WEBVTT - How Do You Hold Fellow Believers Accountable? 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:14.080 If you're a human, you qualify you're a hypocrite. What's up, everybody, 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:16.599 Welcome back to the podcast. Thanks for being here. My 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.200 name is Granger and this is episode two twenty four. 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.200 If you've been here for a long time and you've 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:26.520 seen this podcast evolve over the years, welcome back. If 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:28.680 you're brand new, I'm glad you made it. What we 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:30.920 do here is we answer your questions. You could email 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:34.920 me podcast at grangersmith dot com. Just walk through it casual, 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:37.920 like we're sitting at dinner, like we're sitting around a campfire, 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.520 like we're riding in a truck. You asked me a question, 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:42.680 I don't have any notes in front of me, and 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:45.479 we just kind of walk through it like two friends. 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.879 First question here comes from Katie says, Hey, Granger, I've 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:53.560 loved your book and gained so much wisdom and perspective 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.760 from reading it. I'm reaching out because, similar to y'all, 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:02.240 we've had challenges conceiving. We're so grateful to have two beautiful, 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.920 healthy daughters who were conceived easily. We always wanted a 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:09.160 third child, but it has not been possible, even with 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:14.200 initial interventions. I U I. We are now faced with 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:18.560 the choice of moving into IVF or making peace without 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.000 a third child. I'm really struggling with this decision and 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:24.759 feel as if a third child is not God's will 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:28.800 for us. Therefore, if we pursue IVF, are we going 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.840 against God's will. It's this all a lesson to be 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.000 grateful for the incredible gifts we've already been given versus 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.520 wanting more. I would love your perspective in how to 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:42.440 think about and pray about this big decision. I've loved 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.000 watching your story unfold in the past year, and it's 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.000 so inspiring to see you embrace your god giving purpose. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.600 Thank you, Katie Hey, Katie Hey, thanks for your question. 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:54.680 Thanks for emailing. It's a great one. I love the 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:56.760 way you're thinking through these things. And partly what I 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:01.160 do on this podcast is is not to tell people 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.960 I'm right. That's not my goal. My goal is to 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:11.920 to help people think through a logical question with a 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:16.040 biblical worldview. Really, like, if that was a subtitle, this 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:20.840 podcast would be helping people like you think through common 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:24.680 problems with a biblical worldview, right, And it's so it's not. 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:29.000 It's not helping you get the answer right. There's a 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:33.120 difference between helping you get the answer and just helping 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.480 you with the starting point of thinking through it. That's 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.560 all that I hope to provide. I hope to be 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:44.280 that kind of encouragement because otherwise I'm not always right. 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:45.880 You know, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna sit here 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.200 and tell you here's the right answer, but I gonna 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:50.160 tell you I could tell you here's how we should 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.080 be thinking about this. So first of all, I don't 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:58.160 I don't want to over spiritualize anything in life. If 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.800 you've heard me before, I think think we should always 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:06.640 have caution in over spiritualizing, meaning I don't want to 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.320 look at this and go God is trying to tell 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.680 me an answer about a third child. He's sending me 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:14.919 a message in a bottle. But I'm not quite sure 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.959 how to how to decipher this foreign language that God 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:23.960 has now sent me. It's like, no, he didn't send 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:27.400 you a magic language that you need to decipher that 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.720 came through the clouds or the bottle in the ocean, 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.840 or there's like billboards and you're seeing certain letters and 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:37.080 if you add up the letters, subtract them with the 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:40.160 dream that you had last night, plus your husband just 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:43.200 now had a revelation at work from his boss who 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.240 says his favorite movie is this. And if you take 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.600 that title and the middle word in that title is this, 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.400 and guess how long the movie is. It's one hour 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.640 and twenty one minutes long. All this comes together and 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.760 says God is trying to tell us. It's like, come on, y'all. 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:01.920 I mean, let's not do this. It's not biblical. And 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.640 then it's just not logical. It's not rational. Do you 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:09.800 think God Creator would give you some kind of morse 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:12.760 code that you need to set out and decipher like 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.280 you're living in the movie National Treasure. No, it's just so, 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.880 that's what I mean. I overdid that whole thing. But 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.000 I just don't want us to overspiritualize, because then that 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.920 is just not Christianity. God is a God who speaks, 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:32.200 and he's a God who speaks clearly and definitively, and 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:35.719 he speaks through his son and his ever living, breathing 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.920 Word of God. The Bible right in the beginning he 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:42.200 spoke through the prophets, and in the last days he 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.200 spoke through the Sun. That's what the Bible says, the 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:50.520 son Jesus. So we know what God's intentions are through 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:54.479 reading the Bible, and we can't make that too complicated. 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:59.680 So with all I said, what I just said, let's 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:03.760 take that and then pour that on top of this question. Right, 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:11.000 Your question is there's a couple of them. Are we 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.880 going against God's will to pursue IVF. Let's start with 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:18.240 that one. You said, we're now faced with the choice 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:21.880 moving into IVF or making peace without a third child. 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.400 In fact, let's start there, because that's not your final option. 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:29.159 That's not where the book closes. Because you've said you've 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:33.159 said nothing about adoption, And I think adoption is a 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.960 beautiful thing. In fact, I think it's something that all 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:40.680 of us should consider. I think it's a calling that 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:44.560 all of us should be praying through and praying for. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.599 Don't close the door to all the children in your 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:53.520 family just because it's not biologically possible. We should always 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.320 be praying and thinking and asking, saying, God, if there's 0:05:56.360 --> 0:06:00.760 another baby in this world that needs our house. Lord, 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.680 opened my heart to that, open my eyes to that. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.960 I am your servant on this or that's all I am. Lord. 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.400 Let me be your servant. Let me be available to 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:14.080 you God, to serve you to your needs. If there 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:19.159 is another baby out there, we'll take it right. I 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:21.680 want that to be part of this discussion. I want 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.080 that to be part of your question, and I hope 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:25.479 that it is, and that's why I said it that way. 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:28.680 So then we move on to the second part of 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:33.760 the question. If we pursue IVF, are we going against 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:37.640 God's will? That's a complicated question from a dad who's 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.719 been through IVF. The decision that Amber and I made 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.240 according to God's will. Once again, we can understand his 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:49.920 will by reading the Bible, and it's not hard. There 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:54.360 are many dangers and evils in IVF, and part of 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.560 it is. One of the things is the fact that 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:05.360 you have all these embryo leftover ethically, morally, biblically, what 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:10.200 do we do with the extra embryos that are made 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:15.200 Lord willing? That's something you have to wrestle with. Now. 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:21.040 IVF is science. God is science, so that like science, 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.880 does not go against God. He's the creator. He made science, 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:30.640 like science exists because God exists. We can't. We have 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.040 to reconcile that we can't go well, these two things, 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:34.880 this is science and this is God, so they don't 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:40.960 go together. That's absolute garbage. God is science. God created science, 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:46.240 just like he created art in music and mathematics. You know, 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:51.040 he is a creator. He is the great intelligent designer. 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.560 Of course he is science. So so in a way 0:07:54.720 --> 0:08:00.400 God is behind IVF listen, long story. But in my 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.560 book Like a River, the way that this, the way 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.840 I had a better understanding about this idea is in 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:12.480 terms of gardening, right, And Lincoln asked me, he said, Dad, 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.440 does God make all the trees and man makes some 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:20.280 of the trees. And he's thinking, because we plant trees, 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.360 like we go to the nursery, right, and we buy 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.320 a seed, or we buy a tree and we plant it, 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.960 and then there's the wild trees that live in the forest. 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:29.760 And in his mind at the time when he said 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.480 it was like seven years old, six years old. So 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.000 it's like he's thinking, God makes those wild ones in 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:38.840 the forest. But then there's also the ones that man 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.560 makes out of seed. And I had to correct him 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:45.000 in that and say, no, buddy, God makes all the trees. 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:51.400 Sometimes man plants the seed, right, So that's the difference. 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:55.680 God makes all the trees. It's the same thing with babies. 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.679 And through the new technology, the new science of IVF, 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:03.640 God makes all the babies. God ordains all the babies. 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:07.440 There is no baby born without the hand of God 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.439 all over it. And there's no baby that's not born 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.439 without the hand over that from God. God either allows 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.640 it or he doesn't. He ordains it, or he doesn't. 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:21.600 He wills it, or he doesn't, including IVF, including all 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:26.200 of science, because that's who he is. But in the 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:31.400 case of IVF, God makes all the babies. But sometimes 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:35.760 man plants the seed. That's the case with IVF, and 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.160 that's the case with buying a tree at a nursery, 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:42.120 or buying a seed of a vegetable of a tomato 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:46.640 plant at the nursery instead of the wild one grilling. Okay, 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.200 so you have to reconcile that. You have to pray 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:52.960 through that. What are the evils that come with that? 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:55.200 What are the evils? And one of the things is 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:58.040 too many embryos? Are you willing? This is this is 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:00.320 the decision Amber and I had to make. Are we 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:05.040 willing to implant all of the embryos so that none 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:11.199 go to waste, none go to science or another family 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:18.360 or research or the trash. Ambers said, I will take 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:23.240 all of the embryos it just so happens we were 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:28.640 only left in the end with one another, just clear 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:32.040 distinct piece of evidence of God's providence. We were only 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.320 left with one in the end, and it ended up 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:40.080 being our baby, Maverick. Are you willing to reconcile that? 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:48.280 And then the last part of this says, is this 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:52.040 all a lesson to be grateful for the incredible gifts 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:56.000 were already given versus wanting more? Once again, this goes 0:10:56.040 --> 0:11:01.400 back to overspiritualizing a fundamental biblical concept. So you're wondering, 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:09.679 is this God? Is God showing me through this spiritual 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:14.640 story that He's created around me that this is really 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:18.199 all of this really is a setup so that I 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.480 will just be grateful for what I've already been given 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:26.040 instead of wanting more. Maybe that's what God's doing. It's like, 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:32.880 hold up, pause, take a break. Here's where Katie. I'm 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.360 not at all blaming you, but this is where like 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:41.840 strange nominal Christianity starts creeping in the idea. Think about this, 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:45.480 Let me rephrase it for you, let me say it 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:50.920 in another way. God sees all the things that happened 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:58.679 in your life, and sometimes rarely he intervenes with something 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.839 that is supposed to make you grateful for what you've 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:07.160 been given and not wanting more. Or are we always 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:12.360 supposed to understand that reality when we read through the Bible, 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:16.760 when we read through the teachings of the Gospels, do 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:19.480 we not always get that feeling from Jesus that he's 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:25.280 trying to tell us be grateful now, don't worry about tomorrow. 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.559 When we hear the teachings of the apostle Paul, when 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.120 he says I have learned to be content in all situations, 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.440 he said all situations. Not I have learned to be 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:39.760 content because of this one time. God gave me this 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:42.520 scenario that played out, and that all he wanted me 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.800 to see was how to be content. No, he says, 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:50.400 all situations. So that's just a given, Katie, that you 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.560 should be grateful for the gifts that you've already been 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.800 given in versus wanting more all the time. That's the 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.960 essence of being a Christian. So take that as just 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:03.000 a big unbreather, a thought that's difficult to grasp, but 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.160 you have to lean into that, not because of some 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.920 magical situation that's popped into your life. You could use 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:13.920 these situations absolutely but fundamentally that just should always be 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.640 taken in the background. Be grateful for what I have now, 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.520 whether it's fifty children or one child, or if you 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.280 lose the last one you got, be grateful for what 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:26.880 you have, not because of a certain scenario, but because 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.800 that's what you're called to be as a believer. I 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:35.280 think I think I have run this question pretty much 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:39.680 into the ground, and I hope that that's helpful for you, Katie. 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:43.120 I still remember whenever I started grangersmith dot com, whenever 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:48.079 that website was brand new. That was twenty six years ago. 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.199 Can you even believe that it's been so long? And 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.679 I had maybe an online store, I don't know. I 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:58.760 don't know how I possibly sold it anything. I don't 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:01.760 know why anyone would care. But I did have a 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.760 few T shirts and some CDs in my apartment kitchen, 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.560 and then either me or my mom would mail those out. 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:11.839 Sometimes I would say, hey, Mom, there's there's a T 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.360 shirt that sold last week. Now that really that is 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.880 the ancestor of EE dot com. Really, I mean that's 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.840 where EE Apparel started. I know we say that it 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:25.200 was founded in twenty eleven, but really, if you go 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:27.080 back to when I was a country artist. It goes 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.080 all the way back to like two thousand and two. 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.520 I would say that the number one way that we 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:37.200 started managing orders in an efficient way when we started 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:41.800 gaining popularity around the country was with Shopify. Because we 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.320 didn't know coming from those old days, we didn't know 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:48.520 how to sell e commerce and how to take orders 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.160 and how to do that efficiently. But that's where Shopify 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:53.520 came in and changed the game for us. And it's 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:57.160 so easy all because I use Shopify. Shopify is the 0:14:57.200 --> 0:15:00.000 global commerce platform that allows you to sell it every 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.760 stage of your business, from the launch your own online 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.200 shop stage to the first real life store stage, all 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.640 the way till did we just hit a whole bunch 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.200 of orders stage? Shopify is there to help you grow. 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:14.600 It doesn't matter if you're selling outdoor apparel like we do, 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:19.280 or candles or scented soaps, whatever you're selling, Shopify is 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.080 going to help you sell everywhere. From their all in 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.560 one e commerce platform to their in person pos system. 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.760 Wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify has got you covered. 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.240 Shopify helps turn your browsers into buyers with the Internet's 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.840 best converting checkout thirty six percent better on average compared 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.280 to other leading commerce platforms, sell more with less effort 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.960 thanks to Shopify Magic, your AI powered all star. It's 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.680 not just EEE Apparel, and it's not just Grangersmith dot 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.760 com and ee dot com that's been using Shopify and 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.760 sees great results from it so that we could focus 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:56.320 on our creative stuff and not on the techi stuff. No, 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.840 it's not just dus. Shopify powers ten percent of all 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.480 e commerce in the US. It's also in one hundred 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:07.600 and seventy five countries. Shopify's award winning help is there 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.840 to support your success every step of the way. Because 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.200 businesses that grow grow with Shopify. Sign up for a 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.200 one dollar per month trial period at shopify dot com 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:21.520 slash Granger all lowercase. Go to shopify dot com slash 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.960 granger right now to grow your business no matter what 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:29.960 stage you're in Shopify dot Com slash Granger. Next question 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.360 comes from anonymous. It says, Hey, Grainger, I have a 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:36.960 situation I need advice on regarding my church and pastor's son. 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.080 The pastor's son preaches a sermon every now and then. 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.320 I work with him and notice he makes perverted and 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:48.200 cruel jokes as well as racist remarks. I have a 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:52.160 feeling he's a product of raising. I have a feeling 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.400 he's a product of his raising, and that his father, 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.520 the pastor, may be the same way. The son's last sermon, 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.880 he spoke on acting way at church and another way 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.960 at work. He also spoke on how he confronted someone 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.600 we work with about them acting one way at church 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:10.760 and another way at work, and he told the guy 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.760 that he was going to hell. I found that hypocritical, 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.320 and I don't know how to go about it. Do 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.480 you believe I have the right to hold him accountable 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:25.600 for this and bring it to his attention concerning considering 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.680 I'm a part of the church. Also, do you recommend 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.359 visiting new churches or staying at my current church? All right, Anonymous, 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:36.120 thanks for the email. A lot of stuff regarding this 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.680 is serious stuff, and I don't know the whole story, 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:44.479 and I don't know you, which creates a problem for me. 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.880 Since I don't know you, and I wish I did, 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.480 it makes it more difficult for me to step into 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.600 this situation right off the bat boom. First thing we 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:03.560 need to understand is, first of all, there's hypocrites in 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:08.320 the church. You should know that. But there's hypocrites everywhere, 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:12.520 in every business and every organization, and if you're a human, 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:15.760 you qualify you're a hypocrite. The only difference should be 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.399 in the church. The only difference is in the Church, 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:25.000 we know we're hypocrites because we know we're sinners. So 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:27.720 that's the difference in hypocrites in the Church and hypocrites 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.640 in the world. Hypocrites in the Church at least will 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:37.200 admit I'm a hypocrite, and we welcome all hypocrites to 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.600 join us on a Sunday morning. You need to understand too, 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:46.320 that when we judge like this in the Bible, people constantly, 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:50.359 out of context will throw out don't judge, don't judge, 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:52.600 don't judge. But what we need to understand is what 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.520 the Bible's saying when it says don't judge, is don't judge, 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:58.840 or you will be judged by the same measure that 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:03.000 you're judging, which makes judging. It's actually good. It's a 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:09.400 good thing to correct and rebuke from scripture patiently, right 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:14.760 in love. But beware that what you're rebuking, what you're correcting, 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:18.480 what you're judging, needs to be and demands to be 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:22.119 judged and correct and rebuked back by the same measure 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:24.640 to what you're doing. So have you checked yourself? Here's 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:27.680 my point, Anonymous. Have you checked yourself to see if 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:29.560 the speck that you're trying to get out of your 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:33.600 brother's eye is bigger than the log that you have 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.200 in your own eye. So we have to think about 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:39.879 look at yourself first, look in the mirror first, right, 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.919 how you do it, Anonymous? Like, because that's why I hesitate, 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:46.760 because I don't know you. Are you just one of 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:48.720 those people that goes to church And it's like, man, 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.040 that Pastor Son, And I don't like that Pastor Son. 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:53.840 He just does this and that and says this and that, 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:56.040 and he crewed jokes all the time. And I think 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:58.520 it's a product of his raisin. And you know what, 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.919 I think he's probably racist. And you know what, I 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:05.320 just don't. I think I should go somewhere else. And 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.879 And is that you, because there's a lot of that 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:13.879 or if I knew you, this would help, or you 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:17.920 just like sincerely crying for help, and like Granger, Hey, 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:25.160 I've read first and second Timothy, I've read Titus, Hebrews, Acts, 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:27.480 all the places in the Bible that give us the 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:33.719 qualifications for an elder granger. I've gone through these. I 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:35.359 know what it takes to be an elder or a 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:38.520 pastor according to the Bible, not according to my own thoughts. 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:43.720 And this guy's not qualified. And so if that's you, 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:48.120 and you're truly being faithful and sincere about this out 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:54.080 of love, then I say, okay. If you have read first, 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:56.879 second Timothy, Titus, Hebrews Action, and you know all the 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:00.080 qualifications of an elder, and then you go and and 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:02.080 then you sit down and you say, can I have 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:04.600 lunch with your pastor? Or can I grab coffee with 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:09.480 you and tell you some concerns I have? And if 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:14.119 your argument is biblically grounded, not your personal opinion, and 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:19.320 you have evidence with it, then the pastor says, you're wrong. 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:21.720 This is my son. He's awesome, he's amazing, he's gonna preach. 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:26.000 And then you go, yes, sir, I just I would 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:28.320 like to let you know I'm gonna i'd be looking 0:21:28.320 --> 0:21:32.199 for another church. And it's it's this is the concern 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:35.240 I have. And I hope that this is an encouragement 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.760 to you. From what I see. I don't mean to 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:39.960 be a burden on your pastor. But I hope that 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:41.919 this can be an encouragement that what I see in 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:44.919 scripture is not lining up with what I'm hearing on 0:21:44.960 --> 0:21:48.240 a Sunday morning. And if I'm wrong about that, which 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:50.080 I might be because I don't know a lot, But 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:53.119 if I'm wrong about that or about that, then I 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:55.800 hope you can correct me. And I hope that I could. 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:57.960 I could come back and this could be my church home. 0:21:58.000 --> 0:22:00.720 But right now I think I'm gonna be looking around 0:22:00.720 --> 0:22:04.679 for another church. So, Anonymous, I think that that's the 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:07.160 way that you need to go about it, as opposed 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:10.280 to just disappearing no one ever heard from you. Again, 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:12.600 if your church is so big that you don't even 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:14.720 have the ability to sit with your pastor or have 0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:17.520 coffee with him, then that's another problem. Your church is 0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:22.240 too big. The sheep should have access to the shepherd, right, 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:25.359 What else? What else is going on going on in 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:30.720 this question? The the perverted, cruel jokes and racist remarks. 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:34.160 If that's true, you're then you're absolutely right. I don't 0:22:34.160 --> 0:22:38.520 want to sit here and just throw stones and dogpile 0:22:38.600 --> 0:22:40.600 on this thing that I don't know anything about. I 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:43.720 don't know what you're talking about with perverted, cruel, joke, 0:22:43.800 --> 0:22:45.960 racist remarks. I don't know what that means. I don't 0:22:45.960 --> 0:22:48.840 know what you're I don't know where you're coming from, 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:51.639 so I can't I can't pile on that. But if 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:54.000 it's true and that's that really is what's happening, then 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:58.159 then you're absolutely right. The guy's not qualified. According to 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:01.160 first Timothy tewond Timothy Titus, he brief's acts, et cetera, 0:23:01.920 --> 0:23:06.480 then he's not qualified. And the last thing, here's the 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:10.119 last thing I want to say. You briefly mentioned in 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:13.000 this second paragraph here about he spoke in church about 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:15.240 acting one way at work and acting with one way 0:23:15.240 --> 0:23:17.199 at church. I don't know what you're talking about, and 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:19.320 I don't know what he's talking about, but I would 0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:24.520 highly encourage you in everyone listening, to be in a 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:30.680 church that preaches expositionally, meaning the pastor. And I believe 0:23:30.680 --> 0:23:33.240 I've said this previously in other episodes, but I'll say 0:23:33.240 --> 0:23:36.600 it in every episode because it's that important to find 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:41.640 a church where your pastor preaches from the Bible, working 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:46.600 through it with some kind of system where he's working 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:50.240 through a book in the Bible. And this needs to 0:23:50.240 --> 0:23:52.760 be the majority of the teaching that happens at your 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:56.639 church on a Sunday. Now there are exceptions to that, 0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:59.080 and there should be. There should be breaks in between 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:05.359 the books, brief topical messages. I understand that. But the 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:07.480 majority of the teaching that comes from the pulpit on 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:11.399 a Sunday morning at any given church should be expositional. 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:16.720 Meaning the pastor or the preacher is preaching through a book. 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:23.000 In the Bible, verse by verse, the context of the 0:24:23.040 --> 0:24:27.600 original author is the context that the sermon should be. 0:24:28.359 --> 0:24:32.439 So whatever the original author was writing about, whatever his 0:24:32.720 --> 0:24:36.320 point was, that's the point of the pastor on the 0:24:36.400 --> 0:24:40.320 Sunday morning, not the pastor's own point that he's trying 0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:44.680 to use the Bible to support. There's a big difference 0:24:44.680 --> 0:24:48.760 in that there's a fine line that's actually a massive 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:51.480 grand canyon if you don't see it right, Because a 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:55.320 lot of pastors will say, or excuse me, not pastors, 0:24:55.400 --> 0:25:00.119