WEBVTT - #168 How to Find Power in Sickness 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.960 For you to know, just know that you have that 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.760 power and that other people that you think are just 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.400 living a good life, they're actually the ones that are stuck. 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:12.160 If you could somehow say in your mind and just 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:16.600 say it out loud, I am blessed because of my illness, 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:31.200 everything's going to change for you. All right. Welcome back 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.360 to the podcast, episode one hundred and sixty eight. We 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:38.240 got Bernie here. This is the last show of twenty 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.440 twenty two, all right, and then you're going to be 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.320 back next week for the first show of twenty twenty three. 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:46.840 Can you believe that? Let's do it. Man, I'm glad 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:51.600 to be back. You're the most long lasting guest. Yeah. 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:58.920 So congratulations on the movie premiere, on the new record premiere, Moonrise, Dude, 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.400 it's so good. Some of your best work for sure. 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.760 But at the movie premiere, we were so lucky to 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:10.560 get to come and hang out with you guys. And like, 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.200 there was a couple of your fans that spotted me 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.039 it said, hey, can we take a picture with you? Bertie? 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:19.039 We know you from the podcast, and I was like, wait, 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.800 you want to take a picture with me? So thank 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:23.240 you guys. If y'all were there, and y'all wanted to 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:24.920 take a picture with me. That really meant a lot, 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.440 and they said, when are you coming back on? And 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.880 so we made it happen. We made it happen. And 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:33.880 that reminds me that we need to do a live 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:38.680 podcast one of these days. Just pick a location and 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:40.960 invite people and they can come and they can ask 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.959 questions live, we'll record it. Love it, Hey, comment below 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:47.920 if that's something you want to see, or if you 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:50.400 if you're in a format where you can comment, like YouTube, 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:53.640 let me know, send me a message if that's something 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:57.000 you would like to attend. It's a live podcast. We'll 0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:01.040 bring in Chad, We'll bring in Parker. Yeah, te and 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.720 coming if you think it would be awesome or a 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:06.760 train wreck, yeah, and Tyler. We've got to bring Tyler 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.600 to He'll help that. He'll help that, He'll not be 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.880 a train wreck. Yeah. It would be a blast, especially 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.240 you get all those guys together. It'd be fun. Yeah. 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.400 So on the on the format of this podcast, if 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:20.040 you're new to it, we answer your questions. You email 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.639 me Grangersmith Podcast at gmail dot com, and we get 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:25.560 to it. We put it in the queue, we walk 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:30.000 through it just like we're just friends talking about something, 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.840 something you're struggling with, something you're excited about, something you're questioning, 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.840 something you're skeptical about, anything that we might have like 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.640 on a fireside chat. We'll walk through it. And I 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.400 love it in a podcast form because, like you mentioned, 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.639 I've been doing this movie release, and when I'm doing that, 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:51.960 I'm doing all these media hits and it's like I'm 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:57.600 going on live on at you know, Fox Atlanta Morning News, 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.280 and it's like thirty seconds, you know, And I got 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.880 thirty seconds to answer a question. So I loved the 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.040 podcast that I could slow down and we could take 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:08.200 an hour. Yeah, but let's get right into it. The 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:13.280 inbox here. First question that pops up, Subjecline says, my 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:19.040 health is ruining everything. Hi Granger, my name is Bianca. 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:21.680 I'm twenty seven from New Zealand. Big fan of your 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.760 music and the Smith's and the podcast. Anyway, one day 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.720 when I was eighteen, I woke up with extreme pelvic pain. 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:31.280 My primary doctor ran every test he could to rule 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:35.160 out the nasty things and then referred me to a gynecologist. 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.480 So within a year from pain onset, I was diagnosed 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:43.320 with endometriosis. Then I've been diagnosed with many other illnesses 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.880 they but the pain has managed to control my life 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.120 in every aspect. But it's not just a pain. Between 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:54.560 the medication and the opoi opiate and pain management that 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:58.680 has taken my ability and my drive and my work 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.320 and my study away from me. The thing is, as 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:05.080 much as I resent my health, it has also given 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.400 me a purpose to raise awareness and my favorite part 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.480 is being able to mentor other young girls through the 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:14.920 diagnosis process. Being able to do this makes my heart 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.279 so happy. It gives me something to fight for when 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.880 things get bad. I'd love to hear your thoughts on 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.279 this as I feel my own body is failing me 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:26.839 as i watch everyone around me moving along in life 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:30.040 and I'm sitting here, sitting here, stuck in limbo. Thanks 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:34.120 so much, Bianca. That's like a that's like almost like 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:38.919 a gratefulness sandwich she has. She was like grateful to be, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.560 you know, listening to the podcast, and and then and 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.760 then she's diagnosed, and then there's pain, and then there's 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:49.400 another gratefulness at the bottom of what it means to 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:55.120 give back to others. So what's the question here? What 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:59.599 is she asking yeah, I'm not really sure. I think 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:04.200 maybe she is wanting to. Honestly, Griz, what you've done 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.280 is just created a space where fans feel like they 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:10.320 can come and share and be vulnerable. And so I 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.960 think Bianca really just wants to be her. She wants 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.760 her story to be heard and to be known, and 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:20.599 to understand that there's people out there that are maybe 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:25.400 going through the same things something similar. And yeah, life 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:29.480 can be really really difficult sometimes. But I think, like 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.560 Granger said, maybe the most encouragement that we can give 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:38.240 to you is that gratitude is the front door to 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:43.799 the house of grace, and it sounds like you are there, 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:47.920 and I think if you can continue in that, in 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.200 that house of grace, you're going to be able to 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.000 look to other people with that maybe give yourself some 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:59.320 and maybe change your expectation and just see kind of 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:04.400 how that changes your mindset, how it changes your outlook, 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:07.039 and how it changes that purpose, or maybe just encourages 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.919 the purpose because it sounds like you felt a pretty 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:15.080 strong calling and so yeah, maybe just some encouragement. Yeah, 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.880 gratitude is the front door to the house of grace. Yeah, 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:23.039 that's good stuff, man. So the last thing she says here, 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.080 I'll read it again. I'd love to hear your thoughts 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.200 on this, as I feel like my own body is 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.400 failing me, as I watch everyone I know moving along 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.640 in life and I'm stuck in limbo. So Bianca, I 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:40.520 would challenge you, are you stuck? Are you really stuck 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:42.680 in limbo? Or is that what it looks like on paper, 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.520 because I think you've kind of revealed something to me 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:49.440 and Bernie here that's much deeper than someone that appears 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.039 to be stuck, because I could show you a lot 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:56.039 of people that are actually stuck, and I promise you 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:57.839 they don't have some kind of illness like you do. 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.080 And I'm not taking that away away from you, but 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.680 I'm telling you, I think that's your power. I think 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:07.920 your illness and your diagnosis and your pain is becoming 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.800 a power for you that you've learned how to use 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.240 that has not gotten you stuck. I think you're just 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:19.080 saying that because that's kind of what a society says today, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.640 and that's not you. I don't think it's you to 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:25.240 be someone that feels sorry for yourself. I don't think 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.720 that's you. Because of this whole section you put in 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:32.760 the middle of your sandwich here where you said as 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:36.080 much as I resent my health, it has given me 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.520 purpose to raise awareness and my favorite part is being 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:43.320 able to mentor other young girls through the diagnosis process. 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:48.200 This makes my heart so happy. It gives me something 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:52.120 to fight for when things get bad. Look what you 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.280 have discovered under this rock of pain? Oh for sure, 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.240 you picked up the rock and you go look what's 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:03.200 under here? Yeah? Uh yeah. These these kind of afflictions 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.119 and these burdens are really setting you up to push 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.760 into this purpose and really inspire other people. Granger, who 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:15.160 would what would inspire you more? Watching me someone that's 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.880 in fairly good health, have all my limbs climb a mountain, 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.880 or a wounded warrior that's lost both of his legs, 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:26.080 he's on prosthetics and can barely carry you know, a 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.360 backpack or anything. Walk up that mountain and crawl his 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.320 way and climb his and fight his way. What's more inspiring? Yeah, 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.840 no doubt, beyond no doubt. Go climb the mountain. People 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.440 are watching and they're ready to be inspired by your story. 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:42.200 That's so good, Stuart. Yeah, And just for you to 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.360 for you to know, just know that you have that 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.160 power and that other people that you think are just 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.800 living a good life, they're actually the ones that are stuck. 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:55.000 You have if you could somehow say in your mind 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:58.960 and just say it out loud, I am blessed because 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:05.560 of my illness, everything's going to change for you. Switching 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.640 gears here. Next question, subject line says X coming back 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:13.120 already in a relationship. Hey Granger, thank you for taking 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.280 the time to read my email. I have something I 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.400 would like to talk to you about. I've been with 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.360 my current girlfriend for about a year. I'm madly in love, 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:22.720 and we are taking things really slow to make sure 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.880 she's comfortable and going at her pace. Recently, though, my 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.840 ex girlfriend, who I was with for five years prior, 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:31.079 is reaching back out to me. She's trying to re 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:35.079 establish some kind of connection, and honestly, I have some 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.400 kind of residual feeling from the previous relationship where I 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:41.000 still care and part of me wants to but I 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.880 know my girlfriend is my future and I love her 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:47.400 more than anyone could imagine. Obviously, being with someone for 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.400 five years you have memories and things, but honestly, I 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.880 just need to have a conversation and some kind of 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:57.080 outside perspective thank you for everything you do. Please come 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:04.080 back to New Hampshire. Thanks Brendan. Interesting Brendan, from just 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:08.520 reading it one time through, it sounds like you're trying 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.400 to convince yourself that you really love your current girlfriend. 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:17.280 You're trying to convince me and you both that you 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:19.920 really love her. Like, let me repeat a line that 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:23.520 you said here. You said I love her more than 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.840 anyone could imagine. I'm trying to imagine that, buddy, And 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.840 then earlier you said I am madly in love with 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.880 my current girlfriend. Okay, those are things that I feel 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.679 like you're trying to convince yourself of because right here 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:42.120 in the middle of your email, you're staying I still 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:45.280 have feelings for my ex. Did he mention how long 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.959 he's been with a new girl? About a year? About 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:54.520 a year? Okay, so this is a red flag. I 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.960 feel like I could be wrong. I could be wrong 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:58.600 in a lot of these answers, but I feel like 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:03.160 in a real relationship, if you are quote madly in 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:07.040 love and quote love her more than anyone could imagine, 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.880 as soon as the ex girlfriend reaches out, you're like, nah, nah, yeah, 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:16.480 one hundred percent, I ain't reaching out to that girl. Yeah, 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.600 the fact that you're even questioning is kind of interesting, 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:23.280 an interesting point if you really do love your new 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:27.600 girlfriend more than we can imagine. I don't know, Brendan. 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.720 I would say, you got a good thing in front 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:32.080 of you, man, And if that's real and you really 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:35.720 feel like this is your future, don't look to the past. 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:39.240 There's a reason that you guys split and it's probably 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.400 gonna come back up. So boom, what are they What 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:46.600 do they say about one in the hand better than 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.760 two in the bush or something like that. Yeah, so dude, 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:51.480 you got one in your hand man that you love, Like, 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:55.000 just be present, be with her, just man, This is 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.280 this is what happens Griz like in our society, we 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:02.800 are just like flooded with options and options paralyze us. 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:04.480 They give us anxise like we should I come back 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.480 or with the new one in this and Amazon has 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.040 everything I can can just say, it's like, ah, stop, 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:14.360 just be with her. Yeah, make a decision with your brain, 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.960 not your gut, not your heart, not your your feelings. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:20.960 Don't but I feel like I want to get back 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:25.560 with or I feel like we had some great feelings. Hey, 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.560 make a decision. This new girl's great. No, I'm gonna 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.560 I'm gonna make a conscious decision that I'm gonna stay 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:33.559 with this new girl. And I'm not even going to 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.960 entertain because what could possibly be good with entertaining the 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:43.320 old girlfriend? What could be good? Nothing? Yeah, like you 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.200 might be thinking closure, that's good. You don't have that yet. 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:48.280 If you don't have closure, then you're not in love 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:55.040 with the new one, right, Good luck, Brendan. Yeah, thanks 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:57.959 for writing in. Let's hit another one here, subject line 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.880 hearing God's Voice. It's always a good one and this 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.960 is a very short one. Hey Granger, I'm Teddy. Hopefully 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:08.439 you'll see this before tomorrow. Hopefully you'll see this before tomorrow. 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:12.720 I don't know what that means, but that the email 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.400 goes on to say, I've been trying to submit my 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.840 life to Christ. My question is how do I know 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.840 what God is telling me? Like, how do I hear 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:29.280 his voice? Hmm? We could either go super deep or 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.400 super shallow on this one, but Teddy, thanks for emailing. 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.600 Let me just be it. Let's just be simple. You 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:39.520 want to hear God's voice, read God's living word, read 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:43.240 it that's called the Bible, and you open it up 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.200 and you say, God, Granger told me that this is 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:48.600 your living, breathing word, open it up to me. Open 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.000 up to open my mind and my heart up to 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.280 your word so that you could speak to me through 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.760 your word. And then if you want to do any 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.200 research at all, teddy on the on the Bible and 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:01.840 what it is and what it stands for, and where 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.040 it came from and how it got translated and how 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.840 it got into your hands. It's all over the internet 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.080 and you can go down a deep rabbit hole with that. 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:13.680 But you will find also the answer to how to 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.600 submit your life to Christ in that book. Yeah, that's 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.800 really good. He's right on. But I would also say 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.720 don't because a lot of people, especially in our society, 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.240 like we go to it and we just expect to 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:32.040 hear God like that, and it's like sometimes to hear 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:36.440 God's voice and it's a whisper, and there's a lot 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.640 of distractions, and there's a lot of other noise that 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.120 you have to kind of quiet in your life. Not 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.240 just one morning with the Bible, but once you start 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:48.640 to read that and it starts to be the loudest 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:52.080 noise in your life, the most influential where it has 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:54.960 your attention and everything. Then I feel like you go 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.320 throughout your day and you start to kind of you 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.880 start to see it, and you start to hear that whisper. 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:05.920 And I think we talk one time, Granger. I love 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.960 getting into the wilderness, into nature, just disconnect from everything, 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:17.000 just go get lost. And I remember one specific time 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.840 of doing this, and I just remember hearing this faint 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:23.520 whisper that said, if you want to hear my voice, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.400 you need to put yourself in the places that I speak. 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.840 And I just savage second was like, oh my gosh, 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:33.760 what does that mean? What does that mean? So I 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.480 started thinking about it. I think his word is a 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:41.720 place that he speaks. I think that the stillness, the 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.040 quiet is a place that he speaks. I think that 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.560 nature can be a place that he speaks. So maybe 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.760 those things together, you know, can help you. I hope 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:54.120 that that's some good advice. But really find his word, 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.560 find some stillness, and maybe we can start to hear 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:01.000 those whispers. Bernie's answers so much better than mine. That's 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:05.040 why I have because maybe I've gotten jaded. I'm just like, 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:09.600 read your Bible. But the truth is, Teddy, it took 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:13.560 me forty years of dabbling in the Bible forty years 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.680 before I really understood it and heard it. Yeah, so 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.120 Bernie was the first thing he said was it doesn't 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.040 always happen quickly. Well, I'm an answer. It took me 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:28.400 four decades. Here's the deal. This is what Bernie and 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:32.760 I both believe. The cause irresistible. So if you have 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:37.080 this feeling like I need to submit myself to Christ, 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:40.360 I don't know how I need to hear God's voice. 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.400 I don't know how. If those are sincere questions you're asking, 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:50.560 you will find it. Knock and the door will be opened. 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.800 I promise you seek and you will find is real. 0:16:55.480 --> 0:17:00.280 And if that is a sincere feeling in you, it's 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.320 going to manifest itself. It might take forty years, but 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:06.959 it's not going to go away. That nagging will not 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.879 go away Like a tiny pebble in your shoe. Eventually, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.080 you got to take off the shoe and dig in 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:15.680 the sock and find that rascal pebble, and you will. 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.879 But that if that's if that question is sincere, you 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:23.119 will find both of your answers somewhere in Bernie's answer. 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.240 Let's set another one here, all right, So we rocking 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:34.760 through these. Next one understanding differences amongst churches. Ooh, I 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.640 like that question too. Hey you. My name is Danny. 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:39.720 I'm twenty three. I grew up in church, going every 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.879 single week with my parents, and I've been living on 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.760 my own for about five years since I left for college. 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:49.960 My church attendance has been inconsistent because I've always wondered 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.800 why are there so many different denominations of Christianity and 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:57.400 disagreeances among churches. If I type in Google, what does 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.880 the Bible say about blank, teenagers, alcohol and marijuana, use, 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.520 specific secular music, music artists, et cetera. I find one 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.359 pastor's blog that says it's totally fine and another that 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:14.800 says the opposite. And similarly, one local church might teach 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.880 that it's fine, then the church a mile away says otherwise. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.040 So how do I know what to believe when people 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:25.439 say different things about topics the Bible never explicitly addresses. 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:29.560 Found your podcast and many others on TikTok, and it 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.560 keeps me going. I listen consistently. I've been listening for 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.159 about a year now. Thanks for what you do, Danny. Danny, 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:39.800 great question. I love I love this question because it's 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:45.200 just so logical. It's just like, yeah, from the outside 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:49.040 looking in, Why the world are there so many denominations? 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:53.080 Why does it seem like Christians are such hypocrites and disagree? 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:55.600 Why does it why are there so many translations of 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:57.760 the Bible and people act like one is right and 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.720 the other's wrong. And then they're supposed to stand together 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.480 and say Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the life, 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.040 but they don't even agree on how you get to 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:09.600 Jesus or how to please Jesus. Like why why is 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.600 there a church on every street corner in Tennessee? It 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.080 seems like, you know, and the Bible belt and they 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:19.520 all teach something different. Great question that is that is 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:26.280 like just just very upfront, obvious, you know, pragmatic questions. 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:28.679 So I appreciate it coming in, and I feel like 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:31.600 me and Bernie can give you a pretty solid answer. 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:39.840 I'll start with this. There's there's three ways. There's three 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:48.560 divisions categories of beliefs in Christianity. Let me try to 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:55.400 explain this better. The first category is things that Christians 0:19:55.440 --> 0:19:59.479 believe that are essential to Christianity. It can't be you 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:03.679 cannot get out of that category. You cannot disagree with 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:08.159 any of it, or you are not a Christian. The 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:12.640 second category is what makes churches different from each other, 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:15.359 but they may or may not be essential at all 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:18.480 to being a Christian. And then the third category is 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:21.760 I'm going down the list of light of heavy to light. 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:26.040 Then the lightest category is things that are freely and 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:30.960 almost encouraged to disagree about as Christians. But it has 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:35.600 nothing to do with being a Christian itself. So let's 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.320 start with that category. The things that are Christians are 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:46.000 free to disagree about. Pews are chairs, music, drums are 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:56.280 no drums, drinking alcohol casually or not or nothing. Then 0:20:56.359 --> 0:21:00.360 let's go to things that separate churches, sprinkling baptism or 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:05.679 total submersion, and you could say pews and chairs. On 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:10.399 that too, you could say the attire that the pastor wears, 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:13.720 like does he wear a suit? Liturgy or yeah, liturgy. 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:19.199 And then there's things that are essential to Christianity and 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:25.040 that is the trinity, that is Jesus is the only 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:29.320 way for salvation. And I'm just naming a few in 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:33.800 each category. There's many, but you have to understand first 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:36.480 of all, why there's many churches. Well, ultimately that's because 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:40.720 there's many personalities of people's There's certain people that like 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:44.440 to worship in certain ways, and so so there's different 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.440 churches that give give them that kind of opportunity and 0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:50.359 doesn't make that church right or wrong. Kind of like 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:52.240 you're saying, you're kind of thinking that that means the 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:55.359 church is either right or wrong. It's not. Let's actually 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:59.480 dive into what you're saying here, specifically alcohol and marijuana use. 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:02.560 You find one pastor says it's fine and another one 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:07.280 says the opposite. Well, that's something that's that's drinking alcohol 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:12.720 is if you're having a casual drink, you're having a 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:16.160 glass of wine at a wedding or a birthday. There's 0:22:16.200 --> 0:22:20.359 nothing wrong with that. It's getting drunk. And when you 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:25.040 get getting drunk and numbing your mind, which is also 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:30.399 what marijuana does, is unanimously wrong in the Bible. And 0:22:30.480 --> 0:22:33.040 so we're gonna use the Bible. This is kind of 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:36.800 an over overarching answer. We're gonna use the Bible as 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:41.040 the main source of what all the churches should do. 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.000 And we believe that the Bible says how to build 0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:45.800 a church and what to do in a church, and 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:48.359 what to believe and what to say. We believe that 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:51.560 the Bible itself says and does all of that. So 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:54.440 as long as a church is living by the Bible, 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:59.639 for the Bible, through the Bible, with the Bible taught 0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:03.480 by the Bible, then then that church cannot be wrong. 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:06.959 Now you said also, and the last thing I'll say, 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:10.800 I'm gonna hand it to Bernie. You said, what about 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:17.280 different topics that the Bible explicit never explicitly explicitly addresses. Okay, 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:20.320 so that's another logical question. So that's when it goes 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:23.959 into the things where you like marijuana. My Bible never 0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:27.720 says marijuana. Okay. I've heard people say that, but it 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:33.400 does say to say sober minded. So that's gonna that's 0:23:33.400 --> 0:23:37.360 gonna contradict that that's not gonna be sober minded if 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:41.359 you're smoking marijuana. Okay. So that's an easy one. Ones 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:49.160 that are more difficult sprinkling or total submersion baptism. Okay, 0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:52.320 Well that's it. That's a healthy discussion that I think 0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:55.199 leads people back to the Bible, which is good. I 0:23:55.200 --> 0:23:57.399 was just reading the other day, Ezekiel. I believe it's 0:23:57.440 --> 0:24:00.560 thirty six where it talks about sprinkling clean with the 0:24:00.600 --> 0:24:02.840 water and I read that and I'm like, Ah, that's 0:24:02.840 --> 0:24:06.000 where the Princebyteria to get that. And then you could 0:24:06.240 --> 0:24:08.960 the Book of Acts. They're dunking people, you know, so 0:24:09.000 --> 0:24:11.720 it's like, oh, that's where the Baptist get that. So 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:15.160 it to that kind of stuff is not dependent on salvation, 0:24:15.280 --> 0:24:19.160 and it ultimately leads people back to the Bible itself. 0:24:19.480 --> 0:24:23.399 Taking communions another one? Am I going too far? What 0:24:23.480 --> 0:24:27.760 Danny asked? What? No? I think you're a lot of 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:34.680 good points. This is Danny. I think Danny, my answer 0:24:35.080 --> 0:24:40.399 to this is probably a little different than Grangers. I 0:24:41.520 --> 0:24:46.479