S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: What tends to be the first thing that you notice
S2: about a person when you meet someone for the first time?
S2: You reach out, you shake their hand. If you're a
S2: church like mine, you go for the full on hug.
S2: Because our church, our church is a hugging church. Okay.
S2: Love it, love it. So whether you've been there never,
S2: and you're walking in for the first time or you're
S2: getting hugged, you are getting more than one hug, a
S2: couple of hugs, and sometimes people are a little stiff.
S2: But usually people go, oh, this kind of feels nice.
S2: What's the first thing you notice about a person?
S3: Oh, man. For me. Eyes, eyes, eyes. Yeah.
S2: Okay, so you do. You look. What do you look
S2: for in the eyes? Like, does the the warmth. Are
S2: they connecting?
S3: Are they connecting is big warmth. Um, a lot of
S3: times you can just see into the eyes. Are they
S3: hurting because someone can smile at you and just be, yeah,
S3: I'm great, I'm fine, I'm fine. But if you really
S3: look into their eyes, they're not fine.
S2: Wow.
S3: Yeah.
S2: Jonathan.
S4: So I think. No, it's a great answer.
S2: No, no. Sorry. You better go deep, Jonathan, I know.
S4: Okay.
S2: Better not say shirt. No. What do you. What do
S2: you first notice about someone? It doesn't have to be deep.
S4: No. Sure, I think I think what I notice, and
S4: I don't mean this in a bad way, but like it.
S4: But it may be a little explanation will come. I
S4: think when I talk with somebody for the first time,
S4: the first thing I kind of gauge or understand is,
S4: is this person a conversationalist or not a conversationalist? Because
S4: and when I say, like, am I going to have
S4: to do like ask the questions in this conversation, I
S4: don't mean that in a bad way, because everybody's made differently.
S4: But I think that's what I start to talk with
S4: someone I understand. Okay, hey, I'm going to have to
S4: ask more questions here. Maybe this person doesn't like to
S4: just talk as much. You know, maybe they they're not
S4: going to think of the questions to ask themselves. So
S4: I'll ask the questions or it's like, hey, this person's
S4: a really big conversationalist. Maybe I'm not going to ask
S4: as many questions because they're they like to talk too.
S4: So maybe let them ask the questions.
S2: Yeah, I like it. You know, I was thinking about
S2: this and I, I think I noticed the first thing
S2: I notice about a person is how open they seem.
S4: Okay. In what.
S2: Way? Well, I mean, I oftentimes the context where I
S2: meet new people is because of my kids.
S4: Okay.
S2: Yeah. So whether it's school or sports or birthday parties,
S2: I'm in the stage of life where a lot of
S2: the meeting of new people is like, oh, hey, you
S2: got a kid around my kid's age? Yeah, yeah. And
S2: so I realized that some people come across as very
S2: friendly and open. Yeah. And I realized that I noticed
S2: almost immediately if someone seems more closed off.
S4: Like they don't really want to have a conversation.
S2: Like, they say hi, but it doesn't. I notice quickly
S2: if it seems like I perceive someone's disinterest in, like,
S2: a deeper relationship.
S4: Okay.
S2: Yeah. And I realize that I, I can easily kind of.
S2: If somebody seems a little bit closed off, then I
S2: can make a snap judgment and go, okay, I don't
S2: really think they're interested in talking to me, so I,
S2: I move along. Yeah.
S4: Do you feel like, uh, you're accurate most of the
S4: time in perceiving that from people?
S2: Not always. Yeah. Because I realize that some people just
S2: need more time. Yeah. Like, I definitely I can think
S2: of one person in particular. Um, our our kids. I
S2: won't even say which kid because both of my kids
S2: play basketball. So you're not going to piece this one together.
S2: Her kid and my kid both played on a team together,
S2: and I decided pretty quickly, she really does not like me.
S4: Ah.
S2: That's the perception I got. She seemed, you know, I
S2: did the sort of, hey, how's it going? And I
S2: felt like it was met with, like, a little bit
S2: of a kind of a.
S4: Don't talk.
S2: To me, okay? And so I, you know, for like
S2: a couple of I would say like maybe a month
S2: or two. I was like, yeah, she doesn't really like me.
S2: So I'm going to kind of keep my distance. Okay.
S2: But over time we actually developed a like a good friendship,
S2: not like besties kind of thing, but like I realized
S2: that I had to quickly judged that she didn't like me.
S2: I think it's just maybe I was a lot. And
S2: she needed time to warm up. She needed some time, like,
S2: I can I can conversate with someone pretty quickly and
S2: pretty easily and some people take more time.
S4: That's very true.
S2: And so sometimes our snap judgments are not correct, right?
S4: Yeah. I think we have to be careful about snap
S4: judgments sometimes because yeah, we can be accurate, but sometimes
S4: we trust our perspective on the situation a little too much. Yeah.
S4: And uh, and maybe it's not that way in that
S4: person's head at all.
S3: And I think I would agree with Jonathan the fact
S3: that too, it's like you want to give somebody patience
S3: because I want them to have patience with me. If
S3: I send in Invertedly, just send off a wrong signal.
S3: Please get time to know me a little bit better.
S3: I know you know. Please. I want to do the
S3: same for someone else.
S2: Totally. Because I remember the feeling of being, like, judged
S2: by a first impression incorrectly. You're like, wait, no. I
S2: remember someone saying that they. I had met a friend
S2: of theirs and their their friend had said something that
S2: was kind of negative based on their first impression. And
S2: I was so hurt because I was like, that's not
S2: at all who I am. Exactly. I am not whatever
S2: they had decided in their first 10s with me that
S2: I was. So we want to give each other grace.
S2: What do you notice first about a person? You can
S2: text us on this one 805 55 7898. Are they
S2: looking at me? What's the look on their face? Says
S2: 8211 I notice people's teeth. 0575 interesting. You can keep
S2: responding on this one. But coming up we are going
S2: to talk about first impressions in Scripture. Did you know
S2: that the first actions, first words that are mentioned about
S2: a person tell us a lot about their character We're
S2: going to talk about it with Doctor Jim Coakley. What
S2: is said first about David? What are his first words,
S2: his first action, and what can we glean from that?
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: Hey, I'm Allie, this is Carl and crew. Got a
S2: special guest joining us in studio. Doctor Jim Coakley, professor
S2: here at Moody Bible Institute, author of the book 14
S2: Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. Now, this whole idea
S2: of the first mention in Scripture, when I first heard
S2: you talk about this a couple of years ago, I thought, boy,
S2: I'd never even heard that before. But explain. Before you
S2: even get to David's first mention, why is the first
S2: mention in Scripture in general so important?
S5: Well, when we think about the Bible authors, they have
S5: to be very selective in what they can share about
S5: a character. They can't go into a long biographical, chronological history.
S5: So they have to kind of purposely select pieces of
S5: information that will help us as readers to kind of
S5: get what we say is the full characterization of who
S5: that individual is like. And so what authors do is
S5: they use a technique, we call it characterization. And it's
S5: really then dealing with what are the first words that
S5: we see come out of that character's mouth. So look
S5: for quoted material. Look for the first actions. What do
S5: we see this character doing? And then if there is
S5: any and we don't, sometimes we have some, but not
S5: oftentimes in the Bible. Do we have any physical attributes,
S5: any physical descriptors. And so we have all of those
S5: with David. And they all play out marvelously to help
S5: us as readers to understand the complex character that David
S5: actually is.
S2: So first Samuel 16 is where we first see David emerge. Yes,
S2: he's the youngest son of Jesse. Tell us about his
S2: first look. First word, first description.
S5: Well, let's talk about his first actions. The first thing
S5: we see David doing is he's shepherding the flock. And
S5: so he has to be called in to be, you know,
S5: brought before Samuel to be potential a choice for the
S5: next king of Israel. And so the first thing we
S5: see is him being a shepherd. He's watching, tending the sheep.
S5: Now we even use the word shepherd in a way
S5: called leadership. Even the word pastor is comes from the
S5: word to shepherd. And so the first thing we see
S5: David doing is shepherding he's leader. So we see him
S5: as a leader. But then also we have at the
S5: end of chapter 16, he's in Saul's court and he
S5: is playing the harp, the lyre, and he is a musician.
S5: And of course, that's a first action that we see.
S5: And that also helps us understand that David is a musician.
S5: And so as we look at the Psalms, many of
S5: the Psalms are written by this musician. And so we
S5: see that as a part of David's full character arc.
S5: And then we see him in chapter 17 and next
S5: chapter as a warrior, as somebody who heads up the
S5: nation in military battle. And so those first actions, we
S5: see him as a shepherd, we see him as a musician,
S5: we see him as a warrior. And those three are
S5: the major roles that David's going to play throughout the
S5: rest of his life. And that's what we're going to
S5: read about in the Bible. And so in breadcrumb format,
S5: we have introduction to the roles that David is going
S5: to play throughout his life. So he has a very
S5: complex character.
S2: Now, I've always been curious about the mention of David
S2: being ruddy and handsome. Now, the reason why this has
S2: always caught my attention is because just a couple of
S2: verses earlier, the oldest son of Jesse, who apparently was
S2: tall and attractive, and it's in the verse, man doesn't.
S2: Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at
S2: the heart. But yet one of the first things that
S2: we hear about David is about his physical appearance. And
S2: I always found that to be a curious kind of
S2: placement there.
S5: Man, could I have you as one of my students
S5: in my class. That is a great question because of
S5: the fact that there is tension, and that, I think,
S5: adds to the story that David is a complex character.
S5: He is a man after God's own heart. He is
S5: somebody who is zealous for the Lord. He is humble
S5: that he's not really thrusting himself, but then he also
S5: he's very attractive because he's ruddy, he's attractive in appearance.
S5: And as we look at all of the other characters
S5: who are mentioned as being attractive in the Bible, they're
S5: always seemingly getting into conflict. We have Sarah, we have Rachel,
S5: we have Joseph, we have Absalom, we have Bathsheba. Later
S5: on in the story with David, all of these attractive
S5: characters all have issues with them. And so thankfully, myself included,
S5: I don't have to worry about being in that problem
S5: where I have attractiveness. It's going to be a major
S5: issue to deal with, but we often say that that
S5: sometimes attractive people get certain edges in life, but they
S5: also invite certain complex issues too. And I think that's
S5: really kind of the again, a perfect story introduction to David.
S5: He's he's a really complex character.
S2: Now, what about this, this idea of him sort of
S2: being overlooked because when he first, first The Jesse's sons
S2: are being evaluated. David's not even in the room. And
S2: then it's only after the questions asked. Do you have
S2: any more sons? Then David is called in. How significant
S2: is that? That he was not even in the picture
S2: at first.
S5: I think it's mainly in that case. It's mainly because
S5: of his age. He's the youngest, he's the runt of
S5: the litter, so to speak. And so he often gets,
S5: as oftentimes happens in large families, they kind of get the,
S5: you know, the low end of the stick, the low
S5: end of the totem pole, so to speak. And so
S5: David is out tending to do what the other older
S5: boys don't want to do, which is taking care of
S5: smelly sheep away from the action. I mean, who wants
S5: I mean, Samuel's coming to town. We have an important guest. Well,
S5: somebody's got to mind the sheep. David, you go do it.
S5: And so he's not in the picture because he's being
S5: faithful and loyal to the tasks that his parents have
S5: been assigning him.
S2: You know, and the House of David series, which I
S2: don't know if you've seen.
S5: Not seen it yet, but I've heard a little bit.
S2: About it. You know, this, this little element that there
S2: was an idea introduced in. Jonathan, you can weigh in
S2: because I've seen part of it, but not the. Isn't
S2: there some sort of suggestion that David was, for lack
S2: of a better word, sort of an illegitimate child?
S4: Yes. They, uh, they continue to explain it as the
S4: series goes along. But the way the series says is that, uh,
S4: that his mother was a Philistine woman, that Jesse married
S4: illegitimately and had him, uh, you know, had him illegitimately.
S4: And so his whole family kind of shuns him a
S4: little bit.
S2: So that obviously, is there any sort of biblical? I mean,
S2: you don't see that in the Bible. Is that a no?
S5: Is that that's just, again, typical Hollywood kind of, uh,
S5: taking a lot of poetic license to kind of jazz
S5: up the story in ways to, to make it more
S5: controversial and more intriguing to get, you know, eyes to
S5: watch that stuff. I mean, the story is great in
S5: and of itself, of its own. And I think if
S5: producers of these kind of films would just follow the script,
S5: as it were. There's a lot of stuff already there.
S5: You don't have to invent a lot of backstory to
S5: make it even more complex, because it is already complex
S5: as it is.
S2: Now let's talk about the anointing of David, because he
S2: finds out pretty quickly that there's an anointing on him
S2: and that there's going to be a call on his life.
S2: But then it seems like the story sort of shifts
S2: to this anointing comes privately, not publicly. Does anyone else
S2: know that David's anointed besides David at this point?
S5: Well, that's what this is. Again, when you think about
S5: the backstory, this is insurrection. When you really think about it,
S5: Saul was king. And so to have Samuel going anywhere
S5: and you could tell even in the text, Samuel is
S5: very nervous about doing this because he's going to be
S5: seen then as someone who's trying to lead a coup
S5: against the sitting king on the throne, King Saul. And
S5: so everyone's nervous, to be sure. And so you can
S5: understand why this is more of a private kind of situation.
S5: But it is, again, against the grain, because for a
S5: coronation to be really worth its salt, it has to
S5: be public that everyone understands. Oh, we're now recognizing him
S5: as our next king. And if it's in, you know,
S5: one small little estate in the area of Bethlehem that's
S5: really not going to, in a sense, warrant that people
S5: are going to rally to him just because they've not
S5: seen it done publicly to where they can do that.
S5: So when we have Coronation of Kings and whatnot, we
S5: see it on public television and, and we can see
S5: it all over the world. But in this case, it
S5: was done in a very private ceremony, again, adding to
S5: the complexity of the challenges of the time politically, and
S5: that we have an existing city king, but also now
S5: that it's going against the grain. So everything's kind of
S5: not normal, as we see David beginning to rise to
S5: the king of the nation of Israel.
S2: Coming up here on Carlin Crew, we've got more with
S2: our special guest, Doctor Jim Coakley. We're going to move
S2: to the next chapter first, Samuel 17, which has one
S2: of the most epic stories in all of Scripture, the
S2: classic showdown between David and Goliath. Maybe you've heard this story,
S2: maybe not, but what are some interesting nuances that maybe
S2: you haven't paid much attention to? More with Doctor Jim
S2: Coakley coming up.
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: Well, even if you've never opened the Bible, it's likely
S2: that if someone said, hey, what happened between David and Goliath?
S2: I think you could go out right now in downtown Chicago,
S2: and most people would have some awareness that some guy
S2: named David in the Bible took on a giant named
S2: Goliath and took him down. I think the vast majority
S2: of people may be able to give you some sort
S2: of working summary of that story. It's been popularized. It's
S2: recently in the House of David series, the story of
S2: David and Goliath. We've got Doctor Jim Coakley in studio
S2: with us right now. Interestingly, the first words out of
S2: David's mouth when he goes and he sees that this
S2: giant is taunting the people of Israel. There's a detail
S2: there that you that you want to key on. That
S2: caught my eye, too, because David, the warrior David who
S2: slays the giant, starts out with a motive that seems
S2: a little off.
S5: Yeah. Because when we know that David must have spoke
S5: a lot of words before, the first words that we
S5: see being quoted coming out of his mouth. But the
S5: first words that we see David saying are these found
S5: in first Samuel 17 verse 26. David asked the men
S5: standing near him, because like you said, he's been hearing
S5: this guy now taunting the people, and he says, what
S5: will be done for the man who kills this Philistine
S5: and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised
S5: Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Now,
S5: normally we latch on to that last part because we
S5: see his zealous nature for God's honor. And so we
S5: have that motto that we often say about David. Everyone
S5: uses it. He's a man after.
S2: God's own heart.
S5: Yeah. And we see that very clearly because he's very
S5: zealous for God's honor. But the very first words that
S5: come out of his mouth are, what's the reward for
S5: killing this guy? And so this is the the beauty
S5: of how this first words that we hear, David, introduces
S5: us to the complexity, duality, as it were, of David
S5: as a character, because we do see plenty of opportunities
S5: where he's a man after God's own heart, but also
S5: we see where he has got personal ambition. And so, hey,
S5: what's in it for me? If I kill this guy,
S5: what's my reward? What do I get out of it?
S5: And so we see that selfish kind of nature being
S5: displayed here in his very first words. And this is
S5: something that's going to help us as readers to understand
S5: why David's did we say Achilles heel or Fatal Flaw
S5: shows up over and over again when he puts personal
S5: ambition ahead of covenant faithfulness. And so when he takes
S5: a census, that's because he wants to see how many
S5: army men he has under his tutelage. When he sleeps
S5: with Bathsheba, he thinks, hey, I can take her because, hey,
S5: kings are worthy of taking this kind of thing. And
S5: so when he has personal ambition ahead of covenant, faithfulness
S5: is when David gets out ahead of his skis. And
S5: that's when we see David getting into trouble. But when
S5: he is a man after God's own heart worshiping, writing psalms,
S5: you know, honoring the Lord, bringing the Ark of the
S5: covenant into Jerusalem. That's the kind of thing that we
S5: normally like to think about, David, but he's also got
S5: this underbelly that, in a sense, also is characteristic of David.
S5: The rest of his life.
S2: Now, the story as the story goes, which you probably
S2: know well, he he declines to put on Saul's armor
S2: because he's not been able to test it out. So
S2: he agrees to go into battle with just five smooth stones,
S2: a slingshot, basically. Uh, give us the the narrative of
S2: what happens here and any, any sort of nuances that
S2: you think we, we maybe have missed in sort of
S2: the common retelling of this story.
S5: The one thing I loved, a little small, little detail,
S5: you know, you mentioned David trying to put on Saul's
S5: armor and it's not fitting, but one of the last
S5: things that Saul does is he puts his bronze helmet
S5: on David's head. And so when you can picture that
S5: bronze helmet being put on David's head by King Saul,
S5: it's almost as if this is perfect symbolism, as it were,
S5: of the transfer, a coronation, so to speak. That bronze
S5: helmet is almost like a crown. And Saul has been
S5: very apathetic to his calling, and he's now, in a sense,
S5: transferring the mantle of leadership unbeknownst to him, because he's
S5: not really the sharpest knife in the drawer. He's transferring
S5: everything over to David. And of course, even David doesn't
S5: want those trappings. He wants to do things in God's
S5: way by just using the simple tools that he's used
S5: already before.
S2: So what about this? The actual slaying of Goliath. I mean,
S2: the idea of a slingshot with a stone taking out
S2: the giant. I mean, it seems like the stuff of
S2: a of a fiction movie because you think. How how
S2: in the world is that actually possible?
S5: Well, I mean, we even read in the book of
S5: judges how men from the Tribe of Benjamin could sling
S5: at a hair with a sling. So using a sling
S5: was a very effective weapon of war. So those projectiles
S5: could really do a lot of damage. And so it's
S5: and again, David practicing shepherding, trying to, you know, while
S5: he's bored stiff watching the sheep over the pastures, you know,
S5: taking his sling out and practicing. And until he gets
S5: it really honed. So I think it really is a
S5: deadly weapon. And sometimes we get the feeling that, you know, David, is,
S5: you know, kind of using unconventional warfare, but this is
S5: actually the better kind of thing to use in that
S5: kind of situation, because not only is King Goliath very
S5: tall and dressed to the hilt with his armament, he's
S5: got a shield bearer, so he's already got a big
S5: portion of him protected. And so the only vulnerable spot
S5: is that place in the forehead that David was able
S5: to to hit accurately. And so again, it shows that
S5: David was willing to trust God, but trust his skills
S5: to get the job done.
S2: So this is a much more strategic move than maybe
S2: even we realized.
S5: Oh yeah. And also to to think that he's small,
S5: he's got a smaller target. And also to the fact
S5: that he's mobile as compared to Goliath, who's going to
S5: be more fixed because of his size and weight. So
S5: it was actually a pretty good military strategy overall.
S2: Doctor Jim Coakley in studio right now. We'll have more
S2: with him coming up.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: curling crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We are in First Samuel right now. So David prevailed
S2: over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,
S2: and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no
S2: sword in the hand of David. He did this. He
S2: accomplished this feat that nobody thought was possible with just
S2: a slingshot, which is a good weapon of war, apparently
S2: more so than what we had thought.
S5: Yes. Very definitely. And also, it's interesting to David growing
S5: up in Bethlehem, it's in the Hill country. So he
S5: knew how to navigate the hills, but he also was
S5: shepherding sheep, I'm sure, in the Judean wilderness where he's
S5: on the run from King Saul later on. But he's
S5: also here in what we call the shfela, the valleys,
S5: the kind of to lead to the flatter ground towards the,
S5: the coastline. And so David grew up in this area
S5: of three different environments, and all those environments helped prepare
S5: him as well. So his training was wonderful for being
S5: a leader, that he was able to navigate the homeland
S5: of Israel, the hill country. He was able to navigate
S5: the wilderness because he's on the run oftentimes. And that's
S5: why he speaks very favorably sometimes of the wilderness, but
S5: also he's able to navigate where the action is because
S5: the Philistines are occupying the very more favorable ground, as
S5: it were, the grain fields and growing areas. And so
S5: Israel needs to have control of those. And so, David,
S5: when he gets to the kingship, is able to adapt
S5: all sorts of environments because he's been trained and prepped
S5: and so many different levels.
S2: In terms of application. So often when we hear or
S2: read about this story, we kind of put ourselves as
S2: the as the David, and we think about the, the
S2: giants in our life that seem insurmountable. And anybody who's
S2: ever heard a sermon about this story that's often kind
S2: of the, the narrative that that we can take down
S2: giants with faith in a mighty God. Is that the,
S2: the the best way to apply this that kind of
S2: like I'm you and I are like David.
S5: No probably not. It's probably more that we're more like
S5: the Israelites who are cowering in fear with Goliath taunting
S5: every day, day in and day out. And so, yeah,
S5: we like to envision ourselves as the little guy that
S5: takes on the the, you know, the big guy, right?
S5: But in reality, it's only Jesus who can actually do that.
S5: But we think about the fact that David is such
S5: a relatable character. Yes, he's got great traits, he's got
S5: great characteristics, but he also has, you know, got an
S5: Achilles heel. He's got a flaw that's going to be
S5: a problematic. And I think for for you and I
S5: as readers of the Bible, to think that God uses
S5: even flawed characters like David. And so, yes, we like
S5: to put these guys on pedestals. We like to worship
S5: them as their hero for all they do their exploits,
S5: but oftentimes they have a, you know, a a chink
S5: in their armor that makes them vulnerable. And that's why
S5: we always need to be. And David tries to be
S5: throughout his life, but not perfectly, but he tries to
S5: stay close to the Lord and worship him and and
S5: praise him and worship him. So, uh, but that's the,
S5: the the wonderful nature of David. He's such a relatable character.
S5: A lot that we can learn. And so this is
S5: something I think, that we can take away when we
S5: open the pages of God's Word.
S2: And that that faith. I mean, when you, you, those
S2: words like you come at me with a sword and
S2: a spear, but I come at you in the basically
S2: in the power of God, the name of God Almighty.
S2: I'm not quoting directly here, paraphrasing, but this idea that
S2: man there, there when you when you trust in a
S2: God where there's nothing, that's impossible.
S5: Yeah. When we think about what what it says here
S5: at the end of chapter 16, one of the servants
S5: of Saul answered, I have seen a son of Jesse
S5: of Bethlehem. So again that lets us know his background.
S5: Who knows how to play the harp? He is a
S5: brave man and a warrior. Even before we get to
S5: chapter 17, he's said to be a warrior. He speaks
S5: well and is a fine looking man and the Lord
S5: is with him. That last statement is the.
S2: Lord.
S5: Is wonderful, the Lord is with him. And so that's
S5: really the key. If the Lord is with you, yes,
S5: it's going to be messy. It's going to be chaotic.
S5: It's going to have all sorts of of challenges in
S5: our way. The Giants and the Kings that are trying
S5: to thwart you. But yet, what if God is with you?
S5: You can do it all.
S2: Doctor Jim Coakley, thank you so much for being in studio.
S2: I want you to text the key word. Give me
S2: the key word. Is it fresh? Is that right?
S3: Yes it is.
S2: Text fresh to 800 555 7898. For more text fresh
S2: to 800 555 7898.
S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is
S1: in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You know the promise that God is with us as
S2: the believer. I don't know if there's any more comforting
S2: statement than that.
S4: No, I don't think there can be a more comforting
S4: statement than that, because everything else is circumstantial. It's, you know, fickle.
S4: It can be good at one moment and horrible at
S4: another moment. It's untrustworthy. But God is always consistent in
S4: his love and his sovereignty over stuff.
S2: You know, I remember a time when I was going
S2: through some health challenges, and I had to be in
S2: a pretty uncomfortable medical setting for some tests that were
S2: pretty painful. And one thing they ask you before you
S2: go through these tests, they keep wanting to make sure
S2: because you can't drive yourself home, right? So they keep
S2: asking you, who's here with you? My husband was there.
S2: He was in the waiting room. He was going to
S2: take me home. And they keep asking you this question.
S2: And so one nurse, she was like, I'm laying on
S2: this table, I'm ready to have this huge needle stuck
S2: into me. And she's like, who's with you? And I said,
S2: God is with me. And she's like, that's the best
S2: answer I've heard all day. Boom!
S3: Boom.
S2: And in that moment, it was like, yeah, God is
S2: with me on this table in this cold room with
S2: this needle. God is with me. What did you overcome?
S2: Because God was with you. 800 555 7898 800 555 7898.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: What did you overcome? Because God was with you. The
S2: success that David saw in his life as a mighty warrior,
S2: as a leader, as a musician, as a king, he
S2: was far from perfect. But the hallmark of his life,
S2: of his story, was that God was with him, that
S2: he sought the Lord. Uh, when he sought the Lord,
S2: he saw victory. It was when he did not seek
S2: the Lord that he struggled. I think that's the same
S2: is true of us. What have you been able to overcome?
S2: Because God was with you? 800 555 7898. Let's go
S2: to Christy calling in this morning from Washington. Christy. Uh,
S2: tell me your story.
S6: Yeah. Um, we were just starting 2020, the whole Covid stuff.
S6: And I was living in Arkansas at the time with
S6: my son, and I was not in a good place,
S6: not in a good relationship. And I had property in
S6: a little cabin back in Washington. And I just I
S6: prayed about it for a long time, and it was like,
S6: we need to go. We need to get out of
S6: this spot. We need to get back to our roots
S6: and go home. And it was just craziness with Covid.
S6: And I loaded up the truck and was getting ready
S6: to leave, and I got a call about a week
S6: before that, my house burned down and insurance wasn't going
S6: to cover it. I had no money, no job, like
S6: I think I had $2,000. Then my transmission went out
S6: in my truck and I just didn't know what I
S6: was going to do. I prayed and prayed and just,
S6: you know, I thought, you know, I still have to leave.
S6: I still have to go. I got my truck fixed.
S6: I was I was loaned some money from a relative,
S6: got my truck since we loaded up the truck and
S6: we left and made it across country during Covid. This
S6: was lockdowns, like right when lockdowns.
S2: Hit.
S6: And I'm driving with my son and we get to Washington,
S6: and I just was living in a tiny trailer on
S6: my property. No water, no power. It was just it
S6: was hard. And I just prayed. I said, what am
S6: I going to do? I have no money. I have
S6: no job. I have a two year old. And I
S6: met a contractor who lives right down the road. He
S6: volunteered to build my house and donated trusses for the
S6: roof because that's a big deal. The trusses are a
S6: big deal. Yeah. Donated trusses, donated his time, got together
S6: church work groups. And I just. It happened over that
S6: summer of Covid. 2020? Yeah, the money came. I got
S6: blessed with money. I mean, it was about $10,000 that
S6: I was blessed with, and it was just done. I
S6: got it done. I finished it over time. But the
S6: moral of it is the shell of the cabin was
S6: livable by the next winter, and I lived in a
S6: very harsh climate in northern Washington, in the mountains, at
S6: like 4000ft? So the snow comes early? I wouldn't have
S6: survived in that trailer with.
S2: Oh. Sorry, Kristy. I think we lost your connection a
S2: little bit. I think we got it, though. God was
S2: with you. Incredible story. Let's go to Heidi. Calling in
S2: this morning from Illinois. What did you overcome or what
S2: are you overcoming? Because God is with you.
S7: Okay. Three. About four years ago, my husband fell down
S7: the stairs from the first floor to down into the basement,
S7: and it was ten steps. And, uh, he he was
S7: knocked unconscious. And of course, he was in a very
S7: bad situation. I called 911. They took him to the hospital.
S7: It turned out to be he has a brain concussion
S7: and brain hemorrhage. And he lost memory. He couldn't open
S7: his eyes. He couldn't move and I was praying because
S7: I always I have a good relationship with Jesus and
S7: I always pray and ask for his assistance. He's my
S7: great physician and he really showed up really strong and
S7: and he helped my husband. Within three months, he was
S7: back to normal. And during the time that I was
S7: with him in the hospital, people from church that I
S7: really don't know came and and did the shopping for us,
S7: and they brought us meals and I was more than blessed. Yeah, thanks.
S7: All thanks to Jesus, the Great Physician. My best friend
S7: and my hero.
S2: Amen, Heidi. Wow. You got to see God move. And
S2: you got to see him move through his people, the
S2: body of Christ surrounding you. Uh, sweet little element to
S2: that story. Thank you so much for your call. Let's
S2: go to Linda. First time caller from Wisconsin. What has
S2: God enabled you to overcome because he was with you?
S8: Good morning. Your story just recently about the needle and
S8: I had met I've had many, many, uh, healings or
S8: feelings like this before, but I had I had to
S8: have a heart cath. And everybody kept telling me, oh,
S8: they're going to go. That's going to be painful. I'm like, oh, no,
S8: I trust God. He's going to be with me. He's
S8: always with me. And so I went in for the
S8: test and, um, still not knowing. I never read the
S8: papers or nothing. I just went in and I'm laying
S8: there and I felt like when they had me on
S8: the table, I was on this huge pillow, just huge pillow,
S8: and somebody was holding me.
S2: Wow.
S8: Big arms wrapped around me. And I was like, wow, God,
S8: you're okay, we're going to do this. And the doctor said, okay,
S8: I'm going to go in there. I'm like, okay. And
S8: I mean, you're awake, you know, all the time. And
S8: she's going and talking and I'm thinking, this is amazing.
S8: I'm just, oh, this is so fun. And I mean,
S8: I'm just laying here. And so then I hear her say, well,
S8: you have to I have to get to that one
S8: spot once more, I think I saw I'm like, oh, okay.
S8: She's I'm thinking my heart there in my heart. It's
S8: right down. Like so many inches from I feel like
S8: across the room I didn't. I'm like, wow, this is amazing.
S8: So I get done and then, okay, I'm coming out now.
S8: She's like, okay, everything's fine. There's no blocks or nothing.
S8: So okay, thank you. Okay. I'm a man like, wow.
S8: And the people around me were like like I was
S8: on drugs. They don't give you nothing. I mean, and
S8: I'm just sitting there and I'm like, so I said
S8: that was, wow, they're fast. And they're like, yeah, yeah.
S2: Linda, you're probably thinking, how in the world did I
S2: just go through something like that? And I have peace.
S2: I don't have a crazy amount of pain. Yeah. I'm
S2: sure people around you were going, what in the world
S2: is going on? Awesome, awesome. Sweet calls this morning. Uh,
S2: a lot of a lot of pain in the calls.
S2: But the promise and the assurance of God being with us. Yeah,
S2: it's so encouraging.
S4: Yeah. I mean, the some of the situations that are
S4: talked about in my own earthly self, I can't, I
S4: can't even comprehend it. I'm like, well, how did how
S4: did you get through it? How did you deal with that?
S4: I can just imagine breaking down, but.
S2: There's not a single situation we heard this morning. Does
S2: anyone ever want to be in?
S4: No, of course not. But God gives us the peace
S4: that surpasses understanding. He. He has it all. He holds
S4: it all in his hands. And even when stuff is
S4: really scary, he's still got it. We can still trust.
S3: Him and keep sharing these stories, people, because I can't
S3: imagine going through any of these situations without that hope.
S2: Let's go to Laurie calling in from Chicago. Uh, tell me,
S2: what's something that you have overcome because God was with you.
S9: We lost our three and a half year old grandson
S9: to a drowning while we were babysitting for him. Oh,
S9: and it it is the most horrible thing. Horrible thing ever.
S9: And I know I'm forgiven by God and I and
S9: and I cling to his love and strength through this.
S9: Because it was 19, 20 months ago and it's still
S9: so hard. But I know he's with Jesus, and in
S9: eternity we will be together. But without God, I. Wouldn't have.
S9: I wouldn't be walking. Stuffing.
S2: Yeah. Oh, that's Lori, thank you so much for your
S2: call this morning. Man. You don't even have words to
S2: to put to something like that.
S3: I can't, I can't even imagine. I can't.
S2: But the getting through it with God, that's not just
S2: a trite, throwaway statement. No it's not. And our callers
S2: have illustrated that this morning that in the depths of
S2: whatever pain, whatever sorrow, whatever heartbreak, whatever tragedy, the unthinkable.
S2: The promise of God's presence gives us great comfort because
S2: we we just we don't know what a day holds.
S2: We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know we
S2: have him. We know we have him. Yeah. Hold on
S2: to God today. Cling to Jesus. Let's go to Tobin.
S2: Calling in this morning from Davis Junction. Go ahead. Tobin,
S2: what did you overcome? Because God was with you.
S10: My fear of this cancer that I acquired two years ago,
S10: that just came back. And it's only because I surrendered
S10: my will, my life, over to him. Now, I gave
S10: him to cancer. I said, Lord, this is your deal.
S10: You give it. You want me to have it? I'm
S10: good with it. But I'm going to let you take
S10: it all however you want me to deal with it.
S10: I'm fine. I'm not exempt from the pain. But just
S10: knowing that he's got me, he's got me and my cancer.
S10: That he's got me fully covered. Whatever he wants to do.
S2: Tobin from Davis Junction, man. Yeah, that's a powerful call.
S4: I love what he said. He said I'm not in
S4: a surrendering to God. I'm still not exempt to the
S4: pain that I experience. But. But God's got it, and
S4: I'm gonna surrender it to him. And the peace that
S4: comes through that. There's a reason that the Bible calls
S4: it peace that passes understanding.
S2: Peace that makes no sense.
S4: It's peace that makes no sense.
S2: Absolutely, man. Tobin, I want to. Jonathan, will you offer
S2: up a quick prayer for for Tobin?
S4: Absolutely. God, I thank you so much for a man
S4: like Tobin. I thank you so much that in the
S4: midst of difficulty and strife and pain. God, that you
S4: have given him a humility that trusts you, not his
S4: own ability to get out of things or to deal
S4: with things. But Lord, knowing that he can't deal with
S4: things and that you can. God, thank you for filling
S4: him with that peace, with that trust. God, I pray,
S4: along with the entire boom crew right now, that you
S4: would heal Tobin. Yes, I pray that you would take
S4: this cancer away. Lord. You can. I believe that you can.
S4: I believe that you are able. So God please do. Lord,
S4: we take our requests and we ultimately present them to you,
S4: asking that your will be done. Lord, whether you heal him,
S4: whether you allow him to continue to have it. God,
S4: I pray that you would let his life be a
S4: testimony to others and a testimony to himself. Lord, of
S4: how you've worked in him and how you have been
S4: there for him. Lord. Be so present with Tobin right now.
S4: In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
S2: Amen.