to answer
the way they wanted
and so now they're mad at God
or something horrible happened
and this is real trauma
they were victimized
something terrible happened
where was God during that?
and so we know those are real honest questions
and real reasons why some people are resistant
to say hey it didn't work for me
so it's not going to work for you
oh you're happy now
but you won't be forever
so we just want
we want to encourage folks
and I've got a Bible passage
is that cool?
I won't read all the scriptures
but there was this man
he was lame in his feet
and it says this in Acts chapter 3
now Peter and John
who were two disciples of Jesus
went up together to the temple
at the hour of prayer
they're in Jerusalem
the ninth hour
and a certain man
lame from his mother's womb was carried
whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple
which is called beautiful
the beautiful gate still exists
by the way it's there
we've seen it
to ask alms from those
who entered the temple
so he's begging
and that's what they did
they parked themselves
they'd have somebody bring them
and set them down
park them right in front of the
and hopefully people going into the temple
would have compassion
and give them some money
collect alms
says who that he saw
Peter and John
about to go into the temple
asked for alms
and check this out
this gets crazy
and fixing his eyes on him with John
Peter said look at us
so he gave them his attention
expecting to receive something from them
then Peter said
silver and gold I do not have
but what I do have
I give you
in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk
and nothing happened
no it's not the truth
verse 7
check this out
and he took him by the right hand
and lifted him up
and immediately his feet
and ankle bones received strength
so he leaping up
stood and walked
and entered the temple with them
walking leaping and praising God
and all the people saw him walking
and praising God
because the people around there
it's a community
they knew he'd been lame
from birth
verse 10
then they knew that it was he who sat
bagging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple
and they were filled with wonder
and amazement at what had happened to him
I mean this is like a major miracle
and what I love about Peter and John
they said look we don't have silver and gold
but we got something better
we got legs
we're going to give you legs
and they actually
in a moment God through them healed him
and he gets up and he's running around
first of all the miracle got healed
secondly he has balance all of it
he can walk instantly
he never walked in his life
and suddenly he's up in the air spinning around
so people saw it and they knew
they knew who he was
and so you would think that everybody is going to be
this is amazing
it's the greatest thing that ever happened
so have you ever seen people who come back to their faith
and they're just super excited
we have people all around us right now
in our church that are just so excited
about recovering their faith
maybe you could even use the same metaphor
it's almost like they couldn't walk for years
and suddenly they're walking again
and they're walking with Jesus
they're walking with God
and I don't know about you
but sometimes when people are super exuberant
I'm happy with them
but there's a part of me that says
oh Lord protect them
protect them
now why would we even think that?
because we know how the enemy works
ah enter the villain
yes
because he wants to steal any kind of joy you receive
so he wants to steal anything
so that you'll say oh well that didn't work
or that there must not really be a God
because I don't feel the same way I felt
because you might not
you might wake up two weeks from now
and the adrenaline's worn off
exactly
now what do you do then?
what do you do?
what do you do when you wake up
and you're not excited anymore
when suddenly it's not as fun
or a best friend turns on you
and walks away
or a family member says oh you're the same
you'll never change
what do you do when somebody comes at you like that?
this is what's so hard for like Jewish people
or people of faith where if they turn to Christ
they literally lose their faith
we have no idea what that's like
we just don't
and I have compassion for those
just like when we were in Israel in 2005
and all of we went to that Messianic Jewish ceremony
and that church and it was just
I was so sad and I loved the joy
that they had as they were dancing
in Christ
but I had such compassion because I knew
that they longed for their family
to feel and have the same thing that they do
and that was very hard to watch
sobering to know that that entire church
that entire group of people
that 99.9% of their families had completely disowned them
completely dissed them
and it was heartbreaking in one sense
and yet the exuberance and joy
that they had
that brought them over that and through that
we saw it on display
It was amazing
It was amazing, it was miraculous
because how can you knowing that your family
has disowned you
but how can you still have that joy
and it's really because the joy comes from the Lord
it doesn't come from your circumstance
but they truly, truly understand where their joy lies
and it's really knowing Christ, walking with Christ
living with Christ, being on the journey with Christ
even though they've lost their family
in the middle of it
they have eternity with Christ
and they're experiencing real peace
I mean what the Bible calls the peace of God
that passes all understanding
I mean they're experiencing that in real time
and it's bringing them through that loss
or that the cost of discipleship
Dietrich Bonhoeffer back in the 1930s
wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship
and that book talked about
where he, a famous line of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by the way, he's the one who came out against the Fuhrer
you know who the Fuhrer was? Adolf Hitler
and he preached a sermon saying
we've got to stop this, we cannot
this is about to get bad
he actually called it, he knew what was coming
and it happened when as soon as he became Chancellor
as the Fuhrer
when Hitler became Chancellor
he turned on the people and turned on the Jewish people
Jewish Germans
and began to decimate, destroy and murder millions
and he called it, he saw it coming
and he said this famous line
Jesus bids a man come and die
Wow, welcome to the Christian faith
die
what's interesting is there are believers
there are followers of Jesus, apprentices of Christ
all over the world
who will lose their life today
because of their stand for Christianity
their stand for Jesus
they will be called upon to give up their life
I believe it's going to happen in America
it's an evil world
it is
so when I say living up in a down world
I'm not just that, I'm the most positive person you'll meet
but I'm also realistic
this world is fallen
that's why I use the term down world
because it's a fallen world, it's fallen down
and so
to think that everything is going to be
smooth sailing
man, I'm going to put on my rose colored glasses
and everything is great
I've got peace and nothing will ever break again
and no one will ever be upset with me
no one will ever gossip about me
or slander me
man, everybody is going to be so happy
that I found Jesus
it's just not true
there will be many that are, there will be many that will cheer you on
but there will be many who will try to tear you down
it's the crab in the bucket syndrome
right
it sure is
go ahead
I just didn't know if you just kind of looked at me like that
I know what it is, you tell the audience what it is
crab in the bucket syndrome, okay I'll tell you
crab in the bucket syndrome is this
if you put a group of crabs into a bucket
they will all start to try to crawl out
they'll claw their way up the side
and as soon as one gets up a certain amount
another one will pull them back down
because they're trying to get up too
and of course they have no sense of space
or boundaries
so they'll actually pull each other down
where if any one of them waited
they could all get out of the bucket
but they won't
because they're trying so hard to get out
they pull each other back down
and that is really a picture of the world today
where we don't want you to succeed
we don't want you to have peace
we don't want you to have
joy and life and exuberance
and vitality
so we're just going to pull you down
we're going to pull you down to our level
and there are people who don't like the fact
that you're smiling now
and like the fact that you have peace now
like the fact that you
turn your Christian music up
when you get in the car
or you're not joining them in all the escapades
you used to
or all you talk about is Jesus when you're sitting at the dinner table
where you used to it was all about
something else
and now you're talking about church and God
and oh my goodness it's been so amazing
and some people they're so in that dark
down place
and what they want is for you to enjoy life
and it's hard on them
and listen to what happened to this guy
so he gets healed
he gets crazy amazing
and people are all amazed
Peter saw it
he realizes they're all amazed
and they think Peter and John did it
and they said look men of Israel why do you marvel at this
or why do you look so intently at us
though by our own power or godliness
we made this lame man walk
this isn't us
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
the God of our fathers glorified
his servant Jesus whom you delivered up
and denied in the presence of Pilate
he kind of throws down there
when he was determined to let him go
but you denied the Holy one and the just
and asked for a murder
he's just going off on these guys
this is your fault
and then look what he says
in his name, Jesus name
and his name through faith in his name
has made this man strong whom you see and know
and he says the faith which comes through him
has given him this perfect soundness
in the presence of you all
and he goes on and on
and he tells them what to do, they need to repent
they need to be converted, they need to give
their lives to God
and receive Christ
so he goes on and on
and it all looks good but then
on the heels of all of this, man everything looks amazing
right? This guy from
birth is now running around
singing the praises of God
Peter and John, people want to put him on their shoulders
and carry him around, they're going no, no, no
it's not us, it's God, look what happens
verse 4, or chapter 4
now as they spoke to the people, the priests
the captain of the temple
and the Sadducees came upon them
being greatly disturbed that they
taught the people and preached in Jesus
the resurrection from the dead
and they laid hands on them and put them
in custody until the next day for it was already
evening, however
many of those who heard the word believed
and the number of the men came to about
5,000
this miracle set off a
revival, however
it wasn't met with all cheers
it was met with some jeers, right?
So you've got these religious
people saying, oh no, no, no
we cannot have this, we cannot
have this, and so
all of this happens
and then Peter and John
have to address those religious
leaders, it's called the Sanhedrin, the 70
they had to address them and kind of
give a defense the next day
and so they do that and they talk about
it, and the response
from the religious leaders
is they forbid them
to speak in the name of Jesus
I mean, they just, a real
deal, bona fide miracle
transformed life, 5,000
people
have their lives transformed in a
moment, and they're saying, you can never
speak in this name
again, I mean that was what they
that was literally they said. It's kind of
like what political seems happening
right now with Christians
they don't want us to speak out
the same thing. They don't want us to
they don't want us to address the issues
in culture, I remember one time
I spoke out, this had been years
ago, and I remember this
this individual, I won't say who
it is, but they said to me
in this dark, dark
maniacal way
she said this, she said
you're in my house now
because in her mind, because I'm a
pastor, I don't have a right
to speak into Black Lives Matter
I don't have a right to speak into
the riots
I don't have a right to speak into culture
I don't have a right to speak into the political
world, because that's her
house, not mine, as though
I have no right to speak
I have no opinion, she was
basically telling me, you need to stay over on
your side of the fence, you're a
preacher, keep it in the church
and all that has been for me
is like, today that's like
saying, sick them to a dog
you tell me I don't have a right to speak, I'm
gonna show you different, because
what she doesn't know is
she actually set something on fire in me
it took a while to catch
but boy, that I've never
forgot, I even remember
you're in my house now, I'm like
oh no, this is God's house, don't
even, don't even
and that is a motivator for me to speak out
and let it be known
so look what happens, so they command
them not to speak or to preach in the name
of Jesus, and here's the result
but Peter and John answered and said to
them, whether it is right in the side
of God to listen to you more than to
God, you judge
for we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen
and heard, and at the end
of the day they simply said
no way Jose
no, you can't tell us not because
we know what we've experienced
which is why we still have to speak out
even if not everybody's as excited
as we are, which
shouldn't stop us from telling
good news, which is what the gospel
is, you can't unsee
what you've seen, you can't unhear
what you've heard, and you cannot
un-experience, to use a non-word
what you've experienced, salvation
in itself
is a miracle, think about it
it's a miracle, absolutely, absolutely
the fact that we have
an opportunity to
receive God who
created us
into our lives and
go on a journey with him
and allowing
him to use us in the
way that he needs to use us
to get this gospel out, yes
it's a miracle, it's a
privilege and a blessing
to be able to do that
it is, we get to do this
to shrink
back because
someone doesn't like it
who are we trying to please here? Exactly
there it is, and that's what Peter and John
modeled for us, you know, doesn't
matter what you think, we cannot
help but speak of what we've seen and heard
so, we want to encourage you
because there's going to be times when you're
going to feel like
I don't know if I should say something, I don't know if I
should say something, but let me tell you something
you cannot help but speak
about what you've seen and heard, you cannot
unexperience what you've experienced, you can't
unsee what you've seen or unhear what you've heard
we want to encourage you, speak
speak up, speak out
God's given you a voice, He's
given you a testimony
and take your testimony
and speak about Jesus, let's make
much of Jesus, yes, absolutely
get the word out there, amen, amen
we just don't want you to be discouraged when
everyone is excited for you
as you are, that's just the reality
of it, but there will be so many more that
are, let that build you
up and don't worry about the naysayers
and if God is for you, who can be
against you, ooh good girl
hey listen, it's been great, I want to read
one boostogram, it's super cool, it was sent
to us from My Thrill to Learn It
he says, thank you for this valuable
message, especially for those of us
that have a sort of inferiority complex
and feel as though we may not do enough
for Christ in our lifetime
man, God is for you, my friend
he says, I'm a no agenda
listener and I'm glad your ministry is catching
fire, and then he introduces
us to a teacher that he likes
named John Barnett, so I'm going to check out that
YouTube video, but just want to say
thank you for writing in, thank you for the boost
and thank you My Thrill to Learn It
for just sending a note in and letting
us know that good things are happening
we didn't get many notes this week
usually we get a bunch, but very quiet
this week, but we did get a lot
of new subscribers, so I want to say
welcome to all the new subscribers
again, go to livingupinadowndworld.com
by the way, I write a daily devotional
I post every morning on there
so all you have to do is go to that website
and click on blog, and all
of them are there, so you'll see
dozens of them, because I do them
every day, and they're designed to
encourage you in your walk with Jesus
so that you can say it loud
and proud, I'm a follower of Jesus, I'm an
apprentice of Christ, I'm a disciple
and so anyway, check it out
we love you, we want to hear from you
have an amazing week, alright, get us
out of here, what do you need to do?
What do I need to do? Say goodbye
Say goodbye, you say goodbye
Goodbye everybody, we love you
and have a great week
have an amazing week on purpose, keep living
living up in the down world
you