Speaker 1: Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. If you have
Speaker 1: a question for me, email podcast at grangersmith dot com.
Speaker 1: That's what we do here. I answer your questions. Could
Speaker 1: be about anything. We've done this for a few years
Speaker 1: now and they have the questions have been all over
Speaker 1: the map. I'm gonna get right to it. The first
Speaker 1: question comes from Rachel once again, if you want to
Speaker 1: email me podcast at grangersmith dot com. And this one
Speaker 1: I'm gonna lead off with I have not done much.
Speaker 1: I haven't seen these at all, so we're going in
Speaker 1: blind and I think I like it better this way.
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm getting into. Rachel says, Hey Granger,
Speaker 1: my name is Rachel from Alabama. First, I wanted to
Speaker 1: encourage you and thank you for sharing the wisdom that
Speaker 1: God has given you. I grew up in church and
Speaker 1: in Christian school, yet your podcast still teaches me a lot.
Speaker 1: I often use what I've learned from you to answer
Speaker 1: tough questions from children, for from my children.
Speaker 2: Et cetera.
Speaker 1: My question is this, My three year old daughter has
Speaker 1: a severe speech and language delay that affects both her
Speaker 1: understanding of spoken words and her speech. My father in law,
Speaker 1: like many people in charismatic Christianity circles. He believes that
Speaker 1: with enough faith, she.
Speaker 2: Will be healed.
Speaker 1: He recently told me she will be healed of her
Speaker 1: language disorder. I am believing in her full healing, and
Speaker 1: I am praying full healing over her. Whether it's today, tomorrow,
Speaker 1: or two years from now, God will heal her. I
Speaker 1: told him that I pray for her healing too. But
Speaker 1: my faith means that I trust in God's sovereignty in
Speaker 1: her life, regardless of whether her healing is here on
Speaker 1: earth or in heaven. Whether or not she ever communicates normally,
Speaker 1: will be part of God's perfect plan. Is there anything
Speaker 1: else you could add to my response to help me
Speaker 1: better understand?
Speaker 2: Next time?
Speaker 1: Hey, Rachel, great question, and I think your head is
Speaker 1: is right where mine is on this. And this is
Speaker 1: the tough issue that you have to really you have
Speaker 1: to tread lightly, is it Grandpa? Did you say Grandpa
Speaker 1: my father in law? Okay, you have to tread lightly
Speaker 1: with father in law.
Speaker 2: And you really have to.
Speaker 1: You have to act with patience and understanding and love,
Speaker 1: and most importantly you need to go to him with
Speaker 1: Bible and stand firm in what you believe because it
Speaker 1: could get messy. Now, this kind of this kind of thinking,
Speaker 1: this specific kind of charismatic movement is only one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty ish years old, one hundred and fifteen years old,
Speaker 1: and there is See now I'm treading lightly because there's
Speaker 1: a lot of charismatics that listen to the show.
Speaker 2: We needed.
Speaker 1: First of all, we need to say God a sovereign
Speaker 1: and God heals who he heals. There's no there's no
Speaker 1: holding back healing. God can and will and does heal
Speaker 1: completely fully right. We understand that he does as he pleases.
Speaker 1: The Psalms say he is sovereign over all life. He
Speaker 1: knows every hair on your head, He knows all of
Speaker 1: our days are numbered. He knows everything.
Speaker 2: I like.
Speaker 1: I always my brain always likes to go here. So interesting.
Speaker 1: Second King's thirteen fourteen, and this is the story of Elishah.
Speaker 1: He came after Elijah the prophet, and elisha is in
Speaker 1: fact even more powerful than Elijah was than Elijah was
Speaker 1: in his prophecies, in his mighty acts.
Speaker 2: That the Lord worked through him.
Speaker 1: He brought a kid back from death, he healed leprosy,
Speaker 1: he changed the the toxicity of the Jordan river. He
Speaker 1: did all kinds of crazy things, I think probably the
Speaker 1: craziest would be be bringing a child back from death
Speaker 1: to life. Okay, the Lord did that through Elisha. But
Speaker 1: listen to this Second King's thirteen fourteenth so interesting. It
Speaker 1: says this, Now, when Elisha had fallen sick with the
Speaker 1: illness of which he was to die, joe Ash, King
Speaker 1: of Israel, went down to him and wept before him, crying.
Speaker 2: My father, my father.
Speaker 1: If you think about that for a second, Elisha falls
Speaker 1: sick with the illness, it says, of which he was
Speaker 1: to die. Elishah, the one that literally brought back a
Speaker 1: child from death to life, who healed things like leprosy,
Speaker 1: who did all these crazy wonders that the Lord did
Speaker 1: through him? One day he gets sick of the illness
Speaker 1: of which he was to die. God has a time
Speaker 1: and a season for everything there is there is. Sometimes
Speaker 1: healing is for healing, excuse me. Sometimes illness is for healing,
Speaker 1: and sometimes illness is for homecoming. In this case in
Speaker 1: Second Kings thirteen fourteen, Elisha's illness is for homecoming, and
Speaker 1: the Lord gives him this illness, and he stays in
Speaker 1: this illness, and he dies of this illness. The man
Speaker 1: who literally healed others dies.
Speaker 2: Of a sickness.
Speaker 1: What do you say to that? Would what would Joe ask,
Speaker 1: the King of Israel say when he went down weeping
Speaker 1: before him, crying, my father, my father. What would he say?
Speaker 1: Would you say, if I have enough faith, Elisha, if
Speaker 1: I just I believe the Lord will heal you. I
Speaker 1: know he will, and I just I need to have
Speaker 1: more faith. So Elisha, you you're healed. What would Elisha
Speaker 1: say to that? He said, my Lord is sovereign. This
Speaker 1: is my time.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Of course we don't know our time, none of us do.
Speaker 1: I probably should go straight. Also to second Corinthians twelve,
Speaker 1: very famous story the apostle Paul, who many of our
Speaker 1: church fathers call just call him the apostle, like whenever
Speaker 1: you hear the word the apostle, we're talking about Paul here.
Speaker 1: That's how great he was in church history. When it
Speaker 1: comes to the apostles. He was the apostle of the apostles.
Speaker 1: Paul says this Second Corinthians twelve seven. So he first
Speaker 1: of all, he lays out this grand story of how
Speaker 1: Paul literally saw heaven. The Lord reveals to him heaven,
Speaker 1: and after he reveals, after Paul says, which he rightly explains, Hey,
Speaker 1: I can't even tell you how incredible this place, and
Speaker 1: I'm not even going to try after that, he says,
Speaker 1: So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the
Speaker 1: surpassing greatness of the revelations that he just said about heaven,
Speaker 1: a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger
Speaker 1: of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
Speaker 1: The Lord gave him a thorn. The Lord gave him.
Speaker 1: God gave Paul a messenger of Satan to harass him,
Speaker 1: to keep him from becoming conceited. And then look, he says.
Speaker 1: Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that
Speaker 1: it should leave me, But he said to me, God,
Speaker 1: God said to me, my grace is sufficient for you.
Speaker 1: My power is made perfect in weakness. Then Paul says,
Speaker 1: therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,
Speaker 1: so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Speaker 1: It's crazy, right, the Lord God gave Paul a thorn.
Speaker 1: We don't know what that analogy necessarily means. The thorn
Speaker 1: a messenger of Satan, So it's it's evil in a
Speaker 1: way to harass him. To keep him in check. Hey,
Speaker 1: just in case you're starting to get conceited, Paul, In
Speaker 1: case you I gave you these beautiful revelations of heaven
Speaker 1: that no one else gets. In case you take these
Speaker 1: revelations and think you're better than anyone, I'm gonna harass you.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna send a messenger from hell to harass you,
Speaker 1: to keep you in check. And Paul says, please, please
Speaker 1: just take this away from me. Tells him he asked
Speaker 1: him three times, probably more, but he writes here, three
Speaker 1: times I pleaded. I pleaded with the Lord that it
Speaker 1: should leave me. But Jesus says, no, you're stuck with it.
Speaker 1: My grace is sufficient for you, my powers made perfect
Speaker 1: and weakness so to that. So then we wrap around
Speaker 1: back to the father and laways say, hey, what would
Speaker 1: father in law say to Paul? Would he say, I
Speaker 1: have full confidence that you will be healed of this
Speaker 1: messenger of Satan to harass you. Paul, You just gotta
Speaker 1: have great faith. Paul. No, No, that's that's ridiculous. We see,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna continue to see. What I want you to
Speaker 1: do is use Bible instead of opinion.
Speaker 2: Use Bible. Bible.
Speaker 1: Bible we have to know who God is. We have
Speaker 1: to know who He is as revealed as He has
Speaker 1: revealed himself in the Bible. And that way we get
Speaker 1: the opinion. Granger's opinion doesn't matter anymore. Your opinion, Rachel,
Speaker 1: doesn't matter anymore. Hebrews two three. How shall we escape
Speaker 1: if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared
Speaker 1: a first by the Lord, and it was attested to
Speaker 1: us by those who heard. While God also bore witnesses
Speaker 1: by signs and wonders, in various miracles, and by gifts
Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. That's
Speaker 1: how it happened in the beginning when the when the
Speaker 1: early Church was established, signs and wonders were used.
Speaker 2: That's what that was.
Speaker 1: The spark, that was the the early Ember, the spark
Speaker 1: that lit the flame of the early Church, and it
Speaker 1: spread quickly. But then we quickly notice also as the
Speaker 1: Book of Acts moves on, we see that it moves
Speaker 1: from signs and wonders into faith in Christ. Hebrews one
Speaker 1: one to two says, long ago, at many times and
Speaker 1: in many ways, God spoke to us by the prophets.
Speaker 1: But in the last days he has spoken to us
Speaker 1: by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things.
Speaker 1: Through him also he created the world. There are no
Speaker 1: no no more modern day prophets. There are no no
Speaker 1: more signs and wonders that are used to advance the church.
Speaker 1: Now God has spoken through the on through Jesus. How
Speaker 1: do I know this because two Timothy three sixteen all
Speaker 1: scriptures breed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
Speaker 1: for correction, and for training and righteousness, that the Man
Speaker 1: of God may be complete equipped for every good work.
Speaker 1: Now we have the scripture, we have Jesus through his word,
Speaker 1: and we have the Holy Spirit to convict us through
Speaker 1: the word of Jesus. So we have Jesus through his living,
Speaker 1: breathing word, and that is completely sufficient. And then we
Speaker 1: have to be warned also because Jesus says himself, false Christ,
Speaker 1: false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders
Speaker 1: as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect Jesus says.
Speaker 1: Paul writes, and second Thessalonians too, the coming of the
Speaker 1: lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all
Speaker 1: powers and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked
Speaker 1: deception for those who are perishing because they refused to
Speaker 1: love the truth, and so be saved. And then Paul
Speaker 1: says again at tewond Corinthians five, before we walk by faith,
Speaker 1: not by sight, Jesus himself says, and John twenty, have
Speaker 1: you believed because you've seen me? Blessed are those.
Speaker 2: Who have not seen and yet believe. We move more
Speaker 2: and more to faith. So what do you say? What
Speaker 2: do you say to? What do you say to?
Speaker 1: Father in law? You tread lightly, lovingly. I think we
Speaker 1: always pray for healing. Of course you do. Of course
Speaker 1: you pray for healing for your daughter, you say, Father
Speaker 1: in light, I pray too that she'll be healed. And
Speaker 1: I know that she will be. But you said it right,
Speaker 1: But maybe not here on this earth, but she'll be
Speaker 1: ultimately redeemed in heaven. This life is fleeting, this life
Speaker 1: has a vapor, it's short, it's quick, and whatever God
Speaker 1: is using this, this disorder for, it's for his glory.
Speaker 1: We see that in the Gospels as well. Jesus says
Speaker 1: the same thing. The disciples say, hey, why why this sickness?
Speaker 1: And Jesus says, for for the God's for God's glory.
Speaker 1: We have to always remember that. And we get so
Speaker 1: far ahead of ourselves and we start to put the
Speaker 1: we start to put the pressure on us like a
Speaker 1: it's not I'm just not saying the right prayer. I'm
Speaker 1: not I'm not believing enough. And if I just had
Speaker 1: more faith, if I just if I had, you know,
Speaker 1: the faith of a mustard seed, if I could move mountains.
Speaker 1: I just need to grow this faith. If I had
Speaker 1: more and more faith, I could do it. I know
Speaker 1: I could this, this child would be healed of this disorder.
Speaker 1: It's as if God's gone, all right, I've got my
Speaker 1: faith meter on you right now, and I'm trying to
Speaker 1: check you. I'm trying to check your faith meter and you, oh,
Speaker 1: you just kind of sliding back. You need to have
Speaker 1: a little more, and once you get to this certain threshold, boom,
Speaker 1: there is a healing. Good job, you got enough faith
Speaker 1: in you.
Speaker 2: It don't work that way. We don't see that.
Speaker 1: We don't see that. In the way God has revealed
Speaker 1: himself in the full canon, not just the first part
Speaker 1: of Acts, but the full canon of Scripture, we have
Speaker 1: to take everything into in the entire council of his will,
Speaker 1: as he's revealed himself.
Speaker 2: In all sixty six books. We have to do that.
Speaker 1: It's so important. Tread lightley, don't get offensive, use love,
Speaker 1: and use the Bible.
Speaker 2: It's a good question.
Speaker 1: Hey, if you want to get a hold of me,
Speaker 1: go to cameo dot com slash granger Smith. You will
Speaker 1: find me there and from there I could build you
Speaker 1: a video message. I get your notes and what you
Speaker 1: want me to say, like happy birthday, happy anniversary, a
Speaker 1: word of encouragement, congratulations, good job on the graduation, or
Speaker 1: why did you not make graduation? Whatever you want me
Speaker 1: to say. I'll read those notes and I pull out
Speaker 1: my phone and I record a video message and I
Speaker 1: say whatever you need me to say to whoever you
Speaker 1: need me to say it too, and I send it
Speaker 1: right back to you.
Speaker 2: It's super simple.
Speaker 1: It's a great gift for the person that you don't
Speaker 1: know what to buy for. Again, go to Cameo cam
Speaker 1: eo dot com slash Grangersmith.
Speaker 2: Okay, let's move on.
Speaker 1: If you have a question for me, email podcast at
Speaker 1: grangersmith dot com. This next question is from anonymous. It says, Hey, Granger,
Speaker 1: there's this girl at work and I've liked her for
Speaker 1: over a year. She's also my boss's daughter. We make
Speaker 1: eye contact whenever I see her, and she either smiles
Speaker 1: or quickly looks away. She's been with her current boyfriend
Speaker 1: for about nine months and they've been doing long distance,
Speaker 1: and he won't be living here for a year. I've
Speaker 1: been to my boss's house multiple times to help remodel,
Speaker 1: and I've talked to the girl and she's really sweet.
Speaker 1: We're both What do you recommend I do?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 1: Anonymous coming in slide with putting no name on here,
Speaker 1: I get it.
Speaker 2: I get it.
Speaker 1: Okay, there are several approaches to this. I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: with the first one that comes to my mind. You're
Speaker 1: twenty years old, you know. I think that's I put
Speaker 1: you on the older end of the scale of this
Speaker 1: this kind of thing. If you're saying you're seventeen sixteen,
Speaker 1: I'd say this doesn't really matter. But you're you're in
Speaker 1: you're twenty, and you're actually kind of in courting age now,
Speaker 1: you're you're dating age. You're the age that I would
Speaker 1: approve my daughter to actually date. And I want you
Speaker 1: what I want. This is my advice, and I'm not
Speaker 1: always right about these things, but I like to think
Speaker 1: that my advice is coming from an idea that me
Speaker 1: and you are in a cab of a truck. We're
Speaker 1: riding down the road on the way to a job,
Speaker 1: and you asked me this question, and I'm like, bro,
Speaker 1: let's talk about it. We're sitting around a campfire and
Speaker 1: you say, Hey, grangerec I got this question about this girl.
Speaker 2: I've liked for over a year. What would you do? Right?
Speaker 1: So that's the perspective. I'm gonna give you just some
Speaker 1: friend advice. I would say, if you're a man of
Speaker 1: integrity and I want you to be as my friend,
Speaker 1: you're not going to come in reckon this relationship, especially
Speaker 1: since you barely know this girl. You've seen her, you've
Speaker 1: seen her multiple times maybe, and she's really sweet, that's
Speaker 1: about all you know, and she's kind of shy. I say,
Speaker 1: I would maintain that. I would maintain that relationship ship
Speaker 1: that you have right now, which is just cordial.
Speaker 2: You're a gentleman.
Speaker 1: Look you come in and you go, hey, that guy's
Speaker 1: no good for you. I like you, Why don't you
Speaker 1: start dating me. There's a couple of things you're doing there. One,
Speaker 1: you're opening the door for you to wonder if she's
Speaker 1: going to do that to you down the road with
Speaker 1: someone else that approaches her like that. It's kind of
Speaker 1: undermining that she's in a relationship at all. Look when
Speaker 1: Amber and I first met, she was in a relationship
Speaker 1: and she came to me. This is this is where
Speaker 1: it's different. Amber came to me and said, hey, do
Speaker 1: you think there's something between us? But I wouldn't have
Speaker 1: done that.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Call maybe I'm slightly introverted when it comes to that.
Speaker 1: I mean I've always been slightly intimidated by the opposite
Speaker 1: sex anyway. But I wouldn't have gone she had a boyfriend.
Speaker 1: I wasn't going to come in and say, hey, man,
Speaker 1: that guy's no good for you. You need to come
Speaker 1: to me. I'll show you. I'll show you what a
Speaker 1: real man's like. You know that that's not my personality,
Speaker 1: and I don't think it's yours. And I don't think
Speaker 1: I wouldn't advocate for that. If you're my buddy, you're
Speaker 1: my friend. But Amber comes to me and she says, hey,
Speaker 1: do you think there's more between us? And I am
Speaker 1: by saying I don't think it matters what I say.
Speaker 1: I think this is a bigger indication first that you
Speaker 1: shouldn't be dating this guy. Notice I didn't say because
Speaker 1: I'm better or yes, I like you.
Speaker 2: I said I.
Speaker 1: Think this is a greater indication. If you're coming to
Speaker 1: me and saying, is there anything in between us? I
Speaker 1: think this is a greater indication that you probably shouldn't
Speaker 1: be dating that guy. So go talk to that guy,
Speaker 1: come back, and then we could have a real discussion.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's the perfect way to do it,
Speaker 1: but I think there's a there's a threat of integrity
Speaker 1: there where you're you're not saying, yeah, I like you, Hey,
Speaker 1: let's let's get together and go break up with this guy,
Speaker 1: let's let's hook up. I don't think that's what this is.
Speaker 1: I think you play it out. You're twenty years old,
Speaker 1: you're looking for your future wife, Lord willing, and you
Speaker 1: want to play.
Speaker 2: The long game.
Speaker 1: If you're looking for your future wife, you're not looking
Speaker 1: for a quick go at this. You know you're you
Speaker 1: want to do the right thing. You want to play
Speaker 1: the right card, and and that that card is is longevity.
Speaker 1: That's I care about this girl and her heart more
Speaker 1: than I care about me and the quick fix. If
Speaker 1: I like this girl, I want to go on a date, right,
Speaker 1: And so I think in your situation, unless she comes
Speaker 1: to you and says I like you, and then at
Speaker 1: that point I think your answer is then you should
Speaker 1: break up with the guy before you give her your feelings.
Speaker 1: But if she doesn't do that, which she might not,
Speaker 1: then you just stay the course. This is your boss,
Speaker 1: by the way, don't ruin that relationship because this is
Speaker 1: this could easily go south. You go to the girl
Speaker 1: and she says, you're a creepo. What are you talking about?
Speaker 1: I have a boyfriend. And then she goes, Daddy, you're
Speaker 1: the guy that works for you is a creepo. And
Speaker 1: then your boss is looking at you. Weird things are
Speaker 1: things are strange, you're looking for a new job. I mean,
Speaker 1: it could easily go direction. So stay the course. Be
Speaker 1: a gentleman, open doors, don't overstep bounds, don't be caught
Speaker 1: alone with her. If she's carrying something, offered to carry it,
Speaker 1: you know, like standard gentleman things. Be a good worker
Speaker 1: for her dad, I mean. And the more and more
Speaker 1: I answer these questions, the more I think less of
Speaker 1: myself as a teenager or a twenty year old, And
Speaker 1: the more.
Speaker 2: I think of.
Speaker 1: Myself as the dad character in these stories because I
Speaker 1: have a.
Speaker 2: Daughter that's twelve.
Speaker 1: You know, we're eight years away from this scenario potentially,
Speaker 1: and I'm the dad now. So be a good worker
Speaker 1: for this guy. Be a man of integrity, show up early,
Speaker 1: stay late, do the work of a good employee. Do
Speaker 1: things with excellence. That's what I try to tell my kids. Now,
Speaker 1: do it with excellence. If you're gonna hang your shirt
Speaker 1: up on the hanger in your closet, do it with excellence.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I tell Lincoln, how would a Navy field hang
Speaker 1: that shirt up?
Speaker 2: Is it?
Speaker 1: Is it all wrinkled and hanging off the hanger, or
Speaker 1: is it perfectly put on that hanger. Takes two more
Speaker 1: seconds to perfectly put that shirt on that hanger with
Speaker 1: all the wrinkles gone, and space it out in the
Speaker 1: closet so it doesn't look like you just shoved it
Speaker 1: in there. Do that kind of thing for this for
Speaker 1: this guy. That's that your boss create a relationship with
Speaker 1: him so that in the future you're setting up this
Speaker 1: long game. And if the girl breaks up with the guy,
Speaker 1: and if it's if it's meant to be, she will
Speaker 1: If if the lord wills. This is your wife. She
Speaker 1: will break up.
Speaker 2: Got a sovereign.
Speaker 1: They won't work. The guy won't move to hurt your
Speaker 1: town or whatever. But if that happens, you're playing the
Speaker 1: long game, and you're you're building this relationship with the boss.
Speaker 1: And then the girl says, Daddy, I like I like
Speaker 1: this guy, Anonymous. I don't know your names. I can't
Speaker 1: say your name. Daddy, I like this guy. And he says,
Speaker 1: I like this guy too. I absolute lutely approve of this.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's what you want. You don't want
Speaker 1: him to go the lazy guy, the guy that could
Speaker 1: barely carry anything. When I ask him to do anything,
Speaker 1: he never can do it shows up late. No, I
Speaker 1: don't want you with So be the guy that you
Speaker 1: would want the daughter to be attracted to. Think of
Speaker 1: yourself as the father. Be the guy that you want
Speaker 1: your daughter to fall in love with and that you
Speaker 1: approve of. Start there, Play the long game. None of
Speaker 1: this quick fixed stuff. Okay, that's my that's my cabin
Speaker 1: of the truck. Advice next question says s Granger. Have
Speaker 1: been a follow follower of our Lord for a while,
Speaker 1: but for a long time, I've struggled with letting it out.
Speaker 1: I'm working on it, but I call myself a closeted Christian.
Speaker 1: I'm not open about it, and I need to be.
Speaker 1: I keep it hidden away from others, and it's a struggle.
Speaker 2: Again.
Speaker 1: I'm getting better at it. But once it's out and
Speaker 1: I'm around other believers, I let it go and things
Speaker 1: go smoothly. But that brings up my question. How does
Speaker 1: one go about their daily life helping spread the good
Speaker 1: work that the Lord does daily without looking like a
Speaker 1: Bible thumper. I know it could scare people away at times.
Speaker 1: I just want to be able to have small talk
Speaker 1: and bring Jesus into the conversation and let it grow
Speaker 1: from there, but I don't know how to do that
Speaker 1: in a simple manner. I guess that's all for now.
Speaker 1: I look forward to hearing some advice. Thanks for loving
Speaker 1: us all through music in the podcast. Greg from a
Speaker 1: small town just outside of Buffalo, New York. Hey, Greg,
Speaker 1: great question, Thanks for listening, and thanks for the Thanks
Speaker 1: for the email. My first reaction. What I want to
Speaker 1: do first is I want to address the fact that, surprise, surprise,
Speaker 1: Granger is going to say this, The Lord is sovereign
Speaker 1: God is sovereign. He's sovereign even over salvation, and so
Speaker 1: you can't. You don't have the power. I love to
Speaker 1: think about this. You don't have the power to scare someone,
Speaker 1: scare someone away, whether they're a future, they're a believer today,
Speaker 1: or they will be a believer in the future. The
Speaker 1: Lord will draw them to himself. Jesus says, all that
Speaker 1: the Father gives to me will come to me, and
Speaker 1: whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. So
Speaker 1: there's a drawing there, and there's also a coming there.
Speaker 1: We come to him, he says, come to me. And
Speaker 1: he also says, whoever comes to me, I'll never cast out.
Speaker 1: So he misses none. This is the will of my
Speaker 1: Father that I shall lose none of which he gave me. Right,
Speaker 1: he loses none of us. No one will ever perish.
Speaker 1: Jesus says this. He says, my sheep, hear my voice,
Speaker 1: and I know them, and they follow me. I give
Speaker 1: them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no
Speaker 1: one will snatch them out of my hand. So you
Speaker 1: hear this confidence. Jesus speaks of this ceiling of his people.
Speaker 1: He does not lose any of them. He came to
Speaker 1: reconcile sinners, and he doesn't miss any of them. You
Speaker 1: will not scare them away. Greg, There's nothing you could
Speaker 1: do in your life or my life that would scare
Speaker 1: one of his way, because he says, no one will
Speaker 1: snatch them out of my hand. Okay, So there's confidence.
Speaker 1: That's just a breath of fresh air. It's like, Okay,
Speaker 1: thank goodness, I can't mess this up. My other thing
Speaker 1: I want to do is say what's wrong with a
Speaker 1: Bible thumper? I know what you mean. Look, I know
Speaker 1: what you're saying. But at the same time, I go,
Speaker 1: is it a problem to be a Bible thumper? And
Speaker 1: what does that mean? Is that something you don't want
Speaker 1: to be? You don't want to be a Bible thumper
Speaker 1: because there's something about that that's kind of appealing. I
Speaker 1: post every single day on my social media. I have
Speaker 1: millions of followers. That is not a brag. I have
Speaker 1: millions and millions of followers. I post every single day.
Speaker 1: I never skip something from the Bible. Does that make
Speaker 1: me a Bible thumper?
Speaker 2: Maybe?
Speaker 1: Depending on the definition, I'm okay with that. Call me
Speaker 1: a Bible thumper, I'm okay with that. So take those
Speaker 1: two things together. You can't scare someone away. You don't
Speaker 1: have the ability to scare someone away.
Speaker 2: And is it a wrong thing? Is it a bad thing.
Speaker 1: To be called, to be labeled to look like a
Speaker 1: Bible thumper? Okay, all that being said, now, let's kind
Speaker 1: of dig into the question. It's a question of apologetics.
Speaker 2: Really.
Speaker 1: What you're asking is you say, I just want to
Speaker 1: be able to have a simple small talk and bring
Speaker 1: Jesus into the conversation and let it grow from there.
Speaker 1: I think that's a great point. I think it's a
Speaker 1: great approach. And you need entry ways. You need an
Speaker 1: entry point into the conversation. It's like basic conversations starting
Speaker 1: with any topic. It doesn't have to have to be
Speaker 1: about the Gospel. The number one advice with that is
Speaker 1: listen more than you talk. It's hard for me to
Speaker 1: live that out when I'm literally doing a podcast by
Speaker 1: myself in a room right now, I'm the only one talking.
Speaker 1: But I will suggest that you listen. In these conversations
Speaker 1: you're talking about, listen seventy percent of the time and
Speaker 1: talk thirty and then in the thirty percent, you want
Speaker 1: an entry, you want an open door to the gospel.
Speaker 1: And it could be. There's a lot of open doors.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of bridges. Like some of my evangelism
Speaker 1: professors at seminary, you call them bridges, a gospel bridge.
Speaker 1: Here's a very basic gospel bridge. Hey, did you grow
Speaker 1: up at church? Or did you you spiritual at all?
Speaker 1: Did you did you ever go to church as a kid.
Speaker 1: That's just an easy, normal conversation gospel bridge. And you
Speaker 1: know their answer. Depending on their answer, that's the direction
Speaker 1: you go. It's like, no, I've never never thought about religion.
Speaker 1: And you could say, well, do you mind if I
Speaker 1: share mine? And if they say no, you go, okay,
Speaker 1: door closed, you know, gospel bridge gone. Or they say yeah,
Speaker 1: I grew up in church, I'm a Christian, and then
Speaker 1: you can kind of dig a little bit on that.
Speaker 1: But maintaining this listening seventy percent and talking thirty. Another
Speaker 1: gospel bridge is inviting.
Speaker 2: Them to your church. Hey, would you be interested?
Speaker 1: This might be a crazy thought. You're telling this person
Speaker 1: this might be a crazy thought, but would you ever
Speaker 1: be interested in going to church? With me checking it out?
Speaker 1: They can only say no. They might say no, and
Speaker 1: they may say no, and you say, okay, well, if
Speaker 1: you if you ever think about it, let me know,
Speaker 1: and maybe sometimes something happens in their life.
Speaker 2: Mom gets sick.
Speaker 1: And they say, hey, man, remember a couple of years
Speaker 1: ago you asked me if I ever wanted to go
Speaker 1: to church. I mean, mom is sick, and I just
Speaker 1: feeling like I feeling like I'm empty and I need something,
Speaker 1: and I feel like there's more out there, and I
Speaker 1: think I'd like to take you up on that offer
Speaker 1: to go to church.
Speaker 2: You go, okay, how about I pick you up at
Speaker 2: nine thirty Sunday. Boom.
Speaker 1: The Simple Gospel Bridge is another gospel bridge, and a
Speaker 1: lot of people don't like this one. But you could
Speaker 1: have tracks, little tracks. Have you ever thought about that?
Speaker 1: T R a c T tracks, little just simple gospel
Speaker 1: messages that you could you could have in your pocket
Speaker 1: ready to go. If someone goes I don't never heard
Speaker 1: about the gospel, you can go, well, hey, read this.
Speaker 1: It's like four or five six pages, very short, very simple.
Speaker 1: Read it, give me a shout, give me a call,
Speaker 1: here's my number. That way, you don't have to be
Speaker 1: caught in the moment going through, you know, walking through
Speaker 1: the gospel and being what you think is a Bible thumper.
Speaker 2: You don't.
Speaker 1: You could just maintain listening more, talking less, and at
Speaker 1: the very end of the conversation you go, hey, I've
Speaker 1: got something in my pocket here, Hey, just check this
Speaker 1: out and if not, throw it away.
Speaker 2: But it's there for you. And then you trust that the.
Speaker 1: Lord will draw him it's his own to himself. All
Speaker 1: that the Father gives me will come to me, and
Speaker 1: whoever comes to me, I'll never cast out. So you
Speaker 1: trust that God is drawing his people to himself. In
Speaker 1: our job is to go out and tell the good news,
Speaker 1: to tell people about the Kingdom of God, to tell
Speaker 1: him what Jesus has done for us, what God has
Speaker 1: done for us through Jesus his son, and how he's
Speaker 1: reconciling his people to himself, and how he did it
Speaker 1: through the cross by becoming the substitute for our sin,
Speaker 1: so that we can be forgiven for being lawbreakers of God.
Speaker 1: We can be forgiven of that through the blood of
Speaker 1: Christ on the cross. And then he says, come to me,
Speaker 1: all you were weary and burdened, and I will never
Speaker 1: cast you out. You could you could say, just like that,
Speaker 1: if you maintain all of that, and you kind of
Speaker 1: balance all that as you're as you're walking through these conversations,
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna.
Speaker 2: Do just fine.
Speaker 1: And there's a there is a there's a matter of
Speaker 1: practice that makes you more comfortable the more you do it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so let's move on hereel read Rachel. Kevin Ken says, hey, grandear,
Speaker 1: my name's Kevin. I work in corrections. I've noticed that
Speaker 1: it's taking a toll on me. I see that most
Speaker 1: people will never I see things that most people will
Speaker 1: never comprehend, and it's hard. I have to yell at
Speaker 1: grown men all day. When I come home, my kids
Speaker 1: will start arguing over a toy, and I catch myself
Speaker 1: going to that place where I have to get up
Speaker 1: and let me start this over. When I come home,
Speaker 1: my kids will start arguing over a toy, and I
Speaker 1: catch myself going to that place where I have to
Speaker 1: get up and resolve it so quick that no one
Speaker 1: gets stabbed, like I'm in prison. I don't want it
Speaker 1: to be this way. My kids deserve better. Everywhere I
Speaker 1: go Now my head is on a swivel. I've lost
Speaker 1: comfortability in my life, and any tips from you are appreciated.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. God bless ps. If you say
Speaker 1: hi to my son, Arn, he los his mind, So
Speaker 1: what's up Arn? Okay, Kevin, I appreciate the question, buddy.
Speaker 1: This is this is tough because if you and I
Speaker 1: are having this friendly conversation around the campfire, I'm saying
Speaker 1: I'm saying, First of all, Kevin, you say you see
Speaker 1: things that most people will never comprehend, and that's going
Speaker 1: to include me, right, because I'm most people. I've never
Speaker 1: worked in corrections. I don't have to yell at grown
Speaker 1: men all day to make sure somebody doesn't get stabbed.
Speaker 2: That's I can't.
Speaker 1: Relate to that. But I could say this. When you
Speaker 1: make your priorities in life, when you decide this and
Speaker 1: it sounds like you have and you say this, my
Speaker 1: kids deserve better, I'm not comfortable anymore. I don't want
Speaker 1: it to be this way. My head is on a swivel.
Speaker 1: This is what these are things you're saying, and you've
Speaker 1: made a priority, that your kids are that important to you,
Speaker 1: that raising your kids is this big a priority. Then
Speaker 1: when you get to point, Kevin, when you go, I
Speaker 1: think it's time for a new career. It's probably not
Speaker 1: the answer you're wanting from me, but that's what I'm seeing.
Speaker 1: Is from from the outside looking in. I'm going, Kevin,
Speaker 1: what is holding you to this job? I get the
Speaker 1: security of it. I get that you're good at it.
Speaker 1: I get you've probably done this for a while. I
Speaker 1: get that you're super qualified. I get that it's scary
Speaker 1: to think about a new job, to think about moving on,
Speaker 1: and you've got people to support, you got bills to pay.
Speaker 1: But at what cost all that? I just said, at
Speaker 1: what cost do you hang on to this when you're
Speaker 1: losing your mind, Your head is on a swivel, your
Speaker 1: kids start arguing over a toy, and you feel like
Speaker 1: you're a corrections officer, You feel g you're not comfortable.
Speaker 1: You know that your kids deserve better, and you don't
Speaker 1: want it to be this way, And all that at
Speaker 1: the cost of you saying are at the price of
Speaker 1: you saying, man, this is job security? They got good
Speaker 1: health insurance, Granger, Where else am I going to go?
Speaker 2: Grande?
Speaker 1: Right, I've built my life around this prison. We live
Speaker 1: right on the street from it. What am I going
Speaker 1: to do? It's a heavy cost, brother, I say. If
Speaker 1: your priority is your kids and your mental health and
Speaker 1: you're losing your mind over it, brother, I say it's
Speaker 1: time to start looking for a new job. And there's
Speaker 1: no regret about this. There's no wasted time over it.
Speaker 2: Now you know.
Speaker 1: Now, you know better, and you've got to You probably
Speaker 1: have a pretty good resume because you aren't gonna put
Speaker 1: up with anything at any kind of other job, and
Speaker 1: a new boss will know that. I think, I think
Speaker 1: you have a good shot at working at a place
Speaker 1: where you gain your mental health back, you gain your
Speaker 1: ability to sit with your kids and not struggle over
Speaker 1: things that you've seen, things that other people can't comprehend.
Speaker 1: I think I think it's time to start seriously thinking
Speaker 1: about a new job. That's where I would go. Man's
Speaker 1: that's where I would go if you an hour are
Speaker 1: having this conversation in the cab of a truck. I
Speaker 1: appreciate all y'all for emailing once again. It's podcast at
Speaker 1: grangersmith dot com and I love y'all. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next Monday. Thanks for joining me on the Grangersmith podcast.
Speaker 1: I appreciate all of you guys. You could help me
Speaker 1: out by rating this podcast on iTunes. If you're on YouTube,
Speaker 1: subscribe to this channel, hit that little like button and
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Speaker 1: a video.
Speaker 2: Yigi