Man . That's the gospel , though , isn't it ? I mean , we think we need to gain our life , win our life , capture our life , build our life , and yet the scriptures remind us to gain your life , you must lose your life , and how is that even possible ? I mean , you look at Jesus . He wasn't just an example . He was a savior . Though he was rich , he had it all . He was the king of kings , the Lord of l Lords . He had a thorn , he had a throne . Though he was rich , he became poor . He lost his life so that you can gain yours . We think we need to purchase this treasure , yet Jesus is the treasure that purchased us , and when we see that he has done that for us , what more do we need than to be loved by a God who would give everything up so that we could have him ?
Speaker 2George , george , george of the jungle , strong as he can be , watch out for that tree .
Speaker 3I loved that , shirley . I say don't call me Shirley , shirley .
Speaker 2You guys must remember .
Speaker 3Georgia , the jungle . I loved it . It reminded me of Ray .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 3He was always getting in trouble , always hurting himself for other people . That's what I was thinking .
Speaker 2He's supposed to be this like legit dude and he keeps crashing into trees .
Speaker 4Yeah , what is the deal with that ? Like is that I ?
Speaker 2fell out of a tree once .
Speaker 4Really , they fall out of tree no , I just remember when I was a kid I used to live in trees , just absolutely loved them an evolutionary thing and I fell out once and I didn't even hurt myself , so it was great is that why you have a monkey on your shirt ? Oh , this is my ken ham shirt reminds me .
Speaker 2Ken . I saw the picture you just sent him Wearing my Ken Ham shirt . You said yeah , oh man . What is it with those sorts of shows and animations ?
Speaker 4They bring back good memories .
Speaker 2Inspector Clouseau , but the ones where it's supposed to be this dude in this serious position and role , and he's a klutz .
Speaker 1Speaking of shows that only old people remember . Did you guys hear they started a dating app for elderly people ?
Speaker 2Oh , I know , Didn't they do this new golden bachelor and bachelorette ? These old people , dudes .
Speaker 4Oh , maybe .
Speaker 3Is elderly , like over 40 ? Mature .
Speaker 1This dating app for the elderly . They just started at Super Helper . They call it carbon dating . That's terrible .
Speaker 4Well yeah , that was good , oscar , If you had started with the story about your wife or kids .
Speaker 1I would have known you were messing around .
Speaker 2That was good .
Speaker 4Carbon dating . I was just going to say it's a great idea for the elderly , that's really good .
Speaker 2Yeah , tony . By the way , hey , I'm just going to let everyone in on your sin . The timer isn't working , so let's fix the timer , anyway , yeah .
Speaker 4Let everyone in on your sin . Yeah , ooh , you like that . It rhymes . Savage , it's a book title there Written by Nathaniel .
Speaker 2So yeah , that kind of stuff , whatever , I have no idea how far along we are now . But it'll be what it'll be . Yeah , but we're talking about those guys . George , george's Jungle , greatest American Hero . We've talked about him ?
Speaker 1Is he the guy that flies Believe ?
Speaker 3it or not ?
Speaker 2I'm walking on air and then he crashes as he's flying . What's wrong ?
Speaker 4with that Isaac that's your life right it is .
Speaker 2You are the living embodiment of Inspector Clouseau .
Speaker 4That's true , and I looked a bit like him when I was
younger .
Speaker 1The duke , do you know those insurance commercials ?
Speaker 4Does your duke bite ? It's not my dog .
Speaker 1Oh easy , oscar . What were you saying ? Do you know those insurance commercials ? Like the character is Mayhem and he's always crashing into things . They did that after Ray's life .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's true . That's where it came from .
Speaker 4Does your dog ?
Speaker 2bite . Yeah , all right , friends , time for a cool , classy comment . This actually is a unique one . This is from Anna in Applington , iowa , who has become friends with Rachel through her Joyful Mothers platform 90,000 people following .
Speaker 3My daughter , ella , absolutely loves Rachel's Instagram posts Seriously Joyful Mothers . She created one herself because Rachel's Instagram posts Seriously Joyful mothers .
Speaker 2She created one herself because Rachel's Instagram posts Seriously , yeah , wow , so inspirational . You know , it is cool when even a man , and even the woman's husband , who puts these things out , gets edified . I really do . I mean , she's sharp . I wonder who her father is .
Speaker 4She got my look , so you could tell really easily .
Speaker 3The mustache .
Speaker 2Your beard Never tell her that because you'll make her proud . No , you know what . So many people have been blessed from Rachel being here on the podcast .
Speaker 4Has that been playing yet ? Yeah , oh .
Speaker 2Oh yeah , she's been getting lots of feedback on that .
Speaker 4Good it back on that . It's good to get food back .
Speaker 2Yeah , food back and yeah anyway . But this lady actually sent Rachel a comment because Rachel connected with her from her platform and she said I just have to share how much we enjoyed the episode that you were on . I loved hearing the dynamic between you and Easy and you and your dad . What a gift to be able to speak so highly of your dad . I could feel the love over the radio . Your family is so encouraging to us and such a blessing to many . And then isn't that cool . And then she sent this video . I'll play the audio of her kids Whee , hello , whee .
Speaker 1Isn't that cool . What have we done to the next one ? That's what I was thinking .
Speaker 2I didn't start at the right time . Hello friends , that's the daughter . Hello friends , yeah , we got little friends over there .
Speaker 3She went on a walk with my wife a couple days ago and she was wearing a weight vest . Yeah , yeah , yeah . Does she normally do that ? Yeah , that's cool .
Speaker 2I told you I'm going to get her earring dumbbells to start wearing too . But that was Blakely and Titus . Blakely and Titus , and those are Anna's kids . Thank you guys for listening . Shout out to you , keep on listening , friends . Amen , yeah , all right , and now a radically revolutionary resource . This podcast is brought to you by my Comfort . Is Jesus , a devotional book by Ray Comfort .
Speaker 1And you know the cool thing about this ?
Speaker 2devotional book Ray . That we don't often highlight is that it has a Bible reading plan . Oh , it does too . Yes , yeah , you didn't know that , did you Thank ?
Speaker 1you for reminding me about that .
Speaker 2All right . So yeah , check it out . It's really cool . My comfort is Jesus and it's thick man , 700 and something some odd . Yes , it is 732 or something , every morning and evening .
Speaker 4Picked full of pregnant paragraphs . Ooh , that is poetic , perfectly so . 132 or something , every morning and evening .
Speaker 2Pact full of pregnant paragraphs . Ooh . That is poetic , perfectly so .
Speaker 1All right .
Speaker 2So check it out , friends , along with the Living Waters mug from which you take a chug , and if you get a Living Water's mug , ray will give you a hug . The Evidence Study Bible and Living Water's no , what ? He's gone , he's lost it . Oh man , I'm just out of here , it all started with the clock .
Speaker 2Tony threw me off , so I threw him under the bus All at livingwaterscom . Yeah , all right , friends , Today we are talking about Is the American Dream Destroying your Faith ? The Idolatry of Success . Success , was it Michael J Fox ? Was that a movie ? The Secret to my Success ?
Speaker 3Yes , the Secret to my Success .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's what it was . Man Michael J Fox was like the Cat's Whiskers back in the day .
Speaker 1What is a Cat's Whisker ? You've never heard that . What is that ?
Speaker 2Come on , you're just living in a dream world . Come on , get up Educated . Oh , come on , you're just living in a dream world . Come on , get up . Get up , educated Cats .
Speaker 4Whiskers . Yeah , I remember Kirk telling me once that in between their takes of their different shows , him and Michael J Fox went for a drive in a car together . It was a convertible and two girls came alongside them and they couldn't believe they saw them both at once and they just took off . He said it was so much fun .
Speaker 2Seriously , can you imagine that ? Because ?
Speaker 4they're both iconic .
Speaker 3They were the heartthrobs of that time , kirk would tell me that they would have a competition amongst each other and there was a cameraman that worked on both shows and the competition was while you're delivering your lines , who can do a complete 360 degrees ?
Speaker 4Yes , you didn't hear that , did you ? No , yeah , I've seen them do it , it's great .
Speaker 2That was the inside thing going on . That's why they were always doing circles during it .
Speaker 3So they would look at the cameraman and the cameraman would say oh , you got your work cut out for you . He did six spins when he recorded last what , and then he would go back and forth , so they'd try to beat each other .
Speaker 4Because it wasn't obvious , it was just very well done , yeah yeah yeah , we should do it while we're doing the podcast . There we go . I just messed up my mic . All right , the things you inspire me to do Consequences .
Speaker 2I didn't care about consequences . Let's see all the cat's whiskers . Yeah , oh , there goes my mic Anyway . So success , guys . Success , the destruction of the Christian faith , and I think the subtitle is fitting the idolatry of success .
Speaker 3I'm dizzy now .
Speaker 4Oh , Mark , you're getting old . Seriously , I tried a somersault when I was early 74 , and I'll never do it again .
Speaker 1Do it . The whole house was spinning for about 20 minutes , really .
Speaker 4Yeah , because I used to do somersaults as a kid and cartwheels and all that sort of stuff . But you just slow down .
Speaker 2All you have to do is give Ray a challenge to do something .
Speaker 3Remember when Ray ran up that escalator .
Speaker 2You can't do a backflip Ray .
Speaker 3Remember when Ray ran up that escalator . I think we were at DFW Airport .
Speaker 4It wasn't just an escalator .
Speaker 2Now , friends , as high as this escalator is in your mind like quadruple it , this thing was insane .
Speaker 4And you said to me I bet you can't run up . Yeah , I bet you can't , and we're talking .
Speaker 2by the way he ran up the one going down .
Speaker 4Yes , and I was fine for about two hours .
Speaker 2Well no , you go up and then Ray disappears for like minutes .
Speaker 4He passed out . No , no , no . I just got to tell you I was three , probably seven-eighths there and I thought I can't do this . I can't do it . I'm close to death . I really thought it's just ridiculous . If I've got a bad heart , it's going to show right now but when I got to the top I just couldn't breathe . I just sat and waited and sat down disappeared .
Speaker 2Seriously , imagine you died pulling up that right . Well , you would have killed me .
Speaker 3Well , I Ray would you have maybe stopped seven-eighths of the way through . No , you knew , ray , easy and I were not watching , or ?
Speaker 4nobody was watching . No , it was just me . No , I didn't care who was watching , I just had to do it you had to do it .
Speaker 2Would you do it again ? No , yeah , wise man With age comes wisdom right .
Speaker 4All right , france , oh yeah . So we said what we're talking about success . I just like to say the American dream is life , liberty and the pursuit of money and everything it promises . That's the American dream .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's good . I mean , it's good to define what we're talking about here , because you hear it oftentimes echoed by politicians , especially the American dream , the American dream , mark . You were saying something about someone saying that we can't pursue that American dream or whatever anymore Come on yeah . Yeah , but yeah , there is that element , I think , of sort of ideology of what it really means to be an American .
Speaker 1Guys , the world doesn't think like this . You know what ?
Speaker 2I'm saying , like you go , mark , is that George Bush ? America ?
Speaker 1That's how he used to say it , america .
Speaker 4America , america , could you do that again ? America .
Speaker 2America .
Speaker 3Sounds like him .
Speaker 2Yeah , but , guys , this is not reality for the majority of the world . People aren't thinking , oh my nice fat bank in a good position , if they could be . But a lot of the world is trying to survive , like , are we going to get a meal for the day ?
Speaker 4Most picket fences are plastic . Nowadays they are , that's true .
Speaker 2They definitely are . But it has become an idol and I'd love for you guys to speak to how that can become an idol , because we know , obviously , biblically it's not wrong to be financially successful , it's not wrong to have things that are within the material realm , that are nice , and Scripture speaks to that . But it can become idolatry . So tell me how .
Speaker 3Yeah , you know , the American dream is replacing God's kingdom with earthly idols . Right , there's a pursuit of wealth and status and financial stability that you have attained and you have arrived the moment you have your house perhaps paid off . When success becomes an idol , it competes with God's rightful place in our lives .
Right In 1 John , chapter 2 , verse 15 .
Speaker 2Ray , you're losing your adage .
Speaker 4No , look , you're going to turn to me and say , Ray , what do you think of that ?
Speaker 2And he's trying to think about it . So you're preparing , now I've got to have a stone in my slingshot .
Speaker 3Ray just found out what the topic is .
Speaker 2That's what we're talking about .
Speaker 3It says do not love the world or the things in the world . If anyone loves the world , the love of the Father is not in him , for all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life it is not from the Father , but it is from the world . And the world is passing away along with its desires . But whoever does the will of God abides forever" . As we talk about idolatry here , let's be reminded of a couple quotes . John Calvin I know that , oscar , you've mentioned this in the past the human heart is a perpetual idol factory , right , it is continually producing idols . When you are not meditating on God's Word , you are creating idols . There's just , there's no stopping . It's like Spurgeon when he talked about the Christian life is like climbing a mountain made out of ice . If you are not fighting and striving every step forward , you are , by necessity , floating down . You are slipping down that ice hill .
Speaker 3Tozer said it is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular . It's why he does it . We , as Christians , realize that everything we do is sacred , right . Whatever you do , do all to the glory of God . So whether you are a garbage man or whether you're a preacher , you do it to the glory of God and it is a holy calling from God . Whatever you do , you are not more admirable because you are in the limelight as a preacher . If you are a garbage man and you are doing it to the glory of God , there's some inequality to that of a man preaching . Obviously , a man who's preaching is worthy of double honor . But listen , you are no less of a human being and God's calling on your life is no less .
Speaker 3And then finally , cs Lewis . Boy Oscar loves CS Lewis and I love the fact that he does Prosperity knits a man to the world . He feels that he is finding his place in it , while really the world is finding its place in it . While really he is finding his place , the world is finding its place in him . Love that line , yeah . So we need to be careful that we are not perpetually creating idols inside of our lives and instead we are meditating on God's word day and night , amen .
Speaker 2Oh , mark , that's horrible . You scared me . What happened ? That's so evil . What do you mean ?
Speaker 4The heart of man . Actually it says the heart of Spence Is deceitful and wicked .
Speaker 3Nobody knows what you're talking about . He put his finger on my iPad .
Speaker 4And flicked my notes , so they disappeared Into oblivion . You're welcome .
Speaker 2I love how Mark can , like Without skipping a beat , go from something so solemn as those quotes To just total pure evil , destroying the .
Speaker 3Father and Christ . I can never , get back to Ray for what he's done in destroying my life , the amount of pain that I've been in because of him , that's true , it's a little blood .
Speaker 2Yeah . Ray inflicts pain . So yeah , mark , I mean I love that quote by CS Lewis . He's trying to find his place in the world . The world is finding its place in him .
Speaker 4Yeah , lewis , like he's trying to find his place in the world , the world is finding its place in him .
Speaker 2You know that that is what , what begins to happen . Uh ray say something something are you ready ?
Speaker 1the american dream , yes , yeah , hang on , he's not ready that's an old quote , because spins flick my nose .
Speaker 4Success is that elusive dream that in reality is hiding behind something this money-loving world ironically seizes as enemy contentment . The world doesn't want you to be content with your car , your house your iPhone , your clothes , your looks that's the lifeblood of advertising . They want your money , so they'll rock your boat until you abandon it and get their product . And that's the way the world works .
Speaker 4For you to be content with your house , your car , your clothes , your looks throws a wrench into their money-making machine . David said the Lord is my shepherd . I shall not want . And seriously , guys , I am so content with everything except my chickens . More , more , more , more , yeah , but seriously , I drive an old car and I just love it . If someone says I'll give you a new car , I don't think I'd take it , I'll take it for you .
Speaker 4I would Thank you , but it's such a blessing to be content , because that's such a key to the enjoyment of life . Be content with what you've got . 1 Timothy 6 , verse 9 , or something like that . Now , godliness with contentment is great gain , for we brought nothing into this world and certain we can carry nothing out . And having food and clothing , with these we shall be content . But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a sneer and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition . I had that wonderful contentment revelation when I was 20 years old . As a non-Christian , I thought I've gained success as a young man . Business , I achieved everything I wanted and I thought where do I go next ? More , bigger , better . I don't want that . It's going to consume my time . So even as a non-Christian , I saw the importance of contentment with that which you've got .
Speaker 2Yeah , moving right along , he is not listening to you . Moving right along . Now you know how I feel . It's funny .
Speaker 4Man , that's so good , Ray , Thanks .
Speaker 1Oscar , I'm so glad I was paying attention to you .
Speaker 1You know , if you think about it , the American dream has shifted over time . Andrew Delbanco wrote this book called the Real American Dream . It's a very short book . Probably read it in 20 minutes , unless you're Mark . No , you can read it in 10 . But he points out that the American dream started with this idea of God , actually that people understood that when you talk about the American dream , the pursuit of happiness , that the purpose in life was to live in this world in a way that prepared for the next . That was the original American dream .
Speaker 3What are you two doing ? He turned off my computer .
Speaker 4Just one little poke with my finger . Mark had his fists up . It's not like I saved that , you know all this is on video now yeah , oh , payback . Seriously , man , it was such a good feeling Comedy action over there , so it starts with God .
Speaker 2You know , the American dream was to live man . That was such a good feeling . There it is , comedy action over there .
Speaker 1So it starts with God . You know , the American dream was to live in this world in such a way that prepared you for the next world and over time that shifted to family . It went from God to like . The main thing in life was to build strong families . A community a nation you get patriotism , honor and civic duty . Community , a nation you get patriotism , honor and civic duty .
Speaker 1And that's devolved into the American dream , is all about self-fulfillment and individual happiness . And that self-fulfillment and individual happiness which you're alluding to , ray , is intertwined with consumerism . And it reminds me of when the scriptures warn us about the power and principalities of this world , of this age . The power and principality of this age has bamboozled us into thinking that satisfaction comes from owning more things , having more things , experiencing more things . And I know I harp on this all the time . But if you think about it , your phone is a device that is created to make you want something . Your phone you know , I've said it before your phone . Actually , if you think about it , every single app on your phone you likely did not pay for , those apps aren't free , though they are coming at a cost . You are not the consumer for that phone . The consumer for that phone , or the main goal of that app is the app developer to sell advertisement . And so let's just take Instagram , for example . Every time you scroll down Instagram , the algorithm is designed and we all play this game , we all post the kind of pictures we all see , the kind of thing the algorithm is designed to make you want , because if you want something , you'll buy something , and that is the economic way , right ?
Speaker 1I remember when 9-11 happened , george Bush got up on stage and he said the most American thing you can do is leave your house and buy something . That's what he said . Leave your house and buy something . That's what he said , because the reality is that we are cogs in this economic machine and you need to want , and so we all have the if only isms in our lives . If only I graduated high school , then I'd be happy . Graduated college , met my spouse , got married . If only we got our home . If only our home was a little bit bigger , if only we had a pool . If only my car was a little faster , a little cleaner , a little more advanced in technology .
Speaker 2That sounds good , raised by an end of the American dream . That's right .
Speaker 1If only , if only , if only . Then I will be happy . And , of course , it never works . It reminds me of the story of Sisyphus , which is old Greek mythology , and reminds me of the story of Sisyphus , which is old Greek mythology , and Sisyphus was this guy who was tortured .
Speaker 2I know what you're thinking , right ? Anyway , go ahead , Oscar .
Speaker 1He was tortured to push a boulder up a hill for all of eternity . He was never able to stop , and every time he seemed to be getting to the peak , to the other side , where he would finally experience rest , the boulder would roll back down and he would have to start over again . And that is what the American dream is doing to us . We feel like satisfaction is just around the corner , but pursuing the American dream will never bring you the satisfaction your soul needs .
Oscar , I'm so sorry . I actually am loving what you're saying . Did you know you sneeze at 120 miles an ?
Speaker 4hour . Did you know that 120 miles an hour is the speed that's been measured , is it ?
Speaker 3possible to sneeze with your eyes open .
Speaker 4No , you see that two bullets go into someone .
Speaker 3Oscar , you guys are so rude , can Oscar finish ?
Speaker 2I was just going to say , as you were talking about that , you kept saying American dream , American dream , and you were explaining all that . I think we should change it to the American nightmare in light of what really it ends up leading to and how it affects people .
Speaker 2And we just got to remember what Hebrews 13 , 5 and on say oh good , I was waiting to see . Let your conduct be without covetousness . Be content with such things as you have . You know , we look at contentment as one thing and we say , okay , that's what we need , contentment . But we never connect discontentment with the sin of covetousness . That's good . Well , you just have to look at the word content Con with the sin of covetousness . That's good .
Speaker 4You should have a look at the word content With tent , with a tent .
Speaker 3So the Apostle Paul was a tent maker and he was always content with his tent .
Speaker 1Yeah , he was always with his tent .
Speaker 2Seriously , I'd love to see Ray try to exegete passage like that .
Speaker 1Could you imagine Ray writing his own dictionary ?
Speaker 2God , it's not . Hey own dictionary God is not .
Speaker 3How long would Ray last with the Apostle Paul . Before the Apostle Paul just says I can't do it .
Speaker 4I can't do this . I take back , I can do all things .
Speaker 1I'm going back to Saul right now I can almost do all things .
Speaker 2But listen the next part . I've shared this before , but this is so crucial and so important to understand . Let your conduct be without covetousness . Be content with such things as you have , for he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you . We often hear that quoted in isolation . For he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you . That is directly connected and interrelated to contentment . Why can we be content ? Why can our character be free of covetousness ? Because he'll never leave us . We have him . I love that formula right , that mathematics of Jesus plus nothing equals everything and Jesus minus or no , everything minus Jesus equals nothing .
Speaker 4I'm a bad mathematician . I have to think about that , yeah .
Speaker 1Man . That's the gospel , though , isn't it ? I mean , we think we need to gain our life , win our life , capture our life , build our life , and yet the scriptures remind us to gain your life , you must lose your life . And how is that even possible ? I mean , you look at Jesus . He wasn't just an example . He was a savior , though he was rich , he had it all . He was the king of kings , the Lord of lords , he had a throne . Though he was rich , he became poor . He lost his life so that you can gain yours . We think we need to purchase this treasure , yet Jesus is the treasure that purchased us , and when we see that he has done that for us , what more do we need than to be loved by a God who would give everything up so that we could have him ?
Speaker 3Amen . You know , success has an aim , it has a goal . It wants to redefine your identity right , so our identity is found in Christ . But when you , since we're little , we are pushed inside of us to pursue that American dream which is success , right , like , what do you want to be ? You're being asked that when you're in third grade , yeah . And when you say , hey , I want to be a doctor , you answered correctly . I want to be a lawyer , you answered correctly . I want to do the same thing that my father did . He was an honest plumber .
Speaker 1Well , maybe you want to think through that .
Speaker 3That's so good , mark , that's really good we need to be careful with that , and the Apostle Paul says but whatever gain I had , I counted as loss for the sake of Christ . Indeed , I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus , my Lord . For his sake , I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ . So , as the world attempts to redefine your identity by saying your only identity is found in the success that you have , right , you're not successful unless you own a home . You think of all these missionaries who left their home to go out with a message that is eternal and not caring what they're leaving behind . I leave all things behind . I must decrease and he must increase at all costs , no matter the cost . Martin Luther put it like this I've held many things in my hands and I've lost them all , but whatever I placed in God's hands that I still possess , amen , right . We cannot hold onto anything here . We must pay it forward , we put it up , we invest into the kingdom work , and I'm always looking for young guys and gals who are on the front lines , who know their mission , who know what they want to do , and they're running full speed ahead .
Speaker 3I think of Jared Johnson with his campus revived ministry . I'm thinking what can I do to support this man who is on the college campuses regularly , open air , preaching and proclaiming the gospel right after he proclaims the law ? He's doing a tremendous job . In fact , I met one of the professor at Cal State , fullerton , just this last week and he said you know your message to me it sounds a lot like Ray Comfort . In fact , it sounds a lot like this young man who comes on our college campus every week . I've never met him , I don't know his name , but I listen to him from a distance and his message is just like your message . Your message is just like Ray Comfort's message . Who is this guy ? And I go . That's Jared Johnson from Camp Revive and I go . Man , what can I do to financially support this guy , to support him ? That is success . We have our eyes focused on him and our identity is found in Christ alone , not in anything that we can possess and hold on to after we die .
Speaker 2Amen . You know , mark , that reminds me of 1 Corinthians 118
. The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness . It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1.18, . The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness , but to us who are being saved , it is a power of God . Like what you're saying right now is only understood by those who have come to know Christ , like even that verse that I just quoted . The unbeliever who hears that can't even fathom what that means . But we understand . The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness . All that the cross entails death to self , denial to self , throwing off this world right , becoming a slave of Christ .
Speaker 1Oh , what Ridiculous .
Speaker 2But to us who know the Savior , give me anything you want , offer me anything you want , except chickens right , and I will spit on it Ray .
Speaker 4What do we have to give up to come to Christ ? Everything , but in truth , truth , it's nothing compared to what we gain in him .
Speaker 2amen that's it .
Speaker 4Matthew Henry said he is much happier . That's always content , though he has ever so little , than he . That is always covening , though he has ever so much . Matthew Henry was amazing .
Speaker 2He was really . He got that from me .
Speaker 4He did .
Speaker 2Nope , Guys , listen , this is going to seem like why are you talking about this ? But I want to read something . I've been reading a book called the Kneeling Christian .
Speaker 3Why are you talking about that ? Come on , stop it .
Speaker 2By an unknown author . Are you reading it too ? I've read it like 20 times . Yeah , I've read it before , but I've read it maybe more than that . I've given it to your sons . I'm reading it again . I may have gotten my copy from you years ago , I don't know . And how cool Unknown Christian . He intentionally didn't put his name on it . He said he wrote it because someone asked him to right .
Speaker 3They found out the author , the publisher . It's a Clarion classic .
Speaker 4Yeah , I remember when I did that . Yeah , the reason he did it is so he'd become famous as the unknown author .
Speaker 2Yeah , and then legally change his name to the unknown author . All right , listen to this , though , guys .
Speaker 4What's this bug doing ?
Speaker 2here . That's Oscar . That's Oscar , okay , listen . Some 20 years ago the writer was studying in a theological college . One morning early , a fellow student , who is today one of England's foremost missionaries , burst into the room holding an open Bible in his hands . Although he was preparing for holy orders , he was at that time only a young convert to Christ . He had gone up to the university quote caring for none of these things . Close quote Popular , clever athletic , he had already won a place amongst the smart set of his college . When Christ claimed him . He accepted the Lord Jesus as a personal savior and became a very keen follower of his master . The Bible was comparatively a new book to him and , as a result , he was constantly making discoveries .
Speaker 2On that memorable day on which he invaded my quietude , he cried excitedly , his face all aglow with mingled joy and surprise Do you believe this ? Is it really true ? Believe what ? I asked , glancing at the open Bible with some astonishment . Why this ? And he read in eager tones St Matthew 21 , 21 to 22 . If ye have faith and doubt not all things whatsoever , you shall ask in prayer . Believing , ye shall receive . Do you believe it ? Is it true ? Yes , I replied with much surprise at his excitement . Of course it's true , of course I believe it .
Speaker 2Yet through my mind there flashed all manner of thoughts . Well , that's a very powerful promise , said he . It seems to me to be absolutely limitless . Why don't we pray more ? And he went away , leaving me thinking hard . I'd never looked at those verses quite in that way . As the door closed upon that eager young follower of the master , I had a vision of my savior and his love and his power such as I never had before . I had a vision of a life of prayer , yes , and limitless power , which , I say , depended upon two things only faith and prayer . Wow , and , guys , I read that . I've been sending it to different friends and it's connected to what we're talking about today . Because this is success , hmm , a person who is consumed with the living God . This is reality . You guys Listen . Here's the problem , you're gonna cry .
Speaker 2What's that You're gonna cry ?
Speaker 4I've never cried he was going to . I've never cried right .
Speaker 2The reason why we are pursuing the failure of the world that the world calls success is because we're not consumed with the reality of eternity . We're not consumed with it . We're not consumed with what reality really is right . We're walking around in these bodies that are full of features that should be constantly blowing our minds , Like even right now , this communication that's happening . We should be blown away by it . And we walk around blindly , caught up in this temporal world that's going to fade . And look at the heart of this guy , Like this is where we all should be . We should be opening God's word , getting blown away constantly . Whoa , look at this . Do we believe it ? Are we doing it ? Like , just look at our lives , man
. If we did nothing but commit ourselves to be people of passionate , passionate prayer and of God's Word , we've reached the pinnacle of success . It doesn't matter what else happens , what else we do , what else we accomplish in life and what do the retractors say right , you're so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good .
Speaker 3Just the opposite , that's exactly right .
Speaker 4I just googled the name of the unknown author it's Rotundo Blinkenheimer .
Speaker 2So , anyway , guys , I'm just stirred up and I'm looking at my life more and more and if we really became people that just let's say we really , really prayed for 30 minutes every day , like I mean , really prayed , like sat before the living God and we spent 30 minutes in God's word every day . 20 minutes , 15 minutes , just like really reading the word meditating on scripture 17 minutes 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 .
Speaker 2We would be transformed , we would not be chasing this stuff around . That doesn't matter . Look , we know successful people here at the ministry . We know people that are't matter . Look , we know successful people here at the ministry . We know people that are extremely wealthy . They're on lists that would blow your mind in terms of what they possess . But if they lost it all today , they'd smile and say praise the Lord and great . And what do you have next , god ? Because they're consumed with eternity . So right , oscar , it's not that if you're successful , you're carnal , not at all . It's that if you're not eternally minded , if you're not consumed with Christ , if you're not making time count now , then no matter how much success you've achieved , you really have nothing .
Speaker 1You have nothing . You remind me of a season in my life where I shared before in a podcast here that at some point in my life I thought I didn't want to get married , I don't want to have kids , and I had a successful career . I can remember very specifically driving on the four or five freeway , headed somewhere , looking about buildings with last names on them and making a goal I'm going to get my last name on a building one day . That was my ambition and my goal .
Speaker 4You could tag it with a . I've done that with spray paint .
Speaker 1Easy .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , that'll be a way to go .
Speaker 1And I was on a trajectory to do that when I left my full-time job to come here . I remember sitting down with my manager and he goes Oscar , what are you doing ? You're on your route to make a half a million dollars a year . If you want to save the world , why don't you do it on the weekends ? And , side note , do you ever have one of those moments where you're like I wish I would have said this ? I'm like driving home from that meeting and I was like I should have said the world already has a savior . I'm just trying to tell him about it . I called him back later , but anyway , I regret none of leaving any of that .
Speaker 1And what I mean by that is I think about the way the Lord has guided me to invest my time and I look at the fruitfulness of my marriage . I look at the way I'm able to raise my kids , the relationships that I have with the people around me , the way the Lord chooses to use me , and I'm so thankful that I shifted my treasure from earth to heaven . And you don't just do that , going into full-time ministry . I have a neighbor and a friend who I love to death and he started coming to our old church and he was on this incredible trajectory in finance and at some point he started to realize that success was an idol to him and he came to us and was like man my job , my career they're offering me .
Speaker 1He's a Christian . They're offering me this incredible raise . I have this huge opportunity . The problem is is that my hours at the office is going to increase , my travel is going to increase , and I feel the Lord is just calling me to invest my time differently . And so he turned it down . He's making significantly less than what he could be making so that he can invest his time into the local church and his children , and five years later he talks about that and he goes .
Speaker 1I am so glad the Lord saved me from that idol of success because he loves the life that the Lord has given him in the way that he's investing in a heavenly kingdom rather than an earthly one , and so that's possible . What you're talking about , I think . Sometimes people think like the only way I can do this is to quit my job and to go into full-time ministry . By no means . First off , there's no divide between sacred and secular . Your work is sacred work . What we're talking about is how do you invest your time , how do you invest your money ? What are you doing with your treasure ?
Speaker 4Yeah , I'm a deal moody , Sorry Matt . No , no , you're much more humble than me .
Speaker 2No , I'm right here . You're the deal moody . Okay , I'll speak , so go ahead .
Speaker 4Yeah , invest your time . You've got a lunch hour . No matter what you do , use your lunch hour to find a woman at the well or a man at a well . Find a well .
Speaker 2Jacob's .
Speaker 4Well right yeah , he's doing fine , thanks deal .
Speaker 3Moody said make as much money as you can . Save as much money as you can . At the same time , give away as much money as you can write . The American dream distracts us from our eternal mission . Right , this is a relentless chase for personal success and in doing so it blinds us . It just makes us nearsighted of why we're here . Remember Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost . Hudson Taylor , the great missionary , said God isn't looking for people of great faith , but for individuals ready to follow him . So you may have chosen a path , a vocation , where you are spending so much time trying to make money , but just kind of pause . Pause for just a moment .
Speaker 3It's been said that nobody on their deathbed is saying I wish I worked more , right . I wish I had more houses or I went on more , fill in the blank , right ? So pause , take inventory . And this is why a Sabbath is such a great idea , such a novelty , because you think back on what took place during this past week . You're making plans for the upcoming week . What can I do differently ? What should I have done differently ? Where do I need to confess ? Where do I need to repent ? And this is why I love family times , family devotions right , I've been writing a series of sermons in the eyes , through the eyes , of the first person , of the actual person found in the Bible , right , zacchaeus .
Speaker 3If Zacchaeus was to give a sermon , what would he have said , as all the things that he went through ? And the other day I read one to my family and that one was I think that was the prodigal son , because we recently did a podcast on the prodigal son and I'd grab a hold of that . And when I was done writing it , I dropped it into AI and I said what am I missing here to bring some coherency and stuff like that ? It's stuff that I can never publish .
Speaker 4What did AI delete it ? What's that AI just deleted it .
Speaker 3AI just deleted it . Yeah , they said , oh well , start over . No , but I did it and I've been going through a series of different people and I'm like , on the eighth person inside of the Bible right , zacchaeus , you have the woman caught in the act of adultery , the prodigal son , mary Magdalene , the thief on the cross , simon of Cyrene . So those are the ones that I've done so far and I'm just being so edified . I was reading through it and I was just weeping myself as I was reading something that I wrote and then something that AI cleaned up that I wrote .
Speaker 3Right , and we need to utilize these sort of things . These people that God used in the Bible were not people that were looked up to in the world's eyes by and large . Right , god has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise , and not many wise are called right , that's why we're all sitting here at this table . We're not all on a trajectory like Oscar was to making $500,000 a year . But God has said look , it's not about you . I use the simple people of the world to bring a very important message and it will not return void . So you do not have your laurels found in yourself and your accomplishments , but in what Christ has done on that cross . That's what we boast in Amen .
Speaker 4The money you gain by giving more time to your work at the neglect of your marriage can be used for your divorce settlement . Ooh .
Speaker 3Wow , stop it .
Speaker 2Say it again , say it again the money you gain , by giving Okay , now I got it , you know what I love , that saying that says some people are so poor , all they have is money . Yeah , it's such a powerful saying and I want to read the rest of that verse that Ray had originally cited , and that's 1 Timothy 6 , beginning of verse 6 . It says now , godliness with contentment is great gain . And then it goes on to say for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out . And then it goes on to say drown men in destruction and perdition , For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil , for which some have strayed from the faith and their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows .
Speaker 2Now , godliness with contentment is great gain , guys , I mean , that's huge . But I love what he says Look , if we have food and clothing , with these we shall be content . And it brought this analogy to my mind Like if you wanted to go swimming , do you need more ? Like you just want to be able to freely swim right when your feet aren't touching the ground . It's not possible for Mark .
Speaker 3Daddy long legs , I stand in the deep end .
Speaker 2Yeah . Do you need more than like , let's say , 10 feet ? And so my point in that is that , having food and clothing , with these we shall be content . We want to live , right ? Do you need a million feet of water in order to swim ? No , you don't . 10 feet will do right . We just need to live . You have food , you have clothing , you can survive , you're okay .
Speaker 2And if you're eternally minded and you're pursuing the things of God , that is all that matters . And I'm telling you , friends , listen to me please . I plead with you . You will know no greater joy in life than when you're consumed by Christ , than when you're pursuing Him and when you're in His presence , where there's fullness of joy at His right hand , where there are pleasures evermore , when you're consuming His Word . That is life itself . I'm telling you , it doesn't matter what your circumstances are . First of all , if you're seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness , he's going to take care of you . It's going to all work out . And if you go through trials and you're without , he's going to use it for the good , as it conforms you into the image of Christ . But pursue Him , seek Him . That is the true definition of success . Without it , it's nothing but failure , no matter how successful you may think you are in the eyes of the world .
Amen Ray , you're typing . You have more to say .
Speaker 4No , no More to comment , mark a raise .
Speaker 2Yeah , all right , friends , that's over , we're done , it's over , we're through . And don't forget , my comfort is Jesus . Yeah , that goes along with what we're talking about here today , so make sure to check that out the Living Waters of Mug , the Evidence Study Bible , alllivingwaterscom podcast at livingwaterscom , with all your thoughts and good stuff . And remember , guys , please , on whatever different platform you're listening to our podcast on , like and give us comments on there and rate it All that good stuff . Thank you for joining us , friends . We'll see you here next time on the hopefully successful Living Waters podcast , where we have no idea what we're doing , and we also have no idea what you're doing because we can't see you See you .