WEBVTT - How to Return to Your First Love: God 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.080 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:10.920 It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.400 with Jesus. And what that involves is in the beauty 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:15.880 of it is, you can come as you are and 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:19.280 experience God. I, I just praise God that even though 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:22.759 I've been walking with Jesus so many decades now, that 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.200 God is just still inviting me. Carl, let's go on 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.400 this journey together. You don't need to get cleaned up. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.240 There's still issues in your life that need to change. Yeah, 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.960 believe it or not, there's plenty. And. And yet God 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:38.200 is merciful. Isn't that one of the most amazing things, guys, 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:39.320 about God's character? 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:43.080 Very much so, because, I mean, when you are reminded 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.280 that his mercies are new every morning and that's that 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:49.800 is the fresh start that the world is always looking for. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.240 I mean, there's a reason why every new year people 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:55.560 make resolutions to try to be better, and I'll use 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:57.760 that in air quotes because we can't. And then they 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:01.340 come up empty. What we're looking for is new mercy. 0:01:01.340 --> 0:01:04.300 And you only find that in Christ. Only in Christ 0:01:04.300 --> 0:01:06.420 do we get a reset button. 0:01:07.060 --> 0:01:10.179 And that mercy cuts through shame and shame wants to 0:01:10.180 --> 0:01:13.220 just bury us. Actually, shame is Satan's attempt to keep 0:01:13.220 --> 0:01:16.740 us from coming and experiencing the mercy of God. And 0:01:16.780 --> 0:01:21.020 on this Freedom Friday, we're talking about adultery. And you 0:01:21.020 --> 0:01:24.740 might say, well, that's great. It's a narrow audience. It's 0:01:24.780 --> 0:01:28.860 wider than you might imagine. There's a lot of adulterous relationships, 0:01:28.860 --> 0:01:31.420 even in those who are in Christ Jesus, whether it 0:01:31.420 --> 0:01:35.179 be physical or emotional, they can be there, but it 0:01:35.220 --> 0:01:38.179 encompasses so much more. And I want to illustrate that 0:01:38.180 --> 0:01:40.420 for you. I want to recap quickly. Yesterday, if you 0:01:40.420 --> 0:01:42.779 weren't here, it's new. If you were here, I think 0:01:42.780 --> 0:01:46.540 it'll it's worth repeating that a lot of opportunities over 0:01:46.540 --> 0:01:48.460 the years as a pastor to counsel a lot of 0:01:48.460 --> 0:01:51.020 really tough situations. Never forget the day when I got 0:01:51.020 --> 0:01:54.780 a call from a great woman of God. My assistant said, 0:01:54.780 --> 0:01:57.670 somebody's on the horn and they are absolutely devastated. Could 0:01:57.670 --> 0:02:00.870 you take it? And I said, yeah. She says, Carl 0:02:00.870 --> 0:02:03.390 through sobs. My husband cheating on me. And I said, 0:02:03.390 --> 0:02:05.990 are you sure? She goes, yeah. And he's not even 0:02:05.990 --> 0:02:08.950 shy about it. I call him up. I said, hey, 0:02:08.950 --> 0:02:10.910 get into the office if you would with me, bro. 0:02:10.910 --> 0:02:13.590 And I was kind of shocked. He was like, okay, 0:02:13.590 --> 0:02:17.550 I'll be there. And he came in standing tall, walked 0:02:17.550 --> 0:02:19.549 into my office. I said, what's going on? He said, 0:02:19.550 --> 0:02:22.270 I found a new love. I mean, he was just 0:02:22.750 --> 0:02:28.510 deception can get so thick that you have no sense 0:02:28.510 --> 0:02:32.710 of right or wrong. True. North, south, east, west. It's stunning. 0:02:33.270 --> 0:02:36.070 And I watch this guy who was otherwise what I 0:02:36.070 --> 0:02:38.910 would have considered to be a pretty committed disciple of Christ, 0:02:38.910 --> 0:02:42.150 just absolutely deceived. And he said, I met this new woman, 0:02:42.150 --> 0:02:44.670 and I have a love like I've never seen before, 0:02:44.750 --> 0:02:47.270 and God's given me the green light to leave my wife. 0:02:48.430 --> 0:02:49.950 I said, well, before you do, let me give you 0:02:49.950 --> 0:02:51.910 a warning here. And I appealed to him. With tears 0:02:51.910 --> 0:02:54.830 in my eyes. I said, bro, don't do it. This 0:02:54.930 --> 0:02:57.209 grass is not greener on the other side. It's like 0:02:57.210 --> 0:03:00.170 that eighth inch thick astroturf. These are the exact words 0:03:00.169 --> 0:03:02.450 I told them. You're going to jump over there and 0:03:02.450 --> 0:03:05.130 you're going to find out that that astroturf has no padding. 0:03:05.130 --> 0:03:07.169 It's on concrete, Man, and you are going to break 0:03:07.169 --> 0:03:10.169 your life. You're going to break your kids. You're going 0:03:10.169 --> 0:03:12.810 to destroy your family. Your witness is going to be gone. 0:03:12.810 --> 0:03:16.170 Much like we find in the church of Ephesus, man 0:03:16.169 --> 0:03:18.850 left their first love in the lampstands going to get 0:03:18.889 --> 0:03:22.690 removed if they didn't turn around, I appealed to him, repent, man, 0:03:22.690 --> 0:03:26.850 turn around. Go back to your bride. He walked out 0:03:26.850 --> 0:03:29.290 of the office and he went his own way. And. 0:03:31.930 --> 0:03:35.170 I'm no prophet, but you can put two and two together, 0:03:36.410 --> 0:03:39.130 and it's a wreck to this day. To this day 0:03:39.410 --> 0:03:43.970 it's a total train wreck. Sometime later, I got another 0:03:43.970 --> 0:03:51.010 call from another woman who said, I'm heartbroken, husband's cheating 0:03:51.010 --> 0:03:54.670 on me. I call him up and say, come on in, bro. 0:03:54.710 --> 0:03:58.390 He did. He had a different heart posture. He was 0:03:58.390 --> 0:04:02.590 bent over, head down, crying a little bit when he 0:04:02.590 --> 0:04:05.430 plopped down in the chair and we sat and talked. 0:04:05.630 --> 0:04:07.590 I took his hand and said, brother, let's talk a 0:04:07.590 --> 0:04:10.990 little bit here. He said, I blew it. He said, 0:04:10.990 --> 0:04:12.310 I know what I got to do. I know what 0:04:12.310 --> 0:04:13.710 you're going to tell me to do, and I got 0:04:13.750 --> 0:04:17.670 to do it. And through sobs, I mean, snot coming 0:04:17.670 --> 0:04:21.550 out both nostrils. I mean, this guy was absolutely humbled 0:04:21.550 --> 0:04:24.510 and broken. He said, well, my wife take me back. 0:04:24.510 --> 0:04:26.589 And I told him the truth. I said, I don't know, 0:04:27.830 --> 0:04:31.150 but she's a godly woman. You got to rebuild the 0:04:31.150 --> 0:04:33.990 bridge called trust, bro. It's going to take a while, 0:04:33.990 --> 0:04:37.190 but if you continue to humble yourself under God's mighty hand, 0:04:37.190 --> 0:04:40.190 he might lift up this marriage. He said, I want 0:04:40.190 --> 0:04:42.510 that so bad. It's an awesome thing when you see 0:04:42.510 --> 0:04:45.710 a man's man trembling before the Lord. Guys. It's beautiful. 0:04:46.110 --> 0:04:50.630 It's so beautiful. And God did restore that marriage by 0:04:50.630 --> 0:04:56.650 God's grace and mercy. And it's phenomenal. You know, both 0:04:56.650 --> 0:04:58.690 of these men had a bigger issue than cheating on 0:04:58.730 --> 0:05:02.210 their wives. You know what it was? They were cheating 0:05:02.210 --> 0:05:07.490 on God. That's where it begins. That's the root of 0:05:07.490 --> 0:05:10.770 all missing the mark. And for those that are born again, 0:05:10.770 --> 0:05:14.969 that have wandered away from their first love. You're sleeping 0:05:14.970 --> 0:05:18.849 around on God. I know that sounds crazy. You're in 0:05:18.850 --> 0:05:23.250 the sheets with something else that's grabbed your affection. And 0:05:23.250 --> 0:05:27.609 it doesn't have to be a physical, a physical, adulterous relationship. 0:05:28.050 --> 0:05:30.650 It can be social media, man. That can be our affection. 0:05:30.650 --> 0:05:33.170 That can be the thing that actually gives us more 0:05:33.170 --> 0:05:36.970 of a buzz than our love for God. It can 0:05:36.970 --> 0:05:39.969 be alcohol. I've got so many friends that started sipping 0:05:39.970 --> 0:05:42.530 it and they thought, you know, Grace gives me permission. No, 0:05:42.529 --> 0:05:45.290 grace is a privilege to live as you never did before. 0:05:45.330 --> 0:05:47.730 I could go get drunk big time. I didn't need 0:05:47.770 --> 0:05:50.660 Grace to get hammered before I was born again. And 0:05:50.660 --> 0:05:53.420 I'm not here to argue wine sipping or anything like that. 0:05:53.460 --> 0:05:58.140 I actually, I actually know that there's some of you 0:05:58.140 --> 0:06:00.900 that are in control. But I also know as a pastor, 0:06:00.940 --> 0:06:04.420 there's vast swaths of you that you started sipping wine 0:06:04.420 --> 0:06:07.580 and sipping you, and my heart goes out to you. 0:06:09.020 --> 0:06:13.779 Isn't it amazing that we can make a substitute god 0:06:13.779 --> 0:06:18.060 out of red wine? Isn't that weird? No. Isn't that humbling? 0:06:20.300 --> 0:06:25.700 It can be self-righteousness. It can be wasting time. It 0:06:25.700 --> 0:06:27.780 can come in so many different ways. And if the 0:06:27.779 --> 0:06:29.780 Spirit of God indwells you and you're born again, you 0:06:29.779 --> 0:06:32.339 can know when you're getting under the sheets to some 0:06:32.339 --> 0:06:34.940 degree with another God. And all I'm saying today is 0:06:34.940 --> 0:06:39.060 return to God. Ditch the spiritual affair. And the reason 0:06:39.060 --> 0:06:43.620 that we need to is that the light that your 0:06:43.620 --> 0:06:46.539 kids need that are far from God, maybe or maybe 0:06:46.540 --> 0:06:48.920 in Christ and they're doing well. They need to see 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:51.680 a mom and dad, a grandma and a grandpa who 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:56.560 is in love with God more than a golf course, 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:02.760 in love with God, more than Facebook, in love with God. 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.200 Fill in the blank. I know this is convicting. It 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:06.240 is for me. 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:07.600 Totally. 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:08.719 It's for me. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:09.720 For all of us. 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:15.240 Yeah. It's hard. I get that. But the one thing 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:17.480 we're going to do here and I got up yesterday 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:19.720 morning at 3 a.m.. It was like the Holy Spirit 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:26.080 just said. I mean, it was almost audible. This is 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.680 your central passage of Scripture to cap off this incredible 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:33.080 week of going under the hood, because you can go 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.360 under the hood and you can say, okay, I'm going 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.120 to get silence and solitude with God, and I'm going 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:39.920 to have private prayer with God, and I'm going to 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.200 have private Bible study with God. The unseen things matter most. 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.980 But what's below? Even those private things, is a heart 0:07:46.980 --> 0:07:50.540 that's directed toward God. And if you're under the sheets 0:07:50.540 --> 0:07:54.540 with something else, even solitude, silence and prayer will ring hollow. 0:07:56.220 --> 0:08:02.060 But if you get out of those sheets. And you 0:08:02.060 --> 0:08:05.580 return to God and you ditch that spiritual affair no 0:08:05.580 --> 0:08:09.860 matter what it is. Our God reigns. Man, I'm just 0:08:09.860 --> 0:08:12.860 so encouraged for you right now, because I know that 0:08:12.860 --> 0:08:16.260 the Spirit of God convicts, but the Spirit of God 0:08:16.260 --> 0:08:19.740 comes in right behind that and comforts. And I spent 0:08:20.740 --> 0:08:26.180 some time yesterday taking what James wrote in James four 0:08:26.180 --> 0:08:28.780 when he says, you adulterous people, aren't you glad he 0:08:28.780 --> 0:08:33.140 didn't end right there? Go in next chapter, please. Yeah, 0:08:34.540 --> 0:08:37.820 he says, friend, friendship of the world is making you 0:08:37.820 --> 0:08:41.860 an enemy of God. And and these are born again people. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:50.440 Born again people who are being called adulterers. And why 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.880 would God do that? One reason he loves us enough. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.840 God calls balls and strikes better than any umpire in 0:08:56.840 --> 0:09:01.240 the MLB. He just calls balls and strikes. He doesn't miss. 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:03.800 Them. And when we think about our relationship, the the 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:08.080 relationship with Jesus being the bride and the bridegroom and 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.600 the church being the bride. I mean, that covenant relationship 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:17.240 is all over Scripture. And so adultery is the perfect description. 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:19.640 And I remember reading through some of the I mean, 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.479 because the language is really graphic. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:23.680 It's hard. 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.040 And it's used all over Scripture. 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.719 And I remember I was traveling out of the country 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:31.480 one time. I won't even tell you where I was traveling, 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:35.520 but it was to a country where prostitution was very 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:36.760 much out in the open. 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:37.480 Okay. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:41.370 And I remember as I was reading it, you know, 0:09:41.410 --> 0:09:44.050 in my quiet times about these different passages of scripture 0:09:44.050 --> 0:09:47.890 where this graphic language is, is used, and then kind 0:09:47.890 --> 0:09:51.250 of seeing this kind of put on display. And it 0:09:51.250 --> 0:09:54.850 was so horrifying to my, to my eyes to see 0:09:55.010 --> 0:09:57.770 like this. Just so out in the open. Yeah. And 0:09:57.770 --> 0:10:00.970 I thought, that's the language that God uses to describe 0:10:00.970 --> 0:10:04.689 when our hearts turn, when his, his people turned away 0:10:04.690 --> 0:10:09.330 from him to prostitution, basically. And it was like to 0:10:09.370 --> 0:10:13.250 prostitute themselves with other gods. And I was like, oh boy, 0:10:13.290 --> 0:10:16.770 this is really, really shocking stuff. But it was I 0:10:16.770 --> 0:10:19.329 remember it because it was like, okay, there's a reason 0:10:19.330 --> 0:10:20.849 why that language is used. 0:10:23.450 --> 0:10:25.810 As hard as it is, aren't we glad that we 0:10:25.809 --> 0:10:28.970 have a loving Heavenly Father that uses graphic terms so 0:10:28.970 --> 0:10:31.290 that we can actually get it, and it cuts through 0:10:31.290 --> 0:10:32.689 the fog of our own delusion? 0:10:32.730 --> 0:10:33.450 Yes. 0:10:33.929 --> 0:10:40.309 Yes, absolutely. Because I read those passages differently. Much differently. 0:10:41.870 --> 0:10:43.510 So you want to return to God. And I got 0:10:43.510 --> 0:10:49.790 some hope for you because James went on. And I've 0:10:49.790 --> 0:10:53.069 got a blog that I, I just I was so 0:10:53.230 --> 0:10:58.230 thrilled that I could take some time yesterday to. I 0:10:58.270 --> 0:11:00.750 just want to gift it to you. There's no charge 0:11:00.750 --> 0:11:02.829 for this thing. I want you to pass it around, 0:11:02.830 --> 0:11:06.550 share it with friends, discuss it with someone, and I 0:11:06.550 --> 0:11:10.550 want you to return to God. I have enough humility 0:11:10.550 --> 0:11:14.390 today and one of the most dangerous groups. Because the 0:11:14.390 --> 0:11:16.830 church of Ephesus was like this in Romans two. You 0:11:16.830 --> 0:11:19.630 know what? They had it figured out. They were so 0:11:19.950 --> 0:11:22.750 knotted up theologically that they could tell when a false 0:11:22.750 --> 0:11:25.030 apostle showed up in town, and they booted him out 0:11:25.030 --> 0:11:26.990 and said, your theology is not right. And you know 0:11:26.990 --> 0:11:29.990 what God said to him? Their theology isn't right, and 0:11:29.990 --> 0:11:32.470 your life's out of whack. You've left your first love. 0:11:32.510 --> 0:11:35.790 Isn't that amazing? You can have it buttoned down theologically 0:11:35.790 --> 0:11:41.090 and be missing it spiritually. An angry evangelicalism's are high 0:11:41.090 --> 0:11:45.530 on this list. And when the political takes the place 0:11:45.530 --> 0:11:51.689 of the spiritual, you're sleeping around on God. That's a 0:11:51.690 --> 0:11:56.370 hard one to take because I've got strong convictions about 0:11:56.370 --> 0:11:59.850 things and how they work in this world. But even 0:11:59.850 --> 0:12:03.970 when the political supplants the spiritual, you're sleeping around on God. 0:12:05.770 --> 0:12:07.930 So I'm inviting you to return to God and ditch 0:12:07.929 --> 0:12:11.130 the spiritual affair. And let's come alive in Jesus. Here today, 0:12:11.130 --> 0:12:13.850 we've got a link for you. Text the word return 0:12:14.210 --> 0:12:23.010 to 800 555 7898. Text return to 800 555 7898. 0:12:23.050 --> 0:12:31.010 Just that one word. Return to 800 555 7898. Father, 0:12:31.010 --> 0:12:33.930 I just pray that there's a spiritual awakening across North 0:12:33.929 --> 0:12:37.949 America today for every listener here today. God, give us 0:12:37.950 --> 0:12:40.750 ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying 0:12:40.790 --> 0:12:46.150 to us. We, the broader church of of Jesus Christ. 0:12:47.309 --> 0:12:51.429 Show us our spiritual affairs. And in mercy, call us 0:12:51.429 --> 0:12:54.190 back to you. And I thank you that you've given 0:12:54.190 --> 0:12:56.310 a roadmap how to do that. And I praise you 0:12:56.309 --> 0:12:59.470 in Jesus name today. Amen. And let it be. 0:12:59.630 --> 0:13:00.189 Amen. 0:13:00.710 --> 0:13:02.670 I'm just going to keep it right here, guys, for 0:13:02.670 --> 0:13:08.350 a second. How beautiful is it that God is not 0:13:08.350 --> 0:13:12.230 content to get us saved and and then just get 0:13:12.230 --> 0:13:15.949 our ticket punched? Truly born again. And then we just wait, wait, 0:13:15.950 --> 0:13:19.750 wait until maybe heaven. But no, God's calling us into 0:13:19.750 --> 0:13:23.390 this sanctification process. And he's willing to call us out 0:13:23.390 --> 0:13:27.870 when we're sleeping around with a substitute God. How graphic? Right, Ali? 0:13:27.910 --> 0:13:29.550 Graphic but merciful. 0:13:30.990 --> 0:13:37.200 Mm. Come on. back to God. Return to him. I 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:41.440 know you're in church, but that white, hot love for Jesus. 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.480 Don't let your witness. And this is what the Lord's 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.160 been laying on my heart. Don't let your witness to 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.760 your kids and grandkids be compromised. You know what they 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:54.400 need to see more than. More than anything else. More 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.480 than an American dream achieved in a in a legacy 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:01.840 that's left that way more than anything else they need 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.040 to see. They'd be better off with a mom and dad, 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:07.000 grandma and grandpa who are absolutely poor in the eyes 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.080 of this world, to be absolutely rich in faith. It 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:16.839 would be better that Americans, moms and dads, grandmas and 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.160 grandpas would lose our wealth and gain a white hot 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:27.080 love for God. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Text returned to 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.720 805 55 7898. When we get back, we're going to 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:31.860 have a question for you. 0:14:32.260 --> 0:14:34.980 She was trying to earn her way to God, but 0:14:34.980 --> 0:14:38.500 God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in 0:14:38.500 --> 0:14:41.820 the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:14:42.260 --> 0:14:43.780 We're going to tee up a question for you on 0:14:43.780 --> 0:14:45.820 this Freedom Friday in just a moment, but I want 0:14:45.860 --> 0:14:51.979 to make a stop here. We had yesterday 700 downloads, 0:14:51.980 --> 0:14:54.940 which is a ton. I mean, it's a fraction of 0:14:54.940 --> 0:14:58.180 our listening audience, but it's awesome. People are grabbing up 0:14:58.180 --> 0:15:03.340 resources here. Yesterday alone, Hormoz Shariat in here, we were 0:15:03.340 --> 0:15:06.300 talking about what God is doing in Iran. And we're 0:15:06.300 --> 0:15:08.980 getting a perspective that you don't get on networks or 0:15:08.980 --> 0:15:12.780 cable news, trust me. He is the Billy Graham of Iran. 0:15:13.020 --> 0:15:16.979 And I actually pitched him a question on Jeremiah 49, 0:15:17.020 --> 0:15:21.380 the prophecy of Iran. It's called Islam in the prophet 0:15:21.940 --> 0:15:26.660 Jeremiah's book. It's an incredible perspective that God is going 0:15:26.700 --> 0:15:30.800 to set up his throne in this incredible country. And 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:34.600 we're seeing a restoration of Iran by the gospel of 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.400 Jesus Christ. Are you aware that the fastest growing church 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:42.000 in the world, rivaling somewhere between Afghanistan and Iran, isn't 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.600 that amazing in these highly persecuted countries? 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:46.520 Ali, it's I mean, it's biblical. 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.840 It's biblical. I mean, we see it over and over again. 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.440 And I want you to hear his take on that 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:56.000 prophecy from Jeremiah 49. I also want you to get 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:59.440 Gary Thomas, who came in. It was a cool Holy 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.000 Spirit moment when he jumped into the middle of our 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:07.360 discussion yesterday on spiritual adultery. If you haven't gotten the 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:11.200 show cast, now is the time. Go back and they're 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.680 already loaded up from yesterday. When we're done here today. 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.440 Or if you want to duck out, go and get it. 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.800 But this is how you do it now. Take it away. 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:22.880 Just text the word show to (800) 555-7898. 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.940 Text show to 800 555 7898. 0:16:28.460 --> 0:16:31.540 So on this Freedom Friday, we're tackling a tough topic 0:16:31.540 --> 0:16:34.700 because if you say if I say to you, it's 0:16:34.700 --> 0:16:38.260 just just tuned in right now, it's very possible for 0:16:38.260 --> 0:16:41.620 us to get under the sheets and sleep around on 0:16:41.620 --> 0:16:46.180 God with substitute gods that might just like what? 0:16:46.340 --> 0:16:47.980 It's it sounds shocking. 0:16:48.540 --> 0:16:51.980 It does, but it's the exact metaphor, as Ali's been 0:16:51.980 --> 0:16:54.780 saying this morning, and we've just been rehearsing all the 0:16:54.780 --> 0:16:57.900 way through Scripture. The whole book of Hosea is this 0:16:57.900 --> 0:17:01.700 whole book committed to the nation of Israel, graphically coming 0:17:01.700 --> 0:17:05.300 back to God. And we're asking you today, is God 0:17:05.300 --> 0:17:10.100 calling you to return to him? Yeah, we got resources 0:17:10.100 --> 0:17:12.300 for you. But we're asking right now that the resource 0:17:12.300 --> 0:17:14.540 of the Holy Spirit, is he calling you back? Or 0:17:14.540 --> 0:17:17.900 maybe he did. Maybe you've got a story. It could 0:17:17.900 --> 0:17:20.100 be yesterday. It could be a week ago. It could 0:17:20.100 --> 0:17:23.139 be a year ago. But you're living in victory today. Ali, 0:17:23.140 --> 0:17:24.260 what's that question? 0:17:24.300 --> 0:17:26.389 Well, we want to ask you on this Freedom Friday, 0:17:26.430 --> 0:17:30.230 what other love pulled you away from God and how 0:17:30.230 --> 0:17:35.429 did he call you back? 805 55 7898 think about it. 0:17:35.430 --> 0:17:39.510 Try to identify it wasn't necessarily a person. Maybe it was, 0:17:39.510 --> 0:17:41.270 but it could have been social media. It could have 0:17:41.270 --> 0:17:44.270 been alcohol. It could have been a hobby. What was 0:17:44.270 --> 0:17:48.150 the other love that pulled you away from God and 0:17:48.150 --> 0:17:56.669 how did he call you back? 800 555 7898 855 57898. 0:17:57.030 --> 0:17:59.870 Yeah. The interesting thing about substitute gods is they come 0:17:59.869 --> 0:18:02.670 in a lot of forms. It can be breaking 100 0:18:02.710 --> 0:18:06.150 on the golf course. So fixated on that you've lost 0:18:06.150 --> 0:18:08.669 your white hot love for God. What is it, guys? 0:18:08.670 --> 0:18:12.590 Give us a call 800 555 7898. 0:18:12.830 --> 0:18:15.510 You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't 0:18:15.550 --> 0:18:19.429 take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. 0:18:19.630 --> 0:18:22.190 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:18:22.790 --> 0:18:25.610 Give him praise. It's Carl and crew helping you take 0:18:25.609 --> 0:18:28.450 your next step with Jesus on this Freedom Friday. We're 0:18:28.450 --> 0:18:32.210 talking adultery, and you might be saying, well, that's not 0:18:32.210 --> 0:18:37.570 for me. Uh, adultery is the word that describes sleeping 0:18:37.570 --> 0:18:40.090 around on God, getting in the sheets with anything. And 0:18:40.090 --> 0:18:43.410 I'm so glad you mentioned hobbies, Ali, because even hobbies, 0:18:43.690 --> 0:18:48.490 good stuff can turn into God replacements if we're not careful. 0:18:48.490 --> 0:18:51.450 Does God want us to have hobbies? Absolutely. But when 0:18:51.450 --> 0:18:55.449 they begin to be our primary affection, we've missed it. 0:18:56.530 --> 0:18:59.690 And we don't want the witness of our life like 0:18:59.690 --> 0:19:02.850 a lampstand removed. We want our kids. We want our neighbors. 0:19:02.850 --> 0:19:05.930 We want our spouse. We want our grandkids to see 0:19:06.170 --> 0:19:10.010 moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles in 0:19:10.050 --> 0:19:13.889 Fuego for Jesus. And you want that as well. Spirit 0:19:13.890 --> 0:19:16.689 of God's working in your life today. Return to God, 0:19:16.690 --> 0:19:19.130 ditch the spiritual affair. And we got a question. What 0:19:19.170 --> 0:19:21.290 other love pulled you away from God and how did 0:19:21.430 --> 0:19:24.230 he call you back? Sarah? First time caller in Cleveland. 0:19:24.230 --> 0:19:26.310 What do you say? Sister? Sister? 0:19:27.150 --> 0:19:31.990 Hi, Carl. Yeah. Um, the love that I'm struggling with 0:19:31.990 --> 0:19:37.750 right now. Big love of the world and, uh, entertainment 0:19:37.750 --> 0:19:48.189 and really nasty jokes. Nasty stuff. Just. Yes. Especially sex 0:19:48.190 --> 0:19:50.310 related things. Yeah. 0:19:50.710 --> 0:19:54.070 Yeah, it's an awesome thing. And the Lord's showing it 0:19:54.070 --> 0:19:55.510 to you today, isn't he, Sarah. 0:19:56.030 --> 0:19:56.470 Sarah. 0:19:57.430 --> 0:19:57.870 Mhm. 0:19:58.190 --> 0:20:00.590 Yeah. I'm going to pray for you right now Sarah. 0:20:00.590 --> 0:20:03.870 Thanks for your courage. First time caller. Father thank you 0:20:03.910 --> 0:20:06.869 that your spirit is calling Sarah out. And I pray 0:20:06.869 --> 0:20:10.190 that you will deliver her. And, Lord, I thank you 0:20:10.190 --> 0:20:14.270 that you do not call Sarah adulterer. You call her 0:20:15.390 --> 0:20:18.430 a child of God. I thank you for that. And God, 0:20:18.430 --> 0:20:20.200 I praise you for the work that you're doing in 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:23.200 Sarah's life today. In the name of Jesus, I give 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:28.080 you praise. Amen. There might be more. Sarah's out there, 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:30.600 and it manifests itself in a lot of ways. And 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:33.160 we've got a resource for you all day long. Just 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:38.960 when when you can text the word return to (800) 555-7898. 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:41.560 What a great mercy that the Spirit of God will 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.200 convict you and show you that you've got another lover. 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:49.399 Text the word return to 800 555 7898. 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.120 Karl, coming up, can you break down some of these 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:54.920 because you outlined these four steps to return to your 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.960 first love? Can you outline those coming up? 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:00.480 I will do that. We'll do that. We'll take more 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:03.080 of your responses. Right, Ali, to this question. 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:04.840 If you've got a if you've got an answer to 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.440 this question, what other love pulled you away from God 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:13.399 and how did he call you back? 800 555 7898. 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:16.240 Freedom Friday. Let's get your phone calls in. What other 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.899 love pulled you away from God. And more importantly, how 0:21:18.900 --> 0:21:23.580 did he call you back? 800 555 7898. 0:21:23.980 --> 0:21:26.300 Let's get a quick hit, young Thunder. What's, uh, what's 0:21:26.300 --> 0:21:27.460 hot for news right now? 0:21:29.460 --> 0:21:31.020 Yeah. Let me get you updated with a couple quick 0:21:31.020 --> 0:21:33.780 headlines this morning. The Israeli military says it carried out 0:21:33.820 --> 0:21:37.660 dozens of airstrikes on military targets in Iran overnight. Some 0:21:37.660 --> 0:21:40.540 of the targets reportedly included a research facility involved in 0:21:40.540 --> 0:21:44.860 Iran's nuclear weapons development and a plant that manufactures carbon fiber, 0:21:44.859 --> 0:21:47.899 which can be used to make weapons systems. Iranian media 0:21:47.900 --> 0:21:50.820 says an industrial plant in northern Iran was damaged in 0:21:50.820 --> 0:21:54.140 the attack, hours after Israel warned residents to move away 0:21:54.140 --> 0:21:58.300 from nearby areas. A federal appeals court is ruling in 0:21:58.300 --> 0:22:00.859 favor of the Trump administration regarding the deployment of the 0:22:00.859 --> 0:22:04.300 California National Guard. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals says 0:22:04.300 --> 0:22:06.699 the president is within his rights to deploy the troops 0:22:06.700 --> 0:22:10.500 amid protests in Southern California over immigration raids. The ruling, 0:22:10.500 --> 0:22:13.340 by a three judge panel, allows nearly 4000 National Guard 0:22:13.340 --> 0:22:16.800 troops to remain deployed. Eight, California Governor Gavin Newsom sued 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:19.520 the president over his decision to deploy the California Guard 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:22.920 a couple of weeks ago. I'm Jonathan. That's your quick update. 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:26.760 Thanks. My man. Okay, Ali, good cue there. I want 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:29.360 to give you from this blog that we've we're providing 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.240 for you today for practical moves to rekindle your love 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:35.639 for God. It's right from the scripture, right after James 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:39.359 lowers the bomb on us, calling us adulterous people. And again, 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:44.320 this is a dispersed, persecuted church that still finds itself 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:47.680 running around on God. And you might say, how does 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:49.840 this happen? Look at our own lives. We can see 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:54.720 this hobbies. Anything can turn into a substitute lover to 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:58.960 use that terminology. And it's it's a powerful imagery. And 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:02.479 God's merciful to show us this. But if if you're 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:05.719 if you're realizing that God is calling you back to 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:09.280 your first love, lend an ear to this. There's four 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:13.040 practical moves that are outlined in James four seven through nine. 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:15.140 Let me just give them to you quickly. First turn 0:23:15.140 --> 0:23:19.100 away from the other lover comes from James four seven 0:23:19.100 --> 0:23:22.580 submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he 0:23:22.580 --> 0:23:26.699 will flee from you. Listen, whether it was your own flesh, 0:23:26.900 --> 0:23:30.660 the world's systems, or Satan himself that tempted you, it 0:23:30.660 --> 0:23:33.820 is Satan that's got a stronghold there in your life. 0:23:33.820 --> 0:23:38.899 Resist him. Turn away from the other lover. Submit to God. Secondly, 0:23:38.900 --> 0:23:42.300 this is important. Draw near to God. Isn't this great? 0:23:42.300 --> 0:23:45.940 With confidence in James four eight it says, draw near 0:23:45.940 --> 0:23:47.980 to God and he will draw near to you. All 0:23:47.980 --> 0:23:50.220 you have to look at is the prodigal son that 0:23:50.220 --> 0:23:52.419 was wayward, and you can see it even as a 0:23:52.420 --> 0:23:55.260 metaphor for us who are born again to return back 0:23:55.260 --> 0:23:58.380 to God. No matter what we've been sleeping with in 0:23:58.380 --> 0:24:01.100 a far off land, we can draw near to him 0:24:01.300 --> 0:24:04.260 and make moves today. And you know what? You're going 0:24:04.300 --> 0:24:07.820 to find the only place you find God. The picture 0:24:07.820 --> 0:24:10.860 of God in a hurry. In the New Testament, the 0:24:10.859 --> 0:24:13.109 only place you find them in a hurry is when 0:24:13.109 --> 0:24:16.229 he's running to embrace that wayward kid. How beautiful is 0:24:16.270 --> 0:24:22.070 that picture? Yeah. Third, cleanse your hands. This is so 0:24:22.070 --> 0:24:27.830 beautiful in James four eight. Second part of that verse 0:24:27.830 --> 0:24:31.830 we find. Cleanse your hands, you sinner. And this is, 0:24:32.190 --> 0:24:35.710 this is found in repeated in first John one nine. 0:24:35.710 --> 0:24:38.109 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 0:24:38.150 --> 0:24:41.630 to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 0:24:41.630 --> 0:24:45.550 I would say this. Own what you've done. Whatever it is, 0:24:45.790 --> 0:24:52.910 own it. Status, addiction, money, relationships, whatever you've been sleeping 0:24:52.910 --> 0:24:55.590 around with that has stolen away your white hot love 0:24:55.590 --> 0:24:58.830 for God. Just bring it to God. Here's the beautiful 0:24:58.830 --> 0:25:02.590 thing God already knows who or what you're sleeping with. 0:25:02.630 --> 0:25:04.590 You just bring it to God. You bring your hands 0:25:04.590 --> 0:25:07.990 before God and say, God, I'm agreeing with you today. 0:25:07.990 --> 0:25:11.450 That's what confession is. I'm agreeing with you today that 0:25:11.450 --> 0:25:15.570 something's gotten in the way of you. And I've been 0:25:15.570 --> 0:25:18.889 in the sheets with it. Acknowledge what the other lover 0:25:18.890 --> 0:25:21.490 has stolen from you. Don't minimize it, man. This is 0:25:21.490 --> 0:25:23.450 not a time to short arm things. This is when 0:25:23.450 --> 0:25:27.490 you come clean with God and say it aloud. And 0:25:27.490 --> 0:25:31.490 there is cleansing and confession having your soul scrubbed clean. 0:25:31.690 --> 0:25:37.129 And then, fourth, purify your hearts. James finishes with, purify 0:25:37.130 --> 0:25:39.930 your hearts, you double minded. Now, this is an interesting 0:25:40.050 --> 0:25:44.330 take because if you maybe you don't know this, it 0:25:44.330 --> 0:25:47.889 might be new in a relationship with God. In James one, 0:25:48.250 --> 0:25:51.650 James uses this same term. Don't let a double minded 0:25:51.650 --> 0:25:55.649 person believe they will receive anything from God. So this 0:25:55.650 --> 0:25:59.330 is a deep one here. We're told that double minded 0:25:59.330 --> 0:26:03.610 people are frozen out from receiving wisdom. That's the context 0:26:03.650 --> 0:26:06.770 of of James one. And it's time to make up 0:26:06.770 --> 0:26:09.630 your mind. And this is a beautiful thing. You can. 0:26:09.670 --> 0:26:12.430 Your soul will be renewed when your mind says. I 0:26:12.430 --> 0:26:16.430 have one God and I'm coming back to him. I'm. 0:26:16.910 --> 0:26:20.469 I'm not going to live with one foot in church world. 0:26:20.470 --> 0:26:23.230 And but I've got this bifurcated life. I've got this 0:26:23.230 --> 0:26:27.790 other lover on the side. No, it's one mind and 0:26:27.790 --> 0:26:31.550 it's going to restore your soul. And there's no shame 0:26:31.550 --> 0:26:35.510 in returning. Only grace and the great promise from James four. 0:26:35.550 --> 0:26:38.470 Then verse ten, humble yourselves before the Lord, and he 0:26:38.470 --> 0:26:42.470 will exalt you or lift you up, depending on your translation. 0:26:43.910 --> 0:26:46.430 Want to affirm for you something. Today God is not 0:26:46.430 --> 0:26:50.750 interested in beating you down. Come on, give me a hallelujah, somebody. 0:26:50.790 --> 0:26:52.109 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 0:26:53.270 --> 0:26:58.390 The conviction you may feel. It hurts. Conviction always hurts. 0:27:00.270 --> 0:27:02.670 But his loving way of calling you back to full 0:27:02.710 --> 0:27:06.810 restoration is in that conviction. Fiction. Return to your first love. 0:27:06.810 --> 0:27:09.330 Return to God. And I want you to grab this 0:27:09.330 --> 0:27:12.890 blog today and walk it out. Let's give it to him. 0:27:13.250 --> 0:27:19.130 Just text. Return to (800) 555-7898. If you want more on 0:27:19.130 --> 0:27:22.690 these steps to rekindle your love for God, just text. 0:27:23.690 --> 0:27:28.810 Text return. Sorry. Text. Return to (800) 555-7898. 0:27:29.010 --> 0:27:32.369 Yeah. Let's go back to the phone lines. Lisa, first 0:27:32.410 --> 0:27:35.650 time caller. I can't Florida. What do you say? Lisa? 0:27:37.330 --> 0:27:43.090 So I, um, I've returned to God after a literal 0:27:43.290 --> 0:27:47.730 a literal love lover other than him. Um, my marriage 0:27:47.970 --> 0:27:52.129 had beat my my my husband. Sorry. Is having an affair. 0:27:52.530 --> 0:27:55.969 I discovered it, um, was suspicious of it and discovered 0:27:55.970 --> 0:27:59.129 it a year and a half ago. And he's walked 0:27:59.130 --> 0:28:02.130 out of the marriage. But what it did is it 0:28:02.170 --> 0:28:05.900 made me wake up to how much I had made 0:28:05.900 --> 0:28:09.060 him an idol and my marriage an idol, and had 0:28:09.060 --> 0:28:11.780 walked away from this deep walk with God because I 0:28:11.780 --> 0:28:15.220 had this wonderful man and I had this wonderful marriage. 0:28:15.220 --> 0:28:18.660 And he he checked the boxes and he filled all 0:28:18.660 --> 0:28:21.740 my needs. And I, you know, I thought he was 0:28:21.740 --> 0:28:25.540 near perfect. And this is everybody thinks this is the 0:28:25.540 --> 0:28:28.540 last person or last marriage this would have ever happened in. 0:28:28.820 --> 0:28:31.500 But what it did is God woke me up and 0:28:31.540 --> 0:28:35.820 it's now I am standing for my marriage to be restored. Um, 0:28:35.940 --> 0:28:40.420 but I am fulfilling what God has for me now. 0:28:40.580 --> 0:28:42.860 You know, he's given me a whole new purpose, and 0:28:42.860 --> 0:28:47.580 it's a whole new mission field because, um, there's nothing 0:28:47.580 --> 0:28:50.260 like it. I need the Lord more than I've ever 0:28:50.260 --> 0:28:54.060 needed him in this season. And I don't even want 0:28:54.060 --> 0:28:56.580 my marriage to be restored until I know I am 0:28:56.580 --> 0:29:00.460 so solid with God that I can never have this 0:29:00.460 --> 0:29:04.160 taken away again. But this walk with him will never 0:29:04.200 --> 0:29:07.520 be adulterated again. If that makes sense. 0:29:07.760 --> 0:29:10.680 Oh, it makes perfect sense, Lisa. As a pastor, I 0:29:10.720 --> 0:29:13.360 got to tell you, sister, a couple of things. Number one, 0:29:13.960 --> 0:29:16.440 I am so proud of you in a healthy way. 0:29:16.480 --> 0:29:19.480 I'm so proud of you to have the courage in 0:29:19.480 --> 0:29:22.840 the midst of pain, of having a husband cheating on you, 0:29:23.240 --> 0:29:25.920 to stop long enough before the Holy Spirit to have 0:29:25.920 --> 0:29:29.520 him tell you. Lisa, he's not worth making an idol 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:32.800 out of. That's right. You're on the most solid ground 0:29:32.800 --> 0:29:36.400 for restoration. Should God do that through this guy? You're 0:29:36.400 --> 0:29:39.560 on the most solid ground, sister. And you know what? 0:29:39.600 --> 0:29:41.200 I don't want to know his name, but I'm going 0:29:41.240 --> 0:29:43.560 to pray right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, 0:29:43.560 --> 0:29:48.000 bring down coals on this guy. I'm praying that his 0:29:48.400 --> 0:29:54.640 adultery would come up empty in the middle of his 0:29:55.280 --> 0:30:01.580 earthbound intimacies. Make him ring hollow, God. And I pray 0:30:01.580 --> 0:30:03.740 that if this man is truly born again, you would 0:30:03.740 --> 0:30:05.540 call him back to you right now as we pray 0:30:05.540 --> 0:30:10.100 all across North America. And Lord, I thank you for 0:30:10.100 --> 0:30:14.020 Lisa and what a testimony and Lord we give you 0:30:14.020 --> 0:30:17.900 praise today. You are good. In the name of Jesus 0:30:17.900 --> 0:30:19.260 we pray. Amen. 0:30:19.300 --> 0:30:19.860 Amen. 0:30:21.380 --> 0:30:25.740 Oh, Lisa, thank you for calling in today, sister. My pleasure. 0:30:25.940 --> 0:30:26.580 I appreciate. 0:30:26.580 --> 0:30:26.860 You. 0:30:27.220 --> 0:30:30.700 You're in the boom crew. Big affirmation. Sister. Stay on 0:30:30.700 --> 0:30:32.100 the horn. I'm going to send you a Carl and 0:30:32.100 --> 0:30:33.940 Coop prize pack. We're going to put some fuel in 0:30:33.940 --> 0:30:36.540 your belly to keep standing on the rock. Okay, sister. 0:30:37.260 --> 0:30:40.180 Amen. Thank you so much. We love to be blessed 0:30:40.180 --> 0:30:41.340 for your ministry, too. 0:30:41.700 --> 0:30:45.820 Thank you. God. Godspeed. Wow. What a heartfelt deal, huh? 0:30:45.860 --> 0:30:47.900 Yeah. That's. Wow. Wow. 0:30:52.180 --> 0:30:56.020 Still taking your calls? Testimony time on this Freedom Friday. 0:30:56.020 --> 0:30:57.140 What's the question, Ali? 0:30:57.180 --> 0:31:00.920 What other love pulled you away from God? And how 0:31:00.920 --> 0:31:03.800 did he call you back? Now, this other love wasn't 0:31:03.800 --> 0:31:06.320 necessarily a person. Could have been a hobby. Could have 0:31:06.320 --> 0:31:10.000 been an addiction. Some other love pulled you away from God. 0:31:10.000 --> 0:31:15.320 What was it? And how did he call you back? 805, 55, 7898. 0:31:15.640 --> 0:31:20.240 She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. 0:31:20.680 --> 0:31:24.400 Super di is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 0:31:24.400 --> 0:31:25.680 on Moody Radio. 0:31:26.120 --> 0:31:28.440 He's done it. He'll do it again. It's Carl and 0:31:28.440 --> 0:31:31.080 crew helping you take your next step with Jesus on 0:31:31.080 --> 0:31:34.959 this Freedom Friday. We're talking about spiritual adultery and getting 0:31:34.960 --> 0:31:37.239 freed from other lovers. They can come in a lot 0:31:37.280 --> 0:31:41.000 of forms. Social media. They can come in status in 0:31:41.000 --> 0:31:45.680 alcohol and self-righteousness. One of the substitute gods that began 0:31:45.680 --> 0:31:48.300 to grab my affection is when my six foot, eight 0:31:48.300 --> 0:31:51.880 inch and a quarter son was playing high school basketball 0:31:51.880 --> 0:31:55.850 at a very high level, I found myself Self. Moving 0:31:55.850 --> 0:32:01.570 from being a supporter of my son to almost, I 0:32:01.610 --> 0:32:06.570 got way too attached to his ball skills and victories 0:32:06.970 --> 0:32:11.290 and losses and it was dangerous. I remember sitting in 0:32:11.290 --> 0:32:14.770 the stands one time, losing my mind, not going too 0:32:14.770 --> 0:32:19.170 verbose about a call that was made. And it's like 0:32:19.170 --> 0:32:22.010 the Holy Spirit said, man, you're pretty involved in this, 0:32:22.010 --> 0:32:25.890 aren't you? You got your head around this pretty strongly, 0:32:25.890 --> 0:32:33.250 don't you? And the voice came to me like. Wonder 0:32:33.250 --> 0:32:36.370 if your son knows who your real passion is in life. 0:32:37.210 --> 0:32:43.730 I wonder what it is. It is so easy to 0:32:43.730 --> 0:32:46.610 take good things and turn them into God substitutes. 0:32:47.490 --> 0:32:47.970 It is. 0:32:48.010 --> 0:32:49.290 So easy. 0:32:49.450 --> 0:32:49.890 Yes, that's. 0:32:49.890 --> 0:32:51.650 The hard thing sometimes, is that there are good things. 0:32:51.650 --> 0:32:57.830 It's not always Some big addiction or some gigantic outwardly 0:32:57.830 --> 0:32:58.790 facing sin. 0:32:59.430 --> 0:33:03.190 But but it's it's the minute it takes that place 0:33:03.390 --> 0:33:05.030 of that white hot love for Jesus. 0:33:05.070 --> 0:33:05.550 Yep. 0:33:05.590 --> 0:33:06.310 It's just as bad. 0:33:06.470 --> 0:33:09.990 It's those subtle things that can be the most dangerous, 0:33:09.990 --> 0:33:15.230 because they're the ones that we can most easily excuse 0:33:15.270 --> 0:33:18.670 for a long time and not really confront. 0:33:19.070 --> 0:33:22.550 Big time. Kerry in Ohio. Thanks for holding on. What's 0:33:22.550 --> 0:33:25.510 your Freedom Friday story? What? What other love pulled you 0:33:25.510 --> 0:33:27.550 away from God and how did he call you back? 0:33:29.270 --> 0:33:35.150 Hi. Good morning. Um, well, my addiction would be my relationship. Um, 0:33:35.190 --> 0:33:41.310 my children. And then ultimately, I, um, became an alcoholic 0:33:41.310 --> 0:33:45.070 and didn't even realize it until it was taking me 0:33:45.070 --> 0:33:48.910 away from all those relationships. Um, you know, I have 0:33:48.910 --> 0:33:51.850 an estranged relationship with my oldest daughter. I'm trying to 0:33:51.850 --> 0:33:55.170 work on getting back. I've been sober now almost two years, 0:33:55.170 --> 0:33:58.570 but it took that rock bottom of losing. Things that 0:33:58.570 --> 0:34:02.970 I thought would take me is no longer living to 0:34:03.010 --> 0:34:05.610 be here. Um, but God pulled me right out of that. 0:34:05.610 --> 0:34:09.209 And that's how I got sober, was my relationship with God. 0:34:09.210 --> 0:34:11.370 I ended up in church one day, and I've been 0:34:11.370 --> 0:34:13.690 going back ever since. I'm now part of that church. 0:34:13.690 --> 0:34:17.169 I'm a big sister in my recovery group. Um, but 0:34:17.170 --> 0:34:19.569 I didn't start with recovery. I started with God. And 0:34:19.570 --> 0:34:22.370 that's why I'm still here. And I'm fighting, you know, 0:34:22.410 --> 0:34:26.009 to have that relationship back with my oldest daughter. And 0:34:26.090 --> 0:34:28.770 that relationship is now being seen through with my four 0:34:28.770 --> 0:34:32.570 year old, because she caught me in emotions and crying 0:34:32.610 --> 0:34:35.130 at a movie that made me think of my oldest daughter. 0:34:35.130 --> 0:34:37.090 And she said, mama, why are you crying? I think 0:34:37.090 --> 0:34:39.610 it was the movie. And I said, I just really 0:34:39.610 --> 0:34:43.050 miss your sister, honey. And she said with her hand 0:34:43.050 --> 0:34:45.330 on my shoulder, that's okay, mama. We pray for her. 0:34:45.690 --> 0:34:49.870 And you know, I just knew that now I am 0:34:49.910 --> 0:34:53.870 doing the next right thing every day, and I really 0:34:53.870 --> 0:34:57.510 have that relationship with God and you. I'm actually driving 0:34:57.510 --> 0:34:59.310 to pick up my little girl right now and take 0:34:59.310 --> 0:35:01.150 her to the beach. And you guys came on the 0:35:01.150 --> 0:35:03.589 radio and I was like, let me just try. God 0:35:03.630 --> 0:35:06.149 told me to call. So I called and I got 0:35:06.150 --> 0:35:09.549 through and that that's my that's my testament. That's what 0:35:09.550 --> 0:35:12.669 I'm doing. And I, you know, I've got to thank 0:35:12.670 --> 0:35:16.510 for that. In every relationship that's being restored, every comment 0:35:16.510 --> 0:35:19.950 that's been made, um, you know, I wanted to give up. 0:35:19.950 --> 0:35:22.910 And he said, no, but he needed me broken enough 0:35:22.910 --> 0:35:24.790 to to let go of everything. 0:35:24.830 --> 0:35:26.549 Wow. Yeah, that's that's. 0:35:26.550 --> 0:35:29.390 A true statement. He needed me broken enough to get 0:35:29.390 --> 0:35:30.390 rid of everything. 0:35:30.750 --> 0:35:32.830 Kerry, I got to tell you something. You are. You 0:35:32.830 --> 0:35:35.549 are on some of the highest ground going. You're on 0:35:35.550 --> 0:35:39.989 the rock. And your oldest daughter. Greatest thing you're giving 0:35:39.989 --> 0:35:43.150 her right now is your total surrender to Jesus Christ. 0:35:43.150 --> 0:35:46.310 And that white hot love for God. Your lampstand has 0:35:46.310 --> 0:35:50.719 not been removed. It's been elevated. God elevates. Not messengers, 0:35:50.719 --> 0:35:53.440 but a message. And that's what he's done. He's elevating that. 0:35:53.440 --> 0:35:56.680 And your daughter's going to see it, sister. Boom. That's 0:35:56.680 --> 0:35:58.920 why we call you the boom crew. These are honest 0:35:58.920 --> 0:36:01.080 stories coming up in three minutes. We'll take more of them. 0:36:01.080 --> 0:36:03.759 We'll get them in here. Lightning round. Ali, what's the question? 0:36:03.760 --> 0:36:06.600 What other love pulled you away from God? And how 0:36:06.600 --> 0:36:11.680 did he call you back? 800 555 7898. Let's go 0:36:11.680 --> 0:36:15.080 to Michelle calling in this morning. Michelle, tell us, tell 0:36:15.080 --> 0:36:16.240 us what it was for you. 0:36:17.480 --> 0:36:20.720 Oh, yes. This is awesome. Yeah. I've learned there's nothing 0:36:20.719 --> 0:36:24.560 worth your first love. And so what happened for me 0:36:24.560 --> 0:36:29.520 is God delivered me powerfully with his love from addiction 0:36:29.520 --> 0:36:32.040 and pulled me out of a pit. I was on 0:36:32.040 --> 0:36:36.000 fire with my first love. I was my heart was 0:36:36.000 --> 0:36:38.759 crushed by his beauty. I wanted to share that message. 0:36:39.160 --> 0:36:42.960 I got in an environment where it was like toxic, unsafe, 0:36:43.000 --> 0:36:46.620 like people after you tear you down. And when that happens, 0:36:46.620 --> 0:36:50.340 you get into self-protection mode. And self-protection mode is self-focused. 0:36:50.780 --> 0:36:54.540 And in that self-focus, I began to, you know, I 0:36:54.540 --> 0:36:58.460 have to defend myself and get approval. And what happened 0:36:58.460 --> 0:37:01.060 was the message got lost in the focus was on 0:37:01.060 --> 0:37:05.180 the messenger. And then I lost the Lord's, that fiery love. 0:37:05.219 --> 0:37:08.020 And I lost the message. I lost it all. 0:37:08.860 --> 0:37:09.900 And, um. 0:37:11.060 --> 0:37:14.460 And the Lord showed me. And he confessed it. And. Yeah. Sorry. 0:37:15.100 --> 0:37:18.299 No, I mean, that's super observant of you. How did 0:37:18.300 --> 0:37:21.299 the Lord reveal that to you? And what was your response? 0:37:22.940 --> 0:37:27.299 Yeah. Um. Well, uh, when I lost my first love, 0:37:27.540 --> 0:37:30.299 I said, Lord, where is that? I would just leave it. 0:37:30.300 --> 0:37:32.460 I was the woman weeping at his feet all the time. 0:37:32.460 --> 0:37:35.460 I couldn't take communion without weeping because of the beauty 0:37:35.460 --> 0:37:38.580 of the Lord and his love. And it just dried up. 0:37:38.620 --> 0:37:42.900 And the message dried up. And so I began to inquire. Inquire. Seek. Seek. Seek. 0:37:43.140 --> 0:37:45.440 And he began to show me. You have fear of man, 0:37:45.440 --> 0:37:48.520 you have pride. You began to focus on yourself. And 0:37:48.520 --> 0:37:51.280 you can't have two masters confess and I will cleanse you. 0:37:51.760 --> 0:37:54.400 And really, it was a period of years more deeper, 0:37:54.400 --> 0:37:58.000 more deeper. And as I did that he was restoring 0:37:58.040 --> 0:38:03.320 and softening and healing. And he's just so good. So good. 0:38:03.520 --> 0:38:07.680 And nothing is worth our first love. And the enemy. Subtle. 0:38:07.680 --> 0:38:10.040 I learned that subtle. But the Holy Spirit is there 0:38:10.040 --> 0:38:12.279 to show us, right? He can show. 0:38:12.280 --> 0:38:12.480 Us. 0:38:13.680 --> 0:38:16.000 You are a billboard for what it is to come 0:38:16.000 --> 0:38:19.600 back to God. Michelle. Thank you for that. From Minnesota blessing, sister. 0:38:19.640 --> 0:38:22.680 Godspeed to you. That's why we call you the Boom Crew. 0:38:22.719 --> 0:38:27.160 It's just a huge exclamation point of God's grace and mercy. Ali, 0:38:27.160 --> 0:38:28.719 let's go back. More phone calls here. 0:38:28.719 --> 0:38:31.480 Let's go to Virginia. Calling in this morning from Illinois. Virginia? 0:38:31.480 --> 0:38:33.759 What other love pulled you away from God? And how 0:38:33.760 --> 0:38:35.200 did he call you back? 0:38:36.520 --> 0:38:40.800 Um, my, the thing that got me away from God 0:38:40.800 --> 0:38:47.620 is relying on myself, my my own thoughts and what 0:38:47.620 --> 0:38:51.820 I think. Instead of doing what the word says to do. 0:38:52.660 --> 0:38:58.779 As far as walking with, with, uh, with Jesus, with God, um, 0:38:59.460 --> 0:39:03.660 as far as, like everyday living, uh, you know, we 0:39:04.380 --> 0:39:06.899 leading every thought to Christ. 0:39:06.940 --> 0:39:07.580 Yeah, yeah. 0:39:07.620 --> 0:39:10.940 I live in a nursing home and I'm 80 years old. 0:39:11.219 --> 0:39:13.979 I have been in the ward. I got born again 0:39:14.020 --> 0:39:16.580 like 30 years ago. And so it's been an up 0:39:16.580 --> 0:39:21.020 and down walk with him. Uh, but I endeavor to 0:39:21.020 --> 0:39:24.620 speak the word to all the people here, and I. 0:39:25.020 --> 0:39:29.940 I asked him what to say to which person. I 0:39:30.140 --> 0:39:33.020 feel like I'm a hit and miss thing. I'd like 0:39:33.020 --> 0:39:36.260 to do better. You're doing great in my witness. 0:39:36.660 --> 0:39:38.140 You're doing great, Virginia. 0:39:38.340 --> 0:39:41.630 The fact that you're so self-aware that relying on yourself 0:39:41.630 --> 0:39:44.430 is the the kind of the enemy or the substitute 0:39:44.469 --> 0:39:49.469 god of our witness. Virginia. May your tribe increase, sister. 0:39:49.670 --> 0:39:53.189 I know you're in a nursing home, but that's not 0:39:53.190 --> 0:39:55.790 a nursing home. That's your mission. 0:39:55.790 --> 0:39:56.590 Field. Yeah. 0:39:57.230 --> 0:40:01.710 That's your mission field. Virginia. Boom, sister. Keep Virginia on 0:40:01.710 --> 0:40:04.110 the line. I'm sending her a car and crew prize pack. 0:40:04.150 --> 0:40:05.950 She's getting one, for sure. 0:40:06.190 --> 0:40:09.350 She needs one there. We got a question for you. 0:40:09.350 --> 0:40:12.030 Boom crew. It's a tough one, but it's a beautiful one. 0:40:12.510 --> 0:40:16.310 What other love pulled you away from God? And how 0:40:16.310 --> 0:40:21.150 did he call you back? 800 555 7898. Want to 0:40:21.150 --> 0:40:26.230 hear your stories here on this freedom Friday 800 555 7898. 0:40:26.270 --> 0:40:28.150 Taylor in Indiana. What do you say? Taylor? 0:40:29.190 --> 0:40:35.029 Hi. Um, I actually, um, spent nine years, uh, with 0:40:35.030 --> 0:40:42.210 an addiction problem, uh, with hard drugs. and also social media. Um, about. Well, actually, 0:40:42.210 --> 0:40:46.290 I just celebrated a year clean June 9th. Um, and 0:40:46.330 --> 0:40:52.370 he actually kept sending me a, um, verse. Psalm 3418 0:40:52.370 --> 0:40:56.730 God is near the brokenhearted and rescues those lost in spirit. And, uh, 0:40:56.770 --> 0:41:01.050 about three weeks later, I was delivered from my addiction 0:41:01.489 --> 0:41:06.770 and he completely changed everything. I've been on fire for Jesus. 0:41:06.770 --> 0:41:09.890 I actually worked for a street, or I served with 0:41:09.890 --> 0:41:12.890 a street ministry called Anderson on Fire. And we go 0:41:12.890 --> 0:41:16.250 out and pray for the public and, um, really try 0:41:16.290 --> 0:41:20.010 to get in with, you know, the addicts and, um, 0:41:20.610 --> 0:41:22.970 the ones that, you know, we were pulled out of. 0:41:23.570 --> 0:41:24.010 Yeah. 0:41:24.210 --> 0:41:27.049 Taylor, that's a beautiful testimony, sister. Thank you so much 0:41:27.050 --> 0:41:30.569 for calling in. Misty, first time caller in Tennessee. What 0:41:30.610 --> 0:41:32.850 other love pulled you away from God? And how did 0:41:32.850 --> 0:41:34.090 he call you back home? 0:41:35.270 --> 0:41:36.230 Resentment. 0:41:37.230 --> 0:41:39.070 Resentment? Yeah. 0:41:39.710 --> 0:41:45.910 Absolutely. Um, I had been married for 14 years, and 0:41:46.270 --> 0:41:50.029 my husband had an affair with my best friend. Oh, man. 0:41:50.910 --> 0:41:51.830 Hold it! Stop! 0:41:51.950 --> 0:41:55.950 Stop there, stop there! Sister, I am so sorry. What 0:41:56.030 --> 0:41:59.549 a crusher in every way. Okay. What happened? 0:42:00.670 --> 0:42:03.750 Um. The day after I found out about the affair. 0:42:03.790 --> 0:42:08.870 I went to church that Sunday morning and cried the 0:42:08.870 --> 0:42:13.110 entire service. I prayed and didn't hear the message at all. 0:42:13.550 --> 0:42:14.150 Of course. 0:42:14.150 --> 0:42:20.230 But the Lord said, forgive. Forgive him. Talk to him. 0:42:20.870 --> 0:42:25.150 Forgive him because I'll pull you through it, I will. 0:42:25.830 --> 0:42:29.110 I talked to my husband. We talked for about five hours. 0:42:29.110 --> 0:42:35.000 We prayed. And actually now we have been married 30 0:42:35.000 --> 0:42:41.440 years and excuse me, we have both gone. Lean back 0:42:41.440 --> 0:42:46.880 on God and everything has turned around. We are great. Um. 0:42:46.880 --> 0:42:52.439 And I actually forgave the my best friend as well. Now, 0:42:52.440 --> 0:42:56.080 our friendship didn't rekindle like it was before. Of course 0:42:56.080 --> 0:43:00.120 I did forgive her. I did forgive her. And we 0:43:00.160 --> 0:43:02.400 still remain friends. And like I said, that was 16 0:43:02.400 --> 0:43:03.000 years ago. 0:43:04.239 --> 0:43:06.440 Misty, I want to say a couple of things here 0:43:06.440 --> 0:43:10.000 as a pastor, and I'm so grateful for this. For you. 0:43:10.000 --> 0:43:13.480 This is huge. Misty. First time caller from Tennessee. Godspeed 0:43:13.480 --> 0:43:20.520 to you, sister. Um. Awesome testimony. Um, forgiveness is not forgetting. 0:43:21.000 --> 0:43:25.040 And forgiveness does not mean that you bring these people in. 0:43:25.040 --> 0:43:29.040 And Misty's husband broke in repentance. In that moment, it's 0:43:29.040 --> 0:43:33.060 very obvious to see. Uh, But I want to be 0:43:33.060 --> 0:43:39.219 careful that we're not equating forgiveness with, uh, immediacy of restoration, 0:43:39.219 --> 0:43:42.020 of relationships, how they always were. I've got people in 0:43:42.020 --> 0:43:46.020 my life that I have had to forgive, and yet 0:43:46.020 --> 0:43:49.980 I'll never do ministry with them again. And that's just 0:43:49.980 --> 0:43:55.060 the way it goes on this side of heaven. So, Misty, 0:43:55.380 --> 0:43:58.379 you're a rock star, sister. I mean, talk about a 0:43:58.380 --> 0:43:59.700 crushing event. Ali. 0:43:59.739 --> 0:44:00.180 Yeah. 0:44:01.820 --> 0:44:05.100 I mean, it's hard to even imagine that's going through 0:44:05.100 --> 0:44:08.580 something like that. But the the way that the Lord 0:44:08.580 --> 0:44:11.660 moved in her heart and in her husband's heart to 0:44:11.700 --> 0:44:16.260 allow restoration to be possible, is a testament only to 0:44:16.300 --> 0:44:18.580 God's mercy and grace. 0:44:18.940 --> 0:44:19.580 Powerful. 0:44:20.060 --> 0:44:23.100 He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then 0:44:23.140 --> 0:44:27.460 he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl 0:44:27.460 --> 0:44:29.180 and crew on Moody Radio. 0:44:29.800 --> 0:44:31.960 What other love pulled you away from God? And how 0:44:31.960 --> 0:44:34.480 did he call you back? Kandi in Alabama. What do 0:44:34.480 --> 0:44:35.200 you say, Kandi? 0:44:36.800 --> 0:44:37.800 Hey. Good morning. 0:44:38.200 --> 0:44:39.719 Good morning. What's your story, Kandi? 0:44:41.000 --> 0:44:44.279 Um. So my whole family, well. 0:44:44.280 --> 0:44:44.600 Not my. 0:44:44.600 --> 0:44:46.200 Whole family, but several. 0:44:46.200 --> 0:44:46.520 Members. 0:44:46.520 --> 0:44:47.440 Of my family. 0:44:47.800 --> 0:44:49.080 Are alcoholics. 0:44:49.080 --> 0:44:54.279 And, um, I was married, um, and me and my ex-husband, 0:44:54.320 --> 0:44:58.120 we drank all the time. We partied. Um, we were, 0:44:58.239 --> 0:45:00.920 you know, just living the what we thought was the 0:45:00.920 --> 0:45:06.160 good life. And we, um, ended up divorced. And my 0:45:06.200 --> 0:45:11.680 oldest sister was an alcoholic, and she, um, also, she 0:45:11.680 --> 0:45:17.160 was recovering drug addict. And in 2021, she actually, um, 0:45:17.200 --> 0:45:18.440 passed away from. 0:45:19.239 --> 0:45:20.080 I'm sorry. 0:45:24.600 --> 0:45:25.440 But, um. 0:45:28.500 --> 0:45:29.780 She just pulled me back. 0:45:30.780 --> 0:45:31.220 Yeah. 0:45:33.100 --> 0:45:36.500 Same here. I'm sorry. 0:45:36.820 --> 0:45:39.300 It's okay. Candy. That's okay sister. 0:45:40.420 --> 0:45:41.420 Tears are beautiful. 0:45:42.780 --> 0:45:48.339 I rededicated my life and was baptized. Rebaptized on her birthday. 0:45:49.060 --> 0:45:49.540 Yeah. 0:45:50.300 --> 0:45:50.660 Wow. 0:45:51.140 --> 0:45:54.740 Well, Candy, your your sister has left a long tail 0:45:54.739 --> 0:45:58.180 legacy in your heart. And we don't know what her 0:45:58.180 --> 0:46:01.420 spiritual condition was when she passed. We don't know what 0:46:01.460 --> 0:46:03.940 God might have done in the 11th hour. Candy. But 0:46:03.940 --> 0:46:05.580 I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart. 0:46:05.580 --> 0:46:09.420 We love you, sister, and we love your story and 0:46:10.260 --> 0:46:13.100 let your sisters legacy and what God has done in 0:46:13.100 --> 0:46:16.459 your life never let you wander away from that love 0:46:16.460 --> 0:46:19.620 for Jesus. Candy. Keep it strong. Okay, sister. We love you. 0:46:19.820 --> 0:46:25.780 Great word. Wow. Anthony, first time caller from Florida. What 0:46:25.870 --> 0:46:28.509 pulled you away from God? What was that lover that 0:46:28.510 --> 0:46:30.350 pulled you away from God? And how did he get 0:46:30.350 --> 0:46:30.950 you back? 0:46:32.310 --> 0:46:36.750 Hi. Good morning everyone. I've been struggling with a collecting 0:46:36.750 --> 0:46:40.470 problem for several decades. It started out as a hobby, 0:46:40.510 --> 0:46:43.950 just collecting, and it's gotten so bad it took over 0:46:43.950 --> 0:46:47.109 my former home. I promised people that it wouldn't happen 0:46:47.110 --> 0:46:49.950 again when I moved out of state to Florida. And 0:46:49.989 --> 0:46:55.149 it's consuming my new home. And I've struggled with this. 0:46:55.190 --> 0:46:58.190 It's taking time away from my family and my friends. 0:46:58.750 --> 0:47:01.830 Money spent on it that could have been used elsewhere. 0:47:03.030 --> 0:47:05.350 And it's kind of I think I call in the 0:47:05.350 --> 0:47:09.750 big guns here. I need some prayer for sure and 0:47:09.830 --> 0:47:12.830 help getting back to God. Yeah, that time that I 0:47:12.830 --> 0:47:14.030 could be spending with God. 0:47:14.710 --> 0:47:15.150 Yeah. 0:47:15.469 --> 0:47:17.830 Anthony, I want you to know something. Brother. Listen to me. 0:47:17.830 --> 0:47:20.870 First off, no temptation has seized you. But that which 0:47:20.870 --> 0:47:23.069 is common to man and God has provided a way 0:47:23.070 --> 0:47:26.450 of escape. Here's what I need you to hear. Listen 0:47:26.450 --> 0:47:29.770 right now, God can do more in the 11th hour 0:47:29.810 --> 0:47:31.850 than you've done in the prior ten. And my heart 0:47:31.850 --> 0:47:37.090 goes out to you, brother, because hoarding is deadly. And 0:47:37.090 --> 0:47:40.610 all you're doing is trying to find something to assuage 0:47:40.610 --> 0:47:42.969 your soul. That God wants to fill that place. Are 0:47:42.969 --> 0:47:44.490 you hearing me, Anthony? Right now? 0:47:45.410 --> 0:47:46.649 Yes. God. 0:47:47.290 --> 0:47:52.049 Yeah. God wants to fill. What stuff can't fill. And 0:47:52.050 --> 0:47:55.210 you've already proven to yourself, your sober minded. You're proven 0:47:55.210 --> 0:47:57.569 to yourself that this. This doesn't work. Here's what I 0:47:57.570 --> 0:47:59.009 want you to do. I want you to grab this 0:47:59.010 --> 0:48:01.049 resource that we have for everyone today. I want you 0:48:01.050 --> 0:48:06.210 to text return to 800 555 7898. I want you 0:48:06.210 --> 0:48:09.570 to text return to that number. Everyone can right now, 0:48:09.770 --> 0:48:13.010 no cost. It's just a free resource. It's a blog 0:48:13.010 --> 0:48:17.450 that's birthed, birthed right out of James four. And no 0:48:17.450 --> 0:48:20.489 matter what you are sleeping around with, even if you're 0:48:20.489 --> 0:48:24.470 sleeping around in your substitute. God has become hoarding. God can. 0:48:24.510 --> 0:48:27.270 God can restore the years that the locusts have eaten. 0:48:28.989 --> 0:48:30.870 So I want you to grab that blog. And here's 0:48:30.870 --> 0:48:33.189 one thing I want you to do, because one of 0:48:33.190 --> 0:48:36.350 the four moves that we make to rekindle a love 0:48:36.350 --> 0:48:44.150 for God is to confess. And confession is the cleansing 0:48:44.150 --> 0:48:46.029 of everything and making it new. And I want you 0:48:46.030 --> 0:48:47.790 to do that this morning. And here's what I want 0:48:47.790 --> 0:48:53.750 you to do, Anthony, I want you to find a 0:48:53.750 --> 0:48:56.590 pastor or a trusted advisor in a church, and I 0:48:56.590 --> 0:48:58.310 want you to go and say, I need you to 0:48:58.350 --> 0:49:02.109 walk with me through this. Find someone you know that 0:49:02.110 --> 0:49:05.750 experiences victory in their relationship with Jesus, their white hot 0:49:05.750 --> 0:49:08.310 for God, and have them walk alongside you. But we're 0:49:08.310 --> 0:49:11.310 going to pray right now. Jesus, thank you for Anthony's honesty. 0:49:11.310 --> 0:49:13.629 And he represents tip of the iceberg for a lot 0:49:13.670 --> 0:49:16.830 of people who are trying to find life in the 0:49:16.830 --> 0:49:22.529 lover of stuff. And Lord, it's Amazon packages sometimes on 0:49:22.530 --> 0:49:24.890 the front porch that half of them we need and 0:49:24.890 --> 0:49:28.730 half of them we don't. And Lord, I pray that 0:49:28.730 --> 0:49:32.089 you will call us all back to you today. And 0:49:32.090 --> 0:49:34.850 thank you for Anthony sharing his story. In the name 0:49:34.850 --> 0:49:36.930 of Jesus we pray. Amen. 0:49:37.250 --> 0:49:37.770 Amen. 0:49:38.290 --> 0:49:40.650 Just text the word return right now. Got a resource 0:49:40.650 --> 0:49:43.810 for you on this Freedom Friday. We're getting freedom from 0:49:44.290 --> 0:49:48.969 spiritual affairs. Being in the sheets with who knows what stuff, hoarding, 0:49:49.170 --> 0:49:53.650 social media, alcohol status, self righteousness, complacency, you name it. 0:49:53.650 --> 0:49:56.530 Just text the word return. Grab this, grab it and 0:49:56.530 --> 0:50:00.610 share it. Share it. Don't just keep it to yourself. Text. 0:50:00.650 --> 0:50:05.450 Return to 800 555 7898. What a sweet story, huh, Ali? 0:50:05.489 --> 0:50:06.250 My goodness. 0:50:06.450 --> 0:50:07.169 Powerful. 0:50:07.730 --> 0:50:09.810 We'll go back to some more phone calls here in 0:50:09.810 --> 0:50:11.969 just a moment. Let's tee up that question again. We 0:50:12.010 --> 0:50:13.489 got phone lines filling up here, though. 0:50:13.530 --> 0:50:16.969 Ali, what other love pulled you away from God? And 0:50:16.969 --> 0:50:24.540 how did he call you back? 805 55 7898 (800) 555-7898. 0:50:24.580 --> 0:50:27.740 Let's go to Evelyn. First time caller from Florida. Evelyn, 0:50:27.739 --> 0:50:29.340 what do you say? What was it for you? 0:50:30.900 --> 0:50:31.700 Good morning. 0:50:32.060 --> 0:50:35.060 For me, it was being in relationships with men. I 0:50:35.060 --> 0:50:37.700 had no business being in looking for love in all 0:50:37.700 --> 0:50:42.060 the wrong places. That led to abuse and addiction. Um, 0:50:42.060 --> 0:50:44.140 but Christ showed me that he is my one and 0:50:44.140 --> 0:50:46.420 true love. And when I have him. And today I 0:50:46.460 --> 0:50:49.820 learned that I'm never alone when I have Christ and 0:50:49.820 --> 0:50:52.540 seeking him. And he's my living water. I don't need 0:50:52.540 --> 0:50:56.660 to drink alcohol because he delivered me from that. And 0:50:56.700 --> 0:50:59.380 today I am a new creation because of him. 0:50:59.860 --> 0:51:03.740 Ah, so beautiful. Evelyn. Beautiful Evelyn. 0:51:07.219 --> 0:51:11.700 Sleeping around on God might sound crazy at face value, 0:51:11.700 --> 0:51:16.799 but it's a great metaphor. It's hard hitting You can 0:51:16.840 --> 0:51:20.680 turn anything into a God, and God in his grace 0:51:20.680 --> 0:51:25.520 calls us back. What is it for you? What did 0:51:25.520 --> 0:51:27.760 you turn into a God and how is God calling 0:51:27.760 --> 0:51:30.280 you back? Courtney in Florida. Thanks for holding on, Courtney. 0:51:30.320 --> 0:51:31.120 What's your story? 0:51:32.320 --> 0:51:32.560 Hi. 0:51:32.600 --> 0:51:36.200 Good morning. I have been searching for God in men 0:51:36.200 --> 0:51:39.719 and my relationships pretty much my entire life, and I 0:51:39.760 --> 0:51:42.000 just went through a breakup and I started going back 0:51:42.000 --> 0:51:47.200 to church, and I just. I'm struggling to find God, 0:51:47.239 --> 0:51:50.560 and I'm sorry I get so emotional thinking about it, 0:51:50.560 --> 0:51:54.399 but I feel like I'm looking for validation in men 0:51:54.400 --> 0:51:56.520 that I'm never going to find unless I find it 0:51:56.520 --> 0:51:58.480 with God. First. You know I need my love to 0:51:58.520 --> 0:52:02.480 start with him, and I'm trying to find the perfect man. 0:52:02.480 --> 0:52:04.320 And it's just not happening for me. 0:52:04.880 --> 0:52:08.399 Yeah, and he's not there. There's one perfect man, and 0:52:08.400 --> 0:52:11.359 he loves your soul. Courtney, are you familiar with the 0:52:11.360 --> 0:52:15.020 story where Jesus was going through Samaria and the disciples 0:52:15.020 --> 0:52:17.219 were kind of befuddled because he sat down with a 0:52:17.219 --> 0:52:19.740 woman at a well, you remember that story by chance. 0:52:19.739 --> 0:52:20.740 Do you know that story? 0:52:21.580 --> 0:52:23.419 I do, I feel like it might have happened. I'm 0:52:23.420 --> 0:52:26.060 watching the show, The Chosen, and it might have been 0:52:26.100 --> 0:52:27.620 a scene that I've seen in that show. 0:52:27.900 --> 0:52:30.899 Yeah. So the story is that this woman had been 0:52:30.900 --> 0:52:34.739 married five times, and then she was shacked up with 0:52:34.739 --> 0:52:38.420 a guy, and Jesus came in and he read her mail. 0:52:38.420 --> 0:52:42.739 He knew all this, and she had felt so ostracized 0:52:42.739 --> 0:52:46.940 and so just crushed in spirit that it would have 0:52:46.940 --> 0:52:50.620 been devastating for her, the life that she was living. 0:52:50.620 --> 0:52:55.140 But when Jesus showed her his love for her in 0:52:55.140 --> 0:52:59.340 spite of everything, it's so lit her up that she went. 0:52:59.340 --> 0:53:01.180 And Jesus had to stay on in Samaria for a 0:53:01.219 --> 0:53:04.540 while because the whole town was going through revival. Courtney, 0:53:04.580 --> 0:53:07.660 God's going to use you that way. Courtney. God's going 0:53:07.700 --> 0:53:10.180 to use you that way, sister. And I want you 0:53:10.180 --> 0:53:11.660 to hold on to God. And I want you to 0:53:11.660 --> 0:53:14.320 get this resource that we've got for everyone today, okay? 0:53:14.360 --> 0:53:17.080 Just I want you to text the word return to 0:53:17.080 --> 0:53:19.880 our number that you called in to and get this resource. 0:53:19.880 --> 0:53:22.000 And I want you to bake in it today, okay? 0:53:22.040 --> 0:53:25.160 And God is at work. Sister, we love you. Thank 0:53:25.160 --> 0:53:26.040 you for calling in. 0:53:26.080 --> 0:53:26.600 Thank you. 0:53:27.520 --> 0:53:31.799 Text the word return to 805 55, 78, 98. Just 0:53:31.800 --> 0:53:36.640 the word return to 800 555, 78, 98. Wow. Mary, 0:53:36.640 --> 0:53:38.920 let's get you in here if we can. Mary from Indiana. 0:53:38.920 --> 0:53:39.760 What's your story? 0:53:41.280 --> 0:53:44.800 Oh, my goodness, thank you so much. I was listening 0:53:44.840 --> 0:53:48.279 to your program and I was thinking, what has drawn 0:53:48.280 --> 0:53:50.160 me away from God? And I was thinking nothing drawn 0:53:50.160 --> 0:53:52.120 me away from God. I'm good. And then I got 0:53:52.120 --> 0:53:55.800 to thinking what's been consuming my time? And it's been. 0:53:55.800 --> 0:54:00.239 My mother passed in September, my dad passed in 17. 0:54:00.280 --> 0:54:05.520 And there's things that the anger that from our relationship 0:54:05.520 --> 0:54:08.520 and then my anger with my sister and that has 0:54:08.560 --> 0:54:12.970 been consuming me And I realized that that has taken 0:54:12.969 --> 0:54:15.330 the place of my anger, and all that bitterness with 0:54:15.330 --> 0:54:19.129 them has taken the place of Jesus in my life. 0:54:19.130 --> 0:54:21.169 And I've just been shutting him out, because I just 0:54:21.170 --> 0:54:23.850 want to wallow in that anger and that bitterness and 0:54:23.850 --> 0:54:24.490 how unfair. 0:54:24.530 --> 0:54:24.890 I've. 0:54:25.170 --> 0:54:25.690 Seen it. 0:54:25.969 --> 0:54:26.370 Yeah. 0:54:27.010 --> 0:54:29.930 That anger has become a friend, Mary. But you know what? 0:54:29.930 --> 0:54:33.650 It doesn't have to any longer. Way to go, sister. 0:54:34.730 --> 0:54:40.650 What a healthy admission. It's hard. But today's the day 0:54:40.650 --> 0:54:45.530 of restoration. Return to God. Text returned right now, wherever 0:54:45.530 --> 0:54:50.890 you are. To 805, five, five, 78, 98. Just return 0:54:50.890 --> 0:54:53.850 to 805 five, 578, 98. 0:54:54.489 --> 0:54:57.410 You're listening to Curl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:54:58.210 --> 0:55:00.129 Ali, I got a question here on text message that 0:55:00.130 --> 0:55:03.330 came in. I thought, this is this is good. This 0:55:03.330 --> 0:55:06.330 is very important to note. They said, I seem to 0:55:06.370 --> 0:55:09.470 trip more when I go all in and deep into 0:55:09.469 --> 0:55:13.310 the hallways of real holiness. My other love was alcohol, 0:55:13.870 --> 0:55:17.589 and I'm an all in or nothing guy. I am 0:55:17.590 --> 0:55:21.029 most attacked by evil during these moments of complete surrender. 0:55:21.070 --> 0:55:24.750 Yes and amen. Let me tell you what's going on. 0:55:24.989 --> 0:55:29.230 If Satan isn't bothering you, you probably aren't bothering Satan. 0:55:30.190 --> 0:55:32.390 Satan will give us a lot of room to run. 0:55:32.430 --> 0:55:34.990 The Spirit of God will convict us of these things. 0:55:34.989 --> 0:55:38.630 But the minute you head home and return to God 0:55:38.630 --> 0:55:41.190 and ditch your spiritual affair, I don't care if it's alcohol, 0:55:41.190 --> 0:55:47.350 social media, self-righteousness, wasted time. Whenever we head home, the 0:55:47.390 --> 0:55:50.109 it's going to get fever pitch. You need to know 0:55:50.150 --> 0:55:53.310 ahead of time that the minute you head toward walking 0:55:53.310 --> 0:55:56.830 back on fire into the halls of holiness, as this 0:55:56.830 --> 0:56:00.629 person shared via text, it's all of hell is going 0:56:00.630 --> 0:56:03.870 to be unleashed on you, Satan. If he can't steal 0:56:03.870 --> 0:56:07.770 your soul, he wants to steal your joy. He wants 0:56:07.770 --> 0:56:10.210 to steal your ability to produce fruit in your life. 0:56:10.930 --> 0:56:13.090 So where? That is a badge of honor when you're 0:56:13.090 --> 0:56:16.090 getting blasted in the hallways of holiness. I love that term, 0:56:16.090 --> 0:56:18.370 by the way. When you're getting blasted in the hallways 0:56:18.370 --> 0:56:21.649 of holiness, know this. That is what's going on. You're 0:56:21.650 --> 0:56:25.330 getting blasted. And stay on the path. We've got a 0:56:25.330 --> 0:56:31.170 resource for you today. Text return to 800 555 7898. 0:56:31.170 --> 0:56:36.370 One word return to 800 555 7898. This resource is 0:56:36.370 --> 0:56:39.490 going to help you to stop sleeping around on God 0:56:39.489 --> 0:56:42.529 and start moving back toward your first love. 0:56:42.570 --> 0:56:42.930 Whoo! 0:56:43.650 --> 0:56:47.170 That's freedom on this Friday. Text. Return to that number 0:56:47.170 --> 0:56:50.810 800 555 7898. Ali, let's get back to the phones. 0:56:50.810 --> 0:56:51.170 What do we. 0:56:51.170 --> 0:56:51.290 Have? 0:56:51.330 --> 0:56:54.130 Let's go to Mary from Wisconsin. Mary, what other love 0:56:54.170 --> 0:56:56.370 pulled you away from God? And how did he call 0:56:56.370 --> 0:56:57.050 you back? 0:56:58.570 --> 0:57:02.010 Well, I thought that my job was becoming my idol, 0:57:02.050 --> 0:57:06.190 but I wasn't sure until I got fired two weeks later. 0:57:06.190 --> 0:57:09.710 Two weeks before Christmas. Oh, boy. And I went down 0:57:09.710 --> 0:57:15.390 a spiral of depression. And it was really it was ugly. 0:57:15.390 --> 0:57:20.830 And I wound up, um, just believing the lie that 0:57:20.830 --> 0:57:26.950 I wasn't good enough. And finally, um, when I accepted 0:57:26.950 --> 0:57:29.670 the fact that, okay, I'm good with it, I'm not 0:57:29.670 --> 0:57:32.710 going to be working anymore. I'm not healthy enough. God 0:57:32.710 --> 0:57:36.030 found me a job, and he restored me. This took 0:57:36.070 --> 0:57:41.870 about three months. And thanks to some wonderful counseling and 0:57:41.910 --> 0:57:45.990 friends and a great husband, I'm back where I need 0:57:45.990 --> 0:57:49.390 to be and for the moment, stronger than ever. 0:57:49.630 --> 0:57:51.630 So I'm very excited. 0:57:52.150 --> 0:57:56.350 And just love, love listening to you guys in the morning. 0:57:56.350 --> 0:57:59.950 I do that almost every morning now on my way 0:57:59.950 --> 0:58:03.480 to work and it is just it's really been uplifting. 0:58:03.480 --> 0:58:05.480 So thank you very much for what you do. 0:58:05.560 --> 0:58:08.520 Well, Mary boom sister, you are in the boom crew 0:58:08.520 --> 0:58:12.680 and you uplift us. What a story. What? I thought 0:58:12.680 --> 0:58:14.880 I was maybe making my job an idol and I 0:58:14.880 --> 0:58:16.720 got fired and I realized. Yep. 0:58:17.440 --> 0:58:18.320 Confirmed. 0:58:18.760 --> 0:58:19.600 Confirmed. 0:58:19.800 --> 0:58:20.640 That's good stuff. 0:58:21.120 --> 0:58:24.320 Oh my goodness, guys. Hold on the lines. We'll get 0:58:24.320 --> 0:58:27.680 more stories. But we got a resource and we want 0:58:27.680 --> 0:58:30.080 you to get it because God wants to call you 0:58:30.080 --> 0:58:33.160 back out of the ditch of a spiritual affair. Text 0:58:33.200 --> 0:58:37.640 return to 855 five 7898. This is going to help 0:58:37.640 --> 0:58:44.480 you text return to 855 five 7898. Our God is 0:58:44.480 --> 0:58:48.080 calling you back. Your identity is not adultery. It's child 0:58:48.080 --> 0:58:51.640 of God and it's time to get catch fire again 0:58:51.640 --> 0:58:53.240 with Jesus in your heart. 0:58:53.520 --> 0:58:56.320 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:58:56.840 --> 0:58:57.080 You know. 0:58:57.120 --> 0:59:00.540 On this Freedom Friday. It is an awesome thing to hear. 0:59:00.540 --> 0:59:03.740 Stories of life change in you and the boom crew 0:59:03.780 --> 0:59:07.060 are awesome for that. But we wanted to take the 0:59:07.060 --> 0:59:11.740 power of God to change our lives and bring two 0:59:11.780 --> 0:59:15.100 people together who otherwise were on the skids and go, 0:59:15.140 --> 0:59:19.620 uh uh, God's not done with you. His arm can 0:59:19.620 --> 0:59:22.300 reach you. And some of you, if we talk about 0:59:22.300 --> 0:59:24.500 it long enough, you'll be crying. But I need you 0:59:24.500 --> 0:59:26.460 to know something. Help is on the way, and God 0:59:26.460 --> 0:59:29.020 can do more in the 11th hour than he you 0:59:29.060 --> 0:59:33.300 can in the prior ten. Ron and Jody Zappy are 0:59:33.300 --> 0:59:36.060 with us right now. And boy, you guys believe that, 0:59:36.060 --> 0:59:36.700 don't you? 0:59:36.980 --> 0:59:39.460 I'm telling you, man, we don't believe it, Carl. And 0:59:39.460 --> 0:59:42.100 you know us. We've known each other for a long time. 0:59:42.500 --> 0:59:46.420 We've experienced it and are still experiencing the life change 0:59:46.420 --> 0:59:47.460 and power of the gospel. 0:59:47.460 --> 0:59:50.420 Thankfully, Ron and Jody are with us right now. Ron 0:59:50.420 --> 0:59:53.140 is the founding and lead pastor of Highpoint Church, which 0:59:53.140 --> 0:59:56.340 is a multi-site church in the Chicagoland area celebrating their 0:59:56.340 --> 1:00:00.960 25th At the anniversary and his lovely wife Jodie. Join 1:00:00.960 --> 1:00:02.600 us this morning for Freedom Friday. 1:00:02.640 --> 1:00:04.800 Hey, I'm just so glad we planted the church coming 1:00:04.800 --> 1:00:06.680 out of eighth grade, so that's the nice. 1:00:06.680 --> 1:00:07.400 Thing about it. 1:00:10.400 --> 1:00:12.680 Well, I won't say how old he is, but he 1:00:12.680 --> 1:00:16.000 is getting AARP material sent to his home address, I 1:00:16.000 --> 1:00:19.000 guarantee you that. All right, so let's have some fun here. Jodie, 1:00:19.000 --> 1:00:21.560 I'm going to have you tell on Ron and yourself 1:00:21.560 --> 1:00:24.320 in a healthy way on this Freedom Friday. A lot 1:00:24.360 --> 1:00:27.440 of people find themselves in a marriage where it's like, oh, 1:00:28.080 --> 1:00:32.680 and maybe they're religious, or maybe they they just need 1:00:32.680 --> 1:00:35.320 to know the power of God to save a soul 1:00:35.320 --> 1:00:37.280 and to save a marriage. Jodie, I'm going to give 1:00:37.280 --> 1:00:39.120 you the floor. Tell us the story. 1:00:39.400 --> 1:00:43.440 All right. Well, we were, um, you know, high school sweethearts, 1:00:43.480 --> 1:00:48.280 had been friends since we'd been 15 years old and finally, 1:00:48.320 --> 1:00:51.480 you know, had a long distance relationship in college and 1:00:51.480 --> 1:00:54.360 then even after college. And, you know, some of these 1:00:54.360 --> 1:00:57.570 things contributed to us having what I would say is 1:00:57.610 --> 1:01:01.130 an extremely difficult first year in marriage, and it kind 1:01:01.170 --> 1:01:04.330 of surprised us. You know, we were building on friendship, 1:01:04.330 --> 1:01:07.490 and we thought friendship was a solid foundation to build 1:01:07.530 --> 1:01:10.250 a marriage on, and it is a great thing and 1:01:10.250 --> 1:01:14.730 it has helped us. However, that got tested in year one. 1:01:14.850 --> 1:01:19.290 And when I came home early from a work commitment 1:01:19.290 --> 1:01:23.650 and walked into kind of the worst nightmare I could 1:01:23.690 --> 1:01:27.770 have imagined, and Ron was there. There was another woman. 1:01:27.770 --> 1:01:32.930 And all that to say is I was obviously really devastated. 1:01:33.610 --> 1:01:37.970 And we ended up, um, I talked to my sister 1:01:37.970 --> 1:01:41.210 and I said, hey, isn't this grounds for divorce? I'm 1:01:41.210 --> 1:01:43.890 pretty sure it is. And just, you know, our background 1:01:43.930 --> 1:01:47.210 had been both of us in a different traditional churches. 1:01:47.210 --> 1:01:50.130 So we both would have said we believed in God, 1:01:50.130 --> 1:01:53.970 but we didn't know God. So what happened next is 1:01:54.110 --> 1:01:57.350 we ended up going into my sister said, hey, you know, yeah, 1:01:57.390 --> 1:02:00.190 you should get counseling before you do that. You know, 1:02:00.230 --> 1:02:04.030 before you get divorced. It's a really big decision. So I, 1:02:04.390 --> 1:02:08.430 I walked over to a church and I purposely waited 1:02:08.430 --> 1:02:11.110 for church to be over because I was just going 1:02:11.150 --> 1:02:13.590 to go there to see if I could get counseling. 1:02:13.630 --> 1:02:17.590 And so I ended up bumping into a woman. First 1:02:17.590 --> 1:02:20.270 time I had to verbalize, it's literally the next morning 1:02:20.270 --> 1:02:23.470 what was going on. And I said, you know, I 1:02:23.470 --> 1:02:26.790 need to find out if I have grounds for divorce. 1:02:26.910 --> 1:02:30.470 And she could see that I was troubled. I probably 1:02:30.470 --> 1:02:33.830 started crying. And then she immediately tears in her eyes 1:02:33.830 --> 1:02:36.790 and she said, you know, my husband, he was a 1:02:36.790 --> 1:02:37.630 failure too. 1:02:38.630 --> 1:02:39.990 And Ron always, wow. 1:02:41.190 --> 1:02:43.190 That's what we all are. Carl, I just you just 1:02:43.190 --> 1:02:44.430 got to be honest with ourselves. 1:02:44.430 --> 1:02:45.030 I'm the I'm. 1:02:45.030 --> 1:02:47.630 The Amen choir. All right, Jodi, keep it going. 1:02:48.750 --> 1:02:51.590 So she starts off with that, and then she said, 1:02:51.690 --> 1:02:54.970 Interestingly enough, they had had a marriage ministry going that 1:02:55.010 --> 1:02:57.689 met on Monday night. So the very next day I 1:02:57.730 --> 1:03:00.650 went there, Ron kind of asked if he could come along, 1:03:00.650 --> 1:03:02.690 and I was like, well, sure, you know. So we 1:03:02.730 --> 1:03:04.770 went to this thing. It was a very large group 1:03:04.770 --> 1:03:08.770 gathering 500 people. And then, um, I had written in 1:03:08.770 --> 1:03:11.610 my Franklin planner that by Thursday I needed to make 1:03:11.610 --> 1:03:15.810 a decision about a divorce. So I end up calling 1:03:15.810 --> 1:03:17.690 the church to see if I could get an appointment, 1:03:17.690 --> 1:03:20.090 because I didn't feel like I was getting the answer 1:03:20.090 --> 1:03:23.250 to my question. So I just said, well, hey, I 1:03:23.290 --> 1:03:26.810 need to make a decision by Thursday. And, um, they 1:03:26.810 --> 1:03:29.650 ended up making an exception and let Ron and I 1:03:29.690 --> 1:03:32.970 come in. And from there the pastor said, hey, we 1:03:32.970 --> 1:03:34.890 can talk about the mess you're in, or we can 1:03:34.890 --> 1:03:37.570 talk about God's plan for marriage. You know, we kind 1:03:37.610 --> 1:03:39.450 of looked at each other and the way the question 1:03:39.450 --> 1:03:41.250 was asked, like, I doubt you're going to get a 1:03:41.250 --> 1:03:43.490 lot out of the mess we're in, you know? So 1:03:43.490 --> 1:03:46.010 we're like, well, okay. And then but we did. We 1:03:46.010 --> 1:03:48.810 ended up getting into that because he clearly, you know, 1:03:48.850 --> 1:03:51.350 he said, well, I got 45 minutes. He set the 1:03:51.350 --> 1:03:55.150 timer and we just started meeting. And what happened then 1:03:55.310 --> 1:04:00.910 was Ron immediately was broken, visibly broken. That pastor to 1:04:00.910 --> 1:04:03.590 this day would say he had counseled lots of couples, 1:04:03.590 --> 1:04:07.310 and he felt like he actually witnessed Ron's genuine repentance 1:04:07.310 --> 1:04:08.710 right in that office. 1:04:08.750 --> 1:04:09.350 Wow. Awesome. 1:04:09.470 --> 1:04:12.470 Me, on the other hand, I was I was actually 1:04:12.510 --> 1:04:15.990 the harder person because Ron's heart was broken and he 1:04:15.990 --> 1:04:19.510 was very aware of his condition. You know, that he 1:04:19.510 --> 1:04:22.630 was in a that it was a sin issue. I, 1:04:22.670 --> 1:04:24.990 on the other hand, wanted to just kind of keep 1:04:24.990 --> 1:04:29.030 the spotlight on that, on Ron. And again, I went 1:04:29.030 --> 1:04:31.790 there honestly thinking I was just going to get some 1:04:31.790 --> 1:04:34.430 sort of like, okay, to get a divorce because I 1:04:34.430 --> 1:04:37.430 didn't know how to get divorced. So he ended up then, 1:04:37.430 --> 1:04:40.550 from then on, kept putting that spotlight on me and 1:04:40.950 --> 1:04:44.750 asking me lots of questions. And really, what ended up happening? 1:04:44.790 --> 1:04:47.990 I recognized quickly, okay, I know what you're getting at 1:04:48.080 --> 1:04:50.440 And I have sin in my life, and I did, 1:04:50.480 --> 1:04:52.520 and I was very aware of it, you know, but 1:04:52.520 --> 1:04:54.720 I said I just didn't really want to talk about 1:04:54.720 --> 1:04:58.600 it today. And, um, but had he not delved in, 1:04:58.640 --> 1:05:01.959 you know, I appeared to be the victim here. And 1:05:02.000 --> 1:05:05.000 had he gone easy on me, what would have happened 1:05:05.000 --> 1:05:07.960 then in those last ten minutes is Ron would have 1:05:07.960 --> 1:05:11.160 left saved. He would have left with an actual relationship 1:05:11.160 --> 1:05:14.160 with Christ, and I would have left hard hearted the 1:05:14.160 --> 1:05:17.040 way I came in. So he broke me and. But 1:05:17.040 --> 1:05:19.760 I needed to be broken. And what happened then is 1:05:19.760 --> 1:05:22.400 we just met basically at the foot of the cross. 1:05:22.400 --> 1:05:25.640 And then in the last five minutes we prayed a genuine. 1:05:25.640 --> 1:05:28.560 He led us in a genuine prayer of repentance. I 1:05:28.560 --> 1:05:31.360 knew the little piece of faith that I needed was 1:05:31.400 --> 1:05:35.400 I'd known that, you know, Jesus was God's Son, and 1:05:35.400 --> 1:05:38.240 I knew that there was like the Trinity, father, son, 1:05:38.280 --> 1:05:41.720 Holy Spirit. But I didn't really fully understand that Jesus 1:05:41.720 --> 1:05:45.400 was God like Emmanuel, God with us, and that that 1:05:45.400 --> 1:05:49.900 was God's blood shed on the cross for me, and 1:05:49.940 --> 1:05:53.340 that it was shed for my specific sins that this 1:05:53.340 --> 1:05:56.980 guy just made me, you know, think about and confess. 1:05:56.980 --> 1:05:59.460 So we basically met at the foot of the cross 1:05:59.460 --> 1:06:01.980 where the ground was even. And that was important because 1:06:01.980 --> 1:06:04.620 I kind of also thought certain sins were much worse 1:06:04.620 --> 1:06:07.020 than others. So that was it. We walked out that 1:06:07.020 --> 1:06:09.180 day knowing for the first time we were forgiven. 1:06:09.220 --> 1:06:11.060 Wow. Wow. 1:06:11.220 --> 1:06:14.220 Ron and Jody Zappia our guests right now. Ron is 1:06:14.220 --> 1:06:17.220 the founding lead pastor of Highpoint Church. They also have 1:06:17.220 --> 1:06:21.700 a book, The Marriage Knot Seven Choices That Keep Couples Together. Uh, Ron, 1:06:21.700 --> 1:06:24.540 I want to bring your voice in here. You came 1:06:24.540 --> 1:06:27.980 to repentance quickly. Would you say that when you talk 1:06:28.020 --> 1:06:30.340 about coming to the end of yourself when you were 1:06:30.340 --> 1:06:35.020 caught and you realized the gravity of what you had done, 1:06:35.060 --> 1:06:39.900 did repentance come easily or was there any sort of resistance? 1:06:40.100 --> 1:06:42.340 You know, I think for me, I was I had 1:06:42.340 --> 1:06:44.360 to be broken and I had to be cut down 1:06:44.360 --> 1:06:46.320 at the knees. I didn't have God in my life. 1:06:46.320 --> 1:06:49.080 I wasn't a Christian, wasn't brought up in it. And, 1:06:49.120 --> 1:06:51.120 you know, that was the first time I realized, and 1:06:51.120 --> 1:06:54.400 this is going to sound awful. But it wasn't just 1:06:54.400 --> 1:06:57.120 that I sinned against Jodi and that I caused so 1:06:57.120 --> 1:07:00.439 much hurt, but that's the first time that I recognized 1:07:00.440 --> 1:07:04.080 that I sinned against God. And just like David says 1:07:04.120 --> 1:07:06.520 in Psalm 51, when he said, against you, and you 1:07:06.560 --> 1:07:09.000 have I only have I sinned and done what is 1:07:09.000 --> 1:07:12.680 evil in your sight. I recognize for the first time, yes, 1:07:12.680 --> 1:07:16.000 my sin and all of our sin. Everybody who's listening, 1:07:16.000 --> 1:07:19.840 our sin causes damages to the people around us. But 1:07:19.880 --> 1:07:23.000 it caused damage to God. And I didn't recognize that. 1:07:23.000 --> 1:07:27.280 And that was the first time that came into realization. 1:07:27.280 --> 1:07:29.840 And so I walked out of that office as Jodi said, man, 1:07:29.880 --> 1:07:32.680 I'm telling you, I felt the forgiveness. And I know 1:07:32.680 --> 1:07:35.040 many of our listeners that you you know what I'm 1:07:35.080 --> 1:07:38.960 talking about, that forgiveness of Christ and that fresh start. 1:07:39.520 --> 1:07:41.280 And we didn't know what was going to happen with 1:07:41.280 --> 1:07:44.300 the marriage. I mean, you know, like, but we had 1:07:44.300 --> 1:07:47.740 just been reconciled to God, and now it was on us. 1:07:47.980 --> 1:07:50.340 Are we going to do some things? Are we going 1:07:50.380 --> 1:07:52.820 to let God's power and the power of the gospel 1:07:53.020 --> 1:07:56.220 reconcile us to each other? And that's the most difficult part. 1:07:56.260 --> 1:07:58.700 We meet with couples now, and, you know, we tell 1:07:58.700 --> 1:08:01.180 our story and we provide hope. But if we don't 1:08:01.180 --> 1:08:04.580 have two soft hearts ready to look at each other, 1:08:04.620 --> 1:08:08.900 examine themselves, and really take ownership for their part in 1:08:08.900 --> 1:08:11.900 the marriage breakdown, and that's a big statement. Each of 1:08:11.900 --> 1:08:14.620 us has to take ownership. If we don't have that, 1:08:14.620 --> 1:08:18.540 then we won't find the reconciliation that I know God desires. 1:08:19.300 --> 1:08:19.820 Coming up. 1:08:19.860 --> 1:08:22.259 You know we're going to be promoting a book here 1:08:22.740 --> 1:08:25.900 that Ron and Jody have. That's powerful work. But we 1:08:25.900 --> 1:08:29.780 also want to tell you where we go from here. 1:08:30.060 --> 1:08:33.780 So coming up, Ron and Jody Zappia talking about those 1:08:33.780 --> 1:08:36.780 first days of digging out, because it's those first days, 1:08:36.780 --> 1:08:39.820 it's those baby steps that change everything. 1:08:39.860 --> 1:08:40.469 Hang on. 1:08:41.430 --> 1:08:44.430 This is Carl and crew on. Moody radio. 1:08:45.030 --> 1:08:45.309 With. 1:08:45.310 --> 1:08:48.389 Us right now. Ron and Jody Zappia. A story of 1:08:48.390 --> 1:08:52.549 radical transformation. If you did not hear the first portion 1:08:52.550 --> 1:08:56.110 of this interview, you must go back and get it. 1:08:56.150 --> 1:08:58.830 I'm asking you right now to text the word show 1:08:58.830 --> 1:09:02.430 to 800, 555, 78, 98. If you didn't hear this 1:09:02.430 --> 1:09:06.310 first part, you got to get it 805, 55, 78, 1:09:06.350 --> 1:09:10.030 98 just text the word show to that number and 1:09:10.030 --> 1:09:11.830 you're going to have it. All right guys, let's pick 1:09:11.830 --> 1:09:15.070 it up here. You're freshly broken. God has transformed your 1:09:15.070 --> 1:09:18.269 heart in a counseling session. And it was really the 1:09:18.270 --> 1:09:21.950 counsel of the spirit that spoke through this gentleman. And 1:09:22.150 --> 1:09:25.430 the Spirit of God convicted. The Spirit of God called 1:09:25.470 --> 1:09:27.790 the Spirit of God did it all you. You really 1:09:27.790 --> 1:09:31.349 didn't bring anything to the party except a broken heart, right, guys? 1:09:31.710 --> 1:09:35.630 That's exactly true. I mean, we had first recognized, I mean, 1:09:35.670 --> 1:09:39.769 that man, my sin had brought this on and I 1:09:39.810 --> 1:09:41.969 had was losing the best thing that I ever had. 1:09:42.010 --> 1:09:45.009 I mean, you know, we weren't Christians. We weren't following 1:09:45.010 --> 1:09:48.130 after God. We didn't have the truth. And the next 1:09:48.130 --> 1:09:51.170 thing I knew, my behavior, uh, had had really crushed 1:09:51.170 --> 1:09:52.970 the relationship. And so it would have been easy for 1:09:52.970 --> 1:09:55.170 us to throw up our hands. And I know it's 1:09:55.170 --> 1:09:57.290 true for many couples, you know, it's like, hey, we 1:09:57.330 --> 1:09:59.210 had just been married. It was just a year. We 1:09:59.210 --> 1:10:01.050 didn't have any kids. You know, we were in a 1:10:01.050 --> 1:10:04.210 new town here in the Chicagoland area. Yeah. Carl, you 1:10:04.210 --> 1:10:07.770 know what? We had to take some baby steps. I mean, honestly, 1:10:07.810 --> 1:10:09.410 you know, we didn't know what was going to happen 1:10:09.410 --> 1:10:11.930 to the marriage. We knew that, you know what? We 1:10:11.970 --> 1:10:17.130 had just been reconciled to God. We had experienced forgiveness firsthand. 1:10:17.330 --> 1:10:19.370 And now it was about, where are we going to 1:10:19.370 --> 1:10:21.889 put our faith into action? And I think that's the 1:10:21.890 --> 1:10:25.090 key for many people. We try to fix everything ourselves. 1:10:25.330 --> 1:10:27.290 And for us, it was like we knew we couldn't 1:10:27.290 --> 1:10:31.130 fix it. I couldn't fix myself. I couldn't change the 1:10:31.130 --> 1:10:34.450 behavior that had been exhibited for years. Jody had to 1:10:34.450 --> 1:10:38.030 forgive me, so Jody had to forgive and I had 1:10:38.030 --> 1:10:41.670 to start living the truth. And so, you know, honestly, Carl, 1:10:41.670 --> 1:10:43.630 I wish I could say I did some great things, 1:10:43.630 --> 1:10:45.550 but I had to come to terms with who I 1:10:45.550 --> 1:10:48.429 really was. Next thing I knew, God started to change 1:10:48.430 --> 1:10:51.150 some things in me that I couldn't change in myself. 1:10:51.550 --> 1:10:54.229 And that was the key. And I think, Jody, you 1:10:54.229 --> 1:10:57.590 recognize some of that change. So those are the baby 1:10:57.590 --> 1:11:00.110 steps that we took. Forgiveness was number one. 1:11:00.150 --> 1:11:02.229 That's big. You know what? I want to kick it 1:11:02.229 --> 1:11:05.269 to you, Jody, because a lot of those first steps 1:11:05.270 --> 1:11:10.110 out of this obviously have been embedded in the book 1:11:10.150 --> 1:11:13.630 that you and Ron wrote together. But from your perspective, 1:11:13.630 --> 1:11:16.950 what were some of those first? This is deep soul 1:11:16.950 --> 1:11:17.910 work that God does. 1:11:17.910 --> 1:11:19.390 Right, Jody? Yeah. 1:11:19.430 --> 1:11:22.389 And, um, first question I get asked at this point 1:11:22.390 --> 1:11:26.430 is how did you forgive? And I would say the 1:11:26.430 --> 1:11:30.350 truth was I mentioned I had just been forgiven also. 1:11:30.390 --> 1:11:32.870 And Ron was right there. And I knew that I 1:11:32.870 --> 1:11:36.690 knew something had happened and that really brief period of time. 1:11:36.689 --> 1:11:38.450 But I knew it was real and I knew I 1:11:38.450 --> 1:11:41.210 was forgiven. And that in and of that, I knew 1:11:41.250 --> 1:11:44.929 then I needed to forgive. And I knew that because 1:11:44.930 --> 1:11:47.210 I had come across a verse once back in the 1:11:47.210 --> 1:11:49.769 day when I would just flip my Bible open, looking 1:11:49.770 --> 1:11:52.610 for an answer to something, and one time I remember 1:11:52.610 --> 1:11:54.689 it said, hey, unless you forgive your brother, you will 1:11:54.689 --> 1:11:57.210 not be forgiven. Then I would probably close my Bible like, 1:11:57.250 --> 1:12:00.370 uh oh, I'm in trouble. But I knew there was 1:12:00.370 --> 1:12:02.330 something to that. And I knew that in the same 1:12:02.330 --> 1:12:04.929 way I had just been forgiven. I could forgive Ron 1:12:04.930 --> 1:12:08.370 because I knew God had forgiven him too. So I 1:12:08.370 --> 1:12:10.410 knew that. But my bigger issue, and I can remember 1:12:10.410 --> 1:12:13.689 even asking the pastor and saying, hey, I know I 1:12:13.689 --> 1:12:15.689 need to forgive Ron. I think I can do that, 1:12:15.689 --> 1:12:18.849 but I don't have to stay married, do I? Because 1:12:18.890 --> 1:12:20.930 the bigger issue to me, I said, how can you 1:12:20.930 --> 1:12:24.210 possibly have a marriage when there is zero trust? And 1:12:24.210 --> 1:12:27.650 so trust had been thrown out the window. So for me, 1:12:27.689 --> 1:12:30.530 it was funny because he asked me, oh, that's interesting. 1:12:30.530 --> 1:12:34.820 He said, Does the Bible say, trust one another. And 1:12:34.860 --> 1:12:37.540 I didn't really know the Bible, but that did not 1:12:37.540 --> 1:12:40.099 sound right. I said no. He said, you're right. Any 1:12:40.100 --> 1:12:42.780 ideas why it might say that? And I said, probably 1:12:42.780 --> 1:12:45.740 because we're not trustworthy. And he's like, that's right. You know. 1:12:45.780 --> 1:12:47.620 And then he said, what does the Bible say that 1:12:47.620 --> 1:12:51.139 we're supposed to do to one another and said, love. 1:12:51.140 --> 1:12:53.139 And he said, that's right. He said, God's not asking 1:12:53.140 --> 1:12:56.220 you to trust Ron. He's asking you to love Ron. 1:12:56.220 --> 1:12:59.900 And what was interesting about that is it was very freeing. 1:13:00.140 --> 1:13:03.979 Just hearing that, it made sense and it took this 1:13:03.979 --> 1:13:07.580 huge pressure off me, because the choice to forgive was 1:13:07.620 --> 1:13:10.299 like a moment in time. Like, I could choose to forgive. 1:13:10.340 --> 1:13:13.059 But the process of forgiving is the part that takes 1:13:13.060 --> 1:13:16.580 a little longer. And so then that kicked in following 1:13:16.580 --> 1:13:18.540 all that. But the only way to do that was 1:13:18.540 --> 1:13:20.580 I had to trust God. I had to trust God 1:13:20.580 --> 1:13:23.860 with Ron. Like I had to fully release Ron and 1:13:24.020 --> 1:13:27.939 his offense like what he had done to God, and 1:13:27.939 --> 1:13:30.400 trust God with that and trust that God that I 1:13:30.400 --> 1:13:32.920 was going to take care of me, whatever happened, whether 1:13:32.920 --> 1:13:35.400 the marriage worked out or not. And so I left 1:13:35.400 --> 1:13:37.960 that day knowing, hey, trust God, love Ron, trust God. 1:13:37.960 --> 1:13:39.360 And then I had to try to figure out what 1:13:39.360 --> 1:13:40.920 does that mean practically? 1:13:41.120 --> 1:13:41.680 This is so. 1:13:41.680 --> 1:13:45.599 Beautiful. I'll tell you what's powerful about this conversation we're having, guys, 1:13:46.080 --> 1:13:48.160 is that we haven't even gotten into the book. But 1:13:48.160 --> 1:13:50.679 here's what I want to spike. Boom crew. Here's here's 1:13:50.680 --> 1:13:54.080 what I want to spike. The beauty of this is, 1:13:54.439 --> 1:13:57.920 if people have gone through this dark night of the 1:13:57.920 --> 1:14:02.920 soul crisis, we're up against it. And out of our brokenness. 1:14:02.960 --> 1:14:07.080 We found God. Those are the people you need to 1:14:07.120 --> 1:14:13.960 listen to. We're not professionals. We're all in recovery. No 1:14:13.960 --> 1:14:14.840 one's arrived. 1:14:14.880 --> 1:14:15.400 That's right. 1:14:15.880 --> 1:14:16.719 We're all there. 1:14:17.520 --> 1:14:22.240 So I want you, Ron. Give us the book and 1:14:22.240 --> 1:14:23.439 what's behind it. 1:14:23.479 --> 1:14:25.719 So, you know, this is the thing. And the reason, 1:14:25.760 --> 1:14:28.620 you know, we wrote the book was because our story, 1:14:28.660 --> 1:14:31.420 you know, was such and where we needed to be restored. 1:14:31.420 --> 1:14:33.860 And so we believe that all marriages need to be 1:14:33.860 --> 1:14:37.939 enriched and some marriages need to be restored. And so 1:14:38.140 --> 1:14:41.580 really what happened was we started taking small steps, baby 1:14:41.580 --> 1:14:44.500 steps of faith, where we would just actually, literally do 1:14:44.500 --> 1:14:47.580 what the Bible says in regards to treating each other 1:14:47.860 --> 1:14:50.380 in a way that was honoring to put God at 1:14:50.380 --> 1:14:52.220 the center of your marriage. And so that's what the 1:14:52.220 --> 1:14:55.820 book is. The book is seven choices that keep couples together. 1:14:56.100 --> 1:14:59.939 And so whether you are looking for enrichment, you're looking 1:14:59.939 --> 1:15:03.259 for restoration. These are the steps that you need to take. 1:15:03.380 --> 1:15:05.260 And so I wish it was some profound thing. It 1:15:05.260 --> 1:15:07.860 was like, no, they're just biblical steps. Like choosing to 1:15:07.900 --> 1:15:12.460 grow spiritually and choosing to love unconditionally and serve sacrificially. 1:15:12.500 --> 1:15:14.620 I mean, you know, the list goes on and on. 1:15:14.660 --> 1:15:19.540 Communicate respectfully. I mean, these are biblical choices that oftentimes 1:15:19.540 --> 1:15:23.939 we don't take seriously. And, you know, maybe somebody's listening 1:15:23.939 --> 1:15:25.780 and they're like, man, you know, I don't have that 1:15:25.780 --> 1:15:28.880 much of a problem. Well that's good. But a lot 1:15:28.880 --> 1:15:31.599 of us do. But all of us. Trust is broken 1:15:31.600 --> 1:15:34.480 in marriage, and we need to rebuild trust. 1:15:34.520 --> 1:15:35.160 Yes, yes. 1:15:35.160 --> 1:15:38.160 And it takes, you know, we teach this equation. It's 1:15:38.200 --> 1:15:43.720 cb over t CB is for change behavior over time. 1:15:43.920 --> 1:15:46.360 And so you got to have change behavior. And that 1:15:46.360 --> 1:15:50.280 only happens through repentance and a relationship with God that 1:15:50.280 --> 1:15:54.120 you can truly change. And then time it takes time. 1:15:54.320 --> 1:15:57.400 You know in our situation with our story. Fortunately this 1:15:57.400 --> 1:16:00.400 hadn't gone on for a long time. So it didn't 1:16:00.439 --> 1:16:03.760 take as long for us to come back together. And 1:16:03.760 --> 1:16:06.720 I think that's where couples are having trouble, is that 1:16:06.720 --> 1:16:10.280 they need to own each part of the breakdown and 1:16:10.280 --> 1:16:13.880 that change behavior over time. Trust in the Lord. I mean, 1:16:13.880 --> 1:16:16.439 he can reconcile anything. I know you believe that, and 1:16:16.439 --> 1:16:19.000 I know we've experienced stories of people who have have 1:16:19.040 --> 1:16:22.080 seen it. And so, um, you know, really it's just 1:16:22.080 --> 1:16:27.809 the choices that you choose in the daily life of 1:16:27.810 --> 1:16:30.250 are you going to honor God and are you going 1:16:30.290 --> 1:16:32.410 to honor each other? And those are the things that 1:16:32.410 --> 1:16:33.490 are most important. 1:16:33.530 --> 1:16:36.130 The name of the book is The Marriage Knot. So 1:16:36.130 --> 1:16:38.490 here's our key word. And I know we're going to 1:16:38.490 --> 1:16:41.729 get crushed with text messages. So get your phone handy. 1:16:41.729 --> 1:16:44.850 Here's what I want you to do. Text the word 1:16:44.890 --> 1:16:49.450 knot with a k k o t as in the 1:16:49.450 --> 1:16:54.570 marriage knot. Text knot k n o t to 800 1:16:54.610 --> 1:17:04.130 555 7898. Text knot to 800 555 7898. And God's 1:17:04.130 --> 1:17:06.210 going to meet you here. I don't care how far 1:17:06.210 --> 1:17:10.849 you've gone. God's arm is not too short. And if 1:17:10.850 --> 1:17:13.929 you can fog a mirror, God can change your life 1:17:13.930 --> 1:17:21.689 and your marriage. Text not knot to 800 555 7898. Thanks, 1:17:21.689 --> 1:17:23.290 you guys, for being with us today.