1 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:04,160 Hey everyone, welcome to our April Bible in 365 live Q&A. 2 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,280 It's been a long time since I've been in the studio to do this, 3 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,800 but I am honored and blessed to have not only Pastor James 4 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,600 Cadiz, our pastoral advisor for Bible in 365, but also the 5 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:21,800 amazing Pastor Greg Dunham from San Marcos Rise Church, well, 6 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,960 Rise Church in San Marcos. So we're blessed to have both of 7 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,960 you guys with us today. It means the world. 8 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:34,440 But it's I have to say it's been really humbling and sweet to 9 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:40,240 have the Bible and 365 family just rally around myself. 10 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:45,280 My children and your prayers have meant everything to me as I 11 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,320 know everyone has their own cross to bury, to, to carry. 12 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,680 But I just am grateful for all of you guys and, and for both of 13 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:57,360 you for being in my life and pouring into me and reading 14 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,320 scripture over me. And just, you know, being a 15 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,160 voice in my life that helps always point me back to Christ. 16 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,480 So I'm grateful for both of you and I'm honored that our Bible 17 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,880 and 365 family gets to hear from you guys today for our for our 18 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,120 Q&A. But it's it's good to see you 19 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:14,760 both. Pastor James, we miss you. 20 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:20,080 Yeah, I very, very much miss doing this with you. 21 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,080 I have to just say this, Erica and my wife would not mind me 22 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,600 saying this, but you are just absolutely glowing and 23 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,880 beautiful. And I think the beauty comes 24 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:30,760 from what God is doing inside of you. 25 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:35,880 And I think I, I joined Greg in saying we're incredibly proud of 26 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:37,920 you. You, you've just been handling 27 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,480 yourself in a way that's just been absolutely incredible. 28 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,880 And what a what a testimony you've been of God's goodness. 29 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,560 And we're just blessed to be able to do this and thankful for 30 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:54,320 what God is doing in you and through you. 31 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,360 And I can tell you the best is yet to come. 32 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:57,840 And we're super excited about that. 33 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,440 Yeah, and Pastor Greg, we had a a minute this morning to catch 34 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:05,400 up and he was pouring into me about the importance of 35 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:11,680 understanding fearing God versus fearing other things in life. 36 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,440 That's once you fear God, all the other fears in life 37 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:16,640 disappear. So that's right. 38 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:18,680 So there's. Well, Erica, it's a huge honor 39 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:22,120 to be here and we love you so much and I'm so proud of you. 40 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,080 You're an exceptional, beautiful, godly, virtuous woman 41 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:35,640 and a a extraordinary witness to not only women, but men all 42 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,800 throughout the world. And I just want to quickly say 43 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,440 it is such an honor to be here. And I thinking of our precious 44 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:47,600 Charlie, the most beautiful soul, he's with the Lord and we 45 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,360 terribly, terribly miss them. And words are really not enough. 46 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,360 And I know he's so proud of you. And so thank you for your 47 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,880 leadership. Man shall not live by bread 48 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,240 alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of 49 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,320 God. Thank you for embodying that and 50 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,280 impacting this generation. And if the Lord would, Terry, 51 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,720 the reality is, is it's going to this is going to impact future 52 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,960 generations. So we're we're doing something 53 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:12,520 super important here, that's for sure. 54 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,960 Amen. OK, So Pastor James, I'll have 55 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,120 you lead us in opening prayer and then we are going to dive 56 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,040 right into a lot. We have thousands of questions, 57 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:24,640 so we only have two hours to do this. 58 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,240 So we're not going to get through every one of them, 59 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,880 unfortunately. We're going to try our best, but 60 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,600 we are going to just plow through the ones that we can. 61 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,520 I do want to tag into lifestyle questions and then the ones that 62 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,400 are scripture based, we'll try to touch into those. 63 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,280 But then also I want to remind you guys to go to Pastor James 64 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:47,560 Cadiz's website and you can look up a certain word in the search 65 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,000 bar area. And there you can find like 66 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,040 literally you can type in Genesis chapter 1 and all of his 67 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,280 sermons dealing with that will pop up in there. 68 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,080 So I really encourage you guys if you have any questions, to 69 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,880 really just scour his websites full of wisdom and it's very, 70 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,560 very helpful. So without further ado, Pastor 71 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:08,720 James, you want to lead us into prayer and we'll dive right in. 72 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:10,000 You bet. Let's do it. 73 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:11,960 Father in Heaven. We're just so thankful, Father, 74 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,840 for the opportunity that you've given us to come to you and to 75 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,120 answer these very important questions, Lord, as we gather 76 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,960 together with your people, people that love you, people 77 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,760 that desire to want to glorify you and live for you. 78 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,840 And we thank you, Lord, for the legacy that's been left for us, 79 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:32,560 Lord, by the life of Charlie Kirk. 80 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:34,560 Lord, we thank you, Lord, for Erica's life. 81 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,600 We thank you for the life of her children and all of the Kirk's. 82 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,080 Lord, we pray God, that you would bless the ministry of 83 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,600 Turning Point USA and all of the auxiliaries that come from it. 84 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,120 And Lord, we pray for this Q&A session that you'd be glorified 85 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,560 in and through it. Lord that yeah, your name would 86 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:54,760 be honored. That you'd give us wisdom, put 87 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,040 the words in our mouth, Lord, that you want us to share and 88 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,400 overwhelm us with insight to be able to answer these things the 89 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,640 way that you would have us to. So Lord, we love you and thank 90 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:05,320 you. We look to you and we ask these 91 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:06,680 things now in Jesus name we pray. 92 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:07,400 Amen. Amen. 93 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,120 Beautiful. All right, let's jump right into 94 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:13,280 this. Let me see. 95 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:17,680 I have where is my beautiful Caitlyn message? 96 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,480 OK, so the first question is from Becca. 97 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,240 She said I am. I'm first believer of my family. 98 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,200 My grandparents were not believers. 99 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,880 My parents are not believers. My husband is not a believer. 100 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,160 I was saved last September through Charlie. 101 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,840 God bless you. A core theme that has been 102 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,800 mentioned time and time again is the hope that we have as 103 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,600 believers and that we do not grieve the way the world 104 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,280 grieves. But this is not the case for me. 105 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,200 All I can see is a future where I'm separated from my loved 106 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,320 ones. I know that God can do anything 107 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,000 and so I am praying for my family salvation, but I often 108 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,760 struggle to and hope. Do you have any advice? 109 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,200 Pastor James, I'll have you start and then Pastor Greg, I'll 110 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,640 have you you chime in, OK? Yeah, this is this is a really 111 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,360 big deal. And first of all, let me just 112 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,720 simply say this, Your grief and your concern is actually the 113 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,040 reflection of a heart that's actually healthy. 114 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,160 And perhaps one of the best pictures that I can draw from 115 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,000 this is the apostle Paul who had the same kind of burden for his 116 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000 own people. Specifically in Romans Chapter 117 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,600 9, he says that I have a heaviness and a continual sorrow 118 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,520 in my heart. That was the term that he used. 119 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,880 And he even goes as far as to say that I wish that myself was 120 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,760 a cursed from Christ for my brethren, literally my kinsmen 121 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:35,280 in the flesh. Now, of course, he's talking 122 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,360 about Israel, but he had a very, very heavy burden. 123 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:43,520 Paul had a constant sorrow over those who didn't know the Lord. 124 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,480 And this is something that was a big deal for him. 125 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,280 It was a major, major issue. It meant that he had out of deep 126 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:53,200 love. It didn't mean that he lacked 127 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,080 faith by any stretch of the imagination. 128 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:56,720 So you need to understand this, right? 129 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,520 Your grief does not mean that something is wrong with you. 130 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:04,400 It shows that you care deeply about the eternal condition of 131 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:05,880 your family. And that's a critically 132 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,160 important thing to do. I mean, understand this. 133 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,320 We we don't grieve like the world, OK? 134 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,160 It does not mean that we don't grieve at all. 135 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,320 And I think that that's kind of an important thing. 136 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,000 First Thessalonians I I can't help but to to think about that 137 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,520 passage where, where the apostle Paul says this, He says, but I 138 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,000 would have you to I would, but I would not have you to be 139 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,560 ignorant brethren, according to them which are asleep that you 140 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,600 sorrow not even as others which have no hope. 141 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:39,920 But I want you to notice carefully what it says here. 142 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,120 He says he's not saying that we don't sorrow at all. 143 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,880 He says that we don't sorrow as those that have no hope. 144 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,280 So you can have plenty of sorrow in your heart concerning those 145 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:53,960 things. But keep this in mind right now, 146 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,040 your loved ones are still alive, OK? 147 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,760 And that's that's a huge blessing. 148 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,560 So that means there's still opportunity, there's still tons 149 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,480 of time. And perhaps the most 150 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,480 consequential and significant aspect of this is that there's 151 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,800 still hope. And I think that that's really 152 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,400 important. And and one thing that I want to 153 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,320 cover this with is for you to understand the fact that God 154 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,160 says it very clearly through Peter second Peter chapter 3 and 155 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:18,840 the context here is the end times. 156 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:20,720 He's talking about what's going to happen in the last day. 157 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,560 And he says this, he makes this very clear. 158 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:24,920 He says the Lord is not slack concerning his promises. 159 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,520 Some men count slackness, but it's a long-suffering toward us. 160 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:33,400 Notice this not willing that any should perish, but that all 161 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,760 should come to repentance. So you you're seeing a possible 162 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,800 future here. You know, this is this is very, 163 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,360 very important and God sees the full story and that's it. 164 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,240 I think that's the thing that you have to understand. 165 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:50,280 So God will specifically use you and you, you need to understand 166 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,840 that you're the light, you're the person that he's going to 167 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:55,960 use. And it doesn't mean that you 168 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,600 save them, right? It it just means that you live 169 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,120 as the powerful instrument that God wants you to live. 170 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,240 And your role is faithfulness. Your role is not to control the 171 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:11,040 situation. Your role is basically to, to 172 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,280 exhume the peace that God has given you. 173 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,960 You can't for salvation, you can't change your heart. 174 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,119 You can't change their hearts. And I think that that's kind of 175 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:21,760 an important thing to, to keep in mind. 176 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,240 But here's the thing that you can do. 177 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,400 You can pray consistently. That's that's critical, right? 178 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,240 You can live a godly life in front of them and behind them, 179 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:30,960 right? I mean, you can live a 180 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:32,560 consistent life. And the other thing that's 181 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,200 really critical here is that you can speak truth when God opens 182 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,520 the door. And I think that that's the 183 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,360 that's the picture. And Paul makes that very clear. 184 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,040 He says, look, I've planted talking about Apollos. 185 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,000 If you remember the whole story because of the division that 186 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,640 existed between Paul and Apollos and all that, he says, look, 187 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,160 I've planted the seed, Apollos watered, but what does he say? 188 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:56,000 God gave the increase. So it takes the pressure off of 189 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,200 you. And remember this, your hope 190 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,320 will never be in outcomes. It can never be in an outcome. 191 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:06,880 It has to be in God's character because if your hope is like 192 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:09,480 what will happen to my family, it's going to feel very 193 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,480 unstable. But if your hope is tied to the 194 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,960 goodness of God, the justice of God, the mercy of God, his 195 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,600 perfect wisdom, then you can rest in the foundation that that 196 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,720 creates. In other words, you can, you can 197 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,120 trust in the fact that you're in God's hands. 198 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:27,880 A situation is in God's hands and you never have to worry 199 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,320 about it. So here's the thing, OK, this is 200 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:35,400 how you, this is how you walk. Continue to move in this time 201 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,560 and in this day. You got to keep praying for each 202 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,200 of your family members. Do it by name. 203 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,920 It's a, it's a practical thing. I do it on a regular basis. 204 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,080 Ask God for specific opportunities to speak to them. 205 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:50,160 Look, you'd be surprised with how awesome of a prayer that is 206 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,720 and how quickly God can answer that prayer and live in a way 207 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,720 that makes Christ visible. Don't let your fear steal your 208 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,200 joy by any stretch of the imagination. 209 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,280 God has given you joy. That joy is in your salvation. 210 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:08,800 And remember that the salvation that God has given you is 211 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,560 something that took a little bit of time. 212 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,320 So don't give up while they're still breath. 213 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:15,960 You grieve because you love them. 214 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:20,160 Of course, you hope because quite frankly, God is still 215 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,080 working and he's going to continue to work even when you 216 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,600 can't see him work. And here's the big thing, right? 217 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,040 You trust because God is faithful. 218 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,840 And it was that trust that brought your salvation. 219 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,520 And it's that trust that can bring other people's salvation. 220 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,040 So as long as your family is alive, their story is not over. 221 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:40,000 And even when they pass away, you have hope because you don't 222 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,600 know what happened. You don't know what happened at 223 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,080 the last minute with their heart and what happened. 224 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:45,880 But there's a lot of hope here, Becca. 225 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:51,040 And in my prayer is that you'll find peace in knowing the facts. 226 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,760 Remind yourself of those things and just know that God wants 227 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,680 them to have salvation way more than you ever will. 228 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,520 And that's there's a lot of hope in that. 229 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,840 There's a lot of rest and peace. That you can find just in that 230 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:05,960 fact alone. Oh, that's beautiful. 231 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:07,960 I mean, I just want to add something really quick. 232 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,240 I I love what you just said at the very end there. 233 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,240 I loved every I love everything you said. 234 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,960 But I mean, Becca, just remember the Lord really loves your loved 235 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,560 ones, really loves them. I mean, as as a James, I may say 236 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,400 Yaakov, just out of the German, because actually in Hebrew his 237 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,000 name is Jake. OK, but I'm going to keep it 238 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,080 James. I mean, the Lord really loves, 239 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,080 you know, your loved ones more than all of our love put 240 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,120 together. So we need to remember that. 241 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,280 And also just, I'm just thinking of the, you know, the two 242 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,520 thieves on the cross, they both initially mocked Jesus, which is 243 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,920 insane, right? But one of them turned at the 244 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,280 last minute, acknowledged him for who he is, acknowledged his 245 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,240 own guilt. And, you know, Jesus gave the 246 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,560 assurance that he's going to be with him in paradise on a drop 247 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,800 of a dime. Salvation is a gift we're going 248 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,040 to be talking about a little bit later all the more, but it's a 249 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,560 gift that that is received. You know, as I mentioned on a 250 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,800 drop of a diamond, person becomes a Christian like it's a 251 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:06,880 gift, right? We receive. 252 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,440 So my point is, is that your loved ones are not out of his 253 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,400 reach. We don't even understand the 254 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,640 significance of our life until all the chips are in. 255 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,760 So keep your eyes on the Lord, live for him, keep praying. 256 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,280 And I'm believing that your loved ones are going to come to 257 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:25,640 know him. I just want to last thing real 258 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:30,000 quick, my dad, who I love so much, he's in heaven and he went 259 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,280 to heaven, who's 94. He's the best man of my wedding. 260 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,520 But look, he has three sons, all of which are pastors. 261 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,800 His whole family are, are Christians, but he didn't come 262 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,760 to faith in the Lord Jesus. So about nine months before he 263 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:43,680 went to heaven. So it's not too late. 264 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,520 I'm so proud of you to have that burden. 265 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,080 Let's just trust the Lord's going to reach him, because I 266 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:50,720 believe He is. Amen. 267 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:53,440 Amen. Our next question is from Susan. 268 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:55,840 How will I know when God is speaking to me? 269 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,240 I feel sad that I have to ask this question. 270 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,720 I'm disabled and homebound since my husband's death a decade ago, 271 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,840 and I'm clueless as to what the great Lord wants me to be or do. 272 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,160 OK, so this is this is a heavy question and it's one that a lot 273 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,680 of people actually ask and it's it's critical. 274 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:18,440 First and foremost, you, you should feel sad if you don't ask 275 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,000 questions like this. I think the imposition of these 276 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,480 questions actually serve as a functional demonstration of the 277 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,320 fact that you are willing to move forward and you're willing 278 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,280 to discern and understand and know exactly what's in front of 279 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,800 you. And the one thing that I would 280 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,880 tell you, and it's like very, very critical that you see this 281 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,400 so that you understand it is that you kind of already know 282 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,440 what to do. And I can give you an example of 283 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,280 this because I know so many people get caught up in the, 284 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,640 well, what is God's will for me? What does God want me to do? 285 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,160 And we miss this because what we, what we do is we spend so 286 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:56,040 much time looking at what we don't have that we completely 287 00:22:56,120 --> 00:23:00,240 lose sight of what we do have. And so, you know, we, we often 288 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,240 times get focused on, well, what is God telling me? 289 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,120 And we don't know, we, we think we don't have any idea as into 290 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,560 what God's will is, but God's already told us what his will 291 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,080 is. And, and here's the thing that I 292 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,200 that God has already made clear. He wants you to grow in your 293 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:14,960 relationship with him. He wants you to pray. 294 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,960 He wants you to love others. He wants you to speak truth when 295 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,840 you have the opportunity. I can't help but to think of the 296 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:25,080 passage in Mica. You know, the declaration is 297 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,680 clear. You know, he showed me what is 298 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,320 good and what the Lord doth require of me and look what he 299 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:34,560 says he says, but to do justly OK to love mercy and to walk 300 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,640 humbly with God. So you don't need to discover 301 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,160 what it is that God has for you. You just need to simply do these 302 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,080 things that on a practical level, how do you move forward 303 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,800 because there's many different ways that God speaks to us. 304 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,440 Jeremiah heard an inclination that God was speaking to him and 305 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,960 then he, he in essence put out a fleece in a way, went out and 306 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,520 said, OK, Lord, if this is your will, then you will send my 307 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,760 relative down so that I can go by the field. 308 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:03,080 And that's exactly what happened. 309 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,800 God, God manifests himself in many, many different ways. 310 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,440 So here's how you move forward. Instead of waiting for a clear 311 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,600 voice or what you think a clear voice may be, try this. 312 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:14,800 Spend some time in the Bible daily, OK? 313 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:19,520 Even if it's a little bit, spend some time to clarify God's voice 314 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,360 through his word. Talk to God honestly in prayer. 315 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,880 Don't go the Lord and say, well, Lord, I, you know, when you sort 316 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,480 of formalize the prayer and, and, and you kind of do what 317 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,880 some people do and no, don't, don't do any of that nonsense, 318 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,840 right? Literally go to God and speak to 319 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,400 him like I'm speaking to you. Talk to him like you would talk 320 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,080 to any friend. Ask him to guide you, to guide 321 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,640 your thoughts, to guide your decisions and be faithful in the 322 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,520 small things as small little opportunities come up. 323 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,440 Just do the things that he puts in front of you. 324 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:54,160 And what's going to happen is this. 325 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,000 You're going to recognize the very things that begin to align 326 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,920 with God's purposes and what doesn't. 327 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,920 And that's how you actually learn to hear his voice. 328 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,880 So I think this is important because when you talk about the 329 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,800 loss and the isolation that you feel, that is super, super 330 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,440 critical. And it's not something that I 331 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,680 sort of want to walk away from, but just understand this, OK? 332 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:24,040 Even during the times when you feel uncertain or forgotten or 333 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,440 like you have no direction, understand what the truth is. 334 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:29,960 Proclaim the truth to yourself. God even says it. 335 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,080 I will never leave you or forsake you. 336 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,200 So He's still present in your life. 337 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,160 He's still working with you, and He's always going to be guiding 338 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,760 you. So you don't need to hear a loud 339 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,600 voice like mine to know that God is speaking. 340 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,680 Just understand that he speaks very clearly through his word. 341 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,720 He leads very quietly and he's faithful. 342 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,840 He's consistent, OK, And he is already working in your life. 343 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,160 That's the thing that I think needs to be understood. 344 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,440 And speaking to the subject of being in a condition where you 345 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,800 tend to be homebound or you have some disabilities. 346 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,440 Look, I have some significant physical ailments that I have to 347 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,720 deal with on a day-to-day basis, but I refuse to allow those 348 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,360 things to keep me from doing what I can with what I have. 349 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,600 So recognize what you have around you and take full 350 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,600 advantage of the opportunity God has given you. 351 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,840 And He will bring clarity to your mind as you begin to pursue 352 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:26,880 that with more depth and more understanding. 353 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,800 And you'll be shocked to find out just how much God will bless 354 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,000 you with that endeavor. James that's excellent. 355 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,840 I would just add that the Lord always gives us enough light for 356 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,200 the next step. So it's like, OK, what is the 357 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,360 will of God? Well, let me just think about it 358 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,720 like the first commandment is the love of with all of our 359 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,280 heart, soul, mind and strength. It's relational, right? 360 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,520 And then on the horizontal level, it's like, OK, I'm to 361 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,360 love my neighbor as myself. So just think about, OK, I mean, 362 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,360 what is God's will for my life? Well, it's to have a heart for 363 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:01,200 the Lord, right allegiance, relational right alignment. 364 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,320 And then to spill over on the horizontal level to love my 365 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,760 neighbor as myself, value my fellow man. 366 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,840 So so it's like like the will of God has less to do with location 367 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,000 where I live or what kind of color car I buy. 368 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,400 It has all to do with who we are as individuals. 369 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,320 We're to be holy, we're to live, we're to live lives pleasing to 370 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,360 God. So it's so so therefore is OK. 371 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:28,240 Like what's next steps? He always wants us to love him, 372 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:34,000 love others, trust him, make him known. 373 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,880 I think that's that's akin to what James was just saying. 374 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,240 So that has always helped me always. 375 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,920 I was like, oh Lord, what I got to do or what is your will 376 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,440 always gives us enough light for the next step. 377 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,560 That's beautiful. Our next questions from William 378 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,000 This Bible and 365 program has changed how I view Christianity 379 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,560 and can already feel it changing my life for the better. 380 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,680 The biblical concept of marriage roles has really opened my eyes 381 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,720 to a better way to think about how my wife and I can come. 382 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,680 How I'm my wife and I complement each other instead of worrying 383 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,680 about competing and fulfilling our own needs every day. 384 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:12,000 My wife and I both grew up Catholic, got married in a 385 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,040 Catholic Church, but so far the spiritual awakening has been 386 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,080 more one sided over the past few months. 387 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,320 I think that's meaning he feels it more than she does. 388 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,880 How can I get her to adopt these marriage expectations that can 389 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,480 be very different from societal norms and or how her parents 390 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,640 were growing up? We have always had a bumpy 391 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,080 marriage more than the norm. I believe and I'm convicted that 392 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,480 embracing God's perfect vision would help us tremendously. 393 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,680 I'm just not sure she's is ready to buy in. 394 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,320 What can I do to help her see how this mindset could help us 395 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,080 lead a happier, healthier marriage, not just for us but 396 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,680 our kids. I have to tell you like all 397 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,000 three of us know exactly what it's like to have the most 398 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,880 beautiful Ephesians five marriage that does not that 399 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,000 forget about the denomination that you're a part of just being 400 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,400 in God's word and understanding the beauty of having your 401 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,120 husband lead your family and as a wife be the guardian of your 402 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,680 home is so powerful and knowing that as long as your husband, 403 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:13,160 the head of the household is is so focused and serving the Lord 404 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:18,160 you in fact, when you come under him of that of that head of 405 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,160 it's, it's beautiful, it's powerful. 406 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,920 It's a beautiful way of how the marriage is supposed to be. 407 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:26,240 What are your guys's thoughts on that? 408 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,720 Yeah. So Erica, I, I, I'm sure you 409 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,880 won't mind me taking this liberty because the, the reality 410 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:34,560 of it is. My husband so much. 411 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,360 I mean, we had such a good marriage. 412 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,400 I've been obsessed with my husband. 413 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,960 He's everything to me and marriage was just perfect. 414 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,720 It was perfect. And you know, we're not perfect 415 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,920 beings, but our marriage in my eyes was perfect because we 416 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,000 serve the Lord. And we had that fire at the 417 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,440 altar that's never burned out. And he was such a good man of 418 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,760 making sure that he always asked how can I serve you? 419 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,320 And I said, how can I serve you? And we were just always having 420 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,440 that servant heart mentality of like our marriage is is so 421 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,200 important because it's glorifying God and it's 422 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,640 glorifying, you know what he put us on earth to do and and porn 423 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,720 to our children. But yeah, go ahead, Pastor. 424 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,120 Pastor. That's beautiful. 425 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,160 I know it, I love. It. 426 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:18,160 I love it. I love it. 427 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,360 I love it. I, I know you won't mind me 428 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:24,400 taking the liberty, but the, the reality of it is, is there's 429 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,800 probably nobody, maybe maybe a few, I don't know, but there's 430 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,000 nobody that that I know of that is as Privy to your marriage as 431 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,240 me, just because of the position that God has allowed me to be in 432 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:39,960 with the two of you. And your, your marriage was 433 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:44,360 remarkable, not remarkable in the fact that like, you know, I 434 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:46,680 think everybody thinks that when you say that you had the perfect 435 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:48,920 marriage, that that means that there was never a disagreement. 436 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,360 There was never an issue. No, it, it was a beautiful 437 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,240 marriage because God ordained it from the beginning. 438 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,520 I had the opportunity to know you guys, to know where you were 439 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,760 before you got married and to see the times that led you into 440 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,040 that marriage and then to see what that marriage brought. 441 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,400 And one of the things that I absolutely loved about Charlie 442 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,440 was when I would sit with him and I would talk to him about 443 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:15,760 these things, about anything. He was a sponge. 444 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,760 Like literally you could tell him something and he he bought 445 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,160 it hook, line and sinker. And I always used to tell him 446 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:26,320 this. I would say beware, beware of 447 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:32,400 who you are as a husband because what you do can either ruin your 448 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,200 wife or it can completely bless your wife. 449 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,160 And he always knew that. That's why that's why he loved 450 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,080 you so much. It's why he wrote you all of 451 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,400 these little letters. And I know I'm taking the 452 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,560 liberty. He made these funny little post 453 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:50,520 it pads and all these things. I mean, he was just it was that 454 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,400 some of them, some of the things that he said, it was like good, 455 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,520 good, good on you, Charlie. And one of the things that I 456 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,200 always used to tell him and it was something he used to tell 457 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,520 me. It's like, look, bro, we are the 458 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,320 husbands in our relationship. The responsibility that we have 459 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:10,520 as husbands is to love our wives like Christ loves the church. 460 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,400 That means we don't place conditions on our actions. 461 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,200 That means we have to learn how to love God more than we love 462 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:19,600 our own wife. And what our wife becomes is 463 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,440 what we actually created. And I think that that's that's 464 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:28,960 such an important picture. And, and by the way, I think 465 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,840 that anybody that's willing to be honest about looking at a, a 466 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,840 marriage situation, a marital situation, when it's ideal, the 467 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:41,920 ideal that happens that's defined by God is in the 468 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,080 modeling that's created by the husband. 469 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:46,680 The husband is given this opportunity to do so. 470 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,520 So the idea here where you where William, you talk about the fact 471 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,840 that you're ahead in the sense that your wife hasn't bought in 472 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:56,840 on it yet. Just show her your 473 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,200 transformation. That's the only thing you need 474 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,320 to be worried about. You need to show her your 475 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,320 transformation. And as you begin to show her 476 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:10,680 your transformation, you will bring her in to not only that 477 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,600 loving relationship with you, but more importantly the loving 478 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,280 relationship with the Lord. And all it's going to do is, is 479 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:23,120 take time where you are consistently pursuing the Lord. 480 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:27,240 She's going to watch you. She's going to fall in love with 481 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,200 what she sees. And it's going to bring her back 482 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:35,080 to this place of wanting more. And I can tell you this because 483 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,760 I watch this with my own wife. I see it sought all the time 484 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:41,840 with Erica and still see it to this very day, definitely with 485 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,240 Stephanie, which for those of you that don't know, Steph is, 486 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:49,360 is Greg's wife. But our wives often times look 487 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:56,520 to us, even in many cases somewhat heroically, because 488 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:01,520 they watched us go forward before them to be the model that 489 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,000 God expected us to be. And, and the idea here is that 490 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,880 when you do that, when men do that, you create that condition. 491 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:12,440 And I, and I want to say this because I think it's so sad that 492 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:13,800 we live in a world like this today. 493 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,040 You know, when a woman says, I love my, my husband, OK, 494 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:22,840 especially after a traumatic situation like the one that we 495 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:27,000 saw with, with Charlie and Erica, it's hilarious to me. 496 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:31,159 It's actually it's despicable how they will look at a woman 497 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:34,040 saying I love my husband, I love my husband, I love my husband 498 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:38,000 and thinking that that suspect. But the overwhelming majority of 499 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,600 the time you see something like that happening is because they 500 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,480 never experienced what it what it looks like to have a husband 501 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:49,520 that led with his love for the Lord. 502 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:54,920 When a man denies himself in loving God with his whole heart, 503 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:59,400 he creates the kind of condition that you see in my Nicole or in 504 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,120 Charlie's Erica or in Greg Stephanie. 505 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:04,560 And I think that that's the thing that is like very 506 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:06,280 difficult for people to understand. 507 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:11,000 It's a supernatural process. So this is going to take some 508 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,840 faith on your end, right? This is going to be you just 509 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:19,480 giving yourself to become the best man that you can possibly 510 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,960 be so that you can build into your wife something very 511 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,320 special. By the way, that's the whole 512 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:30,040 reason why Charlie actually started honoring the Sabbath. 513 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:35,320 It, it was part of an obligation that he knew he had to become 514 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,720 the best man that he could be for his wife, so that that would 515 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:42,000 trickle down not only to his wife, but to his children and 516 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,800 then eventually the ministry of Turning Point and all the other 517 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,680 things that was going on. And I, and I don't mind talking 518 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,600 in terms of Charlie's relationship with Erica because 519 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,800 it was such a great example, just like what I've seen with 520 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,120 Greg. And I'm very thankful for what I 521 00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,720 have with my wife. But speaking from man to man, 522 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:05,760 me, James, to you, William, my great encouragement to you was 523 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,560 to be is to be the example that Christ is to the church. 524 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:14,400 You lead your wife. And I promise you your wife will 525 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,760 begin to say the things that you hear Erica saying about Charlie 526 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,200 or that you would hear Steph saying about Greg or my precious 527 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,680 Nicole about me. And I think that that's really, 528 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,840 really important. You lead by example. 529 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:28,760 And that example creates tons of fruit. 530 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:30,760 Yeah. Yeah, Will you, can I just say 531 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:34,120 something real quick like I'm a man, You're a man, right? 532 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,600 What a gift to be married. What a gift. 533 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,240 Not a more beautiful intimate relationship on planet Earth 534 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:44,440 that a husband and wife experiences look impossible 535 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,200 actually to love your wife as Jesus Christ loved the church 536 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,920 without actually growing in relationship with them. 537 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:51,960 And I wouldn't I wouldn't encourage. 538 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,600 I mean, James said this, sorry if I say Yaakov, but James said 539 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:57,240 it perfectly. But I'll just tell you what's 540 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:01,280 been helpful to me and I'll be quick is Paul gave Timothy this 541 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:05,920 phenomenal progress plan of how to grow as a man. 542 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,320 And that's where you want to. That's where you focus wants to 543 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,840 be like, you want to go vertical, Lord, like teach me, 544 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:17,160 be a good listener, grow in your own relationship with the Lord's 545 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,720 going to spill over, impacting your your precious wife. 546 00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:23,280 But I just want to direct you to first Timothy chapter 4, verse 547 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:28,840 12 down to verse 16, which Paul essentially saying, look, you 548 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,080 got to be intentional to add godly character. 549 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,320 You want to give attention to the word of God, activate your 550 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,760 gifts, stir them up and give yourself entirely to these 551 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:39,840 things. So we don't have time to address 552 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:41,480 it, but I, I really want you to read this. 553 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:46,400 This has been huge for me as a man because let me just say two 554 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,800 things about love, OK? We are called to love our wives. 555 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,160 Practically, it's not a sentiment, it's an action. 556 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,840 We're to protect them. We're to provide for them. 557 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:57,240 Think about it. No one knows. 558 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,600 I mean, your wife, I, my precious wife is Stephanie. 559 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,680 No one knows Stephanie. I'll just speak for myself, 560 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,360 like, like the Lord knows her more than me, but no one knows 561 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:08,000 on a human level. Like I know her so. 562 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,280 And the Lord has called me to love her. 563 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:15,120 So that means like I love her. She is beautiful, like really 564 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,480 beautiful and virtuous. She's virtue embodied. 565 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:21,760 But I don't love her because she's beautiful. 566 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,680 I love her to make her beautiful, right? 567 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:29,560 That's that unconditional love. So Yep, James was just perfectly 568 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,640 right on here. I would just encourage you, you 569 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,040 know, you just keep following Jesus, grow in him. 570 00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:39,240 It's been huge for me. First Timothy 412 through 16. 571 00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:44,000 I'm not kidding you, man to man here like this has been a vision 572 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,640 that Paul gave Timothy for a progress plan in his life that 573 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,680 he continues to keep growing as a man That's huge. 574 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,200 And I'm just proud of you to ask this question. 575 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,440 I I believe great things are store for you and may the Lord 576 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:00,720 richly bless you and your precious wife. 577 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,720 And if you were to tarry future generations? 578 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:06,640 Amen. Our next questions from Journey. 579 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,440 My husband is not a believer. He remains skeptical of 580 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,000 Christianity and carries a lot of resentment toward the church 581 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,480 due to his upbringing and experiences with religious 582 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,400 hypocrisy. When I've tried to have 583 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:19,960 conversations about faith, he hasn't received them well, so I 584 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,560 felt it's better to step back and allow God to work in his 585 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:25,320 life in his own timing. Our marriage has been rocky and 586 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,760 I'm actively working on repairing it while also raising 587 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:29,400 three children and running a business. 588 00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:32,200 My husband has expressed frustration when I go to church 589 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,320 on Sundays because it leaves him home with the kids. 590 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,680 Again. Our children refuse to go and he 591 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:40,200 becomes upset if I try to make them as he doesn't want church 592 00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,280 forced on them. Given all of this, would 593 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,960 choosing to live stream church instead of attending in person 594 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:48,040 be the wrong decision? I love Jesus and I'm absolutely 595 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:50,840 torn on this because I my hope is that they would allow. 596 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,920 My hope is that this would allow my husband to feel seen and 597 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,600 honored until he is in a place where he can accept Jesus. 598 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,360 I worry that I will continue to turn him off of having a 599 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,120 relationship with Jesus if I make going to church a priority 600 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:05,280 over everything else that is falling apart. 601 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:13,000 That's a very, very heartfelt question and one that we have to 602 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,160 like for a moment just heavily addressed. 603 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,160 But there's a, there's a few things that I want to just clear 604 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,760 clearly point out here that I think are really important. 605 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:23,640 OK. Number one, what you're 606 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:27,600 describing is undoubtedly not compromised by any stretch of 607 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,040 the imagination. It is definitely what I would 608 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:35,560 call a burden that is further extenuated by a heart of wisdom. 609 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:38,480 And and I don't think that that is wrong. 610 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,280 I think that it's clear. Your commitment to Christ is 611 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,480 clear because of that commitment, you're concerned 612 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,120 with your husband's soul. You're definitely trying to 613 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,600 preserve your marriage and you're caring for your children. 614 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,760 All of those things very much matter because if you look at 615 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,240 what Peter says, he says look, wives be in subjection to your 616 00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:00,640 own husband's that if any obey not the word that they also may 617 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:06,000 be without the word be won by. I forgot the exact words. 618 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,200 I think it's the conversation of the wives. 619 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:09,680 I think is the exact. Terminology there. 620 00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:13,360 Yeah, the conduct the conversation and so while they 621 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:18,400 behold your, your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 622 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:22,680 Now that's important because the idea here is if any obey not the 623 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,240 word refers to an unbelieving husband. 624 00:41:25,240 --> 00:41:26,440 That's what we're talking about here. 625 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:30,600 And they may be 1 without a constant verbal pressure. 626 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:32,800 In other words, you, you don't want to be what people would 627 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,440 call a nagging wife. And it's through your conduct. 628 00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:38,240 It's not through force, which by the way, speaks clearly and 629 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:42,120 vividly and very loudly. So you're already thinking in a 630 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,120 very biblical direction. And they want to acknowledge 631 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:47,920 that, OK, you're not called before spiritual things on your 632 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,200 husband or your children. That's not the responsibility. 633 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,680 OK, so forcing church attendance, forcing 634 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:57,920 conversations, spiritual decisions is a is a huge 635 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,920 mistake. It it, it can lead to hearts 636 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:03,400 actually being hardened rather than soften. 637 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:06,560 And I'm I'm very careful how I say that because your instinct 638 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,640 to step back and let God work is wise. 639 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,720 But I have to nuance that it's it's I have to be careful how I 640 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:18,200 say that because again, the proverbs tell us that by long 641 00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:22,440 forbearance by by long patience is a Prince persuaded. 642 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:28,120 So, so the idea here is that the soft tongue literally has the 643 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:31,880 ability to break a bone And and there's there's wisdom in that 644 00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:36,040 meaning our patients will put into effect the gentleness that 645 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:41,760 creates the powerful condition that pressure cannot do. 646 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:44,320 Like you can't fix it with pressure. 647 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:47,800 So the Bible does tell us that and, and, and, and I think 648 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:51,160 that's important. However, OK, I have to say this 649 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:57,880 church attendance is important. OK, It is the Bible tells us not 650 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:02,920 to discourage fellowship, but it's not meant to destroy your 651 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:07,840 home and that like this is such a hard picture for me to be able 652 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:10,280 to draw without some people getting upset. 653 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,120 OK, the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 10 referring to 654 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:17,200 the end times by the way, not to fellowship the four or not to 655 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:22,080 forsake the the assembling of of ourselves with one another as 656 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:26,120 the manner of some have. But you have to keep in mind, 657 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,720 there is, look, let me just say this, the gathering with 658 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,840 believers is important. It matters, it's critical, but 659 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,800 we have to balance that with one very understanding. 660 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:39,760 And that is God will never call you to pursue one good thing in 661 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:43,360 a way that completely destroys another responsibility that he 662 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,400 has given you. So your marriage is also a 663 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,840 God-given responsibility. And in your situation, live 664 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:52,400 streaming is not going to be wrong. 665 00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:56,520 Now, don't, don't get me wrong, I think that hope we, we hope 666 00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:59,840 that that will change. And I think that allowing your 667 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:03,080 husband to see you walking in that kind of submission will 668 00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:07,280 also open up his heart for you to be able to spend more time in 669 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:09,760 fellowship with believers. And you have to figure out a way 670 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:11,360 to create that fellowship with believers. 671 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:14,480 But given everything that you've described, you've got a 672 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:17,280 unbelieving, obviously a resistant husband. 673 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,240 There's tension in the marriage. You've got children that are 674 00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:22,400 caught in the middle. Your house is already under 675 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,520 strain. So choosing to live stream for a 676 00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,960 season, that's the operative word, I think is actually not 677 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:31,840 just wise, but it could be very loving and strategic. 678 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:36,320 And I'm not telling you by any stretch of the imagination that 679 00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:37,880 this is you abandoning your faith. 680 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,280 It actually may be you living out your faith effectively in 681 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:44,480 your home. Your husband has to feel honored 682 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:47,960 and not competed against. And right now he likely feels, 683 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:50,480 and I could be wrong, but I I counsel people all the time in 684 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:53,440 situations like this. He likely feels 2nd place to the 685 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:55,440 church. He's probably frustrated because 686 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:58,440 of his past experiences, and quite frankly, he may even be 687 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:01,200 threatened by it. So when you choose to be 688 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:04,760 present, when you choose to show consideration, when you choose 689 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,880 to reduce tension, by doing this, you actually demonstrating 690 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:12,160 Christ in a way that He can actually receive. 691 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:15,760 And that's the idea, right? Because Ephesians chapter 5 says 692 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:18,240 it, that the wife is to show reverence to her husband. 693 00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:21,600 So respect and honor go a very long way, especially when you're 694 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:23,040 dealing with the skeptical heart. 695 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:25,920 Now, I want to say this because this is important 'cause I know 696 00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:27,720 you probably going to have doubts in your mind over this. 697 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:33,840 Prioritizing Christ without you can still prioritize Christ 698 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:36,400 without creating unnecessary conflict, OK? 699 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:38,920 Live streaming doesn't mean that you're lowering your commitment 700 00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:39,880 to the Lord. It doesn't mean you're 701 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:42,000 compromising your beliefs. It actually means that you're 702 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,800 being wise about how you choose to live out those beliefs. 703 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:47,200 So you can still spend time in the Word, you can still pray, 704 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:50,720 you can still grow spiritually, and you can clearly model Christ 705 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:53,480 in your home and every now and then have fellowship with people 706 00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:57,640 as long as your husband is OK outside of the context of the 707 00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:00,520 organized religion that he despises. 708 00:46:00,720 --> 00:46:03,920 So again, you have to ask yourself this question, what 709 00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:06,600 gives my husband the greatest chance of eventually coming to 710 00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:09,800 Christ as it relates to my actions? 711 00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:12,440 So in many cases, it's not winning arguments. 712 00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:13,480 That's not going to be the answer. 713 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,120 It's not going to be forcing church attendance. 714 00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:18,480 What it's going to be is seeing a very consistent love, 715 00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:21,480 observing a a real change in you, which I guarantee you he's 716 00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:24,600 already seen and experiencing peace instead of pressure 717 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:27,320 nagging wives. And I don't want to sound 718 00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,600 derogatory. Don't fix problems. 719 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:33,840 OK, So I think that you're, you're being wise here. 720 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:37,520 You're, you're looking to find an opportunity to soften your 721 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:41,400 husband's heart and that your children to be open and that 722 00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:43,360 opportunities will increase. But there's one important 723 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:45,000 caution I want to throw out. And I think it's really 724 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:51,680 important to say this, OK, make sure you do whatever it takes to 725 00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:55,560 know for a fact this is a faith driven decision. 726 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:58,840 I don't, I don't want you doing this because you're filled with 727 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:00,120 fear. You're backed in a corner and 728 00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:01,320 feel like you have no other choice. 729 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,440 OK, it has to be you saying you're not avoiding church 730 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,040 because you're afraid. It has to be you saying you're 731 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:11,200 choosing a different approach because you're being wise and 732 00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:14,200 you're being led by the Lord. That will help you keep your 733 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,640 walk with the Lord strong and very intentional. 734 00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:22,120 The bottom line is choosing to live stream here is is is is not 735 00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:25,080 wrong. But don't be motivated by the 736 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:26,680 fear that would drive you to do it. 737 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:29,720 Be motivated by an understanding that God has called you to do it 738 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,520 and just recognize it. In fact, it may be the most 739 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,080 loving choice for your husband and probably the most 740 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:37,160 stabilizing decision you're going to make for your home. 741 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,400 I'm not you, I'm not living in your home. 742 00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:44,080 But it probably is a very strategic choice, for lack of a 743 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:47,240 better term, for some kind of a long term spiritual impact. 744 00:47:47,240 --> 00:47:50,600 So continue to do these things, continue to love your husband 745 00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:52,880 well, continue to walk closely with the Lord. 746 00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:56,440 That's a critical one, right? And continue to trust that God 747 00:47:56,440 --> 00:47:59,800 will work in your husband's heart in ways that you cannot 748 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:02,600 control. And, and God will do an amazing 749 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:04,240 thing. He's capable of reaching out to 750 00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:06,920 your husband. And I think he will do so as you 751 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,200 continue to remain faithful. Your husband's, by the way, 752 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:11,680 going to see it. He's going to honor you for it. 753 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,000 And he's going to give the leverage that you need to be 754 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:17,120 able to do what you need to do to grow, because he's going to 755 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:20,600 realize eventually that a godly wife is a benefit to him and not 756 00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:22,400 a curse, even if he's not walking with the Lord. 757 00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:27,840 James, I agree 1000%. I, I like 10 seconds. 758 00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:32,160 I'll just say this, you know, it may be good to just reach out to 759 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,000 your pastor and tell him this is the season I'm in and I 760 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:38,360 appreciate your prayers. And look, it's not like you have 761 00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:40,320 to jump through these hoops. They're not really hoops, right? 762 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:42,880 But it's that's, that's, that's I think that's wise. 763 00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:49,280 But #2 because we are to be a part of a local ecclesia or 764 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:51,640 assembly, that does matter. And James mentioned that 765 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:54,400 clearly. I mean, I would just encourage 766 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:57,680 you, carry a, a sister on your heart. 767 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:00,560 Pray, pray for the church, pray for your local church. 768 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:03,560 Remain connected there on a practical level. 769 00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:07,280 But James, just as far as I'm concerned, nailed it. 770 00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:11,160 And look, we stand with you. I mean, God bless you. 771 00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:15,520 You're a godly woman and I'm convinced the Lord's going to 772 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:21,080 bless you. Yeah, I was going to hop to a 773 00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:24,880 scripture question, but Kate and I decided to because we're going 774 00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:27,640 to go hop back and forth. But let's do this next lifestyle 775 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:29,000 question. It's from Lori. 776 00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:32,720 I was told by a church pastor teacher that Satan entered my 777 00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:36,000 mother's womb and caused the physical birth defects that I 778 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:38,520 was born with. I really don't think that Satan 779 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,480 has that kind of power. What do you say about this? 780 00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:44,080 I know that God knits all of us together while we are being 781 00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:47,040 formed in our mother's womb. Yeah, yeah. 782 00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:50,120 So can I say something real quick? 783 00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:51,840 Yeah, Yeah. Let me just say real quick. 784 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:55,040 I mean, when it comes to spiritual warfare, I'm jumping 785 00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:56,640 in, James, I'm seeing you on the screen. 786 00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:02,640 Just let me say real quick that look, when it comes to 787 00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:06,040 understanding, like the darkness behind the darkness, because 788 00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:08,040 there's a darkness behind the darkness we're talking about, 789 00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:10,480 you know, is there, is there Satan? 790 00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,040 Are there demons? Are there unseen personalities 791 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,800 because because evil is is more than something that's abstract. 792 00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:22,200 OK, look, the the strategy is either going to be lawless to 793 00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:27,000 sleep as if there is no spiritual warfare and influence, 794 00:50:27,240 --> 00:50:31,400 which is big mistake, or actually to tip us to the other 795 00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,960 side and see like the devil behind every flickering light or 796 00:50:35,960 --> 00:50:39,200 every moving Bush. OK, so the truth is somewhere in 797 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:41,360 the middle. So, so you mentioned Satan and 798 00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:43,800 things and there is a Satan. I, I don't believe he's in the 799 00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:45,520 room. There are demons, there's a 800 00:50:45,520 --> 00:50:46,960 hierarchy and so forth and so on. 801 00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:52,200 But look, the, the, the idea that Satan somehow got into the 802 00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:56,440 womb and, and affected the, the genetics is, is not accurate 803 00:50:56,440 --> 00:51:00,160 whatsoever. And we live in a fallen world. 804 00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,880 We live in a broken world. That's why the, the, our 805 00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:07,680 wonderful father said his son to bring a regeneration. 806 00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:10,440 So there's no, there's no perfect families, there's no 807 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:13,680 perfect genetics, There's no, there's no perfect human being. 808 00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:17,440 So I just wanted to give that, that perspective. 809 00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:20,920 So the answer is that what your friend said or whoever said it 810 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:25,520 is, is not accurate. And, and thank and thank the 811 00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:26,880 Lord. We're just celebrating 812 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:29,400 resurrection. The, the resurrection not only 813 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:31,880 tells us that Jesus is the Son of God, but it's a 814 00:51:31,880 --> 00:51:35,280 demonstration. He's making all things new that 815 00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:39,280 we too are going to be resurrected and whole and ruling 816 00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:41,280 and reigning with them. Yakov, James. 817 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:44,560 OK. And, and I think I have to 818 00:51:44,560 --> 00:51:48,280 tackle this head on with a very, very direct set of statements 819 00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:53,000 that I think are critical because this pastor basically 820 00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:56,080 told you something pretty evil. OK, let me just. 821 00:51:56,160 --> 00:51:58,480 Oh, was it a pastor that said that it was a? 822 00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:01,440 Pastor, it was a pastor so so so let me just. 823 00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:02,400 Say it doesn't know what he's talking. 824 00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:06,440 About sorry, the statement about Satan causing your, your birth 825 00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,440 defects is not supported in the Bible, cannot be supported. 826 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:11,240 Look, let me just make myself clear. 827 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:14,920 There's no place, not one single place in the Bible that teaches 828 00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:18,600 that Satan enters A womb, that Satan directly forms a child in 829 00:52:18,600 --> 00:52:23,520 the womb, or Satan overrides God's creative work in that way. 830 00:52:23,680 --> 00:52:25,480 It's just, it's, it's obscene. I'm sorry I'm a little 831 00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:27,560 emotional, but that that's just ridiculous. 832 00:52:27,600 --> 00:52:32,240 As a matter of fact, let me say this Scripture consistently 833 00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,040 teaches the opposite. OK, we all know this. 834 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:37,280 I have this one memorized. This is an easy one. 835 00:52:37,280 --> 00:52:39,600 Psalm 13913. What does it say? 836 00:52:39,760 --> 00:52:41,520 For thou has possessed my reigns. 837 00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:43,720 Thou has covered me in my mother's womb. 838 00:52:43,920 --> 00:52:47,280 I will praise Thee for what I am, fearfully and wonderfully 839 00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:48,720 made. Marvelous are Thy works. 840 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:53,120 And that my soul knoweth right Well, that means God in the 841 00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:56,280 expression of his functional and relational for that matter, 842 00:52:56,480 --> 00:53:03,280 creation brings beauty, intentionality, right Isaiah 843 00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:06,480 chapter 44. Thus saith the Lord thy 844 00:53:06,480 --> 00:53:09,480 Redeemer. I mean, what a what a beautiful 845 00:53:09,480 --> 00:53:13,880 passage and he that formed the from the womb. 846 00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,280 It's it's very, very clear. Let me tell you what that means 847 00:53:16,720 --> 00:53:18,800 and, and forgive me, I'm getting a little excited here because 848 00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:22,680 this one just bothers me. God is actively involved in your 849 00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:24,600 formation. He was and he is. 850 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:29,080 Your life is not an accident. Your existence will no way or 851 00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:32,520 ever be the result of Satan's creative power. 852 00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:35,000 He has no creative power like the hard left. 853 00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:36,960 All he does is have the power to destroy. 854 00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:40,000 And by the way, without me getting all crazy about this, 855 00:53:40,200 --> 00:53:43,800 did you ever notice that these people that jump on their huge 856 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:48,120 social media bandwagons and begin to, to, to lay critique 857 00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:51,680 about other people, about righteous people, will always 858 00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:54,840 bring destruction into play and never creation. 859 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:56,440 Why? Because they're not creation. 860 00:53:56,440 --> 00:53:59,120 They're not creators. They ride on the back of 861 00:53:59,120 --> 00:54:02,680 creators and then they destroy and people think that they 862 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:05,240 actually do it. But this is a tactic of Satan. 863 00:54:05,440 --> 00:54:09,640 And you see this all the time. Go look at these people who have 864 00:54:09,640 --> 00:54:12,400 these massive social media followings and choose to put 865 00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:15,680 down the people of God. Listen to every single one of 866 00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:17,800 these critiques that have come by as of late. 867 00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:20,680 All they're doing is destroying because that's all they know 868 00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:23,560 what to do because Satan is a destroyer. 869 00:54:23,560 --> 00:54:25,840 And let me just say this, and I mean this, it's super. 870 00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:29,040 Important to me physical. Conditions are not proof of 871 00:54:29,040 --> 00:54:31,360 Satan's direct involvement. Let me say that again. 872 00:54:31,600 --> 00:54:33,960 Your physical condition will never be direct. 873 00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:35,640 Proof of Satan is Satan's involvement. 874 00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:37,840 We live in a fallen world. Why? 875 00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:41,800 Because sin then entered the world, sickness exists. 876 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:44,400 Death exists. As we've seen very vividly over 877 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:47,440 the last year, physical imperfections are always going 878 00:54:47,440 --> 00:54:49,600 to exist. The Bible says it in the book of 879 00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:53,880 Romans, the creature was made subject to vanity, OK, because 880 00:54:53,880 --> 00:54:57,120 the whole creation groans. It travails in pain together 881 00:54:57,280 --> 00:55:00,880 until this very moment. So brokenness exists in the 882 00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:04,000 human body and that does not mean Satan individually 883 00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:08,280 engineered it for your for your condition or what happened to 884 00:55:08,280 --> 00:55:09,680 you. And this is one of the most 885 00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:12,880 important passages for your question and it's critical. 886 00:55:13,040 --> 00:55:16,040 Listen to what it says here in John Chapter 9. 887 00:55:16,240 --> 00:55:20,200 It says this, it says, and as Jesus passed by, he saw a man 888 00:55:20,280 --> 00:55:23,520 which was blind from his birth and his disciples asked him, 889 00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:28,520 listen to this, OK, Master, who did sin, this man or his 890 00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:29,960 parents? And I know this is paraphrased. 891 00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:31,800 I'm just telling you what, like off the top of my head, what's 892 00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:35,360 being said, you know, was it that he was, you know, was, was, 893 00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:37,520 you know, what was it that made him born blind? 894 00:55:37,520 --> 00:55:42,640 And Jesus said neither this man has sinned nor his parents. 895 00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:46,840 But then he says the reason why this happened is for that God 896 00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:49,600 would be glorified. The works of God should be made 897 00:55:49,600 --> 00:55:52,240 manifest in him. People were looking for someone 898 00:55:52,240 --> 00:55:57,160 to blame, but Jesus completely rejected that framework. 899 00:55:57,200 --> 00:56:00,120 And by the way, that's happening right now with My dear Charlie. 900 00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:03,600 They're going around and they're saying, look at all this, you 901 00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:06,520 know, these these evil satanic people and they're meeting in 902 00:56:06,520 --> 00:56:09,120 government houses and they're doing and this plotted to kill 903 00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:14,680 this and this actually understand God, for whatever 904 00:56:14,680 --> 00:56:19,240 reason, chose to see it fit to bring his servant home early 905 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:24,400 that he may be glorified, OK. And within this physical 906 00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:28,680 element, understand this, it does not say that Satan caused 907 00:56:28,680 --> 00:56:31,000 it. It actually says that God would 908 00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:34,720 use it for his purposes. So Satan does have power, OK, 909 00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:37,320 but it's limited and subject to God. 910 00:56:37,520 --> 00:56:39,280 Satan can tempt you, He could deceive you. 911 00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:42,520 He can afflict you. Even you look at the book of 912 00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:44,320 Job, you know he can do some affliction. 913 00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:46,760 There has to be permission in order to do it. 914 00:56:46,840 --> 00:56:48,560 You can go to Job chapter 1 and read it. 915 00:56:48,560 --> 00:56:52,440 But even in the book of Job, Satan couldn't act, could only 916 00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:54,480 act within the boundaries that God had allowed. 917 00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:58,680 He didn't create Job by any stretch of the imagination and 918 00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:01,000 he did not form Job's body in the womb. 919 00:57:01,680 --> 00:57:07,080 OK, so I just want, I want this to be understood because like, 920 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:09,880 it's really, really critical. And what you were told 921 00:57:09,880 --> 00:57:15,400 completely misrepresents God completely and I don't wanted to 922 00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:20,040 harm your identity. Your body is like there was. 923 00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:23,000 This teaching implies that your body is the result of Satan's 924 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:25,720 work or something about your existence is tied to evil 925 00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:27,080 origin. Baloney. 926 00:57:27,200 --> 00:57:30,240 That's not only unbiblical, it's completely damaging. 927 00:57:30,360 --> 00:57:33,800 The truth is really simple. You were created by God, you 928 00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:36,640 have value. God has given you a purpose and 929 00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:40,040 your life is under his authority, not Satan's. 930 00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:43,320 And I just want to make that clear because when these lies 931 00:57:43,320 --> 00:57:46,080 continue to get communicated, it's ridiculous. 932 00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:48,520 And I love this look. My one of my favorite passages 933 00:57:48,520 --> 00:57:52,360 in the Bible, Ephesians 210 For we are his workmanship created 934 00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:55,160 in Christ Jesus unto good works workmanship. 935 00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:56,880 The Greek word for that is poema. 936 00:57:57,320 --> 00:58:01,000 It's the word where we get poem. In other words, God functionally 937 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:05,360 and intentionally created you with a very specific intent to 938 00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:07,520 bring beauty out of the life that you live. 939 00:58:07,920 --> 00:58:11,160 You are his poem. You are intentionally created 940 00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:14,240 and you are not even close to being a product of Satan's 941 00:58:14,240 --> 00:58:16,760 design. All Satan does is destroy. 942 00:58:16,960 --> 00:58:18,840 And look, all of his agents do that. 943 00:58:18,880 --> 00:58:21,760 That pastor was an agent. Like many of these people that 944 00:58:21,760 --> 00:58:24,080 are doing these ridiculous podcasts. 945 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:28,200 They're agents of Satan designed to destroy and not build. 946 00:58:28,440 --> 00:58:30,280 And I think that that's really, really important. 947 00:58:30,520 --> 00:58:34,320 You were formed by God, you are known by God, and your life 948 00:58:34,360 --> 00:58:35,960 absolutely has purpose in His hands. 949 00:58:35,960 --> 00:58:38,720 And I'm sorry if I'm getting a little emotional, but this one 950 00:58:38,720 --> 00:58:40,320 really bothered me. Like this struck a bone. 951 00:58:40,600 --> 00:58:43,360 Like, my goodness, how the enemy can just try to destroy a 952 00:58:43,360 --> 00:58:45,120 person's heart and mind as a result of this. 953 00:58:45,200 --> 00:58:48,040 It's crazy. Well, you know, super sloppy, 954 00:58:48,040 --> 00:58:50,200 right? I mean, just a sloppy 955 00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:53,320 communication. I'm so glad you answered that 956 00:58:53,320 --> 00:58:55,040 beautifully, James. Beautiful. 957 00:58:55,280 --> 00:58:56,360 Good. Yep. 958 00:58:57,280 --> 00:58:58,880 Our next question is from Kendra. 959 00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:01,480 Can somebody have demonic strongholds and family 960 00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:04,600 generational ties that keep them from becoming what Jesus did 961 00:59:04,720 --> 00:59:08,040 died to give them? There seems to be a generational 962 00:59:08,040 --> 00:59:10,600 isolation and demonic stronghold that keeps our family from 963 00:59:10,600 --> 00:59:13,080 receiving breakthroughs. There's a rebellious spirit that 964 00:59:13,080 --> 00:59:15,520 lingers in our family and I don't know how to break free. 965 00:59:15,880 --> 00:59:19,240 The one brother I had that was close to Jesus and broke free is 966 00:59:19,240 --> 00:59:21,360 gone. Now I feel alone and I'm not 967 00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:23,720 sure how to break this generational stronghold for the 968 00:59:23,720 --> 00:59:28,080 rest of our family. OK, so let's just start with 969 00:59:28,120 --> 00:59:30,520 with what's true, OK? And, and Greg mentioned this 970 00:59:30,520 --> 00:59:32,960 earlier, right? Ephesians chapter 6. 971 00:59:33,720 --> 00:59:35,120 We're dealing with spiritual warfare here. 972 00:59:35,120 --> 00:59:37,480 We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against 973 00:59:37,480 --> 00:59:39,640 principalities and powers and against rulers of darkness, of 974 00:59:39,640 --> 00:59:42,160 this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 975 00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:44,600 It's a very, very clear assertion that's being made 976 00:59:44,600 --> 00:59:47,440 here. There is real spiritual 977 00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:49,880 opposition. I'd be lying if I said that 978 00:59:49,880 --> 00:59:52,040 wasn't true. And the enemy does try to 979 00:59:52,040 --> 00:59:55,720 influence people and families. He does try to attack families 980 00:59:55,720 --> 00:59:58,120 and generations, and we know that that's true. 981 00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:03,000 But we have to be very careful. Not to misunderstand how that 982 01:00:03,000 --> 01:00:06,200 works, OK, the idea of generational curses controlling 983 01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:08,920 believers is a very much often misunderstood. 984 01:00:09,200 --> 01:00:12,000 And many people are taught that their family line has a curse. 985 01:00:12,320 --> 01:00:15,720 They're spiritually bound by what previous generations did or 986 01:00:15,960 --> 01:00:19,800 and they need to break some kind of a a mystical a curse over 987 01:00:19,800 --> 01:00:22,520 their life. But the Bible is very clear 988 01:00:22,520 --> 01:00:25,120 about personal responsibility. The Bible says it matter of 989 01:00:25,120 --> 01:00:27,440 fact, Ezekiel's one of my favorite passages here in 990 01:00:27,440 --> 01:00:30,200 Ezekiel 18. He says, look, the soul that 991 01:00:30,200 --> 01:00:32,720 sins, they're going to die, but then he goes on to say that the 992 01:00:32,720 --> 01:00:35,320 Son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. 993 01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:36,600 Maybe Greg, you can find that for me. 994 01:00:36,600 --> 01:00:40,160 I think it's like around verse 15 or 16, but it just basically 995 01:00:40,160 --> 01:00:42,760 means this. You're not spiritually bound by 996 01:00:42,760 --> 01:00:47,400 your family's past sins and nor are you under a curse If you 997 01:00:47,400 --> 01:00:49,600 belong to Christ. If you're in Christ, you're a 998 01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:51,960 new creation. It says that Christ has redeemed 999 01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:57,520 us from the curse of the law, meaning sin be being made a 1000 01:00:57,520 --> 01:00:59,680 curse for us. In other words, our sin has 1001 01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:02,440 damned us. We've been, you know, removed 1002 01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:04,560 from there and even says it in Second Corinthians. 1003 01:01:04,560 --> 01:01:06,600 He says if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. 1004 01:01:06,600 --> 01:01:09,520 All things are passed away. Behold, all things have become 1005 01:01:09,520 --> 01:01:12,040 new. So whatever your your family 1006 01:01:12,040 --> 01:01:16,200 history is, whatever patterns you've seen, they do not have 1007 01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:19,360 authority over you anymore, nor will they ever. 1008 01:01:19,360 --> 01:01:21,960 Now your actions will have consequences. 1009 01:01:22,160 --> 01:01:25,120 When I was a a police chaplain, I remember going to these 1010 01:01:25,120 --> 01:01:27,560 gangster parties where you would see these 10 year olds being 1011 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:30,960 killed on the side of the road. Well, you know, if you're a 1012 01:01:30,960 --> 01:01:33,520 father and you're taking your kid to a gangster party, your 1013 01:01:33,520 --> 01:01:36,080 kid might be shot. That's not a generational curse. 1014 01:01:36,360 --> 01:01:38,920 It's the foolishness of the behavior of a parent that 1015 01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:41,560 endangers the child and future generations. 1016 01:01:41,800 --> 01:01:45,600 So don't get me wrong, there can be generational patterns that's 1017 01:01:45,600 --> 01:01:47,800 created by this type of behavior, like the gangster 1018 01:01:47,800 --> 01:01:51,400 party demonstration that I gave you, like rebellion or isolation 1019 01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:53,800 or broken relationships, unhealthy thinking. 1020 01:01:54,000 --> 01:01:57,480 But all of those are the result of behavior that's learned and 1021 01:01:57,480 --> 01:01:59,720 repeated choices and environment. 1022 01:01:59,840 --> 01:02:03,400 It's not an unbreakable spiritual force that controls 1023 01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:05,160 everyone. The good news is really, really 1024 01:02:05,160 --> 01:02:07,240 clear here. Patterns can be broken. 1025 01:02:07,440 --> 01:02:10,360 Like it's not hard to break a pattern if you give that pattern 1026 01:02:10,360 --> 01:02:12,960 to the Lord. They often start with one person 1027 01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:15,560 which gets what may very well be you. 1028 01:02:15,840 --> 01:02:19,440 So you're not responsible to break your whole family by any 1029 01:02:19,440 --> 01:02:24,080 stretch of the imagination, but you are called very, very 1030 01:02:24,080 --> 01:02:26,640 clearly to walk with Christ faithfully, to pray for your 1031 01:02:26,640 --> 01:02:30,400 family to live differently. And in doing so, you will break 1032 01:02:30,640 --> 01:02:33,480 what you perceive to be a generational curse. 1033 01:02:33,720 --> 01:02:36,800 And I think that that's how like very, very important. 1034 01:02:36,800 --> 01:02:39,320 Now, if you want to ask about breaking free, how do you do it? 1035 01:02:39,480 --> 01:02:40,640 How do you personally break free? 1036 01:02:40,800 --> 01:02:44,040 Well, you know, submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil 1037 01:02:44,040 --> 01:02:45,600 and he'll do what he'll flee from you. 1038 01:02:45,600 --> 01:02:47,680 That's James chapter 4. It says that. 1039 01:02:47,680 --> 01:02:51,760 So you walk in truth, you stay close to God, you reject sinful 1040 01:02:51,760 --> 01:02:54,080 patterns. You renew your mind by reading 1041 01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:57,840 the word of God, by looking at the truth and choose obedience 1042 01:02:57,840 --> 01:02:59,480 daily. Remember, Christ did not go to 1043 01:02:59,480 --> 01:03:01,760 the cross willingly. He went to the cross obediently. 1044 01:03:01,880 --> 01:03:06,480 He demonstrated that to us. So just understand that God will 1045 01:03:06,480 --> 01:03:08,400 never leave you. He'll never forsake you. 1046 01:03:08,640 --> 01:03:10,960 And here's what you do for the rest of your family. 1047 01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:13,560 You pray consistently for them. You speak truth when there's 1048 01:03:13,560 --> 01:03:15,040 openness. That seems to be a recurring 1049 01:03:15,040 --> 01:03:17,640 theme today, right? You live a life that reflects 1050 01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,120 Christ and get what? Guess what? 1051 01:03:20,120 --> 01:03:23,920 You let God work in in his own timing. 1052 01:03:24,200 --> 01:03:25,800 OK. And I think that that's a 1053 01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:29,160 really, really important place to be because God wants your 1054 01:03:29,160 --> 01:03:31,920 family to be free from all of this stuff more than you do. 1055 01:03:32,520 --> 01:03:35,280 So just remember that yes, there is real spiritual warfare. 1056 01:03:35,280 --> 01:03:38,800 Greg talked about it earlier, but believers are never trapped 1057 01:03:38,800 --> 01:03:40,560 by generational curses. OK? 1058 01:03:40,800 --> 01:03:42,440 In Christ, you've been made free. 1059 01:03:42,560 --> 01:03:46,240 What looks like a stronghold is just often times a pattern 1060 01:03:46,240 --> 01:03:49,600 that's reflective of a habit that we give ourselves to that 1061 01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:54,560 can be literally avoided or destroyed by a new pattern of 1062 01:03:54,560 --> 01:03:56,560 truth and obedience. By the way, This is why the 1063 01:03:56,560 --> 01:04:00,720 Bible tells us to put something off and then put something on. 1064 01:04:00,880 --> 01:04:03,200 And you have to ask yourself this question, does who you are 1065 01:04:03,200 --> 01:04:05,160 determine what you do? Or does what you do determine 1066 01:04:05,160 --> 01:04:07,680 who you are? Now the world will say what you 1067 01:04:07,680 --> 01:04:11,120 do determines who you are. I'm a thief because I steal or 1068 01:04:11,120 --> 01:04:14,920 the Bible says, no, you're a St. So you act a completely 1069 01:04:14,920 --> 01:04:16,800 different way. And if you're a child of God, 1070 01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:20,080 then who you are now determines what you do. 1071 01:04:20,280 --> 01:04:23,440 And if you understand that you are a child of God, what looks 1072 01:04:23,440 --> 01:04:26,640 like a stronghold is often a pattern that can be broken 1073 01:04:26,640 --> 01:04:28,920 through just simple truth and obedience. 1074 01:04:29,160 --> 01:04:31,720 You walk with God because you've been made righteous. 1075 01:04:31,720 --> 01:04:36,640 So put on the replacement habit and that's what the Bible says. 1076 01:04:36,640 --> 01:04:40,120 It says put off these things and put on these other things. 1077 01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:44,400 And so you're not bound, you're free in Christ by putting off 1078 01:04:44,400 --> 01:04:46,240 the old habit. You put on the new habit. 1079 01:04:46,480 --> 01:04:49,640 And, and that is very contagious, by the way, that 1080 01:04:49,640 --> 01:04:51,560 changes a lot of people's lives very quickly. 1081 01:04:52,120 --> 01:04:55,480 James so good and the Scripture you were referring to Ezekiel 1082 01:04:55,680 --> 01:04:57,720 1820. The Son shall not suffer. 1083 01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:01,280 No, no, the Son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the Father. 1084 01:05:01,600 --> 01:05:03,280 Excellent. If any man be in Christ, you 1085 01:05:03,280 --> 01:05:04,920 said that he's a brand new creation. 1086 01:05:05,320 --> 01:05:08,280 Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the 1087 01:05:08,280 --> 01:05:11,360 righteousness of God in him. I mean, I just want to like 10 1088 01:05:11,360 --> 01:05:14,000 seconds here like he he gave his life on Passover. 1089 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:15,200 It matters. I think we're probably going to 1090 01:05:15,200 --> 01:05:16,280 talk about this a little bit later. 1091 01:05:16,520 --> 01:05:20,240 Point is that he brought the new exodus out of the enslavement of 1092 01:05:20,240 --> 01:05:23,120 sin. It's debt and its power period 1093 01:05:23,360 --> 01:05:26,160 to promote in a kind of ambiguous, oh, there's some 1094 01:05:26,160 --> 01:05:28,240 ambiguous like curse on our family. 1095 01:05:28,240 --> 01:05:32,120 That's, you know, that remains, you know, that we we need some 1096 01:05:32,120 --> 01:05:34,880 extra technique outside of the personal work of Jesus because 1097 01:05:34,880 --> 01:05:37,240 that's the implication is just flat out bogus. 1098 01:05:37,680 --> 01:05:41,080 So Jesus Christ, it is finished. We're sanctified by His blood, 1099 01:05:41,840 --> 01:05:46,440 and that's the truth. The next questions from Tracy 1100 01:05:46,560 --> 01:05:49,640 regarding the 10 commandments. When a couple is married and 1101 01:05:49,640 --> 01:05:53,960 mutually agrees to have an open marriage, is this still 1102 01:05:53,960 --> 01:05:56,760 considered adultery? I feel I know the answer. 1103 01:05:56,760 --> 01:05:59,480 However, I am seeking more guidance in Biblical scripture 1104 01:05:59,480 --> 01:06:02,360 to help me with this. My husband and I have been open. 1105 01:06:02,400 --> 01:06:05,280 I'm assuming that means open marriage for six years and it 1106 01:06:05,280 --> 01:06:07,520 was decided prior to our marriage. 1107 01:06:07,800 --> 01:06:11,000 I have grown closer to God and began Bible in 365 this year. 1108 01:06:11,000 --> 01:06:13,560 I feel conflicted the more I study God's word. 1109 01:06:15,640 --> 01:06:17,120 OK can you guys help me out with this? 1110 01:06:17,320 --> 01:06:19,760 When she says open marriage what what does she mean? 1111 01:06:19,960 --> 01:06:24,000 I, I, I I need some. I'm assuming Yakov that she's 1112 01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:29,040 talking about an agreement that sexual I'm assuming it's sexual 1113 01:06:29,040 --> 01:06:31,920 relations out outside of their marriage. 1114 01:06:32,520 --> 01:06:34,160 Is that is that your understanding? 1115 01:06:34,160 --> 01:06:36,200 I'm sorry to pull you into this. So I think. 1116 01:06:36,480 --> 01:06:38,320 No, I know, I know. I just made an. 1117 01:06:38,400 --> 01:06:41,480 Awkward trying not to make this. No no no no. 1118 01:06:41,600 --> 01:06:45,040 I'm so I'm so uncomfortable. I'm no, I have. 1119 01:06:45,040 --> 01:06:47,480 To know it's very comfortable. I have to say, I'm so proud of 1120 01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:51,600 her because she's reading the Bible and, and, and if she's 1121 01:06:51,600 --> 01:06:53,800 listening, I'm so glad that you asked the question. 1122 01:06:53,800 --> 01:06:57,160 No, it's a great it's honestly. Very, I don't mean to usurp 1123 01:06:57,160 --> 01:06:59,840 here, but I, I, I did see this early, I'll just quickly say 1124 01:06:59,840 --> 01:07:02,240 because your answers. Are no please absolutely I I 1125 01:07:02,400 --> 01:07:04,920 just want I was looking clarity because like open like do we 1126 01:07:04,920 --> 01:07:06,840 openly talk about our marriage? I I know. 1127 01:07:06,920 --> 01:07:09,280 She's meaning like, yeah, no, no, no. 1128 01:07:09,280 --> 01:07:12,240 She's meaning like they agreed ahead of time to have an open 1129 01:07:12,240 --> 01:07:15,840 marriage and really where she if she sees someone or he sees 1130 01:07:15,840 --> 01:07:17,760 someone, or maybe that's already predetermined. 1131 01:07:17,760 --> 01:07:21,240 Who those individuals are they? So so the answer is, you know, 1132 01:07:21,240 --> 01:07:24,480 adultery is having sexual relations outside of your 1133 01:07:24,480 --> 01:07:28,800 marriage. I you know marriage is between a 1134 01:07:28,800 --> 01:07:32,200 man and a woman most beautiful, deep abiding relationship on a 1135 01:07:32,200 --> 01:07:39,240 human level, the two shall become one and why there's lots 1136 01:07:39,240 --> 01:07:43,120 of reasons. One is for procreation for to 1137 01:07:43,120 --> 01:07:45,800 experience. You know the the two shall be 1138 01:07:45,880 --> 01:07:52,000 potentially 3 for sexual protection, sexual contentment 1139 01:07:52,800 --> 01:07:56,440 as a witness of Jesus Christ, his love for the church and vice 1140 01:07:56,440 --> 01:07:57,960 versa. It's a mystery. 1141 01:07:58,520 --> 01:08:03,960 So Jesus's relationship to the church helps to explain actually 1142 01:08:03,960 --> 01:08:10,280 marriage itself. So the answer is that, and I'm 1143 01:08:10,280 --> 01:08:13,160 glad you're feeling uncomfortable about this because 1144 01:08:13,720 --> 01:08:17,680 it, it's a good sign that you're moving in the right direction, 1145 01:08:17,760 --> 01:08:21,600 right? So, so the answer is, is that if 1146 01:08:21,600 --> 01:08:25,120 there's sexual relations outside of your marriage, in other 1147 01:08:25,120 --> 01:08:28,279 words, you participate in any type of sexual relations other 1148 01:08:28,279 --> 01:08:32,359 than with your husband, that is outside of original design. 1149 01:08:32,439 --> 01:08:36,359 That is adultery. That would be breaking God's 1150 01:08:36,359 --> 01:08:38,840 commandments. And let me just turn the heat up 1151 01:08:38,840 --> 01:08:42,560 just a little bit more seriously is that when we come to to the 1152 01:08:42,560 --> 01:08:47,000 Lord Jesus Christ and follow him, that one of the signs of 1153 01:08:47,000 --> 01:08:52,200 legitimate relationship with God is a fundamental change when it 1154 01:08:52,200 --> 01:08:56,600 comes to our view of original design of sexual relations. 1155 01:08:56,800 --> 01:08:59,720 We align with the Lord with regard to this. 1156 01:09:00,000 --> 01:09:04,960 So I would I would encourage you to keep moving in the direction 1157 01:09:04,960 --> 01:09:07,120 that you are. It sounds to me like you're 1158 01:09:07,120 --> 01:09:08,920 uncomfortable. That's a good sign. 1159 01:09:09,560 --> 01:09:14,520 And I would turn what's called repentance, which which really 1160 01:09:14,720 --> 01:09:16,920 is the Greek word metanoia, means to change the way you 1161 01:09:16,920 --> 01:09:20,279 think that leads to a lifestyle change, kind of AU turn in life 1162 01:09:20,720 --> 01:09:25,640 and turn from that sin and no longer and no longer participate 1163 01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:29,640 in any sexual relations outside of the umbrella of marriage with 1164 01:09:29,720 --> 01:09:31,800 with your husband, James. Yeah. 1165 01:09:32,080 --> 01:09:34,800 Yeah, I'll just make it very, very simple and that's that that 1166 01:09:35,160 --> 01:09:39,600 even consent in any situation doesn't remove sin. 1167 01:09:40,479 --> 01:09:44,439 You know, people agreeing to something, it does not make it 1168 01:09:44,720 --> 01:09:46,600 righteous. God standard doesn't change 1169 01:09:46,600 --> 01:09:48,680 based on some kind of a human agreement. 1170 01:09:48,680 --> 01:09:51,439 As a matter of fact, this was the context of Isaiah chapter 5, 1171 01:09:51,760 --> 01:09:55,880 when Isaiah speaks on behalf of the Lord and he says woe unto 1172 01:09:55,880 --> 01:09:57,760 them that call evil good and good evil. 1173 01:09:57,920 --> 01:10:01,360 This was the immediate context, not adultery in and of itself, 1174 01:10:01,360 --> 01:10:03,920 but basically the whole idea of we consent. 1175 01:10:04,120 --> 01:10:08,320 Groupthink says that it's OK, so it must be. 1176 01:10:08,600 --> 01:10:13,640 And there's nothing like that that you can find substantiated 1177 01:10:13,640 --> 01:10:14,920 in the Scripture. And you know what? 1178 01:10:14,920 --> 01:10:19,080 Look, if you're feeling convicted, it's because you are 1179 01:10:19,080 --> 01:10:21,200 studying God's Word. You even said it, I think your 1180 01:10:21,200 --> 01:10:23,280 exact words. Let me go back and read this. 1181 01:10:25,280 --> 01:10:27,680 I got to find it, but I think I think something was said when I 1182 01:10:27,680 --> 01:10:29,920 heard the question being being asked. 1183 01:10:30,080 --> 01:10:33,280 I think the, the, the words that were said was, I feel convicted 1184 01:10:33,520 --> 01:10:39,160 the more I study God's word. And that's because Hebrews says 1185 01:10:39,160 --> 01:10:42,040 it, The word of God is quick, it's powerful, right? 1186 01:10:42,040 --> 01:10:44,200 It's a discerner. Notice what it says at the end 1187 01:10:44,200 --> 01:10:48,440 of that passage in Hebrews 412. It's a discerner of the thoughts 1188 01:10:48,440 --> 01:10:52,560 and the intent of the heart. So the word of God exposes these 1189 01:10:52,560 --> 01:10:54,720 issues. It makes these corrections and 1190 01:10:54,720 --> 01:10:56,120 it's going to align you with the truth. 1191 01:10:56,320 --> 01:10:58,080 That's why you're having that discomfort. 1192 01:10:58,280 --> 01:11:03,160 And that's an amazing thing. So follow that and, and do it. 1193 01:11:03,160 --> 01:11:06,400 And here's the thing, your marriage will become so much 1194 01:11:06,400 --> 01:11:08,840 more fulfilling. Your sexual relationship will 1195 01:11:08,840 --> 01:11:12,520 become so much better. Your emotional relationship will 1196 01:11:12,520 --> 01:11:15,560 become so much better because it's the way God prescribed it. 1197 01:11:15,560 --> 01:11:18,400 When you use it, the way that it was intended to be used, God 1198 01:11:18,400 --> 01:11:21,160 will bless you. And it just brace yourself 1199 01:11:21,320 --> 01:11:24,080 because you're about to have an incredible marriage. 1200 01:11:24,360 --> 01:11:27,560 You're going to have a great sexual relationship and you're 1201 01:11:27,560 --> 01:11:31,720 going to have a very, very close, fulfilled emotional bond 1202 01:11:32,360 --> 01:11:35,680 as you walk according to the conviction that God has placed 1203 01:11:35,680 --> 01:11:37,520 upon your heart. And I'm just thinking of others 1204 01:11:37,520 --> 01:11:39,440 that may be listening. Let me just read First 1205 01:11:39,440 --> 01:11:41,800 Corinthians 6 beginning universe night. 1206 01:11:41,800 --> 01:11:45,000 Do not be deceived, right? Do not be deceived. 1207 01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:47,200 Just under score this. Neither fornicators that's 1208 01:11:47,200 --> 01:11:51,120 having sexual relations prior to marriage, nor idolaters, which 1209 01:11:51,120 --> 01:11:53,840 is really a God replacement looking to a person, place or 1210 01:11:53,840 --> 01:12:00,040 thing in replace of God, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor 1211 01:12:00,040 --> 01:12:02,680 sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 1212 01:12:02,680 --> 01:12:07,600 revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. 1213 01:12:07,760 --> 01:12:11,000 Now check this out. And such were some of you, but 1214 01:12:11,000 --> 01:12:14,520 you were washed, you were sanctified, which means set 1215 01:12:14,520 --> 01:12:17,400 apart, right? But you were justified. 1216 01:12:17,400 --> 01:12:20,640 Just me, just as if you've never said in the name of the Lord 1217 01:12:20,640 --> 01:12:24,840 Jesus and by the Spirit of our God, I, I just pray you and your 1218 01:12:25,360 --> 01:12:31,040 your husband would both follow the Lord, experience his 1219 01:12:31,040 --> 01:12:35,200 forgiveness that he purchased for us on the cross and new 1220 01:12:35,200 --> 01:12:37,120 beginning a right relationship with him. 1221 01:12:37,120 --> 01:12:40,000 There would be a beautiful renewal and regeneration in your 1222 01:12:40,000 --> 01:12:41,600 marriage. Amen. 1223 01:12:42,120 --> 01:12:44,360 Our next two questions I'm going to kind of blend. 1224 01:12:44,360 --> 01:12:46,920 It's from Caitlin and then there's an anonymous question 1225 01:12:46,920 --> 01:12:49,800 submission that they're kind of similar and you'll understand 1226 01:12:49,800 --> 01:12:53,520 the sentiment here in a second. So Caitlin said or asks, as a 1227 01:12:53,520 --> 01:12:56,040 child, I was very hurt by the church. 1228 01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:58,480 God has worked through a lot of this hurt. 1229 01:12:58,480 --> 01:13:01,840 However, there is one last thing that I have an incredibly hard 1230 01:13:01,840 --> 01:13:04,080 time with and that is returning to church. 1231 01:13:04,080 --> 01:13:06,240 I recently tried and I could barely take a breath. 1232 01:13:06,240 --> 01:13:08,800 I understand that the church is made-up of sinners who can hurt 1233 01:13:08,800 --> 01:13:11,600 you, but how do I work through this so that I can go back to 1234 01:13:11,600 --> 01:13:15,720 gain the benefits of church now? Kind of the other angle of this 1235 01:13:15,720 --> 01:13:18,720 from the anonymous question. I'm having a tough time getting 1236 01:13:18,720 --> 01:13:21,760 past not seeing God as almost abusive. 1237 01:13:22,080 --> 01:13:25,400 I'm still trying to get past the things and pain he would ask 1238 01:13:25,400 --> 01:13:29,400 people to do or go through, but yet he loves us unconditionally. 1239 01:13:29,400 --> 01:13:32,880 And I know this stems from abuse in my past, but it's hard for me 1240 01:13:32,880 --> 01:13:36,520 to separate. How can I refrain my brain to 1241 01:13:36,520 --> 01:13:38,600 not always feel like a disappointment to God? 1242 01:13:38,600 --> 01:13:41,440 I think both of those kind of have a similar answer and 1243 01:13:41,440 --> 01:13:45,000 response. Yeah, let me let me go back to 1244 01:13:45,080 --> 01:13:50,040 the the last question and I'll have Greg talk about the first 1245 01:13:50,040 --> 01:13:53,640 one with, with the burning of church because there's a there's 1246 01:13:53,640 --> 01:13:57,720 a major issue here that is very, very common, believe it or not, 1247 01:13:57,720 --> 01:14:01,440 this anonymous question comes up a lot, OK. 1248 01:14:01,680 --> 01:14:06,720 And so it's reflective of a very important struggle. 1249 01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:11,280 And I think the danger with this is that abuse gets minimized, 1250 01:14:11,280 --> 01:14:14,720 especially in this culture and especially in this society. 1251 01:14:14,920 --> 01:14:19,080 And it's a very, very difficult thing to do because when when 1252 01:14:19,200 --> 01:14:22,880 humans act abusive and they're affiliated or associated with 1253 01:14:22,880 --> 01:14:26,240 God in any way, then there's a major conflation that takes 1254 01:14:26,240 --> 01:14:29,480 place. And immediately God is perceived 1255 01:14:29,480 --> 01:14:33,880 as being one who is there. And, and I want to, I want to 1256 01:14:33,880 --> 01:14:36,680 point this out because you're not wrong for feeling this kind 1257 01:14:36,680 --> 01:14:39,360 of, for lack of a better term, struggle or this tension. 1258 01:14:39,600 --> 01:14:42,880 You, you said this. I think the exact words are I'm 1259 01:14:42,880 --> 01:14:48,000 having a tough time getting past not seeing God as abusive or, or 1260 01:14:48,000 --> 01:14:50,120 almost abusive. OK, It doesn't make you 1261 01:14:50,120 --> 01:14:53,240 rebellious. It actually means it's 1262 01:14:53,240 --> 01:14:56,400 indicative of the fact that you've experienced very serious, 1263 01:14:56,400 --> 01:14:59,840 very real pain and your mind, because of the trauma that 1264 01:14:59,840 --> 01:15:02,960 you've experienced, is trying to make sense of God through that 1265 01:15:02,960 --> 01:15:05,760 lens. It's a very human emotion. 1266 01:15:05,760 --> 01:15:09,800 So what we have to do is we have to get you to start looking at 1267 01:15:09,800 --> 01:15:12,840 it through a different lens, which will then begin to 1268 01:15:12,840 --> 01:15:15,760 separate the feelings that you're feeling it. 1269 01:15:15,760 --> 01:15:20,200 By the way, it also means that we need to separate who God 1270 01:15:20,200 --> 01:15:23,240 actually is from the very experiences that we've had. 1271 01:15:23,480 --> 01:15:25,560 And, and that's why I say we've got to start looking at it 1272 01:15:25,560 --> 01:15:28,880 through a different lens. Now, I want to make this very, 1273 01:15:28,880 --> 01:15:31,600 very clear. God is nothing like the people 1274 01:15:31,600 --> 01:15:33,880 who hurt you. And I think this is the most 1275 01:15:33,880 --> 01:15:38,080 important truth to establish, You know, abuse people who are 1276 01:15:38,080 --> 01:15:41,720 abusive will say, well, I hurt you for my benefit. 1277 01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:45,720 I control you. You know, I the big one, right? 1278 01:15:45,720 --> 01:15:48,160 I'll take from you, someone goes to abuse somebody. 1279 01:15:48,160 --> 01:15:49,880 It relates to that. But God says something 1280 01:15:49,880 --> 01:15:53,320 completely different. First, John says God is love, 1281 01:15:54,360 --> 01:15:57,320 OK? His love is not abstract. 1282 01:15:57,320 --> 01:16:01,520 It's not like you know, some like a a weird thought that you 1283 01:16:01,520 --> 01:16:03,000 know, like this love is love movement. 1284 01:16:03,000 --> 01:16:06,000 No, it's actually demonstrated. How do we know that? 1285 01:16:06,120 --> 01:16:10,480 Romans 5 tells us it said God commends his love toward us. 1286 01:16:10,480 --> 01:16:14,720 That what that yet while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1287 01:16:15,040 --> 01:16:18,240 He literally died. So instead of God taking from 1288 01:16:18,240 --> 01:16:21,640 you, God gave himself for you. He literally suffered for you 1289 01:16:22,200 --> 01:16:24,520 guys. He took the punishment that we 1290 01:16:24,520 --> 01:16:27,720 deserved. So that's the opposite of abuse. 1291 01:16:28,200 --> 01:16:31,240 And look, the, the, the hardest part that comes now is the 1292 01:16:31,240 --> 01:16:33,760 question where people ask. And this is where the conflation 1293 01:16:33,760 --> 01:16:36,440 gets really serious. Well, why does God allow pain? 1294 01:16:36,880 --> 01:16:39,360 And, and that's where the struggle really sits. 1295 01:16:39,640 --> 01:16:44,520 And, and by the way, look, you're not just asking here if 1296 01:16:44,520 --> 01:16:50,240 God is loving, OK? You're asking why does he allow 1297 01:16:50,240 --> 01:16:55,000 or ask hard things. And I get that. 1298 01:16:55,000 --> 01:16:57,400 Look, I, I get it. And there's, by the way, can I 1299 01:16:57,400 --> 01:17:00,320 just say this, there's nothing wrong with asking the why 1300 01:17:00,320 --> 01:17:02,680 question so long as you're not charging God. 1301 01:17:02,840 --> 01:17:04,680 So I think there's nothing wrong with saying God. 1302 01:17:04,680 --> 01:17:10,000 Why do you allow these things or why do you ask these these hard 1303 01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:12,080 things of us? OK, no problem. 1304 01:17:12,120 --> 01:17:15,000 But what you can't say is God, if you're so loving, then why 1305 01:17:15,240 --> 01:17:17,040 so? Look, the Bible doesn't deny 1306 01:17:17,040 --> 01:17:19,760 this. Jesus himself experienced 1307 01:17:19,760 --> 01:17:22,960 suffering. Isaiah 53 makes it very clear. 1308 01:17:23,200 --> 01:17:26,200 Jesus is in the garden and he's getting ready to die. 1309 01:17:26,360 --> 01:17:29,400 And he says if this cup can pass for me, let it pass. 1310 01:17:29,520 --> 01:17:33,360 Nevertheless, not my will be done, but thy will. 1311 01:17:33,360 --> 01:17:35,320 Christ went to the cross obediently. 1312 01:17:35,320 --> 01:17:38,240 He didn't go to the cross willingly because he experienced 1313 01:17:38,480 --> 01:17:42,720 that very that very tension in many ways, but this is what God 1314 01:17:42,720 --> 01:17:46,280 says and listen, I know the context here is Israel. 1315 01:17:47,200 --> 01:17:50,720 OK, I get that, but the principle is the same. 1316 01:17:50,920 --> 01:17:54,880 Jeremiah 29 verse 11. It says for I know the thoughts 1317 01:17:54,880 --> 01:17:57,200 that I think towards you. This one of my this one of my 1318 01:17:57,200 --> 01:17:58,960 wife's very like favorite verses. 1319 01:17:59,280 --> 01:18:01,520 OK, thoughts of peace. God is saying this. 1320 01:18:01,520 --> 01:18:04,560 It says saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. 1321 01:18:04,720 --> 01:18:08,280 To give you notice this an expected end. 1322 01:18:08,840 --> 01:18:11,440 Guys, I want everybody to hear this. 1323 01:18:11,440 --> 01:18:13,760 This isn't just for this anonymous person. 1324 01:18:14,160 --> 01:18:19,760 Abuse is rooted in evil intent. There's intention in abuse. 1325 01:18:19,760 --> 01:18:22,760 It's evil intent. God's actions, even if they're 1326 01:18:22,760 --> 01:18:24,880 hard, they're rooted in his goodness. 1327 01:18:25,360 --> 01:18:27,120 They're rooted in his purpose for us. 1328 01:18:27,320 --> 01:18:30,400 They're rooted in redemption. So that's important. 1329 01:18:30,400 --> 01:18:31,760 Now, there's one other thing I want to say. 1330 01:18:31,760 --> 01:18:33,160 And and, and this is important, right? 1331 01:18:33,640 --> 01:18:37,200 Don't conflate God's discipline with abuse, OK? 1332 01:18:37,480 --> 01:18:40,200 Because sometimes what feels harsh can be very much 1333 01:18:40,240 --> 01:18:42,760 misunderstood. The Bible tells us that whoever 1334 01:18:42,760 --> 01:18:44,120 God loves, he's going to chase him. 1335 01:18:44,320 --> 01:18:46,280 My son does goes through this with me all the time. 1336 01:18:46,280 --> 01:18:50,320 He has this little tender heart. And I and I discipline him. 1337 01:18:50,320 --> 01:18:53,240 Oh, he just feels hurt sometimes, like literally puts 1338 01:18:53,240 --> 01:18:55,200 his head down and it breaks my heart. 1339 01:18:55,360 --> 01:18:59,000 But understand abuse is uncontrolled, it's harmful. 1340 01:18:59,200 --> 01:19:02,600 It's like I said before, very self-serving. 1341 01:19:02,760 --> 01:19:05,560 But God's discipline has purpose, OK? 1342 01:19:05,800 --> 01:19:09,960 It's measured, it's intentional, it's loving, OK. 1343 01:19:10,120 --> 01:19:14,440 But for our prophet, that's what the Bible says for our prophet, 1344 01:19:14,440 --> 01:19:17,960 that we might be partakers of the holiness that he's given us. 1345 01:19:17,960 --> 01:19:23,320 God doesn't discipline us to destroy us, He disciplines us to 1346 01:19:23,320 --> 01:19:27,640 build us up. So one of the thing I want to 1347 01:19:27,640 --> 01:19:30,160 point out in the whole idea that you feel like a disappointment 1348 01:19:30,160 --> 01:19:33,680 to God, please don't listen to that, OK? 1349 01:19:33,880 --> 01:19:38,920 Abuse does this, this when somebody is abused, it creates 1350 01:19:38,920 --> 01:19:41,520 these these voices that speak very loudly. 1351 01:19:41,520 --> 01:19:43,640 It's a function of the pain that you've gone through in the past. 1352 01:19:43,840 --> 01:19:47,120 You'll often times say things like I'm not enough, or I always 1353 01:19:47,120 --> 01:19:50,760 fail or I disappoint people. But look at how God sees you in 1354 01:19:50,760 --> 01:19:53,320 Christ. Just read Romans chapter 8. 1355 01:19:53,640 --> 01:19:56,280 Listen, Romans chapter 8, the apostle Paul just finished 1356 01:19:56,280 --> 01:19:58,240 talking about himself, his own body. 1357 01:19:58,240 --> 01:20:00,000 He referred to his body as a death trap. 1358 01:20:01,160 --> 01:20:03,000 And then he says this, he says there is therefore no 1359 01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:05,560 condemnation for those which are in Christ Jesus who walk not 1360 01:20:05,560 --> 01:20:09,560 according to the flesh, but walk according to the Spirit, meaning 1361 01:20:09,640 --> 01:20:11,760 there's no condemnation. God doesn't condemn you. 1362 01:20:12,280 --> 01:20:15,400 He's made you accepted in the Beloved. 1363 01:20:15,400 --> 01:20:19,360 That's what Ephesians says. You are not just tolerated, 1364 01:20:19,680 --> 01:20:23,200 you're accepted. OK, you're and by the way, you 1365 01:20:24,280 --> 01:20:27,480 there is a contradiction when you use the term disappointment. 1366 01:20:27,600 --> 01:20:29,560 You're not a disappointment to the Lord. 1367 01:20:29,720 --> 01:20:32,680 You're actually chosen by him. You how can you be a 1368 01:20:32,680 --> 01:20:34,200 disappointment if he chooses you? 1369 01:20:35,080 --> 01:20:38,880 OK, so just understand this, and I want to say this, I, I don't 1370 01:20:38,880 --> 01:20:41,960 know, I said one last thing, but whatever you do, please don't 1371 01:20:41,960 --> 01:20:46,160 project human pain unto God. I'm not criticizing you. 1372 01:20:47,640 --> 01:20:50,000 That's not what I'm doing here. But just understand when 1373 01:20:50,000 --> 01:20:54,680 somebody's been abused, it's really common to expect, you 1374 01:20:54,680 --> 01:20:58,160 know, these types of, of feelings, right? 1375 01:20:58,280 --> 01:21:00,720 It's very common to expect somebody who's in authority to 1376 01:21:00,720 --> 01:21:03,640 harm you. It's very common to expect, you 1377 01:21:03,640 --> 01:21:06,640 know, some kind of love, no matter what it is to go hand in 1378 01:21:06,640 --> 01:21:08,520 hand with pain. If you're going to be loved, 1379 01:21:08,520 --> 01:21:10,440 you're going to feel pain because it's a normal part of 1380 01:21:10,640 --> 01:21:13,040 what abuse entails. But that's not true. 1381 01:21:13,320 --> 01:21:17,680 And I think sometimes it's really easy to assume that 1382 01:21:17,680 --> 01:21:22,080 control is going to equal danger because abusers take control so 1383 01:21:22,080 --> 01:21:25,320 that they bring you into a dangerous place. 1384 01:21:25,680 --> 01:21:30,760 So put on the mind filter, right when you read about God, 1385 01:21:30,760 --> 01:21:35,440 understand your mind filters him through past experiences. 1386 01:21:35,440 --> 01:21:38,160 Don't let that happen. Go through God's filter. 1387 01:21:38,400 --> 01:21:41,080 Allow the renewing of your mind to take place, as it says in 1388 01:21:41,080 --> 01:21:44,520 Romans chapter 12. It's a really, really important 1389 01:21:44,520 --> 01:21:45,520 thing. There's so much more to say 1390 01:21:45,520 --> 01:21:48,720 about this, but I think it's I think that's critical and I've 1391 01:21:48,720 --> 01:21:52,080 been very long winded today. Great job, James, great job. 1392 01:21:52,080 --> 01:21:55,920 And I want to say to Caitlin, I'm so proud of you, so proud of 1393 01:21:55,920 --> 01:21:58,920 you going back to church. And I'm and I'm sorry for the 1394 01:21:58,920 --> 01:22:01,000 terrible experience in your childhood. 1395 01:22:01,040 --> 01:22:04,720 And the Lord knows, he knows he knows exactly what you're going 1396 01:22:04,720 --> 01:22:06,760 through. And so I just want to encourage 1397 01:22:06,760 --> 01:22:11,320 you on something. OK, one, find a, find a church 1398 01:22:11,320 --> 01:22:14,080 that teaches the Bible. They open the Bible, they 1399 01:22:14,080 --> 01:22:16,720 explain it, right? And then it's like, OK, how does 1400 01:22:16,720 --> 01:22:19,760 that apply to us today? OK, so that's important. 1401 01:22:19,760 --> 01:22:22,840 Like you want you going to go to a good church And that's, that's 1402 01:22:22,840 --> 01:22:26,280 a good characteristic, right? Committed to the word of God #2 1403 01:22:26,600 --> 01:22:32,080 OK, check this out. I would encourage you go back 1404 01:22:32,560 --> 01:22:35,840 and after church, like when they have prayer with the elders or 1405 01:22:35,840 --> 01:22:38,880 pastors, go up to one of them and just say, hey, look, would 1406 01:22:38,880 --> 01:22:42,480 you pray for me? Because I, I, I know the Lord's 1407 01:22:42,480 --> 01:22:46,040 calling me back to church because it is important that 1408 01:22:46,040 --> 01:22:48,840 we're all participating on a local level. 1409 01:22:48,840 --> 01:22:51,680 It's like, you know, the Bible says that the devil's like a 1410 01:22:51,680 --> 01:22:53,880 lion. He seeks to devour, You know, 1411 01:22:53,880 --> 01:22:56,800 he's not the lion tribe of Judah, but he's like a lion and, 1412 01:22:57,280 --> 01:23:00,440 and Satan wants to pick off people who isolate themselves. 1413 01:23:00,440 --> 01:23:04,800 So your instinct to get back to church, it's so, so important 1414 01:23:04,800 --> 01:23:06,400 and so right. So good job. 1415 01:23:06,400 --> 01:23:08,640 OK. But just ask them to pray for 1416 01:23:08,640 --> 01:23:10,000 you. Say, look, I'm struggling. 1417 01:23:10,360 --> 01:23:14,240 Pray for me #3 I, I just want to encourage you. 1418 01:23:14,760 --> 01:23:18,640 And that is, I just think of our Lord Jesus, remember, like when 1419 01:23:18,640 --> 01:23:22,640 he came into Jerusalem, I mean, it's Passover week, right? 1420 01:23:23,080 --> 01:23:25,680 And, you know, carrying the burden of the world. 1421 01:23:26,200 --> 01:23:29,600 And he, like, never gives up. He just, he perseveres. 1422 01:23:29,600 --> 01:23:32,760 I want to encourage you to do that as well. 1423 01:23:33,240 --> 01:23:37,000 And sometimes I just think of like, you know, pedaling a bike, 1424 01:23:37,320 --> 01:23:40,320 you know, Christianity or following a little bit like, you 1425 01:23:40,320 --> 01:23:43,600 know, riding a bike and and sometimes, you know, you're 1426 01:23:43,600 --> 01:23:46,400 moving at a fast pace. Other times you're, you're just, 1427 01:23:46,440 --> 01:23:48,960 you know, just pressing a little inch by inch. 1428 01:23:49,240 --> 01:23:52,000 But I just encourage you and with regard to going back to 1429 01:23:52,000 --> 01:23:55,840 church, not to give up, ask the leadership. 1430 01:23:55,840 --> 01:24:01,120 Please pray for me because I'm having struggles and just keep 1431 01:24:01,440 --> 01:24:03,920 pedaling right. Just go back. 1432 01:24:04,080 --> 01:24:08,200 I just know the Lord will bless you and he'll help you and he'll 1433 01:24:08,200 --> 01:24:11,840 give you the strength. So good job for going back. 1434 01:24:11,840 --> 01:24:15,640 Sorry for you feel like you know you're suffocating, but I really 1435 01:24:15,640 --> 01:24:18,280 believe that you're going to, you're going to experience a 1436 01:24:18,280 --> 01:24:22,760 beautiful release in the right church and get, get the leaders 1437 01:24:22,760 --> 01:24:25,720 to pray for you. And I, I, I, I'm convinced great 1438 01:24:25,720 --> 01:24:27,840 things are ahead for you. So don't give up. 1439 01:24:29,680 --> 01:24:32,840 OK, our next question is from Terry. 1440 01:24:33,520 --> 01:24:38,160 Jesus chose 12 disciples. In Matthew chapter 19 verses 28 1441 01:24:38,160 --> 01:24:41,920 through 30, Jesus tells the 12 disciples in the New World when 1442 01:24:41,920 --> 01:24:44,680 the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne. 1443 01:24:44,960 --> 01:24:49,320 You who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones judging 1444 01:24:49,320 --> 01:24:52,640 the 12 tribes of Israel. Peter killed himself after 1445 01:24:52,640 --> 01:24:56,040 denying Jesus Judas. Yeah, Jesus killed himself after 1446 01:24:56,040 --> 01:25:00,400 denying Jesus three times. I presume he is one of the 12 1447 01:25:00,400 --> 01:25:02,800 Thrones. So how does God handle or judge 1448 01:25:02,800 --> 01:25:05,720 those who take their own life? We have lost several people over 1449 01:25:05,720 --> 01:25:09,040 the years to suicide. As I continue to mature in my 1450 01:25:09,040 --> 01:25:11,320 own walk, I realize few will go to heaven. 1451 01:25:11,560 --> 01:25:14,480 Please help me understand suicide in Jesus. 1452 01:25:15,760 --> 01:25:20,760 OK, so let's, let's bring out some pretty important 1453 01:25:20,760 --> 01:25:22,880 clarifications. The first one Greg already 1454 01:25:22,880 --> 01:25:25,160 bought out, and that was the fact that it was Judas who 1455 01:25:25,160 --> 01:25:29,400 actually killed himself #1 #2 let's speak about the 12 1456 01:25:29,400 --> 01:25:32,880 Thrones. They were actually fulfilled 1457 01:25:32,880 --> 01:25:35,680 with Judas being replaced. And we know that we have 1458 01:25:35,680 --> 01:25:38,440 biblical precedent for that because when Judas died, he was 1459 01:25:38,440 --> 01:25:41,360 replaced. Acts chapter one, verse 26 tells 1460 01:25:41,360 --> 01:25:43,560 us this. They gave forth their lots and 1461 01:25:43,560 --> 01:25:47,840 the lot fell upon Matthias, who was numbered with the 11 1462 01:25:47,840 --> 01:25:51,440 apostles. So we know the 12 were restored 1463 01:25:51,440 --> 01:25:54,400 in number and Matthias likely fills that role. 1464 01:25:54,400 --> 01:25:57,240 Now, some people argue Matthias wasn't that it was the Apostle 1465 01:25:57,240 --> 01:26:01,560 Paul, and that's an argument that there's a lot of deeper 1466 01:26:01,560 --> 01:26:02,800 conversation that goes with that. 1467 01:26:03,080 --> 01:26:06,440 Either way, we know that that number is a fulfilled number and 1468 01:26:07,160 --> 01:26:10,320 becomes almost. A point. 1469 01:26:10,880 --> 01:26:12,320 Yeah, I I would argue the same thing. 1470 01:26:12,560 --> 01:26:13,640 Listen, I would argue the same thing. 1471 01:26:13,640 --> 01:26:16,800 I think the Apostle Paul is very unique and a very a special way, 1472 01:26:16,800 --> 01:26:19,880 and I actually think I can prove that eschatologically speaking. 1473 01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:21,880 I also think I can prove it from the Old Testament, but that's a 1474 01:26:21,880 --> 01:26:23,480 whole other story. But that's why I said it's a 1475 01:26:23,560 --> 01:26:25,960 discussion for another time. I've had three hour 1476 01:26:25,960 --> 01:26:28,560 conversations regarding the Apostle Paul Mattheus thing, and 1477 01:26:28,760 --> 01:26:31,600 there's a couple of Greek phrases that I could literally 1478 01:26:31,600 --> 01:26:33,400 eliminate that argument with in just a moment. 1479 01:26:33,400 --> 01:26:35,760 But that's I've already been long winded today. 1480 01:26:36,000 --> 01:26:38,320 Now let's let's go to the deeper question. 1481 01:26:38,680 --> 01:26:43,520 What about suicide? OK, look, the Bible doesn't give 1482 01:26:43,520 --> 01:26:45,840 a simple one liner answer. Like, you know, anyone who 1483 01:26:45,840 --> 01:26:47,640 commits suicide automatically goes to hell. 1484 01:26:48,680 --> 01:26:52,360 There's just no truth to that. Suicide is a sin. 1485 01:26:55,440 --> 01:26:58,920 It's it's not a special unforgivable sin. 1486 01:26:58,920 --> 01:27:00,800 The Bible does say there is an unforgivable sin. 1487 01:27:00,840 --> 01:27:02,720 Suicide. Isn't that OK? 1488 01:27:03,200 --> 01:27:06,360 Takings one life is a is a very, very tragic thing. 1489 01:27:06,800 --> 01:27:10,200 Definitely a violation of what God designs for life. 1490 01:27:10,400 --> 01:27:13,080 Our bodies, the temple of the Holy Ghost, it's not our own. 1491 01:27:13,240 --> 01:27:15,400 Therefore, we're supposed to glorify God in our body. 1492 01:27:16,040 --> 01:27:19,880 That means we have to be very, very careful, right? 1493 01:27:20,480 --> 01:27:24,000 By the way, based on that, we have to be very, very careful to 1494 01:27:24,000 --> 01:27:27,520 say that a suicide can override the finished work of Christ. 1495 01:27:27,520 --> 01:27:30,920 It's just not true. Now, let me just simply say this 1496 01:27:31,760 --> 01:27:34,440 salvation is based on the finished work of Christ. 1497 01:27:34,440 --> 01:27:37,600 It's not based on the final work of life or the final moment of 1498 01:27:37,600 --> 01:27:40,520 life. There's a lot of people who are 1499 01:27:40,520 --> 01:27:44,080 faithful believers who right before they die, do something 1500 01:27:44,080 --> 01:27:45,280 crazy. Does that mean they're going to 1501 01:27:45,280 --> 01:27:46,240 hell? Certainly not. 1502 01:27:47,520 --> 01:27:51,720 We are saved by faith in Christ. That's it. 1503 01:27:52,240 --> 01:27:54,920 The idea here is that the only way that you can go to heaven, 1504 01:27:55,720 --> 01:27:57,280 listen to me closely when I say this. 1505 01:27:57,560 --> 01:28:00,040 The only way that you can go to heaven is by fulfilling the law 1506 01:28:00,040 --> 01:28:02,640 of God perfectly. There is no other way to go to 1507 01:28:02,640 --> 01:28:04,240 heaven. And that's very important. 1508 01:28:04,240 --> 01:28:07,440 Understand that because that means all of us are bound for 1509 01:28:07,440 --> 01:28:10,320 hell except for one very important fact, and that is the 1510 01:28:10,320 --> 01:28:12,200 fact that Christ came to this earth. 1511 01:28:12,440 --> 01:28:16,480 He did not abolish the law, He fulfilled it every jot entitled 1512 01:28:16,480 --> 01:28:18,960 meaning He lived a completely sinless life. 1513 01:28:19,240 --> 01:28:22,880 And the Bible says that when we put our faith and trust in 1514 01:28:22,960 --> 01:28:27,040 Jesus, we take His perfect robe of righteousness and we take off 1515 01:28:27,120 --> 01:28:29,720 our unrighteousness, we put on his righteousness. 1516 01:28:29,960 --> 01:28:32,760 And when we go before God, God says, hey, you live the perfect 1517 01:28:32,760 --> 01:28:34,760 life, come into heaven. Why? 1518 01:28:34,760 --> 01:28:38,080 Because it was our perfect life. No, it's Christ perfect life. 1519 01:28:38,280 --> 01:28:41,800 We wore his perfect life. We get credit for that perfect 1520 01:28:41,800 --> 01:28:43,200 life. Ephesians says it right for 1521 01:28:43,200 --> 01:28:45,840 grace, you're safe through faith, not of works. 1522 01:28:46,400 --> 01:28:49,440 We know that right. So the the the real question 1523 01:28:49,440 --> 01:28:51,880 that you have to ask is did that person belong to Christ? 1524 01:28:51,880 --> 01:28:53,920 You can still be a Christian and have mental illness. 1525 01:28:54,120 --> 01:28:57,680 You can still be a Christian and end up doing things like that. 1526 01:28:57,880 --> 01:29:02,520 And, and the, the question cannot be what was the last act 1527 01:29:02,520 --> 01:29:06,200 they committed? It's just it's a very, very 1528 01:29:06,200 --> 01:29:09,800 difficult thing to do. And by the way, the Bible shows 1529 01:29:09,800 --> 01:29:13,440 us that even godly people went through extreme distress. 1530 01:29:13,480 --> 01:29:15,800 Matter of fact, I'll make the argument that godly people and I 1531 01:29:15,800 --> 01:29:19,480 can prove it in the Bible had suicidal ideation. 1532 01:29:19,840 --> 01:29:23,560 OK, One of my favorite, one of my favorite passages is Elijah's 1533 01:29:23,560 --> 01:29:25,280 fit. You remember in, in, in, in 1534 01:29:25,280 --> 01:29:27,640 first Kings, I think it was right after the confrontation 1535 01:29:27,800 --> 01:29:30,680 with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. 1536 01:29:30,880 --> 01:29:34,080 It says that he himself went a day's journey into the will 1537 01:29:34,160 --> 01:29:35,800 wilderness and then after that, what does he do? 1538 01:29:35,960 --> 01:29:40,400 He requests that God kill him. Basically, he he wanted to die. 1539 01:29:40,520 --> 01:29:44,920 He's a prophet of God. He's super overwhelmed and just 1540 01:29:44,920 --> 01:29:48,360 understand that emotional and and mental distress or anguish, 1541 01:29:48,520 --> 01:29:52,320 it's a very real thing. Despair can easily cloud 1542 01:29:52,320 --> 01:29:56,480 someone's judgement in severe ways, and we have all felt that 1543 01:29:56,480 --> 01:29:59,000 way. So understand this right we we 1544 01:29:59,000 --> 01:30:02,880 cannot make final judgments about any individuals, 1545 01:30:03,000 --> 01:30:04,960 especially in that respect. God sees the heart. 1546 01:30:04,960 --> 01:30:08,760 He knows the full story. He understands the final state 1547 01:30:08,760 --> 01:30:12,320 of a, of a, of a person's faith. And the Bible makes it clear, 1548 01:30:12,320 --> 01:30:16,120 even in First Samuel that God looks, doesn't look on the 1549 01:30:16,120 --> 01:30:17,600 outward appearance. That's what man does. 1550 01:30:17,600 --> 01:30:18,720 Man looks at the outward appearance. 1551 01:30:18,720 --> 01:30:20,160 God looks at the condition of the heart. 1552 01:30:20,320 --> 01:30:24,240 So when it comes to people that you've lost, we do not declare 1553 01:30:24,240 --> 01:30:26,160 their eternal fate. We can't do so. 1554 01:30:26,360 --> 01:30:30,920 We can entrust them to the to the to the justice, the perfect 1555 01:30:30,920 --> 01:30:35,200 justice in the mercy of God. And that's really important also 1556 01:30:35,320 --> 01:30:37,800 with respect to the few will go to heaven. 1557 01:30:38,040 --> 01:30:42,080 OK, Jesus. That phrase comes from a from a, 1558 01:30:42,080 --> 01:30:44,800 from a passage. I think it's in Matthew 7 where 1559 01:30:44,840 --> 01:30:48,440 Jesus says white is the gate and brought is the way that leadeth 1560 01:30:48,440 --> 01:30:52,520 to destruction. I think he goes on to say that 1561 01:30:52,520 --> 01:30:55,880 because the the gate is straight I believe is what he says, and 1562 01:30:55,880 --> 01:30:58,280 narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. 1563 01:30:58,280 --> 01:31:02,880 There are few. There are few there that that 1564 01:31:02,880 --> 01:31:05,200 are found that find it. There are few there that find 1565 01:31:05,200 --> 01:31:08,280 it. So it's true, OK, but this 1566 01:31:08,280 --> 01:31:12,280 should lead us to a a sense of urgency and compassion and and 1567 01:31:12,280 --> 01:31:16,640 continue on in faithfulness of the Lord, not despair or walk in 1568 01:31:16,640 --> 01:31:20,560 hopelessness because God is the way that gave us the Lord gave 1569 01:31:20,560 --> 01:31:21,960 us the way through the narrow gate. 1570 01:31:22,360 --> 01:31:25,040 OK. And so how do you view people 1571 01:31:25,040 --> 01:31:29,360 that you've lost? OK, this is this is the 1572 01:31:29,400 --> 01:31:32,800 healthiest, in my opinion, most biblical posture to take. 1573 01:31:33,400 --> 01:31:36,480 Obviously you grieve their loss, you acknowledge A tragedy. 1574 01:31:36,720 --> 01:31:41,480 That's that just goes without saying, but trust in God's 1575 01:31:41,640 --> 01:31:45,480 perfect judgment. True and righteous trust in God, 1576 01:31:45,840 --> 01:31:47,080 right? He knows everything right? 1577 01:31:47,560 --> 01:31:51,240 Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? 1578 01:31:51,680 --> 01:31:53,360 I mean, that's the that's the correct question that comes 1579 01:31:53,360 --> 01:31:56,720 right out of Genesis, right. So God is perfectly just, he's 1580 01:31:56,720 --> 01:32:00,080 perfectly merciful. We know that and he's never 1581 01:32:00,200 --> 01:32:03,120 wrong in his judgment. And just a word of encouragement 1582 01:32:03,120 --> 01:32:05,760 for you, like just for your, for your own heart and all this 1583 01:32:06,000 --> 01:32:09,960 losing people this way leaves all kinds of questions that 1584 01:32:09,960 --> 01:32:12,800 never get fully answered. I want you to understand that 1585 01:32:12,960 --> 01:32:15,280 you're never going to be able to answer some of these questions, 1586 01:32:15,280 --> 01:32:18,320 but you can rest in a few areas. You can rest in the fact that 1587 01:32:18,320 --> 01:32:20,680 God understands the depth of human suffering. 1588 01:32:20,680 --> 01:32:23,920 He knows what that's all about and he judges accordingly. 1589 01:32:24,480 --> 01:32:26,800 God is not careless with the condition of our souls. 1590 01:32:26,800 --> 01:32:31,480 OK, so just understand that Judas, yes, he took his life. 1591 01:32:31,960 --> 01:32:35,240 Suicide is a, is a serious sin. And we do have certain levels of 1592 01:32:35,520 --> 01:32:38,240 I, I, I'm not going to dispute that at all. 1593 01:32:38,480 --> 01:32:41,880 But a person's eternity is determined by their relationship 1594 01:32:42,040 --> 01:32:45,040 with Christ, their faith and trust that they put in Christ, 1595 01:32:45,800 --> 01:32:50,080 not a single final act. And yes, we, we don't have the 1596 01:32:50,080 --> 01:32:55,040 responsibility and nor can we declare the, the fate of 1597 01:32:55,040 --> 01:32:57,680 somebody eternally right. We have to trust in God's 1598 01:32:57,680 --> 01:33:00,360 justice. We've got to trust in His, in 1599 01:33:00,360 --> 01:33:02,960 his judgement and His mercy. And here's the most important 1600 01:33:02,960 --> 01:33:05,040 part. His perfect look, His perfect 1601 01:33:05,040 --> 01:33:07,120 knowledge. He knows everything. 1602 01:33:07,280 --> 01:33:10,920 So when it comes to those that you've lost, you can grieve 1603 01:33:10,920 --> 01:33:14,480 honestly while still completely putting your faith and trust in 1604 01:33:14,480 --> 01:33:15,320 the Lord. Why? 1605 01:33:15,320 --> 01:33:18,680 Because God's going to do better for them and for us than we 1606 01:33:18,680 --> 01:33:20,080 could ever do for ourselves or them. 1607 01:33:20,080 --> 01:33:22,440 And that's really important. God is just, and He knows what 1608 01:33:22,440 --> 01:33:24,200 He's doing. And I just want to say, anybody 1609 01:33:24,200 --> 01:33:28,920 listening to us, if you're down and you're depressed, the Lord 1610 01:33:28,920 --> 01:33:30,400 is with you. He's in the room. 1611 01:33:30,400 --> 01:33:31,640 He's going to get you through this. 1612 01:33:31,640 --> 01:33:35,760 There's blue skies ahead, OK? We're not to harm ourselves. 1613 01:33:36,120 --> 01:33:40,840 We're not to harm ourselves. And I just want to also just 1614 01:33:40,840 --> 01:33:43,360 double under score to me, and James said it numerous times, 1615 01:33:43,360 --> 01:33:46,920 but like our relationship with God and our security is not 1616 01:33:46,920 --> 01:33:51,720 based upon our last statement or our last act, but Jesus's last 1617 01:33:51,840 --> 01:33:55,240 statement and Jesus's last act. And something that's helped me 1618 01:33:55,240 --> 01:33:56,400 over the years. I'll be really, really quick 1619 01:33:56,400 --> 01:33:58,880 because Pastor Chuck used to say, hey, you know, if someone 1620 01:33:58,880 --> 01:34:01,120 takes their life, they're, they're, you know, Oh my 1621 01:34:01,400 --> 01:34:02,960 goodness, they're not in their right mind. 1622 01:34:03,200 --> 01:34:06,160 They're not in their right mind. Now, listen, if you're down or 1623 01:34:06,160 --> 01:34:09,040 you're depressed, don't, don't hurt yourself, OK? 1624 01:34:09,320 --> 01:34:13,640 Because blue skies are ahead. He promised to work all things 1625 01:34:13,640 --> 01:34:16,040 out for the good. So the Lord knows what you're 1626 01:34:16,040 --> 01:34:18,000 going through. He knows your hardship. 1627 01:34:18,000 --> 01:34:20,840 I, I know this is not somebody maybe that's dealing, you know, 1628 01:34:21,000 --> 01:34:22,760 it's someone who asks this questions, maybe dealing with 1629 01:34:22,760 --> 01:34:24,840 depression, but I'm just concerned for anybody who's 1630 01:34:24,840 --> 01:34:26,600 listening to us. OK. 1631 01:34:26,720 --> 01:34:29,480 The Lord is in the room with you and he loves you and his, his 1632 01:34:29,480 --> 01:34:32,960 love is provisional and he protects, He's going to provide. 1633 01:34:33,040 --> 01:34:36,560 He's gone before you. He's a great shepherd, so he's 1634 01:34:36,560 --> 01:34:39,240 carrying you. So hang in there, be strong and 1635 01:34:39,240 --> 01:34:40,320 persevere. Don't give up. 1636 01:34:40,720 --> 01:34:42,920 Amen. While we're on this topic, I had 1637 01:34:42,920 --> 01:34:47,440 a good friend message me and ask kind of a similar follow up 1638 01:34:47,440 --> 01:34:49,240 question to put like a bow on it here. 1639 01:34:49,640 --> 01:34:52,720 But how is God able to prove that there is a purpose to 1640 01:34:52,720 --> 01:34:57,560 someone who's lost everything? Well, it looks. 1641 01:34:57,560 --> 01:34:58,920 Yeah, Go ahead. Go ahead, Greg. 1642 01:34:59,160 --> 01:35:01,720 Well, I just want to I just, I just want to tell you, tell you 1643 01:35:01,720 --> 01:35:07,560 that, you know, when I think of our Lord Jesus, he came to 1644 01:35:07,560 --> 01:35:13,080 restore trust in our in the heavenly Father that he is good, 1645 01:35:13,520 --> 01:35:16,880 that he is really good. And and it gets back to Hebrews 1646 01:35:16,880 --> 01:35:19,320 chapter 12. I alluded to it earlier. 1647 01:35:19,440 --> 01:35:23,000 What do I mean by that? I I mean, think about it. 1648 01:35:23,000 --> 01:35:26,400 Everybody like the Lord knew he would be treated as if he 1649 01:35:26,400 --> 01:35:28,440 committed every stinking sin in human history. 1650 01:35:29,520 --> 01:35:32,720 Paul talked about being conformed to the image of his 1651 01:35:32,720 --> 01:35:35,040 death. In fact, Erica and I were just 1652 01:35:35,160 --> 01:35:37,440 talking about this earlier today, but I mean, what does 1653 01:35:37,440 --> 01:35:39,200 that mean? I mean the greatest act of 1654 01:35:39,200 --> 01:35:42,520 selflessness and others orientedness ever in the history 1655 01:35:42,520 --> 01:35:44,880 of the world. In other words, like Jesus gave 1656 01:35:44,880 --> 01:35:47,120 it all right. He gave his, he gave himself on 1657 01:35:47,120 --> 01:35:48,600 the cross. No one took his life. 1658 01:35:48,600 --> 01:35:50,400 He didn't even die of crucifixion. 1659 01:35:50,600 --> 01:35:53,160 He died on the cross. He was in full control. 1660 01:35:53,360 --> 01:35:57,240 He gave up his spirit and and what happened? 1661 01:35:57,240 --> 01:36:00,880 He resurrected and then he ascended and it just tells us 1662 01:36:01,520 --> 01:36:08,520 that we can trust the great hand of our heavenly Father in the 1663 01:36:08,520 --> 01:36:13,360 darkest of times. And I mean Jesus, Needless to 1664 01:36:13,360 --> 01:36:17,400 say, experience radical blackout on the cross. 1665 01:36:17,400 --> 01:36:19,880 My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? 1666 01:36:20,240 --> 01:36:22,320 I mean, he's quoting Psalm 22, right? 1667 01:36:22,320 --> 01:36:24,920 I mean, and it ends with triumph, by the way, it could it 1668 01:36:24,920 --> 01:36:28,320 almost ends like with this cry. It is finished, but it it reads 1669 01:36:28,320 --> 01:36:33,680 different like it is done, but I just so so my point is that we 1670 01:36:33,680 --> 01:36:37,840 look to Jesus. You talk about hope that the 1671 01:36:37,840 --> 01:36:43,160 Father is good and that he works it all for the good and what is 1672 01:36:43,160 --> 01:36:46,160 our highest good? Our highest good is actually 1673 01:36:46,160 --> 01:36:53,240 transformation, more like Jesus to to impact others because it 1674 01:36:53,240 --> 01:36:54,920 is a we thing. Everybody. 1675 01:36:55,280 --> 01:36:58,120 I think of precious Charlie saying everybody, I love that. 1676 01:36:58,520 --> 01:37:01,360 But it is a we thing. We're in it together. 1677 01:37:01,760 --> 01:37:05,120 We all play a role in this. We all play an important role. 1678 01:37:05,480 --> 01:37:09,320 So to answer your question, not to keep going on here, but just 1679 01:37:09,320 --> 01:37:13,200 let us just look to Jesus. Who knew he would be, you know, 1680 01:37:13,200 --> 01:37:19,080 he emptied himself, and yet from that came the greatest good and 1681 01:37:19,080 --> 01:37:22,280 healing and redemption of the world. 1682 01:37:22,680 --> 01:37:26,680 So it is he came to restore that we can trust our Heavenly 1683 01:37:26,680 --> 01:37:30,600 Father, and that is our Father who will work all things out for 1684 01:37:30,600 --> 01:37:32,840 the good. And I just want to say I mean 1685 01:37:32,920 --> 01:37:35,560 that that comforted me because when our precious Charlie went 1686 01:37:35,560 --> 01:37:39,120 to heaven, I those are the very thoughts that I was thinking is 1687 01:37:39,440 --> 01:37:42,440 our pop back. God has this and we can trust 1688 01:37:42,440 --> 01:37:43,800 them. His big, big hand. 1689 01:37:43,800 --> 01:37:47,560 By the way, Almighty James dresses, but almighty cares the 1690 01:37:47,560 --> 01:37:51,520 idea that he got a really big hand and I just love that. 1691 01:37:51,560 --> 01:37:54,440 And we feel his hand. We feel the wind of his hand in 1692 01:37:54,440 --> 01:37:56,520 our times in which we find ourselves. 1693 01:37:56,720 --> 01:37:59,960 It is Grace and I. Think it's important to note 1694 01:37:59,960 --> 01:38:04,280 that God God doesn't always prove purpose the way that we we 1695 01:38:04,280 --> 01:38:07,880 expect him to and it's a really good question because like I 1696 01:38:07,880 --> 01:38:10,960 know this is a question that anybody would ask and we all 1697 01:38:10,960 --> 01:38:13,680 face this question probably not at the level Erica, not probably 1698 01:38:13,680 --> 01:38:15,680 for sure. We, we, we didn't face it at the 1699 01:38:15,680 --> 01:38:18,720 level that Erica had to face it, you know, but keep this in mind 1700 01:38:18,720 --> 01:38:21,320 when someone has lost everything that that the natural 1701 01:38:22,200 --> 01:38:26,000 expectation is, is, and this is with with believers, right? 1702 01:38:26,160 --> 01:38:28,440 God, show me why this happened. This is that's what we want to 1703 01:38:28,440 --> 01:38:30,960 ask. We, we, we want to get like we, 1704 01:38:31,120 --> 01:38:33,880 we say, give me a clear explanation on this. 1705 01:38:33,880 --> 01:38:37,320 God help me make it help it all make sense. 1706 01:38:37,480 --> 01:38:42,000 But in many cases, God doesn't start by explaining purpose the 1707 01:38:42,000 --> 01:38:44,240 way that he starts and listen to me, listen to me good. 1708 01:38:44,400 --> 01:38:48,960 He starts by revealing himself, OK, and, and we actually see 1709 01:38:48,960 --> 01:38:51,800 that happening with Job. Job loses everything. 1710 01:38:51,800 --> 01:38:55,160 If you want to learn how this happens, you, you just go to the 1711 01:38:55,160 --> 01:38:58,840 biblical example. Job lost everything and he 1712 01:38:58,840 --> 01:39:00,600 didn't get a, a direct explanation. 1713 01:39:00,600 --> 01:39:03,960 Look at all the things he lost. The Bible tells us he lost his 1714 01:39:03,960 --> 01:39:07,080 children, he lost his possession, his wealth, he lost 1715 01:39:07,080 --> 01:39:11,160 his very health. And and when God finally speaks 1716 01:39:11,160 --> 01:39:13,880 to him, if you remember, he didn't explain the reasoning 1717 01:39:14,000 --> 01:39:17,240 behind Job suffering. Instead he showed Job who he 1718 01:39:17,240 --> 01:39:20,000 was. Matter of fact, he goes to Job 1719 01:39:20,000 --> 01:39:22,760 and he says, hey, where were you when I laid the foundations of 1720 01:39:22,760 --> 01:39:24,760 the earth? Come on, tell me if you've got 1721 01:39:24,760 --> 01:39:26,600 understanding, were you there right. 1722 01:39:26,920 --> 01:39:32,040 And God does something amazing. He shifts the very focus that 1723 01:39:32,040 --> 01:39:36,760 Job had in obsessing over why to who is God. 1724 01:39:36,920 --> 01:39:39,960 And that's the question. It's like, OK, well, who is God? 1725 01:39:40,120 --> 01:39:43,480 And if you know that if you change, if if you go from the 1726 01:39:43,480 --> 01:39:48,040 why to tell me who you are God, everything completely changes. 1727 01:39:48,640 --> 01:39:53,000 Purpose is very much revealed over time, not immediately. 1728 01:39:53,200 --> 01:39:55,760 And we see that happen. Matter fact, that's the whole 1729 01:39:55,760 --> 01:39:59,240 purpose of Romans 828. It people we all think Romans 1730 01:39:59,240 --> 01:40:03,320 2828 is a promise that all things are going to work 1731 01:40:03,320 --> 01:40:05,680 together for the good. It's a given that that's going 1732 01:40:05,680 --> 01:40:10,520 to happen right, but the but the phrasing of Romans 828 speaks of 1733 01:40:10,520 --> 01:40:13,720 the fact that it is something that will happen eventually. 1734 01:40:14,000 --> 01:40:18,080 So the idea is to teach us to be patient with the outcome even if 1735 01:40:18,080 --> 01:40:20,960 we don't understand the outcome and it doesn't say that all 1736 01:40:20,960 --> 01:40:23,400 things are good that's not what it says there. 1737 01:40:23,400 --> 01:40:26,080 It says that God works them together for the good. 1738 01:40:26,080 --> 01:40:28,560 So that purpose is going to be that process is. 1739 01:40:28,640 --> 01:40:32,600 Is going to be very, very slow at times and it's almost always 1740 01:40:32,600 --> 01:40:37,280 unseen at 1st and and often times revealed later and in many 1741 01:40:37,280 --> 01:40:39,400 cases sometimes much, much later. 1742 01:40:39,600 --> 01:40:43,000 And and I think that that's one of the the the big purposes also 1743 01:40:43,320 --> 01:40:46,240 when when things like this happen, the purpose of it is 1744 01:40:46,240 --> 01:40:47,920 transformation. OK. 1745 01:40:48,680 --> 01:40:51,840 That's This is why James says count it all joy because he's 1746 01:40:51,840 --> 01:40:54,720 looking to bring transformation to us in James chapter 1. 1747 01:40:55,000 --> 01:40:58,760 And and here's the thing, we tend to see things like this and 1748 01:40:58,760 --> 01:41:00,080 I'll just kind of close with this thought. 1749 01:41:00,080 --> 01:41:02,880 We tend to see things like this and we say, well, God, this 1750 01:41:02,880 --> 01:41:05,480 isn't working for me. OK, well, let me just explain 1751 01:41:05,480 --> 01:41:08,320 how this works. When God allows these things to 1752 01:41:08,320 --> 01:41:12,880 happen, it is always working. It always works. 1753 01:41:12,960 --> 01:41:17,960 It never doesn't work. OK, if it's not working for you, 1754 01:41:18,360 --> 01:41:21,880 it's working on you. And that's the thing you have to 1755 01:41:21,880 --> 01:41:24,360 understand. It's like if, if you don't see 1756 01:41:24,360 --> 01:41:28,320 the, the, the, the, the transformation in it, God is 1757 01:41:28,320 --> 01:41:30,520 working on you in this moment and eventually it will start 1758 01:41:30,520 --> 01:41:32,720 working for you. And it's a, it's a matter of 1759 01:41:32,720 --> 01:41:35,600 trust, You know, it's a matter of just simply saying, Lord, I'm 1760 01:41:35,600 --> 01:41:36,640 going to, I'm going to trust you. 1761 01:41:36,640 --> 01:41:38,720 And This is why the apostle Paul says, look, we're troubled on 1762 01:41:38,720 --> 01:41:41,000 every side, right? He says, yet we're not 1763 01:41:41,000 --> 01:41:43,320 distressed, we're perplexed, but we're not in despair. 1764 01:41:43,320 --> 01:41:45,480 Like we're like, literally like shocked. 1765 01:41:45,480 --> 01:41:47,640 How does this work? But we're not despaired over it. 1766 01:41:47,800 --> 01:41:49,840 And then he goes on to say, we're persecuted, but we're not 1767 01:41:49,840 --> 01:41:51,600 even forsaken. Why? 1768 01:41:51,800 --> 01:41:56,040 Because God is present, he's the one that's working and that kind 1769 01:41:56,040 --> 01:41:57,520 of endurance is not a random thing. 1770 01:41:57,840 --> 01:42:00,680 And so that ultimate purpose is going to be eternal. 1771 01:42:00,680 --> 01:42:03,600 It's going to bring an eternal reward. 1772 01:42:03,600 --> 01:42:06,120 And that's why the apostle Paul talks about the light affliction 1773 01:42:06,120 --> 01:42:08,120 that he's going through for the moment. 1774 01:42:08,120 --> 01:42:10,120 Why? Because it's in light of what's 1775 01:42:10,120 --> 01:42:12,680 going to be far more exceeding in the eternal. 1776 01:42:12,880 --> 01:42:15,960 And that's that's what he says. So it's very, very important. 1777 01:42:16,080 --> 01:42:18,000 And there's an honest truth to this, right? 1778 01:42:18,080 --> 01:42:20,440 We're not going to fully understand why we lost 1779 01:42:20,440 --> 01:42:21,440 everything. We're not even going to 1780 01:42:21,440 --> 01:42:24,800 understand the purpose of it in actually, but we can still know 1781 01:42:24,960 --> 01:42:28,280 that God hasn't abandoned us, that literally our life has more 1782 01:42:28,280 --> 01:42:31,520 meaning now than it ever has. And this is my favorite part of 1783 01:42:31,520 --> 01:42:33,040 this right? The story's not finished. 1784 01:42:33,760 --> 01:42:36,600 I love that we don't live off explanations, we live off 1785 01:42:36,600 --> 01:42:40,080 promises, right? 100 percent, 100% Well said 1786 01:42:40,080 --> 01:42:41,640 James. Amen. 1787 01:42:42,440 --> 01:42:46,400 So these next two questions from Nicole and Mary, I'm going to 1788 01:42:46,560 --> 01:42:51,240 mix them together because they're very similar but also 1789 01:42:51,920 --> 01:42:57,120 very important for some people out there and for everyone in 1790 01:42:57,120 --> 01:43:01,280 this world to hear. How are we supposed to maintain 1791 01:43:01,280 --> 01:43:04,480 grace for people who are so evil in this world? 1792 01:43:04,840 --> 01:43:08,880 How do I pray for someone who is a pedophile and has such evil in 1793 01:43:08,880 --> 01:43:11,880 his heart? My word of the year is grace and 1794 01:43:11,880 --> 01:43:14,840 I'm struggling to find grace in my heart for evil doers. 1795 01:43:15,120 --> 01:43:18,160 I found out that my ex-husband, my daughter's father, attempted 1796 01:43:18,160 --> 01:43:20,720 to sexually assault his stepdaughter in that week. 1797 01:43:20,720 --> 01:43:25,040 I was told I need to pray wait for him the following question. 1798 01:43:25,760 --> 01:43:27,480 When you ask that following question before you do it, Greg, 1799 01:43:27,480 --> 01:43:31,120 can you take that one? Well, first of. 1800 01:43:31,120 --> 01:43:33,280 All I'm already bothered. Hearing that first of all, and 1801 01:43:33,280 --> 01:43:34,760 then. And then Erica read the second 1802 01:43:34,760 --> 01:43:35,200 one. I'm sorry. 1803 01:43:35,200 --> 01:43:36,920 No. First of all, OK, First of all, 1804 01:43:36,920 --> 01:43:40,680 we are to hate evil. Abhor that which is evil. 1805 01:43:41,360 --> 01:43:44,240 Amen. Abhor that which is evil. 1806 01:43:44,880 --> 01:43:48,720 The thing is, is we don't overcome evil with evil. 1807 01:43:49,280 --> 01:43:52,120 We overcome evil with good, right? 1808 01:43:52,120 --> 01:43:58,520 So the abuse of children, all kinds of crazy abuses and sins, 1809 01:43:58,520 --> 01:44:04,800 rights, absolutely evil. We're to hate evil and not to 1810 01:44:04,800 --> 01:44:06,800 hate. It is a sin and of itself. 1811 01:44:07,240 --> 01:44:12,560 God hates evil. Look, you know, the Lord, the 1812 01:44:12,560 --> 01:44:18,040 Lord calls us to pray for those who who hate and hate us and 1813 01:44:18,040 --> 01:44:21,520 persecute us. And I'm convinced it's a part of 1814 01:44:21,520 --> 01:44:26,400 actually a, a rescue because the alternative is to be consumed 1815 01:44:26,400 --> 01:44:30,560 by, by hatred and bitterness that destroys our lives. 1816 01:44:31,680 --> 01:44:34,920 Who's and, and you know, we, we need the Lord's help, right? 1817 01:44:35,400 --> 01:44:37,200 But we can pray for their salvation. 1818 01:44:37,200 --> 01:44:39,680 There's a couple of things. One is we pray that get arrested 1819 01:44:40,480 --> 01:44:43,520 and that they experience the full brunt of the law for 1820 01:44:43,520 --> 01:44:45,440 breaking the law and abusing human beings. 1821 01:44:46,120 --> 01:44:48,560 But the way we can pray for them, we don't like it. 1822 01:44:48,560 --> 01:44:51,400 We don't you know, to love someone is it doesn't mean you 1823 01:44:51,400 --> 01:44:55,680 agree with them or that you like what they're doing, but but to 1824 01:44:55,680 --> 01:44:59,280 pray for their soul because they they need the Lord and that 1825 01:44:59,280 --> 01:45:01,880 that's how you can pray for them, but you but we are to 1826 01:45:01,880 --> 01:45:06,200 abhor that which is evil and to hate it and we're but we're to 1827 01:45:06,200 --> 01:45:08,160 overcome evil with good. I would just. 1828 01:45:08,280 --> 01:45:10,360 I would. That would be my first response. 1829 01:45:11,280 --> 01:45:14,800 And then, Marie, when Jesus tells us to pray for those who 1830 01:45:14,800 --> 01:45:18,280 persecute us, what does that truly mean in practice? 1831 01:45:18,280 --> 01:45:21,680 I genuinely want to live this out, but I find it difficult to 1832 01:45:21,680 --> 01:45:25,920 know what to say, what to think or even and how to feel it in my 1833 01:45:25,920 --> 01:45:28,960 heart during such a prayer. I would truly appreciate hearing 1834 01:45:28,960 --> 01:45:32,000 your perspective on how to understand this teaching and how 1835 01:45:32,000 --> 01:45:34,600 I might practice it faithfully throughout life. 1836 01:45:34,840 --> 01:45:38,360 I will tell you first hand, it is not easy, but it is doable 1837 01:45:38,360 --> 01:45:40,200 and it is possible and it is necessary. 1838 01:45:41,240 --> 01:45:41,840 Oh God bless you. It is. 1839 01:45:41,840 --> 01:45:43,880 It is hard, but it is necessary. Yep. 1840 01:45:44,080 --> 01:45:46,400 Yep. Yep, Yep, Yep. 1841 01:45:46,400 --> 01:45:47,360 Yeah. So I just want to say. 1842 01:45:47,480 --> 01:45:50,760 It's, it's it's it's. It's hard not to. 1843 01:45:52,000 --> 01:45:54,400 Erica, Erica to this one. Erica lives it. 1844 01:45:55,200 --> 01:45:59,000 Yeah, because Erica lives it. I, I, I know Greg remembers 1845 01:45:59,000 --> 01:46:02,200 this, but me and you were sitting in Erica's living room 1846 01:46:03,120 --> 01:46:04,640 right before the memorial service. 1847 01:46:04,880 --> 01:46:08,120 Remember the night before? And I didn't know and we were 1848 01:46:08,120 --> 01:46:10,680 praying on that because I did not I that was a game time 1849 01:46:10,680 --> 01:46:13,680 decision. When I said that on stage, that 1850 01:46:13,680 --> 01:46:17,920 was not something I remember we said you have to pray on, on 1851 01:46:17,920 --> 01:46:21,760 what was going to be set on that stage and that was a game time 1852 01:46:21,760 --> 01:46:25,560 decision and that's why I paused so long and you guys were there 1853 01:46:25,560 --> 01:46:27,480 for that, for that moment the night before. 1854 01:46:28,440 --> 01:46:31,320 We were all crying when you talked about the fact that you 1855 01:46:31,320 --> 01:46:36,480 were praying about that and you were going to do it and it and 1856 01:46:36,520 --> 01:46:40,080 it it. Look, I'm going to, I'm going to 1857 01:46:40,080 --> 01:46:42,480 talk my way out of getting emotional here for just a 1858 01:46:42,480 --> 01:46:45,680 second. I heard somebody recently 1859 01:46:45,680 --> 01:46:48,040 online, not that I really care to talk about that, but I heard 1860 01:46:48,040 --> 01:46:51,680 someone recently say that something is suspect with, with 1861 01:46:51,720 --> 01:46:54,680 Erica doing something like that. And I will just simply say that 1862 01:46:54,680 --> 01:46:59,040 it's suspect to somebody who has demonic acclamation. 1863 01:46:59,680 --> 01:47:03,000 Look, Jesus said it. He said, I say unto you, love 1864 01:47:03,000 --> 01:47:05,320 your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good for them that 1865 01:47:05,320 --> 01:47:06,600 hate you, and notice what he says. 1866 01:47:06,600 --> 01:47:10,240 He says pray for them that despitefully use you and 1867 01:47:10,240 --> 01:47:13,200 persecute you. The reason why this is difficult 1868 01:47:13,200 --> 01:47:18,120 to understand is because it's not natural, it is supernatural 1869 01:47:18,120 --> 01:47:22,200 living. So when somebody sees that level 1870 01:47:22,200 --> 01:47:25,360 of forgiveness or that level of prayer being executed, 1871 01:47:25,360 --> 01:47:29,560 understand something, it's suspect if it's derived or 1872 01:47:29,560 --> 01:47:34,560 contrived by human effort. But because it's a supernatural 1873 01:47:34,560 --> 01:47:38,360 intervention, it it, it's so much more meaningful. 1874 01:47:38,480 --> 01:47:41,240 OK, now let me just tell you what pray for them does not 1875 01:47:41,240 --> 01:47:43,880 mean, OK? It doesn't mean pretending that 1876 01:47:43,880 --> 01:47:46,800 what they did was OK. It doesn't mean suppressing your 1877 01:47:46,800 --> 01:47:48,600 pain in any stretch of the imagination. 1878 01:47:48,600 --> 01:47:51,800 It doesn't mean feeling like instant warmth towards them. 1879 01:47:51,840 --> 01:47:56,040 And it certainly doesn't mean that they are to be excused of 1880 01:47:56,040 --> 01:47:59,240 the consequence of the evil what they did, OK? 1881 01:47:59,600 --> 01:48:02,840 God's not asking you to deny reality in any stretch of the 1882 01:48:02,840 --> 01:48:04,400 imagination. And he's not asking you to 1883 01:48:04,400 --> 01:48:08,360 respond differently to it, OK? What's happening here? 1884 01:48:09,080 --> 01:48:13,360 What it does mean at its very core is it means that you are 1885 01:48:13,360 --> 01:48:17,240 choosing to bring them before God instead of holding them in 1886 01:48:17,240 --> 01:48:22,760 in some kind of bitterness, OK? It's a shift from look at what 1887 01:48:22,760 --> 01:48:26,640 they did to me. They owe me, they hurt me, they 1888 01:48:26,640 --> 01:48:30,240 took this away to God. I'm putting them in your hands. 1889 01:48:30,240 --> 01:48:34,040 I'm allowing your perfect justice to take control. 1890 01:48:35,080 --> 01:48:39,560 And I think that I'm, I'm at liberty to say this because look 1891 01:48:39,560 --> 01:48:41,320 at what we all experienced together. 1892 01:48:41,920 --> 01:48:47,880 We all sat down together when our dear sister Erica lost 1893 01:48:47,880 --> 01:48:51,760 everything. Literally everything that she 1894 01:48:51,760 --> 01:48:54,160 had was wrapped up in her, in her husband. 1895 01:48:55,280 --> 01:48:57,240 And then she was faced with the choice at that. 1896 01:48:57,240 --> 01:49:01,080 At that moment, she was faced with the choice of allowing the 1897 01:49:01,080 --> 01:49:07,400 bitterness of the horrendous, evil, wicked thing that happened 1898 01:49:08,520 --> 01:49:13,360 to hold her hostage and to destroy whatever God had put 1899 01:49:13,360 --> 01:49:16,000 together through their marriage and through their relationship 1900 01:49:16,000 --> 01:49:17,200 and through everything that they've done. 1901 01:49:17,480 --> 01:49:20,680 Or to simply say I won't allow them to have real estate. 1902 01:49:21,560 --> 01:49:25,000 Look, even right now with the horrible things that are being 1903 01:49:25,000 --> 01:49:28,400 said and the horrible things that are being done, bitterness 1904 01:49:28,400 --> 01:49:31,280 is like drinking poison and expecting that poison to hurt 1905 01:49:31,280 --> 01:49:32,320 the person that you're bitter at. 1906 01:49:34,360 --> 01:49:35,560 And that's the thing, you, you, you. 1907 01:49:36,120 --> 01:49:37,960 And so the question is, when you pray for them, what do you 1908 01:49:37,960 --> 01:49:40,480 actually say in prayer? If you're unsure what to say, 1909 01:49:40,600 --> 01:49:43,400 here's the biblical, the biblical thing, pray for their 1910 01:49:43,400 --> 01:49:46,000 salvation. Lord, open up their eyes. 1911 01:49:46,000 --> 01:49:48,160 Jesus said, forgive them for they do not know what they do. 1912 01:49:48,160 --> 01:49:51,360 OK, fair enough. God says it. 1913 01:49:51,360 --> 01:49:52,840 He's not willing and he should perish. 1914 01:49:53,440 --> 01:49:56,840 So at that point, you just simply pray for that. 1915 01:49:57,040 --> 01:49:59,680 God soften their heart. By the way, can I just say this? 1916 01:49:59,680 --> 01:50:02,120 This is kind of important. I don't think there's anything 1917 01:50:02,120 --> 01:50:04,280 wrong with praying the prayer. God break their teeth in their 1918 01:50:04,280 --> 01:50:06,440 mouth. David did that. 1919 01:50:06,440 --> 01:50:08,720 I was just going to say, David, that's all in Psalms. 1920 01:50:09,520 --> 01:50:11,960 It's all in Psalms. And, and here's the reason why. 1921 01:50:11,960 --> 01:50:14,080 There's nothing wrong with that prayer because I'm praying that 1922 01:50:14,080 --> 01:50:16,200 prayer. For a lot of people, the reason 1923 01:50:16,200 --> 01:50:20,320 why you can pray that prayer is because when you pray that 1924 01:50:20,320 --> 01:50:22,840 prayer, you're taking your bitterness, you're giving it to 1925 01:50:22,840 --> 01:50:25,120 God, and you're saying, God, you execute your judgment. 1926 01:50:25,560 --> 01:50:29,840 And the best part about that is when I execute my judgment, I 1927 01:50:29,840 --> 01:50:33,440 could miss something and then I could do something unjust by the 1928 01:50:33,440 --> 01:50:37,080 execution of my own judgment. But if I say God, you do all 1929 01:50:37,080 --> 01:50:41,160 these things, God may actually do worse than that, or God may 1930 01:50:41,160 --> 01:50:43,920 do you know what may be perceived as better. 1931 01:50:44,080 --> 01:50:46,040 But no matter what, it'll be perfect justice. 1932 01:50:46,480 --> 01:50:49,360 And there are many times where I am personally motivated to say, 1933 01:50:49,360 --> 01:50:52,800 God do these things, knowing that vengeance belongs to him, 1934 01:50:52,800 --> 01:50:54,240 which is why I'm asking him to do it. 1935 01:50:54,480 --> 01:50:57,760 And when you ask him to do it, look, it's, it's that simple. 1936 01:50:58,200 --> 01:51:02,000 And I think that that's a very, very critical understanding to 1937 01:51:02,000 --> 01:51:05,200 have. So, yeah, I, I absolutely 1938 01:51:05,320 --> 01:51:07,760 forgive. I forgive that guy that's in 1939 01:51:07,760 --> 01:51:10,760 jail for doing what he did, doing the evil thing that he 1940 01:51:10,760 --> 01:51:11,840 did. But you know what? 1941 01:51:12,000 --> 01:51:15,240 I pray every day that God will bring him to justice. 1942 01:51:15,680 --> 01:51:19,520 Whatever percent. Nothing, nothing, Nothing wrong, 1943 01:51:19,520 --> 01:51:22,520 100% nothing, nothing, nothing wrong with that. 1944 01:51:22,680 --> 01:51:24,640 You have to. I think you're obligated to. 1945 01:51:24,640 --> 01:51:27,320 Why? Because if you continue to give 1946 01:51:27,520 --> 01:51:31,880 your desire for vengeance to the Lord, that desire for vengeance 1947 01:51:31,880 --> 01:51:35,840 turns into purpose, It turns into victory, it turns into 1948 01:51:35,840 --> 01:51:37,920 health. And then God takes it and he 1949 01:51:37,920 --> 01:51:40,240 runs with it. And let me just say. 1950 01:51:40,600 --> 01:51:41,680 It can't get any better than that. 1951 01:51:41,840 --> 01:51:44,920 Yeah, and James, let me just say evil is more evil than we could 1952 01:51:44,920 --> 01:51:48,800 ever imagine evil to be. And and what I'm saying is, is 1953 01:51:48,800 --> 01:51:52,840 that look, we when we obey the Lord, the more freer we will be 1954 01:51:53,200 --> 01:51:54,880 when we just OK, I'm going to trust you. 1955 01:51:54,880 --> 01:51:56,400 I'm going to do what you've called me to do. 1956 01:51:56,800 --> 01:51:59,280 And love is not a sentiment like we talked about this early, I 1957 01:51:59,280 --> 01:52:01,920 think not a sentiment. So it's not a feeling, it's an 1958 01:52:01,920 --> 01:52:04,880 action. And I just thinking of the Lord, 1959 01:52:04,880 --> 01:52:07,960 you know, I mean at the cross, despising the shame of the 1960 01:52:07,960 --> 01:52:11,720 cross, right? But but he but he but he obeyed 1961 01:52:11,760 --> 01:52:15,680 and he trusted the Heavenly Father and look what look what 1962 01:52:15,680 --> 01:52:18,320 was the result? It was the healing redemption of 1963 01:52:18,320 --> 01:52:21,160 the world. So, some perspectives. 1964 01:52:21,160 --> 01:52:23,360 Just pray for thy will to be done. 1965 01:52:23,560 --> 01:52:24,520 That's right. Yep. 1966 01:52:24,600 --> 01:52:29,600 Especially as you see all the crazy things that are out there. 1967 01:52:29,840 --> 01:52:32,320 That's right, inventions. His mind sayeth the Lord. 1968 01:52:32,840 --> 01:52:36,600 Evil does not win and I think I just think I just want the Lord 1969 01:52:36,600 --> 01:52:39,240 that says, look, we need to be praying for those who persecute 1970 01:52:39,240 --> 01:52:42,280 us and use us up. He does not want us overcome by 1971 01:52:42,280 --> 01:52:48,080 evil itself, and we overcome evil by doing what is good. 1972 01:52:48,440 --> 01:52:52,240 So we, we, we need to bring them before the Lord and do that 1973 01:52:52,240 --> 01:52:55,640 which is contrary to our nature, as as James was mentioning 1974 01:52:55,640 --> 01:53:00,080 earlier and. But it's freeing like it is. 1975 01:53:00,080 --> 01:53:04,440 Freeing it. Is free when you can say I pray 1976 01:53:04,440 --> 01:53:07,120 for them even though they hate me. 1977 01:53:07,680 --> 01:53:12,880 I pray for them because it frees you from like you said, Pastor 1978 01:53:12,880 --> 01:53:18,320 James, that poison and it frees you from that hold that they 1979 01:53:18,320 --> 01:53:20,680 could have on your heart because you won't let them break you. 1980 01:53:21,000 --> 01:53:22,600 You won't let the world break you. 1981 01:53:23,360 --> 01:53:25,160 And, and it's even personal for me. 1982 01:53:25,160 --> 01:53:29,040 I, I have two children to raise. I have an organization to run. 1983 01:53:29,040 --> 01:53:31,200 I have students counting on me to show up. 1984 01:53:31,280 --> 01:53:34,840 And that is where my energy goes every single day. 1985 01:53:34,840 --> 01:53:38,680 That's where my energy goes. And you know, at and Pastor 1986 01:53:38,680 --> 01:53:40,480 James, you know this too at a micro level. 1987 01:53:40,960 --> 01:53:44,760 You know, we see it. We live in an attention economy 1988 01:53:45,160 --> 01:53:48,520 where it's designed to keep people angry and it's designed 1989 01:53:48,520 --> 01:53:53,000 to keep people divided and continuing to scroll and to get 1990 01:53:53,000 --> 01:53:56,680 their clicks. And a solved problem on the 1991 01:53:56,680 --> 01:54:02,440 Internet or wherever does not drive engagement and a resolved 1992 01:54:02,440 --> 01:54:05,720 Griez grievance does not generate clicks. 1993 01:54:06,480 --> 01:54:12,000 So some people you know, have made a very deliberate choice to 1994 01:54:12,000 --> 01:54:15,840 live their life that way. And you and you, Pastor James 1995 01:54:15,840 --> 01:54:20,160 and all the other people that are inside a Bible in 365, that 1996 01:54:20,440 --> 01:54:22,560 is their business. That's not ours. 1997 01:54:22,680 --> 01:54:26,400 Our business is of the Lord. And every single day, no matter 1998 01:54:26,400 --> 01:54:29,800 how much you talk about us, that's your business. 1999 01:54:29,800 --> 01:54:32,360 Our business is the Lord's and we will just pray for them and 2000 01:54:32,360 --> 01:54:35,800 keep moving and keep building. That's that is our business. 2001 01:54:35,800 --> 01:54:37,480 That's right. Our business is Kingdom build 2002 01:54:37,480 --> 01:54:38,920 business. Everything else is. 2003 01:54:40,720 --> 01:54:42,520 It's about our father's business. 2004 01:54:42,560 --> 01:54:44,000 Amen. It's about our father's 2005 01:54:44,000 --> 01:54:46,600 business. Absolutely beautiful, Erica. 2006 01:54:47,400 --> 01:54:50,760 Look at what happened to Charlie the last few years he was alive 2007 01:54:50,760 --> 01:54:54,560 on this earth. The effectiveness that that man 2008 01:54:54,560 --> 01:55:00,120 had was directly correlated to the decision that he made to 2009 01:55:00,120 --> 01:55:04,080 ignore the noise. He gave up a whole day to the 2010 01:55:04,080 --> 01:55:05,920 Lord. He took the phone, he put it 2011 01:55:05,920 --> 01:55:09,440 away. He said I'm going to listen to 2012 01:55:09,440 --> 01:55:12,400 the voice of God. And by the way, in the last 2013 01:55:12,400 --> 01:55:15,400 couple of years there were a bunch of people that hated him 2014 01:55:15,400 --> 01:55:18,520 more. Our dear president would not be 2015 01:55:18,520 --> 01:55:21,440 the president of the United States today if it wasn't for 2016 01:55:21,440 --> 01:55:24,800 the work that Charlie Kirk put in to make that happen. 2017 01:55:24,920 --> 01:55:27,080 You think there are people that didn't hate him for that? 2018 01:55:27,880 --> 01:55:31,600 They hated him. The hate grew, the opposition 2019 01:55:31,600 --> 01:55:32,960 grew. I know because he talked to me 2020 01:55:32,960 --> 01:55:36,120 about it on a regular basis. But yet something happened. 2021 01:55:36,560 --> 01:55:41,760 Something clicked and, and, and what happened was he took a day 2022 01:55:41,880 --> 01:55:46,160 every day of the week to go every day, one day a week to go 2023 01:55:46,160 --> 01:55:49,440 back to reflect upon his relationship with his creator 2024 01:55:50,040 --> 01:55:52,440 and he realized something really, really important. 2025 01:55:53,080 --> 01:56:01,160 Politics were a functional that came from the spiritual and and 2026 01:56:01,160 --> 01:56:02,840 that's why he became so good at it. 2027 01:56:02,840 --> 01:56:04,520 That's why he was so effective on campus. 2028 01:56:05,080 --> 01:56:07,880 Anybody who has any observational capacity with 2029 01:56:07,880 --> 01:56:12,120 respect to Charlie is able to tell that that man over the last 2030 01:56:12,120 --> 01:56:15,520 couple of years spent more time talking about the gospel than he 2031 01:56:15,520 --> 01:56:18,000 did anything else. And that was. 2032 01:56:18,840 --> 01:56:24,280 Brother, it was beginning to be the single greatest reason why 2033 01:56:24,560 --> 01:56:27,040 lives of young men were changing. 2034 01:56:27,280 --> 01:56:30,600 He was going to young men and he was saying, hey, listen, if you 2035 01:56:30,600 --> 01:56:33,640 say that there's no good women left out there, it's because 2036 01:56:33,640 --> 01:56:36,440 you're not attracting them. You haven't made yourself 2037 01:56:36,480 --> 01:56:38,240 anybody to be able to attract them. 2038 01:56:38,560 --> 01:56:41,840 If if you're running around saying, you know, I can't buy a 2039 01:56:41,840 --> 01:56:45,200 home, I can't do this, I can't do that, It's it's Israel's 2040 01:56:45,200 --> 01:56:47,720 fault or it's, you know, the economy's fault or it's this 2041 01:56:47,720 --> 01:56:49,760 fault or that fault. You can blame anything you want. 2042 01:56:49,840 --> 01:56:53,320 Well, the reality of it is in the world that we live in today, 2043 01:56:53,320 --> 01:56:55,520 it's nobody's fault except your own. 2044 01:56:56,680 --> 01:57:00,720 And, and, and what Charlie was saying is if you spend more time 2045 01:57:00,880 --> 01:57:04,800 making yourself to be what God wants you to be, to become 2046 01:57:04,800 --> 01:57:08,920 honorable, to become admirable, to seek out the family, which 2047 01:57:08,920 --> 01:57:11,120 creates your motivation to do what you want to do. 2048 01:57:11,320 --> 01:57:15,440 To become that person who no longer lives for the video game 2049 01:57:15,440 --> 01:57:18,440 in the basement and actually chooses to live for another 2050 01:57:18,440 --> 01:57:22,440 human being and make other human beings and live an admirable 2051 01:57:22,440 --> 01:57:24,200 life to experience something great. 2052 01:57:24,480 --> 01:57:26,480 That's where abundance begins to come in. 2053 01:57:26,640 --> 01:57:29,240 That's where generational wealth comes into play. 2054 01:57:29,400 --> 01:57:32,920 And those aren't bad words. And that's where God's true 2055 01:57:32,920 --> 01:57:36,000 riches come into hand. And that's what Charlie was 2056 01:57:36,000 --> 01:57:38,800 doing. Charlie was teaching kids that 2057 01:57:38,800 --> 01:57:41,440 what you can do is you can break all that. 2058 01:57:41,480 --> 01:57:45,160 By the way, it's so interesting. An overwhelming majority of 2059 01:57:45,160 --> 01:57:48,720 those that are college age actually believed every word of 2060 01:57:48,720 --> 01:57:52,040 what Charlie was saying. It was the ones that were in 2061 01:57:52,040 --> 01:57:54,640 college that had to be taught that by Charlie. 2062 01:57:55,440 --> 01:57:57,360 And the. And the idea is, is that the 2063 01:57:57,360 --> 01:58:00,680 devil hated it. The devil hated. 2064 01:58:00,680 --> 01:58:05,240 And that's why his agents right now online are more focused on 2065 01:58:06,040 --> 01:58:08,280 destroying the message. And I think that this is 2066 01:58:08,280 --> 01:58:10,040 something very important to understand. 2067 01:58:10,480 --> 01:58:13,000 The memorial service happens after Charlie goes to be with 2068 01:58:13,000 --> 01:58:15,760 the Lord. You have all these amazing 2069 01:58:15,760 --> 01:58:18,560 things that begin to take place and what does the enemy do? 2070 01:58:18,760 --> 01:58:23,280 The enemy immediately starts getting everybody to focus on 2071 01:58:23,280 --> 01:58:27,280 what we no longer have. It started with a few people 2072 01:58:27,280 --> 01:58:29,760 talking about let's investigate what happened with this and 2073 01:58:29,760 --> 01:58:31,520 let's investigate what happened to that, and let's look into 2074 01:58:31,520 --> 01:58:34,960 this and let's look into that. And the one thing that they did 2075 01:58:35,000 --> 01:58:38,880 is exactly what the Enemy caused Adam and Eve to do in the Garden 2076 01:58:39,600 --> 01:58:43,080 of everything. In every tree of the garden you 2077 01:58:43,160 --> 01:58:47,720 may freely eat. So instead of focusing on every 2078 01:58:47,720 --> 01:58:50,960 tree of the garden and having the ability to freely eat it, 2079 01:58:50,960 --> 01:58:54,480 what did you focus on? The one thing that you don't 2080 01:58:54,480 --> 01:58:57,040 have access to. And that's what the Enemy did 2081 01:58:57,040 --> 01:59:00,560 here. Hundreds and millions of people 2082 01:59:00,560 --> 01:59:02,760 heard the gospel at that memorial service. 2083 01:59:02,760 --> 01:59:06,800 There was a real, true and steady revival that was taking 2084 01:59:06,800 --> 01:59:09,880 place. And yet the destroyers who felt 2085 01:59:11,000 --> 01:59:16,680 compelled by the inspiration of the God of this world, chose to 2086 01:59:16,680 --> 01:59:19,680 teach everybody to focus on what we no longer had. 2087 01:59:19,920 --> 01:59:23,160 And the very moment you focus on what you no longer had, you 2088 01:59:23,160 --> 01:59:26,880 begin to get into all the other crazy minutiae that created the 2089 01:59:26,880 --> 01:59:30,840 condition that we're facing right now and what Erica is 2090 01:59:30,840 --> 01:59:32,160 doing. And forgive me for getting on a 2091 01:59:32,160 --> 01:59:33,720 soapbox. I think I should point this out. 2092 01:59:33,720 --> 01:59:36,880 What I don't, because I'm very proud of Erica, is she's focused 2093 01:59:36,880 --> 01:59:41,080 on everything that God gave her and her husband. 2094 01:59:41,600 --> 01:59:43,680 And I think that that was the message that Charlie was giving. 2095 01:59:43,680 --> 01:59:47,720 Charlie was like, look, stop focusing on this tax policy, 2096 01:59:47,840 --> 01:59:50,320 that tax policy, what you don't have here. 2097 01:59:50,440 --> 01:59:53,920 Stop focusing on all that. Get out of your basement and go 2098 01:59:53,920 --> 01:59:57,480 do something special. Get out there and change the 2099 01:59:57,480 --> 02:00:00,160 world. And the moment you start 2100 02:00:00,160 --> 02:00:03,640 changing the world, the mind rot that is right now with this 2101 02:00:03,640 --> 02:00:07,240 culture will go away. You'll stop blaming everybody. 2102 02:00:07,360 --> 02:00:11,000 You'll start actually saying it was me, it was the destroyer, it 2103 02:00:11,000 --> 02:00:12,800 was the enemy that spoke to my heart. 2104 02:00:12,800 --> 02:00:16,160 And I listened to him. I listened to the lie and I 2105 02:00:16,160 --> 02:00:20,040 ended up doing the wrong thing and I almost lost everything. 2106 02:00:20,040 --> 02:00:22,240 I lost the future family. I lost my children. 2107 02:00:22,480 --> 02:00:24,360 And think about it. The enemy hates it. 2108 02:00:24,560 --> 02:00:28,400 There are still people today looking at what Erica has, not 2109 02:00:28,400 --> 02:00:31,240 what she had, what she has. And they hate it. 2110 02:00:31,240 --> 02:00:34,400 They're jealous, they're jealous, they they hate it. 2111 02:00:34,400 --> 02:00:36,320 Why? Because it's a genuine and 2112 02:00:36,320 --> 02:00:41,160 sincere work of the Spirit of God and people hate it who are 2113 02:00:41,160 --> 02:00:44,960 inspired by the father of lies. And I think that that's a really 2114 02:00:44,960 --> 02:00:46,120 important thing to bring out here. 2115 02:00:48,320 --> 02:00:49,480 And I'm sorry I got on a. Super. 2116 02:00:49,480 --> 02:00:51,040 But I just. Felt the need to bring it up. 2117 02:00:51,200 --> 02:00:52,920 Well, she's a daughter of the king. 2118 02:00:53,040 --> 02:00:55,600 That's who she is. She's a daughter of the king. 2119 02:00:55,880 --> 02:00:59,160 I love you guys. We're going to do 1 quick last 2120 02:00:59,160 --> 02:01:03,760 question since this is a top topic of actually pray, prayer 2121 02:01:03,760 --> 02:01:06,760 and praying. And then we'll wrap it up and 2122 02:01:06,760 --> 02:01:10,560 I'll have Pastor Greg do a prayer to to close us with. 2123 02:01:10,920 --> 02:01:14,040 But there's three questions that are all very similar ones from 2124 02:01:14,040 --> 02:01:16,440 Laura and the other one's from Patty, the other one's from 2125 02:01:16,440 --> 02:01:19,560 Richard and it's all dealing with prayer. 2126 02:01:20,120 --> 02:01:22,440 First question, I am new to reading the Bible and being a 2127 02:01:22,440 --> 02:01:24,560 Christian. The best way to What is the best 2128 02:01:24,560 --> 02:01:26,840 way to pray to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? 2129 02:01:26,840 --> 02:01:30,760 When would I talk pray to the Holy Spirit versus Jesus? 2130 02:01:31,240 --> 02:01:35,200 How exactly do I pray? I seem to be repeating the same 2131 02:01:35,200 --> 02:01:37,920 thing every time I do it. Keep my children safe, my family 2132 02:01:37,920 --> 02:01:40,240 healthy, and continue to guide me in my spiritual journey. 2133 02:01:40,240 --> 02:01:41,960 Stuff like that. I'm just not sure if there is 2134 02:01:41,960 --> 02:01:44,680 more I should be saying. It's a new practice for me and 2135 02:01:44,680 --> 02:01:46,480 I'm not sure the best way to go about it. 2136 02:01:46,480 --> 02:01:50,480 And finally, Richard says I am unclear on how to best develop a 2137 02:01:50,480 --> 02:01:52,840 prayerful relationship with my Creator. 2138 02:01:52,840 --> 02:01:56,400 Our Lord Jesus is easy for me to visualize due to His taking 2139 02:01:56,400 --> 02:01:59,640 human form and the many New Testament passages about Him. 2140 02:01:59,640 --> 02:02:02,880 Yet so many fellow Christians pray to Father God. 2141 02:02:03,120 --> 02:02:05,600 How does the Holy Spirit fit into prayer? 2142 02:02:05,880 --> 02:02:10,120 Help me clarify this and that'll be our final question for April 2143 02:02:10,200 --> 02:02:12,160 as we wrap it up here. Beautiful, beautiful. 2144 02:02:12,720 --> 02:02:15,360 Yeah. So the biblical pattern on who 2145 02:02:15,360 --> 02:02:20,120 you pray to is God the Father. That is done through Jesus. 2146 02:02:20,120 --> 02:02:22,920 The Bible says that when Christ was crucified on the cross, he 2147 02:02:22,920 --> 02:02:24,480 said to tellest I it is finished. 2148 02:02:24,480 --> 02:02:26,880 The veil in the temple was rent, which means we have direct 2149 02:02:26,880 --> 02:02:30,080 access to God because the Holy of Holies is no longer blocked. 2150 02:02:30,320 --> 02:02:34,200 So we pray to the Father, that's done through Jesus and we are 2151 02:02:34,200 --> 02:02:36,360 led by the Holy Spirit in our prayers. 2152 02:02:36,640 --> 02:02:39,960 So, so that is the that is the biblical pattern here. 2153 02:02:40,480 --> 02:02:42,440 And Jesus even says it, he tells us how to do it. 2154 02:02:42,440 --> 02:02:44,680 He says our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 2155 02:02:44,880 --> 02:02:47,320 He's not telling us to repeat those exact words. 2156 02:02:47,480 --> 02:02:52,000 He's giving us direction on the very thing that we should pray 2157 02:02:52,000 --> 02:02:53,440 for. And that speaks directly to the 2158 02:02:53,440 --> 02:02:56,680 question that Laura and Richard have. 2159 02:02:56,680 --> 02:03:00,920 Now, as far as the question that Patty has, look, you say, am I 2160 02:03:00,920 --> 02:03:03,080 praying wrong because I repeat the same things? 2161 02:03:03,320 --> 02:03:06,360 Look, the, the, the short answer here is no, you're not doing it 2162 02:03:06,360 --> 02:03:08,200 wrong. What you're describing is 2163 02:03:08,200 --> 02:03:11,760 actually very normal. And by the way, especially when 2164 02:03:11,760 --> 02:03:14,600 you're starting to do it for the first time, repetition is never 2165 02:03:14,600 --> 02:03:16,480 going to be the problem. It's emptiness. 2166 02:03:16,760 --> 02:03:19,000 So, so if you get to the point where you're just saying the 2167 02:03:19,000 --> 02:03:22,520 same prayer, you get into the vain repetition category. 2168 02:03:22,760 --> 02:03:25,880 And, and the question is, can you say something just it, you 2169 02:03:25,880 --> 02:03:29,480 know, autonomously and not even think about it, then you've got 2170 02:03:29,480 --> 02:03:32,440 to stop and really slow down and think about what you're saying. 2171 02:03:33,920 --> 02:03:35,560 And I think that that's really, really important. 2172 02:03:35,560 --> 02:03:37,200 But by the way, your current prayers are really good. 2173 02:03:37,200 --> 02:03:38,640 You're praying for your children, you're praying for 2174 02:03:38,640 --> 02:03:40,320 your family's health, you're praying for guidance. 2175 02:03:40,600 --> 02:03:41,840 Those are all really good things. 2176 02:03:42,040 --> 02:03:44,800 Well, I, I was going to say, I mean every night Stephanie and I 2177 02:03:44,800 --> 02:03:48,280 pray to be frank with that, I bring all of our children before 2178 02:03:48,280 --> 02:03:51,480 the Lord and grandchildren and Erica and the, and the, and the 2179 02:03:51,480 --> 02:03:53,480 babies. I mean so, so it's pretty 2180 02:03:53,480 --> 02:03:55,520 repetitive, right? I'm bringing loved ones before 2181 02:03:55,520 --> 02:03:56,600 the Lord. I think of our church. 2182 02:03:56,600 --> 02:04:02,640 I I think of other things, but I would just say to look, the 2183 02:04:02,640 --> 02:04:07,600 Father wants us to bring our pain to him because I think of 2184 02:04:07,600 --> 02:04:09,440 the Lord in the garden of Gethsemane. 2185 02:04:10,160 --> 02:04:13,520 And I'm you're talking transparent, right? 2186 02:04:13,960 --> 02:04:17,640 I mean, Jesus may sound a little weird to say this, but Jesus was 2187 02:04:17,640 --> 02:04:21,640 definitely in touch with his feelings, both publicly just 2188 02:04:21,640 --> 02:04:23,280 thinking of it coming into Jerusalem. 2189 02:04:24,000 --> 02:04:28,800 He's he's not only this little misty eyed here there is he is, 2190 02:04:29,000 --> 02:04:32,400 he is convulsing in prayer, concerned about the trajectory 2191 02:04:32,400 --> 02:04:37,280 of Israel, their future and he guaranteed his future, their 2192 02:04:37,280 --> 02:04:41,160 future by the way, on the cross. That's part of the new covenant. 2193 02:04:41,160 --> 02:04:45,000 But I would just my point is this is that, look, there's some 2194 02:04:45,000 --> 02:04:48,840 things that we carry, there's some burdens that we carry that 2195 02:04:49,320 --> 02:04:52,720 that are that are not appropriate so much to bring to 2196 02:04:52,720 --> 02:04:56,280 our to our fellow loved ones. I mean, I don't bring every 2197 02:04:56,440 --> 02:04:59,600 concern and every burden to my precious bride because I know it 2198 02:04:59,600 --> 02:05:02,280 would burden her. But we have a great Papa. 2199 02:05:02,720 --> 02:05:05,560 So I just want to encourage everybody listening seriously. 2200 02:05:06,000 --> 02:05:08,400 Let me just say this. Are you carrying any pain? 2201 02:05:08,600 --> 02:05:15,120 Are you burdened because our father wants us to bring those 2202 02:05:15,120 --> 02:05:20,560 burdens to him to like we can we and listen to me articulate them 2203 02:05:20,640 --> 02:05:24,120 like seriously, like what are the burdens you're carrying? 2204 02:05:24,120 --> 02:05:25,840 What is the pain you're carrying? 2205 02:05:26,360 --> 02:05:28,440 Articulate like Lord, I'm concerned. 2206 02:05:28,440 --> 02:05:30,640 I have fear, you know, worried about this. 2207 02:05:30,640 --> 02:05:33,800 I'm worried about that. He wants us to bring those 2208 02:05:33,800 --> 02:05:36,800 things to him. He guarantees that he will meet 2209 02:05:36,800 --> 02:05:41,280 us there and provide the grace that we need in in our time of 2210 02:05:41,280 --> 02:05:44,360 need. So that that's one way to deepen 2211 02:05:44,360 --> 02:05:49,000 our our our prayer life is to articulate just as the as the 2212 02:05:49,000 --> 02:05:50,640 Lord did in the Garden of Gethsemane. 2213 02:05:51,040 --> 02:05:54,000 Like you know, Father, if it be aware, let this cup pass for me. 2214 02:05:54,000 --> 02:05:56,920 That's no small thing. That cup, I'm convinced in its 2215 02:05:56,920 --> 02:06:00,160 context is the very cup he is referencing in the Passover 2216 02:06:00,160 --> 02:06:01,640 Seder. And there's another way of 2217 02:06:01,640 --> 02:06:04,760 redemption the region mankind. I'm open for it, but not my 2218 02:06:04,760 --> 02:06:08,360 will, but your will be done. So I mean, I mean, and all the 2219 02:06:08,360 --> 02:06:12,400 guys out there really seriously, on your knees, you know, are 2220 02:06:12,960 --> 02:06:15,760 you, are you scared? Are you, you're carrying 2221 02:06:15,760 --> 02:06:19,760 burdens, fearful. Bring it before our Papa, our 2222 02:06:19,760 --> 02:06:22,800 great Heavenly Father. You'll meet us there as he did 2223 02:06:22,800 --> 02:06:25,680 our Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. 2224 02:06:25,680 --> 02:06:27,160 I would just encourage you on that. 2225 02:06:27,360 --> 02:06:28,160 Beautiful. Yeah. 2226 02:06:28,360 --> 02:06:29,840 OK. That was powerful. 2227 02:06:29,960 --> 02:06:33,440 That was a great Bible and 365 Q and AI Miss it. 2228 02:06:33,440 --> 02:06:34,840 It's good to be back with you guys. 2229 02:06:35,200 --> 02:06:38,600 Oh, Erica, you're exception. We love you so, so much. 2230 02:06:38,800 --> 02:06:40,800 We love you. So proud of you, James. 2231 02:06:40,800 --> 02:06:42,480 Great job. I just want to say, hey, listen, 2232 02:06:42,480 --> 02:06:45,440 I'm the oldest one here. I'm the grandpa. 2233 02:06:45,920 --> 02:06:48,840 So I get to say I get a little extra liberty. 2234 02:06:49,240 --> 02:06:50,960 Great job, James. Great job. 2235 02:06:51,000 --> 02:06:52,720 Erica Kirk. I love you. 2236 02:06:53,200 --> 02:06:55,160 Go ahead, let's. I'm going to finish off in 2237 02:06:55,200 --> 02:06:56,960 prayer. OK, Father. 2238 02:06:57,400 --> 02:07:00,600 Father, we love you and we're just thinking of all those who 2239 02:07:00,600 --> 02:07:05,520 ask questions and a lot of burdens and you know them and 2240 02:07:05,520 --> 02:07:07,640 see them. And just on the other side of 2241 02:07:08,320 --> 02:07:10,760 the other side of these microphones, Lord, you are 2242 02:07:10,760 --> 02:07:15,240 totally present. So we we, we pray for all those 2243 02:07:15,240 --> 02:07:17,360 who asked those questions and all who are listening. 2244 02:07:17,840 --> 02:07:21,080 This would be an extraordinary season of a continued awakening 2245 02:07:21,080 --> 02:07:24,360 and revival in our lives. We thank you so much for the 2246 02:07:24,360 --> 02:07:26,080 Kirk family. Thank you. 2247 02:07:26,080 --> 02:07:28,160 You're always present. We ask you to continued 2248 02:07:28,160 --> 02:07:33,240 protection, giving Erica great wisdom in her leadership. 2249 02:07:33,240 --> 02:07:36,240 Thank you that you have and will continue to do so. 2250 02:07:36,320 --> 02:07:38,880 But I just want to pray. Finally, just thinking of all 2251 02:07:38,880 --> 02:07:40,760 those reading the scriptures. Thank you. 2252 02:07:40,760 --> 02:07:43,320 You said, Lord, if you continue in your word, you will be your 2253 02:07:43,320 --> 02:07:46,720 disciples will know the truth. The truth will set you free. 2254 02:07:47,040 --> 02:07:48,680 Thank you, thank you, thank you for that. 2255 02:07:48,680 --> 02:07:51,520 And I just pray, Lord, there would be an awakening of 2256 02:07:51,680 --> 02:07:54,560 commitment to the reading of your word all throughout the 2257 02:07:54,560 --> 02:07:56,240 world. We thank you that that's 2258 02:07:56,280 --> 02:08:00,000 actually taking place as this ministry is impacting all 2259 02:08:00,000 --> 02:08:02,640 throughout the world. We thank you, we thank you, we 2260 02:08:02,640 --> 02:08:05,440 miss Charlie, we love you in Jesus name, Amen. 2261 02:08:05,440 --> 02:08:08,040 Amen. All right, God bless you guys. 2262 02:08:08,040 --> 02:08:12,120 We will see you next month for our live Bible and 365 Q&A. 2263 02:08:12,440 --> 02:08:14,960 If you do have questions between now and then, feel free to 2264 02:08:14,960 --> 02:08:17,760 submit them and we will hopefully include them in our 2265 02:08:17,760 --> 02:08:20,960 next Q&A since we have hopefully one every month. 2266 02:08:20,960 --> 02:08:23,920 But God bless you guys. Thank you for everything, and 2267 02:08:23,920 --> 02:08:25,160 keep fighting to stay in the Word. 2268 02:08:25,200 --> 02:08:26,040 We'll see you next month.