His Process is Good

[00:00:02] Speaker A: That's the key question you gotta answer is, do you really believe God has your best interest at heart? Do you really believe that God is willing to make sure to prosper you, not necessarily profit being? Oh, yeah, we think. Oh, money, money, money. Know that you can trust him and know his process is good and he's. [00:00:20] Speaker B: Gonna take care of you. [00:00:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Great workout. [00:00:25] Speaker B: What is that? [00:00:26] Speaker A: Put the treadmill at 12. [00:00:28] Speaker B: Oh, that is three miles an hour. [00:00:32] Speaker A: 30 minutes. All you got to do. Then I lift weights, and then I'll do the bike every other day. [00:00:36] Speaker B: That's uphill. [00:00:37] Speaker A: I'm doing a lot of stretching. [00:00:39] Speaker B: That's up. Why don't you just start? [00:00:41] Speaker A: Go to the mountains. [00:00:41] Speaker B: Find mountains. Once you go to the mountains. Yeah. [00:00:45] Speaker C: Sorry, folks. Ski trip. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:00:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:48] Speaker C: I love you. Did a great little interpretation. [00:00:51] Speaker A: I cannot wait. [00:00:53] Speaker D: Impressive. [00:00:53] Speaker A: Cannot wait. In fact, it was funny. Last night we had a parent meeting to kind of give them all their information. Here you got. Fill out this form, fill out this waiver sign, this. And I do believe, and I'm thankful because, you know, I've got a lot of. A lot of folks that love me and care for me. But I think there was more concern on the mom's part of me skin than it was their children. And what I'm saying, we. We can't afford you to go down right now. And. And I said, well, I'm not planning on going down. And I. I have already said I'm not going above a blue because that's. [00:01:24] Speaker C: That's. [00:01:25] Speaker A: And I told the kids, do not ski above your level, though. Don't get out above your skis. If you are a green, stay with the green. Don't try to hot shot. I think I'm gonna stick. Well, more than likely. We've got a lot of kids that have never skied, so I'm gonna just spend the day with them and just kind of work with some lessons. No, I will not do a black. I'm not that good of a skier, and I'm not that young anymore. My knees hurt me more. [00:01:49] Speaker B: Oh, man. [00:01:50] Speaker A: See y'. [00:01:50] Speaker D: All. [00:01:50] Speaker C: Happy New Year. [00:01:51] Speaker B: Hey. [00:01:51] Speaker A: Happy New Year. The theme. [00:01:53] Speaker C: Long break. [00:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:55] Speaker A: I was going to share this. The theme of the ski trip is Micah 6 8, which is one of my favorite verses. Hero man, what does God require of. [00:02:02] Speaker B: Thee to do justly love, mercy, and walk humbly with your God. [00:02:06] Speaker A: That's it. So we're going to look at the three. The three activities. [00:02:09] Speaker B: You kind of caught me off guard there, so. But I. Be ready. In season nine, I regroup you pulled. [00:02:16] Speaker A: It out once, I reminded you, and I appreciate that. [00:02:20] Speaker C: That happens a lot of times. [00:02:22] Speaker D: So, Micah, what would you say was 3, 8, 6. [00:02:24] Speaker B: 6, 8. [00:02:25] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a good one. It's a good one. So we're going to be looking at that and then kind of looking at the book of Micah. To pull out what, to, you know, walk humbly. Love. Love mercy. [00:02:36] Speaker B: You're going to do that ski trip, too? Is that what you. [00:02:38] Speaker A: That's the ski trip thing. [00:02:39] Speaker B: Well. Well, let's see what you're going to do. [00:02:42] Speaker A: Well, I mean, Friday night, when we get there and everybody gets settled, we're going to look at. We're going to look at do justice or Do Justice. Then we're going to look the next morning at love Mercy and then walk humbly. [00:02:54] Speaker B: Well, let's talk about it now. [00:02:56] Speaker A: I do. [00:02:56] Speaker B: That we can Let me. [00:02:59] Speaker A: Let me do on the ski trip. And I'll tell you, I'm just letting. It's easy peasy. I mean, what does it mean? [00:03:05] Speaker B: But I do. I do love that scripture. [00:03:07] Speaker A: It is a good one. But, I mean, if you got questions about it, we can. [00:03:10] Speaker B: We. I just like to hear. I just like to say it. It's a comforting verse. [00:03:15] Speaker C: Well, that's. I was thinking something. Something I saw the other day got me kind of thinking about the culture of Christianity nowadays. And I don't even mean this is a terrible thing or an indictment on whatever, but you always see these things scrolling on Facebook or Instagram, whatever, and they're inspirational, you know, spiritual messages or memes or whatever. But one in particular, I don't remember what it said or whatever. It was just probably the 100th one I'd seen of something about, you know, trusting in God's will for your life and God has a plan and all these things. It's sort of, you know, God has a plan to prosper you and all. [00:03:51] Speaker B: Right. [00:03:51] Speaker C: And I believe that. I'm not trying to take that away from it, but so much of Christian culturally is what can God do for us? As opposed to, you know, what's God's. What's God's will for your life? His will for your life is for you to do his will. And for you. [00:04:06] Speaker A: Are you holy? [00:04:06] Speaker C: Right. [00:04:07] Speaker A: You can be thankful. I mean, it tells us what the will is throughout the scripture. [00:04:10] Speaker C: Yeah. And you talked. I mean, you. You preached on a Sunday discipleship, and that's me. [00:04:17] Speaker B: That's. [00:04:17] Speaker C: That's a much bigger part of his will for our lives than what's our job. [00:04:23] Speaker A: Going to conform into the image of Christ. [00:04:25] Speaker C: That's right. But we miss that so much. So much of our walk with God sometimes is about what can we get out of it. [00:04:34] Speaker A: Right. [00:04:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:35] Speaker C: What you said the other day, we're, we're consumers versus contributors. [00:04:39] Speaker A: That's it. [00:04:39] Speaker C: That's a good way. [00:04:40] Speaker A: That's what I was going to say is we live in such a consumerism society. [00:04:44] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:04:45] Speaker A: Where, okay, it's all about what I want, what I can buy, what I can get. And if I don't get it the way I want it, then next thing I know I'm googling and, you know, writing a four star, you know, a three star, you know, writing a bad rating about them. I mean, it is always about what, what I'm going to get. And then it's also, well, what's in it for. For my children or what's in it for me? Or what's in it for this church is not meeting my needs. And again, I, I totally get that. I don't think it's right at times, but, you know, you do need to go where you're being fed. I get that. But if it's all about, well, this church has more stuff or that one has more stuff or. And we, we kind of base our Christianity based on, you know, Nothing. In Luke 9:23, looks like to me it's about comfort and ease. Yeah. When it says take up your cross and die daily, that, that's nothing comforting about that. I mean, again, again, I don't think he's calling us to, you know, starve ourselves or live, you know, but at the same time, discipleship should be, it should cost something. [00:05:49] Speaker C: Well, it's, we, we kind of look at it sometimes as we look at kind of what can God do for me? And then we'll try to do some things back for him along the way, when in reality it should be what. It's not even necessarily what can we do for God, but it's what does God. How does God want to use us? And then you'll bless us along the way as well. But that's the, the cherry on top, so to speak, not the other way around of where we're, what can it do for me? And then I'll try to do some things for him too along the way. [00:06:16] Speaker A: Right. [00:06:16] Speaker C: Our whole lives should be about how can he use us and how does he want to use us. [00:06:21] Speaker A: Right. [00:06:22] Speaker C: And just being submitted to that. And it's amazing how much you will appreciate the opportunity to participate in his plans when you see it that way as opposed to maybe taking a prideful, you know, taking on a lot of responsibility. Sometimes with discipleship, it's, it's really easy for us, we've talked about this before, to take on too much responsibility in that process and to think it's our job to save people. [00:06:46] Speaker A: Right. [00:06:47] Speaker C: And it's, it's not, it's just our job to point them in the right direction. And to the other point you made Sunday is we talked a lot about walking the walk versus talking the talk. But you said you do both. You don't walk it without talking about it. You don't just talk it and not walk it either. It's both. [00:07:05] Speaker A: And I think the whole thing of your walk matching your talk and all that usually comes from a self impugned or a self inflicted wound of our self righteousness. We won't tell everybody else what they're doing wrong. And at the same time we might be doing something just as bad, but we are always quick to point at someone else and say, look at, there. [00:07:28] Speaker B: Are the same thing. I've seen that before. They're doing the same thing. [00:07:32] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. They just might not be doing it as bad or. [00:07:37] Speaker B: Well, they were doing it as bad. But it's all well, you did twice, but not to other people. Yeah, that's just. [00:07:44] Speaker A: No, we are, we can become self righteous real quick. I'd say that's just part of human being is that we are quick to defend self, take care of self, make sure that. And that's why when Jesus says love others as you love yourself, because nobody and I didn't really get a chance to go into that two weeks ago. It ain't like people just hate themselves. Some people might. And that's not, that's not normal. Normal is just as much as I like to take care of myself, just as much as I like to make sure that I'm dead, then that's how I'm going to care for others. Yeah, so I heard that we do. I heard. [00:08:18] Speaker C: But a really, really good way. The other day I was watching a documentary on, I think it's on Amazon or something, but it's called Universe Designed and it's talking. It was going through really scientifically from creation all the way up to the stars basically how much science is. The more they try to disprove God, the more they tend to prove God right. And it's really interesting but at the very end of it, the guy, I can't remember his name, he's well known, but he was Talking about an atheist, posing the question to him, if God's so good, why doesn't he get rid of all the evil in the world? And he said, that's a great question. But what if he started with you? [00:08:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:54] Speaker C: Because if you really want to think about the evil in the world, we all are evil. [00:08:59] Speaker B: Right. [00:09:00] Speaker C: At our most basic level. So. But we forget that in our minds, we're the. Everybody from atheists to front row to the church Christians, we all think we're the. We're right. Everybody else. [00:09:13] Speaker A: We all had this. We're basically good. [00:09:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:16] Speaker A: And that's not. That's not scriptural per se. [00:09:19] Speaker B: Sometimes we forget where God brought us from. [00:09:22] Speaker A: Indeed. [00:09:24] Speaker B: It's easy to criticize the other person for doing the same thing that we were doing. And God showed us grace, we should show them grace. [00:09:33] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:09:34] Speaker B: We don't see that. That's. [00:09:36] Speaker A: Yeah. And showing grace is more and more. I think that's where the Lord is really, you know, kind of. I don't want to say stirring, steering me or whatever, but, man, we do want to make sure that we operate in grace because it's easy to. It's very, very easy to look down on others and to, you know, think less of others and. No, let's operate from grace. [00:09:56] Speaker B: Well, it's not what I'm doing that's bad. It's what you're doing that's bad. Yeah. Even though I'm doing the same thing, you know, But I do want to congratulate you on. On that sermon. I. I congratulate. [00:10:09] Speaker A: All right. You pull one out. [00:10:13] Speaker B: I didn't. I did. [00:10:15] Speaker C: I guess the first time I've ever heard the term congratulate. [00:10:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:18] Speaker C: Compliment, maybe. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Well, it was good. It was. It was really. Because I know where you were. [00:10:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:10:23] Speaker B: That you had time. [00:10:24] Speaker A: No, that was. [00:10:25] Speaker B: It's just. It just showed me sometimes God will make a way. Sure. You know, even though you were very concerned about it. I'm pretty sure you were. That you hadn't prepared enough, but. [00:10:37] Speaker A: No, not like I normally do. [00:10:38] Speaker B: Right. [00:10:38] Speaker A: It wasn't my normal routine. [00:10:41] Speaker B: Sometimes you were doing all you can to take care of everything else. And he blessed you on that. [00:10:47] Speaker A: He did. I enjoyed that. I. I was worried because, you know, normally you don't hear Matthew 28:19 through 20, 18:20, preached that way. I don't know that I've ever heard it preached that way, honestly. That's why I was kind of like. [00:11:01] Speaker B: I'm not saying you were any good. I'm just saying it was. [00:11:04] Speaker A: You made It. You survived. [00:11:06] Speaker B: I'm just kidding. But I. I got a lot out of it. I really didn't. [00:11:11] Speaker A: Well, appreciate that. [00:11:12] Speaker B: And I'm not. I'm just amazed me how on that, how God used you, but yet you weren't as prepared as you should have been. [00:11:23] Speaker A: Right or no. [00:11:24] Speaker B: Well, you repaired it as much as you could, but you. Not your normal. [00:11:29] Speaker A: Not my normal. Normal place. And again, oftentimes, time of year is one of those times where you got family in. You're doing this, you're doing that. You got four. You want to take a little bit of time out, you know, for yourself and. Or take a day off and you just, you know, it is. Hey, but the Lord's good and that's the thing. He's gracious. [00:11:46] Speaker B: You did well. Yeah, but don't make a habit of it. [00:11:49] Speaker A: No, I'll try not to. [00:11:52] Speaker B: He only. He gave you grace on that one. Yeah. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:55] Speaker B: Don't. [00:11:55] Speaker A: Don't be thinking you don't have to prepare as much. [00:11:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:58] Speaker C: Sometimes I feel like when I'm unprepared, though, God's got me right where he wants me. That's what those. Those times that I realized, boy, I am way out of. I'm out of my element here. I'm not. Whatever. That's where I've got to hand it to him and say, I think. [00:12:09] Speaker A: I think there's a. There's a fine line. [00:12:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:12] Speaker A: Between. I'll never forget. I had a. I had a good, good friend that was asked to speak at a pretty. Pretty substantial. I mean, this was a lot of people. And I kept calling him, you know what you're going to talk about yet? No. [00:12:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:26] Speaker A: And his response was, God's going to. [00:12:28] Speaker B: Give me the words. [00:12:28] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:12:29] Speaker A: And so I saw him after the event and I said, so what? What did God give you? Or what did God tell you? And that's what he kept saying. God's going to tell me what to say. Well, he got through and I asked him, I said, what'd you talk about? And he said, well, God told me I need to prepare better. [00:12:46] Speaker B: He was honest and humble about it. [00:12:48] Speaker A: And I think that's the whole thing is as a. As a pastor, I'm not one of those guys that can just get up and say, all right, we got this text. And I mean, I can do it and won't be as good, but I want to look at what does that mean? How does that work? What does it mean to me in the 21st century? How does that work, work out for me? And my kids, what does that mean for me? And, you know, everything I do, I. [00:13:10] Speaker B: Don'T think I could do it if I wasn't prepared. I don't think I could do it. [00:13:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:14] Speaker B: I mean, that's personal. [00:13:15] Speaker A: But there's some cats where they can get up there and go. And that's impressive to me. [00:13:19] Speaker C: But mine was almost the opposite. When I would prepare for a Sunday school lesson or something like that. And it's a tough balance because to some extent, the more I prepared, the more I had. I found myself Saturday night trying to figure out how to wheedle. You know, let's funnel this guy down. [00:13:36] Speaker A: Into a 35 minute period. [00:13:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:38] Speaker C: But then at the same time, I've gone too far to the other extreme where I thought, here's my three points. [00:13:42] Speaker D: I'll wing it. [00:13:43] Speaker C: And then five minutes into it, you're out of things to talk about. And it's like, oh, yeah. [00:13:47] Speaker A: And I think it's one of. And that's where for me. All right, if I know I've got 35 minutes of sermon. I know sometimes the old joke, will you take 45? Whatever. I try my best not to. I try to stay in the time frame as best I can. I know I go over sometimes, but I try to stay say within reason that even if I'm not done with the sermon or if I'm close, if it's at a good stopping point, we're at 11:45. All right, we'll come back next week. [00:14:11] Speaker B: Yeah. How long did you preach? [00:14:13] Speaker A: What, on Sunday? [00:14:15] Speaker B: Yeah. No, this time. [00:14:16] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sure it was 35 minutes. [00:14:18] Speaker B: Okay. Man. I wasn't watching the time because it was good. [00:14:23] Speaker D: No. [00:14:23] Speaker A: Well, thank you. [00:14:24] Speaker C: Not this week. Sometimes he is. [00:14:28] Speaker A: Every other week. Yeah. Come on now. [00:14:31] Speaker B: Yeah. And we actually, you know, it's kind of funny, but we actually. I got up out of my seat and came back and it was gone. So we had to sit on the other side of the church. [00:14:42] Speaker A: What time did you get up? [00:14:45] Speaker B: I just went to the bathroom. [00:14:46] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:47] Speaker B: I was in church. [00:14:48] Speaker A: During. During the worship service or before? [00:14:52] Speaker B: Right before. [00:14:53] Speaker A: Did you leave the Bible? [00:14:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:14:55] Speaker A: And somebody took a seat. Wow. [00:14:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Settle the Bible. No, no, no. [00:15:00] Speaker C: Is that kind of awkward when you had to go back? [00:15:04] Speaker B: Well, you would have seen them because they'd been way up. Yeah. [00:15:07] Speaker A: With all of everybody. But. [00:15:08] Speaker B: Yeah. But that's a good thing. You know, I'm so Abu. Yeah. So. [00:15:14] Speaker A: So where'd you end up? [00:15:15] Speaker B: Oh, somewhere around where your mother was. [00:15:17] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:15:18] Speaker B: On that side, it's A good sign. Yeah. It seems to be more saved people over there than a lot of stuff. More religious people. Yeah. [00:15:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:15:29] Speaker B: I got quite as rowdy. [00:15:32] Speaker C: I got there super late Sunday, so I ended up having to go all the way to the second row. Yeah, I thought I was going down the front row. Yeah, I was down there real close, but, man, they're packing this place up. [00:15:41] Speaker A: There's some people that love to sit down there. I don't understand it, but I'm. I'm glad. [00:15:45] Speaker C: I think it was second or third row. Second rows. You're pretty big from the second round. Yeah, I mean, it's that. It's almost like sitting in the front row of a movie theater. Well, they're too close. [00:15:55] Speaker A: That's right. [00:15:55] Speaker C: Like, man, this is. I didn't mean to be a part of the action. [00:15:58] Speaker A: Oh, well, I know when the deacons are at communion, they look like they're looking up at me, and I'm kind. [00:16:03] Speaker B: Of like, oh, I got. I got. I'll tell you something after. After this. After recording about that. [00:16:10] Speaker A: About communion. [00:16:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Since I'm not doing it anymore. Nothing bad, so you need to share it. [00:16:18] Speaker A: I'm sure it's good. [00:16:19] Speaker B: No, not on camera. [00:16:21] Speaker C: I can edit it out. [00:16:22] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:25] Speaker A: If it's edible or needs to be edited. [00:16:28] Speaker B: Well, see, we've always had problems for some reason, since Bernice was, you know, Deacon, go out of line. Over here. Over here. They were all over the place. There was one day that I wasn't here, and this was when the furnace was doing it. They were all over. I think I was at the beach. I saw people just. [00:16:50] Speaker A: I got confused. [00:16:53] Speaker B: And so he made us come to practice. [00:16:59] Speaker C: Do it again. Do it again. [00:17:01] Speaker B: Practice makes perfect. [00:17:03] Speaker A: I remember that day he came for. Came and athletes. I was like, it was on. [00:17:08] Speaker B: Huh? You just try to go up and down the practice again. That's not fast enough. [00:17:12] Speaker A: We don't need to practice. [00:17:13] Speaker C: You need to practice. Come on, practice. Allen Iverson. [00:17:18] Speaker A: It's a game. [00:17:19] Speaker B: But, yeah, that. That was. Yeah, he had us up there practicing. [00:17:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember that. That was great. [00:17:25] Speaker B: And then. But this lot. It wasn't this last time. This last time. Because I made my mistakes. Last time, my mic got caught between my belt loop and my belt, and I couldn't get it on, and I was trying to mess with it. I don't know. I was sitting down for a while and I was trying to just get it on. My finger kept getting stuck. [00:17:50] Speaker C: That's still my favorite church. Get goof up of all Time was when they forgot to turn your mic off at the end of communion. And we got to. First line. You singing Jesus loves. [00:18:00] Speaker A: Yes, I've done that live stream that. That has happened numerous times. [00:18:04] Speaker C: Every time we do that, shut that. [00:18:05] Speaker A: Down because it's terrible. [00:18:07] Speaker C: Every time we get to the end of a sermon now, and we get ready to sing now with the kids will poke me and say, do you. [00:18:11] Speaker A: Think please don't turn the mic off. [00:18:14] Speaker C: They love it when they forget you. [00:18:15] Speaker A: I used to be. I used to do it just because I didn't trust. Not that I didn't trust them, but I'm just gonna fail. Safe. Yeah, turn it off. [00:18:23] Speaker B: I couldn't get it. I finally got my hand out there. Yeah. But the first time I did it was, yeah, Ben's real slow. You do this, I'm gonna give you these signs and everything. [00:18:36] Speaker A: Or I'll say do two or do one or so. [00:18:39] Speaker B: Yeah, he's giving you these signs like this year. And I thought I just told him. [00:18:44] Speaker A: Follow the leader, man. I'm gonna tell you how to do it. [00:18:46] Speaker B: And we, you know, we practice and we're doing it slow. And that's what I expected. Then we got up there. Take the bread. Yeah, man. Like, he was catching. I gotta get. [00:18:59] Speaker C: He's on fire. [00:18:59] Speaker B: He's fast. So I'm trying to catch it. And I got to the last one, and as I was getting ready to turn this way, all I could see was a bunch of white particles just flowing through the air. And I spilled all the. All the bread that slipped right in the pore. But the funny thing about it was, okay, I'm going to settle down. Ben's going to talk a while, you know, so I'm trying to sweep it into. [00:19:25] Speaker A: Oh, yes. That was great. [00:19:27] Speaker B: And that joker probably spent about two minutes. Not even that. It was the fastest. You know, usually five, ten minutes I would have time. But on top of that, someone decides to join the church. So now everybody's coming up there. I've never had anybody join the church after communion. I've never seen it. [00:19:49] Speaker A: Yeah, it just depends if somebody comes to tell me, hey, we want to join today. We're doing communion. I'll make. We'll make it work for you. [00:19:56] Speaker B: But here, here's. [00:19:57] Speaker C: Here's. [00:19:57] Speaker B: Here's the worst one. I'll just say, enough. I'll be quiet. You know, the deacons do protect you a lot because they're standing up. [00:20:05] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:20:06] Speaker A: Nobody can see. What all men. [00:20:08] Speaker B: This is just him and I. You know how we've been taking peanuts and you know, have some peanut. And. And so anyway, I said that's, you know, when someone hands you peanuts, you grab a handful, you know. So I'm getting ready to get up out of my seat. And normally I. As he's offered me the plate, as soon as I get like this, because it's very shiny, I grab a handful. [00:20:42] Speaker C: And that. [00:20:42] Speaker B: I mean, that was just a reaction. Oh. And I don't know, but this is what I heard. One will do. And so I can't put them on the table. I got a handful. I got my Bible in the other hand. I see normally what I have definitely. [00:21:04] Speaker C: Not appropriate to put them back. [00:21:05] Speaker A: Well, he tried. [00:21:07] Speaker B: Normally I tried. I have my notes in here. As soon as I get up, before I talk, I'm going to open my Bible, read my notes and put them right here. And I carry my Bible like that. I can't because I can't use my arm. So I had to walk up and down. And I don't know what I've said. [00:21:29] Speaker C: At this point. He just floating. [00:21:32] Speaker B: I was just lost. I don't even remember. I was prepared. [00:21:38] Speaker A: It was great. [00:21:40] Speaker B: And I was just saying. But I will tell you this. I was the only person that did not have to go to lunch after communion. I mean, I've had the open air. [00:21:55] Speaker A: First time I've opened Oprah, but I love it. That's great, man. Don't edit that. [00:22:04] Speaker B: He. He's shocked me. So that's why I. I never. I always get one. But then the next time I said, I think I'll just take one today. [00:22:13] Speaker C: Yeah, that's good. I saw something say that I never caught this and I probably should have, but started searching for something and I came across this article. It was all. I thought about sending it to you, but I figured we'd talk about it at some point. It was from. It was on like BaptistNews.com or something. [00:22:35] Speaker A: Okay. [00:22:35] Speaker C: From a pastor. And it was talking about, you know, we. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Well, hold on. Was it the biblical recorder? Is that what you're talking about? [00:22:44] Speaker A: Well, I mean, there's Baptist news. There's a recorder. It's like unto it. [00:22:48] Speaker B: Okay. That's what I've never. I hadn't seen that in a while, but go ahead. I was just wondering. [00:22:52] Speaker A: Bit of course, still out there. [00:22:53] Speaker B: Okay. [00:22:54] Speaker C: So I had been searching on the we. The phrase that I always hear is that the Bible is the infallible word of God. So I was looking up the verses and the passages around that and I came across this that and this. I believe it was a pastor. I didn't do a whole deep dive on his background or bio or whatever, but I think it was a pastor that said that we mistake that a little bit in saying that the Bible itself is the word of God. And that if you look through the Bible itself, when he said basically that when it. The Bible refers to the word, it's referring to Jesus. [00:23:29] Speaker B: Right. [00:23:29] Speaker D: When. [00:23:29] Speaker C: So take any pastor to any. And he took several examples and said replace that, you know, Hebrews, double edged sword cuts. I don't have that one memorized but you know what I'm talking about. He said that can represent Jesus. [00:23:43] Speaker A: John 1 calls him, but it also can represent Scripture. [00:23:45] Speaker C: It can. [00:23:46] Speaker A: He needs to be careful. [00:23:47] Speaker C: He does. Yeah. So I started just. And this isn't something that I want to be careful here to not turn it into something bigger than I'm trying to make it. But in that. Well, let me go back to my, my point. The thing that I missed. So he refers to in that. What he's getting at a little bit is that yes, sometimes you can. Scripture can seem contradictory or whatever in certain places. And the example that he gave was the account of creation, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. I never realized that there were two different accounts basically. But it sort of is, it's sort of like a high level helicopter view and then. [00:24:21] Speaker A: And then you're on the tour, dude. Yeah, tour. A tour view. You're down in the jungle and I. [00:24:25] Speaker C: Guess the order is slightly different. Plants came before animals in one account and vice versa in the other. But it was. He was not saying. See, this is proof that the Bible's, you know, Right. [00:24:36] Speaker B: Flawed. [00:24:36] Speaker C: But what he was saying was that you as a. I guess my reason for bringing it up is almost apologetics in reverse maybe. But sometimes people will, skeptics will. You will try to use Right. Perceived flaws in the Bible to say, see, this must not be true because it contradicts here numbers. [00:24:57] Speaker A: A lot of times numbers get, get off. As far as. Yeah, it was 3,000 or it was 300,000. Right, 30,000. [00:25:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:05] Speaker C: And I guess it's when we look at. I believe that the Bible was inspired by God. That's what it says. There are so many different. I mean we can, we've talked about this a little bit before, but you can get out your NLT and King James and NIV and different things and compare and contrast. Okay, well this word's different. There's a passage of Mark that we're not positive was in the original. It wasn't added later or different things like that. There is in some way, shape or form, there's a human element to the construction of the Bible right now. You know, it was not literally planted in the ground by God and we dug it. Now we have it. [00:25:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:43] Speaker C: So I'll say this. First of all, it is absolutely incredible how much, how many different ways you can take one passage of Scripture and apply it to different parts of your life and how many times I just happen to be in Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and open it up and the very first thing that I read it could not possibly be more perfect for what I'm thinking about right here. You know, it's, it's amazing how well God can use the Bible to speak with us. So I do not doubt that it's God's word, that there's a purpose behind it. And he knew exactly and living and. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Active meaning that it fits to today. [00:26:20] Speaker C: When he told Solomon to write that thing 3,500 years or whatever, he was aware of the fact that I was going to read it Yesterday morning at 8 o' clock and that Kenny was going to read it when he, he knew exactly what he was doing every time he, as he was constructing. That being said, we, I think it can also become an Achilles heel sometimes when we dig in so deep on, on the, you know, we dig our heels in so deep, I guess on trying to think how I'm trying to say that we forget sometimes that, that humans took part in writing it and assembling it. When I run into things like, well, why is this book not included? Why is that one included? You know, I think he actually brought up Song of Solomon as one that, hey, you know, it's the word of God too. How many times we preach on it. You know, there are, and there's certainly some books that get more weight than others and, and others that, you know, I don't think I've ever even heard of a sermon on Song of Solomon, but it's still the word of God. So one or two. [00:27:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Dr. Jeremiah, that had a series. That's the only series on it. That's the only one I know I've ever heard of. [00:27:24] Speaker A: I've seen one or two. [00:27:25] Speaker C: So I guess it's just the, where do we. When we say it's the infallible word of God, what are the passages that, that say that. And it's not that. It's cha. It's not changing, but the translations are changing as we find older and older manuscripts. The, the, the words Actually written down on the pages inside of this book have changed from the time they were first written in Aramaic and Hebrew and Greek to what we're reading today. And a human has participated in that process, hopefully inspired by God through that process. So I don't know what my question is. [00:28:03] Speaker A: Well, I think it's one of the challenge. [00:28:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's a challenge. [00:28:06] Speaker A: All right. I think it's one of, yeah, how did we get the Bible? You're exactly right, didn't just fall from the sky. The angel Moroni did not go to Joseph Smith and say, oh, dig these up and here's the plates. No, the word of God says that these men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit. The picture there is almost like a sailing boat with the wind up. Because what I love about the Scriptures is, yeah, you see individuals, personalities as they write. I mean Paul is all in it of, you know, who has beseeched you. I'm worried about y' all because y' all have gone crazy, that kind of thing. He didn't say that word for word, but it's, you can see those things and you can see the passion that Paul has. And so yes, these men of God, they weren't robots. They weren't just secretaries sitting down saying, okay, God, what is it you're saying now from time to time? It almost sounds like that, especially for the Old Testament prophets. No, when they would say thus saith the Lord and then go into what is laying on their heart. I think when you think about infallible, inerrant. Inspired. Inspired means God breathed. God breathed it. In other words, God blew like that sailboat blew into the cell of those guys. So Peter sitting down writing, and it sounds like Peter or it's got his fingerprints, all personality. Yep, infallible. And inerrant is totally dead. Inerrant means non errors meaning that hey, it's not going to lead you wrong in your life, error wise. But also that there's the errors that people say, uh huh, there's the error no, that can be explained. And that again is inspired. Infallible means that hey, it is correct, it's going to be right. It tells us that it's not going to fall. It's not going to be something that, okay, if I live this way my life's going to be in shambles. So inspired, inerrant, infallible. And so what I hold to is especially inerrant. That's the one that really gets us in a little bit of sometimes not necessarily hot water, but it's one that. Okay. More scholars are going to argue that one of. Well, no, wait a minute, there's errors because. Well, think about it. It's been how many years since it was written in a different language, translated to this one, to this one? And that's where I want to say, well then where's the sovereignty of God that he can't somehow protect his word? Because see if. Look at how the translations have come so that now we're sitting here in the year 2026, the year of our Lord 2020-26, and we have the Bibles that can go back to the original text that we have pretty close. It's pretty impressive when you look at it that it is very, very little. [00:30:58] Speaker B: Bit small variance and it's variance that you're talking variance. So I don't know if you're talking about. It would be something like. You got 10 different transcripts. Nine of them says Jesus walked into. Rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey. One says cult, which one you're going to believe? Yeah, yeah. I mean it's pretty, you know, it's mindless. Yeah, that's. [00:31:27] Speaker A: And sometimes that's a scribe. Scribe. [00:31:29] Speaker B: It is. [00:31:30] Speaker A: And, and like I said, I mean it is enough there to know that. Okay. [00:31:34] Speaker B: But nothing changes doctrine. [00:31:35] Speaker A: Yep. [00:31:35] Speaker B: That's the main thing. [00:31:36] Speaker A: And I think too. Yeah, you're right. You know, you had various councils and everything else that that named what the 66 were going to be. So yeah, there was. But still I go back to. There's still God's sovereignty in God's hand, even in that. Yeah, because that's where I again and again my worldview is shaped by. I believe it. So my worldview is. No, I believe God's sovereign enough that he protected it through the years and even led those guys off what needs to be in those 66 books. Which ones don't. Why did Jude get in there? Yeah, that's got some questionable stuff and some of the other stuff. There's several books that it's like, wait a minute. I mean Martin Luther didn't want the book of James in there at all because the book of James to him was as he called it, it's nothing more than straw. It needs to be burned. [00:32:27] Speaker B: Well, it was. It's just theology. [00:32:31] Speaker A: Well, that's it. He's trying to bring his belief onto that rather than this shaping. [00:32:36] Speaker C: Let me. There's a few different. I knew there was an application to this. I wasn't just trying to have a theological debate. There's an application. [00:32:44] Speaker A: Well, this Is the other one. [00:32:45] Speaker C: That's right. [00:32:46] Speaker B: So the. [00:32:48] Speaker C: Let's take more. What you just said about Martin Luther. If Martin Luther believes that the book of James doesn't belong in the Bible. [00:32:54] Speaker A: Right. [00:32:55] Speaker C: He thinks that the other 65 are fantastic and they're the inspired word of God. But he thinks that the book of James, for whatever reason, shouldn't be in there because he. [00:33:03] Speaker A: He felt like from reading, he felt like, okay, there's too much emphasis on works. Okay, there's too much emphasis on works based salvation and. [00:33:11] Speaker B: But it's not. [00:33:12] Speaker A: Yeah. But then again, knowing Martin Luther's background and some of the other influences he had. [00:33:18] Speaker B: Right. [00:33:18] Speaker A: Yeah. I can see where he could almost see. [00:33:20] Speaker B: Well, coming out of the Roman Catholic. I get that. [00:33:22] Speaker A: That it is based on works. Basin. He was arguing Noah's by grace through faith. I. And so he would say James, James almost. And if you read it, it does read like. Almost like the Old Testament proverbs, need to do this. Need to do this. You know, so there. And the whole argument is, okay, well, James says, show me your works. [00:33:44] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:33:44] Speaker A: You know, faith without works is dead. But he still says faith. And then he also says, you, justified by Abraham, was justified by what he did. Paul says, no, he was justified by what he believed. [00:33:57] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:33:57] Speaker A: And the key is to know how it works out is what you believe impacts what you do and vice versa. And so that it's not a. They don't. It's almost like the boys are looking at the same coin. It's just James is looking at his and Paul's looking at tails. It's like same coin. [00:34:15] Speaker B: But I was wondering if he was trying to counter the Catholic because the Catholic was all about works. [00:34:21] Speaker A: I'm sure it was. I wonder James is necessarily the place you want to. That that's. [00:34:27] Speaker B: I mean, James is a great book, but I mean, they probably emphasize James more than they did Paul. The Catholics, I mean, I. Well. And they didn't do too well in the room. Yeah. [00:34:42] Speaker C: And I think that this is. It almost ties back to the last podcast that we do. We kind of talked about churches. [00:34:49] Speaker A: That was a while ago. And seeing you boys in a year. [00:34:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:55] Speaker C: But I think where I'm. Maybe my motivation for bringing it up or what my. What's. You know, where I'm getting at with it is that you can take, you know, take Martin Luther as one example. I've got another one. [00:35:06] Speaker D: It's just one that I'm real familiar with. From Acts, chapter 8, verse 37 is. [00:35:11] Speaker C: Omitted from some translations or some I think it's not in the niv. It's in the New American Standard, and I would submit for your consideration. It's a pretty important one because it's right after he says, what prevents me from being baptized? And if you take it out, he just jumps straight to baptizing him. [00:35:27] Speaker D: But the verse itself, what it says is, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. [00:35:34] Speaker C: That's a really, really important verse to leave out. If you just say, well, what pick you from being baptized? Well, nothing. Let's go do it. I mean, that's a key one. [00:35:42] Speaker B: Okay. [00:35:42] Speaker C: But I can go to seed on one side of that coin and say, my Bible doesn't say that. That's in there. [00:35:47] Speaker B: That's right. [00:35:48] Speaker C: So therefore, that it's not required. [00:35:50] Speaker A: Just get baptized. [00:35:51] Speaker C: And somebody. Somebody else can take the absolute opposite view of it. And sometimes the friction that's created from those. I saw a really good little short video today of somebody saying that when they first got saved, they didn't. They hated it when people asked them what nomination they were because they said every time I would answer it more than half the time, I would get a response. Well, you're not really saved. Yeah, and. And I thought, man, I told my mom the other day, I said, you know, I think. And this is a universal statement. I'm not picking on Baptists or anybody else. I think if you. If you could do a straw pole when you get to heaven, Baptist, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecost, everybody is going to be surprised at how many people are actually in heaven, because we all think we're about the only ones that are going to be there half the time. Well, and it's because of the. The friction that can come from one tiny little will if it is inerrant, infallible, and whatever with a. Now, my translation of it or my interpretation of it suddenly means that you disagree with the word of God because you don't agree with my application of it. And that's not what it is. And we miss the big picture of the whole thing. [00:37:02] Speaker B: Yeah, you don't get saved based on your doctrine. You don't get saved based on. If you believe that. That you knew who Lot's wife was right here. [00:37:13] Speaker C: A lot of people think you do get saved based on your problem. [00:37:16] Speaker B: That's a problem. [00:37:17] Speaker C: Big problem. [00:37:18] Speaker B: Now, first of all, when you get saved, you don't have no doctrine. You only know what anything's about. It takes time to develop what you believe in, but far as I know, grace. You know, saved by faith through grace is repent. Believe in the Lord and you'll have eternal life. John 3:16. But we also like to attach things to it. You know, I think the church of Christ, you're not allowed to have music. It's a sinner to church. [00:37:53] Speaker A: Christ oftentimes will say, you have to get wet, too. [00:37:55] Speaker B: Yes. [00:37:56] Speaker A: It's believing and baptism. [00:37:58] Speaker B: And that's why we have a hard time interpreting who's right or who's wrong, because we want to apply our doctrine, what we believe in, to someone's salvation. I don't think that's correct. And. And I'm very guilty of it myself. [00:38:13] Speaker A: Yep. [00:38:14] Speaker C: So does the difference in the accounts. In Genesis, I can pause for 30 seconds and find the specific verses. We can just go off of memory. But one says plants came, then animals. The other says plants came, than animals. Or something along those lines. [00:38:29] Speaker B: Right. [00:38:29] Speaker C: Does that matter at all? Because if it's the Almighty, inerrant, infallible word of God, every word matters. However, if one says one thing and another says another, well, then it's contradicting itself. [00:38:45] Speaker B: Well, they both were created. [00:38:48] Speaker C: So is it one of those things? You just say, he made it. Who cares which order he made? [00:38:51] Speaker A: Plants would have to be created first. [00:38:52] Speaker B: That that's technically how it's been preached. Yes. And that's how I learned. [00:38:58] Speaker A: If you look at the order, the order of one is the plants were there for food, not other animals. The plant was there for food, and how does. How do we breathe? Unless something changed after the fall. And it could have, but I believe that's how the whole process there of oxygenating the air was in plants. [00:39:18] Speaker B: And I agree. But I would say if the animals were created before plants, and I'm not sure what he's actually referring to, they wouldn't be hungry. They shouldn't be that hungry after one day. [00:39:31] Speaker D: No. [00:39:32] Speaker C: Okay, Genesis 2. [00:39:33] Speaker A: But what did they bring? [00:39:35] Speaker C: Genesis 2. Now no shrub. [00:39:37] Speaker A: They can't leave carbon. [00:39:40] Speaker C: Genesis 2 4. Genesis 2 4. This is the account of the heavens and the earth. And they were created in the day. [00:39:44] Speaker D: The Lord made the heaven and the earth. Now, no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted. For the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground, but a misused arouse from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his Nostrils, the breath of life. And the man became a living being. The Lord planted a garden toward the east in Eden. There he placed a man whom he had formed out of the ground. The Lord caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food. [00:40:17] Speaker C: So in Genesis 2, man came before plant. [00:40:22] Speaker A: In Genesis 1 came before garden. Garden. [00:40:26] Speaker B: Yes. [00:40:27] Speaker A: So I'm just saying that. That right there is that plants. He's saying he planted a garden, which means maybe he put a grove together or anything else. That doesn't mean that. I mean, that's what. From. From. Listen to how you read it. [00:40:40] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:41] Speaker A: And kind of went from there. So I'm. I'm not sure that that's okay. [00:40:45] Speaker D: Clean garden replacement. Yeah. So I guess it's the line in the. In the first part of that. And no plant had. No plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. Okay, we're in the first chapter. [00:41:00] Speaker C: And so planted vegetation first, and then man came later. Now I'll just. Transparency. My version of it is the point is God made everything. [00:41:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:09] Speaker C: I don't care what order he did. [00:41:11] Speaker A: And I think you're straining in that. That guy is. [00:41:13] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:41:14] Speaker A: But at the same time, just because it says no plant on the earth had sprouted doesn't mean there isn't sprouting plants. [00:41:20] Speaker B: Right. [00:41:20] Speaker A: And how does. How do you know that when he goes a little bit later and he says, and there he planted a garden. That it didn't. Okay. Now the plants are starting to really kick up and produce oxygen and produce fruit and produce. Because like I said. Yeah. They may not sprout it because they ain't rained yet. [00:41:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:39] Speaker A: And didn't rain until later. So, I mean. Or it tells how he would water. [00:41:43] Speaker B: It in Genesis 1. A summary that he. They start. [00:41:47] Speaker A: Genesis 2 is a summary. [00:41:48] Speaker B: Okay. [00:41:49] Speaker D: Genesis. [00:41:49] Speaker A: Genesis 1 kind of tells you day by day. Day by day. [00:41:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:52] Speaker A: First day. And then it's the second day. But Genesis 2, like I said, one is a helicopter view. One is down in the weeds. [00:41:58] Speaker B: Right. [00:41:59] Speaker A: One is down in the weeds. Two is a helicopter. I'm just giving you an overview of. [00:42:04] Speaker B: What you come back in at Spine. [00:42:06] Speaker C: It. [00:42:06] Speaker B: That's what I thought. [00:42:07] Speaker A: And then how he brought man and woman together and ordained marriage in Genesis 2. Yeah. [00:42:12] Speaker C: And I think the overall point that I'm bringing up to it is that in all of it, don't get so much friction on one little piece or another that you become that that becomes your doctor. [00:42:23] Speaker B: You're. [00:42:23] Speaker C: You're not getting into heaven. Whether or not you believe the vegetables came first. That's not. And it's also not a reason to mistreat somebody else who believes. [00:42:33] Speaker A: There's no go to a knockdown drag out that. But almost somebody was. That'd be like, come on. [00:42:38] Speaker B: And you can. I don't like it. But it's possible that you can believe in evolution and being Christian. [00:42:46] Speaker C: That documentary I watched really hard on evolution. [00:42:48] Speaker B: I hope over time you will size the Bible. Yeah, but that's. But what I guess what I was trying to say at first is you'll know. I know when I came to know the Lord, I didn't really know anything. [00:43:01] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:43:02] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, I believed in evolution. I think I don't even know if I did or not, but I believed in a lot of things. But over time and thankfully the Lord has let me live longer. I have realized that evolution is a lie. I have realized that. No, that's not right according to the Bible. But if I had passed away right after I got saved. Yeah, I probably believed a lot of things that aren't in the Bible. [00:43:26] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:43:28] Speaker B: So that's why we have to be very careful. I think at least I do not judge people that there are people, Christian people that believe in evolution. Yeah, there are Christian people that believe in. It's okay. Homosexuality. We have to be very careful and not judge them. Would not judge their salvation based on what their belief is. Yeah. Then we err. It's not saved by grace. Faith saved by grace. Do you agree with that? [00:43:59] Speaker A: No, I do, I do. I think it goes back. I think we've had. [00:44:03] Speaker C: And I don't like it. [00:44:05] Speaker A: We've had a discussion like this before that oftentimes when we. When people do theology, they. They feel like they have cornered the market on it and they have. They know what's right. And as soon as you disagree, you're an idiot. You don't know what you're doing. And I think that's the thing is what I always want to encourage myself and I always want to remind myself is now you want to be humble when it comes to. Because if somebody asks me a question, I'll say, well, now this is what this verse says and this isn't this. But I'll be honest with you, have a humility to say how that works itself out. I'm not sure I love pastors that do that because I want to be one of those that. No, I don't have all the Answers. I'm still figuring this thing out. And theology is like the study of God. How are we going to figure that out? All of it? I mean, come on, man, there's always going to be a mystery to it. [00:44:54] Speaker B: You got all eternity. [00:44:56] Speaker A: Well, we'll see it face to face. But here on Earth we're going to always have questions. And then you begin to talk about not only is it the who God is, then how does that work itself out? Is it right for me to do this or can I do that? And that's where again we get this air of cockiness rather than humility. And that's where I want to say as I go to the word of God, man, we need to make sure we're approaching humbly that I don't have the answers. And God, I'm just reading so you can back me up. [00:45:26] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:45:27] Speaker B: And then sometimes what you're talking about, sometimes it can slip down into our. Are they really saved? Sure. Yeah. [00:45:34] Speaker C: I think that happens a lot than we even want to acknowledge. [00:45:38] Speaker B: All the way down to. And I don't have being my. But I don't have the gift of knowing who's saved or who's not. [00:45:45] Speaker A: Right. [00:45:46] Speaker B: Do you? [00:45:47] Speaker A: I do not. [00:45:48] Speaker B: Okay. [00:45:48] Speaker A: But I've met many, many who think they do. [00:45:51] Speaker B: Yes, yes. And so. [00:45:52] Speaker A: And I've met many. [00:45:53] Speaker B: Just because I disagree with you doesn't mean that you're not saved. I might think it and I have thought it, not you. But I mean I have thought it. [00:46:01] Speaker A: Right. [00:46:02] Speaker B: But that's wrong for me. I err on that. I should. I had not been thinking that way. [00:46:08] Speaker A: And I think the conversation we had that this ties to is a while back we were talking about basically Calvinists are people who. Well, I'm chosen. I'm, you know, I'm elected. And it almost creates a haughtiness and a pride. [00:46:25] Speaker C: Will. [00:46:25] Speaker A: Ha. Look at me. And theology can be the same way. Look into my study and look how. How rooted I am in God's word. And look, I want you to be rooted in God's word. I feel like I am, except I'm not going to hold it over somebody and pretend like I'm more than you. [00:46:40] Speaker B: Are just because what God has revealed to you, he might not have rebuilt. [00:46:44] Speaker A: He may not have revealed it yet to you or I may be wrong too. If you people say God revealed this to me, I'm not. I'm not. Exactly. [00:46:53] Speaker B: Come on. Yeah, yeah. [00:46:54] Speaker A: So even years and years and years of theology study and thinking you've got it down pat. Just be Ready. Tomorrow you're going to run into something else that kind of throws you a curveball. [00:47:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. God speaks to people. [00:47:08] Speaker A: Sure, I agree. [00:47:10] Speaker B: But that's between you and God. You know, I'm going to say, okay, sure. I'm just going to. Okay, sure. That's okay. He does speak. I mean, I don't know about all them actually talking. They got to talk to them. [00:47:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:47:23] Speaker B: That's something different. And he did. That's okay. But I don't think God speaks to people to change doctrine. Right. [00:47:32] Speaker A: Nor. Nor do I. Sometimes I don't know that I get into that. God spoke to me to tell you what to do. [00:47:38] Speaker B: Exactly. Well, then why didn't he come to me? [00:47:40] Speaker A: Yeah, why didn't he tell. Yeah, why didn't he tell me? Now, granted, you might have some insight or you might have more wisdom that you can share, but, man, that one has always gotten me. [00:47:49] Speaker B: But God has told me to encourage you. You right, but not to tell you. This is what God told you this. Yes. And that's different. And I have had that where God has laid somebody on my heart and I end up calling them and talking to them. And she was just so. I'm so glad somebody called me. Talk to me. I believe God spoke to me on that. [00:48:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I agreed. [00:48:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:48:16] Speaker A: I ain't disagreeing with that. [00:48:17] Speaker B: But nothing to change. Doctrine or nothing to tell you that you need to go get out of the industry, mow lawns. [00:48:27] Speaker C: You think it's fair to. As a general rule, if, If God's. If you have something on your heart that is to encourage somebody, offer a kind word, support them some way or another, as opposed to call somebody up and. And let them know that they are. There's an error in their ways that they might need to consider. I'm gonna say with the latter, you need to spend about a multiple of more time thinking and praying on that before you act. [00:48:53] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:48:54] Speaker C: As opposed to do that. [00:48:55] Speaker D: What's that? [00:48:56] Speaker B: I don't know if God calls people to that. [00:48:58] Speaker C: I mean, there's godly correction and good times. [00:49:01] Speaker B: If it's offending someone else. [00:49:03] Speaker A: Yeah, Well, I mean, if you see someone trapped in sin, then you go to that scriptural. And so. But I mean, I think you're right. I think you never go in even in that. In church discipline and any kind of else, the. The goal is always restoration, not, oh, I got one up on you, you're sorry. And so I agree that this doesn't need to be done hastily. It needs to be done gracefully and by studying more and more and looking at, okay, Lord, making sure that I'm not going as a holier than thou or I'm better than you, but really going as a brother and sister in Christ that cares. [00:49:41] Speaker C: Yeah, well, and it goes back to the humility you were talking about earlier from Micah. I mean, it's that. And I think that's a big one. Is that remembering the, that the, the most advanced theologian on the planet in comparison to the actual knowledge of God. [00:49:55] Speaker A: Right. [00:49:56] Speaker C: So minuscule that I think we're. Because you can take. I'm sure if I wanted to have a homework assignment here, I can go home and I could find you a verse that I could come back to and say, I'm pretty sure based on this that it is works, then works as part. You can find any verse that supports and you can find a verse that says the option on that. And the reality is it's kind of like Kenny says sometimes it's not necessarily that it's a little bit of A, a little bit of B. So it's C. It is faith based. I believe that. [00:50:26] Speaker B: Yes. [00:50:26] Speaker C: But if it's true faith, there's going to be works. So if you don't, it's. It's chicken or the egg almost, but they go together. But if you want to just take one or the other, you can prove your point. [00:50:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:50:37] Speaker C: It may not necessarily be correct, but. [00:50:39] Speaker B: You can prove that context is king. [00:50:41] Speaker A: Yeah, well, context and then how you interpret various places. Because look, there are many times I've taught on the parables and had to basically say, well, Matthew 22 Mark 9, the greatest commandment. And the greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, and then love your neighbor as yourself. Well, wow, that almost sounds like a work based theology if that's what we're supposed to do. But we need to make sure that when you interpret things, you need to use the whole counsel of God's word. So. Okay, but where's salvation? Ephesians 2, 8, 9. There's other passages that feel like figure into that that is more than just, okay, I love you, Lord, and I'm gonna love people. No, it's. It's about what Christ did too. [00:51:26] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:51:28] Speaker A: And numerous, numerous parables do that of how you interpret parables, how you interpret those things. There's rules to help you to be able to not go off the rails, so to speak. [00:51:38] Speaker B: Yeah. And I like what you said Sunday. Thank you. About loving God is when you love God, you love people. Yeah, yeah. It's like loving God is the trunk and everything spreads out from that. So you can't love God and not love people. You can't really love people without loving God. To be honest with you. You can't do good if you don't love God or do right. [00:52:11] Speaker A: Well, the first one is what drives everything. [00:52:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:13] Speaker A: Your relationship with God. The vertical is going to drive the horizontal. [00:52:17] Speaker B: And what's on the other end of that is pride. There's a lot of roots to pride. That drives a lot of things. [00:52:24] Speaker A: Well, we, we flip that around and we think the horizontal drives reversal, miracle. Oh, yeah. I'm doing all these things for you. God, look at me. Yeah. I'm, you know, feeding, feeding the poor in the soup kitchen or whatever. Yeah. [00:52:36] Speaker C: One of the, the notes that I jotted down for this was Sometimes so many times it's easy for us to think of our walk with God as a. It's almost like an obligation. We need to, we need to read the Bible today. We need to pray. We need to do this. [00:52:49] Speaker A: Well, and that's, that's really. Last week's sermon is, oh, it's obligation. You got to go share. [00:52:55] Speaker C: But man, what an opposite. It's a gift. It's not a. We get to, we don't have to. [00:53:00] Speaker A: That's. [00:53:01] Speaker C: It's an amazing gift that we even, that we even get to go before him and get to read his Word. [00:53:06] Speaker A: And even get an illustration of that. Of. You know, there's an old comedian, I can't remember exactly who it is. And he came home, he was home, and his wife came home from grocery store and said, this guy in the grocery store told me I'm beautiful. And you, you never tell me that. Well, yeah, you know, you know, I think you're beautiful. I'm married to you. Right. And everything else. Well, if it's an obligation that I got to tell you, then, then it's not the same. [00:53:33] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:53:33] Speaker A: And it's not. Because if it's my duty to have to go out and buy my wife roses or flowers because it's Valentine's Day. All right. Does it really mean. I mean, because I, I'm of the same notion of Valentine's Day, I've always joked is that's the biggest rip off there is, but I gotta go buy my wife something. That. And down deep, yeah, I'm probably doing it out of. It's a sense of duty, a sense of obligation rather than. Okay, I'd much rather give her something on February 1st that she out of the blue rather than I had to on the 14th. [00:54:05] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:07] Speaker A: And so having to do something. You're exactly right. If it's an obligation to witness to you. And that's kind of one of the things that I really was stressing Sunday is if it's something that you have to be guilted into, then obviously I don't. I don't want to be. I don't want to have to make you do that. [00:54:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:25] Speaker A: If you got to be guilted into serving the Lord, then something's wrong with your service to the Lord. [00:54:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:30] Speaker A: If you got to be guilted into witnessing something's wrong with. Why wouldn't you share? [00:54:35] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:36] Speaker A: And I. Cause I get that all the time. And I've gotten to where I've realized. I think the best thing to ask is, why wouldn't you? Yeah. Because I had too many people saying, well, I don't want to be baptized, or I don't want to go to a Sunday school class, or I don't want to go to this. And my question is, well, why wouldn't you? Yeah. If God's given you this, or these are available, or these things are there, why wouldn't you do that? [00:54:59] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:59] Speaker A: You know, so. So a lot of times I think that's really the question to ask is, you know, oh, should I. Or should. No, why wouldn't you? If it's something that we know. [00:55:09] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:09] Speaker A: It's going to help grow you. [00:55:10] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:11] Speaker A: Does that make sense? [00:55:11] Speaker B: Well, no. And I'm. I'm trying to make it into something that I. I'm trying to correlate with what I heard at a funeral, what you're saying. And here's what I heard in the funeral. The daughter or granddaughter asked Ms. Margaret if she ever got mad at Mickey. Yeah. Yeah. And she said, it just resonated me. [00:55:33] Speaker A: That was great. That was a great lunch. [00:55:35] Speaker B: And I get mad at someone that's always. That's always looking after my best interest. And. And I just. Man, that is good. Yeah. [00:55:43] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:55:44] Speaker B: I'm going to use that. And so. And I have today. Well. [00:55:47] Speaker A: And I. I used it because I was like, whoa, that's great. [00:55:50] Speaker B: That was powerful. [00:55:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Why would I not trust someone that has my best interest at heart? [00:55:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, you can. With. You know, with. Up there in that pulpit. With using God. [00:56:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:56:01] Speaker B: And I'm just saying, man, that's good. But I still. Why should I be mad at Renee if she irritates me when she's always looking at my. [00:56:11] Speaker A: She's looking after You. [00:56:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:12] Speaker D: And here's. [00:56:12] Speaker B: Here's the case of point. Well, you got, you know, you're short. I said. Yeah. Get your shirt. [00:56:19] Speaker A: Peanuts. [00:56:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:20] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:56:20] Speaker B: You know, just. She's looking at my best interest. Why should I get mad at that? Not to say I just started thinking about that and I thought that was really good. [00:56:29] Speaker C: Yeah. I thought it was classic lie. [00:56:32] Speaker B: And I just wish I would have thought of it earlier, but. Yeah, but I like it. But you can apply it to. Why would you get mad at God when he's trusting. [00:56:40] Speaker A: Why wouldn't you trust him? [00:56:42] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I like. I love. [00:56:43] Speaker A: Why wouldn't you obey him? [00:56:44] Speaker B: Obey him? Yeah, it's just. I don't know, that spoke. [00:56:48] Speaker A: And that's the thing, that's the key. That's the key question you got to answer is do you really believe God has your best interest at heart? Do you really believe that God is willing to make sure to prosper you? Not necessarily profit being. Oh, yeah, we think. Oh, money, money, money. No, that he is wanting to. That you can trust him and know his process is good. [00:57:09] Speaker B: He's going to take care of you. [00:57:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:57:11] Speaker B: And that's a good term that. I'll help you with that. [00:57:14] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:57:15] Speaker A: College. [00:57:16] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know if I can do that. Yeah, well, you're up there all the time. I guess that makes it easier. [00:57:23] Speaker A: But I think you do. I don't know. [00:57:25] Speaker B: I don't. [00:57:25] Speaker A: I don't know it ever gets easy. But I do think that the more you do it. [00:57:31] Speaker B: Well, I'm not saying it's easy. No, no. [00:57:34] Speaker A: Even just speaking in front of people. [00:57:35] Speaker B: Look, look, it's hard because I'm worn out when I do communion and I get. When you say I can do two sermons, but three, I'm worn out. [00:57:45] Speaker A: Three. Three is going to suck. [00:57:46] Speaker B: Yeah. You know what I do after Communion? I guess I'm go take a nap. [00:57:51] Speaker C: Five minutes. [00:57:53] Speaker A: You know, I'm sitting there thinking, man, you're doing Sunday school and communion is the easiest Sunday. Yeah, I love communion because. Yeah. [00:57:59] Speaker B: Well, you're sure? [00:58:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:58:01] Speaker B: So I know when you're up there, 45 minutes because you put so much emotion, I guess where you're going into it, motion into it, that it wears you out. [00:58:09] Speaker A: It does. It's spiritual warfare. You stop think about it. [00:58:12] Speaker B: So, yeah, after community, I go to sleep. I just want to let you know that. [00:58:18] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I give you bread as you do. [00:58:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah. [00:58:22] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:58:24] Speaker B: I didn't have to have. [00:58:25] Speaker A: That's what we call a callback yeah, there you go. [00:58:28] Speaker B: But one. [00:58:29] Speaker C: One thing I want to throw in here before we wrap up and I gotta go get the kids. But one, one just little thing that I was thinking about this week. You know, I know we've had a lot of people, a lot of loss in the church, and I was this week, Panthers made the playoffs again for the first time. 10 years. Me and Gabe have been reminiscent. [00:58:48] Speaker A: Let's be honest. They backed into the back. [00:58:50] Speaker C: That's right. [00:58:51] Speaker B: Time I was at a funeral. [00:58:52] Speaker C: I didn't. [00:58:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:53] Speaker A: They are the worst odds to win the Super Bowl. Yeah, I think that's pretty safe. [00:58:59] Speaker C: But we were talking a lot about the, you know, the last time they were in there and, you know, 2015 was a great year and all that kind of stuff. You know, one of the things we. We talk sometimes on the podcast about staying focused on the present, and we can all sit down and I do this a lot in my prayer time. Take a list of all the things that I have to be thankful for right now. But one of the things that I got just kind of pointed out to me is that even fond memories are a blessing, too, just because they're in the past. [00:59:24] Speaker A: I think God doesn't remember. [00:59:26] Speaker C: That's right. [00:59:27] Speaker A: Fond or bad. [00:59:28] Speaker C: Yeah. And I mean, even things that have been. I mean, 2015 didn't have a happy ending for the Panther Panther, but there were a lot of great memories from that. And, you know, when you have lost in the family, things that it's easy sometimes to look. Look back at the past, think, man, things were better than. Or look to the future, think things will be better than. The fact is, whether it was past, present or the future hope that he gives us, there's enough to be great to be grateful for. Just in the present. [00:59:52] Speaker B: Sure. [00:59:52] Speaker C: But if you start inventory and all the things that you have had in the past that you still remember and things to look forward to in the future, that's just. It's a. It's timeless gratitude. Maybe, but it's. Just because it's not happening right now doesn't mean you can't still be happy. [01:00:06] Speaker A: And you see it when somebody loses a loved one. One of the best things that God's ever given us is I can hold on to those cherished memories of my dad doing this, niece doing that. And you hold on to those. That's a gift. I declare. Memories are one of the best gifts. And I. I submit that most of them, even good or bad, can. Can be good. That you look back and you think, man, how bad was that? [01:00:30] Speaker D: Yeah, well. [01:00:30] Speaker A: And God delivered me. [01:00:31] Speaker B: Yeah, well, God, you know, the children of Israel were supposed to remember what Moses did all the. All the time. It's all. Yeah. [01:00:40] Speaker A: All throughout. [01:00:40] Speaker C: Remember. [01:00:41] Speaker B: Remember when. Remember this and remember when. Encourages me to face what I'm going for them. [01:00:48] Speaker D: Yep. [01:00:48] Speaker B: I think what God has done for me. Me in the past gives me faith enough to get me through in the future. That's just me. Yep. [01:00:59] Speaker A: Exactly right. [01:01:01] Speaker D: Amen. [01:01:01] Speaker B: Well, thank you. [01:01:03] Speaker D: Good job. Congratulations. [01:01:04] Speaker A: I think I've heard that in a sermon recently. [01:01:07] Speaker B: No, I hadn't preached lately. [01:01:12] Speaker C: All right, I gotta run. See y', all, man. [01:01:13] Speaker A: Thank you. Well, that's also prime fishing. [01:01:19] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. First part. [01:01:20] Speaker A: Hemingway said, anybody can be a fisherman in October. [01:01:23] Speaker C: Yeah, you're right. [01:01:24] Speaker A: We're just skiing one day. [01:01:25] Speaker C: Okay. [01:01:26] Speaker A: Going up Friday night, skiing Saturday, coming home Sunday morning. [01:01:31] Speaker B: Skiing on the east coast is completely different on the west coast. Well, there's ice here. [01:01:36] Speaker A: They have snow. [01:01:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:01:37] Speaker C: There. [01:01:37] Speaker B: It's ice here. Down there. [01:01:38] Speaker A: And I think it's a whole lot. [01:01:39] Speaker B: Different that it's easier on ice. I did see a coyote, a mountain lion and a wolf all on the. [01:01:48] Speaker A: Same where you scan. [01:01:50] Speaker B: Yellowstone. [01:01:51] Speaker A: Okay. You got to be out west. [01:01:53] Speaker B: That song. [01:01:54] Speaker A: Don't think you're gonna see that in Ben. [01:01:58] Speaker B: I finally got to a360, but after I got used to it, then. Then I figured out that you can just keep twirling around. [01:02:07] Speaker A: Is there a video of this? Please tell me. [01:02:10] Speaker B: But I would try it now. [01:02:12] Speaker A: There ain't no way I can. [01:02:13] Speaker C: This was likely before video existed. [01:02:16] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [01:02:17] Speaker A: I would love to see this. I really would. I would love to see exactly what. What you're describing.