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S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond. It's Carl

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S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide. Overcome

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S1: what seems impossible and live as you never imagined. Start

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S1: your morning with a laugh.

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S2: Practical from the Bible. Tips and tricks to kill. Not

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S2: tricks but tips and tricks.

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S3: Tips and tricks to kill. Tips and tricks.

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S1: Delivering the truth daily.

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S4: All of my attempts to, you know, prop myself up

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S4: with achievement in good works. Well, God wasn't impressed by that,

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S4: even if other people were.

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S2: The gospel changes everything.

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S5: Freedom in Christ. Man, it's like that backpack of cement

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S5: just falling to the ground.

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S1: Now from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl

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S1: and Crew.

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S6: We had an unusual share this year.

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S4: Yeah. You know, when we first started, pre share was

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S4: a little bit soft and we were honest with you

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S4: about that. And then that first day, again, we were

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S4: just a little bit behind what our projected goals were.

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S4: So we were not discouraged. But I think there was

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S4: a healthy level of concern. Yeah, that's a good one.

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S6: That's a good way that only Ali can word it

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S6: that way.

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S4: The numbers don't come out of nowhere. We have a

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S4: team of people who sit down and make the projections

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S4: based on expenses, based on areas of need, areas where

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S4: we want to grow and expand. And so we come

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S4: to you with numbers that there's a lot of work

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S4: put into that. So when we're tracking pretty far behind,

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S4: everyone takes notice.

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S6: Yeah, yeah, it's really true. And then things began to

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S6: turn on Wednesday during share. We felt really especially in

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S6: the morning hours, woo, huge wind in our sails. As

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S6: a matter of fact, usually Wednesday is supposed to be

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S6: a dip down from Tuesday just because people come out

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S6: hot and then it goes down. No, flip the script man.

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S4: In a major way.

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S6: Thank the Lord for that. But a total flip the

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S6: script and then Thursday and Friday were just tremendous. And

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S6: Friday was just gangbusters. And even Saturday morning we came

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S6: in for a few hours and Michael Ray picked it

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S6: up for three more hours. Uh, just home run ville. Now,

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S6: let me tell you where we landed here. First, let

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S6: me say this. Thank you to all of you. The

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S6: numbers are 12,903 of you have jumped on with gifts

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S6: for share. And I say have because listen, here's let

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S6: me get let me get some facts here. It's something

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S6: you need to know. We are so grateful for every

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S6: penny given from the bottom of our heart. I mean,

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S6: this is real. There's some of you that just I mean,

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S6: we heard about people that went back and said, I'm

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S6: going to do it again. I'm going to give twice.

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S6: People increase their monthly partnerships. We call them impact partners.

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S6: And we are so humbled by that. It's like, wow,

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S6: you've already got skin in the game every month and

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S6: now you're increasing it. Some increased at 100 bucks a month.

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S6: Remember that? Yes, I think there were two of those.

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S6: I mean, that's just crazy. But no matter who gave,

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S6: we just want to say from the bottom of our heart.

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S6: Thank you. And I mean, thank you. It was a

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S6: big deal. And don't think for a moment that we

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S6: aren't grateful for all these gifts. Oh my goodness. Small

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S6: and large. It's just beautiful. I do know that. And

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S6: we aren't doing this to say, oh, come on, help

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S6: us make up this because we're sitting at 90.52% this

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S6: morning of our goal of $4 million. And this is

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S6: in no way linked to this at all, because if

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S6: the door was shut right now, we'd say, glory be

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S6: to God, because what came in came in. But if

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S6: for some reason we know this happens, there's somebody screaming

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S6: at the radio right now going, shoot, I was on

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S6: spring break. Somebody else is saying I spaced it out

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S6: and I know that's happening. So we want to make sure.

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S6: Without any guilt manipulation or anything that everyone knows that

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S6: the the portal is still there and we're going to

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S6: have mail coming in still. I mean, how cool would

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S6: it be if we hit 100%?

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S4: That would be amazing.

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S6: A reach, but more than anything else, we don't want

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S6: to shut the door on people that say I really did.

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S6: Or I do want to be a part of this

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S6: right now.

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S4: So you can text share to (800) 555-7898. Just text share

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S4: to (800) 555-7898. Right now we're at 90.52% or just over

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S4: $3.6 million of our overall goal of 4 million.

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S6: Yeah, praising God for you and thanking you for all

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S6: that you did. And the prayers about 800 of you

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S6: praying Guys, all of you prayers. We are so grateful

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S6: we can draw a direct line between the need that

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S6: we felt, especially when we came in Wednesday morning and

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S6: the videos that we sent out to you that were praying.

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S6: And then the response. Um, it's just, it's just a

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S6: cool thing. Yeah, just a cool thing. Uh, want to

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S6: do something here? Yeah. So the link is share to

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S6: 800 555 7898. Just that one word. We'll get you

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S6: hooked up again. Zero pressure on that one, but grateful

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S6: for all that's come in and all that will come in.

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S6: And we love you. We really do. Just never done

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S6: this after a share before. But this is such a

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S6: cool promise out of Proverbs 11, verse 25. And then

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S6: I want you to get the NIV translation. This is

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S6: ESV whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one

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S6: who waters will himself be watered. How cool is that promise?

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S4: It is. And you. This is the way I learned.

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S4: It was the NIV version. A generous person will prosper.

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S4: Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. This idea of being

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S4: watered or being refreshed as you are a blessing or

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S4: a refreshment to other people. I love that we're talking

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S4: about this.

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S6: Yeah, I really do too. And we need to start

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S6: doing this every year. We really do because we, we

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S6: are not in the camp of. Yeah, you give us 100.

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S6: God's got a thousand coming your way. That's called manipulation.

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S6: That's called eisegesis. That's reading meaning into the text of

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S6: second Corinthians nine. And I guess one word that's bogus.

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S3: No doubt. Okay.

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S6: That's absolutely bogus theology. Don't buy into that garbage, man.

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S6: That's just garbage theology. So but here is the reality.

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S6: Those who water will be watered. And so question here

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S6: is how did God water your soul as a result

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S6: of giving to share or praying for share? How did

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S6: God water your soul? And I want you to call

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S6: in or text. We seem to get more texts on

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S6: stuff like this because people that gave don't want to

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S6: get on the horn and go, well, I gave and

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S6: this is what God's doing to water me.

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S4: We know that that's not your heart though. So call in.

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S6: Or.

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S4: Text in and just tell us simply, how did God

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S4: water your soul as a result of giving to share

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S4: or praying for share? 800 555 7898 (800) 555-7898.

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S6: And in the spirit of share. Come on, let's go.

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S6: We got this. Give us a call or text right now.

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S6: How did God water your soul?

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S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but

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S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in

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S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.

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S6: Taking your calls or texts here. It's right out of

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S6: Proverbs 1125, man. Whoever brings a blessing will be enriched,

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S6: and the one who waters will himself or herself be watered.

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S6: What a promise of God, we're asking you. How did

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S6: how did God water your soul as a result of

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S6: giving or praying for share or both? 800 555 7890.

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S6: Let's go to the phones. Bert in Forest Park. Man.

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S6: What do you say, Bert?

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S7: Hey, good morning crew. Hey, listen, first of all, thank

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S7: you all for your heart. What you did, those little

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S7: movies that we would get that somebody sent were just

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S7: a encouragement along the way. So I just want you

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S7: to know that it's very effective. Um, yeah, what I

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S7: told people was as we were praying, it wasn't a,

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S7: like we heard the urgency, like meet the, you know,

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S7: meet the goal. But what I got while praying was

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S7: fervent prayer for those first time givers and first time

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S7: callers to be part of this because Moody's alight right

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S7: on the hill and so they could enjoy what we

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S7: enjoy every day to be. Able to, you know, take

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S7: part in that. The second piece was to touch those

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S7: hearts of those that have given or have been given

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S7: in a while, and just a piece of God just

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S7: came over me through Holy Spirit that it's good, like

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S7: the budget's going to be met and it has to

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S7: because there's just so much work to do in this world.

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S7: But you all are now national, so it's so important

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S7: that people tapped in. So there wasn't a freak out mode.

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S7: There wasn't anything like even, you know, Ali's message, your message,

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S7: like you all were calm, like it kept us calm.

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S7: So it was like, okay, not freak out, but like urgency.

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S3: Urgency.

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S6: I love you, man. That is beautiful. I love you, Bert.

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S6: Thank you for calling in this morning.

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S4: We're getting some.

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S6: Some cool text in here, aren't we, Alex.

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S4: Yeah. And it's they're really around just kind of the

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S4: joy of being able to be a part of this. Uh,

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S4: Moody radio is extremely important. Someone wrote, uh, it's a

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S4: life source. They were, they were remembered back last summer.

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S4: We had some transmitter repairs that caused Moody Radio to

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S4: be out for a little bit, so we were off air.

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S4: Particularly for our Chicago Land listeners. And this person said,

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S4: it made me realize that we need Moody to. And

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S4: they wanted to, to boost the support for giving for

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S4: the next 100 years. It's interesting as it was, it

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S4: was a very unexpected outage. We were it was we

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S4: were not happy about it, obviously, but it was beyond

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S4: our control. So we had to be off air. So

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S4: the fact that that God actually used that to kind

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S4: of show people the need for Christian radio and what

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S4: it would be like if that was not available.

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S6: Yeah, it's so cool getting a lot of comments in here.

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S6: A lot of them are related to prayer and it's

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S6: just cool. Good insights we're getting here. Ali.

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S4: Very good. If you've got one 800 555 7898 800

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S4: 555 7898. Someone else texted and said, because you scheduled

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S4: to because I scheduled that 30 minute time slot to

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S4: pray for Moody, I'm scheduling specific 30 minute time periods

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S4: each week to pray for others on my calendar. Wow.

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S4: Thank you for helping me increase my prayer life and

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S4: my relationships with others.

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S6: Wow, that's a watering of the soul, isn't it?

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S4: Very much so.

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S6: Yeah. Yeah. A lot of lot of cool little insights

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S6: coming in. Um, somebody says, I'm always amazed at how

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S6: God has ordered your themes of the day to match

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S6: my needs of the day, but not only for me,

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S6: but also for a friend of mine who listens as well. Well,

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S6: that's what we're here to do, man. We're here to

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S6: just keep souls watered all we can.

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S4: And one more that this. We heard this from another

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S4: listener earlier, that it was the opportunity to speak with

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S4: the student and receive prayer, that there was a dedicated

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S4: team of students who were spent time on their spring

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S4: break to, to be in the call center, to take

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S4: the calls, to accept the donations and get to pray

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S4: with some of the listeners who called in to give.

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S4: So it's cool to hear that there were some interactions,

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S4: some ministry happening even in those short little phone calls.

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S6: Big time, big time. So let me tell you where

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S6: we were at here. Really quick flyby. We were Tuesday,

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S6: we came out of the chute hot on Tuesday. And

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S6: then we realized, whoa, it ain't hot. And we walked

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S6: out of here on Tuesday, not discouraged, but sobered up over. Wow.

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S6: It's going to be a God moment week. And it

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S6: was because we picked up, in fact, uh, the second day.

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S6: Wednesdays always supposed to be down from the first day.

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S6: But the second day, Wednesday we we crushed Tuesday, which

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S6: was really cool. And then it picked up steam Thursday

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S6: and really picked up on Friday. And I do want

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S6: to say this, you the boom crew, man, you throw

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S6: this up on your back and carry it up the hill.

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S6: All across North America and beyond. Turks and Caicos came

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S6: in three times.

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S4: Yes.

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S6: Soddy-daisy. Tennessee, right?

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S4: Yeah. Ghana, South Africa. Yeah, I mean we.

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S6: Yeah.

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S4: Saw gifts from all over the world.

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S6: So yeah, we're short of the 4 million. We got 90.56%.

241
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S6: So we've just been saying zero pressure. But if you

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S6: feel like. Shoot, I was on spring break. I spaced

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S6: it out. I was going to. I'm want to. We've

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S6: got room for you still this morning.

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S4: You can text share to 800 555 7898 text share

246
00:13:11,110 --> 00:13:15,709
S4: to 800 555 7898. Now you're going to get that link.

247
00:13:15,790 --> 00:13:17,430
S4: You're going to see two things. You're going to see

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S4: a direct link to give online. Also a phone number.

249
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S4: The share phone number is going to be in this

250
00:13:23,070 --> 00:13:24,670
S4: text as well. So that's going to be the one

251
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S4: that you use to actually give your gift. So just

252
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S4: text share to (800) 555-7898.

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S1: Breaking chains and running free. You're listening to Carl and crew.

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S6: Well, okay. I sat down with drew. Dick had an

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S6: amazing conversation. Your future self will thank you. And that's

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S6: coming up here.

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S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.

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S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on

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S1: Moody Radio.

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S6: You know, it's an interesting thing. Life is. It's easy

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S6: to look at our circumstances and, uh, uh, we can

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S6: look around and go, man, that neighbor, they're messing with me.

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S6: Their dog poops on my lawn morning, noon, and night.

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S6: We look at the, uh, the government dadgummit. They're taking

265
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S6: so much taxes out. How can a man get ahead anyway?

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S6: Look at that family of origin and go. I was

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S6: raised by a bunch of dingbats. How in the world

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S6: is a guy supposed to make it through life?

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S3: Yeah.

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S6: But one of the most liberating things we can do

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S6: is get up in the morning and look in that mirror,

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S6: and then take a longer look and go, ooh.

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S2: It's true. We're not all just the product of other people. Yes,

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S2: some people have done some things and that can hurt.

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S2: It can be hard.

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S6: The greatest thing we can do is look in that

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S6: mirror and go, oh, you're the problem.

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S2: Yes.

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S3: Very hard.

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S6: And it's hard because it's easy to look around and

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S6: go look at all the idiots.

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S2: Yeah, yeah, well, you got to think about it like this. Listen,

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S2: everybody is sinful.

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S3: And.

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S6: I'm glad you got the answer. Then we don't need

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S6: our guests.

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S3: To come in here, so go ahead. Oh.

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S2: No. Just. I'm going to set him up.

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S3: Okay?

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S2: Okay, everybody. Everybody is sinful and imperfect. And if you

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S2: are the captain of your own ship and everyone is

292
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S2: sinful and imperfect, you can't just blame the crew for everything.

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S2: The captain, who is also sinful and imperfect, is the

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S2: one piloting the ship. Thank you. We have to. We

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S2: have to take ownership there.

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S6: I yeah, captain, appreciate that. Uh, drew Dick, what do

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S6: we do about this? Man? It really is a powerful

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S6: thing when we can look in the mirror and go.

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S6: And by the way, this isn't discounting or dumbing down

300
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S6: a lot of things that people have gone through. Some

301
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S6: vicious sexual abuse, torment, torture. We're talking with people right

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S6: now that are listening from, uh, other regions of the

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S6: world who are persecuted for their faith. But the funny

304
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S6: thing is, drew, we look at the man or woman

305
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S6: in the mirror and we go, that's what we can

306
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S6: do something about. What do you say?

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S8: I think you're right on. I would love to blame

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S8: other people for all of my problems. That's a lot easier.

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S8: And yes, sometimes we do face real challenges, some more

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S8: serious than others from other people. But man, at least

311
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S8: in my experience, the person that gives me the most

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S8: frustration is that that idiot staring back at me in

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S8: the mirror every morning. Uh, and so yeah, and I

314
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S8: think this is like, there's a spiritual truth to this too, right?

315
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S8: Because sometimes as Christians too, we just want to blame

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S8: the devil. And don't get me wrong, we have spiritual

317
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S8: warfare is real. We have an enemy of our souls, uh,

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S8: poorly in our life, especially spiritually.

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S6: Why do we do that?

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S8: Well, I think it goes back to having a sinful nature.

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S8: We just are kind of bent towards selfishness and sin,

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S8: and it's incredibly frustrating. The good news, though, as we

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S8: know from Scripture, is that God not only saves us,

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S8: but he is not content to leave us how he

325
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S8: found us, right? Praise God that he says, hey, by

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S8: the power of My Holy Spirit, you can change as

327
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S8: you cooperate with me. You can experience victory over sin

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S8: and it is amazing. I talk to so many people

329
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S8: and you've probably had this experience too. They're telling you

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S8: about how hard their life is, all the terrible things

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S8: that have happened to them, and you don't want to

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S8: be a jerk, but you're thinking a lot of these

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S8: things are things that you've done to yourself, right? And

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S8: sometimes it's good to think of our own circumstances and go,

335
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S8: how many of these things, these hardships have actually brought

336
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S8: upon myself with my own sin, with my own laziness,

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S8: with my own refusal to do the hard work in

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S8: my soul and let God get into those spaces that

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S8: he wants to transform. But the good news is, yes,

340
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S8: glory to God. He changes us. He's not content to

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S8: leave us like he found us.

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S6: All right, I've got his book in my hand and

343
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S6: we're digging through it. Your future self will thank you.

344
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S6: Secrets to self control from the Bible and brain science.

345
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S6: And there's no way we can get all of it.

346
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S6: But I'm going to hit some high points as I'm

347
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S6: prompted along here. This is important topic because and I

348
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S6: and I'm going deep into your book here, but you

349
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S6: say basically willpower is limited. It runs out, leaving you

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S6: vulnerable to sin. You have a whole section on this,

351
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S6: and I'm so glad you do because the the natural

352
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S6: man goes back. We find this in Galatians, who's bewitched

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S6: you that that you began in the spirit. Why are

354
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S6: you working out in the flesh? In other words, why

355
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S6: are you trying to suck it up in your own willpower?

356
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S6: Why is this so prevalent?

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S8: This is something that I ran into as I was

358
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S8: researching this book, and it was surprising to me that

359
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S8: researchers actually look at willpower. That is our ability to

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S8: withstand temptation or do something difficult, and they found something

361
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S8: surprising about it, and that is that it's a finite resource.

362
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S8: It runs out. You can't, you know, you can't sit

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S8: there and be strong forever. And that was really transformational

364
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S8: for me because I looked at scripture a little differently too,

365
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S8: and it made sense of a lot of the commands

366
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S8: that we see in Scripture. You know, we're told to

367
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S8: flee temptation rather than stand and fight it because God

368
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S8: knows that we're we're weak and we actually get weaker

369
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S8: as we go. We think maybe we can fend off

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S8: a temptation once and then we'll be strong the second

371
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S8: time around. But often you're weaker. And so I think

372
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S8: there's just a humility in that. And you go, you

373
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S8: know what, God, I need you. I am too weak

374
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S8: to do this Christian life on my own. I can't

375
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S8: white knuckle my way to success through sheer grit or willpower.

376
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S8: I need your spirit to help me grow in this area.

377
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S8: And so yeah, as I looked at the research on

378
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S8: this topic, it was just amazing to me at how

379
00:19:20,010 --> 00:19:25,210
S8: often it would coincide with exactly what scripture says about us. Surprise, surprise, right?

380
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S8: God knows how we're wired and and, uh, set, uh,

381
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S8: gave us his word accordingly. But yeah, this is where

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S8: we really need God's spirit to help us.

383
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S6: I love the byline. The subtitle to your book, Secrets

384
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S6: to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science. The funny

385
00:19:41,070 --> 00:19:43,550
S6: thing is, is I don't even know why they couldn't

386
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S6: come up with different words. It's translated in English, I know,

387
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S6: but self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It's

388
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S6: not a fruit of the flesh. Isn't that ironic?

389
00:19:54,990 --> 00:19:58,110
S8: That's correct. And even the term self-control. You're right. That's

390
00:19:58,109 --> 00:20:00,950
S8: an English translation, obviously of the Greek. But it can

391
00:20:00,950 --> 00:20:02,870
S8: be a little deceiving because it makes it sound like

392
00:20:02,869 --> 00:20:05,870
S8: it's all on us. Right? But as we know from

393
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S8: Galatians five there, it's a fruit of the spirit. And

394
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S8: Paul is using a metaphor, really. He's saying we're like

395
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S8: plants or trees, right? And if we want to see

396
00:20:14,350 --> 00:20:16,870
S8: these fruit of the spirit grow in our lives like

397
00:20:16,869 --> 00:20:18,870
S8: a tree, we need to be connected to the soil.

398
00:20:18,869 --> 00:20:21,790
S8: We need to be connected to God. If these things are,

399
00:20:21,910 --> 00:20:23,430
S8: are going to grow in our lives. So these aren't

400
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:26,250
S8: independent virtues that we can just muster up on our

401
00:20:26,250 --> 00:20:29,290
S8: own accord. We need God's Spirit. That's the kind of

402
00:20:29,330 --> 00:20:31,090
S8: paradox at the heart of this issue, because some people

403
00:20:31,090 --> 00:20:34,090
S8: kind of go, hey, listen, I can just, you know,

404
00:20:34,130 --> 00:20:36,410
S8: let go and let God. I can kick back and

405
00:20:36,410 --> 00:20:39,090
S8: take a pleasure cruise towards holiness. And wouldn't that be

406
00:20:39,090 --> 00:20:40,450
S8: cool if that were the case? But I don't think

407
00:20:40,450 --> 00:20:44,090
S8: that reflects the biblical language of striving, of struggling, of

408
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S8: killing sin. And yet, uh, we can't do it on

409
00:20:48,090 --> 00:20:50,530
S8: our own. We need God. This is something that we

410
00:20:50,530 --> 00:20:52,730
S8: need to cooperate with God as he works in our heart,

411
00:20:52,730 --> 00:20:55,090
S8: in our lives to change us from the inside out.

412
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S6: Yeah. I want you to explain something in your book.

413
00:20:58,050 --> 00:21:02,450
S6: You write, ultimately, the best way to avoid sin, the

414
00:21:02,450 --> 00:21:07,170
S6: most powerful means of self-control, comes by listening to a

415
00:21:07,170 --> 00:21:09,409
S6: sweeter song. What do you mean by that?

416
00:21:09,930 --> 00:21:12,649
S8: You know, talking about their kind of two ways to

417
00:21:12,690 --> 00:21:16,170
S8: resist sin and both have some merit. There are practical

418
00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:19,490
S8: steps that we can take putting up, you know, boundaries

419
00:21:19,490 --> 00:21:23,530
S8: in our life, having accountability. These are all incredibly important.

420
00:21:23,750 --> 00:21:25,470
S8: But at the end of the day, you know, I

421
00:21:25,470 --> 00:21:30,390
S8: love what the Scottish preacher Thomas Chalmers, called the expulsive

422
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S8: power of a new affection. And that's a mouthful. But what.

423
00:21:33,190 --> 00:21:33,830
S3: He was talking.

424
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S8: About.

425
00:21:34,109 --> 00:21:34,830
S3: Statement.

426
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S8: Right? It's like, listen, if you want to defeat sin,

427
00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:42,270
S8: if you want to grow in your spiritual life, what

428
00:21:42,270 --> 00:21:46,110
S8: you need is something better than the sin. More thrilling,

429
00:21:46,109 --> 00:21:48,990
S8: more transformative to enter your life and your heart and

430
00:21:48,990 --> 00:21:52,430
S8: push out that sin, right? And so I think there's

431
00:21:52,430 --> 00:21:54,550
S8: truth to that man. And that's what I mean, listening

432
00:21:54,590 --> 00:21:57,469
S8: to the sweeter song of the gospel. Because ultimately, you

433
00:21:57,470 --> 00:21:59,870
S8: can't just sit there with steely resolve and try to

434
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S8: defeat sin. You need to be captivated by God's call

435
00:22:03,630 --> 00:22:06,869
S8: for your life, by the gospel, by his love for you,

436
00:22:06,869 --> 00:22:09,590
S8: by your identity in Christ. Those are the things that

437
00:22:09,590 --> 00:22:11,110
S8: are going to be, that are going to slake that

438
00:22:11,109 --> 00:22:14,470
S8: spiritual thirst in your soul and make you resist sin.

439
00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:16,990
S8: And Scripture is full of these commands, right? We're, we're told,

440
00:22:16,990 --> 00:22:19,390
S8: don't be drunk with wine, for instance. And what is

441
00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:21,790
S8: that about? Is God just a party pooper? No, there's

442
00:22:21,890 --> 00:22:24,170
S8: a corollary. It says, be filled with the spirit. There's

443
00:22:24,170 --> 00:22:27,010
S8: something better in God. Amen. And that's what we find

444
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S8: with every sort of sin. There's a corollary. There's something

445
00:22:29,450 --> 00:22:31,970
S8: that God, he's going to fulfill you. And anytime you

446
00:22:32,010 --> 00:22:34,210
S8: you give in to sin, really, you're kind of not

447
00:22:34,210 --> 00:22:37,250
S8: believing one of God's promises. You're going, you know what?

448
00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:39,770
S8: I'm going to take shortcuts to get the resources that

449
00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:41,730
S8: I need in life. And God's going, no, I own

450
00:22:41,770 --> 00:22:44,409
S8: the cattle on a thousand hills. There are pleasures at

451
00:22:44,410 --> 00:22:46,770
S8: my right hand forevermore. You don't have to take those

452
00:22:46,770 --> 00:22:49,810
S8: shortcuts and grasp for the pleasure that you think you're owed.

453
00:22:49,970 --> 00:22:51,210
S8: I'm going to take care of you.

454
00:22:51,369 --> 00:22:54,250
S6: So your contention, drew, drew Dick, my guest right now,

455
00:22:54,250 --> 00:22:56,450
S6: and he is the author of this book, your Future

456
00:22:56,450 --> 00:22:59,570
S6: Self will thank you. Secrets to self-control from the Bible

457
00:22:59,570 --> 00:23:01,090
S6: and Brain Science. And we're going to have a link

458
00:23:01,090 --> 00:23:03,810
S6: here in a minute. Your contention is we've got a

459
00:23:03,810 --> 00:23:06,450
S6: two puny view of God, and it leaves us living

460
00:23:06,450 --> 00:23:07,570
S6: a limited life.

461
00:23:07,730 --> 00:23:11,490
S8: Amen. That's exactly right. That's where you need to press

462
00:23:11,490 --> 00:23:15,650
S8: into those just basic spiritual disciplines. Spending time with God

463
00:23:15,650 --> 00:23:18,770
S8: in His Word, spending time in prayer, being with the

464
00:23:18,770 --> 00:23:21,220
S8: community of saints. You know, it's so easy to slap

465
00:23:21,220 --> 00:23:23,420
S8: the snooze and sleep in on Sunday morning. You think? Ah,

466
00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:26,540
S8: I've heard these kind of sermons a million times anyway.

467
00:23:26,540 --> 00:23:28,740
S8: But man, you need that. You need that worship with

468
00:23:28,740 --> 00:23:31,340
S8: the body of Christ to remind you of the beautiful

469
00:23:31,340 --> 00:23:34,380
S8: truths in Scripture. And when you do that, when you

470
00:23:34,380 --> 00:23:36,100
S8: fill up your heart with the things of God, it

471
00:23:36,100 --> 00:23:39,220
S8: does have a way of crowding out the sinful impulses

472
00:23:39,220 --> 00:23:40,740
S8: that that you struggle with.

473
00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:43,660
S6: I'm laughing. I get something in my heart that's funny here.

474
00:23:43,660 --> 00:23:48,060
S6: So when Bible school students are hilarious because they're young

475
00:23:48,060 --> 00:23:51,020
S6: and they're dumb and they don't know what they're doing. And,

476
00:23:51,020 --> 00:23:53,060
S6: and I was one of them. But I had a

477
00:23:53,060 --> 00:23:55,060
S6: buddy of mine, one of my best buddies who's best

478
00:23:55,060 --> 00:23:58,220
S6: man in my wedding. He had a roommate and he

479
00:23:58,220 --> 00:24:01,460
S6: was new to him, didn't know him. First night, my

480
00:24:01,460 --> 00:24:04,939
S6: buddy Joe's laying on the on the bed, on the bunk,

481
00:24:04,980 --> 00:24:07,740
S6: his roommate's above him, and all of a sudden he

482
00:24:07,780 --> 00:24:12,940
S6: hears boom, boom. And Joe's like, what in the world

483
00:24:12,940 --> 00:24:17,219
S6: is going on? And, uh, he yells up the guy.

484
00:24:17,260 --> 00:24:20,080
S6: He goes, hey, brother, are you okay? And he said,

485
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,320
S6: I'm just buffeting my body. Well, he was hitting himself

486
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,800
S6: because he was being tempted with something in the night.

487
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:34,240
S6: And here's here's what's interesting. I find this because you've

488
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:35,920
S6: got a quote in your book. This is what you say.

489
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,240
S6: It can be natural to think that feeling really bad

490
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,560
S6: about yourself is the way to improve your behavior. But

491
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,280
S6: piling on guilt is never the answer. It's to keep

492
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,280
S6: diving back to grace. There's some of us that not

493
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,240
S6: dreaming and not sounding as crazy as that. Do this

494
00:24:55,280 --> 00:25:01,040
S6: in the day. We beat ourselves up over temptations and sins.

495
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,800
S6: And as crazy as that sounds for my roommate in

496
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,640
S6: the middle of the night to hear that going on,

497
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,560
S6: that's a silent thing that's happening every day. Drew, what

498
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:10,920
S6: are we going to do about it?

499
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,520
S8: You would think there's an intuitive sense that if I

500
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,060
S8: really beat myself up over my sin or my shortcomings

501
00:25:17,060 --> 00:25:19,940
S8: that my behavior will improve. And it's funny you share

502
00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:22,380
S8: that story. I remember a buddy, uh, in my youth

503
00:25:22,380 --> 00:25:24,300
S8: group when I was young, he'd have a rubber band

504
00:25:24,300 --> 00:25:27,180
S8: around his wrist, and when he'd have an impure thought, man,

505
00:25:27,220 --> 00:25:31,100
S8: he would stretch that thing out and let her fly. Uh, man,

506
00:25:31,140 --> 00:25:32,020
S8: it's very effective.

507
00:25:32,060 --> 00:25:33,180
S3: I would have had a swollen.

508
00:25:33,180 --> 00:25:33,780
S6: Wrist.

509
00:25:33,940 --> 00:25:34,340
S3: Right?

510
00:25:34,380 --> 00:25:38,420
S8: We'd all have sore wrists. Um, but there's this idea that, man,

511
00:25:38,420 --> 00:25:40,820
S8: if we can punish ourselves and even in more profound ways,

512
00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:42,460
S8: we think, man, if I can just wallow in this

513
00:25:42,460 --> 00:25:46,379
S8: guilt and feel bad enough, then then God will certainly

514
00:25:46,380 --> 00:25:49,220
S8: forgive me and I'll make progress. And while it's important

515
00:25:49,220 --> 00:25:52,340
S8: to feel that repentance when you sin and to to

516
00:25:52,380 --> 00:25:56,260
S8: confess your sins to God, ultimately, like you said there,

517
00:25:56,300 --> 00:25:58,820
S8: it graces the answer. A lot of people think grace

518
00:25:58,820 --> 00:26:00,940
S8: is just, oh, that's how I get saved. But it's

519
00:26:00,940 --> 00:26:04,740
S8: also how you grow. Because when you internalize that forgiveness,

520
00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:07,260
S8: that love of God, and to know that, hey, I'm

521
00:26:07,260 --> 00:26:09,020
S8: still a child of God, you know, when my kids

522
00:26:09,020 --> 00:26:10,899
S8: mess up, you know, they come home and they did

523
00:26:10,900 --> 00:26:14,340
S8: something bad at school. I don't go, okay? Sorry, son.

524
00:26:14,340 --> 00:26:17,240
S8: You're not my son anymore. Maybe when your behavior improves,

525
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,320
S8: you'll be my son again. No, he's my son all

526
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,280
S8: the time, right? No matter. Regardless of his behavior. It's

527
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,360
S8: the same with God. And so when you really internalize

528
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,959
S8: that grace of God, it actually becomes the fuel. I

529
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,040
S8: remember researching for this book and I came across one

530
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,000
S8: kind of funny study. It was from diet researchers, and

531
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,240
S8: they identified a phenomenon they called the what the heck effect.

532
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,200
S8: And I'm editing it a little bit for sensitive ears.

533
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:39,119
S3: Yeah, sure, sure.

534
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,480
S8: What the heck effect? And this was when people were

535
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,160
S8: on a diet and they had one small indiscretion, say

536
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,240
S8: they ate a piece of pizza or a slice of cake.

537
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:50,320
S8: What followed that behavior was a full on binge. And

538
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,200
S8: if anyone listening has struggled with your weight like I have,

539
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,600
S8: you know what they're talking about. Because there's this idea,

540
00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,080
S8: it's like, I messed up. What the heck? I'm just

541
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,040
S8: going to go crazy and throw caution to the wind

542
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,080
S8: and eat whatever I want. And they also identified an

543
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,640
S8: opposite phenomenon. That is when people felt like they had

544
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,120
S8: a fresh start. Their behavior actually improved. And that's just

545
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,800
S8: kind of a silly illustration for a deeper spiritual truth,

546
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,250
S8: I think, is that when we when we feel like

547
00:27:15,250 --> 00:27:19,290
S8: we've truly been forgiven, that our identity is secure as

548
00:27:19,290 --> 00:27:22,850
S8: children of God. What follows that isn't more license to sin.

549
00:27:22,890 --> 00:27:25,650
S8: Our behavior actually improves. You know, and Paul talks about this,

550
00:27:25,650 --> 00:27:28,850
S8: he says, shall we go on sinning? That grace may increase.

551
00:27:28,890 --> 00:27:32,450
S8: By no means or heaven forbid, some translations read right.

552
00:27:32,490 --> 00:27:35,770
S8: It's like no, what follows that is gratitude and desire

553
00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:38,850
S8: to please God and to walk in that forgiveness. So

554
00:27:38,850 --> 00:27:42,170
S8: grace is the fuel for growth in this area. A

555
00:27:42,170 --> 00:27:43,210
S8: lot of people miss that.

556
00:27:43,250 --> 00:27:43,570
S3: You know.

557
00:27:43,609 --> 00:27:47,570
S6: You just you just shared something there that is profoundly simple.

558
00:27:47,570 --> 00:27:51,250
S6: But if we look at the fact that his mercies

559
00:27:51,250 --> 00:27:55,570
S6: are new every morning, every day is a fresh start

560
00:27:55,570 --> 00:27:57,090
S6: in kingdom living. Drew.

561
00:27:57,410 --> 00:28:00,490
S8: Amen. Isn't that beautiful? And we need that. I don't

562
00:28:00,490 --> 00:28:02,530
S8: know about you. I need that fresh start.

563
00:28:02,650 --> 00:28:04,090
S3: Oh, I do every day.

564
00:28:04,130 --> 00:28:07,290
S6: I mean, I'm sitting here. I got a whole team

565
00:28:07,290 --> 00:28:09,570
S6: of folks staring back at me right now. They're well

566
00:28:09,570 --> 00:28:11,910
S6: aware of the fact that I need new mercy every day.

567
00:28:11,910 --> 00:28:14,470
S6: We all need that. Okay. One last thing I want

568
00:28:14,510 --> 00:28:18,669
S6: to tackle here, because, uh. I want to play a

569
00:28:18,670 --> 00:28:21,230
S6: blame game. Just go to the internet or the phone

570
00:28:21,230 --> 00:28:23,870
S6: or electronics and use make a statement in your book.

571
00:28:23,869 --> 00:28:28,030
S6: The internet hasn't created any new temptations. It's just heightened

572
00:28:28,070 --> 00:28:30,590
S6: the ones that were there all along. I love it,

573
00:28:30,590 --> 00:28:32,109
S6: but expand on it, my man.

574
00:28:32,390 --> 00:28:35,629
S8: Yeah. No. It's true. Uh, yeah, they may not be new,

575
00:28:35,630 --> 00:28:38,710
S8: but they're amplified. Think of any sort of vice that

576
00:28:38,710 --> 00:28:45,190
S8: people have, whether it's lust, whether it's gambling, whether it's, uh, materialism.

577
00:28:45,190 --> 00:28:48,190
S8: The internet has heightened these temptations. They've put them right

578
00:28:48,190 --> 00:28:50,390
S8: in our face. Things are accessible in a way that

579
00:28:50,390 --> 00:28:54,030
S8: they never were a generation ago. And that's not to say, oh,

580
00:28:54,070 --> 00:28:56,470
S8: that we need to feel more sorry for ourselves than

581
00:28:56,510 --> 00:28:58,550
S8: than Christians in history. But what we do need to

582
00:28:58,550 --> 00:29:00,950
S8: do is be a little more vigilant. And this has

583
00:29:00,950 --> 00:29:03,310
S8: been an area in which I've had to really implement

584
00:29:03,310 --> 00:29:05,630
S8: some things in my life to make sure that tech

585
00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:08,470
S8: doesn't crowd into every area of my life to be

586
00:29:08,470 --> 00:29:11,530
S8: really intentional. and researchers talk about a thing they call

587
00:29:11,530 --> 00:29:14,610
S8: the bright line strategy. I love this because it's just

588
00:29:14,610 --> 00:29:18,210
S8: basically hard and fast. Rules can sound like legalism, but

589
00:29:18,210 --> 00:29:20,970
S8: it's really just wisdom where you go, you know what?

590
00:29:20,970 --> 00:29:24,170
S8: I'm not going to look at my phone past 8 p.m.

591
00:29:24,650 --> 00:29:27,210
S8: or I'm not going to use my computer when I'm alone.

592
00:29:27,210 --> 00:29:30,730
S8: If you struggle with looking at images online, you shouldn't.

593
00:29:30,930 --> 00:29:34,570
S8: Whatever it is, I think it's not legalism. It's wisdom

594
00:29:34,570 --> 00:29:36,730
S8: to kind of put some boundaries around your life. And

595
00:29:36,770 --> 00:29:39,370
S8: aside from the sin issue too, we all know we

596
00:29:39,370 --> 00:29:42,250
S8: can just get caught in a cycle of doomscrolling where

597
00:29:42,250 --> 00:29:45,490
S8: you're just wasting a tremendous amount of time on your phone.

598
00:29:45,490 --> 00:29:48,530
S8: I certainly can anyway, and I doubt any of us.

599
00:29:48,570 --> 00:29:50,050
S8: We never sit down at the beginning of the week

600
00:29:50,050 --> 00:29:52,010
S8: and say, you know what? I'm going to pencil in

601
00:29:52,010 --> 00:29:54,810
S8: 35 hours this week to stare at my phone and

602
00:29:54,810 --> 00:29:56,650
S8: then maybe another 30 hours of TV.

603
00:29:56,690 --> 00:29:57,130
S3: But those.

604
00:29:57,130 --> 00:29:57,970
S6: Are the numbers, by.

605
00:29:57,970 --> 00:29:58,410
S3: The way.

606
00:29:58,450 --> 00:30:01,290
S8: But those are the numbers. It sounds ridiculous, but this

607
00:30:01,290 --> 00:30:04,650
S8: is exactly how we spend our hours and days and weeks.

608
00:30:04,650 --> 00:30:06,890
S8: And so just to have a little bit of intentionality

609
00:30:06,930 --> 00:30:09,830
S8: when it comes to how we spend our time and

610
00:30:09,830 --> 00:30:13,150
S8: making sure that these these devices that are so powerful,

611
00:30:13,150 --> 00:30:16,750
S8: that are very useful in many ways, don't destroy the

612
00:30:16,750 --> 00:30:19,310
S8: quiet in our heart. Don't steal our peace and don't

613
00:30:19,310 --> 00:30:20,670
S8: lead us into temptations.

614
00:30:20,870 --> 00:30:25,110
S6: Your future self will thank you. Secrets to self-control from

615
00:30:25,110 --> 00:30:28,790
S6: the Bible and brain science. Come and get it. Text

616
00:30:28,830 --> 00:30:36,150
S6: the word future to 800 555 7888. Future. That's the

617
00:30:36,150 --> 00:30:42,110
S6: key word to 800 555 7898.

618
00:30:43,190 --> 00:30:47,190
S1: Take your next step with Jesus today. You're listening to

619
00:30:47,230 --> 00:30:48,230
S1: Carl and crew.

620
00:30:48,470 --> 00:30:52,030
S6: All week long. We're tackling get It Together, cluttered time management,

621
00:30:52,030 --> 00:30:55,070
S6: mind management, you name it, we're going to be tackling it.

622
00:30:55,110 --> 00:30:58,950
S6: What a fun topic. I love this one. And boy,

623
00:30:58,950 --> 00:31:03,430
S6: we get massive downloads on any interview around this topic.

624
00:31:03,670 --> 00:31:06,680
S4: We absolutely do because I think everybody has the desire

625
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,320
S4: to tighten up the ship, particularly this time of year.

626
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,240
S6: Absolutely, man. So we're going to be getting into that.

627
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,360
S6: But one of the things that we're aware of is

628
00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:19,480
S6: there are things breaking news wise around the globe, and

629
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,600
S6: one of them that's near and dear to our heart

630
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:26,320
S6: is Iran. Why? It's the fastest growing church in the

631
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,320
S6: world and more than just our guest who's coming up,

632
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,720
S6: who says it. But Missiologists and sociologists have said this

633
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,400
S6: now for some time. You know, one of the questions

634
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,640
S6: I'm going to have for Lana this morning is that

635
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:44,160
S6: because of persecution or in spite of persecution that the

636
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,280
S6: church has been growing, that's that's going to be a

637
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,040
S6: fascinating one. Yeah. Um, but we're going to get a

638
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:51,479
S6: little bit of the lay of the land. What we

639
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:55,120
S6: do here, it's a little bit different is we get

640
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,280
S6: to explore what's going on in places like Iran, not

641
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:03,600
S6: from military vantage point. That is real. And Lana is

642
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,260
S6: going to have some updates about what's really going on,

643
00:32:06,260 --> 00:32:08,860
S6: who's in charge? I want to get an insider's take

644
00:32:08,860 --> 00:32:12,260
S6: on this one. And what's the future hold in the

645
00:32:12,260 --> 00:32:15,340
S6: near and long term? But what's going on with the church?

646
00:32:15,900 --> 00:32:17,979
S6: Lana Silk is going to be joining us and we're

647
00:32:17,980 --> 00:32:21,700
S6: going to get a great perspective on Iran. Call someone,

648
00:32:21,700 --> 00:32:23,620
S6: tell them, hey, you want to know what's going on

649
00:32:23,660 --> 00:32:27,820
S6: in Iran spiritually? Turn to Moody Radio because they've got

650
00:32:27,820 --> 00:32:29,380
S6: it coming our way. Hang on.

651
00:32:29,820 --> 00:32:32,420
S1: Your shot of hope to get you through the day.

652
00:32:32,700 --> 00:32:36,100
S5: You are so, so loved. God does not want you

653
00:32:36,100 --> 00:32:38,100
S5: to stay in your past, and I want you to

654
00:32:38,140 --> 00:32:39,460
S5: know and believe that today.

655
00:32:39,460 --> 00:32:41,300
S1: You're listening to Carl and Crew.

656
00:32:41,340 --> 00:32:43,180
S9: I think it's been two weeks now.

657
00:32:43,700 --> 00:32:49,060
S6: Maybe a few hours past that since, uh, Israel and

658
00:32:49,060 --> 00:32:54,500
S6: the United States of America really went full bore against Iran,

659
00:32:54,500 --> 00:32:58,820
S6: their leadership, the mullahs. And there is so I mean,

660
00:32:58,860 --> 00:33:02,700
S6: everybody's got an opinion on these things. It seems like. Well,

661
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,840
S6: that's nothing new. Everybody's always had an opinion on every

662
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:09,920
S6: world event or even national event for sure, but it's

663
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,640
S6: an awesome thing when we can go below the surface

664
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,040
S6: alley and find someone who's got a pipeline, not just

665
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,880
S6: to what's going on geopolitically, but what's going on spiritually.

666
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,240
S4: So we have Lana Silk. She has been just such

667
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,960
S4: a trusted friend to our program, bringing us these updates.

668
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:30,000
S4: She's the president and chief executive officer with Transform Iran.

669
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,040
S4: Good morning Lana. Thank you for being with us. Again,

670
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:37,320
S4: providing these updates from your vantage point, what's the what's

671
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,680
S4: the most significant thing that we should be looking for

672
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,520
S4: looking at right now as it pertains to Iran?

673
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,840
S10: Good morning both. Thank you for having me again. Uh, well,

674
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,320
S10: it kind of depends if you're asking that question on

675
00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:53,800
S10: a political realm or on a or on a spiritual realm, uh,

676
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,520
S10: just looking at it from a human perspective, it seems

677
00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,520
S10: that Iran is becoming a little more fragmented as the

678
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,420
S10: days and weeks go by. They have replaced the Supreme Leader,

679
00:34:04,420 --> 00:34:06,700
S10: but no one has seen him in public yet. There's

680
00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:08,900
S10: a lot of speculation as to whether he is even

681
00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:11,820
S10: still alive and what state he's in. And it does

682
00:34:11,820 --> 00:34:15,460
S10: feel like the different fragments of Iranian leadership are operating

683
00:34:15,500 --> 00:34:19,060
S10: maybe a little more independently today. So we watch and wait.

684
00:34:19,060 --> 00:34:23,980
S10: But spiritually, we see this this spiritual war intensifying, and

685
00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:28,460
S10: us as believers looking at it with a lens of faith,

686
00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:31,899
S10: knowing that God is shaking the space and getting ready

687
00:34:31,900 --> 00:34:33,580
S10: to do spectacular things.

688
00:34:33,739 --> 00:34:38,420
S6: Yeah. Love it. Lana, just on this on this structure,

689
00:34:38,460 --> 00:34:40,940
S6: I was cogitating I was thinking about this the other day.

690
00:34:41,420 --> 00:34:45,820
S6: And when you've got probably 20, 25% of that nation

691
00:34:46,180 --> 00:34:50,340
S6: that has made their income for for decades plus off

692
00:34:50,340 --> 00:34:53,940
S6: of the current regime, man, it's going to have to

693
00:34:53,940 --> 00:34:57,419
S6: be a God thing to dislodge that, because you've got

694
00:34:57,420 --> 00:35:00,069
S6: a lot of people who have a vested interest in

695
00:35:00,070 --> 00:35:04,350
S6: holding on to that current regime and their neighbors and friends,

696
00:35:04,350 --> 00:35:08,270
S6: and they walk in the marketplace with everyone. That's a

697
00:35:08,270 --> 00:35:10,910
S6: that's a unique thing, isn't it, Lana?

698
00:35:11,670 --> 00:35:14,430
S11: It is a unique thing, I would say, even though,

699
00:35:14,469 --> 00:35:14,910
S11: of course.

700
00:35:14,910 --> 00:35:19,230
S10: Stability in the government is going to help everyone, uh,

701
00:35:19,350 --> 00:35:23,149
S10: make a living and, you know, have economic stability. The

702
00:35:23,150 --> 00:35:26,950
S10: current setup wasn't allowing that for the Iranian people because

703
00:35:26,989 --> 00:35:29,030
S10: there was so much of the country's money was being

704
00:35:29,030 --> 00:35:34,350
S10: spent on war. So in percentages of people who would

705
00:35:34,350 --> 00:35:37,190
S10: really have a vested interest in the success and continuation

706
00:35:37,190 --> 00:35:39,910
S10: of this government, I'd say it's even less than that,

707
00:35:39,950 --> 00:35:40,510
S10: to be honest.

708
00:35:40,870 --> 00:35:41,910
S6: What do you think it is?

709
00:35:41,989 --> 00:35:42,830
S10: Less than ten.

710
00:35:42,870 --> 00:35:43,310
S6: Less than.

711
00:35:43,310 --> 00:35:45,189
S10: 10%. Interesting.

712
00:35:45,550 --> 00:35:50,750
S6: So yeah, this is fascinating stuff. Lana. Silk is our

713
00:35:50,750 --> 00:35:54,590
S6: guest right now. She's president and chief executive officer with

714
00:35:54,630 --> 00:35:57,230
S6: Transform Iran. All right. Let's get to.

715
00:35:57,830 --> 00:35:58,649
S9: You know, I got.

716
00:35:58,650 --> 00:36:02,290
S6: A crazy question for you. The revival, the growth of

717
00:36:02,330 --> 00:36:07,450
S6: that church in Iran. Is it because of persecution or

718
00:36:07,489 --> 00:36:10,770
S6: in spite of persecution? I know that sounds like a

719
00:36:10,770 --> 00:36:14,410
S6: crazy question because no one wants to be persecuted. But

720
00:36:14,410 --> 00:36:19,009
S6: you see, churches thrive in persecution. What's going on at

721
00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:21,009
S6: a soul level? Lana.

722
00:36:21,770 --> 00:36:25,250
S10: That is such a good question. Carl. A short answer is,

723
00:36:25,250 --> 00:36:27,489
S10: I would say in spite. I would say that God

724
00:36:27,530 --> 00:36:31,969
S10: doesn't send the persecution himself. Persecution in and of itself

725
00:36:32,250 --> 00:36:35,410
S10: isn't a good thing. It is a suffering that is caused.

726
00:36:35,450 --> 00:36:39,529
S10: Caused because the enemy is attacking believers. But the in

727
00:36:39,530 --> 00:36:42,489
S10: spite is important. God, of course, did warn us that

728
00:36:42,489 --> 00:36:46,609
S10: we would have persecution. And what happens when you are

729
00:36:46,610 --> 00:36:50,690
S10: persecuted is you have to really consider how important your

730
00:36:50,690 --> 00:36:54,250
S10: faith is, how far you're prepared to go to preserve it,

731
00:36:54,290 --> 00:36:57,230
S10: what you would do for God, what you would lay

732
00:36:57,230 --> 00:36:59,670
S10: aside in order to be able to follow him. And

733
00:36:59,670 --> 00:37:02,910
S10: when those kinds of questions are being asked and answered

734
00:37:02,910 --> 00:37:06,870
S10: in a healthy way, then your faith is stronger. So naturally,

735
00:37:06,870 --> 00:37:09,589
S10: you create an environment in which you are going to

736
00:37:09,630 --> 00:37:13,670
S10: grow because you're making good decisions and you're really prioritizing,

737
00:37:13,670 --> 00:37:15,430
S10: prioritizing God above all else.

738
00:37:15,830 --> 00:37:17,790
S6: You know, I don't know if this is true for you, Lana,

739
00:37:17,790 --> 00:37:21,990
S6: but I think about persecution and I think we can

740
00:37:21,989 --> 00:37:26,430
S6: imagine all day long. What would I do if. Right?

741
00:37:26,469 --> 00:37:28,750
S6: I think we can. I think we can imagine that.

742
00:37:28,910 --> 00:37:33,029
S6: My theological contention is it's almost like the promise that

743
00:37:33,030 --> 00:37:35,830
S6: when you stand before governors and kings and princes, God

744
00:37:35,830 --> 00:37:38,230
S6: will give you the words to say. I think that

745
00:37:38,230 --> 00:37:41,870
S6: grace is deposited at that moment when you need it,

746
00:37:41,870 --> 00:37:45,670
S6: because I think you can you can drive yourself crazy thinking,

747
00:37:45,710 --> 00:37:48,989
S6: do I have the stuff to stand up? And. And

748
00:37:48,989 --> 00:37:52,310
S6: the truth is, we don't. So these people, men and women,

749
00:37:52,310 --> 00:37:56,410
S6: precious men and women, some old, some young, some children.

750
00:37:57,170 --> 00:38:02,770
S6: There is no greater display of God's grace, his unmerited favor,

751
00:38:02,770 --> 00:38:07,450
S6: his unlimited power, than in these beautiful saints of God

752
00:38:07,450 --> 00:38:11,610
S6: in Iran that are getting summarily executed for their faith

753
00:38:11,610 --> 00:38:14,729
S6: or beaten up. I what are your thoughts on that

754
00:38:14,730 --> 00:38:17,050
S6: when grace is deposited in that moment?

755
00:38:17,090 --> 00:38:18,930
S12: Lana, I think you're spot on.

756
00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:21,810
S10: There are so many scriptures that promise that God would

757
00:38:21,850 --> 00:38:24,850
S10: increase his deposit of grace, as you put it so

758
00:38:24,850 --> 00:38:27,730
S10: well on us when we are struggling and when we

759
00:38:27,730 --> 00:38:30,290
S10: need it. I think there is something to be said

760
00:38:30,290 --> 00:38:34,410
S10: for what we do in in a sense, in preparation

761
00:38:34,410 --> 00:38:37,330
S10: for that. And I say preparation because Jesus has warned

762
00:38:37,330 --> 00:38:40,370
S10: and even promised us that we will have struggle. So

763
00:38:40,370 --> 00:38:42,450
S10: it would be naive to assume that life is going

764
00:38:42,489 --> 00:38:45,170
S10: to go on easy if it's easy right now. That's

765
00:38:45,210 --> 00:38:49,330
S10: almost temporary. So we have to anticipate that from one way.

766
00:38:49,370 --> 00:38:51,250
S10: One way or another, we're going to be tested in

767
00:38:51,250 --> 00:38:53,779
S10: our faith. And the question is how well are we

768
00:38:53,780 --> 00:38:57,500
S10: shooting ourselves in the word? How how regular is our

769
00:38:57,500 --> 00:39:01,379
S10: communion with with God to prepare us for a time

770
00:39:01,380 --> 00:39:03,859
S10: when we will be tested? And it's sometimes a little

771
00:39:03,860 --> 00:39:05,620
S10: late at that point to say, oh, I better open

772
00:39:05,620 --> 00:39:07,899
S10: my Bible. You'd hope that by then you have had

773
00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:10,620
S10: a regular deposit of God in your life.

774
00:39:11,100 --> 00:39:14,580
S4: Lana Silk, President and Chief Executive Officer with Transform Iran.

775
00:39:14,940 --> 00:39:17,660
S4: Coming up, let's talk about the Ministry of Transform Iran

776
00:39:17,660 --> 00:39:20,460
S4: and what's happening on the streets of Iran. Even right now.

777
00:39:21,260 --> 00:39:25,460
S1: Standing on the rock each and every day, you're listening

778
00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:26,700
S1: to Carl and crew.

779
00:39:27,020 --> 00:39:30,100
S4: Lana Silk, our guest right now, she's the chief executive

780
00:39:30,100 --> 00:39:34,900
S4: officer and president with Transform Iran. You're seeing revival even

781
00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:40,500
S4: amid persecution in under difficult conditions in Iran. Talk up.

782
00:39:40,540 --> 00:39:44,500
S4: Give us some story, a story, Lana, of what Christians

783
00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:48,660
S4: are experiencing right now, even in spite of so much hardship.

784
00:39:49,700 --> 00:39:49,980
S12: Ali.

785
00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:53,720
S10: It's really encouraging to see that even while things are difficult,

786
00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:57,960
S10: people are turning to Jesus. The Christians themselves, to answer

787
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,040
S10: the question from their perspective, are really holding on to hope.

788
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:06,120
S10: I'm amazed the way people are constantly reassuring us. We

789
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:08,000
S10: are calling them to check on them, to make sure

790
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,600
S10: they're okay, and they're saying, don't worry, God is good.

791
00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:11,880
S10: We're holding on to hope.

792
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:13,120
S13: We see God moving.

793
00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:17,359
S10: So it's a very interesting dynamic. And people who don't

794
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,880
S10: know Jesus in this climate, when they're being so heavily scrutinized,

795
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,960
S10: are turning to him. New people contacting us through digital church,

796
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,920
S10: through the AI tool. We've put out lots of questions

797
00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:28,799
S10: and people wanting to follow Jesus.

798
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:34,200
S6: Yeah. This is beautiful. Lana, what is the you know,

799
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,440
S6: your people, you you know what's in the background, you

800
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:42,359
S6: know what's in the forefront. If, um, if things are

801
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:47,280
S6: on tilt here geopolitically, what do you anticipate? And you're

802
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:50,820
S6: a leader, you're a born leader. What are you doing

803
00:40:50,860 --> 00:40:56,460
S6: to prepare for these next days, weeks, months there? Things

804
00:40:56,460 --> 00:41:00,340
S6: are shifting right now. This could be an incredible time

805
00:41:00,380 --> 00:41:02,060
S6: of spiritual harvest.

806
00:41:02,540 --> 00:41:06,940
S10: Yes, absolutely. We have to prepare spiritually and practically. And

807
00:41:06,940 --> 00:41:09,739
S10: we've been doing both for several decades now. So it's

808
00:41:09,739 --> 00:41:13,340
S10: really exciting to be at this point thinking, okay, this

809
00:41:13,700 --> 00:41:17,260
S10: the way we've been talking, Iran is going to be open.

810
00:41:17,260 --> 00:41:19,739
S10: We need to be ready. Um, we are now at

811
00:41:19,739 --> 00:41:22,220
S10: the final stages of this. Let's make sure we've tidied

812
00:41:22,219 --> 00:41:25,339
S10: everything up and ready to move in. So our conversations

813
00:41:25,340 --> 00:41:29,460
S10: with our teams are much more around immediate practicalities. Now

814
00:41:29,460 --> 00:41:32,460
S10: when you go back, no ifs. When you go back,

815
00:41:32,660 --> 00:41:35,220
S10: who will you stay with? Who's the first person you'll call?

816
00:41:35,219 --> 00:41:38,060
S10: What's the network that you'll tap into? Where will your

817
00:41:38,060 --> 00:41:40,899
S10: church be based? You know, what's the ministry that you'll

818
00:41:40,940 --> 00:41:43,660
S10: immediately embark? Who are the people on your heart? Are

819
00:41:43,660 --> 00:41:46,100
S10: you ready? Do you have the resources? What else do

820
00:41:46,100 --> 00:41:48,480
S10: you need? Those are the kinds of conversations that are

821
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:49,840
S10: happening today in our team.

822
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:54,120
S6: So you're anticipating that things are going to change politically.

823
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:55,720
S6: There is. AM I hearing that?

824
00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,800
S10: Yes, absolutely. Um, Karl, if there wasn't a God lens here,

825
00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:03,439
S10: I think there would be a lot more uncertainty. It

826
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:07,120
S10: is a very volatile situation. There's no human guarantees of

827
00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:10,520
S10: any outcome here. And the political analysis that we hear

828
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,960
S10: on the news channels, it's largely right. People are guessing.

829
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,160
S10: They don't know which way things will go. So many

830
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,400
S10: different factors at play. But we have been praying about

831
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,319
S10: this for a long time and knowing that God has

832
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:24,959
S10: told us he's going to open Iran. So that adds

833
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:28,080
S10: a very powerful filter to the current events. And we

834
00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:30,880
S10: know that politically things are going to change.

835
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:35,080
S4: Lana, is it accurate to say that Iran is the

836
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:38,960
S4: fastest growing church in the world? Is that an accurate statement?

837
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:40,240
S4: I know some have said that.

838
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:43,359
S10: Yes, I hear that a lot. Ali, often my response is,

839
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,919
S10: I don't know how that gets measured to make it

840
00:42:45,980 --> 00:42:48,660
S10: the fastest growing church in the world. But certainly it

841
00:42:48,660 --> 00:42:51,620
S10: would ring true if someone came and showed me the evidence.

842
00:42:51,620 --> 00:42:53,819
S10: I'd say, oh yeah, in terms of the numbers, I'd say,

843
00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:56,700
S10: oh yeah, that feels about right, because it is growing

844
00:42:56,739 --> 00:42:59,339
S10: at a phenomenal rate. And really our biggest job is

845
00:42:59,340 --> 00:43:01,340
S10: keeping up right now in ministry in Iran.

846
00:43:01,980 --> 00:43:04,379
S4: You and you, you said in a recent interview that

847
00:43:04,380 --> 00:43:09,860
S4: there's no such thing as a lukewarm church in Iran. Explain.

848
00:43:09,900 --> 00:43:11,899
S10: They cannot be. I think it kind of goes back

849
00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:15,380
S10: to the question Carl was asking earlier about persecution. When

850
00:43:15,380 --> 00:43:18,020
S10: you know that turning to Jesus is going to cost

851
00:43:18,060 --> 00:43:20,980
S10: you everything, it may cost you your family. It may

852
00:43:20,980 --> 00:43:23,460
S10: cost you your business, it may well cost you your life,

853
00:43:23,460 --> 00:43:25,779
S10: and it certainly will cost you your comfort. You don't

854
00:43:25,780 --> 00:43:28,580
S10: make that decision lightly, and you certainly don't bother if

855
00:43:28,620 --> 00:43:31,540
S10: you're not going to go all in. So it sort

856
00:43:31,540 --> 00:43:34,780
S10: of immediately forces a complete commitment to Christ.

857
00:43:35,260 --> 00:43:38,180
S6: How in the world do you get information out of Iran?

858
00:43:38,540 --> 00:43:39,540
S6: How does that happen?

859
00:43:40,020 --> 00:43:44,590
S10: It's sporadic and hard. People have to make, uh, Put

860
00:43:44,590 --> 00:43:46,470
S10: a lot of work in to get even a small

861
00:43:46,469 --> 00:43:49,270
S10: voice note or a text across. Sometimes they say it

862
00:43:49,270 --> 00:43:51,950
S10: takes them hours watching it, trying to get uploaded and

863
00:43:51,950 --> 00:43:54,549
S10: sent across. Some of our team are actually going through

864
00:43:54,550 --> 00:43:57,670
S10: the expense of making old fashioned dial up phone calls,

865
00:43:57,670 --> 00:43:59,910
S10: just to make sure that we've heard from them. And again,

866
00:43:59,950 --> 00:44:02,549
S10: often it's just for the effort of reassuring us and

867
00:44:02,550 --> 00:44:05,710
S10: helping us realize that they're okay. They're full of faith,

868
00:44:05,710 --> 00:44:07,270
S10: and they're waiting for God to move.

869
00:44:07,670 --> 00:44:10,310
S6: You know, that's one of the most amazing things that

870
00:44:10,310 --> 00:44:13,549
S6: you hear about the persecuted church across the globe is

871
00:44:13,550 --> 00:44:15,710
S6: that and we hear it out of Nigeria. We've heard

872
00:44:15,710 --> 00:44:19,109
S6: it out of Afghanistan that they're calling to say we're

873
00:44:19,110 --> 00:44:23,030
S6: going to be okay. Keep praying, which is amazing. What's

874
00:44:23,070 --> 00:44:27,589
S6: another story that you've heard recently that you're like, oh

875
00:44:27,630 --> 00:44:31,830
S6: my goodness, this just it's almost bewildering, the faith of

876
00:44:31,830 --> 00:44:33,070
S6: these saints, isn't it?

877
00:44:33,790 --> 00:44:37,310
S10: It really, really is. Uh, we're struggling to get full

878
00:44:37,310 --> 00:44:40,790
S10: stories out. People are sending us snippets, but the, the,

879
00:44:40,989 --> 00:44:43,370
S10: the ones that come through are all along the lines

880
00:44:43,370 --> 00:44:48,170
S10: of supernatural faith. So families having a person arrested and

881
00:44:48,170 --> 00:44:50,890
S10: the way they had to process through that one person.

882
00:44:51,130 --> 00:44:54,089
S10: Her son was gone for 45 days. She had no

883
00:44:54,090 --> 00:44:56,569
S10: idea where he was, and just the way she was

884
00:44:56,570 --> 00:44:59,170
S10: able to work through that in her faith and and

885
00:44:59,489 --> 00:45:02,370
S10: keep her focus on Jesus while she waited. He eventually

886
00:45:02,370 --> 00:45:05,930
S10: was released and he's having counselling now. He's been through

887
00:45:05,930 --> 00:45:09,730
S10: a traumatic experience. But again, there's never a question that

888
00:45:09,730 --> 00:45:11,450
S10: faith is lost. You know, you would think in those

889
00:45:11,450 --> 00:45:14,810
S10: kinds of situations, that is what would be tested. The

890
00:45:14,810 --> 00:45:17,089
S10: faith is as strong as ever. The conversation is much

891
00:45:17,090 --> 00:45:19,290
S10: more around, right? What are we going to do now?

892
00:45:19,290 --> 00:45:21,810
S10: How are we going to help him get through this process?

893
00:45:21,810 --> 00:45:24,210
S10: How are we going to continue to share our faith?

894
00:45:24,370 --> 00:45:26,250
S10: It's incredible boldness.

895
00:45:27,050 --> 00:45:30,850
S4: Lana Silk President and Chief Executive Officer with Transform Iran.

896
00:45:30,890 --> 00:45:33,570
S4: You know, we have provided this to our listeners in

897
00:45:33,610 --> 00:45:35,370
S4: the past, and we want to do it again today.

898
00:45:35,410 --> 00:45:38,370
S4: Your team has put together a prayer guide for those

899
00:45:38,370 --> 00:45:42,310
S4: who want to be praying for Iran. What are some

900
00:45:42,310 --> 00:45:44,710
S4: of the main focus that what are the main ways

901
00:45:44,710 --> 00:45:48,870
S4: that we should be praying. Obviously, safety and protection, strength.

902
00:45:48,910 --> 00:45:49,630
S4: What else?

903
00:45:50,510 --> 00:45:53,830
S10: Yes, definitely. Those things. Courage for the Christians. They want

904
00:45:53,830 --> 00:45:56,750
S10: to continue to be sharing their faith. But in with

905
00:45:56,750 --> 00:45:59,469
S10: that wisdom and discernment to know where it's safe and

906
00:45:59,469 --> 00:46:02,830
S10: where to hold back. Uh, we continue to pray for

907
00:46:02,830 --> 00:46:06,310
S10: the government. We pray for salvation in Iran's leadership. We

908
00:46:06,350 --> 00:46:10,469
S10: want God to be glorified in spectacular conversion stories. So

909
00:46:10,469 --> 00:46:13,110
S10: we're continuing to pray for that and at the same time,

910
00:46:13,110 --> 00:46:16,230
S10: praying for what we're calling a righteous transition of government,

911
00:46:16,230 --> 00:46:19,670
S10: because the government, as it is today needs to change.

912
00:46:19,870 --> 00:46:21,670
S10: So we continue to pray for that. But at the

913
00:46:21,670 --> 00:46:24,270
S10: same time, the salvation of the leaders, and we pray

914
00:46:24,270 --> 00:46:26,510
S10: for all the countries that are being dragged into this

915
00:46:26,510 --> 00:46:29,549
S10: as well. This is now reaching far beyond Iran's borders.

916
00:46:29,710 --> 00:46:32,950
S10: For God's mercy to prevail across that region and for

917
00:46:32,950 --> 00:46:35,870
S10: this thing to be swiftly decided. We don't want years

918
00:46:35,870 --> 00:46:37,069
S10: of drawn out fighting.

919
00:46:37,110 --> 00:46:41,049
S6: Yeah. Lana, I've been really drilling down recently on prevenient

920
00:46:41,050 --> 00:46:44,529
S6: grace that there are God fearing people. Truly the one

921
00:46:44,530 --> 00:46:47,410
S6: true and living, God fearing people there in Iran that

922
00:46:47,410 --> 00:46:51,130
S6: haven't heard about Jesus. And when they will and do,

923
00:46:51,690 --> 00:46:54,210
S6: they will be transformed by the power of God. And

924
00:46:54,210 --> 00:46:57,850
S6: that's what a beautiful ministry you have going on. Boom!

925
00:46:57,850 --> 00:46:59,609
S6: Crew wants you to get hooked up with it and

926
00:46:59,610 --> 00:47:07,250
S6: get that prayer guide. Text the word transform to 800 555, 78, 98.

927
00:47:07,250 --> 00:47:14,050
S6: Just that one word transform to 800 555, 78, 98.

928
00:47:14,090 --> 00:47:15,969
S6: What a golden opportunity. You might want to grab it

929
00:47:15,969 --> 00:47:18,250
S6: just this morning and just say, okay, right now I'm

930
00:47:18,250 --> 00:47:19,930
S6: going to grab this prayer guide and I'm going to

931
00:47:19,930 --> 00:47:23,010
S6: bow my head in prayer for our brothers and sisters

932
00:47:23,010 --> 00:47:26,490
S6: and those brothers and sisters to be in Iran.

933
00:47:26,530 --> 00:47:30,090
S4: And it's amazing that that's the thing consistently, as you mentioned, Carl,

934
00:47:30,090 --> 00:47:33,810
S4: that believers around the world are asking for prayer.

935
00:47:33,850 --> 00:47:34,290
S6: Prayer.

936
00:47:34,330 --> 00:47:37,009
S4: Prayer. And what that reflects is a deep faith and

937
00:47:37,010 --> 00:47:40,700
S4: a conviction that prayer is more than just a religious exercise.

938
00:47:41,140 --> 00:47:43,500
S4: It actually moves the heart of the father.

939
00:47:43,700 --> 00:47:51,020
S6: Yeah. It's beautiful. Text the word transform to 800 555 7898.

940
00:47:51,060 --> 00:47:54,380
S6: And I am I'm I'm asking you boom crew, grab

941
00:47:54,380 --> 00:47:57,340
S6: it today and spend just a few minutes in prayer.

942
00:47:58,380 --> 00:48:02,540
S6: Transform to 800 555 7898.

943
00:48:02,980 --> 00:48:07,020
S1: Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl

944
00:48:07,020 --> 00:48:07,620
S1: and crew.

945
00:48:07,820 --> 00:48:10,859
S6: So get back from vacation. You learn a lot when

946
00:48:10,860 --> 00:48:13,620
S6: you're away. One is you better have ID. When you're

947
00:48:13,620 --> 00:48:18,060
S6: going through different checkpoints, you better have ID. I mean,

948
00:48:18,100 --> 00:48:21,380
S6: it's amazing, isn't it? I mean, goodness sakes. And if

949
00:48:21,380 --> 00:48:23,180
S6: you don't have, what's the new ID called?

950
00:48:23,219 --> 00:48:24,260
S4: The real ID.

951
00:48:24,460 --> 00:48:27,620
S6: Oh, yeah. Real ID as opposed to what? By the way,

952
00:48:27,660 --> 00:48:33,940
S6: fake ID. The world are we doing here? So I

953
00:48:33,940 --> 00:48:36,160
S6: didn't have the real ID, but I had a passport.

954
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:40,280
S6: Could you hold on to that? Right. Because that's who

955
00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:44,200
S6: you are. Is my face is on there and there's

956
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:48,520
S6: my number, and it's. I was getting from Homer, Alaska,

957
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:50,279
S6: and it's got it all right down there, but you

958
00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,719
S6: got to have it. This whole ID stuff is important

959
00:48:53,719 --> 00:48:55,880
S6: when it comes to who we are in Jesus.

960
00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:58,280
S4: Ali, there's a movie that was popular a couple years ago,

961
00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:00,319
S4: and I can picture the scene. And this woman, she

962
00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:02,560
S4: grabs a hold. She's a nanny for this little girl,

963
00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,719
S4: and she grabs a hold, the little girl's face, and

964
00:49:04,719 --> 00:49:07,360
S4: she looks at her deep in her eyes, and she says,

965
00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:13,480
S4: she says you is strong. You is smart. You is important.

966
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:16,120
S4: And it kind of became a meme. And it was

967
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:19,560
S4: her trying to speak identity into this little girl and

968
00:49:19,560 --> 00:49:22,320
S4: tell her that she was strong, smart and important. Those

969
00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:25,400
S4: were her big three. We've got a special guest, Philip Miller,

970
00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:28,319
S4: joining us right now. You have a big three. And

971
00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:31,279
S4: it's a little different from that popular phrase out of

972
00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:32,000
S4: the movie.

973
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,940
S14: Yeah. So, you know, when we look at the Bible,

974
00:49:34,940 --> 00:49:38,259
S14: there's three big core identity needs that lie in the

975
00:49:38,260 --> 00:49:40,339
S14: heart of each one of us, and that is we

976
00:49:40,340 --> 00:49:45,900
S14: need significance. We need security and we need satisfaction. And

977
00:49:45,900 --> 00:49:48,660
S14: the reality is, all three of those things we're meant

978
00:49:48,660 --> 00:49:51,299
S14: to find in God, in our relationship with him as

979
00:49:51,300 --> 00:49:54,339
S14: his children. And if you think about it, Jesus at

980
00:49:54,340 --> 00:49:56,940
S14: his baptism, you know, the God the Father says, this

981
00:49:56,940 --> 00:50:01,739
S14: is my son. Significance, right? He's beloved. He's we're secure

982
00:50:01,739 --> 00:50:03,980
S14: in his love. Jesus is secure in the father's love

983
00:50:03,980 --> 00:50:08,060
S14: and in him. I'm well pleased. Right? There's satisfaction there.

984
00:50:08,060 --> 00:50:11,219
S14: And so the reality is, if we are in Christ,

985
00:50:11,219 --> 00:50:14,660
S14: those statements actually apply to us as well, that we

986
00:50:14,660 --> 00:50:18,379
S14: are God's children. We are beloved in him. We. He

987
00:50:18,380 --> 00:50:21,819
S14: is well pleased over us for Jesus sake. And so

988
00:50:21,940 --> 00:50:25,820
S14: the deep identity that we all long for to matter,

989
00:50:25,820 --> 00:50:29,259
S14: for significance, to feel safe in the universe, to be secure,

990
00:50:29,260 --> 00:50:32,180
S14: to be delighted and happy in the world, to be satisfied.

991
00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:36,280
S14: Those deep identity needs are met in God as our father,

992
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:39,040
S14: and we are his beloved children. That's where our real deep,

993
00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:40,560
S14: true identity lies.

994
00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:43,880
S6: Philip Miller, again, our guest right now, pastor of the

995
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,279
S6: Moody Church. You've still got the up there, right? I mean,

996
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:47,200
S6: it's got. Oh, yeah.

997
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:49,040
S14: The Moody Church. Yeah, I.

998
00:50:49,080 --> 00:50:52,359
S6: Love that, Philip. Here's what I love. I think if

999
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:54,560
S6: most people are talking about who we are in Christ,

1000
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:59,759
S6: they go, okay, um, I'm significant. That's good. I'm secure.

1001
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:03,760
S6: That's good. But I am satisfied. I'm not so sure

1002
00:51:03,760 --> 00:51:06,680
S6: that makes a list. Why is that so important?

1003
00:51:06,920 --> 00:51:11,120
S14: We're made to rejoice. We're made to be happy like God.

1004
00:51:11,160 --> 00:51:13,920
S14: God is, um, you know, you read the Psalms and

1005
00:51:13,920 --> 00:51:17,680
S14: you see things like delight yourself in the Lord or

1006
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:22,240
S14: at your right hand are pleasures forevermore, right? There's abundant

1007
00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:26,920
S14: promises that God is the fountain of our satisfaction. We're

1008
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:29,760
S14: made for him. We're made to come alive and, and

1009
00:51:29,760 --> 00:51:32,450
S14: find joy. That's what the woman at the well was

1010
00:51:32,450 --> 00:51:35,609
S14: looking for in all those failed relationships. And Jesus said,

1011
00:51:35,610 --> 00:51:39,009
S14: I'm the real deal, right? So we were made for

1012
00:51:39,370 --> 00:51:42,569
S14: the Lord himself. And here's what happens. Carl, I think

1013
00:51:42,570 --> 00:51:45,130
S14: we wake up in the universe. We're made for God.

1014
00:51:45,130 --> 00:51:48,370
S14: We're made to have these deep identity needs met in

1015
00:51:48,370 --> 00:51:51,890
S14: relationship with him. But we wake up estranged in the universe.

1016
00:51:51,890 --> 00:51:55,330
S14: And so we wake up functionally as orphans, and we

1017
00:51:55,370 --> 00:51:58,810
S14: go out and we fend for ourselves. And we think, well,

1018
00:51:58,810 --> 00:52:02,689
S14: I've got to get significant security and satisfaction on my own.

1019
00:52:02,730 --> 00:52:04,770
S14: I've got to go find it somewhere else. And so

1020
00:52:04,770 --> 00:52:08,009
S14: we look for anything that will give us promises that

1021
00:52:08,010 --> 00:52:11,210
S14: sound like they're plausible. And so we look to career

1022
00:52:11,210 --> 00:52:15,210
S14: and romance and relationships and vacations and like all the

1023
00:52:15,210 --> 00:52:19,090
S14: things that promise to make us happy and significant and safe.

1024
00:52:19,090 --> 00:52:22,170
S14: And of course, all those things fail their idols and

1025
00:52:22,170 --> 00:52:25,489
S14: they will never deliver what God alone can give. And

1026
00:52:25,489 --> 00:52:29,870
S14: so our orphan hearts, though, create these like habitual patterns,

1027
00:52:29,870 --> 00:52:33,750
S14: these muscle memories of like, how to cope through life

1028
00:52:33,750 --> 00:52:37,310
S14: in the universe and find identity on, on our own

1029
00:52:37,630 --> 00:52:40,430
S14: and it never works. And so then at the end

1030
00:52:40,430 --> 00:52:42,149
S14: of the day, we come back and we say, wait

1031
00:52:42,150 --> 00:52:44,989
S14: a minute, maybe, maybe God is the one we were

1032
00:52:44,989 --> 00:52:46,110
S14: made for all along.

1033
00:52:46,270 --> 00:52:47,629
S6: Maybe God had something to say here.

1034
00:52:47,670 --> 00:52:51,270
S14: Yeah. And here's the thing. Even as Christians, followers of Jesus,

1035
00:52:51,270 --> 00:52:53,870
S14: here's what I think happens. I think we have so

1036
00:52:53,870 --> 00:52:57,750
S14: much muscle memory from living as orphans that even though

1037
00:52:57,790 --> 00:53:01,030
S14: we confess Jesus as Lord, we believe in the gospel.

1038
00:53:01,030 --> 00:53:04,509
S14: We have this deep muscle memory, these habits of a

1039
00:53:04,510 --> 00:53:09,710
S14: lifetime that have programmed us, as it were, to live

1040
00:53:09,750 --> 00:53:12,870
S14: as orphans, even though we have the resources of being

1041
00:53:12,870 --> 00:53:17,990
S14: children of God at our fingertips and part of sanctification

1042
00:53:17,989 --> 00:53:22,549
S14: growing in Christ is learning to retrain that muscle memory

1043
00:53:22,550 --> 00:53:24,549
S14: so that we learn to look to God for our

1044
00:53:24,550 --> 00:53:28,490
S14: significant security and our satisfaction, instead of all the other

1045
00:53:28,489 --> 00:53:31,410
S14: stuff that that are the false promises out there.

1046
00:53:32,010 --> 00:53:35,290
S6: Oh my goodness. Philip Miller here with us, lead pastor

1047
00:53:35,290 --> 00:53:39,610
S6: of the Moody Church, downtown Chicago. Coming up here. I'm

1048
00:53:39,610 --> 00:53:41,890
S6: going to pin you, pastor. Here we go. How does

1049
00:53:41,890 --> 00:53:45,009
S6: this work for you? Because here's the truth. A lot

1050
00:53:45,010 --> 00:53:49,490
S6: of people just want to know, is anyone else like me,

1051
00:53:49,730 --> 00:53:52,690
S6: Pastor Miller, just like you coming up.

1052
00:53:53,090 --> 00:53:56,170
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you

1053
00:53:56,170 --> 00:54:00,410
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's

1054
00:54:00,410 --> 00:54:02,609
S1: curl and crew on Moody Radio.

1055
00:54:02,969 --> 00:54:05,890
S6: With us right now, Philip Miller, he's pastor of the

1056
00:54:05,890 --> 00:54:09,169
S6: Moody Church, downtown Chicago. All right, I promised it. Now

1057
00:54:09,170 --> 00:54:12,250
S6: we got to deliver, pastor, we all live this, right?

1058
00:54:12,250 --> 00:54:15,250
S6: We can all get on tilt. And I love your analogy,

1059
00:54:15,250 --> 00:54:18,410
S6: living as orphans. And we have a memory muscle of

1060
00:54:18,410 --> 00:54:22,049
S6: living as orphans. That is powerful. But how does this

1061
00:54:22,050 --> 00:54:24,210
S6: work for you? You've been kicked in the teeth, you've

1062
00:54:24,210 --> 00:54:27,710
S6: been sucker punched before and you've got to regroup around

1063
00:54:27,710 --> 00:54:28,629
S6: your identity.

1064
00:54:29,030 --> 00:54:32,790
S14: So here's what here's my thesis. I think for, you know,

1065
00:54:32,830 --> 00:54:37,030
S14: these categories, I've given significant security satisfaction. I think one

1066
00:54:37,030 --> 00:54:41,589
S14: of those for most people is a primary longing. We

1067
00:54:41,590 --> 00:54:44,109
S14: need all three. But I think for one of those

1068
00:54:44,150 --> 00:54:46,390
S14: is for most of us going to be dominant. So

1069
00:54:46,390 --> 00:54:49,750
S14: for me, it's significance. I want to matter. I want

1070
00:54:49,790 --> 00:54:52,469
S14: to know that I count. I want to make a difference.

1071
00:54:52,469 --> 00:54:55,430
S14: I want people to say, man, Philip, you know, that

1072
00:54:55,430 --> 00:54:58,230
S14: guy is significant, right? So that's the deep longing in

1073
00:54:58,230 --> 00:55:00,390
S14: my heart. What I learned as a child was that,

1074
00:55:00,430 --> 00:55:03,390
S14: you know what? If I got good grades, if I

1075
00:55:03,430 --> 00:55:07,350
S14: scored a goal in soccer, I would get applause, I

1076
00:55:07,350 --> 00:55:11,910
S14: would get affirmation. And so I learned this is the formula.

1077
00:55:11,910 --> 00:55:15,069
S14: If I want significance, I got to get it from people.

1078
00:55:15,430 --> 00:55:18,750
S14: And so I'm going to perform and I'm going to win.

1079
00:55:19,070 --> 00:55:21,509
S14: And then I'm going to get the approval and the applause.

1080
00:55:21,550 --> 00:55:23,629
S14: And that's going to give me the significance my heart

1081
00:55:23,630 --> 00:55:27,719
S14: is longing for. That was my orphan hearted strategy for living.

1082
00:55:28,080 --> 00:55:31,800
S14: And here's the reality that echoes into all kinds of

1083
00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:35,279
S14: problems in my life, right? Like. Like if you have

1084
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:37,320
S14: to win all the time, it makes you a really

1085
00:55:37,320 --> 00:55:42,080
S14: bad person. Like, because you'll cut corners, you'll do whatever

1086
00:55:42,080 --> 00:55:45,400
S14: it takes to get ahead and you'll be a really

1087
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:48,520
S14: lousy loser. Like you will not be able to handle

1088
00:55:48,520 --> 00:55:51,000
S14: it if you don't get the applause. And it doesn't

1089
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:54,160
S14: work like you cannot come in last place, right? And

1090
00:55:54,160 --> 00:55:56,480
S14: so it doesn't make you very loving. It makes you

1091
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:59,520
S14: very needy as a human being because you're not just

1092
00:55:59,520 --> 00:56:03,800
S14: doing things, you're getting identity from the things you're doing.

1093
00:56:03,840 --> 00:56:06,880
S14: And so you have way too much of your self

1094
00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:11,440
S14: wrapped up in your pursuits, and it just makes everything unhealthy, right?

1095
00:56:11,719 --> 00:56:14,960
S14: So for me as, as a pastor, this is honestly, Carl,

1096
00:56:14,960 --> 00:56:17,520
S14: this is how it works in ministry. I think for

1097
00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:20,320
S14: a lot of pastors is like, if people are coming,

1098
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:24,420
S14: if attendance is rising. If programs are working. If the

1099
00:56:24,460 --> 00:56:28,900
S14: budget is balanced. Like then God must love me. Instead

1100
00:56:28,900 --> 00:56:31,540
S14: of looking to God for my significance and resting in

1101
00:56:31,580 --> 00:56:34,940
S14: the fact that he delights in me for Jesus sake

1102
00:56:34,940 --> 00:56:37,219
S14: and that I'm his child and that nothing can take

1103
00:56:37,219 --> 00:56:40,380
S14: that away. And like, that's the highest level of significance

1104
00:56:40,380 --> 00:56:42,820
S14: I could ever want. I'm a child of God. Instead

1105
00:56:42,820 --> 00:56:45,419
S14: of resting in that. What I've done is I've, I've

1106
00:56:45,460 --> 00:56:49,340
S14: become an orphan that's looking for that significance in my ministry.

1107
00:56:49,540 --> 00:56:52,379
S14: And now the ministry itself is not just the thing

1108
00:56:52,380 --> 00:56:55,140
S14: I do for Jesus. It's something I'm trying to get

1109
00:56:55,140 --> 00:56:58,860
S14: my identity from. And so it goes toxic on me

1110
00:56:59,219 --> 00:57:01,300
S14: and it destroys me. And of course, it can never

1111
00:57:01,300 --> 00:57:03,500
S14: give me what I what I want. And that's where

1112
00:57:03,500 --> 00:57:05,580
S14: I think, you know, you can feel it in your

1113
00:57:05,580 --> 00:57:08,740
S14: own soul. That's just how ministry can become an idol.

1114
00:57:08,739 --> 00:57:12,259
S14: And you can end up really getting toxic as a

1115
00:57:12,260 --> 00:57:16,420
S14: human being because you're, you're living for the wrong stuff, right?

1116
00:57:16,420 --> 00:57:19,180
S14: So for me, I've got to get up every morning

1117
00:57:19,180 --> 00:57:21,680
S14: and say, God, I thank you that you love me

1118
00:57:21,680 --> 00:57:24,920
S14: because you love me. Help me to serve you today

1119
00:57:24,920 --> 00:57:28,960
S14: from that acceptance and not for it. Wow. I'm not

1120
00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:33,439
S14: trying to get identity from my ministry. I'm pouring my

1121
00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:37,360
S14: identity out into my ministry because my identity is rooted

1122
00:57:37,360 --> 00:57:40,160
S14: somewhere else. It's rooted in my relationship with God.

1123
00:57:40,200 --> 00:57:43,040
S4: Philip Miller, our guest right now, pastor of the Moody Church.

1124
00:57:43,040 --> 00:57:45,760
S4: This framework as a child of God, I am significant.

1125
00:57:45,760 --> 00:57:49,120
S4: As a child of God. I'm secure. I am satisfied.

1126
00:57:49,120 --> 00:57:51,400
S4: Thanks for honestly sharing what it looks like in your

1127
00:57:51,400 --> 00:57:54,600
S4: own heart of when you're not secure in this significance.

1128
00:57:54,640 --> 00:57:57,479
S4: Quick thought. For those listening, what might it look like

1129
00:57:57,480 --> 00:58:02,400
S4: for those who are primarily searching for security or satisfaction

1130
00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:04,800
S4: and struggling to find it in Christ?

1131
00:58:05,200 --> 00:58:08,280
S14: Yeah, it's interesting because there's people in my life that

1132
00:58:08,280 --> 00:58:10,520
S14: are wired this way. Like I have a friend and

1133
00:58:10,520 --> 00:58:13,080
S14: she's a security person. She just wants to feel safe

1134
00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:16,760
S14: in the world. You know, that's her top value. And

1135
00:58:16,760 --> 00:58:20,500
S14: so it's a slightly different set of resources. They're all

1136
00:58:20,500 --> 00:58:22,780
S14: in the gospel. The gospel is the same, but the

1137
00:58:22,780 --> 00:58:25,540
S14: set of the resources you metabolize are a little bit different.

1138
00:58:25,540 --> 00:58:28,300
S14: So I'm, I'm looking for significance. I'm like, where does

1139
00:58:28,300 --> 00:58:31,700
S14: God validate and give me a sense of identity that

1140
00:58:31,740 --> 00:58:34,700
S14: it says he matters, right? That's what I'm looking for.

1141
00:58:34,820 --> 00:58:37,580
S14: This friend of mine is looking for security. So different

1142
00:58:37,580 --> 00:58:40,940
S14: verses will appeal. Like, the Lord is my shepherd. I

1143
00:58:40,940 --> 00:58:43,860
S14: shall not want. Like he makes me lie down in

1144
00:58:43,860 --> 00:58:47,220
S14: green pastures. He restores my soul. He leads me beside

1145
00:58:47,220 --> 00:58:50,300
S14: still waters. Like his rod and staff. They comfort me

1146
00:58:50,300 --> 00:58:52,900
S14: like the fact that God is with me always. He

1147
00:58:52,900 --> 00:58:56,220
S14: will never leave me or forsake me. That I'm perfectly

1148
00:58:56,220 --> 00:59:01,060
S14: safe in his arms in this universe. That nothing ultimately

1149
00:59:01,260 --> 00:59:05,260
S14: can take me down because I'm secure in his love forever, right?

1150
00:59:05,300 --> 00:59:09,900
S14: Even death itself cannot disrupt the bond that I have

1151
00:59:09,900 --> 00:59:15,860
S14: with my Savior. Those are deeply securing truths that help

1152
00:59:15,860 --> 00:59:20,350
S14: us Remember that we really are safe and that like

1153
00:59:20,390 --> 00:59:24,150
S14: a medical diagnosis is not the end of the story,

1154
00:59:24,190 --> 00:59:27,150
S14: you know? And so you can face all kinds of

1155
00:59:27,150 --> 00:59:29,750
S14: storms in life if you know you're safe in the

1156
00:59:29,750 --> 00:59:30,630
S14: arms of the Lord.

1157
00:59:30,830 --> 00:59:34,230
S6: It dawns on me that the rich young ruler was

1158
00:59:34,230 --> 00:59:37,990
S6: orphaned by his wealth. Yes. He was not secure in Christ.

1159
00:59:38,030 --> 00:59:40,790
S6: He did not lean into that. So we can get

1160
00:59:40,830 --> 00:59:45,070
S6: orphaned in security, in weird, funky things that are actually

1161
00:59:45,070 --> 00:59:47,590
S6: blessings from God, but not him. Right, Philip?

1162
00:59:47,990 --> 00:59:51,070
S14: Yeah. So, you know, zooming out here, all three of

1163
00:59:51,070 --> 00:59:56,030
S14: these deep soul needs significant security satisfaction. I think when

1164
00:59:56,030 --> 00:59:59,230
S14: we're in orphan hearted mode, they mainly attach to three

1165
00:59:59,230 --> 01:00:04,110
S14: things people power or possessions. Yes. And and those three

1166
01:00:04,110 --> 01:00:07,430
S14: things people, power and possessions. They work for each of

1167
01:00:07,430 --> 01:00:09,350
S14: those three things. So if you actually think about it,

1168
01:00:09,350 --> 01:00:13,710
S14: there's nine sort of permutations here, if you will. So

1169
01:00:13,870 --> 01:00:16,410
S14: and what that means is that you can actually be

1170
01:00:16,410 --> 01:00:19,170
S14: looking to, let's say, possessions. Let's say you want a

1171
01:00:19,170 --> 01:00:22,730
S14: new car. So if you're a significance guy, you're probably thinking,

1172
01:00:22,730 --> 01:00:25,370
S14: I need a new car because that's a status symbol.

1173
01:00:25,370 --> 01:00:27,810
S14: It's going to show the world I've made it. If

1174
01:00:27,810 --> 01:00:30,210
S14: you're a security person, you might need a new car

1175
01:00:30,210 --> 01:00:32,490
S14: because you don't want your you don't want to break

1176
01:00:32,490 --> 01:00:35,050
S14: down on the road. It's a safety thing for you.

1177
01:00:35,370 --> 01:00:38,850
S14: Or if you're a satisfaction person, you're probably buying the

1178
01:00:38,850 --> 01:00:41,650
S14: new car because you want to treat yourself. I deserve

1179
01:00:41,650 --> 01:00:43,650
S14: to be happy. I worked hard for this and you

1180
01:00:43,650 --> 01:00:46,090
S14: know I deserve a little treat in my life, right?

1181
01:00:46,130 --> 01:00:49,010
S14: So here we are buying a car. It's the same action,

1182
01:00:49,010 --> 01:00:51,650
S14: but deep down it's doing different things for our soul.

1183
01:00:51,850 --> 01:00:54,250
S4: Pastor Philip Miller, our guest right now, we want you

1184
01:00:54,250 --> 01:00:56,010
S4: to get this in front of you. This is a

1185
01:00:56,010 --> 01:00:58,850
S4: great little printout. You can download it on your phone

1186
01:00:58,850 --> 01:01:01,090
S4: and keep it on your your device, but I would

1187
01:01:01,090 --> 01:01:03,570
S4: highly recommend if you can get to a printer, print

1188
01:01:03,570 --> 01:01:05,690
S4: it out so you have a hard copy. Just text

1189
01:01:05,730 --> 01:01:14,650
S4: identity to 800 555 7898 text identity to 800 555 7898.