WEBVTT 00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:22.179 Hey friend, you're tuned into the Semi -Seminarian, 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:25.699 our Sunday episodes we call Theology in Three 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:29.199 Chords. Where scripture and song meet somewhere 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:32.700 between the altar and the jukebox and grace ride 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:35.899 shotgun and a rusted out truck full of memory. 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:39.719 Maybe tonight you're driving home after a long 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.200 shift or you're up late wondering if your best 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.859 years are behind you. Maybe someone said your 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:48.259 name wrong today. Maybe someone didn't say your 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:52.020 name at all. Maybe you've been the strong one 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:54.240 for too long and no one's noticed the cracks. 00:00:54.659 --> 00:00:59.329 Either way. I'm glad you're here. This place 00:00:59.329 --> 00:01:03.990 is for you. Tonight's track is one of those rare 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:07.969 birds. Simple, quiet, and honest enough to heal 00:01:07.969 --> 00:01:10.310 you without asking for a single performance. 00:01:11.510 --> 00:01:14.069 It's called Dings, and it's by my friend and 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:18.250 Oklahoma folk prophet, Mike McClure. Now don't 00:01:18.250 --> 00:01:21.150 let the plainness fool you. Song carries more 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.670 gospel than a tent revival on a hot August night. 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:27.269 It's a testimony wrapped in melody. It is a beatitude 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:32.750 sung in 404 time. In the heart of it, a line 00:01:32.750 --> 00:01:34.849 that will stay with you longer than the tune 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:39.849 itself. I got a good old soul. It's just got 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:44.290 a few dings. You know what? That is the kind 00:01:44.290 --> 00:01:48.810 of honesty I'd trust with my last prayer. I'll 00:01:48.810 --> 00:02:01.290 see you on the other side. So as we're going 00:02:01.290 --> 00:02:03.450 to do, I'm going to begin with verse one, one 00:02:03.450 --> 00:02:08.430 that I call the Annaween Blues. And Mike opens 00:02:08.430 --> 00:02:12.349 the song saying, I am just a poor boy. I ain't 00:02:12.349 --> 00:02:16.139 got a dollar to my name. And that right there 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:18.360 is an identity statement, not just economic, 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:21.360 it's theological as well. That's Lazarus at the 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:25.219 gate, a poor sick beggar in one of Jesus' parables 00:02:25.219 --> 00:02:27.639 who was ignored by the rich and comforted by 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:31.340 God. That's Job with a shaved head, the Old Testament 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:33.800 sufferer who lost everything and still said the 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:39.129 Lord gives and the Lord takes away. And? That's 00:02:39.129 --> 00:02:42.069 Jesus in Philippians 2, emptying himself, laying 00:02:42.069 --> 00:02:44.830 down his divine privilege to walk among the broken, 00:02:44.949 --> 00:02:49.009 choosing humility and sacrifice over status and 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:53.090 strength. He's claiming kinship with the Anoim. 00:02:53.270 --> 00:02:57.229 Let me tell you about them. The Anoim, that's 00:02:57.229 --> 00:03:02.229 Hebrew for the lowly, the humble, the ones this 00:03:02.229 --> 00:03:07.530 world forgot, but who God remembers first. They 00:03:07.530 --> 00:03:09.830 are the people without leverage, no platform, 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:13.330 no security net, but they're also the ones clinging 00:03:13.330 --> 00:03:17.150 to God like it's their only lifeline. And the 00:03:17.150 --> 00:03:20.750 gospel twist is God says they inherit the kingdom. 00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:25.270 So if you've ever felt overlooked, out of place, 00:03:25.289 --> 00:03:27.849 or too poor in spirit to pray, you're exactly 00:03:27.849 --> 00:03:33.189 the kind of person God tends to lift up. But 00:03:33.189 --> 00:03:38.210 I have a love inside that won't lead to no blame. 00:03:38.409 --> 00:03:41.270 That's 1 Corinthians 13 with his boots on. Love 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:46.250 keeps no record of wrongs. He doesn't carry condemnation, 00:03:46.250 --> 00:03:50.110 not for others, not for himself. That's what 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:54.250 makes this soul rare. It's also what makes it 00:03:54.250 --> 00:04:00.229 good. Now let me ask you something real. Have 00:04:00.229 --> 00:04:01.710 you ever been blamed for things you couldn't 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:06.469 fix? Have you ever carried the weight of someone 00:04:06.469 --> 00:04:08.389 else's shame like it was stitched to your own 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:16.069 skin? If so, this line to liberation. It's permission 00:04:16.069 --> 00:04:21.910 to let go. He continues, I know your wicked ways 00:04:21.910 --> 00:04:26.769 because I have been down too. That's solidarity, 00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:29.550 not superiority. He's not coming from a pulpit. 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:32.790 He's coming from the ditch right beside you. 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:37.560 Paul says in Romans chapter 3, all have sinned, 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:39.779 fallen short of the glory of God. He doesn't 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:42.220 say I was better than you. He says I've been 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:46.740 there. And if we're honest, it's the kind of 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:50.920 preacher we all need. But you won't need to point 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.180 your finger at me, because I won't point mine 00:04:54.180 --> 00:05:00.500 at you. Now this line is Jesus all the way. Woman 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:04.889 caught in adultery. Angry crowd ready. Stones 00:05:04.889 --> 00:05:08.750 in hand. Jesus bends down and writes in the dark. 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:13.889 Let the one without sin cast the first stone. 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:20.189 And nobody throws a thing. Mike's just putting 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:22.870 that moment to melody. Four lines that tear down 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:27.769 the whole scoreboard of shame. So here's a question 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:31.949 for the road. Who have you been tempted to judge 00:05:31.949 --> 00:05:36.170 lately? What if they were just walking their 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:42.009 own road, wounds and weight? Then we get to the 00:05:42.009 --> 00:05:47.170 chorus. Because it's the trials and tribulations 00:05:47.170 --> 00:05:50.889 and all the awkward situations that the living 00:05:50.889 --> 00:05:56.750 brings. That's the gospel in plain speech. The 00:05:56.750 --> 00:06:01.069 hard stuff is the holy stuff. Real growth doesn't 00:06:01.069 --> 00:06:04.149 happen at the altar call. It happens. When your 00:06:04.149 --> 00:06:07.750 voice shakes and you still show up. Let's name 00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:13.029 it. It's the family fight at the holidays. It's 00:06:13.029 --> 00:06:14.550 the prayer that didn't get answered the way you 00:06:14.550 --> 00:06:17.730 hoped. The silence of a God who still loves you 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:21.709 even when you don't feel it. That's where grace 00:06:21.709 --> 00:06:27.449 grows. And it's the trying and believing that 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:31.920 they'll be flying after grieving. It's not sentimental. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.379 It's resurrection theology. There's no rising 00:06:34.379 --> 00:06:37.079 without the ache. There's no Easter morning without 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:42.220 Friday. If you're grieving today, grieving what 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:44.779 was, what should have been, or what you used 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:48.699 to be, just know the wings, they come later. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:54.899 And in the end, we all must go our own way. We've 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:58.879 got a good old soul. It's just got a few dings. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.800 That line used to scare me, go our own way. It 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:09.060 sounded lonely. But maybe it just means no one 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:14.740 else can walk your road for you. And maybe the 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:19.339 road itself is sacred. Not because it's smooth, 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:22.639 but because grace keeps showing up all along 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.439 the way. Your dings, they're not proof you failed. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:32.660 They're proof you've lived. Ah, verse three, 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.319 the gold mine. And I have found that judgment, 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:42.259 it does nothing, but it puts a weight on me. 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:45.920 This is confession, plain and true. Judgment, 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:48.240 whether it comes from others or from yourself, 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:52.980 doesn't sanctify, it suffocates. Doesn't sharpen 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:57.060 your conscience, it shackles your joy. Maybe 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.180 you've been weighed down by someone else's expectations, 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.920 someone else's churchified shame. Or maybe you've 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.139 been the one holding the scales, waiting for 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:10.120 someone to tip wrong. Either way, that weight, 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:12.500 it's not yours to carry. Jesus said, come to 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:14.720 me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:21.519 give you rest. And I'd rather walk upon the water. 00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:25.250 Then go sinking like a stone into your sea. He's 00:08:25.250 --> 00:08:29.670 reaching for faith here, even shaky, barefooted 00:08:29.670 --> 00:08:34.490 faith. He'd rather risk trust than drown in someone 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:38.830 else's bitterness. It's Peter stepping out of 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:41.169 the boat, fixing his eyes on Jesus, not the waves. 00:08:41.289 --> 00:08:44.649 But it's also a quiet refusal to be pulled into 00:08:44.649 --> 00:08:49.330 someone else's undertow. And maybe you know what 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:53.259 that feels like, choosing not to spiral. even 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:59.759 what would be easiest just to sink. So I'm trying 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:02.620 to lighten up, yeah, and leave all that behind. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:05.259 This is repentance by way of release, not a guilt 00:09:05.259 --> 00:09:10.100 trip. It's a backpack drop. He's letting go, 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:13.080 not of responsibility, but of resentment, of 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.200 judgment, of everything that tries to keep him 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:21.360 heavy when God wants to keep him light. Because 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.779 I ain't found nothing worth much more to me than 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:26.559 my own peace of mind. And friend, that's it. 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:31.860 That's the altar of the song. Not success, not 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:38.159 status, not being right. Peace. If you've ever 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:41.240 traded your peace to keep the peace, if you've 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.379 ever gone quiet to avoid conflict or loud to 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:47.679 hide fear, this line's for you. Because you know 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:52.019 what Mike teaches us? Peace of mind ain't cheap. 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:57.019 But it is holy. And you need to guard it like 00:09:57.019 --> 00:10:03.679 a gospel treasure. So what do we do with a soul 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:09.519 like that? We name it as blessed. And we don't 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.879 send it down. We honor the wear. Because maybe 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:15.879 the soul with few dings is the one that actually 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:21.549 finally gets light enough to fly. And maybe the 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:24.090 next time someone asks you how you're doing, 00:10:24.149 --> 00:10:26.590 you don't have to say fine. Maybe you can just 00:10:26.590 --> 00:10:33.429 say still good. Just a few dings. And maybe that's 00:10:33.429 --> 00:10:36.950 going to be enough. Maybe that's going to be 00:10:36.950 --> 00:10:39.129 enough for you to be able to breathe a little 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:51.440 easier too. This song, friend. It is a psalm 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:55.440 of second chances. It is a beatitude for the 00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:00.220 bruised. So if nobody said it lately, you know 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:04.600 what? You're doing better than you think. You're 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:08.279 not falling apart. You're just being reshaped. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.559 And you're not disqualified by your dings. You're 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:16.899 testified by them. They mean you've been through 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:21.799 it and still have love inside. So go on. Say 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.440 grace. Guard your peace. Don't point fingers. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:28.779 And when the grief settles like the dust, remember 00:11:28.779 --> 00:11:34.019 there will still be flying. If you need a place 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:38.360 to come back to, come here. Pull up a chair beside 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.399 me and this old mic. We'll save you a spot every 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.860 single week. You don't have to clean up to tune 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:48.379 in. You just have to show up with your good old 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:52.899 soul, dings and all. Because grace doesn't come 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:55.840 to be polished. It comes to be real. And you, 00:11:55.960 --> 00:12:02.539 friend, you're real. Hey, I'll see you next time. 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:17.139 Until then, be blessed. Chapter 6. Therefore, 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:19.399 leaving the church closed on the doctrine of 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:20.899 Christ, let us go on.