WEBVTT 00:00:04.239 --> 00:00:08.160 Well, what's up, pursuers? Pursuing Jesus homies. 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:09.800 How you guys doing? Howdy ho there, neighbors. 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.419 Howdy ho. Howdy ho? Is that what we say now? 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:15.759 Do I need to say that to people? Please don't. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.980 It sounds offensive. It could be. It absolutely 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:26.039 could be. Dude, this is our 28th episode here 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.420 at Pursuing Jesus. That sounds like no big deal. 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:31.960 actually. It's like, you know, if he was 25 or 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:35.899 30, that's like, whoa, no way. This is 28. Cool. 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:40.119 We've made it to 28. If episodes of podcasts 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:43.840 are years of life, like in podcast years, you 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:45.899 know, like in dog years, cat years, then this 00:00:45.899 --> 00:00:49.259 episode, or that our podcast is officially older 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:52.909 than I am. Wow. That's a weird way to look at 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:54.729 this. It is a weird way to look at this. We'll 00:00:54.729 --> 00:00:58.130 get to yours too. So are we going to... Is it 00:00:58.130 --> 00:01:01.090 going to end on 52? I mean, I feel like that's 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:04.590 the... I guess so. They're 52 weeks of the year. 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:08.069 We pursue Jesus 52 weeks of the year. Man. Unless 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:10.230 you and I both hit a wall on around Christmas 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:14.829 break and go, you know what? It's very possible. 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:17.769 Let's just go ahead and prepare our pursuers. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:21.599 That Christmas is wild. Christmas gets crazy. 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.400 It does. We might have one big final Christmas 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:29.540 episode on the first week of December, and then 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:33.849 we sign off. We sign off, and then we'll see 00:01:33.849 --> 00:01:35.810 what happens after that. That would be a fun 00:01:35.810 --> 00:01:39.329 one. So Christmas, I've never thought about themed 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:43.689 podcasts. I guess we could have done one for 00:01:43.689 --> 00:01:47.250 4th of July, like Let Freedom Ring. But a Christmas 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:49.489 -themed podcast where you and I are here sipping 00:01:49.489 --> 00:01:52.629 our hot cocoa, and the intro music is both holly 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:57.549 and jolly. We could bring in a guest. Santa Claus? 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:03.099 Santa! Because if we're going to get him, we 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:06.140 got to work on that now. Yeah, his schedule backlog 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:10.979 is crazy. There are two distinct people in our 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:13.240 church that I guarantee you would be like, oh, 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.939 ho, ho, Merry Christmas. They like cosplay Santa 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:20.460 for an episode here. Yes, we could also do Christmas 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:23.800 in July. You know, it is July. We have to get 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:25.580 on that soon. Yeah, though I think we're actually 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:28.840 a little bit late on that one. Are we? Yeah, 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:31.889 we got several weeks left in July. Not when this 00:02:31.889 --> 00:02:34.370 comes out. Okay, that's true facts. I forget 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:38.979 that it's Friday. Well, yeah, so much for Christmas 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.900 in July, but we could have had a St. Patrick's 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:43.960 Day episode. I mean, yeah, but we've got stuff 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:45.979 coming up. No, we don't need to look back. We 00:02:45.979 --> 00:02:47.699 need to look forward. What do we have coming 00:02:47.699 --> 00:02:51.699 up, Johnson? Well, we have fall. If we wanted 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.000 to have a beginning of fall episode. Pumpkin 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.400 spice podcast. I was just like that. Oh, a pumpkin 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.560 spice. I mean, it's pumpkin spice flavored everything 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:00.759 these days, so why not a pumpkin spice flavored 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.340 podcast? I don't even know content wise what 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.319 we would cover there, but it'd be good. We could 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:07.020 figure it out. And then you got like Reformation 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.560 Day, right? Like October 31st. Yeah. Oh, the 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:12.500 battle between Reformation Day and Halloween. 00:03:12.539 --> 00:03:18.180 It's not a battle. So when I was at Cedarville, 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:20.719 Cedarville is this itty bitty little Christian 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.900 college in the cornfields of Ohio, right? And 00:03:23.900 --> 00:03:26.699 we would regularly play Liberty, this massive, 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.219 like, you know, 40 billion students on campus 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.120 and off campus university. And that's where you 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.539 got your degree. Yes, and dude, we hated Liberty. 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:37.500 Like it was this massive rivalry from Cedarville 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.439 and every person I've gone. I've talked to who's 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:42.439 got a Liberty's been like, what's Cedarville? 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:47.259 I before I met you, I had heard the name and 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:49.259 that's it. So it's like one of those rivalries, 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.360 like we're once I take it super seriously and 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.189 the other one's like. Who are you? Who are you? 00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:57.330 That's how I feel. Reformation day and Halloween 00:03:57.330 --> 00:03:59.650 are like, listen, I mean, obviously Halloween 00:03:59.650 --> 00:04:01.330 is going to win. I mean, Halloween is going to 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:03.310 win. Although maybe, maybe this Halloween, I'll 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:04.990 dress up as Martin Luther. Nothing would make 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:06.949 me happier than to see you dressed up and then 00:04:06.949 --> 00:04:09.310 a hammer and nail in one hand and a sheet of 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:11.969 paper in the other hand and just walking around 00:04:11.969 --> 00:04:16.149 and every door of the church. You're just nailing. 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:21.930 I think. I think Halloween is near. I think it's 00:04:21.930 --> 00:04:25.529 a Saturday this year. Is it a Sunday? It's it. 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:28.189 Is it a Saturday or Friday? I think it's one 00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:30.310 of those. Yeah, it might be a Saturday trunk 00:04:30.310 --> 00:04:33.029 or treats the 28. It's a Saturday. It is a Saturday 00:04:33.029 --> 00:04:36.230 man. It'd be a great opportunity for us to resurrect 00:04:36.230 --> 00:04:38.589 our church Facebook or tech talk or something. 00:04:38.610 --> 00:04:43.439 Just me. Speaking of Cedarville, they had every 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.040 year a student or two would tape the theses on 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:48.060 a bunch of random doors. I mean, that sounds 00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:51.459 like the Christian college thing to do. I feel 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:54.439 like this is the thing where you learn something 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:59.899 as a young believer and you just go full force 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:04.160 into it. I remember having experiences like that 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.639 at Christian college, and it's like all of a 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.379 sudden you're just debating everybody about everything. 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:12.779 I just learned what the word Armenian is, and 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:14.519 now we're going to talk about it forever, and 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:16.459 I am the expert. Or like you and the rest of 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:18.779 the students in the class are like, we're very 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:20.660 theologically distinguished. We discovered this 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:22.980 really cool new theological truth, and the professor's 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:24.980 like, that's great. So did you know that the 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:26.959 whole church denounced that as a heresy in the 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.879 fourth century? Bible college was good times. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.660 You and I, Sean, Reformation Day reminded me 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:34.540 of it. You and I were talking about church history. 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:38.959 That is an area that I don't have very much experience 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.759 in. What Christianity has looked like from first 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.920 century to now. And I think I'm not alone in 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:50.959 that. I feel like as a tradition, as a denomination, 00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:54.500 we Baptists don't really... look further past 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:57.160 like billy graham sometimes just in terms of 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:59.420 like the contribution christianity existed before 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:03.000 billy graham uh just a little it started sadly 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.100 i mean like there's like that's like oh no and 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:07.439 that's when the that's when everything got evangelized 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.199 was billy graham but now don't get me wrong dude 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.079 did amazing stuff but i know there is some rich 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.850 history there's some ugly History. There's unfortunately 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:17.670 a lot of ugly history. Isn't that interesting 00:06:17.670 --> 00:06:21.430 how some of the worst things in history, like 00:06:21.430 --> 00:06:23.529 I think about the Crusades, right? Dude. Like 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:27.029 bore the name of Christ, but they just like pulled 00:06:27.029 --> 00:06:29.970 up to the Holy Land and started killing people. 00:06:30.149 --> 00:06:32.009 Just slaughtered people in the name of Jesus. 00:06:32.209 --> 00:06:34.420 Right. Right, or like Charlemagne. Have you heard 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:35.720 about Charlemagne? I've heard about Charlemagne. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:37.879 Yeah, the quote -unquote greatest evangelist 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:39.980 of all time. His technique was he would show 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:42.019 up to a pagan village and be like, hey, so you 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:44.279 have two options. You could be a Christian, or 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:45.540 we're going to paint this town red with your 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:48.279 blood. Yeah. And people are like, I find the 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:50.139 name of Christ is something worth confessing. 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:53.939 Yeah. What do we do with that? As 21st century 00:06:53.939 --> 00:07:00.000 believers, the history books are there. And I 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.019 think like I've even talked to people who don't 00:07:02.019 --> 00:07:04.339 believe in Jesus, who like one of their primary 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:06.939 arguments is look at the Christians, dude. Like 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:10.339 slavery was defended with passages from Titus 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:13.860 and Philemon. Unfortunately, we have a terrible 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:18.220 history of twisting God's word to what we wanted 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.980 to say to benefit our own personal desires, our 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:25.160 own personal crusades, whether you're talking 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:27.279 about the actual crusades or just things. I mean, 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:33.060 as humans, we're sinful. And we see that throughout 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:35.680 Scripture, or not throughout Scripture, well, 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:37.300 through Scripture as well, but throughout church 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:41.600 history of, man, of just people getting it wrong. 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:47.139 But for the longest time, the Bible was gatekept 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:49.560 by the church. Seriously, right? I mean, only 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.720 the priests, the monks, the bishops could even 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:54.720 have access to it. But then it, for some reason, 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.740 even got a copy. It was only written in Latin, 00:07:57.759 --> 00:07:59.600 and no one would... Most people couldn't read 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:01.579 back then anyways, and they definitely couldn't 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:04.319 read Latin. And the guys that were like, hey, 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.699 we should put this in an accessible language. 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:08.519 They literally burned at the stake. Yes. Like 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.740 John Huss. He was one of the first reformers. 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:13.439 And his whole thing was translate the Bible into, 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:17.740 I think it was German. It wasn't English. And 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:20.560 literally, they burned him as a heretic. Yeah. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:25.019 which is just crazy. Even if you look at the 00:08:25.019 --> 00:08:27.660 architecture of some of those really old cathedrals, 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.399 there are loops in the pulpits where they would 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.419 chain the Bible down to the lectern so you couldn't 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:39.059 move it, which is crazy. What I hear you saying 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:42.460 is that in spite of saying that we're obeying 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:45.059 God and doing what he wants us to do, it's very 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.940 possible that because of the condition of our 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:50.980 hearts that we don't actually even follow through 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:53.860 or do what he's actually asking us to do. Yeah, 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:58.620 yeah, exactly. That sounds suspiciously like 00:08:58.620 --> 00:09:01.840 one of our texts for today. Does it? Yes. Are 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:04.860 you sure? It's yours. Yeah, I know. I know. Come 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:07.240 on, Sean. I'm trying to set you up. I've done 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.440 this. I saw it coming. I saw this one coming. 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.039 I've done this twice now. And in both times, 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:17.500 you're like, what do we do? The funny thing is, 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:22.000 the first time was completely me just being not 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.200 knowing what you're doing the at all. And then 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.360 this is more of me like I'm going to have fun 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.679 with this. Yeah, well, thank you. You know what 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:33.240 that means? The third time it might go smoothly. 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:37.110 Might. I'll believe it when I see it. Exactly. 00:09:37.269 --> 00:09:39.250 That's why I said might. But yeah, man, I'd love 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:41.429 to get into our passage today. So, you know, 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:44.330 we had an interesting week of, it was divided 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:47.450 up in some interesting ways, you know, lots of 00:09:47.450 --> 00:09:49.590 different things to look at. We're chilling out 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:53.250 in Holy Week. Like, we are firmly, like, triumphal 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:56.960 entry. Jesus is in or around Jerusalem. Yeah, 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:00.559 and so I wanted to kind of hover over a really, 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:03.200 honestly, a tiny passage. I think it's like four 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.820 verses. Yeah. And so it was one of those days 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:08.179 where I remember, like, you know, I opened it 00:10:08.179 --> 00:10:10.639 up, but it's going to be July 15th, and I opened 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:13.159 up July 15th, and then I look over the passage, 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:15.340 and I'm like, oh, dang. All right, that's it? 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:18.659 All right, well, I guess I'll read this, you 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.539 know? And then I go and read it, and so let me 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:22.159 just go ahead and read it, and then I'll kind 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.220 of... go with what happened to me, and then we'll 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:26.059 talk about it. So here it is, Matthew chapter 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:31.940 21, verse 28 through 32. What do you think? A 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:34.799 man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:38.519 My son, go work in the vineyard today. He answered, 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:42.840 I don't want to. But later he changed his mind 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.940 and he went. Then the man went to the other and 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:50.399 said the same thing. I will, sir, he answered. 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:56.940 But he didn't go. Which of the two did his father's 00:10:56.940 --> 00:11:02.259 will? They said the first. So now this is pretty 00:11:02.259 --> 00:11:07.299 interesting. It goes into another. right after 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:09.080 that. But I just want to kind of hang right there 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.039 for a little bit. Yeah, yeah. But we'll just 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.000 stop with this one because, I mean, they kind 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.460 of have this same kind of idea to it. So here's 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:18.600 the funny thing that happened to me. Okay. With 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.100 this parable specifically, not the next one. 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:23.759 The next one I was good with. But I remember 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:27.620 I read this parable for my Pursuing Jesus devotion, 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:31.100 and literally my brain went, I've never read 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:35.000 this before in my life. I had no recollection 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.759 of this story whatsoever. Interesting. Now, for 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:43.460 some people, that may be the norm. Right? But 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:47.500 I mean, I've been reading Scripture for a long 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:49.240 time now. Yeah, it's been a minute. You know, 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.279 I've just, and especially the Gospels. That's 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.159 just something I'm pretty familiar with the New 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.220 Testament. I definitely don't have things memorized, 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:58.759 none of that kind of stuff. But I've read Scripture 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:02.519 a lot. And so when my brain, when I first read 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:05.559 this, and I was like, I don't recall this story 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:08.409 whatsoever, that intrigues me. Fair. Because 00:12:08.409 --> 00:12:11.190 usually there's some kind of remembrance, recollection 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:15.789 of, oh, yeah, that thing. That did not happen 00:12:15.789 --> 00:12:18.429 to me whatsoever. But it allows you the unique 00:12:18.429 --> 00:12:20.429 experience of getting to come to Scripture with 00:12:20.429 --> 00:12:22.710 fresh eyes. Yes, yes. So the funny thing is, 00:12:22.750 --> 00:12:24.409 when I opened it, because I was reading it in 00:12:24.409 --> 00:12:27.389 my physical Bible, right? And then for our podcast, 00:12:27.629 --> 00:12:30.330 I used my laptop, and so I opened up my Bible 00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:33.009 program, and the passage is highlighted like 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.710 crazy. Oh, man. So I was like, okay, definitely, 00:12:35.909 --> 00:12:38.429 not only have I read, this before, but like have 00:12:38.429 --> 00:12:41.509 made notes on this before and really, but two 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:43.350 weeks from now, you're going to like be scrolling 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:45.490 through an old hard drive and be like, oh yeah, 00:12:45.529 --> 00:12:48.929 a sermon from Matthew 21, eight through 32. Yeah, 00:12:49.049 --> 00:13:00.669 so post your child for don't do drugs. But anyways, 00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:04.559 but here, but not only So at first, it stood 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:07.659 out to me that I didn't remember it. Right. But 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:10.139 then I'm like, okay, cool. This gives me, as 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:12.159 you said, an opportunity to really look at it. 00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:14.519 And then I was like, oh, wow. This is actually 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:19.240 as simple of a parable that this is. Dude, this 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:22.019 is... I was like, oh, man, this hits home. Yeah. 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.940 It hits home hard. And I love when... I mean... 00:13:25.709 --> 00:13:28.570 Jesus is the one that can do this, that he can 00:13:28.570 --> 00:13:32.149 take something so simple, talking about two brothers 00:13:32.149 --> 00:13:36.909 going to work for their dad and turn it into 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:39.750 this deeply convicting story. Right. Right. And 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:42.269 that's exactly what happens. And so basically 00:13:42.269 --> 00:13:45.529 there's two sons, right? It says a man has two 00:13:45.529 --> 00:13:48.029 sons. One of them, he goes and says, work in 00:13:48.029 --> 00:13:51.190 the vineyard. And he's like, nah. I'm good. Not 00:13:51.190 --> 00:13:53.509 going to do that. Right. I know. Right. First, 00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:56.909 I mean, to even be like, I mean, if I know what 00:13:56.909 --> 00:13:58.730 my dad would have done, if my dad was like, son, 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:00.409 you need to get up and go rake leaves. And I 00:14:00.409 --> 00:14:03.090 was like, I'm good, dad. I'm going to play my 00:14:03.090 --> 00:14:06.690 super Nintendo. The rest of that immediately 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:08.649 would have not gone well for me. Fair. Right. 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:10.929 So any, so right then I'm just like, Ooh, snap. 00:14:11.690 --> 00:14:15.230 But We don't hear anything about the man doesn't 00:14:15.230 --> 00:14:18.629 respond. All we see is that he answered that 00:14:18.629 --> 00:14:21.250 he didn't want to and then immediately, but later 00:14:21.250 --> 00:14:24.330 he changed his mind and he went. And then we 00:14:24.330 --> 00:14:27.169 got another son. And this sounds like, you know, 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:28.970 this is, you know, the man goes to the other 00:14:28.970 --> 00:14:31.809 one and does the same thing. And the son responds, 00:14:32.029 --> 00:14:34.490 oh, yeah, absolutely. Yes, sir. I love how Jesus 00:14:34.490 --> 00:14:37.870 even adds that. I will, sir. Yeah, he uses it 00:14:37.870 --> 00:14:40.970 on a riff. And I think that's on purpose because 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:43.470 then he responds yes, but then he never does 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:46.250 anything. Right. So this is showing that there 00:14:46.250 --> 00:14:49.029 are, in this illustration, there's two types 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:52.169 of people. right there's a there's there's the 00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:56.169 people that respond with the most perfect answer 00:14:56.169 --> 00:14:59.289 that the father wants to hear that they think 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:01.809 the father wants to hear right and so you've 00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:05.190 got this one son says yes i will sir like there 00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:10.409 is respect there there is language of of like 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:12.730 i'm going to listen to the words of my father 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:17.649 and he is saying the right things where the other 00:15:17.649 --> 00:15:21.139 son Not only didn't say the right thing, but 00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:24.759 was kind of disrespectful as well, right? It's 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:28.740 like, nah, I don't want to. But later he changed 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:31.740 his mind and he actually listened, right? And 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.460 then now... that we've kind of seen these two 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:36.740 people. Let's read the rest of it because it 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.100 really fills in the story of who, because we 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:41.080 can talk about who he's talking about, but listen 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:42.840 to what Jesus says. He gives his own interpretation 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:45.580 for his own parable. And so I like leaving that 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:47.539 after we kind of discuss it. And so he says, 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.940 Jesus said to them, truly I tell you, tax collectors 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:54.259 and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:59.840 before you. You want to talk about confrontational. 00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:03.220 Yeah. You want to talk about Jesus telling this 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:08.080 really amazing story and then no question about 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:12.820 the interpretation or anything. He is calling 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:18.879 them out. Yes. And so the first son is the tax 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.860 collectors and prostitutes. These are people 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.240 like, hey, I'm not listening to God's word. I'm 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:25.559 going to live my life. I'm going to earn as much 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:27.639 money as I can. I'm going to live a provocative 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:32.279 life. I'm going to live totally against how God 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:36.600 wants me to live. Yes. But then they meet Jesus. 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.519 They believe in Jesus and their life is changed 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:44.440 and they begin to follow the father. And then 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:48.419 verse 32, for John came to you in the way of 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:53.090 righteousness and you did not believe him. So 00:16:53.090 --> 00:16:57.970 John was calling out the religious Jewish leaders. 00:16:58.230 --> 00:17:01.509 Yes. The same guys that Jesus beefed with. Exactly. 00:17:01.509 --> 00:17:03.909 And so we know that that's who he's talking about. 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:06.630 And so he says tax collectors and prostitutes 00:17:06.630 --> 00:17:11.089 did believe him. So they repented. They were 00:17:11.089 --> 00:17:15.390 baptized by John. But you, when you saw it, when 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:20.589 you saw this new teaching, didn't even change 00:17:20.589 --> 00:17:25.190 your mind then. and believe in him. And so Jesus 00:17:25.190 --> 00:17:26.950 is telling this story, and he's like, hey, you 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:30.930 know what? Y 'all say the right things. You have 00:17:30.930 --> 00:17:35.549 the knowledge. I could probably ask you about 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:38.529 any minor prophet in the Old Testament. I could 00:17:38.529 --> 00:17:40.690 ask you about any little thing, and unlike... 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:42.680 Pastor Sean over here, you're not going to forget 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:44.619 the story. You're going to know exactly about 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:46.940 all the little details. He's like, you're going 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:49.220 to know all of it. And Jewish tradition backs 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:53.099 that up. These guys, like a game they played 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:56.019 to pass the time was somebody would quote a part 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:58.079 of the Torah, the Old Testament law, and their 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.799 job was to, from memory, spit the page before 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:06.240 it, the one that it's on, and after it. Trained 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.460 and memorized. Yes. Like that is what these, 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:13.480 they know. They have knowledge. And so what Jesus 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.579 is trying to get them to see is it's one thing 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:20.099 to know the right thing. It's one thing to have 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:23.559 the correct answers in a way that you think that's 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:26.339 what God wants you to do, but it is something 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:31.480 completely different to actually do these things 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:34.259 that God wants you to do. Absolutely. And so 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:37.849 for our lives as well, there are... You know, 00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:40.089 I think this was last week's podcast where we 00:18:40.089 --> 00:18:43.430 talked about the Southern Christian culture. 00:18:43.589 --> 00:18:46.690 This is where my mind went when I read this, 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:49.009 is that there are so many people in my culture. 00:18:49.369 --> 00:18:52.990 And my area and the people that I am burdened 00:18:52.990 --> 00:18:55.670 for, dude, they know the right answers. Because 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:58.730 so many people, they've grown up in church. They've 00:18:58.730 --> 00:19:02.150 heard people preach. They did VBS every year. 00:19:02.230 --> 00:19:07.109 Like, they know. from their head the right response. 00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:12.230 But their lives and what they do doesn't reflect 00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:16.309 Jesus. Well, I mean, look at the parable. I think 00:19:16.309 --> 00:19:19.670 you're exactly right. Look at the parable. Both 00:19:19.670 --> 00:19:25.369 sons have knowledge of the Father. This isn't 00:19:25.369 --> 00:19:27.849 a question of, I don't know. No. I don't understand. 00:19:28.029 --> 00:19:32.809 No, it's not. But only one son was honest. Yeah. 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:37.940 I said, oh, the call earlier. The honesty of 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:42.400 the first son is telling, though. That son actively 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:48.359 rejects the call of the father. But I think both 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:51.960 of them have rejection. Both of them do reject 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.859 the father. The first one's just honest about 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:57.230 it. And I think one of the difficulties that 00:19:57.230 --> 00:20:00.769 you and I face doing ministry in like a Bible 00:20:00.769 --> 00:20:03.529 Belt context is that there are many people who 00:20:03.529 --> 00:20:08.069 are actively rejecting the Father but don't understand 00:20:08.069 --> 00:20:10.549 that that's what they're doing. Isn't that so 00:20:10.549 --> 00:20:14.089 scary though? Yeah. I mean like dead serious, 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:18.690 you know, that there are so many people because 00:20:18.690 --> 00:20:23.920 our culture is so Christianized. And the phrase 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:26.799 that I'll hear a lot is like, oh, me and God, 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:28.480 we're good. I'll be honest, whenever I hear that 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.240 phrase, it worries me. I'm just going to be honest. 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:36.119 That phrase worries me. Because that's not how 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.200 I would ever describe my relationship, even though 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.420 technically I'm like, all right, yeah, I'm good 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:44.940 with Jesus. Those aren't the words that my heart 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:48.240 would choose to use. to describe my relationship 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.359 with him. And if it's words that you would use, 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:52.000 then you'd probably back it up with, yeah, me 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.279 and God are good. Like Jesus has covered me for 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:56.819 my sins. I have an active relationship with God. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.160 Exactly. And so, but that is a phrase that I 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:04.980 hear a lot in the South. And maybe it's in other 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:07.160 places. This is just my lived experience that 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:09.480 I can talk about. For you are from the South. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:11.900 Homebred, cornbread, baby. Says the toot from 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:23.170 Charlotte. That's in the South. Oh, man. Listen, 00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:25.430 I have no room to talk and you know it. That's 00:21:25.430 --> 00:21:32.250 why I'm doing it. What are we talking about? 00:21:32.369 --> 00:21:34.609 I lost track now. I don't even know what we're 00:21:34.609 --> 00:21:37.910 doing. The prostitutes and the tax collectors. 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:42.460 have a clear understanding of who they are, what 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:44.079 they've done, and where they stand before God. 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:47.599 And see that right there. Sorry to cut you off, 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:50.539 but that right there, understanding who you are. 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:54.460 Yeah, exactly. That is the basis of that relationship. 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:58.720 Yeah. I mean, like very simply, like if you think 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:02.960 you and God are good, to use your verbiage, and 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:09.390 you kind of have like... to back that up, you're 00:22:09.390 --> 00:22:12.410 not seeing yourself clearly. Romans one, like 00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:15.009 the very beginning of the book talks about how 00:22:15.009 --> 00:22:18.549 like humankind is without excuse as it pertains 00:22:18.549 --> 00:22:21.230 to understanding that there is a God and that 00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:24.130 he does have like expectations of relationship 00:22:24.130 --> 00:22:29.480 with us. But kind of that. I'm good with God 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:33.920 mindset is exactly what the second son does. 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:38.299 I will, sir. He professes obedience. I will, 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:41.579 sir. He acknowledges that God, that the father 00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:44.700 is an authority over him, but the way he lives 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:49.680 his life does not display it. And like, I do 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:53.230 want to, I do want to like. very clearly state 00:22:53.230 --> 00:22:56.329 here. You and I are not talking about works salvation 00:22:56.329 --> 00:22:59.329 here. The conversation here is not... I think 00:22:59.329 --> 00:23:01.430 if anything our church realizes from us over 00:23:01.430 --> 00:23:04.250 the past month is that that is exactly what we 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:05.809 are not talking about. I don't know, man. Listen, 00:23:05.950 --> 00:23:11.029 I spent so many years in the chains of a workspace 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:15.829 faith, just for my own story. I can be... I will 00:23:15.829 --> 00:23:19.029 admit I'm hypersensitive to it. So would you 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:21.950 mind sharing with our Pursuing Jesus listeners 00:23:21.950 --> 00:23:23.849 a little bit more about your story then? Yeah, 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:26.789 absolutely. So I did grow up in a Christian home, 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:30.069 and I believe that my parents fully, completely 00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:33.549 understand the gospel and are walking with Jesus. 00:23:33.769 --> 00:23:37.750 But particularly from a young age, I was exposed 00:23:37.750 --> 00:23:42.970 to a lot of believers who placed far more emphasis 00:23:42.970 --> 00:23:46.430 on the way that you looked. influencing the kind 00:23:46.430 --> 00:23:50.410 of person that you are versus really anything 00:23:50.410 --> 00:23:53.769 spiritual per se. They placed a lot of emphasis 00:23:53.769 --> 00:23:57.150 on the external appearance, like, you know. Um, 00:23:57.390 --> 00:23:58.730 of course you wouldn't know it now, but like, 00:23:58.849 --> 00:24:01.269 you know, like you're for a dude, if you had 00:24:01.269 --> 00:24:03.849 hair that touched your ears, you know, that, 00:24:03.910 --> 00:24:05.250 that was in your heart, they're sitting in your 00:24:05.250 --> 00:24:06.910 heart. Yep. If you know, you know, don't listen 00:24:06.910 --> 00:24:08.990 to rock music because that's the appearance of 00:24:08.990 --> 00:24:11.890 worldliness. And so like kind of with one side 00:24:11.890 --> 00:24:13.390 of their mouth, they would proclaim Christ, but 00:24:13.390 --> 00:24:15.029 the other, they would say, Jesus only wants one 00:24:15.029 --> 00:24:17.089 certain kind of person and it's, and they look 00:24:17.089 --> 00:24:19.910 like us. I even think there may have been some 00:24:19.910 --> 00:24:23.589 ethnic ties there that solidified that for them. 00:24:23.690 --> 00:24:27.130 And so when I became a believer at a young... 00:24:27.130 --> 00:24:29.210 When I made a profession of faith at a young 00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:30.529 age, although I don't think that was genuine 00:24:30.529 --> 00:24:33.049 until I was in high school, I had this perspective 00:24:33.049 --> 00:24:36.230 of a very angry, vindictive God who was ready 00:24:36.230 --> 00:24:41.609 to just smite me at any time. And I carried that 00:24:41.609 --> 00:24:46.990 through some... I carried that through different 00:24:46.990 --> 00:24:49.490 contexts that did understand the true gospel, 00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:53.450 and I thought I had it. But man, my perspective 00:24:53.450 --> 00:24:56.150 of him got darker and darker and darker because 00:24:56.150 --> 00:25:00.359 I kept making more and more mistakes. And so 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:03.440 if I'm supposed to be justified before God with 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:06.160 my works, if I'm supposed to be good enough for 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.740 him to accept me, look good enough, smile hard 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.660 enough, be clean cut enough, fit in well enough, 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:12.859 because that was another piece of it too that 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:15.079 was interesting about my context. It wasn't just 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:16.539 who you are, it's how you fit with the whole 00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:18.680 that determined your righteousness before God 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:24.319 is the way that they acted. Eventually it just 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:25.680 drove me to this place where I'm like, if this 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:27.460 is all that the Christian life is, I don't want 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:31.369 it. Like genuinely, if God is just this angry 00:25:31.369 --> 00:25:37.390 man with cosmic power to mock me every time I 00:25:37.390 --> 00:25:40.450 do something wrong, and that is his core, his 00:25:40.450 --> 00:25:44.150 heart, then how could any of what Jesus says 00:25:44.150 --> 00:25:47.930 be true? Like you say you came to give life and 00:25:47.930 --> 00:25:51.549 life abundantly, but this is hell. You say come 00:25:51.549 --> 00:25:54.609 to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I 00:25:54.609 --> 00:25:56.609 will give you rest. This doesn't feel like rest. 00:25:56.650 --> 00:25:59.829 This feels like toil. You say my sheep hear my 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:04.789 voice. Why don't I hear you? And so I had a season 00:26:04.789 --> 00:26:10.130 where I internally began to resent God directly 00:26:10.130 --> 00:26:15.930 and where I was not pursuing him for a long time. 00:26:16.049 --> 00:26:17.950 And then it took somebody presenting me the real 00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:21.849 gospel where I recognized that the half -truth 00:26:21.849 --> 00:26:25.289 in the lie that was tearing me apart was that 00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:28.109 there is a consequence for sin. God is a just 00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:32.210 God. God is a righteous God. And sin must be 00:26:32.210 --> 00:26:35.130 punished. That's the half -truth, because Jesus, 00:26:35.230 --> 00:26:38.250 knowing all of those things, knowing every single 00:26:38.250 --> 00:26:42.009 mistake that I would make, stepped down from 00:26:42.009 --> 00:26:45.490 eternity, and he came close. If I say anything 00:26:45.490 --> 00:26:47.869 in a prayer on a Sunday morning, it's that. That's 00:26:47.869 --> 00:26:51.549 near and dear to me, that God put his hands in 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:55.380 the dirt. He didn't remain far off lobbing insults 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:59.859 and trouble at us. Jesus took on flesh and lived 00:26:59.859 --> 00:27:03.380 a life and had experiences like I do. So when 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:05.319 you were going through all this, would you... 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:09.000 Were you saved at the time? No, absolutely not. 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.039 That's why I was curious. I was curious if you 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.140 were saved and just had a bad foundation of theology 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:15.559 or if you were just absolutely lost. No, I was 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:18.680 absolutely lost because I had absorbed... I did 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.339 not believe that Jesus' work was good enough. 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:25.579 And that came out even after I was a believer 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:28.359 for several years because I believe I made a 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:30.359 genuine profession of faith in high school. It's 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:31.660 a lot of ground to cover up until high school, 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:35.160 but it was what it was. But even talking with 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:37.640 a man a couple of years after that who was discipling 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.299 me, I was really wrestling with just deep guilt. 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:44.839 And he's like, Jesus' blood covers that mistake 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.779 that you made, dude. And my response to him was, 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:52.180 wouldn't that be nice? I didn't believe it. And 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:55.440 so if that's the ideology that characterized 00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:00.160 my spiritual state early on, I didn't have understanding 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:03.440 of the gospel until I was in high school. And 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:07.799 so when I hear or even when I'm saying something 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:11.059 that sounds like you have to be a certain kind 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:14.619 of person to be saved. You got alerts going off 00:28:14.619 --> 00:28:16.519 in your brain. I get alerts going off in my brain 00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:18.460 because that's a prison that, frankly, I still 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:20.539 had to rattle those bars sometimes because I 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:22.720 can sink back into that if I'm not careful. Yeah. 00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:24.990 I appreciate you being honest, man, and sharing 00:28:24.990 --> 00:28:26.789 with our listeners a little bit about your story. 00:28:27.009 --> 00:28:31.250 Yeah. There's a lot there. What's been interesting 00:28:31.250 --> 00:28:34.890 to me is that often the Lord brings people into 00:28:34.890 --> 00:28:37.250 my life that are in similar cages. Well, and 00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:40.130 I think this is why testimonies are so powerful, 00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:42.829 right? And I think, I mean, it's biblical. The 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:45.630 church, you know, the church is supposed to worship, 00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:47.190 is supposed to preach, and is supposed to share 00:28:47.190 --> 00:28:50.569 testimonies. It's a part of what we are to do. 00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:53.769 And when we share our story, with other people, 00:28:53.950 --> 00:28:56.150 you know, we never know the context that people 00:28:56.150 --> 00:28:57.369 are dealing with, because especially what you're 00:28:57.369 --> 00:28:59.250 talking about is a mental battle a lot of times 00:28:59.250 --> 00:29:01.250 that you're dealing with. And so a lot of those 00:29:01.250 --> 00:29:03.410 are not known. You know, people might look like 00:29:03.410 --> 00:29:06.190 they're good on the outside, but internally they 00:29:06.190 --> 00:29:08.029 might be struggling with some of these things, 00:29:08.150 --> 00:29:10.990 and you never know just by sharing your story 00:29:10.990 --> 00:29:13.049 and how the Lord has brought you through these 00:29:13.049 --> 00:29:15.569 things and helping you to see Him in the true 00:29:15.569 --> 00:29:19.170 colors that He is, how it's helping other people. 00:29:19.549 --> 00:29:23.069 Genuinely. The book of Revelation says that we 00:29:23.069 --> 00:29:25.289 as believers overcome by the blood of the Lamb 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:29.269 and the word of our testimony. That kind of victory 00:29:29.269 --> 00:29:32.329 that we find in Jesus is through his power and 00:29:32.329 --> 00:29:34.289 blood. He's made a way and he's empowered us. 00:29:34.349 --> 00:29:37.769 And through our honesty. It goes back to the 00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:41.309 parable, dude. We see ourselves as God sees us. 00:29:41.410 --> 00:29:43.869 And then we can move forward with his power and 00:29:43.869 --> 00:29:46.099 his blessing. We walk into the kingdom of God 00:29:46.099 --> 00:29:49.200 alongside the tax collectors and the prostitutes 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:56.210 because we're on level playing field. Well, dog, 00:29:56.309 --> 00:29:58.690 this has been fun. I wasn't anticipating getting 00:29:58.690 --> 00:30:00.890 to share a little bit of my story, and there 00:30:00.890 --> 00:30:03.329 are so many details and stuff that I could fill 00:30:03.329 --> 00:30:04.869 in in Technicolor that we kind of just don't 00:30:04.869 --> 00:30:06.910 really have time for. That may be something that 00:30:06.910 --> 00:30:08.630 we do at a later time. Just kind of share more 00:30:08.630 --> 00:30:12.869 of our stories. I've been here for nine years. 00:30:13.029 --> 00:30:15.970 I've been at the church nine years, and I've 00:30:15.970 --> 00:30:19.690 shared my story so many times with the students. 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:22.900 Yeah. And there are a handful of the parents 00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:24.279 that have gone on trips and they've got to hear 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:25.700 me and different things are part of our ministry. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:29.900 But overall, the church has gotten pieces when 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:31.759 I've preached, but I don't know how much of the 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:34.039 full story they have. And so me dropping one 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:36.279 -liners like poster child for don't do drugs. 00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:39.539 There might be someone who's like, wait a second, 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:45.539 hold on. Who's our pastor? It's not who our pastor 00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:51.180 is. It's who our pastor was. Yeah. And that's 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:54.420 one of my favorite things to do as a pastor is 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:56.579 be like, hey, man, tell me your story. Because 00:30:56.579 --> 00:31:02.200 the thing that I have learned just by being curious 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:06.490 about people. And curiosity is such a good thing 00:31:06.490 --> 00:31:09.390 because it allows you to get to know people on 00:31:09.390 --> 00:31:11.430 a different level. And then just because you 00:31:11.430 --> 00:31:13.690 look at somebody and you can make quick judgments, 00:31:13.789 --> 00:31:15.789 but then all you got to do is say, tell me your 00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:17.450 story, and all of a sudden you learn who the 00:31:17.450 --> 00:31:22.230 person really is. Correct. And when we see people 00:31:22.230 --> 00:31:24.910 that way, we embrace Jesus' model of genuine 00:31:24.910 --> 00:31:28.230 community. Such good stuff, man. Such good stuff. 00:31:28.390 --> 00:31:31.289 Well, listen, genuine community of listeners, 00:31:31.490 --> 00:31:34.319 flawless transition. It's been great getting 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:37.079 to discuss these things with you guys. Let us 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:39.279 know if that's something that you'd be interested 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:42.299 in, getting to hear Sean and I's kind of testimonies 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:44.779 in a bit of a more long -form format. And listen, 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:49.140 I mean, we're open. We're open to this. We sit 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:52.019 in this room with these mics and headphones and 00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:56.230 our Bibles open and laptops open. For you, our 00:31:56.230 --> 00:31:58.089 listeners. That's what we're here for. So if 00:31:58.089 --> 00:31:59.890 there's something that we can cover, something 00:31:59.890 --> 00:32:02.470 that we can talk about to help your relationship 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:05.450 with Jesus, we absolutely want to hear about 00:32:05.450 --> 00:32:07.450 that. So whether it's our stories, whether it's 00:32:07.450 --> 00:32:11.369 something else, we use the format of going through 00:32:11.369 --> 00:32:13.349 the Pursuing Jesus devotion, and that is our 00:32:13.349 --> 00:32:15.730 default. We will continue to do that. But if 00:32:15.730 --> 00:32:17.309 there's ever anything else that we need to cover 00:32:17.309 --> 00:32:19.309 to help you guys out, we're here to do that. 00:32:19.710 --> 00:32:22.390 Absolutely. Well, it's been fun. I'm Ben Smith. 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:27.740 I am Sean Green. And we will see you next time. 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:34.019 Pursuing Jesus is a ministry of Memorial Baptist 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:36.759 Church in Norway, North Carolina. To learn more 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:40.180 about our church, please visit memorial4norwood 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:54.390 .com. Victory in Jesus, my Savior. forever. He 00:32:54.390 --> 00:32:59.869 sought me and he bought me with his redeeming 00:32:59.869 --> 00:33:03.069 flood. Wait, what? Blood? You said, what did 00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:05.309 you say? Is it flood or blood? He bought us with 00:33:05.309 --> 00:33:07.329 his blood. Goodbye.