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0:30
(Music)
0:49
This is Undaunted Life, a man's podcast.
0:53
I'm your host Kyle Thompson, let's get into it.
0:56
Welcome back to The Forging Table,
0:58
The mission of Undaunted Life is equipping men to push back darkness
1:01
with content that forges spiritual, mental, and physical resilience.
1:04
At The Forging Table, you'll see a group of regular guys
1:06
forging spiritual resilience by digging into God's Word.
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And we're welcoming all of you to come along on that journey with us.
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We're going out of order.
1:12
We're going Caleb and the horn and Adam, the Smith.
1:16
Can I call you the Smith?
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Do you have any nicknames that you've given yourself over your life?
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The Smith, the horn, the Martin, I don't think that works.
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Did you have any nicknames growing up?
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No, no nicknames, nicknames.
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I mean, baseball nickname was wheels because I couldn't run out of sight in a day.
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Okay, I did.
1:31
So you're slow.
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So it's kind of the guy like there was a guy on our team
1:36
who had a horrible arm from the outfield.
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And so every time we would throw from the outfield,
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all of us would make a cannon sound.
1:42
And then it would just like trickle into second base or something like that.
1:45
So that's...
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Dad, you saw, he's telling me I'd stretch triples into doubles.
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Oh, no.
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Thanks, Dad.
1:50
So I did have a self-given nickname,
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which I'm going to be a little bit vulnerable and give elementary school.
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I thought I was really good at basketball.
1:58
And I signed every document Adam Airsmith because I loved Michael Jordan.
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Little Adam Airsmith on every document for a good, like five or six years.
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It probably wasn't until junior high that I stopped.
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Dude, next time.
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Can we bring that back?
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If you write me a letter, please sign it out of there.
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From here on out.
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Can you actually sign out after we get to the end of this episode?
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Be like, "All right, Airsmith out."
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Done.
2:22
Airsmith, okay, I'm with that.
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But I want to go back to this wheels thing.
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Do you think you could be Ryan in a foot raise?
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Heck yeah.
2:28
Today?
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Yeah.
2:29
Say yes.
2:30
Like in the backyard.
2:30
Yeah.
2:31
Can you do it without blowing your Achilles out?
2:33
Yeah, sure.
2:34
No, at least one hamstring, one Achilles has to be busted.
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I ease into my top speed.
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That's why I don't league softball so dangerous, right?
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You just explode out of the box.
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Yep.
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And then everything else explodes.
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That's funny.
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They called me wheels back now.
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So you have no confidence after hearing him have no confidence in his speed.
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You have no confidence you might be able to win?
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Yeah, man, they called me Fester and Sloth from the Goonies when I was in high school.
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Yeah, because I went bald at like 14.
3:00
Yeah.
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I've looked like this since I was like 14.
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So you're aging like a fine ham.
3:05
I'll tell you that.
3:06
Yeah, let me tell you.
3:07
I was like the great, great hambino.
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But no, yeah.
3:10
No, I got caught like, yeah.
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I was like Fester, Sloth from the Goonies.
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My last name's Horn.
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So you can imagine what middle school was like then.
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No, tell me.
3:17
Oh, man.
3:18
Yeah.
3:18
Not appropriate.
3:19
Yeah.
3:20
So.
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Okay, what's funny about that is we were thinking of some
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some names like we were thinking of like boy names.
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And some of the names that were being thrown out.
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I was only looking at them how an eighth grader would.
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And some of the names I'm like, babe,
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because one of the names that she liked was Titus.
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I'm like, you mean Tittus?
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I mean, and she's just like, no one would think that I'm like,
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except everyone in his school for a period of time.
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And she's like, well, that'll just give him character.
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Or he'll be Tittus for the rest of his life.
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It's like, is that what you want for our son?
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So we just went James Eli, like you can't really mess those up.
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Sounds like a boy named Sue.
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That works.
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They found my first name was William,
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because they usually go by Ryan.
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And then first day of school, they're like, William Horne.
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I'm like, oh, yeah, that's me.
4:00
And they're like, willy-honey.
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So like, wait, how is Ryan?
4:05
How does Ryan come from William?
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Because my middle name is Ryan.
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My dad's a big Chicago Cubs fan.
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And his favorite player.
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Yeah.
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Was I love the Cubs, man?
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Ryan Sandberg.
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Oh, I love the Cubs.
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Wait, wait, I forgot.
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I forgot, but I love the Cubs too.
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Smith and Horne.
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It's right.
4:19
No, Smith and Horne.
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So, wait, wait.
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So your middle name is Ryan or Ryan?
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It's actually Ryan.
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He spelled it wrong.
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My mom's like, yeah, he's spelled it wrong.
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So he's not a Ryan Sandberg fan.
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That much of a fan.
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Yeah, no, he just spells it wrong.
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Much of a fan is everybody else.
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So I'm like, why are you guys coming from my middle name?
4:34
And they're like, well, Ryan, William didn't sound good.
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And so he called you William Ryan.
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And because your dad, like Ryan Sandberg,
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I was like, he didn't even spell it right.
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And he's like, yeah, I know.
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Ryan, that's so bad.
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Like, that's the most Cubs fan thing I've ever heard in my life.
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Y'all lose even when you try to spell.
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Like, just the absolute worst.
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Not this season compared to the Cardinals.
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Yeah, you can compare to the Cardinals.
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Yeah.
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Hey, is it two seasons in a row now?
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Oh, yeah.
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Two seasons in our own second.
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We only have 98 more years to go
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before we can match how awful that franchise is.
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Plus.
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A man could build a thousand bridges.
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No, what does that even mean?
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What does that even mean?
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Suck once.
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And he won't be known as a bridge bro.
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Guys, by the way, he is high on Jocko Hydray right now.
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He has not been drinking all day.
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OK, so we're going to get into the 91st Psalm.
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So we're just going to go ahead and read it now, Ryan.
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A few weeks ago, you read Psalm 23 and absolutely smashed it.
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It was a masterful performance.
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Literally, I had tingles going up and down my spine.
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There's nothing I could do to be more excited in this exact moment
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to hear you read a Psalm out loud again,
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because I just know it's going to come up perfectly
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and you're going to absolutely kill it.
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No pressure, but here we go.
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I already have the pressure.
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You are going to read the 91st Psalm.
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Ready, set, go.
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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
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will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
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I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress,
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my God in whom I trust, for he will deliver you
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from the snare of the Fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
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He will cover you with his pinions and under his wings,
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you will find refuge.
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His faithfulness is a shield and a buckler.
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You will not fear the tear of the night,
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nor the arrow that flies by day,
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nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
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nor the destruction that wastes at noon day.
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A thousand may fall at your right side,
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or a thousand may fall at your side,
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10,000 at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
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It will only look, you will only look with your eyes
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and see the recompense of the wicked,
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because you have made the Lord your dwelling place,
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the Most High, who is my refuge?
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No evil shall be allowed to befall you.
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No plague come near your tent,
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for he will command his angels concerning you
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to guard you in all your ways.
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On their hands, they will bear you up,
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lest you strike your foot against stone.
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You will tread on the lion and the adder,
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the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot,
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because he holds fast to me in love.
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I will deliver him.
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I will protect him because he knows my name.
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When he calls to me, I will answer him.
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I will be with him in trouble.
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I will rescue him and honor him.
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With long life, I will satisfy him and show him.
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My salvation.
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So Shane and Shane has a great song as well,
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and this one on Eagles and Wings,
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that is about Psalm 91.
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Really, when we go back to the beginning,
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this is a refuge psalm.
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So it's got some same highlights
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as we see in some of the other psalms.
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Like when you're talking about in his shadow,
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that's the same as Psalm 63-7.
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So that's what we talked about last week.
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But it's where do we find protection?
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Do we find protection in the walls that we have built
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in the money that we have in the bank that protect us from,
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you know, financial ruin or different things like that?
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It's like, well, no.
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According to scripture, when we're in his shadow,
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when we're in the shadow of God the most high,
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that's when we are protected.
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So anything from the beginning there with psalm 91,
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go ahead and hit it.
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So I have this from MacArthur's commentary.
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It describes God's ongoing sovereign protection over his people.
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And so, you know, I think can harm a child of God
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unless the Lord permits it.
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So the first verse is one through 13 or the Lord's protection.
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One through two is the confidence.
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Three through six is the dangers.
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And seven through 13 is the example.
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And then the very end, it ends with the Lord's pledge.
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So that's kind of like a setup of this verse
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that I thought was pretty interesting.
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Would you say seven through 13 was again?
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The example.
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That's a dead air.
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That's a dead air.
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Someone hop in.
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Someone hop in.
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So he who dwells in the shelter the most high will abide in the almighty.
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I looked at that and as like we who dwell in Christ will abide in him.
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There was a sermon series, I believe.
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I can't remember if it was art, if it was art church
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or the church I went to before, but we had a,
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I think it was actually about John and it's about him biting in the light.
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So if you'll read the first couple of verses of John
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where he talks about the light in Christ and how we abide in that,
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I think it really brings like, if we are going to dwell in Christ,
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we're going to abide in him.
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So it's an intimate place to divine protection that no one can overpower.
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So God is always with us.
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So he is my refuge in my fortress, my God, and whom I trust.
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Does that sound familiar?
9:25
Anybody else remember where what that might be from?
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From a movie, a modern movie.
9:30
My refuge in my fortress, my God, and my trust.
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They're chosen? Close? No.
9:35
War movie, saving private Ryan, the sniper in the bell tower.
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Remember when he was deciding?
9:42
That was going to be something from open range.
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I was like, I'm not going to say it.
9:45
I don't want to say it.
9:46
It's not, it's not, it's very similar to this.
9:49
But when I read that, I wrote down saving private Ryan.
9:52
And then I went and watched it and it's very similar.
9:54
Oh, wow.
9:54
Is this right before he gets shot out of the tower?
9:57
He's reciting it and he shoots a German on a panzer tank
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and then the other panzer tank raises.
10:02
And he's in the shadows though.
10:05
And like in the shadows, isn't that considered like divine protection?
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Yeah, I mean, we see that multiple places in these last, these last songs.
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He's got really inquisitive.
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Yeah.
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What do you, what do you mean by divine protection?
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Like when they talk, when he talks about the shadow,
10:20
it's a proximity or relief.
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Like if you're like, it's like you're outside, it's hot.
10:24
And then the sun is beating down on you.
10:27
And then you go into the shadows under the tree,
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you get considered, you know, protection from the sun.
10:31
So is it divine protection?
10:32
And so I mean, being a sniper, like in war, like that's divine protection.
10:38
I mean, you're in the shadows.
10:39
You're shooting from, I see, from someplace else.
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So I find it, I just find it crazy that he's reciting that verse
10:46
as he's finding protection in the shadows as a sniper.
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When I remember hearing stories about Chris Kyle,
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when he would be on mission for the Navy SEALs,
10:53
he's, you know, the most prolific sniper in the history of the United States military.
10:57
And what the Marines on the ground, because the Marines are the ones
11:02
kicking indoors, going door to door, stepping on IDs,
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getting ambushed and all that kind of stuff.
11:06
But when they knew that Chris and his SEAL team was out there,
11:10
and that's the same SEAL team that, that Jaco was,
11:13
I think the commanding officer for, but I mean, they felt way better
11:17
because he was their eyes and ears.
11:19
And so to a certain degree, he created a shadow,
11:21
hedge of protection or a shadow or something like that over his people.
11:24
Now, of course, he didn't have the power of God in that moment,
11:27
but he had the power of perspective because he's in a high point.
11:30
He's in a high place and he's looking down and he can see things that are coming
11:34
that no one else would see.
11:35
And in the movie American sniper, there's this one scene.
11:38
I don't know that it's reflective of something that happened,
11:39
but there's Marines that are going door to door.
11:41
And then all of a sudden, this frigging terrorist just like falls dead in front of him.
11:44
And this was a guy that was about to shoot him, but Chris Kyle saw him first shot him.
11:47
And you know, he fell amongst those people.
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And it's like that person meant harm for that group,
11:52
but there, there was kind of a guardian.
11:54
We get into some of that a little bit later with some of those verses in terms of,
11:57
in terms of guardians, but that's an interesting point there from the beginning as well.
12:00
I just think about, or I have a question, like when you, when we think about refuge in my fortress,
12:06
and there's a lot of verses here at the beginning where he's going to keep us safe, right?
12:09
So what do we think that means, really?
12:13
Well, isn't it?
12:15
We've talked about in previous weeks, like as deep calls to deep, like who,
12:20
who was bringing the waves, right? It was God, like, who is allowing you to walk through the
12:24
valley of the shadow of death? God is, like he's going to sustain you in that. But yeah,
12:29
I mean, he's protecting you, but not from everything, seemingly. I mean, what do you guys think?
12:34
Right. I think that's the main point of the chapter, to be honest, I think that almost takes
12:38
it all the way to the end, because I'm about to take the wind of the sails of some of the other
12:43
things we're going to talk about. But when Jesus is wandering in the desert and Satan comes to
12:48
tempt them, do you know what he quotes? He quotes this verse right here. He quotes this,
12:52
and it's the perfect one to quote because it's like, hey, everything should be fine.
12:57
God's always going to protect you, which is true, but that doesn't mean you're not going to go
13:00
through pain. That doesn't mean bad things aren't going to happen. You know, you might be going
13:04
through trials and tribulations for a reason that's going to lead you out on the other side to
13:09
something better. And so what was the question again? Just what does it mean? What does it mean
13:15
that he's our refuge? What I kind of took from that is, I said abiding. I'm like sure. I mean,
13:23
yeah, abiding in him, we are delivered from all sin debt. However, we are not totally free from
13:28
sinning, but under his wings, we find refuge. He is faithful in that he sent his son. So we are
13:34
free from the real terror of our sin, which is the absence of him. That's kind of how I look at it.
13:40
Because like, it's more than, it's more than, you know, if we want to get into this thing,
13:44
because we're going to talk about the Fowler and the pestilence. So the Fowler is a person who goes
13:48
as like a bird, like, what do you want to say? It's like a trap. Yeah, it's a Fowler's a trap
13:56
for birds. And so when you find wings underneath the refuge is the mother bird or the father bird
14:00
protecting. And then pestilence is, you know, disease or plagues or stuff like that. Protection
14:06
protection is provided by the Lord in his faithfulness. An image of protection is used by the Messiah,
14:12
Jesus, regarding the Jewish people, which is coming from the Moody commentary. So the Psalmist gives
14:17
examples of threatening situations by day and night that the Lord will keep the believer safe.
14:21
So the believer is going to be, he's going to keep you safe throughout life. But like,
14:25
the real safety that he's providing you is eternal life in him. It might be a little bit deep.
14:31
No, I mean, that's the main point. Yeah. The whole chapter. Like the safety of your soul.
14:36
Yeah, not so much your earthly body. Yeah, like Christ didn't come back and free everybody and
14:42
become a political leader or a general or a king. He came back and he became the ultimate sacrifice
14:46
so you can have freedom from sin. There were some pretty bad things that happened to Job.
14:50
He wasn't immediately saved, right? He had to go through it. One again, because verse three,
14:54
it's like, for he will deliver you from the snare and Fowler. He doesn't say before you get snared.
14:58
Yeah. Right. But before you're in the Fowler, like before you've been touched by pestilence.
15:03
And actually, this might be a little bit weird, but I don't mean this like tongue and chicken
15:06
all. But whenever I saw the word pestilence, I immediately thought of the only other place
15:11
outside of the Bible that I've even seen the word pestilence. And it was in a Mumford and son song.
15:15
And so the song is winter winds. And here's the line where it says pestilence. Sorry, I lost it.
15:22
Oh, the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved was the same that sent me into your arms.
15:28
Oh, and pestilence is one when you are lost and I am gone. And no hope, no hope will overcome.
15:34
And so pestilence like that, that's a plague, but it's not just a plague. It's a destructive plague.
15:38
Like this is the black plague. This is what COVID was sold at at the beginning of the pandemic.
15:43
And then, you know, never actually turned into it's one of those things like again,
15:46
he's delivering us from these things. But it doesn't mean that those things won't touch us.
15:51
And also it doesn't mean that the sniper in the clock tower was not, was not protected. Yeah,
15:56
because some people are like, yeah, he's quote and scripture and then he freaking gets blown up
16:00
by a by a tank ground, you know, by, you know, something like that. It's like,
16:04
he had he had potentially served every last bit of his purpose here on earth. He had potentially
16:10
protected whoever he needed to protect. And again, when something happens to somebody that we
16:14
categorize as negative and as bad, and we take the judgment seat of God and say, only negative
16:20
can come from a situation like this. Like that's just a really hard place for us to be because
16:25
we might someone dying, a young person or something that dying might be part of someone else's
16:32
deliverance from a snare or a Fowler or from a pestilence. Maybe that's the pestilence they
16:36
need delivery from. And so someone's going to see the power of God because they're confused why
16:42
this little girl could could possibly die of cancer. And then that's how God opens their eyes.
16:46
You know what I mean? That's hard to talk about and hard to think about, but it doesn't make it
16:50
not true. But it's funny. Monty Williams, his speech when his wife died. Oh, man, boy. Exactly
16:57
on this topic. Yeah, for a percent. Yeah. So everyone here in Oklahoma basically knows that,
17:01
but Monty Williams was a assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder at the time. And a woman was
17:06
drunk high, something like that. And slams into Monty Williams's wife's car, kills her, and this
17:13
woman killed herself in the process as well. And so horrible tragedy, you know, for Oklahoma City.
17:19
And this was at the time when everyone in Oklahoma City was still romantic about the Thunder. Like,
17:24
yo, Kevin Durant walks around with a backpack and plays video games. And oh, man, I just love him.
17:28
And you know, we're all romantic about it. And Monty Williams gets up at the funeral for his wife
17:34
and delivers one of the most powerful eulogies I've ever seen, not a single crack. And he's in a
17:41
crowd with, I mean, Greg Popovich is there all the Thunder players. There's all stars there. They're
17:45
all, they all love Monty and they love his family. And he just goes, he was just so casual about it.
17:51
He's like, look, I know where my wife is. Like, you know, I'm not sitting here wondering where my
17:55
wife is. And then also he's like, y'all are all here because you know that we're hurting right
17:59
now. But you know what, there's another family hurting because they lost a daughter, they lost
18:03
a niece, they lost a sister. And it's like, I mean, he's that he's steady. And I'm balling,
18:10
watching this thing on YouTube. Yeah. It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.
18:14
Yeah, agreed. Like a level of strength that's kind of hard, hard to fathom. Like when Jordan
18:18
Pearson talks about be the one guy, your father's funeral that everyone can lean on. Well, what
18:22
if it's your wife, man? It's tough. I mean, I've, I watched a funeral. I was at a funeral. And that
18:28
person was taken early. And there was so much anger in it. It was so sad. Like, you just
18:34
walked out of there being like, in the, the pastor was basically like, you should curse God.
18:39
Like this shouldn't have happened. Like basically like Job's wife, curse God and die. And I was
18:45
just like, man, like, I just told my wife, I was like, when I die, just share the gospel,
18:49
play some really good songs and share the gospel. But isn't it so interesting, and you,
18:54
you even said it just then, whether you meant to or not, oh, that we were, I was at the funeral and
18:58
this person was taken early. Were they? Oh, yeah. Were they taken early? To them,
19:03
they were taken early to them. Yeah. To us. I mean, because we, we like to divide things
19:07
into categories. So when a 95 year old dies quietly in their bed, no one uses the word tragedy.
19:12
But when a, you know, 10 year old is killed in a school shooting or in a car accident or has
19:18
cancer or something like that, it's like, Oh, God, took them too soon. Like, you know,
19:21
their timeless earth was cut short. It's like, or that was the exact amount of time that they
19:26
were supposed to be here. Yeah. Like, but again, like I fall into the exact same thing. It's like,
19:30
it just hits different when a young person passes away. Man, it just hits way different.
19:35
Cause you're, you're thinking about, I remember, you know, being a Cardinals fan,
19:39
Sam usual, greatest Cardinal of all time, top 10 greatest player of all time.
19:43
In the same year, he died and he was late 80s, early 90s or something like that.
19:47
And then, like a 21 year old prospect that had just gotten to the majors named Oscar Tavares,
19:54
who was, who was the future of the franchise, right? dies in the Dominican Republic in a,
19:58
like a drunk driving high speed accident, something like that. And I was so interesting at the time,
20:03
I was like, Cardinals fans are, are mourning what we had with Stan Musial. And we're mourning what
20:10
will never be with Oscar Tavares. Yeah. So from a baseball context, that's romantic and it makes
20:15
sense. But it's like, in a cause, cosmic context, it's like Oscar, is that just the product of the
20:22
fall? Or did, did God need him or not not need him? But did God take him, right? Was Stan Musial
20:29
given that long life for a particular purpose? Like, we just don't typically think of it that way.
20:33
We will, we never, we will never know. I mean, we, we're not going to know God's thoughts
20:37
100%. We get a good glimpse in the Bible, but it's just one of those things that you think about.
20:43
Like, I feel really bad. I know where those, that family's coming from. They're hurting and
20:46
everything like that. But it's just like, man, you know, it's like, man, I want the gospel to be,
20:52
I want it to rain true. So. And so I'm, I'm good to kind of jump around in this song a little bit.
20:58
So Adam, you kind of brought this up. But let's go ahead and hit versus 11 through 13. Because I
21:02
think that's a really important thing to discuss. So would you read 11 through 13? For he will
21:09
command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their
21:14
hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra.
21:19
You will trample the great lion and the serpent. So there's so much to all three of these. So go
21:24
and launch them wherever you want. I was looking forward to this because I've, I'm familiar with
21:29
the churches that dance with serpents, right? And I suppose, what do you say you're familiar with?
21:34
Like you used to go to one? No, no, no, that was the one I would. Oh, sweet. That was the cult.
21:39
You're a had a dance with snakes, but couldn't eat hands. That's a horrible place. I don't know
21:44
this to be true, but I would, I would assume that they probably hang their hat on this verse.
21:49
And it's so incredible to imagine that possibly they hang their hat on. This is potentially
21:55
why they do this. And maybe it has to do with Moses and putting snakes on the rod or something.
22:00
I'm not really sure. But assuming it was this verse, it's the same chapter that Satan uses
22:05
to tempt Jesus. And yet they interpret it potentially to assume that God's going to keep them safe
22:12
from these deadly snakes. And it's completely and absolutely ridiculous. And it's wrong.
22:16
One every year, there's a, you know, pastor of one of these churches that dies because they
22:23
got bit by damn snake. And it's like shock ball shocks. Poison snakes are poisonous.
22:26
Exactly. And they bite. Don't put, don't put God to the test, right? Well,
22:31
they might come back at you with Malachi, uh, three 11, three, 13, where God says, put me to the test.
22:39
I'm just telling you, like, because I grew up in the charismatic, like we both did. And like
22:45
Malachi three, 10 was the whole thing about why you had to give your 10% and how they would try to
22:50
get you to give money to the church. And then I remember saying something about in regards to
22:55
life church when they do the three month thing and charismatic family member was just like, well,
23:00
God says in Malachi to test him. You know, God also says to test, you know, it also says test
23:05
the spirits, but I was like, you got to look at the context of that. You know, like, that's
23:09
the thing here. These people are, the devil's isolating scripture to Christ in the desert.
23:14
And then they're re-isageating scripture to whatever they want to do, whatever kind of control they
23:20
want to have over their congregation. And again, that's where they use Malachi three, eight and three
23:25
10 to, to basically create control. It's isolated eating scripture, but they don't look back in
23:30
the whole time about Malachi. He's talking about the storehouses and the storehouses during Nehemiah
23:35
on the last, uh, like a couple of forging tables back. We, we did Nehemiah and the storehouses were
23:40
empty when he went back 10 years later. Well, they weren't holding up their end of the bargain.
23:44
They weren't holding up their end of the covenant. Well, that covenant's now broken.
23:47
There's no more ceremonial covenant through Christ. And so that's what they forget,
23:51
but they want to come back and do that. Why? Because, well, in the Bible, it says, well,
23:55
a man robbed God get you robbed me in what ways and ties an offering. You're robbing God when
23:59
you don't give your 10%. And then when they do something crazy, like a three month challenge,
24:04
they're going to go, well, God says, test me. And they're going to come back to you and say,
24:07
well, God says, test me with a snake, which is still isageating scripture. So it's just
24:11
isageating moral of the story. Don't handle snakes while you're like doing praise and worship.
24:17
Like come on, man, moral of the story. Don't handle snakes and give with a grateful heart.
24:20
Well, I would even say here. So in my, in my, uh, ESV verse 13 is you will tread on the line in
24:27
the adder, the young line in the serpent, you will trample underfoot. So when I, when I saw
24:32
young line, it immediately reminded me of Psalm 34, 10, the young liar and the young line suffer
24:37
once in hunger. But the those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Okay. So the whole thing about
24:43
that is a young lion, like what is more resourceful and powerful than a young lion, right? Basically
24:48
nothing in all of nature. But even a young lion has lack, right? And so that that's part of this
24:54
here. But then it says, and the serpent, you will trample underfoot, made me remember like Genesis
24:58
three 15, I will put immunity between you and the woman in between your offspring and her offspring.
25:04
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise your heel. Who is he Christ? Thank you. Okay. So
25:09
like in this moment, it's not us that's trampling the head of the adder, right? Like it goes back
25:15
to what you're saying earlier, Ryan, about like Shane Claiborne and all these guys that, you know,
25:18
look at what is it? Isaiah to something where they're just like, yeah, we're gonna bend your
25:22
swords and your plow chairs and your, your spears and a pruning hooks and all that. It's like,
25:26
who's doing that? Wait, are we doing that? No, God's doing that. And so we're taking the role of God,
25:32
like again, whenever Jesus rebuked Peter said, get behind me Satan or whenever Jesus rebuked
25:39
Peter for striking, striking the Roman centurion and all that. He wasn't doing that because he was
25:45
being violent. He was doing that because he was getting in the way. It's like, dude, I have to go
25:49
do this. Can you please stop being a hothead? And so again, it's like we look at these different
25:53
scriptures and completely out of context, we're like, I think I'll get a box of poisonous snakes
25:57
to bring on stage. This seems like a great idea. You're not Christ. Are you tracking? Yeah,
26:04
are you talking with me? Everyone knows the reference. Yeah, it's a bit, but no, I mean,
26:08
it's a messianic passage is a messianic prophetic passage is what this is. And it's talking about
26:12
the coming Christ. Absolutely. I want to talk about verse 11, but how have I done the ad yet?
26:17
Have I done the? I don't think so. It's not even an ad. It's just like for y'all's benefit. So guys,
26:21
if you have not heard us talk about before, we do have a forging table starter set. I get asked
26:25
all time, Kyle, we're doing a forging table. We're starting into my my city. I got guys showing up.
26:29
What resources do we need? Well, there is a forging table starter set that we put together with
26:33
Crossway. We work with them to put an amazing study Bible in there, a journal, a devotional,
26:37
a couple of other books. You guys should definitely check that out. You can get all those books for
26:41
50% off. Just go into the show notes and check that out. And also, if you really, really want to
26:45
take your Bible study the next level, the Logos Bible software, it is so unbelievably powerful,
26:50
basically anything and everything that you've wanted to do in terms of studying the scripture,
26:54
you can do with the Logos Bible software. So we are working with them to get you that software
26:57
at a discount. So go to the link in the show notes and you can check that out. But I do want
27:01
to go back to verse 11 for he will command his angels concerning you and to guard you in all your
27:06
ways. I think I was going to kind of do this at the opening, but I just want to do it now.
27:10
I want y'all to tell me what you thought about angels growing up. Okay, so I'll describe from
27:16
my perspective, because you were in a cult, y'all went to Caresmatic Church, and I was just a red
27:20
neck that didn't do anything. And so I took what the culture said about angels. So angels were fat
27:27
babies that would shoot hearts at people somehow, made up holiday in February. Angels were among us,
27:34
right? There was that song, angels among us. We all sing in elementary school and all that.
27:39
And so you get this concept of angels kind of being around, like kind of this guardian angel
27:44
thing, or it was like, or yeah, it would be kind of the guardian angel thing. There was another
27:49
show that came on that was about angel. What was that? There's touch by an angel.
27:54
Okay, I think I was highway to heaven. Okay, I think it was touched by an angel was the one
27:57
I was thinking of. And it was always kind of the it was very feminine storylines and all these
28:02
things. And so my context of angels had nothing to do with what we see in Isaiah or Ezekiel,
28:08
where these angels are described as like literally the most terrifying beings possible that they'd
28:13
only took two of them to take out like entire huge groups of people. And you know, God put one
28:19
angel, like after Adam and Eva kicked out of the garden, he put one at the gate with a flaming
28:24
sword to keep them out. And that's all it took, kind of a thing. But what when y'all were growing
28:28
up, like, what were your thoughts? Like about angels? What did you know about angels? I thought
28:32
they were really good at baseball. Because I love that movie. Actually, this is a ridiculous
28:41
thing. But since you're a baseball guy, I have to tell the story. So do not lose where we were.
28:45
So angels in the outfield, everyone that's seen that movie, right? So they start doing the little
28:48
angel flap thing. And then, you know, the angels win. And it's great. And it's all that. Okay. So
28:53
me and a group of guys, Matt Grassmeyer was there with us. I think I may have told this story before,
28:57
but it, but if you're new to the store, no, he didn't have the stash. That's like a very,
29:00
very new Matt Grassmeyer thing. Okay. So it's me Matt Grassmeyer and a bunch of our buddies from
29:04
college. And this was when it would have been the Oklahoma City Red Hawks, when they were still
29:08
affiliated with it was either the Astros or the Rangers. Doesn't matter. So this is one of those
29:12
nights where it's maybe like a Thursday and there's maybe a thousand people total in the stadium.
29:17
And so we just mosey behind home plate. This is towards the end of the game. There's a couple
29:20
runners on and we just start acting goofy. And then one of us, I don't even know who
29:25
starts doing the angel in the outfield wings thing. And then all of us start doing it. This
29:30
is in between pitches and hand to God. If I'm lying, I'm dying. The very next pitch is right
29:35
down the middle of the plate. This guy's center center. And it was one of those things that the
29:39
moment he made contact, you knew it was gone. You did not have to look at the left fielder.
29:44
You did not have to see where the ball landed. Is it going to get over the wall? It was smashed.
29:48
And it was right after we started doing the angels in the outfield thing. So
29:52
I'm telling you, me and my friends are responsible for that guy going from Triple A to the majors.
29:56
Don't even remember the guy's name. I think that was when Nelson Cruz was, was on the Rangers.
30:00
So this is before like he made it up to the majors. So college, you're not the head angel.
30:04
No, I know I'm not the head angel. But in that moment, I was. I got temporary powers that I
30:09
was able to deliver through that guy's wooden bat. I'm just telling him. Absolutely.
30:13
Home run in 2003. That's right. That's how it works out. That's how it works out. But anyway,
30:17
so you, angels, angels. I mean, I always, I always grew up that they were human. I grew up watching
30:24
the show highway to heaven where Michael Landon played an angel. And so I always thought angels
30:28
had really nice had a hair and a leather jacket. So I mean, that's how I literally thought angels
30:33
were like these just like cool human looking human beings. So yeah, for me, it was just what
30:39
pop culture told you, you know, it was the bird like, you know, soft white, all that. But I think
30:47
more than that, like, you know, I think looking back on it, that view of angels kind of helped
30:52
form my view and keep in mind, I mean, was not going to a Bible believing church, obviously,
30:57
but it helped form my view on heaven too. You know, is that it's just like, why would I want to go do
31:03
that? Exactly. It sounds terrible. I want to sit on clouds naked. Right. It sounds awful. Yeah,
31:09
I would say weak, ghostly, white, you know, just floating around, definitely not powerful or strong
31:15
or scary in any way. He totally just described me. Are you comfortable with that? Are you comfortable
31:23
with that? Do you want to be the easiest guy? No, no, man, we need to make you dangerous. All right,
31:28
by the end of this year, Caleb's going to be covered in the blood of an animal that he just
31:32
displayed all over the earth. And you're going to be a dangerous person. Hey, I told you all
31:36
join Jiu Jitsu when you become a five point Calvinist. You will join Jiu Jitsu. What does that mean?
31:40
It's not a club that I will start doing Jiu Jitsu. Okay, I'm a five pointer. You're a five pointer?
31:46
Yeah, you want to train tonight? What about four is four? Okay, what about four and a half? I don't
31:49
believe you four and a half. I'm in, I'm in for all of it. Just give me give me the tattoo. Like,
31:55
we're good. Hey, with all that in mind, I want to talk about guardian angels. Okay, I can't find
32:00
the note, but I was, I took a note on something and I can't find it now. It was on one of the,
32:05
one of these last batch of Psalms that we're in. But what are your thoughts on that? Because
32:09
I've heard stories. And again, it's so hard when you hear someone's anecdotal story about,
32:13
you know, I was here. Well, even Zach Todd, Zach Todd was telling a story about how he got a
32:19
really bad car accident. And the car is completely totaled. And, but there's not a scratch on him,
32:25
right? And he survives his car crash. And everyone knows a story or two like that.
32:30
I had a buddy that got in a car accident where he was literally launched from one side of the
32:33
highway out of his vehicle, landed on the other side of the highway on his head. And like,
32:38
the worst thing happened to him was a concussion. And in that same accident, his cousin kind of did
32:43
the same thing, but his head split open on the highway and he died in his fiance's arms. And so
32:47
it's like, you know, was a, was an angel protecting this guy, but not the other guy. Like, I mean,
32:53
what do you else thoughts on that? I don't know. Like, and there's things I'm not going to put
32:56
past God. There was something when I was a kid and I was eight years old, I had to get my appendix
33:01
out. And I was in a hospital for like two days, I guess. And I thought that was normal. But about
33:08
the time I was 14, my mom asked me, she goes, Hey, um, when you were under the knife or like,
33:14
when they gave you the, whatever it was, the, um, well, anesthesia anesthesia, um, she goes,
33:21
did you dream about anything? And I was like, no, actually, I really didn't like all I can tell
33:25
you is like all I saw was I never, it was like a person or a being sitting on a box with a brown
33:33
like overcoat on like the news overcoat you would see like a raincoat. And I go in a hat and they
33:38
were just sitting there waiting. I was like, I never saw their face. I never saw anything. But
33:42
that's all I remember. That's all I remember seeing. And she goes, yeah, you almost died that night.
33:46
And I was like, what? She's like, yeah, when you, you were an ICU that night because, um,
33:55
they gave you too much anesthesia and you're supposed to come out within like two hours.
33:58
I was out for nine yikes. Yeah. So she goes, like you find like, she's like, everybody from the
34:03
church came by and we're praying over you and everything. And, um, she goes, I would they,
34:08
they're like, if he comes out, he's going to come out brain dead. And she goes, you came out after
34:13
nine, 10 hours, just totally, totally normal. So she's like, I kind of wondered, you know, like,
34:18
what were you thinking? Like what was going on during that time? I was like, I can't honestly,
34:21
I can tell you that's my only thought. And I can still remember it vividly. And so do I like to
34:25
think that's my guardian angel? Maybe, you know, but like, is it? I don't know, you know, but God
34:30
was there and he was protecting me because I should have been dead. He has, he has something he wants
34:35
me to do. Well, and that's right. You're in verse 11. I, this was a note I could find for he will
34:39
command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Yeah. I mean, is that, I mean,
34:46
you're furiously searching for some. So hit it. I say this without having gone through and
34:53
in getting the context of this. So I don't like pulling scripture out and not knowing whether or
34:57
not this is correct. We'll give you a little attitude here. Hebrews 114 says, are not all angels
35:03
ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. I know I've read that before
35:08
and I can remember that because of my upbringing, but are not all angels ministering spirits sent
35:14
to serve those who will inherit, inherit salvation in Hebrews in the New Testament.
35:20
What is he talking about here? And then like, do you think that could be like the Holy Spirit?
35:23
Like is that heretical? You know, because it's like we're, we're sent the Holy Spirit who basically
35:29
ministers to us. So, but it doesn't say the Holy Spirit. And no, it doesn't say it says angels and
35:36
you would think it's Hebrew. It's not going to. Yeah, it's not going to mess that up. So yeah, I mean,
35:41
I don't know. You know, like that's a, that's a good thought, but angels did minister.
35:46
I mean, like when angels came, they brought a message. They were messengers.
35:49
The description to this at the bottom says the author, the author has just suggested from scripture
35:53
that angels are spirits who serve guardian angels of individuals were already familiar
35:58
in Jewish tradition. What about from your cult? What did y'all learn about, but not angels?
36:03
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing about angels. No. Okay. So you and I are coming from
36:08
same similar, like nothingness when it came to angels. I guess. So I've heard different Christians
36:14
before, you know, they'll do something that's, that's inherently dangerous. Like, you know,
36:19
they'll write a motorcycle or skydive or own a pit bull or something like that. And so they
36:23
have something that's like, you know, where they're just like, yeah, man, hey, like nobody owns my
36:29
life, God owns my life. Like, so I don't need to wear a seat belt. I don't need to wear a helmet.
36:33
Like I don't need any of that type of stuff. That's where I kind of get a little bit,
36:36
a little bit squirrely is when people do that. Like there was a guy that I know who
36:40
the reason why he didn't wear a seat belt. This is a young guy that used to work with
36:44
is he said, well, there's two reasons. Number one, because seat belts have killed people in car
36:48
accidents. And number two, because God's got my life. No one else does. And I was like, well,
36:53
do you know anything about the statistics about the people that have died because of seat belts
36:58
versus the people that were saved because of seat belts? Any idea? No. But he's like, yeah,
37:03
even if they even if what you're saying is true, you sound like a conspiracy theorist,
37:06
first of all, but he's like, even if what you're saying is true, God's the God's got me like he's
37:11
numbering my days, like not the people in traffic. And I'm like, okay, we're all down with the
37:19
sovereignty of God, some more so to a certain degree than others. But like, like, if that's true,
37:26
and if God knows the exact day that we're going out, like, do we have to wear a seat belt? Do we
37:33
have to wear a helmet? Like you kind of get what I'm saying. It's like, I'm trying to make it
37:38
prescriptive, not just descriptive. I hear what you're saying. But if I have cancer,
37:42
I'm going to go and to an oncologist, and I'm going to try to medically get better.
37:47
Now, if the cancer ends up taking me, it ends up taking me. But God gave us medicine for a reason,
37:53
you know, God gave us seat belts for a reason. We wear our seat belts, you know, I could wear
37:57
my seat belt, get in a car accident, and still die. You know, it's just like, I'm not going to,
38:02
I'm not going to like play Russian roulette with God's sovereignty. I'm going to do
38:06
what is prudent and what is should be done. And I'm going to trust in him, you know,
38:12
so sense in being reckless. Yeah, just don't be. So I've had the similar discussion with somebody
38:17
about writing a motorcycle, and their justification for not wearing a helmet was because if you fall
38:22
off and you hit a curb, if you have a helmet on, that you could break your neck. And then if
38:29
you don't have a helmet on, you won't break your neck. How ridiculous is that? You'll break your
38:33
skull. You'll have a neck, your neck will be in pieces. He's just always aiming for curbs.
38:37
He's weaving into curves. Like, just in case, I want to hit that curb as hard as possible.
38:43
He actually did that one. Yeah. This actually, I do have some, so growing up part of the cult
38:50
that I was in, they didn't believe in pharmaceuticals. Right. So they said it was a lack of faith.
38:55
So I mean, it's very similarly related. But there are many examples of people
39:02
passing away, becoming, you know, severely disabled, whatever it is. Like if they had like the,
39:07
you talked about like a, what's it called? A febral seizure. Yeah. So my, my cousin's
39:16
person related to him. Like she, she is severely handicapped because of that,
39:21
because she was part of this church that they just didn't do any of that. And then they saw it as
39:25
lack of faith. Right. So I mean, it's, it's twisting the brain, I mean, not using the brain that God
39:32
gave us, right, to still make wise decisions. Yeah. But I mean, it happens all the time. Like,
39:38
there's all kinds of examples of like that among churches, cults, all sorts of things.
39:42
People, I see scripture all the time to make stupid decisions. Yep. I mean, we live in the
39:47
modern culture right now. David went to battle with the slingshot and a sword in armor. You know,
39:52
he didn't just use his hands or use his magic finger. You know, he had weapons for a reason.
39:57
Right. Yeah, that's.
40:00
So some people have said, so you brought up David and the story of David and Goliath,
40:06
he had five stones on him. And so some people use that as an example of, okay, he had five stones
40:11
because he didn't have enough faith in God that God would deliver Goliath into his hands.
40:17
But what we also see from scripture is that Goliath was the oldest of how many brothers?
40:21
Four. Yeah. Five brothers. Like he was the oldest of five, right? So he had four brothers,
40:27
which is, which is what you're saying. And so in that day and age, like, if someone killed
40:32
your brother, you would come to avenge your brother. And so like, I remember when I learned
40:36
that, I learned that like six or seven months ago, I'm like, that is the most gangster thing
40:40
about that story that no one talks about. He goes, it immediately made me think of tombstone
40:45
in that scene where he stumbles out drunk. And that guy goes, you're so drunk, you're probably
40:50
seeing double. And he goes, I've got two guns, one for each of you. And it was one of those moments
40:55
where it's like, all right, well, if Goliath's brothers are going to Fafo, then it's like,
40:59
look, I've got four more after I kill your brother, I'm going to hit him in that little slip
41:03
where he doesn't have, you know, any protection in his helmet. And then I've got one for each of
41:08
you after you show up. And so it's like, but if you don't know that, which we don't know
41:12
that for sure, we don't know that that's for sure why he had five stones, but it would make perfect
41:16
sense. Then you're going to extrapolate out from that story that David didn't have enough faith,
41:21
right? He thought it was going to take God five shots to work through him. You know what I mean?
41:24
Right. So it's kind of his self-fulfilling prophecy.
41:26
I think it's pretty gangster. What you just said about the five stones, because like,
41:32
I never heard of that. Okay, tell them what's even more gangster is this. So there's so much
41:37
in the story that my man, like when people are like, you got to read your Bible, it's like, yeah,
41:40
you do need to read your Bible. Okay. So David kills Goliath and he takes Goliath sword and cuts
41:45
off Goliath's head and holds it up, right? Well, what was common in that day for a conquering king
41:50
or something like that is you would take the head of your deceased enemy and you would put it on a
41:56
spike and you would put it at the highest place that you could find. Okay. So David kills Goliath,
42:02
cuts off his head and he takes the head back to Jerusalem. But he can't take the head into
42:07
Jerusalem proper because it was unclean. And so he had to go to the highest point that was nearest
42:12
to the temple, which is a mountain right across from the temple called Mount Moriah. Okay. If Mount
42:18
Moriah sounds familiar, that is where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. But at the last second,
42:24
God stopped him and provided a ram for the slaughter. And Mount Moriah is also where Jesus was crucified.
42:32
And so Goliath of Gath, Goliath of Gath, because he's from Gath, that is two words,
42:37
Gologotha, Gologotha combined Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. So where Jesus
42:44
was crucified is where King David, who Jesus is in the line of took the head of his defeated enemy,
42:53
his Philistine enemy, and put him right in that place. Never heard that. In that insane and thanks
42:59
to Joby. We now know it's a train station. Oh, yeah, if you got to read the beginning of if the
43:04
tomb is empty, but here, like what's funny about the if the tomb is empty book, which guys, again,
43:08
I've told the story a million times, but like I was pitched Joby's book like, how do you and Joby
43:12
become friends? It's because this publisher pitched me on a book and my reaction was, Oh, cool,
43:17
Megatridge pastor wrote a book. I bet this thing's going to be awesome. And then I read the book and
43:21
it was actually awesome. So it was like, you know, egg on my face. But yeah, he talks about early on
43:26
in that book, you know, the place where Jesus was crucified is basically a bus stop. You know,
43:30
it just smells like exhaust and, you know, different people's food in this particular area.
43:36
But for whatever reason, it's probably just from my lack of Bible study and just the type of
43:41
preaching I was under for over a decade. But I didn't realize that Mount Mariah,
43:45
that the same place where Jesus was crucified is where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac.
43:50
And so, you know, when you have guys like Jordan Peterson talk about the hyperlinked nature of the
43:54
Bible, how this refers to that and this refers to that and how it's basically the first hyperlinked
43:58
text that we see in history. And then you hear a story like that, you know, from David and Goliath,
44:04
like, Oh, what does David and Goliath have anything to do with the cross? Well, I don't know. That's
44:08
where he took Goliath's freaking head. And then it was called Golgoth, where do you think they got
44:11
the name of that, right? And then the same thing Mount Mariah is where these two things take place
44:16
to where it's like, you can go 3000 years or however many 1000 years it's 3000 years from when
44:21
we're living today, then you see these things that are separated by so much time. But it's like,
44:26
when we talk about how this was predicted and how like, it's just basically playing out exactly
44:31
how we see in scripture, like, that's the thing is you can spend the rest of your life digging into
44:35
this book and you're never going to get to the bottom, you say predicted or predestined.
44:38
Are we going there already? We've done so well during this.
44:42
I feel like I should quote Grasmer right here, where it doesn't say all of reality bends to God's
44:48
will. Did he make that up? Did he make that up? Let's not give him any credit. He's not here to
44:53
defend himself. He's a smart guy. That's what's so beautiful about the word. Yeah, it's awesome.
44:57
Well, let's let's keep going here. I actually want to dig into the last little chunk 14 through 16
45:02
because he holds fast to me in love. I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name.
45:07
When he calls to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and
45:12
honor him with a long life. I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. There's quite a bit
45:18
to talk about here. One thing that I wanted to discuss is going back to verse 15. When he calls
45:23
to me, I will answer how often do we ignore God's promptings? I'll just be very, very honest about
45:31
this. It's kind of convicting to me, but I will be walking through some store in a parking lot
45:37
or something like that. And I will hear clear as day. Go tell that person about Jesus right now.
45:41
That one right now, like I've got, I have things, I have things to do and I'm an on time person,
45:50
right? I do an episode at the beginning. God, did you know every year in January, I do an
45:54
episode and I tell guys not to be late because it makes you a crappy man. Like, if I do that,
45:57
I'm going to be like, God, do you see that? I have a watch on my wrist. You're going to make me late.
46:02
And more times than not, I will not honor the prompting. Now, there have been plenty of times
46:08
when I have done that. And part of the thing that I do to make myself more use of those scenarios is
46:13
every time I get my food at a restaurant and the server is like, well, hey, do you all need
46:17
anything else? And I'd say, Hey, we're about to pray over our meals or anything that we can pray
46:20
for you about. This kind of keeps me in that, Hey, this shouldn't be awkward. But for whatever
46:25
even reason it is who cares, get over it, like just ask the question. But a lot of times, you know,
46:30
I'll just kind of go up to somebody and it's just like, Hey, I'll just be real honest. I'll be like,
46:35
Hey, I literally felt like God told me to come over and talk to you and ask you if there's some
46:39
blacker pray for you about that may be weird, but I'm here I am. Like, is there anything he got
46:44
anything for me? And you know, I don't have one of those weird experiences where it's like, Oh,
46:49
this person broke down and you know, we let him to Christ right then like, nothing that that
46:53
wouldn't happen. But I will say that I have almost been haunted by some scenarios. And I know we've
46:59
talked to a bad about Craig Rochelle, different points on the show. But I do remember one thing,
47:03
one anecdote from one of his sermons where he was driving on a country road, a country road where
47:07
there's nobody, right? But there's a woman just walking down the road. And he felt in that moment,
47:14
everything tell him, stop and talk to her about about me, right? He heard from God, stop and talk
47:19
to her about me. And he didn't do it. He went to the stop sign, looked, looked both ways and
47:23
just kept going. And he's like, to this day, I think about that woman. And I don't know what,
47:28
if she was in trouble, I don't know if she needed something. I don't know if she just
47:32
needed to hear me tell her about Jesus. But I said, no, God said no, but I've also heard people say a
47:37
lot. I know it's taking me while to set this up. But it's just because it's kind of scary to me.
47:41
But there are people all the time that hear the promptings of God in a myriad of different
47:44
circumstances. And they keep saying, no, I'm going to do me. I'm going to exercise my free meal,
47:48
free will to do whatever. And then they stop hearing from him. Right? Maybe they've, they've
47:52
welcomed in quite a bit of noise into their life. And so God's talking in a calm voice,
47:57
but their entire world is so loud around them, that his voice isn't getting through the rest of the,
48:02
the, you know, noise and static that people have in their lives. So I just want to kind of throw
48:07
that out there to see what you guys thought. I was a lot. I did a short circuit. I don't know.
48:16
Like you made a noise and then no words came out. Like, do we need to call the bullpen or is there
48:20
an angel in the outfit somewhere? No, I was just, I was thinking about what you said. And like,
48:27
my wife and I had kind of had a discussion one time. I like to like randomly take care of people's
48:32
meals, you know, and like not let them know who did it, you know. And I remember there's just one
48:39
time like God laid on my heart. This guy was eaten by himself. And I was like, man,
48:43
it's walking by to pay. And I was like, Hey, I won't take care of that guy's meal.
48:47
And the lady gives me the ticket. I take care of it and we get back in the car. And she's like,
48:51
why did you take care of that guy's meal? And I was like, I don't know, just laid on my heart
48:55
to do it. She's like, he was like drinking a scotch and eating a steak. Like your money could
48:59
have went to something else. You know what I'm saying? But anyway, you know, go ahead. She's like,
49:03
could have went to somebody who really needs it. I was like, I don't know if that guy is eating a
49:07
drink in a scotch and eating a steak by himself because his wife just left him or he just lost his
49:11
job or whatever. But whatever happened, maybe I provided some glimmer of hope that's going to
49:16
get him through whatever he's going through in a circumstance. And so there's been many times
49:20
where I've like, overthought things that God's laid on my heart and I didn't do them. So I feel
49:26
that regret. And sometimes I wonder if like, I miss out on some points, like you said, like,
49:31
maybe he doesn't talk to me about certain things because he knows I'm not going to follow him and I
49:35
need to something I felt convicted by what you were saying. That's why I short circuited.
49:40
So we're all given one short circuit for for one. So that was your word for this. We're going to
49:44
punch that ticket. At least this is the last one. Yeah. What about you guys?
49:47
I feel convicted also because I'm terrible at that. I feel like I've heard these similar things
49:53
and I've even had something happen recently where there was a man that for a long period of time,
49:57
I've felt convicted about sharing the gospel with him, sharing the gospel with him. And he
50:02
actually just recently passed away. And I don't know that I don't believe he was a believer
50:06
as best I know. And so something that I'm going to have to live with, you know, now because I made
50:12
the decision not to be vulnerable and not do that. So that actually, this past April, I lost my
50:18
grandfather and my neighbor. They both died within like two weeks of each other. And my grandfather,
50:24
who I've grown up with, like he's if I could have had if I should, if I would have picked the right
50:29
best man at my wedding, it would have been him. Like he wasn't the perfect guy, but like he poured
50:34
into me a lot. And he wasn't a Christian. Like I talked to my uncle, my uncle and I are both
50:40
Christians. And he's like, man, I'm worried about pop. I don't think I don't believe pops a believer.
50:44
And I don't believe so either. And so he's like, I go, I've tried to talk to him, but he just blows
50:49
it off. He's like, no, I'm a Catholic, blah, blah, blah. And my uncle said the same thing. And so
50:55
my mom was saying something. She was like, you know, your uncle Mike, he just seems like he's just
51:00
ready for pop to go. I was like, he's not ready for pop to go because he knows it pops not a believer.
51:05
And she's like, Oh, no, that changed. One of the pastors in the neighborhood who would go and visit
51:09
him all the time was visiting him in hospice. And he finally said, Hey, I want to I want to get
51:15
my life to Christ. And like it was the most beautiful thing. And that's where it comes down to like
51:19
we've had our discussions in the past, like, you know, what what if my kids or what if my, you know,
51:25
friends or whoever it is in my family aren't believers and that's something I have to worry
51:28
about. We just never know when that's going to happen. You may not be that person. It may be
51:33
somebody else I could have talked to my pop blue in the face about the gospel. He wasn't hearing
51:37
it for me, but he heard it from some guy named Max. And now when I know when I die, I will see him
51:42
in heaven. So and then my neighbor next door, who I got to talk to, I talked to him about, you know,
51:47
stuff and he, you know, the gospel and he believes it. And I talked to his son and says, like, yeah,
51:51
my dad's a believer. So I felt good, you know, when he left that we'll see him again.
51:56
Yeah. I mean, anytime we ignore those promptings, it's always selfish, you know, I mean,
52:00
it's always just because we don't want to feel awkward. We don't want to be uncomfortable.
52:05
So I think that the value in like thinking about it before it happens,
52:09
because you've probably, you've probably had a similar, I mean, I don't know if you guys have,
52:13
I certainly have had like an, it's usually an older gentleman who will do something like that
52:18
towards me, right, who will say something or just randomly at the lows, check out, ask me if I
52:23
have a good church home or whatever, totally random, but it seems so natural for them because
52:28
he's done it a thousand times, you know, and like that's, I just in those times, I think it's happened,
52:34
you know, a couple of times as I can recall in the last four or five years, it's like, man,
52:37
I want to be like that guy. I just want to be so comfortable with who I am, what I believe that
52:42
I'm not worried if they're awkward, and then you kind of think about, then you go down the road
52:46
of thinking about, okay, what would I say? Like what you probably practiced that in your head a
52:50
few times, you know, with the waiter before you're like, the first time you busted it out, and it
52:54
probably, you know, you felt weird when you did, but I mean, it just doesn't matter. I mean,
52:59
it's because it's not about us. I've always felt that I was going to say the wrong thing,
53:04
but in scripture, it tells us that we just have to go take them to the door. It's not our job to
53:08
open the door and for them to walk through it. Right. Well, not our job to open their eyes. Yeah.
53:13
Well, I was just going to say, you know, with that statement, because a lot of people, I don't
53:18
know where I got that idea. I didn't come up with that idea. Is there anything I can pray for you,
53:22
you know, we're about to bless our meals or anything we can pray for you about. And similar thing,
53:26
we haven't had any. I want to try to tie that together with what you said, Ryan.
53:31
So best chicken wings in Oklahoma City is a place called chicken beer. It's that's amazing
53:36
chicken wings. You guys should check it out if you're ever in Oklahoma City. But we go, me and
53:41
buddy of mine, you should be a business partner with, you know, we go there once a month, once
53:45
every couple of months. And so I just do that. So guy comes up, bar center brings us our chicken
53:49
wings and, you know, hey, is there anything else we can get you? It's like a ranch also.
53:54
Well, I'm about to bless our meals or anything we can pray for you about.
53:57
He took a deep breath and he goes, man, I'm two months sober, like today. And I was like,
54:05
that's amazing, like, great. And he's like, but I have to stay sober. I have to keep this job.
54:11
If I if I want to keep this house, I'm living in, it's kind of like this halfway house thing,
54:15
and I have to stay sober, I have to stay working and blah, blah, and after all that.
54:19
And so he just kind of laid it out there to us. Because most of the time I get,
54:23
no, I'm fine. Or, yeah, just, you know, school is hard right now.
54:26
Like it's just like stuff like that. And so, yeah, and sometimes people stay and pray,
54:31
like I prayed over a guy over at Eddie's, another good wing place here in the metro area and
54:36
pray with the guy and the guy's like, do you mind if I stay while you pray for me? And I'm like,
54:41
no, get out of here, weirdo. I was like, of course. Like, yeah, let's pray.
54:44
But I've been back to that restaurant, like I said, once every month or two,
54:49
and that guy still works there. And so I will just walk right up to the bar and go,
54:52
hey, you still clean? And he's just like, yeah, man, still clean. It's great. And we're like two
54:57
years in. He's like two years sober now. And like every time he sees me, like, I don't remember
55:02
his name all the time. And he doesn't remember my name, but he's like, that's the guy, the weird,
55:06
like ginger beard guy that like asks me about like how sober. And he's so happy to tell me.
55:11
So think about your story with the guy who's scotch and, you know, he's having a scotch and steak.
55:16
Maybe that was his plan for his last meal. Right. I know that's what I have.
55:19
How do you know? So because I remember being had just graduated, I'm within a year of graduation,
55:27
right? I graduated in 2008, 2009, you know, financial crisis. I'm in between jobs. I graduate
55:33
top of my class and I'm in between jobs. I can't find any work, right? I'm down to my last 75 bucks,
55:38
right? And there's no going home. There's no calling dad. There's no getting bailed out by
55:43
grandma. Too much pride, not going to do it, right? Got all my school paid for. I can figure this out.
55:49
So I'm sitting in my duplex. My roommate had already gone back to his hometown for Christmas
55:54
or whatever. And I, you know, it's 15 degrees outside. It's like one of the coldest days of the year.
56:01
And so I didn't want to run the heat because it was going to cost too much money. And so I
56:05
literally get a space heater and I sit on the couch and I throw a blanket over me in the space heater
56:10
so that I could stay warm. And at one point, I go F this, I'm going to Barnes and Open. I'm buying
56:16
the new Bret Hart autobiography. And so that's exactly what I did. Like I was a big Bret Hart
56:21
fan when I was a little kid and that had just come out. It was like $28 and I drove my butt to
56:25
Barnes and Noble and I paid a third of the money I had left on a book just to kind of make myself
56:30
feel something. But let's say that wasn't why I was there to do that. And someone felt compelled
56:34
to buy that book for me. Like in that moment, they saved one third of my net worth, right?
56:41
So to give me that book and what if what if I wasn't a Christian? What if that was a blessing
56:44
that led to another blessing? What if that was the rock in my shoe, as Greg Coco talks about,
56:49
to where, Hey, this guy, man, no one loves me. No one cares about me. No one sees me. Like,
56:54
I'm going to eat this steak in this scotch and I'm going to go home and I'm going to end it all.
56:57
And then the server comes over and says, Hey, someone has paid for your meal. And they just
57:02
wanted to tell you God bless and have a good evening. Like you don't know that that may sound
57:06
dramatic or lifetime movie or something like that. And maybe it is, but we don't know. Yeah,
57:11
that's we might just be the rock in the dude's shoe. That's how I look at it. Like when he,
57:16
when you feel that urge, man, get it done. And like, I think what's convicting on that too is,
57:20
you know, I just bought the guy a meal. Like I didn't go and share the gospel with him. But like,
57:25
maybe I could have, you know, like maybe I could have left like a gospel message card or something
57:31
with it, you know, because I don't buy the meal to get glory. I want the glory to go to God,
57:35
not, not to me, you know, so that's why I always stay anonymous. But like, yeah, like what glory
57:41
could have been what glory could have been bestowed upon God in that situation. I'll never know. But
57:47
God asked me to do it. I did it. Yeah. And then guys, I think the moral of the story as we wrap up,
57:51
Psalm 91 is, I think for most of you, you knew exactly what we were talking about when we brought
57:57
this up. When you feel that prompting, when you feel that whisper, hey, you should, because again,
58:02
you're like, well, that whisper may came from Satan. So it was Satan that was telling you to go across
58:07
the, the restaurant and go share the gospel with somebody. Yeah, bold move, Satan. Like, but like,
58:12
if you feel those promptings and hear those promptings from God, if you stop doing those,
58:18
like, it's almost guaranteed that you will stop hearing from God, right? I'm not telling you that
58:22
that's how it is. And like, I've got some sort of like, you know, other worldly knowledge about
58:26
your particular circumstance. But man, if you keep telling God, no, it's almost like what CS Lewis
58:32
talks about. He's like, hell is not, you know, this, this place that God puts you. It's this place
58:38
that you chose you wanted to be away from God. And God's like, okay, you can have that circumstance
58:44
and you can have it for eternity. So it's like, if that's what you want, you can have it good and
58:47
hard. And so in those circumstances, guys, I know it's weird. I know it's awkward. But again,
58:52
it's the same thing I talked about pushing relational chips in the center of the table when you have
58:56
that awkward conversation with a guy, what's the worst case scenario? Someone says something rude to
58:59
you. Oh, are you one of those Bible thumbers? Get out of my face. You don't think you can survive
59:05
that. Someone giving you a little bit of a tongue lashing, somebody pouring their drink in your face.
59:09
I got called a Holy Roller. I bet you burned counseling for years because of that, right? You
59:14
know what I mean? Well, you know, he was part of the clone you were wearing. Was it called Holy Roller?
59:20
No, that would make a lot of sense. But no, I don't seriously since I had a friend who I was
59:25
always like, man, Lord, after my grandfather died, I was like, I want to wait to share the gospel.
59:30
With this person. And I was like, man, just open the door to it because I've been with them a lot,
59:35
you know, and I'll talk to him about certain things. He's like, oh, man, you sound like a Holy
59:38
Roller, you know, and I remember I just asked God. And like, this guy is pretty significant in my life.
59:44
And the God opened the door and it kind of kind of hurts me in a way in the way that he opened the
59:50
door. Like, I'm going to put a lot of more trust in God because of what's happening in the situation
59:55
with this person. But I literally sent him a Bible like two weeks ago, like he goes, man,
1:00:00
I'm just been going through a tough time. And like, you know, I need open scripture, but I don't
1:00:05
even have a Bible around here. And I was like, don't worry about it. I'll have one to you tomorrow.
1:00:08
And I had a Bible to him the next morning. He got it. And he's been reading it. And we talk about
1:00:14
things, you know, from time to time, you know, like, I'm just slowly moving. I'm like, I'm not
1:00:18
going to I'm not going to cage stage Calvin him, you know what I'm saying with everything. But I'm
1:00:22
just going to not yet. Yeah, no, not at all. But I just slowly just talking to him, you know,
1:00:28
about the gospel and about, you know, like, Hey, let's read Matthew. Oh, you're dealing with some,
1:00:32
you're he's doing a lot of praying right now. You're like, Hey, go read some of the Psalms.
1:00:35
Those are really good prayers. You know, and so it's just slowly, you know, working on it. But
1:00:40
God opened the door. It's not the door I want it got to open the way I wanted it opened.
1:00:45
But you know what, he opened it and I'm going to walk right through it. I want to trust him.
1:00:48
Well, and we all have a burden. So the way Joby talks about the Church of 11 22 is you're one
1:00:54
more. So who is that one person that, you know, we're building another campus so that that one
1:01:00
more doesn't get turned away and say, Hey, you know, the service is full that person that you're just
1:01:04
like, man, I just feel in a like a special burden for that person. I remember the first time that I
1:01:10
met Joby and I went to his church. They have a wall in the San Pablo campus, the main campus,
1:01:15
since they're one more wall. And there's markers right there and you can write the name of your
1:01:19
one more there. And most people don't have to think, Oh, yeah, who's my one more? You just know.
1:01:25
And right when I walked past the wall after it became apparent to me what that wall was,
1:01:30
I took it and I went right over the wall and I wrote my one more down the person I've been so
1:01:34
burdened for. And it's so interesting because Joby talks about his father that he prayed for his
1:01:38
father's salvation for 30 years. And then one day, I think I'll have the story correct. He just
1:01:44
texts his dad something like and just says, Hey, it's today, the day that you want to, you know,
1:01:50
lay your life down and give your life to Christ and his dad just responded and said, yes,
1:01:54
he'd been praying for him for 30 years. And so for me, my one more is my father. And like I've
1:02:00
prayed fervently for that man and you know, got him a Bible and shared different things. And so
1:02:04
when I feel prompted or whenever I hear something in my head to where it's like, you got to send
1:02:08
them this, because every time we've talked in person hasn't gone, gone well, right? It's either
1:02:12
immediate change of the subject or, Hey, we're not talking about this kind of a thing, right?
1:02:16
It's very much, you know, country music theology, like, Hey, I believe in God,
1:02:20
it's born Oklahoma, like things are fine. I don't want to talk about it. And I just have to keep
1:02:26
saying yes, right? Whenever I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to say something or do something or
1:02:31
to share, I just have to keep doing it. I don't get to control when or if he makes the decision
1:02:38
that he makes or that he's called home or any of those types of things. But I can only control
1:02:42
what I can control and I can control my reaction to the stimulus. And the stimulus is the Holy Spirit
1:02:48
telling me to do something and I get to do it or not do it. Yeah, and keep doing it. And you keep
1:02:52
going. But just know that you may not be the person that does it might be somebody else.
1:02:55
Also true. Well, hey, guys, great discussion on Psalm 91. I'm so glad that you guys were here
1:03:02
for it. And everyone listening to this, we're glad for you as well. But we are going to take a
1:03:06
John away from the Psalms. That was our palate cleanser because now we're going to be diving
1:03:09
into acts. And so for those of you guys that like buying your different devotionals and
1:03:13
different other ancillary helps with different Bible studies, go ahead and get everything you
1:03:17
want to on the book of Acts because we're going to be digging into acts one next week. So come back
1:03:21
here ready to dig into that. But before that you go, we are going to do a quick resilience boost.
1:03:25
Add on Daunton life, our mission is equipping men to push back darkness with content that
1:03:29
forges spiritual mental and physical resilience. If you want the cross way forging table starter
1:03:33
set, all that information is here in the show notes. If you want to get the Logos Bible software,
1:03:36
the best Bible software on planet earth, you can get the discount code in the link here in the
1:03:41
show notes. And also guys, we are a donation based ministry. We get some money from advertisements
1:03:45
and some other sources, but the overwhelming majority of how we're able to keep the lights
1:03:50
on around here and do the stuff that we do is because we have donors just like you helping us out on
1:03:54
a monthly basis. Go to the link in the show notes, check that out, become a donor. Thank you for
1:03:58
listening to this podcast. Wherever you're listening to this, please subscribe, rate and leave us a
1:04:01
positive five star review. If you want me to come speak live at your event or on your podcast,
1:04:05
just shoot me an email to info@undonton.life. That's i-n-f-o@undonton.life. Follow us on Instagram
1:04:12
and like us on Facebook and check out our website for everything else, including how to donate to
1:04:15
keep more content like this coming your way. Just go to www.undonton.life. And as always, we want to
1:04:20
thank the band Holy Name for allowing us to use their music for our content. The music on this
1:04:24
podcast is our song Perpetua, which is off their self-titled debut album on Face Down Records.
1:04:29
The links are in the description. I'm your host Kyle Thompson. Remember, keep pushing back darkness.
1:04:35
Keep forging spiritual, mental and physical resilience. Keep seeking the lion of Judah.
1:05:05
you