"The Beauty of Truth w/ John Hammer" S5 Ep3

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Welcome to Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and Christa Smith.

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Join us in this space where we take on real issues

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with real insight and real inspiration.

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This podcast is for those not looking for temporary relief

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to change circumstance,

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but revelation to forever change lives.

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Keep it 100!

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Hey everyone, welcome to another episode

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of Keep It 100 with Sean and Christa Smith.

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Hey, what's going on everybody?

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Hey, we're always honored

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when the Keep It 100 tribe joins us.

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Thanks for taking time out of your day listening.

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We're just really excited with these continued conversations

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as our heart really is to disciple, to inspire,

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to empower you in your walk with God.

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Yes, and we really feel like we've heard so much feedback

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from so many people that they look forward

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to our bi-weekly podcast.

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That this is something that they really feed upon

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and different ones.

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It really blessed us that at the end of the year

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it was their most listened to podcast.

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So excited.

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So please continually just keep the word up for us,

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tell people about it, listen, list people

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to the Keep It 100 tribe.

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We sure appreciate it.

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And we're excited about this episode

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because we're gonna talk about the beauty of truth

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and we all know that truth is a person, is Jesus.

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So we talked about the beauty of truth.

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We're talking about the beauty of Jesus.

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And it's so important.

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But before we get into that,

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Christa and I this past weekend,

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we were up in the Pacific Northwest.

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The first night we flew in on Friday,

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Christa spoke Friday night to women,

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then I spoke Saturday morning to men,

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then I spoke Saturday night at an all church

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kind of encounter service.

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And then Christa spoke Sunday morning

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to the all church Sunday morning,

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but it was really also an encounter.

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So it was a phenomenal time.

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Our great friends up there and it's so cool

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because the pastor, John Hammers on this episode,

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he's gonna, we're gonna introduce him in just a little bit,

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but we're, it was such a powerful time.

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We saw God do so much stuff.

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What was your favorite aspect of the encounter weekend

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up in Everett, Washington?

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You know what, probably two things if I can pull it in.

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You know, I think whenever I get the opportunity

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to be with women and call forth women into their destiny,

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that's always, always, it's an honor, right?

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I preached on Anna.

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I've never preached on Anna before.

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And I felt like God was saying a specific prophetic word

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over the house.

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That's always a privilege to release that.

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But then I'll say there was two other things

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that I just thought were really special.

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Number one, I came in the next morning,

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you were doing the men's and I was having coffee with Noma,

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dear friend of mine who's up there and she was hosting us.

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And we walked in at the end of your session

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and there was such a sweet presence of the Lord.

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I literally felt like crying as soon as I walked

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in the sanctuary.

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There was this beautiful presence of the Lord

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where men were just ministering to one another,

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getting free, encountering Jesus.

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And it was just sweet and deep.

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So I just kind of hung in the back

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and I just basked in the presence of God.

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And it was really beautiful.

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It was just a sweet time in God's presence.

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And then number three, I preached on Sunday morning

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and I just went for it.

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Just release a word,

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call them to a place of revival for the Northwest

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and I really felt God on it.

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And I felt like I saw the church step into a deeper place

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of freedom and breakthrough.

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And so when I see a house and a church go,

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you know what, we're going there.

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Like there was such a hunger and such a intentionality

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about the gathering on Sunday.

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So I know I said three things you asked for one,

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but hopefully I was quick on that.

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But it was just, it was super powerful.

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So there's probably my top three.

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What about you?

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You know, all I have to do is it's kind of a tie.

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And one of them you hit upon is just seeing the men

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surrender themselves to God.

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We talked about purity.

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We talked about appetites and obviously contrasting

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unrighteous appetites from righteous appetites.

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And so these men came in, they were just honest

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and we called men to purity and men got really honest

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and repented of areas.

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And so it was just so honest, just so awesome to see that.

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And then my other highlight was Saturday night,

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we just flow together.

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I always love when we flow together,

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you were prophesying over people,

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I'll get words of knowledge for people

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where we were seeing people just get free,

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people get breakthroughs, people get healed.

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And it's always cool to go back and forth.

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And we always get great compliments

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and obviously all glory to God,

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but just people love the way we flow together.

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And so I never take that for granted.

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I always love that when we get a chance to flow together.

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So those are kind of tied for my top two spots.

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I love that baby.

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I know when I minister with you,

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there is a synergy that we hit that's just different

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than if I'm by myself.

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And I've seen you move powerfully by yourself,

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but it's just, and we can each move with the Lord

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and it's really beautiful,

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but there's something about husband and wife together

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that really is special.

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So that's always such a joy to do that with you.

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I love that.

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I'm excited about this episode.

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Me too.

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We're talking about one of my favorite things

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and it's the beauty of Jesus

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and it's the adoration of his beauty

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and that he's so worthy, right?

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Yes, yes.

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And when you get a glimpse of Jesus

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and you encounter his, the glory and the beauty

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and the splendor of God has a major impact

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on who you are, how you see the world

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and how you see Jesus.

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Yes, and I would even throw in there

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how you influence the world around you.

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True.

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Because it's so important.

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So before we get to the interview

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and conversation with Pastor John Hammer,

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maybe we should just ask a question, why beauty?

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Why are we talking about beauty?

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Why is beauty important to a person's faith?

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So let me throw that out to you.

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Let's just throw out some thoughts.

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Why do you think beauty is important?

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You know, for me, I am a beauty person.

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I always have been always well-been.

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I remember I received a prophetic word.

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It was probably in my late 20s

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and it's probably to date one of my favorite prophetic words

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I've ever received and it was from now a dear friend

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but at the time I didn't know him.

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And he prophesied over me, he says,

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you are a woman of beauty and you bring beauty wherever you go

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and God has designed you that way.

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And I had never realized that my desire for beauty

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and my desire for creation and the world,

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the atmosphere even in my home being beautiful

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actually was a reflection of how God made me to be.

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And it's actually really, really important to me

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because it's how God has made me wired to see beauty

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through him, right?

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So why beauty?

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I think the truth is humanity is moved by beauty.

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Aesthetically, we're moved by beautiful music,

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beautiful paintings, beautiful images.

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You know, that's why I think so many times

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some of those people love great photography

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on social media or a great design.

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Or, you know, that's why fashion is fashion

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because it's more than clothes.

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It's an expression, there's beauty to it.

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It's personality, it's creativity, it's artistry.

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And we love that.

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We respond to beauty because we were created to admire

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and adore beauty, right?

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So instinctually how we're created and God created this

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in his image is to be drawn to beauty.

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And so I think it's a natural, it's not a shallow thing.

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And I think a lot of times in the world, in the church

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we can view it as shallow, but it's actually

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who we're created to be.

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And I think it's interesting that three times in scripture

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it mentions that holiness, which is a primary attribute

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of God, is considered beautiful, right?

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So one of the scriptures, and it says,

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oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

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We also can read Psalm 29, too, Psalm 96, nine,

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you know, reading about the beauty of God,

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which is the holiness of the Lord.

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And we see that the holiness is beautiful.

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And so there's a beauty element to who God is,

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but for us to see him as such, but also the creation

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of the world.

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I mean, you know this about me.

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One of my favorite things is the moon.

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I love the moon.

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I love a good sunset.

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I love a good sunrise, but I really love a good sunset.

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And the sky, and you know, God is the ultimate artist.

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And he is, he's creating masterpieces all around us

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all the time.

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So when we take time to bask in the beauty

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of God's creation, we're basking in the beauty of God.

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And I think there is a natural and eight desire within us

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to adore, but also revel and bask in beauty.

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And it's actually God and it's biblical.

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I love what you're saying.

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You're essentially saying God created us,

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if you will, with a beauty appreciation chip.

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It's in our DNA.

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That aesthetically, I heard you say,

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we are created to be moved by that.

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And that's the reason why we gravitate towards that.

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I love that.

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I would even add on there why beauty is important,

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is that I think really at the end of the day,

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that truth has a hard time making its way

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to the heart of humanity without beauty.

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I think that's why the gospel message, the story,

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and I say the gospel message,

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I'm really just talking about the do's and don'ts.

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I'm talking about God sending his only son,

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dying on a cross, taking the sins,

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resurrecting when you look at Jesus with touch lepers,

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and Jesus with hill blind people,

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and raise this woman's son, widow of names,

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son from the dead.

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I think the reason why the gospel is written,

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the way it is, it's full of beauty.

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And I feel like even as ministers, even as the church,

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we have to make sure that part of the way God designed truth

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to make it into people's hearts is the beauty of it.

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That doesn't mean that we're not talking

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about the demands of the gospel.

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That doesn't mean we don't call people to repentance.

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That doesn't mean that we don't get down

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with the harsh reality of, you know,

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the Bible talks about judgment to come

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and all those things,

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but that we've got to present that aspect

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because we have the greatest story ever told.

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It was actually a movie called the greatest story ever told.

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It's about Jesus.

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And so I think that those things are so important

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because we live in a world that has a beauty deficit

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and we have to acknowledge that we live in the presence

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of not just beautiful stuff in the world,

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but ugly stuff in the world,

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decaying stuff in the world, the crass, the hideous,

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the evil, the stuff that just is repulsive.

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The world is full of disharmony and disintegration.

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And so when we're able to bring out that glory

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in the story, I think another reason why we would say

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that beauty is so important is that beauty

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is what clothes the gospel clothes,

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as in you put on clothes, it clothes the gospel message

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in a way that makes it attractive.

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You know, and honestly, I think if we really understand

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the essence and the biblical truth of beauty

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is we really have not prized his beauty, God's beauty,

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with anything like the fervor it really deserves.

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I mean, if you look at Isaiah six

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and you think about angels going around the throne of God

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and they're declaring it again and again,

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holy, holy, holy, which I established previously,

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that holiness is beautiful, right?

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We read that in Psalms and we read that

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in various portions of scripture.

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And it's like basically the angels are saying,

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beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, are you?

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And if we understand that celestial beings, angels

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are declaring for eternity the beauty of God

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over and over and over, we do not have a full comprehension

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of the beauty of his majesty, the beauty of his glory,

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the beauty of his presence.

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And I think we so compare our earthly examples

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and we project that as to the definition of beauty.

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But we all know what's beautiful here on earth,

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doesn't even come close, doesn't even compare.

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That's man's version and here's the truth,

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much of what's in the world isn't even actually beautiful.

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What the world defines as beautiful

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isn't defined as beautiful in heaven,

294
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it's often defined as vulgar or offensive

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to the things of God, right?

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So the world cannot create the definition of beauty,

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only the beautiful one can create the definition of beautiful.

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I think this is something God has invited us to unpack

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throughout our faith walk with him.

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It's not something we just instantly understand.

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I think it's through our journey in walking and loving

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and worshiping and adoring the King of Kings, the great I am.

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We begin to have a small understanding of the beauty

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and the vastness and the depth of God's beauty.

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Yes, I think that's so true

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because the point you're aiming at is not everything

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on the planet is beautiful is truly eternally beautiful.

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Obviously Eve in the garden saw that the fruit was beautiful

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to the eye, good to the eye, but that was hellacious.

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You know, in terms of once you bit it, we bit the dust.

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And I tweeted this on Twitter,

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because I think it's so important.

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I said, it is essential that we become fascinated,

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gripped and captivated by the beauty of the Lord.

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If not, we will struggle with boredom

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and our hearts will be vulnerable to pursue other things.

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So I think that's what you're saying

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is that we will pursue inferior, quote unquote, beauty

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and sacrifice the greater eternal beauty

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if we're not careful.

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I love that.

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I have 100 tribe right now.

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We're going to step into a conversation

324
00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,480
that I had with Pastor John Hammer.

325
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He pastors Sunrise Christian Center up in Everett, Washington.

326
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And we talk about the beauty of truth

327
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and the beauty of Jesus.

328
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Check this conversation out.

329
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I think you're going to enjoy it.

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00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:42,480
Hey, keep your 100 tribe.

331
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,760
I've got one of my great friends on

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00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,720
Pastor of Sunrise Christian Center

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00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,960
up in Everett, Washington, John Hammer.

334
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:52,360
We were just with you, John.

335
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,440
So good to have you on the podcast, bro.

336
00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,160
Oh, man, it's great to be with you guys.

337
00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,680
My wife, Grace and I, and our whole church,

338
00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,800
we were rocked as you and Christa came and ministered.

339
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,120
So good to see you back to back.

340
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:04,560
Hey, come on, man.

341
00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,320
I think we switched weather, dude.

342
00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:08,520
I was up there with you guys.

343
00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:09,480
You had sun.

344
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:10,320
It was clear.

345
00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:11,120
It was nice.

346
00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,480
I came back home to almost record rains, floodings.

347
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Man, it is awesome.

348
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,120
One thing, our people 100 tribe, they love this segment

349
00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:22,120
and this part.

350
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,880
So John, why don't you give us something about your origin

351
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:25,680
story, man?

352
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:29,360
What has God done in you that has put this fire,

353
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,400
this passion, this visionary, you know,

354
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,680
cross obsession inside of you that I love dearly, man?

355
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:36,040
Yeah.

356
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,800
Well, I grew up in a really good home.

357
00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,520
My parents, my dad was radically saved as kind of a hippie drug

358
00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:44,800
user, and then he became an evangelist that

359
00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:46,280
saw signs, wonders and miracles.

360
00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,960
And my mom got saved before they were married.

361
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,280
And it just, it got into a supernatural thing

362
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:52,960
in their lives.

363
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,440
And so I grew up in a minister's, pastor's home.

364
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,120
And when I was growing up, I had a really horrible addiction

365
00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,240
to pornography through my middle school, high school,

366
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,000
and early college years.

367
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,440
And I had a real radical encounter with the Lord one

368
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,600
night when I went out to look for some things I shouldn't

369
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:08,680
have gone to look for.

370
00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:10,720
And I was in my parents' basement.

371
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:11,840
I was in community college.

372
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,200
I wasn't a little, I was a little uncertain about my future

373
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:15,240
at 20 years old.

374
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,720
And anyhow, I had a radical encounter with the Lord that

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night.

376
00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:19,760
I went to my dad.

377
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:22,480
It's a dad I've really been struggling and hiding things.

378
00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:23,760
I needed to pray for me.

379
00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,160
Within that first month, we had a few times of prayer.

380
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,720
And I was miraculously delivered out of my life,

381
00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:29,560
out of my addiction.

382
00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:31,760
I learned about the power of confession of sin.

383
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,600
And I really just got lit on fire for Jesus.

384
00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:36,680
I started going to church every chance

385
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,080
I could getting in prayer meetings with older saints,

386
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,200
with young people.

387
00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:42,920
If a church's doors was open or they

388
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,280
weren't having a conference, I'm like, I need Jesus.

389
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,720
And so there was this fire lit in me to really pursue the Lord.

390
00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,040
And I was at this big conference.

391
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,440
And this church was having in our area.

392
00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:56,440
The guest speaker was Marilyn Hickey.

393
00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,600
And she was like, there's going to be this big prayer line

394
00:14:58,600 --> 00:14:59,440
we're going to do at the end.

395
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:00,600
They didn't call it a fire tunnel,

396
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,600
but it was a similar type thing where all the leaders

397
00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,640
and pastors and ministers were going to come make this big tunnel.

398
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:07,760
And you're just to ask God for one miracle that night,

399
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:08,800
or one answer to prayer.

400
00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:10,720
What's the one big thing you need from the Lord?

401
00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:12,800
And so they were doing like this long,

402
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,200
it was like maybe 1,000 people there, maybe 1,500 people there.

403
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,720
So it was and they started on the opposite side of the room

404
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:19,680
from where we were seated.

405
00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,480
So it was like this big line.

406
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:22,800
So it was going to take a while.

407
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,040
So the guys I was with, they leaned over to me and they said,

408
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:26,520
hey, what are you going to ask God for tonight?

409
00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:27,960
And I'm like, I don't know.

410
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,320
I was kind of drawn a blank.

411
00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,040
And one of them said, I know what you're

412
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:32,160
supposed to ask the Lord for.

413
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:33,040
And I said, what's that?

414
00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,600
And he said, you're supposed to ask God for the mantle that's

415
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,040
on your dad's life, which in the Bible is a prophetic.

416
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,960
The prophet Elijah had a mantle that represented not,

417
00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:43,680
it wasn't just like a cloak, right?

418
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,360
But it represented his anointing, his history with God,

419
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,200
his calling, his authority.

420
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,680
It was a sign of his spiritual authority, right?

421
00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,680
And so he said, you're supposed to ask the,

422
00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,240
for the mantle that's on your dad's life to fall into your life.

423
00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,000
You're called into the ministry like he is.

424
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,760
And my other friend leaned over to me and said, that's right.

425
00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:00,920
That's what you're supposed to ask God for.

426
00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,640
You're supposed to ask him for this mantle.

427
00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:04,160
It'll be like from Elijah to Elisha.

428
00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,400
It'll be a double portion of what your dad walks in.

429
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,600
And so I doubled over, bawling my eyes out.

430
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,480
I had this major God encounter.

431
00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:13,320
I go from like, I don't know what to ask God for,

432
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,320
to like, oh, and it just ugly cry.

433
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,120
And I got home late that night.

434
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:20,320
I was still living with my parents,

435
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:22,200
finishing up community college around this time,

436
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:23,240
or maybe I had just finished

437
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,000
and I was on a little bit of a break to figure out

438
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,160
what a bachelor's degree would look like or whatever.

439
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,080
And I ran to my dad.

440
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:30,640
It's worked the next day after I got worked

441
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:31,680
to his office at the church.

442
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,200
And I said, dad, I need to tell you about what happened

443
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:35,360
last night and I'm emotional.

444
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:36,200
I start crying.

445
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:37,680
I'm barely getting the story out.

446
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,800
And my dad reads through the Bible,

447
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,360
two chapters in the Old Testament,

448
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,080
one chapter in the New Testament every day.

449
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,320
He's done it for like 30, 40 years,

450
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,280
a long time of his Christian walk.

451
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,560
And so he goes, guess what my Bible reading

452
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:52,600
was this morning in the Old Testament?

453
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,960
It was a story in Second Kings about Elijah

454
00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,400
being carried to heaven and throwing his mantle on Elisha.

455
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,120
And Elisha receiving a double portion

456
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,160
of his mentor, spiritual father.

457
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:03,800
And he's like, son, the Lord is saying,

458
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:05,400
yes, you are called into the ministry.

459
00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:06,880
Cause up until that point, he had never told me,

460
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:08,720
like you're a preacher, you're a minister,

461
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:10,800
you need to do what I do or anything like that.

462
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,520
And he probably knew I would probably rebel

463
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,440
if it was pressure on me, you know, he's wise, wise father.

464
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,760
And so anyhow, I knew though that meant going to the ministry.

465
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,120
So I went to Seattle Bible college, I got trained,

466
00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:25,000
started in youth ministry, started doing conferences,

467
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,600
internships, evangelism, youth ministry,

468
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,320
a combination of things over the years.

469
00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,400
And then eventually it turned to where the elders

470
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,080
and our parents felt like the Lord was saying that, you know,

471
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,920
we believe you and grace will be the next lead pastors

472
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:39,760
of the church.

473
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:40,600
So pray about it.

474
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:41,760
And so for five years,

475
00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,200
just in time for COVID, a year before that,

476
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,440
we got installed as lead pastors.

477
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,200
And so we've been on that journey of leading our church

478
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,880
and seeing God do some great things throughout the last five

479
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:54,600
years, especially in the last year and a half,

480
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,840
we've been seeing an incredible move of the Holy spirit.

481
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:58,640
And I know you guys have been here a couple of times.

482
00:17:58,640 --> 00:17:59,480
Yes.

483
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:00,680
Time frame, you and Christa.

484
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,160
And so we're in for the ride

485
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,080
and the adventure of following Jesus.

486
00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:05,920
Oh, I love that.

487
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:07,080
It's a church advance.

488
00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:07,920
Yes.

489
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,600
You know, and I'll just say this too, John,

490
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,960
number one, you care a unique fire, man.

491
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,840
And I kind of want to talk about that a little bit more.

492
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,000
Seriously, I'm inspired by it.

493
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,560
And at your church, I'm amazed because of how many men

494
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:21,400
hit the altar.

495
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,240
A lot of times in churches, the ladies will hit the altar.

496
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,280
But unique thing is sunrise is how many men hit the altar

497
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:29,040
and linger.

498
00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,200
You just don't see that.

499
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,440
I really think that's a sign of a move of God.

500
00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:34,320
And, you know, maybe even later on,

501
00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:35,520
you can talk about that.

502
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,800
Why do you think that so many people that were raised

503
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,680
in good Christian families, why do you

504
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,360
think that there's such a struggle, a battle?

505
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,800
Why do you think there's such a big target on that generation

506
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:49,160
that comes up in Christian homes?

507
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:50,960
I know there are a lot of people that they've

508
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,360
got sons and daughters that are protocols,

509
00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:56,800
that are deconstructing, that are addicted bound,

510
00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,280
just denying their faith.

511
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,080
And why do you think there's such a struggle

512
00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:01,120
on a battle in that area?

513
00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:01,520
Yeah.

514
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,760
I mean, everything's about the family, you know,

515
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:04,480
in the word of God.

516
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,360
The first institution God created was marriage and family.

517
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:09,480
Before, I mean, he always had the church in mind.

518
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,040
The church was the eternal plan of God.

519
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,280
But he started with family, right, as the paradigm.

520
00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,120
And so Satan attacks the seed.

521
00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:17,720
He attacks the family.

522
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,080
He attacks the generations.

523
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,360
The dragon at Revelation 12 is sitting

524
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,640
at the foot of the woman who's about to give birth to the child,

525
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:23,840
right?

526
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,160
So it's always an attack after the young,

527
00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,120
after our seed, after our offspring.

528
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,120
And I think it's a war over generational blessing.

529
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:34,280
Because if you can start creating, I guess,

530
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,280
normalcy in a good sense of like, hey, we serve the Lord.

531
00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:39,360
We walk with Jesus.

532
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:40,560
We walk in His ways.

533
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:41,240
We are righteous.

534
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:42,920
Yes, all of our children need to be redeemed

535
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:44,280
and have their own saving faith.

536
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:49,720
But our kids grow up thinking that God answering prayer

537
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,880
is normal, that following the ways of Scripture

538
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,000
are normal and fruitful and blessed.

539
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,600
And my parents painted a very attractive view of Christianity.

540
00:19:57,600 --> 00:19:58,880
I didn't want to do ministry because I

541
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,200
thought I could make a lot more money.

542
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:01,840
And I see all the suffering my parents put up

543
00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:02,920
within the ministry.

544
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,240
But it was never because of their hypocrisy

545
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,880
or them speaking negatively about the ministry.

546
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,080
But I saw them love people that hurt them.

547
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,800
I saw them stay faithful to their marriage vows.

548
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,040
I saw them weep over people, even people that mistreated them

549
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,480
or were making horrible choices.

550
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,600
I saw them tithe and give offerings.

551
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,280
I saw them pray in vacations, pray in money

552
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,240
for extra clothes or extra things.

553
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,000
And it's not like we were poor or anything.

554
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,600
But I just saw a life of faithfulness.

555
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:32,600
And they're not perfect.

556
00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:33,100
We're not.

557
00:20:33,100 --> 00:20:35,280
We were a perfect family.

558
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:36,160
Grace and I have four kids.

559
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:37,360
We're not perfect parents.

560
00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:38,920
But we're, by the grace of God, I

561
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,480
think modeling that and living out your faith

562
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,000
and not one version on Sunday, different version in the home,

563
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:45,960
that's how we grew up.

564
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,360
Their life is attractive.

565
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:48,120
They're fun.

566
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,560
I think that's one thing that maybe our home, we prayed

567
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,520
and read the Bible regularly and that stuff.

568
00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:55,280
But my dad wrestled with us.

569
00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:56,520
He tickled us.

570
00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:01,880
He made lame dad jokes.

571
00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:02,960
They spent time with us.

572
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,880
They were involved in our sports.

573
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,280
They're real people.

574
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:07,320
They like to watch movies.

575
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:08,880
They like to go have fun.

576
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,440
So I can't imagine a more attractive life

577
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,040
than somebody that loves their spouse, loves life,

578
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,120
loves their kids, trusts God, has integrity,

579
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:21,160
says they're sorry when they screw up.

580
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,040
And but there is a war because there's

581
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,560
such a blessing that comes from the generations being united.

582
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,680
Like I think my dad, he grew up in an addictive

583
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:32,640
environment.

584
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,120
My grandpa turned to alcoholism because he lost my dad's.

585
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:37,680
He lost his wife to a car accident.

586
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,360
My dad was a little boy and his mom died in a tragic car

587
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:41,240
accident.

588
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,200
And so my grandpa, who was very successful psychologist,

589
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,600
he was decorated in the military and in all the who's who lists.

590
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,360
And he was a mayor of one of the Seattle suburbs,

591
00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:51,760
one of the first mayors of the town.

592
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:53,280
Anyway, very influential man.

593
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:54,280
He turned to alcoholism.

594
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,200
So anyway, my dad was very broken.

595
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,200
So he got radically saved and set on fire for Jesus.

596
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,080
Their first generation pioneers, and you

597
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:02,880
have all these great miracles, right?

598
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,480
But it seems like there's a battle over that next generation

599
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,040
establishing their own story, their own faith.

600
00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:09,880
You're right.

601
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:11,160
And that's so accurate.

602
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:12,680
And you so nailed something.

603
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,600
I think there's this thing that if you

604
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,360
have to start all over again, it's

605
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,120
like if you can stop that blessings that you think of it

606
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:23,880
as a generational snowball, the enemy

607
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,400
is after the momentum of blessing

608
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:32,560
the synergistic exponential impact of when, like you said,

609
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,960
a father and a son, a mother and a daughter, generation

610
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:37,920
after generation after generations

611
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,880
begin to walk with the Lord.

612
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,720
It's like in some respects, our kids

613
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,560
have to forge their own walk with God.

614
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,720
But you see kids that are raised in homes of people

615
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,040
that are artistically gifted.

616
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,000
You refer to them as prodigies.

617
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,320
They were raised in a concert pianist's home.

618
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,400
They were raised.

619
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:56,920
Their dad played in the NBA.

620
00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,800
Steph Curry, you're rebound for his dad and Vince Carter

621
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:03,160
when he was up in Toronto.

622
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,880
And so that just causes that exposure at such a young age

623
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,320
to foment a trajectory.

624
00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,360
And there's so many different things about it, man.

625
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:13,400
That's profound.

626
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,240
Hey, John, let me throw another question at you.

627
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,320
We were having a conversation in the car

628
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,080
and almost wish we could have done the equivalent of car

629
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:22,120
karaoke, man.

630
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:23,520
It blew up.

631
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:24,800
I got so ignited.

632
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,360
You mentioned this phrase that I have not

633
00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:28,640
been able to let go of.

634
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,200
You talked about this phrase, the beauty of truth.

635
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,920
And I feel like the word beauty.

636
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,920
And if you look at beauty and aesthetics,

637
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,320
how much that is huge in this generation.

638
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,320
Obviously, we can see it on a sunset.

639
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,200
We could see it at a full moon or a half moon

640
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:45,160
or whatever at night.

641
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,840
You could see it looking over the landscape of the city.

642
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,320
But this generation is drawn to art.

643
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:51,040
They're drawn.

644
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,080
You look at even the social media

645
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,280
and what gets kind of the clicks apart from the crazy things

646
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,200
is this aesthetic attraction.

647
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,680
We're all built by God.

648
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,520
If you will, there's this DNA chip

649
00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,120
within us to have this fascination with beauty,

650
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:07,160
because God himself is beautiful.

651
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,560
I think one of the early church fathers,

652
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,920
they talked about kind of this aspect of beauty,

653
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,600
of being all of it fitting together.

654
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,880
I thought that was a unique terminology.

655
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:18,680
It all fit.

656
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,760
And I think of just how God brings so many great things

657
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:26,920
together, mercy and justice and truth and love.

658
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,400
But it just fits together so well.

659
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,160
So man, talk to us about this whole aspect

660
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,280
of the beauty of truth.

661
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:34,880
Yeah.

662
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,080
The more I study the scriptures and then

663
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,120
reading some of the church fathers, church history

664
00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:44,360
is seeing that there's a meta narrative, I guess,

665
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:48,400
like the big work or like the telos is like philosophers.

666
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,800
Like what's the primary idea?

667
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,520
The main, the summum bonum or all these things.

668
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:56,800
Like what is the main thing?

669
00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,840
What is the main thing that all of history,

670
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:00,800
that what is the highest ideal?

671
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,840
And in Greek philosophy, there was this idea of the logos.

672
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,520
And even studying like John 1, 1 for Christmas

673
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:07,960
and the incarnation this last year,

674
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,760
like in the beginning was the word and the word was God

675
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:13,320
and the word was with God.

676
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,000
And so there's this idea of Jesus is the logos, the word.

677
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,840
But I guess sometimes I thought of, well,

678
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,240
he's the expression of the Bible and that is absolutely true.

679
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,960
But also in Greek philosophy, there was the idea

680
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,640
that the logos was like the highest ideal,

681
00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,480
that everything in all of life and philosophy,

682
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,280
truth, beauty, the world, the way it all works together.

683
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,280
There's some logos, there's some ideal

684
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:36,880
that philosophers were grasping for.

685
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,040
So it's possible that John was not just necessarily saying

686
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,320
that Jesus is a manifestation of the Bible,

687
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:43,920
although we see that later in John 5,

688
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:48,400
that Jesus is the manifestation of truth of the word,

689
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,120
but then also he could have been appealing

690
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:51,760
to the hearts of the philosophers

691
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,480
and like the prevailing ideas is that Jesus is the highest ideal.

692
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,680
He is God, he is the beginning.

693
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,480
And so the early fathers called Jesus the word a lot

694
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,080
and they call him the logo salat.

695
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,000
And even maybe more than they call him,

696
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,240
I mean, they call him the son of God,

697
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,320
they call him the different names that we see in scripture,

698
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:10,760
but they call him the logo salat.

699
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,440
So just as I've studied the scripture

700
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,880
and just different things at different times in my life,

701
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:17,600
it feels like you have these different epiphanies

702
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,680
or these eye-opening God encounters

703
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,840
and you're like, wow, that's incredible.

704
00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:23,920
And so even in my own story,

705
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,480
like seeing Jesus as the interpretive key to the scriptures

706
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,040
and to the greater meaning of life.

707
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,080
And I guess to me, like the beauty of truth

708
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:32,960
is about understanding who Jesus is,

709
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,160
that the highest ideal in all,

710
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,800
in God's grand plan of creation and design

711
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,760
and the future for us,

712
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,200
it's all wrapped up into who Jesus is

713
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,280
and him coming, him living, him dying, him raising,

714
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,200
and him returning and then God's invitation

715
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,920
to make humanity share in his nature and become like him.

716
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,680
So understanding who Jesus is is like,

717
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,200
I want Morgan Freeman to be the narrator for my life story.

718
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,480
I wish he could have the, like we over my shoulder

719
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,280
and be like, today, John is going to,

720
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,200
you just wanna have that deep, like that beautiful voice.

721
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:08,480
And there's this soundtrack, right?

722
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,400
There's this beautiful score in a movie that just moves.

723
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,680
Like you watch a movie clip without the music

724
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:15,360
in the background, without the symphony

725
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,120
or the, maybe it's electronic score, whatever it is,

726
00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:20,120
but like the music moves you

727
00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:21,840
and there's this connection to the story.

728
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,520
And to me, it's like understanding who Jesus is,

729
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,680
not just like, oh yeah, this guy that,

730
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,160
yeah, he's God, he died on the cross.

731
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,400
Not just believing the basics of who he is,

732
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,160
although that's super important,

733
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,680
but really understanding that Christ is the key

734
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,760
to really unlocking everything.

735
00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,880
He's the highest ideal in all creation.

736
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,720
He's the name that's above every name.

737
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,680
And so what started to take root in me was,

738
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,320
I interpreted the scripture more through my own pain,

739
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:52,120
my own story, even after I got set free from pornography,

740
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:54,680
I had a lot of self-hatred and shame that had to unravel.

741
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,960
And I actually got in a big argument with my dad one day.

742
00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,160
So I get in this big debate with my dad, like,

743
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:01,440
I'm gonna quit, I'm just gonna try to like go to church

744
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:03,120
and hopefully make it to heaven when I die.

745
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:04,280
But what if I fall in sin again?

746
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:05,280
What if I get back in porn?

747
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,320
Look at all these pastors falling morally.

748
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:08,880
It's not gonna work out for me.

749
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:09,880
Why am I even trying?

750
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:11,480
I'm just gonna screw everything up again.

751
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,240
And so my dad, I'm getting kind of heated.

752
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:15,840
Like I'm done with this, I'm gonna quit.

753
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,800
And he's like, son, do you believe that the blood

754
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,320
of Jesus is enough for you to be forgiven and free

755
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:22,400
of all your sin?

756
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,640
Or do you still think there's something else you have to do?

757
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,400
And I go, there's gotta be something else.

758
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,680
And as soon as I said that, I was like, oh no,

759
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,800
I just said there's something more powerful

760
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,000
than the blood of Jesus that somehow I can do.

761
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:33,960
That's the wrong answer.

762
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,160
Like I failed the Bible, I failed every test.

763
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,680
Like, you know, but it exposed in that moment,

764
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,800
the lie that I believed that I could perform

765
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,800
or I could do some ritual or I could repent the right way.

766
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,840
Or I mean, I had so many deliverance sessions,

767
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,320
inner healing prayer, prayer counselors, pastors I talked to.

768
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,480
I was obsessive about dealing with my shame and my past

769
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,280
and making sure there was no demons left.

770
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,920
There was no, you know, curses left.

771
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,640
And I think the Lord honored my sincerity,

772
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:03,680
but I got over obsessed with me.

773
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,000
And then something changed in that moment

774
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,520
where I started to realize, I've gotta see this thing,

775
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,200
my life, I've gotta see the scripture.

776
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:11,720
I've gotta see it through Jesus.

777
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,200
Like the curses, the penalties, the warnings,

778
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:16,680
these are all showing me the problem.

779
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,120
Jesus is the solution.

780
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,480
He's the answer and not in like a patronizing way

781
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,880
or like the cheap Sunday school answer, like, you know,

782
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,040
oh, there's a little fluffy squirrel.

783
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:27,280
What do you call that kids?

784
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,400
Oh, you know, I think it's a squirrel,

785
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,320
but I feel like I'm supposed to say Jesus in church.

786
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,080
You know, like, we've almost mocked that Jesus

787
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:35,720
is like always the answer, you know,

788
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,840
but it's like, no, but actually at the core of everything.

789
00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,560
So anyway, try to, let me see if I can bring this

790
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:42,640
around the beauty of truth.

791
00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:45,200
So as I got obsessed with seeing Jesus through the scripture

792
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,720
and I get these key infusions of truth,

793
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,440
like one of my Bible school teachers

794
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,080
that was an evangelist in Canada,

795
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:52,840
an amazing Bible teacher,

796
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,800
and he taught and spoke and prayed in King James English,

797
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,680
but his spirit filled man, Brother Cornish,

798
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:00,760
he would tell us wherever you cut the book,

799
00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,400
it bleeds the atoning blood.

800
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,120
Wherever you cut the book, it bleeds the atoning blood.

801
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:06,400
He's like, you find Christ.

802
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,760
And then like my dad would tell me about this contemporary

803
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,840
that my parents used to host in their home.

804
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,760
He was an evangelist, a contemporary of Smith Wigglesworth.

805
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:16,400
But he would come and stay in my parents' home

806
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,680
because my mom was a good cook.

807
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,200
And so I never heard this sermon because I was little,

808
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,480
but like these things stuck with me

809
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,400
that has become, I think, a part of my life message

810
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:26,000
or my obsession, you know,

811
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,840
is he would preach a sermon in three parts.

812
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,800
The cry of the Old Testament is where is the Lamb of God?

813
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,800
The cry between the Testaments from John the Baptist

814
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:37,680
is behold the Lamb of God.

815
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,720
And the cry of the New Testament is worthy,

816
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,080
is the Lamb of God.

817
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,640
And he would summarize the entire Old and New Testaments.

818
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,200
He would do the whole grand narrative of Scripture

819
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,760
as three movements of where is the Lamb,

820
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,080
behold the Lamb, and worthy is the Lamb.

821
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,800
And so one day I'm reading Revelation 13,

822
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,720
and it says that Jesus is the Lamb slain

823
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:00,320
before the foundation of the world.

824
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,680
First Peter chapter one says the same thing basically,

825
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:05,440
that Jesus who was slain for us

826
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,320
before the foundation of the world.

827
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:08,520
And it starts dawning on me.

828
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:12,560
Like the first creative act of God is actually not

829
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,000
necessarily let there be light

830
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,720
unless it was all happening simultaneously in a sense.

831
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,320
But the foundational act of God was,

832
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,040
I'm gonna have to insert myself.

833
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,280
God the Son is gonna have to insert himself as the Lamb,

834
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,600
is gonna have to become the incarnate Lamb

835
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,360
who is slain for his own creation.

836
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,080
So you start realizing there's this beauty to truth

837
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,520
and there's this grand story that's, you know,

838
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,760
you get to the very end and revelation of the Bible,

839
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,840
but it tells us about the very beginning.

840
00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:42,480
At the foundation of everything is a story.

841
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,440
God decided that this beautiful story of redemption.

842
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,760
So our world is actually built

843
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,000
on the self-sacrificial love of God himself,

844
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,120
coming to die for us as the Lamb who's slain.

845
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,640
So as soon as the story starts unfolding in Genesis

846
00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,240
and mankind sins, we see God's provision

847
00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:03,640
to cover Adam and Eve with these garments.

848
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,280
And even right before that, that he prophesies,

849
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,600
God prophesies, the scripture prophesies

850
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,680
that there is a seed that is coming, you know,

851
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:14,600
that's gonna crush the head of the serpent.

852
00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:17,040
And so there's a redeemer, there's a seed coming,

853
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:18,000
born of woman.

854
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,920
And so we start seeing this narrative starts unfolding

855
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,240
early in Genesis of this idea of a sacrificial offering,

856
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,040
of a need for cleansing, a need for a sacrifice,

857
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,720
and God starts preparing us for this reality

858
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:35,960
that Jesus is gonna come

859
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,400
and he's going to be the sacrificial lamb for us,

860
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:39,240
for our sin.

861
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,560
And so everything's built on this idea

862
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:43,240
of Christ suffering on the cross.

863
00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:45,120
And so of course, ultimately the cross

864
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:49,840
is the full manifestation of his suffering for us,

865
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,280
this Godless, horrible act, but yet it's beautiful.

866
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,120
Like Christians love the cross.

867
00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,880
We see the beauty, the meaning, the forgiveness, the hope,

868
00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:01,240
but we forget because we're 2000 years removed, you know,

869
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,560
from when crucifixion was very popular in the Roman Empire,

870
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,320
how brutal and ugly it is.

871
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,840
But the reason that we could look at a painting of Jesus

872
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:10,680
on a cross or something and we could weep

873
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,200
and we could be very moved by the beauty of his sacrifice

874
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:18,640
for us, it just shows you how significant in history,

875
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,720
cosmos, universe, altering the sacrifice

876
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,520
of the lamb of God is for us.

877
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,400
Because we see beauty out of something that's torture,

878
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,320
you know, and that's what he came to do.

879
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,320
He came to redeem our brutality.

880
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,080
So he being the exalted son of God, you know,

881
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,360
pre-existent as God, before he was born to the Virgin Mary,

882
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,200
it becomes manifest in the flesh for us.

883
00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:44,320
And so his humiliation, his becoming human for us

884
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,640
was to lead to our exaltation.

885
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,480
And then we've got all these promises in the scripture

886
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:54,160
of like, wow, as he is, so are we in this world.

887
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:57,360
First John also says that one day we will be like him,

888
00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:59,120
for we will see him as he is.

889
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,440
And Paul says in Romans 8, those that he justified,

890
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,360
he has sanctified and he is also glorified.

891
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:08,080
But yet he's telling us he's sharing his divine nature

892
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,840
with us in one of Peter's epistles,

893
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,080
according to these promises, that we're gonna become

894
00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:15,840
like him when we see him, that we're gonna be glorified.

895
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,440
And it's already done in God's economy.

896
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,480
It's already, it's like a past tense.

897
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,200
You've been glorified, but we know it's a future reality

898
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:24,040
for us.

899
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,840
So it all started with the sacrifice of the lamb

900
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:31,280
and his vision for humanity, and for those who are redeemed

901
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,600
and trust in Christ, is to one day become like him.

902
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,000
And of course, to become his bride

903
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,800
and to become joined to him forever.

904
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,360
But we're to become like him in the life to come.

905
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,480
And so it's like, this is the whole story we're caught up in.

906
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,600
Humanity's moving toward, that's why I was like,

907
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,720
understanding who Jesus is becomes the key for the scriptures,

908
00:34:50,720 --> 00:34:54,080
but also becomes the key to me for the meaning of my life

909
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,640
and why I go through suffering and glory.

910
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:58,640
Why I go through death and resurrection.

911
00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,440
Why I lose my life to find my life.

912
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:07,120
It's like, so it's brought such deep comfort to me

913
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,560
and nearness, but I've learned to meditate on truth

914
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,400
and understand that the scripture is trying to reveal Jesus

915
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,640
to me as according to John five, that's the chief purpose.

916
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,360
That's what Jesus said the chief purpose of scripture was

917
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,960
when he was speaking to the religious leaders.

918
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,880
You search the scriptures because in them

919
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:24,400
you think that you have life.

920
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,440
The scriptures testify of me, Jesus said,

921
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,840
but you weren't willing to come to me to have life in my name.

922
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,600
And so we're, as we look through the word,

923
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,440
I found I encounter Jesus through the word.

924
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,400
I encounter him through the beauty of truth

925
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,960
and I find meaning and I don't want to lose this simplicity

926
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,040
of just loving him and always getting caught up

927
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,560
necessarily in deep philosophy or theology.

928
00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,680
Now everybody has to become a theologian or whatever,

929
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,080
but we do need to recover, I think, the beauty of truth.

930
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,920
And we need to find, we need to start telling the stories,

931
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,400
the narrative of scripture and as preachers

932
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:59,640
and teachers of the word to let people give them,

933
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,640
feed them stuff that will cause them to hunger and long

934
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:04,160
to know Jesus more.

935
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:06,240
And because as we get in this book

936
00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,720
and we encounter the God of the word, as we read the word,

937
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:11,800
there's, I don't know, I just, I feel like some days

938
00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,040
it's like there's a soundtrack that I'm running on

939
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:16,120
and I'm like, this is it.

940
00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:17,520
This is what I was made for.

941
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,520
This is what I was made to bring him glory

942
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:21,400
and to be with him forever and ever.

943
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,040
And then to invite everybody else in on that journey

944
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,080
that they might know him and become like him.

945
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:27,600
So anyway, I could just keep going.

946
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,680
Man, that was so profound.

947
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,320
I was impacted on so many levels of what you're saying.

948
00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,800
And I think, you know, when Paul wrote that letter

949
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,320
and that phrase into the church of Corinth,

950
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,240
and he says, I'm afraid as Eve was beguiled

951
00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:45,800
by the serpent, so you two are being led astray

952
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:49,240
from a pure and simple devotion to Christ.

953
00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:52,000
And I love because what you're talking is

954
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,720
you're calling us back, you're calling a church,

955
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:57,400
you're calling the listeners, you're calling people

956
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:00,120
who follow Christ back to the one we really follow.

957
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:01,720
You know, that verse that says,

958
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,320
he is fairer than the sons of men.

959
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:07,840
And I think in today's age, our aesthetics

960
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:09,720
are like very low level.

961
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:11,360
Like it's the lowest hanging fruit.

962
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:13,360
We think that if a person has symmetry

963
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:15,800
or they got a couple extra muscles on their body

964
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,080
or more curves, that that is beauty.

965
00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:21,640
And we don't realize it that really the altogether

966
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,000
otherness, the characteristics,

967
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,400
that the very essence of Jesus' glory is beautiful.

968
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:29,720
And he's glorious.

969
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:33,760
You know, there's a weight, there's an attraction.

970
00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:35,760
You know, in the natural, the Bible would even give

971
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:37,440
the impression that in the natural,

972
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,560
there was nothing that seemed in the physical

973
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,920
appearance of Jesus to stand out.

974
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,480
Like there's nothing about him that made him like,

975
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,640
whoa, this student is gonna be 2024's most sexiest man.

976
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,800
You know, obviously the context of history,

977
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,080
but yet there had to be something so fascinating

978
00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:55,960
about his eyes.

979
00:37:55,960 --> 00:37:59,120
I just think when he could look at a hardened tax collector,

980
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,120
Matthew, for instance, you just say two words, follow me.

981
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,680
And the dude quit what he's doing and followed Jesus.

982
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,200
I thought, what was the look in his eyes

983
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:09,480
when he could walk up on the boat?

984
00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,720
Obviously he did the miracle of the incredible catch,

985
00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:15,600
but still these fishermen, and I think you brought up

986
00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:19,960
the point that they followed him not after the bad night

987
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:21,800
and okay, business is not going good,

988
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,200
it's time for me to move on.

989
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,400
They had the best catch of their life

990
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,360
and they left it and went and followed Jesus.

991
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:31,920
And I think in this generation, you know,

992
00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,760
how can you begin to put legs on and kind of come

993
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:39,400
on the street of maybe a Gen Z, a millennial?

994
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,400
Like what is it that makes Jesus so beautiful

995
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,960
even in a way that maybe they could track with?

996
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,080
Right, well, I think it's because he gives meaning

997
00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:49,400
and purpose to your life.

998
00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,160
And there's not meaning.

999
00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:54,480
I think art is huge, I think physical beauty

1000
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:55,760
is huge to the Lord.

1001
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:57,120
And like you said, it's interesting

1002
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:59,360
because the Bible says there wasn't something beautiful

1003
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:01,720
about, oh, he looks like the most handsome guy,

1004
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,480
like he's the guy, he's the one,

1005
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:06,240
because he just looks so much more physically attractive

1006
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:07,560
in the way that, you know, maybe we think

1007
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:09,000
of physical attractiveness, right?

1008
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,320
But his eyes, his touch, the way that he loved people,

1009
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:13,960
the way that he forgave his enemies,

1010
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,320
the way he could see past people's barriers.

1011
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:19,000
So there's a beauty in people,

1012
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,240
there's a beauty in Mother Teresa, right?

1013
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,080
I mean, she wasn't physically beautiful,

1014
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,320
but almost everybody's attractive to her story.

1015
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,040
And if people don't, you know, agree to her beliefs

1016
00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,080
about God or mission or theology,

1017
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,200
they're like, she spent her life for the poor

1018
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,200
and she found deeper meaning.

1019
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,080
And so I think there's something about

1020
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:38,520
when we see beautiful art,

1021
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,480
when we see a beautiful sunset or sunrise,

1022
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,440
when we see a story, like a film,

1023
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,760
where there's forgiveness or there's a restoration

1024
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:47,880
of Father and Son,

1025
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,560
where there's the power of blessing demonstrated,

1026
00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:53,920
that's all a part of God's redemptive truth.

1027
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:56,240
And I'm not necessarily a proponent of like, you know,

1028
00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:58,440
search all the religions to try to find any truth

1029
00:39:58,440 --> 00:39:59,280
that's God's truth.

1030
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,800
I'm not, you can get kind of out there on some of that,

1031
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:03,520
that I think is beyond what's helpful

1032
00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:05,320
and fruitful in the Christian life.

1033
00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,000
But I think that we've lost at times the reality

1034
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,880
of how there's a beauty to finding meaning and purpose.

1035
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,560
And there's like this deep ache and longing in us

1036
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:18,080
to be a part of family, to be a part of community,

1037
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,120
to be, it's because we long to be, to not be alone.

1038
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:22,600
And ultimately we long,

1039
00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:24,960
I think we have an eternal longing for God.

1040
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:26,720
The sin has corrupted and perverted

1041
00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:28,280
and we need forgiveness of that.

1042
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:29,640
But there's also a deep longing.

1043
00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:31,160
We're created in God's image.

1044
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:33,840
We're created in His likeness.

1045
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:36,120
And so that we were made for glory.

1046
00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:37,160
We were made for beauty.

1047
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,720
We were made for this world with God.

1048
00:40:39,720 --> 00:40:42,160
And now there's been this fracture between heaven and earth

1049
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:44,080
because of sin, but Christ is the,

1050
00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:45,640
He's the link to heaven and earth again.

1051
00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:49,560
He's the, again, His humiliation is for our exaltation.

1052
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:50,920
He came down to lift us up.

1053
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:52,760
And so to Gen Z, it's like,

1054
00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:54,360
he's the meaning you're longing for.

1055
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:56,040
He is, he's the ultimate beauty.

1056
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:59,520
And the reason you are moved by certain stories of love

1057
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,800
and compassion, by forgiveness and redemption,

1058
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:03,680
stories of hope.

1059
00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:05,160
And you like, you know,

1060
00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:06,680
you like these different media things.

1061
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:09,120
It's because again, the foundation of the world

1062
00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,680
is a story of redemptive love.

1063
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:15,040
And so anytime anybody taps into that story

1064
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:16,960
in a different aspect of that truth,

1065
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,040
that forgiveness, that reconciliation,

1066
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:20,800
it's like your heart comes alive.

1067
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:22,840
But if you don't, if you don't really know him,

1068
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:24,840
as he's revealed in the scriptures to us,

1069
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:27,120
then that can get distorted, right?

1070
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:30,240
Or that can get, like you can grab onto one aspect

1071
00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:33,360
of like justice or one aspect of compassion

1072
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,160
or one aspect of even truth.

1073
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,640
That's not, I wouldn't say temperate or balanced,

1074
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:40,880
but like well-rounded, that's not full.

1075
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,480
Like Jesus is the fullness of grace and truth.

1076
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:44,920
So there's a fullness in him

1077
00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:47,760
that like appeals for justice and mercy,

1078
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:49,640
that appeals for truth and grace,

1079
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,640
that appeals for, you know, to goodness.

1080
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,440
And there's a beauty in that,

1081
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,600
when you get to know him and have a relationship,

1082
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,480
I don't, I just, it's like everything clicks.

1083
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,040
It doesn't mean life is easy for sure,

1084
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,160
but to have purpose and suffering

1085
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:06,360
because I was just noticing this,

1086
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,880
like Jesus said that to his disciples,

1087
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,920
I must suffer, I must die,

1088
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,240
and I must be, and I must raise again basically.

1089
00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:16,160
But then after that, he says,

1090
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,840
you must to be my disciple, take up your cross daily,

1091
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:21,840
you know, deny yourself and follow me.

1092
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,240
And so I was like, if he must die,

1093
00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:26,240
and then we must take up our cross,

1094
00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:28,640
then there, it's through Jesus alone

1095
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,480
that we truly find redemptive purpose and suffering.

1096
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,720
So in the cross, and Jesus is the sacrificial lamb,

1097
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:37,840
we realize that God understands our suffering and our pain.

1098
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:39,760
He understands our temptation and our trials.

1099
00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:42,200
He understands betrayal and being injustice,

1100
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,600
and he understands being abused at the hands of others.

1101
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:46,280
But he also willingly submitted to it

1102
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:47,240
so he could overcome it.

1103
00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:48,360
It's not that he was a victim,

1104
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,160
but he understands what victims deal with

1105
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,240
because he was unjustly treated, right?

1106
00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:54,840
He did nothing wrong, but yet he endured all this.

1107
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:57,840
But then also through the cross, we understand him.

1108
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,080
We realize in our pain that there's something,

1109
00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:01,640
we can comfort his heart.

1110
00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:03,920
We can fellowship with him through the cross

1111
00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,480
because he became like us so we could get to know him.

1112
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:10,320
It's a very powerful and beautiful reality

1113
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:12,520
to realize that when I'm going through hard things,

1114
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:13,960
it's really only the Christian story.

1115
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,280
It's really only the story of the suffering lamb,

1116
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:17,280
who of course was raised,

1117
00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:18,720
because if he's not raised again,

1118
00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:19,960
and he didn't resurrect,

1119
00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:22,520
then the cross doesn't have ultimate meaning and purpose

1120
00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:24,280
and beauty, right?

1121
00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:26,560
But it is beautiful because he conquered death.

1122
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:27,720
He conquered the devil.

1123
00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:28,760
He conquered sin.

1124
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,560
He conquered hell through the cross, right?

1125
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:34,720
So I can endure knowing that there is one who comforts me,

1126
00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:36,120
that there's one who's gone before me,

1127
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:38,120
that perfectly understands what I'm enduring.

1128
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,760
And to me, that's a beautiful story

1129
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:42,360
and that what I go through and endure

1130
00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:44,320
could actually bring glory to God

1131
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:47,560
and even heavenly reward to me in the life to come.

1132
00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:50,040
And so even when things seem unfair, unjust,

1133
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,760
there is a God, there is a Lord and Savior Jesus

1134
00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:54,560
who's coming back as a king and a judge,

1135
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,320
and he will make all wrong things right.

1136
00:43:56,320 --> 00:43:58,080
And so he gives meaning,

1137
00:43:58,080 --> 00:44:00,600
he gives perspective for this life and the life to come.

1138
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:01,640
That is so good.

1139
00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:03,760
And I love John the way you made the connection.

1140
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:06,360
There is such an attraction as generation

1141
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:08,240
to redemptive themes.

1142
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:09,280
You know, we were a kid,

1143
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:11,040
good guys were the good guys,

1144
00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:12,560
and I'm older than you, so I mean,

1145
00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:14,320
I should put it back back when I was a kid

1146
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:15,720
and you were coming up,

1147
00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:18,000
heroes are heroes and the villains were villains.

1148
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,880
But now we're seeing villains get redeemed,

1149
00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:23,800
like Loki, okay, Loki, you're a good guy now.

1150
00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:25,760
You've been, and we love that.

1151
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,800
We love that redemptive thing.

1152
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,920
I mean, Hallmark is making money off the fact

1153
00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:34,280
that we love to see romance in the beginning

1154
00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:37,160
as unlikely as it may appear,

1155
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:40,080
but all of a sudden we see that love wins the day.

1156
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:41,720
And I think the temptation,

1157
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:43,240
if there's a temptation in any of it,

1158
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:46,160
is that we get stuck on the echoes,

1159
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:49,760
not knowing that they're echoes of a deeper voice

1160
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:50,720
that comes from the Lord,

1161
00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:51,960
that God calls us,

1162
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:54,400
there's this, and you alluded to it,

1163
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,360
there's a romance of the gospel

1164
00:44:56,360 --> 00:44:58,240
where we're called to a romance.

1165
00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:00,960
Philosophies begin with man

1166
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,240
and kind of these philosophers would try to move towards,

1167
00:45:04,240 --> 00:45:06,200
you know, the known to the unknown,

1168
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:08,840
the concrete to the abstract, go for man to God.

1169
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:11,200
And they're ear-tickling, they sound good,

1170
00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:14,080
especially on the day of ex, formerly known,

1171
00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:15,760
artists formerly known as Twitter.

1172
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:17,280
And those can get clicks and likes

1173
00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:20,840
and people are trying to sound super philosophic and et cetera.

1174
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:24,160
But the romance of the gospel doesn't begin with man

1175
00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:25,320
and reach to God.

1176
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:29,480
The beauty of the romance is God reached down to us

1177
00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:31,160
when we couldn't lift our heads up,

1178
00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:32,520
we couldn't, we couldn't,

1179
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:34,760
so much as call on his name, there was not a desire.

1180
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:36,800
We were stuck with no way out

1181
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,320
and there was only one way God himself had to make that way.

1182
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,240
And so in those movies where someone rescues someone,

1183
00:45:42,240 --> 00:45:45,760
they go all out, you know, taking, you know,

1184
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,040
I've acquired a unique skill set,

1185
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:49,600
which makes me particularly dangerous.

1186
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:51,040
But there was something about a guy

1187
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:53,840
that would do anything to get his daughter back

1188
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:55,640
and to make sure she was safe.

1189
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:57,720
All of them are butt echoes, man.

1190
00:45:57,720 --> 00:46:01,160
They're echoes of something that is a voice that cries.

1191
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:03,920
And the other thing is the Bible says

1192
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:06,440
the beauty of this world passes away.

1193
00:46:06,440 --> 00:46:08,240
And I think we could see it like, you know,

1194
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,880
hey, maybe this iconic, you know, pinup,

1195
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:14,240
gal or guy during the 80s,

1196
00:46:14,240 --> 00:46:16,760
now doesn't look like the person you pin up on your wall,

1197
00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:18,120
right? Okay, so that passed.

1198
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:21,680
But it's so much deeper than just physical age,

1199
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:25,040
you know, refining, you know, a person's body,

1200
00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:26,560
beauty, whatever.

1201
00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:30,040
It literally is that it is passing, it's fleeting,

1202
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:34,000
it's minute, it's a drop in the bucket, you know,

1203
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,720
that there's a beauty that does not fade

1204
00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:38,440
and the Bible refers to that.

1205
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:39,400
And I agree with you.

1206
00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:41,400
I think some of the, right now,

1207
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:45,680
this disillusionment that leads to whatever, you know,

1208
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,880
whether it's a narcotic opioid,

1209
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:52,240
drinking, smoking, partying, immorality, all of it.

1210
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:55,120
I know for me, I was looking for a beauty.

1211
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:56,440
At the end of the day,

1212
00:46:56,440 --> 00:46:59,080
I was looking for a beauty that fulfilled.

1213
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,680
I was looking for the beauty of truth.

1214
00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:04,680
And man, when that one Jesus came in my room

1215
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,000
and I began, like you said, read the gospels.

1216
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:09,840
And I just was struck, there was nothing I wouldn't do

1217
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:12,440
for a God that would go that distance for me.

1218
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,640
And it fomented a passion that I, you know,

1219
00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:17,600
I think if we're all honest,

1220
00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:22,600
there's flowing ebbs, but there's never been a U-turn.

1221
00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:23,840
There's never been a backslide.

1222
00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:26,520
There's never been a stop because of,

1223
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:30,800
not because I'm like this super motivated, faithful dude.

1224
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:31,760
It's quite the opposite.

1225
00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:33,640
It's that I just see Jesus.

1226
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:35,880
And it was just, there are times when I've wanted

1227
00:47:35,880 --> 00:47:37,600
to give up ministry, not Jesus.

1228
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:40,640
I'm like, oh man, this ministry stops hard Lord

1229
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:43,440
and sheep bite Lord and man, you know,

1230
00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:45,840
you're trying to help people in this, you know,

1231
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,000
but I couldn't cause I would look

1232
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:50,680
and just go into a secret place and people say,

1233
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:52,200
well, do you see Jesus?

1234
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,600
And the answer is yes and no, you see him everywhere.

1235
00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:57,760
And particularly in scripture, you see him in creation.

1236
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,320
You see him, I saw him in the birth of my son and my daughter.

1237
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:02,120
I see him in my wife's eyes.

1238
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:03,280
I see him in a sunset.

1239
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:06,400
And then if you're looking for the temporary,

1240
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:09,960
immediate optical thing that you can lock your eyes on

1241
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:12,560
in this world, he's so far beyond that.

1242
00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:15,440
And yet I did see him and I have seen him.

1243
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:17,000
You know, that's all I got to say.

1244
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:18,520
I mean, that's a whole nother story.

1245
00:48:18,520 --> 00:48:19,360
Come on.

1246
00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:23,000
Man, in what ways do you think right now,

1247
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:25,320
the word of God can become the bridge

1248
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:28,200
that can help rescue us from our beauty default?

1249
00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:30,240
Because obviously it points to Jesus,

1250
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:31,080
but in what way?

1251
00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:32,560
And you may have answered in some ways,

1252
00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:35,800
but I recognize there's a lot of people that it's like

1253
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,880
the Lord is wanting to give them a tune up in this area

1254
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:42,040
of getting back in the word, getting back

1255
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:43,320
in the plumb line of scripture

1256
00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:45,160
and how that can connect them to beauty.

1257
00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:46,000
Yeah.

1258
00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:49,560
I mean, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word

1259
00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:52,600
of God and just continuing to read, to listen,

1260
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:55,960
to meditate on the word, to listen to good Bible teachers

1261
00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:58,320
that have a high value for scripture.

1262
00:48:58,320 --> 00:49:01,520
You know, we only know Jesus really through the word.

1263
00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:04,120
I mean, yes, he can reveal himself supernaturally

1264
00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:07,200
and visions and dreams and different experiences.

1265
00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:11,040
And those are all beautiful and valid, important things,

1266
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,600
but he's not known apart from scripture.

1267
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:16,400
We only know of him, even from those experiences,

1268
00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:18,160
we can only judge those experiences

1269
00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:19,720
and find what is valid from them

1270
00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:21,560
by coming in line with scripture.

1271
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:25,880
So just having an appetite for the word, reading it daily,

1272
00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:27,800
I'm a big proponent of Bible reading plans

1273
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:31,520
and just daily getting in the scripture and listening.

1274
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:33,440
And then I think it's like anything,

1275
00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:36,520
I don't know why I never thought of this growing up,

1276
00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:38,960
but you know, like in martial arts training,

1277
00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:40,200
which you've been a part of a little bit,

1278
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,600
like there's kind of a way you learn from a master

1279
00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:45,240
or a sensei or whatever the different arts call it, right?

1280
00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:47,760
But like to learn the art, to learn your,

1281
00:49:47,760 --> 00:49:49,200
to maximize your ability,

1282
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,760
you have to learn what was handed down to you.

1283
00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:55,160
And like that's what Jude says, like for once for all,

1284
00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:56,680
you know, contend for the faith

1285
00:49:56,680 --> 00:49:58,880
that was once for all delivered to the saints.

1286
00:49:58,880 --> 00:50:01,400
So we have this faith that's contained in the scriptures,

1287
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:02,240
right?

1288
00:50:02,240 --> 00:50:04,240
And that the church is preserved through the generation,

1289
00:50:04,240 --> 00:50:05,840
God has preserved it through his church,

1290
00:50:05,840 --> 00:50:07,240
through the generations.

1291
00:50:07,240 --> 00:50:09,760
And so we're to learn the way,

1292
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:12,080
we're to learn the way that's been handed down to us.

1293
00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:14,680
We're to learn this, the faith, not faith in like,

1294
00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,560
have more faith, but like the faith,

1295
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:18,600
the body of truth of who Jesus is

1296
00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:20,800
and of God's holy word, right?

1297
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:24,200
So we're to walk this path by studying it,

1298
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:26,680
by sitting under teachers and people that are more advanced

1299
00:50:26,680 --> 00:50:28,920
than us, that have more knowledge and experience

1300
00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:32,120
and to continue, you know, to see it as a lifelong endeavor.

1301
00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:34,720
Like I think every time I read through the Bible,

1302
00:50:34,720 --> 00:50:37,720
I know more and I learn more and I get more out of it.

1303
00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:39,720
So it's like, it's okay to start as a novice

1304
00:50:39,720 --> 00:50:42,280
to not understand half of what you read or maybe more,

1305
00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:44,120
you know, I mean, there's a lot of days where I'm like,

1306
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:45,920
I don't even remember what I read,

1307
00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:49,520
but there's plenty of days where I do remember and I feast.

1308
00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:50,880
And even if I don't remember,

1309
00:50:50,880 --> 00:50:52,760
I remember that I fellowshiped with him

1310
00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:55,120
and that he was near me as I opened his word

1311
00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:57,320
and that I was encouraged that day

1312
00:50:57,320 --> 00:50:58,920
or I was warned that day.

1313
00:50:58,920 --> 00:51:01,040
And where I might not, like I might not remember

1314
00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:03,240
this conversation exactly in a year,

1315
00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:05,320
but I'll remember the warmth of the fellowship

1316
00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:07,880
that I had with my friend getting to spend some time with him

1317
00:51:07,880 --> 00:51:09,880
and that enriched my life, whether I could remember

1318
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:10,760
every line or not.

1319
00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:12,480
So it's like every time I open the word

1320
00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:15,480
is a chance to be enriched in my relationship with Christ.

1321
00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:17,400
And if my goal is fellowship,

1322
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:20,400
my goal is to be more like him, to let him have his way in me.

1323
00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:21,480
And then I keep reading it,

1324
00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:23,280
then I find that I start remembering more

1325
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:24,600
and I start connecting the dots

1326
00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:26,360
and I start finding deeper meaning.

1327
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:27,600
But that didn't happen overnight,

1328
00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:29,760
just like in martial art or in a sport

1329
00:51:29,760 --> 00:51:32,240
or any other musical instrument,

1330
00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:35,760
you become not that any of us ever masters the Bible, right?

1331
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:37,880
But you can only become a master and expert

1332
00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:40,160
by spending thousands of hours, right?

1333
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:41,760
Like Malcolm Gladwell says an expert

1334
00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:43,440
is like a 10,000 hours, right?

1335
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:44,280
Through his studies.

1336
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:45,960
That's how somebody achieves mastery.

1337
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:49,120
You know, the greatest Bible teachers and expositors,

1338
00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:50,280
preachers of the word of God,

1339
00:51:50,280 --> 00:51:52,040
well, they've spent thousands of hours.

1340
00:51:52,040 --> 00:51:54,440
And so this is a worthy endeavor.

1341
00:51:54,440 --> 00:51:57,240
If you spend five, 15 minutes with the Bible,

1342
00:51:57,240 --> 00:51:59,480
sometime in prayer, you spend an hour a day, right?

1343
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:01,360
Over in a year, you might not feel like

1344
00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:02,240
you've made much progress,

1345
00:52:02,240 --> 00:52:04,400
but in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years,

1346
00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:07,000
you're gonna have such a richness to share with others.

1347
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:09,720
And anyway, so I would just encourage people

1348
00:52:09,720 --> 00:52:12,800
to start consistently and make it a part of the,

1349
00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:14,920
core part of their life and they won't regret it.

1350
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,080
Hey, John, I love that man.

1351
00:52:17,080 --> 00:52:19,760
You're one of the most pure hearted dudes I know.

1352
00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:21,040
I'm always challenged.

1353
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:22,360
I think of that.

1354
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:25,360
I think of you and I think of that pure and simple devotion,

1355
00:52:25,360 --> 00:52:26,360
man, I'm challenged.

1356
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:28,040
Hey, what are some things you're doing?

1357
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:29,160
How can we follow you?

1358
00:52:29,160 --> 00:52:31,360
Tell us about your podcasts, books,

1359
00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:33,960
anything you're going on, your church services.

1360
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:34,800
Give us some ways.

1361
00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:37,240
We've got some people that are gonna love to lock into you

1362
00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:40,000
and continually drink from the well, man.

1363
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,440
Yeah, so our church is Sunrise Christian Center

1364
00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:46,880
and that's with an O as the son of God, Sunrise Christian Center.

1365
00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:48,480
We have a YouTube channel

1366
00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:50,440
and we have our services, our streams,

1367
00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:52,120
all our sermons are up there.

1368
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:55,080
And then all of my platform stuff for social media

1369
00:52:55,080 --> 00:52:58,520
is like, it's John and Hammer, like Armand Hammer,

1370
00:52:58,520 --> 00:53:03,400
J-L-H-N-A-N-D Hammer, H-A-M-M-E-R, like the tool.

1371
00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:04,720
John and Hammer.

1372
00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:06,840
And so John and Hammer at Instagram,

1373
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:09,520
John and Hammer on X, John and Hammer Facebook.

1374
00:53:09,520 --> 00:53:11,680
And then actually I do a lot of writing.

1375
00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:14,200
I have done a lot of writing on Substack.

1376
00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:16,760
So it's like a combination between a blog and a newsletter.

1377
00:53:16,760 --> 00:53:21,160
And so Johnandhammer.substack.com.

1378
00:53:21,160 --> 00:53:25,160
That I actually wrote, I just finished in December.

1379
00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:27,960
I wrote 365 days on the presence of God.

1380
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:30,600
And so it's like, it's part like experiential,

1381
00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:34,400
part doctrine, part Bible story, part personal stories.

1382
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:35,840
And every day I go through things like,

1383
00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:38,200
who God the Father is for like, for weeks,

1384
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,480
who God the Son is, God the Spirit,

1385
00:53:40,480 --> 00:53:43,800
and how we experience His presence, the Trinity,

1386
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:46,360
the corporate presence of God,

1387
00:53:46,360 --> 00:53:48,520
incarnation in the presence of God in December,

1388
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:51,480
around Christmas time, you know, the cross and the presence,

1389
00:53:51,480 --> 00:53:53,200
all these different topics.

1390
00:53:53,200 --> 00:53:55,080
It takes about two minutes usually or so

1391
00:53:55,080 --> 00:53:56,960
to read through one of these daily devotionals.

1392
00:53:56,960 --> 00:53:58,600
And Lord willing, it will be a book

1393
00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:00,560
that comes at the end of 2024.

1394
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:02,040
To be released in 2025,

1395
00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:03,840
but you can go read the whole archive.

1396
00:54:03,840 --> 00:54:06,800
And I write on other topics as well from time to time

1397
00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:08,560
that I send out on cultural issues,

1398
00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,640
doctrine issues, leadership, spirituality stuff.

1399
00:54:11,640 --> 00:54:14,040
Anyway, so that's probably the best place

1400
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,000
to connect to me is on my Substack.

1401
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,840
Hey John, bro, sure appreciate that.

1402
00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:21,640
Love your depth, your passion, it's infectious.

1403
00:54:21,640 --> 00:54:23,480
Amen, thanks for stopping by, keep it 100.

1404
00:54:23,480 --> 00:54:24,440
We sure love you, bro.

1405
00:54:24,440 --> 00:54:26,080
And blessing, blessing love you guys.

1406
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:28,080
Thank you, give our love to Christ as well.

1407
00:54:28,080 --> 00:54:28,920
We'll do.

1408
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:29,740
And the puppy.

1409
00:54:29,740 --> 00:54:32,080
Gosh, such a good conversation.

1410
00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:33,720
I love what Pastor John shared.

1411
00:54:33,720 --> 00:54:36,600
Just that is, that's revelation and just truth.

1412
00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:38,080
I just, that's just profound.

1413
00:54:38,080 --> 00:54:40,400
And I love that we're talking about a conversation

1414
00:54:40,400 --> 00:54:43,000
that a lot of people aren't talking about the beauty of God.

1415
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:45,240
And yet demands your reflection,

1416
00:54:45,240 --> 00:54:46,680
it demands your contemplation.

1417
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:50,000
It demands you to stop, slow down and absorb

1418
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:53,200
and recognize the beauty of God that's around you.

1419
00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:56,040
And let us not miss a daily invitation

1420
00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:59,160
to adore and enjoy the beauty of God.

1421
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:02,120
Thanks so much for tuning into the Keep It 100 podcast.

1422
00:55:02,120 --> 00:55:04,840
Make sure to rate, review and refer us to your friends.

1423
00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:06,800
And be sure to click that subscribe button

1424
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:09,160
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1425
00:55:09,160 --> 00:55:10,160
Help us get the word out,

1426
00:55:10,160 --> 00:55:12,320
share this link on your social media platforms

1427
00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:15,000
and check us out at www.SeanAndChristasmith.com.

1428
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:16,560
You can also find us on Facebook

1429
00:55:16,560 --> 00:55:18,560
at www.SeanAndChristosmithministries.

1430
00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:19,640
We would love to hear from you

1431
00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:21,560
on how this podcast has impacted you.

1432
00:55:21,560 --> 00:55:23,320
So be sure to show us some love.

1433
00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:24,560
Hey, Keep It 100 tribe.

1434
00:55:24,560 --> 00:55:27,080
Thanks so much for joining us for this exciting episode.

1435
00:55:27,080 --> 00:55:28,480
Join us on our next episode.

1436
00:55:28,480 --> 00:55:30,800
And remember, relief may change your circumstance,

1437
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:32,560
but a revelation will change you.

1438
00:55:32,560 --> 00:55:35,840
We hope you enjoyed today's episode

1439
00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:39,080
of the Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and Christosmith.

1440
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:40,960
Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram

1441
00:55:40,960 --> 00:55:43,160
at www.SeanAndChristasmith.com

1442
00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:44,880
where you can discover more resources.

1443
00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:46,640
If this podcast has impacted you,

1444
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:47,800
please subscribe and review

1445
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:49,400
wherever you listen to your podcast.

1446
00:55:49,400 --> 00:55:59,400
Keep it 100!