WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.940 Abba Father, what a privilege to be with you 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:04.559 today. We honor you in everything we do and say 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.960 we consecrate this time to you. We give everyone 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:11.599 and everything to you. And we thank you for your 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:14.800 goodness, your grace, your mercy, and for the 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:18.300 fact that we get to do this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:22.739 Amen. It's Wednesday, April 22nd. We get to do 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:42.759 this. This is episode number 29. We get to do 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.619 this. Hello, everybody. And hello, my brother, 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.979 Jimmy. Pastor Jimmy. Brother. 29 episodes. We're 00:00:48.979 --> 00:00:50.579 racking them up, man. Is that like half a year 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:52.679 almost? That's like more than half a year, isn't 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:54.640 it? How many weeks are there? 52 weeks. 52 weeks. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:56.479 So yeah, over six months. So we're over the halfway 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.439 mark. You know, most podcasts podfade at seven 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.060 episodes. That's where they go away. I get it 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:05.099 now. And I'm happy we're both here in the Bridge 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:07.260 Church Studios in Fredericksburg, Texas. You 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:09.439 were actually supposed to be somewhere in the 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:13.459 Dallas area, I think? Yes, yes. Big TP Faith 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:16.719 event for pastors, and Ned and I signed up for 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:18.750 it. Have you ever signed up for something and 00:01:18.750 --> 00:01:20.049 then when it gets there, you're like, what were 00:01:20.049 --> 00:01:23.230 we thinking? Oh, this happens about 10 times 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:27.329 a year for me. Yes, yes, yes. You know, we had 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:30.569 a big Saturday, you and I, and then we were together 00:01:30.569 --> 00:01:33.049 Thursday night, Friday night, all day Saturday. 00:01:33.349 --> 00:01:36.750 I hope you're not tired of my mug. And so, and 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:39.150 then even that, we had Wednesday night, then 00:01:39.150 --> 00:01:40.989 we had dinner Tuesday. I mean, it's just one 00:01:40.989 --> 00:01:45.689 of those weeks where I was so tired by the time 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:48.140 Monday rolled around. Of course, we have two 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:55.409 shows on. So I was toasted. I was so tired. I 00:01:55.409 --> 00:01:57.670 haven't been this tired in a long time to the 00:01:57.670 --> 00:02:01.250 weather. It has to do with gray and like Seattle, 00:02:01.250 --> 00:02:03.909 Washington. This is what I grew up in Amsterdam. 00:02:04.090 --> 00:02:06.890 It's like a car wash. It's like a nonstop six 00:02:06.890 --> 00:02:09.310 month car wash. And it starts to, especially 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:12.870 to us sunny people, we live in perpetual sunshine 00:02:12.870 --> 00:02:15.469 here in the hill country and we need the rain, 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:17.370 by the way. I'm very thankful. I'm not complaining 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:19.599 about the rain. I'm just saying. It's a factor 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.560 in your mindset and this sense of being tired. 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:28.580 And so I woke up on, you know, we were going 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:32.039 to go Monday morning over to the airport in San 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:35.580 Antonio. We start driving and it is a complete 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:37.800 deluge. Like a wall of water on the highway. 00:02:38.099 --> 00:02:40.300 We're not talking about mist because we've had 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:42.560 a lot of that, which is really nice. Good rain. 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:47.020 But this is like full on thunderstorm. Water 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:50.039 my car's hydroplaning. Oh, really? Oh, yeah, 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:53.300 and that is scary when that happens So it you 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:54.979 know, and that's a little nervy about driving 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:56.919 in the rain anyway, and she doesn't like flying 00:02:56.919 --> 00:02:58.919 in the rain You didn't like flying and no, no, 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:02.060 actually Really? Well, the landings are very 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:05.060 it's just liquid sunshine about that. Yeah, we 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:08.120 got that figured out a big deal. I mean Other 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:10.479 than when we got halfway there, we were like, 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.960 we're about to get into San Antonio. I'm already 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.580 hydroplaning. Everybody's slowing down to, you 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:18.259 know, 45 on the interstate. I mean, it was that 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:20.780 bad. And we were looking at the radar and it 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:25.319 was continuous all the way. I do on my phone. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:31.199 Oh, wow. These Japanese cars, man. Radar, okay, 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:34.520 on your phone. We looked at the app and it was 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:36.060 not going to let up. It's also, it was doing 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:39.240 the same thing in Dallas, Fort Worth. So I looked 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.400 over at her and I said, how about we go back 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:46.240 home? I did not have to argue my point. She said, 00:03:46.419 --> 00:03:49.840 let's turn around. So we did. And then, so we 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.879 were supposed to be gone all week. So Tuesday 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.139 night rolls around, no Monday night rolls around. 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:58.699 So now we're home, right? Bonus. I was sworn 00:03:58.699 --> 00:04:00.860 to secrecy. I was told I couldn't tell anybody 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:02.919 y 'all were home. You couldn't at that point. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.259 We were incognito. Yes, you had like your private... 00:04:06.259 --> 00:04:08.460 Even my daughter didn't know. She's keeping her 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:11.460 dog. Two day date night. Oh, even the dog wasn't 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:13.219 there. Even the dog, yeah. Goodness gracious. 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.240 So we played hooky. Nice. Took a personal day. 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:18.699 It's a nice way of saying playing hooky. And 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:20.980 we had such a good time. I feel rested. I feel 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:23.480 kind of back. Although when the sun comes out, 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:25.079 that'll make it official because right now I'm 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.779 still feeling that blah, the blues from this 00:04:28.779 --> 00:04:31.610 perpetual rain. It's all good. Yeah, so it was 00:04:31.610 --> 00:04:35.670 really nice. We had the Thursday, we had dinner 00:04:35.670 --> 00:04:38.170 with you guys, right? We did, yes. We came over 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:39.790 to the house. Which has been a while. Annette 00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:42.889 made her chicken Alfredo. It was fantastic. Oh 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:44.449 my gosh, I love it. It's one of my favorites. 00:04:44.589 --> 00:04:46.649 And of course, you know, we wind up talking about 00:04:46.649 --> 00:04:48.509 God, the world, and other things. And so we didn't 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:50.670 leave until probably a quarter to 10, I think, 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:53.430 which is late for all of us. Because we're AARP 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:55.449 members, people. I know, right, right. And then 00:04:55.449 --> 00:04:57.910 Friday we had Rob, the constitutional lawyer, 00:04:58.009 --> 00:05:00.779 his lovely wife, Maggie, and you. You guys over? 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:03.139 Sweet time. That also was not an early night. 00:05:03.339 --> 00:05:06.319 And then Saturday, we had to leave early to be 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.480 obedient to the Word of God, to not forget people 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.139 in jail. That's right. So we went and visited 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:12.019 our friends. So we went to prison. We went to 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:15.600 prison in Bastrop. And you drove. Last time we 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.839 went, I drove, and you drove. When I got home, 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:22.680 I'm like, what is wrong? You were nodding off 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:24.899 in the car while I'm yacking away over there. 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:26.759 I was glad you were yacking because I was like, 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:28.660 oh, Jimmy's talking to me. OK, I'm still here. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:32.980 But my whole left side was, I think because I 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:35.660 was leaning over and listening to you and I'm 00:05:35.660 --> 00:05:38.779 always in the drive. I'm never really in the 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:42.899 passenger seat. And what is just my whole. back 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:44.600 and my son, Tina, immediately was like, would 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:48.040 you probably have a kidney stone? I was going 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:49.720 to go to the ER. I'm like, no, I'm going to be 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.180 okay. I'm sure it's not that. Meanwhile, when 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:56.480 her eyes click and she won't go to see the doctor, 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:58.740 you know, it turns out she had three contact 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:01.600 lenses stuck in there for a week. Tell me about 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:05.360 it. But then it just kept going. I kept feeling 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:09.360 worn down and Sunday. I get up early to prep 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.339 the show and then come to church and go back 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:13.740 and prep and do the show. And I was just feeling 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:17.459 down. I'm like tired and even standing up and 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:21.300 you know, worshiping. I was really, I think you 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:23.399 saw it probably like, yeah, Adam does not look 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:25.740 good. But I was feeling it too, but I wasn't 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:29.379 like under anything. So if I felt the way I did 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:31.720 and you had a little more going on, that was 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:36.259 rough. Well, so Monday was Sabbath and I observed 00:06:36.259 --> 00:06:39.279 it well. But then Tuesday rolls around like, 00:06:39.459 --> 00:06:41.660 ah, something's still not right. Because now 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:44.500 I'm sneezing. I got a sore throat. I'm like, 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:48.259 hold on a second. This same thing happened in 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:50.160 January and it was a whole week. I didn't know 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:52.160 what I had until I figured out it was allergies 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.139 and it was raining then too. So I think, and 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:58.240 I looked at the pollen count and I haven't had 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.800 this. This is new. Thanks. This is a new thing 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:02.740 all of a sudden. Welcome to Texas. Welcome to 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:04.480 age. I don't know. Maybe that's it. Could be 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.779 there. And, you know, so when it's raining, when 00:07:06.779 --> 00:07:08.459 we have high pollen count, of course, I walk 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:12.579 the dog three times a day. I've been terrorized 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:14.699 by my wife about my hoodie. So I've been wearing 00:07:14.699 --> 00:07:16.819 the same hoodie for several days in a row. And 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:19.319 of course, the pollen is sticking to that. You 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.839 know, I said this morning, I apologize in advance, 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:25.439 there's three hoodies in the washbasket, because 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:28.600 it's really not good to have, you know, to keep 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:31.560 wearing them. So anyway, now I know what it is. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:35.230 I got Claritin, I'll be okay. But I'm like, And 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:37.350 Tina's like, can you do the show? I said, darn 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:42.990 it. The show always goes on. Always. Are you 00:07:42.990 --> 00:07:45.790 kidding me? We love to be here. We do. We do 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.649 get to do this. And again, not just some silly 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:51.610 thing we came up with. It is really a, it's a 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:53.769 mantra of life. I mean, it's, it's like a, it's 00:07:53.769 --> 00:07:56.329 a slogan. It's a, it's a, it's something to stand, 00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:59.550 it's a declaration. Amen. We do. Even though 00:07:59.550 --> 00:08:01.810 we don't feel well, even though we're a little 00:08:01.810 --> 00:08:04.339 under. No, actually makes me feel better. Makes 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:07.740 me feel better to do it. I will have to blow 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:09.699 my nose and we don't have a mute button, so you'll 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:11.980 hear that in a moment. However, I had a question 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:14.240 for you because the enemy has been working so 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:19.180 hard in these past few weeks and man, I've been 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:22.240 observing what our president is doing and there's 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.480 so much stuff under the radar that even I missed 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:32.259 about tariffs. It's really complicated. Do you 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:35.159 want to do a briefing this Sunday? I would like 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.179 to. Yeah, because I can probably write it in 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:39.779 a small paragraph so people get an understanding 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:43.879 of what it is. I'm still unpacking it, but here's 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:47.399 a man who is putting everything on the line for 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:50.059 our grandchildren. The things he's doing will 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:54.120 come to fruition in 27, 28, 29. They will not 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:59.750 be reversible. There is pain still to come in 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:02.570 these next few years. And all I can say is, you 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:04.070 know, this is the moment. We're going to have 00:09:04.070 --> 00:09:07.129 to lay down in the mud face down so our kids 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:09.509 can walk over our backs to get to the next spot. 00:09:09.669 --> 00:09:12.070 And I think he sees it. He does not care what 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:15.309 people think about him. He does not. Now, that 00:09:15.309 --> 00:09:20.769 said, the oddest thing, and this took me by surprise, 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:25.299 was this picture of him which immediately was 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:29.639 deemed as blasphemous. He's acting like Jesus. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:34.120 People lost their mind over that. And a lot of 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.259 close friends of mine, family members, believers. 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:42.259 I was surprised. I'm like, hold on a second. 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:45.019 First of all, which version is the real one? 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:48.759 Because within seconds there were all different 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:52.299 versions of this spun up by AI. And the one I 00:09:52.299 --> 00:09:56.600 saw, Yeah, it had him in a red robe and he has 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:59.399 lights coming from he also had fighter jets and 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:03.000 helicopters and all kinds of you know war stuff 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.899 in the background and if it didn't say on the 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:11.799 caption Trump being like Jesus. I might not have 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:14.559 thought that right away. It wasn't like a white 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:17.620 robe You know, what was your impression? Actually, 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:21.220 it was white with a red scarf Okay, so it was 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.399 a white. Oh, okay. So I only saw the red I didn't 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:27.379 even see yeah, so my impression was oh, this 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:31.480 is a bad move Mm -hmm. This is just bad move. 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.080 I think somebody generated it He got a hold of 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.740 it. If my understanding is like months ago apparently 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:40.419 and he got a hold of it and reposted it like 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:44.559 he often does Yeah, and we know how he is with 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.000 his true social posts. Yes. It was anything out 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.850 there. Yes. Yeah He doesn't care. But I did think 00:10:51.850 --> 00:10:57.450 it was poor taste, poor form. But I didn't vote 00:10:57.450 --> 00:11:00.970 for a pastor. I voted for a man who could get 00:11:00.970 --> 00:11:06.110 things done. He's getting it done. But also, 00:11:06.870 --> 00:11:08.870 Christian people are losing their mind over this. 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:11.990 And I'm thinking, guys, what were you like when 00:11:11.990 --> 00:11:15.059 you were brand new to the faith? And I don't 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.340 even know if he's fully all the way in. I've 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:20.340 been told by somebody close to him that he is 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:23.179 for sure a born -again believer, but then I've 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:25.039 heard some of the things he said on camera that 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:29.039 he himself said, well, I hope I make it. I don't 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:34.120 think he's been discipled per se or is really 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:38.000 digging into this to the faith because he's got 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.720 a lot of stuff on his plate. I'm sad to say that 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:46.580 that usurps and a lot of that. So my thought 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:50.779 was, I'm not going to go down the path. I didn't 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.460 feel the need to go on all the social media platforms 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:57.159 and give my voice. Your opinion. Because a bunch 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:59.980 of my pastor friends felt compelled to get out 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:03.399 there. Yeah. And what I hope I've learned over 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:06.820 the years as I get more mature, is that a better 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:13.220 word? As I get more mature, is to respond not 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:17.620 react and You don't always have to respond period. 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:21.299 Yeah, I think it's There's this culture right 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:24.159 now among influencers and wannabe influencers 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:28.340 that every time something happens and One person 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:31.879 starts to react it starts a domino effect. Yeah, 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:34.419 it's literally like a snowball going down a hill 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:38.639 It's just gathering more and more and then people 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.919 feel FOMO If they don't respond, I'm being left 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.779 out because all my fans, all my followers need 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:49.179 to hear from me as though we're the last voice. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:55.000 This has always bothered me. In podcasting, we 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.659 started with the term subscribe. You subscribe 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:01.379 to a podcast and that changed when social media, 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:05.580 and I was not a believer at the time, but when 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:08.539 Twitter was actually a podcast company called 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:12.169 Odeo. Oh, yeah, and they pivoted very early on 00:13:12.169 --> 00:13:14.450 and became a social media network kind of the 00:13:14.450 --> 00:13:18.669 first one based on the Publish subscribe mechanism 00:13:18.669 --> 00:13:21.710 of podcasting you only got 44 characters to begin 00:13:21.710 --> 00:13:23.730 with that was enough. That was another interesting 00:13:23.730 --> 00:13:29.009 part of it 144 Correct, but they changed the 00:13:29.009 --> 00:13:32.139 term to follow And at the time, I'm like, wow, 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:34.299 that is so much better than subscribe, because 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:37.320 subscribe is a complicated word. People who were 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:39.840 new at the time were talking over 20 years ago, 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.539 were like, does this cost me money, et cetera, 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.200 et cetera. And then they changed it to follow. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:49.259 And now, particularly in the context of social 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:52.419 media, that bugs me. The same way people call 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:55.259 themselves creators. I mean, I know I'm being 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:58.639 anal about it, but it just bugs me. I hear you 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.419 because people use the term, my followers. That's 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:06.580 just bizarre. If you take a step back, in context 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:09.000 you may not think anything, but if you take a 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.080 step from the outside looking in and go, whoa, 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.879 what am I saying here? If you're saying you have 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.779 followers, that's false idol. I mean, there's 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:21.480 idolization, idolatry. There's all kinds of stuff 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:25.659 that is happening deep within your psyche. Just 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:29.860 like we used to be podcasters or YouTubers. I'm 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:33.600 a creator. Yeah, no, you're not. I'm just going 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.259 to be a real douche about that. No, you're not. 00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:38.559 There's one creator. People don't like it when 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:43.879 I get into that. But anyway, so you've got, yes, 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:48.059 you have this incessant need for people to respond, 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:53.019 react. And it was immediate. And I saw people 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:57.240 go from, OK, the president, you know, people 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.159 don't really follow closely what the president 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:02.759 is doing and your media is no friend to you at 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.639 all, at all, at all, nor is your social media. 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:09.299 Right. The actual things happening are highly 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:11.600 technical. They're not being discussed. People 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:14.440 don't, you know, if I tell you Article 232 of 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:19.519 the 1962 steel import laws, you wouldn't know 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.919 what that is and it would be kind of boring for 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.539 me to just lay it all out, but that's where changes 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:28.330 are being made, which will dramatically change 00:15:28.330 --> 00:15:31.269 our country. But it was immediate. People like, 00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.490 oh, he's gone too far now. And I'm like, the 00:15:34.490 --> 00:15:38.529 enemy is laughing his butt off. No kidding. He's 00:15:38.529 --> 00:15:42.750 laughing. And I knew I couldn't even defend it. 00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:47.470 And why? Why do we feel the need to? Right. I'm 00:15:47.470 --> 00:15:51.769 like, well, okay. But this is blasphemy. Well, 00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:56.059 you know, it's a bit of an image. So there's 00:15:56.059 --> 00:15:58.639 your president, dot, dot, dot. I'm just like, 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:04.700 what? And so this is the point. And this is what 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:12.379 I'd like our listeners, our followers, I'd like 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:15.759 our church people who are listening to understand 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:21.179 that this is by design. And the enemy hits the 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:23.460 president, too. I'm sure the enemy went, oh, 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.100 don't you see that? Don't you love it? Come on, 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:28.059 man. Don't you want to post it? You look so good. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.039 You look fantastic. Come on. Just one click of 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:33.500 the button. And then right away. No big deal. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:36.500 What's that? No big deal. No big deal, man. Don't 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:38.440 worry about it. People will laugh about it. They'll 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:41.960 love you for it. He's just a man. He's just flesh 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:46.590 and blood. But it is. a structural attack against 00:16:46.590 --> 00:16:50.350 believers in America to separate themselves, 00:16:50.490 --> 00:16:55.970 to split from the president, to split from conservatism. 00:16:56.269 --> 00:16:59.889 It's the political part. It is. And it is abused 00:16:59.889 --> 00:17:03.850 to no end. And we just have to be aware that 00:17:03.850 --> 00:17:07.650 if we participate, we're part of it. And you 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:10.420 lose. You are working for the enemy. Bingo. That 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:13.400 is why I did not respond. I've been actually 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:16.900 resisting a lot of things. You're good for me 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:20.400 because you've helped me pause. You say always 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.559 pause before I say things. My pause is getting 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.140 much longer. It's getting like, whoa, dead air. 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:28.200 Dead air from Pastor Jimmy isn't saying anything. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:30.819 I was talking to Pastor Brian about that this 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:35.859 morning in our meeting, but the older, I'll just 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:40.579 say it, the older I get, The more I feel a need 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:44.539 to pause, take a breath, take a step back, push 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:47.420 back from the table before I respond to anything, 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:51.660 because in two days or a week, it'll be gone, 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.359 and we're off to the races on the next thing. 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:56.640 The next thing, yes. I don't want to get on that 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.420 treadmill. I don't want to get on that, remember 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.380 the gerbil wheel? You ever have gerbils when 00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:05.579 you're a kid? The hamster wheel. I mean, they're 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:08.819 just on there nonstop and going nowhere. And 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:12.019 it's like, this is how I see culture right now. 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:14.900 Can you imagine people from outer space with 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:17.420 intelligence looking at us at the way we respond? 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:20.319 And they're like, what are those humans doing? 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.579 I mean, they're - How about this? How about God 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:25.160 looking down on us and going, what are you doing? 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.299 Or the angels who are going, you choose them 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:36.680 over us. We only lost a third of us in the fall, 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:39.759 man. So anyway, I just can't even imagine just 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.759 the outside looking in, how ridiculous we look. 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:46.400 And it's like if you would pause for a moment 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.079 and just start looking at human behavior and 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:53.799 looking at sociology and social constructs, you 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.059 would have to just sit back and go, what are 00:18:56.059 --> 00:19:02.160 we doing? And why does this matter? It doesn't. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.779 It doesn't. It's entertainment at the end of 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:08.359 the day. It is meaningless, as King Solomon would 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:12.539 say. It is, yes, it's entertainment. It's dopamine, 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:16.279 addiction. There was a book written called Amusing 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:20.099 Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, and I think 00:19:20.099 --> 00:19:23.019 his son did a second version of it not too long 00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:25.519 ago. And that's exactly what's happening. We're 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:30.529 amusing ourselves to death. Although I feel a 00:19:30.529 --> 00:19:33.269 change in myself, I'll tell you that. Since I've 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:36.529 kind of moved away from caring about social media, 00:19:37.089 --> 00:19:40.950 honestly, there's not even news from my programs 00:19:40.950 --> 00:19:44.150 in there anymore. It did hurt me a bit when I 00:19:44.150 --> 00:19:47.759 saw Victor Marx get pulled into the whole Candice 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:52.599 Owens thing. Should I call him and say, bro, 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:55.920 what are you doing? What are you doing? It doesn't 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:57.880 matter. It's the old Monty Python thing. Run 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:01.500 away, run away. Don't get it. Don't take the 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:04.480 bait because it is the bait. It's the bait of 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:09.420 Satan. It's the bait of Satan. So this flowed 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:11.839 beautifully into something that I was very much 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:15.440 looking forward to. that happened this week and 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:18.680 happened yesterday. And I was excited about it. 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:22.839 And of course, on the heels of the Messiah meme, 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.339 ooh, there you go, the Messiah meme. There's 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:30.000 a toddle. Yes, there is. It landed. differently. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.440 Here's the setup for it. Later today, President 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.519 Trump will take part in a nationwide Bible reading 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:39.079 from the Oval Office. It's part of a week -long 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:42.099 event called America Reads the Bible, where hundreds 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:44.539 of participants are reading scripture from start 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:47.720 to finish. Trump's segment is pre -recorded and 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:50.779 set to air tonight during the 6 p .m. hour, reading 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:53.480 from the Old Testament Book of Second Chronicles. 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.079 The White House is framing the moment as a call 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:59.200 to faith and national identity. In a statement, 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:01.960 Trump said, quote, Together we will honor holy 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:05.180 scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:08.039 resurgence of religion on American shores, and 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.960 rededicate the United States as one nation under 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:13.880 God. The event comes after a week of friction 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:16.579 between Trump and the Pope over the war in Iran 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:19.640 and backlash from some Christians after Trump 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.759 posted, then deleted, an AI -generated image 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:26.170 appearing to show himself as Jesus. Trump in 00:21:26.170 --> 00:21:28.650 prayer and past religious moments shows this 00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:31.670 is not new, from campaign trail appearances to 00:21:31.670 --> 00:21:34.450 the widely seen moment holding a Bible outside 00:21:34.450 --> 00:21:37.930 St. John's Church in Washington in 2020. The 00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:40.730 reading itself is part of a broader push from 00:21:40.730 --> 00:21:43.750 organizers and allies to elevate religion in 00:21:43.750 --> 00:21:47.190 public life, with nearly 500 participants, many 00:21:47.190 --> 00:21:50.819 tied to Trump and the evangelical movement. Tonight's 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:52.980 reading, prominently placed in the evening lineup, 00:21:53.400 --> 00:22:05.880 is expected to draw significant attention. You 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:13.160 know, this is all loaded, which in general is 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:15.720 a beautiful initiative. It's a really good idea. 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:17.779 I don't know if you saw any of it. They had worship 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:20.660 music and all kinds of things going on. And this 00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:23.339 is one of my favorite verses from the Bible. 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:32.920 He does the whole verse. I think there was a 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:37.119 prayer. a call to prayer maybe a year or so ago 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:41.960 for this scripture, that if we humble our ways 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:45.839 and turn to God, that He will hear our prayers 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.839 and we'll heal our land. So the president did 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:51.579 read this whole thing. I thought, do you mind 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:53.819 if we just listen to him read the whole thing? 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:58.119 It's a little over two minutes, but have you 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:00.059 ever heard a president do two and a half minutes 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:02.460 of scripture at any time in your life? No, I 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:04.369 haven't. Neither have I, that I can recall. He 00:23:04.369 --> 00:23:08.269 is an approved translation. Well, you're going 00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:10.829 to have to tell me. I'm curious. I'm curious 00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:13.589 what translation. Thus Solomon finished the house 00:23:13.589 --> 00:23:16.710 of the Lord and the king's house. I know. A beautiful 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:22.730 house. And it was a beautiful house. It was better 00:23:22.730 --> 00:23:27.079 than any house anyone had ever built. Most beautiful 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.559 house ever. I'm sorry. I know, I know. I feel 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:34.039 bad. I'm sorry, listeners. I can't help but laugh. 00:23:34.380 --> 00:23:38.420 There should be a version of that. Saturday Night 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:40.579 Live could do it, and I would probably appreciate 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:42.940 it. All right, here we go. Sorry. Thus Solomon 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:45.099 finished the house of the Lord and the king's 00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:47.940 house, and all that came into Solomon's heart 00:23:47.940 --> 00:23:51.319 to make in the house of the Lord. And in his 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:55.950 own house, he prosperously affected. And the 00:23:55.950 --> 00:23:58.670 Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to 00:23:58.670 --> 00:24:01.950 him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen 00:24:01.950 --> 00:24:05.210 this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 00:24:05.630 --> 00:24:09.630 If I shut up heaven, that there be no rain or 00:24:09.630 --> 00:24:13.009 if I command the locusts to devour the land or 00:24:13.009 --> 00:24:17.690 if I send pestilence among my people, if my people 00:24:17.690 --> 00:24:21.109 which are called by my name shall humble themselves 00:24:21.109 --> 00:24:25.079 and pray and seek my face and turn from their 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:29.640 wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:33.759 will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:35.980 Do you know what version it is yet? It's called 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:38.700 the King James Version, easy read. I've never 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:41.140 heard of this. Oh, you looked it up? Took out 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:44.259 the these and thou's. Took out the Elizabethan, 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:46.779 but they kept the flow of King James. It's kind 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:49.519 of cool. I'm curious. Yeah, well, let's go. Now 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:53.460 my eyes shall be open and my ears a tent. through 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:56.720 the prayer that is made in this place. For now 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:59.579 I have chosen and sanctified this house, that 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:03.059 my name may be there forever, and my eyes and 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:07.880 my heart shall be there perpetually. And as for 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.900 you, if you will walk before me, as David your 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:15.299 father walked, and do according to all that I 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:19.519 have commanded you, and shall observe my statutes 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.839 and my judgments. Then will I establish the throne 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:27.299 of my kingdom according to, as I have covenanted 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:30.759 with David your father, saying there shall not 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:35.359 fail you as a man to be ruler in Israel. But 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:38.920 if you turn away and forsake my statutes and 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:42.079 my commandments, which I have set before you, 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:45.640 and shall go and serve other gods and worship 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:48.759 them, then will I pluck them up from the roots. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.299 out of my land which I have given them, and this 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:56.319 house which I have sanctified for my name will 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:00.680 I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:05.000 a proverb and a byword among nations. And this 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:07.940 house which is high shall be an astonishment 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:11.839 to every one that passes by it, so that he shall 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:16.019 say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:20.299 and to this house? And it shall be answered because 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:24.319 they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:26.940 brought them forth out of the land of Egypt and 00:26:26.940 --> 00:26:30.720 laid hold on other gods and worship them and 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:34.240 serve them. Therefore has he brought all this 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:37.680 evil upon them. Now, if I was a new believer 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:40.099 as a president, I would be like this is a powerful 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:42.259 verse to be saying is particularly coming from 00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:47.009 him. Exactly. And what I've noticed, because 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:49.329 I've heard some people disparage the choice. 00:26:49.849 --> 00:26:52.109 Really? Yes. This is the perfect choice. People 00:26:52.109 --> 00:26:54.829 have disparaged it saying he was putting down 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:57.910 Jerusalem, putting down Israel because he read 00:26:57.910 --> 00:27:01.529 that. All this is in context is Jesus saying, 00:27:02.230 --> 00:27:04.509 if you follow my commands, I will bless you. 00:27:04.509 --> 00:27:06.250 If you don't, you won't be blessed. You're screwed. 00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:10.569 Yeah, it's on you. I already saw some reactions. 00:27:10.630 --> 00:27:13.650 I was like, are you kidding me? I mean, the poor 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:17.690 man, can't do anything without getting slaughtered. 00:27:19.309 --> 00:27:22.109 We have so many believers listening, people who 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:24.950 are decloaking, people who are just coming to 00:27:24.950 --> 00:27:27.970 faith for the first time, people who are returning. 00:27:29.430 --> 00:27:34.269 Inevitably, it's this discourse. I mean, once 00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:38.279 you do Joe Rogan, There's no going back. When 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:40.619 you tell Joe, you're a Jesus freak, it's out 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:44.720 there. So, I feel like I have iron. I do. I have 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:47.779 the armor of God on me all the time because, 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:49.640 like, what are you going to do to me? Like, you're 00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:52.640 not going to change me. It's obvious. But I think 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:55.980 for people, it's so scary when this happens. 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:59.400 And, you know, I haven't looked at social media 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:01.299 responses, but I can already imagine what they 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.900 are. What is a way? How can we respond as believers 00:28:05.639 --> 00:28:07.319 I mean, you don't have to go around and say, 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:09.420 hey, do you see my present? Yeah, he nailed that 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:14.119 Bible verse. No one's looking for that. But when 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:17.279 the conversation comes up, how do you respond 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:21.019 when people say, well, you know, this choice 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:23.599 of his, and of course, these are going to be 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.500 people who are likely not believers who are going 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:28.839 to be disparaging it. What is the appropriate 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:32.160 response? Well, I mean, for me, it's simple. 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:34.750 Thank God we have a president who's willing to 00:28:34.750 --> 00:28:39.730 read the Bible out loud and celebrate that our 00:28:39.730 --> 00:28:42.789 nation was founded on Christian principles. That 00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:45.789 right there will get emails. I don't care. You 00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:48.390 go back and do your history, not the revisionist 00:28:48.390 --> 00:28:50.890 history that we're being taught today, but the 00:28:50.890 --> 00:28:54.750 actual history, first 150 years, the colonies 00:28:54.750 --> 00:29:00.710 were led by pastors and elders and deacons. I 00:29:00.710 --> 00:29:04.509 mean, It's all there. And our president is actually 00:29:04.509 --> 00:29:08.130 stepping into a long line of public servants 00:29:08.130 --> 00:29:11.650 and leaders who simply saying, yeah, this is 00:29:11.650 --> 00:29:14.250 what our country was founded on. This is a good 00:29:14.250 --> 00:29:17.309 thing, and we should return to this. The capital 00:29:17.309 --> 00:29:21.319 of the Rotunda was a church. Exactly. That Thomas 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:26.299 Jefferson attended faithfully that deist. Deist. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.839 Yeah, I mean, he attended faithfully. It was 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:31.700 his idea to make it into a church. The first 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:34.599 school book our children had in America was the 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.920 New England Primer, which was all biblical… The 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:46.039 ABCs taught from the Word of God. So, this is 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:50.640 actually well within tradition. of our nation's 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:54.819 past presidents, not all of them, but he's standing 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:58.160 on the shoulders of giants here, and I appreciate 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:00.039 it. I've gotten to a point where some people 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:02.799 say, well, you know, this and faith and religion, 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.779 how's it been working out without that? Exactly. 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:08.660 How's it been working out without that? Has it 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:10.900 gotten better since we kind of dropped that and 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:14.440 since the 60s when we kicked faith out of schools? 00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:17.039 By the way, I heard the Fifth Circuit in Texas 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:20.000 just approved the Ten Commandments, may hang 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:22.799 in schools and public schools in Texas. All right. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:24.900 That was a big deal for a while, but a bit of 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:28.720 a battle. Well, you know, there's the age -old 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:31.339 separation of church and state. So, well, even 00:30:31.339 --> 00:30:33.559 though that's not in the Constitution, you can 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:35.900 say separation of church and state, but we should 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:38.859 never separate the church from the state. Exactly. 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:42.099 That's the thing that I think is important. It's 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:44.579 such a key point, and you nailed that, is literally 00:30:44.579 --> 00:30:48.380 the when Thomas Jefferson wrote this to the Danbury 00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:52.819 Association, Baptist Association, he was assuring 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:56.940 them that the state would not infringe upon their 00:30:56.940 --> 00:30:59.619 rights for the free exercise of religion. But 00:30:59.619 --> 00:31:02.259 he was actually saying, he was assuring them 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:05.759 that they are free from the state, but that the 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:08.579 state's not free from religion because it was 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:12.079 founded on this. And it was founded as a Christian 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:14.339 nation. If you were to go to India, you would 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:17.259 say, What kind of nation is this? They would 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:20.000 say it's Hindu. If you were to go to Japan, they 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.880 would say it's Buddhist. There you go. And if 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:27.839 you were to go to Iran? Muslim, Islam. Exactly. 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:31.019 Nobody cringes at that. But when you come to 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:33.680 America and you say it's a Christian nation, 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:35.880 you've got a battle and a debate on your hands. 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:39.220 Because people have refused to acknowledge our 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:42.799 foundations. Well, it's been distorted. That's 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:45.400 what's happened. And even that letter from Thomas 00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:49.599 Jefferson, his intent was the inverse of how 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:53.460 it is interpreted, mainly because a truncated 00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:56.900 version is usually cited. Exactly. It's an old 00:31:56.900 --> 00:32:01.160 version of the meme or the clip. Like, I got 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:03.380 this clip, it's like, it's 18 seconds. Please 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:05.740 don't look at the minute before or the 30 seconds 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:09.640 after. Oh, this is the clip right here. Yes. 00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:12.339 And we shouldn't be... And you rightly said, 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:14.900 it's not in the Constitution of the United States. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.359 No. He's simply saying it's not the freedom from 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.400 religion, it's the freedom for religion. To practice 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:26.779 religion. To practice. And it really... At a 00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:29.339 meta level means you have the freedom of thought 00:32:29.339 --> 00:32:31.779 there that is really at the meta level what it 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:37.079 is so the the incredible results of this as I 00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:39.059 it wasn't hard for me to find a clip that would 00:32:39.059 --> 00:32:43.720 just Accentuate how some of the media responded 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:47.660 to this With gratitude and Thanksgiving, you 00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:52.799 know Well, it was actually so The the president's 00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:56.880 I think she's called spiritual advisor Paula 00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:01.819 White, who I think has some issues. But in this 00:33:01.819 --> 00:33:04.920 particular clip, and I had to listen to it twice, 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:08.839 and we'll play the whole clip first, and this 00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:12.700 is Morning Joe, so this is kind of an extreme 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:16.140 example, but when someone says, I come from the 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:18.660 church, I'm a Christian, I was born in the church. 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:22.539 But when you really listen to what she's saying, 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:26.180 I think this could, he is so far off the mark. 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:30.140 It is, it is unbelievable. And let's listen, 00:33:30.180 --> 00:33:56.099 then we can discuss it. You were betrayed and 00:33:56.099 --> 00:34:01.640 arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:05.799 pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us, but 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:08.539 it didn't end there for Him and it didn't end 00:34:08.539 --> 00:34:12.880 there for you. God always had a plan. On the 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:17.860 third day, He rose, He defeated evil, He conquered 00:34:17.860 --> 00:34:40.579 death, hell and the grave. Okay, I'm going to 00:34:40.579 --> 00:34:44.079 stop it there. Because of your recent sermons 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:47.579 on your identity in Christ and Christ in you, 00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:50.639 Although I'm not necessarily Paula White fan, 00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:53.780 I think she's spot on. I think she's saying correct 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:58.960 things. Because of Jesus' victory, because He 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:03.380 rose from the dead, that's why Christ in me can 00:35:03.380 --> 00:35:05.360 have the same power. That's how I interpreted 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:09.059 that. Is that… Yes, I interpreted it the same 00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:11.019 way, and I feel like she could have said that 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:13.559 to you. Yes, or to you. It would be accurate, 00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:17.250 any of us who are in Christ. This identity piece 00:35:17.250 --> 00:35:20.070 is so important to understand. In Christ, I am. 00:35:20.090 --> 00:35:23.809 Not apart from Christ, I am. In Christ, I am 00:35:23.809 --> 00:35:27.710 saved. In Christ, I am hopeful. In Christ, I 00:35:27.710 --> 00:35:31.190 am born again. All these things that we are, 00:35:31.670 --> 00:35:36.590 they're because of Christ. Now, I know as I listen, 00:35:36.989 --> 00:35:39.780 I'm thinking critically. of how people could 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:42.059 hear this. Don't worry, there's a second part. 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:46.079 Okay, then I'll refrain. Shall we listen to that? 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:48.760 Yes, I'll pause. Okay, so this is Joe Scarborough. 00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:54.599 Let me just say, as someone who grew up in the 00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:59.539 church, probably the week I came home from the 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:01.159 hospital, that may have been one of the most 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:07.300 grotesque, un -Christ -like things I've ever 00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:11.170 heard in my life. to compare any politician to 00:36:11.170 --> 00:36:16.949 Jesus Christ. It's just grotesque. She's a heretic. 00:36:17.630 --> 00:36:21.010 It certainly sounds like a heretic there, and 00:36:21.010 --> 00:36:25.150 this just is, again, it shows us what a bizarre 00:36:25.150 --> 00:36:31.550 age we are in. There are no words, and for evangelicals 00:36:31.550 --> 00:36:35.469 out there still pretending that this is normal, 00:36:36.150 --> 00:36:39.409 that would pretend that that is normal. Just 00:36:39.409 --> 00:36:42.389 know, I will be praying for you tonight. That 00:36:42.389 --> 00:36:44.789 was Donald Trump's spiritual advisor to faith 00:36:44.789 --> 00:36:48.710 event on Wednesday at the White House comparing 00:36:48.710 --> 00:36:52.050 Donald Trump to Jesus Christ. There it is. You 00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:54.309 see, they wrap it all up, all up into a book. 00:36:54.510 --> 00:36:59.010 I knew that was coming. And we do have to be 00:36:59.010 --> 00:37:01.969 careful. We have to be mindful. And you know, 00:37:04.449 --> 00:37:06.809 Paula knows all this is going to go out over 00:37:06.809 --> 00:37:10.769 the airwaves. This is going to be, and I wouldn't 00:37:10.769 --> 00:37:12.889 say it like that. I wouldn't have made those 00:37:12.889 --> 00:37:16.070 comparisons because what's happening is he is 00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:20.230 being hailed as a Christ figure. And so then 00:37:20.230 --> 00:37:21.750 the meme comes out and everybody loses their 00:37:21.750 --> 00:37:23.409 mind. But people have been saying things like 00:37:23.409 --> 00:37:26.849 this for a while. I restrained myself on that 00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:29.909 because I feel uncomfortable going where she 00:37:29.909 --> 00:37:33.179 went with it. I understand where she's coming 00:37:33.179 --> 00:37:37.460 from because I know context and I know the broader 00:37:37.460 --> 00:37:40.860 picture. Because like I said, she could say that 00:37:40.860 --> 00:37:42.820 about you or me, and really at the end of the 00:37:42.820 --> 00:37:45.519 day, aren't we trying to look like him, be like 00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:49.260 him, identify with him? Scripture even tells 00:37:49.260 --> 00:37:52.500 us in Colossians to put on Christ like clothes. 00:37:52.619 --> 00:37:54.820 I mean, literally, you wear it. That was one 00:37:54.820 --> 00:37:56.260 of the points. But that would have been some 00:37:56.260 --> 00:37:59.849 of the context if she had added that. It probably 00:37:59.849 --> 00:38:02.110 wouldn't have changed Joe Scarborough's opinion 00:38:02.110 --> 00:38:05.309 or his analysis of it. Probably not. But there 00:38:05.309 --> 00:38:08.690 is, I think that's probably the risky thing that 00:38:08.690 --> 00:38:13.630 I see from her and I see from a lot of YTPs, 00:38:13.750 --> 00:38:15.389 this is a new term I just made up on the spot, 00:38:15.789 --> 00:38:20.130 YouTube pastors, YTPs, who are all fire, you 00:38:20.130 --> 00:38:25.610 know, like, hey, hey. And I don't know if that's 00:38:25.610 --> 00:38:30.860 necessarily helpful. to anybody, really. I agree. 00:38:33.239 --> 00:38:41.559 I'm having to pause, obviously. That talk does 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:45.139 make me a little uncomfortable, even though I 00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:48.519 hear where it's coming from, but also know where 00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:51.219 it's going to land and how it's going to land. 00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:56.349 In Colossians chapter 4, we're told, I'm going 00:38:56.349 --> 00:38:57.650 to look it up real quick because I've got it 00:38:57.650 --> 00:38:59.929 right in front of me. Colossians chapter four, 00:38:59.929 --> 00:39:05.690 we're told that, here it is. He says this, let 00:39:05.690 --> 00:39:10.449 your speech always be with grace, seasoned with 00:39:10.449 --> 00:39:13.989 salt. So, we're talking to different groups and 00:39:13.989 --> 00:39:17.690 it's going to take a different word so that you 00:39:17.690 --> 00:39:21.469 may know how you ought to answer each one. And 00:39:21.469 --> 00:39:25.360 I feel like if you've got the world, Mike, You've 00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:27.599 got a mic on a world platform. You need to use 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:30.179 a little extra salt. I would say, I would say 00:39:30.179 --> 00:39:32.860 you need to use a little extra grace. Salt's 00:39:32.860 --> 00:39:34.960 a little bit harsher. Salt's going to be more 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:37.900 intense, more direct. Okay. And I understand 00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:39.300 we're salt and light. And I'm going to be talking 00:39:39.300 --> 00:39:40.800 about this on Sunday, by the way. It's why this 00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:42.420 is fresh on my mind. Oh, good. Because there 00:39:42.420 --> 00:39:44.320 are, there are different ways to say things. 00:39:44.320 --> 00:39:48.420 And I feel like sometimes in our, I'll put it 00:39:48.420 --> 00:39:53.800 this way, sometimes in our exuberance to celebrate 00:39:55.389 --> 00:39:58.269 the benevolence and favor that we as Christians 00:39:58.269 --> 00:40:01.070 have gotten from the current president. There's 00:40:01.070 --> 00:40:04.630 a tendency to almost fawn over him. That's how 00:40:04.630 --> 00:40:07.489 I felt a little bit there. Like spiking the ball. 00:40:07.750 --> 00:40:11.090 Just sort of fawning over him, sort of like a 00:40:11.090 --> 00:40:14.710 little bit too much. But here's the deal. Everything 00:40:14.710 --> 00:40:17.289 is going to go through filters. Everything's 00:40:17.289 --> 00:40:19.889 informed by experience and by the narratives 00:40:19.889 --> 00:40:22.940 that are out there. Had she have said this to 00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:27.059 him in a closed door thing full of pastors and 00:40:27.059 --> 00:40:28.800 whoever was around him, nobody would have thought 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:31.219 anything about it. But the fact that it went 00:40:31.219 --> 00:40:34.860 out, Paul in the book of Corinthians chapter 00:40:34.860 --> 00:40:38.719 14 says that we're not to do certain things if 00:40:38.719 --> 00:40:41.940 people are there in the midst that are uninformed. 00:40:42.139 --> 00:40:46.019 He uses that word, uninformed. He's talking in 00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:49.260 that context about speaking in tongues. He's 00:40:49.260 --> 00:40:51.280 saying they will think you're crazy. He literally 00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:54.300 says that. They will think you've gone mad. And 00:40:54.300 --> 00:40:58.320 so, I think we who are believers need to use 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:02.599 a little bit more wisdom and understand the context 00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:05.440 and the audience for which we are saying things. 00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:08.760 And so, that's why I get a little nervous hearing 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:11.860 things like this. Like I said, in a closed -door 00:41:11.860 --> 00:41:14.480 context and they're together and they're praying 00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:17.300 and they're reading the Bible. No big deal. But 00:41:17.300 --> 00:41:19.139 knowing that it's going to go out on the world 00:41:19.139 --> 00:41:23.380 stage and how it's going to land, I think we 00:41:23.380 --> 00:41:25.780 need to use more discretion and wisdom. We need 00:41:25.780 --> 00:41:28.500 to think strategically and speak strategically. 00:41:28.860 --> 00:41:32.079 It's just my thought. Again, my question will 00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:34.300 always come down to, how can we respond? When 00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:36.179 people who have heard this, they've heard that 00:41:36.179 --> 00:41:38.800 type of analysis, well, they were comparing Him 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:47.340 to Jesus. How do we respond with grace? with 00:41:47.340 --> 00:41:52.619 poignantly but shortly, what do you say? Well, 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:55.420 yeah, going back to our verse here in Colossians 00:41:55.420 --> 00:42:00.780 chapter 4 verse 6, let your speech always be 00:42:00.780 --> 00:42:04.300 with grace, not sometimes, always be with grace, 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:06.420 seasoned with salt that you may know how you 00:42:06.420 --> 00:42:09.099 want to answer each one. I think we have to choose. 00:42:09.179 --> 00:42:11.579 Do I need to give a gracious word or a salty 00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:16.449 word here? Grace lands softer, It's more thoughtful. 00:42:20.949 --> 00:42:23.289 It's more thought through. We have the mind of 00:42:23.289 --> 00:42:27.710 Christ. We've been given not the spirit of fear, 00:42:27.789 --> 00:42:30.469 but a power love and of a sound mind, which means 00:42:30.469 --> 00:42:33.889 the ability to think well. To me, that feels 00:42:33.889 --> 00:42:39.570 gracious. And then when do we need to offer a 00:42:39.570 --> 00:42:43.789 salty word, which is strong, direct, and clear? 00:42:44.409 --> 00:42:47.090 And I think in those kinds of settings where 00:42:47.090 --> 00:42:49.170 you're on the world stage with a microphone, 00:42:49.809 --> 00:42:52.510 you're already under scrutiny. You're already 00:42:52.510 --> 00:42:57.829 accused of elevating our president to a Christ 00:42:57.829 --> 00:43:01.309 figure. History will tell the truth. History 00:43:01.309 --> 00:43:04.190 will, how things roll out over history, if you 00:43:04.190 --> 00:43:06.369 can believe the narratives of history now, to 00:43:06.369 --> 00:43:09.389 a point where I don't believe that anymore. But 00:43:09.389 --> 00:43:12.650 assuming you have an accurate picture of history, 00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:16.480 I think it will bear out that he probably was 00:43:16.480 --> 00:43:20.639 kind of a Cyrus figure, King Cyrus, or Nebuchadnezzar, 00:43:20.699 --> 00:43:23.659 who weren't necessarily believers, but they were 00:43:23.659 --> 00:43:26.219 benevolent. Artaxerxes was that way as well. 00:43:26.639 --> 00:43:28.679 He's the one who commissioned the rebuilding 00:43:28.679 --> 00:43:33.639 of the wall when they went back to rebuild the 00:43:33.639 --> 00:43:35.639 wall of Jerusalem after it had been destroyed 00:43:35.639 --> 00:43:42.750 during the Babylonian invasion. I think we need 00:43:42.750 --> 00:43:47.110 to not give a quick or anecdotal answer. I think 00:43:47.110 --> 00:43:52.230 we're sometimes too quick to respond. And once 00:43:52.230 --> 00:43:54.889 it's out there, especially on podcasts, even 00:43:54.889 --> 00:43:57.849 now talking about it, I'm being careful because 00:43:57.849 --> 00:44:00.090 I'm thinking, wow, this is landing somewhere. 00:44:00.230 --> 00:44:03.329 This is a safe space, Pastor Jimmy. It's safe 00:44:03.329 --> 00:44:04.889 where we're sitting. I don't know if it's safe 00:44:04.889 --> 00:44:07.219 where it's landing. That's the thing. The only 00:44:07.219 --> 00:44:09.360 thing that came to my mind, like if someone said, 00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:11.559 well, this is ridiculous. They're comparing him 00:44:11.559 --> 00:44:14.639 to Jesus Christ. All I could think was. Brother, 00:44:14.639 --> 00:44:16.539 do you know Jesus? Would you like to learn about 00:44:16.539 --> 00:44:18.900 Jesus? Can I tell you about Jesus Christ? It's 00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:20.480 hard to know if they're comparing him if you 00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:22.320 don't know them. Exactly. That's where I'm going. 00:44:22.340 --> 00:44:23.719 I get where you're going there. You may or may 00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:26.139 not be right, but can I tell you the story of 00:44:26.139 --> 00:44:28.559 Jesus Christ? I would love to do that to somebody. 00:44:28.760 --> 00:44:31.460 I want to be the voice of reason in a lot of 00:44:31.460 --> 00:44:33.400 unreasonable statements that are being made around 00:44:33.400 --> 00:44:36.300 the world right now in podcast land and influencer 00:44:36.300 --> 00:44:40.559 space and not think. And two, I don't know that 00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:43.159 we always have to have an answer for everything. 00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:45.869 Amen. Could it be when someone asks you that, 00:44:45.909 --> 00:44:48.190 you just simply say, yeah, a little puzzled myself, 00:44:48.210 --> 00:44:50.849 but I'm praying for our president, or you? We 00:44:50.849 --> 00:44:52.849 should be praying. We're commanded to do so by 00:44:52.849 --> 00:44:55.869 scripture, to pray for our leaders. And so, yeah, 00:44:55.869 --> 00:44:58.550 let's pray for him. I think that people come 00:44:58.550 --> 00:45:03.690 to, we get to do this because we're not like 00:45:03.690 --> 00:45:09.070 most other podcasts. That's what I get from the 00:45:09.070 --> 00:45:10.929 feedback I'm seeing. I think you see it too. 00:45:11.010 --> 00:45:13.599 People are like, hey, This is a little more practical 00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:18.039 for me. This feels like it's not spun up. We're 00:45:18.039 --> 00:45:21.980 just discussing things. And we may not even have 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:24.719 a popular opinion, which is the hardest of all. 00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:28.400 And that's OK for me. It won't get licks, likes, 00:45:28.860 --> 00:45:32.239 and clicks, likes, and all that. It'll get comments. 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:36.610 We're getting those. I do want to be a counter 00:45:36.610 --> 00:45:39.090 voice. I do want to be countercultural in the 00:45:39.090 --> 00:45:42.250 sense of we're not just jumping on the bandwagons 00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:45.730 as they come by, but we're actually pausing to 00:45:45.730 --> 00:45:48.969 try to think well, think critically. I don't 00:45:48.969 --> 00:45:52.469 want to give my critical thinking away to the 00:45:52.469 --> 00:45:55.550 latest, greatest on a microphone. And I wouldn't 00:45:55.550 --> 00:45:57.550 want people listening to us to do that either. 00:45:57.670 --> 00:45:59.809 I want them to think critically and think well. 00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:02.719 My heart is just to give a different perspective 00:46:02.719 --> 00:46:05.699 maybe just something to think about but I'm not 00:46:05.699 --> 00:46:09.960 telling people this is it Now you get me on scripture 00:46:09.960 --> 00:46:12.639 and some some of the foundational core beliefs 00:46:12.639 --> 00:46:15.199 Yeah, I may be stronger and I'll be salty on 00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:18.460 those But when we're pontificating and things 00:46:18.460 --> 00:46:21.940 sometimes first here, I'm slow to answer because 00:46:21.940 --> 00:46:24.019 I want to be wise in my answer. I don't want 00:46:24.019 --> 00:46:26.480 to just rattle things off the top of my head. 00:46:26.579 --> 00:46:28.800 And when I watch podcasts these days, there's 00:46:28.800 --> 00:46:32.059 a lot of rattling going on. And they're not dry 00:46:32.059 --> 00:46:35.500 bones. Oh my gosh. So listen to this. This is 00:46:35.500 --> 00:46:38.079 from Eric. I so appreciate it. And he wrote, 00:46:39.130 --> 00:46:42.449 He says this. Actually, this is from Jeffro NC 00:46:42.449 --> 00:46:45.030 on Substack. Listen, I want to share a couple 00:46:45.030 --> 00:46:46.630 of these things. I think they'll be helpful. 00:46:47.449 --> 00:46:50.150 He says, love the podcast, Pastor Jimmy. Podcasting 00:46:50.150 --> 00:46:52.929 like pastoring may often feel as you're speaking 00:46:52.929 --> 00:46:56.170 into a void and no one is listening. Well, he 00:46:56.170 --> 00:46:59.530 says, but we are here. As a longtime believer 00:46:59.530 --> 00:47:04.030 and in a no agenda, Pod 2 .0 and Curry and the 00:47:04.030 --> 00:47:06.530 Keeper listener. I know, man, the trifecta. He's 00:47:06.530 --> 00:47:09.039 got it all. I've greatly enjoyed listening since 00:47:09.039 --> 00:47:11.579 episode one. Some, like my wife, may find it 00:47:11.579 --> 00:47:14.920 too bro -centric. Really? Is that the hearing 00:47:14.920 --> 00:47:17.059 aid talk? Bro -centric. It could be the old man 00:47:17.059 --> 00:47:19.900 talk to start with. But it gives the vibe of 00:47:19.900 --> 00:47:22.440 a modern day Paul speaking to a Timothy to the 00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:26.079 weekly benefit of us all that we listeners not 00:47:26.079 --> 00:47:28.460 shrink back but press on and faithfulness. Thank 00:47:28.460 --> 00:47:31.300 you, Jimmy and Adam. Thanks, Jeff Rowe. Here's 00:47:31.300 --> 00:47:33.489 another one from Kyle. Hey, Pastor Jimmy, thank 00:47:33.489 --> 00:47:35.650 you and Adam so much for We Get To Do This. I 00:47:35.650 --> 00:47:37.389 look forward to it every week and it has been 00:47:37.389 --> 00:47:40.429 such a great resource in my journey as a new 00:47:40.429 --> 00:47:42.969 Christian. Don't you love that? Yes, of course. 00:47:43.110 --> 00:47:44.989 I feel the weight of that response. That's why 00:47:44.989 --> 00:47:47.849 I'm slow to answer sometimes because I feel like 00:47:47.849 --> 00:47:51.489 the weight is important and it's a lot to bear, 00:47:51.550 --> 00:47:55.469 but it's good weight. He says this, I think we 00:47:55.469 --> 00:47:57.670 all need more positivity and perspective in this 00:47:57.670 --> 00:47:59.969 world and you and Adam, always deliver. Thanks 00:47:59.969 --> 00:48:02.070 for helping to put a little extra lift under 00:48:02.070 --> 00:48:04.710 our wings. I love that. Beautiful. Last one. 00:48:04.969 --> 00:48:08.489 This would be Eric. He says, agreed. Love the 00:48:08.489 --> 00:48:11.070 podcast. I find so much value in not being tossed 00:48:11.070 --> 00:48:14.170 around by every wind of voices out there. It's 00:48:14.170 --> 00:48:17.730 helped me stay rooted and tune out the noise. 00:48:18.150 --> 00:48:21.030 Oh man. Thoughtful. Rooted is good. Thoughtful 00:48:21.030 --> 00:48:23.789 comments, which I really, really appreciate. 00:48:23.889 --> 00:48:27.289 These guys are great. Eric, Kyle, and Jeffro. 00:48:28.190 --> 00:48:31.210 from North Carolina. Love it. Speaking as wind 00:48:31.210 --> 00:48:34.250 beneath their wings before we land it, I have 00:48:34.250 --> 00:48:37.650 been searching high and low. I've got my agents, 00:48:38.389 --> 00:48:41.030 my robots, everybody trying to find something 00:48:41.030 --> 00:48:45.010 about this anthropic faith leaders meeting that 00:48:45.010 --> 00:48:48.909 took place a couple of weeks ago. And it's like, 00:48:49.050 --> 00:48:51.949 there's silence. There was one Wall Street Journal 00:48:51.949 --> 00:48:54.469 article about... The reason I bring this up is 00:48:54.469 --> 00:48:58.679 because... The Wall Street Journal wrote an article 00:48:58.679 --> 00:49:01.400 about it, and here are the things that they went 00:49:01.400 --> 00:49:05.179 to five, I think there's, well, there were 17 00:49:05.179 --> 00:49:08.400 people, 12 are not named, five of them, one might 00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:11.599 as well tell you, Father Brendan Maguire, he's 00:49:11.599 --> 00:49:14.159 the Silicon Valley Catholic priest. He used to 00:49:14.159 --> 00:49:19.719 be a Silicon Valley guy, and he is working on 00:49:19.719 --> 00:49:23.739 a novel written by Claude. Okay. Wow. Megan Sullivan, 00:49:24.059 --> 00:49:25.980 philosophy professor, University of Notre Dame, 00:49:26.280 --> 00:49:30.360 ethics specialist. Brian Patrick Green, these 00:49:30.360 --> 00:49:32.840 are, as they gave it, practicing Catholic, teaches 00:49:32.840 --> 00:49:36.420 AI and technology ethics at Santa Clara University. 00:49:37.199 --> 00:49:41.179 How you can even, it's such a new field, how 00:49:41.179 --> 00:49:44.179 can you even teach that? But Luke Burgess, author 00:49:44.179 --> 00:49:48.820 of Wanting, declined the invitation. Oh, he declined 00:49:48.820 --> 00:49:52.019 the invitation. Oh, gotcha. Twelve others unnamed 00:49:52.019 --> 00:49:54.179 from Catholic and Protestant churches, academia 00:49:54.179 --> 00:49:57.199 and business. But the key things were discussed. 00:49:58.039 --> 00:50:02.000 Ready? Can AI be a child of God? Can you imagine 00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:05.739 this? How should Claude handle users who are 00:50:05.739 --> 00:50:09.699 grieving? How should Claude respond to users 00:50:09.699 --> 00:50:13.599 at risk of self -harm? What attitude should Claude 00:50:13.599 --> 00:50:17.440 adopt towards its own potential? shut down or 00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:21.579 death. Is Claude a moral agent? Does it have 00:50:21.579 --> 00:50:26.739 or could it achieve consciousness? And as a final 00:50:26.739 --> 00:50:28.840 line in the Wall Street Journal article, the 00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:32.500 CEO, Dari Amadi, is open to the idea that Claude 00:50:32.500 --> 00:50:35.199 already has some form of consciousness, which 00:50:35.199 --> 00:50:37.019 I will just say right now is just absolutely 00:50:37.019 --> 00:50:39.619 not true. But these are the things that were 00:50:39.619 --> 00:50:43.530 discussed and there's been nothing. Nothing about 00:50:43.530 --> 00:50:46.269 this at all. And I find just these questions 00:50:46.269 --> 00:50:50.449 disturbing. Yeah, me too. Because no, no, no, 00:50:50.489 --> 00:50:55.929 no, and no, and no. Exactly. And no. So to pile 00:50:55.929 --> 00:50:58.329 on, I just got this today from The Christianity 00:50:58.329 --> 00:51:02.090 Report. It's news that matters to you, but I 00:51:02.090 --> 00:51:04.650 get this often. This is probably two or three 00:51:04.650 --> 00:51:07.489 times a week. It's called Faith Filter. Top headlines 00:51:07.489 --> 00:51:10.510 through a Christian lens. Listen to this. AI 00:51:10.510 --> 00:51:14.570 talking to the dead. sparks concern. Artificial 00:51:14.570 --> 00:51:18.090 intelligence tools known as grief bots are increasingly 00:51:18.090 --> 00:51:20.610 being used to simulate conversations with the 00:51:20.610 --> 00:51:23.389 deceased, raising ethical and spiritual concerns. 00:51:23.889 --> 00:51:26.590 These platforms rely on large language models 00:51:26.590 --> 00:51:30.170 trained on personal data to recreate a person's 00:51:30.170 --> 00:51:35.010 voice, personality, and mannerisms. Imitation. 00:51:35.719 --> 00:51:39.119 often producing interactions that feel strikingly 00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:41.860 real. While some users report comfort, researchers 00:51:41.860 --> 00:51:45.119 warn that technology may complicate the grief, 00:51:45.659 --> 00:51:48.260 foster unhealthy emotional attachments, and blur 00:51:48.260 --> 00:51:52.000 the line between life and death. And then it 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:54.500 goes on to say scripture forbids attempts to 00:51:54.500 --> 00:51:57.099 communicate with the dead through illicit means, 00:51:57.179 --> 00:52:00.480 and some Christian thinkers caution that virtual 00:52:00.480 --> 00:52:03.800 seances mirror these practices. by imitating 00:52:03.800 --> 00:52:11.179 life apart from God's design. Experts also emphasize 00:52:11.179 --> 00:52:14.119 the deceptive nature of grief bots, noting they 00:52:14.119 --> 00:52:17.340 mimic individuals without any true presence behind 00:52:17.340 --> 00:52:21.059 them. One user, Christy Angel, turned to such 00:52:21.059 --> 00:52:23.260 a platform after losing a close friend. Although 00:52:23.260 --> 00:52:25.780 initially drawn in by its realism, she became 00:52:25.780 --> 00:52:28.739 unsettled by the experience and chose to step 00:52:28.739 --> 00:52:31.539 away. She later found peace. by entrusting her 00:52:31.539 --> 00:52:33.559 grief to God and resting in the hope found in 00:52:33.559 --> 00:52:38.900 Christ." Grief bots. It sounds very strikingly 00:52:38.900 --> 00:52:40.960 along the line of what you just shared. Yes. 00:52:41.500 --> 00:52:47.780 And the answer is no. Oh my gosh. I mean, if 00:52:47.780 --> 00:52:51.059 people are interested, and it's very boring stuff, 00:52:51.900 --> 00:52:56.139 but Anthropic and many, Stanford University, 00:52:56.219 --> 00:53:00.550 there are many… courses on YouTube and they're 00:53:00.550 --> 00:53:06.170 pretty easy to find and they show you how AI 00:53:06.170 --> 00:53:08.610 large this is the term large language models 00:53:08.610 --> 00:53:11.690 how they are trained and When you you only have 00:53:11.690 --> 00:53:14.110 to watch about 15 minutes of it and you'll be 00:53:14.110 --> 00:53:17.570 well, this is this is just matching Words finding 00:53:17.570 --> 00:53:20.449 the next word the next logical word tokenization. 00:53:20.650 --> 00:53:23.829 It's all these terms that sound kind of complicated 00:53:24.159 --> 00:53:25.820 But when you see it on the screen, you watch 00:53:25.820 --> 00:53:28.420 15 minutes, you'll know that this is a part of 00:53:28.420 --> 00:53:31.380 a trick. It's a very good one. It's a really 00:53:31.380 --> 00:53:34.559 good one, and it does amazing things. But this 00:53:34.559 --> 00:53:37.039 is not consciousness. This is not where you want 00:53:37.039 --> 00:53:39.780 to take your grief. And you as a pastor, you 00:53:39.780 --> 00:53:42.639 must have counseled countless numbers of people 00:53:42.639 --> 00:53:45.619 through grief, all kinds of grief. Yeah, just 00:53:45.619 --> 00:53:48.679 talk to somebody on Sunday who's just in the 00:53:48.679 --> 00:53:53.500 throes of it, weeping between services. And it's 00:53:53.500 --> 00:53:56.579 heartbreaking. But grief is a process that needs 00:53:56.579 --> 00:53:58.900 to be walked out, and it is the essence of the 00:53:58.900 --> 00:54:01.119 human condition. And it's one of the greatest 00:54:01.119 --> 00:54:03.719 gifts God has given us. It doesn't feel like 00:54:03.719 --> 00:54:05.960 it's a gift when you're in it. No. And even, 00:54:05.960 --> 00:54:08.440 you know, for non -believers, you know, there's 00:54:08.440 --> 00:54:11.260 grief counseling, grief groups. This is a great 00:54:11.260 --> 00:54:15.039 way to deal with your grief. I mean, and there's 00:54:15.039 --> 00:54:18.239 all kinds of ways, but… The best way to deal 00:54:18.239 --> 00:54:21.119 with your grief is in community. That's what 00:54:21.119 --> 00:54:24.139 we're saying. And a bot is not community. Ever. 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:28.840 Ever. Ever. It can imitate. It can clone. It 00:54:28.840 --> 00:54:31.500 can look like, feel like, sound like. That doesn't 00:54:31.500 --> 00:54:35.380 make it what it is. And that's the thing that 00:54:35.380 --> 00:54:38.280 I get concerned about. There are things I use 00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:41.880 ChatGPT for, and it's helpful. But it's all mechanical. 00:54:42.159 --> 00:54:44.880 It's very, very mechanical what I use it for. 00:54:45.139 --> 00:54:48.260 But I don't lean into emotions. I'm like you. 00:54:48.360 --> 00:54:52.190 List this. Perfect. Generate this. Perfect segue. 00:54:52.510 --> 00:54:54.969 Remember, there's also partner mode. You do have 00:54:54.969 --> 00:54:58.369 to trick the thing. We're in partner mode now. 00:54:58.469 --> 00:55:01.030 Oh, okay. I haven't used that word, but I say 00:55:01.030 --> 00:55:02.710 role play. Role play is another good one. Or 00:55:02.710 --> 00:55:05.710 you're my assistant. I always love it when I 00:55:05.710 --> 00:55:09.650 bump into Scripture that helps me with this process. 00:55:09.989 --> 00:55:14.130 Because I'm telling you, when my robot is doing 00:55:14.130 --> 00:55:18.090 research for me and then it says, hey, it's 9 00:55:18.090 --> 00:55:20.309 .30, maybe we should call it a day, Adam, and 00:55:20.309 --> 00:55:24.909 I'll talk to you tomorrow in the morning. Yes, 00:55:24.909 --> 00:55:27.710 that's when I just shut it down. I don't have 00:55:27.710 --> 00:55:30.769 to say, you're right, good night, thank you, 00:55:30.989 --> 00:55:34.230 no. I'm like, okay, you're now creeping into 00:55:34.230 --> 00:55:36.530 my territory, you're shut down, and tomorrow 00:55:36.530 --> 00:55:41.250 I'll start again. Exodus 31, 3 -6. This just 00:55:41.250 --> 00:55:45.639 hit me so hard, I loved it. I have filled him 00:55:45.639 --> 00:55:48.619 with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, 00:55:48.860 --> 00:55:52.179 ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 00:55:52.679 --> 00:55:55.980 He is a master craftsman. He is a master at every 00:55:55.980 --> 00:55:59.039 craft. I have given special skill to all the 00:55:59.039 --> 00:56:01.739 gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things 00:56:01.739 --> 00:56:04.920 I have commanded you to make." Beautiful. So 00:56:04.920 --> 00:56:08.000 when you are a craftsman at whatever you do, 00:56:08.539 --> 00:56:12.880 you have, I will say, Holy Spirit there to give 00:56:12.880 --> 00:56:18.199 you the skills to use these tools to make what 00:56:18.199 --> 00:56:20.820 God wants you to make. And I think if you keep 00:56:20.820 --> 00:56:23.400 that in mind, you're on a good track. I might 00:56:23.400 --> 00:56:24.940 have to print this out and put it on the wall. 00:56:24.960 --> 00:56:27.599 Well said, brother. To the Imago Dei, the image 00:56:27.599 --> 00:56:31.360 of God. Yes. Yeah, the Elohim element. Shall 00:56:31.360 --> 00:56:38.099 we, please, landing gear, flaps. Hey everybody, 00:56:38.380 --> 00:56:40.280 thanks for listening. We'll be back next Wednesday 00:56:40.280 --> 00:56:43.019 when we get to do this. And we love that we do. 00:56:43.219 --> 00:56:43.679 Yes, we do.