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Good afternoon, everybody. 
I am so happy to be here with 

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you to take some questions. 
My dear Bible in 365 brothers 

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and sisters, listen, Erika is 
going to join us momentarily and

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I'm very, very much looking 
forward to doing this awesome 

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Q&A session. 
Before we open up in prayer, I 

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want us to say something that I 
think is really important and I 

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hope you guys will remember 
this. 

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What you are doing right now as 
you are reading the Bible day in

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and day out and as you're 
following the schedule is you 

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are making a tremendous 
investment in your soul. 

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You're making a tremendous 
investment in your mind. 

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You're making a tremendous 
investment in your intellect, 

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your family, your livelihood. 
All of it is a just immense, 

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immense investment, and we want 
to encourage you to continue on.

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You know, there are many people 
who will say, well, I missed 

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this day or I missed that day. 
And if you missed those days, 

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it's OK. 
We want you to just jump right 

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back on where you left off 
because God is going to honor 

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your commitment and reading His 
word in discerning and learning 

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and understanding and 
recognizing what is in front of 

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you. 
And we also want you to know 

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this. 
Look, we've got plenty of tools 

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available to you within the 
Bible and 365 app. 

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There's a great schedule. 
You've got Erika that's reading 

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through the Bible every single 
day with you, which is an 

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amazing recording you know that 
you can listen to and be a part 

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of. 
We also have a link or an area 

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where we've got lots of 
resources that are linked. 

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One of the resources that will 
be linked there is my website, 

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jamescadice.com and it's all 
there available for extended 

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teaching. 
There are hundreds and thousands

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of Bible studies that are 
available for free, and we have 

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lots of other things available 
to you, and we just want to 

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encourage you to take advantage 
of them. 

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You know, one of the things that
I'm really excited about is the 

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book that I just finished 
writing last year. 

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Part 2 is coming out very, very 
soon, but many have asked about 

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this. 
This is the Book of Revelation 

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that I wrote about. 
You're going to love that. 

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That's a great resource and a 
great example of a resource that

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you can pursue. 
And you know, our goal is to 

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help you to integrate your 
biblical worldview into 

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everything that you do in your 
finances, in the very thing that

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you do everyday in interacting 
with your families, when you go 

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to work, when you come home, 
when you interact with your 

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children. 
The goal is to give you a 

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biblical worldview that will 
encourage you and and bless you 

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that you will be able to be 
equipped in a world that, quite 

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frankly, is getting darker and 
darker and darker. 

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And it's always been Charlie and
Erica's heart to equip you in 

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that way. 
And we're really excited that 

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this audience is doing exactly 
that, that this community is 

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building a precept upon precept,
word upon word, light upon line.

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And it's faithfulness of God 
showing up as we study His Word,

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where we're learning the stuff 
and we're seeing it and we 

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continue to see God's 
faithfulness in it. 

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So don't give up, keep going, 
keep swinging hard, and God is 

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going to use you in an 
incredibly powerful way. 

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So with that said, let's pray as
we get into these questions and 

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answers. 
I might take just a few 

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questions alone, but Erika will 
be joining us. 

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So she's she's on her way. 
So let's pray. 

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Father in Heaven, we thank you 
for your word. 

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We thank you for this 
opportunity that we can dig deep

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into your word. 
Lord, we thank you for giving us

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the ability to to read your 
word, to know and to discern and

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to learn and to understand what 
it is that you're telling us. 

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Father, help us to come up with 
practical solutions that we we'd

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that we would just know what it 
is you're saying. 

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And I pray God that the words 
that I share would be your 

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words, Lord, and not mine. 
I just pray that you would bless

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our time together. 
We thank you so much for Erica. 

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We pray, Lord, that you would 
just bless her immensely. 

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We pray for all of the Kirk 
family. 

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We just prayed that you would 
pour out your spirit upon them, 

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continue to use them, encourage 
them. 

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We thank you for all the crew 
here at Bible and 365. 

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Use them and take the first 
question. 

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And this is a lifestyle 
question. 

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I think it's an important one, 
by the way, it gets asked a lot,

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believe it or not. 
And so we'll go ahead and tackle

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this. 
The question is this, does the 

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Bible say anything about 
gambling? 

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What are your thoughts on 
Christians going to the casino? 

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I'm conflicted and want to obey 
God's word and not be in sin. 

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Regina, this is a great question
and it's a great question for a 

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lot of reasons, because there's 
a lot of people who struggle 

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with this issue and it is a 
really, really important one for

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us to visit. 
And, and by the way, Christians 

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have debated this for a very 
long time. 

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I want to say this, the Bible 
never explicitly says thou shall

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not gamble. 
OK, so if we're going to answer 

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the question honestly, we need 
to start there. 

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You will not find any direct 
command in the Bible that 

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specifically forbids gambling. 
However, what the Bible does 

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give us our principles that 
should govern how we think about

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it. 
Look, the Bible warned us 

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repeatedly against the love of 
money. 

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We see that in different forms. 
First Timothy chapter 6, verse 

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10 talks about this. 
For the love of money is the 

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root of all kinds of evil. 
It's not money, it's the love of

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money. 
And that's an important passage 

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to look at because, you know, a 
lot of gambling is driven by 

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covetousness. 
It's driven by the desire to get

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rich quick. 
It's a desire to kind of get 

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something for nothing. 
And it's really the hope of 

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becoming wealthy without labor, 
without stewardship, without 

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diligence. 
And God says that if you will 

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labor, if you will exercise good
stewardship, if you will work 

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diligently, then you can 
actually produce wealth. 

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And this is not a health and 
wealth message. 

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Secondly, I said secondly, 
sorry. 

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Second, the Bible consistently 
commends hard work. 

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And why stewardship? 
Look, Proverbs is filled with 

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reminders that God blesses 
diligence and condemns reckless 

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financial behavior. 
Gambling often places money at 

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risk with odds intentionally, by
the way, designed to favor the 

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house. 
When I say the house, meaning 

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the people that you're going and
gambling in the casinos, look, 

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they're not built because 
gamblers win, OK? 

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They're built because they make 
money off the death of the 

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future. 
And 3rd and, and perhaps most 

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consequentially, we have to ask 
whether it's helping or hurting 

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not only our witness, but our 
families, our lives. 

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Look, if a believer finds 
himself spending money that he 

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can't afford to lose, you know, 
chasing losses, trying to make 

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up for these types of wins, 
becoming addicted, even 

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neglecting responsibilities, 
guys. 

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It's not good. 
You create a stumbling block for

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others. 
And I, when I say stumbling 

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block, I'm not necessarily 
talking about somebody who looks

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at you and then they're stumbled
by it and they go and follow you

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in the casino. 
A stumbling block because your 

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bad behavior will create a 
burden and a problem that other 

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people will have to stomach 
because of what you've done. 

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Now, do I think it's a sin for a
Christian to walk into a casino?

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No, not not necessarily. 
But let me just say this, a 

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building doesn't make you 
sinful. 

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OK, but I personally would never
encourage it because casinos are

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specifically designed to exploit
human weakness. 

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They're designed to exploit 
greed, addiction. 

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Everything about that 
environment is engineered to 

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separate people not only from 
their money, but from their God.

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And that's, I think that's 
really, really important. 

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So here's the question that I 
would ask. 

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Can you do it with a clear 
conscience before the Lord? 

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Can you honestly say you're 
being a wise Stewart? 

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That's the question that I would
ask. 

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Can you, you know, literally 
lose every dollar you bring and 

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still glorify God in the 
process? 

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If the answer is no, well, guess
what, you probably shouldn't be 

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there. 
So in most cases, I would say 

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it's not a good idea. 
Now, my personal conviction is 

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that Christians are better off, 
you know, completely avoiding 

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gambling all together and 
investing their resources in 

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ways that are going to honor 
God, buy back your time, bless, 

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you know, your families, 
advances, Kingdom. 

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And I think that's a much wiser 
path. 

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As a matter of fact, I 
personally encourage people to 

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learn how to utilize resources 
like what's available in the US 

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stock and options market. 
It's something that's a good, a 

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good tool, but you can't do it 
as a gambler. 

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You have to develop a skill set.
And by the way, if you go on my 

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website, we actually have 
information on how you can do 

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that. 
Take some classes where you can 

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learn how to be able to do that 
and not gamble to actually make 

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calculated decisions that will 
help you and your family. 

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And I think that's really 
important. 

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So when it, when push comes to 
shove, that's what you want to 

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avoid. 
And it's, I think it's really 

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important that you think at that
level, that we think at that 

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level because God's given us too
much to, to throw it away. 

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OK, so the next question is 
Bella Rose. 

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This is a really, really 
vulnerable question. 

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I and I, I got to tell you, I 
really admire the boldness and 

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asking this question. 
And, and it, it, it, it reads 

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something. 
Oh, let me read that. 

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OK. 
It says, how do I remain happy 

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for someone when I am tempted to
be jealous of what they have? 

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Man, I what a Bella Rose. 
Can I just say that you are so 

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incredibly in touch with your 
own heart and your emotions. 

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It's I think it's AI think it's 
a sign that you're really 

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walking with the Lord. 
OK, because it's a very honest 

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question. 
And the fact that you're asking 

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it tells me that the Holy 
Spirit's already doing a work in

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your heart. 
I mean, honestly, I see it. 

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It's just, it's amazing and and 
you know, most people will 

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justify their jealousy instead 
of confronting it. 

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One of the things you have to 
remember is that jealousy often 

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comes from comparing God's plan 
for someone else with God's plan

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for you. 
Don't do that because the 

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problem is you're comparing 2 
stories that God is writing 

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separately. 
And God has a unique calling. 

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He's got a unique timeline. 
He's got a unique gifting and a 

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purpose for every single person.
Look, when Peter looked at John 

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and wanted to know what God was 
going to do with him, Jesus 

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essentially told Peter, it's not
your concern, you follow me, 

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right? 
Look at, look at what it says. 

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And John, I got to find it here.
Sorry, a little slow to the draw

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here. 
Let me look. 

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Where is it? 
John 2122 Jesus saith unto him, 

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If I will, that he tarry till I 
come. 

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What is it to thee? 
Follow thou me in other words, 

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hey, don't get distracted by 
what I'm doing in somebody 

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else's life. 
That's what the Lord is telling 

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him. 
So stay focused on what he's 

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doing in your life. 
Look, I found that one of the 

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best ways to defeat jealousy is 
to intentionally. 

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This is an important word, 
right? 

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Intentionally thank God for the 
blessings he's given the other 

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person. 
That's a really important thing 

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to do. 
That sounds very simple, but 

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it's powerful when you begin 
praying. 

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Lord, thank you for blessing 
them or thank you for providing 

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for them. 
Thank you for using them. 

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Look, it's very hard to get 
bitter. 

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You can't get bitter when that 
ends up happening. 

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And the other thing to remember 
is that what you see on the 

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outside is rarely ever the whole
story. 

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Now you might look at somebody 
go, I wish I could be 

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physically, you know, I, I do 
this sometimes I see some people

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running and jumping and oh man, 
I wish I could be like them. 

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And you know, I'm working 
towards that goal. 

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But the reality of it is I don't
know what their whole story is. 

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Like you, you may envy 
somebody's success with their 

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marriage or their finances, 
their ministry or whatever 

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00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,760
opportunities you may perceive 
they have without realizing what

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kind of struggles or sacrifices 
or burdens they might carry. 

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Someone came to me the other day
and said it must be nice to be 

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you. 
And I said, you want to trade. 

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So it's kind of important to 
understand that. 

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And look, jealousy is often, and
I want you to understand this 

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because it has everything to do 
with you, right? 

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Jealousy is often a thief of 
joy. 

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It steals joy away. 
Why? 

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Because it causes us to overlook
God's faithfulness in our own 

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life. 
Instead of focusing on what 

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someone else has, spend time 
thanking God for what he's 

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already done for you. 
Look, gratitude is one of the 

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greatest antidotes to any kind 
of jealousy or bitterness. 

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And when you learn to look at 
people and their successes and 

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be happy about their successes, 
you train your mind in your 

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00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,960
heart to be open to what God 
wants to do in your life for 

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your successes, you know, for 
everything that He would put 

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upon you. 
So my encouragement would be 

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00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,600
this, celebrate God's blessings 
in other people's lives because 

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they eventually become your 
blessings, OK? 

248
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And thank Him for what He's 
doing in your life and trust His

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00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,920
plan for you, right? 
That He is putting you exactly 

250
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where you need to be. 
And that brings me to passages 

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like, you know, Proverbs chapter
3, you know, verses 5 and 6 

252
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where it says trust the Lord 
with all your heart. 

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00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,760
Don't lean on your own 
understanding and in all your 

254
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:10,440
ways acknowledge Him and what 
he'll do. 

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He'll direct your paths. 
So trust him, He'll direct you. 

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00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,880
And your story will be something
that most people look at and 

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00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:22,880
just be mind boggled and be 
like, what in the world just 

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00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,120
happened? 
And I think that's where the 

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00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,200
value comes into place. 
I think it's just an awesome 

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00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,920
place to be. 
OK next question and this is 

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00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,720
Abby. 
Abby says I'm a writer. 

262
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,160
Most of my stories are fantasy 
in genre and include elements 

263
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,040
like vampires, werewolves, 
witches, and magic in general, 

264
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,600
both good and evil. 
I was wondering if as a 

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00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,120
Christian it's OK to write about
these types of things. 

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00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,480
Sometimes the stories can get 
pretty dark and things that 

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00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,960
would generally a things that 
would generally would be 

268
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:58,160
considered evil, like vampires 
are portrayed like good guys or 

269
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,600
heroes. 
Yeah, that's a tough one. 

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00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,440
And I I, you know, I definitely 
want to put some thought into 

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00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:11,160
this as I give you the answer. 
But look, the Bible, let me just

272
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:12,840
tell you what the Bible doesn't 
prohibit, right? 

273
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,680
The Bible doesn't prohibit 
fiction. 

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00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,680
By the way, can you guys reset 
the timer so that I can look at 

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00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:19,840
my. 
Sorry about that. 

276
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:26,840
Anyway, the Bible does not 
prohibit fiction of any of any 

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00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:27,600
type. 
OK? 

278
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,440
Telling stories is a very, very 
powerful way to communicate, you

279
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:36,480
know, communicate truth. 
The real question is whether is 

280
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,960
it whether or not you're writing
fantasy, The real question is 

281
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,120
what are you doing with the 
opportunity that's been put in 

282
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,000
front of you with the talent 
that God has given you, right? 

283
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,880
What is the worldview that 
you're promoting through your 

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00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,920
fantasy? 
For example, CS Lewis is 

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00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:50,280
probably one of my favorite 
writers. 

286
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:52,240
You know, he wrote the 
Chronicles of Narnia. 

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00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,280
I mean, when you, when you look 
at that or even the Lord of the 

288
00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,600
Rings, which I never read the 
Lord of the Rings, believe it or

289
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,600
not, but the Chronicles of 
Narnia was my one of my favorite

290
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,080
CS Loose is one of my favorite 
authors. 

291
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:03,360
Erika and I were actually just 
talking about. 

292
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:04,960
CS we were just talking about 
this. 

293
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,520
Hi, hello. 
It's. 

294
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,360
Good to see you. 
Wonderful, by the way. 

295
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:11,520
Thank you. 
Today's been a. 

296
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,840
Today's been a day. 
Today has been a Friday, let me 

297
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,360
tell you. 
I can't imagine. 

298
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:20,520
Yeah. 
And I it's, it's it's kind of 

299
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,120
been that way here too. 
Yeah. 

300
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,080
It's been a it's been a Friday. 
It's been a Friday. 

301
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:27,840
When I heard you talking about 
vampires, I was like, yeah, they

302
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,120
might not actually be, you know,
real, real. 

303
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:36,320
But I tell you what. 
Oh, no, listen, they, they, 

304
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,400
they, they promote a lot of 
things. 

305
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,400
And, and actually that's kind of
where I was going to, you know, 

306
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,560
those stories will ultimately 
point people toward the, the 

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00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,840
stories like CS Lewis, the 
Chronicles of Narnia, they're 

308
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:49,320
always going to point people 
toward truth. 

309
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,400
Themes like sacrifice, 
redemption, courage is a big 

310
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:54,840
theme, You know, even 
righteousness. 

311
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,000
I mean, it's, it's one of those 
things, but I, I have concern 

312
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,200
when evil is glorified or when 
it's normalized. 

313
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,440
Look, if witches, vampires, 
demons, dark spiritual forces, 

314
00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:07,880
all of these things that you 
mentioned are, are being 

315
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,440
presented as admirable in a way 
that causes readers to desire or

316
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,200
celebrate like the things that 
God condemns, then I think we've

317
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,200
actually crossed the line in the
dangerous territory. 

318
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,800
And I think the Bible is very 
clear about God's view of 

319
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,520
witchcraft and the occult. 
Deuteronomy speaks about it. 

320
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:23,760
The book of Acts speaks about 
it. 

321
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,880
Leviticus speaks about it. 
Numbers speak about it. 

322
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,400
They repeat those practices on a
on a daily basis. 

323
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:34,000
So, you know, look, I'm an 
author, OK? 

324
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:39,640
And God has blessed me with the 
ability to write a book that's 

325
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,680
been very, very successful. 
Really. 

326
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,200
It's done really, really well. 
And one question I often ask, 

327
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,720
and I've written lots of 
articles is, you know, what is 

328
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,920
the reader supposed to walk away
with admiring? 

329
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,640
You know, are they admiring 
themes like courage, sacrifice, 

330
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,080
biblical proponents? 
Or are they walking away 

331
00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,160
admiring rebellion? 
Are they admiring darkness? 

332
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,440
Are you making them comfortable 
with darkness? 

333
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:04,080
OK, you mentioned vampires and 
werewolves being betrayed as 

334
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,600
heroes. 
I, I think I can make a 

335
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,680
reasonable argument that that is
not healthy. 

336
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,320
It's it's bad. 
Remember, look, and I, I own, I 

337
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:15,720
don't want this to be taken the 
wrong way. 

338
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,400
OK? 
Please don't take this the wrong

339
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,840
way. 
Satan's greatest, greatest 

340
00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:25,360
tactic, tongue tied here, His 
greatest tactic has always been 

341
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,080
to make evil appear good and 
good appear evil. 

342
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,560
Isaiah condemns it. 
Woe to those who do that. 

343
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,760
So that's why discernment is 
very important for Christian 

344
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,520
artists and writers. 
We have to think that through. 

345
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,880
So my counsel would be this. 
Continue writing, continue 

346
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:43,520
creating. 
It's what God's called you to 

347
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,560
do. 
But regularly ask yourself, does

348
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,480
this story ultimately glorify 
God, or does it point people 

349
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,520
toward truth? 
Or does it drive them in the in 

350
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,240
a different direction? 
Use the talent that God gave 

351
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:56,960
you. 
Because remember, as Christians,

352
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,600
we're not just called to be 
creative. 

353
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:01,200
It's a big part of what we're 
called to do because we're 

354
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,760
created in God's likeness and an
image that he's a creator. 

355
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,280
We're called to be faithful with
our creativity. 

356
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,880
And I think that's the standard 
you should use when evaluating 

357
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,440
your work. 
I think that's amazing. 

358
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:16,440
That's beautiful, because even 
as a creative myself with even 

359
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,200
stuff with proclaim like I want 
to make sure that all of that is

360
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:24,320
glorifying to the Lord just 
everything you do should be. 

361
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:30,040
I'm assuming that you are now 
going to question Lydia. 

362
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,040
Is that the next one? 
Yeah, Lydia would be the next 

363
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,200
question. 
I was in the height of my 

364
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,960
addiction to very hard drugs, 
but I started going to church. 

365
00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:42,200
When I got out of prison, I 
remember the pastor reading the 

366
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,680
widow's offering, and though I 
barely had changed to offer, I 

367
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:47,880
gave it. 
I'm now six years clean and 

368
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,760
sober -1 day relapse and 
attempted suicide. 

369
00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,840
But is it unforgivable that I 
was high in a place of the Lord?

370
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:05,320
Wow, OK, look, here's the thing 
that that you have to remember. 

371
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:14,920
OK, your boy, I got I really, I 
really need to think about this.

372
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:22,760
Your, your past, all the things 
that have happened to you in the

373
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:28,240
past and the things that were a 
part of you are no longer that 

374
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:32,600
person. 
When you talk about relapsing 

375
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:39,000
and attempting suicide, you're 
believing the lie that's being 

376
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:45,720
spoken about you. 
And that lie is God continues to

377
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:50,640
remind you of his promises. 
God continues to tell you and 

378
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,080
show you how much he loves you 
and how much he cares about you.

379
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,760
And the enemy wants you to 
believe the lies that are being 

380
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,640
communicated. 
And I think that more than ever,

381
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,360
we need to become people. 
And this is so like so 

382
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,600
incredibly critical. 
Like you have to, you have to 

383
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,640
hear me when I say this, OK? 
More than ever, we have to 

384
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:14,120
become people who choose to 
believe what God says about you,

385
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,320
OK? 
You cannot believe the lie 

386
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,600
that's being communicated. 
You cannot it's easy to get to 

387
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,920
this place where you feel so 
overwhelmed by the things that 

388
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,200
you perceive because of the 
enemy and what he does and what 

389
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,120
he lies to you concerning. 
And then we act on it. 

390
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,880
It's it's part of human nature. 
But when you ask this question, 

391
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,040
and I want to go back to the to 
the last part of this, let me 

392
00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,440
see if I can bring it up because
I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm missing it 

393
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,520
because there's one part of this
question that really concerns 

394
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:49,040
me. 
You say you say I barely had. 

395
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:53,360
I barely had, you said. 
I'm now six years clean and 

396
00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,800
sober -1 day relapse and 
attempted suicide. 

397
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:01,960
But is but is it unforgivable 
that I was high in a place of 

398
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,440
the Lord? 
I mean, the answer to that is 

399
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:09,280
undoubtedly you are forgiven. 
I mean, you make the mistake. 

400
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,760
The short answer is no, it's not
unforgivable. 

401
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,880
And and there's so many verses, 
by the way, in the Bible that 

402
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,800
speak about this. 
One of my favorite verses is 

403
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,920
first, John 19. 
What does he say if we confess 

404
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,280
our sins? 
He's faithful and just to 

405
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,080
forgive us our sins and to 
cleanse us from all 

406
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,560
unrighteousness. 
Notice what it says there, that 

407
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,040
here's the condition. 
It's a it's a phrase I wish I 

408
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,760
could explain it in the Greek. 
It says all unrighteousness. 

409
00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:36,600
OK, So what concerns me more is 
that you're carrying guilt over 

410
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:38,880
something that happened during a
the season of addiction and 

411
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,480
profound brokenness. 
And you mentioned a relapse and 

412
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,360
an attempted suicide. 
Those are indicators of someone 

413
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,080
who was suffering deeply and 
desperately needed God's 

414
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:48,120
intervention. 
And guess what? 

415
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,239
He intervened. 
I mean, unless I'm 

416
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,960
misunderstanding the story, the 
beautiful part of your testimony

417
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:57,640
is that God met you there and it
has sustained you for six years.

418
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,280
But look, sometimes the enemy 
wants you to keep looking 

419
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,520
backward at sins that have 
already been forgiven. 

420
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,440
And God calls us to look at the 
finished work of Christ. 

421
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,600
This is something that we talk. 
You know, Erika and I talk about

422
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,560
this on a regular basis. 
It's amazing how the enemy will 

423
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:15,840
use different people to remind 
you and remind the world of who 

424
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,040
you once were. 
Yet God says that what has he 

425
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,120
done? 
Psalm one O 3 as far as the east

426
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,000
is from the West. 
So far have he removed our 

427
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,920
transgressions from us. 
So I would encourage you to stop

428
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:31,200
asking whether whether or not 
God can forgive that sin and 

429
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,680
start thanking him that he 
already has, right? 

430
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:35,880
Like don't wonder whether or not
he's done it. 

431
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,040
Just start thanking him that he 
has because he has looked. 

432
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:39,520
The greater testimony is not 
that you failed. 

433
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:44,040
The greater testimony, quite 
frankly, is that God picked you 

434
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:45,360
up. 
He preserved your life. 

435
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,000
He he delivered you from 
addiction, and he's kept you 

436
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:52,280
walking with him for six years. 
OK, look, that's not the story 

437
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:54,640
of someone who's beyond 
forgiveness, OK? 

438
00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:57,320
I mean, that's the story of 
someone who's experienced the 

439
00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,280
mercy and the grace of God in a 
very powerful way. 

440
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:01,720
And I would tell you, believe 
that. 

441
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:05,720
Believe your new identity in 
Christ, not your what I would 

442
00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:10,520
call lie identity, OK? 
Don't believe the lies that the 

443
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,000
that the enemy is telling you, 
because those lies are just 

444
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,760
brutal. 
Don't, don't, don't let them 

445
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,200
believe that. 
So we just read actually that 

446
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:23,160
that portion between David and 
and Nathan where David was 

447
00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:28,000
sharing, isn't that right, Where
David said he confessed and and 

448
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:34,240
Nathan was like, you know, 
you're, you're forgiven, but 

449
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,560
like you're not, you can't 
escape the consequences of the 

450
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:41,080
sin and of your choice, but 
you're forgiven. 

451
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,520
I guess that that kind of goes 
in with this as well, right? 

452
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:51,680
Like to some extent. 
I just lost your audio. 

453
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:53,400
Hold on, let me fix this. 
This is my problem. 

454
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,360
My my audio's been cutting in 
and out. 

455
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,800
No, no, you're fine. 
I was just saying it's, it's one

456
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,040
of those things where like you 
are forgiven for your sins, 

457
00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:07,000
obviously, because that's, you 
know, a very direct thing, but 

458
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,200
you're not. 
You can't escape the 

459
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:13,040
consequences of your sin. 
Yeah, yeah, 100%. 

460
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,600
I mean, look, you're going to 
have consequences for the things

461
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:17,720
that you've done. 
But I mean, I would even argue 

462
00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:20,400
in this case that God has, you 
know, restored your mind. 

463
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:20,920
He's. 
Restored. 

464
00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:21,960
Oh, yeah. 
No, not this. 

465
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,680
I'm not saying not this. 
This is very no, no, no. 

466
00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:30,400
I'm just saying like in general 
with with regard to we'll use 

467
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,240
David as an example. 
You know, he was a Sinner, but 

468
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:39,920
he there was, he didn't escape 
the decisions that he made while

469
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:41,800
sitting for the consequences of 
it. 

470
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:44,480
Yeah, I'm not saying Lydia as an
example of that. 

471
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,720
I'm just saying overall when it 
comes to sinning. 

472
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,240
Yeah, so, boy, you brought up 
such a good point. 

473
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,600
You know, I'll give you the 
example I always give everybody.

474
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:57,720
I think we talked about this 
recently, you know, like I, I 

475
00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:02,320
could, I could decide that I'm 
going to drop a, a tab of acid, 

476
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:06,080
right? 
And then just completely freak 

477
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,200
out and think that my arm is a 
dragon and then I cut off my 

478
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:10,520
arm. 
Well, guess what? 

479
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:14,560
When I wake up in the morning 
after getting high has will God 

480
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:19,320
forgive me of that? 
Undoubtedly, but will I actually

481
00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:21,000
have a consequence that I have 
to live with? 

482
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,080
The answer to that is yes, and 
that's the. 

483
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,160
I think that's the bigger issue.
Right, right, right, right. 

484
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,520
Yeah, Yep. 
OK. 

485
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,240
The next question is from Louis 
How should I help a Christian 

486
00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:33,360
friend who is addicted to 
pornography? 

487
00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:41,600
Who look, look, it's a it's a 
big issue. 

488
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,000
And and I'll tell you why. 
First of all, you have to 

489
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,320
understand the nature of 
pornography. 

490
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:49,800
Pornography is a tough issue. 
OK. 

491
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,440
Like if you go to me as a 
counselor and you say, Pastor 

492
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:55,480
James, what would you rather 
deal with? 

493
00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,120
Would you rather deal with 
somebody who's addicted to 

494
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:58,800
pornography or would you rather 
deal with somebody who's 

495
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,560
addicted to heroin? 
I'll take the heroin every 

496
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,800
single time. 
I mean literally every single 

497
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:03,320
time. 
Why? 

498
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:04,960
Let me tell you how heroin 
works. 

499
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,640
You take heroin, you feel high. 
You want to feel the same kind 

500
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:10,240
of high. 
You take more heroin. 

501
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,520
You keep taking more, you'll 
begin to achieve close to the 

502
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:18,560
same type of response. 
And it will always work that 

503
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,040
way. 
Pornography doesn't work that 

504
00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:23,200
way. 
You consume pornography if you 

505
00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,280
want to feel the same 
stimulation that you felt the 

506
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,680
first time that you watched it. 
Watching more of it will 

507
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,880
actually dull you. 
What what's scary is you have to

508
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,080
watch something that's 
different, and that's where we 

509
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:41,480
build mass murderers from. 
It's a very dangerous, very 

510
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:45,600
dangerous place to be. 
So the the first thing that you 

511
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:49,280
have to do is you have to 
recognize that it is one of the 

512
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,680
most destructive addictions 
that's facing Christianity Today

513
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,560
and Christians Day. 
And unfortunately, many people 

514
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,000
suffer in silence because 
they're ashamed to actually talk

515
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:58,200
about it. 
The problem is. 

516
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:04,520
I mean, it's so destructive that
you have to treat it with with 

517
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,320
almost an intentionality that 
you treat nothing else with. 

518
00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,800
Now, the first thing I would 
tell you is to approach your 

519
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,280
friend with grace and with 
truth. 

520
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,680
Okay, that's critically 
important. 

521
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:18,800
Now, you cannot minimalize by 
any stretch of the imagination 

522
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:23,000
or minimize the sin, but I don't
want you to to really crush the 

523
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:25,560
person either. 
OK, Galatians tells us. 

524
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,840
You see somebody in fault, you 
go to them in a spirit of 

525
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,760
meekness, and you seek to bring 
restoration. 

526
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,160
But the thing that I would do is
I would encourage them to bring 

527
00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:38,120
the struggle into the light. 
The only way you will find 

528
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,600
victory over this struggle is to
bring it into the light. 

529
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:45,280
Pornography thrives in secrecy, 
so one of Satan's greatest tools

530
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:49,120
is isolation, and people who are
addicted to it will function in 

531
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,080
isolation more and more and 
more. 

532
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:56,040
So when somebody believes, also 
help them understand that it's 

533
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,160
not like a behavioral issue in 
and of itself. 

534
00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:00,960
If you get them, if you frame 
this as though it's some 

535
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:05,240
behavioral issue, it's you'll 
it'll never work, OK, because a 

536
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,400
lot of people do that. 
What they do is you'll have 

537
00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,240
counselors say, well, we're 
going to put a, a code on your 

538
00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:12,040
computer that's going to block 
you from doing it. 

539
00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,000
OK, well then how do you solve 
the problem of closing your eyes

540
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,760
and imagining it in your mind? 
It's ultimately a heart issue, 

541
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,120
not a behavioral issue. 
And Jesus even says it. 

542
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,880
He says, you know, whoever so 
look at upon a woman with lust 

543
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:28,320
after hath already committed 
adultery with her, with her 

544
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,000
already in his heart. 
So the battle has nothing to do 

545
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,080
with the images on the screen. 
It involves the mind and it 

546
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:37,960
involves what's going on in your
heart, which is why you have to 

547
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,440
encourage practical action. 
If a person is serious about 

548
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,760
overcoming pornography, they 
should be willing to remove the 

549
00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:46,800
access points. 
In other words, you are going to

550
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,200
remove it from your heart and 
your mind if you do not allow 

551
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:55,400
yourself to be subject to it. 
And it might seem like you know 

552
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:59,080
simple accountability software 
and filtering devices, but it's 

553
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:02,880
a lot more than that, right? 
For married couples, I encourage

554
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:07,560
men to not be allowed to log 
into certain areas unless their 

555
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:09,120
wife types in the code with 
them. 

556
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,800
And that sounds extreme 
initially, but what it does is 

557
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,200
it keeps the mechanism of 
accountability, right. 

558
00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:19,280
I would get rid of certain apps 
if there's things that create 

559
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,880
the, the mindset to move there. 
I, I, I was just working with 

560
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:25,280
somebody who's had some victory 
over this, where I said you can 

561
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,680
no longer stay up late at night.
You need to go to bed and then 

562
00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:31,200
wake up early in the morning and
start doing your work early in 

563
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,040
the morning. 
Because late at night your body 

564
00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:36,720
is weak, your mind is weak, your
vulnerability is extended. 

565
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:40,560
And The thing is, we are 
supposed to take a radical stand

566
00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:41,680
with sin. 
That's what Jesus said. 

567
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:43,720
We don't negotiate against it, 
right. 

568
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:47,000
And then look, here's one of the
most important aspects of this. 

569
00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:51,280
You must remind your friend that
victory is possible through 

570
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:53,280
Christ. 
This is why I have a strong 

571
00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:55,120
disagreement with, with these 
books that are written. 

572
00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:56,760
I think there's one called Every
Man's battle. 

573
00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:00,160
There's a bunch of these books 
that are written I I cannot 

574
00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:02,240
stand the premise of these 
books. 

575
00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:05,120
Many Christians fall into the 
trap of believing that they'll 

576
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:07,080
be struggling forever. 
That's not true. 

577
00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:10,160
God can absolutely delivered 
people from pornography. 

578
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:14,920
He can it now look, it may be a 
problem like a like a process, 

579
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:21,160
right, but there's going to be 
anytime you involve yourself in 

580
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,680
intentional process that the 
setbacks are going to come with 

581
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:28,400
intentionality comes disruption,
but the disruption will pay you 

582
00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:30,280
off. 
And if your friend has fallen 

583
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:34,200
repeatedly and by the way, let 
me not say fallen when your when

584
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,840
your friend has literally 
purposely done what they've 

585
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:39,760
done, because fallen is not a 
great word to use. 

586
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:41,120
It implies that you just fell 
over. 

587
00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,800
No, when they've intentionally 
done this repeatedly remind them

588
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,440
not to run from God, but to run 
towards him, right. 

589
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,040
Your shame is going to say, 
well, I don't want to talk to 

590
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,360
people I don't want to I don't 
want to talk to my friends at 

591
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,080
church. 
And so the enemy wants them 

592
00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:58,880
isolated and discouraged, but 
God says no, I want you to come 

593
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,240
back to me. 
So be a friend who speaks truth,

594
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:05,320
you know, offer accountability, 
appoint them to Christ and 

595
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:09,120
refuse to give up on them right 
constantly beyond them. 

596
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:11,200
Why? 
Because they need to know you 

597
00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:12,440
love them. 
They need to know that you're in

598
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:14,680
their, in their corner. 
And sometimes look, God uses 

599
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,400
faithful friends as one of the 
most powerful tools in a 

600
00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,600
person's recovery and spiritual 
growth. 

601
00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:20,800
And I think sometimes you have 
to do that. 

602
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:23,640
And listen, I've had some very, 
very dear friends in the past 

603
00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:25,920
that have come to me, some of 
the most amazing people in the 

604
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,600
world. 
They've come up to me with these

605
00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:30,920
struggles and I've just, I've, 
I've been on them very hard. 

606
00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,400
Like, look, God has a promise 
for you. 

607
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,800
Don't ignore the promise. 
God has wonderful things for 

608
00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:37,040
you. 
Don't ignore those things. 

609
00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:40,920
He, he has big plans for you. 
Don't throw those plans away. 

610
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:43,600
Amen. 
Amen. 

611
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,400
The devil would love nothing 
more than to just mess with your

612
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:50,320
mind and get you totally off 
track of what you're supposed to

613
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:53,440
be doing. 
The next question is from Tina. 

614
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,720
Me and my husband are separated 
due to drinking and infidelity. 

615
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,760
He wants to work things out. 
I feel obligated because he 

616
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:03,360
isn't saved. 
He believes in God but doesn't 

617
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:06,640
live as such and I don't know if
he believes Jesus died for us. 

618
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:10,320
I want him in heaven. 
What is my duty as a wife if he 

619
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,000
is trying to get better with 
drinking? 

620
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:16,360
Who? 
Trying to get better with 

621
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:17,760
drinking. 
I mean I think she's meaning 

622
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,280
like get better with like not 
stop drinking. 

623
00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:22,160
Yeah, yeah, having victory over 
it. 

624
00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:26,560
Look, this is a difficult 
situation and, and my heart goes

625
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:28,880
out to you because, look, you're
dealing with two separate issues

626
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:34,160
all at the same time, OK? 
A broken marriage and a concern 

627
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:36,080
for the salvation of your 
husband. 

628
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,720
Like those are big issues. 
I, I would even minimize the 

629
00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:41,040
drinking thing, not minimize it.
But I, I think those are 

630
00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:43,160
secondary to the big issues that
you're bringing forth. 

631
00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:46,320
Or the first thing I would say 
is that your desire to see your 

632
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:50,560
husband saved it. 
It's a good and a godly desire. 

633
00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:52,720
Continue praying for him, you 
know, continue looking for 

634
00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:54,360
opportunities to share the 
gospel with him. 

635
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:59,040
And ultimately just understand 
you, you can't save him, only 

636
00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:01,280
Christ can. 
And you should absolutely care 

637
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:04,280
about his soul, but you should 
not make a marital decision 

638
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:09,400
solely out of fear that he won't
go to heaven if you don't 

639
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:11,840
reconcile. 
That's that's, you know, kind of

640
00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:14,400
a dangerous place to be in. 
Now the second issue is the 

641
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:18,760
marriage itself. 
The Bible takes both adultery 

642
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,200
and drunkenness very, very 
seriously. 

643
00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:24,120
It's not like a small thing. 
So you mentioned infidelity, you

644
00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:26,120
mentioned drinking. 
Those are not small matters. 

645
00:46:30,240 --> 00:46:34,600
Trust that has been broken 
through things like adultery. 

646
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:37,720
It it, it just, it doesn't get 
built overnight. 

647
00:46:37,720 --> 00:46:41,160
That's the that's the problem. 
OK, Simply because somebody says

648
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:44,040
I want to work things out, that 
doesn't mean that it can very 

649
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,800
easily happen. 
The question I would be asking 

650
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:49,480
is, is this, you know, 
demonstrate? 

651
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:53,920
Is he demonstrating, I guess the
best term to put is genuine 

652
00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,560
repentance. 
Now, you're not God, so you're 

653
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:56,920
not going to know his heart, 
right? 

654
00:46:57,160 --> 00:46:59,080
But you are going to know him 
enough to know if he's 

655
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,920
experiencing like simple regret 
because of the consequences that

656
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:04,520
were created by his, by his 
actions. 

657
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:08,800
Repentance will produce fruit. 
You know, ask yourself these 

658
00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:10,840
questions like is he seeking 
accountability? 

659
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,560
Is he pursuing sobriety 
consistently? 

660
00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:15,320
Is he willing to to get 
counseling? 

661
00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:16,520
That's going to be a big one, 
right? 

662
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:19,160
Is he taking responsibility 
without blaming others? 

663
00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:20,560
Is he saying you drove me to 
this? 

664
00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:23,480
Like, ask those questions, you 
know, so here's another one, You

665
00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:25,480
know, like, is he making 
tangible changes that 

666
00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:29,760
demonstrate A transformed heart?
Those are all kinds of things 

667
00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:31,920
that matter. 
Now, if he's genuinely trying to

668
00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:35,000
get better, I don't think your 
duty as a wife is to immediately

669
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,840
move back in and act as though 
nothing happened, OK? 

670
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:45,280
Wisdom may require a season of 
of observance and patience and 

671
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:46,960
counseling and accountability 
and rebuilding. 

672
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:49,640
You know, forgiveness, look, 
forgiveness can be immediate. 

673
00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:51,640
Like you could forgive him right
away and you should forgive him 

674
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:54,480
right away. 
But trust has to be rebuilt over

675
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:57,120
time and so does wisdom in the 
way that you actually interact 

676
00:47:57,120 --> 00:47:58,560
with him. 
Now, As for a spiritual 

677
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:01,840
condition, you know, first Peter
talks about this First Peter 

678
00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:04,960
chapter 3 speaks of believing 
wives having an influence on 

679
00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:06,880
unbelieving husbands. 
That's an important 

680
00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:09,880
responsibility. 
Your responsibility is to honor 

681
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:13,080
God, to live faithfully before 
him for your husband, and to 

682
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:16,200
share the truth with him. 
His response to Christ is 

683
00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:19,680
ultimately his responsibility. 
He has to put his faith in trust

684
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:21,120
in Christ. 
It's not your responsibility. 

685
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:23,280
So if I were counseling you, and
by the way, this is very 

686
00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,680
nuanced, I would have to know a 
lot more details, You know about

687
00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:29,480
this. 
I would say don't rush because 

688
00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:32,280
rushing without understanding 
the game plan and bringing 

689
00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:35,240
reconciliation can actually harm
you in the future, right? 

690
00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:38,000
Continue praying for salvation. 
Look carefully for evidence that

691
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:41,120
there's some kind of genuine 
repentance, and seek wise 

692
00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:46,200
biblical counsel from a trusted 
pastor or an elder that knows 

693
00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,880
the details of your situation. 
I can't walk you through this 

694
00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:50,920
just by simply answering a 
question. 

695
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:53,440
You have to be willing to 
forgive, but you also have to be

696
00:48:53,440 --> 00:48:55,440
wise. 
Look, reconciliation, is it 

697
00:48:55,440 --> 00:48:57,040
possible? 
It's not even a question, of 

698
00:48:57,040 --> 00:48:58,960
course, as possible. 
Would God want it? 

699
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:02,120
Absolutely. 
But a healthy reconciliation 

700
00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:06,120
requires more than promises. 
It has to require consistent, 

701
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:08,760
observable change over time. 
And if you're going to be his 

702
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:13,480
help, meet, as the Bible says, 
as a spouse, you have to. 

703
00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:17,360
You can no longer enable him 
just because he says that he 

704
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:19,280
wants, He wants change. 
Now remember this. 

705
00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:22,080
Wanting your husband in heaven 
is a wonderful motivation for 

706
00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:28,360
prayer, but it should never be 
pressure for you to walk back 

707
00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:31,280
into the relationship without 
biblical wisdom, OK? 

708
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:32,920
Because you'll make things 
worse. 

709
00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:35,880
And there's a reason why Paul 
actually talks about separation 

710
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:40,200
being a tool in the context of 
marriage and why that's that's 

711
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,800
so important. 
I hope that's helpful. 

712
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:46,080
I thought it was great. 
The next two. 

713
00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:48,400
Questions are pretty similar, 
they're about prayer. 

714
00:49:48,760 --> 00:49:51,720
First questions from Lisa, the 
next one's from Daniel. 

715
00:49:51,720 --> 00:49:55,280
Lisa says I am a new Christian 
and always prayed to God and 

716
00:49:55,280 --> 00:49:57,840
feel very blessed. 
I love God however sometimes I 

717
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:00,320
feel like my prayers are not 
heard as my sister and mom are 

718
00:50:00,320 --> 00:50:04,160
very sick and my very dear best 
friend was 2 and passed away 

719
00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:06,600
recently. 
I always correct myself when I 

720
00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:10,080
have any doubt that God hears me
but sometimes I just want to 

721
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:12,800
sign that he does. 
Any ideas to help me? 

722
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:15,920
Daniels asks. 
How do you know if God has heard

723
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:18,640
your prayer if you don't think 
you have an answer yet? 

724
00:50:21,040 --> 00:50:24,480
I know my heart just. 
Reaches out to both of them, 

725
00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:27,520
'cause I know the feeling of 
having my mom being sick. 

726
00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:31,600
And you just like pray and pray 
and pray that she'll be in your 

727
00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:33,960
mom and you find you. 
Know you try. 

728
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:38,160
To find cures to things that 
don't have a cure. 

729
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:40,720
And you just it's. 
Hard, I don't know on a 

730
00:50:40,720 --> 00:50:42,080
personal. 
Note without getting really 

731
00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:47,960
emotional, you know, I remember 
it was probably within maybe a 

732
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:51,600
year, I don't know, maybe maybe 
a year and a half of the time 

733
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:53,320
that I adopted my two baby 
girls. 

734
00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:58,400
We went to Arizona. 
We spent some time with you and,

735
00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:03,440
and your mom and Charlie to just
see how your mom invested in my 

736
00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:07,880
babies. 
Like I, I, I will never forget 

737
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:10,600
like how she loved on my on my 
babies. 

738
00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:14,320
I just, I mean, she's still with
us and everything. 

739
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:19,160
But man, like your Mama, you 
know, in most situations there 

740
00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:22,440
were other people in the house 
and in most situations, somebody

741
00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:25,280
like your mom, you know, would 
have every reason to be 

742
00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:27,680
irritated by the high energy of 
these little babies. 

743
00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:31,120
And I think, I think 1 was at 
that .1 wasn't even a year old 

744
00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:34,120
and the other one was, was, had 
just turned 3. 

745
00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:38,840
And your mom, I mean, Oh my 
goodness, how she poured into 

746
00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:42,000
those babies. 
I, I, I will never forget it. 

747
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:45,000
So she's a loving woman, loving 
woman. 

748
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:46,600
It's. 
Just. 

749
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:50,800
You know, we saw, we saw the 
progression. 

750
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:52,760
So it's like hard. 
It's so hard. 

751
00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:55,080
I know it's hard. 
Not to get emotional, you know 

752
00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:57,000
she's. 
Such a because I think about how

753
00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:58,200
she. 
Ministered to my own. 

754
00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:01,920
To my own babies and I'll thank 
I'm thankful that my babies will

755
00:52:01,920 --> 00:52:05,960
always have that, you know, one 
of them probably will never, you

756
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:08,080
know, remember that exact 
moment. 

757
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:12,640
But I think my 8 year old would 
still remember, you know? 

758
00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:15,760
Anyway, no, I know I it's, it's 
tough too, because. 

759
00:52:16,040 --> 00:52:20,200
I was actually looking at photos
earlier today of when Charlie, 

760
00:52:20,200 --> 00:52:23,000
because Charlie, my mom and I 
would go on Little Rd. trips 

761
00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:26,960
together and I was looking at 
one of one of the road trips who

762
00:52:26,960 --> 00:52:29,120
went to up north to Payson 
together. 

763
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:32,040
And it was just him and her like
laughing in a video. 

764
00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:36,040
And it was so cute. 
And she just loved, loved him. 

765
00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:39,480
Oh, she loved Charlie too. 
Charlie loved her. 

766
00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:46,240
CC Yeah, yeah, there's there's. 
Anyways, my, my heart goes out 

767
00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:48,520
to her. 
Having a a sick mom, it's not 

768
00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:50,360
easy. 
So yeah. 

769
00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:54,040
OK, let me get my emotions 
together here. 

770
00:52:54,320 --> 00:52:58,360
So Lisa and Daniel, No, I, I 
it's, it's good. 

771
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:04,440
Look, Lisa and Daniel, I think 
these questions go hand in hand 

772
00:53:04,440 --> 00:53:07,120
because, you know, you're both 
really asking the same thing. 

773
00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:08,800
You know, how do I know God 
hears me? 

774
00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:17,920
And sorry, I know. 
And when I don't see the answer 

775
00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:19,440
that I'm hoping for, you know, 
what do I do? 

776
00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:22,480
Look, the first thing I want to 
tell you is that God's hearing 

777
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:26,720
your prayer, OK? 
He's answering your, your 

778
00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:28,280
prayer. 
He hears him and he answers, and

779
00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:29,640
he just answers them in 
different ways. 

780
00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:32,480
The Bible makes it clear that 
God hears his children. 

781
00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:37,840
First John, chapter 5, Get your 
head together, James. 

782
00:53:38,680 --> 00:53:42,840
OK, first, first John chapter 5.
And this is the confidence that 

783
00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:46,520
we have in him that if we ask 
anything according to his will, 

784
00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:49,880
he hears us. 
And if we know that he hears us 

785
00:53:49,880 --> 00:53:54,680
whatsoever we ask, we know that 
we have the petitions that we 

786
00:53:54,720 --> 00:53:58,760
desired of him. 
So John says that we can know 

787
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,800
that he hears us. 
The confidence comes from God's 

788
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:03,520
character, not from our 
feelings. 

789
00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:08,280
And look, Lisa, yeah, you've 
experienced some very painful 

790
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:09,880
losses. 
I'm technically an orphan. 

791
00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:12,560
I remember my mom going to be 
with the Lord and when my dad 

792
00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:14,040
did. 
And And look, you've seen 

793
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,240
sickness in your family. 
You've lost a dear friend. 

794
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:21,560
In moments like that, it's very 
natural to ask, Lord, are you 

795
00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:23,680
listening? 
Matter of fact, it's OK to even 

796
00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:24,640
ask. 
Why, Lord? 

797
00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:30,480
Many godly people in the in the 
Bible asked similar questions. 

798
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:32,600
David did. 
Jeremiah did. 

799
00:54:32,720 --> 00:54:34,360
Job even struggled with some of 
these thoughts. 

800
00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:36,320
Remember the interaction that 
God had with Job? 

801
00:54:36,640 --> 00:54:42,440
But here's what I've learned. 
This is important. 

802
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:44,600
God's silence is not God's 
absence. 

803
00:54:44,600 --> 00:54:47,440
It never will be OK God says 
yes. 

804
00:54:47,440 --> 00:54:49,560
Sometimes he says no, sometimes 
he says, wait. 

805
00:54:49,720 --> 00:54:51,800
Those are the common answers 
that we talk about. 

806
00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:54,720
And sometimes we don't 
understand, you know, what his 

807
00:54:54,720 --> 00:54:58,120
answer is until years later or 
even what his will was because 

808
00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:00,880
perhaps we didn't have the 
ability or the life experience. 

809
00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:03,480
Mick, don't even need the life 
experience, the understanding to

810
00:55:03,480 --> 00:55:06,000
know what was going on in in, 
you know, you mentioned wanting 

811
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:09,760
a sign that God hears you. 
Well, look, I would encourage 

812
00:55:09,760 --> 00:55:14,320
you with all gentleness for, for
lack of a better term, to not 

813
00:55:14,320 --> 00:55:17,440
seek signs as much as you seek 
God's promises. 

814
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:19,880
That's the whole idea behind 
faith, OK? 

815
00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:22,120
Feelings are going to change. 
Circumstances are going to 

816
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:24,240
change. 
Signs by the way, they can be 

817
00:55:24,240 --> 00:55:27,760
completely misinterpreted, but 
God's word never changes. 

818
00:55:28,080 --> 00:55:32,200
So one of the greatest evidences
that God is working in your life

819
00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:34,560
is actually found in your very 
question. 

820
00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:39,520
You're a new believer who loves 
God desires to pray and what was

821
00:55:39,520 --> 00:55:41,840
the what was the and and is 
concerned about your 

822
00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:45,080
relationship with him. 
Those desires they don't come 

823
00:55:45,080 --> 00:55:47,200
naturally. 
OK, can I just say that like 

824
00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:50,960
those are not natural things. 
God is already at work in your 

825
00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:54,080
heart. 
And by the way, Daniel, just 

826
00:55:54,160 --> 00:55:58,080
little quick side note, if if 
you don't think you've reached 

827
00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:02,160
an answer yet, just remember 
that not yet is actually an 

828
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:06,000
answer sometimes. 
So God often works on different 

829
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:07,960
timetables that we do praise 
God. 

830
00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:10,440
By the way, Abraham waited, 
Joseph waited. 

831
00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:13,400
If Joseph didn't wait, Joseph 
wouldn't have said there's a 

832
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:16,880
whole like we wouldn't be here 
if Joseph waited or didn't wait.

833
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,320
You know what I mean? 
David waited. 

834
00:56:19,320 --> 00:56:21,080
The disciples, they definitely 
waited. 

835
00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:24,760
Faith is not believing after you
see the answer. 

836
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:28,120
OK Faith, the Bible says, is a 
substance of things hoped for, 

837
00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:31,040
evidence of things not seen. 
In other words, faith is 

838
00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:34,280
trusting God before you see the 
answer, because God has given 

839
00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:36,200
you evidence that you have 
reason to trust in him. 

840
00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:41,400
So when you're wondering whether
God has heard your prayer, don't

841
00:56:41,480 --> 00:56:44,080
look first at your 
circumstances. 

842
00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:47,720
Look at his promises. 
If if you're his child, he hears

843
00:56:47,720 --> 00:56:53,320
you OK, the the cross that he 
was crucified on settled that 

844
00:56:53,320 --> 00:56:55,120
literally forever, and so did 
the resurrection. 

845
00:56:55,720 --> 00:56:58,440
So even when you don't 
understand what he's doing, you 

846
00:56:58,440 --> 00:57:03,920
can trust that God, the same God
who loves you enough to send his

847
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:06,000
son for you, is not ignoring 
your prayers. 

848
00:57:06,440 --> 00:57:10,960
Quite frankly, he's working even
when we can't see it, especially

849
00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:13,480
when we can't see it. 
And that is a healthy place to 

850
00:57:13,480 --> 00:57:14,960
be. 
And I, I don't ever want you to 

851
00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:17,880
forget that it's a very, very 
critical understanding to 

852
00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:22,080
develop and one that I think if 
you don't have that, it could be

853
00:57:22,080 --> 00:57:23,680
very discouraging. 
And I don't want you to be 

854
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:26,080
discouraged unnecessarily, 
especially in a context like 

855
00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:26,920
this. 
No. 

856
00:57:26,960 --> 00:57:28,320
And I think that's where 
journaling. 

857
00:57:28,320 --> 00:57:31,760
Actually becomes like a really 
helpful tool for moments like 

858
00:57:31,760 --> 00:57:36,680
this is where you're able to 
journal and write down whatever 

859
00:57:36,680 --> 00:57:39,840
your prayer request might be or 
even just where you at, where 

860
00:57:39,840 --> 00:57:43,600
you're at with your life and 
your season and write it out. 

861
00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:49,200
And then when you go look back 
at that moment a week, a month, 

862
00:57:49,200 --> 00:57:52,680
a year from now and then see 
like, wow, like this is how God 

863
00:57:52,680 --> 00:57:56,720
actually answered it in a 
totally indirect way or a direct

864
00:57:56,720 --> 00:58:00,640
way or in a completely different
manner that I had no idea would 

865
00:58:00,640 --> 00:58:03,800
have existed or happened. 
I just think it's really 

866
00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:07,560
powerful to be able to reflect 
and look back on those moments 

867
00:58:07,560 --> 00:58:12,160
that you journal and write about
because it shows how and it 

868
00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:15,880
shows how truly multi 
dimensional God is when it comes

869
00:58:15,880 --> 00:58:19,360
to just you know, we think I 
mean, he's not a genie. 

870
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:26,080
You know, your your prayers are 
they will be heard and they you 

871
00:58:26,080 --> 00:58:29,320
know, they'll be answered in the
way that God intends them to be 

872
00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:32,160
answered in. 
Yeah, Amen to that. 

873
00:58:32,320 --> 00:58:34,400
I mean I. 
And I think journal is powerful 

874
00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:37,080
because then it just it's. 
It's that reminder for you to be

875
00:58:37,080 --> 00:58:41,920
able to see like, oh, God does, 
like how faithful God is. 

876
00:58:41,920 --> 00:58:45,560
Like even in moments where you 
don't even think he's, he's 

877
00:58:45,560 --> 00:58:48,320
hearing you, He is. 
I can attest to that. 

878
00:58:50,280 --> 00:58:53,240
Yeah, Amen. 
Absolutely. 

879
00:58:53,400 --> 00:58:55,240
Amen. 
Yeah, Amen. 

880
00:58:56,560 --> 00:58:58,600
We have. 
Next questions from Brittany. 

881
00:59:00,240 --> 00:59:04,560
She's having a baby through 
gestational carrier. 

882
00:59:04,560 --> 00:59:08,920
The carrier would carry an 
embryo made with her egg and her

883
00:59:08,920 --> 00:59:11,480
husband's sperm. 
Something that is, is this 

884
00:59:11,480 --> 00:59:14,400
something that is OK from a 
Christian standpoint? 

885
00:59:14,640 --> 00:59:18,680
I had an emergency hysterectomy 
and we have two embryos 

886
00:59:18,680 --> 00:59:21,280
remaining. 
They are past the point of 

887
00:59:21,280 --> 00:59:23,800
conception in our eyes and 
already so loved. 

888
00:59:23,800 --> 00:59:27,280
But I am going against what? 
But am I going against what God 

889
00:59:27,280 --> 00:59:36,720
wants trying to have them? 
OK, so she had an emergency. 

890
00:59:36,720 --> 00:59:39,920
Hysterectomy and they have two 
embryos remaining. 

891
00:59:40,600 --> 00:59:42,600
Yeah. 
This is heavy. 

892
00:59:42,960 --> 00:59:46,600
Look, before I answer this 
question, it needs to be nuanced

893
00:59:46,600 --> 00:59:49,600
with the understanding that you 
need to be sitting down with 

894
00:59:49,600 --> 00:59:52,840
spiritual leaders in your life 
and can hold your hand and walk 

895
00:59:52,840 --> 00:59:55,120
you through all the various 
issues that are tied to this. 

896
00:59:55,120 --> 00:59:57,800
Because with everything that I 
talk about, there are going to 

897
00:59:57,800 --> 01:00:00,720
be things that are not 
understood. 

898
01:00:00,960 --> 01:00:06,200
And I do not want to pretend to 
understand or know every detail 

899
01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:09,480
regarding this. 
And and I think it's, I just 

900
01:00:09,480 --> 01:00:11,920
think it's, I think it's just 
really, really critical. 

901
01:00:11,920 --> 01:00:16,320
So with that said. 
I mean, obviously this, this is 

902
01:00:16,320 --> 01:00:18,000
a personal and a very emotional 
question. 

903
01:00:18,000 --> 01:00:21,160
And, and, and I can clearly hear
the love that you already have 

904
01:00:21,160 --> 01:00:23,720
for these babies. 
It and I, I can speak very 

905
01:00:23,720 --> 01:00:26,960
clearly from the perspective of 
a father who has three adopted 

906
01:00:26,960 --> 01:00:28,600
children and hope to adopt many 
more. 

907
01:00:30,160 --> 01:00:32,080
You're not talking about 
creating embryos for 

908
01:00:32,080 --> 01:00:34,920
convenience, OK? 
You're talking about two embryos

909
01:00:34,920 --> 01:00:38,360
that already exist that you and 
your husband view as your 

910
01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:41,720
children, and you're trying to 
determine how to honor God in 

911
01:00:41,720 --> 01:00:44,000
what comes next. 
As Christians, we have to start 

912
01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:48,480
with biblical principles because
the Bible doesn't directly 

913
01:00:48,520 --> 01:00:51,240
address modern reproductive 
technologies. 

914
01:00:51,360 --> 01:00:54,600
They didn't exist at that time. 
So the first principle is that 

915
01:00:54,600 --> 01:00:58,800
children are a blessing from the
Lord and the desire to have 

916
01:00:58,800 --> 01:01:02,200
children and raise them for 
God's glory is good and it's a 

917
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:04,880
God honoring desire. 
The second principle is that 

918
01:01:04,880 --> 01:01:07,760
human life has value. 
And since you believe that these

919
01:01:07,760 --> 01:01:14,280
embryos are already human lives,
the question becomes what is the

920
01:01:14,280 --> 01:01:16,720
most God honoring way to care 
for those lives? 

921
01:01:16,720 --> 01:01:22,080
Now personally, and I want to 
say this very carefully, I have 

922
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:27,480
much fewer concerns about your 
situation than I do about the 

923
01:01:27,640 --> 01:01:29,720
the I want to be careful how I 
say this, right? 

924
01:01:29,720 --> 01:01:32,680
The many fertility practices 
that involve creating large 

925
01:01:32,680 --> 01:01:36,840
numbers of embryos and are later
discarded or experimented on or 

926
01:01:37,040 --> 01:01:40,160
indefinitely frozen, the stem 
cell research nonsense that 

927
01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:41,840
happens. 
I have a very hard time with 

928
01:01:41,840 --> 01:01:43,720
that. 
But here you're describing 

929
01:01:43,720 --> 01:01:47,200
embryos created from your egg 
and your husband's sperm within 

930
01:01:47,200 --> 01:01:49,280
your marriage. 
And because of a hysterectomy, 

931
01:01:49,400 --> 01:01:52,480
you no longer have the ability 
to, to carry them yourself. 

932
01:01:52,600 --> 01:01:54,760
So it's creating the dilemma 
that we're seeing here. 

933
01:01:55,200 --> 01:01:57,720
And there's some medical issues 
that have to be addressed here. 

934
01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:00,720
There's some scientific nuancing
that I, I probably should do but

935
01:02:00,720 --> 01:02:05,120
don't have the time to do. 
But with that, I should just say

936
01:02:05,120 --> 01:02:07,040
this. 
The area where sincere 

937
01:02:07,040 --> 01:02:09,960
Christians will tend to disagree
is the use of a gestational 

938
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:11,920
carrier. 
That's that's where the big 

939
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:15,240
problem is going to come up. 
We've had this discussion. 

940
01:02:15,240 --> 01:02:18,000
Somebody asked me about a term. 
People don't know this term, a 

941
01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:19,800
snowflake baby. 
That's slightly different 

942
01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:23,080
situation here. 
But either way, some believers 

943
01:02:23,080 --> 01:02:25,880
see it as a legitimate medical 
means of, of, of helping a 

944
01:02:25,880 --> 01:02:28,440
married couple bring their 
biological children to birth. 

945
01:02:29,160 --> 01:02:34,000
Others have concerned because of
a third party becomes involved 

946
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:36,760
in the pregnancy process and 
that can bring some some 

947
01:02:36,760 --> 01:02:40,360
questions. 
My concern would not primarily 

948
01:02:40,360 --> 01:02:42,760
be whether you're asking to 
bring these children into the 

949
01:02:42,760 --> 01:02:44,920
world. 
My concern would be making sure 

950
01:02:44,920 --> 01:02:47,160
every aspect of the arrangement 
honors God. 

951
01:02:47,200 --> 01:02:49,680
That's the big thing, right? 
It has to honor God. 

952
01:02:49,680 --> 01:02:52,640
It has to preserve the sanctity 
of marriage, avoid any type of 

953
01:02:52,640 --> 01:02:56,560
exploitation of the carrier. 
That's an important run, right, 

954
01:02:56,920 --> 01:02:59,400
and has to be entered into with 
wisdom and prayer. 

955
01:02:59,400 --> 01:03:04,040
So I personally would encourage 
you and your husband to seek 

956
01:03:04,040 --> 01:03:07,560
counsel from pastors and elders 
who know you personally and can 

957
01:03:07,560 --> 01:03:09,960
walk you through the details. 
OK. 

958
01:03:09,960 --> 01:03:13,440
This is one of those situations 
where specific circumstances do 

959
01:03:13,440 --> 01:03:14,720
mean something. 
They matter. 

960
01:03:14,960 --> 01:03:17,880
So from what you've described, I
don't see a couple rebelling 

961
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:20,120
against God or trying to 
circumvent His design. 

962
01:03:20,400 --> 01:03:24,240
I see a couple grieving a 
significant loss, loving 

963
01:03:24,240 --> 01:03:27,200
children who, quite frankly, 
already exist. 

964
01:03:27,200 --> 01:03:29,320
And I think you could make a 
reasonable argument to say that 

965
01:03:29,600 --> 01:03:32,080
and asking how to to proceed in 
a way that honors God. 

966
01:03:32,200 --> 01:03:35,120
So my encouragement would be 
this pray together, seek wise 

967
01:03:35,120 --> 01:03:37,480
biblical counsel. 
You know, make sure you look at 

968
01:03:37,480 --> 01:03:39,800
your motives before the Lord, 
which to me, I'm not God, but 

969
01:03:39,800 --> 01:03:42,840
they seem to be beautiful and 
move forward in faith rather 

970
01:03:42,840 --> 01:03:45,160
than having guilt about it. 
The fact that you're you're 

971
01:03:45,160 --> 01:03:49,560
asking this question and wanting
to honor God is itself evidence 

972
01:03:49,560 --> 01:03:52,440
that that your heart, I think is
is pointed in the right 

973
01:03:52,440 --> 01:03:54,080
direction. 
And I think that that's a very, 

974
01:03:54,080 --> 01:03:56,040
very important thing to say with
that. 

975
01:03:56,040 --> 01:03:58,520
I don't think that I feel 
comfortable going beyond that 

976
01:03:58,800 --> 01:04:01,800
other than you're doing those 
things and I I think you're, 

977
01:04:01,840 --> 01:04:03,000
you're going to be on good 
ground. 

978
01:04:04,200 --> 01:04:08,800
I think that's great. 
Now we have Mandy. 

979
01:04:10,520 --> 01:04:14,440
OK For the majority of my life I
wasn't sure what I believed in, 

980
01:04:14,440 --> 01:04:16,600
if anything. 
After what happened to Charlie, 

981
01:04:16,600 --> 01:04:18,400
I felt this need to join a 
church. 

982
01:04:18,680 --> 01:04:21,120
After attending a few different 
churches, I finally found my 

983
01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:23,640
church family. 
The first service I attended, I 

984
01:04:23,640 --> 01:04:25,880
bawled my eyes out. 
I felt a presence of the Holy 

985
01:04:25,880 --> 01:04:27,320
Spirit that I've never felt 
before. 

986
01:04:27,640 --> 01:04:30,400
My kids are nine and seven. 
I have been married for 10 

987
01:04:30,400 --> 01:04:32,440
years. 
My husband is a hard working 

988
01:04:32,440 --> 01:04:35,760
farmer who has gone a lot. 
A year ago I was questioning my 

989
01:04:35,760 --> 01:04:38,200
marriage and felt like I was 
losing myself in the chaotic 

990
01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:41,120
life of work and motherhood. 
Since finding a church, I 

991
01:04:41,120 --> 01:04:44,680
recently got baptized. 
My kids attend Sunday school and

992
01:04:44,680 --> 01:04:46,640
we talk about Jesus in our home 
daily. 

993
01:04:47,080 --> 01:04:50,480
Instead of nagging my husband, I
embrace his hard work. 

994
01:04:54,480 --> 01:05:14,440
Yeah, 
sorry. 

995
01:05:14,440 --> 01:05:15,720
Anybody finish reading it? 
Sweetheart? 

996
01:05:15,720 --> 01:05:18,120
Let me finish reading it. 
I love him like a wife should 

997
01:05:18,120 --> 01:05:19,120
when he. 
Comes home. 

998
01:05:21,040 --> 01:05:22,920
Instead of losing myself to 
motherhood. 

999
01:05:22,920 --> 01:05:26,720
I have completely embraced every
second of it, never wanting my 

1000
01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:29,720
precious babies to grow up. 
It seems like the more I pour 

1001
01:05:29,720 --> 01:05:32,840
myself into my daily readings, 
church and family, the devil 

1002
01:05:32,840 --> 01:05:35,520
shows his face more than I have 
ever witnessed. 

1003
01:05:37,440 --> 01:05:39,320
Why does it seem like the 
closer? 

1004
01:05:39,320 --> 01:05:43,560
You get to God the harder the 
devil works on you, yeah. 

1005
01:05:48,520 --> 01:05:51,920
For those of you that can't see,
and I have the blessing and the 

1006
01:05:51,920 --> 01:05:54,400
benefit of knowing Erica and 
Charlie so well that I know 

1007
01:05:54,400 --> 01:05:57,320
exactly why Erica's in tears, 
you know? 

1008
01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:02,000
You know. 
It's really funny, I. 

1009
01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:04,520
Think one of the very first 
times I talked to Charlie about 

1010
01:06:04,520 --> 01:06:09,200
Erica privately when he was like
getting ready to propose to her 

1011
01:06:09,200 --> 01:06:12,840
and he wanted to talk about 
like, you know, what's the, you 

1012
01:06:12,840 --> 01:06:14,840
know, what do I, you know, 
questions about that? 

1013
01:06:16,880 --> 01:06:19,720
One of the things that he said 
is he said, my wife's a, you 

1014
01:06:20,040 --> 01:06:22,760
know, my fiance, what I hope to 
be my fiance one day. 

1015
01:06:22,760 --> 01:06:25,920
She's a godly woman. 
She's a, she's a, she's a woman 

1016
01:06:25,920 --> 01:06:32,760
that really, really loves God. 
And, and I sat down with them 

1017
01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:36,400
before they both got married. 
And I said, look, when the two 

1018
01:06:36,400 --> 01:06:41,280
of you get married, God is going
to use you in a way that is so 

1019
01:06:41,280 --> 01:06:43,800
extraordinary that the enemy is 
going to attack you in ways 

1020
01:06:43,800 --> 01:06:45,040
you've never been attacked 
before. 

1021
01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:49,680
And then? 
When Charlie went to go be with 

1022
01:06:49,680 --> 01:06:52,680
the Lord, Eric and I were 
talking about this. 

1023
01:06:53,560 --> 01:06:56,400
I reminded her that the enemy 
was going to attack her harder 

1024
01:06:56,400 --> 01:06:58,400
than anything she's ever 
experienced before. 

1025
01:06:58,840 --> 01:07:01,480
Because the devil hates 
godliness. 

1026
01:07:02,040 --> 01:07:03,680
He hates people who act 
righteously. 

1027
01:07:03,720 --> 01:07:09,280
So I'm I'm giving you context 
for why Erica is in tears right 

1028
01:07:09,280 --> 01:07:12,040
now so that you understand it. 
Because the attacks are real and

1029
01:07:12,040 --> 01:07:15,760
they continue to happen, and 
God's faithfulness, although 

1030
01:07:15,760 --> 01:07:19,480
very obvious and very apparent, 
so are the attacks of the enemy.

1031
01:07:19,480 --> 01:07:22,600
So let me just say this without 
getting. 

1032
01:07:22,920 --> 01:07:24,720
I wish I could just fly over 
there and give you a big hug. 

1033
01:07:24,720 --> 01:07:27,960
I'm sorry Erica, it's just 
what's so powerful to me. 

1034
01:07:27,960 --> 01:07:33,200
Is that anyone who's married 
that still has their husband or 

1035
01:07:33,200 --> 01:07:37,280
spouse here I want. 
Them to love their. 

1036
01:07:37,280 --> 01:07:42,440
Spouse so much and I love that 
she's realizing that nagging is 

1037
01:07:42,440 --> 01:07:47,440
not the gosh, they're here, 
they're breathing love on them. 

1038
01:07:48,160 --> 01:07:50,880
If they're doing something that 
upsets you, communicate that, 

1039
01:07:50,880 --> 01:07:52,440
but don't hold that against 
them. 

1040
01:07:52,760 --> 01:07:56,600
Don't try to fix them. 
Don't try to mold them into 

1041
01:07:56,600 --> 01:07:58,400
something that you think they 
should be. 

1042
01:07:58,400 --> 01:08:01,760
Just love them. 
Love them so much because you 

1043
01:08:01,760 --> 01:08:05,400
stood at that altar and made a 
covenant with God. 

1044
01:08:06,040 --> 01:08:09,760
And let me tell you something 
and, and Pastor James, you know 

1045
01:08:09,760 --> 01:08:13,120
this when you stand at that 
altar and you make a covenant 

1046
01:08:13,120 --> 01:08:18,600
with God, that is not just some 
small promise, that is a 

1047
01:08:18,600 --> 01:08:23,160
covenantal love. 
God forbid one day when your 

1048
01:08:23,160 --> 01:08:26,680
loved one, your spouse goes to 
be with the Lord. 

1049
01:08:28,680 --> 01:08:31,800
God steps. 
In and fills that void in a way 

1050
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:35,479
that no one else in this world 
ever could and ever will. 

1051
01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:41,120
And I always understood the 
covenant of marriage. 

1052
01:08:41,520 --> 01:08:44,160
But let me tell you something. 
When you become a widow, you see

1053
01:08:44,160 --> 01:08:48,479
it on a totally different level 
and to be able to feel the 

1054
01:08:48,479 --> 01:08:55,000
presence of God in your life on 
that and and that's like such a 

1055
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:58,479
magnitude way. 
It puts everything in 

1056
01:08:58,479 --> 01:09:00,600
perspective. 
So what why my heart is just 

1057
01:09:00,600 --> 01:09:04,359
like reaching out to Mandy is 
because she gets it. 

1058
01:09:05,120 --> 01:09:08,439
She gets it. 
She realizes that all the little

1059
01:09:08,439 --> 01:09:12,520
stuff like the spoons in the 
sink and the dishes on the table

1060
01:09:12,520 --> 01:09:15,279
and, you know, the clothes on 
the floor and they're not in the

1061
01:09:15,279 --> 01:09:19,279
laundry basket, like, who cares?
Who cares? 

1062
01:09:19,279 --> 01:09:22,040
Your husband's alive. 
Go and run up to him. 

1063
01:09:24,439 --> 01:09:27,560
And give him a kiss. 
Write a below. 

1064
01:09:27,560 --> 01:09:31,160
Note for his. 
Lunch box like just love on 

1065
01:09:31,160 --> 01:09:34,760
them. 
His life is so short and you are

1066
01:09:34,760 --> 01:09:38,359
so blessed to be able to still 
have that. 

1067
01:09:42,279 --> 01:09:47,000
Yeah, sorry that man. 
I I couldn't answer the first 

1068
01:09:47,000 --> 01:09:49,279
part of that question. 
Better than what you just said, 

1069
01:09:49,279 --> 01:09:52,399
Erica. 
The part of that question that 

1070
01:09:52,399 --> 01:09:59,160
I'll actually address is the one
that speaks to why does it seem 

1071
01:09:59,160 --> 01:10:01,720
as though the closer you get to 
God, the harder the devil works 

1072
01:10:01,720 --> 01:10:03,000
against you? 
Well, it's really simple. 

1073
01:10:03,000 --> 01:10:05,240
Because you're no longer walking
in the direction he wants you to

1074
01:10:05,240 --> 01:10:07,600
go. 
The devil wants. 

1075
01:10:07,600 --> 01:10:09,840
You to go. 
In a different direction. 

1076
01:10:09,840 --> 01:10:11,200
I want you to think about it 
this way. 

1077
01:10:11,200 --> 01:10:15,280
If you're if you're, if you're 
floating downstream, the current

1078
01:10:15,520 --> 01:10:17,760
doesn't fight you, it's not 
going to fight you. 

1079
01:10:17,920 --> 01:10:19,920
OK? 
The moment you turn around and 

1080
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:22,440
start swimming upstream, you 
immediately you're going to feel

1081
01:10:22,440 --> 01:10:24,000
the resistance. 
Look, the Bible tells us it's 

1082
01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:26,360
Ephesians chapter 6. 
You know, we wrestle not against

1083
01:10:26,360 --> 01:10:28,280
flesh and blood, but against 
principalities and powers, 

1084
01:10:28,280 --> 01:10:30,240
against the rules of darkness of
this world, against spiritual 

1085
01:10:30,240 --> 01:10:34,000
wickedness in high places. 
The spiritual battle was always 

1086
01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:36,320
there. 
You just didn't recognize it 

1087
01:10:36,320 --> 01:10:38,600
before. 
Now your eyes have been opened 

1088
01:10:38,600 --> 01:10:40,200
and you see it a completely 
different way. 

1089
01:10:40,200 --> 01:10:43,160
Look, another thing to remember 
is that Satan hates anything 

1090
01:10:43,160 --> 01:10:45,440
that glorifies God. 
He hates healthy marriages. 

1091
01:10:45,600 --> 01:10:48,960
He hates godly mothers. 
He hates children being taught 

1092
01:10:48,960 --> 01:10:51,000
about Jesus. 
He hates believers growing in 

1093
01:10:51,000 --> 01:10:54,120
the Word. 
When he sees a family moving 

1094
01:10:54,120 --> 01:10:57,760
towards Christ, he will often 
attack the very areas where God 

1095
01:10:57,760 --> 01:11:00,200
is producing fruit. 
It happens all the time. 

1096
01:11:00,560 --> 01:11:02,880
It's because the DIS is the 
tactic of the enemy. 

1097
01:11:02,880 --> 01:11:04,520
But here's the encouraging part,
OK? 

1098
01:11:04,880 --> 01:11:08,920
It's very, very important. 
Don't ever mistake opposition 

1099
01:11:08,920 --> 01:11:11,960
for defeat. 
It's one of the things that I'm 

1100
01:11:11,960 --> 01:11:14,080
very proud of Erica that she's 
been able to model. 

1101
01:11:15,080 --> 01:11:17,760
I think Charlie was a great 
example of this. 

1102
01:11:18,160 --> 01:11:21,760
You have lots of opposition, but
it doesn't mean that you're 

1103
01:11:21,760 --> 01:11:25,920
defeated, OK? 
Many new believers will believe 

1104
01:11:25,920 --> 01:11:29,120
they're they they think if I'm 
struggling, then I must be doing

1105
01:11:29,120 --> 01:11:33,800
something wrong. 
Something is, is is in terrible 

1106
01:11:33,800 --> 01:11:35,880
shape. 
Well, actually, sometimes the 

1107
01:11:35,880 --> 01:11:39,040
opposite is true. 
OK, sometimes the struggle is 

1108
01:11:39,040 --> 01:11:41,080
evidence that you're actually 
moving in the right direction. 

1109
01:11:41,080 --> 01:11:43,520
James even says it. 
He says submit yourselves 

1110
01:11:43,520 --> 01:11:46,920
therefore, to God. 
Notice the phrase resist the 

1111
01:11:46,920 --> 01:11:51,080
devil and he will flee from you.
Notice it doesn't say you know, 

1112
01:11:51,080 --> 01:11:53,800
never face your attacks. 
It says to resist. 

1113
01:11:53,960 --> 01:11:58,440
So look, I would also to go out 
of my way matter of fact make it

1114
01:11:58,440 --> 01:12:02,400
a huge point to encourage you to
remember that Satan is not God's

1115
01:12:02,400 --> 01:12:04,120
equal. 
He never will be, OK? 

1116
01:12:04,280 --> 01:12:07,040
He's a created being. 
He can only do what God 

1117
01:12:07,040 --> 01:12:10,520
ultimately allows. 
And God often uses the spiritual

1118
01:12:10,520 --> 01:12:12,000
battles to strengthen your 
faith. 

1119
01:12:12,000 --> 01:12:16,560
The resistance builds the 
spiritual muscles, so it will 

1120
01:12:16,560 --> 01:12:20,720
also deepen our dependence upon 
Him, and it will draw us closer 

1121
01:12:20,720 --> 01:12:23,520
to Him. 
That is so incredibly important 

1122
01:12:23,520 --> 01:12:26,040
that we understand that. 
So when you see these attacks, 

1123
01:12:26,240 --> 01:12:28,360
don't be surprised. 
Don't be discouraged. 

1124
01:12:28,560 --> 01:12:32,600
Instead, let them remind you 
that you're no longer the person

1125
01:12:32,600 --> 01:12:34,720
that you used to be. 
The woman who was questioning 

1126
01:12:34,720 --> 01:12:38,640
everything a year ago is not the
same woman who is now walking 

1127
01:12:38,640 --> 01:12:42,440
with Christ, who's loving her 
family, realizing what she has 

1128
01:12:42,440 --> 01:12:44,280
in her family and and growing in
the Lord. 

1129
01:12:44,480 --> 01:12:49,160
The enemy may be working harder,
but God is definitely and always

1130
01:12:49,160 --> 01:12:51,920
will be greater, OK? 
He's always going to be bigger 

1131
01:12:51,920 --> 01:12:53,760
than that. 
So keep doing exactly what 

1132
01:12:53,760 --> 01:12:56,080
you're doing, You know, stay in 
the word, stay in fellowship, 

1133
01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:59,600
keep praying with your children,
keep loving your husband. 

1134
01:12:59,600 --> 01:13:01,520
Erica demonstrated that 
beautifully. 

1135
01:13:01,800 --> 01:13:06,560
And remember that God, the very 
same God who transformed your 

1136
01:13:06,560 --> 01:13:09,840
life, is more than able to 
sustain you through any battle 

1137
01:13:09,840 --> 01:13:11,840
that comes your way. 
The transformation was the 

1138
01:13:11,840 --> 01:13:18,280
harder part, not the battle. 
I remember that next questions 

1139
01:13:18,280 --> 01:13:21,200
from Stephanie. 
I often struggle when others 

1140
01:13:21,200 --> 01:13:23,000
want to discuss biblical laws 
with me. 

1141
01:13:23,000 --> 01:13:25,560
For example, I don't curse, 
especially not using the Lord's 

1142
01:13:25,560 --> 01:13:27,760
name in vain. 
When people question me, I say 

1143
01:13:27,760 --> 01:13:30,000
it's my choice because I'm a 
Christian and want to respect 

1144
01:13:30,000 --> 01:13:32,160
God's name out of obedience and 
love. 

1145
01:13:32,360 --> 01:13:34,760
Some respond that they are 
Christians too and ask if I'm 

1146
01:13:34,760 --> 01:13:37,000
implying they're bad Christians 
because they curse or have 

1147
01:13:37,000 --> 01:13:39,720
tattoos. 
They then argue that everyone 

1148
01:13:39,720 --> 01:13:43,640
curses and some have crosses 
tattooed in their skin and that 

1149
01:13:43,920 --> 01:13:47,760
many old laws like avoiding 
mixed fabrics are considered 

1150
01:13:47,760 --> 01:13:51,080
obsolete today. 
My question, can God's own words

1151
01:13:51,080 --> 01:13:54,280
become obsolete over time? 
Is it really OK for Christians 

1152
01:13:54,280 --> 01:13:56,920
to pick and choose which 
biblical laws to follow or 

1153
01:13:56,920 --> 01:13:58,680
ignore? 
I know that this is not in 

1154
01:13:58,680 --> 01:14:01,080
alignment with what you and I 
were texting with about last 

1155
01:14:01,080 --> 01:14:06,120
night, but it just, it reminds 
me of what we were talking about

1156
01:14:06,120 --> 01:14:11,280
last night with regard to CS 
Lewis, not to like totally 

1157
01:14:11,280 --> 01:14:12,120
unload. 
And open. 

1158
01:14:12,120 --> 01:14:14,600
Pandora's box here, but I just 
don't know. 

1159
01:14:14,760 --> 01:14:16,640
It's it's it's so. 
Huge. 

1160
01:14:16,680 --> 01:14:19,400
I mean, it's it's it's like, Oh 
my goodness. 

1161
01:14:19,720 --> 01:14:22,320
OK, it's a really important 
question, OK, because it gets 

1162
01:14:22,320 --> 01:14:24,640
really to the heart of how 
Christians should understand the

1163
01:14:24,640 --> 01:14:30,600
Bible, OK, the overwhelming 
short answer is no, OK, God's 

1164
01:14:30,600 --> 01:14:33,480
word never becomes obsolete. 
God's character never changes. 

1165
01:14:33,480 --> 01:14:35,680
His truth never changes. 
His standards never changes. 

1166
01:14:35,680 --> 01:14:37,480
As a matter of fact, it becomes 
it. 

1167
01:14:37,680 --> 01:14:40,800
It's so immutable in many ways 
and transcendent, it actually 

1168
01:14:40,800 --> 01:14:43,120
becomes more valuable, more 
relevant. 

1169
01:14:43,280 --> 01:14:47,320
The confusion comes when people 
fail to distinguish between 

1170
01:14:47,320 --> 01:14:50,160
different types of laws that God
gave Israel. 

1171
01:14:50,160 --> 01:14:53,200
That's really important. 
You know, in in John 11, it says

1172
01:14:53,200 --> 01:14:55,920
this in the Greek. 
It says in the beginning was the

1173
01:14:56,160 --> 01:14:58,680
Word and the Word was with God 
and the Word was God. 

1174
01:14:59,360 --> 01:15:01,920
Later on it says, and the Word 
became flesh. 

1175
01:15:01,920 --> 01:15:04,080
So the reason why I quoted it in
Greek is because there's two 

1176
01:15:04,080 --> 01:15:08,640
very viable words that we have 
to understand, Theos and Logos. 

1177
01:15:08,880 --> 01:15:10,240
We're talking about the living 
word. 

1178
01:15:10,680 --> 01:15:14,720
This is not God diminishing the 
Old Testament or the Law. 

1179
01:15:14,800 --> 01:15:16,360
Let me step, let me take it a 
step further. 

1180
01:15:17,320 --> 01:15:22,000
Later on in John it says this. 
The law was given to us by 

1181
01:15:22,000 --> 01:15:24,200
Moses. 
And if you were to translate it 

1182
01:15:24,200 --> 01:15:26,960
in the Greek correctly or from 
the Greek correctly, it says 

1183
01:15:27,320 --> 01:15:32,320
grace and truth realized in the 
law through Jesus Christ. 

1184
01:15:33,080 --> 01:15:39,240
OK, so with that said, there are
aspects of the law that God gave

1185
01:15:39,240 --> 01:15:43,080
Israel that only applied to 
Israel and did not necessarily 

1186
01:15:43,080 --> 01:15:47,320
apply to us in the situation and
the way that we know it is 

1187
01:15:47,320 --> 01:15:49,160
because of the fulfillment of 
those things. 

1188
01:15:49,160 --> 01:15:54,000
I'll give you an example. 
OK, let's look at the ceremonial

1189
01:15:54,000 --> 01:15:57,480
laws that govern sacrifices or 
temple worship. 

1190
01:15:57,480 --> 01:15:59,080
We've been going over that by 
the way, for all of you that 

1191
01:15:59,080 --> 01:16:01,280
have been watching, you know, 
all the dietary restrictions, 

1192
01:16:01,280 --> 01:16:05,120
the ritual purity, those laws 
pointed forward to Jesus. 

1193
01:16:05,560 --> 01:16:08,120
OK, So when Christ fulfilled 
them through his death and 

1194
01:16:08,120 --> 01:16:11,560
resurrection, believers were no 
longer under those ceremonial 

1195
01:16:11,560 --> 01:16:14,960
requirements that that's why we 
don't offer animal sacrifices 

1196
01:16:14,960 --> 01:16:17,680
today and why the New Testament 
declare certain dietary 

1197
01:16:17,680 --> 01:16:19,720
restrictions or were fulfilled 
in Christ. 

1198
01:16:20,040 --> 01:16:23,360
OK. 
They all pointed to him and he 

1199
01:16:23,360 --> 01:16:25,000
became the Here's a great 
example. 

1200
01:16:25,160 --> 01:16:27,240
You go and you sacrifice an 
animal for the forgiveness of 

1201
01:16:27,240 --> 01:16:29,000
your sins. 
In the Old Testament, the Bible 

1202
01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:31,600
says that Christ became the 
perfect Lamb of God who takes 

1203
01:16:31,600 --> 01:16:34,680
away the sin of the world, and 
now his sacrifice is superior. 

1204
01:16:35,480 --> 01:16:37,760
So we no longer need to go back 
to the blood of bulls and goats 

1205
01:16:37,760 --> 01:16:39,840
in order to be able to to 
experience that. 

1206
01:16:39,840 --> 01:16:43,040
By the way, there were also very
civil laws, very important civil

1207
01:16:43,040 --> 01:16:46,800
laws that were given to a nation
that was a theocratic state. 

1208
01:16:46,800 --> 01:16:49,960
Those laws govern Israel's 
national life and their judicial

1209
01:16:49,960 --> 01:16:51,760
system. 
People forget that. 

1210
01:16:51,760 --> 01:16:55,120
OK, so there are moral laws, by 
the way, that reflect God's 

1211
01:16:55,120 --> 01:16:58,320
unchanging character and, and 
the commands that were given, 

1212
01:16:58,320 --> 01:17:01,160
like on lying or stealing or 
adultery or murder, you know, 

1213
01:17:01,160 --> 01:17:03,560
idolatry. 
That's a, that's a big one, 

1214
01:17:03,560 --> 01:17:05,120
right? 
Blasphemy or sexual immorality 

1215
01:17:05,120 --> 01:17:06,160
like we were talking about 
earlier. 

1216
01:17:06,560 --> 01:17:10,360
Look, if you took the, the name 
even of God in vain, those were 

1217
01:17:10,360 --> 01:17:12,640
all rooted in God's nature, 
right? 

1218
01:17:12,640 --> 01:17:15,440
They're reaffirmed through the 
New Testament. 

1219
01:17:15,440 --> 01:17:17,800
Even Jesus will go and say, 
well, you've heard it said this,

1220
01:17:17,800 --> 01:17:21,040
but I tell you, God at God's law
actually makes it even more 

1221
01:17:21,640 --> 01:17:23,520
Jesus's law and the New 
Testament makes it even more 

1222
01:17:23,520 --> 01:17:24,960
consequential. 
It's the fulfillment. 

1223
01:17:24,960 --> 01:17:27,400
Remember, Jesus said I didn't 
come to abolish the law. 

1224
01:17:27,400 --> 01:17:28,960
I came to fulfill it every jot 
and title. 

1225
01:17:28,960 --> 01:17:32,760
So when somebody says, well, if 
you don't wear mixed fabrics 

1226
01:17:32,760 --> 01:17:35,040
that you know, why, why don't 
you curse? 

1227
01:17:35,240 --> 01:17:40,600
You know, those are like crazy 
unreasonable questions. 

1228
01:17:41,120 --> 01:17:43,960
What they're doing is they're 
comparing two different 

1229
01:17:43,960 --> 01:17:46,640
categories of laws. 
So their question that they're 

1230
01:17:46,640 --> 01:17:49,360
asking is a talking point that 
they've been trained with, but 

1231
01:17:49,360 --> 01:17:53,160
they don't have the ability to 
understand the distinctions that

1232
01:17:53,800 --> 01:17:56,600
in essence, put the delineations
in the way that the law is 

1233
01:17:56,600 --> 01:17:58,920
actually put. 
Somebody who doesn't understand 

1234
01:17:58,920 --> 01:18:01,040
the law is going to say those 
types of things. 

1235
01:18:01,040 --> 01:18:03,000
I remember early on in law 
school, I had a professor that 

1236
01:18:03,000 --> 01:18:06,880
say you're going to be told a 
series of things by people 

1237
01:18:06,880 --> 01:18:11,520
throughout your career that are 
going to question what the law 

1238
01:18:11,640 --> 01:18:14,520
has told you. 
But their questions come from a 

1239
01:18:14,520 --> 01:18:16,440
place where they don't 
understand the law. 

1240
01:18:16,680 --> 01:18:19,920
Thus their questions speak of 
their ignorance of the law. 

1241
01:18:20,840 --> 01:18:23,960
So, so for your example, let's 
just deal with this. 

1242
01:18:23,960 --> 01:18:26,840
You know, you talk about the 
using Lord's name in vain. 

1243
01:18:26,840 --> 01:18:30,720
Well, that's not merely an Old 
Testament concept, OK? 

1244
01:18:31,120 --> 01:18:35,480
Christians should desire to 
honor God and honor the name of 

1245
01:18:35,480 --> 01:18:39,000
God because we love him it. 
It's not about earning 

1246
01:18:39,000 --> 01:18:40,600
salvation. 
It's about reverence. 

1247
01:18:40,840 --> 01:18:44,000
Now, regarding tattoos, look, 
that's where sincere questions 

1248
01:18:44,040 --> 01:18:46,520
may end up disagreeing. 
Like my, my opinion, you don't 

1249
01:18:46,520 --> 01:18:47,840
put a bumper sticker on a 
Bentley. 

1250
01:18:47,840 --> 01:18:50,120
I don't think that that's like a
God saying it's a sin. 

1251
01:18:50,480 --> 01:18:56,520
I'm just saying, you know, look,
some people will point to like 

1252
01:18:56,520 --> 01:18:59,320
Leviticus in that situation and 
they'll argue that that passage 

1253
01:18:59,320 --> 01:19:02,680
was connected to like Pagan 
morning practices, you know, 

1254
01:19:02,680 --> 01:19:04,480
which creates a universal 
prohibition. 

1255
01:19:04,640 --> 01:19:07,280
But even there, the question 
should be, does this glorify 

1256
01:19:07,280 --> 01:19:10,000
God? 
You know, like how close can I 

1257
01:19:10,000 --> 01:19:13,000
get to the line? 
That's not the question you want

1258
01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:14,480
to ask. 
The question is, how can I 

1259
01:19:14,480 --> 01:19:19,560
glorify God? 
Look, the bigger issue, and I 

1260
01:19:19,560 --> 01:19:21,200
got to, I got to think how I'm 
going to frame this because this

1261
01:19:21,280 --> 01:19:24,520
is really important. 
The bigger issue is the idea of 

1262
01:19:25,840 --> 01:19:27,920
that these people do, of picking
and choosing. 

1263
01:19:27,920 --> 01:19:29,720
I used to watch this when I 
would go to campuses with 

1264
01:19:29,720 --> 01:19:32,000
Charlie. 
It like there were times where 

1265
01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:35,440
I'd want to steal the microphone
from him when they would quote 

1266
01:19:35,440 --> 01:19:39,040
these Old Testament law 
questions because they're taking

1267
01:19:39,040 --> 01:19:41,160
portions of the law that they 
don't understand and they're 

1268
01:19:41,160 --> 01:19:43,560
using it to make a statement 
that they don't understand. 

1269
01:19:44,080 --> 01:19:47,080
And it's absolutely ridiculous. 
And a lot of times it was out of

1270
01:19:47,080 --> 01:19:49,640
context. 
Too, like they wouldn't even put

1271
01:19:49,640 --> 01:19:50,760
it. 
So that's The thing is that a 

1272
01:19:50,760 --> 01:19:53,200
lot of people read the Old 
Testament completely out of 

1273
01:19:53,200 --> 01:19:57,200
context and then just use it in 
a way that backs up their 

1274
01:19:57,200 --> 01:20:00,320
position with at which out 
without actually doing research 

1275
01:20:00,320 --> 01:20:06,440
to understand the entire context
of that of those verses 1000%. 

1276
01:20:07,080 --> 01:20:12,120
Like 1000% so that's that's what
happens. 

1277
01:20:12,120 --> 01:20:14,720
And Jesus even said it. 
He says, look verily, verily I 

1278
01:20:14,720 --> 01:20:17,760
say unto you, he says till 
heaven and earth pass what he 

1279
01:20:17,760 --> 01:20:23,560
says not one jot or title shall 
in no wise pass from the law 

1280
01:20:23,800 --> 01:20:28,560
till all be fulfilled. 
The law wasn't abolished, it was

1281
01:20:28,560 --> 01:20:30,560
fulfilled. 
Jesus said I came to fulfill the

1282
01:20:30,560 --> 01:20:33,360
law. 
So, you know, ultimately 

1283
01:20:34,880 --> 01:20:37,560
obedience should never be about 
like comparing ourselves to 

1284
01:20:37,560 --> 01:20:39,640
other Christians. 
It should be about asking what 

1285
01:20:39,640 --> 01:20:43,640
does God's Word teach and how 
can I best honor him with my 

1286
01:20:43,640 --> 01:20:45,920
life? 
That's the question every 

1287
01:20:46,080 --> 01:20:50,720
believer should be pursuing. 
And unfortunately, it's, it's 

1288
01:20:50,720 --> 01:20:53,440
sad that this is the case, but 
it's not happening. 

1289
01:20:53,960 --> 01:20:57,280
And it's very painful, by the 
way, to see that not happening. 

1290
01:20:57,680 --> 01:20:59,200
It's it's, it's very, very 
painful. 

1291
01:20:59,200 --> 01:21:03,240
All right, totally. 
Next, questions from Christine. 

1292
01:21:03,240 --> 01:21:05,640
I began thinking about why 
Christians don't celebrate 

1293
01:21:05,640 --> 01:21:07,640
Passover, which then led to 
Hanukkah. 

1294
01:21:08,120 --> 01:21:10,000
Jesus celebrated the Jewish 
holidays. 

1295
01:21:10,000 --> 01:21:12,160
Wouldn't Christians also honor 
these holidays? 

1296
01:21:12,160 --> 01:21:14,920
I felt compelled to research why
Christians don't, but didn't 

1297
01:21:14,920 --> 01:21:17,760
really like what I found. 
It seemed more like a decision 

1298
01:21:17,760 --> 01:21:21,080
by man and not by him. 
I was curious your thoughts on 

1299
01:21:21,080 --> 01:21:23,240
this. 
OK, now let me this is. 

1300
01:21:23,760 --> 01:21:25,960
A relatively easy one. 
As a matter of fact, I, I enjoy 

1301
01:21:25,960 --> 01:21:28,280
this one because it goes, it 
goes to Charlie's view on the 

1302
01:21:28,280 --> 01:21:31,240
Shabbat, right? 
There's so much to say about it,

1303
01:21:31,240 --> 01:21:35,040
like, and I think that the, the 
question is extraordinarily 

1304
01:21:35,040 --> 01:21:36,600
thoughtful. 
I think it's a really, really 

1305
01:21:36,600 --> 01:21:39,720
important question, but I think 
the answer may surprise some 

1306
01:21:39,720 --> 01:21:41,800
people. 
OK, Because first, let me just 

1307
01:21:41,800 --> 01:21:43,280
simply say this. 
There's nothing wrong with 

1308
01:21:43,280 --> 01:21:45,600
Christians celebrating Passover,
Hanukkah, or any of the other 

1309
01:21:45,600 --> 01:21:48,000
Jewish holidays if they 
understand what those holidays 

1310
01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:50,920
mean and if they're doing so 
unto the Lord. 

1311
01:21:50,920 --> 01:21:55,400
In fact, many of those feasts 
are rich with symbolism that 

1312
01:21:55,400 --> 01:21:58,240
points directly to Jesus. 
Passover, for example, is one of

1313
01:21:58,240 --> 01:22:00,440
the most powerful pictures of 
Christ in the entire Bible. 

1314
01:22:01,560 --> 01:22:04,560
Like, think about that. 
Jesus is our Passover lamb. 

1315
01:22:05,480 --> 01:22:09,520
So if you're studying and 
commemorating Passover, it can 

1316
01:22:09,520 --> 01:22:13,120
deepen your appreciation for 
everything that God has done. 

1317
01:22:13,120 --> 01:22:16,280
And, and it's very easy when you
partake in communion, you're 

1318
01:22:16,280 --> 01:22:20,280
being reminded of Passover. 
So the question becomes, are 

1319
01:22:20,280 --> 01:22:22,200
Christians required to celebrate
those holidays? 

1320
01:22:22,200 --> 01:22:23,920
So the answer is going to be no.
OK. 

1321
01:22:24,240 --> 01:22:27,640
The New Testament makes it clear
that believers are not obligated

1322
01:22:27,640 --> 01:22:31,480
to observe feast days given to 
Israel under the Mosaic 

1323
01:22:31,480 --> 01:22:33,280
Covenant. 
Paul says that in the book of 

1324
01:22:33,280 --> 01:22:35,680
Colossians, I believe is in 
chapter 2. 

1325
01:22:35,680 --> 01:22:42,600
Let me let me find it here. 
He says let no man therefore 

1326
01:22:42,600 --> 01:22:45,440
judge you in meat or in drink. 
And here's the operative 

1327
01:22:45,440 --> 01:22:49,880
terminology here. 
Or in respect of a holiday or 

1328
01:22:49,880 --> 01:22:53,520
the new moon, or of the Sabbath 
days, which are a shadow of 

1329
01:22:53,520 --> 01:22:55,800
things to come. 
But the body is of Christ. 

1330
01:22:55,800 --> 01:22:57,880
So in other words, what he's 
saying is these observances 

1331
01:22:57,880 --> 01:23:01,600
pointed forward to Christ. 
Once Christ came, believers were

1332
01:23:01,600 --> 01:23:04,200
no longer under any obligation 
to keep them. 

1333
01:23:04,200 --> 01:23:07,680
Now, look, regarding Jesus 
celebrating Jewish holidays, 

1334
01:23:07,680 --> 01:23:09,960
yeah, that's absolutely true. 
He did celebrate Hanukkah. 

1335
01:23:10,440 --> 01:23:12,720
Hanukkah, of course, was the 
commemoration of what happened 

1336
01:23:12,720 --> 01:23:16,560
when entios came in and 
desecrated the Temple and the 

1337
01:23:16,560 --> 01:23:18,560
Maccabean revolt and what 
happened there. 

1338
01:23:18,640 --> 01:23:19,960
It's a beautiful, beautiful 
story. 

1339
01:23:20,120 --> 01:23:23,520
But remember, Jesus was a Jewish
man living under the law before 

1340
01:23:23,520 --> 01:23:26,440
his death and resurrection. 
He actually was the fulfillment 

1341
01:23:26,440 --> 01:23:28,200
of the law. 
He fulfilled the law perfectly. 

1342
01:23:28,480 --> 01:23:34,480
And again, we are, we are under 
Christ's fulfillment of the law,

1343
01:23:34,480 --> 01:23:37,160
which does not negate the law. 
That's a very, very important 

1344
01:23:37,160 --> 01:23:38,680
thing. 
Now for Hanukkah specifically, 

1345
01:23:38,960 --> 01:23:41,760
look, it's interesting because 
Hanukkah is not one of the 

1346
01:23:41,760 --> 01:23:44,840
feasts commended in Leviticus 
23, just like Purim. 

1347
01:23:44,960 --> 01:23:47,120
Why? 
Because Purim and Hanukkah 

1348
01:23:47,160 --> 01:23:52,200
happened after Leviticus 23. 
OK, it, it, it, it, it, it 

1349
01:23:52,200 --> 01:23:56,040
commemorates the rededication of
the temple like as I had 

1350
01:23:56,040 --> 01:23:58,320
mentioned before. 
And Perham, for example, 

1351
01:23:59,000 --> 01:24:01,160
commemorates what happened with 
Esther. 

1352
01:24:01,360 --> 01:24:06,200
OK, but again, those things 
happened after Leviticus 23 and 

1353
01:24:06,200 --> 01:24:09,720
Jesus was present. 
It was, was present in Jerusalem

1354
01:24:10,000 --> 01:24:12,560
during that celebration. 
But even then there's no command

1355
01:24:12,560 --> 01:24:14,600
for Christians to observe it, 
even though Jesus was the one 

1356
01:24:14,600 --> 01:24:17,160
that was doing it. 
And by the way, I think you're 

1357
01:24:17,160 --> 01:24:19,360
correct about one thing, and I 
should, I should probably point 

1358
01:24:19,360 --> 01:24:22,520
this out. 
Historically, some segments of 

1359
01:24:22,520 --> 01:24:25,280
the church moved away from 
Jewish roots for reasons that 

1360
01:24:25,280 --> 01:24:28,200
were not always biblical. 
They weren't biblical, OK? 

1361
01:24:28,760 --> 01:24:31,920
Look, there were periods in 
church history where anti Jewish

1362
01:24:31,920 --> 01:24:34,200
sentiment influence decisions. 
Like it's happening right now. 

1363
01:24:34,200 --> 01:24:36,720
There's a bunch of people in the
name of Christianity that are 

1364
01:24:36,720 --> 01:24:40,440
lying about Israel, OK. 
And we should be honest about 

1365
01:24:40,440 --> 01:24:41,920
that. 
Not every historical church 

1366
01:24:41,920 --> 01:24:46,280
practice was based on biblical 
precedent. 

1367
01:24:46,280 --> 01:24:47,280
Just like we're seeing right 
now. 

1368
01:24:47,280 --> 01:24:50,000
There's a massive movement, an 
anti-Semitic movement that 

1369
01:24:50,000 --> 01:24:53,080
exists right now within people 
who refer to them as the as the 

1370
01:24:53,080 --> 01:24:54,240
church. 
With my view is simple. 

1371
01:24:54,640 --> 01:24:57,000
I think most people who are who 
are looking at this would 

1372
01:24:57,000 --> 01:24:59,080
understand it the same way 
Christian should understand 

1373
01:24:59,080 --> 01:25:01,040
this. 
Jewish feasts. 

1374
01:25:03,680 --> 01:25:06,240
Jewish feasts are important 
because they reveal God's 

1375
01:25:06,240 --> 01:25:08,240
prophetic plan. 
That's an important one, right? 

1376
01:25:08,440 --> 01:25:11,000
And they point to Jesus in some 
pretty remarkable ways. 

1377
01:25:11,000 --> 01:25:12,960
Look, if a believer wants to 
celebrate Passover, even 

1378
01:25:12,960 --> 01:25:15,480
Hanukkah or Perum or any of 
those types of feasts, 

1379
01:25:15,600 --> 01:25:19,240
remembering God's faithfulness 
and learning more about Christ, 

1380
01:25:19,240 --> 01:25:21,720
come on, that's beautiful. 
It's not just fine, it's 

1381
01:25:21,720 --> 01:25:25,680
beautiful. 
I think what we should avoid is 

1382
01:25:25,680 --> 01:25:28,280
the is the crazy extreme where 
you say, well, if you're a 

1383
01:25:28,280 --> 01:25:30,960
Christian, then you would 
observe these feasts or you 

1384
01:25:30,960 --> 01:25:33,320
shouldn't observe them at all. 
I think neither of those are 

1385
01:25:33,320 --> 01:25:35,480
accurate. 
Romans 14 gives us that 

1386
01:25:35,480 --> 01:25:37,520
principle, right? 
It says some believers will 

1387
01:25:37,520 --> 01:25:39,840
esteem certain days, others do 
not. 

1388
01:25:39,960 --> 01:25:42,880
The key is whatever you do, do 
it as unto the Lord. 

1389
01:25:43,280 --> 01:25:45,960
And and by the way, Charlie 
talks about that in his book on 

1390
01:25:45,960 --> 01:25:48,680
the Sabbath, and he does a 
really, really good job arguing 

1391
01:25:48,680 --> 01:25:51,120
the theology behind it. 
So look, I would encourage you 

1392
01:25:51,120 --> 01:25:53,480
to keep studying. 
The feasts are incredibly rich. 

1393
01:25:53,480 --> 01:25:56,080
You will be blessed. 
You cannot lose studying the 

1394
01:25:56,080 --> 01:25:58,200
feasts, OK? 
The more you learn about them, 

1395
01:25:58,360 --> 01:26:00,440
the more you'll see Jesus all 
over them. 

1396
01:26:00,640 --> 01:26:03,360
And just remember that your 
salvation and your standing 

1397
01:26:03,360 --> 01:26:05,680
before God are found in Christ 
himself. 

1398
01:26:05,680 --> 01:26:07,760
If their founding, you put in 
your faith and trust in him. 

1399
01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:09,800
You're wearing his robe of 
righteousness. 

1400
01:26:09,960 --> 01:26:13,160
You get credit for his 
perfection, for his perfect 

1401
01:26:13,160 --> 01:26:16,720
fulfillment of the law, and it's
not as a result of the 

1402
01:26:16,720 --> 01:26:19,160
observance of any of these days.
It's about the observance of 

1403
01:26:19,160 --> 01:26:21,840
Christ in all of these days, if 
that if that makes any kind of 

1404
01:26:21,840 --> 01:26:24,080
sense. 
Our next? 

1405
01:26:24,080 --> 01:26:26,960
Questions from Courtney What 
Bible study or plan can you 

1406
01:26:26,960 --> 01:26:30,120
recommend for a couple on the 
brink of marital disaster? 

1407
01:26:31,600 --> 01:26:37,000
Who? 
I, I do, I, I wish that I 

1408
01:26:37,200 --> 01:26:40,640
learned a little bit more about 
your circumstance because that 

1409
01:26:40,640 --> 01:26:46,120
is a very, very loaded question.
And I, I just have so many 

1410
01:26:46,120 --> 01:26:47,640
questions in my heart. 
You know what I mean? 

1411
01:26:47,640 --> 01:26:52,000
Like, you know, are you willing 
to read together? 

1412
01:26:52,840 --> 01:26:57,160
There's, there's a lot of 
things, there's a lot of things 

1413
01:26:57,160 --> 01:26:58,800
that I would want to know, but 
let, let me just say this, let 

1414
01:26:58,800 --> 01:27:00,720
me just assume that I know 
nothing about the situation 

1415
01:27:00,720 --> 01:27:03,480
'cause I don't. 
Look, if you're on the brink of 

1416
01:27:03,480 --> 01:27:05,920
disaster, start with the 
ultimate marriage book, the 

1417
01:27:05,920 --> 01:27:08,760
Bible. 
Like, I mean, honestly, OK, a 

1418
01:27:08,760 --> 01:27:12,080
lot of marriages are in crisis 
because vulnerable spouses have 

1419
01:27:12,080 --> 01:27:15,080
drifted from the Lord. 
So bring the Lord back into it. 

1420
01:27:15,080 --> 01:27:18,760
The marriage problems are often 
times symptoms of deeper 

1421
01:27:18,760 --> 01:27:21,760
spiritual problems. 
If you go back to the Bible, 

1422
01:27:21,760 --> 01:27:23,800
you're going to solve a lot of 
those problems by default. 

1423
01:27:23,800 --> 01:27:27,480
So I would begin with the study 
that draws both people closer to

1424
01:27:27,480 --> 01:27:29,120
Christ. 
Now, if if I were counseling a 

1425
01:27:29,120 --> 01:27:32,640
couple in this situation, 
there'd be a few things that I 

1426
01:27:32,640 --> 01:27:35,080
would suggest. 
Ephesians would be a great place

1427
01:27:35,080 --> 01:27:37,240
to start because it deals with 
the spiritual warfare. 

1428
01:27:37,520 --> 01:27:40,480
It also in in all of its six 
chapters. 

1429
01:27:41,560 --> 01:27:45,760
It, it, it, it creates some 
things that should cause you to 

1430
01:27:45,760 --> 01:27:48,480
want to contemplate. 
Like I would read every chapter,

1431
01:27:48,640 --> 01:27:50,760
like read 1 chapter a day and 
discuss it. 

1432
01:27:50,760 --> 01:27:55,320
Like I would pray together and 
ask this question, what, what 

1433
01:27:55,320 --> 01:28:01,000
does God want me to change? 
What, what does he want? 

1434
01:28:02,000 --> 01:28:04,520
What does he want for my spouse?
But I think the more important 

1435
01:28:04,520 --> 01:28:06,080
question is what does God want 
for me? 

1436
01:28:06,560 --> 01:28:12,240
You know, look, one of the 
clearest passages in the Bible 

1437
01:28:12,240 --> 01:28:15,360
for marriage is Ephesians 
chapter 5, OK? 

1438
01:28:15,680 --> 01:28:18,600
And it lays it out. 
The other thing that I would do,

1439
01:28:18,600 --> 01:28:20,600
and I know this is going to 
sound really cliche, so get 

1440
01:28:20,600 --> 01:28:25,240
ready, right? 
First Corinthians 13, OK? 

1441
01:28:26,160 --> 01:28:28,080
A lot of people think it's a 
wedding passage. 

1442
01:28:28,160 --> 01:28:30,120
It's not a wedding passage. 
A lot of people read it at 

1443
01:28:30,120 --> 01:28:34,400
weddings, but it's not it's a 
marriage passage. 

1444
01:28:34,400 --> 01:28:36,280
You know, you understand what 
I'm meaning. 

1445
01:28:36,400 --> 01:28:38,440
You have to ask yourself, 
because it describes what love 

1446
01:28:38,440 --> 01:28:39,800
is. 
You have to ask yourself, am I 

1447
01:28:39,800 --> 01:28:41,000
patient? 
Am I kind? 

1448
01:28:41,000 --> 01:28:43,480
Am I keeping records of wrong? 
Am I seeking my own interest? 

1449
01:28:44,280 --> 01:28:47,640
The focus should always be self 
examination before spouse 

1450
01:28:47,640 --> 01:28:49,640
examination. 
And you know, it's really 

1451
01:28:49,640 --> 01:28:51,400
interesting. 
I, I say this to everybody that 

1452
01:28:51,400 --> 01:28:52,800
I've ever walked through 
marriage issues with. 

1453
01:28:52,800 --> 01:28:56,360
I'm like the Lord, look, your 
spouse will benefit more from a 

1454
01:28:56,360 --> 01:28:58,800
conversation you have with the 
Lord than a conversation you 

1455
01:28:58,800 --> 01:29:01,280
have with them. 
And then the other thing I would

1456
01:29:01,280 --> 01:29:03,360
say is read through the Gospel 
of John. 

1457
01:29:03,400 --> 01:29:06,600
It's one of the best books to 
read in rediscovering who the 

1458
01:29:06,600 --> 01:29:08,000
Lord is. 
A husband and wife who are 

1459
01:29:08,000 --> 01:29:12,440
drawing closer to Jesus are 
naturally going to begin to draw

1460
01:29:12,440 --> 01:29:16,360
closer to each other. 
And John will help them do that.

1461
01:29:16,360 --> 01:29:19,200
I think it's a good book. 
And then also look, pray 

1462
01:29:19,200 --> 01:29:25,080
together everyday. 
You know, when I met Nicole, I 

1463
01:29:25,080 --> 01:29:27,120
knew immediately that the Lord 
wanted me to marry her. 

1464
01:29:27,360 --> 01:29:30,040
Like I didn't waste any time, 
20, not even 20 minutes, 

1465
01:29:30,040 --> 01:29:31,720
probably 7 minutes of talking to
her. 

1466
01:29:31,720 --> 01:29:33,760
Then I told her I think God 
wants us to be married and she 

1467
01:29:33,760 --> 01:29:36,280
knew it too. 
And from the day we had that 

1468
01:29:36,280 --> 01:29:41,320
conversation, we promised one 
another that every single day we

1469
01:29:41,320 --> 01:29:45,520
would pray in the morning and we
pray in the evening before we 

1470
01:29:45,520 --> 01:29:48,200
even got engaged to be married. 
We've never strayed from it. 

1471
01:29:48,200 --> 01:29:51,080
Why? 
Because when you pray with one 

1472
01:29:51,080 --> 01:29:54,840
another, you allow yourself to 
create a vulnerability that very

1473
01:29:54,840 --> 01:29:59,240
few people get to experience. 
That vulnerability mends you 

1474
01:29:59,240 --> 01:30:01,800
together while you subject 
yourself to the inside of the 

1475
01:30:01,800 --> 01:30:03,880
truth that God's Word wants to 
put. 

1476
01:30:04,120 --> 01:30:08,400
And look, it's important to just
recognize that. 

1477
01:30:08,480 --> 01:30:11,000
OK. 
And by the way, I do want to add

1478
01:30:11,000 --> 01:30:13,880
a caveat to this because there's
a lot that I just don't know if 

1479
01:30:13,880 --> 01:30:16,920
if your marriage is is dealing 
with things like adultery or 

1480
01:30:16,920 --> 01:30:20,600
pornography or abuse or any type
of addiction, serious betrayal, 

1481
01:30:20,800 --> 01:30:26,520
anything like that. 
The Bible alone can do anything.

1482
01:30:27,600 --> 01:30:31,360
But your understanding of the 
Bible is what keeps the Bible 

1483
01:30:31,360 --> 01:30:33,000
alone from being able to do 
anything. 

1484
01:30:33,000 --> 01:30:34,800
In other words, you need 
biblical counseling. 

1485
01:30:35,800 --> 01:30:39,720
So go to get some 
accountability, find mature 

1486
01:30:39,760 --> 01:30:43,600
pastors or elders that can walk 
your marriage through the issue.

1487
01:30:44,440 --> 01:30:47,360
It's, it's, it's really, really,
really important. 

1488
01:30:47,400 --> 01:30:51,560
You know, I think that I can be 
safe when I say this because 

1489
01:30:51,560 --> 01:30:53,000
it's the same thing with me and 
Nicole. 

1490
01:30:54,160 --> 01:30:58,640
Erica was always able to and so 
was Charlie. 

1491
01:30:59,080 --> 01:31:03,440
Reach out with the permission of
their spouse before anything 

1492
01:31:03,440 --> 01:31:05,240
ever happened. 
At the very beginning of their 

1493
01:31:05,240 --> 01:31:07,560
agreement in their marriage. 
They were always willing to 

1494
01:31:07,560 --> 01:31:11,160
reach out to people that they 
trusted if there was a problem 

1495
01:31:11,320 --> 01:31:13,560
so that accountability could be 
enforced. 

1496
01:31:14,200 --> 01:31:17,360
And I would say that in the case
of my wife and in the case of 

1497
01:31:17,360 --> 01:31:20,240
many marriages that are healthy,
that saves marriages. 

1498
01:31:21,760 --> 01:31:25,520
You have to have accountability.
You have to get, you know, it's 

1499
01:31:25,520 --> 01:31:28,280
really interesting. 
You can save a marriage before 

1500
01:31:28,280 --> 01:31:30,040
it ever shows a sign of it 
falling apart. 

1501
01:31:31,080 --> 01:31:34,520
Like, like because a marriage 
will fall apart if the focus is 

1502
01:31:34,520 --> 01:31:36,480
not on Christ. 
And if the decision to have 

1503
01:31:36,480 --> 01:31:40,080
accountability is gone, the 
marriage will fall apart before 

1504
01:31:40,080 --> 01:31:44,240
you even know it. 
So with all that said, those are

1505
01:31:44,240 --> 01:31:47,360
some important things to do, you
know, and it's, it's difficult 

1506
01:31:47,360 --> 01:31:50,560
because I'm not there. 
Like, I wish I could sit down so

1507
01:31:50,560 --> 01:31:52,600
many times. 
I can sit down and in typically 

1508
01:31:52,600 --> 01:31:55,920
one counseling session, I can 
point a couple towards a very 

1509
01:31:55,920 --> 01:31:57,960
viable solution. 
If they're willing to to do it 

1510
01:31:58,200 --> 01:32:01,280
as they've been instructed, 
Great. 

1511
01:32:01,400 --> 01:32:03,840
The next. 
Questions from Victoria Within 

1512
01:32:03,840 --> 01:32:07,280
six months my husband left my 
children and I and my mother 

1513
01:32:07,280 --> 01:32:09,960
went home to heaven after three 
month battle with cancer. 

1514
01:32:10,320 --> 01:32:13,200
This was eight years ago and 
this summer I'll be 35. 

1515
01:32:13,240 --> 01:32:16,320
I grieve that I am not remarried
and I'm running out of time to 

1516
01:32:16,320 --> 01:32:18,960
have more children. 
What biblical encouragement or 

1517
01:32:18,960 --> 01:32:25,520
wisdom can you give well? 
My heart goes out to you. 

1518
01:32:25,600 --> 01:32:29,680
I mean, it's, I mean, like 2 
profound losses, you know, you, 

1519
01:32:29,720 --> 01:32:32,800
you, you lose your mother, you 
lose your marriage that you 

1520
01:32:32,800 --> 01:32:34,480
know, you thought would be there
forever. 

1521
01:32:35,000 --> 01:32:37,920
Like that's just a tremendous 
amount of grief for anybody to 

1522
01:32:37,920 --> 01:32:40,160
carry. 
And like, my, just, my heart 

1523
01:32:40,160 --> 01:32:44,360
hurts over that. 
Look, what stands out to me is 

1524
01:32:44,360 --> 01:32:47,040
that your question isn't just 
about being unmarried. 

1525
01:32:47,040 --> 01:32:49,960
It's about feeling like the 
clock is ticking. 

1526
01:32:49,960 --> 01:32:52,280
You know, that it's that it's, 
you're running out of time. 

1527
01:32:52,280 --> 01:32:54,840
It's about the desire for a 
husband, you know, more 

1528
01:32:54,840 --> 01:33:02,640
children, a future that you 
know, a future that is what 

1529
01:33:02,640 --> 01:33:04,800
you've always hoped for. 
I think that's a better way of 

1530
01:33:04,800 --> 01:33:08,560
phrasing it. 
Look, there are there are 

1531
01:33:08,560 --> 01:33:10,840
biblical names that come to my 
mind when I think of your 

1532
01:33:10,840 --> 01:33:12,760
circumstance. 
I think of people like Sarah, 

1533
01:33:12,760 --> 01:33:17,120
Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah. 
OK, if you're not really 

1534
01:33:17,120 --> 01:33:18,960
studying the Bible, you might 
not be familiar with those 

1535
01:33:18,960 --> 01:33:21,120
names. 
But there are many others, like 

1536
01:33:21,120 --> 01:33:24,560
those names who experience deep 
sorrow, related to a family, 

1537
01:33:25,600 --> 01:33:28,640
related to family and children. 
One of my favorite names in all 

1538
01:33:28,640 --> 01:33:32,480
of this, like undoubtedly would 
be Ruth. 

1539
01:33:32,960 --> 01:33:35,240
Ruth was whittled before she 
even had children. 

1540
01:33:35,760 --> 01:33:40,640
You know, Hannah prayed that God
would give her a child, and she 

1541
01:33:40,640 --> 01:33:43,160
was barren for a long time. 
I mean, all these names, we 

1542
01:33:43,160 --> 01:33:44,800
could go through story after 
story. 

1543
01:33:44,960 --> 01:33:46,440
But you know what many of them 
have in common? 

1544
01:33:46,560 --> 01:33:48,240
They were much older when they 
had children. 

1545
01:33:49,080 --> 01:33:54,040
So one of the one of the themes 
I think that we repeatedly see 

1546
01:33:54,040 --> 01:33:57,000
is that God's timing is often 
very different from ours. 

1547
01:33:57,080 --> 01:33:59,200
OK, that doesn't make waiting 
easy. 

1548
01:33:59,200 --> 01:34:01,040
I want to just just acknowledge 
that. 

1549
01:34:01,360 --> 01:34:04,040
So I would encourage you to not 
measure God's faithfulness by 

1550
01:34:04,040 --> 01:34:07,840
your current marital status. 
Don't don't Look, it's 

1551
01:34:07,840 --> 01:34:11,840
understandable to grieve what 
hasn't happened yet. 

1552
01:34:11,840 --> 01:34:13,560
That's a very real form of 
grieving. 

1553
01:34:13,840 --> 01:34:15,720
OK? 
There's nothing wrong with 

1554
01:34:15,720 --> 01:34:19,080
bringing that grief to the Lord.
In fact, he actually invites you

1555
01:34:19,080 --> 01:34:21,440
to do it right. 
Psalm 34 says, look, the Lord is

1556
01:34:21,440 --> 01:34:25,840
near unto them that are a broken
heart, and he saves such as 

1557
01:34:26,280 --> 01:34:28,040
that, that have a contrite 
spirit. 

1558
01:34:28,480 --> 01:34:30,840
So notice that God doesn't 
rebuke the broken hearted 

1559
01:34:30,840 --> 01:34:32,400
people. 
He doesn't tell them not to do 

1560
01:34:32,400 --> 01:34:33,840
that. 
He says, hey, come, come to me 

1561
01:34:34,040 --> 01:34:37,400
with these problems. 
At 35, by the way, can I, can I 

1562
01:34:37,400 --> 01:34:40,600
just say this, not that I want 
to minimize your feelings and 

1563
01:34:40,600 --> 01:34:42,560
not that I want to put you down 
by any stretch of the 

1564
01:34:42,560 --> 01:34:44,200
imagination, 'cause that's what,
that's not what I'm doing. 

1565
01:34:44,200 --> 01:34:45,320
I want you to be encouraged by 
this. 

1566
01:34:45,720 --> 01:34:49,640
At 35, you're still kind of a 
baby, OK? 

1567
01:34:49,840 --> 01:34:53,920
I mean, at 35, I would caution 
you against believing the lie 

1568
01:34:53,920 --> 01:34:57,960
that your story is over because 
it is an absolute lie, OK? 

1569
01:34:57,960 --> 01:35:01,480
I've seen God bring wonderful 
marriages together later in 

1570
01:35:01,480 --> 01:35:04,080
life. 
I was 39 when I married my 

1571
01:35:04,080 --> 01:35:05,480
bride. 
OK? 

1572
01:35:05,920 --> 01:35:08,360
I have three beautiful children 
and we'll probably have a few 

1573
01:35:08,360 --> 01:35:12,200
more. 
I've seen women become mothers 

1574
01:35:12,200 --> 01:35:14,560
after they thought the 
opportunities had completely 

1575
01:35:14,560 --> 01:35:17,320
passed, years after they thought
the opportunity has passed. 

1576
01:35:17,480 --> 01:35:20,320
I've also seen God give people a
different future than they 

1577
01:35:20,320 --> 01:35:23,480
envisioned, and one that turned 
out to be way better than 

1578
01:35:23,480 --> 01:35:25,040
anything they could have 
possibly imagined. 

1579
01:35:25,040 --> 01:35:29,240
So the danger is allowing grief 
over what might never happen to 

1580
01:35:29,240 --> 01:35:32,880
rob you of the greater thing 
that God has for you today and 

1581
01:35:32,880 --> 01:35:35,240
in the future. 
OK, so you you mentioned your 

1582
01:35:35,240 --> 01:35:38,240
children. 
Look, please don't take this the

1583
01:35:38,240 --> 01:35:39,880
wrong way. 
They need a mother who's 

1584
01:35:39,880 --> 01:35:42,120
present. 
They need a mother who's 

1585
01:35:42,120 --> 01:35:43,320
hopeful. 
They need a mother who's 

1586
01:35:43,320 --> 01:35:45,480
trusting in the Lord. 
They don't need a mother 

1587
01:35:45,480 --> 01:35:49,440
consumed by fear or sorrow or 
grief about tomorrow. 

1588
01:35:50,320 --> 01:35:52,960
And you can be that mom. 
I'm certain you probably already

1589
01:35:52,960 --> 01:35:54,800
are in many ways. 
Here's my encouragement. 

1590
01:35:54,800 --> 01:35:58,160
Look, go ahead. 
Nothing wrong with continuing to

1591
01:35:58,160 --> 01:36:02,280
pray for a godly husband, OK? 
If that's your desire, continue 

1592
01:36:02,280 --> 01:36:05,080
asking God about the possibility
of of of more children. 

1593
01:36:05,240 --> 01:36:09,360
Absolutely please do it. 
There's nothing wrong with those

1594
01:36:09,360 --> 01:36:14,760
prayers, but hold those desires 
with very open hands before God.

1595
01:36:15,080 --> 01:36:18,840
OK, I already quoted this before
Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and

1596
01:36:18,840 --> 01:36:19,880
six. 
Trust the Lord with all your 

1597
01:36:19,880 --> 01:36:20,760
heart. 
Don't lean on your own 

1598
01:36:20,760 --> 01:36:23,800
understanding in all your ways. 
Acknowledge Him and he will 

1599
01:36:23,800 --> 01:36:28,200
direct your paths. 
Trust Him, He knows better than 

1600
01:36:28,200 --> 01:36:30,920
you. 
OK, look, make it very clear 

1601
01:36:30,920 --> 01:36:32,880
based on the question that 
you've asked, God has already 

1602
01:36:32,880 --> 01:36:35,360
carried you through the loss of 
your mother and certainly the 

1603
01:36:35,360 --> 01:36:38,040
collapse of your marriage. 
He's not going to deny you now. 

1604
01:36:38,640 --> 01:36:40,920
He's proven himself faithful 
through some of the most darkest

1605
01:36:40,920 --> 01:36:43,480
moments of your life. 
The same God who carried you 

1606
01:36:43,480 --> 01:36:45,280
then is carrying you now at this
moment. 

1607
01:36:45,280 --> 01:36:48,720
Your future is not determined by
a calendar. 

1608
01:36:48,920 --> 01:36:52,480
Don't believe that lie. 
It's determined by Almighty God,

1609
01:36:52,560 --> 01:36:54,960
who happens to be sovereign, who
loves you. 

1610
01:36:55,160 --> 01:36:58,840
He sees you, He knows exactly 
what He's doing, and He knows 

1611
01:36:58,840 --> 01:37:01,080
you better than you can ever 
know yourself. 

1612
01:37:01,960 --> 01:37:05,720
If he gave a son for you, I 
promise you he has great 

1613
01:37:05,720 --> 01:37:08,240
intention for you and will bring
you the best if you allow him to

1614
01:37:08,240 --> 01:37:09,200
do it. 
Amen. 

1615
01:37:09,560 --> 01:37:11,840
I agree with that and on. 
And on top of that, I'll just 

1616
01:37:11,840 --> 01:37:16,160
add now when you get in that 
headspace of feeling like you're

1617
01:37:16,160 --> 01:37:20,240
either running out of time or 
you know, you're any of the 

1618
01:37:20,240 --> 01:37:22,400
negative thoughts that you might
have, I just want to encourage 

1619
01:37:22,400 --> 01:37:27,120
you instead to shift that to 
gratitude and be literally say 

1620
01:37:27,120 --> 01:37:30,560
out loud, I am grateful for the 
children that I do have. 

1621
01:37:30,920 --> 01:37:33,440
I am grateful for this life that
I do have. 

1622
01:37:33,480 --> 01:37:35,120
I am grateful. 
And just when you have your 

1623
01:37:35,120 --> 01:37:38,080
heart postured and gratitude, it
really takes your mind off of 

1624
01:37:38,080 --> 01:37:41,400
the things that you don't have 
because it's very similar to 

1625
01:37:41,720 --> 01:37:44,440
when Adam and Eve are in the 
garden. 

1626
01:37:44,440 --> 01:37:47,200
You focus on the tree. 
You can't get to focus on the 

1627
01:37:47,200 --> 01:37:51,440
tree you can't eat from, but you
turn around and you have this 

1628
01:37:51,440 --> 01:37:54,320
amazing garden around you. 
You're not focused on that. 

1629
01:37:54,320 --> 01:37:55,960
You're focused on what you can't
have and don't have. 

1630
01:37:55,960 --> 01:37:59,720
So I just encourage you to make 
sure you focus on those babies 

1631
01:37:59,960 --> 01:38:02,160
and, and love on them and just 
be grateful. 

1632
01:38:02,160 --> 01:38:04,160
And I'm sure you are, I'm not 
saying you're not, I'm sure 

1633
01:38:04,160 --> 01:38:07,120
you're super grateful for what 
you have, but just double down 

1634
01:38:07,120 --> 01:38:09,360
on that gratitude. 
And I and I think it will really

1635
01:38:09,360 --> 01:38:13,360
help reposition and refocus your
mindset when you kind of 

1636
01:38:13,360 --> 01:38:16,760
sometimes go through those late 
night contemplations. 

1637
01:38:18,600 --> 01:38:20,080
Yeah, Amen. 
Next. 

1638
01:38:20,080 --> 01:38:22,760
Question is from Christina. 
Can our loved ones see us from 

1639
01:38:22,760 --> 01:38:27,240
heaven? 
That's a good question, and it's

1640
01:38:27,240 --> 01:38:30,000
one that a lot of people ask. 
Look, the the honest answers of 

1641
01:38:30,000 --> 01:38:33,440
the Bible doesn't clearly tell 
us that our loved ones in heaven

1642
01:38:33,680 --> 01:38:36,040
are watching our daily lives on 
earth, and many people are going

1643
01:38:36,040 --> 01:38:38,920
to assume that they are. 
But there is actually very 

1644
01:38:38,920 --> 01:38:41,000
little biblical evidence that 
supports that idea. 

1645
01:38:41,520 --> 01:38:45,360
One passage the people will 
often point to is Hebrews 12/1 

1646
01:38:46,120 --> 01:38:48,840
where it says wherefore seeing 
that we are compassed about by 

1647
01:38:48,840 --> 01:38:52,520
so great a cloud of witnesses, 
Some will interpret that as 

1648
01:38:52,520 --> 01:38:54,280
believers in heaven watching 
down on us. 

1649
01:38:54,280 --> 01:38:59,000
However, look, the contest is 
going to talk to us about these 

1650
01:38:59,000 --> 01:39:02,440
are these are people bearing 
witness through the testimony of

1651
01:39:02,440 --> 01:39:04,480
their lives described in Hebrews
11. 

1652
01:39:04,920 --> 01:39:06,840
The context is what happened in 
Hebrews 11. 

1653
01:39:06,840 --> 01:39:14,400
So the bigger question is so 
like for me, if I were to answer

1654
01:39:14,400 --> 01:39:17,200
that question, I'd say there's 
probably no real evidence of it,

1655
01:39:17,400 --> 01:39:20,480
although we do have evidence and
revelation that people from 

1656
01:39:20,480 --> 01:39:22,440
heaven are looking down upon 
what's happening on earth. 

1657
01:39:22,760 --> 01:39:24,040
So I can't be definitive about 
that. 

1658
01:39:24,200 --> 01:39:27,400
So we, we don't completely know.
Now, do people in heaven have 

1659
01:39:27,400 --> 01:39:28,920
awareness of things that are 
happening on earth? 

1660
01:39:29,040 --> 01:39:31,720
Absolutely. 
It's like I mentioned, there are

1661
01:39:31,720 --> 01:39:35,400
passages that can prove that I 
think very easily. 

1662
01:39:35,960 --> 01:39:39,880
Luke 15, Jesus says that there's
rejoicing in heaven over 1 

1663
01:39:39,880 --> 01:39:43,400
Sinner who repents. 
How does that work OK in? 

1664
01:39:43,400 --> 01:39:45,520
Revelation. 
The Saints in heaven, they're 

1665
01:39:45,520 --> 01:39:47,840
aware of what what's happening, 
like I had mentioned before. 

1666
01:39:47,840 --> 01:39:52,040
So the Bible never explicitly 
says that you know your, your 

1667
01:39:52,040 --> 01:39:53,280
mother, your father, your 
spouse. 

1668
01:39:53,480 --> 01:39:55,560
These people are watching every 
detail of your life. 

1669
01:39:56,240 --> 01:40:01,280
Personally, I this is my belief.
I think there's a reason God 

1670
01:40:01,280 --> 01:40:03,400
doesn't give us extensive 
information on this. 

1671
01:40:04,320 --> 01:40:06,040
I think that God wants us to 
focus. 

1672
01:40:06,560 --> 01:40:14,040
On heaven and not on earth, the 
focus is the focus of heaven is 

1673
01:40:14,040 --> 01:40:16,480
Christ. 
And, and I think that that's how

1674
01:40:16,480 --> 01:40:20,440
God would want us to, to focus. 
You know, I think I'm at liberty

1675
01:40:20,440 --> 01:40:23,040
to say this because I've heard 
Erica say this publicly. 

1676
01:40:23,080 --> 01:40:26,320
But you know, one of the first 
things that Erica told me when 

1677
01:40:26,320 --> 01:40:30,400
Charlie went to go be with the 
Lord is she said more than ever,

1678
01:40:30,840 --> 01:40:34,280
all I can think about is heaven 
and being with him. 

1679
01:40:34,880 --> 01:40:38,560
That's how God designed it. 
God designed it that way 

1680
01:40:39,840 --> 01:40:42,600
because, because if the focus 
was well, they can see me from 

1681
01:40:42,600 --> 01:40:43,640
heaven. 
Well, then you're going to, 

1682
01:40:43,720 --> 01:40:46,040
you're going to just, you're 
going to, you're going to talk 

1683
01:40:46,040 --> 01:40:50,160
to your loved one and your focus
is removed from all of that. 

1684
01:40:50,160 --> 01:40:53,280
And I can look, I can just tell 
you this Charlie is right now 

1685
01:40:55,680 --> 01:41:00,160
he, he's focusing on, on, on 
like things that he's never seen

1686
01:41:00,160 --> 01:41:03,080
before. 
He's, he's experiencing great 

1687
01:41:03,080 --> 01:41:05,760
joy, probably a little antsy 
going, hey, where's, where's my 

1688
01:41:05,760 --> 01:41:07,920
babies? 
You know, maybe there's some of 

1689
01:41:07,920 --> 01:41:14,240
that going on. 
But look, look, one thing I can 

1690
01:41:14,240 --> 01:41:17,680
tell you with confidence is 
this, look, our loved ones who 

1691
01:41:17,680 --> 01:41:20,920
are with the Lord, they're not 
missing us in the way that we 

1692
01:41:20,920 --> 01:41:22,080
miss them. 
I know that sounds kind of 

1693
01:41:22,080 --> 01:41:23,280
insensitive, right? 
But it's true. 

1694
01:41:23,560 --> 01:41:25,400
But they're, they're in the 
presence of Christ. 

1695
01:41:25,920 --> 01:41:28,320
They're experiencing joy and 
peace and fulfillment beyond 

1696
01:41:28,320 --> 01:41:30,480
anything that, that that we can 
ever imagine. 

1697
01:41:30,480 --> 01:41:32,360
I mean, Paul said it in 
Philippians. 

1698
01:41:32,360 --> 01:41:36,320
He said to depart to be with 
Christ is far better. 

1699
01:41:36,320 --> 01:41:38,200
That's what he said. 
Those are his, his exact words. 

1700
01:41:38,360 --> 01:41:41,120
So while I can't tell you with 
certainty that your loved ones 

1701
01:41:41,120 --> 01:41:44,520
are watching your, your like 
literally daily activities, I 

1702
01:41:44,520 --> 01:41:47,440
can tell you with certainty that
if they died in Christ, they're 

1703
01:41:47,440 --> 01:41:52,040
safe, they're joyful, they're 
with the Lord, and one day we're

1704
01:41:52,040 --> 01:41:54,600
going to see them again. 
And I think that's really where 

1705
01:41:54,600 --> 01:41:58,040
our hope as Christians sit, not 
whether or not they're watching 

1706
01:41:58,040 --> 01:42:01,560
us now, but in the promise that 
because of Christ and what he's 

1707
01:42:01,560 --> 01:42:04,640
done and we wear his robe of 
righteousness and we get credit 

1708
01:42:04,640 --> 01:42:07,840
for his perfect life, our 
separation is extremely 

1709
01:42:07,840 --> 01:42:10,400
temporary. 
And, and look for believers, 

1710
01:42:10,520 --> 01:42:12,840
goodbye will never be the final 
word. 

1711
01:42:13,320 --> 01:42:16,280
The final word is reunion in the
presence of the Lord. 

1712
01:42:16,440 --> 01:42:17,960
And that reunion is going to be 
sweet. 

1713
01:42:18,680 --> 01:42:20,480
It's going to be sweet. 
And I thought about this. 

1714
01:42:20,680 --> 01:42:25,520
There will be so many people 
that will be in heaven and will 

1715
01:42:25,520 --> 01:42:27,440
look at Charlie and say I'm here
because of you. 

1716
01:42:27,440 --> 01:42:30,720
And they're going to look at. 
Erica and they're going to say. 

1717
01:42:30,720 --> 01:42:34,720
I'm here because of you. 
Can you imagine? 

1718
01:42:35,120 --> 01:42:38,800
Could, could it be any better? 
It's it's an amazing thing. 

1719
01:42:44,120 --> 01:42:47,320
Gosh. 
Next question is from Bobby. 

1720
01:42:47,560 --> 01:42:50,400
If a person is trying to get out
of debt, but they also feel the 

1721
01:42:50,400 --> 01:42:53,120
need to tithe, should the 
priority be to focus on getting 

1722
01:42:53,120 --> 01:42:59,400
out of debt 1st and then tithe? 
Boy boy, I have so much to say 

1723
01:42:59,440 --> 01:43:02,680
about this. 
Well, forget. 

1724
01:43:03,160 --> 01:43:07,120
We have Pastor James Cadiz here 
instead of Dave Ramsey, so let's

1725
01:43:07,120 --> 01:43:12,280
hear it. 
I think Dave Ramsey airs in in 

1726
01:43:12,280 --> 01:43:14,560
the view of debt. 
I think that the view of debt is

1727
01:43:14,600 --> 01:43:19,200
a is a broken one that he 
carries and and I have lots of 

1728
01:43:19,200 --> 01:43:22,320
reasons for that. 
I can I just speak from the 

1729
01:43:22,320 --> 01:43:26,560
perspective of a person that by 
God's grace, I have been blessed

1730
01:43:26,800 --> 01:43:30,000
financially because of what God 
has done for me and the wisdom 

1731
01:43:30,000 --> 01:43:32,840
that he's given me. 
We encourage people by the way, 

1732
01:43:33,160 --> 01:43:35,560
to learn how to become 
financially independent as a 

1733
01:43:35,560 --> 01:43:37,600
church. 
If you go to my website, we 

1734
01:43:37,600 --> 01:43:40,240
actually have some classes you 
can take to be able to do that. 

1735
01:43:40,240 --> 01:43:41,800
I think it's really, really 
important. 

1736
01:43:44,720 --> 01:43:49,240
We have examples in the Bible 
where debt is actually good, and

1737
01:43:49,240 --> 01:43:52,480
I think that God created debt as
an instrument to create wealth. 

1738
01:43:52,480 --> 01:43:55,160
Believe it or not, the story of 
the widow is probably one of my 

1739
01:43:55,160 --> 01:43:58,120
favorite stories. 
The Widow of the Prophet is one 

1740
01:43:58,120 --> 01:44:00,200
of my favorite stories and I 
think that this question has 

1741
01:44:00,200 --> 01:44:02,080
been debated for a very, very 
long time. 

1742
01:44:03,280 --> 01:44:05,800
Let me just simply say this 
without getting into the crazy 

1743
01:44:05,800 --> 01:44:10,440
nitty and gritty of it. 
If Second Corinthians Chapter 9 

1744
01:44:10,440 --> 01:44:16,640
says every man according as he 
purposeth in his heart speaking 

1745
01:44:16,640 --> 01:44:21,560
about tithing, so let him give, 
not grudgingly or of necessity, 

1746
01:44:21,640 --> 01:44:25,640
for God loves a cheerful giver. 
With that said, I always tell 

1747
01:44:25,640 --> 01:44:28,040
this to people, do you want God 
to bless you or do you not want 

1748
01:44:28,040 --> 01:44:29,520
God to bless you? 
Right. 

1749
01:44:29,800 --> 01:44:33,120
And if a person is struggling 
with debt, certainly they should

1750
01:44:33,120 --> 01:44:36,840
create a plan that includes, in 
my opinion, both faithful giving

1751
01:44:37,080 --> 01:44:41,520
and aggressive debt leveraging. 
I'm not going to say debt 

1752
01:44:41,520 --> 01:44:43,160
reduction. 
In some cases, debt reduction is

1753
01:44:43,160 --> 01:44:44,960
important. 
Like you don't get into debt for

1754
01:44:44,960 --> 01:44:48,040
things like candy and and 
entertainment and things like 

1755
01:44:48,040 --> 01:44:49,720
that. 
But there are places where 

1756
01:44:49,720 --> 01:44:52,200
getting into debt is actually a 
good, like, like a really, 

1757
01:44:52,200 --> 01:44:54,960
really good thing. 
Like for example, I personally 

1758
01:44:56,040 --> 01:44:59,720
will not buy a car cash. 
Can I Could I right now write a 

1759
01:44:59,720 --> 01:45:04,520
check for my motor vehicle? 
Absolutely I could, no problem. 

1760
01:45:04,760 --> 01:45:07,320
But you know what? 
I don't care if I'm paying 10% 

1761
01:45:07,320 --> 01:45:12,200
on the loan, fine, I'll pay 10% 
on the loan no problem. 

1762
01:45:13,120 --> 01:45:16,560
I, I can do a, a transaction in 
the market where I'm making way 

1763
01:45:16,560 --> 01:45:18,280
more than that. 
By the way, I'm kind of mad at 

1764
01:45:18,280 --> 01:45:19,960
Elon Musk. 
Can you pass that message on to 

1765
01:45:19,960 --> 01:45:21,880
him right now? 
Why did he have to have his 

1766
01:45:21,880 --> 01:45:23,640
SpaceX initial public offering 
today? 

1767
01:45:23,800 --> 01:45:26,200
He destroyed one of my positions
in the market. 

1768
01:45:28,040 --> 01:45:30,200
Anyway, I, I got a little 
distracted there. 

1769
01:45:30,520 --> 01:45:37,120
I love Elon, but anyway, look, 
giving is a part of what God 

1770
01:45:37,120 --> 01:45:41,040
commands you to do. 
It's the first fruit of all that

1771
01:45:41,040 --> 01:45:47,040
He has put in front of you. 
And what I would do is continue 

1772
01:45:47,560 --> 01:45:52,320
to give to the Lord as your LED.
OK, now I know people who are 

1773
01:45:52,320 --> 01:45:55,480
being lied to by liars and 
thieves like Benny Hinn. 

1774
01:45:56,200 --> 01:45:57,920
They are. 
They're liars and thieves who 

1775
01:45:57,920 --> 01:46:00,720
will tell you take the money 
that you have left and give it 

1776
01:46:00,720 --> 01:46:04,640
to the Lord and then sit there 
and expect that He's going to 

1777
01:46:04,640 --> 01:46:06,440
bless you when he's not because 
you were foolish. 

1778
01:46:07,400 --> 01:46:09,440
OK? 
You have to have some wisdom 

1779
01:46:10,480 --> 01:46:12,920
and, and I, and I, and I think 
it's, I think it's really, 

1780
01:46:12,920 --> 01:46:15,080
really, really important. 
Now, I would be careful of 

1781
01:46:15,080 --> 01:46:17,240
saying, well, I'm going to stop 
giving completely until my debt 

1782
01:46:17,240 --> 01:46:19,240
is gone. 
That would be hugely erroneous 

1783
01:46:19,680 --> 01:46:23,160
because you'll make that excuse 
for the next 10 to 20 years and 

1784
01:46:23,160 --> 01:46:26,480
you'll never be in a better spot
then as you were in the 1st 

1785
01:46:26,480 --> 01:46:27,280
place. 
OK. 

1786
01:46:27,480 --> 01:46:29,720
On the other hand, I'd, I'd be 
cautious about somebody giving 

1787
01:46:29,720 --> 01:46:31,160
so much that they neglect their 
family. 

1788
01:46:31,400 --> 01:46:35,160
Look, the the Bible does not 
tell me, can I just say this? 

1789
01:46:35,520 --> 01:46:38,360
The Bible doesn't tell me that 
I'm wrong by missing out on a 

1790
01:46:38,360 --> 01:46:39,760
Bible study. 
It doesn't tell me that I'm 

1791
01:46:39,760 --> 01:46:42,400
wrong by taking a vacation from 
teaching at church. 

1792
01:46:42,760 --> 01:46:46,840
It doesn't even tell me that I'm
a bad person who should be 

1793
01:46:46,840 --> 01:46:50,120
condemned if I skip out on a 
tithe payment to the church. 

1794
01:46:50,120 --> 01:46:51,480
But you know what it does tell 
me? 

1795
01:46:51,840 --> 01:46:54,240
It says if I can't provide for 
my family, I'm worse than an 

1796
01:46:54,240 --> 01:46:58,640
infidel. 
So, so you have to be able to 

1797
01:46:58,640 --> 01:47:00,480
provide for your family. 
OK. 

1798
01:47:00,760 --> 01:47:04,800
And look, if I were counseling 
someone, I would say continue 

1799
01:47:04,800 --> 01:47:09,080
giving as the Lord leads, even 
if it's a similar amount during 

1800
01:47:09,080 --> 01:47:14,600
a season of of paying off debt. 
But you have to work diligently 

1801
01:47:14,600 --> 01:47:17,400
to deal with the financial 
restructuring that needs to 

1802
01:47:17,400 --> 01:47:20,680
happen. 
OK, Generosity and stewardship, 

1803
01:47:20,680 --> 01:47:23,880
they're both very biblical 
principles and they should work 

1804
01:47:23,880 --> 01:47:27,600
together rather than compete 
with each other. 

1805
01:47:28,040 --> 01:47:33,080
And, and I think that God has 
made a way for all families to 

1806
01:47:33,080 --> 01:47:36,360
build on principles of wealth. 
I believe that that's not health

1807
01:47:36,360 --> 01:47:38,880
and wealth teaching. 
That's not prosperity doctrine. 

1808
01:47:39,160 --> 01:47:42,600
It's me simply saying that God 
has given us these amazing 

1809
01:47:42,600 --> 01:47:47,360
financial instruments that exist
today that can teach you how to 

1810
01:47:47,360 --> 01:47:52,600
become better at not only 
providing for your family, but 

1811
01:47:52,600 --> 01:47:54,280
becoming more effective for the 
Kingdom. 

1812
01:47:55,600 --> 01:47:58,680
And and that's not an easy thing
to achieve, but it's one way 

1813
01:47:58,680 --> 01:48:01,240
that you can become very, very 
effective. 

1814
01:48:01,240 --> 01:48:03,000
And it's one of the things that 
I value a lot. 

1815
01:48:03,000 --> 01:48:06,080
You know, people ask me to do 
things or, or something will 

1816
01:48:06,080 --> 01:48:09,400
come up and I praise God, I'm 
not held by that will I need the

1817
01:48:09,400 --> 01:48:12,440
money to, to be able to do this.
You know, it, it just, it 

1818
01:48:12,440 --> 01:48:15,080
doesn't work that way because 
God has been faithful to provide

1819
01:48:15,080 --> 01:48:19,160
every step of the way. 
So I think giving is important, 

1820
01:48:20,640 --> 01:48:21,840
but there's a lot to say about 
debt. 

1821
01:48:21,840 --> 01:48:22,920
There's so much to say about 
now. 

1822
01:48:22,920 --> 01:48:24,920
There is bad debt. 
There is debt that's bad. 

1823
01:48:24,920 --> 01:48:27,360
You got it like you, you don't 
go into debt for pizza and 

1824
01:48:27,360 --> 01:48:28,760
bubble gum. 
You don't, you don't go into 

1825
01:48:28,760 --> 01:48:32,680
debt to buy a, a better car. 
It, it doesn't work that way 

1826
01:48:32,720 --> 01:48:36,480
unless the car is your source of
livelihood and it's being used 

1827
01:48:36,480 --> 01:48:40,200
to make money, then go into debt
for what you need to buy and 

1828
01:48:40,200 --> 01:48:44,000
then pay it off. 
There's a lot to be said there. 

1829
01:48:44,000 --> 01:48:46,960
It's a, it's a, it's a that's a 
tough one. 

1830
01:48:46,960 --> 01:48:50,640
But I, I hope that's, I hope 
that's helpful Next. 

1831
01:48:50,640 --> 01:48:53,720
Questions from Susan Can Satan 
read our minds? 

1832
01:48:54,040 --> 01:48:57,160
Can he get into our heads? 
Yeah. 

1833
01:48:57,800 --> 01:49:01,400
I don't believe that the enemy 
can actually read read our 

1834
01:49:01,400 --> 01:49:04,640
minds. 
I I think that that is something

1835
01:49:04,640 --> 01:49:08,480
that is exclusive to to God's 
capability. 

1836
01:49:09,720 --> 01:49:12,400
It really is a good question. 
The the answer is definitely 

1837
01:49:12,400 --> 01:49:15,240
not. 
Psalm 139 even makes it clear 

1838
01:49:15,240 --> 01:49:18,560
that God is the one that 
searches our hearts and it's 

1839
01:49:18,560 --> 01:49:23,040
God's ability, not Satan's. 
Now Satan will cause us to think

1840
01:49:23,040 --> 01:49:25,720
that that's the case 'cause he's
a, you know, he wants us to 

1841
01:49:25,720 --> 01:49:27,240
believe that, but that is not 
the case. 

1842
01:49:27,360 --> 01:49:28,720
Now, can he influence our 
thinking? 

1843
01:49:29,360 --> 01:49:31,160
Absolutely. 
OK. 

1844
01:49:31,720 --> 01:49:34,800
The Bible makes it clear that 
spiritual warfare involves the 

1845
01:49:34,800 --> 01:49:38,160
mind and it's one of the 
playgrounds that the enemy uses.

1846
01:49:38,440 --> 01:49:41,480
And if somebody struggles with 
fear, he'll attack that he'll 

1847
01:49:41,480 --> 01:49:45,200
he'll he'll find that as a new 
attack vector and he'll exploit 

1848
01:49:45,200 --> 01:49:46,760
it. 
Now, can you get into your head?

1849
01:49:46,920 --> 01:49:49,600
Well, in the sense of like 
whispering lies or or bringing 

1850
01:49:49,600 --> 01:49:51,640
temptations your way or 
attacking your thought life? 

1851
01:49:51,640 --> 01:49:54,520
Yeah, absolutely. 
In the sense of, you know, 

1852
01:49:54,520 --> 01:49:57,240
possessing a Christian or having
unrestricted access to your 

1853
01:49:57,240 --> 01:49:58,560
mind. 
No, no, it's impossible. 

1854
01:49:58,720 --> 01:50:01,600
The Bible says greater is he who
lives in you than he that's in 

1855
01:50:01,600 --> 01:50:03,120
this world. 
And one of the greatest 

1856
01:50:03,120 --> 01:50:06,040
protections that we have is what
Paul tells us in Second 

1857
01:50:06,040 --> 01:50:07,880
Corinthians where he talks 
about, you know, casting down 

1858
01:50:07,880 --> 01:50:10,640
imaginations and every high 
thing that exalted itself 

1859
01:50:10,640 --> 01:50:12,800
against the knowledge of God and
doing what? 

1860
01:50:13,040 --> 01:50:16,240
Bringing into captivity every 
thought, notice this, to the 

1861
01:50:16,240 --> 01:50:18,800
obedience of Christ. 
We're called to evaluate our 

1862
01:50:18,800 --> 01:50:21,520
thoughts. 
Not every thought that enters 

1863
01:50:21,520 --> 01:50:24,400
into our mind is going to be 
from you. 

1864
01:50:24,600 --> 01:50:27,120
Some are going to be temptation,
some are going to be fierce, but

1865
01:50:27,120 --> 01:50:28,440
some are going to be 
accusations. 

1866
01:50:28,440 --> 01:50:30,440
Some are going to be the enemy 
speaking to you. 

1867
01:50:30,720 --> 01:50:36,760
And you must absolutely, you 
must absolutely ignore those and

1868
01:50:36,760 --> 01:50:38,120
put them up against biblical 
truth. 

1869
01:50:38,120 --> 01:50:40,280
It's really, really important. 
Look, the good news, as I said 

1870
01:50:40,280 --> 01:50:43,480
before, is the one who lives in 
you is infinitely greater than 

1871
01:50:43,480 --> 01:50:46,200
the enemy who opposed as you. 
And 1st John tells us that. 

1872
01:50:48,840 --> 01:50:52,360
The next question is from 
Brianna and the End Times. 

1873
01:50:52,360 --> 01:50:55,880
Will a person still be able to 
be saved if they've taken the 

1874
01:50:55,880 --> 01:50:58,960
Mark of the Beast? 
No. 

1875
01:50:59,480 --> 01:51:01,600
Believe it or not, the Bible 
actually says that after you've 

1876
01:51:01,600 --> 01:51:04,200
taken the mark of the beast, 
it's it's actually too late. 

1877
01:51:05,840 --> 01:51:10,400
And as a matter of fact, in 
Revelation chapter 14, there's 

1878
01:51:10,480 --> 01:51:15,960
an Angel that actually says with
a loud voice, if any man worship

1879
01:51:15,960 --> 01:51:19,120
the beast and his image and 
receive his mark in his forehead

1880
01:51:19,120 --> 01:51:22,480
or in his hand, the same shall 
drink of the wine of the wrath 

1881
01:51:22,480 --> 01:51:25,840
of God, which is poured out 
without mixture into the cup of 

1882
01:51:25,840 --> 01:51:29,320
his indignation. 
So if you, if you, if you accept

1883
01:51:29,320 --> 01:51:31,080
the mark of the beast, you're 
gone. 

1884
01:51:31,200 --> 01:51:38,280
That's it. 
Which is why now more than ever,

1885
01:51:38,520 --> 01:51:42,280
you should be understanding that
now is the time. 

1886
01:51:42,280 --> 01:51:44,720
Today is the day. 
Because when we're raptured and 

1887
01:51:44,720 --> 01:51:47,240
the tribulation is going on, if 
you've rejected God, you're 

1888
01:51:47,240 --> 01:51:49,080
going to want to take the the 
mark of the beast. 

1889
01:51:49,480 --> 01:51:55,120
Remember, the context here in 
Revelation 14 is an Angel in the

1890
01:51:55,120 --> 01:51:58,440
sky begging people to not do 
what they're in line to do. 

1891
01:51:58,440 --> 01:52:00,720
You're going to want to take the
mark. 

1892
01:52:01,560 --> 01:52:04,360
It's, it's crazy. 
But yeah, that's a heavy answer.

1893
01:52:04,360 --> 01:52:07,560
I know it's, it's frightening in
many ways, but it's, it's 

1894
01:52:07,560 --> 01:52:09,840
absolutely true. 
But praise God, if you're a 

1895
01:52:09,840 --> 01:52:11,640
believer today, you won't even 
be there for that. 

1896
01:52:11,640 --> 01:52:13,840
You'll we'll be taken up. 
And that's, that's a pretty 

1897
01:52:13,840 --> 01:52:17,680
exciting thing. 
Brenda asks. 

1898
01:52:17,920 --> 01:52:21,400
Shortly after accepting Christ 
when I was a young teen, I had a

1899
01:52:21,400 --> 01:52:24,480
spiritual dream that to this day
comes to mind frequently, even 

1900
01:52:24,480 --> 01:52:27,200
after 50 years. 
I've prayed for discernment but 

1901
01:52:27,200 --> 01:52:30,160
feel no closer to the answer. 
My spirit feels it's important 

1902
01:52:30,160 --> 01:52:32,400
to my purpose, yet it's meaning 
is beyond reach. 

1903
01:52:32,680 --> 01:52:34,600
I've only told the dream to a 
couple of people. 

1904
01:52:34,600 --> 01:52:37,120
How can I find understanding? 
I mean it's hard to be able to 

1905
01:52:37,600 --> 01:52:40,040
to give any like insight. 
We don't really know what the 

1906
01:52:40,040 --> 01:52:42,680
dream is, but I'm sure you're 
able to. 

1907
01:52:43,320 --> 01:52:45,120
Yeah, I can speak to the general
principle. 

1908
01:52:45,120 --> 01:52:47,440
I mean, I think the question is 
fascinating in and of itself. 

1909
01:52:47,440 --> 01:52:49,680
And, and I think the first thing
I would tell you is to not 

1910
01:52:49,680 --> 01:52:52,520
become discouraged simply 
because you you don't understand

1911
01:52:52,520 --> 01:52:54,240
the dream, right? 
You know, throughout the Bible, 

1912
01:52:54,240 --> 01:52:57,960
there were people who received 
visions, dreams, even promises 

1913
01:52:57,960 --> 01:53:00,200
from God that didn't immediately
understand them. 

1914
01:53:00,400 --> 01:53:03,120
Joseph didn't fully understand 
what God was showing him. 

1915
01:53:03,120 --> 01:53:05,240
Daniel was certainly confused. 
He was given visions. 

1916
01:53:05,480 --> 01:53:07,760
He couldn't completely interpret
many of them. 

1917
01:53:08,280 --> 01:53:11,680
So in some cases years past 
before the meaning even became 

1918
01:53:11,680 --> 01:53:13,920
clear. 
Now, what stands out to me is 

1919
01:53:13,920 --> 01:53:16,360
that this dream has remained 
with you for 50 years. 

1920
01:53:16,760 --> 01:53:18,800
Look, I think that's kind of 
unusual. 

1921
01:53:19,320 --> 01:53:22,200
Most dreams fade quickly. 
And the fact that you, you know,

1922
01:53:22,200 --> 01:53:26,320
still remember may actually mean
something, but it doesn't 

1923
01:53:26,320 --> 01:53:28,280
automatically mean that it was a
message from the Lord. 

1924
01:53:28,280 --> 01:53:30,320
Not that I wanted, not that I 
want to diminish what you're 

1925
01:53:30,320 --> 01:53:32,720
saying, right? 
I think that's where discernment

1926
01:53:32,720 --> 01:53:35,080
is going to become important. 
And my first question would be, 

1927
01:53:35,360 --> 01:53:37,360
does the dream align with God's 
Word? 

1928
01:53:37,560 --> 01:53:39,560
You know, God is never going to 
communicate something through a 

1929
01:53:39,560 --> 01:53:43,080
dream that contradicts what he's
already revealed in the Bible. 

1930
01:53:43,080 --> 01:53:45,360
And that's a very important 
thing examined in that light. 

1931
01:53:45,680 --> 01:53:49,840
And second, I'd ask whether 
you're possibly putting too much

1932
01:53:49,840 --> 01:53:51,400
pressure on yourself to solve 
it. 

1933
01:53:51,400 --> 01:53:54,640
You know, sometimes we spend 
years trying to decode something

1934
01:53:54,640 --> 01:53:58,000
when God may simply be asking us
to remain faithful with what, 

1935
01:53:58,000 --> 01:53:59,720
like he's already revealed. 
Revealed. 

1936
01:53:59,720 --> 01:54:03,480
God did that to Daniel. 
God actually told Daniel, this 

1937
01:54:03,480 --> 01:54:05,360
isn't for you to know, seal up 
the book. 

1938
01:54:05,840 --> 01:54:08,000
People are going to find out 
later what all this means. 

1939
01:54:08,040 --> 01:54:12,160
Daniel was content with that. 
So if this dream truly came from

1940
01:54:12,160 --> 01:54:14,560
the Lord and truly has 
significance in your life, then 

1941
01:54:14,560 --> 01:54:18,720
I think God is fully capable of 
making its meaning clear at the 

1942
01:54:18,720 --> 01:54:21,120
right time. 
And quite frankly, you don't 

1943
01:54:21,120 --> 01:54:23,120
have to be in bondage to to 
force the answer. 

1944
01:54:23,600 --> 01:54:26,120
I would continue doing exactly 
what you've been doing. 

1945
01:54:26,120 --> 01:54:30,080
Look, you pray for wisdom, stay 
in God's word, remain open to 

1946
01:54:30,080 --> 01:54:32,360
His leading. 
You might also consider maybe 

1947
01:54:32,360 --> 01:54:34,600
sharing the dream with somebody 
who's been walking with the Lord

1948
01:54:34,600 --> 01:54:36,720
who may be a little bit more 
mature, like a mature pastor or 

1949
01:54:36,720 --> 01:54:39,480
a trusted believer who's 
grounded in the Bible. 

1950
01:54:39,640 --> 01:54:43,240
Sometimes another set of like 
eyes on this godly eyes can help

1951
01:54:43,240 --> 01:54:47,240
identify themes or lessons that 
maybe you've over overlooked. 

1952
01:54:47,240 --> 01:54:49,000
And I've done this before. 
I've talked about dreams like 

1953
01:54:49,000 --> 01:54:53,320
this. 
So I would just give you one 

1954
01:54:53,320 --> 01:54:55,720
warning here. 
Don't allow this. 

1955
01:54:57,200 --> 01:55:00,760
What's the best way of putting 
this, this pursuit of 

1956
01:55:00,760 --> 01:55:03,880
understanding a dream to become 
more important than walking with

1957
01:55:03,880 --> 01:55:07,160
the Lord? 
You know, God's primary will for

1958
01:55:07,160 --> 01:55:09,560
your life has already been 
revealed in his Word, and the 

1959
01:55:09,560 --> 01:55:11,760
clearest guidance you'll ever 
receive comes from the Bible. 

1960
01:55:11,920 --> 01:55:13,120
A lot of people spend a lot of 
time. 

1961
01:55:13,120 --> 01:55:15,440
I want to figure out what this 
dream said when the obvious 

1962
01:55:15,440 --> 01:55:17,440
words are right there in front 
of the Lord. 

1963
01:55:17,800 --> 01:55:19,720
And, and I think that that's an 
important thing. 

1964
01:55:19,720 --> 01:55:22,920
So my encouragement would be, 
you know, hold the dream with an

1965
01:55:22,920 --> 01:55:26,440
open hand, ask God for 
understanding, but don't become 

1966
01:55:26,440 --> 01:55:29,440
anxious if, if, if God doesn't 
give you what you perceive is 

1967
01:55:29,440 --> 01:55:32,000
the correct answer or you don't 
have an awareness, if the Lord 

1968
01:55:32,000 --> 01:55:34,680
intends for you to understand 
it, look, he's going to be more 

1969
01:55:34,680 --> 01:55:37,560
than capable of revealing it in 
its meaning at the right time. 

1970
01:55:37,560 --> 01:55:39,360
In the meantime, look at the 
Lord. 

1971
01:55:39,360 --> 01:55:44,240
Focus on being faithful. 
Focus on seeking him and do the 

1972
01:55:44,240 --> 01:55:46,760
things that he's already made 
clear and trust him with 

1973
01:55:46,760 --> 01:55:49,800
everything that remains, 
everything that remains a 

1974
01:55:49,800 --> 01:55:50,960
mystery. 
Just trust him with it. 

1975
01:55:50,960 --> 01:55:53,360
And don't, don't, don't be over 
obsessed with trying to figure 

1976
01:55:53,360 --> 01:55:55,800
it out. 
All right, our final. 

1977
01:55:55,800 --> 01:56:00,600
Question is from Ryan, similar 
to what we what we talked about 

1978
01:56:00,600 --> 01:56:03,560
earlier about just the enemy 
kind of testing you. 

1979
01:56:04,400 --> 01:56:06,680
So we'll end on this. 
Why is it that the closer you 

1980
01:56:06,680 --> 01:56:08,840
get to God, the more pushback 
life gives? 

1981
01:56:08,840 --> 01:56:11,960
My brother and I were just 
talking about how ever since 

1982
01:56:11,960 --> 01:56:14,320
we've started this journey with 
God and reading the Bible and 

1983
01:56:14,320 --> 01:56:17,040
attending church and teaching 
our young children about Jesus 

1984
01:56:17,040 --> 01:56:20,640
that things seem to be in 
constant chaos and being tested.

1985
01:56:20,920 --> 01:56:24,160
Is that the enemy or is the 
power of God testing us? 

1986
01:56:24,400 --> 01:56:26,760
What is the best solution going 
forward? 

1987
01:56:27,760 --> 01:56:29,400
OK. 
So at the expense of? 

1988
01:56:29,400 --> 01:56:33,120
Sounding like I'm repeating 
myself, but it's important to do

1989
01:56:33,120 --> 01:56:35,960
so. 
Yes, there's a spiritual battle 

1990
01:56:36,120 --> 01:56:38,800
and the Bible tells us that 
there is a real enemy who 

1991
01:56:38,800 --> 01:56:41,120
opposes the work of God. 
Ephesians 612. 

1992
01:56:41,120 --> 01:56:42,800
You know, we're not wrestling 
against flesh and blood, but 

1993
01:56:42,800 --> 01:56:45,160
against principalities, powers, 
against the rules of darkness of

1994
01:56:45,160 --> 01:56:49,720
this world, against notice this 
spiritual wickedness in high 

1995
01:56:49,720 --> 01:56:51,120
places. 
That's a big deal. 

1996
01:56:51,240 --> 01:56:53,800
So think about what you've 
described, OK? 

1997
01:56:53,960 --> 01:56:56,400
You're reading the Bible, you're
attending church, you're 

1998
01:56:56,400 --> 01:56:57,960
teaching your children about 
Jesus. 

1999
01:56:58,080 --> 01:57:01,280
You're growing in your faith. 
Those are exactly the kind of 

2000
01:57:01,280 --> 01:57:04,600
things that glorify God and 
literally threaten the influence

2001
01:57:04,600 --> 01:57:07,680
that the enemy has had on you. 
So look, I've said this before, 

2002
01:57:07,680 --> 01:57:10,080
you know, I, I've often said 
that when you're moving away 

2003
01:57:10,080 --> 01:57:11,800
from God, Satan is not going to 
resist you. 

2004
01:57:11,960 --> 01:57:13,160
He doesn't have to work very 
hard. 

2005
01:57:13,360 --> 01:57:16,040
But when you begin moving 
towards God, that's when you 

2006
01:57:16,040 --> 01:57:18,960
start noticing resistance. 
It's like the swimming upstream 

2007
01:57:19,200 --> 01:57:20,800
illustration that I gave 
earlier. 

2008
01:57:20,800 --> 01:57:24,040
OK. 
At the same time, look, not 

2009
01:57:24,040 --> 01:57:26,840
every difficulty is a direct 
attack from Satan either. 

2010
01:57:26,840 --> 01:57:27,800
You got to understand that, 
right? 

2011
01:57:27,800 --> 01:57:30,360
Sometimes God allows trials to 
strengthen us. 

2012
01:57:30,840 --> 01:57:33,120
James tells us this. 
Sometimes that resistance is 

2013
01:57:33,120 --> 01:57:35,840
good for conditioning. 
God uses difficulties to mature 

2014
01:57:35,840 --> 01:57:37,320
us. 
He allows those things to 

2015
01:57:37,320 --> 01:57:40,200
happen. 
He wants us to deepen our trust 

2016
01:57:40,200 --> 01:57:45,200
in Him and to depend on him. 
That is very, very important. 

2017
01:57:45,200 --> 01:57:49,040
So the answer often times is 
going to be both, that both 

2018
01:57:49,120 --> 01:57:51,960
happen, OK. 
The enemy opposes God's work and

2019
01:57:51,960 --> 01:57:56,120
God uses even that opposition 
for His purposes and our growth.

2020
01:57:56,120 --> 01:57:58,800
That's why it says that all 
things come together for the 

2021
01:57:58,800 --> 01:58:00,920
good. 
It's why Joseph had the 

2022
01:58:00,920 --> 01:58:03,560
authority in telling his 
brothers what you meant for 

2023
01:58:03,560 --> 01:58:05,080
evil. 
God took any meant for good. 

2024
01:58:05,240 --> 01:58:08,000
It's the understanding that Job 
developed after he interacted 

2025
01:58:08,640 --> 01:58:13,520
with the Lord. 
So the key is, is, is, is not to

2026
01:58:13,520 --> 01:58:15,520
become fearful every time 
something goes wrong. 

2027
01:58:15,520 --> 01:58:18,760
You know, sometimes Christians 
begin attributing every, you 

2028
01:58:18,760 --> 01:58:21,800
know, flat tire or argument or 
inconvenience to Satan. 

2029
01:58:21,800 --> 01:58:24,920
Well, listen, the rain falls on 
the just and the unjust, OK? 

2030
01:58:25,400 --> 01:58:27,880
The better question is, how 
should we respond? 

2031
01:58:27,880 --> 01:58:30,400
That's the focus. 
No matter what, how God, how 

2032
01:58:30,400 --> 01:58:32,960
does God want me to respond? 
And I would say stay in the 

2033
01:58:32,960 --> 01:58:34,800
word, stay in prayer, stay 
connected. 

2034
01:58:34,800 --> 01:58:37,360
This is a big one. 
Stay connected to a healthy 

2035
01:58:37,360 --> 01:58:39,720
church. 
Continue teaching your children 

2036
01:58:39,720 --> 01:58:41,600
about Jesus. 
Continue doing all the things 

2037
01:58:41,600 --> 01:58:45,160
that you've been talking about 
that provoke the battle. 

2038
01:58:45,360 --> 01:58:48,960
I mean, that happens, right? 
Don't retreat just because it 

2039
01:58:48,960 --> 01:58:51,240
gets difficult. 
As a matter of fact, double in 

2040
01:58:51,240 --> 01:58:53,880
on it, right? 
One of his greatest goals is 

2041
01:58:53,880 --> 01:58:56,560
discouragement. 
And, and, and if he can't stop 

2042
01:58:56,560 --> 01:58:58,680
you from coming to Christ, he'll
try to convince you the 

2043
01:58:58,680 --> 01:59:01,920
following Christ is worthless. 
So don't, don't let him do that.

2044
01:59:01,920 --> 01:59:05,080
Don't believe the lie. 
The reality is that you're not 

2045
01:59:05,080 --> 01:59:08,240
fighting for victory because of 
Christ. 

2046
01:59:08,240 --> 01:59:10,880
You have already victory. 
You're fighting from victory. 

2047
01:59:11,040 --> 01:59:13,720
You're not, you're not fighting 
for victory. 

2048
01:59:13,720 --> 01:59:16,320
You're, you're fighting from a 
place of victory. 

2049
01:59:16,720 --> 01:59:18,760
And that outcome was already 
determined by the Lord. 

2050
01:59:18,760 --> 01:59:21,000
So my encouragement is this, you
know, don't be surprised by the 

2051
01:59:21,000 --> 01:59:23,720
resistance expected. 
It's like swimming upstream. 

2052
01:59:23,920 --> 01:59:28,320
But don't focus on anything 
other than the Lord, right? 

2053
01:59:28,320 --> 01:59:32,000
Keep walking faithfully, keep 
raising your children in the 

2054
01:59:32,000 --> 01:59:34,160
ways of the Lord, do the things 
that He's asked you to do. 

2055
01:59:34,400 --> 01:59:37,560
And the God who saved you is 
more than able to sustain you 

2056
01:59:37,560 --> 01:59:40,520
through every single trial that 
comes your way. 

2057
01:59:40,520 --> 01:59:42,920
Why? 
Because greater is He that is in

2058
01:59:42,920 --> 01:59:45,800
you than he that is in the Lord.
And that should be the thing 

2059
01:59:45,800 --> 01:59:48,200
that should encourage and 
strengthen your confidence in 

2060
01:59:48,200 --> 01:59:50,440
all of these matters. 
It's really, really critical. 

2061
01:59:50,680 --> 01:59:54,480
No, totally OK. 
Pastor James, you're the best. 

2062
01:59:54,480 --> 01:59:57,560
What a great time that was. 
Awesome, I'm so. 

2063
01:59:57,560 --> 02:00:00,520
Grateful, I look forward to 
these every month. 

2064
02:00:01,400 --> 02:00:04,840
So very grateful for you. 
I think we have an amazing 

2065
02:00:04,840 --> 02:00:06,000
community. 
We do. 

2066
02:00:06,000 --> 02:00:08,640
We're so blessed. 
So blessed. 

2067
02:00:08,640 --> 02:00:11,560
Yeah, Very, very encouraging. 10
years. 

2068
02:00:12,000 --> 02:00:16,000
Isn't that wild. 5 O and three. 
6510 years. 

2069
02:00:16,000 --> 02:00:20,760
Old It's amazing how fast time. 
Goes by Time's a Thief. 

2070
02:00:20,760 --> 02:00:22,720
It's. 
It's amazing and I got. 

2071
02:00:22,720 --> 02:00:25,000
To I, I have to say this, and I 
hope people will be encouraged 

2072
02:00:25,000 --> 02:00:27,080
by me bringing out this 
observation. 

2073
02:00:27,760 --> 02:00:30,920
You know, one of the, one of the
most incredible things that I 

2074
02:00:30,920 --> 02:00:35,000
have enjoyed, and I really, I 
hate to say this, I mean, it's, 

2075
02:00:35,600 --> 02:00:38,720
I don't hate to say it, but I 
want to dig into like dig deep 

2076
02:00:38,720 --> 02:00:41,160
into making this statement. 
One of the things I've enjoyed 

2077
02:00:41,160 --> 02:00:45,360
in watching you, Erica, in this 
season has been how you have 

2078
02:00:45,360 --> 02:00:47,640
doubled down on your investment 
in God's word. 

2079
02:00:47,880 --> 02:00:51,440
You know, Charlie and I used to 
talk about this a lot, but when,

2080
02:00:51,480 --> 02:00:58,040
when COVID happened, a lot of 
people lost faith in their 

2081
02:00:58,040 --> 02:00:59,800
pastors. 
They lost faith in their in 

2082
02:00:59,800 --> 02:01:02,440
their walk with God. 
They lost faith in everything. 

2083
02:01:02,600 --> 02:01:05,120
I mean they. 
Just they're the amount of 

2084
02:01:05,120 --> 02:01:10,960
broken trust in our society is 
at an all time high to the point

2085
02:01:10,960 --> 02:01:13,840
where, and This is why even 
stuff we're on our turning point

2086
02:01:13,840 --> 02:01:16,520
action side with our boots on 
the ground. 

2087
02:01:16,520 --> 02:01:20,960
We're we're literally it's not 
even just door knocking. 

2088
02:01:20,960 --> 02:01:23,240
You're literally like healing 
that fracture within the 

2089
02:01:23,240 --> 02:01:26,160
community of not even trusting 
your neighbor anymore like that.

2090
02:01:26,160 --> 02:01:31,800
That's so sad to live in a world
where somebody says like, oh, 

2091
02:01:32,080 --> 02:01:35,120
this is so and so, or this is 
such and such and they're like 

2092
02:01:36,240 --> 02:01:40,480
really prove it. 
It's like, well, it's the truth.

2093
02:01:40,600 --> 02:01:45,960
So like, you know, but they, but
people, people will believe what

2094
02:01:45,960 --> 02:01:48,600
they want to believe. 
And we've talked about this 

2095
02:01:48,600 --> 02:01:51,200
before. 
Like the truth won't set some of

2096
02:01:51,200 --> 02:01:53,280
these people free because it's 
not their truth. 

2097
02:01:54,240 --> 02:01:56,680
Yeah, yeah. 
They don't, they don't want it. 

2098
02:01:56,680 --> 02:01:59,680
You know, and I was thinking 
about this, like I said, you 

2099
02:01:59,680 --> 02:02:01,800
know, this was something that 
that Charlie and I talked about 

2100
02:02:01,800 --> 02:02:07,240
like a lot of people left that 
time period no longer believing 

2101
02:02:07,240 --> 02:02:09,840
the words that their pastors 
told them, because when their 

2102
02:02:09,840 --> 02:02:12,440
pastors confronted death, they 
ran from it. 

2103
02:02:12,880 --> 02:02:15,200
They shut down their churches 
because of fear of death. 

2104
02:02:15,800 --> 02:02:19,000
And, and, and a lot of people 
would come to me and they would,

2105
02:02:19,000 --> 02:02:22,000
they would say this to me. 
They would, they, they would 

2106
02:02:22,000 --> 02:02:25,320
make it really, really. 
I mean, it was, it was like 

2107
02:02:25,320 --> 02:02:27,800
heavy. 
They would say, thank you for 

2108
02:02:28,840 --> 02:02:32,000
giving, thank you for being a 
pastor that I don't have to 

2109
02:02:32,000 --> 02:02:36,840
abandon because I don't trust 
like in other words, thank you 

2110
02:02:36,840 --> 02:02:38,880
for holding fast to what you 
believed. 

2111
02:02:39,280 --> 02:02:44,880
And you know, the whole world 
watched you lose everything and 

2112
02:02:44,880 --> 02:02:47,880
you double down on the word. 
You double down on on biblical 

2113
02:02:47,880 --> 02:02:49,360
principles, you double down on 
the Lord. 

2114
02:02:49,720 --> 02:02:53,400
Come on, what a blessing. 
Like I've been blessed to watch 

2115
02:02:53,400 --> 02:02:55,000
that. 
And I think that's what that's 

2116
02:02:55,000 --> 02:02:59,080
what's made Bible in 365 so much
more meaningful, right? 

2117
02:03:00,000 --> 02:03:02,120
Because we're teaching everybody
else to double down on the word 

2118
02:03:02,120 --> 02:03:04,240
of God, right? 
To go see Kim and the look to 

2119
02:03:04,240 --> 02:03:07,920
him. 
And, and you know, I, I, I'm 

2120
02:03:07,920 --> 02:03:12,640
going to do this. 
My sister, she sent me, she sent

2121
02:03:12,640 --> 02:03:14,880
me this text and she told me to 
tell you this. 

2122
02:03:14,880 --> 02:03:16,240
And I'm going to, I'm going to 
have to read it. 

2123
02:03:16,240 --> 02:03:22,200
I just have to read it. 
She said this, she said, because

2124
02:03:22,200 --> 02:03:25,080
she, she tried to call me and I 
said, I'm doing the Q&A with 

2125
02:03:25,080 --> 02:03:28,280
Erica right now. 
And then she said, listen to 

2126
02:03:28,280 --> 02:03:31,880
these words. 
May our great God continue to 

2127
02:03:31,880 --> 02:03:36,640
bless that woman immeasurably. 
Make sure she knows how much we 

2128
02:03:36,640 --> 02:03:41,400
love her. 
Like what a, what a, what an 

2129
02:03:41,440 --> 02:03:47,040
impact that's being made here. 
It's, it's, it's just, it's 

2130
02:03:47,040 --> 02:03:53,920
incredibly I just, it's, I'm 
going to, I'm going to take a 

2131
02:03:53,920 --> 02:03:56,000
liberty and read, read one more 
part of this. 

2132
02:03:56,640 --> 02:04:02,440
She said, God bless that woman. 
Every day is a nightmare and she

2133
02:04:02,440 --> 02:04:06,840
keeps carrying on. 
Her reward in heaven will be so 

2134
02:04:07,080 --> 02:04:10,760
massive. 
I pray that she's comforted by 

2135
02:04:10,760 --> 02:04:15,320
knowing that Jesus is with her 
every step of every moment of 

2136
02:04:15,320 --> 02:04:19,160
every day. 
And there are so many of us that

2137
02:04:19,160 --> 02:04:23,600
continue keeping her in prayer 
and walking in His truth to 

2138
02:04:23,600 --> 02:04:27,000
carry on the wonderful mission 
as she did and as her husband 

2139
02:04:27,120 --> 02:04:31,000
was called by God to carry out. 
Amen. 

2140
02:04:31,560 --> 02:04:34,000
What I mean that blesses me that
millions. 

2141
02:04:34,000 --> 02:04:35,440
Of people that feel that way 
about you. 

2142
02:04:35,920 --> 02:04:40,360
That blesses me, I. 
I am well aware that this world 

2143
02:04:40,360 --> 02:04:46,040
does not understand me, OK? 
I'm well aware of that, you 

2144
02:04:46,040 --> 02:04:50,640
know? 
OK, People talk about the sequin

2145
02:04:50,640 --> 02:04:53,080
suit. 
You know, I wasn't going 

2146
02:04:53,080 --> 02:04:55,680
shopping. 
And, you know, one of our team 

2147
02:04:55,680 --> 02:04:58,480
members picked out outfits for 
me to wear that day. 

2148
02:04:58,480 --> 02:05:02,600
And my option was that or like 
this other outfit that didn't 

2149
02:05:02,600 --> 02:05:04,680
even fit, It's like, all right, 
I'll just wear it. 

2150
02:05:05,000 --> 02:05:07,080
Like, who really cares? 
Becomes a thing. 

2151
02:05:07,080 --> 02:05:10,040
Why is that even a discussion? 
No, you're right. 

2152
02:05:10,040 --> 02:05:12,040
So like. 
Or my rings. 

2153
02:05:13,240 --> 02:05:16,560
I've always worn these rings, 
except for the one that I just 

2154
02:05:16,560 --> 02:05:19,840
recently had for Charlie's Medal
of Freedom. 

2155
02:05:20,280 --> 02:05:24,520
Like they represent my babies. 
It's like I I don't need to walk

2156
02:05:24,520 --> 02:05:29,360
around explaining myself of of 
who I am and and all of that. 

2157
02:05:29,360 --> 02:05:31,840
Maybe I should maybe that's 
something that like APR person 

2158
02:05:31,840 --> 02:05:36,400
would say like, yeah, you need 
to go on a speaking engagement. 

2159
02:05:36,400 --> 02:05:39,600
But you know what it's so 
interesting is people would say,

2160
02:05:40,640 --> 02:05:45,840
you know, when Charlie passed. 
I hate saying when Charlie, he 

2161
02:05:45,840 --> 02:05:50,200
didn't, he was murdered. 
When he was murdered, I never. 

2162
02:05:50,200 --> 02:05:54,400
Went on shows. 
To talk about myself at all. 

2163
02:05:54,440 --> 02:05:55,280
Actually. 
And that's why I. 

2164
02:05:55,400 --> 02:05:59,240
Really, no one, everyone wrote 
my story before I could even 

2165
02:05:59,920 --> 02:06:05,280
tell the correct version. 
But I went and honored my 

2166
02:06:05,280 --> 02:06:10,520
husband with all of his 
obligations that he had that he 

2167
02:06:10,520 --> 02:06:13,240
had said. 
And I I wanted to honor him in 

2168
02:06:13,240 --> 02:06:16,480
that way. 
And, you know, everyone will 

2169
02:06:16,480 --> 02:06:21,080
scrutinize and analyze and we'll
do all of that stuff until 

2170
02:06:21,080 --> 02:06:24,000
they're actually in the position
of that person. 

2171
02:06:24,520 --> 02:06:31,320
And it's so easy to analyze 
someone when you really don't. 

2172
02:06:31,320 --> 02:06:34,320
Even know them or. 
Understand them, but those that 

2173
02:06:35,320 --> 02:06:40,320
really understand and know God 
and Christ like they get it. 

2174
02:06:41,200 --> 02:06:44,800
And I I don't have to explain 
myself. 

2175
02:06:44,800 --> 02:06:49,680
I mean, all that matters is when
I come home, my baby's running 

2176
02:06:49,680 --> 02:06:53,200
into my arms. 
That is like the most precious 

2177
02:06:53,200 --> 02:06:55,160
thing. 
And you know, it's so 

2178
02:06:55,160 --> 02:06:59,280
interesting to is Charlie and I 
like you know this. 

2179
02:06:59,280 --> 02:07:02,760
There was no separation between 
us between anything. 

2180
02:07:02,760 --> 02:07:08,000
I mean, she's my best friend and
love him so much. 

2181
02:07:08,080 --> 02:07:14,120
And you know, even to all this 
drama on the Internet of people 

2182
02:07:14,120 --> 02:07:19,200
claiming that the video that I 
had in my why to be less intro 

2183
02:07:19,200 --> 02:07:24,840
is AI and it's like, first of 
all, I would never that's just 

2184
02:07:25,000 --> 02:07:28,360
sick to even think that someone 
would even make a fake IAI 

2185
02:07:28,360 --> 02:07:35,280
version of your husband. 
But aside from that, like Full 

2186
02:07:35,280 --> 02:07:37,200
disclosure, obviously that video
is not fake. 

2187
02:07:37,200 --> 02:07:41,000
But the interesting thing about 
all of this is Charlie and I 

2188
02:07:41,000 --> 02:07:45,520
were so in tune with each other.
And so when people say, you 

2189
02:07:45,520 --> 02:07:49,280
know, why, why are you doing 
this? 

2190
02:07:49,360 --> 02:07:53,360
You know, why are you? 
And it's like Charlie and I had 

2191
02:07:53,360 --> 02:07:55,280
these conversations, like, you 
mean, you know this, you were, 

2192
02:07:55,400 --> 02:07:57,400
you were a part of that. 
Pastor James, Charlie and I had 

2193
02:07:57,400 --> 02:08:00,480
conversations about all of this 
all throughout our life. 

2194
02:08:00,480 --> 02:08:03,120
And like, death threats and all 
this was never anything new to 

2195
02:08:03,120 --> 02:08:04,840
us. 
I mean, I had rape threats and 

2196
02:08:04,840 --> 02:08:06,640
death threats. 
The kids had kidnapping threats.

2197
02:08:06,640 --> 02:08:11,240
And we've always had threats. 
And so whenever you lose someone

2198
02:08:11,240 --> 02:08:16,800
or you go through immense grief,
you have a choice to either turn

2199
02:08:16,800 --> 02:08:22,040
that grief into purpose or let 
that grief absolutely consume 

2200
02:08:22,040 --> 02:08:26,160
you to the point where you are 
worth nothing to anybody. 

2201
02:08:26,600 --> 02:08:30,560
And you know, you like you 
mentioned earlier to the to the 

2202
02:08:30,560 --> 02:08:34,240
young lady who asked about, you 
know, feeling it when she's 35 

2203
02:08:34,240 --> 02:08:37,480
if she can't find another 
husband or whatever, having more

2204
02:08:37,480 --> 02:08:41,000
kids like you have to be 
constantly in a position of 

2205
02:08:41,000 --> 02:08:43,080
thanking God for what you do 
have left. 

2206
02:08:43,640 --> 02:08:48,600
And when it comes to all of 
this, like being a part of 

2207
02:08:48,600 --> 02:08:52,200
Turning Point is an extension of
my husband. 

2208
02:08:52,200 --> 02:08:54,960
Like that's a piece of him 
that's still here. 

2209
02:08:55,240 --> 02:08:57,680
That's how my babies will know 
their father. 

2210
02:08:58,240 --> 02:09:01,280
And there. 
And you know, this Pastor James,

2211
02:09:01,280 --> 02:09:05,000
like, thank God. 
I'm so grateful that Charlie 

2212
02:09:05,000 --> 02:09:07,560
included me and everything 
because when all of this 

2213
02:09:07,560 --> 02:09:10,960
happened and the board made 
their decision and all that, 

2214
02:09:10,960 --> 02:09:14,200
there was no learning curve. 
I wasn't sitting in a meeting 

2215
02:09:14,200 --> 02:09:18,160
being like, what's a chapter? 
What's the national field 

2216
02:09:18,160 --> 02:09:21,080
program like, who runs our 
events? 

2217
02:09:21,240 --> 02:09:23,760
Like what is an event? 
I didn't have to answer. 

2218
02:09:24,120 --> 02:09:28,360
I knew all of that. 
I, I, I, I could walk into a 

2219
02:09:28,360 --> 02:09:32,120
room and call, say people hi by 
their first name. 

2220
02:09:32,120 --> 02:09:35,720
Like I didn't have to learn the 
insurance and outs of 

2221
02:09:35,720 --> 02:09:37,920
everything. 
And so it's like when you have 

2222
02:09:37,920 --> 02:09:41,920
that moment where you're 
watching your loved 1 build 

2223
02:09:41,920 --> 02:09:45,560
something and you're alongside 
them for those moments of 

2224
02:09:45,560 --> 02:09:47,680
building. 
Anyone who has a spouse that's 

2225
02:09:47,680 --> 02:09:49,680
an entrepreneur, entrepreneur 
knows this. 

2226
02:09:49,680 --> 02:09:53,200
You even with Nicole, know this.
When you're building something 

2227
02:09:53,440 --> 02:09:57,040
and your spouse is along with 
you for that ride, you're their 

2228
02:09:57,040 --> 02:09:59,800
vault in their confidant. 
They're asking you like, hey, I 

2229
02:09:59,800 --> 02:10:03,000
had this phone call today. 
What do you think about this? 

2230
02:10:03,000 --> 02:10:05,280
Or hey, I'm thinking about doing
this. 

2231
02:10:05,280 --> 02:10:07,680
What do you think about that? 
And it's like I had that even 

2232
02:10:07,680 --> 02:10:11,600
too with Charlie with proclaim. 
I would ask him, you know, like 

2233
02:10:11,600 --> 02:10:13,120
what do you think of this 
design? 

2234
02:10:13,400 --> 02:10:15,720
And he'd be like, I'm not a 
fashion, I'm not into fashion. 

2235
02:10:15,720 --> 02:10:18,160
I was like, I know, and that's 
why I love asking you your 

2236
02:10:18,160 --> 02:10:23,160
opinion because you know, I, I 
genuinely love your input. 

2237
02:10:23,360 --> 02:10:26,560
I genuinely appreciate your 
outside perspective because 

2238
02:10:26,560 --> 02:10:29,280
you're not in the echo Chamber 
of what I'm going through with 

2239
02:10:29,280 --> 02:10:31,640
tech packs. 
So like, I love that. 

2240
02:10:32,560 --> 02:10:35,480
And that's what's so special 
about building with your spouse 

2241
02:10:35,480 --> 02:10:38,960
is that when you have that 
healthy, beautiful marriage, 

2242
02:10:39,520 --> 02:10:42,560
there's no daylight that 
separates that dream and their 

2243
02:10:42,560 --> 02:10:46,080
heart and, and you building 
alongside them. 

2244
02:10:46,080 --> 02:10:51,360
It's so, it's so beautiful and 
it's just so special. 

2245
02:10:51,360 --> 02:10:56,160
And, and I, I feel honored and 
blessed that I can be a part of,

2246
02:10:56,600 --> 02:10:59,480
of the team that Charlie single 
handedly picked. 

2247
02:11:00,360 --> 02:11:04,840
And it's an honor. 
It's an honor because my babies 

2248
02:11:04,840 --> 02:11:08,920
get to see what their father 
built and, and they get to see 

2249
02:11:08,920 --> 02:11:14,240
and be a part of that legacy. 
And, and one day my kids will be

2250
02:11:14,760 --> 02:11:18,160
running through these offices in
a way where they're in 

2251
02:11:18,160 --> 02:11:22,200
leadership positions. 
And that'll be a special full 

2252
02:11:22,200 --> 02:11:25,360
circle moment. 
But this is so much more than 

2253
02:11:27,080 --> 02:11:29,960
titles and all that stuff. 
This is, well, I mean, this is 

2254
02:11:29,960 --> 02:11:32,080
this is what I've learned. 
Yeah. 

2255
02:11:32,080 --> 02:11:34,040
This is what I've learned and, 
and I think everybody should 

2256
02:11:34,040 --> 02:11:35,800
take heed to this. 
It's, it's, it's really, really 

2257
02:11:35,800 --> 02:11:38,200
important. 
I've learned that people who 

2258
02:11:38,200 --> 02:11:42,000
have never moved a needle a day 
in their life spend more time 

2259
02:11:42,000 --> 02:11:44,000
tearing down than they ever 
would building because they 

2260
02:11:44,000 --> 02:11:45,640
don't know what building looks 
like, right? 

2261
02:11:46,200 --> 02:11:47,520
It's so easy to tear. 
Down. 

2262
02:11:47,880 --> 02:11:52,160
It is so easy to tear down. 
It's very hard to build and 

2263
02:11:52,160 --> 02:11:56,280
build something that's lasting 
and it relates to a. 

2264
02:11:56,280 --> 02:12:00,160
Biblical characteristic those 
who are far from God destroy 

2265
02:12:00,640 --> 02:12:05,720
those who are close to God build
and this this recent obsession 

2266
02:12:05,760 --> 02:12:09,280
with the AI video that that you 
know, I've been seeing it goes 

2267
02:12:09,280 --> 02:12:12,040
to speak very clearly to that 
precedent. 

2268
02:12:12,520 --> 02:12:17,000
You know why why I like I I saw 
someone on video recently 

2269
02:12:17,200 --> 02:12:19,840
talking about this and I'm 
thinking in my mind, why are you

2270
02:12:19,840 --> 02:12:22,560
so obsessed with it? 
And I, and I'm looking at, I'm 

2271
02:12:22,560 --> 02:12:26,480
thinking you're obsessed with it
because you've never spent a day

2272
02:12:26,480 --> 02:12:30,040
in your life moving a needle. 
You, you, you, you don't, you 

2273
02:12:30,040 --> 02:12:32,080
don't understand what that looks
like. 

2274
02:12:32,080 --> 02:12:34,840
So now all of a sudden you 
become a subject matter expert 

2275
02:12:35,480 --> 02:12:38,800
in the facts that relate to this
and you with confidence make 

2276
02:12:38,800 --> 02:12:41,800
these assertions. 
You all you're doing is tearing 

2277
02:12:41,800 --> 02:12:44,400
down. 
You don't, you don't build, you 

2278
02:12:44,400 --> 02:12:48,800
destroy. 
And I think that that is deeply,

2279
02:12:49,080 --> 02:12:52,560
deeply demonic. 
And, and, and, and I just see 

2280
02:12:52,560 --> 02:12:54,960
it, I see it so much. 
I mean, I mean, how many of 

2281
02:12:54,960 --> 02:12:56,920
these guys do we see there, you 
know, locked up in their 

2282
02:12:56,920 --> 02:12:59,280
basements? 
They, they've never done 

2283
02:12:59,280 --> 02:13:01,080
anything admirable. 
They don't know what it's like 

2284
02:13:01,080 --> 02:13:03,520
to put their neck on the line 
for another life. 

2285
02:13:03,840 --> 02:13:06,400
They don't know what it's like 
to do the beautiful thing to 

2286
02:13:06,400 --> 02:13:10,960
pursue marriage and to seek out 
children and to, and to live the

2287
02:13:10,960 --> 02:13:14,160
life that God calls them to. 
They, they don't know what it 

2288
02:13:14,160 --> 02:13:20,080
means to live in a lifestyle of,
but when they see an opportunity

2289
02:13:20,080 --> 02:13:23,600
to prey on somebody who's 
vulnerable, oh, there it is. 

2290
02:13:23,600 --> 02:13:27,400
It's their, it's their moment to
become popular, to become, and 

2291
02:13:27,400 --> 02:13:32,880
then they build audiences of 
people who are just like 

2292
02:13:33,560 --> 02:13:37,440
completely gone. 
It, it, it, it creates poison. 

2293
02:13:37,720 --> 02:13:39,320
And this is the worst part about
bitterness. 

2294
02:13:39,760 --> 02:13:42,560
When you get jealous and when 
you get bitter, it's like 

2295
02:13:42,560 --> 02:13:45,400
drinking poison and expecting 
the other person to die. 

2296
02:13:46,520 --> 02:13:48,200
It it, it just, it just doesn't 
work. 

2297
02:13:48,240 --> 02:13:52,960
And I mean, everything that God 
has blessed you with is 

2298
02:13:53,040 --> 02:13:54,560
apparent. 
It's obvious. 

2299
02:13:54,760 --> 02:13:58,440
That's why the devil hates it. 
That's just that's. 

2300
02:13:58,880 --> 02:14:03,480
Like these people, they can try 
with their words or whatever 

2301
02:14:03,480 --> 02:14:07,480
else they want to get. 
Either a reaction. 

2302
02:14:07,480 --> 02:14:14,480
Or to hurt me. 
But I have survived the worst 

2303
02:14:14,480 --> 02:14:19,440
day of my life and. 
Anything that anyone? 

2304
02:14:19,440 --> 02:14:23,360
Does on this Earth pales in 
comparison to that moment that I

2305
02:14:23,360 --> 02:14:28,480
had to live through. 
And it's this freedom of knowing

2306
02:14:28,480 --> 02:14:34,800
like you can't hurt me. 
There's nothing you can do that 

2307
02:14:34,800 --> 02:14:38,080
will hurt me. 
There's nothing that you can do 

2308
02:14:38,360 --> 02:14:42,840
that will break me. 
I have survived again, the worst

2309
02:14:43,760 --> 02:14:48,600
possible unfathomable moment of 
my life. 

2310
02:14:50,000 --> 02:14:55,760
Good luck. 
I'm sorry I can't help but to 

2311
02:14:55,760 --> 02:14:58,440
just rejoice when I hear you 
talk that way. 

2312
02:14:58,560 --> 02:15:02,160
Like what you I go and live my 
life with my. 

2313
02:15:02,160 --> 02:15:08,160
Babies and. 
I just that's all that. 

2314
02:15:08,160 --> 02:15:12,320
Matters to me is honoring my 
husband, honoring his wishes, 

2315
02:15:12,320 --> 02:15:16,680
honoring our family succession 
plan and obeying God in his 

2316
02:15:16,680 --> 02:15:20,240
word. 
That is my that is my current 

2317
02:15:21,480 --> 02:15:25,760
life plan right now. 
People say what is your plan for

2318
02:15:25,760 --> 02:15:27,680
five years personal plan for 
five. 

2319
02:15:27,680 --> 02:15:32,880
That is my personal plan every 
day of my life and I don't 

2320
02:15:32,880 --> 02:15:35,240
really need to know or want to 
know really what the five year 

2321
02:15:35,240 --> 02:15:37,600
plan is at the moment. 
Was you trying to get through 

2322
02:15:38,320 --> 02:15:43,160
every hour of your life? 
You know, each day and each 

2323
02:15:43,160 --> 02:15:45,400
hour, each minute come with its 
own thing. 

2324
02:15:45,400 --> 02:15:47,920
But for people who have gone 
through grief, that's another 

2325
02:15:47,920 --> 02:15:51,080
point too. 
It's like when When? 

2326
02:15:51,080 --> 02:15:54,440
You are. 
When you're in the thick of it 

2327
02:15:55,480 --> 02:16:00,320
and you know that a wave is just
about to crash on you, you just 

2328
02:16:00,320 --> 02:16:05,200
sit there and you literally say,
like, brace for impact, it's 

2329
02:16:05,200 --> 02:16:06,400
coming. 
And. 

2330
02:16:06,400 --> 02:16:12,840
Then it just goes right over you
and then you say to yourself, I 

2331
02:16:12,840 --> 02:16:16,760
survived it again and it's just.
Sure you dry. 

2332
02:16:16,760 --> 02:16:20,480
Off, but you get back up and you
know that God has you. 

2333
02:16:21,160 --> 02:16:26,400
And again, he is not going to, 
He's not going to leave you. 

2334
02:16:26,960 --> 02:16:30,320
I mean, for those of you who are
going through some extremely 

2335
02:16:30,320 --> 02:16:34,440
hard moments in your life, do 
not ever once think that God 

2336
02:16:34,719 --> 02:16:37,920
will forsake you because he 
won't. 

2337
02:16:38,240 --> 02:16:39,160
Amen. 
Amen. 

2338
02:16:39,240 --> 02:16:41,360
He won't. 
Amen, Amen. 

2339
02:16:41,959 --> 02:16:46,080
Your living testimony of it and 
it's been it's been amazing to 

2340
02:16:46,080 --> 02:16:49,639
see that there are lots of 
people, lots of people that are 

2341
02:16:49,639 --> 02:16:53,760
not going to hell because of the
faithfulness of your husband and

2342
02:16:53,760 --> 02:16:55,040
your faithfulness. 
It's glory to God. 

2343
02:16:56,160 --> 02:16:57,799
It's so. 
Amazing. 

2344
02:16:57,920 --> 02:17:02,840
So amazing and in a in a 
superficial world where people 

2345
02:17:02,840 --> 02:17:07,080
care about superficial things, 
it's really refreshing to see 

2346
02:17:07,639 --> 02:17:10,840
what I believe to be one of the 
the sweetest hearts. 

2347
02:17:12,920 --> 02:17:16,600
You and Charlie just just 
amazing. 

2348
02:17:16,719 --> 02:17:21,360
My sister was recalling the, the
day that we all met and her 

2349
02:17:21,360 --> 02:17:26,080
looking at you and going, holy 
smokes, this, this girl is 

2350
02:17:26,080 --> 02:17:29,400
beautiful and she has all the 
cool stuff, you know, like 

2351
02:17:29,719 --> 02:17:31,879
that's what she said. 
And, and normally when that 

2352
02:17:31,879 --> 02:17:36,600
happens, like my sister will 
automatically turn off like, oh,

2353
02:17:36,600 --> 02:17:39,639
that's got to be a that's got to
be a, a fake, you know, 

2354
02:17:39,680 --> 02:17:41,400
superficial person. 
You can. 

2355
02:17:41,559 --> 02:17:44,400
You can. 
You can read right through 

2356
02:17:44,400 --> 02:17:46,959
people when they're not being 
transparent or authentic. 

2357
02:17:47,000 --> 02:17:49,760
It's especially when you have 
that ability. 

2358
02:17:49,799 --> 02:17:52,280
It's just, it's very easy. 
Oh yeah. 

2359
02:17:52,280 --> 02:17:55,080
And that's what she expected to.
See when, when she just like her

2360
02:17:55,080 --> 02:17:59,879
first glance at you and she 
said, my goodness, I, I, I just 

2361
02:17:59,879 --> 02:18:03,080
looked at her and I just said 
they're very rare. 

2362
02:18:03,879 --> 02:18:06,760
They're very rare like her. 
They're very rare. 

2363
02:18:06,760 --> 02:18:09,360
What an exceptional. 
My sister knew it like right 

2364
02:18:09,360 --> 02:18:09,959
away. 
She knew it. 

2365
02:18:10,000 --> 02:18:12,680
You remember I told Charlie, 
dude, what are you waiting for? 

2366
02:18:12,959 --> 02:18:14,280
But you're nuts. 
Marry her. 

2367
02:18:16,320 --> 02:18:19,160
I love it. 
I love that man so much. 

2368
02:18:20,120 --> 02:18:23,040
Yeah, some great. 
Memories just reminiscing on on 

2369
02:18:23,040 --> 02:18:26,240
some of those moments and how 
God has just blessed us, you 

2370
02:18:26,240 --> 02:18:29,240
know, in the midst of it all and
he's given us so much and and 

2371
02:18:29,240 --> 02:18:34,719
there is still this amazing the 
legacy that's being left and how

2372
02:18:34,719 --> 02:18:37,559
people's lives are still being 
dramatically and radically 

2373
02:18:37,559 --> 02:18:39,520
changed. 
I mean that you can't you can't 

2374
02:18:39,520 --> 02:18:41,840
ask for better. 
Yeah, it's true. 

2375
02:18:42,080 --> 02:18:43,639
You. 
Know, I think the one thing 

2376
02:18:43,639 --> 02:18:44,959
Charlie. 
Would be blessed with, I think 

2377
02:18:44,959 --> 02:18:47,680
there'd be a lot of things that 
would really hurt him if he knew

2378
02:18:47,680 --> 02:18:49,680
what was going on. 
But the one thing that he'd be 

2379
02:18:49,680 --> 02:18:52,120
really blessed with more than 
anything is how his legacy is 

2380
02:18:52,120 --> 02:18:54,520
being carried by his bride and 
by his children. 

2381
02:18:54,520 --> 02:18:56,600
Amen. 
I think it would it. 

2382
02:18:56,600 --> 02:19:00,240
Would it would be like? 
Wow, I know, and I got a really 

2383
02:19:00,240 --> 02:19:03,600
sweet message. 
From his parents because I I go 

2384
02:19:03,600 --> 02:19:07,600
see them next week and I love 
them they're great people 

2385
02:19:07,639 --> 02:19:09,559
they're so. 
Sweet, I adore. 

2386
02:19:09,559 --> 02:19:11,959
Them today's his mom's birthday,
by the way. 

2387
02:19:12,480 --> 02:19:14,520
Oh, I guess yeah, it's a 
birthday I have. 

2388
02:19:14,959 --> 02:19:18,200
To give her a call and. 
They were just like, we are so 

2389
02:19:18,200 --> 02:19:23,680
proud of you and I just. 
That means everything. 

2390
02:19:24,240 --> 02:19:24,799
I love. 
Oh yeah. 

2391
02:19:25,840 --> 02:19:29,920
Yeah, I all of us feel that way.
We're all very, we're all very 

2392
02:19:29,920 --> 02:19:33,080
proud and we're all thankful to 
what God for what God has given 

2393
02:19:33,080 --> 02:19:37,879
us in, in you and the fact that 
praise God, you're safe and 

2394
02:19:37,879 --> 02:19:39,240
you're still here and you're 
with us. 

2395
02:19:39,240 --> 02:19:41,680
And I know that's been a 
journey, you know, keeping you 

2396
02:19:41,680 --> 02:19:44,360
safe. 
That's been that's been tough, 

2397
02:19:44,360 --> 02:19:49,200
but God's been faithful and, you
know, until he returns, you 

2398
02:19:49,200 --> 02:19:52,560
know, we need you active and, 
and, and serving him. 

2399
02:19:52,600 --> 02:19:53,840
And I think that God is doing 
that. 

2400
02:19:53,840 --> 02:19:57,120
He's he's, he's been blessing 
all of us through your 

2401
02:19:57,120 --> 02:19:59,840
faithfulness. 
And I can't wait to see how the 

2402
02:19:59,840 --> 02:20:03,160
babies are going to turn out. 
I tell you what. 

2403
02:20:04,200 --> 02:20:09,200
My well, you know, my son's 
still, he's still a little 

2404
02:20:09,200 --> 02:20:12,800
young, but my daughter is. 
A spicy little. 

2405
02:20:12,800 --> 02:20:14,720
Meatball. 
I love it. 

2406
02:20:14,800 --> 02:20:16,560
I love it. 
Mine are too. 

2407
02:20:16,720 --> 02:20:17,440
Yeah. 
It's my. 

2408
02:20:17,480 --> 02:20:21,040
My babies are like, I love it. 
I love it. 

2409
02:20:21,040 --> 02:20:23,120
They have their opinions, they 
have their thoughts. 

2410
02:20:23,120 --> 02:20:25,320
They have, I mean, there, it's 
just amazing. 

2411
02:20:25,400 --> 02:20:30,080
It's amazing to see them grow up
and know that that's a piece of 

2412
02:20:30,080 --> 02:20:37,000
Charlie that's still on this 
earth and I get to love on them 

2413
02:20:37,000 --> 02:20:39,040
and watch them grow. 
And also there's times where I 

2414
02:20:39,040 --> 02:20:42,840
think to myself as they're doing
little things like coloring or, 

2415
02:20:43,120 --> 02:20:45,200
you know, painting or playing 
with Legos. 

2416
02:20:45,280 --> 02:20:49,880
And I think to myself like I'm 
literally witnessing a little 

2417
02:20:49,880 --> 02:20:53,560
piece of mini Charlie. 
And both of them as they're 

2418
02:20:53,560 --> 02:20:55,920
doing their little thing, as 
they're coloring or as they're 

2419
02:20:55,920 --> 02:21:01,080
explaining something, I'm like, 
I get to see him as slightly 

2420
02:21:01,080 --> 02:21:04,800
that age to some respect. 
And just it's special to relive,

2421
02:21:05,320 --> 02:21:07,440
relive that with them. 
So it's true. 

2422
02:21:07,440 --> 02:21:10,240
It's true. 
Well, I love you, thank you for 

2423
02:21:10,240 --> 02:21:11,080
everything. 
I love you too. 

2424
02:21:11,080 --> 02:21:16,040
Give my love to the family. 
And before we close out, I would

2425
02:21:16,040 --> 02:21:20,480
love a prayer for our whole 
Bible and 365 family and then we

2426
02:21:20,480 --> 02:21:23,840
will resume next month. 
Amen. 

2427
02:21:23,840 --> 02:21:26,000
Let's do it, Father. 
We thank you, Lord, for your 

2428
02:21:26,000 --> 02:21:28,120
faithfulness and your goodness, 
Lord, we thank you for these 

2429
02:21:28,120 --> 02:21:30,400
Your people that are gathering 
in Your name, Lord, studying 

2430
02:21:30,400 --> 02:21:33,600
Your word, learning it. 
Lord, please be with my Bible 

2431
02:21:33,600 --> 02:21:36,360
and 365 brothers and sisters. 
Bless them spiritually, 

2432
02:21:36,360 --> 02:21:38,280
emotionally, mentally, 
physically, financially. 

2433
02:21:38,280 --> 02:21:41,400
Have your hand upon them, 
protect them, use them, Lord. 

2434
02:21:41,880 --> 02:21:45,840
And we also just pray, Lord, for
our dear sister Erica. 

2435
02:21:45,840 --> 02:21:48,800
We pray that you would encourage
her, build her up, Lord, Have 

2436
02:21:48,800 --> 02:21:51,680
your hand upon her, Lord, bless 
the children, bless all of the 

2437
02:21:51,680 --> 02:21:55,120
Kirk family, Lord, be with them.
We pray for Erica's precious 

2438
02:21:55,120 --> 02:21:57,920
mom, Lord, we love her so much. 
And we just pray God that you 

2439
02:21:57,920 --> 02:22:01,280
would be her strength, Lord, and
that you would continue to be 

2440
02:22:01,280 --> 02:22:03,760
her shield. 
And Lord, we thank you Lord, for

2441
02:22:03,760 --> 02:22:06,760
all of the the staff at Bible 
and 365. 

2442
02:22:06,760 --> 02:22:10,760
Lord, just bless these amazing 
people who come along my side on

2443
02:22:10,760 --> 02:22:13,360
a regular basis, Lord, and are 
used so greatly by you. 

2444
02:22:13,360 --> 02:22:15,360
Lord, just bless them. 
We love you God, and thank you. 

2445
02:22:15,360 --> 02:22:18,200
We look to you and we ask these 
things now in Jesus name we 

2446
02:22:18,200 --> 02:22:21,400
pray, Amen, Amen. 
All right, God bless you. 

2447
02:22:21,400 --> 02:22:24,200
Guys, have a great weekend and 
we'll see you next month.