S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step
S2: with Jesus. And what that involves is in the beauty
S2: of it is, you can come as you are and
S2: experience God. I, I just praise God that even though
S2: I've been walking with Jesus so many decades now, that
S2: God is just still inviting me. Carl, let's go on
S2: this journey together. You don't need to get cleaned up.
S2: There's still issues in your life that need to change. Yeah,
S2: believe it or not, there's plenty. And. And yet God
S2: is merciful. Isn't that one of the most amazing things, guys,
S2: about God's character?
S3: Very much so, because, I mean, when you are reminded
S3: that his mercies are new every morning and that's that
S3: is the fresh start that the world is always looking for.
S3: I mean, there's a reason why every new year people
S3: make resolutions to try to be better, and I'll use
S3: that in air quotes because we can't. And then they
S3: come up empty. What we're looking for is new mercy.
S3: And you only find that in Christ. Only in Christ
S3: do we get a reset button.
S2: And that mercy cuts through shame and shame wants to
S2: just bury us. Actually, shame is Satan's attempt to keep
S2: us from coming and experiencing the mercy of God. And
S2: on this Freedom Friday, we're talking about adultery. And you
S2: might say, well, that's great. It's a narrow audience. It's
S2: wider than you might imagine. There's a lot of adulterous relationships,
S2: even in those who are in Christ Jesus, whether it
S2: be physical or emotional, they can be there, but it
S2: encompasses so much more. And I want to illustrate that
S2: for you. I want to recap quickly. Yesterday, if you
S2: weren't here, it's new. If you were here, I think
S2: it'll it's worth repeating that a lot of opportunities over
S2: the years as a pastor to counsel a lot of
S2: really tough situations. Never forget the day when I got
S2: a call from a great woman of God. My assistant said,
S2: somebody's on the horn and they are absolutely devastated. Could
S2: you take it? And I said, yeah. She says, Carl
S2: through sobs. My husband cheating on me. And I said,
S2: are you sure? She goes, yeah. And he's not even
S2: shy about it. I call him up. I said, hey,
S2: get into the office if you would with me, bro.
S2: And I was kind of shocked. He was like, okay,
S2: I'll be there. And he came in standing tall, walked
S2: into my office. I said, what's going on? He said,
S2: I found a new love. I mean, he was just
S2: deception can get so thick that you have no sense
S2: of right or wrong. True. North, south, east, west. It's stunning.
S2: And I watch this guy who was otherwise what I
S2: would have considered to be a pretty committed disciple of Christ,
S2: just absolutely deceived. And he said, I met this new woman,
S2: and I have a love like I've never seen before,
S2: and God's given me the green light to leave my wife.
S2: I said, well, before you do, let me give you
S2: a warning here. And I appealed to him. With tears
S2: in my eyes. I said, bro, don't do it. This
S2: grass is not greener on the other side. It's like
S2: that eighth inch thick astroturf. These are the exact words
S2: I told them. You're going to jump over there and
S2: you're going to find out that that astroturf has no padding.
S2: It's on concrete, Man, and you are going to break
S2: your life. You're going to break your kids. You're going
S2: to destroy your family. Your witness is going to be gone.
S2: Much like we find in the church of Ephesus, man
S2: left their first love in the lampstands going to get
S2: removed if they didn't turn around, I appealed to him, repent, man,
S2: turn around. Go back to your bride. He walked out
S2: of the office and he went his own way. And.
S2: I'm no prophet, but you can put two and two together,
S2: and it's a wreck to this day. To this day
S2: it's a total train wreck. Sometime later, I got another
S2: call from another woman who said, I'm heartbroken, husband's cheating
S2: on me. I call him up and say, come on in, bro.
S2: He did. He had a different heart posture. He was
S2: bent over, head down, crying a little bit when he
S2: plopped down in the chair and we sat and talked.
S2: I took his hand and said, brother, let's talk a
S2: little bit here. He said, I blew it. He said,
S2: I know what I got to do. I know what
S2: you're going to tell me to do, and I got
S2: to do it. And through sobs, I mean, snot coming
S2: out both nostrils. I mean, this guy was absolutely humbled
S2: and broken. He said, well, my wife take me back.
S2: And I told him the truth. I said, I don't know,
S2: but she's a godly woman. You got to rebuild the
S2: bridge called trust, bro. It's going to take a while,
S2: but if you continue to humble yourself under God's mighty hand,
S2: he might lift up this marriage. He said, I want
S2: that so bad. It's an awesome thing when you see
S2: a man's man trembling before the Lord. Guys. It's beautiful.
S2: It's so beautiful. And God did restore that marriage by
S2: God's grace and mercy. And it's phenomenal. You know, both
S2: of these men had a bigger issue than cheating on
S2: their wives. You know what it was? They were cheating
S2: on God. That's where it begins. That's the root of
S2: all missing the mark. And for those that are born again,
S2: that have wandered away from their first love. You're sleeping
S2: around on God. I know that sounds crazy. You're in
S2: the sheets with something else that's grabbed your affection. And
S2: it doesn't have to be a physical, a physical, adulterous relationship.
S2: It can be social media, man. That can be our affection.
S2: That can be the thing that actually gives us more
S2: of a buzz than our love for God. It can
S2: be alcohol. I've got so many friends that started sipping
S2: it and they thought, you know, Grace gives me permission. No,
S2: grace is a privilege to live as you never did before.
S2: I could go get drunk big time. I didn't need
S2: Grace to get hammered before I was born again. And
S2: I'm not here to argue wine sipping or anything like that.
S2: I actually, I actually know that there's some of you
S2: that are in control. But I also know as a pastor,
S2: there's vast swaths of you that you started sipping wine
S2: and sipping you, and my heart goes out to you.
S2: Isn't it amazing that we can make a substitute god
S2: out of red wine? Isn't that weird? No. Isn't that humbling?
S2: It can be self-righteousness. It can be wasting time. It
S2: can come in so many different ways. And if the
S2: Spirit of God indwells you and you're born again, you
S2: can know when you're getting under the sheets to some
S2: degree with another God. And all I'm saying today is
S2: return to God. Ditch the spiritual affair. And the reason
S2: that we need to is that the light that your
S2: kids need that are far from God, maybe or maybe
S2: in Christ and they're doing well. They need to see
S2: a mom and dad, a grandma and a grandpa who
S2: is in love with God more than a golf course,
S2: in love with God, more than Facebook, in love with God.
S2: Fill in the blank. I know this is convicting. It
S2: is for me.
S3: Totally.
S2: It's for me.
S4: For all of us.
S2: Yeah. It's hard. I get that. But the one thing
S2: we're going to do here and I got up yesterday
S2: morning at 3 a.m.. It was like the Holy Spirit
S2: just said. I mean, it was almost audible. This is
S2: your central passage of Scripture to cap off this incredible
S2: week of going under the hood, because you can go
S2: under the hood and you can say, okay, I'm going
S2: to get silence and solitude with God, and I'm going
S2: to have private prayer with God, and I'm going to
S2: have private Bible study with God. The unseen things matter most.
S2: But what's below? Even those private things, is a heart
S2: that's directed toward God. And if you're under the sheets
S2: with something else, even solitude, silence and prayer will ring hollow.
S2: But if you get out of those sheets. And you
S2: return to God and you ditch that spiritual affair no
S2: matter what it is. Our God reigns. Man, I'm just
S2: so encouraged for you right now, because I know that
S2: the Spirit of God convicts, but the Spirit of God
S2: comes in right behind that and comforts. And I spent
S2: some time yesterday taking what James wrote in James four
S2: when he says, you adulterous people, aren't you glad he
S2: didn't end right there? Go in next chapter, please. Yeah,
S2: he says, friend, friendship of the world is making you
S2: an enemy of God. And and these are born again people.
S2: Born again people who are being called adulterers. And why
S2: would God do that? One reason he loves us enough.
S2: God calls balls and strikes better than any umpire in
S2: the MLB. He just calls balls and strikes. He doesn't miss.
S3: Them. And when we think about our relationship, the the
S3: relationship with Jesus being the bride and the bridegroom and
S3: the church being the bride. I mean, that covenant relationship
S3: is all over Scripture. And so adultery is the perfect description.
S3: And I remember reading through some of the I mean,
S3: because the language is really graphic.
S2: It's hard.
S5: And it's used all over Scripture.
S3: And I remember I was traveling out of the country
S3: one time. I won't even tell you where I was traveling,
S3: but it was to a country where prostitution was very
S3: much out in the open.
S2: Okay.
S3: And I remember as I was reading it, you know,
S3: in my quiet times about these different passages of scripture
S3: where this graphic language is, is used, and then kind
S3: of seeing this kind of put on display. And it
S3: was so horrifying to my, to my eyes to see
S3: like this. Just so out in the open. Yeah. And
S3: I thought, that's the language that God uses to describe
S3: when our hearts turn, when his, his people turned away
S3: from him to prostitution, basically. And it was like to
S3: prostitute themselves with other gods. And I was like, oh boy,
S3: this is really, really shocking stuff. But it was I
S3: remember it because it was like, okay, there's a reason
S3: why that language is used.
S2: As hard as it is, aren't we glad that we
S2: have a loving Heavenly Father that uses graphic terms so
S2: that we can actually get it, and it cuts through
S2: the fog of our own delusion?
S4: Yes.
S3: Yes, absolutely. Because I read those passages differently. Much differently.
S2: So you want to return to God. And I got
S2: some hope for you because James went on. And I've
S2: got a blog that I, I just I was so
S2: thrilled that I could take some time yesterday to. I
S2: just want to gift it to you. There's no charge
S2: for this thing. I want you to pass it around,
S2: share it with friends, discuss it with someone, and I
S2: want you to return to God. I have enough humility
S2: today and one of the most dangerous groups. Because the
S2: church of Ephesus was like this in Romans two. You
S2: know what? They had it figured out. They were so
S2: knotted up theologically that they could tell when a false
S2: apostle showed up in town, and they booted him out
S2: and said, your theology is not right. And you know
S2: what God said to him? Their theology isn't right, and
S2: your life's out of whack. You've left your first love.
S2: Isn't that amazing? You can have it buttoned down theologically
S2: and be missing it spiritually. An angry evangelicalism's are high
S2: on this list. And when the political takes the place
S2: of the spiritual, you're sleeping around on God. That's a
S2: hard one to take because I've got strong convictions about
S2: things and how they work in this world. But even
S2: when the political supplants the spiritual, you're sleeping around on God.
S2: So I'm inviting you to return to God and ditch
S2: the spiritual affair. And let's come alive in Jesus. Here today,
S2: we've got a link for you. Text the word return
S2: to 800 555 7898. Text return to 800 555 7898.
S2: Just that one word. Return to 800 555 7898. Father,
S2: I just pray that there's a spiritual awakening across North
S2: America today for every listener here today. God, give us
S2: ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying
S2: to us. We, the broader church of of Jesus Christ.
S2: Show us our spiritual affairs. And in mercy, call us
S2: back to you. And I thank you that you've given
S2: a roadmap how to do that. And I praise you
S2: in Jesus name today. Amen. And let it be.
S4: Amen.
S2: I'm just going to keep it right here, guys, for
S2: a second. How beautiful is it that God is not
S2: content to get us saved and and then just get
S2: our ticket punched? Truly born again. And then we just wait, wait,
S2: wait until maybe heaven. But no, God's calling us into
S2: this sanctification process. And he's willing to call us out
S2: when we're sleeping around with a substitute God. How graphic? Right, Ali?
S3: Graphic but merciful.
S2: Mm. Come on. back to God. Return to him. I
S2: know you're in church, but that white, hot love for Jesus.
S2: Don't let your witness. And this is what the Lord's
S2: been laying on my heart. Don't let your witness to
S2: your kids and grandkids be compromised. You know what they
S2: need to see more than. More than anything else. More
S2: than an American dream achieved in a in a legacy
S2: that's left that way more than anything else they need
S2: to see. They'd be better off with a mom and dad,
S2: grandma and grandpa who are absolutely poor in the eyes
S2: of this world, to be absolutely rich in faith. It
S2: would be better that Americans, moms and dads, grandmas and
S2: grandpas would lose our wealth and gain a white hot
S2: love for God. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Text returned to
S2: 805 55 7898. When we get back, we're going to
S2: have a question for you.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We're going to tee up a question for you on
S2: this Freedom Friday in just a moment, but I want
S2: to make a stop here. We had yesterday 700 downloads,
S2: which is a ton. I mean, it's a fraction of
S2: our listening audience, but it's awesome. People are grabbing up
S2: resources here. Yesterday alone, Hormoz Shariat in here, we were
S2: talking about what God is doing in Iran. And we're
S2: getting a perspective that you don't get on networks or
S2: cable news, trust me. He is the Billy Graham of Iran.
S2: And I actually pitched him a question on Jeremiah 49,
S2: the prophecy of Iran. It's called Islam in the prophet
S2: Jeremiah's book. It's an incredible perspective that God is going
S2: to set up his throne in this incredible country. And
S2: we're seeing a restoration of Iran by the gospel of
S2: Jesus Christ. Are you aware that the fastest growing church
S2: in the world, rivaling somewhere between Afghanistan and Iran, isn't
S2: that amazing in these highly persecuted countries?
S3: Ali, it's I mean, it's biblical.
S2: It's biblical. I mean, we see it over and over again.
S2: And I want you to hear his take on that
S2: prophecy from Jeremiah 49. I also want you to get
S2: Gary Thomas, who came in. It was a cool Holy
S2: Spirit moment when he jumped into the middle of our
S2: discussion yesterday on spiritual adultery. If you haven't gotten the
S2: show cast, now is the time. Go back and they're
S2: already loaded up from yesterday. When we're done here today.
S2: Or if you want to duck out, go and get it.
S2: But this is how you do it now. Take it away.
S5: Just text the word show to (800) 555-7898.
S3: Text show to 800 555 7898.
S2: So on this Freedom Friday, we're tackling a tough topic
S2: because if you say if I say to you, it's
S2: just just tuned in right now, it's very possible for
S2: us to get under the sheets and sleep around on
S2: God with substitute gods that might just like what?
S3: It's it sounds shocking.
S2: It does, but it's the exact metaphor, as Ali's been
S2: saying this morning, and we've just been rehearsing all the
S2: way through Scripture. The whole book of Hosea is this
S2: whole book committed to the nation of Israel, graphically coming
S2: back to God. And we're asking you today, is God
S2: calling you to return to him? Yeah, we got resources
S2: for you. But we're asking right now that the resource
S2: of the Holy Spirit, is he calling you back? Or
S2: maybe he did. Maybe you've got a story. It could
S2: be yesterday. It could be a week ago. It could
S2: be a year ago. But you're living in victory today. Ali,
S2: what's that question?
S3: Well, we want to ask you on this Freedom Friday,
S3: what other love pulled you away from God and how
S3: did he call you back? 805 55 7898 think about it.
S3: Try to identify it wasn't necessarily a person. Maybe it was,
S3: but it could have been social media. It could have
S3: been alcohol. It could have been a hobby. What was
S3: the other love that pulled you away from God and
S3: how did he call you back? 800 555 7898 855 57898.
S2: Yeah. The interesting thing about substitute gods is they come
S2: in a lot of forms. It can be breaking 100
S2: on the golf course. So fixated on that you've lost
S2: your white hot love for God. What is it, guys?
S2: Give us a call 800 555 7898.
S1: You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Give him praise. It's Carl and crew helping you take
S2: your next step with Jesus on this Freedom Friday. We're
S2: talking adultery, and you might be saying, well, that's not
S2: for me. Uh, adultery is the word that describes sleeping
S2: around on God, getting in the sheets with anything. And
S2: I'm so glad you mentioned hobbies, Ali, because even hobbies,
S2: good stuff can turn into God replacements if we're not careful.
S2: Does God want us to have hobbies? Absolutely. But when
S2: they begin to be our primary affection, we've missed it.
S2: And we don't want the witness of our life like
S2: a lampstand removed. We want our kids. We want our neighbors.
S2: We want our spouse. We want our grandkids to see
S2: moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles in
S2: Fuego for Jesus. And you want that as well. Spirit
S2: of God's working in your life today. Return to God,
S2: ditch the spiritual affair. And we got a question. What
S2: other love pulled you away from God and how did
S2: he call you back? Sarah? First time caller in Cleveland.
S2: What do you say? Sister? Sister?
S6: Hi, Carl. Yeah. Um, the love that I'm struggling with
S6: right now. Big love of the world and, uh, entertainment
S6: and really nasty jokes. Nasty stuff. Just. Yes. Especially sex
S6: related things. Yeah.
S2: Yeah, it's an awesome thing. And the Lord's showing it
S2: to you today, isn't he, Sarah.
S4: Sarah.
S6: Mhm.
S2: Yeah. I'm going to pray for you right now Sarah.
S2: Thanks for your courage. First time caller. Father thank you
S2: that your spirit is calling Sarah out. And I pray
S2: that you will deliver her. And, Lord, I thank you
S2: that you do not call Sarah adulterer. You call her
S2: a child of God. I thank you for that. And God,
S2: I praise you for the work that you're doing in
S2: Sarah's life today. In the name of Jesus, I give
S2: you praise. Amen. There might be more. Sarah's out there,
S2: and it manifests itself in a lot of ways. And
S2: we've got a resource for you all day long. Just
S2: when when you can text the word return to (800) 555-7898.
S2: What a great mercy that the Spirit of God will
S2: convict you and show you that you've got another lover.
S2: Text the word return to 800 555 7898.
S3: Karl, coming up, can you break down some of these
S3: because you outlined these four steps to return to your
S3: first love? Can you outline those coming up?
S2: I will do that. We'll do that. We'll take more
S2: of your responses. Right, Ali, to this question.
S3: If you've got a if you've got an answer to
S3: this question, what other love pulled you away from God
S3: and how did he call you back? 800 555 7898.
S3: Freedom Friday. Let's get your phone calls in. What other
S3: love pulled you away from God. And more importantly, how
S3: did he call you back? 800 555 7898.
S2: Let's get a quick hit, young Thunder. What's, uh, what's
S2: hot for news right now?
S4: Yeah. Let me get you updated with a couple quick
S4: headlines this morning. The Israeli military says it carried out
S4: dozens of airstrikes on military targets in Iran overnight. Some
S4: of the targets reportedly included a research facility involved in
S4: Iran's nuclear weapons development and a plant that manufactures carbon fiber,
S4: which can be used to make weapons systems. Iranian media
S4: says an industrial plant in northern Iran was damaged in
S4: the attack, hours after Israel warned residents to move away
S4: from nearby areas. A federal appeals court is ruling in
S4: favor of the Trump administration regarding the deployment of the
S4: California National Guard. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals says
S4: the president is within his rights to deploy the troops
S4: amid protests in Southern California over immigration raids. The ruling,
S4: by a three judge panel, allows nearly 4000 National Guard
S4: troops to remain deployed. Eight, California Governor Gavin Newsom sued
S4: the president over his decision to deploy the California Guard
S4: a couple of weeks ago. I'm Jonathan. That's your quick update.
S2: Thanks. My man. Okay, Ali, good cue there. I want
S2: to give you from this blog that we've we're providing
S2: for you today for practical moves to rekindle your love
S2: for God. It's right from the scripture, right after James
S2: lowers the bomb on us, calling us adulterous people. And again,
S2: this is a dispersed, persecuted church that still finds itself
S2: running around on God. And you might say, how does
S2: this happen? Look at our own lives. We can see
S2: this hobbies. Anything can turn into a substitute lover to
S2: use that terminology. And it's it's a powerful imagery. And
S2: God's merciful to show us this. But if if you're
S2: if you're realizing that God is calling you back to
S2: your first love, lend an ear to this. There's four
S2: practical moves that are outlined in James four seven through nine.
S2: Let me just give them to you quickly. First turn
S2: away from the other lover comes from James four seven
S2: submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
S2: will flee from you. Listen, whether it was your own flesh,
S2: the world's systems, or Satan himself that tempted you, it
S2: is Satan that's got a stronghold there in your life.
S2: Resist him. Turn away from the other lover. Submit to God. Secondly,
S2: this is important. Draw near to God. Isn't this great?
S2: With confidence in James four eight it says, draw near
S2: to God and he will draw near to you. All
S2: you have to look at is the prodigal son that
S2: was wayward, and you can see it even as a
S2: metaphor for us who are born again to return back
S2: to God. No matter what we've been sleeping with in
S2: a far off land, we can draw near to him
S2: and make moves today. And you know what? You're going
S2: to find the only place you find God. The picture
S2: of God in a hurry. In the New Testament, the
S2: only place you find them in a hurry is when
S2: he's running to embrace that wayward kid. How beautiful is
S2: that picture? Yeah. Third, cleanse your hands. This is so
S2: beautiful in James four eight. Second part of that verse
S2: we find. Cleanse your hands, you sinner. And this is,
S2: this is found in repeated in first John one nine.
S2: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
S2: to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
S2: I would say this. Own what you've done. Whatever it is,
S2: own it. Status, addiction, money, relationships, whatever you've been sleeping
S2: around with that has stolen away your white hot love
S2: for God. Just bring it to God. Here's the beautiful
S2: thing God already knows who or what you're sleeping with.
S2: You just bring it to God. You bring your hands
S2: before God and say, God, I'm agreeing with you today.
S2: That's what confession is. I'm agreeing with you today that
S2: something's gotten in the way of you. And I've been
S2: in the sheets with it. Acknowledge what the other lover
S2: has stolen from you. Don't minimize it, man. This is
S2: not a time to short arm things. This is when
S2: you come clean with God and say it aloud. And
S2: there is cleansing and confession having your soul scrubbed clean.
S2: And then, fourth, purify your hearts. James finishes with, purify
S2: your hearts, you double minded. Now, this is an interesting
S2: take because if you maybe you don't know this, it
S2: might be new in a relationship with God. In James one,
S2: James uses this same term. Don't let a double minded
S2: person believe they will receive anything from God. So this
S2: is a deep one here. We're told that double minded
S2: people are frozen out from receiving wisdom. That's the context
S2: of of James one. And it's time to make up
S2: your mind. And this is a beautiful thing. You can.
S2: Your soul will be renewed when your mind says. I
S2: have one God and I'm coming back to him. I'm.
S2: I'm not going to live with one foot in church world.
S2: And but I've got this bifurcated life. I've got this
S2: other lover on the side. No, it's one mind and
S2: it's going to restore your soul. And there's no shame
S2: in returning. Only grace and the great promise from James four.
S2: Then verse ten, humble yourselves before the Lord, and he
S2: will exalt you or lift you up, depending on your translation.
S2: Want to affirm for you something. Today God is not
S2: interested in beating you down. Come on, give me a hallelujah, somebody.
S7: Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
S2: The conviction you may feel. It hurts. Conviction always hurts.
S2: But his loving way of calling you back to full
S2: restoration is in that conviction. Fiction. Return to your first love.
S2: Return to God. And I want you to grab this
S2: blog today and walk it out. Let's give it to him.
S3: Just text. Return to (800) 555-7898. If you want more on
S3: these steps to rekindle your love for God, just text.
S3: Text return. Sorry. Text. Return to (800) 555-7898.
S2: Yeah. Let's go back to the phone lines. Lisa, first
S2: time caller. I can't Florida. What do you say? Lisa?
S8: So I, um, I've returned to God after a literal
S8: a literal love lover other than him. Um, my marriage
S8: had beat my my my husband. Sorry. Is having an affair.
S8: I discovered it, um, was suspicious of it and discovered
S8: it a year and a half ago. And he's walked
S8: out of the marriage. But what it did is it
S8: made me wake up to how much I had made
S8: him an idol and my marriage an idol, and had
S8: walked away from this deep walk with God because I
S8: had this wonderful man and I had this wonderful marriage.
S8: And he he checked the boxes and he filled all
S8: my needs. And I, you know, I thought he was
S8: near perfect. And this is everybody thinks this is the
S8: last person or last marriage this would have ever happened in.
S8: But what it did is God woke me up and
S8: it's now I am standing for my marriage to be restored. Um,
S8: but I am fulfilling what God has for me now.
S8: You know, he's given me a whole new purpose, and
S8: it's a whole new mission field because, um, there's nothing
S8: like it. I need the Lord more than I've ever
S8: needed him in this season. And I don't even want
S8: my marriage to be restored until I know I am
S8: so solid with God that I can never have this
S8: taken away again. But this walk with him will never
S8: be adulterated again. If that makes sense.
S2: Oh, it makes perfect sense, Lisa. As a pastor, I
S2: got to tell you, sister, a couple of things. Number one,
S2: I am so proud of you in a healthy way.
S2: I'm so proud of you to have the courage in
S2: the midst of pain, of having a husband cheating on you,
S2: to stop long enough before the Holy Spirit to have
S2: him tell you. Lisa, he's not worth making an idol
S2: out of. That's right. You're on the most solid ground
S2: for restoration. Should God do that through this guy? You're
S2: on the most solid ground, sister. And you know what?
S2: I don't want to know his name, but I'm going
S2: to pray right now. Father, in the name of Jesus,
S2: bring down coals on this guy. I'm praying that his
S2: adultery would come up empty in the middle of his
S2: earthbound intimacies. Make him ring hollow, God. And I pray
S2: that if this man is truly born again, you would
S2: call him back to you right now as we pray
S2: all across North America. And Lord, I thank you for
S2: Lisa and what a testimony and Lord we give you
S2: praise today. You are good. In the name of Jesus
S2: we pray. Amen.
S7: Amen.
S2: Oh, Lisa, thank you for calling in today, sister. My pleasure.
S2: I appreciate.
S8: You.
S2: You're in the boom crew. Big affirmation. Sister. Stay on
S2: the horn. I'm going to send you a Carl and
S2: Coop prize pack. We're going to put some fuel in
S2: your belly to keep standing on the rock. Okay, sister.
S9: Amen. Thank you so much. We love to be blessed
S9: for your ministry, too.
S2: Thank you. God. Godspeed. Wow. What a heartfelt deal, huh?
S7: Yeah. That's. Wow. Wow.
S2: Still taking your calls? Testimony time on this Freedom Friday.
S2: What's the question, Ali?
S3: What other love pulled you away from God? And how
S3: did he call you back? Now, this other love wasn't
S3: necessarily a person. Could have been a hobby. Could have
S3: been an addiction. Some other love pulled you away from God.
S3: What was it? And how did he call you back? 805, 55, 7898.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super di is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: He's done it. He'll do it again. It's Carl and
S2: crew helping you take your next step with Jesus on
S2: this Freedom Friday. We're talking about spiritual adultery and getting
S2: freed from other lovers. They can come in a lot
S2: of forms. Social media. They can come in status in
S2: alcohol and self-righteousness. One of the substitute gods that began
S2: to grab my affection is when my six foot, eight
S2: inch and a quarter son was playing high school basketball
S2: at a very high level, I found myself Self. Moving
S2: from being a supporter of my son to almost, I
S2: got way too attached to his ball skills and victories
S2: and losses and it was dangerous. I remember sitting in
S2: the stands one time, losing my mind, not going too
S2: verbose about a call that was made. And it's like
S2: the Holy Spirit said, man, you're pretty involved in this,
S2: aren't you? You got your head around this pretty strongly,
S2: don't you? And the voice came to me like. Wonder
S2: if your son knows who your real passion is in life.
S2: I wonder what it is. It is so easy to
S2: take good things and turn them into God substitutes.
S7: It is.
S2: So easy.
S7: Yes, that's.
S4: The hard thing sometimes, is that there are good things.
S4: It's not always Some big addiction or some gigantic outwardly
S4: facing sin.
S2: But but it's it's the minute it takes that place
S2: of that white hot love for Jesus.
S4: Yep.
S7: It's just as bad.
S3: It's those subtle things that can be the most dangerous,
S3: because they're the ones that we can most easily excuse
S3: for a long time and not really confront.
S2: Big time. Kerry in Ohio. Thanks for holding on. What's
S2: your Freedom Friday story? What? What other love pulled you
S2: away from God and how did he call you back?
S10: Hi. Good morning. Um, well, my addiction would be my relationship. Um,
S10: my children. And then ultimately, I, um, became an alcoholic
S10: and didn't even realize it until it was taking me
S10: away from all those relationships. Um, you know, I have
S10: an estranged relationship with my oldest daughter. I'm trying to
S10: work on getting back. I've been sober now almost two years,
S10: but it took that rock bottom of losing. Things that
S10: I thought would take me is no longer living to
S10: be here. Um, but God pulled me right out of that.
S10: And that's how I got sober, was my relationship with God.
S10: I ended up in church one day, and I've been
S10: going back ever since. I'm now part of that church.
S10: I'm a big sister in my recovery group. Um, but
S10: I didn't start with recovery. I started with God. And
S10: that's why I'm still here. And I'm fighting, you know,
S10: to have that relationship back with my oldest daughter. And
S10: that relationship is now being seen through with my four
S10: year old, because she caught me in emotions and crying
S10: at a movie that made me think of my oldest daughter.
S10: And she said, mama, why are you crying? I think
S10: it was the movie. And I said, I just really
S10: miss your sister, honey. And she said with her hand
S10: on my shoulder, that's okay, mama. We pray for her.
S10: And you know, I just knew that now I am
S10: doing the next right thing every day, and I really
S10: have that relationship with God and you. I'm actually driving
S10: to pick up my little girl right now and take
S10: her to the beach. And you guys came on the
S10: radio and I was like, let me just try. God
S10: told me to call. So I called and I got
S10: through and that that's my that's my testament. That's what
S10: I'm doing. And I, you know, I've got to thank
S10: for that. In every relationship that's being restored, every comment
S10: that's been made, um, you know, I wanted to give up.
S10: And he said, no, but he needed me broken enough
S10: to to let go of everything.
S7: Wow. Yeah, that's that's.
S3: A true statement. He needed me broken enough to get
S3: rid of everything.
S2: Kerry, I got to tell you something. You are. You
S2: are on some of the highest ground going. You're on
S2: the rock. And your oldest daughter. Greatest thing you're giving
S2: her right now is your total surrender to Jesus Christ.
S2: And that white hot love for God. Your lampstand has
S2: not been removed. It's been elevated. God elevates. Not messengers,
S2: but a message. And that's what he's done. He's elevating that.
S2: And your daughter's going to see it, sister. Boom. That's
S2: why we call you the boom crew. These are honest
S2: stories coming up in three minutes. We'll take more of them.
S2: We'll get them in here. Lightning round. Ali, what's the question?
S3: What other love pulled you away from God? And how
S3: did he call you back? 800 555 7898. Let's go
S3: to Michelle calling in this morning. Michelle, tell us, tell
S3: us what it was for you.
S11: Oh, yes. This is awesome. Yeah. I've learned there's nothing
S11: worth your first love. And so what happened for me
S11: is God delivered me powerfully with his love from addiction
S11: and pulled me out of a pit. I was on
S11: fire with my first love. I was my heart was
S11: crushed by his beauty. I wanted to share that message.
S11: I got in an environment where it was like toxic, unsafe,
S11: like people after you tear you down. And when that happens,
S11: you get into self-protection mode. And self-protection mode is self-focused.
S11: And in that self-focus, I began to, you know, I
S11: have to defend myself and get approval. And what happened
S11: was the message got lost in the focus was on
S11: the messenger. And then I lost the Lord's, that fiery love.
S11: And I lost the message. I lost it all.
S7: And, um.
S11: And the Lord showed me. And he confessed it. And. Yeah. Sorry.
S2: No, I mean, that's super observant of you. How did
S2: the Lord reveal that to you? And what was your response?
S11: Yeah. Um. Well, uh, when I lost my first love,
S11: I said, Lord, where is that? I would just leave it.
S11: I was the woman weeping at his feet all the time.
S11: I couldn't take communion without weeping because of the beauty
S11: of the Lord and his love. And it just dried up.
S11: And the message dried up. And so I began to inquire. Inquire. Seek. Seek. Seek.
S11: And he began to show me. You have fear of man,
S11: you have pride. You began to focus on yourself. And
S11: you can't have two masters confess and I will cleanse you.
S11: And really, it was a period of years more deeper,
S11: more deeper. And as I did that he was restoring
S11: and softening and healing. And he's just so good. So good.
S11: And nothing is worth our first love. And the enemy. Subtle.
S11: I learned that subtle. But the Holy Spirit is there
S11: to show us, right? He can show.
S8: Us.
S2: You are a billboard for what it is to come
S2: back to God. Michelle. Thank you for that. From Minnesota blessing, sister.
S2: Godspeed to you. That's why we call you the Boom Crew.
S2: It's just a huge exclamation point of God's grace and mercy. Ali,
S2: let's go back. More phone calls here.
S3: Let's go to Virginia. Calling in this morning from Illinois. Virginia?
S3: What other love pulled you away from God? And how
S3: did he call you back?
S12: Um, my, the thing that got me away from God
S12: is relying on myself, my my own thoughts and what
S12: I think. Instead of doing what the word says to do.
S12: As far as walking with, with, uh, with Jesus, with God, um,
S12: as far as, like everyday living, uh, you know, we
S12: leading every thought to Christ.
S7: Yeah, yeah.
S12: I live in a nursing home and I'm 80 years old.
S12: I have been in the ward. I got born again
S12: like 30 years ago. And so it's been an up
S12: and down walk with him. Uh, but I endeavor to
S12: speak the word to all the people here, and I.
S12: I asked him what to say to which person. I
S12: feel like I'm a hit and miss thing. I'd like
S12: to do better. You're doing great in my witness.
S7: You're doing great, Virginia.
S2: The fact that you're so self-aware that relying on yourself
S2: is the the kind of the enemy or the substitute
S2: god of our witness. Virginia. May your tribe increase, sister.
S2: I know you're in a nursing home, but that's not
S2: a nursing home. That's your mission.
S7: Field. Yeah.
S2: That's your mission field. Virginia. Boom, sister. Keep Virginia on
S2: the line. I'm sending her a car and crew prize pack.
S7: She's getting one, for sure.
S2: She needs one there. We got a question for you.
S2: Boom crew. It's a tough one, but it's a beautiful one.
S3: What other love pulled you away from God? And how
S3: did he call you back? 800 555 7898. Want to
S3: hear your stories here on this freedom Friday 800 555 7898.
S2: Taylor in Indiana. What do you say? Taylor?
S6: Hi. Um, I actually, um, spent nine years, uh, with
S6: an addiction problem, uh, with hard drugs. and also social media. Um, about. Well, actually,
S6: I just celebrated a year clean June 9th. Um, and
S6: he actually kept sending me a, um, verse. Psalm 3418
S6: God is near the brokenhearted and rescues those lost in spirit. And, uh,
S6: about three weeks later, I was delivered from my addiction
S6: and he completely changed everything. I've been on fire for Jesus.
S6: I actually worked for a street, or I served with
S6: a street ministry called Anderson on Fire. And we go
S6: out and pray for the public and, um, really try
S6: to get in with, you know, the addicts and, um,
S6: the ones that, you know, we were pulled out of.
S7: Yeah.
S2: Taylor, that's a beautiful testimony, sister. Thank you so much
S2: for calling in. Misty, first time caller in Tennessee. What
S2: other love pulled you away from God? And how did
S2: he call you back home?
S9: Resentment.
S7: Resentment? Yeah.
S13: Absolutely. Um, I had been married for 14 years, and
S13: my husband had an affair with my best friend. Oh, man.
S7: Hold it! Stop!
S2: Stop there, stop there! Sister, I am so sorry. What
S2: a crusher in every way. Okay. What happened?
S13: Um. The day after I found out about the affair.
S13: I went to church that Sunday morning and cried the
S13: entire service. I prayed and didn't hear the message at all.
S7: Of course.
S13: But the Lord said, forgive. Forgive him. Talk to him.
S13: Forgive him because I'll pull you through it, I will.
S13: I talked to my husband. We talked for about five hours.
S13: We prayed. And actually now we have been married 30
S13: years and excuse me, we have both gone. Lean back
S13: on God and everything has turned around. We are great. Um.
S13: And I actually forgave the my best friend as well. Now,
S13: our friendship didn't rekindle like it was before. Of course
S13: I did forgive her. I did forgive her. And we
S13: still remain friends. And like I said, that was 16
S13: years ago.
S2: Misty, I want to say a couple of things here
S2: as a pastor, and I'm so grateful for this. For you.
S2: This is huge. Misty. First time caller from Tennessee. Godspeed
S2: to you, sister. Um. Awesome testimony. Um, forgiveness is not forgetting.
S2: And forgiveness does not mean that you bring these people in.
S2: And Misty's husband broke in repentance. In that moment, it's
S2: very obvious to see. Uh, But I want to be
S2: careful that we're not equating forgiveness with, uh, immediacy of restoration,
S2: of relationships, how they always were. I've got people in
S2: my life that I have had to forgive, and yet
S2: I'll never do ministry with them again. And that's just
S2: the way it goes on this side of heaven. So, Misty,
S2: you're a rock star, sister. I mean, talk about a
S2: crushing event. Ali.
S7: Yeah.
S3: I mean, it's hard to even imagine that's going through
S3: something like that. But the the way that the Lord
S3: moved in her heart and in her husband's heart to
S3: allow restoration to be possible, is a testament only to
S3: God's mercy and grace.
S7: Powerful.
S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: What other love pulled you away from God? And how
S2: did he call you back? Kandi in Alabama. What do
S2: you say, Kandi?
S6: Hey. Good morning.
S2: Good morning. What's your story, Kandi?
S6: Um. So my whole family, well.
S11: Not my.
S6: Whole family, but several.
S10: Members.
S6: Of my family.
S11: Are alcoholics.
S6: And, um, I was married, um, and me and my ex-husband,
S6: we drank all the time. We partied. Um, we were,
S6: you know, just living the what we thought was the
S6: good life. And we, um, ended up divorced. And my
S6: oldest sister was an alcoholic, and she, um, also, she
S6: was recovering drug addict. And in 2021, she actually, um,
S6: passed away from.
S7: I'm sorry.
S6: But, um.
S14: She just pulled me back.
S7: Yeah.
S14: Same here. I'm sorry.
S2: It's okay. Candy. That's okay sister.
S7: Tears are beautiful.
S14: I rededicated my life and was baptized. Rebaptized on her birthday.
S7: Yeah.
S3: Wow.
S2: Well, Candy, your your sister has left a long tail
S2: legacy in your heart. And we don't know what her
S2: spiritual condition was when she passed. We don't know what
S2: God might have done in the 11th hour. Candy. But
S2: I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart.
S2: We love you, sister, and we love your story and
S2: let your sisters legacy and what God has done in
S2: your life never let you wander away from that love
S2: for Jesus. Candy. Keep it strong. Okay, sister. We love you.
S2: Great word. Wow. Anthony, first time caller from Florida. What
S2: pulled you away from God? What was that lover that
S2: pulled you away from God? And how did he get
S2: you back?
S15: Hi. Good morning everyone. I've been struggling with a collecting
S15: problem for several decades. It started out as a hobby,
S15: just collecting, and it's gotten so bad it took over
S15: my former home. I promised people that it wouldn't happen
S15: again when I moved out of state to Florida. And
S15: it's consuming my new home. And I've struggled with this.
S15: It's taking time away from my family and my friends.
S15: Money spent on it that could have been used elsewhere.
S15: And it's kind of I think I call in the
S15: big guns here. I need some prayer for sure and
S15: help getting back to God. Yeah, that time that I
S15: could be spending with God.
S7: Yeah.
S2: Anthony, I want you to know something. Brother. Listen to me.
S2: First off, no temptation has seized you. But that which
S2: is common to man and God has provided a way
S2: of escape. Here's what I need you to hear. Listen
S2: right now, God can do more in the 11th hour
S2: than you've done in the prior ten. And my heart
S2: goes out to you, brother, because hoarding is deadly. And
S2: all you're doing is trying to find something to assuage
S2: your soul. That God wants to fill that place. Are
S2: you hearing me, Anthony? Right now?
S15: Yes. God.
S2: Yeah. God wants to fill. What stuff can't fill. And
S2: you've already proven to yourself, your sober minded. You're proven
S2: to yourself that this. This doesn't work. Here's what I
S2: want you to do. I want you to grab this
S2: resource that we have for everyone today. I want you
S2: to text return to 800 555 7898. I want you
S2: to text return to that number. Everyone can right now,
S2: no cost. It's just a free resource. It's a blog
S2: that's birthed, birthed right out of James four. And no
S2: matter what you are sleeping around with, even if you're
S2: sleeping around in your substitute. God has become hoarding. God can.
S2: God can restore the years that the locusts have eaten.
S2: So I want you to grab that blog. And here's
S2: one thing I want you to do, because one of
S2: the four moves that we make to rekindle a love
S2: for God is to confess. And confession is the cleansing
S2: of everything and making it new. And I want you
S2: to do that this morning. And here's what I want
S2: you to do, Anthony, I want you to find a
S2: pastor or a trusted advisor in a church, and I
S2: want you to go and say, I need you to
S2: walk with me through this. Find someone you know that
S2: experiences victory in their relationship with Jesus, their white hot
S2: for God, and have them walk alongside you. But we're
S2: going to pray right now. Jesus, thank you for Anthony's honesty.
S2: And he represents tip of the iceberg for a lot
S2: of people who are trying to find life in the
S2: lover of stuff. And Lord, it's Amazon packages sometimes on
S2: the front porch that half of them we need and
S2: half of them we don't. And Lord, I pray that
S2: you will call us all back to you today. And
S2: thank you for Anthony sharing his story. In the name
S2: of Jesus we pray. Amen.
S7: Amen.
S2: Just text the word return right now. Got a resource
S2: for you on this Freedom Friday. We're getting freedom from
S2: spiritual affairs. Being in the sheets with who knows what stuff, hoarding,
S2: social media, alcohol status, self righteousness, complacency, you name it.
S2: Just text the word return. Grab this, grab it and
S2: share it. Share it. Don't just keep it to yourself. Text.
S2: Return to 800 555 7898. What a sweet story, huh, Ali?
S7: My goodness.
S3: Powerful.
S2: We'll go back to some more phone calls here in
S2: just a moment. Let's tee up that question again. We
S2: got phone lines filling up here, though.
S3: Ali, what other love pulled you away from God? And
S3: how did he call you back? 805 55 7898 (800) 555-7898.
S3: Let's go to Evelyn. First time caller from Florida. Evelyn,
S3: what do you say? What was it for you?
S14: Good morning.
S16: For me, it was being in relationships with men. I
S16: had no business being in looking for love in all
S16: the wrong places. That led to abuse and addiction. Um,
S16: but Christ showed me that he is my one and
S16: true love. And when I have him. And today I
S16: learned that I'm never alone when I have Christ and
S16: seeking him. And he's my living water. I don't need
S16: to drink alcohol because he delivered me from that. And
S16: today I am a new creation because of him.
S7: Ah, so beautiful. Evelyn. Beautiful Evelyn.
S2: Sleeping around on God might sound crazy at face value,
S2: but it's a great metaphor. It's hard hitting You can
S2: turn anything into a God, and God in his grace
S2: calls us back. What is it for you? What did
S2: you turn into a God and how is God calling
S2: you back? Courtney in Florida. Thanks for holding on, Courtney.
S2: What's your story?
S16: Hi.
S17: Good morning. I have been searching for God in men
S17: and my relationships pretty much my entire life, and I
S17: just went through a breakup and I started going back
S17: to church, and I just. I'm struggling to find God,
S17: and I'm sorry I get so emotional thinking about it,
S17: but I feel like I'm looking for validation in men
S17: that I'm never going to find unless I find it
S17: with God. First. You know I need my love to
S17: start with him, and I'm trying to find the perfect man.
S17: And it's just not happening for me.
S2: Yeah, and he's not there. There's one perfect man, and
S2: he loves your soul. Courtney, are you familiar with the
S2: story where Jesus was going through Samaria and the disciples
S2: were kind of befuddled because he sat down with a
S2: woman at a well, you remember that story by chance.
S2: Do you know that story?
S17: I do, I feel like it might have happened. I'm
S17: watching the show, The Chosen, and it might have been
S17: a scene that I've seen in that show.
S2: Yeah. So the story is that this woman had been
S2: married five times, and then she was shacked up with
S2: a guy, and Jesus came in and he read her mail.
S2: He knew all this, and she had felt so ostracized
S2: and so just crushed in spirit that it would have
S2: been devastating for her, the life that she was living.
S2: But when Jesus showed her his love for her in
S2: spite of everything, it's so lit her up that she went.
S2: And Jesus had to stay on in Samaria for a
S2: while because the whole town was going through revival. Courtney,
S2: God's going to use you that way. Courtney. God's going
S2: to use you that way, sister. And I want you
S2: to hold on to God. And I want you to
S2: get this resource that we've got for everyone today, okay?
S2: Just I want you to text the word return to
S2: our number that you called in to and get this resource.
S2: And I want you to bake in it today, okay?
S2: And God is at work. Sister, we love you. Thank
S2: you for calling in.
S7: Thank you.
S2: Text the word return to 805 55, 78, 98. Just
S2: the word return to 800 555, 78, 98. Wow. Mary,
S2: let's get you in here if we can. Mary from Indiana.
S2: What's your story?
S18: Oh, my goodness, thank you so much. I was listening
S18: to your program and I was thinking, what has drawn
S18: me away from God? And I was thinking nothing drawn
S18: me away from God. I'm good. And then I got
S18: to thinking what's been consuming my time? And it's been.
S18: My mother passed in September, my dad passed in 17.
S18: And there's things that the anger that from our relationship
S18: and then my anger with my sister and that has
S18: been consuming me And I realized that that has taken
S18: the place of my anger, and all that bitterness with
S18: them has taken the place of Jesus in my life.
S18: And I've just been shutting him out, because I just
S18: want to wallow in that anger and that bitterness and
S18: how unfair.
S7: I've.
S18: Seen it.
S7: Yeah.
S2: That anger has become a friend, Mary. But you know what?
S2: It doesn't have to any longer. Way to go, sister.
S2: What a healthy admission. It's hard. But today's the day
S2: of restoration. Return to God. Text returned right now, wherever
S2: you are. To 805, five, five, 78, 98. Just return
S2: to 805 five, 578, 98.
S1: You're listening to Curl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Ali, I got a question here on text message that
S2: came in. I thought, this is this is good. This
S2: is very important to note. They said, I seem to
S2: trip more when I go all in and deep into
S2: the hallways of real holiness. My other love was alcohol,
S2: and I'm an all in or nothing guy. I am
S2: most attacked by evil during these moments of complete surrender.
S2: Yes and amen. Let me tell you what's going on.
S2: If Satan isn't bothering you, you probably aren't bothering Satan.
S2: Satan will give us a lot of room to run.
S2: The Spirit of God will convict us of these things.
S2: But the minute you head home and return to God
S2: and ditch your spiritual affair, I don't care if it's alcohol,
S2: social media, self-righteousness, wasted time. Whenever we head home, the
S2: it's going to get fever pitch. You need to know
S2: ahead of time that the minute you head toward walking
S2: back on fire into the halls of holiness, as this
S2: person shared via text, it's all of hell is going
S2: to be unleashed on you, Satan. If he can't steal
S2: your soul, he wants to steal your joy. He wants
S2: to steal your ability to produce fruit in your life.
S2: So where? That is a badge of honor when you're
S2: getting blasted in the hallways of holiness. I love that term,
S2: by the way. When you're getting blasted in the hallways
S2: of holiness, know this. That is what's going on. You're
S2: getting blasted. And stay on the path. We've got a
S2: resource for you today. Text return to 800 555 7898.
S2: One word return to 800 555 7898. This resource is
S2: going to help you to stop sleeping around on God
S2: and start moving back toward your first love.
S7: Whoo!
S2: That's freedom on this Friday. Text. Return to that number
S2: 800 555 7898. Ali, let's get back to the phones.
S2: What do we.
S7: Have?
S3: Let's go to Mary from Wisconsin. Mary, what other love
S3: pulled you away from God? And how did he call
S3: you back?
S19: Well, I thought that my job was becoming my idol,
S19: but I wasn't sure until I got fired two weeks later.
S19: Two weeks before Christmas. Oh, boy. And I went down
S19: a spiral of depression. And it was really it was ugly.
S19: And I wound up, um, just believing the lie that
S19: I wasn't good enough. And finally, um, when I accepted
S19: the fact that, okay, I'm good with it, I'm not
S19: going to be working anymore. I'm not healthy enough. God
S19: found me a job, and he restored me. This took
S19: about three months. And thanks to some wonderful counseling and
S19: friends and a great husband, I'm back where I need
S19: to be and for the moment, stronger than ever.
S7: So I'm very excited.
S19: And just love, love listening to you guys in the morning.
S19: I do that almost every morning now on my way
S19: to work and it is just it's really been uplifting.
S19: So thank you very much for what you do.
S2: Well, Mary boom sister, you are in the boom crew
S2: and you uplift us. What a story. What? I thought
S2: I was maybe making my job an idol and I
S2: got fired and I realized. Yep.
S3: Confirmed.
S2: Confirmed.
S4: That's good stuff.
S2: Oh my goodness, guys. Hold on the lines. We'll get
S2: more stories. But we got a resource and we want
S2: you to get it because God wants to call you
S2: back out of the ditch of a spiritual affair. Text
S2: return to 855 five 7898. This is going to help
S2: you text return to 855 five 7898. Our God is
S2: calling you back. Your identity is not adultery. It's child
S2: of God and it's time to get catch fire again
S2: with Jesus in your heart.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S7: You know.
S2: On this Freedom Friday. It is an awesome thing to hear.
S2: Stories of life change in you and the boom crew
S2: are awesome for that. But we wanted to take the
S2: power of God to change our lives and bring two
S2: people together who otherwise were on the skids and go,
S2: uh uh, God's not done with you. His arm can
S2: reach you. And some of you, if we talk about
S2: it long enough, you'll be crying. But I need you
S2: to know something. Help is on the way, and God
S2: can do more in the 11th hour than he you
S2: can in the prior ten. Ron and Jody Zappy are
S2: with us right now. And boy, you guys believe that,
S2: don't you?
S20: I'm telling you, man, we don't believe it, Carl. And
S20: you know us. We've known each other for a long time.
S20: We've experienced it and are still experiencing the life change
S20: and power of the gospel.
S3: Thankfully, Ron and Jody are with us right now. Ron
S3: is the founding and lead pastor of Highpoint Church, which
S3: is a multi-site church in the Chicagoland area celebrating their
S3: 25th At the anniversary and his lovely wife Jodie. Join
S3: us this morning for Freedom Friday.
S20: Hey, I'm just so glad we planted the church coming
S20: out of eighth grade, so that's the nice.
S7: Thing about it.
S2: Well, I won't say how old he is, but he
S2: is getting AARP material sent to his home address, I
S2: guarantee you that. All right, so let's have some fun here. Jodie,
S2: I'm going to have you tell on Ron and yourself
S2: in a healthy way on this Freedom Friday. A lot
S2: of people find themselves in a marriage where it's like, oh,
S2: and maybe they're religious, or maybe they they just need
S2: to know the power of God to save a soul
S2: and to save a marriage. Jodie, I'm going to give
S2: you the floor. Tell us the story.
S21: All right. Well, we were, um, you know, high school sweethearts,
S21: had been friends since we'd been 15 years old and finally,
S21: you know, had a long distance relationship in college and
S21: then even after college. And, you know, some of these
S21: things contributed to us having what I would say is
S21: an extremely difficult first year in marriage, and it kind
S21: of surprised us. You know, we were building on friendship,
S21: and we thought friendship was a solid foundation to build
S21: a marriage on, and it is a great thing and
S21: it has helped us. However, that got tested in year one.
S21: And when I came home early from a work commitment
S21: and walked into kind of the worst nightmare I could
S21: have imagined, and Ron was there. There was another woman.
S21: And all that to say is I was obviously really devastated.
S21: And we ended up, um, I talked to my sister
S21: and I said, hey, isn't this grounds for divorce? I'm
S21: pretty sure it is. And just, you know, our background
S21: had been both of us in a different traditional churches.
S21: So we both would have said we believed in God,
S21: but we didn't know God. So what happened next is
S21: we ended up going into my sister said, hey, you know, yeah,
S21: you should get counseling before you do that. You know,
S21: before you get divorced. It's a really big decision. So I,
S21: I walked over to a church and I purposely waited
S21: for church to be over because I was just going
S21: to go there to see if I could get counseling.
S21: And so I ended up bumping into a woman. First
S21: time I had to verbalize, it's literally the next morning
S21: what was going on. And I said, you know, I
S21: need to find out if I have grounds for divorce.
S21: And she could see that I was troubled. I probably
S21: started crying. And then she immediately tears in her eyes
S21: and she said, you know, my husband, he was a
S21: failure too.
S7: And Ron always, wow.
S20: That's what we all are. Carl, I just you just
S20: got to be honest with ourselves.
S7: I'm the I'm.
S2: The Amen choir. All right, Jodi, keep it going.
S21: So she starts off with that, and then she said,
S21: Interestingly enough, they had had a marriage ministry going that
S21: met on Monday night. So the very next day I
S21: went there, Ron kind of asked if he could come along,
S21: and I was like, well, sure, you know. So we
S21: went to this thing. It was a very large group
S21: gathering 500 people. And then, um, I had written in
S21: my Franklin planner that by Thursday I needed to make
S21: a decision about a divorce. So I end up calling
S21: the church to see if I could get an appointment,
S21: because I didn't feel like I was getting the answer
S21: to my question. So I just said, well, hey, I
S21: need to make a decision by Thursday. And, um, they
S21: ended up making an exception and let Ron and I
S21: come in. And from there the pastor said, hey, we
S21: can talk about the mess you're in, or we can
S21: talk about God's plan for marriage. You know, we kind
S21: of looked at each other and the way the question
S21: was asked, like, I doubt you're going to get a
S21: lot out of the mess we're in, you know? So
S21: we're like, well, okay. And then but we did. We
S21: ended up getting into that because he clearly, you know,
S21: he said, well, I got 45 minutes. He set the
S21: timer and we just started meeting. And what happened then
S21: was Ron immediately was broken, visibly broken. That pastor to
S21: this day would say he had counseled lots of couples,
S21: and he felt like he actually witnessed Ron's genuine repentance
S21: right in that office.
S7: Wow. Awesome.
S21: Me, on the other hand, I was I was actually
S21: the harder person because Ron's heart was broken and he
S21: was very aware of his condition. You know, that he
S21: was in a that it was a sin issue. I,
S21: on the other hand, wanted to just kind of keep
S21: the spotlight on that, on Ron. And again, I went
S21: there honestly thinking I was just going to get some
S21: sort of like, okay, to get a divorce because I
S21: didn't know how to get divorced. So he ended up then,
S21: from then on, kept putting that spotlight on me and
S21: asking me lots of questions. And really, what ended up happening?
S21: I recognized quickly, okay, I know what you're getting at
S21: And I have sin in my life, and I did,
S21: and I was very aware of it, you know, but
S21: I said I just didn't really want to talk about
S21: it today. And, um, but had he not delved in,
S21: you know, I appeared to be the victim here. And
S21: had he gone easy on me, what would have happened
S21: then in those last ten minutes is Ron would have
S21: left saved. He would have left with an actual relationship
S21: with Christ, and I would have left hard hearted the
S21: way I came in. So he broke me and. But
S21: I needed to be broken. And what happened then is
S21: we just met basically at the foot of the cross.
S21: And then in the last five minutes we prayed a genuine.
S21: He led us in a genuine prayer of repentance. I
S21: knew the little piece of faith that I needed was
S21: I'd known that, you know, Jesus was God's Son, and
S21: I knew that there was like the Trinity, father, son,
S21: Holy Spirit. But I didn't really fully understand that Jesus
S21: was God like Emmanuel, God with us, and that that
S21: was God's blood shed on the cross for me, and
S21: that it was shed for my specific sins that this
S21: guy just made me, you know, think about and confess.
S21: So we basically met at the foot of the cross
S21: where the ground was even. And that was important because
S21: I kind of also thought certain sins were much worse
S21: than others. So that was it. We walked out that
S21: day knowing for the first time we were forgiven.
S7: Wow. Wow.
S3: Ron and Jody Zappia our guests right now. Ron is
S3: the founding lead pastor of Highpoint Church. They also have
S3: a book, The Marriage Knot Seven Choices That Keep Couples Together. Uh, Ron,
S3: I want to bring your voice in here. You came
S3: to repentance quickly. Would you say that when you talk
S3: about coming to the end of yourself when you were
S3: caught and you realized the gravity of what you had done,
S3: did repentance come easily or was there any sort of resistance?
S20: You know, I think for me, I was I had
S20: to be broken and I had to be cut down
S20: at the knees. I didn't have God in my life.
S20: I wasn't a Christian, wasn't brought up in it. And,
S20: you know, that was the first time I realized, and
S20: this is going to sound awful. But it wasn't just
S20: that I sinned against Jodi and that I caused so
S20: much hurt, but that's the first time that I recognized
S20: that I sinned against God. And just like David says
S20: in Psalm 51, when he said, against you, and you
S20: have I only have I sinned and done what is
S20: evil in your sight. I recognize for the first time, yes,
S20: my sin and all of our sin. Everybody who's listening,
S20: our sin causes damages to the people around us. But
S20: it caused damage to God. And I didn't recognize that.
S20: And that was the first time that came into realization.
S20: And so I walked out of that office as Jodi said, man,
S20: I'm telling you, I felt the forgiveness. And I know
S20: many of our listeners that you you know what I'm
S20: talking about, that forgiveness of Christ and that fresh start.
S20: And we didn't know what was going to happen with
S20: the marriage. I mean, you know, like, but we had
S20: just been reconciled to God, and now it was on us.
S20: Are we going to do some things? Are we going
S20: to let God's power and the power of the gospel
S20: reconcile us to each other? And that's the most difficult part.
S20: We meet with couples now, and, you know, we tell
S20: our story and we provide hope. But if we don't
S20: have two soft hearts ready to look at each other,
S20: examine themselves, and really take ownership for their part in
S20: the marriage breakdown, and that's a big statement. Each of
S20: us has to take ownership. If we don't have that,
S20: then we won't find the reconciliation that I know God desires.
S7: Coming up.
S2: You know we're going to be promoting a book here
S2: that Ron and Jody have. That's powerful work. But we
S2: also want to tell you where we go from here.
S2: So coming up, Ron and Jody Zappia talking about those
S2: first days of digging out, because it's those first days,
S2: it's those baby steps that change everything.
S7: Hang on.
S1: This is Carl and crew on. Moody radio.
S7: With.
S2: Us right now. Ron and Jody Zappia. A story of
S2: radical transformation. If you did not hear the first portion
S2: of this interview, you must go back and get it.
S2: I'm asking you right now to text the word show
S2: to 800, 555, 78, 98. If you didn't hear this
S2: first part, you got to get it 805, 55, 78,
S2: 98 just text the word show to that number and
S2: you're going to have it. All right guys, let's pick
S2: it up here. You're freshly broken. God has transformed your
S2: heart in a counseling session. And it was really the
S2: counsel of the spirit that spoke through this gentleman. And
S2: the Spirit of God convicted. The Spirit of God called
S2: the Spirit of God did it all you. You really
S2: didn't bring anything to the party except a broken heart, right, guys?
S20: That's exactly true. I mean, we had first recognized, I mean,
S20: that man, my sin had brought this on and I
S20: had was losing the best thing that I ever had.
S20: I mean, you know, we weren't Christians. We weren't following
S20: after God. We didn't have the truth. And the next
S20: thing I knew, my behavior, uh, had had really crushed
S20: the relationship. And so it would have been easy for
S20: us to throw up our hands. And I know it's
S20: true for many couples, you know, it's like, hey, we
S20: had just been married. It was just a year. We
S20: didn't have any kids. You know, we were in a
S20: new town here in the Chicagoland area. Yeah. Carl, you
S20: know what? We had to take some baby steps. I mean, honestly,
S20: you know, we didn't know what was going to happen
S20: to the marriage. We knew that, you know what? We
S20: had just been reconciled to God. We had experienced forgiveness firsthand.
S20: And now it was about, where are we going to
S20: put our faith into action? And I think that's the
S20: key for many people. We try to fix everything ourselves.
S20: And for us, it was like we knew we couldn't
S20: fix it. I couldn't fix myself. I couldn't change the
S20: behavior that had been exhibited for years. Jody had to
S20: forgive me, so Jody had to forgive and I had
S20: to start living the truth. And so, you know, honestly, Carl,
S20: I wish I could say I did some great things,
S20: but I had to come to terms with who I
S20: really was. Next thing I knew, God started to change
S20: some things in me that I couldn't change in myself.
S20: And that was the key. And I think, Jody, you
S20: recognize some of that change. So those are the baby
S20: steps that we took. Forgiveness was number one.
S2: That's big. You know what? I want to kick it
S2: to you, Jody, because a lot of those first steps
S2: out of this obviously have been embedded in the book
S2: that you and Ron wrote together. But from your perspective,
S2: what were some of those first? This is deep soul
S2: work that God does.
S7: Right, Jody? Yeah.
S21: And, um, first question I get asked at this point
S21: is how did you forgive? And I would say the
S21: truth was I mentioned I had just been forgiven also.
S21: And Ron was right there. And I knew that I
S21: knew something had happened and that really brief period of time.
S21: But I knew it was real and I knew I
S21: was forgiven. And that in and of that, I knew
S21: then I needed to forgive. And I knew that because
S21: I had come across a verse once back in the
S21: day when I would just flip my Bible open, looking
S21: for an answer to something, and one time I remember
S21: it said, hey, unless you forgive your brother, you will
S21: not be forgiven. Then I would probably close my Bible like,
S21: uh oh, I'm in trouble. But I knew there was
S21: something to that. And I knew that in the same
S21: way I had just been forgiven. I could forgive Ron
S21: because I knew God had forgiven him too. So I
S21: knew that. But my bigger issue, and I can remember
S21: even asking the pastor and saying, hey, I know I
S21: need to forgive Ron. I think I can do that,
S21: but I don't have to stay married, do I? Because
S21: the bigger issue to me, I said, how can you
S21: possibly have a marriage when there is zero trust? And
S21: so trust had been thrown out the window. So for me,
S21: it was funny because he asked me, oh, that's interesting.
S21: He said, Does the Bible say, trust one another. And
S21: I didn't really know the Bible, but that did not
S21: sound right. I said no. He said, you're right. Any
S21: ideas why it might say that? And I said, probably
S21: because we're not trustworthy. And he's like, that's right. You know.
S21: And then he said, what does the Bible say that
S21: we're supposed to do to one another and said, love.
S21: And he said, that's right. He said, God's not asking
S21: you to trust Ron. He's asking you to love Ron.
S21: And what was interesting about that is it was very freeing.
S21: Just hearing that, it made sense and it took this
S21: huge pressure off me, because the choice to forgive was
S21: like a moment in time. Like, I could choose to forgive.
S21: But the process of forgiving is the part that takes
S21: a little longer. And so then that kicked in following
S21: all that. But the only way to do that was
S21: I had to trust God. I had to trust God
S21: with Ron. Like I had to fully release Ron and
S21: his offense like what he had done to God, and
S21: trust God with that and trust that God that I
S21: was going to take care of me, whatever happened, whether
S21: the marriage worked out or not. And so I left
S21: that day knowing, hey, trust God, love Ron, trust God.
S21: And then I had to try to figure out what
S21: does that mean practically?
S7: This is so.
S2: Beautiful. I'll tell you what's powerful about this conversation we're having, guys,
S2: is that we haven't even gotten into the book. But
S2: here's what I want to spike. Boom crew. Here's here's
S2: what I want to spike. The beauty of this is,
S2: if people have gone through this dark night of the
S2: soul crisis, we're up against it. And out of our brokenness.
S2: We found God. Those are the people you need to
S2: listen to. We're not professionals. We're all in recovery. No
S2: one's arrived.
S20: That's right.
S7: We're all there.
S2: So I want you, Ron. Give us the book and
S2: what's behind it.
S20: So, you know, this is the thing. And the reason,
S20: you know, we wrote the book was because our story,
S20: you know, was such and where we needed to be restored.
S20: And so we believe that all marriages need to be
S20: enriched and some marriages need to be restored. And so
S20: really what happened was we started taking small steps, baby
S20: steps of faith, where we would just actually, literally do
S20: what the Bible says in regards to treating each other
S20: in a way that was honoring to put God at
S20: the center of your marriage. And so that's what the
S20: book is. The book is seven choices that keep couples together.
S20: And so whether you are looking for enrichment, you're looking
S20: for restoration. These are the steps that you need to take.
S20: And so I wish it was some profound thing. It
S20: was like, no, they're just biblical steps. Like choosing to
S20: grow spiritually and choosing to love unconditionally and serve sacrificially.
S20: I mean, you know, the list goes on and on.
S20: Communicate respectfully. I mean, these are biblical choices that oftentimes
S20: we don't take seriously. And, you know, maybe somebody's listening
S20: and they're like, man, you know, I don't have that
S20: much of a problem. Well that's good. But a lot
S20: of us do. But all of us. Trust is broken
S20: in marriage, and we need to rebuild trust.
S7: Yes, yes.
S20: And it takes, you know, we teach this equation. It's
S20: cb over t CB is for change behavior over time.
S20: And so you got to have change behavior. And that
S20: only happens through repentance and a relationship with God that
S20: you can truly change. And then time it takes time.
S20: You know in our situation with our story. Fortunately this
S20: hadn't gone on for a long time. So it didn't
S20: take as long for us to come back together. And
S20: I think that's where couples are having trouble, is that
S20: they need to own each part of the breakdown and
S20: that change behavior over time. Trust in the Lord. I mean,
S20: he can reconcile anything. I know you believe that, and
S20: I know we've experienced stories of people who have have
S20: seen it. And so, um, you know, really it's just
S20: the choices that you choose in the daily life of
S20: are you going to honor God and are you going
S20: to honor each other? And those are the things that
S20: are most important.
S2: The name of the book is The Marriage Knot. So
S2: here's our key word. And I know we're going to
S2: get crushed with text messages. So get your phone handy.
S2: Here's what I want you to do. Text the word
S2: knot with a k k o t as in the
S2: marriage knot. Text knot k n o t to 800
S2: 555 7898. Text knot to 800 555 7898. And God's
S2: going to meet you here. I don't care how far
S2: you've gone. God's arm is not too short. And if
S2: you can fog a mirror, God can change your life
S2: and your marriage. Text not knot to 800 555 7898. Thanks,
S2: you guys, for being with us today.